Skip to content

Contact Info:

315.283.8871
upstateguideservice@gmail.com
Upstate Guide Service
Upstate Guide Service

Primary Navigation Menu

Menu
  • What We Do
    • Fly Fishing
      • Fly Fishing Instructional Clinics
      • Stream Fly Fishing
      • Stillwater Fly Fishing
    • Light Tackle Lake Angling
    • Trophy Trout & Salmon Fishing
    • Ice Fishing
    • Waterfowling
    • Whitetail Hunting
    • Outdoor Production Services
  • Where We Go
    • Finger Lakes
    • Central New York
    • The Adirondacks / North Country
    • The Northern Catskills
  • Who We Are
    • Mike Crawford — Professional Guide
    • John Fraser — Professional Guide
  • Details
  • Field Notes
  • Skaneateles Lake Blog
  • Slide Shows
    • Ice Fishing Pics
    • Fly Fishing Pics
    • Trophy Trout And Salmon Pics
    • Adirondack / North Country Pics
    • Light Tackle Lake Angling Pics
    • Upstate Guide Service Owner — Professional Guide — Mike Crawford Pics

No Excuse

On: April 2, 2021
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Upstate New York Fishing Guide
Tagged: #adirondacks, #catchandrelease, #FingerLakes, #respecttheresource

No Excuse

Winters transition into Spring here in Upstate New York can be dreary. The landscape is brown and the sky is often grey. The leaves have not popped and the grass struggles to turn green. The whole countryside looks like it has not woken from a long and deep snow covered sleep.

Ice fishing gear is cleaned and put away. The cover is taken off the boat. Flies are tied and fishing items low in stock are mail ordered. Rituals that are both fun and familiar are repeated. But early Spring, with its snow squalls and freezing rain, cold winds and brown colors, is not the most handsome time of year.

This past winter my ice fishing stretched well into the end of March. Those days found me traveling the Adirondacks, leading anglers on to thick ice in temperatures well above freezing. The air temps were so warm that the snow had melted away where it was not shaded by the forest. What I found at each and every boat launch made me sick.

Garbage, of every sort, strewn about the parking lots, trailheads, on the ice, in the woods. Litter. Discarded crap left by ignorant assholes. There is no excuse for the behavior of leaving your garbage at public access points or on state land. Or anywhere besides properly disposing of it.

What thought goes through someones head that would allow them to think that leaving their trash behind is acceptable? Do they think that the people in the green uniforms are going to pick-up their mess? I bet some of them do think this.

It is unfortunate that a handful of ice fishermen are often to blame for this disgraceful act. But from what I witnessed this past season, it is not just brain-dead ice fishermen who leave trash. The Adirondacks are seeing an incredible resurgence in use by people who are of recent introduction to camping and outdoor recreation.

Besides the simple premise that people who litter suck, there is another message written in the discarded beer cans, cigarette butts, candy wrappers and face masks; The increasing use of state lands and public infrastructure on state lands is overwhelming and it appears that a large percentage of the people using these resources have no respect for the resource.

This can only be changed through education and law enforcement. I do what I can to harass and berate people that I catch in the act of littering. And I always make a point to educate each of my guests on how valuable and important state access points and state land is to New Yorkers.

But it is quite rare that any guest of mine needs to be informed about littering or showing respect for natural resources and public access points. If they have read my rants and writing on this web site…Well they already know the deal.

 

2021-04-02
Previous Post: How To Catch More Fish In Pressured Ice Fishing Environments
Next Post: An Adirondack Wilderness Trout Fishing Trip — Part 1

Recent Posts

  • An Adirondack Fishing Trip — Part Two
  • An Adirondack Wilderness Trout Fishing Trip — Part 1

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • September 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016

“Promote The Remote”

Upstate Guide Service

As a responsible steward UGS Inc. promotes sustainable outdoor pursuits with an obvious respect for Upstate New Yorks’ spectacular and unique environments. 

We practice low-impact, leave-no-trace backcountry travel techniques, catch-and-release fly fishing and fair chase hunting.

Need more information about where to go and where to stay for outdoor recreation and sporting pursuits in Upstate New York?

Feel free to call or email us.

315.283.8871

upstateguideservice@gmail.com

Recent Posts

  • An Adirondack Fishing Trip — Part Two
  • An Adirondack Wilderness Trout Fishing Trip — Part 1

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • September 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016