Environmentally Friendly Fly Fishing

[Vicente G]

I have never flown out of my country to fly fish (probably because I live in chilean Patagonia, people fly from the other side of the world to come here), and I don't own a car so I just walk or ride my bike to the fishing spots (or almost anywhere for that matter), maybe I have the lowest carbon footprint from everyone on this conversation (besides, my time in this world has not been much, I'm just 21), of course there is so much things that someone is wiling to give to "save" the planet, but I believe that anyone with a little bit of concern with the environment is giving his grain of sand to the fight. there's people that think that if you are not doing something good enough then you might as well not do it at all. If you are willing to do something it's much better that doing nothing I would say

[Boisker]

I agree Vicente, doing something is always better than nothing. But carbon from flights is something many of us ignore… myself included…. It’s very challenging. We all need to get closer to your footprint
I work in conservation and have restored large areas of species rich grassland, carried out river restoration projects and planted thousands of trees…. But I bugger all that benefit by flying around the world

[umm, Steve]

Whilst far less impactful than the avoidance of flying, I stopped using any synthetics in my fly tying.

[Harps]

It's great to think about and being aware of what you consume is a great start.
Vicente had an excellent point about something is better than nothing.
On top of that, there are many compounding issues that can be helped by small actions. The prevalence of plastic in our environment can be helped by shifting away from petroleum-based plastics to natural fibers and biodegradable plant-based products. Reusing products as much as possible has a much lower footprint than recycling or purchasing new. So many little thinks we can do!

But like Boisker, my job is in conservation and regulation of impacts to the aquatic environment. Unfortunately I have to fly thousands of kilometers each year to visit sites and communities in the Arctic now - there is no other means to get to these locations and despite virtual meeting technology, it isn't effective in northern communities and with language barriers. I do feel guilty (not while fishing for char though).

[Paul Arden]

It’s very disheartening to go to a tropical beach paradise and find that it’s a plastic tip. I don’t think the solution is to recycle it. I think the solution is just not to use it in the first place.

There was a big fuss a few years ago when Malaysia turned around ships bringing plastic waste from Europe. They weren’t recycling it; they were burning it and the resulting waste was polluting the waterways and doing God knows what to the atmosphere.

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/m ... KBN2BT29H/

https://foe-malaysia.org/articles/we-ca ... %20problem.

https://www.nst.com.my/amp/news/nation/ ... cean-nsttv

Cheers, Paul

[FishNoGeek]

A bit late to the party here, but I'll chip in anyway. I got sucked down into a fairly deep rabbit hole while researching a magazine piece from an issue or two ago. It was about Patagonia's "Worn Wear" program (https://issue30.ontheflymag.com/index.html?page=38), but I ended up digging into the whole Gore-TEX mess. There's a LOT to unpack there; you'll find a little bit in that article, but just search "is goretex a scam" on Google or YouTube and you'll be off to the races.

The short story is that A) several of the materials used in waterproof gear (rain shells and waders, mostly) have historically been quite toxic in the manufacturing phase, both for the environments around the factories and the people working in them, and B) when used in the outdoors, those materials shed small quantities of harmful "forever" chemicals, and C) the materials themselves are effectively "forever" products in the sense that their half-life will be measured in centuries, making disposal problematic.

Some countries have passed some laws to curb the manufacturing ills, and some companies are taking pains to be more responsible. For consumers who do need serious rain and wading gear, the right answer is probably to choose wisely: attempt to buy just once, then prolong the life of the product as long as possible through responsible maintenance and repairs. Don't buy a new pair of waders - just patch your old ones! When it does come time for retirement, seek out a reputable operation who will recycle the materials (thus Patagonia's "Worn Wear" operation, but also check out the next article about Recycled Waders) or dispose of them responsibly.

https://wornwear.patagonia.com/
https://www.recycledwaders.com/

Meanwhile, there's another whole knot to unpick around whether Gore-TEX and other similar "waterproof / breathable" fabrics really do what they say. It turns out that Gore-TEX is waterproof OR breathable, but not both at the same time. Watch the videos - they do a good job of explaining why, and the patent expiration stuff is interesting as well. Also, a fair bit of what really keeps you dry inside a rain shell is the hydrophobic DWR finish, which gets you back into toxin territory. Like I said, it's a rabbit hole that runs deep. Enter at your own risk.

But don't throw away your Gore-TEX products! There are lots of ways to reuse and recycle them. Do some research, it's worthwhile.

[rusty]

Country Roads; Lost, Getting

Today the shaggy mane once again unveiled its odd universe to this bystander on a hike taken for no other reason than to enjoy another 24.7
For lack of expression some of the latest activities have included grocery shopping with a “man-purse.”
The rediscovery of literature has become a surprising tool for studying language in detail which I’m also looking forward to exploring as well.
Plus the idea of winter is approaching as fall guidance is a deeply rooted few months which slows to a drip as they say…
All the same I probably wont be able to get outdoors again until the later two weeks of midday November just before winter closes its doors.

Goin’ with the flow,