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There are some whose creativity matches their passion for conservation. We are grateful for those who not only fight the good fight, but come up with new ways to raise money, get people involved and market their cause.
We will keep this page updated with new ideas as they come in. Our hope is that these ideas will help other passionate shops, organizations and conservationists get their ideas off of the ground.
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CATCH AND CLEAN
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A good fishing contest sends anglers home with prizes, stories about fish they caught (or didn't catch), and the joy of victory or the agony of defeat. A great fishing contest sends anglers home with all of these things... and a ton of trash. This is exactly what happened when the Lake Ontario Tributary Anglers Council (LOTAC) launched Catch and Clean, a brilliant fishing contest/river clean-up hybrid.
The rules for Catch and Clean were simple: entrants received a tape measure (so that fish could be photographed and then released) and a trash bag. In order for an entrant's catch to qualify at the end of the day, they needed to return with a trash bag full of garbage collected from the river bank.
The result? Over one ton of trash was removed from Lake Ontario tributaries in a single day!
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The folks at LOTAC offered prizes for four different categories: Longest Trout, Grand Slam (catching 1 each of: steelhead, brown, and salmon), Limited Award (trout and trash combo), and the LOTAC Pride Award, for hauling in the most trash. Half of the entrant fees were split between these four classes, and the other half are now being spent by LOTAC on their current endeavors to protect their precious fishery.
Thanks to LOand the 50 entrants of the inaugural Catch and Clean, Lake Ontario's tributaries are cleaner and healthier. What would happen if more clubs, organizations or fly shops organized their own Catch and Clean? There is only one way to find out.
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To learn more about LOTAC or support their efforts visit their website: www.lotac.org. |
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Do you have an idea that you'd like to see featured here? If so, email it to brett@loonoutdoors.com. Accepted submissions will be posted onour website and facebook page, and who knows? You might even receive some cool Loon swag!
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