How to be more "green" with your fishing habits

From our experience, we know that most of us that are keen anglers are simply doing it “for the sport”. 

There’s just something special about the feeling of placing your bait in the correct fashion, carefully feeding the area and that patience being rewarded with a hefty bite and chance to reel something in.

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While most fishermen are responsible ones in terms of their operating environment and respectful when it comes to different species of fish, we still believe that more could be to make our habits more eco-friendly.

This includes everything from fishing gear to how much we respect the local fishing rules implemented to us.

In this article, we will dive into exactly - the best habits you can improve to make your fishing more eco-friendly.

Eco-friendly angling habits you should be practicing

We think that there are quite a few things you can do to reduce your environmental footprint while fishing, however, we want to focus on the main ones, which have the most impact.

Choose sustainable gear options

Going for more environmentally friendly options with your fishing gear can not only help preserve fish species for the time being, it also ensures that keen angling enthusiasts will have the opportunity to enjoy the sport themselves.

When it comes to such fishing gear, one has many options, here’s a few of them:

• Lures - one option we don’t see anglers choosing enough are biodegradable fishing lures. Typically, most of us tend to go for a rubber option, purely out of habit. However, since it doesn’t break down either in the water or in stomach juices of a fish, you could end up unnecessarily littering your fishing place, as well hurting the fish you're angling for. A great alternative to this would be going for a biodegradable plastic option. Since they come with the same color schemes and designs, the effectiveness of the lure will be the same.
• Weights - another dangerous material we want to talk about is lead. Even though it's considered toxic to not only fish, but humans as well, this is still an option that most anglers go with. In fact, it’s believed that lead can bring both physical and behavioral changes for fish. An alternative to this could be steel, tin or brass fishing weights which don’t have the same negative environmental contribution. Yes, they will cost a bit more when preparing for your fishing trip, but the benefits definitely outweigh the costs.
• Lines - biodegradable options for fishing lines are also gaining more traction in recent years as alternatives to traditional ones. These breakdown much faster after use, yet they still are able to maintain their structural integrity as normal ones. Moreover, even if you decide on using regular fishing lines, you can change your habits in terms of disposing of them. Usually bait shops or even fishing points themselves have designated bins or areas for disposing of old fishing lines.

Among other equipment.

Changing your angling approach

Apart from using greener products in terms of tackle and equipment, we reckon that anglers could also change the way they approach fishing in general.

Instead of leaving waste behind after you’re done, take your trash with you instead of leaving for something else or dumping it in the water. Wildlife can get caught or significantly hurt by what you leave behind so be careful.

Another approach would be changing your boating habits. If you don’t plan on going on a long trip, consider paddling instead of using a motor. Not only does this minimize the chances of fuel spills into the water and potentially damaging the ecosystem, you’re also emitting less gasses and the area being less noisy.

Finally, don’t torture the fish you’ve caught. Always go hooks that are effective, but don’t cause too much damage and make sure to limit the time fish without water. Otherwise, you might cause even more damage.

All in all

Today we’ve talked about the main things one can do to make their fishing experience greener. Simply choosing better materials and changing your usual approach can do wonders for the environment and ensure that angling as we know it is preserved for future generations.