Plastic Plankton

I pulled this picture from a web article that discussed plankton poop. The article said studies on plankton show their feces have increased percentages of micro-plastics and this previous source of carbon isolation (heavier, non-plastic containing poop would sink faster) is not moving in the direction it should be. Because the lighter poop is staying suspended longer, it has a higher incidence of ending up higher in the food chain and eventually on to our plates. We should all strive to use less plastic, and ensure that what plastic is used/generated is not released into the ocean, otherwise we are doomed to eat our mistakes. And truthfully it is less 'us' and more our unborn future - if you don't take these steps for yourself, do take them for your great-great grandkids. When you surf, make sure to go and find some piece of plastic - a bag, a bottle, something - and grab it so it can be disposed of properly. Do something - because doing nothing is damning to future generations. Oh - here is the link to the article. http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1c4719a2f85d793ead2ffff65&id=74ed07f3a8&e=50f7e5cdfc

Super Skunk Streak

I went fly fishing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and got skunked the either weekend. I did force myself to use a different setup than I have been - Epic 888 with a RIO Bonefish WF8F line on the Kraken 4 XLA. By moving to a fiberglass rod and longer belly line, I am practicing casting by 'feel' more. It took a bit, but by the end of the ultra-skunking I felt I could get more line out further than when I first started playing with this combo. Changing the line out especially helped. What didn't help was getting refusals when I know the fish was near the fly. I did see a lot of aquatic life. Multiple snowflake eels, a bunch of humuhumunukunukuapua'a, a spotted eagle ray, a several bonefish. And on Saturday, I did catch something - this plastic jug went floating by and I cast the fly to it - good shooting if I do say so myself! And it did offer a 'fight' as I was trying to pull it through the current. Oddly enough I didn't see any papio being caught. I think the water is actually warmer then the fish like. Maybe they have swam off to deeper water or places with more water exchange on the tides. Among all the 'looking' I did find this tiny crab in some dead coral - acropora crab species. I'm going to tie a few more different flies to see if I can the fish to take - three days is a long time to not play tug-o-war... Good thing I like practicing my casts, or this weekend would have been a bust. Oh - one last thing, I found this at one of the local fishing supply shops (McCully Bike - they offer 10% military discounts so I picked it up). It works great!!! Now I can start fishing even more off the beaten path spots and not have to worry about my OCD and keeping the 4Runner clean! Holds 2 gallons and sprays it out just like the hose at home! Now if it would just wash off the skunk.

Just because it looks clean...

Doesn't mean it is.

Small plastic particles drifting in an otherwise pristine environment.

The problem is this stuff is everywhere. Gyres exist in every ocean and each holds a tremendous amount of plastic trash.

In the last few decades, the wholesale pollution may have dropped off, but the number of people has grown and some recent natural disasters have swept tons of garbage into the oceans.

Picking up trash is not enough anymore. There is more trash on the landmasses and oceans than we can possibly pickup - even after you pick it up, where does it go? Back in a landfill to sit there for eons.

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle - if not for you, then definitely for your children, their children and all the generations to come.

We can do better -