The Creston Valley Rod and Gun Club (CVRGC) is in its third season of collecting used monofilament fishing line. The CVRGC thanks all those dedicated, responsible anglers for supporting the program by depositing their used line in the provided labeled receptacles. It also would like to remind people that these receptacles are not meant as a convenient garbage can! These receptacles are located at Mawson and Duck Lake; at boat launches along Kootenay Lake as well as at the lake in Cranbrook’s Idlewild Park. Thank you also to the two outdoor/tackle stores, Wynndel Foods and Outdoors and Balfour Gill and Gift, that understand the importance of this program by accepting used monofilament line.

 Fishing Line After life 

Used monofilament fishing line, once off the reel, can take several paths to its next life. One is more desirable than the other options. The less desirable is to be discarded onto surrounding waterbody shores where it can become buried by sand and vegetation only to reemerge at some time. Or if not buried this way, it lies in wait to find its way into or onto local wildlife or around boat propellers. In some cases, birds try to use it as nesting material, only to be lethally trapped in a tangled mess. Another less desirable route and far less noticeable to the general public is throwing it in your garbage and it’s gone, right? Not at all, it ultimately ends up in the landfill where it will haunt its surroundings for the next 600 years without breaking down. It has been seen wrapped around various bird species as well as entangling coyotes and foxes and fouling equipment. Either way, it is miserable stuff in our environment! It also doesn’t help putting it in your household recyclables as it is not an acceptable item. But there is a happier afterlife, depositing it in a fishing line recycling receptacle! 

This option allows it to be removed at the end of the season by volunteers, the garbage is separated out (yuck); reeds, grass and sticks are untangled and removed piece by piece; hooks and lead weights are cut off; braided line is separated out and the final product is packaged and shipped back to Berkley Fishing in the US for recycling. Since Berkley’s program originated in 1990, 9 million miles of monofilament line has been recycled North America wide into various products! Berkley’s “Fish Habs”, an artificial 4 foot structure made of recycled monofilament line, is one of its useful final products. This structure is designed to attract small fish and vegetation that attracts big fish which in turn attract fishers! Other end products made from the recycled mono line include tackle boxes, spools for new line and even car parts. 

Unfortunately, braided line is not accepted due to the non-recyclable materials it is made from. Just cut it up and add it to the landfill. But, in order to give your used monofilament line a happy afterlife, and give wildlife one less hassle, consider dropping your line in one of the CVRGC receptacles. 

Thanks again from CVRGC, happy fishing and good luck!