Get involved. Put a Little Back

The motto for Nottawasaga Steelheaders is “Put a little back”. To some, including those that fish, this can be interpreted to mean releasing all their caught fish. The practice of “catch & release” is a philosophy that is gaining acceptance by anglers in response to decreasing numbers of fish as well as a more wholesome approach in sync with our appreciation of nature.  And that certainly is commendable. However to the Nottawasaga Steelheaders, a more fulfilling meaning exists in the donating of time and effort in attending our work days or simply coming to our meetings and getting involved.

The reference to steelhead, by the way is another name for migratory rainbow trout. A “steelheader” is an angler who is at times deemed to be fanatical for steelhead. I will be discussing steelhead in my upcoming blogs.

As a child, I enjoyed all sorts of fishing when my dad took me with my first rod and reel and a great big red and white bobber for sunfish in Grenadier Pond in Toronto. What a joy it was to see that bobber go down as a sunfish or rock bass gobbled my garden dew worm. With my family in later years, my quarry expanded to other game fish and my gear and abilities improved. I started to appreciate trout and their beautiful colours and it wasn’t long before at the age of twelve, I was tying my own flies and began fly fishing. This was years before it was made popular by movies like a “River Runs Through It”.

In these early years of my teens, I would run to the corner store and purchase my monthly copies of Field and Stream and Sports Afield. They were chock full of the successful exploits of experienced anglers and the accompanying pictures of their catch were certainly something to “drool” over. On one occasion I was drawn to a fascinating story about groups doing stream rehabilitation. The before and after photos were amazing and the story tugged in me an inner desire to somehow repay for the privilege of enjoying a recreation pastime that did so much for me. I understood that such a privilege was not guaranteed or enshrined forever.

The sheer pleasure of my journey to my favorite fishing hole with dreams of catching the big one, increased with each step I too along the trail. The sounds of nature and the wind and sun streaming through the forest canopy refreshed me. I knew then that I had to do something to ensure this experience would be there for me in the years to come. I wanted to join such a conservation minded group as I had read about in those early angling magazine issues. I wanted to do something. I wanted to put a little back. (I prefer the use of “put” rather than “give” as it suggests actually physically doing something).

Eventually, I joined the Ontario Steelheaders, which by the early 90’s, formed a chapter on my favorite river, the Nottawasaga. The chapter eventually became a fully separate organization as The Nottawasaga Steelheaders in 1998 and was incorporated the next year. By the early 90’s our organization was committed to many major Nottawasaga stream rehab projects in conjunction with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, Ministry of Natural Resources and regional watershed municipalities. These include fish monitoring and habitat improvement measures, corrective stream engineering, tree plantings, garbage pick-ups and log jam removals on many portions of the river and its tributaries. Over the past twenty years, our organization has undertook numerous projects involving many communities and other volunteer groups in our commitment to preserve the Nottawasaga River watershed

This is what I say to my fellow anglers. To those of you who say you do not want to get involved, believe me you are involved when you start fishing for steelhead. The only thing we are asking is to tip the scales in favour of the steelhead that face a gauntlet of many obstacles and hardships in their journey each year. The increase in fishing popularity combined with the stress of population encroachment on our rivers is working against us. The privilege of fishing for these magnificent fish and the continuation of clean fresh unobstructed waters are not guaranteed.

To those who aren’t sure about getting involved with the many great organizations out there such as AWARE and the Nottawasaga Steelheaders and donating some of your time, let me put it this way.

I feel rewarded that I can make a difference to protect those species who need help but do not have a voice or the means to protect themselves.

So go ahead. Get Involved. Put a Little Back. It feels good!

Gary Christie is president of the Nottawasaga Steelheaders.