Today, we have a special guest post from Emily Blankenship, aka The River Damsel!

Normally you can find her blogging over http://www.theriverdamsel.com/, but she has been doing the guest blogger circuit as well. Check out her post as she talks about a pretty cool experience with the Utah Fly Fishing Club last year.

The “CLEAN and CAST” … Collecting over 15 sacks of garbage with a group of fellow conservationists (and friends). Enjoying the rest of the day fishing together!  That is what I experienced the first time that I went to haul in garbage with the UFFC (Utah Fly Fishing Club) last year.  What a great way to get some karma!  There is nothing like doing a good deed.  And when you are a fisherman, it feels really good to give back to the passion that gives you so much enjoyment.  I am a Fly Fisher…plain and simple.  I will always be.  It is not something I do, it is who I am.  Those who knew me before I started fly fishing three years ago, often question me with “Why and How”?  It wasn’t to be an escape, but rather somewhere that I felt that I belonged.  And when I came across groups of people like the UFFC, it told me that I had found a very good thing.

Being involved with an organization such as this, helps you appreciate the rivers and streams that you frequently visit.   Conservation, education and participation…is all part of fly fishing.  At least, I believe that it should be.  You always get more out of something when you put more into it.  Plain and simple… And if you can bring a great group of fishers together to enjoy the experience and build friendships…it’s even better!  So, we “Clean and Cast“.   We clean the river beds and surrounding areas of debris for a couple of hours in the morning and then take a lunch break and fish in the afternoon.  We pulled out tires to lawn chairs from the banks…then, we took this picture by the dumpster with our great finds!  It makes a great day!

If you don’t have something like this in your area…I recommend it highly as something that can be organized with a few determined and conservationalist minded people putting it together.  You will be amazed at what a difference it can make!  (And you will probably catch an extra fish that day too…).

Big Thanks to Emily for preparing a guest post for us here at Fisherous.com! Be sure to check out her blog and post a comment for her below if you enjoyed the post above!