Old Fishing Line--It's Everywhere, Or So It Seems

While rotating the tires on his pickup the other day, my friend Lenny found a batch of monofilament wrapped around his axle (see photo left). "Has to be from West Neck Marina," said my friend.

Then just this past Saturday, during our tournament out there, my partner Gary suddenly got hung up on something underwater that felt "springy," as he described it. That sensation nearly always signals a piece of old fishing line, and this case proved to be no exception. While Gary was retrieving his lure, he also removed as much of the old line as possible, in hopes of sparing another unsuspecting angler the same problem.

Over the years, I've had my share of encounters with old fishing line, too, especially with my trolling motor--and yes, I realize I'm not the Lone Ranger here. You know the drill. You ease up to the shallow shoreline to retrieve that crankbait or other lure, and end up with a bonus--old fishing line wrapped around your trolling-motor prop, sometimes to the point where the prop can't even turn.

Even more disturbing than having line wrapped around the prop on your trolling motor is to end up with a wad of it ensnarling the prop on your gas motor. That happened to me once while heading south on the North Landing River.

It was somewhere in the 0-dark-30 timeframe, and I just had entered the area that passes by where all the old sunken barges are located. In the blink of an eye, my RPMs fell way off, and I immediately knew that I just had picked up someone's old fishing line.

I limped back to West Neck Marina, where one look revealed a huge amount of what appeared to be about 80-lb. test monofilament wrapped around and under my prop, which I surmised probably had come from someone who had been catfishing in the vicinity of the old wrecks. I was left with no choice but to find a knife and start cutting.

And on several occasions as I've been motoring up the canal to the marina store in the wee hours of tournament mornings, I have spotted line stretching across the expanse from where a bank fisherman has broken off their line the day or evening before. That's why I always keep a sharp eye each time I make that transit. It also explains why I also always have a knife handy.

There's another side to this "tangled mess" that we leave for others to clean up, too. Sometimes, it's unsuspecting wildlife that become the victims.

Case in point: I had a fishin' buddy several years back who came upon a great blue heron that had gotten ensnarled in a bunch of old line. My friend knew he had to do something to free the bird, or it most likely would die. Disregarding his own risks, he leaped into action and successfully untangled the heron but not without suffering some injuries of his own from the frightened bird.

So, what should we do with our old fishing line?

First, understand that recycled monofilament line can be used in a variety of ways. It can be made into artificial aquatic structures when combined with other recyclable plastics, or turned into spools for new line.

In theory, monofilament line should be safe to throw away in regular trash, but because it is covered with dirt in a landfill, it won't decompose. If you can't recycle your used mono, it's best to cut it up in lengths shorter than a foot before throwing it in the trash.

Braided lines are worse, in terms of the impact they can have on wildlife and outboard motors. These "super lines" are nearly indestructible and don't degrade much at all over time.

Taking time to properly dispose of your used fishing line involves just a little planning and preparation. Keep a bag handy and stash the old stuff in it when it comes time to put new line on your reels. In similar fashion, keep a bag handy in your boat for any line you have to cut off a reel in the course of a fishing day. Then, just drop it all off at a recycling bin the next time you go to a bait and tackle shop. You'll be doing everyone--and everything--a big favor.