Fisherman casting for cleanup crew

An avid Brandon fisherman who was fed up with seeing garbage strewn along the riverbank near his fishing holes decided to do something about it. But after two cleanups, he says he can’t do it alone.

Dale Hutchings is a member of the Brandon Wildlife Association and said he loves to fish the Assiniboine River.

“You can catch suckers, catfish, walleye and pike, but sturgeon is the main one that a lot of people go for,” he said.

Earlier this summer, while Hutchings was walking his dog down by the river, he noticed a bunch of garbage.

“And I thought, you know what? I’m physically able to do a little bit at a time. And without even trying, I got one large bag of trash,” he said.

“So, why not get the people of Brandon to help clean up the garbage that fishermen are leaving behind?”

When asked why he thought it was fishermen, Hutchings held up some of the items from two garbage bags that he had collected Wednesday evening along the river near the Manitoba Hydro generating station on the city’s eastern outskirts.

“We’re getting tackle boxes, pliers, spools, packages from the fishing companies, lure packing, some fishing line,” Hutchings said.

“There are also minnow and worm containers, so that’s fishermen — they just decided to leave it. I’ve picked up beer cans, Tim Hortons coffee cups, McDonald’s wrappers, because guys are eating at the river,” he added.

“But the next thing you know, it’s floating down the river or in the river. So, it’s time to just clean it up.”

Wednesday was the second week in a row that Hutchings and a friend had gone out to look for and pick up garbage.

He said he put out a call for help on Facebook, but he and his friend were the only two who ended up on garbage detail.

“I probably know at least 30 fishermen from Brandon, and not one of them showed up,” Hutchings said.

“I understand some have worked all day. But if we get six or seven people, it should only be a 20-minute job.

“There’s the opportunity to meet new people and if we get done early, go fishing if you want. So, it’s more of an opportunity to tell stories and walk with somebody you haven’t met,” he said.

Next Wednesday, Hutchings plans to target Dinsdale Park at 7 p.m., starting at the dock and winding his way toward First Street.

“And then on the last Wednesday of the month, we’ll head to the end of 26 Street past the city’s water treatment plant,” he said.

“If we get a lot of people, then maybe we could split off and go different directions and meet back at one location to see what we collected.”

Hutchings said he supplies the garbage bags but advises volunteers to bring gloves and a grabbing tool.

For more information on volunteering for the riverbank cleanup, head to the Facebook page, “Fishing 24/7 Southwestern Manitoba.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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