The environment is a big topic for many, and if you want to help do your part in keeping as many things as possible eco-friendly, then check out the following things, via adventure.howstuffworks.com, that you can do to make your fishing experience more eco-friendly:

1. Do Not Use Lead Weights – “Lead weights have been outlawed, but they still exist. If you like to buy secondhand, be wary of lead weights.”

2. Bring a Pill Bottle – Apparently, this can help unsnag your hook.  “The goal is to retrieve your gear without breaking your line. If you break your line, you pollute by leaving a hook, line and sinker in the lake. My grandfather used to bring an couple of orange pill bottles along. They were rigged to slide down the line and float above the hook. The pill bottle would pull the hook free by coming at the problem from a different angle. He had about a 95% success rate. Remember to wash your pills bottles thoroughly before exposing to the lake water.”

3. Use Biodegradable Fishing Gear – It’s just how fishing goes–we lose gear sometimes.  Minimize the impact on the environment by using biodegradable fishing line and lures for those times of loss.

4. Properly Care for Your Tackle Box – to increase the longevity of your actual tackle box, you should make an effort to sort through everything in it from time to time and clean it.

5. Worm Composting – Here is a twofer: Build a worm compost to get rid of food waste AND grow your own worms, using the excess for fishing. You will be doing your part in minimizing packaging waste from containers.

6. Pack a Tape Measure – Help keep the fish population where it should be by measuring the fish you catch.

(Feature image via ecofervor.com)