Ditch the hitchhikers: invasive plants and animals will ruin your favorite spots

Eurasian milfoil

There can be a lot of packing and unpacking associated with a day out on the water. There's gear to load or stow; a boat to clean or a kayak to store. If you're lucky, there might be fish to clean.

So who wants to add an additional chore?

You do. That is if you want to continue enjoying spots to fish.

If preserving nature for its own sake isn't enough for you, and it should be, invasive plant species can choke out waterways, making them impossible to fish and damaging the health of native fish.

How to ditch invasive plants and animals.

1) When leaving a boat launch:

a) remove all visible plants, animals mud and debris from your boat, trailer and equipment, including bumpers, anchors, paddles and whatnot

b) drain all water possible before leaving the launch, from holds, live wells and everywhere else.

2) DRY your equipment for five days if possible before entering new waters.

3) If you can't dry your equipment for extended periods before entering new waters, there are some washing techniques that could help. The Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection recommends dipping equipment in vinegar for 20 minutes prior to rinsing. You might not be able to do that with your whole boat, so you could alternatively try wetting equipment with a bleach solution (one ounce per gallon) or soap and hot water before rinsing. You might also apply a solution of 1 percent table salt and water for 24 hours prior to rinsing

4) KILL or return (to the bait store) unused bait, whether fish, crabs or crayfish. If the fish wasn't born in the waterway you are fishing, you could be doing real harm by releasing nonnative animals. That crayfish in your bucket may be a different variant from the locals. It could proliferate and swarm the waterway, chomping up native plants and young fish.