Apologies all. Should have checked with my epidemiologist friend before posting last night. She confirmed what Andy said about urine being essentially sterile. However, that doesn't mean it's good for the river. It is a pollutant.

So, piss away. A guy's gonna' do what a guy's gotta' do.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

PISS AWAY!!!!!!!

What a pissin contest ! Salmo you are I hope familiar with the program up in B.C. where they are nutrifying upper watersheds with fertilizer pellets inorder to help inrease the food supply for young salmonids? In their current states many of our watersheds are definitely lacking in nutrients. So I say piss away...your doing your part to bring back the fish.

gooose

Gooose, and others...

I'm just about to start a new thread about fertilizing waters for smolt success...

Check it out.

Todd.

Sounds good Todd...got some thoughts on that.
Piss is good for the fish unless its PINK!

gooose

I took microbiology, environmental science, medical lab procedures and chemistry and you can drink your neighbors urine, and live to tell about it (in 99.9% of cases). It is absolutely sterile. Yes, it does act as a fertilizer, but so does that sand shrimp and so does fish urine.
Annnnnd....we aren't talking about 300,000 people all peeing in the river. If 300,000 FISH peed in the river, life wouldn't be pleasant from a fishes point of view, either.

And about that "rock" business....(pardon me while I strap myself into my seat, because I still fall down laughing when I think of this story....)
A bunch of us went to Potholes in early February to trout fish. We all pretty much felt like h***, given the night before. There is nothing to prop a rod up on, as sagebrush was considerably farther up the hillside. One guy, who we nicknamed Indian, went scouting for something to prop up his rod so hwe wouldn't have to hold it. This lake that we're fishing on is 3/4 frozen over, it's about 22 degrees out, and we're in this walled in depression with cliffs all around.

Indian finds this monster slab of a rock on the shoreline to pack back to the area we all have our plunking rods. He bends over, bear hugs it because it's so heavy, and takes about 3 steps. And off the canyon walls we hear this reverberating wail:
"EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!!!"


Some evil soul did a heavy duty #2 and put that big rock on top of it. Indian had this "stuff" all over his hands, pasted to the chest of his fishing vest and ground into his sleeves.
He proceeded to take a vigourous dunking in ice water.

Ahhhh, Potholes.....the memories!

I have never laughed so hard in my life.....and still do to this day.
diana

When this issue comes up -- and I've yet to experience a day on the river when it doesn't -- I always recall the rationale offered by a whitewater outfitter in explaining how to handle nature's call.

"The solution to pollution is dilution."

Then again, you could always use Depends.

Actually that is an interesting point about adding nutrients to the water. I remember reading someplace about all the nutrients carried up river by the salmon and steelhead runs. The dead fish provided nutrients for the upper watersheds and now that the runs are severely reduced or eliminated, especially in Idaho, the lack of nutrients is hurting the fishery.

Of course I don't mean to suggest to drink a six-pack for mother nature, but I don't feel too guilty if I do add to the runoff.

Don't want to get in a pissing contest, but I usually have to stand on top of a bucket or way up high in the bow, because man can that water can get cold

I just feel sorry for the gals out there...they can't relieve themselves quite as easily.

If you have to go, you have to go. If you are on the bank, then maybe you can walk a little further away from the launch, but if you are in a boat, what choice do you have? I know I'm not going to pull the boat over so I can go in the woods! I agree with Timberman - I'm not packing out piss!

PEE FREELY and enjoy life!