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Welcome to winter steelhead fishing
Dean hollered from upstream as a steelhead took his fly, then hollered again a moment later as the fish released it. At another spot Dean had a nice fish on for perhaps a minute, his rod bowed and bobbing. But that steelhead, too, practiced detachment. Welcome to winter steelhead fishing.
Molly the water dog and Jenny Weis on Oregon's Umpqua River, before everything blew out. By the third day, it seemed a foregone conclusion that at least one of our three-person party would feel the chilly fingers of a stream no longer kept at bay by their waders. The ubiquitous blackberry vines armoring the banks…
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Salmon SuperHwy logs 95 miles … and counting
The project's 2020 Annual Report highlights the power of conservation partnerships to deliver real benefits for coldwater fish and local communities, even in troubled times The Salmon SuperHwy is the largest fish conservation and economic development partnership on the north Oregon coast. Led by Trout Unlimited’s Sarah Zwissler, the SSH program just released its annual…
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A case study for the ‘portfolio approach’
A fisheries management plan for southwest Oregon coastal streams spurs debate over harvest of wild steelhead A fishery management plan being developed for southwest Oregon coastal rivers has generated debate over whether to temporarily reduce or prohibit harvest of wild steelhead. Trout Unlimited’s Oregon Field Director Kyle Smith recently penned an opinion-editorial in the Curry County Pilot making the case for caution in killing…
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Conserving Oregon’s ‘vast and wild’ Owyhee River
The rugged country and streams in the Owyhee River watershed in eastern Oregon represent one of the best remaining opportunities for landscape-scale conservation in the West. Trout Unlimited is working through a coalition of sportsmen’s groups and sporting businesses — Owyhee Sportsmen — to ensure this remarkable area remains unspoiled by development. The campaign to…
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TU’s California Program excels in spite of 2020
It would be a serious understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year. Yet in the midst of a global pandemic and its harsh toll on our economy, communities and personal lives, Trout Unlimited and our supporters and partners helped deliver some outstanding conservation outcomes. Our California Program helped achieve major milestones on…
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Dean of the Umpqua
The thing about swinging flies for steelhead is that it’s remarkably unproductive. One wiles away entire days, even weeks, cultivating tennis elbow with nary a grab to show for it. Yet the allure of fishing this way for the iconic sportfish of the Pacific Northwest is somehow inversely proportional to its ratio of success. At…
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Riding the Skunk Train
TU-led partnership with historic railroad restores key salmon habitat on California's north coast Trout Unlimited works with many different types of partners in developing and completing stream restoration projects. Mining and timber companies, ranchers and wine grape growers, private landowners and water suppliers are among the diverse entities that make possible TU's efforts to enhance…
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