Help us protect the places you love to fish, and to make your fishing better.
We’ve made progress improving water quality since the Clean Water Act. Why undermine the law that can help us finish the job?
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean the fish aren’t eating — and that means they can be caught.
Native south-central California coastal steelhead. Photo: Capelli/NOAA Fisheries. Steelhead, the sea-run version of rainbow trout, have one of the most diverse life histories of any fish species. On the West Coast, this life history diversity has enabled steelhead to...
San Geronimo Creek, which provides important spawning and rearing habitat for endangered coho salmon in Marin County, Calif., flows parallel to the road in the center of this photo on the far side of the former golf course, up against the forested hillside. Imperiled...
Some places race horses. Some greyhounds. In Montana, we’re betting on a group of tagged cutthroat trout as they race their way up the Clark Fork River. The project is a joint venture between Trout Unlimited and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to learn more...
What if there was a program encouraging anglers to scour the amazing landscape of the West for elusive and beautiful fish while promoting conservation at the same time? Thanks to the Western Native Trout Initiative, its 12 member states, federal wildlife partners and...
By Jake Tomlinson The past year was a big one for Trout Unlimited’s Pennsylvania Coldwater Habitat Program, which works with a variety of partners and funding sources to protect critical habitat, reconnect degraded waterways, and restore...
Rob shows that real Alaskans fish for carp Washington, D.C., is a long way from Dillingham, Alaska, but that’s where Triston Chaney spent his 19th birthday. Triston was among a group of commercial fishermen, lodge owners and outfitters who came back to the nation’s...
Molly as a pup, first day on the boat. By Dean Finnerty My canine sidekick Molly has two kinds of days: good and great. I have said this to many fellow steelhead anglers over the years, with a mix of apology and embarrassment, as Molly greets them on the trail by...
After another two feet of mountain snow in mid-May, I’m starting to wonder when fishing season will begin. I know, I know, there’s fishing right now. All one has to do is make peace with less fishable holding water that’s cold and muddy. Don’t wade too deep, fish big...
“We make fishing better” is one of our mottos here at Trout Unlimited. Our efforts do more than simply make fishing better, of course. But everything we do, at some level, translates to better fishing. That sits pretty well with our 300,000 members and supporters...
One thing nymph anglers often forget–or may never realize–is that nymphs, particularly if they’re suspended under an indicator or high-sticked through a fishy run, will ride through the water column vertically. The good news is, natural nymphs, when...
What if there was a program encouraging anglers to scour the amazing landscape of the West for elusive and beautiful fish while promoting conservation at the same time? Thanks to the Western Native Trout Initiative, its 12 member states, federal wildlife partners and...
Molly as a pup, first day on the boat. By Dean Finnerty My canine sidekick Molly has two kinds of days: good and great. I have said this to many fellow steelhead anglers over the years, with a mix of apology and embarrassment, as Molly greets them on the trail by...
After another two feet of mountain snow in mid-May, I’m starting to wonder when fishing season will begin. I know, I know, there’s fishing right now. All one has to do is make peace with less fishable holding water that’s cold and muddy. Don’t wade too deep, fish big...
Some places race horses. Some greyhounds. In Montana, we’re betting on a group of tagged cutthroat trout as they race their way up the Clark Fork River. The project is a joint venture between Trout Unlimited and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to learn more...
“We make fishing better” is one of our mottos here at Trout Unlimited. Our efforts do more than simply make fishing better, of course. But everything we do, at some level, translates to better fishing. That sits pretty well with our 300,000 members and supporters...
Every family has that one person with a knack for catching fish. Aiza is that person in our family. She simply loves to fish. My nephew is one lucky guy. Almost three years ago he married Aiza. She is a talented millennial with a successful career in the tech industry...
After another two feet of mountain snow in mid-May, I’m starting to wonder when fishing season will begin. I know, I know, there’s fishing right now. All one has to do is make peace with less fishable holding water that’s cold and muddy. Don’t wade too deep, fish big...
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available online for overnight delivery. Whether I’m fishing for striped bass in Massachusetts or trout in New Hampshire, my habit has been to choose a reliable fly...
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available online for overnight delivery. Guide Pete Cardinal reminded me of this one as we fished the Missouri River in Montana in early fall. It’s hard to beat a...
Ugh. The wind. The bane of every fly caster. Well, not ever caster, obviously. But those of us who don’t often deal with the wind on a regular basis (read: those of us who might get to the bonefish flats but once every couple of years, for instance) can find the...
The venerable Pheasant Tail nymph is a fly box staple, and there’s a reason for that. It works. And it’s not the most onerous fly to tie, either, as demonstrated below by Matt Callies of Loon Outdoors, who cranks one out in just a few minutes. Matt Callies...
One thing nymph anglers often forget–or may never realize–is that nymphs, particularly if they’re suspended under an indicator or high-sticked through a fishy run, will ride through the water column vertically. The good news is, natural nymphs, when...
Paraphrasing Todd Moen’s introduction to his film, “Wade Andros” — and George Peppard in the old “A-Team” series, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Below, in his film, Moen captures the essence of wading the...
Tying soft-hackle flies or some streamers that require feather fibers to be distributed evenly around the hook can be a challenge, largely because tiers often end up with a larger-and-desired thread head. That’s because it takes more wraps to bind down fibers...
Bull trout are the native char of the inland Northwest. They live in the coldest, cleanest water and thrive in the most far-flung places. They get big and surly. They chase gaudy streamers, prey on smaller fish and can be very challenging to pursue. They’re also...
Dustin Wichterman lives trout. By day he manages Trout Unlimited’s restoration and protection work in the Potomac headwaters. Most of the rest of the time he’s either fishing for trout or dreaming about fishing for trout. And a big part of...
Paraphrasing Todd Moen’s introduction to his film, “Wade Andros” — and George Peppard in the old “A-Team” series, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Below, in his film, Moen captures the essence of wading the...
The Upper D could be the heartbeat of the region’s economy Lee Hartman showed up in 1973, a decade after the Cannonsville Reservoir went into service on the West Branch of the Upper Delaware River to help...
Bull trout are the native char of the inland Northwest. They live in the coldest, cleanest water and thrive in the most far-flung places. They get big and surly. They chase gaudy streamers, prey on smaller fish and can be very challenging to pursue. They’re also...
An early-morning scroll through my twitter feed woke me up much faster than the first couple sips I’d had on my coffee.
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from the new book, “Catching Yellowstone’s Wild Trout: A Fly-fishing History and Guide,” by Chris Hunt, Trout Unlimited’s national digital director. The book, endorsed by TU, is available for...
Help us protect the places you love to fish, and to make your fishing better.
What if there was a program encouraging anglers to scour the amazing landscape of the West for elusive and beautiful fish while promoting conservation at the same time? Thanks to the Western Native Trout Initiative, its 12 member states, federal wildlife partners and...
I recently sat under a tent at the Western North Carolina Fly Expo and watched four teenagers speak to an audience of anglers about their experience as leaders in Trout Unlimited. Articulate, professional and a little nervous, they told the story of how it all started...
Every family has that one person with a knack for catching fish. Aiza is that person in our family. She simply loves to fish. My nephew is one lucky guy. Almost three years ago he married Aiza. She is a talented millennial with a successful career in the tech industry...
Dustin Wichterman lives trout. By day he manages Trout Unlimited’s restoration and protection work in the Potomac headwaters. Most of the rest of the time he’s either fishing for trout or dreaming about fishing for trout. And a big part of...
Beyond its confluence with Cow Creek near the village of San Ysidro, the Pecos River’s southward crawl is rarely supplemented by significant inputs other than random flash floods. Deriving its existence from how much snow falls on a mere six...
“I have concluded that I am going to stay alive long enough to see salmon return to healthy populations in Idaho.” Those words by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) at a conference at the Andrus Center last week may do more to project the recovery of the imperiled Snake...
This year is the International Year of the Salmon, and it couldn’t have come too soon. Wild salmon the world over are in peril—once plentiful stocks are dwindling in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Dams block migration. Proposed industrial development,...
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from the new book, “Catching Yellowstone’s Wild Trout: A Fly-fishing History and Guide,” by Chris Hunt, Trout Unlimited’s national digital director. The book, endorsed by TU, is available for...
It was humid and drizzly—the warmest day of the year so far, but nothing could contain the excitement of these kids. “Are you excited to go fishing,” I asked a young boy named, Derrick. His smile was all the answer needed. More than 40 inner city kids met...
Crocodiles, cobras and the drug cartel are not common visitors to fishing camps — unless you are Thad Robison and other members of the “Fish or Die” team. Chris Owens, Brian Jill, Jay Johnson and Robison have explored the planet looking for unique fish, remote country...
Classic rock and fly fishing don’t often seem to go together. Just hit any of the film festivals that are currently touring the country. The music embedded behind the cinematography rarely features Iron Maiden, Molly Hatchet, Van Halen … or AC/DC....
Jim looked at me in disbelief. “What?” I repeated my question, “Why is it important that we recover southwestern native trout?” “Let me tell you a story,” he said. Jim Brooks was the longtime lead of the Gila Trout recovery team. Gila trout are native to the...
My TU coworker Mark Taylor has a great laugh. Kind of a mix between a giggle and guffaw. A guffawggle, if you will. I know this because I’ve seen Mark in any number of circumstances—mingling with conference attendees at a hospitality suite, surrounded by his...
The room is full for the banquet. I first came across the Narragansett chapter of Trout Unlimited seven or eight years ago, when a few frustrated members contacted me and complained that the chapter was assisting the state in stocking over native fish in violation of...
Gary recalls talking to a road engineer more familiar with channelizing and straightening rivers in response to floods. As he looked over the work “his face fell from pink to grey, and he said, ‘We have been doing this wrong for 100 years.’”
I unhitched the camper just off the road in a trailhead parking area. It wasn’t occupied, and with the rain and wind of late, I didn’t expect company anytime soon. A lonely, soggy firepit adorned the center of the lot, but that was the only sign that anybody had been...
Native south-central California coastal steelhead. Photo: Capelli/NOAA Fisheries. Steelhead, the sea-run version of rainbow trout, have one of the most diverse life histories of any fish species. On the West Coast, this life history diversity has enabled steelhead to...
After another two feet of mountain snow in mid-May, I’m starting to wonder when fishing season will begin. I know, I know, there’s fishing right now. All one has to do is make peace with less fishable holding water that’s cold and muddy. Don’t wade too deep, fish big...
“The big show starts around 7pm in front of the cabin. From that time until it is too dark to fish, the stream will boil trout. If you are lucky to match one of three-five hatches going on, you will be rewarded with epic fishing. Sometimes everything comes together...
San Geronimo Creek, which provides important spawning and rearing habitat for endangered coho salmon in Marin County, Calif., flows parallel to the road in the center of this photo on the far side of the former golf course, up against the forested hillside. Imperiled...
Some places race horses. Some greyhounds. In Montana, we’re betting on a group of tagged cutthroat trout as they race their way up the Clark Fork River. The project is a joint venture between Trout Unlimited and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to learn more...
“We make fishing better” is one of our mottos here at Trout Unlimited. Our efforts do more than simply make fishing better, of course. But everything we do, at some level, translates to better fishing. That sits pretty well with our 300,000 members and supporters...
One thing nymph anglers often forget–or may never realize–is that nymphs, particularly if they’re suspended under an indicator or high-sticked through a fishy run, will ride through the water column vertically. The good news is, natural nymphs, when...
Paraphrasing Todd Moen’s introduction to his film, “Wade Andros” — and George Peppard in the old “A-Team” series, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Below, in his film, Moen captures the essence of wading the...
Tying soft-hackle flies or some streamers that require feather fibers to be distributed evenly around the hook can be a challenge, largely because tiers often end up with a larger-and-desired thread head. That’s because it takes more wraps to bind down fibers...
By Jake Tomlinson The past year was a big one for Trout Unlimited’s Pennsylvania Coldwater Habitat Program, which works with a variety of partners and funding sources to protect critical habitat, reconnect degraded waterways, and restore...
Rob shows that real Alaskans fish for carp Washington, D.C., is a long way from Dillingham, Alaska, but that’s where Triston Chaney spent his 19th birthday. Triston was among a group of commercial fishermen, lodge owners and outfitters who came back to the nation’s...
By Dave Atcheson The Kenai Peninsula Trout Unlimited Chapter recently held its annual fundraiser, hosting the International Fly Fishing Film Fest, and holding a silent auction, which contained a wide array of fly rods, gear and assorted trips. The highlight of the...
It doesn’t take much time spent in Alaska’s largest city to see that Anchorage is a growing hub for women who are taking charge and leading others in the fly fishing community.
Thursday, May 9, delivered more good news on the Klamath River restoration front. PacifiCorp, the utility that owns the four old hydropower dams slated for removal under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA), announced it has entered into a site access...
Perdigon-style nymphs are great for anglers who need to get deep, and get deep quickly. Tied with lead-free wire and finished with a hard-finish UV resin, these flies drop like stones and don’t push too much water, which minimizes drag. Above, Tim Flagler of...
Bristol Bay, Alaska … the center of the earth for wild sockeye salmon. It’s also focus of our battle against the proposed Pebble Mine, which would create North America’s largest open-pit gold and copper mine next to some of the most important salmon rivers left on...
Editor’s note: This week we will celebrate some of the TU activists and volunteers featured in Fifty Women Who Fish. To get a copy of the book go to whywomenfish.com Lures, flies, bait, freshwater, salt water, yachts, kayaks, skiffs, bass boats and drive boats:...
Sometimes is takes a crisis to spur action. It’s an unfortunate reality—in order to realize that something is dreadfully wrong, something that can’t be ignored must first happen. In the summer of 2017, after a low-snow winter in southwest Montana,...
The Oregon coast near the proposed site of the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal. Photo: Gary Vonderohe By Kyle Smith Last week, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) denied the Clean Water Act Section 401 application for the Jordan Cove Liquid Natural...
Let’s take a minute to daydream. Close your eyes and envision beautiful mountain scenery and cold, clean water drifting through the valley floor, bugs flitting through the clear, blue sky, and the possibility of sighting wildlife around every bend. Listen to the birds...
On one of its first big fishing trips, the hat blew off my head as we motored across the morning surface of Black Lake. The sun had just hit the water, filtered by a thin layer of fog coming off the lake, and our guide goosed the outboard without much warning. It...
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