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Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
Wadering up on the banks of a Pennsylvania trout stream last week I faced a dilemma. Which rod? I had three choices. An 8-foot 6-inch 3-weight that’s perfect for dry flies. An 11-foot 3-weight Euro nymphing rod that is perfect for, well, Euro nymphing. And a 10-foot 3-inch 3-weight that is perfect for swinging wet…
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Reconnecting the Colorado River
What is so important about a connected river? Well, to trout, there is an obvious answer: connectivity gives them the ability to survive when adversity strikes. To anglers, there is also an obvious answer: a healthy fishery translates into a better experience on the water. But there is much more to a connected river, and…
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Sharing moments in time on a Wild and Scenic Alaskan river
Eric and Ryan rowing across Paxson Lake with Gulkana Glacier in the distance. Photo by Chad Gage. Five years ago, I watched Wyatt, not even a teenager yet, take the oars for the first time on my initial foray to the Gulkana River. During subsequent trips I have been privileged to observe his skills solidify and…
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Love in the time of climate change
For one angler, a wounded California is better than no California at all It was a classic Yuba day with Joe and the Butler brothers—a 105-degree scorcher with the river inviting swimming as much as fishing. As typical as it seemed, the river was in many ways new to me. It had been two years…
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River reading: The Packraft Handbook
There are a couple of books that live on the nightstand by my bed. Most are the type of books that I can pick up just about anywhere and mindlessly skim whenever I feel like it. My most recent go-to book recently is The Packraft Handbook by Luc Mehl and Sarah K. Glaser. The title…
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Mourning loss and ascending the Lochsa
Catching westslope cutthroat trout and seeing the forest through the trees in north-central Idaho Editor’s note: Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to accomplish the Master Caster class of the Western Native Trout Challenge. He will attempt to land each of the 20 native trout species in their historical ranges of the 12…
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United by Hope: Bristol Bay dialogues
A month from winter solstice, Dillingham, Alaska – where the Nushagak River dumps into Bristol Bay – was dark, quiet, and chilly last November. Snow and wind blew across the surrounding tundra not far from her windows when texts started flooding into Alannah Hurley’s phone. The news: A major permit for the proposed Pebble mine…
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