My life can be separated into two distinct parts: Life before I picked up a fly rod, and life after it. I began my fly fishing journey in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin, the place where I call home. It was the beginning of January and my hands were freezing cold; every moment I…
A tale of water, reclamation and tough decisions
The 2018 5 Rivers Odyssey crew. Photo courtesy of Flylords It is that time of the year: long days, great hatches, and the 5 Rivers Odyssey. Now in its third year, this year’s 5 Rivers Odyssey participants will be exploring the Pacific Northwest for the next five weeks. In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service,…
5 Rivers Odyssey: Morgan Bradley
My name is Morgan Bradley and I am from Telluride, Colo. From a young age, I began fishing with my dad, who has been a life-long angler. It started with a spin rod, fishing with worms and other bait for species like catfish and bass back when I used to live in Phoenix, Ariz.. When…
Ranches
According to one stereotype, a rancher’s commitment to the lifestyle is mainly self-serving. The fences they build are as much to keep the public out as to detain resident wildlife (translation: elk) for the purpose of selling high-dollar hunting opportunities. When not dewatering streams, they restore and stock them for their own fishing pleasure and that of paying anglers in search of lunkers in a crowd-free…
Reconciliation for fish and people in California’s Central Valley
Dr. Rene Henery leads a small team of Trout Unlimited program staff who work on improving and restoring habitat, passage and flows for imperiled Central Valley salmon and steelhead. This effort has taken promising strides over the past several years toward a collaborative, adaptively-managed approach to rebuilding wild runs of native fish and the fisheries…
The Rise of the River Herring
If you ever have doubts that ocean-going fish like shad, herring and salmon can recover with just a little help, take a quick look at the video below, produced by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In Maine’s Damariscotta River, in the community of Damariscotta Mills, the restoration of a 200-year-old fish ladder has increased…
Recovering the natural wealth of our rivers
A healthy brook trout stream in West Virginia. Editor’s note: This is part one of a two part series on brook trout restoration in West Virginia, and well, everywhere else. About six weeks ago, while helping the Department of Natural Resources to stock trout in a stream, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said, “We dump…