Tracking trout in the wilds of Vermont

By Mark Taylor Scientists tend to have a pretty simple philosophy about data: More is better. So Jud Kratzer can be forgiven for not hurriedly working up a paper on results he’s seeing while surveying streams in Vermont, where he has been studying the effects of habitat restoration work on brook trout populations. After all,

Voices from the River: Old Blue

by Chris Hunt It was bright blue when I first crawled into it as a 12-year-old kid. Its paper-thin nylon hardly seemed sturdy enough to stop a breath of wind, let alone protect its occupants from whatever it was that wandered the woods at night. That wispy little barrier, though, provided real emotional security for

Video spotlight: Grand Cascapedia

A few years ago, when the Outdoor Writers Association of America had it’s annual conference in Lake Placid, NY, my buddy Brett Prettyman and I were lucky enough to fish for and catch Atlantic salmon. OK, so they were of the land-locked variety, and plenty small. The biggest might have been 10 inches long. But

Traditions: Pig tails and pink spots

Dustin Wichterman and daughter Brooklynn quickly pose with a West Virginia brook trout before releasing the fish. By Dustin Wichterman To say that angling has always been a big part of my life is probably an understatement. It has been imprinted from both sides of my family, and after finding out that several of my

Rivers and roads: Connecting people … and fish

By Laura MacFarland A majority of Wisconsin’s 115 fish species, including trout, need to move throughout a watershed seasonally or at varying stages in their lifecycle to feed, find cooler water, avoid predators, and reach spawning habitat. Rivers, long and linear in nature, are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation thanks in part to our immense network

Traditions: Tenkara in America

A Dolly Varden in southeast Alaska, caught on a tenkara rod. By Randy Scholfield Boulder, Colorado, thinks differently. While at times mocked for its free-range ideas and hemp-fueled lifestyles, there’s no doubt the “People’s Republic” is booming as a hub for creative entrepreneurs and independent thinkers. Oh yeah—it doesn’t hurt that Boulder is surrounded by