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TU partner named Conservationist of Year in Michigan’s Kent County
Sue Blackall (left) helps more than 1,000 Sparta students get into the field annually, and enjoys the opportunity to provide hands-on training. By Jamie Vaughan Local Sparta, Michigan resident, retired Appleview Elementary teacher, and community leader Sue Blackall has been honored by Kent Conservation District and Trout Unlimited with the Conservationist of the Year award.…
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Spritzer season
Years ago, when I worked for TU's Public Lands Initiative, we'd often wind down a big day in the field with a cocktail. Back then, the PLI was what I liked to call the TU Delta Force. We existed, but we never really acknowledged that fact—our staffers weren't biologists or policy wonks. We were anglers,…
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Video spotlight: Pirarucu
Arapaima can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh close to 500 pounds. That puts them among the largest freshwater fish on the planet. And they'll hit a fly. Video of Pirarucú *TRAILER* Amazon's Giant Arapaima by Todd MoenAbove is the trailer to Todd Moen's Catch Magazine film Pirarucu, the story of chasing the…
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Fly tying: McKenna’s Sexy Walt’s Worm
Dave McKenna is a fly tier after my own heart—he travels a lot for work, so rather than diving into a fly shop to buy local patterns every time he hits a new river, he's come up with a host of flies that seem to work generally everywhere. It's a great notion, that of having…
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Voices from the River: Feeling the weight
“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountai n day; whatever his fate, long life, short life,…
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Voices from the River: I’m not fishing to catch a fish
By Natalie Stauffer-Olsen I recently enjoyed an intense discussion with a dear friend. I have known this thoughtful fellow since I was a teenager—his passion for science and research, and his encouragement, were influential in my decision to pursue a career in freshwater ecology. In this particular conversation, I found myself intently listening to his…
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Fly tying: UV resin for parachute posts
Over the last couple of weeks, we've focused on parachute posts, largely because they can confound some folks at the vise. First, we showed you a traditional method, then we showed you the 90-degree method. Now, Tim Flagler offers up still another method for tying effective parachute posts, this one involving UV resin. Video of…