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 TU policy. After a time, the chapter stopped, but…
/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/blog/Screen-Shot-2019-03-26-at-1.11.06-PM.png A nice Dolly Varden caught thanks to energy provided by peanuts. Photo by Eric Booton. By Eric Booton For better or worse, my wife and I are trying a diet. We aren’t the “diet type,” in that we don’t jump around from diet to diet or generally adhere to a strict diet. Currently though,…
Resolutions in January are dumb. I really can’t get into making any sort of rule for myself when there’s only seven hours of daylight and simply getting the newspaper feels like an expedition across the arctic tundra. Leniency. Naps. Snacks. S weat pants. These are things I can get on board with in January. But…
Goals TU is working to restore habitat and water quality for native redband, bull trout, salmon and steelhead habitat on central Oregon’s Metolius River, one of the state’s most popular fishing destinations. The Metolius supports one of the healthiest populations of bull trout in the lower 48 states. This popularity, unfortunately, has led to heavy trail and…
Trout Unlimited has a diverse research and monitoring program focused on understanding the basic ecology and habitat requirements of Colorado River cutthroat trout. This work, done with various state and federal partners, helps us identify key habitat needs throughout the year so we can restore and protect important aspects of trout environments, such as over-wintering,…
Trout Unlimited has undertaken several movement studies to determine when and where Bear River cutthroat trout move. These studies have helped us identify conservation needs such as removal of barriers blocking spawning runs, and to determine if fish successfully access upstream habitat after barriers are removed. Following trout movement in the Bear River Cutthroat trout…
Fishing is, at its heart, a solitary exercise. Just you and a rod and your line a simple connection to a watery world. Don’t get me wrong. Fishing is a great activity to do with family and friends. Some of my best memories are of fishing for snook on the Gulf Coast of Florida with…
By Scott Willoughby I’ve never really been what the gang over on Santa Claus Lane might describe as “Christmas-y.” But I’ve always thought I’d make a decent pagan. Never having formally studied paganism, I’m not entirely sure why, although I do enjoy hanging out in the woods quite a bit, especially over a good Yule…
Beauty and fishing opportunities abound on Florida’s Captiva Island. By Sam Davidson My grandfather on my mother’s side—who introduced me to fishing— had plenty of reasons to be angry. He lost both his parents to the flu epidemic of 1918 when he was young and was raised by various relatives. He worked hard to become…
The underappreciated mountain whitefish. Photo by Chris Hunt. By Eric Booton With a trip to Montana on the books for a wedding, I immediately began penciling out how I could optimize my time with the groom, my family and seek out new finned friends in some remarkable rivers with my wife. The famed waters of…
About us The Lower Dean River Lodge was originally built by Rob Stewart and Dick Blewett. In 2012, the lodge and outbuildings were literally wiped off the river by a 200 year flood. We are proud to finally announce that the new lodge and site is finished. As someone not involved with the actual building…
Creekin’ on public lands in the central Sierra. By Sam Davidson
By Jenny Weis This’ll be one of my shortest blog posts. For pertinent background information and full appreciation of what follows, first check out this post from earlier this season. (TL;DR: I came so close to catching a great rainbow trout on a beautiful river, on a perfect evening, but it eluded the net and…
By Eric Booton The countdown begins every winter when I receive my Trout Unlimited calendar (thanks TU!). I immediately spend several minutes noting the important dates, trips and plans that need to be remembered; several of which are the closures and openers of my favorite Alaska fishing holes. I am surrounded by, or just a…
Abandoned mines are a problem for water quality across the West. There are more than a half million sites, many leaking toxic pollution like acid mine drainage and heavy metals into our streams and rivers. In other places, streams and rivers have been re-routed, straightened into unsustainable channels that make it difficult for aquatic life…
Nature’s chiaroscuro. Carmel River, June 2018 By Sam Davidson One of the required courses at the high school I attended was a class called Western Civilization. It was basically a survey course of ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture, and Western European art, architecture, and music since the Renaissance. In those days I was…
Last week, Trout Unlimited posted a clip describing the proper way to de-bone a trout. Perhaps predictably, this was met by a few howls of outrage. “How can the organization that practically invented catch-and-release advocate eating a trout? Shame. Shame!” The fact is, however, that not all wild fish are equal, and whacking one can…
By Mark Taylor You know how time can seem to slow down in an emergency or stressful situation? It’s a real thing, basically a function of the brain sending a big old shot of adrenaline into the bloodstream. The fancy word for it is tachypsychia, and it what I was experiencing as stood waist deep…
