Trout Love Snow

The rest of us, not so much. Winter continues in the West, but that’s ok with us anglers.
The rest of us, not so much. Winter continues in the West, but that’s ok with us anglers.
Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) Species Summary and Status: The Lahontan cutthroat trout is native to the Lahontan Basin of northern Nevada, northeastern California, and southeastern Oregon. One of the oldest lineages of cutthroat trout, it originally inhabited the ancient Lahontan Basin at least several 100,000 years ago. As of publication, 72 self-sustaining Lahontan…
Adding a large amount of spawning habitat would be a major benefit to breaching the four lower Snake River dams, primarily for fall Chinook salmon. Historically, fall Chinook spawned extensively in the mainstem Snake River above Hells Canyon. That spawning habitat was lost when the three-dam Hells Canyon Complex was built by Idaho Power in…
I’ve found that the most dedicated anglers tend to be those who relish challenges, even simple ones like, “how am I going to trick that creature, hiding behind that rock, to eat this fly?”
Dead salmon in the lower Klamath River, 2002. Yesterday, June 12, 2017, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 23, the Gaining Responsibility on Water (Grow) Act. This bill is one of the worst pieces of legislation in recent memory, in terms of its devastating effects on salmon and steelhead and their fisheries. According to Steve…
Trout Unlimited has been acting as a sub-contractor to provide construction oversight of the Boardman Dam Removal river restoration project in Traverse City, Mich., an effort that will continue through early 2018. The Boardman Dam, originally constructed in 1894 as a hydropower generation dam, had no fish passage capabilities. The project is one of three dam removals on the…
This week, Congress passed the omnibus spending bill, which will fund the federal government until next year. The legislation also includes several significant western water bills critical to Trout Unlimited’s work in the West. TU thanks the House and Senate leadership for the passage of these important water bills
A guide to fishing on work trips and tackling conservation projects close to home with 2x Olympian Eric Loughran
Hardly a day goes by that our team doesn’t get asked “Why don’t they build fish ladders?” (they have!) or “Aren’t salmon doing great?” (they are not.) This week, we’re answering them on Instagram.
Restoration construction efforts on this section of the Salmon Kill were almost complete when this picture was taken. Trout stream restoration projects can make a big immediate visual impact, but the real payoff comes over time. Still, it was a nice surprise when crews doing some stream sampling work at a restoration site on Connecticut’s…
There are hundreds of these great businesses who are proud to stand with us on this, and we’re grateful for them. They come in all sizes from the big names in fly fishing to small family businesses – Wall Street to Main Street. Some of them are the usual suspects – lodges, fly shops, outfitters, guides and others with a direct stake in fly angling. But a surprising number of them are outside that box – coffee roasters, financial advisors, engineering firms and brewers all bring their names and reputations to the conservation table when they stand in support of this proposal.
Near the dramatic jagged peaks of the Teton mountains sits Jackson Lake Dam.
TU scientists used National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial imagery to characterize woody riparian vegetation in southwestern Idaho and northern Nevada, which was shown to be more predictive of redband trout distribution and abundance than field-based habitat measurements. Our study highlighted how free high-resolution imagery can be used to characterize woody riparian vegetation and redband…
A heavy sediment flush has turned the Shoshone River near Cody into a cholocate-covered death swim for trout and other aquatic invertebrates. Photo by Dave Sweet. By Tommy Thompson CODY, Wyoming – A recent mud flow in one of our local rivers has devastated not only a productive fishery, but also the hearts of our…
A bill that would protect lands in Okanogan County from mining is moving forward after a markup in today’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. The Methow Headwater Protections Act of 2017, S. 566, comes on the heels of a 20 year mineral withdrawal, cementing protections for an area known for it’s agriculture and…
09/29/05 NEWS RELEASE For release September 29, 2005 For more information: Duke Welter 715-579-7538 Chris Wood 571-274-0601 Laura Hewitt 608-250-3534 U.S. SENATE APPROVES APPROPRIATION FOR RESTORATION PLANNING IN THE MIDWESTS DRIFTLESS AREA Arlington, VA The United States Senate has approved an appropriation to help with the planning for the restoration of the Midwests Driftless Area.…
By Chris Wood The first time you snorkel a stream, the size of the bugs are disarming. Stoneflies tumbling down the stream look like aquatic dragons bent on taking off a limb. It is an optical illusion, of course. We were way up in the South Fork of the Salmon Riv er drainage. Hiking in…
Salmon in the Snake River Basin must navigate eight major dams between the Pacific Ocean and Idaho.
America has such a well-earned reputation for innovating our way out of problems that we sometimes miss the obvious natural solution. In a series of open houses this summer in Great Basin communities, the Trump administration revealed a plan to reduce wildfire risk by constructing 11,000 acres of fuel breaks across public lands in parts…
The choice is now between those of us willing to work together to do big things, and those who refuse even to try.