Articles

We are starving the last of our Puget Sound killer whales to death

Only 75 southern resident killer whales remain
A Puget Sound orca, or southern resident killer whale (SRKW) swims with her calf (photo: NOAA).

Update: As of December 31, 2020, the population of SRKW has been reduced to 74.

Our southern resident killer whales (SRKW), the local, salmon-eating orcas, are starving to death. And the small size of the king salmon we boated this summer has had me thinking a lot about these whales, which we see on a fairly regular basis around our home waters. There are currently 75 SRKWs left.

Multi-purpose flies

Up your odds by choosing flies that can be fished using a variety of presentations
Photo: Justin Miller

When I first saw the outflow of the Wheeler River, where trophy Arctic grayling were rumored to stage and wait for Russell Lake’s slow-moving current to deliver all sorts of buggy morsels right to them, I was pretty sure it was going to be some tough fishing.

It’s big water, and there’s lots of it. And the boreal north’s black spruce and birch forests hug the bank, making backcasts tough. If we were going to enjoy catching 20-inch grayling, we were going to work for it.

Photo: Dave McCoy

Ongoing advancements in fly line materials and design continue to offer anglers ways to get more out of their casts. Today's fly lines load rods more effectively, shoot farther and accommodate speciality fishing tactics better than their counterparts from yesteryear. But even the best fly lines on the market can't undo our casting flaws, leaving lousy casters with, at most, somewhat better casts.

Your rivers and lakes up for grabs

What will states do with water that used to belong to all Americans?
Photo: Scott Stouder

What will states do with water that used to belong to all Americans?

That’s a question anglers need an answer to because western states and GOP lawmakers are mounting a full-court press to “take back,” as they put it, publicly owned lands and waters managed by federal agencies.

Photo: Scot Santore.

Summer is glancing at the door, but it’s not quite fall. Streams are running low and bugs are flying—big ones that can be imitated with slabs of foam and deer hair. It’s the height of terrestrial season in much of the country, and, along with pre-spawn windows and high water events, when big bugs fly, anglers have a strong chance of tangling with big trout.

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