Articles

Tell Seafood Watch to take wild steelhead off its menu

The respected Monterey Bay Aquarium's decision to recommend wild steelhead to consumers baffles and angers anglers

by Jonathan Stumpf - Tuesday, Mar 21st, 2017

An Olympic Peninsula Wild Steelhead (photo: Chase Gunnel).

There was a time not too long ago when anglers were allowed to kill as many as 30 wild steelhead a year in Washington State. This excessive sport harvest was a major factor in why Steelhead Country, a wondrous place where rivers once ran silver with wild steelhead, has transformed into a state with an abundance of steelhead habitat but a deficiency in wild steelhead.

Flatlining in the Andes

Chasing tail in the mountains of Patagonia

by Chris Hunt - Monday, Mar 20th, 2017

A Lago Yelcho flats trout (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Imagine gliding over that stereotypical, crystal-clear Caribbean flat in search of bonefish or permit, your Spanish-speaking guide doing his best to meet you on your side of the language barrier. Everything is just as it should be. The wind is modest. The sun is bright. The sandy flat is primed to reveal that first tail.

And then you see movement off in the distance. A shadow at first, and then a subtle wake. Then the fish, solid and dark against the taupe background, comes into focus. It’s coming at you.

Smoky Mountain fisheries remain healthy following historic wildfire

The East's famed park is coming back, and the fishing never slowed down

by Matthew Reilly - Monday, Mar 13th, 2017

Photo: Matthew Reilly

On November 28, 2016, a wildfire of unprecedented proportions raged across the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) and the surrounding community, engulfing 17,904 acres, including 55 miles of the Park’s premier trout streams. Today, spring has sprung, and the Park remains largely ecologically intact.

The fire began atop Chimney Tops, one of GSMNP’s most popular landmarks and trails, and was fueled by severe drought conditions and winds in excess of 87 mph. In the nearby tourism town of Gatlinburg, it claimed 14 lives and numerous structures.

Pruitt sells out sportsmen

EPA head throws anglers under the bus with climate denial

by Todd Tanner - Friday, Mar 10th, 2017

Photo: Gage Skidmore

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "have mercy now, save poor Bob if you please"

Back in 1936, Robert Johnson recorded Cross Road Blues, one of the all-time blues classics. Johnson’s lyrics speak to regret and despair; he shares the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil and learned the hard way that he has to pay the ultimate price.

With a side of adventure

Side channels are to be explored, not ignored

by Todd Tanner - Thursday, Mar 9th, 2017

Chris Hunt hooked up to a big brown trout on a side channel of the Collon Cura River (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Side channels rock.

I was 11 years old when Messrs. Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham - Led Zeppelin, for those of you who don’t know - released one of the great rock & roll anthems of all time. Stairway to Heaven was an instant classic, and it still blasts from car speakers and home stereos all over the world. I was actually listening to the song the other day when the lyrics, which I’ve probably heard a thousand times over the last 40 odd years, jumped the tracks and made a new connection in my brain.