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Skate punks and disc golf
In praise of urban trout streams The thought occurred to me while I was fishing under the Highway 20 bridge over the lower Yuba River in California’s Gold Country. To reach the water I had crossed a floodplain so altered by quarrying, mining and off-road vehicles that it more resembled a moonscape than a functional…
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The quest for Mr. Big
Mr. Big Lived in a deep, cool pool in a tiny, unnamed tributary to the South Umpqua River in Douglas County, Ore. I spotted him for the first time on a chillly early summer morning in the late 1970s, when I was probably 12 or 13. Mr. Big became my obsession. I’ve been thinking about…
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Ponderosas have secrets
The giant ponderosa peers over blue-green water cascading and flowing around boulders, plunging into pools and meandering in eddies. This tree must be well over 100-years old. It stretches skyward with giant, twisted branches leading to more twists and turns extending over a spectacular reach of river. The pumpkin and burnt-orange bark has splits and cracks in its puzzle-like texture and its hunter-green needles extend long at each…
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Ode to the stocker
It was a cold, rainy day in April in the southern suburbs of Denver. I looked out my bedroom window, anxiously hoping the spring squall would go away. I’ll never forget my mother coming downstairs with the bad news. I was dressed and ready to go. Fishing shirt. Blue jeans. Old sneakers. I had a…
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Saving Bristol Bay one bag of coffee at a time
It might be fair to say that Alaskans love coffee as much as we love our wild salmon. Coffee helps us get through the long, dark winters, and it powers our fast-paced and adventure-filled summer days. For the Trout Unlimited staff based in Anchorage, coffee is an everyday requirement, and we know that without it, our efforts to protect…
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Warm winter days are nice — when they are rare
By Mark Taylor I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. The first truck was parked just past the “Special Regulations Trout Water” sign. A few hundred yards farther up the gravel Forest Service road I met an SUV coming my way. Two friends from my local Trout Unlimited chapter were in it. We rolled down our…
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May they catch fish
Forward from the editor: Alaskans — you're invited to learn more about Nelli and other inspiring female anglers by watching the film, "No Excuses," in Anchorage on Feb. 12, or at the next Orvis 50/50 On the Water screening near you! Details here. By Nelli Williams Nine years ago, when I was quickly approaching motherhood…
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