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Voices from the River: Dollies save the day
By Eric Booton I'm not a mechanic. In fact I'm pretty much the exact opposite. So when the check engine light on our beloved camper van named Ivy popped on and the performance of the engine took a turn for the worse, I wasn't thrilled. As the vehicle that gets me to the river, launches…
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Voices from the River: Home to millions
Photo by Rachel Andona By Chris Hunt We steered the rig into a pull-off shaded by lodgepoles and pressed almost flat by frequent use. Nothing remained of the understory—every fallen log, limb or twig had been meticulously collected for firewood. Even the lodgepoles were nude from the ground up, only sporting branches starting a good…
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Voices from the River: Lessons from the Tinker Creek fish kill
By Mark Taylor First came the stench. A putrid, heavy, disgusting aroma. Dead fish on a hot summer day. There is nothing quite like it. On rivers with heavy salmon runs it’s expected, coming after the fish complete their one-time spawning run, in death providing nutrients to ecosystems that will support their soon-to-hatch fry. But…
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Voices from the river: Fishing the improbable
The Nacimiento River at peak winter flow, central California. By Sam Davidson A recent telephone call with the Steelhead Whisperer got me fired up. His brother had been car-camping around the central coast, and had seen people fishing in one of the streams that swerve out of the Santa Lucia range and through the oak…
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Voices from the River: Fishing dogs
By Chris Hunt The low grumble in Phoebe’s throat grew into a steady growl, and her floppy ears perked up. She stared across the Little Greys River Canyon in the fading twilight, clearly interested in something across the river. “Hush,” I said instinctively, nursing a gin and tonic and staring into the flames that were…
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Voices from the River: Success and sorrow on Willow Creek
By Eric Booton I felt a slight hesitation as the group collectively chose to avert our former plans in order to float Willow Creek. I had the thought but I didn’t dare say it out loud. Was this going to be another fishless story from Willow Creek? I can’t recall how many times, but it…
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Voices from the River: Sometimes a little fish means more than a big one
The head of a tiger trout. Paul Burnett/Trout Unlimited. By Brett Prettyman This is the tale of two fish. The take was similar. The tug was not. One easily provided more thrill than the other, but it was not the fish you would expect. I recently had the chance to visit the family ranch of…
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