Trout Magazine

  • Restoration Conservation

    Surveying what’s left of Eklutna River’s Salmon

    Standing on the edge of the bridge, staring down the dry riverbed, I wondered what the Eklutna River would look like when it was allowed to flow again.

    This past fall I found myself frequenting the Eklutna River often, after plans solidified for the owners of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project to briefly return water to the river for the first time since its construction in 1955. The water release was part of the study looking to mitigate the projects impacts on fish populations.…

  • Conservation

    ’Tis the Season

    When big browns are spawning, it’s a good time to stop and relish the moment What’s not to love about brown trout? They’re crafty, tenacious, mean, strong, and damn near invincible. Jason Bourne, Derrick Henry, Kaiser Soze, and Dracula all rolled into one fish. Increasingly concerned about the plight of North America’s native salmonids, I…

  • Snake River dams Fishing Fly tying steelhead

    Tying the Steelhead Coachman

    If you were to look in the box of a seasoned steelheader on the banks of the Snake, Grande Ronde or Clearwater chances are good you'll find.

    I can distinctly remember the first few flies I started fishing with. As I would imagine the case is with many people, that selection of a dozen flies was a 'who's who' of the classics. The Adams, Elk-hair Caddis, Muddler Minnow, Pheasant Tail, and Royal Wulff seem almost like names from scripture in the pantheon…

  • Snake River dams

    Naxiyam Wana and the Uniter

    A stream roiling dark with Chinook salmon in central Idaho’s wilderness high country. A throb, a pulse of life into a pristine river, the abundance of the ocean arriving in the flesh of thousands of salmon in a wild mountain river hundreds of miles inland. This was. This was life itself, for the land, for…

  • Snake River dams

    Mike Simpson – Conserving the future

    Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson champions removing four dams on the Lower Snake River to save salmon, not because he fishes for them, but because he says it’s the right thing to do.  Since Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson’s dad died about 20 years ago, he’s been meeting his mom and two uncles occasionally at restaurants around…

  • Snake River dams

    Snake Week – People on the Street Q+A’s

    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.

    Wild Snake River salmon and steelhead are headed rapidly for extinction, unless we take drastic action and remove the lower four Snake River dams. This is a priority at Trout Unlimited, and we spend lots of time researching, writing, and talking about this challenge.   But we know many people, including our friends, are still getting up…

  • Snake River dams

    Snake TROUT – Behind the cover

    Professional photographer, Ben Herndon, sits down to talk about the latest cover of TROUT Magazine. Listen as he discusses his approach to photography and what compels him to speak up and use his photography to talk about the removal of the lower Snake River dams. https://youtu.be/YF5ffufHsjk