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Low light is trout-watching light
The gnarled, dark brown bark of cottonwoods lining rivers throughout the west make the yellow leaves glow in the sinking sun. And that low sun has other advantages when it comes to fishing. As I approached the water, I saw the tell-tale signs of fish working the water column. Mostly it was dorsal fins cresting…
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Returning rapids
Dams will forever change a river. Sometimes I sit and wonder what certain rivers must have been like prior to a dam’s construction. That typically brings about more questions than answers. What was the river like years before? Were there bigger rapids? What was the fishing like? What did the native cultures lose when we…
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Want a river permit for next year? Get the deadlines on your calendar now
For those new to the rafting game out West or folks like me who are promising to actually apply for permits rather than ride the coattails of my friends this year, it's time to put some dates on the calendar. For those of you new to this game there are certain sections of certain rivers,…
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TU’s Angler Conservation Program building on its legacy of protection
The Valle Vidal, New Mexico, one of the first successful protection campaigns guided by TU's Angler Conservation Program. Nearly 20 years ago, the voice of the American hunter and angler was nowhere to be heard in the conversation about conservation. This was a marked contrast with the history of conservation in this country; indeed the…
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Tying the Tailout Sculpin
With low, clear water in most free-flowing trout rivers across America, it's a good time to throw streamers that resemble sculpins, a common food source for big trout when the fish are concentrated in main river channels during late fall, winter and early spring, before rivers rise during runoff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-6BOPGqn2U Above, TU's Nick Halle ties…
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The courts, the EPA and the Clean Water Rule: where we stand now
What is happening: On Oct. 21, a federal district court overturned and invalidated a Trump-era regulation that eroded state and Tribal authority to protect water quality. The now invalidated “2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule” (2020 Rule) gutted (or imposed significant revisions to) Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a regulatory tool…
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TU senior producer honored by OWAA
Josh Duplechian on a photo shoot in southwest Colorado. Scott Willoughby photo. As a rule of thumb, the media team at TU doesn’t talk about itself--we’re in the business of making great content and putting the spotlight on other people who fix and protect rivers. But as editor-in-chief of TU, I am grateful every day…
