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Barefooting for smallies in the wilds of Wisconsin
The center of attention are schooling smallmouth bass (yes schooling) that willingly slurp down frogs solo or blitz baitfish when fired up
As soon my friend Josh Fiester and I got the text from Hannah Matousek upon landing in Madison, Wisc., last week I knew the next couple days were going to be special. Hannah, one third of the team that makes up Black Earth Angling Company, let us know that she took the liberty of picking…
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Starting over before an Alaska fishing trip
What to do when your fly box looks like the dog coughed up a flamingo
A rebuilt fly box for a trip to Alaska. When the old fly box just won't cut it anymore When I booked a place to stay in Southeast Alaska for this coming week, I still had eastern Idaho carp on the brain. Like a lot of anglers, I have a running "fishing calendar" — a…
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The student becomes the master
The 2021 Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy. Photo by Rich Johnson. The Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy is one of Trout Unlimited’s pride-and-joy programs in Alaska. Together with the Bristol Bay Native Corp. and the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, and a slew of local lodge owners, retired fisheries biologists and…
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Starting over before an Alaska fishing trip
Rather than an orderly collection of streamers, Gurglers and Egg-sucking Leaches, it looked, as I explained to my friends on a group chat as we planned out the week ahead, like the dog had coughed up a flamingo
A rebuilt fly box for a trip to Alaska. When the old fly box just won't cut it anymore When I booked a place to stay in Southeast Alaska for this coming week, I still had eastern Idaho carp on the brain. Like a lot of anglers, I have a running "fishing calendar" — a…
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Remembering John Merwin and lessons learned
I remember the first time we met in person. We were at a fishing trade show, and Merwin ordered me to lunch. I was pretty nervous because everyone at the magazine had told me what a tough customer he was. And sure enough, he was no more than a sip into his martini when he criticized the most recent story I had written
I was cleaning up my office the other day, and chanced upon a book that made me smile. It’s a copy of John Merwin’s The New American Trout Fishing, given to me by my wife as a birthday present, not long after the book came out in 1994. The book made a tremendous impression and influenced…
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Unique partnership spurs effort to restore Alaskan salmon stream
Resurrection Creek, on the north end of the Kenai Peninsula near the community of Hope, still shows scars from placer mining that occurred more than 100 years ago
By Austin Williams Many anglers think of Alaska as pristine and untouched, and, while much of it is, it also has a long and rich history of resource development that contributes to the culture, character and camaraderie still present at the core of many Alaska communities. More than a century ago, salmon canneries and fish…
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Snorkeling in frigid water, jumping jacks and a successful restoration project
By Jacob Fetterman Fish data, specifically trout population data, is integral to Trout Unlimited's work. Earlier this summer, I was brainstorming how we could ensure we are properly monitoring trout numbers in relation to the Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative. The Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative is a concentrated effort to protect, reconnect and restore the Battenkill watershed. It brings TU’s national mission to a…
