-
The time for band-aids has passed
Someone recently said to me, “Trout Unlimited should get out of political issues such as climate change and focus instead on what it does best—fixing streams!” Here is a secret… everything we do at Trout Unlimited helps our rivers, streams and fisheries withstand the harmful effects of climate change. When we protect the highest quality…
-
Voices from the River: Chasing char
Trout Unlimited’s efforts with the University of Maine and the Maine Department of Inland and Wildlife to develop eDNA sampling methods for Maine’s rare Arctic char continue. As described in a recent TU story, we’re focused in Maine on the handful of remaining populations of landlocked Arctic char, a glacial relict that’s been slowly losing populations over the last 120 years. Char exist…
-
From Bigotry to Brook Trout
We've all heard stories about the healing power of water and fly fishing. At Trout Unlimited, our chapters and volunteers devote significant resources to helping physically and emotionally wounded veterans heal from the horrors of war. But it's more than that. Ask any die-hard fly fisher why they fish, and, after getting through all the…
-
Choosing CDC material
CDC, or cul-de-canard, is the soft, fluffy material that comes from around the preening gland of a duck or goose. Despite its fluffy nature, CDC really does float pretty well, and a lot of folks use it when tying emergers and the like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53edv9ccCpM Above, Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions talks about the differences between…
-
Nudging streams back to health
"You just want to nudge it. Too often restoration work is over-engineered. The key is to simply nudge the system in the right direction, and then allow for natural processes to occur.” Gary leaned back and looked upstream. A smile crept up. “I had two anglers who told me they caught 80-90 brook trout here…
-
Only a few BWOs to go around
By Eric Booton Frustration is exhaled from behind my fully zipped collar, and the cloud of vapor fills the drawn hood of my wading jacket, fogging my lenses, furthering the frustration. I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews of this impressively clear and painfully cold spring creek. With an exception or two, I was easily able to round…
-
Artifishal
The effort to save wild salmon from California to Alaska has been costly, and with a few notable exceptions, largely ineffective. Humankind, over the centuries, has continually put up obstacle after obstacle for wild salmon to conquer, and the numbers are dwindling. Video of Artifishal | The Fight to Save Wild Salmon The new film,…