Currently browsing… Trout Unlimited
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Everything you wanted to know: Colorado River cutthroat trout
Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) Species status and summary: The Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT) historically occupied most cool water habitats of the Colorado River watersheds in Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern Utah, extreme northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. Currently, however, Colorado River cutthroat trout occupy approximately 16 percent of their historic range, primarily…
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Excuse me… just slamming through
Owen Prettyman fishing a small creek while attempting to complete his Utah Cutthroat Slam with a Bonneville cutthroat trout. Daniel A. Ritz photo. Making memories to last a lifetime in Utah Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to reach the Master Caster class of the Western Native Trout Challenge,…
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Chasing the Wyoming Cutt-Slam and keeping the wolves away
Looking back, I saw Sweet, who had coyly picked a honey hole on a backwater around a small island I didn’t even notice, who was looking upriver at me and grinning ear to ear. At that moment, I remember thinking he resembled a child showing off his hard work.
Sunset on Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park. Once the stronghold of Yellowstone cutthroat trout, invasive lake trout now threaten the native species in this iconic fishery. Daniel A. Ritz photo. Learning the meaning of refuge and what it means to defend it in the Cowboy State Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States…
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The elusive Arctic char of the Kenai Peninsula
Portaging from lake to lake was a unique experience while fishing the Swan and Swanson lakes in Alaska. Daniel A. Ritz photo. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge was on fire, but the fishing was not Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to reach the Master Caster class of…
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Pursuing ‘the people’s fish’ in Alaska
“When we think about people, and the ‘habitat’ people utilize, we don’t just look at the superhighways where they can easily be seen traveling," he said. "People don’t live on the freeways, people don’t ‘spawn’ on the freeways or on their commute.”
The author traveled to the end of the road in his pursuit of Dolly Varden. Daniel A. Ritz photo. Searching for Dolly Varden in southeast Alaska Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to reach the Master Caster class of the Western Native Trout Challenge, attempting to land each of…
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Dolly Varden: all you need to know
Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) Species summary and status: Though similar to, and often confused with trout, Dolly Varden are in fact a char. To tell a char from a trout you can look at their spots — char have light spots (white or yellow to red) on a dark body, while trout have dark spots (brown…
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Alaskan lake trout: All you need to know
Alaskan lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Species summary and status: Lake trout have a body shape similar to that of trout and salmon. They generally have small cream or yellow, irregular shaped spots on a silvery-to-dark background. Males and females are similar, with males having a slightly longer, more pointed snout. Lake trout can be distinguished from…