I always look forward to this time of year, when the ice is newly broken off our nearby lakes, the black flies and mosquitos aren’t too ferocious, and the resident fish are extremely hungry. Unfortunately, lake fishing in Alaska often plays second fiddle, and is too often taken for granted, when compared to our state’s
In 2019, the Inland Trout Program of Trout Unlimited set out to improve and restore fish habitat near “the Elbow”, a renowned fishing access area included in the new state park. Utilizing both biogenic floodplain features and rock j-hook structures
The Utah Cutthroat Slam consists of a challenge to catch the four unique cutthroat trout subspecies in their respective native historical ranges within the state
/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/blog/New-Website.JPG In the coming days, Trout Unlimited will be unveiling our new website – a site that captures the passion we all feel about conservation, fishing and protecting the places we love. It makes it faster, easier, and more exciting to learn how you and TU are making a difference, and connect with other s
Region: Southern Appalachia Activities: Fishing Species: Brook, rainbow and brown trout Where: Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles 800 square miles along the border of western North Carolina and southeastern Tennessee. Within a day’s drive of nearly half of America’s population, it’s the nation’s most popular national park, with upwards of 9,000,000 visitors annually. Why:
A canoe and a lake make for great fly fishing
The lifeblood of the Village of Pecos, the Pecos River flows through public and private lands in a narrow canyon flanked by in aspen, Gambel oak, and mixed conifer. The Pecos boasts a fun salmon fly hatch in early summer, and I love how spooky the fish are in autumn, when elk bugles echo, the banks blaze with yellow cottonwoods, and the water resembles the air above, cold, clear and
The Upper D could be the heartbeat of the region’s economy Lee Hartman showed up in 1973, a decade after the Cannonsville Reservoir went into service on the West Branch of the Upper Delaware River to help supply water to New York City. Lee’s habit was to take a few days every year, and mark a space on the map to camp and fish for trout. His
I now get asked, all the time, whether guides these days, on average, can stack up against the guides from a generation ago…
Region: Northern RockiesActivity: FishingSpecies: Cutthroat trout Where: The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests encompass more than four million acres in north central Idaho. Three renowned white water rivers – the Selway, Lochsa and Salmon – course through the mountainous terrain. Many of the region’s streams hold healthy populations of westslope cutthroat. Why: Excellent top-water angling for
Area: Pacific NorthwestActivity: FishingSpecies: Cutthroat Trout (or Westslope Cutthroat Trout), Rainbow trout Where: The picturesque Methow Valley rests in north central Washington’s Okanogan Country, roughly four hours northeast of Seattle amongst the 4 million acre-Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The valley, which rests in the rain shadow east of the North Cascades, is home to Winthrop, a
Region: AlaskaActivities: FishingSpecies: Chum, Chinook, Sockeye, Pink and Coho salmon; Dolly Varden; Steelhead; Coastal cutthroat trout; Rainbow trout Where: The Tongass encompasses 17 million acres of public land, spread across much of Southeast Alaska. It’s a wonderland of hulking hemlock, spruce and cedar western hemlock, Sitka spruce, western red cedar and yellow cedar trees, dotted
Region: Rocky MountainsActivities: Hunting and FishingSpecies: Brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout; ducks; deer; pronghorn Where: The Seedskadee rests near the southwest corner of Wyoming, in the w estern shadow of the Wind River Range, and northwest of the town of Rock Springs. Most of the refuge protects riparian, wetland and upland shrub habitat adjoining 36
September is a month tailor-made for sportsmen and women and there is no better place to spend it than on our public lands. The dog days of summer have given way to cooler temperatures and a multitude of opportunities beckon hunters and anglers: brown trout chasing streamers, elk bugles ringing through the mountains, ruffed grouse
Great ideas have longevity. 111 years ago today, Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law, cementing the importance of our public lands heritage for decades to come. Since then, some of the most important fish and wildlife habitat in the country has been set aside for the benefit of the American people in the
Fishing stillwater for trout is so good for you, and good for your game, on so many levels. But many anglers don’t bother. Here are five reasons to go jump in a lake (or at least fish from the shore 1. Knowledge You learn things you don’t often learn on the river. Making casts so
By Joel DeStasio During the 2019 summer field season, Trout Unlimited field staff completed strategic wood addition habitat restoration work on Gunstock River and its unnamed tributary in Gilford, N.H. This project was initiated by the Belknap County Conservation District with the assistance of grants provided by The New Hampshire Association of Conservation Districts and the New Hampshire Conservation
First a disclaimer. I’m not a very enthusiastic lake fisherman. I should be, because lake-dwelling trout are generally bigger, burlier and stronger than their river-dwelling brothers and sisters, simply because they don’t have currents to fight and food is situated throughout the water column, from the bottom all the way to the surface. And that’s
Experience all five of those things together on the same day, and that’s my “trophy” experience.
