Tips for chasing coastal cutthroats in the Pacific Northwest

Often the top predator in rivers and streams, the coastal cutthroat’s eagerness to bite and acrobatic displays when hooked all make it a highly sought-after catch
Often the top predator in rivers and streams, the coastal cutthroat’s eagerness to bite and acrobatic displays when hooked all make it a highly sought-after catch
Roger Phillips photo. By Roger Phillips They’re big, they’re hard-fighting, and they’re one of Idaho’s most overlooked trophy fishing opportunities, but many anglers are still confused about whether they can target bull trout for catch-and-release fishing. The short answer is yes. When bull trout were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in…
I have the same discussion with a lot of different folks about this time every year. Are flies that imitate worms … ethical? My take? Absolutely. They mimic a naturally occuring prey base in rivers, lakes and streams all over America, and, with high flows approaching in some of our snow-locked rivers, worm patterns are…
Sportsmen and women stand behind protections for North Umpqua Washington D.C. — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee marked up a bill that would protect more than 100,000 acres of habitat important to North Umpqua steelhead in Oregon. The Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Bill, S. 513, honors World War II Veteran, Frank…
title=”application/pdf” />170330_SENR-Hrg-TU-letter-multi-bills-FINAL.pdf On Thursday, March 30th, the US Senate Committee on Environment and Natural considered and advanced several bills of interest to Trout Unlimited and our members. TU submitted the attached comments outlining our comments on the following bills: TU Supports: S.513, a bill to designate the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management…
A fly fisher in Stanley, Idaho, casts to the edges of the Salmon River during high water over the weekend. I spent the weekend driving along a couple of Idaho’s more fabled trout waters—first, the Salmon near the “top of Idaho” in Stanely, and then the Big Wood as it roars through Ketchum near Sun…
About us Montana Troutfitters has been helping anglers with their fly fishing needs since 1978. For well over 30 years we have worked hard to provide our customers with the most accurate Montana fishing reports, best fly fishing guides, and finest selection of fly fishing gear and flies. What we do We offer a complete…
This past summer Trout Unlimited partnered with Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore to bring the STREAM Girls program to scouts in Michigan. STREAM Girls, which stands for science, technology, recreation, engineering, arts, and math, is an exciting watershed-based program that introduces girls to STEM education and fly fishing in a fun, hands-on, experiential…
TU was founded in 1959 by local people who saw their home waters being impacted by a range of man-made and environmental factors, and who wanted to take action to halt and reverse that damage. They worked together to protect the rivers and watersheds from further damage; to reconnect them by removing dams, culverts and…
It’s stonefly season in the West—the big, adult bugs will be popping on a river near you before you know it. And, while the dry-fly imitations are easily the most popular—and the most fun to fish—it’s the nymph patterns that likely catch more trout. And there are some great stonefly nymph patterns out there. But…
Simply put, the smolt-to-adult return ratio (SAR) is the percentage of smolts that survive and return to spawn: ADULTS / SMOLTS = SAR For example, if 100 steelhead smolts pass Lower Granite dam on their downstream migration and 2 adult steelhead from that group return and survive to pass Lower Granite on their way to…
Protect The Waters You Love! Your support empowers Trout Unlimited to protect and restore vital freshwater ecosystems, conserve threatened fish species, and advocate for sustainable fisheries management, ensuring healthy rivers and streams for generations to come. With your help, we can protect, restore and reconnect millions of watershed landscapes, thousands of miles of rivers and…
Protect The Waters You Love! Your support empowers Trout Unlimited to protect and restore vital freshwater ecosystems, conserve threatened fish species, and advocate for sustainable fisheries management, ensuring healthy rivers and streams for generations to come. With your help, we can protect, restore and reconnect millions of watershed landscapes, thousands of miles of rivers and…
Protect The Waters You Love! Your support empowers Trout Unlimited to protect and restore vital freshwater ecosystems, conserve threatened fish species, and advocate for sustainable fisheries management, ensuring healthy rivers and streams for generations to come. With your help, we can protect, restore and reconnect millions of watershed landscapes, thousands of miles of rivers and…
Protect The Waters You Love! Your support empowers Trout Unlimited to protect and restore vital freshwater ecosystems, conserve threatened fish species, and advocate for sustainable fisheries management, ensuring healthy rivers and streams for generations to come. With your help, we can protect, restore and reconnect millions of watershed landscapes, thousands of miles of rivers and…
Protect The Waters You Love! Your support empowers Trout Unlimited to protect and restore vital freshwater ecosystems, conserve threatened fish species, and advocate for sustainable fisheries management, ensuring healthy rivers and streams for generations to come. With your help, we can protect, restore and reconnect millions of watershed landscapes, thousands of miles of rivers and…