By Eric Booton It’s like watching magic happen, or so it seems. Fifteen short minutes and the wood finish stripper has performed its intimidating chemical magic and one stroke of the scraper removes the shabby finish and once adored princess stickers that have previously defined this forgotten piece of furniture. The hours spent with the
William Conrad as Marshall Matt Dillon By Chris Hunt Years ago, when I worked as a journalist on the North Coast of California, I got into the habit of falling to sleep to the sounds of old-time radio. Stan Freberg—a Radio Hall-of-Famer—hosted a nightly show on one of the AM stations we could pick up
A handful of the large crew that fished Virginia’s Smith River prior to TU’s national meeting in Roanoke. By Mark Taylor As Trout Unlimited’s annual meeting drew near, a few of us involved in the meeting anxiously watched weather forecasts. We wanted rain. Not during the meeting itself, understand. But prior to it. It’s been
By Eric Booton Fall never fails to be one of my favorite times of the year. The change in colors livens up the scenery before the cold and darkness take hold. I find great satisfaction in tromping through the fallen leaves dusting the trail. The salmon fill the rivers with a feast of eggs and
Photo courtesy of FUDR By David Kinney A new long-term deal is in sight on the Upper Delaware, and its drafters say it would address concerns about the effects of erratic flows and high temperatures on the river’s wild trout fishery. The broad outlines of the 10-year agreement were announced this week at a meeting
Al Kittredge of the Smith River chapter of Trout Unlimited displays a 24.8-inch brown trout collected from the river during an electroshock sampling trip in June. The fish was released after it was measured. By Mark Taylor We all know that one decision or event can radically alter our life’s path. Halfway through my senior
By Eric Booton The image of each fish gently swimming from hand is rapidly blurring into an abstract collage of electric sail fins and speckled red bands graced by the hues of the rainbow. All tallies have been abandoned. I have lost track of the number of fish I have caught, a sure sign of
By Nelli Williams I frantically dug through a pile of clean laundry that had been sitting on the recliner all week (OK, maybe more). I was searching for two kid-sized wool socks—we had at least a dozen, so why I couldn’t find two was beyond me. Victorious, I found one in the pile and the
By Chris Hunt As Phoebe danced around the truck, anxious to start the walk up the familiar trail past a few bends in the creek, I donned my wading sandals for what would almost certainly be the last time this year. I was in a gloomy mood. Changing seasons, earlier sunsets and, of course, the
Finding refuge from the heat, Stanislaus National Forest. By Sam Davidson Across the country, summer is prime time for trout fishing in the mountains . At higher elevations you typically get relief from sweltering lowland temperatures and find the kind of small water-wild fish opportunities that are, in some ways, the heart and soul of
By Chris Hunt The sun filtered through the smoky haze, casting a tarnished glow over the high-country meadow in remote central Idaho. The state’s tallest peaks climbed through the murk, showing up more as silhouettes rather than snow-tipped crags in the near distance. Ma ny miles away, both human-caused and naturally ignited wildfires consumed timber
Yuba River Chinook salmon. Photo: Jacob Katz On August 25, a coalition of conservation and recreational groups, including Trout Unlimited, submitted formal comments on proposed requi rements for relicensing dam and diversion operations on the Yuba River, one of California’s most important—and degraded—river systems for salmon and steelhead. Coupled with two other major developments in
Greg Taylor of Roseburg, Ore., comes tight to a steelhead on the North Umpqua River. By Mark Taylor IDLEYLD PARK, Ore. — Knee deep in the chilly North Umpqua river, I pulled line off my reel and prepared for the first cast of the day into one of my favorite runs. There was a “plop”
By Eric Booton I am in the washing machine. Stuck in the cycle of rushing water. The power of the water has me in its clutches and is reluctant to let go. I am trapped in the hydraulic power of the rapid. Water is rushing in and filling the boat. I am thankful for self
By Chris Hunt The old two-track along the small stream in Idaho’s Caribou National Forest sees some ATVs now and then, but not too many folks in their Razors are there to fish, thankfully. It’s not a secret stream, not by any means. But it takes some effort to get there. And once you’re there,
This bridge over the Willamette River in Eugene, Oregon, teases anglers with art. Brett Prettyman/Trout Unlimited By Brett Prettyman Efforts to keep fishing from entering my mind during our family vacation only lasted to the first state line. Some may find it hard to believe, but fishing doesn’t always fit into the plans. It is
A few years back, I had the good fortune to fish the Limay River in Argentina’s northern Patagonia region. It’s a sweeping desert tailwater absolutely loaded with large trout. To this day, the 27-inch brown trout I brought to hand is my largest trout. I also landed a 25-inch brown and was in the boat
Photo by Rachel Andona By Chris Hunt We steered the rig into a pull-off shaded by lodgepoles and pressed almost flat by frequent use. Nothing remained of the understory—every fallen log, limb or twig had been meticulously collected for firewood. Even the lodgepoles were nude from the ground up, only sporting branches starting a good
The Nacimiento River at peak winter flow, central California. By Sam Davidson A recent telephone call with the Steelhead Whisperer got me fired up. His brother had been car-camping around the central coast, and had seen people fishing in one of the streams that swerve out of the Santa Lucia range and through the oak
