For those of us who tie flies and work with various resins, from head cement to full-on UV materials, a dubbing needle is likely our tool of choice for applying the goo. For years, I used a square of craft foam to clean the needle after each use—I’d just poke the needle through the foam…
Here’s one for you western anglers who are wondering, with all the late winter snow and the spring rain, if we’re ever going to see fishable water levels anytime soon. The answer is, the water’s already fishable. We just need to find the places where trout are holding amid the near-constant temperature changes and water…
If you don’t know where to go fishing next, check out this map. Compiled by the Trust for Public Land, it outlines every project the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped become a reality over the past half century. There is also a map to looks at potential future projects — a glimpse into…
By Garrett Hanks Wolf Creek pass in the San Juan mountains of Colorado serves as the tipping point between the westward San Juan basin, home to the recently rediscovered San Juan cutthroat trout, and the Rio Grande cutthroat’s namesake river to the east. Unlike trout, bear, mule deer and other wildlife are unhindered by the ridgeline; their tracks freely cross the divide. Look north and you’ll notice the burn scar from the West Fork fire of 2013. Setting off south along the Continental Divide Trail, you quickly…
On a map, it doesn’t look all that far. A quick jaunt up the freeway. A race across a sea of potato fields and a good section of the Idaho National Laboratory, where plans are in place to build a dozen modular nuclear reactors to help power some 36 western communities starting in less than a decade. Finally, there’s the run up the river valley to where the desert meets the Lemhi Range
Two years ago, I took possession of a weathered 15-year- old wooden fishing dory from my friend Andy Toohey. “Took possession,” because I didn’t buy it, and he didn’t want it. He let me have that boat, but only after I had promised that I would fully restore it, and I wouldn’t bring it back, whether I lived up to promise number one or not.
A fly fisherman searches the water of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho waiting for the elusive tug on the end of his line from a steelhead. Josh Duplechian/Trout Unlimited As a conservation officer with the Idaho Fish and Game Department, Eric Crawford’s work was largely reactive. “I could make a great…
TU has magic when it comes to attracting great people
Christy Fischer was born and raised on California’s central coast. Some of her “earliest and happiest” memories involve public lands.
Taylor’s Sneaky Coyote. By Mark Taylor I’m off in a bit on a quest for fly-tying materials. Usually this mission involves a short drive down to the local Orvis store or nearby Sportsman’s Warehouse. But this time of year, it means I’m headed to the woods, bow or gun in hand. I wouldn’t go so…
Wes Gwaltney, president of the New River Valley of Trout Unlimited, fishes the West Prong of the Pigeon River near Gatlinburg, Tenn., in late April. Even as damage from 2016 fires remains, the forest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is greening up with the arrival of spring. (Mark Taylor photo.) By Mark Taylor…
Trout Unlimited launched the Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative in 2020. Orvis has chosen the program as the beneficiary of its Giving Tuesday efforts on Nov. 30, 2021, pledging 10 percent of profits to the program.
TU volunteers play key role in Maryland Fly Fishing Trail launch
Mike and Anh Wen, the winners of the 2017 TU Sweepstakes, recount their stay at the cozy Yaak Valley Log Cabin for five nights and spent four days on the river with the Linehan Outfitting Company.
Editor’s Note: Each year, participants at Trout Unlimited regional Youth Fly Fishing and Conservation summer camps are invited to enter the TU Teen Camp Essay Contest. The prompt for 2019 was “Why is conservation important to fly fishing?” We received many wonderful entries and are pleased to share the top five essays. To find a…
Corinne Doctor serves on the board of her local Boulder Flycasters Chapter in Colorado, and is also the women and diversity initiative coordinator for the statewide Colorado Council. In 2011, she and her husband Garrison founded Rep Your Water, a hat and apparel company that donates 3 percent of every purchase to conservation. In 10…
TU, BLM ink $8.867 million partnership for watershed restoration across the West.
May and June are great months for fishing caddis patterns in the driftless. This year, I noticed many fish receptive to caddis patterns stationed in shallow, fast water in broad daylight. Here are a few suggestions that might help you catch more trout on caddis patterns. I am not a big fan of floating caddis…
Conservation is the best idea that America ever gave the rest of the world.
reflections on what conservation and motherhood mean
