Molly as a pup, first day on the boat. By Dean Finnerty My canine sidekick Molly has two kinds of days: good and great. I have said this to many fellow steelhead anglers over the years, with a mix of apology and embarrassment, as Molly greets them on the trail by shoving her back half
Editor’s note: TU sent a handful of college students to the Pacific Northwest for this year’s TU Costa 5 Rivers Odyssey to study and fish in the Columbia River basin. On the road to Cougar Dam in Blue River, Ore., there is a dirt road in Willamette National Forest that leads you to a squiggly hand-drawn “Road
America has such a well-earned reputation for innovating our way out of problems that we sometimes miss the obvious natural solution. In a series of open houses this summer in Great Basin communities, the Trump administration revealed a plan to reduce wildfire risk by constructing 11,000 acres of fuel breaks across public lands in parts
Steelheaders, anglers, and river-lovers of all types in Washington state have new water quality improvements and greater protections for critical wild fish populations to celebrate this month.
By Mark Taylor As we made our way through the final riffle, I dug the oars into the cool, green waters of Virginia’s Jackson River and aimed the stern toward the boat ramp. “Have I told you that I love this thing?” I said to my fishing partner, Sam Dean. My memory isn’t as good
Trout Unlimited works with whoever is at the controls of the White House, agency, House, Senate, or committee leadership. Demonstrating the point: our tireless advocacy efforts helped persuade the last administration to deny a key permit for the Pebble Mine in Alaska and to sign the Great American Outdoors Act into law
Insider tips for making the most out of national park adventures By The National Park Service Summer is here and many national parks are expecting an especially busy season in 2021. A little trip planning can ensure that your only surprises are happy ones. To help everyone have a great experience, National Park Service rangers share
These are the best I’ve ever learned.
Legendary Red Shed Fly Shop says the Lower Four should go
I was fortunate as the recipient of the 2024 Jeremy Brooks Memorial Scholarship to be able to spend this past summer working in multiple aspects of fisheries management throughout a summer internship with Trout Unlimited.
Editor’s Note: Five students from the TU Costa 5 Rivers Outreach Program have embarked on a once-in a-lifetime journey in pursuit of 16 native trout species, all on public lands. With support from the U.S. Forest Service, Costa Sunglasses, Simms Fishing Products, Fishpond and Post Fly Box, these students will tell the stories of our
TU and a number of conservation and fly-fishing industry entities helped Conservation Hawks with its newest film, Convergence, on the importance of enlisting anglers in the effort to combat climate change, both on the ground and in the halls of government. We highlighted the trailer earlier this year—the film is featured in the Fly Fishing
There’s some great video footage out there of fish hitting flies. Violent rises to subtle sips, trout are the champions of the “take,” although I’ve seen some pike attacks that make me wonder if there’s a video yet to be shot featuring these voracious predators. The advent of drone videography, of course, has taken fly-fishing
When the Trump administration indicated it would review all national monuments for size, scope and appopriateness earlier this year, one group of American hailing from all points on the political spectrum stood up and denounced the idea. That group? Sportsmen and women. We understand that national monuments that set aside land to protect everything from
Being a western guy with roots in the Rockies, my angling experience in the mountains of New England is pretty limited. I did spend a great afternoon several years ago chasing fat rainbows in Connectictut’s upper Farmington River before being chased away by a rainstorm, and I got to fish some Adirondack streams for native
Want to cast better? Maybe a little further, maybe a little straighter? Who doesn’t? I know I need work. Practice is the key, of course. And before you shell out the bucks for a spiffy new fast-action fly rod, take 10 minutes to do the one thing that will improve the cast you have, with
Who doesn’t like catching fish on top? With poppers, no less. Several years back, while fishing with a great group of guys on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, I was introduced to the fact that pink salmon—yes, pink salmon—will hit poppers just as they’re reporting for spawning duty from the saltwater. We spent one glorious afternoon
The book is as much about boat design as it is about the Adirondacks and the history of the people and landscape that were both shaped by the boats themselves and how the landscape shaped the boats for pleasure and work.
From the Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself Department, I offer you this: A new Orvis film about a remarkable woman who had polio as a child and now goes fly fishing … with her feet. Video of ORVIS Presents: Toe to Toe Mary Loudder is pretty pragmatic about her disability. She’s lived a lifetime with
Last week, about 300,000 farm-raised Atlantic salmon escaped from a Cooke Aquaculture net pen near Cypress Island in Puget Sound. The fish are not native to the Pacific and there are a host of really good reasons for anglers to get out there are try to catch as many of these fish as possible, not
