TROUT June 2025

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On the Cover: Tributary of the Beaverhead River in Southwest, Mont. Photo by Brian Grossenbacher.

Trout Unlimited Leadership

Board of Trustees

Chair of the Board

Terry Hyman, Washington, D.C.

President/Chief Executive Officer

Chris Wood, Washington, D.C.

Secretary

Linda Rosenberg Ach, san FranCisCo, CaliF

Treasurer

Larry Garlick, Palo alto, CaliF.

Chair of National Leadership Council

Rich Thomas, starlight, Pa

Secretary of the National Leadership Council

Paul McKay, Wheeling, W.Va

Trustees

Stewart Alsop, sante Fe, n.M.

Tony Brookfield, Park City, Utah

John Burns, neeDhaM, Mass

Amy Cordalis, ashlanD, ore.

Josh Crumpton, WiMberley, texas

Mac Cunningham, basalt, Colo

R. Joseph De Briyn, los angeles, CaliF

Paul Doscher, Weare, n h

Larry Finch, Wilson, Wyo

Susan Geer, gilbert, ariz

Peter Grua, boston, Mass

Chris Hill, Washington, D.C./haines, alaska

Gregory McCrickard, toWson, MD

Phoebe Muzzy, hoUston, texas

H. Stewart Parker, ChaPel hill, n.C.

Al Perkinson, neW sMyrna beaCh, Fla

Greg Placone, greenVille, s.C.

Candice Price, kansas City, Mo

Donald (Dwight) Scott, neW york, n y

Kathy Scott, norriDgeWoCk, Me

Judi Sittler, state College, Pa

Joseph Swedish, silVerthorne, Colo

Blain Tomlinson, long beaCh, CaliF

Terry Turner, glaDstone, ore

Leslie Weldon, benD, ore

Jeff Witten, ColUMbia, Mo./elkins, W.Va

Geofrey Wyatt, santa barbara, CaliF

National Leadership Council Representatives

Chair Rich Thomas Secretary

Paul McKay

arizona, Tom Goodwin

arkansas, Ron Blackwelder

CaliFornia, Trevor Fagerskog

ColoraDo, Greg Hardy

ConneCtiCUt, Beth Peterson

georgia, Steve Westmoreland

iDaho, M.E. Sorci

illinois, Hans Hintzen

ioWa, Tom Rhoads

Maine, Tammy Packie

MassaChUsetts, Bill Pastuszek

MiChigan, Greg Walz

MiD-atlantiC, Noel Gollehon

Minnesota, Randy Brock

Montana, Mark Peterson

neW haMPshire, John Bunker

neW Jersey, Peter Tovar

neW MexiCo, Jeff Arterburn

neW york, Jeff Plackis

north Carolina, Mike Mihalas

ohio, Matt Misicka

oklahoMa, Levi Poe

oregon, Peter Gray

ozark (ks/Mo) Jeff Holzem

PennsylVania, Russ Collins

soUth Carolina, Mike Waddell

tennessee, Mark Spangler

texas, Joe Filer

Utah, Eric Luna

VerMont, Travis Dezotell

Virginia, Tom Benzing

Washington, Andrew Kenefick

West Virginia, Paul McKay

WisConsin, Scott Allen

WyoMing, Jim Hissong

State Council Chairs

arizona, Alan Davis

arkansas, Michael Wingo

CaliFornia, Trevor Fagerskog

ColoraDo, Barbara Luneau

ConneCtiCUt, Richard Mette

georgia, Rodney Tumlin iDaho, Tyler Hallquist

illinois, Dan Postelnick

ioWa, Dave Klemme kentUCky, Mike Lubeach

Coldwater Conservation Fund Board of Directors 2025

President

Jeffrey Morgan, neW york, n y

Executive Committee

Joseph Anscher, long beaCh, n y

Philip Belling, neWPort beaCh, CaliF

Stephan Kiratsous, neW york, n y

Stephen Moss, larChMont, n y

Directors

Peter and Lisa Baichtal, saCraMento, CaliF

Bill Bell, atlanta, ga

Daniel Blackley, salt lake City, Utah

Douglas Bland, ChesaPeake City, MD.

Stephen Bridgman, WestFielD, n.J.

Mark Carlquist, los gatos, CaliF

Gregory Case, PhilaDelPhia, Pa

Benjamin Clauss, greenVille, s.C.

Bonnie Cohen, Washington, D.C.

James Connelly, neWPort beaCh, CaliF

Jeremy Croucher, oVerlanD Park, kan

Matthew Dumas, Darien, Conn

Rick Elefant and Diana Jacobs, berkeley, CaliF

Glenn Erikson, glorieta, nM

Renee Faltings, ketChUM, iDaho

John Fraser, norWalk, Conn.

Matthew Fremont-Smith, neW york, n y

Bruce Gottlieb, brooklyn, n y

John Griffin, brooklyn, n y

Robert Halmi, Jr., neW york, n y

William Heth, eaU Claire, Wis

Kent and Theresa Heyborne, DenVer, Colo

Kent Hoffman, oklahoMa City, okla

Frank Holleman, greenVille, s.C.

Braden Hopkins, Park City Utah

James Jackson, hoUston, texas

Tony James, neW york, n y

Jeffrey Johnsrud, neWPort beaCh, Cali.

Jakobus Jordaan, san FranCisCo, CaliF

Matthew Kane, boUlDer, Colo

James Kelley, atlanta, ga

Peter Kellogg, neW york, n y

Andrew Kenefick seattle, Wash

Steven King, Wayzata, Minn

Lee Lewis, PhilaDelPhia, Pa

Cargill MacMillan, III, boUlDer, Colo

Ivan & Donna Marcotte, asheVille, n.C.

Michael Maroni, bainbriDge islanD, Wash

Jeffrey Marshall, sCottsDale, ariz

Tim Martin, henDerson, neV.

Heide Mason, yorktoWn heights, n.y.

Paul McCreadie, ann arbor, MiCh

Gregory McCrickard, toWson, MD

J. Thomas McMurray, JaCkson, Wyo

Daniel Miller, neW york, n y

Robert & Teresa Oden, Jr., hanoVer, n h

Maine, Matt Streeter

MassaChUsetts, C. Josh Rownd

MiChigan, Gabe Schneider

MiD-atlantiC, Randy Dwyer

Minnesota, Brent Notbohm

Montana, Lyle Courtnage

neW haMPshire, Michael Croteau

neW Jersey, Marsha Benovengo

neW MexiCo, Marc Space

neW york, Cal Curtice

north Carolina, Brian Esque

ohio, Scott Saluga

oklahoMa, Bridget Kirk

oregon, Mark Rogers

ozark (ks/Mo) Bill Lamberson

PennsylVania, Lenny Lichvar

soUth Carolina, Tom Theus

tenessee, Ryan Turgeon

texas, Chris Johnson

Utah, Scott Antonetti

VerMont, Jared Carpenter

Virginia, Jim Wilson

Washington, Pat Hesselgesser

West Virginia, Eugene Thorn

WisConsin, Myk Hranicka

WyoMing, Kathy Buchner

Kenneth Olivier, sCottsDale, ariz

H. Stewart Parker, ChaPel hill, n.C.

Anne Pendergast, big horn, Wyo

Michael Polemis, olD ChathaM, n y

Adam Raleigh, neW york, n.y.

Margaret Reckling, hoUston, tx

John Redpath, aUstin, texas

Brian Regan, neW Canaan, Conn

Michael Rench, CinCinnati, ohio

Steven Ryan, Wilson, Wyo

Leigh Seippel, neW york, n y

Paul Skydell, bath, Maine

Gary Smith, st loUis, Mo

Robert Strawbridge, III, Wilson, Wyo

Paul & Sandy Strong, lakeMont, ga

Daniel Seymour, staMForD, Conn

Margeret Taylor, sheriDan, Wyo

Robert Teufel, eMMaUs, Pa.

Andrew Tucker, larChMont, n y

Andrew Tucker, Vero beaCh, Fla

Deacon Turner, DenVer, Colo

Jeff Walters, sCottsDale, ariz

Maud and Jeff Welles, neW york, n y

Tyler Wick, boston, Mass

Geofrey & Laura Wyatt, santa barbara, CaliF

Daniel Zabrowski, oro Valley, ariz

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From the President

Keep Public Lands...

[ Chris Wood ]

Not long ago, I awoke to the news of a late-night amendment that passed through a committee of the House of Representatives to allow for the sale or transfer of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada and Utah.

Like cicadas emerging from the earth every 15 or so years, these harebrained ideas to sell or transfer public lands arise. Like cicadas, their proponents create a mess before eventually crawling back into the earth.

I discovered the wonder of America’s public lands when I was 25, having spent several years managing an ice-cream factory in New Jersey, and coaching at Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, N.J.

After we won the state championship that year I decided to “look for America.” Setting out in my used Mercury Lynx with my beloved hound, Gus, we travelled fewer than 200 miles per day as we made our way west to California, travelling blue-line roads and camping on National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, or National Park Service land.

Public lands are the backyard of the little guy. Places where a kid from New Jersey can camp his way across America with his dog. Places where families who cannot afford to fly to fancy resorts can be together and find solace in nature. For most of us, public lands are the only lands we will ever “own.” If America sells or transfers our public lands to the highest bidder, these places will become the playground of the wealthy.

Public lands provide an abundance of multiple uses that help local communities and support the national interest. Timber, oil and gas, coal, forage for livestock, important archaeological sites, recreational access, are just a few of the many benefits that flow from our public lands.

When it comes to trout and salmon, the value of public lands—especially public lands without roads—cannot be overstated. Consider:

• Over 50 percent of blue-ribbon trout streams in America flow across National Forests.

• Public lands provide access and opportunity to 70 million American hunters and anglers.

• 70 percent of remaining habitat for all native trout in the West are found on public lands.

In recent years, the push has been to “return” public lands to the states. This is a fallacious idea. At no time did Western public lands belong to the states. They were acquired through treaty, conquest or purchase by the federal government acting on behalf of all the citizens of the United States.

It is also a bad idea for keeping public lands public. Western states have historically sold their public lands—Utah has sold 55 percent of its state trust lands; Nevada 99 percent; and Colorado 38 percent. We should expect nothing different if public lands are managed by the states.

Public lands are the anvil upon which the character of our nation was hammered as we made our way west. They demonstrate we are not a desperate nation; having to scratch and claw every ounce of gold, suck every gallon of oil or turn every tree into a piece of lumber.

Public lands demonstrate the inherent optimism of America. They affirm that we believe in passing on a healthier land and water legacy to our kids than the one we inherited from our parents.

To intone Macbeth, Americans hear so much “sound and fury” from Washington, D.C., instinctively we become tone deaf to the noise. Cynical people are counting on our passivity. Don’t let them win. Act today to keep public lands in public hands.

EDITOR

Kirk Deeter

DEPUTY EDITOR

Samantha Carmichael

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Erin Block

Trout Unlimited 1700 N Moore Street Suite 2005

Arlington, VA 22209-2793

Ph: (800) 834-2419

trout@tu.org www.tu.org

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From the Editor

...In Public Hands

[ Kirk Deeter ]

Asking me (the editor) about favorite stories I’ve run in TROUT, is akin to asking a parent to talk about their favorite children. TROUT runs tons of amazing stories from the best writers connected to fishing and conservation in the entire world, and I’m extremely proud of the vast body of work I’ve led as editor, now 52 issues and counting. That said, I’d encourage you to take an extra-meaningful gander at “Somewhere South of Fairplay,” Tom Reed’s contribution to this issue. And also think hard on the rest of the stories contained in these pages, because it’s no coincidence that we made the theme of this issue of TROUT “Public Lands.” Every few years, it seems, the pavement-dwellers propose divesting of public lands, and each time, TU CEO Chris Wood and many others eloquently show how public lands are the very fabric of what we all care about—and the absolute short-sighted, tragic folly that would result if we lost public access to the land and waterways on which we hike, fish and recreate. As someone who has made a career of going all around the world and writing stories about fishing for trout, I can tell you that I am always—always—left with the immense pride of being an American, because no matter where I go, I inevitably feel the envy of people who are absolutely awe-struck by the notion of what we Americans can share and experience by virtue of access to public lands. If you genuinely care about access and fishing, there should be a clear line in the sand. Draw it… and defend it.

F REE-RANGE CERTIFIED.

A destination isn’t measured in miles, but in moments.

It’s the freedom to roam, to wade, to drift into something bigger.

No ticket required, just the will to wander.

news bits and bytes

Exploring the Nulhegan

Vermont’s Remote Fly-Fishing Sanctuary

BY T.J. DEZOTELL

There are rivers you visit and rivers you experience. The Nulhegan River, which quietly winds through Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, is undeniably the latter. As a fly-fishing guide and the president of our local TU chapter, I’ve witnessed firsthand the subtle beauty and wild character of this river. To those who’ve ventured deep into the Nulhegan’s remote stretches, it remains one of the finest wild brook trout fisheries in New England.

A River Rich with History Long before fly rods and waders, the Abenaki people roamed the banks of the Nulhegan. The name “Nulhegan” itself originates from the Abenaki language, roughly translating to “river where the fish dwell.” This nod to abundant life was no exaggeration; the river historically teemed with brook trout, Atlantic salmon

and other native species. For the Abenaki, the river represented sustenance, spirituality and survival. As modern stewards, understanding this heritage enriches our connection to the water.

European settlers arrived in the late 18th century, attracted by the fertile forests and wildlife. Logging then predominated, and although it brought economic prosperity, it also disrupted the delicate ecological balance of the river. Decades of conservation efforts have begun to heal these wounds, and today, the Nulhegan once again thrives, its waters clean, clear and vibrant with native fish.

The Nulhegan Division of the Silvio O. Conte Wildlife Refuge

One of the greatest conservation success stories in the Northeast Kingdom is the establishment of the Nulhegan Basin Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Spanning over

26,000 acres, this refuge represents a profound commitment to land and water protection, creating one of the most significant contiguous forest blocks in the Northeast.

Throughout Conte’s political career, he was a champion for the environment, and the refuge embodies his vision of landscape-scale conservation. The Nulhegan Division protects key headwaters that feed the river, safeguarding critical brook trout spawning habitat. As a result, the waters here remain pristine, providing a haven not only for fish but for rare species like Canada lynx, moose, pine marten, boreal birds and an incredible diversity of amphibians.

Wild Brook Trout:

Jewels of the Northeast Kingdom

Wild brook trout (Vermont’s state fish) dominate the river, providing challenging, spirited action. Each season, my

clients marvel at the brookies’ brilliant colors—fiery reds, striking blues and vibrant greens. Unlike stocked trout, wild brook trout possess an undeniable toughness, shaped by survival in a dynamic wilderness environment. Landing one requires patience, skill and an appreciation for the subtleties of the sport. They remind us why we fish: to experience nature authentically.

The Challenge of Access

Fishing the remote stretches of the Nulhegan is no easy task. While a few accessible spots provide entry points, the majority of the river snakes through remote, densely wooded areas. Trails are scarce, roads even scarcer. Here lies both challenge and opportunity; those willing to explore are rewarded with solitude and untouched waters.

In our fishing expeditions into its headwaters, we pack personal portable rafts into an extremely remote put-in, where we then work through gentle riffles, tight bends and dense vegetation, accessing pools and runs seldom visited by others. Rafts not only make remote fishing possible, but help us fish more sustainably, minimizing our footprint in sensitive areas.

Fishing the Nulhegan isn’t just about trout—it’s a full wilderness immersion. Moose emerge silently from dense forest cover, a doe and her fawn come down to the bank for a drink, and ospreys soar overhead. Bird enthusiasts find paradise here, too. Boreal species like spruce grouse, blackbacked woodpeckers, grey jays and boreal chickadees inhabit the refuge. Hearing their distinct calls while casting dry flies on a tranquil morning amplifies the sense of remote wilderness.

of TU actively supports conservation projects along the Nulhegan, partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, Memphremagog Watershed Association and many other organizations. Projects like riparian buffer restoration, culvert replacement, habitat chop-and-drops and fish passage improvements enhance habitat and ensure brook trout populations remain robust.

Planning a trip to fish the Nulhegan requires preparation. Given the remote nature of the river, it’s wise to hire a guide or join a guided trip to ensure total enjoyment of the experience.

Essential gear includes 3- to 5-weight fly rods, floating line and classic brook trout patterns like Elk Hair Caddis, the Royal Wulff and bead-head nymphs. Don’t overlook terrestrial patterns during summer months. Always pack for changing weather—rain gear, layers and bug spray are crucial.

Rafts not only make remote fishing possible, but help us fish more sustainably, minimizing our footprint in sensitive areas.

As anglers, we carry the responsibility of stewardship. The David & Francis Smith Northeast Kingdom Chapter

Every angler who visits carries the responsibility of protecting this exceptional place. By practicing catch-and-release, minimizing impact and supporting local conservation, we ensure future generations will experience the Nulhegan’s magic.

Note: Vermont Senator Peter Welch recently introduced legislation to proceed with a study of the Nulhegan River and Paul Stream and their tributaries in order to designate them as National Wild & Scenic Rivers via Congressional recommendation.

T.J. Dezotell is a northern Vermont fly-fishing guide, photographer and conservationist based in Island Pond.

The Long Game

BY SAM DAVIDSON

It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of public lands for fishing and hunting in America. In the West, the vast majority of good stream and upland habitat we have left is found on lands managed by the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Most of these lands are open for development of mineral, energy and timber resources.

Such development can compromise aquatic, riparian and upland habitat if not done responsibly, with careful consideration of fish and wildlife needs. And some places are so important as strongholds for fish and game that protecting their habitat values should be prioritized.

One such place is the Sáttítla Highlands, a rugged landscape not far from Mt. Shasta in northern California. This region, the remnants of a geologic formation called a shield volcano—the largest in North America—is part of three national for-

ests. Ironically, the Sáttítla Highlands have very little surface water. Yet this region is vital for a fistful of famous trout streams, including California’s largest spring-fed stream system: the Fall River.

That’s because the porous landscape of the Sáttítla Highlands absorbs and filters significant amounts of rain and snowmelt and collects it into a vast aquifer, which some studies suggest contains as much water as California’s 200 largest surface reservoirs combined.

And wow, this water. It’s so cold and clean that you can drink it straight from

the springs where much of it emerges from the ground—60 miles or more from the crest of the Highlands—at the head of the Fall River Valley. This spring system is the sole source of the Fall River. Thanks to its unique hydrology and water quality, the Fall River is incredibly fecund. A distinctive population of native rainbow trout has evolved here which spawns in two different seasons and churns out steelhead-size fish. Even in periods of prolonged drought, the Fall River springs deliver an impressive volume of water to the Fall, and to the Pit and Sacramento rivers downstream. Legendary trout streams, all.

The aquifer under the Sáttítla Highlands—and the trout and fishing experiences that depend on it— are extraordinary. That’s why Trout Unlimited worked closely with the Pit

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Continued from page 12 River Tribe and other conservation partners over the past 18 months to permanently protect 224,000 acres of this region of public lands as a national monument.

The Sáttítla Highlands are the homeland of the 11 bands of the Pit River Tribe. The Tribe has been fighting for decades to protect this remarkable landscape from proposed development projects. The Sáttítla Highlands have extraordinary cultural, geologic, hydrologic, recreational and water values and in every way deserve national monument status.

President Biden acknowledged this in January of this year, when he honored the long struggle of the Pit River Tribe by establishing the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument.

Over the last century, the creation of national monuments and other protective designations for deserv-

ing areas of public lands has helped create a bulwark against habitat loss and sustain some of our best hunting and fishing opportunities. Examples include the Hoover Wilderness in California, the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico, the Copper-Salmon Wilderness in Oregon and Browns Canyon National Monument in Colorado.

Trout Unlimited has strongly supported such designations for public lands and waters with high habitat and sporting values. In fact, Trout Unlimited played a lead role in establishing or expanding all special designations in the preceding paragraph.

Since 1904, 18 presidents—nine Republican and nine Democrat, including President Trump—have used their authority under the Antiquities Act to establish new national monuments.

Productive habitat is critical for

species viability and sporting success. Without large areas of undisturbed, healthy waters and lands, our fish and game species start to go away—as do our fishing and hunting opportunities. Literally. We have lost a lot of wild country over the past 200 years, and many fish and game populations, tags and lengths of seasons reflect this loss.

Of the 28 trout species and subspecies native to the Lower 48, for example, three are now extinct and six are listed as threatened or endangered. More than half now occupy less than 25 percent of their historic range.

The Sáttítla Highlands are a great monument if, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, we can keep it. Conservation is a long game, and the game never really ends. For anglers and hunters, protecting habitat and sporting opportunity is just part of the deal—now more than ever.

The Sáttítla Highlands have extraordinary cultural, geologic, hydrologic, recreational and water values and in every way deserve national monument status.

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Keep Public Lands in Public Hands

BY COREY FISHER

Controversy over public lands is nothing new. From the Sagebrush Rebellion in the 1970s, to state legislatures considering cookie-cutter legislation in the mid-2010s demanding federal public lands be transferred to states, to recent litigation questioning the constitutionality of public lands, there is a long history of proposals to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of lands that belong to all Americans.

Most recently, Congress is considering the sale of federally managed public lands as one way to raise revenue to pay for tax cuts. At the same time, the Department of the Interior is evaluating public lands that may be offloaded to address housing shortages. Regardless of the current justification or public relations pitch, schemes for large scale sell-off of public lands are shortsighted and unpopular among hunters and anglers across the political spectrum.

Thankfully, forward-thinking lawmakers have introduced legislation to limit the disposal of public lands that “can be accessed by public road, public trail, public waterway, public easement, or public right-of-way.”

Championed by Representatives Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), the Public Lands in Public Hands Act (H.R. 718) is bipartisan legislation that would restrict the sale or transfer of most public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service except under specific conditions and where required under previous laws.

Public lands are vital for wild and native trout. Nearly 70 percent of the remaining habitat for native trout in the Intermountain West and more than 50 percent of the nation’s blueribbon trout streams are found on public lands. Public lands are also the backbone of an outdoor recreation economy that generates $1.2 trillion in economic output and supports five million jobs.

Moreover, the 640 million acres of public lands in our country also support a multitude of uses that produce

goods and resources society needs, as well as ecosystem benefits for communities—national forests alone provide drinking water for over 60 million people!

Regardless of the current justification or public relations pitch, schemes for large scale sell-off of public lands are shortsighted and unpopular among hunters and anglers across the political spectrum.

The value of public lands isn’t just about economic output and statistics, however. Arguably, the greatest value of our public lands is personal. These are the places where millions of kids learned to fish. It’s where we go to ‘get lost’ and find a piece of ourselves. We all have our own fishing spots, hunting honey holes and places of respite that we like to think of as our own, and that—for now—belong to us all.   These are not just places on a map, these are places in our hearts. The Public Lands in Public Hands Act will help keep them there, for all Americans. Scan the QR code to act in support of this important legislation.

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Bugs with Mags: Big Love for Small Creatures

BY MAGGIE HEUMANN, TU DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS

I’ve known I wanted to be an entomologist since I was three years old. Bugs never scared me—they fascinated me. My first “real” data collection gig was as “Junior Caddisfly” for the Fort Payne High School FFA Water Monitoring Team. I was maybe seven or eight, tagging along thanks to Mr. Blanton, an FFA sponsor with a serious fly-fishing habit.

When I started looking at colleges around 2004, I was surprised to find that not every school had an entomology program—and some even called it “Pest Management,” which definitely wasn’t the vibe I was going for. I just wanted to study insects, teach others about them and fill every Cornell drawer and vial I could get my hands on. Eventually, I followed family tradition to Auburn University, where I technically majored in Poultry Science but took far more entomology courses than I needed to for my “minor.”

After graduation, the job market was still reeling from the housing crisis. I headed west and pursued a Master’s in Entomology, assuming—naively—that all the public lands I loved had full-time entomologists doing regular inventories and surveys. I thought we must surely be tracking the biodiversity of Wild & Scenic Rivers, national forests and parks. What I found instead was a huge opportunity. I had learned about ATBIs (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories)—specifically the ones done in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the rich diversity waiting to be discovered on our public lands. I just couldn’t figure out how to get more people to care about this.

During that time, I started working part-time (then full-time) in a fly shop, which turned out to be the start of a long, winding road that led me to Trout Unlimited. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled across a group of grad students from the University of Montana asking the same questions I was: Why do we run annual fish surveys but skip the bugs? Where have all the salmonflies gone? Could communities be trained to collect

real data and help fill in the gaps and answer questions?

Enter The Salmonfly Project. This grassroots initiative is bringing citizen science to the rivers, empowering volunteers to collect and identify aquatic macroinvertebrates—those stoneflies, mayflies and caddisflies that hold up the base of the food web. These insects are more than fish food. They’re indicators of stream health and red flags when things go wrong.

The truth is, aquatic insect populations are in trouble. Habitat loss, development, pollution and a rapidly changing climate are reshaping their life cycles and shrinking their range. The Salmonfly Project is flipping that challenge into a solution—by putting tools in the hands of anglers, students, conservationists and anyone who cares about their local stream.

Volunteers get trained to sample bugs, record environmental data like temperature and fine sediment, and upload photos to platforms like iNaturalist. That info gets used to track trends and inform

restoration work. Even small observations matter: a photo with a GPS tag, a shift in emergence timing, a new stonefly in an unexpected place. All of it helps scientists see a bigger picture.

What I love most about The Salmonfly Project is that it’s deeply personal and deeply scientific all at once. You don’t need a degree—you just need curiosity and a little time on the water. And in return, you get a better understanding of your home watershed, a new appreciation for the little critters that make trout fishing possible, and a chance to be part of something bigger. When things go awry in your watershed, you now have a dataset to use as leverage.

We’re in an age where conservation can’t be left to the professionals alone. Citizen science is how we close the gaps. It’s how we connect people to places and remind them that the river’s health doesn’t begin or end with fish—it starts with the bugs. That’s what flies are imitating, after all.

As I like to say, if you care about trout, you better care about what trout eat. And if you care about that, you’re already halfway to being a bug nerd like me.

Want to help care for the bugs, too? Join me and The Salmonfly Project by sharing your observations or participating in their community surveys. Your time on the water can help fuel better conservation and restoration decisions across the West. www.salmonflyproject. org/. Let’s get some boots in the water—and eyes on the bugs!

CRTU’s 30-year Commitment Restores Wild Brook Trout, Attracts Windfall Funds

BY BEN MOYER, CRTU PRESIDENT

Trout Unlimited’s Chestnut Ridge Chapter (CRTU) in southwestern Pennsylvania got an unexpected financial boost last fall. When the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) cited a Marcellus shale gas extraction firm for violations, a court ordered the firm to donate a specified large sum to a credible conservation organization in the region. The firm found CRTU through the chapter website and mailed a check to the treasurer earmarked for CRTU’s Glade Run Project.

Glade Run is a mountain stream with a tragic history that sparked CRTU’s founding in 1995. From its inception, the chapter committed to Glade’s restoration and has upheld that pledge through three decades.

Glade Run begins in a high wetland, then plunges through a remote gorge in Chestnut Ridge, the westernmost flank of the Allegheny Mountains, flowing eight miles over falls and through boulder-studded pools within the 16,000 wild acres of State Game Land. Downstream, it joins Dunbar Creek and the Youghiogheny River.

Once known for its native brook trout, Glade Run suffered the fate of countless Appalachian streams. Surface mining for coal from the 1940s through the early 1980s unleashed acid that wiped out trout and the food chain that supported them.

“We considered it unacceptable that such a beautiful stream, flowing through public land, could not support the native wild trout of these mountains,” said Eugene Gordon of Mt. Braddock, Pa., who first envisioned a Trout Unlimited chapter to nurture Glade Run’s recovery.

Early on, the chapter collaborated with environmental scientists from California University of PA to establish baseline data. Surveys confirmed the absence of brook trout and found only insects tolerant of acidic pollution.

Beginning in 1998, CRTU experimented with limestone sand dosing,

a low-tech approach to acid mine drainage treatment well suited to the Glade Run watershed. Members sought technical help from the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and calculated the amount of limestone sand needed to achieve short-term improvements. They worked with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which owned the land, to improve

truck access on old logging roads and placed loads of limestone sand on the streambank in three locations, where high-flow events could wash the fine particles into the stream to dissolve and raise alkalinity and pH.

Limestone dosing achieved marked improvements in Glade Run’s chemistry, and CRTU placed hatchery-raised brook trout in cages in Glade Run. The trout survived, and CRTU applied to DEP and won a $300,000 grant to construct a passive acid mine drainage treatment system on Glade Run’s headwaters, outside the state land boundary.

Contractors finished construction in 2002. The system worked well but members continued to find more acidic discharges from the poorly reclaimed mine site. To address untreated dis-

Once known for its native brook trout, Glade Run suffered the fate of countless Appalachian streams. Surface mining for coal from the 1940s through the early 1980s unleashed acid that wiped out trout and the food chain that supported them.

charges, the chapter began twice-yearly treatments with limestone sand purchased from approved quarries. CRTU has continued this schedule for 23 years, spending as much as $15,000 per year to place limestone sand at three treatment sites in the Glade Run basin. The chapter raised this money at its annual banquet, and won grants from the Pennsylvania Coldwater Heritage Partnership, Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener program, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and the Miller Brewing Company.

As water quality improved, CRTU worked under California University of PA’s Scientific Collection Permit to electro-shock wild brook trout in a different Dunbar Creek tributary and carried them overland in water-tight backpacks to reintroduce brook trout to Glade Run, where they had been absent throughout the lives of CRTU members.

Three years later, the chapter and its California University partners documented young-of-the-year brook trout spawned in Glade Run.

CRTU’s commitment to Glade Run attracted the attention of the more financially robust Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which designed and constructed additional treatment systems in the Glade Run headwaters. Wild brook trout are again thriving.

CRTU also does regular litter cleanups, and has worked with American Rivers, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and California University of PA Partners for Fish and Wildlife to remove obstacles to fish passage throughout the watershed.

In 2022 DEP designated the Dunbar Creek watershed, including Glade Run, as “Exceptional Value Waters,” and acknowledged CRTU’s work in its justifying narrative.

“I’m so proud of our chapter for what it’s accomplished here for wild trout,” Gordon said. “And it’s rewarding to see our achievements noticed by others.”

“There are many ways we can go with this new money,” CRTU secretary John Dolan said of the gas firm’s check. “We can continue our limestone dosing, though water quality is improving with the new systems. Or we can improve

habitat or work to protect hemlock trees there from hemlock woolly adelgid. We may even use part of the money to leverage a grant for the final treatment systems that will enable Glade Run to again be all it can be.”

MAYBE PICKUP

PocketWater

Guiding for the Future: A Conversation with Micah Fields

In our ongoing series profiling ambassadors of FOAM’s Guiding for the Future (G4F) program, we sit down with Micah Fields, a seasoned guide based in Helena, Montana. Micah shares his experiences, insights on conservation and how G4F has shaped his approach to guiding.

Russell Parks: Micah, thanks for joining us. Let’s start with your home waters. Where do you primarily guide?

Micah Fields: The Missouri River is my home water these days. I started in Missoula, so I cut my teeth on the Blackfoot, Rock Creek and the Bitterroot. But the Missouri River keeps me pretty busy.

Russell Parks: You’ve been guiding for about six years now. What’s your guide number?

Micah Fields: 45029.

Russell Parks: Where did you come from originally?

Micah Fields: I grew up in Houston and around Texas. After high school, I served four years in the Marine Corps. I ended up in Montana after wanting to go to college and being drawn to the proximity to fishing. I met my wife in Missoula, and that sealed the deal.

Russell Parks: How did you first hear about Guiding for the Future?

Micah Fields: Through guide friends like Taylor Todd, and Matt Hargrave and outfitters who recommended it. I also saw stickers and heard about it through FOAM. I’m a sucker for continuing education and certifications. Guiding for the Future seemed like something many people I respected had done and recommended.

Russell Parks: Speaking of conservation, you’ve been involved in the recent legislative session. What are your current conservation efforts focused on?

Micah Fields: One thing that always bugs me is the paradox of working in the outdoor industry. We’re inherently adding pressure to the resource. I have a bit

of guilt about that. I try to be a conscious participant in the outdoors. Having a kid lit a fire under me. I’m on the board for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Montana Chapter, as the Stewardship Leader. I help manage fence pulls, habi-

A lot of clients come to Montana expecting just to catch fish. I try to enlighten them that there’s more to a day of fishing. I want clients to expect a well-rounded, courteous guide who teaches them about the landscape, history and entomology.

tat and trail improvement projects. I believe every guide should be concerned about the future of our resource. My conservation priorities are access and maintaining stream access. We’re the envy of the country with our forwardthinking access model and abundant public land, water and wildlife.

Russell Parks: What was one of the most compelling parts of the G4F course for you?

Micah Fields: The conservation history coursework was intense and appropriately hard. It’s not just about catching fish; it’s about how we got where we are today, the North American Model of Conservation, and the heroes of conservation. It informs every guide trip for me. G4F is not just a glorified fishing trip. It’s a difficult course with a lot of knowledge packed into a short amount of time.

Russell Parks: How has the G4F course impacted your daily guiding?

Micah Fields: I’m a teacher by trade, and guiding is primarily teaching. G4F taught me a lot more and gave me tools to talk about bugs, the impact on the river and explain the environment. Interpreting the surroundings for people is huge. I try to teach people to be conservationists. Being able to explain complex issues like the Smith Mine situation tactfully and informatively is crucial.

Russell Parks: What does a client get out of a guide who has gone through G4F?

Micah Fields: A lot of clients come to Montana expecting just to catch fish. I try to enlighten them that there’s more to a day of fishing. I want clients to expect a well-rounded, courteous guide who teaches them about the landscape, history and entomology. Ultimately, I’d love for clients to look for the G4F label when booking a guide trip.

Russell Parks: If there was one key takeaway for you from G4F, what would that be?

Micah Fields: We should think about guiding as a community rather than a lone wolf industry. We’re stronger as a community and better conservationists together. It’s easy to think about you against the world, but it’s crucial to understand we’re all on the same team.

PocketWater

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF...

COFFEE TABLE… GAME ROOM… FLY-TYING BENCH…

Trout of North America (Reference Card Deck)

BY JAMES PROSEK ($24.95; rizzoliusa.com)

At the age of 19, James Prosek published Trout: An Illustrated History, prompting the The New York Times to call him “the Audubon of the fishing world.” He’s lived up to that reputation, having now published a dozen other books and exhibited his art throughout the world.

His latest offering is a uniquely beautiful, detailed collection of cards—slightly larger than playing cards and just a bit smaller than index cards—featuring all his paintings of North American trout, char, etc. Each of 60 cards features a detailed color painting on one side, then information on the back including where the fish are found, what are their identifying marks, and then some interesting factoids about each fish. For example, did you know that Arctic char have an average lifespan of 15 years, and some live as long as 30 years?

It’s like having an encyclopedia of all things trout in a package the size of your fly box. Beautifully produced by Rizzoli Universe, which is known for high quality production of artistic books and such, this is an ideal gift… a flash card primer

Wear TU Proudly

We are excited to announce that Trout Unlimited’s new online store is officially live at shop.tu.org! Now you can show your support for cold, clean water with high-quality, sustainably sourced apparel and gear from ethical and environmentally responsible brands.

What’s in the Store?

• Classic TU Styles – Always available, always stylish.

• Limited-Edition Drops – Exclusive gear released throughout the year.

• Sustainable, Ethical Apparel –Because fish (and your conscience) deserve better.

Enter TROUTMAG at checkout for a 10 percent discount through August 1, 2025!

Pursuant to the provisions of Trout Unlimited’s bylaws, the 66th Annual Meeting of the members will be held on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 8:00pm Eastern via live video-conference to elect and re-elect trustees and to take up any other business that comes up properly before the meeting. Accordingly, voting at the annual meeting will be restricted to active TU members only. The form to vote by proxy at the meeting, the meeting agendajj and video-conference access information will be available at tu.org/annualmeeting25 at least 45 days in advance of the meeting.

Stealing the Night

BY THOMAS REED

Much has been written of the most remote place in the Lower 48, a place so far back there it is a two-day ride on a fast-gaited saddle horse. Much has been written of Alaska’s wild and lonesome Brooks Range, a great east-west chain of mountains that shoulders the Arctic Ocean on one side and the vast tundra of the Far North on the other. Tales of adventure have been born in these places and upon the anvil of these wild landscapes, great art has been shaped. These are places that test the boundaries of the English language, that cause humans to invent words as if there are no words available at a writer’s behest for such magnificence. Places of remote adventure rife with adrenaline-pumping risk, places of escape, places of connection with soil and sky, water and wildlife.

A few summers back, I stood in one of these places under a harlequin night, slack-jawed at the river of stars in the Milky Way, the constellations familiar and not, an occasional shooting star breaking our upward gaze. We were gathered on the banks of a great river to fish a famous early summer run of native trout, to laugh, sleep on fragrant pine needles, ride good horse friends, sit before pine-popping fires, eat fabulous meals flavored by long days and outdoor experiences. We had a collective thought that traveled osmotically from friend to friend: This, this is what it is all about.

Then across the sky came a belt of strange lights, all in a row, soaring silently up there in the darkness across our night, across our adventure. A few of us wondered what we were seeing, but one among us identified this as a satellite network in the heavens, available

to any one of us for a price. If we wanted to, we could tap into social media right there beside the campfire in the deep woods. We had not really gotten away from it all, after all, and two days in on a fast-gaited horse did not seem that far. What, another of our group wondered, must the Sentinelese—the most isolated people on our blue marble who live by hunting, gathering and fishing by preference far away from the modern world—think of such an affront? Was this not the world’s sky? Their sky as much as ours? Was this not a version of stealing from them, stealing their night? What about all of the other satellites orbiting our tiny lonely planet—estimated to be as many as 25,000—did those machines somehow degrade the experience of those whose lives were not made better by such technology?

These are the kinds of topics that travel around campfires late at night, deep in remote wilderness where humans seek connection to something greater, larger, deeper than our shallow day-to-day routines.

The Internet age has added many definitions to our ever-evolving dictionary, not the least among them new meanings for the words “remote” and “connection.” Ours was a campfire in grizzly bear country, far from hospitals, airports, working telephones and many other modern conveniences. We were as far back in there and as away from it as we could be in 21st century America. But we had not escaped modernity. Indeed, we had used it. We each had cell phones that doubled as cameras in the pockets of our snap button Western shirts. We had tapped into a computer mapping program that showed us our real time

location on these same phones. We had driven fancy diesel pickups pulling deluxe horse trailers to the trailhead. We fished not with bamboo rods and silk line, but with the latest graphite fine-tuned to our individual casting styles. We were anything but Luddites, anything but the Sentinelese isolated on their tiny island off the coast of India.

Yet our experience was somehow downgraded from the raucous adventure we had imagined. Saddened. No longer could I write “back home in civilization” because civilization could be found in every corner of our planet if a string of satellites offering network connection

is our litmus test for the advance of said society.

Technology has brightened our lives considerably. I started a career in journalism using an IBM Selectric typewriter. That sounds horrific to me now. Technology has helped to stop pollution in some cases; think of the photographic chemicals made obsolete by digital photography, for example.

But technology has also sired a complacency and a need-to-be-served attitude. Legend in the National Park Service is the true story of a father-son hiking trip a decade and a half ago in the Grand Canyon in which the group carried a personal locator beacon that could be activated to alert authorities in the case of an emergency. Early in the trip, search and rescue teams were alerted by the beacon and launched a dangerous helicopter rescue mission into the canyon. When they arrived, rescuers found that the group had triggered the beacon because

they had run out of water, but by the time the rescue team arrived, they had found water and were just fine. They sent the rescuers away. That night, the dads and sons triggered the beacon again. Up went the helicopter again. Using night-vision, the SAR team again arrived to “rescue” the hapless hikers. But they were found alive and well. They had triggered the beacon because the water tasted “too salty.”

After the third non-emergency beacontriggering, the rescuers forced the men and their sons aboard the helicopter and out of the canyon altogether. Of course, there are those who would not suffer such fools gladly at any cost, but the other side of the equation is that at least they went, at least they tried for a great adventure in the outdoors. They could have stayed at home and explored it online.

The good news of all this is that technology has advanced since that 2009 incident. I learned by watching a commercial during last winter’s Super

Bowl, that if I had a cell phone of a certain provider, I could tap into that string of satellites and just make a phone call if the water tasted too much like it came from the sea. If that were the case, the poor ranger on the other end could just tell me to eat dirt rather than launch an airborne mission.

Nevertheless, a bit of sorrow hangs over all this change. When is all of this enough? I cannot help but think that the horseman being passed by the Model T had a similar lament. I cannot help but think that we have stolen the night sky from our children. Never again will a human be born on this planet without some man-made device slicing through the night sky. My son will never see a sky where the only belt of light in the heavens will be Orion The Hunter’s.

Thomas Reed ranches and writes outside Pony, Montana. He is the author of Blue Lines, A Fishing Life

These are the kinds of topics that travel around campfires late at night, deep in remote wilderness where humans seek connection to something greater, larger, deeper than our shallow day-to-day routines.

Missoula

WORDS BY JOHN GIERACH PAINTING BY BOB WHITE

I first laid eyes on Missoula during a fishing trip to Montana sometime in the 1970s, shortly after Noman Maclean’s book, A River Runs Through it and Other Stories, made the region in general— and the nearby Blackfoot River in particular—even more famous among fly fishers than it already was. That was 40 years ago, so I don’t actually remember, but we probably came into town for the usual reasons: to pick up provisions and, as long as we were there, to get a good café breakfast at a place with a counter and stools, booths along one wall and a waitress who addressed us individually as “Sweetie” and collectively as “Boys.”

You didn’t have to look hard to see that this was a fishing town. Trailered drift boats were a significant feature of what passed for morning rush hour and although there wasn’t actually a fly shop on every corner, if you needed a fly shop, you wouldn’t have to go far to find one. Not all that surprising for a place within easy range of not only the Blackfoot, but the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Rock Creek and their tributaries—some 300 miles of fishable water within an hour’s drive from town, all of it good if you knew what you were doing and your luck held.

Without quite realizing it at the time, I was making the regular stops on the American fly-fishing pilgrimage—at least those places that drew the most attention with guide services, destination fly shops and good press from the magazines. There were plenty of these distinct neighborhoods with place names that evoked adventure for visiting fishermen and another day at the office for local guides. People talked a lot about golden triangles back then and when these fisheries were in their prime it was easy to imagine the Mountain West as a series of interlocking golden triangles scattered across the landscape like spilled jewelry from

northern New Mexico to the Canadian border and beyond.

I was out to see as many famous rivers as I could (maybe I had a premonition that this might not last) and at the same time was already developing a soft spot for what have been called “second class waters:” rivers, creeks, ponds and lakes that held trout, but, for one reason or another, weren’t fashionable or crowded yet and maybe never would be. They were scattered around haphazardly in trout country and in the days before the Internet, social media and hand-held GPS units, certain sweet spots could still be held close to the vest by locals and a reputation as someone who wouldn’t kiss and tell could sometimes get you a solid gold tip.

Some time later I began to swing through Missoula every few years on book tours where the independent Fact & Fiction Bookstore was a regular and welcome stop, but I rarely tried to fish. Often it was in the spring when conditions weren’t ideal anyway, but the real reason was that combining activities as disparate as book promotion and fishing has a way of sucking the life out of one or the other if not both, especially when the schedule is tight. Previous experience had taught me that the things you have to do should be done with due diligence and the things you love should never be rushed, especially when rushing is so antithetical to the soul of the thing. Thomas McGuane nailed it once and for all when he said, “Fishing is extremely time consuming; that’s sort of the whole point.”

But fishing was always in the wind and impossible to ignore. One time I was walking off my pre-event jitters on a bike path along the river when I saw an osprey catch a nice-sized trout—maybe 14- or 15-inches—manhandle it while he was still airborne until it was pointing straight ahead instead of sideways for better aerodynamics, and then flap off, presumably to hungry chicks waiting in the nest. I felt the twin stabs of envy and admiration that are so familiar to fishermen and my nerves quieted down.

Another time, I was having lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Clark Fork with Susan, the woman I’d lived with for two decades then and would eventually marry. The river was a little high and off-color, but still fishable and the big picture windows along one wall offered a widescreen view of a man nymphing an inside bend as diligently as a heron working the shallows of a pond but still coming up blank. I asked our waitress if this stretch of river fished well and she said, “Yeah, I think so. There’s an old man we see here a lot who just hammers fish.” After the waitress left Susan said, “If she’ll describe him to you as an ‘old man,’ he must be ancient.”

I was out to see as many famous rivers as I could (maybe I had a premonition that this might not last) and at the same time was already developing a soft spot for what have been called “second class waters:” rivers, creeks, ponds and lakes that held trout, but, for one reason or another, weren’t fashionable or crowded yet and maybe never would be.

More recently I went to Missoula in September to accept the Writers on Water Award from the creative wiring department at the University of Montana. I’d never heard of this award, but this was the first time it was being given, so no one else had heard of it either. No matter, I was happy to accept. Once at a book fair I heard a not terribly well-known writer say of so-called “minor” literary prizes, “If it’s not a National Book Award or a Pulitzer, you’re just a big frog in a little pond,” and I remember thinking, What’s wrong with little ponds?

I didn’t ask a lot of questions when I got the call, so didn’t get the lay of the land until I got there. I knew this was a fundraiser for the department—the graduate-level equivalent of an elementary school bake sale—and I knew there’d be two days of float-fishing beforehand as part of the festivities, but it was only at a gathering of donors the first evening that I learned it was a fishing contest. Or at least that was the idea. We were all presented with fancy wooden fly boxes containing the handful of flies we were supposed to use—a couple dries, a couple of nymphs and a streamer—and someone explained the rules. And that’s the last time I heard much about the contest. As far as I could see, most of the donors politely declined to compete and just went fishing.

I recently dug out that fly box to remind myself of the name of the event— “Hooks for Books,” the kind of title a committee might come up with— and found that it was empty. The flies weren’t patterns I’d normally use and I wonder what I did with them. They were beautifully tied and as a fly tier myself, I wouldn’t have let them go to waste.

Whenever I travel in the West I’m struck by changes that were inevitable in hindsight, but that I didn’t see coming. Once, the typical pickup you’d see in Missoula was a working ranch truck: old and mud-spattered with its bed filled with unromantic but useful things like steel T-posts, rolls of barbed wire and a post driver. Now, the average pickup is late model and freshly washed with a bed so pristine it looks like it’s never hauled

anything more serious than groceries from the nearest Whole Foods Market. And where once most businesses were recognizable banks, bars, cafes and hardware stores, you’ll now see establishments like REVOLVR, which I’d have once assumed was a gun store owned by someone who didn’t know how to proofread, but now recognize as some kind of ironic boutique.

But there are still comforting remnants of the old Missoula. For instance, there are still plenty of fly shops (11 at last count) and there’s a prevailing attitude that’s recognizable. That first morning, when some of us from Hooks for Books tromped through the hushed eggshell and chrome hotel lobby wearing waders, carrying fly rods and feeling a little out of place, no one even looked up. Likewise, out front it was business as usual as trailered drift boats pulled up in the valet parking lane to collect the fishermen.

That morning we drove out of town, turned up a dirt road and followed it a long slow way through sparse and sunny

But there are still comforting remnants of the old Missoula. For instance, there are still plenty of fly shops (11 at last count) and there’s a prevailing attitude that’s recognizable.

pine woods to an unimproved put-in on the upper Blackfoot, possibly as far up in there as you can get towing a drift boat. Once there we dawdled a bit on this chilly morning and I thought maybe our guide, Tony, was killing time to let the water warm up a little before we started fishing. I didn’t ask. On trips like this the guide sets the pace and impatient clients with other ideas are usually wrong. It turned out that Tony was studying creative writing—as were some of the other guides—and it made perfect sense. Guiding is more interesting, better paying and more flexible than most student jobs and if you’re a writer, there are worse places to observe the varieties of human behavior than on a trout river.

I’d never floated the Blackfoot this

far upstream and all kinds of things go through your mind on new water. A fisherman’s brain automatically crackles with tactics. Where are the fish? What are they doing? How can I get a drift over there? But a river exhibits something like body language and I like to think that if I take in the whole scene and dip a hand in to see how cold the water is, I can begin to sense its mood, which on that morning struck me as indecisive. My partner in the boat that day was a man who went by “C.J.”—a quiet and diligent fisherman—and although I landed a 19-inch bull trout on my third cast, the rest of the day passed at a slow, steady pace for both of us. Some trout fed in small pods and singles here and there along the river and we’d pick one up

PHOTOS

BY JIM GRAY

now and then on hoppers and droppers, Mahogany Duns, Flying Ants, swung soft hackles and such; each fish briefly interrupting a meandering conversation that would then pick right back up again. I learned that although some still fish the Blackfoot as a bucket list river for literary reasons, by now many have never heard of Norman Maclean or A River Runs Through It—either the book or the movie that was later made of it. That film did make a splash in its time (early 1990s) and some said it put fly fishing on the map, but I’m not so sure about that. Fly fishing was already clearly marked on the maps of everyone I knew then and although the movie had plenty of fly fishing in it, that’s not really what it was about. I heard it was especially puzzling

to anglers in England who were expecting an instructional video.

The next day I floated a stretch of the lower Bitterroot with a guide named Nick and Chris Dombrowski. I first met Chris when I gave his book, Body of Water, a favorable review during my extremely short stint as a book reviewer for The Wall Street Journal. Since then we’ve corresponded some, fished together a time or two and just generally joined each other’s loose network of writers and fishermen.

When we met he was a poet with an MFA working as a fishing guide; now he’s the Assistant Director of the Creative Writing program and presumably on a trajectory with the happy ending of tenure somewhere downrange, but we’ve never really talked about it and even as an

undergraduate 54 years ago I never quite grasped the intricacies of the academic track. All I really knew was that, viewed from a distance, it seemed to move too slowly and had way too many moving parts for my taste. Meanwhile, my friends and I were interested enough in our courses to do reasonably well, but we still had time to eagerly gave in to all the distractions available to college students in the late 1960s, including political activism, music, certain controlled substances and the burgeoning sexual revolution that made those years such a fine time to be alive and young.

There were more fish up working the surface on the Bitterroot than there’d been on the Blackfoot the day before and I managed to hook and land a few,

Blackfoot River

JIM GRAY

but distraction had thrown my timing off and I wasn’t fishing well. The event was that evening and although I’m not generally prone to stage fright, I was aware that when you’re asked to read from your work in front of a tough crowd of other writers on the occasion of winning an award, you had better damned well bring the goods.

I especially remember one fish from that day. Nick spotted him first and pointed him out. He was feeding quietly toward the bottom of a pod of risers and slightly off to the side. He had a bigger head than all the rest and moved more water with what you imagine were wider shoulders. He seemed larger by half than any other fish we’d seen, which would put him firmly in the 20-inch class. It was a judgement made on the thinnest of clues, but I was so convinced that I could almost feel the weight of the fish against my bent rod, dead as a tree stump on the set, and then going all lively and electric. When we got in range I was happy enough with my cast and even happier once I’d thrown a small mend to adjust the fly’s position and straighten the leader. Then I followed the drift and waited. When the fish took Nick yelled, “Set!” and when I did I came up with nothing but the appalling finality of a slack line as if the fish not only wasn’t there, but never had been. There wasn’t even that telltale bump as the hook almost catches, but then doesn’t. In the immediate aftermath, Nick said something to Chris about not wanting a fish more than the client does and I thought that missing a big trout because you were distracted by other matters was proof of concept for not mixing fishing with book business. Back in town, when we were asked how we did, I said “Okay,” which is angler’s shorthand for “we caught fish, but let’s not size each other up by comparing body counts.” Each fisherman has his own ideas about what constitutes success and mine was formed during a time in my 30s when I tried to live as much by subsistence as the realities of the late 20th century would reasonably allow. I remember my surprise at learning that

That film did make a splash in its time (early 1990s) and some said it put fly fishing on the map, but I’m not so sure about that. Fly fishing was already clearly marked on the maps of everyone I knew then and although the movie had plenty of fly fishing in it, that’s not really what it was about. I heard it was especially puzzling to anglers in England who were expecting an instructional video.

even partial subsistence was a full-time job and by how much time and effort went into not all that much in the way of fish, game, backyard chickens and eggs, home-grown vegetables, foraged mushrooms and raspberries and local pine firewood. For as long as it lasted the struggle seemed worthwhile and instructive and it also taught me to see success not as a bonanza akin to winning the lottery, but as something incremental, modest and hard-won. Ever since then people who crow too loudly about how many fish they caught or complain too loudly about what they’d call a bad day of fishing have seemed to me to be missing the point. I once heard the story of a man who was fishing in a war-torn region of Africa when he was captured by insurgents who killed him, skinned him and hoisted his hide on a pole like a flag. Now that was a bad day of fishing.

The event went well. I did my reading to a few laughs in the right places and what I thought was more than just polite applause (you imagine you can tell the difference) and then took a seat as the fund-raising auction began. I sat through the bidding on the first few items and got the sense this would be interminable, so at what I thought was an opportune moment I grabbed my hat and quietly made for the door. Outside it was past dusk, with store lights and headlights burning and the air cool enough to zip up the fleece vest. There were a few people out driving or walking, but not many and no one seemed in any hurry to get where they were going. It was another September Sunday evening in a small western city.

I took a breath. Everyone appreciates recognition, but as a native Midwesterner who was raised to measure up, but not stand out, it was a relief to be back out of the spotlight again; just another anonymous baby boomer in comfortable shoes and a shapeless hat.

Back at the hotel I arranged for an Uber to the airport in the morning, packed my duffle and turned in early, only to be awakened with a start when my cell phone rang at three in the morning. The caller ID said it was Susan, who I knew was out of the country traveling in Greece and Turkey, so I answered, imaging the kind of trouble you only get into when you’re far from home; the kind that results in calls to the American consulate, international money orders and that vast sense of helplessness brought on by distance.

But it was only a butt dial. There was no reply when I answered, just the sound of calm, muffled conversation—although I couldn’t make out the language—and something that might have been the clinking of silverware. So, a meal, but which one? I thought about time zones, the international date line and the rotation of the planet that makes the sun seem to move through the sky, but in the middle of the night, in a hotel room in Montana, I couldn’t work out if it was still yesterday where she was calling from, or already tomorrow.

THE NAME GAME

It may seem “all Greek” (or Latin) to many of us, but there are good reasons to learn the scientific names of insects, fish and more…

BY J.W. MARTIN

It’s fairly common to encounter, in fly-fishing magazines, books and podcasts, the sentiment that you don’t need to know the scientific names of bugs. And that’s undeniably true. You don’t need to know these names. The fish certainly don’t know them. In fact, nobody knows all of them. That’s partly because in many parts of the world, even well-known parts, new insect species are still being discovered and named on a regular basis.

I was listening to a podcast about fly fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains (the Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast , February 4, 2024), and the person being interviewed, well-known Great Smoky Mountains guide Charity Rutter, noted that even there, in the most visited national park in the United States, there are undiscovered and undescribed aquatic insects, insects whose name nobody knows. In the last 20 years, Rutter estimates, nearly 200 new species of aquatic insects have been named in that park alone. What does this tell us about more remote rivers and less explored parts of our planet?

clarity, no assurance that we are all talking about the same thing. And if we want to protect something, whether it is a species or a microhabitat or an entire drainage, we need to know what we are talking about in order to make cogent arguments for increased stewardship and conservation.

Additionally, these scientific names can be, on their own, extremely informative; the names by themselves tell us things and speak to the fascinating

IF WE RELIED SOLELY ON THEIR COMMON NAMES, THIS INFORMATION, AND WISE CONSERVATION DECISIONS BASED ON THIS KNOWLEDGE, WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.

which was mykizha. Thus, we can tell from the name alone that Oncorhynchus mykiss is “the hook-jawed fish from the Kamtchatka Peninsula.” This binomial name sets it apart from all other species of fish on the planet. Marine fish are also sometimes named this same way, telling us not only what they look like but also where they are found. The Atlantic tarpon’s name makes perfect sense: Megalops atlanticus tells us that it has big eyes and lives in the Atlantic. So do a lot of other species, but tarpon were given this name first, so they get to keep it.

But that’s different from saying that scientific names are unimportant, and I want to dissuade anyone from thinking that knowing these names is something reserved for fly anglers with nothing better to do with their time. Scientific names are critically important, and they are one of the vital tools we employ in freshwater and marine conservation.

I work as a curator in a large natural history museum, and my research is in the field of systematic biology, the study of the relationships of organisms. The organisms I study are crustaceans, mostly crabs and shrimps, and from time to time it has been my job (thoroughly enjoyable) to name some new species. You could argue (and you would be correct) that I have a vested interest in promoting the importance of scientific names. But it’s far more than that. Without scientific names, there is no

history of our study of life on Earth. Let’s look at a couple of examples related to fly fishing.

The rainbow trout is a nice starting point. Rainbows have the scientific name Oncorhynchus mykiss, a mouthful to be sure, pronounced like “ON-co-RINK-us MY-kiss.” The first name (Oncorhynchus) is called the genus, a higher category to which this species belongs, and the full name Oncorhynchus mykiss is the name that is unique to this species and to no other species on Earth. We always italicize the names because they are not English words (in this case both genus and species names are derived from ancient Greek). Oncorhynchus comes from the Greek words onkos (meaning “hook”) and rynchos (meaning “nose”), and it refers to the hooked jaws of the males, commonly called the kype, during the mating season. Thus, the genus name refers (in this case) to the morphology of the species. This genus Oncorhynchus includes several Pacific species of salmon and trout. The specific name in this case (but not in all cases) has a geographical history behind it. The species O. mykiss was first named by the German naturalist Johann Walbaum back in 1792, based on specimens from Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Walbaum’s original name, mykiss, referred to the local Kamchatkan name for these fish,

Fish can also be named after people. Cutthroat trout, for example, are Oncorhynchus clarkii, named in honor of William Clark of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition, who recorded these fish in his journal from the Missouri River near Great Falls, Montana. Today we know that there are several subspecies of cutthroat trout, all with their own unique names, habitats and biological requirements. The fact that cutties are in the same genus (Oncorhynchus) as rainbows lets us know that the two species are closely related. Using common names alone obscures this kind of information. Brown trout, for

example, regardless of where they are found today, are Salmo trutta, which tells us that, biologically speaking, they are not as similar to rainbows and cutthroats as they are to the marbled trout of the Balkans, Salmo marmoratus, or Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. If we relied solely on their common names, this information, and wise conservation decisions based on this knowledge, would not be possible.

In the world of insects, I have always loved the fact that mayflies are in the order Ephemeroptera. “Ptera,” at the end of the name, is from the ancient Greek ptera or pteron, meaning wing, and is seen in other names of insect

groups: Lepidoptera (scale-winged) for the butterflies and moths, Diptera (two-winged) for the true flies, Coleoptera (shield-winged) for the beetles, Plecoptera (folded-winged) for the stoneflies, etc. The front part of the name Ephemeroptera comes from the same root as ephemeral, meaning brief or temporary, an allusion to the very short adult life of a mayfly. What a great name for the group that includes these wonderful insects that are with us for such a brief time.

How many different species of mayflies are there? More than 3,000 currently, grouped into more than

400 genera (the plural of genus) in 42 families. According to the website, “Mayfly Central,” at Purdue University, there are 23 families and 108 genera in North America alone. I don’t suggest that you try to learn all 3,000 species names or even the 400 genera worldwide or the 108 in North America. But, on the

other hand, if we lump them all together as just “mayflies” we run the risk of losing important information about individual streams, lakes, insects and their complex interactions. If we want to protect a population of Hexagenia, which are burrowers (and there are several species of Hexagenia in North

America), we might want to know how they differ from species of Ephemerella, the larvae of which are crawlers. Using just the common names does not give us the information we need to distinguish them.

In the marine realm, the situation is in some cases worse because many

marine species are so widespread that they’ve been given common names wherever they are found. Bonefish are a good example. The scientific name for bonefish is Albula vulpes (based on the Latin for “white fox,” as cool a name for bonefish as you could ask for). But some of their common English names include bananafish, ladyfish, round jaw, salmon peel, tarpon, tenny and more. In other languages—and the following list is only about a third of the total number that I found on the website of the Florida Museum of Natural History— they are called albula (Polish), albule (French), albulid (Swedish), banane (French), banang (Malay), beenvis (Afrikaans), bending curut (Javanese), bidbid (Tagalog), bonouk (Arabic), bulat daun (Malay), carajo (Spanish), chache (Swahili), colepinha malabu (Creole), colvino (Spanish), conejo (Spanish), damenfisch (German), far al bahar (Arabic), frauenfisch (German), gatico (Spanish), gato (Spanish), hermaanchi (Papiamento), inliaula (Spanish), ioio (Tahitian), juruma (Portuguese), kifimbo (Swahili) and many more. With so many common names referring to the same species, how will we ever know what we’re talking about? How will we know what we are trying to protect? We need an agreed-upon, specific name that is unique to this species, hence the use of scientific names.

labeled as snappers and sold in local grocery stores, with their heads and skins removed so that you cannot tell what they looked like when they were alive. Some need to be protected by more stringent fishing regulations. But how can we ever hope to protect them if we cannot even tell them apart, if we just call them all rockfish? With more than two million species described and named so far by taxonomists, and countless more still awaiting discovery and description, it’s clear that there are many, many more examples I could have chosen.

Knowledge of scientific names and classification can even have an effect on how some flies are tied. If you want to tie

motion. It makes sense to strip a blue crab fly through and even on top of the water where stripers and tarpon can crush it. Most other crabs do not have these paddles and so cannot swim, or at least cannot swim as well. Common mud crabs in the genus Panopeus, for example (from the Latin word Panope for “sea nymph,” which in this case tells us nothing about its biology), do not have back legs modified for sculling, so flies that mimic these small crabs should stay on or near the bottom.

WITH SO MANY COMMON NAMES REFERRING TO THE SAME SPECIES, HOW WILL WE EVER KNOW WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT? HOW WILL WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO PROTECT? WE NEED AN AGREED-UPON, SPECIFIC NAME THAT IS UNIQUE TO THIS SPECIES, HENCE THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES.

The opposite situation also exists, where a single common name refers to multiple different species. There are more than 100 different species of marine fish commonly called “rockfish.” On the West Coast of the United States alone, there are somewhere close to 40 species. I don’t know much about them, but I can guarantee that the biology of each species is different. Some are endangered, and some are not. Some are overfished, and some are not. Some taste better than others. Some are incorrectly

a fly that truly mimics a mantis shrimp, for example, it might help to know that mantis shrimp are not “true” shrimp. Mantis shrimp are stomatopods, all of which are highly specialized predators that swim forward, gliding over the bottom, their large eyes in front of them. Real shrimp, on the other hand, are either carideans or penaeoids, and when they are escaping a predator, they swim backwards in short bursts. The eyes of a shrimp fly should therefore be at the back of the fly, but the eyes of a mantis shrimp fly should be at the front, near the eye of the hook. On the other hand, I seriously doubt that any respectable bonefish will care. A fly tier hoping to tie an imitation of a crab might want to know that Chesapeake blue crabs (and their many relatives) are powerful swimmers. The genus name of the Chesapeake blue is Callinectes, Greek for “beautiful swimmer,” one of my favorite crustacean names. These crabs have flattened, paddle-like back legs that allow them to swim with a sculling

These are reasons why so many people prefer to use scientific names when possible. It’s not because they want to impress you with their knowledge of Latin or Greek names of species; it’s because it is far more accurate and leads to less confusion. And accurate information is, or at least should be, the basis of sound policy decisions. If we cannot identify the species, if we cannot tell them apart, then arguing for their protection is nearly impossible. Accurate scientific information is one of the best tools we use to combat the decades-long attack by politicians on the Endangered Species Act, perhaps the country’s, and fly fishing’s, most valuable environmental law. Signed into law by president Richard Nixon in 1973 with broad bipartisan support, the ESA remains popular today with both parties as well as with the public. Yet today the ESA is also under attack as it has never been in the past. Science, including a knowledge of scientific names, is one of our best tools to counter these attacks. What is the message here? You cannnot know all of the scientific names. And you don’t need to. But the more we know about the species we are trying to protect, the better off we, and these amazing species, will be. So if you choose, for understandable reasons, not to learn the scientific names, please don’t disparage those who do know and use them. There’s a good reason for it.

cold water music the remedy in fly fishing

BY RUSSELL JAMES l Bullard’s Bar Reservoir

is a sheet of cerulean glass as I flop-cast a heavy float and fly rig over the starboard bow of Chuck Ragan’s boat. The specialized, balanced bobber lands with a solid plop, and I wait for it to turn topside, indicating the jig-head fly is hanging at a 90-degree angle, exactly where the spotted bass will see it. The oval bobber turns over slowly, and I give it a strong twitch, as Chuck instructed me earlier this morning. I look toward the stern and see him doing the same thing. Suddenly, the float leans slightly to the right and begins to sink. When the whole of it is below the surface I yank the 9-foot, 7-weight rod skyward to set the hook and exclaim. Chuck exclaims at the same moment. I clock him from the corner of my eye as I strip the fish toward the boat. He’s linked up, too! I just doubled with one of my punk rock heroes.

The first time I saw Chuck Ragan was at a small, dingey punk club in Richmond, Virginia, in the summer of 1997. I was 17, and he was playing with his legendary band, Hot Water Music. This was before the Warped Tours, before they were selling out large halls and theaters. Their sound entranced me from the start and showed me a new and artful way to understand the loud, fast music I’d fallen in love with.

I mentioned this to Chuck earlier in the morning as we drove to the reservoir. When I named the club, he laughed.

“Twisters! I was just talking about Twisters a few weeks ago when we were in Australia,” he said. We chuckled at the proliferation of clubs with similar layouts all around the world.

Hot Water Music had just returned from a tour Down Under before my scheduled trip with Chuck Ragan Fly Fishing. We talked about the punk bands of that era: Avail, Inquisition, Boysetsfire. We talked about guitar tones on his latest record. But the conversation always returned to the topic at hand: fishing.

Our drive wound through the scenic foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Trees showed nascent signs of springtime: lime green buds along skeletal branches, shaking off the dust of a long winter. This trip was meant to do the same for me, but the rivers I’d planned to fish before today were blown out. Instead, I’d spent the past three days camping in the cold and wandering around Nevada City, cursing my impatience and the naivete brought on by a long, wet winter in coastal Oregon. This morning’s forecast had shown wet and windy weather but looking out from Chuck’s pickup at the layers of granite clouds framing the emerald hills, the fishing gods seemed to be smiling.

We sipped coffee and alternated between discussing the plan for the morning and sharing about our lives. I mentioned the despondency I’d been feeling over the course of the winter, and he nodded in understanding. We bonded over the comfort we found on the water and the relief we experience when connecting with nature. By the time we were idling from the boat ramp, passing the house boats beyond the buoy line, I felt like I was fishing with an old friend more than with a songwriter I’d admired for three decades.

He throttled the boat up and we began to skim across the surface of the lake. The bleakness of the previous three days started to disappear. “I needed this so bad,” I said. He turned to me with a grin and a nod. This guy gets it, I thought. We both laughed, feeling the power of a cold, clear morning on the water. It brought to mind one of his solo tracks, “Winter,” from his latest solo album, Love and Lore, where he sings:

casting without catching, letting my loops tighten and releasing my stress. The punk movement is similar: it’s about creating something without worrying about the outcome. It’s about speaking truths with passion more than selling records. Fly fishing shouldn’t be about counting fish and making punk music shouldn’t be about counting record sales. Both are about connecting with our world.

Chuck understands this intrinsically and it shows as we chat about Cast Hope, the nonprofit he works with to bring young people back to nature, using fly fishing as the vehicle.

“It’s our responsibility to keep an eye on our waterways and be stewards,” he says. “For most of the world, its outta site, outta mind, and [that responsibility] has to be passed on.” He’s right. Many anglers see the state of our environment from a ground level, and it’s our duty to share our observations with those who don’t.

Fly fishing shouldn’t be about counting fish and making punk music shouldn’t be about counting record sales. Both are about connecting with our world.

Down to the river to wash out my eyes / drown out the lies and cleanse all that might as well / poison the veins and rot every sense so see / All that frees the will of the wild…

Chuck explained how I was to flop the cast, using water to load the line, and I caught on quickly. My fears of getting skunked were put to rest 15 minutes later when I hooked my first fish. We laughed, hooted and knocked fists. I was relieved and revived.

At their best, both punk rock and fly fishing are about process over product. I’ve written about the simple pleasure of

“In our day and age there’s a disconnect between youth and nature,” he says. “Cast Hope’s goal is to connect [them] to Mother Nature, waterways… to care about it and protect it.” Cast Hope offers free fly-fishing trips to kids and their parents or guardians. They have run over 4,000 trips in the past decade.

This brings up another attribute that fly fishing shares with punk rock: Both are about community building. Much like Chuck is working with Cast Hope, I’ve begun working with iFishiBelong, an organization started by angler Heather Hodson-Neufeld, which aims to bring the sport of fishing to populations that wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to it.

I’ve found an understanding community amongst diverse anglers, mirroring what I found in the punk scene since I was a teenager. In fact, the weekend before this trip saw me at punk festival in Berkeley, California, connecting with a patchwork of folks like me. The same will happen with the assorted cadre of anglers at iFishiBelong events I will attend later this year.

This sense of connection and community is palpable on Bullard’s Bar as we move from rock pilings to vegetation cover, hunting pods of spotted bass.

“[Spotted bass] are an incredible species for the fly rod year round,” Chuck

I spend the next eight hours driving back to Oregon, a grin plastered to my face, grateful for the communities I have found in both punk rock and fly fishing.

explains. “They tend to sit higher in the water column in the cold weather months; they don’t mind the cold water.” He and his fellow North Valley anglers have developed a specialized float and fly method to catch these fish. He’s quick to point out the “godfather of the float and fly,” Charlie Knuckles, and northern California guide, Ryan Williams, as the real pioneers of this method. We use long leaders, floats and Chuck’s own Dead Drop Minnow pattern that imitates lethargic or dying baitfish. It is an effective way of presenting exactly what these bass want to chew on.

Time and again the conversation floats past the fishing to how much we both needed this morning: the perfect weather, the calm mirror of the lake, the

slow take of the fish. When we cast below an alluring waterfall, I miss several sets because I am distracted by the sight and sound of water tumbling into water. Each time I offer needless apologies. Chuck doesn’t mind when I can’t make the set, so neither do I. We are just happy to be out here. Process over product.

We move on to the final spot where we end up doubling. It is our last fish of the morning before heading back to the marina and we couldn’t have asked for a better finale. Finally, Chuck loads up the boat and drives me back to my van.

“Wow, you have a lot of stickers!” he exclaims.

“Ain’t got a Hot Water Music one,” I replied.

“Shoulda told me, I’da brought you one.” He helps me unload my gear, then gives me a bear-like embrace, and we promise each other we’ll do this again before he drives off.

I spend the next eight hours driving back to Oregon, a grin plastered to my face, grateful for the communities I have found in both punk rock and fly fishing. Thoughts of better weather take over as rain spatters my windshield. My mind races with thoughts of spring and summer fishing, the dry fly season and wet wading. My heart becomes a river, washing over the distress and desolation that come with this dreary season. I arrive home grateful for the remedy our magical sport provides.

The angst over rainbow removal River Divided

BY KRIS MILLGATE l

The best fish tales don’t happen in meetings. They happen outside. But on rare occasion, those tales originate inside. This is one of those rarities.

“We’ll keep the rainbows if you keep off the river,” said a bearded and hatted man with no smile in his expression.

He directed his ultimatum toward the man at the front of the room, Brett High. In a cramped, 50-seat senior center, High was explaining why rainbow trout are not welcome on Idaho’s South Fork of the Snake River anymore.

“Surveys tell us the highest priority for Idaho anglers is protecting native cutthroat trout,” said Brett High, Idaho Department of Fish and Game Upper Snake Region regional fisheries manager. “The path forward has to include anglers as a critical component of management.”

The previous path demonstrates resistance. Anglers, especially the fly variety, prefer to catch and release trout. In the South Fork’s case, the department wants catch and keep to prevail for non-native rainbows. The species purposely introduced by the agency starting in the 1940s is reducing the presence of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

State surveys show the public agrees with saving cutthroats, but their actions prove otherwise. Rainbow harvest is minimal, even with bounties of up to $1,000 per fish, so the department resorted to voltage.

An agency jetboat rigged with electricity shocks the South Fork every spring when suppression is most effective based on flows and trout distribution. Bellyup-stunned fish are netted and sorted. Cutties are returned to the river. Bows and hybrids are rerouted to urban ponds.

“We as humans have done poorly at conserving species throughout history,” says Sage Unsworth, Idaho Department of Fish and Game Upper Snake Region fisheries biologist and staffer in charge of rainbow removal. “Now that we have better information, we should change our practices to eliminate some of the harm we have done.”

Anglers, especially guides, hate the shocking program even more than they hate harvesting rainbows. That’s why the bold ‘keep’ statement during the meeting caught everyone by surprise. It was offered by Oliver White, fly-fishing guide and South Fork Lodge partner.

“In that meeting in front of everybody, he was serious,” High says. “What it came down to was Oliver wanted to keep electrofishing boats off the water. I ran it through all the appropriate channels and to a tee nobody thought the angling community was going to come through.”

High and White struck a deal. High didn’t put jetboats on the river to shock the system in 2024. He didn’t remove rainbows. White didn’t have fishing

trips interrupted by shocking boats. His guides didn’t release rainbows.

“I am not a believer in the eradication of rainbows,” White says. “At the same time, I’m pragmatic. Those fish were coming out no matter what. I thought there was a better way to do it.”

The department wanted 3,996 rainbows removed in 2024. They received 4,007 in the most welcome, yet most unexpected way. The general public turned in 816. The remainder came from guides. But of the eight permits issued for guided fishing trips on the

But of the eight permits issued for guided fishing trips on the South Fork, only two outfitters officially reported removing rainbows. On a river divided, one shop was all in. One was on the fence. Another was all out.

South Fork, only two outfitters officially reported removing rainbows. On a river divided, one shop was all in. One was on the fence. Another was all out.

All In

South Fork Lodge

2,967 RAINBOWS REMOVED

“If you ask a client if they want to kill a fish, they’ll say no. The ethos in fly fishing is catch and release so they’ll always say no. If you tell them why they should keep South Fork rainbows, they are 100 percent proactive.

Just watching the shocking boat from shore as all those fish float up, there’s

no good in that and bug life was vastly superior last season. Is that because they didn’t shock? I don’t know, but not watching them shock all the time helped.

I fundamentally believe catch and keep is a better approach than shocking whether you believe in the suppression project or not. This seems to be working so it’s really disappointing to see outfitters putting way more boats on the water than I am who are not getting behind it. An average of two fish per boat per day gets us 4,000 by fall. You break it down like that and it’s reasonable.”

—Oliver

White, South Fork Lodge partner

On the Fence

The Lodge at Palisades Creek

224 RAINBOWS REMOVED

“I want the cutties here. Period. I want this to continue to be what might be the last stronghold for Yellowstone cutthroat trout in our entire area. I want those dry-fly-eating, slow-sipping fish in the river. If we have to take rainbows out to do it then I support that, but I can’t fire my fishing guides for not keeping fish. I request that they keep rainbows, but I don’t mandate it.

The easiest, most painless way to reduce rainbows is to ask guides who touch fish every day to keep some of them, but it’s a risk to be the lodge keeping fish even if it’s to avoid shocking. I’m proud that we do it, but I don’t want to be known for doing the most killing of fish on the river.”

—Justin Hays, The Lodge at Palisades Creek general manager

All Out

Teton Valley Lodge

0 RAINBOWS REMOVED

“The frustrating thing from our perspective is killing the rainbows is a knee jerk reaction for saving cutthroat. I get the motivation to do it, but it seems like not the right thing to do. I’m not going to kill every fish. No way. That’s contrary to our religious belief almost. You just can’t do it.

I know they’re trying to save cutthroat, but it’s hard to see thousands of rainbows taken out of the river every year. If you can guarantee me you can replace every rainbow with a cutthroat that would be great, but numbers are going down. I don’t see how they are going to get rid of rainbows. It’s like trying to hold back the tide with your arm. It’s not going to happen.”

—Brian Berry, Teton Valley Lodge owner

When the 2025 removal goal was announced, it wasn’t White who surprised everyone. It was High. The department’s goal is 30 percent rainbow reduction annually. That percentage fluctuates with flow. Big water years mean more fish two years later. The South Fork had a big water year in 2023 so the 2025 reduction goal is 8,561, more than double the 2024 tally. If the goal isn’t met by fall, the shocking boats launch.

“I’m sweating a little bit,” White says. “My guides are saying, ‘We killed 4,000 and did a good job and now we have to double that?’”

Other updates to the deal include more freezers. Once Unsworth logs the weekly carcass count, the meat will go to food banks instead of the landfill. And the estimated $60,000 saved by not shocking the South Fork will go toward work in other watersheds.

“It’s pretty impressive what a few people can do,” High says. “I’m really encouraged to see what people can do moving forward to protect native cutthroat.”

Outdoor journalist Kris Millgate is based in Idaho where she runs trail, chases trout and stalks birds. Read and watch more of her work at www.tightlinemedia.com

For more on where TU stands on this issue, scan the QR code.

Grumpy on the West Branch

BY FRANK DRAPER

The anglers on the West Branch were grumpy. No idle chitchat in the parking lot, no bragging about trout landed, no curses aimed at fish missed. They were just grumpy. Humbled by trout.

I am a poor fly angler. Not poor in the billfold, but poor in skill and technique. That makes the Delaware even more humbling. Beautiful trout, large and luminous, were all around. Gentle rises and an occasional distant splash announced the trout were there, and hungry. They rose close, teasingly, in a pocket of water where my rudimentary casting could land a fly.

I even managed a few casts that did not splash, were mended properly and were almost competent. And still the trout ignored me, while their friends rose nearby. Gigantic trout. Proud trout. Defiant trout. Wild trout.

I lost my net the first night. Not by landing fish, rather to the bushes on the walk out of the river. A wooden net of little value now was the chance, excuse, justification, for the new expensive, light and pretty net. Can nets be pretty?

Surely, new equipment can change my luck. Why… this expensive object of beauty was as light as a feather and surely would entice the Delaware trout to jump inside! This was the change/catalyst that was needed for the fish to succumb to my pitiful presentations. An offering to the fish gods. Should you find it, please build the appropriate pyre and complete my atonement for poor presentations.

One trout teased me with a bump of my fly. And then rose again. One time, my leader was in the way of a trout rising, but undeterred, the fish rose in front of my tippet. Real food was more important than the awkward offerings of a poor fly fisher.

It was not for the lack of flies. I had scoured blogs, checked water temperatures and dropped into at least three fly shops. Helpful guides imparted wisdom and tidbits of technique. They were not grumpy, rather wise and encouraging.

Fishing my home waters and other rivers nearby, the parking lots are often full. Anglers talk and brag about numbers, or lament rises missed. Tips are freely given. Friendships are made. Future trips are planned. The multi-hour drive home is done exhausted with a smile, and the voice of Tom Rosenbauer, a virtual friend, guides me on the drive home.

But the anglers on the West Branch were grumpy. The air temperature was comfortable, the sky just cloudy enough. Bugs sought their first and final flight. My new stash of expert selected flies provided the appropriate buffet of selections. The previous day’s failure was surely due to my poorly tied flies from lonely winter nights at the vise. The trout showed who were the masters, swimming in place and ignoring my plodding.

The anglers on the West Branch were grumpy, and I was grumpy too. Beautiful days in a lively river had moderately brightened my day. But still I was grumpy. The sun had fallen, and the bugs seeking human blood, abundantly supplied by the anglers, chased me to the truck in search of dinner and libation.

Sunburnt on hands, neck and nose, I sat at the bar and ordered a steak sandwich and a draft. The bartender said, “you must have been on the river; how did you do?” I grumpily responded, “a few took a look, and none came on the porch for tea.” She smiled, “my boyfriend had a client on the river today, and they were skunked too.”

I smiled. The steak seemed tenderer, the draft colder and I was grumpy no more.

Somewhere South of Fairplay: Ruminations on Public Land

BY THOMAS REED

It is a path as familiar, as rote, as a daily drive to high school.

Turn here, turn there without even recognizing it. Muscle memory. Then you are there, click the car locks and head for class.

This is a little like that, only going the opposite direction, away from school, away from classes, away from spring. Into the mountains toward summer.

Going to the ranch.

West on 70, then 285 through Bailey, past your fishing holes, past Ben Tyler trailhead into the Lost Creek country, through the glorious green aspen forests of Kenosha Pass, beneath high mountain holds that form the Mount Evans complex, a mountain so grand you can see it from downtown Denver. Then South Park and the Mosquito Range and a flung-out ranch country dotted with cud-chewing black baldies and horses and summer cabins tucked up in the pines.

The V8 of the yellow and white International Travelall—a colossal beast that Dad semi-affectionately calls “The Corn Binder”—purrs right along, guzzling precious gasoline at a clip that creates a worrisome wince that travels from Dad’s face to Mom’s and back again. These are the Carter years, after all, and gasoline is liquid gold. But this is summer vacation and the son has been begging for a camping and fishing trip and you never could shut that kid up about such things unless the thirst for it was slaked. Ahead is the old gold- mining town named for honesty. At Fairplay, on any other summer as you have for the past 15 or so, you will turn south on 9 and out into the great beyond, over the brown trout swimming in the Middle Fork of the South Platte. Trending south until Pikes Peak starts to peek over the southeastern skyline and then you’ll turn back west on a gravel road and be at the ranch where your scrappy, barely five-foot-tall grandmother waits with a summer full of work and fun.

But Dad does not turn on 9 and here the world as you knew it comes apart in pieces.

The ranch is gone and “never again” are two words that will haunt and linger forever.

Ours is not the first family to have lost the ranch. Will not be the last. Since 1950, the number of farms in the United States has declined by 66 percent. In the fossil fuel crisis of the 1970s, it was our turn.

On our ranch, beneath those hundreds of acres of Doug fir and shimmering aspen, under the lush mountain meadows of blue grama and little bluestem, rested a powerful metal named uranium

Somewhere south of Fairplay, Colorado

in which an energy-hungry country saw its salvation from the oil of greedy foreign nations. Somehow, though we called the land itself “ours,” we did not own the minerals below. When we found evidence that strangers had been on our land staking out claims to the uranium below, it felt a bit like I imagine it did for a 17th century Pawnee finding the track of a Lakota warrior on his great northern prairies, or perhaps how it did for a Lakota in his Black Hills of those same prairies when he cut the boot track of a gold prospector in 1870s America. Fearing the damage of open pit mining, my grandmother sold out.

I would never return to the place I had grown up, and similarly to perhaps the most famous person to have “lost the ranch,” our first woman United States Supreme Court Justice, Sandra

Far above the sagebrush and farmland of the valley, in the flourishing pines and aspens of the high mountain holds, I caught my first Rio Grande cutthroat trout and as I held this gem of gold and ruby in my hand, I did not think about the browns and rainbows swimming in the spring creek that I would never fish again.

Day O’Connor, the thought of a place I belonged belonging to others was heartshattering. “The decision to sell, to let the ranch go, was so difficult that I still avoid confronting it directly,” O’Connor wrote many years later. “I fear returning to the ranch and seeing it in other hands and with all the changes.”

Regardless, on an early summer day in 1970s Colorado, outside a town named Fairplay, I became a changed man. We had no place else to go, so we went to public land.

That summer vacation we camped on the national forest above the San Luis Valley where the polarities of a dry-yetlush Colorado give way to the duality of an arid-yet-vibrant New Mexico. Far above the sagebrush and farmland of the valley, in the flourishing pines and aspens of the high mountain holds, I caught my first Rio Grande cutthroat trout and as I held this gem of gold and ruby in my hand, I did not think about the browns and rainbows swimming in the spring creek that I would never fish again.

I did not think about what was lost, for we—my family and I—still had so much. At night, we listened to the patter of June rain on the canvas of our voluminous family tent that smelled vaguely of mildew and mothballs. We stayed up late warming in front of campfires crackling with high-altitude-dried pine and ate glorious simple meals that tasted like fine restaurant fare simply because we were in the great out-of-doors. We laughed and we somehow felt joy despite our loss. We felt, implausibly, ownership. We felt union, we felt connection, we felt belonging. We felt healing. We still owned land, but here our co-owners were 222 million of our fellow Americans.

There are more than 340 million of us now, and together, we own 640 million acres of land, about a third of our nation. Those are the numbers and numbers can be drier than Texas dirt. Here is what should be known: Together, we own one hell of a ranch.

Our ranch stretches from the dry cold granite of the tallest peak in the Lower 48—14,494 feet of Mount Whitney

Overlooking South Park, Colorado

Our ranch stretches from the dry cold granite of the tallest peak into the California sky—to the rocky Maine coastline. It

in the Lower 48—14,494 feet of Mount Whitney thrusting reaches from Florida’s sawgrass to Alaska’s tundra.

National forests like Texas’s Davy Crockett, Alabama’s Talladega, Missouri’s Mark Twain are owned by us all because an obscure Republican banker-turned-politician named John W. Weeks of Massachusetts—a state with only 1.2 percent federal land even today—knew how important “place” is to our people.

Mark Twain National Forest

thrusting into the California sky—to the rocky Maine coastline. It reaches from Florida’s sawgrass to Alaska’s tundra. We Americans own not only the surface of this vast estate as my family did in the 1970s, but also the subsurface mineral wealth as my family did not. This is land that supports a thriving recreation industry of $1.2 trillion annually, but also mining, oil and gas and agriculture. Our land supports its people, is owned by its people and is of its people.

Public land is managed by many federal agencies from the Department of Defense to the Bureau of Land Management and our American partnership does something that many private interests do not—we make a profit while at the same time giving a bargain to our customers. It is an amazing hat trick to provide a resource at low cost and yet make a handsome profit for all partners. The BLM, for example, is a virtual money factory. In 2022, it produced $262 billion while spending $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, a ranching family leasing BLM-managed public ground is able to earn a living and keep their ranch running because they pay less than $1.50 per cow per month. If the same family had to rely on private land to feed their cattle, they would not last long having to pay $20-50 per cow per month.

Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, was responsible for much of this when he purchased from France the vast territory known as Louisiana. This, he wrote, was “the case of a guardian, investing the money of his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory; and saying to him when of age, I did this for your good.” If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the scratching of the ink-dipped pen on the linen paper.

It was and still is about the nation’s best bargain, nearly doubling the size of young America for a cost of $15 million, or 2.8 pennies per acre. Americans expanded their holdings in other ways too, including the near total annihilation of Native populations by methods that can at best be qualified as nefarious and underhanded including outright murder, cheating and breaking treaties,

all part of humankind’s dark history. Others were like the Gadsden Purchase, which added nearly 30,000 square miles to Arizona and New Mexico. Then there is Alaska from the Russians, for a mere 2 pennies per acre. These acquisitions were then offered to homesteaders and other citizens and the remaining land, still in federal hands, became our collective land. On the west side of the Mississippi, where most of these lands are, the territorial governments without exception clamored to be in the union of states. They wanted to be a part of a great, growing nation, to be enveloped in the sheltering arms of a federal government and its protective army. So they all said, “yeah, we agree that these remaining unclaimed lands are the people’s land, owned as much by the apartment dweller in New York City as by the miner out on the sagebrush flats of Nevada.” All of these states believed this so fervently, that they affirmed as much in their constitutions forever.

So popular has the idea of the “people’s forest” been that our nation has continued to purchase land within its boundaries. In 1911, astute patriots, recognizing and even envying the bountiful public land holdings in the western half of the nation, figured that maybe the “ranch” needed to be expanded in the East. Along came the Weeks Act which freed up public money to purchase from private interests more land for the people—nearly 20 million acres. National forests like Texas’s Davy Crockett, Alabama’s Talladega, Missouri’s Mark Twain are owned by us all because an obscure Republican banker-turnedpolitician named John W. Weeks of Massachusetts—a state with only 1.2 percent federal land even today—knew how important “place” is to our people.

Americans, then and now, fully embraced this idea—the concept that we all own land. We can lease it to companies, we can lease it to private individuals, we can go play on it without asking some darned king for permission, but this is ours and will stay ours. So vehement is the citizens’ love of the land that this ethos has hatched the rarest of all birds seen in 2025 Washington D.C.:

nonpartisanship. Valuing common ground belongs to neither party. Preservation of our environment, said President Ronald Regan, is not a partisan challenge, it’s commonsense. Some politicians of our largely party-driven era have together proclaimed this about the public estate: Not for sale. This is not a brave announcement; it is a necessary one.

We witnessed the packed campgrounds, the jammed trailheads, the long lines at boat ramps during 2020 when a pandemic sent our people outdoors in numbers never seen before. Then, as now, the public places were a refuge, a quiet place of peace, now and forever. Yet there are a few who would defy the numbers, the ethic, the mantra. These few have been beaten back time and again but the fight will likely never have a final bell. We will need to be dedicated cornermen in this brawl, giving support, instruction, treating the cuts from the endless blows. As a people, we will need to affirm that if we ever sell, we will never again be able to return. It will be as gone as O’Connor’s ranch and our family’s ranch. It will belong not to us, but to others.

One can scribble away about the weight of the figures in the ledger, about how revenue comes in the door on a sustainable and forever basis. That argument speaks in a numeric and undeniable language. But there is something deeper, something that I’m sure haunts the Pawnee and the Lakota and all other Americans. Land is our soul and once we no longer have it, we will never get it back. Gone is gone.

Land and its nature is also the factory of our brain power. From this American soil sprouted not only great judges like the public lands rancher O’Connor, but many others from artists to architects. Richard Louv, in his landmark book, Last Child in the Woods, took note of a Japanese car manufacturer that placed design centers in the United States because while the Japanese were good at the logistics of manufacturing, Americans excelled at creativity. The Japanese “recognized that American creativity comes largely from our freedom, our space . . . America’s genius has been nurtured by nature—by space both physical and mental.”

A child from the very beginning, makes a connection to land. Babies eat dirt for god’s sake.

Turning at Fairplay those years ago turned me toward a lifetime of enjoying the great national treasure that is the savings account of our unborn children, our great national bounty. I would never again hunt or fish or help herd cattle on our private ranch, but I have done these things in spades on the public’s ranch. I have fully enjoyed the bounty of the land and the waters that belong to all Americans without asking a king for permission to enter the realm. We are all kings, we are all royalty and this third of our great nation is our realm. The people’s kingdom.

Sometimes, even now, years and years later, I dream of what our family lost. I wake up sometimes with tears running down my face. I dream that I am there hiking to the source of the big creek, or fishing the spring waters, or bending over my first mule deer buck to start on the knife work. But in reality, I have never returned. Irony weighs uncomfortably and heavily on my shoulders. A year or two after we sold out, a nuclear generating station on Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna River partially melted down. Americans soured on the energy source that is uranium. But the ranch was still gone. Not long ago, I made the mistake of looking at a satellite’s view of the ranch from my home computer. It had been subdivided. Cut up. Sold off again and again.

Whether a subdivision or a uranium pit mine or the private playground of cyber royalty, gone is gone. I am reminded of the lyrics of a song by the country artist Corb Lund called the S Lazy H, a song about losing the ranch:

Well I have lived with the sorrow And I will die with the shame

For now the bank owns what’s left of The S Lazy H

The title of the album is Things That Can’t Be Undone.

Thomas Reed is the author of Blue Lines, A Fishing Life and other titles.

I have fully enjoyed the bounty of the land and the waters that belong to all Americans without asking a king for permission to enter the realm. We are all kings, we are all royalty and this third of our great nation is our realm. The people’s kingdom.

It’s Not Just About the Fishing...

The real power of public land and water as told by those who fish in them

BY CHRISTINE PETERSON

Almost 60 million people went fishing in 2024, most of them on public waters. The number feels huge, unfathomable, one-sixth of the country’s population. And yet each of those anglers has a story. There’s the 10-year-old or who went fishing for the first time with her grandfather. The college students who spent hours learning new waters. Or the friends who gathered their rods and reels for the 20th time over as many years.

It’s easy to take those days on the water for granted. The moments we stop by a river after work, cast into lakes in the spring, or trick trout in the mountains in the summer. But public water isn’t a given. Efforts are underway to sell and transfer the lifeblood of the West. Standing in the way of those efforts, though, are millions of stories of why public lands and waters matter. Here are three.

The cancer fighter and the salmon fly hatch

She couldn’t help herself. All Sharon Lance could do was jump up and down and scream with delight. It was the Fourth of July two years ago, and she hit the salmon fly hatch on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, her favorite stretch of water after fishing on a planet’s worth of water.

She shouted at her brother and daughter that the flies were out, and the wild rainbow trout were rising.

“They were coming up from the depths of the river. You didn’t have to worry about your cast,” she said. “I wish everybody could have that experience. But they would have to be a conservationist first.”

For Lance, conservation always comes first.

Lance’s husband introduced her to fishing 30 years ago, but she didn’t dabble. She volunteered for her local Trout Unlimited chapter, served as the president of the Colorado state chapter and then spent eight years on Trout Unlimited’s national board. She earned the Mortensen Award for Volunteer Leadership, the organization’s highest honor for any volunteer. And through all those years of volunteer work, 23 years of fighting cancer, and eventually losing her husband, she never stopped fishing.

“Our wild public land is where you get your sanity back in this world of confusion and politics and craziness,” she said. “That’s where I get my serenity and peace.”

She spent a month in hospice care last June. She understood her time had come. Yet she lived on, with more plans to fish the rivers that pulse through her home state of Colorado. And when she’s at her worst, when moving forward feels the hardest, she goes back to days like that morning on the Gunnison where the only thing that mattered were robust flies, fat healthy fish, and waters open to anyone.

“When we lose those places that move us by their beauty or severity, we lose part of our collective intelligence.”

The longtime guide connected to

the past

Each spring, as Chris Dombrowski’s boat drifts out of a canyon on the lower Missouri River and into the plains, the awe washes over him. A sea of green Montana prairie speckled with bursts of bright yellow balsamroot stretch as far as he can see with the river winding through. His clients look up from their rods and flies and stare. For a moment the world seems to stop.

“The first impulse is wonder, which is great, because without wonder, there’s no appreciation,” he said. “And without appreciation there’s no instinct to preserve.”

Then it hits him, on a deep, visceral level, how many people for thousands of years have shared this vista. The river is a generational link, connecting he and his clients to all those who came before.

Dombrowski is a writer, a University of Montana professor and a poet who has spent years putting those feelings into words and understanding that those waters, views and fish have always been open for anyone. Part of the beauty, he said, is their accessibility.

“What are we going to do when these places are gone? We will have no place to retreat to. When we lose those places that move us by their beauty or severity, we lose part of our collective intelligence.”

ERIK PETERSON

The prairie pothole legend

Marce Vasquez grew up fishing on a private, 12-acre lake on the back of his family’s small Nebraska farm. The lake teemed with warm water species—walleye, crappies, blue gill, suckers and carp. It’s where he learned to love fishing. But it didn’t take long before he’d solved the riddle his small lake’s fish. So he ventured further, to streams running into the North Platte River where he fought trout and never looked back.

He spent the next 35 years in southeast Wyoming fishing a series of prairie pothole lakes, spending weekends bringing family and friends out to catch rainbow and cutthroat trout.

“I can be fishing within an hour, and I have a dozen lakes to choose from,” he said. “That was the thing for me. In Nebraska, if you wanted to go fishing, it was almost exclusively private, and if you went somewhere public there was little to no fish to be had.”

He once considered joining a local fishing club, but realized quickly the fish in public lakes in the West were just as fat and happy as the ones in private lakes. “And I don’t have to pay anything.”

So he spends most of his year driving down the highway before the sun rises and then listening to birds as he scans the water for freshwater shrimp and caddis flies.

Privatizing those lakes means fewer options and also means more people at each public lake. More people means more competition, and more competition means less fun. Because ultimately, Vasquez could wax poetic about the

colors of the sunrise or the call of the meadowlarks, but really, he’s there for the fish.

“It’s when you hook up, that adrenaline rush is so addicting,” he said. “And when I get that rush, I wonder, will the next one be bigger? Will it be a cutthroat? A rainbow trout? A Snake River cutthroat or Yellowstone? It’s all about the anticipation of what you’re going to get and how big it’s going to be.”

And, at least for now, that adrenaline rush is still open to anyone.

“I can be fishing within an hour, and I have a dozen lakes to choose from.”

“Our wild public land is where you get your sanity back in this world of confusion and politics and craziness.”

—Sharon Lance

Public Lands Champions

BY GREG FITZ, MARK TAYLOR AND SAM DAVIDSON

Jack Williams

CONSERVATION SCIENTIST

Before he led TU’s science program, Jack Williams worked for the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management in roles spanning research, conservation and forest management. He published the groundbreaking paper, “Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads,” and was instrumental in developing strategies to protect streams and riparian areas in the Northwest Forest Plan. Both efforts guided fish and wildlife restoration and improved natural resources management across the landscape.

“Our stewardship of these lands and monuments is a multigenerational endeavor. We want these areas for our kids and grandkids.”

Even in retirement, Jack’s work near his home in southwestern Oregon continues. He serves on the board of the Rogue River Watershed Council and is the co-director of an effort to build wildlife crossings over Interstate 5 to unite coastal and high-elevation ecosystems in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

This lifetime of conservation is guided by a deep understanding of the value of America’s public lands. “Our stewardship of these lands and monuments is a multigenerational endeavor. We want these areas for our kids and grandkids,” he explains. “Our leaders need to know they are worth fighting for and that we’re in it for the long haul.”

“These places have immense importance for biodiversity,” he continues. “But they are also the places we go with our families, our friends or alone, to rejuvenate. We need to remember: We’re working to restore these streams, but these streams also restore us.” —Greg Fitz

Dawn Kirk

FISHERIES BIOLOGIST, GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON NATIONAL FOREST

Andrew Harris

OWNER/OPERATOR, CONFLUENCE OUTFITTERS

Andrew Harris has been fishing, guiding and writing about trout streams on our public lands for the last 30 years. Andrew’s extensive knowledge of the fishing opportunities on public lands in northern California is on full display in his book, The Plumas National Forest Trout Fishing Guide

“It has been extremely rewarding to see how our efforts make a difference.”

Early in her career as the fisheries biologist for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, Dawn Kirk faced a tough challenge. The goal was treating the St. Mary’s River with ground limestone to mediate the impact acid rain was having on the formerly outstanding wild trout stream. Because the stream flowed through a designated wilderness area, Kirk ended up utilizing a helicopter to drop 90 tons of limestone into the watershed to successfully bring the stream back to life. Since that 1999 project, in which TU was a partner, Kirk has continued to use innovative strategies and partnerships to restore and protect populations of native brook trout and other aquatic species across the 1.8-million-acre forest and its thousands of miles of trout water. “I love working with people who are as passionate as I am about this,” said Kirk, who is approaching the 30-year mark with the forest. “It has been extremely rewarding to see how our efforts make a difference.” TU’s Seth Coffman, who has worked with Kirk on many projects, including restoration of more than 5 miles of the North River, has known Kirk professionally for almost two decades. “She has always been the type of person to take a challenge and make it an opportunity,” Coffman said. “She is great at working collaboratively to find ways to make a project idea a reality. TU’s partnership with the GW-Jeff wouldn’t be where it is today without Dawn’s leadership.”

—Mark Taylor

Many of the best trout and steelhead destinations in northern California are on public lands administered by the BLM and U.S. Forest Service.

Andrew began guiding in 1997 and co-founded Confluence Outfitters, a regional guide service, in 2007. Many of the best trout and steelhead destinations in northern California are on public lands administered by the BLM and U.S. Forest Service. Andrew and his guide team work with these agencies to secure the permits necessary to guide their guests on destinations like the Sacramento, McCloud, Pit and Trinity Rivers. Other destinations include Hat Creek, Fall River, the Klamath River, Feather River and Yuba River.

Andrew is also the founder of LodgeRunner.com, a booking system designed for fishing and hunting lodges and outfitters. Andrew created the first version for a local fly-fishing lodge in 2001 and moved the software to the cloud in 2007. LodgeRunner is used by industry leaders like South Fork Lodge, Silver Creek Outfitters and Bay Flats Lodge.

Andrew is a USCG-licensed Captain and is president of the Shasta-Trinity-Cascades chapter of Trout Unlimited. Andrew lives in Red Bluff, California, with his wife Katie and daughters Mackenzie and Madison, both named after rivers. —Sam Davidson

BY NICHOLAS BLIXT

I don’t trust listicles.

In the age of the internet, they’re mostly written to sell products or experiences—affiliate links hidden behind SEO-optimized paragraphs. “These 21 Travel Essentials Are So Useful, You’ll Question How You Ever Managed to Travel Without Them.” The line between content and advertising has always been blurry, and I don’t imagine it becomes any clearer any time soon. Regardless of how you might categorize it, though, the listicle’s job is clear—commoditize, package and sell. Which is ironic, because amid an unprecedented assault on our national parks, forests, monuments and more, I decided to write a listicle on the last thing that should ever be packaged and sold.

I remember the awe when I first drove west across the country in college. Sure, I-70 might not take you through Zion or Yellowstone, but it might as well. To be 22 and see the Front Range for the first time, or the red plateaus of Utah—I’d never heard of the BLM and didn’t understand what public land truly meant, but there was a feeling of expansiveness and accessibility that stuck with me. Fifteen years later, I believe this is why I never left. I may now live in the inferno of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, but in short drives, I can walk and fish through spaces I still have a hard time believing are real.

You’ve probably read articles that unpack the nuances of public lands, ranking state by state based on size and access. Right now, those nuances are not what I think about. Instead, I think about why I love public lands. Moments when they’ve intersected, impacted and redirected my life. Consider these my top five public lands, and they’re not for sale.

Inyo National Forest: Golden Trout Wilderness

You can surf a wave in the Pacific and catch a California-native golden trout in the same day, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Altitude sickness ain’t fun. But that physical possibility says a lot about California and the Eastern Sierra. I like to say that I first explored California’s public lands and water through the lens of trout. A four-hour drive from Los Angeles up to Lone Pine or Bishop feels a lot shorter when wild fish rising are at the terminus. I’ve spent summers trying to unpack the endless creeks and lakes that sprinkle the Sierras, and I doubt I’ll ever scratch the surface. I’ve been smoked out by the Rim Fire, engulfed by lethal of amounts of mosquitoes, and had a boot stolen by a raccoon, but when I close my eyes at night, I usually think of the Golden Trout Wilderness. I have yet to visit without thinking to myself, “How is this here?”

P.S.—If you are looking to combine a Ride & Fish session, I might suggest hitting the morning slopes at Mammoth followed by a mid-day Baetis hatch on the public section of Hot Creek.

BY JOSH

PHOTOS

DUPLECHIAN

Imay be an only child, but when it comes to public lands and stream access, I consider Montana to be the big brother or big sister I never had. My education in public lands and what they mean started here, thanks in large part to how ingrained they are in the culture of the hunting and angling communities, as well as the generous souls that have taken the time to teach me. Anyone with a smartphone can pull up a map of public access points in seconds, but the history and context of how so many of these places either became or remained public gives them an entirely greater significance. It took me years to work my way up the Madison, starting in Ennis and focusing on different sections and access points, until I finally made my way into Yellowstone National Park one crisp September morning. I challenge anyone to look out over these gentle river bends at daybreak in the Fall, mist still rising off the water, and not ask themselves how it is we haven’t managed to mess this up. Better yet, throw a Lucky Bucky on the end of your line and let it swing through the pools—one grab from a lake-run brown, and you’ll swear to protect this place (and your access to it) until your last breath.

The Madison in the Park: Yellowstone National Park

Harriman State Park: Henry’s Fork of the Snake

It doesn’t matter if you fish or not—the Railroad Ranch is a sight to behold, and I believe this list would be incomplete with it. It’s not difficult to find someone who fished the Henry’s Fork before this section was donated to the public trust in 1977. I can’t imagine a world without it, and yet at the same time, I’ve traveled to many other countries in which a place like this would be accessible to only a select few. Walk up to Millionaires at late evening in early Summer (between the brown drakes, other anglers and maybe an out-of-sight bear, I guarantee you won’t be alone), survey the long glides of water against the lines of grass that sway into the horizon, and you’ll know what I mean.

The history here runs deep—the ground and water feel saturated with it, and I try to absorb whatever I can simply through osmosis any time I’m there. Stories you hear at the bar or in the gravel pit all end up feeling connected at a certain point, even if the storytellers are referring to moments decades apart.

The Lower Deschutes calls to mind many things, but I’d say “steelhead camp” encompasses most of it. The high-desert river canyon feels like only a few other places on the planet that I’m aware of (the Grand Ronde being one of them), but if I closed my eyes on a late summer evening and felt the thermals on my face, I’d have no trouble believing I was there. Though private parcels of land sprinkle the riverside map, State and BLM land provide a nearly endless series of campgrounds to use on multi-night floats through this remote stretch of water. Once you experience it, even if just by laying in your tent and listening to the sound of water pounding through boulders and ledge rock, it’s easier to understand why steelhead are the way they are.

Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area: Utah

The first time I pulled into Manila, Utah, to grab gas, I was concerned. As far as I could tell, Manila’s human population had been replaced by a thriving ecosystem of feral cats, pronghorn and mule deer. No cars occupied the roads, and the weeds that grew through the cracks in the asphalt seemed suspiciously long. Mulies crossed the road without anxiety.

Not far down the road, passing through Dutch John and looking out over the moving aquarium that is the Green River, I found humans again, a few more than I’d expected, most with a fly rod in hand. Which shouldn’t be surprising, given the quality of both the fishing and the views. Every state projects certain qualities, some subtle, some not so much, that make up its geological and visual identity. Despite driving through Utah, into Wyoming, and back into Utah to reach this part of the Green, I couldn’t help but notice how specifically the Flaming Gorge’s public land reflected Utah in its colors, light and topography. At the time, it stood out as one of the most unique places I had ever seen.

The Green was one of the first places that made me realize that fly fishing wasn’t entirely about the fish so much as it was about where the fish brought me. I wonder if I would have ever made it there otherwise. I like to think I would have, but I don’t know. Places like this need as many friends as they can get, and not just friends that appreciate fish and bugs.

THE FIELD

Actionline NEWS FROM

5 Rivers Students Rally in the Driftless Fly fishing, conservation work and community building.

pg 78

TU’s Summer Camps and Academies

2025’s opportunities for summer fishing and conservation. pg 79

Tools & Tips

Volunteer trainings, recruitment and TU’s Online Community. pg 80

Midwest Magic: 5 Rivers Students Rally in the Driftless

5Rivers students know how to do many things, but at the forefront are fly fishing, conservation work and community building. All three were on full display at the 2025 Midwest 5 Rivers Rendezvous, held at the West Fork Sports Club in Avalanche, Wisconsin. Thanks to the generous support of TroutRoutes, the Wisconsin State Council and the Southern Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the event went off without a hitch.

“When I first joined the TroutRoutes team to facilitate our partnerships program,” said Erik Johnsen, Community Marketing Manager for TroutRoutes, “it was very important to me that we find meaningful ways to partner with conservation organizations that work tirelessly to support coldwater conservation efforts.”

This year’s Rendezvous offered just that—an opportunity for 48 college anglers from University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, University of Wisconsin–Stout, University of Illinois and Kalamazoo College to connect, learn, and explore the Driftless Area together.

Saturday kicked off early—before most students had even unzipped their tents, one student from UW Stout had already harvested a spring turkey just up the river. With the tone set, the day officially began

with a presentation from Johnsen, who introduced students to the TroutRoutes platform and demonstrated how it can be used to identify TU habitat restoration projects and access points across the region.

“TroutRoutes is great for finding access and recognizing public land boundaries,” he explained. “But it also incorporates TU

habitat restoration projects. After walking through the basics and helping locate some nearby fishing access points, I challenged students to find a few project sites while they were out on the water: compare some newer projects to well-established sites and bring their findings back to the group.”

(Pro tip: if you’re new to the app, make

sure to check out the “Habitat Project” filter—it’s an excellent tool for exploring TU’s work across the country.)

Following the demo, Peter Jonas from TU’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort (DARE) led a field trip to tour restoration sites along the West Fork of the Kickapoo River. These on-the-ground lessons gave students a firsthand look at TU’s techniques and the long-term impact of local restoration work.

Then came the scavenger hunt. Armed with TU DARE knowledge, TroutRoutes and fly rods, students spread out into the Driftless to explore on their own. Their task? Locate and assess restoration sites, document the condition of the work and report back—ideally with a fish tale or two in hand.

By evening, students returned to camp with plenty of stories, a few wet socks from leaky waders, and a newfound appreciation for TU’s efforts. Many were surprised to learn they’d been fishing areas shaped by restoration work without even realizing it.

As the sun dipped behind the limestone bluffs, brats and fresh turkey breasts were served, the campfire was lit and laughter echoed into the night. Sleep was in short supply, but the sense of connection—to the water, to each other and to the mission of conservation—ran deep.

Do you know a young person interested in fishing and conservation? Tell them about TU’s summer camps and academies. With camps in over 25 states ranging from Alaska to California to Georgia, there’s sure to be a camp for everyone! Camper age range, daily schedules and cost of camps varies. Visit our website to learn more.

Is Your Chapter Doing Big Things?

Little Things With Big Impact?

Send us a 300-500 word write up on your projects and events along with a photo or two and you could see your chapter in the pages of TROUT. Send your submission to Samantha.Carmichael@tu.org.

TU Volunteer Trainings

From Tree Plantings to Kids Events, Community Science & More

By Jeff Yates ] Director of Volunteer Operations

Looking to make a difference for the local rivers you love? The heart of TU is our network of volunteers.

If you’re ready to invest your time and talent in our mission, check out TU’s lineup of training events, both in-person and online, to find the resources, support and tactics you need to turn your ideas into action. Our staff experts, in partnership with volunteers across the country, are always innovating new ways you and your community can help.

Some upcoming trainings include:

• Planning local river restoration projects

• Running a kids’ fishing day or streamside scavenger hunt

• Organizing volunteers for a community science program

• Recruiting new volunteers and supporters

• Advocating for stream protections in your state

• Raising funds to support your projects

• Serving veterans and first responders

These trainings are open to all and are an engaging way to make a meaningful impact! Check out all the great training opportunities online at www.tu.org/training

Recruit & Engage

Growing Your Chapter Community

The top strategy for growing your local chapter is to provide a broad range of opportunities for people to “get their hands dirty and their waders wet” with TU. People look for ways to make a difference locally, places to go fishing, activities for kids, opportunities to meet and connect with their community and your TU chapter can meet that demand by delivering a diverse range of events and activities.

This summer and fall, take one of these small steps to grow your chapter:

• Host a fun, free and casual fishing day or a family fishing event on local water.

• Plan a community trash cleanup in a park, along a greenway or in other highly visible places near your local rivers.

• Organize a community science day where volunteers use TU’s free tools at www.tu.org/communityscience to assess stream health, take water quality samples or track trout spawning redds, all activities that will draw out different volunteers and provide valuable information to help drive your chapter’s future conservation work.

Find resources, tips, tactics and tools in the online Tacklebox: www.tu.org/tacklebox.

CX3 TWIN CITIES

POSTPONED UNTIL 2026

CX3, TU’s annual meeting, is being postponed until 2026. While we wish we could gather this year, we’re excited to be able to have more time to plan an even bigger and better event next year! Stay tuned and check cx3.tu.org later this year for details.

Community Connections

Log In Online to Meet People, Ask Questions, Get Advice & More

Have you visited TU’s Online Community recently? If not, you’re missing out on some great conversations among members from across the country. Chances are, if you have a question—whether as a beginning angler or when planning a destination fishing trip—someone has already started a conversation about it online!

You’ll also learn more about our work to care for and recover rivers across the country, opportunities to join us in-person at regional and national events and more.

Even better, the Online Community is safe, secure and restricted to TU members, so you know you’ll be getting good advice and connections with people who share your passion for fishing and commitment to conservation.

Check it out today at community. tu.org.

Dear Miriam...

Public Display of Affection

BY CHRISTINE PETERSON

M

y memories of you and memories of water feel inseparable. I see you tucked under my coat as a newborn, standing in the frigid waters of a winding canyon as the snow flies and I strip my line. I remember you standing in a diaper in the shallow water of a cool mountain steam as we take a break casting to native cutthroat trout. And there’s you with a silly grin plastered across your face catching your first trout from a beaver pond, holding up that 3-inch fish like the trophy it was and will always be. Water connects us like a thread to the land on which you were born. And all that water from my memories is public. We don’t have wealthy friends in high places. We don’t have access to private ranches and private waters. So we go where everyone can go, to those public tailwaters below dams, the freestone rivers high in mountains and the prairie potholes sprinkled across the high plains that offer prehistoric walleye, hungry kokanee and beautiful, shimmering rainbow trout.

We live in a small house on a small lot in the middle of a small western city, but our backyard contains 640 million acres of public lands crisscrossed with water pulsing through them like veins. And they’re under threat. They have been for at least the last half century. But the threats feel bigger than they once did. More serious. More coordinated.

Congress is looking for ways to make money, and an amendment trying to block the sale of public land failed. It’s what keeps me up at night. And someone told me recently that those of us whose lives, whose sanities, whose well-being depends on these lands need to think more about why they matter. We need to

tell stories about what they mean to us.

Here’s one story.

Years ago, long before you were born, all we wanted was a child. Your dad and I dreamed about the places we would take you, the trips we could go on, the fish we could catch. We talked about how we would be as parents: Would we let you roam far? How old can someone start casting? Would you crave the cold as a kid like your dad or would you, like me, shiver and whine in wind and snow?

We dreamed about taking you to our favorite campsites, the ones tucked into towering lodgepole pines on the mountain behind the town where I grew up and the ones squeezed up against a warm-spring river teeming with hungry brown and brook trout.

Except time went on and we didn’t have a child. It seemed, the doctor’s said, that we couldn’t.

That didn’t stop us from dreaming though. Or camping, or fishing.

We backpacked through wilderness and avoided grizzly bear tracks. We hunted turkeys, pronghorn and elk. And perhaps most foolish of all, we set out to try and catch all four strains of Wyoming cutthroat trout in their native drainages. In a day. It would be well over 500 miles of driving, the epitome of finding water and casting, finding water and casting.

But germs of purpose sometimes inspire silly goals. I wanted to write about the fish that evolved to swim in the streams and rivers that still house them. The ones under threat from development, and now from privatization.

We made it that first year, finishing in the dark as we cast woolly buggers into inky water searching for Yellowstone cut-

throat. Then we went again the next year. And we kept talking about you. Would you ever see these shimmering, spotted trout? Would you ogle at the orange

slashes on their throats or touch their soft bellies? Would you have a chance to realize the great fortune we all have to be able to drive up to these waters and fish, for endless miles?

You know how this story ends. And you know the answer to all those questions is yes.

Because we finally did have you, the child we dreamed about. Then the

summer you turned two, we took you to do that trip all over again. Not in a day—we were traveling with a toddler, after all—but we cast into those same waters, looking for those same shimmering backs.

We showed you the subtle differences between the black spots on a Yellowstone cutthroat and the freckles of a Snake River cutthroat. We told you how lucky

we all were to camp in that clearing of aspen trees where we listened to the river gurgle nearby.

Mostly we just sank into those moments. Bringing you, the small person we’d long imagined, to those waters that remain open for us and for you and for everyone else. Let’s try to keep them that way.

Love, Mom

Would you have a chance to realize the great fortune we all have to be able to drive up to these waters and fish, for endless miles?

CLASSIFIEDS

OUTFITTERS, GUIDES & FOR RENT

ALASKA

Guided day trips near Denali National Park for Arctic Grayling in the heart of the Alaska Range. www.denaliangler.com.

MONTANA

Turn Key Fly-Fishing Vacations in Missoula Montana Trip includes All food and drink, ground transportation, accommodations and 3 days guided float trip on Blackfoot, Clarkfork, Bitterroot and Rock Creek $2500 Single / $2250 Double www.mmtroutadventures.com Call for details 602-448-4834

NORTH CAROLINA

Exclusive Fly-Fishing Club for you and your guest. Enjoy a mile of wild, trophy trout stream in western N.C. www.armstrongflycasters.com

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Guide Service, Sky Blue Outfitters, ½ day, full day and overnight trips available. Penns, Spring, Letort, Little Juniata, Pine and many more. Call 610-987-0073 or visit www.skyblueoutfitters.com for details.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Reel in Relief with Specialized Fly-Fisherman Physical Therapy! Expert Care for Anglers, Onsite and Online: Are you an avid fly fisherman struggling with injuries that dampen your fishing experience? Our specialized Physical Therapy services cater to the needs of passionate anglers. We’ll work closely with you to create a personalized rehabilitation program, getting you back to fishing. Call 720-352-0678 for a free 15’ consultation. www.neuromuscularstrategies.com

Mike Kohm PT, BS, Physical Therapy— Schedule Online: Boulder https://mikekohmpt-boulder.youcanbook.me/

FLIES & GEAR

Sage fly rod/reel combo with aluminum case. Owned since October 2023 but never used. Rod: Sage R8 Core 590-4 (9’ 4p 5 weight) Reel: Sage Spectrum C 5/6, black, reel fully loaded. Contact: Kribbzy2@aol.com or 239-207-2591.

Custom Built Trout Nets—Steam bent hardwood landing nets. goldcreeknets.com

Handcrafted wooden fly-fishing furniture and fly boxes – Handcrafted fly fishing furniture and wooden fly boxes. Built from the finest hardwoods. Visit woodbyroy.net or contact Roy at 804-930-2113. 4-piece bamboo flyrods handmade with bamboo ferrules. cgbamboorods.com chuck-g@comcast.net

Fly or Spin Rods—Veteran Owned www.stanleycanyon.com james.a.boyless@stanleycanyon.com

Custom Fly Rods built to your exact specifications. Carbon fiber blanks, Portuguese burl cork handles, nickel silver seats, fine wrapping threads. Professional Certified Rod Builder. LakeLady Custom Rods. rodbuilder@lakeladyrods.com

Custom made wooden fly boxes, no two are alike. Contact Jim at jimwhip@q.com for details

EZ-P Waterproof Wader Zipper—$80 Installed in any brand. Guaranteed for the life of your waders. Pressure tested for dry suit SCUBA. Contact: bjuniata@verizon.net or 814 569 8843

BAMBOO RODS Buy Sell Consign www.coldwatercollectibles.com (616) 884-5626

No Touch Hook Release™. This tool saves fish, flies and cold hands. Easy to use, it releases fish quickly, even for #22 hooks and bead heads. Learn more and buy: NoTouchTrout.com ($20 ppd)

FLY ROD RULER Measure your catch with a Rodrule. The micro-thin Rodrule adheres to your rods without hampering the action or finish. Guide approved! Order at: www.rodrule.com

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES

Tributaries: Fly-fishing Sojourns to the Less Traveled Streams: “We’re recommending it because we think it’s the coolest concentration of Pennsylvania- (and a bit Catskill-) centric short essays we’ve read.”—TROUT magazine. Visit www. coastforkpress.com

ART

Beautiful four-color fly-fishing poster will look great on your man cave, office, or den wall! Wholesale inquires welcomed.  Details www.fishingthoughts.com

Advertise in TROUT Classifieds

Reach more than 150,000 anglers for just $2.25/word ($2.05/word for members). Send text of ad and payment to:

TROUT Classifieds

1700 N Moore Street Suite 2005

Arlington, Virginia 22209-2793

Ads may be faxed to (703)284-9400 or e-mailed to samantha.carmichael@ tu.org

Classifieds must be prepaid. Count phone number, fax number, ZIP code, street number, abbreviations and email or website address as one word each.

September Deadline: June 29, 2025. To request a media kit for display advertising, call (703)284-9422

+ SNAG THIS SHIRT!

Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

Trout Unlimited Business members are TU ambassadors in protecting, restoring, reconnecting and sustaining North America’s coldwater fisheries. To become a TU

Business Member, contact Maggie Heumann at (256) 996-8083 or maggie.heumann@tu.org.

Outfitters Guides Lodges

ALASKA

Alaskan Angling Adventures LLC.

Mike Adams Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (907) 595-3336 alaskananglingadventures@gmail.com www.AlaskanAnglingAdventures.com

Alaska Drift Away Fishing

Jeremy Anderson Sterling, AK 99672 (907) 529-8776 info@guidekenairiver.com www.guidekenairiver.com

Alaska Fly Fishing Goods

Bradley Elfers Juneau, AK 99801 (907) 586-1550

brad@alaskaflyfishinggoods.com www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

Alaska Kingfishers

Rob Fuentes Dillingham, TX 99576 fish@alaskakingfishers.com www.alaskakingfishers.com

Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge

Brian Kraft Kvichak River – Lake Iliamna, AK (907) 227-8719

brian@fishasl.com www.fishasl.com

Alaska Trout Guides

Josh Hayes Sterling, AK 99672 (907) 598-1899

josh@alaskatroutguides.com www.alaskatroutguides.com

Alaska Troutfitters

Billy Coulliette Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (907) 595-1212 info@aktroutfitters.com www.aktroutfitters.com

GOLD LEVEL

Alaska Wild Caught Seafood

Matthew Luck Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 720-4226

matt@alaskawildcaughtseafood.net www.alaskawildcaughtseafood.net

Aleutian Rivers Angling

Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 pat@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

GOLD LEVEL

Bear Trail Lodge

Nanci Morris Lyon

King Salmon, AK 99613 Lodge: (907) 246-2327

Cell: (907) 469-0622 gofish@bristolbay.com www.fishasl.com/naknek/

Bristol Bay Lodge

Steve Laurent Bristol Bay, AK Office: (509) 964-2094 Cell: (509) 899-0734 slaurent@bristolbaylodge.com www.fishasl.com

Chasing Tales Alaska

Shawn Coe Sterling, AK 99672 (907) 741-7944 chasingtales.alaska@gmail.com www.chasingtalesalaska.com

Classic Casting Adventures

Tad Kisaka Sitka, AK 99835 (907) 738-2737 tadkisaka@hotmail.com www.flyfishsitka.com

Cooper Landing Fishing Guide, LLC

David Lisi

Cooper Landing, AK 99572 cooperlandingguide@gmail.com www.cooperlandingfishingguide.com

Copper River Lodge

Pat Vermillion Iliamna, AK 99606 (406) 222-0624 info@copperriverlodge.com www.copperriverlodge.com

Crystal Creek Lodge

Dan Michels King Salmon, AK 99613 (907) 357-3153 www.crystalcreeklodge.com info@crystalcreeklodge.com

Deneki Outdoors

James Kim Anchorage, AK 99503 (800) 344-3628 info@deneki.com www.deneki.com

EPIC Angling & Adventure

Don Mutert

Alaska Peninsula, AK (512) 656-2736 don@epicaaa.com www.epicaaa.com

Equinox

Cameo Padilla & Brooks Areson Sitka, AK 99835 (907) 738-4736 info@equinoxalaska.com www.equinoxalaska.com @equinoxalaska

Lakeview Outfitters

Phil Hilbruner

Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (907) 440-4338

info@lakeviewoutfitters.com www.lakeviewoutfitters.com

Lost Boys Fishing LLC

Drew Petrie Anchorage, AK 99502 (907) 202-6422 fishguide@kenaineverland.com www.kenaineverland.com

Mister Kenai Sportfishing

Jack Mister Sterling, AK 99672 (301) 752-3551 misterkenaisportfishing@gmail.com

No See Um Lodge

Expedition Broker

Greg Schlachter Haines, AK 99827 (907) 766-3977 (877) 406.1320 travel@expeditionbroker.com www.expeditionbroker.com

Explore Kenai Dallas Voss Soldotna, AK 99669 (907) 690-6477 Contact@explorekenai.net www.explorekenai.net

Fish Em, LLC

Travis Price Alaska (907) 317-4706 Travis@fishem.net www.fishem.net

Fishe Wear

Linda Leary Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 854-4775 linda@fishewear.com www.fishewear.com

Frontier River Guides of Alaska

Marty Decker Anchorage, AK 99523 info@frontierriverguides.com www.frontierriverguides.com

Grizzly Skins of Alaska

Rochelle Harrison and Phil Shoemaker

King Salmon, AK 99613 (907) 376-2234 info@grizzlyskinsofalaska.com www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com

Kenai River Drifters Lodge

Jonathan Hulcher

Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (336) 354-9582 info@drifters.com www.drifterslodge.com

Kenai River Trout Anglers

Josiah Brown Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (907) 599-0086

Kenairivertroutanglers@gmail.com www.kenairivertroutanglers.com

Kenai Riverside Fishing Cooper Landing, AK (800) 478-4100

info@kenairiversidefishing.com www.kenairiversidefishing.com

Kenaiflyfish

Ian McDonald Sterling, AK 99672 (907) 301-6957

Kenaiflyfish@gmail.com www.Kenaiflyfish.com

AZ Fly Shop

Chris Rich Phoenix, AZ 85032 (602) 354-8881 info@azflyshop.com www.azflyshop.com

Destinations Fly Fish

Steve Berry Phoenix, AZ 85020 (480) 223-3117 steve@destinationsflyfish.com www.destinationsflyfish.com

Financial Planning First, LLC. Matthew Sullivan Tucson, AZ 85718 info@fpftucson.com www.financialplanningfirst.com

Imus Investment Partners

John Holman King Salmon, AK 99613 (907) 232-0729 john@noseeumlodge.com www.noseeumlodge.com

Outer Coast Charters

Captain Christopher Paul Jones Sitka, AK 99835 (907) 623-8290 contact@outercoastcharters.com www.outercoastcharters.com

Outgoing Angling

Jordan Carter Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 830-9545 jcarterflyfishing@gmail.com www.outgoingangling.com

GOLD LEVEL

Pride of Bristol Bay

Steve and Jenn Kurian Bloomsburg, PA 17815 (570) 387-0550 contact@prideofbristolbay.com www.prideofbristolbay.com

Rainbow King Lodge Iliamna, AK 99606 800-458-6539 info@rainbowking.com www.rainbowking.com

Royal Coachman Lodge Pat Vermillion Dillingham, AK 99576 (406) 222-0624 info@royalcoachmanlodge.com www.royalcoachmanlodge.com

Tikchik Narrows Lodge Bud Hodson Anchorage, AK 99522 (907) 243-8450 info@tikchik.com www.tikchiklodge.com

Undisclosed Excursions, LLC Ethan Welch Juneau, AK 99801 (907) 982-9674 undisclosedexcursions@gmail.com www.flyfishjuneau.com

Wilderness Place Lodge

Jason Rockvam/Cory Wendt Anchorage, AK 99519 (907) 733-2051 wildernessplacelodge@gmail.com www.wildernessplacelodge.com

ARIZONA

Arizona Flycasters

Gene Hechler Phoenix, AZ 85016 (520) 203-4140 president@azflycasters.org www.azflycasters.org

The White River Inn Steven Sonnamaker Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 430-2233 info@thewhiteriverinn.com www.thewhiteriverinn.com

Two Rivers Fly Shop

Dru Zametto Norfork, AR 72658 tworiversflyshop@gmail.com

White River Trout Lodge

Jo Anna Smith Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 430-5229 info@whiteriverlodge.com www.whiteriverlodge.com

CALIFORNIA

Gary Imus Tucson, AZ 85718

Direct: (877) 813-4985 or (520) 314-1301

Fax (520) 529-4031 Cell (520) 991-5317 gary@imusinvestmentpartners.com www.imusinvestmentpartners.com

Lees Ferry Anglers Marble Canyon, AZ 86036 (800) 962-9755 anglers@leesferry.com www.leesferry.com

Oxbow Ecological Engineering, LLC

George Cathey Flagstaff, AZ 86005 (928) 266-6192 george@oxbow-eco-eng.com www. oxbow-eco-eng.com

Spiral Creative Services Graphic Design

Susan Geer Gilbert, AZ 85234 (602) 284-2515 Susan@spiral-creative.com www.spiral-creative.com

GOLD LEVEL

Wilkinson Wealth Management

Eb Wilkinson Tucson, AZ 85715 (520) 777-1911 (877) 813-4985 eb@wilkinsonwealthmgmt.com www.wilkinsonwealthmgmt.com

ARKANSAS

Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher

Steve Dally Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 435-6166 info@theozarkflyfisher.com www.theozarkflyfisher.com

Freedom Fire Pro Michael Cormier Rogers, AR 72756 (479) 631-6363 mcormier@freefirepro.com www.freefirepro.com

Natural State Fly Shop Jane Hatchet Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 471-9111 (870) 321-2792 (Cell) flyfishcotter@gmail.com www.naturalstateflyshop.com

Peglar Real Estate Group Matt Hershberger Mountain Home, AR 72653 (870) 405-4144 matt@peglarrealestate.com www.peglarrealestate.com

Bix Restaurant and Supper Club Douglas Biederbeck San Francisco, CA 94133 info@bixrestaurant.com www.bixrestaurant.com

Catch America Abdul Masri San Rafael, CA 94901 abdul@catchamerica.com www.catchamerica.com

Confluence Outfitters

Andrew Harris Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 632-3465 andrew@confluenceoutfitters.com www.confluenceoutfitters.com

FishMammoth

Jim Elias Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 (760) 582-2195 jim@fishmammoth.com www.fishmammoth.com

Fly Fishers Club of Orange County

Brian Mayer Santa Ana, CA 92711-3005 (562) 619-9169 bdmayer@hotmail.com www.ffcoc.org

GOLD LEVEL

The Fly Shop

Terry Jepsen Redding, CA 96002 (530) 222-3555 terry@theflyshop.com www.theflyshop.com

Merriam Vineyards Peter Merriam Healdsburg, CA 95448 peter@merriamvineyards.com www.merriamvineyards.com

Mountain Hardware and Sports Bran Nylund Truckee, CA 96160 (530) 587-4844 Brian.nylund@yahoo.com www.mountainhardwareandsports.com

Trout Creek Outfitters

Miles Zimmerman & Scotty Koper Truckee, CA 96161 (530)563-5119 info@troutcreekoutfitters.com www.troutcreekoutfitters.com

COLORADO

5280 Angler Jay Baichi Arvada, CO 80004 (720) 450-7291 info@5280angler.com www.5280angler.com

Sweepstakes

Enter now for your chance to win an unforgettable 4-day/5-night adventure for two at the renowned Healing Waters Lodge in Twin Bridges, Montana.

Located in the heart of Montana’s Ruby Valley, this angler’s paradise offers guided access to legendary waters like the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, and Madison Rivers—with up to 2,600 trout per mile! Or wade into serene meadow streams like the Ruby and Boulder Rivers

After your day on the water, relax in comfort at Healing Waters Lodge. Enjoy a relaxing time on the porch, locally-sourced gourmet dinners—all in the company of your fishing buddy.

Plus, a private tour of the R.L. Winston Rod Company just 10 minutes from the lodge—and a $100 shopping spree to pick up Winston gear of your own.

ENTER TODAY

and you could win an unforgettable Montana fly-fishing getaway—or some of the best fly fishing gear available! We’re giving away 100 amazing prizes valued at over $60,000—including rods, reels, packs, Yeti gear, and more. Don’t wait—the deadline to enter is July 11, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.

Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

8200 Mountain Sports

Joel Condren South Fork, CO 81154 (719) 873-1977 (800) 873-1977

info@8200sports.com www.8200mountainsports.com

Abel Reels

Jeff Patterson Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 249-0606 info@abelreels.com www.abelreels.com

AGORA Search Group

Rob Lauer

Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (719) 219-0360 info@agorasearchgroup.com www.agorasearchgroup.com

Alpacka Raft Mancos, CO 81328 (970) 533-7119 workshop@alpackaraft.com www.alpackaraft.com

Alpine Bank Battlement Mesa

Anne Kellerby Parachute, CO 81635 annekellerby@alpinebank.com

An Angler’s Bookcase

Craig and Catherine Douglass South Fork, CO 81154 (719) 221-9027 books@ananglersbookcase.com www.aabks.com

Anglers All Littleton, CO 80120 (303) 794-1104 (800) 327-5014 info@anglersall.com www.anglersall.com

GOLD LEVEL

Angler’s Covey

David Leinweber

Colorado Springs, CO 80904 (719) 471-2984 info@anglerscovey.com www.anglerscovey.com

Angling Trade Magazine

Tim Romano Boulder, CO 80304 (303) 495-3967 tim@anglingtrade.com www.anglingtrade.com

Aspen Outfitting Company

Jarrod Hollinger Aspen, CO 81611 (970) 925-3406 contact@aspenoutfitting.com www.aspenoutfitting.com

AvidMax

Cory Anderson Centennial, CO 80112 (866) 454-5523 customerservice@avidmax.com www.avidmax.com

Big Trout Brewing Company

Tom and Emily Caldwell Winter Park, CO 80482 (970) 363-7362

bigtroutbrewing@gmail.com www.bigtroutbrewing.com

Black Canyon Anglers

Matt Bruns Austin, CO 81410 (970) 835-5050 info@blackcanyonanglers.com www.blackcanyonanglers.com

The Broadmoor Fly Fishing Camp

Scott Tarrant

Colorado Springs, CO 80906 (719) 476-6800 rbabas@broadmoor.com www.broadmoor.com

Black Canyon Anglers

Matthew Bruns Austin, CO 81410 (970) 835-5050 info@blackcanyonanglers.com www.blackcanyonanglers.com

Budge’s Wilderness Lodge

Ryan McSparran Gypsum, CO 81637 Lodge: 970-422-1311 (July - October) howdy@budgeslodge.com www.budgeslodge.com

C. Gualdoni Bamboo Rods LLC

Chuck Goldone Littleton, CO 80126 chuck-g@comcast.net www.cgbamboorods.com

GOLD LEVEL

Cutthroat Anglers

Ben McCormick Silverthorne, CO 80498 (970) 262-2878 anglers@fishcolorado.com www.fishcolorado.com

GOLD LEVEL

DiscountFlies

Chris Nielsen Castle Rock, CO 80108 (303) 741-4221 support@discountflies.com www.discountflies.com

Drifthook Fly Fishing

Matthew Bernhardt Westminster, CO 80021 (773) 359-3474 info@drifthook.com www.drifthook.com

Durango Fly Fishing

Thomas Schaefer Durango, CO 81301 (970) 501-5355 info@dgoflyfishing.com

Ed's Fly Shop Ed LeViness Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 301-1272 ed@edsflyshop.com www.edsflyshop.com

Fishpond, Inc. Ben Kurtz Denver, CO 80223-1346 (303) 534-3474 benkurtz@fishpondusa www.fishpondusa.com

GOLD LEVEL

Freestone Aquatics, Inc.

Clint Packo

Littleton, CO 80127 (303) 807-7805 clint@freestoneaquatics.com www.freestoneaquatics.com

The Guide Network

Ethan Whitson Golden, CO 80401

ethan@theguidenetwork.com www.theguidenetwork.com

Home Team Builders, LLC. Matthew Templin Telluride, CO 81435 matt@hometeambuilderstelluride.com www.hometeambuilderstelluride.com

JHL Constructors

Charles Bisbee Englewood, CO 80112 cbisbee@jhlconstructors.com www.jhlconstructors.com

JP Fly Fishing Specialties

James Pushchak (719) 275-7637

Canon City, CO, 81212 jamespushchak@gmail.com www.jpflyfish.com

Kebler Corner - RV Resort Somerset, CO 81434 (970) 929-5029 info@keblercorner.com www.keblercorner.com

L4 Construction

Matt Lamar

Greeley and Lyons, CO 80540 (970) 628-0047 mlamar@l4construction.com www.l4construction.com

Monic Fly Lines

Martha Britton Boulder, CO 80301 info@monic.com www.monic.com

North Fork Ranch

Hayley Horner Shawnee, CO 80475 (303) 838-9873 info@northforkranch.com www.northforkranch.com

North Fork Ranch Guide Service

Jeff Poole Shawnee, CO 80475 (303) 478-1349 info@nfrgs.com www.northforkranchguideservice.com onWater Fly Fishing

Patrick Straub Louisville, CO 80027 team@onwaterapp.com www.onwaterapp.com QuietKat, Inc.

Logan Holtz Eagle, CO 81631 logan@quietkat.com www.quietkat.com

GOLD LEVEL

RepYourWater

Garrison and Corinne Doctor Erie, CO 80516 (303) 717-0267 customerservice@repyourwater.com www.repyourwater.com

RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service Ridgway, CO 81432 (970) 626-4460 info@fishrigs.com www.fishrigs.com

Ross Reels

Jeff Patterson Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 249-0606 customersupport@rossreels.com www.rossreels.com

Scheels All Sports Johnstown, CO 80534 (970) 663-7800 communitycolorado@scheels.com www.scheels.com/johnstown

She’s Fly Ft. Collins, CO 80524 (970) 682-4704 info@shesfly.com www.shesfly.com

St. Peter’s Fly Shop –

South Ft. Collins, CO 80524 (970) 498-8968 shop@stpetes.com www.stpetes.com

Scott Fly Rods Montrose, CO 81401-6302 (970) 249-3180 info@scottflyrod.com www.scottflyrod.com

Seek Outside

Dennis Poirier Grand Junction, CO 81504 (970) 208-8108 info@seekoutside.com www.seekoutside.com

Telluride Angler

John Duncan Telluride, CO 81435 (970) 728-3895 fun@tellurideoutside.com www.tellurideoutside.com

TRUE NORTH Surveying and Mapping, LLC.

William Buntrock Littleton, CO 80125 billb@truenorthsurvey.com www.truenorthsurvey.com

Umpqua

Russ Miller Louisville, CO 80027 (303) 567-6696 Umpqua@umpqua.com www.umpqua.com

Uncompahgre River RV Park

Mark Hillier Olathe, CO 81425 (970) 323-8706 info@urrvp.com www.urrvp.com

UpRiver Fly Fishing

Andrew Maddox Buena Vista, CO 81211 (719) 395-9227 shop@upriverflyfishing.com www.upriverflyfishing.com

GOLD LEVEL

Upslope Brewing Henry Wood Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 396-1898 henry@upslopebrewing.com www.upslopebrewing.com

Volpe Law LLC

Ben Volpe Parker, CO 80138 (720) 257-9982 info@volpelawllc.com www.volpelawllc.com

Western Anglers

Ned Mayers Grand Junction, CO 81501 (970) 244-8658 info@westernanglers.com www.westernanglers.com

Willowfly Anglers Three Rivers Resort Almont, CO 81210 (970) 641-1303 fish@3riversresort.com www.3riversresort.com

Zen Tenkara/Zen Fly Fishing Gear

Karin Miller Loveland, CO 80538 (970) 412-8392 (844) TENKARA zenflyfishingear@gmail.com www.zenflyfishinggear.com www.zentenkara.com

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Interior Federal Credit Union Washington, DC 20240 Reston, VA 20192 (800) 914-8619 info@interiorfcu.org www.interiorfcu.org

CONNECTICUT

Acme Monaco Corporation

Lucas Karabin New Britain, CT 06052 (860) 224-1349 acmecorp@acmemonaco.com www.acmemonaco.com

F. F. Hitchcock Company, Inc.

John Bowman Cheshire, CT 06410 john@ffhitchcock.com www.ffhitchcock.com

J. Stockard Fly Fishing Kent, CT 06757 (877) 359-8946 service@jsflyfishing.com www.jsflyfishing.com

FLORIDA

Fish Nation Myakka City, FL 34251 (307) 637-5495 info@fish-nation.com www.fish-nation.com

Outpost On The Nush Dave Pishko Bonita Springs, FL 34134 info@outpostonthenush.com www.outpostonthenush.com

GEORGIA

GOLD LEVEL

Alpharetta Outfitters

Jeff Wright Alpharetta, GA 30009 (678) 762-0027 shop@alpharettaoutfitters.com www.alpharettaoutfitters.com

GOLD LEVEL

Atlanta Fly Fishing School

Mack Martin Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 889-5638 mack@mackmartin.com www.atlantaflyfishingschool.com

Blue Ridge Fly Fishing School

David and Rebecca Hulsey Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (770) 639-4001 (706) 838-4252 info@hulseyflyfishing.com www.hulseyflyfishing.com

Escape to Blue Ridge LLC, Blue Ridge, GA Pamela Miracle Alpharetta, GA 30023 (866) 618-2521 (706) 413-5321 pamela@escapetoblueridge.com www.EscapetoBlueRidge.com

NGI Trenchless Pipe & Sewer Repair Canton, GA 30114 www.northgeorgiapipelining.com Noontootla Creek Farms Emily Owenby Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 838-0585 (voice) (706) 809-6055 (text) emily@ncfga.com www.ncfga.net

Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods

William Oyster

Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 897-1298

shannen@oysterbamboo.com www.oysterbamboo.com

GOLD LEVEL Redd's Flies

Jordan Redd Atlanta, GA 30305 jordanredd590@gmail.com www.reddsflies.com

River Through Atlanta Guide Service

Chris Scalley Roswell, GA 30075 (770) 650-8630 chrisscalley@bellsouth.net www.riverthroughatlanta.com

GOLD LEVEL

Unicoi Outfitters

Jake Darling Helen, GA 30545 (706) 878-3083 flyfish@unicoioutfitters.com www.unicoioutfitters.com

Unicoi Outfitters General Store

Jake Darling Clarkesville, GA 30523 (706) 754-0203 flyfish@unicoioutfitters.com www.unicoioutfitters.com

HAWAII

Alagnak Lodge

Anthony Behm Honolulu, HI 96825 (808) 227-9301

tonybehm@alagnaklodge.com www.AlagnakLodge.com

IDAHO

GOLD LEVEL

Alaska Wild Caught Seafood

Matthew Luck Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 720-4226 matt@alaskawildcaughtseafood.net www.alaskawildcaughtseafood.net

The Bent Rod Outdoors

Greg and Cheri Webster Challis, ID 83226 (208) 879-2500 thebentrod@custertel.net www.thebentrod.com

Elevate Fly Fishing

Trevor Sheehan Boise, ID 83703 (208) 514-7788 trevor@elevateflyfishing.com www.elevateflyfishing.com

Henry’s Fork Lodge

Jamie Short Island Park, ID 83429 (208) 558-7953 info@henrysforklodge.com www.henrysforklodge.com

The Lodge at Palisades Creek

Justin Hays Irwin, ID 83428 (866) 393-1613 palisades@tlapc.com www.tlapc.com

The McCall Angler

Reba Brinkman McCall, ID 83638 (208) 315-6445 info@themccallangler.com www.themccallangler.com

Please

Tim Gatewood, White Mountain Apache Game and Fish Department

Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

Northwest River Supplies, Inc. (NRS)

Mark Deming Moscow, ID 83843 (877) 677-4327

service@nrs.com

www.nrs.com

QRS Consulting, LLC Boise, ID 83705 (208) 342-0091 cchristensen@qrs-llc.com www.qrs-llc.com

RIO Products Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (800) 553-0838 rio@rioproducts.com www.rioproducts.com

River Retreat Lodge

Elizabeth Douville Irwin, ID 83428 liz.douville@riverretreatlodge.com www.riverretreatlodge.com

RIVHAB Engineering Design

Jeanne McFall Eagle, ID 83616 (208) 401-6129 jeanne@rivhab.net www.rivhab.net

Silver Creek Outfitters

Terry Ring Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-5282 office@silver-creek.com www.silver-creek.com

South Fork Lodge & Outfitters

Zach Peyton / Guide Manager Swan Valley, ID 83449 (208) 483-2112 fish@southforklodge.com www.southforklodge.com

GOLD LEVEL

WorldCast Anglers

Mike Dawkins Victor, ID 83455 (800) 654-0676

gofish@worldcastanglers.com www.worldcastanglers.com

ILLINOIS

GetOut Networking

Spencer Kaehler Winnetka, IL 60093

spencer@getout.network www.getout.network

IOWA

Pescador on the Fly

Jeff Ditsworth West Des Moines, IA 50266 (515) 240-6774 info@pescadoronthefly.com www.pescadoronthefly.com

Trout Buddy Driftless Guides

Mike Warren Cross Plains, WI 53528 (608) 792-2521

mjw54601@icloud.com www.TroutBuddy.com

Wilderness Lite LLC

Phillip Hayes Maurice, IA 51036 wildernesslite@gmail.com www.wildernesslitefloattubes.com

KANSAS

Great Blue Heron Outdoors

Robert Marsh Lawrence, KS 66044 (785) 856-5656 info@gbh-outdoors.com www.greatblueheronoutdoors.com

MAINE

Appalachian Mountain Club

Maine Wilderness Lodges

Jenny Ward Greenville, ME 04441 (207) 695-3085 jward@outdoors.org www.outdoors.org

Chandler Lake Camps and Lodge

Jason and Sherry Bouchard

North Maine Woods, ME 04732 (207) 731-8938 info@chandlerlakecamps.com www.chandlerlakecamps.com

HMH Vises

Jon Larrabee Biddeford, ME 04005

T: (207) 729-5200 F: (207) 729-5292 jon@hmhvises.com www.hmhvises.com

Sam Lambert Keller Williams Realty Brunswick, ME 04011 (207) 522-7728 samlambertrealestate@gmail.com

L.L.Bean Inc. Mac McKeever Freeport, ME 04033-0002 (207) 865-4761 www.llbean.com

Rangeley Region Sports Shop

Brett Damm Rangeley, ME 04970 (207) 864-5615 rangeleyflyshop@gmail.com www.rangeleyflyshop.com

Western Maine Yurts, Inc Bethel, ME 04217 stay@westernmaineyurts.com

MARYLAND

Boatyard Bar & Grill

Dick Franyo Annapolis, MD 21403 (410) 267-0145 dick@boatyardbarandgrill.com www.boatyardbarandgrill.com

Rich Dennison Fly Fishing

Rich Dennison Parkville, MD 21234 (443) 668-3535 richdennisonflyfishing@gmail.com www.richdennisonflyfishing.com Resource Restoration Group, LLC Tracys Landing, MD 20779 info@rrgroup.us www.rrgroup.us

MASSACHUSETTS

Cheeky Fishiing

Ted Upton (339) 707-3017 North Adams, MA 01247 getcheeky@cheekyfishing.com www.cheekyfishing.com

High Hook Oregon Wines

T. Mark Seymour Leverett, MA 01054 (413) 218-0638 mark@fishhookvineyards.com www.fishhookvineyards.com

Krag Silversmith

Wendy O’Neil Stockbridge, MA 01262 wendy@kragsilversmith.com www.kragsilversmith.com

Postfly

Brian Runnals

Newbury, MA 01951 brian@postflybox.com www.postflybox.com

Recur Outdoors, Inc.

Brian Runnals Newbury, MA 01951 brunnals@recuroutdoors.com www.recuroutdoors.com

Swift River Fly Fishing

Rick Taupier

New Salem, MA 01355 (413) 230-1262 swiftriverflyfishing@earthlink.com www.swiftriverflyfishing.com

Wild Soul River, LLC

Justin Adkins

Williamstown, MA 01267 (413) 597-1172 info@wildsoulriver.com www. wildsoulriver.com

Wingo Outdoors

Ted Upton (339) 707-3017

North Adams, MA 01247 info@wingooutdoors.com www.wingooutdoors.com

The Wooden Fly

Bart Estes

Easthampton, MA 01027 (413) 588-1125 bartestes42@yahoo.com www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodenFly

MICHIGAN

Au Sable River Guide Service

Captain Tom Quail

Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 495-2615 ausableriverguideservice@gmail. com www.ausableriverguideservice.com

CastBack

Justin Sivils Saline, MI 48176 angler-j@castback.com www.castback.com

Diem Investments, Inc. Grand Rapids, MI 49503

The Gremel Group

Andrew Gremel Belmont, MI 49306 (616) 874-2200 andy@gremelgroup.com www.gremelgroup.com

HFF Custom Rods

Steven Haywood Taylor, MI 48180 stevenh@hffcustomrods.com www.hffcustomrods.com

HomeWaters Real Estate

Chad Brown

Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 258-5309 chad@homewaters.net www.homewaters.net

Indigo Guide Service Kevin Morlock Branch, MI 49402 (231) 613-5099 indigoguidekevin@gmail.com www.indigoguideservice.com

Iron Fish Distillery

Troy Anderson Thompsonville, MI 49683 troy@ironfishdistillery.com www.ironfishdistillery.com

J. A. Henry Rod and Reel Company

Andrew Mitchell Rockford, MI 49341

j.a.henryusa@gmail.com www.jahenryusa.com

MothBear Outfitters

Tylor Witulski Alpena, MI 49707 (989) 884-3288 www.mothbear.com support@mothbear.com

North Rivers Lodge Joe Neumann Luther, MI 49656 (231) 266-6014 northriverslodge@gmail.com www.northriverslodge.com

Northern Lights Guide Service

John and Trish Kluesing Baldwin, MI 49304 (231) 745-3792 jtkluesing@gmail.com

Oshki

Jackson Riegler Muskegon, MI 49441 (231) 955-1392 jackson@oshki.us www.oshki.us

Red Moose Lodge Cast Away Guide Service

Clint and Debi Anderson Baldwin, MI 49304 (231) 745-6667 info@redmooselodge.com www.redmooselodge.com www.castawayguideservice.com

Salmo Java Roasters

Fred Taber Kalamazoo, MI 49048 (269) 806-6829 salmojava@gmail.com https://salmojavaroasters.com/ Upper Peninsula Concrete Pipe Co. Craig Vanderstelt Escanaba, MI 49829 (906) 786-0934 cvanderstelt@upconcretepipe.net www.upconcretepipe.net

MINNESOTA

Rose Creek Anglers

Rich Femling Roseville, MN 55113 (763) 807-5878 rich@rose-creek.com www.rose-creek.com

Solid Rock Masonry

Eric Moshier Duluth, MN 55803 (218) 343-2978 info@solidrockmasonry.com www.solidrockmasonry.com

Trout Buddy Driftless Guides

Mike Warren La Crosse, WI 54601 (608) 792-2521 mjw54601@icloud.com www.TroutBuddy.com TroutRoutes

Zachary Pope Columbia Heights, MN 55421 (612) 965-8039 zpope@troutinsights.com www.troutinsights.com

Bob White Studio

Bob White Marine on Saint Croix, MN 55047 (651) 433-4168 bob@bobwhitestudio.com www.bobwhitestudio.com

MISSOURI

Jim Rogers Fly Fishing School

Jim Rogers Lebanon, MO 65536 (417) 532-4307 ext. 2 www.jimrogersflyfishing.com

MONTANA

Alpine Foot and Ankle Clinic

Dr. Gregg Neibauer Missoula, MT 59801 (406) 721-4007 www.alpinefoot.com

Angler's West Fly Fishing Outfitters

Matson Rogers Emigrant, MT 59027 (406) 333-4401 info@montanaflyfishers.com www.montanaflyfishers.com

Dan Bailey’s Outdoor Company

Dale Sexton Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 222-1673 info@danbaileys.com www.danbaileys.com

Bauer Fly Reels

Jeff Evans Twin Bridges, MT 59754 (406) 684-5674 jevans@winstonrods.com www.bauerflyreel.com

Beartooth Flyfishing

Dan and Nancy Delekta Cameron, MT 59720 (406) 682-7525 info@beartoothflyfishing.com www.beartoothflyfishing.com

Big Hole Lodge

Craig Fellin Wise River, MT 59762 (406) 832-3252 info@bigholelodge.com www.bigholelodge.com

Bighorn Fly and Tackle Shop

Duane Schreiner Fort Smith, MT 59035 (888) 665-1321 bighornfly@gmail.com www.bighornfly.com

Big Sky Anglers

Justin Spence West Yellowstone, MT 59758 (406) 646-7801 info@bigskyanglers.com www.bigskyanglers.com

GOLD LEVEL

Blackfoot River Outfitters, Inc.

John Herzer and Terri Raugland Missoula, MT 59808 (406) 542-7411 trout@blackfootriver.com www.blackfootriver.com

Casting for Recovery, Inc.

Faye Nelson Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 624-6583 www.castingforrecovery.org info@castingforrecovery.org

CrossCurrents Fly Shop

Chris Strainer Helena, MT 59601 (406) 449-2292 crosscurrentsflyshop@gmail.com www.crosscurrents.com

Donaldson Bros. Ready Mix

Charles Donaldson Hamilton, MT 59840 charles@donaldsonbros.com www.donaldsonbros.com

ERA Landmark Real Estate

Kelly Bresnahan Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 586-1321 kelly@eralandmark.com www.eralandmark.com

Fay Ranches

Greg Fay Bozeman, MT 59715 406-586-4001 info@fayranches.com www.fayranches.com

Gallatin River Guides

Mike Donaldson Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2290 gallatinriverguides@gmail.com www.montanaflyfishing.com

Glacier Anglers

Mike Cooney West Glacier, MT 59936 (406) 888-5454 info@glacierraftco.com www.glacieranglers.net

GOLD LEVEL

Glacier Excavating

Bob Cuffe Eureka, MT 59917 (406) 297-3155 glacierexcavating@hotmail.com www.glacierexcavating.com

GOLD LEVEL

Healing Waters Lodge

Steve Mackey Twin Bridges, MT 59754 (406) 684-5960 steve.mackey@hwlodge.com www.hwlodge.com

Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge

Nancy Hubbard Emigrant, MT 59027 (406) 848-7755 nancy@hubya.com www.hubbardslodge.com

Lakestream Fly Shop Whitefish, MT 59937 info@lakestream.com www.lakestreamflyshop.com

GOLD LEVEL

Linehan Outfitting Company

Tim Linehan Troy, MT 59935 (800) 596-0034 info@fishmontana.com www.fishmontana.com

Long Outfitting

Matthew A. Long Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 220-6775 info@longoutfitting.com www.longoutfitting.com

Madison Valley Ranch, LLC Manu Redmond Ennis, MT 59729 (800) 891-6158 mvr@3rivers.net www.madisonvalleyranch.com

LV Wood James and Tara Caroll Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 624-7273 west@lvwood.com www.lvwood.com

Denny Menholt Honda

Matt Smith

Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 587-0761

matts@dennymenholthonda.com www.dennymenholthonda.com

Montana Angler Fly Fishing

Brian McGeehan Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 522-9854 business (406) 570-0453 cell brian@montanaangler.com www.montanaangler.com

Montana Angling Company

Max Yzaguirre Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 579-9553 info@montanaanglingco.com www.montanaanglingco.com

Montana Fishing Outfitters

Garrett Munson Helena, MT 59601 (406) 431-5089

heymfo@montanafishingoutfitters.com www.montanafishingoutfitters.com

Montana Fly Company

Jake Chutz

Columbia Falls, MT 59912 (406) 892-9112

jake@montanafly.com www.montanafly.com

Montana Fly Fishing Lodge

Lincoln Powers Billings, MT 59106 (406) 780-0015

info@montanaflyfishinglodge.com www.montanaflyfishinglodge.com

Joe Dilschneider Ennis, MT 59729 (406) 581-5150 joe@montanatrout.com www.montanatrout.com

Mountain Prairie Outfitters

Taylor Todd Helena, MT 59624

taylor@mountainprairieoutfitters.com www.mountainprairieoutfitters.com

Parks’ Fly Shop

Kody Marr Gardiner, MT 59030 kody@parksflyshop.com www.parksflyshop.com

P3 Properties

Patrick Pozzi Missoula, MT 59808 pozzi.patrick@gmail.com

PRO Outfitters

Brandon Boedecker Helena, MT 59624 (406) 442-5489 pro@prooutfitters.com www.prooutfitters.com

Realty ONE Group Peak

Bryan Atwell Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 579-7616 bryan@bryanatwell.com www.bozemanrealtyone.com

Paul Moseley Sheridan, MT 59749 (406) 842-5250 info@rubyspringslodge.com www.rubyspringslodge.com

GOLD LEVEL

Dan Rust State Farm Insurance

Dan Rust Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 587-8287 dan.rust.b60w@statefarm.com

School of Trout

Todd Tanner Bigfork, MT 59911 (406) 792-5545 finn@schooloftrout.com www.schooloftrout.com

Simms

Diane Bristol Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 585-3557 info@simms.com www.simmsfishing.com

Skwala Fishing

Rich Hohne Bozeman, MT 59715 (833) 523-1500 rich@skwalafishing.com www.skwalafishing.com

Stockman Bank – Bozeman

Paul Pahut Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 556-4100 paul.pahut@stockmanbank.com www.stockmanbank.com

Stockman Bank – Missoula

Bob Burns Missoula, MT 59801 (406) 258-1401 bburns@stockmanbank.com www.stockmanbank.com

Sweetwater Travel Company

Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

Toyota of Bozeman

Jayden Schaap Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 551-6642 marketing@resslermotors.com www.toyotaofbozemancom

Trail Head & Trail Head River

Sports

Todd Frank Missoula, MT 59807 (406)543-6966 tfrank@trailheadmontana.net www.trailheadmontana.net

TroutRoutes

Zachary Pope Columbia Heights, MN 55421 (612) 965-8039 zpope@troutinsights.com www.troutinsights.com

Trout On The Fly

Nate Stevane Outfitter #8533 Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 580-7370 nate@montanatroutonthefly.com www.montanatroutonthefly.com

Trout Scapes River Restoration, LLC

Brian Cowden Bozeman, MT 59715 (201) 230-3383 bcowden@troutscapes.com www.troutscapes.com

Trout Tales Fly Fishing

Ian Secrest Bozeman, MT 59718 (406)539-4327 ian@trouttalesflyfishing.com www.trouttalesflyfishing.com

Wild Montana Anglers

Mark Fuller Martin City, MT 59926 (406) 261-4343 mark@wildmontanaanglers.com www.wildmontanaanglers.com

Hobbs Brewing Company Ossipee, NH 03814 (603) 539-3795 info@hobbsbeer.com www.hobbsbeer.com Make 2025 the year you

Royal Bighorn Club Dan Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

Stillwater Anglers, LLC. Chris Fleck Columbus, MT 59019 (406) 321-0564 chris@stillwateranglers.com

Triple-M-Outfitters

Mark Faroni Dixon, MT 59831 (406) 246-3249 mark@triplemoutfitters.com www.triplemoutfitters.com

Yellowstone Country Fly Fishing

Walter Wiese Livingston, MT 59047 ycflyfishing@gmail.com www.flyfishmontana.biz

Yellowstone Fly Fishing Co. James Pappas Livingston, MT 59047 yellowstonefishingco@gmail.com www.yellowstoneflyfishingco.com

Yellowstone River Outfitters Brogan Ballard Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 531-1838 yellowstoneriveroutfitters@gmail.com www.yellowstoneriveroutfitters.com

NEVADA

Outlaw Rod Company

Anthony Saling Sparks, NV 89431 (775) 636-2945 anthony_saling@yahoo.com www.outlawrodco.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE

American Fly Outfitters

Dan Tilton Winham, NH 03087 info@americanflyoutiffters.com www.americanflyoutfitters.com

Wild Trout Outfitters, Inc. J.D. Bingman Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2975 fish@wildtroutoutfitters.com www.wildtroutoutfitters.com

Montana Trout Stalkers

Ruby Springs Lodge

Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

Schilling Beer Company

Jeff Cozzens Littleton, NH 03561 (603) 444-4800

jeff@schillingbeer.com

www.schillingbeer.com

Stone River Outfitters

1 State Route 101A, Unit 1 Amherst, NH 03031 (603) 472-3191 (800) 331-8558

sales@stoneriveroutfitters.com

www.stoneriveroutfitters.com

NEW JERSEY

Keystone Reclamation Fuel Management LLC

Morristown, NJ 07960

oakpool

Alex Ford Jersey City, NJ 07302 (908) 642-8930

alex@fordhamilton.com

www.oakpool.xyz

Ramsey Outdoor

Marty Brennan Succasunna, NJ 07876 (973) 584-7798

mbrennan@ramseyoutdoor.com www.ramseyoutdoor.com

RoxStar Fishing

Mike James Howell, New Jersey 07731 (973) 704-1323

mike@roxstarfishing.com www.roxstarfishing.com

South Branch Outfitters

Abraham and Lindsey Beates Califon, NJ 07830 (908) 867-8067

info@sboutfitters.com

www.sboutfitters.com

Suburban Fly Fishers

Tim Glynn Maplewood, NJ 07040 (973) 220-3031 timothyglynn@verizon.net www.suburbanflyfishers.com

Tightline Productions

Tim and Joan Flagler Califon, NJ 07830 (908) 832-6677

tightlineproductions@comcast.net www.tightlinevideo.com

NEW MEXICO

Chama Trails Motel

Austin and Karlee Phippen Chama, NM 87520 (575) 756-2156 chamatrails@windstream.net www.chamatrailsmotel.com

Fly Fishing Outpost

Santa Fe, NM 87506 (505) 629-5688 trout@loeflyfishing.com www.flyfishingoutpost.com Land of Enchantment Guides

Noah Parker Velarde, NM 87582 (505) 629-5688 trout@loeflyfishing.com www.loeflyfishing.com

Questa Economic Development Fund

Lindsay Mapes (575) 586-2149 lindsay@questaedf.com

Rezo Systems Marc Harell Taos, NM 87571 (505) 603-1342

info@rezosystems.com www.rezosystems.com

Rocky MTN Tenkara

Casey Canfield Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87124 (505) 252-1667 contact@rockymtntenkara.com www.rockymtntenkara.com

A. Rubey Rod Company

Andy Rubey Corrales, NM 87048 (614) 546-7828 andy@rubeyrods.com www.rubeyrods.com

GOLD LEVEL

Taos Fly Shop

Nick Streit Taos, NM 87571 (575) 751-1312 info@taosflyshop.com www.taosflyshop.com

NEW YORK

Black Dog Outdoor Sports

Target Sports

Steve Borst Glenville, New York 12302 (518) 355-8923 www.blackdogsports.com

Douglas Outdoors

David Barclay Phoenix, NY 13135 (315) 695-2000 info@douglasoutdoors.com www.douglasoutdoors.com

Evans Group Global Real Estate Asset Management Trust Emmet Evans New York, NY 10021 FlyEnthusiast.com

Robert Park Rochester, NY 14610 robsflyshop@gmail.com

Fly on the Water Allen Rupp New York, NY 10023 (872) 205-9211 allen@flyonthewater.com www.flyonthewater.com

Fly Shack, Inc.

Michael Bokan Gloversville, NY 12078 (800) 801-2318 info@flyshack.com www.flyshack.com

High Peaks Adirondack Outfitters

Brian and Karen Delaney Lake Placid, NY 12946 (518) 532-3764 info@highpeakscyclery.com www.highpeakscyclery.com

Tailwater Lodge

Brian Benner Altmar, NY 13302 (315) 298-3435 bbenner@tailwaterlodge.com www.tailwaterlodge.com West Kill Brewing

Michael Barcone West Kill, NY 12492 info@westkillbrewing.com www.westkillbrewing.com

NORTH CAROLINA

Brookings Anglers

Matt Canter Cashiers, NC 28717 (828) 743-3768 info@brookingsonline.com www.brookingsonline.com

Coastal Cottages

Mark Milby Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 obxcottageplans@gmail.com

Creel Lodge at Middle Creek

Keith Foster Otto, NC 28763 keith@creellodge.com www.creellodge.com

Hunter Banks Company

Frank Smith Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 252-3005 staff@hunterbanks.com www.hunterbanks.com

Nantahala River Lodge

Mickey and Annette Youmans Topton, NC 28781 (912) 596-4360 mickey@nantahalariverlodge.net www.nantahalariverlodge.net

Pesca Muerta

Winston Salem, NC 27104 (336) 355-4561 info@pescamuerta.com www.pescamuerta.com

Pisgah Outdoors

Heath Cartee Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 (828) 577-3277

heath@pisgahoutdoors.com www.pisgahoutdoors.com

Primavera Leathers

Evenlight Eagles Blowing Rock, NC 28605 evenlighteagles@gmail.com www.primaveraleathers.com

Whitetail Fly Tieing Supplies

Nancy Richardson Chapel Hill, NC 27516 (630) 294-2947 nancy.richardson55@gmail.com www.whitetailflytieing.com

OHIO

Time Timer, LLC

David Rogers Cincinnati, OH 45243 (877) 771-8463 dave@timetimer.com www.timetimer.com

OKLAHOMA

K R Parker Holdings, LLC Ken Parker Tulsa, OK 74137 krprkr@gmail.com

OREGON

Alpine Archery and Fly

John Appleton La Grande, OR 97850 (541) 963-4671 alpinearcheryllc@gmail.com www.alpinearcheryandfly.com

GOLD LEVEL

The Caddis Fly Angling Shop

Chris Daughters Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 505-8061 caddiseug@yahoo.com www.caddisflyshop.com

Creative Resource Strategies, LLC

Lisa DeBruyckere Salem, OR 97317 (503) 371-5939 lisad@createstrat.com www.createstrat.com

The Fly Fishing Shop

Mark Bachmann Welches, OR 97067 (503) 781-6468 flyfish@flyfishusa.com www.flyfishusa.com

The Fly Fishing Place

Nick Nickens Summerville, OR 97876 editors@theflyfishingplace.com www.theflyfishingplace.com

Fly Water Travel Ashland, OR 97520 (800) 552-2729 info@flywatertravel.com www.flywatertravel.com

Loon Outdoors

Brett Zundel

Alan Peterson Ashland, OR 97520 (800) 580-3811 service@loonoutdoors.com www.loonoutdoors.us

Minam Store Outfitters

Grant Richie Wallowa, OR 97885 (541) 431-1111 grant.minam@gmail.com www.minamstore.com

Paul’s Pipes

Paul Menard Bend, OR 97703 info@paulspipes.com www.paulspipes.com

The Rogue Angler Mark Koenig Eugene, OR 97402 (800) 949-5163 customerservice@therogueangler. com www.therogueangler.com

Royal Treatment Fly Fishing

Joel La Follette West Linn, OR 97068 (503) 850-4397 joel@royaltreatmentflyfishing.com www.royaltreatmentflyfishing.com

PENNSYLVANIA

ARIPPA

Jaret Gibbons & Cristy Sweeney Camp Hill, PA 17011 (717) 763-7635 jgibbons@arippa.org csweeney@arippa.org www.arippa.org

Arnot Sportsmen’s Assoc., Inc Ron Signor Arnot, PA 16911 (570) 638-2985 sms2333@PTD.NET

Creamton Fly Fishing Club Bethlehem, PA 18015 jms1701@gmail.com www.creamtonflyfishingclub.com

GOLD LEVEL

Cross Current Guide Service and Outfitters

Joe Demalderis Starlight, PA 18461 (914) 475-6779 crosscurrent@optonline.net www.crosscurrentguideservice. com

The Fly Fishing Show

Ben Furimsky Somerset, PA 15501 (814) 443-3638 ben@flyfishingshow.com www.flyfishingshow.com

Flyway Excavating, Inc. Brad Clubb Mount Joy, PA 17552 (717) 560-0731 bclubb@flywayexcavating.com www.flywayexcavating.com

The Forest Lake Club Colleen Van Horn Hawley, PA 18428 (570) 685-7171 gm@forestlakeclub.net www.forestlakeclub.net

Gleim Environmental Group

Stephanie Rider Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 258-4630 srider@jwgleim.com www.jwgleim.com

Jim’s Sports Center

Terry Malloy Clearfield, PA 16830 (814) 765-3582 terry@jimssports.com www.jimssports.com

Gorski Engineering

Jerry Gorski Collegeville, PA 19426 (610) 489-9131 jgorski@gorskiengineering.com www.gorskiengineering.com

The Lodge at Glendorn

Shane Appleby Bradford, PA 16701 (814) 362-6511 sappleby@glendorn.com www.glendorn.com

The Lodge at Woodloch

Josh Heath Hawley, PA 18428 (800) 966-3562 jheath@thelodgeatwoodloch.com www.thelodgeatwoodloch.com

Milestone Financial Associates

David S. Coult, CFP® Macungie, PA 18062 (610) 421-8777 dcoult@milestonefa.com www.milestonefa.com

PA Fly Company

Doug Yocabet Mount Pleasant, PA 15666 (724) 322-0037 doug@paflyco.net www.paflyco.net PA Troutfitters

Bill Nolan Slatedale, PA 18079 (717) 875-7426 patroutfitters@gmail.com www.patroutfitters.fish

Papillon & Moyer Excavating & Paving, LLC

Dave Moyer Stroudsburg, PA 18360 (570) 421-5020 dave.moyer@papillon-moyer.com www.papillon-moyer.com

Perfect Hatch Fly Fishing

Tony Grubb Lansdale, PA 19446 (800) 523-6644 tony@rayrumpf.com www.perfecthatch.com

GOLD LEVEL

Pride of Bristol Bay

Steve and Jenn Kurian Bloomsburg, PA 17815 (570) 317-2200

contact@prideofbristolbay.com www.prideofbristolbay.com

Robindale Energy Services, Inc. James Panaro Ebensburg, PA 15931 (814) 322-2294 jim.panaro@resfuel.com www.robindale.energy

GOLD LEVEL

Sky Blue Outfitters

Rick Nyles Fleetwood, PA 19522 (610) 987-0073 rick@skyblueoutfitters.com www.skyblueoutfitters.com

That Fish Place-That Pet Place

Stephanie Welsh Lancaster, PA 17603 (717) 345-4671 swelsh@thatpetplace.com www.thatpetplace.com

Thomas Spinning Lures, Inc. Peter Ridd Hawley, PA 18428 (800) 724-6768 info@thomaslures.com www.thomaslures.com

Troutman Wealth Management, LLC

Steve Troutman Malvern, PA 19355 (877) 393-9660 steve@troutmanwealth.com www.troutmanwealth.com

Wild East Outfitters Nick Raftas Coatesville, PA 19320 (610) 500-3147 wildeastoutfitters@outlook.com www.wildeastoutfitters.com

Wild for Salmon Steve Kurian Bloomsburg, PA 17815 (570) 387-0550 info@wildforsalmon.com www.wildforsalmon.com

RHODE ISLAND

EA Engineering Sal DeCarli Warwick, RI 02886 sdecarli@eaest.com www.eaest.com

SOUTH CAROLINA

Fenwick Jim Murphy Columbia, SC 29203 (800) 334-9105 info@purefishing.com www.purefishing.com

Hardy Fly Fishing

Jim Murphy Columbia, SC 29203 (800) 334-9105 info@purefishing.com www.purefishing.com

Hellbender Nets

Bailly & JD Wagner Easley, SC 29640 hellbendernets@gmail.com www.hellbendernets.com

Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

GOLD LEVEL

Rambler Angler & Blade Co.

Caleb Snead

Spartanburg, SC 29303

caleb@rambler.co www.rambler.co

TENNESSEE

The Lodge at Green Cove

Green Angler Store

Jason McConkey

Tellico Plains, TN 37385 (423) 252-4014

greencoveangler@gmail.com

www.greencoveangler.com

Smoky Mountain Angler

Harold Thompson

Gatlinburg, TN 37738 (865) 436-8746

info@smokymountainangler.com www.smokymountainangler.com

Smoky Mountain Spinnery

Frederick Thompson Gatlinburg, TN 37738

nancy@smokymountainspinnery.com www.smokymountainspinnery.com

TEXAS

Action Angler

Chris Jackson New Braunfels, TX 78132 (830) 708-3474

info@actionangler.net www.actionangler.net

GOLD LEVEL

Gruene Outfitters

Tiffany Yeates

New Braunfels, TX 78130 (830) 660-4400

tiffany@grueneoutfitters.com www.gueneoutfitters.com

HB Systems Inc.

Corey Allen Plano, TX 75023 www.hbsystemsinc.com

GOLD LEVEL

Living Waters Fly Fishing Round Rock, TX 78664 (512) 828-3474 chris@livingwatersflyfishing.com www.livingwatersflyfishing.com

Yeti Coolers

Jake Drees Austin, TX 78735 (512) 394-9384 info@yeti.com www.yeti.com

UTAH

Park City Outfitters

Brandon Bertagnole Park City, UT 84098 (866) 649-3337

bbertagnole@hotmail.com www.parkcityoutfitters.com

Utah Whitewater Gear

Clinton Monson Midvale, UT 84047

clinton@utahwhitewatergear.com www.utahwhitewatergear.com

VERMONT

Three Rivers Equine Veterinary Service

Tyler McGill Barnet, VT 05821 tmcgillvt@gmail.com www.threeriversequinevet.com

VIRGINIA

Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corporation

Mark Short Providence Forge, VA 23140 mshort@atlanticbulk.com www.atlanticbulk.com

beag+haus | creative + modern small home design

Marc O'Grady Ashburn, VA 20147 (888) 984-1853 contact@beaghaus.com www.beaghaus.com

Beaverdam Falls, LLC

Beau Bryan Covington, VA 24426 info@beaverdamfalls.com www.beaverdamfalls.com

Ecosystem Services, LLC

Kip Mumaw Charlottesville, VA 22903 (540) 239-1428 kip@ecosystemservices.us www.ecosystemservices.us

Hutton Fly Expeditionary Fly Fishing Travel

Derek Hutton Lexington, VA 24450 (208) 399-1888 info@huttonfly.com www.huttonfly.com

Interior Federal Credit Union Washington, DC 20240 Reston, VA 20192 (800) 914-8619 www.interiorfcu.org

GOLD LEVEL

Mossy Creek Fly Fishing

Colby Trow Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540) 434-2444 store@mossycreekflyfishing.com www.mossycreekflyfishing.com/ New River Fly Fishing

Mike Smith Willis, VA 24380 (540) 250-1340 msmith@swva.net www.newriverflyfish.com

Potts Creek Outfitters

Daniel Walsh Paint Bank, VA 24131 (540) 897-5555 pco@pottscreekoutfitters.com www.pottscreekoutfitters.com

Roanoke Angler Jay Waide Roanoke, VA 24015 jay@roanokeangler.com www.roanokeangler.com

South River Fly Shop

Tommy Lawhorne Kevin Little Waynesboro, VA 22980 (540) 942-5566 shop@southriverflyshop.com southriverflyshop.com

Stonegate–An Elegant Guest House

Margaret Hutton Lexington, VA 24450 (208) 399-1887 hutton@stonegatevirginia.com www. stonegatevirginia.com

Virginia River Guides

Derek Hutton Lexington, VA 24450 (208) 399-1888 trips@VirginiaRiverGuides.com www.VirginiaRiverGuides.com

WASHINGTON

DRYFT

Sam Thompson and Nick Satushek Bellingham, WA 98229 (360) 818- 4047 contact@dryftfishing.com www.dryftfishing.com

Redington Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (800) 253-2538 info@redington.com www.redington.com

Red’s Fly Shop

Joe Rotter Ellensburg, WA 98926 (509) 933-2300 staff@redsflyshop.com www.redsflyshop.com

Sage Fly Fishing

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (206) 842-6608 (800) 553-3004 sage@sageflyfish.com www.sageflyfish.com

Silver Bow Fly Fishing

Sean Visintainer Spokane Valley, WA 99216 (509) 924-9998 flyfish@silverbowflyshop.com www.silverbowflyshop.com

WEST VIRGINIA

Angler’s Xstream Parkersburg, WV 26101 (877) 909-6911 fishing@anglersxstream.com www.anglersxstream.com

Fife Street Brewing

Josh Dodd Charleston, WV 25302 (304) 941-8269 josh@fifestreetbrewing.com www.fifestreetbrewing.com

WISCONSIN

Alongi Santas Insurance Agency, Inc. Mark Santas Beloit, WI 53511 www.alongiinsurance.com

The Green Earth Company

Andrew Busse New Holstein, WI 53061 (800) 528-1922 info@thegreenearthco.com www.greenicemelt.com

Lund's Fly Shop

Brian Smolinski River Falls, WI 54022 (715) 425-2415

brian@lundsflyshop.com www.lundsflyshop.com

Trout Buddy Driftless Guides

Mike Warren La Crosse, WI 54601 (608) 792-2521

Mike@TroutBuddy.com www.TroutBuddy.com

WYOMING

Arrow Land and Water, LLC

Chad Espenscheid Big Piney, WY 83113 (307) 231-2389

chadespen@gmail.com

Dunoir Fishing Adventures, LLC

Jeramie Prine Lander, WY 82520 (307) 349-3331 jlprine@gmail.com www.dunoirfishing.com

Fish the Fly Guide Service & Travel

Jason Balogh Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 690-1139

jb@fishthefly.com www.fishthefly.com

Grand Teton Fly Fishing

Scott Smith and Mark Fuller Jackson, WY 83002 307-690-4347

ssflyfish@rocketmail.com markwfuller@gmail.com www.grandtetonflyfishing.com

Graylight Outfitters

David Collom Elsinore, UT 84724 (435) 720-7440

graylightoutfitters@gmail.com www.graylightoutfitters.com

GOLD LEVEL

JD High Country Outfitters

Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-7210

scott@jdhcoutfitters.com www.highcountryflies.com

Live Water Properties

Macye Maher Jackson, WY 83002 (866) 734-6100 macye@livewaterproperties.com www.livewaterproperties.com

North Fork Anglers

Blair Van Antwerp Cody, WY 82414 (307) 527-7274 hello@northforkanglers.com www.northforkanglers.com

Park County Glass Cody, WY 82414 (307) 587-9303 pcg@bresnan.net www.parkcountyglass.com

Rock Creek Anglers

Clark Smyth Sheridan, WY 82801 (307) 672-6894 rockcreekanglers@wyoming.com www.anglingdestinations.com/rockcreek-anglers

Sweetwater Fishing Expeditions, LLC

George H. Hunker III Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-3986 phunker@wyoming.com www.sweetwaterfishing.com

Tactical Fly Fisher, LLC

Devin Olsen Lander, WY 82520 info@tacticalflyfisher.com www.tacticalflyfisher.com

Thermopolis Fly Shop

Dan Pass

Thermopolis, WY 82443 thermopolisflyshop@gmail.com www.thermopolisflyshop.com

TyOutdoors

Ty Hallock Casper, WY 82609 (307) 315-8287 ty@tyoutdoors.com www.tyoutdoors.com

Westbank Anglers

Michael Dawes Wilson, WY 83014 (307) 733-6483 info@westbankanglers.com www.westbankanglers.com

GOLD LEVEL

Wind River Outdoor

Company

Ron Hansen Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-7864 ron@windriveroutdoor company.com www.windriveroutdoorcompany.com

INTERNATIONAL

BAHAMAS

Mangrove Cay Club

Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

BRAZIL

Agua Boa Lodge Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

CANADA

3 Rivers Steelhead Expeditions Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 jeff@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

Lower Dean River Lodge Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286

jeff@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

Steelhead Valhalla Lodge Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286

jeff@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

MONGOLIA

Mongolia Taimen Camps Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286

dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

UK

WALES

Llyn Guides

J. Noel Hulmston Nefyn, PWLLHELI LL53 6LF T Int + (0)1758 721654 C Int + (0)7774 610600 llynguides@dnetw.co.uk www.llynguides.co.uk

CHARLIE WATERMAN

Lessons From the Best Outdoors Writer You Need To Know

BY PAUL BRUUN

discovered Charlie Waterman through his columns in Florida Wildlife. My subscription was part of the loot from winning a 1954 conservation essay contest sponsored by the Florida Game & Freshwater Fish Commission.

In 1970 I met Charlie after his keynote talk at a Lake Okeechobee outdoors writer fun fly event, and he invited me to visit in Montana if I made it west that fall.

Over his 90-plus years, Charlie, accompanied by his wife, Debie’s, photographs, produced 19 books that detailed fly rod trout and bass fishing, upland bird hunting, hunting dog adventures, treatises on big game hunting as well as collectible firearms. Similar content appeared in hundreds of instructive newspaper and magazine articles.

Growing up on a Kansas farm hastened Charlie’s becoming an accomplished outdoorsman. Writing peers respected his breadth of in-the-field knowhow. Waterman trademarks were pleasantly identifiable in print and in person. He and his writing were a gentle conversation delicately seasoned with self-deprecating humor.

Between modest seasonal Florida and Montana bases, Charlie and Debie explored the U.S. and abroad. Summer and fall they convened in Livingston near Yellowstone’s trout meccas and spring creeks. Crisp autumn days invited grouse, chukar, pheasant, mule deer, elk and antelope hunts. Charlie and his longtime writer friend, Joe Brooks, received their summer mail at Dan Bailey’s famous fly shop, a treat for fly fishers seeking a visit with true angling legends.

Prior to my October arrival, two book revisions appeared in Charlie’s mail, cancelling our promised visits to Armstrong Spring Creek and Joe Brooks’ favorite Yellowstone streamer pools.

“Before you go, check out our new outdoor vehicle,” Charlie urged, presenting the first tiny red Subaru we’d ever seen. Ray and I laughed for two days after Charley demonstrated their new ride’s anemic Town and Country Horn

Today, 55 years later, I remain impressed by Waterman’s resourceful response to my asking, “Why Florida plates on a car residing in Montana?” “Is a rancher on the Musselshell or over in Miles City more likely to give hunting/fishing permission to a Florida outfit that won’t be back his way for a while than to a Montana rig?”

Reading Charlie’s witty but honest routine of a thermometer’s value on a fishing trip tipped me what to do when float clients asked, “How’s the water temperature affecting our fishing?” After taking the river temperature and studying the instrument, I’d smile, “Yep, just as I suspected,” and put it away!

It was no coincidence, I recognized later, when flamboyant fishing guide and faithful Waterman pal, Ray Hurley, walked in. Charley designed Ray’s convenient arrival for my complete immersion into all things Yellowstone River, Bailey’s, Brooks and Livingston, Montana.

Charlie and favorite Chicago angling pal, Ray Donnesberger, pioneered a routine when fishing was really good. “This fly works so let’s cut it off and see what else catches ‘em?” This horrified friends and guides who didn’t realize their skills and playfulness.

Let’s cut it off became another Waterman bit I activated with friends and even some clients. One evening, Bear McKinney excitedly called to describe his day’s Snake guide trip with a new client. After landing and releasing six or seven cutthroat Bear said, “Let’s do what Paul Bruun says: ‘That fly works, let’s cut it off and try something else.’”

True to his nickname, Bear is sizable, but the client took a threatening step toward him and screamed, “ I don’t know who that Bruun guy is, but if you touch that fly, I’ll kill you!”

“Guess we’ll keep usin’ it!” Bear said as he burst out laughing.

I treasure the Watermans’ stories, favorite fly patterns (Charlie’s Silver Outcast Streamer and Debie’s HangyDowny midge emergers) and marvelous friendship.

Spread out the map and circle those little-explored waters that ignite your imagination. The Approach 138 expands your access to harder-to-reach fisheries with a design that’s easy-to-launch, adaptable for flat and moving water, and fully featured for angler comfort and convenience. Every inch is crafted for versatility, rowing performance, and stealth, with quality backed by decades of craftsmanship. The NRS Slot Rail frame system lets you fine-tune seat, oar, and gear placement for balance, comfort, and control. Welded PVC construction, continuous curve tubes, and a high-pressure drop-stitch floor provide a stable casting platform and reduce drag, excelling even in shallow, technical water. Padded dry box seats, rod holders, anchor system, and motor mount come standard. Whether you’re running a full-luxury setup on a finger lake or stripping it down for a backcountry mission, the Approach adapts to how you fish. Where you Catch the Adventure™ is up to you.

Scan to see all Approach packages and learn more.