TROUT - Winter 2024

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THE FISHERIESCONSERVATION CONSERVATION THEJOURNAL JOURNALOF OFCOLDWATER COLDWATER FISHERIES WINTER 2024

26 l Blue Lines

The Judicious Application of Blind Luck.

BY THOMAS REED

28 l A Simple Life

BY JOHN GIERACH (ORIGINAL ART BY BOB WHITE)

34 l Pursuing Native Connections

BY DANIEL RITZ

42 l Basswood, Tin Fins and Lead

BY KEN ANDRASKO

46 l Frog Squad

BY MARISA-CLAIRE MUMFORD

50 l Resilience: On Apache trout, and

the people who ensured their survival

BY THOMAS REED

62 l Precious Mettle: California’s

golden trout persist with project help from TU

BY GREG FITZ

DEPARTMENTS 6 l From the CEO

10 l Pocket Water

“Talking About Dams,” Stream Guardian Jim Tilley and book reviews.

22 l Trout Myths

Trout Do 80 Percent of Their Feeding Underwater.

BY TOM ROSENBAUER

71 l Actionline

2024 TU Summer Camps & Academies, Stream Champion Bridget Moran, Tools & Tips and more.

80 l Dear Miriam...

One Fell Swoop.

BY CHRISTINE PETERSON

96 l Classics

Lettered Lines. BY PAUL BRUUN

On the Cover: Triston Chaney, Bristol

Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy graduate, instructor and Bear Trail Lodge guide. See story on page 34. Photo by Colin Arisman.

Trout Unlimited Leadership Board of Trustees

National Leadership Council Representatives

Chair of the Board Terry Hyman, Washington, D.C.

Chair

President/Chief Executive Officer Chris Wood, Washington, D.C.

Secretary

Rich Thomas

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 Sharon Sweeney Fee, Livingston, Mont.

Trustees Stewart Alsop, Sante Fe, N.M. R. Scott Blackley, Leesburg, Va. 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.V.

Sharon Sweeney Fee Arizona, Tom Goodwin Arkansas, Melinda Smith Colorado, Cam Chandler Connecticut, Sal DeCarli Georgia, Carl Riggs Idaho, Ed Northen Illinois, Mark Wortsmann Iowa, Bob Sodders Kentucky, Gene Slusher Maine, Tammy Packie Massachusetts, Bill Pastuszek Michigan, Greg Walz Mid-Atlantic, Noel Gollehon Minnesota, Randy Brock Missouri (Ozark Council)

Jeffrey Holzem 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, Scott Hood Oregon, Peter Gray Pennsylvania, Russ Collins South Carolina, Paul McKee Tennessee, Mark Spangler Texas, Joe Filer Utah, Jeff Taniguchi Vermont, David Deen Virginia, Eric Tichay Washington, Andrew Kenefick West Virginia, Paul McKay Wisconsin, Linn Beck Wyoming, Jim Hissong

Kentucky, Mike Lubeach Maine, Matt Streeter Massachusetts, Josh Rownd Michigan, Tom Mundt Minnesota, Brent Notbohm Missouri (Ozark Council)

Brian Carr Montana, Brian Neilsen New Hampshire, Michael Croteau New Jersey, Marsha Benovengo New Mexico, Marc Space New York, Cal Curtice North Carolina, Brian Esque Ohio, Scott Saluga Oklahoma, Greg Mann Oregon, Mark Rogers Pennsylvania, Leonard Lichvar South Carolina, Michael Waddell Tennessee, Ryan Turgeon Texas, Chris Johnson Utah, Scott Antonetti Vermont, Jared Carpenter Virginia, Jim Wilson Washington, Pat Hesselgesser West Virginia, Brad Riffee Wisconsin, Scott Allen Wyoming, Kathy Buchner

State Council Chairs Arizona, Alan Davis Arkansas, Michael Wingo California, Trevor Fagerskog Colorado, Greg Hardy Connecticut, John Kovach Georgia, Rodney Tumlin Idaho, Matthew Woodard Illinois, Dan Postelnick Iowa, Michael Chilton

Coldwater Conservation Fund Board of Directors 2024 President Jeffrey Morgan, New York, N.Y.

Robert Halmi, Jr., New York, N.Y. William Heth, Eau Claire, Wis. Executive Committee Kent and Theresa Heyborne, Denver, Colo.

Joseph Anscher, Long Beach, N.Y. Kent Hoffman, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Philip Belling, Newport Beach, Calif.

Frank Holleman, Greenville, S.C. Stephan Kiratsous, New York, N.Y. Braden Hopkins, Park City Utah Stephen Moss, Larchmont, N.Y. James Jackson, Houston, Texas Tony James, New York, N.Y. Directors Jeffrey Johnsrud, Newport Beach, Cali.

Bruce Allbright, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Jakobus Jordaan, San Francisco, Calif.

Peter and Lisa Baichtal, Sacramento, Calif.

Matthew Kane, Boulder, Colo.

Daniel Blackley, Salt Lake City, Utah James Kelley, Atlanta, Ga. Stephen Bridgman, Westfield, N.J. Peter Kellogg, New York, N.Y. Mark Carlquist, Los Gatos, Calif.

Andrew Kenefick Seattle, Wash.

Gregory Case, Philadelphia, Pa. Steven King, Wayzata, Minn.

Bonnie Cohen, Washington, D.C. Cargill MacMillan, III, Boulder, Colo.

James Connelly, Newport Beach, Calif.

Ivan & Donna Marcotte, Asheville, N.C. Jeremy Croucher, Overland Park, Kan. Michael Maroni, Bainbridge island, Wash.

Matthew Dumas, Darien, Conn.

Rick Elefant and Diana Jacobs, Berkeley, Calif. Jeffrey Marshall, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Jay Martin, Delray Beach, Fla. Glenn Erikson, Glorieta, NM Heide Mason, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Renee Faltings, Ketchum, Idaho Gregory McCrickard, Towson, Md. John Fraser, Norwalk, Conn.

McCain McMurray, Golden, Colo.

Matthew Fremont-Smith, New York, N.Y. Daniel Miller, New York, N.Y. Bruce Gottlieb, Brooklyn, N.Y. Robert & Teresa Oden, Jr., Hanover, N.H. John Griffin, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kenneth Olivier, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Brian Paavola, Key West, Fla. H. Stewart Parker, Chapel Hill, N.C. Anne Pendergast, Big Horn, Wyo. Michael Polemis, Old Chatham, N.Y. Adam Raleigh, New York, N.Y. John Redpath, Austin, Texas Michael Rench, Cincinnati, Ohio Andrew Roberts, Highlands, N.C. 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. Margeret Taylor, Sheridan, Wyo. Robert Teufel, Emmaus, Pa. Jeffrey Thorp, Jackson, Wyo. 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 [ C h r i s Wo o d ]

DEPUTY EDITOR

Like your first kiss, no one ever forgets their first native trout.

The memory is as searing as the sun’s reflection off snow through a windshield. My friend and fishing mentor, Bill Sargent, had pointed me to a small and little-known stream in the Green Mountains to fish for native brook trout.

Bill explained to me that “brookies” were almost extirpated from Vermont when the forests were cleared for agriculture, but the forests were coming back, and a few strongholds of native brookies persisted on national forest lands in the Green Mountains.

This was perhaps a few months after having caught my first trout on a fly after a dozen or more unsuccessful outings. I caught that rainbow after it hooked itself while I was untangling a knot in my fly line as my “Zug Bug” dangled 20 feet behind me in the water.

Fortified by having actually caught a trout, I walked up the creek a mile or so from the pull off—past the obvious holes (along with the worm containers, beer cans, etc.) and places others could easily fish from the road. I threw an elk hair caddis on the water perhaps a half dozen times—a slash on the surface, and it was gone! I pulled that little brook trout in and marveled at its colors and the wonder of God’s creation.

According to the State of the Trout report prepared by the TU science team, of 28 native trout species and subspecies, three are extinct and six are listed as threatened or endangered. Excluding the extinct trout, more than half of remaining trout species occupy less than 25 percent of their historical habitat and are at high risk from at least one major threat. Nearly all native trout—92 percent—face some level of risk.

Yet, native trout and salmon are remarkably resilient species. Give them half a chance and they will respond. Consider the case of salter brook trout in the Quashnet River of Massachusetts. Before the Southeastern Mass and Cape Cod chapters got involved, there were only 10 salters (a super-cool brook trout that moves to ocean estuaries and can grow up to four inches in a year) per 1,000 feet of stream. Today, thanks to the chapters’ work we have 650 fish per thousand feet.

Perhaps my favorite native trout is the Apache. It only exists today because of the work of the White Mountain tribe of the Apache in Arizona who had the wisdom to close their reservation to fishing 20 years before the Endangered Species Act, and then worked with state and federal agencies, and TU professional staff to recover the species. The Apache trout is on the verge of becoming the first trout ever removed from the Endangered Species list because they have recovered.

The Elwha River in Washington State was blocked by two dams that stopped migration for salmon and steelhead for over 100 years. Those dams were removed about 10 years ago, and the results are astounding. Salmon have come back without the aid of hatcheries, and the resident rainbow trout remembered that they are the same species as steelhead, and began to run to the ocean. The result? Steelhead, a functionally extinct species in the Elwha, have come back.

The recovery of native trout, salmon and steelhead in the Elwha gives hope to dam removal on the Klamath and the eventual removal of the four lower Snake River dams.

My mom always says, “thoughts are nice, but action makes the difference.”

Your actions and support of TU are helping to recover our legacy of native trout, salmon and steelhead.

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EDITOR

Kirk Deeter

The Power of Native.

T R O U T

WINTER 2024 • VOLUME 67 • NUMBER 1

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Samantha Carmichael E D I T O R - A T- L A R G E

Erin Block Trout Unlimited 1700 N Moore Street Suite 2005 Arlington, VA 22209-2793 Ph: (800) 834-2419 trout@tu.org www.tu.org DESIGN

grayHouse design jim@grayhousedesign.com D I S P L AY A DV E RT I S I N G

Tim Romano info@timromano.com (303) 495-3967 TROUT UNLIMITED’S MISSION:

To conserve, protect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their

watersheds.

TROUT (ISSN 0041-3364) is published four times a year in January, April, July and October

by Trout Unlimited as a service to its members. Annual individual membership for U.S. residents is $35 Join or renew online at www.tu.org.

TU does occasionally make street addresses available to like-minded organizations. Please contact us at 1-800-834-2419, trout@tu.org or PO Box 98166, Washington, DC 20090 if you would like your name withheld, would like to change your address, renew your membership or make a donation.

Postmaster send address changes to: TROUT Magazine Trout Unlimited 1700 N Moore Street Suite 2005 Arlington, VA 22209-2793

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From the Editor [Kirk Deeter]

Where I’m From I’m a trout fishing “mutt.” I was born—and mostly grew up—near Great Lakes (Erie and Michigan); I spent the last two years of high school and my young adult years in Pennsylvania; and by year count, have since lived most of my life in Colorado. So, when people ask where I’m “from,” I often don’t know how to answer. I’m actually proud of that. After all, I can claim fishing roots in classic limestone creeks, meandering Midwestern streams and the cascading rivers in the Rockies. I’ve heard it said that everywhere you go to fish, you leave a part of yourself behind.

That may be true, but I also see it the other way—that everywhere you fish, you collect a piece of that place, and add that to your soul forever. Thus, I still often dream about wild rivers in Alaska, and the people with whom I’ve fished those places. I understand and appreciate the sacred nature of what fishing the North Umpqua in Oregon with Frank Moore meant. I count fishing the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico as a blessing, not merely something ticked off on a to-do list. I deeply admire those who have native connections to any region, watershed or fish. I think it’s important to respect those connections, because that’s where the passion thrives, and that’s where the conservation battles will ultimately be won. Thus, we’ve made “native” a theme for this issue of TROUT magazine.

I hope you feel the power in some of these words and images. In the end, it really doesn’t matter where you’re from… what matters is what will be, and what you do to influence that.

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Pocket Water

PHOTOS BY JOSH DUPLECHIAN

news bits and bytes

Kennebec Salmon Hanging On By a Thread Late in the summer of 2023, advocates for the recovery of Maine’s wild Atlantic salmon eagerly awaited a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) due as part of a relicensing process for one of the four lowermost dams on the Kennebec River.

The wait continues. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has delayed the release of the draft EIS until the spring of 2024.

While that delay may have frustrated some, there was some good news for the Kennebec.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) tallied a significant increase in the number of salmon— T R O U T

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which are listed as federally endangered in U.S. waters under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)—returning to the Kennebec. By the end of the spawning run, DMR had captured 162 salmon at the fish lift at Lockwood Dam, the lowermost dam on the river. The total was more than double the 80 salmon captured in 2022.

Yet, in the wake of the December 10

2023 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the ESA it’s hard to not consider the big picture. Prior to the Industrial Age— before dams blocked salmon from reaching historical spawning grounds and rivers were filled with industrial waste—salmon runs on the Kennebec topped 100,000 fish annually. Salmon were critically important, both culturally and for sustenance, for the region’s Native American tribes and European settlers alike.

A drop from 100,000 to 162 equates to a 99.82 percent decline.

The only reason the Kennebec River

has a salmon run at all is thanks to the efforts of the DMR, which traps those returners at the Lockwood Dam in Waterville, trucks them in tanks past three additional dams and releases them into the Sandy River, a Kennebec tributary that contains what scientists believe to be the most productive Atlantic salmon spawning and rearing habitat in the United States.

To help young salmon reach the Atlantic, salmon smolts are trapped in the spring and trucked back downstream for release.

“We were encouraged to see the increase in the number of returning Atlantic salmon,” said Trout Unlimited Vice President of Eastern Conservation Keith Curley. “But as heroic as the trap-and-truck program is, it is frustrating that such an effort is needed at all. And, even with the program in place, wild Atlantic salmon are still just barely holding on.”

Importantly, salmon aren’t the only migratory fish impacted by the dams.

The dams also block other co-evolved species—such as endangered Atlantic sturgeon, American eels, American shad and river herring.

Shawmut Dam, the third of the fourth lowermost Kennebec barriers, is currently up for FERC relicensing. The other three are going through license amendments. Trout Unlimited is an active participant in a coalition that sees the relicensing process as an opportunity to bolster Atlantic salmon recovery possibilities on the Kennebec.

The coalition battling for Atlantic salmon and other species in the Kennebec is strongly advocating that the dams’ owner, Canadian energy giant Brookfield Renewable Partners, takes necessary steps to ensure viable passage— both upstream and downstream—for all species. That could include removing dams or, at the very least installing bypass channels at all barriers, as well as installing smaller screens to help keep

migrating fish from being sucked into spinning turbines.

Brookfield has proposed addressing fish passage with a combination of additional fish lifts and bypass channels. Bypass channels have proven to be effective at improving fish passage, but fish lifts have been shown to not be effective at meeting standards set by the Endangered Species Act. Brookfield itself has admitted that its passage proposals for the four Kennebec dams will continue to harm salmon.

In the spring of 2023, a long-anticipated biological opinion issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated that Brookfield’s proposals would be sufficient to keep

the species from totally blinking out in the Kennebec.

“We feel like the biological opinion said that ‘bad’ is still OK,” Curley said.

“We strongly disagree.”

Supporters of Kennebec’s salmon will have an opportunity to formally address the draft EIS through a public comment period after its release.

To learn more about the effort to save wild Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec River—and the United States—visit TU.org/kennebec and sign up to receive updates on the efforts of Trout Unlimited and our partners in the Kennebec coalition.

—Mark Taylor

“But as heroic as the trap-and-truck program is, it is frustrating that such an effort is needed at all. And, even with the program in place, wild Atlantic salmon are still just barely holding on.”— Keith Curley

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Pocket Water

Ripogenus Dam, 1936

Diverse Advocates Fighting for Maine’s West Branch of the Penobscot River When you know a river, you know it not only by its appearance, but by its sounds. As Julie and Miles Puleio drove over the Telos Road Bridge to cross the West Branch of the Penobscot River in Maine on the night of July 7, 2023, they rolled down their windows to listen and were surprised to hear the normally boisterous river, silent.

A lightning strike had knocked out power at the McKay Station hydroelectric facility upstream below Ripogenus Dam. “We realized it was an extreme low water event,” said Julie Puleio. “Knowing that my friend, Ed Spear, would love to have a photograph, we walked to the culvert pool and saw stranded fish and insects.”

As in past outages, it was hours before Brookfield technicians reached McKay Station to manually open gates to restore flows.

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Puleio sent the pictures to Spear, who worked as a fisheries biologist for Great Northern Paper Company, which owned the Ripogenus Dam until it was purchased by Brookfield Renewable Partners in 2011.

The photos were among other information that prompted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to task Brookfield with consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Maine Land Use Planning Commission, “to identify measures aimed at reducing the instances of fish and macroinvertebrate strandings.”

While river advocates are pleased with FERC’s order, they hope more changes will come during that relicensing process for the Ripogenus Dam. 12

Steve Heinz, who serves as the FERC coordinator for Trout Unlimited’s Maine Council, said fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon in the West Branch was world class when Great Northern owned the dam due to the stable energy demand required for paper production.

A robust smelt population in the impoundment above Ripogenus Dam also contributed to the river’s productivity. But the lake’s smelt population has crashed, Spear said, because the lake is often drawn down earlier in the smelt growing season.

“We’d like to see the ‘Rip’ filled to full pond and kept full during the smelt growing season,” Spear said. Advocates would also like to see flows moderated, which they believe could lead to a rebound of caddis populations.

As for emergency situations, such as power outages that lead to severe low flows, advocates hope for a permanent mandate that would require Brookfield to automate the McKay power station gates or keep the station permanently manned to eliminate delays in manually restoring flows.

This past fall, TU’s Maine Council sent letters of recognition to the Puleios, as well Sarah Sindo, who works at the Big Eddy Campground and has documented fish and aquatic insect mortality during power outages.

Julie Puleio was modest about the recognition. “I felt like I just had a very small part in an ongoing effort,” she said. “The key word is ‘we.’ It takes many people to make a difference.”

—Mark Taylor

Julie Puleio’s photo of a stranded fish during low-water event

The Last of Them

There’s something special about removing the last barrier in a river Among the hundreds of on-the-ground, in-stream projects Trout Unlimited completed across the country last year, a few have something special in common: removing the last barrier in a stream.

It’s significant because “the last of…” implies that the project wasn’t just a one-off. Trout Unlimited works at a watershed scale, so removing the last barrier in a stream usually means that there were many, and through a yearslong effort, usually involving multiple federal, state and local agency and nonprofit partners, and sometimes willing landowners, a river or stream that was once segmented now flows free.

Here are a few completed in the past year.

Johnson Creek is a rare spring-fed coldwater tributary to the Okanogan River in Washington’s Columbia River watershed. Seven years ago, eight barriers blocked endangered steelhead from escaping the warm Hinton Creek culvert Okanogan in the summer to Johnson Creek’s cold spring-fed the Manistee River and a thermal refuge valley refuge. Trout Unlimited, as proj- for native brook trout. However, nine ect lead managed by Theo Burgoon, road-stream crossing barriers blocked worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife native and wild trout from accessing Service (USFWS), the Conferderated its headwaters. Jeremy Geist led Trout Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Unlimited’s efforts to work with the City of Riverside and the Washington U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Department of Transportation to Wexford County Road Commission remove the final barriers—perched to remove the barriers and, in 2023, and undersized culverts at road cross- replaced the final two perched culverts ings—and replaced them with stream to open access for brook trout to 15 simulation structures in 2023, capping miles of coldwater habitat. a seven-year effort to open eight miles Finally, TU removed the last of of critical coldwater spawning and rear- six barriers on Vermont’s Mettawee ing habitat for steelhead.

River in the Green River National In Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, Forest, opening six miles of upstream Hinton Creek is a coldwater tributary to native brook trout habitat and capping 13

Johnson Creek

a multi-year, multi-project initiative led by TU’s Erin Rodgers working with USFS, USFWS, the Southwestern Vermont Chapter of TU and private landowners to remove all the fish passage barriers on the river.

There’s one more thing these projects shared in common: They all received infrastructure funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 or Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, through which Trout Unlimited is working on a 5-year, $40 million initiative with the U.S. Forest Service and grants through the USFWS, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to improve coldwater habitat for trout and salmon across the country.

Through conservation funding like this to remove the last remaining barriers on coldwater streams, we can continue working to make sure we never see the last of the trout and salmon in those waters.

—Drew YoungeDyke T R O U T

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PHOTOS BY MICHAEL WIER

Pocket Water

Scott dam

Freeing the Eel Years of advocacy from Trout Unlimited, tribes and conservation partners helped shape PG&E’s decommissioning plan for the Potter Valley Project on California’s Eel River, which would remove all in-river facilities and make the Eel the longest free-flowing river in the state.

The Eel River, California’s third longest, represents the state’s best hope for recovering wild runs of native salmon and steelhead. For more than two decades, Trout Unlimited has worked to reconnect and restore habitat in Eel River tributaries, while fighting to improve fish passage through the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project (PVP).

On November 17, 2023, these efforts bore fruit, as the Pacific Gas and Electric company (PG&E) announced its draft plan for decommissioning the PVP. The PVP includes two dams, a diversion tunnel that conveys water T R O U T

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from the Eel into the upper Russian River watershed, and a powerhouse.

The dams, Scott and Cape Horn, completely block fish passage for salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey.

Both alternatives of PG&E’s plan call for completely removing the two dams starting in 2028. This action will restore fish access to more than 300 miles of headwater habitat.

A million salmon and steelhead once returned to the Eel each year, but their runs have plummeted to a fraction of historical numbers. In 2023, American Rivers named the Eel one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers, citing the PVP dams as a major factor driving 14

Chinook salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey toward extinction.

Years of advocacy, including litigation, by TU, tribes and other fishing and conservation groups helped prioritize dam removal as the ultimate outcome after the operating license for the Project expired in 2022.

Brian Johnson, TU’s California Director, said, “Taking out these two dams is the most important thing we can do for salmon and steelhead on the Eel, which are hanging on by a thread.

Dam removal will make the Eel the longest free-flowing river in California and will open hundreds of stream miles of prime habitat that has been unavailable to anadromous fish for over 100 years.”

The dams of the Potter Valley Project were built in 1908 and 1922 and for some years the project has been unprofitable to operate. PG&E

Cape Van Horn dam

ing, limited water diversions into the Russian River after removing the dams, provided such diversions allow full recovery of the Eel River fisheries to self-sustaining, harvestable populations. Proponents of this proposal

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initially hoped to offload the project to another operating entity, but no buyer came through, leaving the utility no choice but to develop a plan, required

by FERC, to surrender the operating license and decommission the project.

Matt Clifford, Director of Law and Policy for TU in California, said, “We salute PG&E for doing the right thing here, for the fish and peoples of the Eel River watershed, by committing to taking out the dams as soon as possible. And we pledge to help deliver on the potential for a ‘two-basin’ solution that will also support water needs in the upper Russian River.”

PG&E must submit a final Draft License Surrender Application (LSA) and Decommissioning Plan to federal regulators in May 2024, and a Final LSA in January 2025.

Relicensing the Potter Valley Project would have required massive investment to meet federal fish passage requirements. Equipment failures in 2021 caused PG&E to permanently suspend hydropower operations. Water storage in Lake Pillsbury, the reservoir created by Scott Dam, has now been reduced by more than 25 percent due to seismic safety concerns.

PG&E’s draft plan includes an alternative that reflects a revised proposal to negotiate terms for a new diversion facility that could support ongo-

include the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Humboldt County, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Round Valley Indian Tribes, Sonoma County Water Agency, Trout Unlimited and California Trout.

This proposal includes a commitment that funding, permitting and construction of a new water diversion will not delay PG&E’s decommissioning and removal of the two dams.

Lewis “Bill” Whipple, President of the Round Valley Indian Tribes Tribal Council, said, “The Round Valley Indian Tribes have relied on the Eel River and its fishery since time immemorial. The Tribes are pleased to join with their partners in creating a path to a solution that ensures the survival and recovery of our most precious resource.”

—Sam Davidson

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Pocket Water In the remote waters where the volunteers released the fingerlings, stream work is exceedingly difficult.

Restoration work takes more time and resources, and damage extends to every natural process. But the Yavapai County communities and their shared waters slowly recovered from the dramatic effects of the fire and, in 2019, AGF JIM TILLEY began restocking Gila trout.

Through 2021, AGF continued repopulating the stream with eyed egg stockings, contributing to Gila trout recovery and serving as a genetic replicate of the South Diamond lineage.

Today, a limited number of streams populated with pure Gila trout are open to catch and release fishing.

Others remain closed to further help the threatened species.

Jim understands the looming dangers of an unpredictable future and unprecedented climate impacts like the Goodwin Fire. To address these concerns, Jim has dedicated a portion of his Reflections on helping restore Gila trout to its historic range estate to Trout Unlimited, becoming a in Northern Arizona Stream Guardian. n 1977, when Jim Tilley opened hours over steep, rugged terrain, they “Keeping a species viable requires his veterinary practice in Prescott, released their treasure into an iso- science, resources, connections across Arizona, Gila trout were on the lated creek on the edge of the Bradshaw political boundaries and boots on endangered species list. After years Mountains where the ground,” Jim of careful management, Gila trout the Gila would face said. “TU lays a were reclassified from endangered to no threats from foundation of trust threatened in 2006. That downlisting browns or rainbows. where people with allowed the Arizona Game and Fish Conditions on the different strengths, Department (AGF) to provide oppor- hike were challengbackgrounds and tunities for Gila trout sportfishing. ing, but Jim carried training can build From 2009 through 2014, volun- on, undeterred. In a brighter future teers put their hearts—and their backs— fact, he made the for our waters, Because of Jim and fellow into restoring Gila trout to their historic trek twice—once in together.”

Stream Guardians, we all range. Led by AGF, the project attracted 2012 and again in Jim’s grit and may know the joy of wild and volunteers from groups like the Prescott 2013. perseverance helped native trout and salmon— Flycasters Club, the Northern Arizona In 2017, however, save Gila trout, and today, tomorrow and for Flycasters Club (Flagstaff) and Zane tragedy struck. The his generous estate generations to come.

Grey Trout Unlimited (Scottsdale), devastating Goodwin commitment will among others. Jim was one of many Fire started in the ensure that tradivolunteers who helped the efforts. heart of the Bradshaws. The fire ripped tion of conservation and stewardship Small bands of volunteers took turns through surrounding Yavapai County, will continue. Because of Jim and felcarrying metal frame packs, heavy with destroying homes and livelihoods. The low Stream Guardians, we all may water-filled buckets and genetically pure entire fish population carried in by know the joy of wild and native trout Gila trout fingerlings from the South Tilley and other AGF efforts was lost, and salmon—today, tomorrow and for Diamond strain. Hiking for several poisoned and suffocated by ash. generations to come.

GUARDIANS

Gila Trout Heroes

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GILA TROUT PHOTO BY JOSH DUPLECHIAN

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Pocket Water

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

we yearn to test new waters while missing the familiar of home. And Tributaries is full of these. Ryan Brod has written a brilliant book of essays you should not miss.

Tributaries

by Ryan Brod (Islandport Press, $18.95) REVIEWED BY ERIN BLOCK

River, Amen

by Michael Garrigan (Homebound Publications, $18) REVIEWED BY ERIN BLOCK

River, Amen by Michael Garrigan is a spiritual yet clear-eyed dialog with waters, tradition and nature. His prose is arrestingly self-aware as he observes himself on a stream, “Waiting for the subtle strike of downstream deities / knowing that most casts have no answer.”

It’s easy to see connective tissues between fishing and larger themes in life, but few writers succeed at fleshing them out past cliches. Garrigan, however, is a master at communicating core truths found in waters and the human condition. He considers how everything he’s ever held “has eventually been released.” Imagining life as a cutbank, “He knew darkness could be a house / and that life mostly erodes from below.”

Many poems are elegies for Rust Belt landscapes he’s seen changed, economies booming, busting, leaving “a new world built on the abandoned / towns impaled by our lust for light.” And yet, he writes hymns of praise for the resilience of rivers and wild trout. Garrigan exalts in the joy of rewilding tarnished places and even revels in the unexpected optimism it can indeed be done.

Those are sentiments we should all try to inhabit, and this book is a true gem.

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Ryan Brod has written a remarkable collection of essays with Tributaries. Near the end of the prologue, he quotes Agnès Varda: “If we opened people up, we’d find landscapes.”

And in the following pages of crisp, effortless prose, he takes the reader from his native Maine woods to the salt flats of Florida and all places in between, revealing that truly, landscapes are reflections of ourselves.

As much as Tributaries is about Brod’s experiences on the water and in the field, at its core it’s an observation of friendship and family. Of love, boundaries, expectations and apologies. The words we don’t say and the ones we can’t take back.

There are love letters to hardwater and chapters eulogizing good dogs, eccentric friends and the parts of a loved one we lose before they’re gone. Trips to forget and remember at the same time, like water roiling downstream and up.

I’ve always found the best essays will take you to one place while being firmly anchored in another; the tension that creates story as

Casting Seaward; Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Saltwater Gamefish

by Steve Ramirez (Lyons Press, $27.95) REVIEWED BY KIRK DEETER

Author Steve Ramirez continues his journey that began in the Texas Hill Country (Casting Forward), and evolved on trout rivers in pursuit of native species (Casting Onward) to where many of us anglers end up (at least to dabble) if we follow the fishing passion long enough—the ocean. Everything flows to the sea, after all, and thus Casting Seaward is a fitting continuation of the series. Always thoughtful with his words, Ramirez has an uncanny ability to take you along on the trip and feel the adventure when it comes to the fishing. But I think his real attribute as an author is the ability to focus on the things that make fishing more than the act of pulling on fish with a long rod and a string— the people, the places and the experiences that unfold as all these ingredients meet.

I’ve said in the past that Ramirez’s writing style is almost musical—like a Hill Country balladeer—and I still mean that. He’s even

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Pocket Water kicked things up a notch. The book features wonderful illustrations by another TROUT magazine contributor, artist Bob White, and dare I say there’s a pretty adequate foreword as well. This is the book you need to own and read on the long flight to your dream trip, or enjoy by the fire in winter as you are at least imagining warmer places. No frills, no fawning, just gutty, honest writing that works wonders.

Modern Spey Fishing: A complete Guide to Tactics and Techniques for Single and Two-Handed Approaches

I own most of Kustich’s books and my dogeared copy of Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead, co-written with his brother Jerry, was the key resource that kickstarted my love of Spey casting, two-hand rods and the swung fly two decades ago. The first migratory fish I ever caught on a two-hand rod grabbed one of Kustich’s black and chartreuse marabou Spey flies and I fished the pattern religiously for years.

I’ve learned a ton from Kustich’s work over the years and that continues with Modern Spey Fishing.

by Rick Kustich (Stackpole Books, $24.98) REVIEWED BY GREG FITZ

For years, Rick Kustich has been writing excellent books filled with solid technical information, great descriptions of fishing techniques, and gorgeous photography of fish, rivers and fly patterns. His most recent title, Modern Spey Fishing, continues this high standard with a great overview of the often-bewildering world of Spey casting, lines and fishing. It is an exceptional resource that will save beginners a ton of frustration. Experienced casters and anglers will appreciate the species-byspecies insights and thoughts on Spey casting with single-hand rods.

But, in full disclosure, I feel obligated to reveal that I’m a completely biased reviewer.

Healing Waters; Veterans’ Stories of Recovery in Their Own Words

by Beau Beasley (No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guidebooks, $27.95) REVIEWED BY KIRK DEETER

Some books just have to be written. Author Beau Beasley (himself a career first responder) knew that. He just didn’t want to have to be the one to tackle this one… at least not at first. But, talked into the project by artist Alan Folger, Beasley took up the mantle and began a years-long quest to capture the personal stories of U.S. armed forces veterans who have found healing through fly fishing. The result—Healing Waters—is simply remarkable.

Now, there’s a difference between a book that must be written and a book that

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must be read. This isn’t a forced read, like medicine you have to take. Sure, there are some really rough personal stories in here (boldly shared, I might add), but it’s the recovery, the community, the bright light that fishing can afford that really makes the reader understand that fishing can and should be much, much bigger than a hobby or a pastime. A couple years ago in TROUT magazine, we dedicated an entire issue that asked, “What are You Really Fishing For?” And the implied answer, of course, was mental health. This book grabs that and runs with it. And in the end, while the wounds and sacrifices have been graphically illustrated throughout, the reader is left with a deep feeling of hope, and above all, gratitude—not only for the “service,” but also for the courage to tell the stories… the fortitude to capture these stories… and the community that anglers share. I therefore consider this book a "must read" for many of the best reasons.

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Trout Myths Trout Do 80 Percent of Their Feeding Underwater

BY TOM ROSENBAUER

“

only fish nymphs because trout do 80 percent of their feeding below the surface.” Spend time on the floor of a fly-fishing show or at a fishing club dinner or at the Grizzly Bar on the Madison and you’ll be sure to run into That Guy. Or it might be his sister, the “I only fish dry flies” purist. Or their younger cousin, the “I only fish meat” bro who laughs at any fly that is not six inches long with a pair of articulated hooks.

I find all of these monochromatic anglers equally boring. If I happened to be cornered by one and they begin scrolling through their phones looking for trout photos my eyes glaze over and I look beyond their shoulder searching for a familiar face to get me out of their clutches. Preferably someone who just likes to fish and doesn’t wedge themself into a narrow lane.

That “80 percent underwater” platitude is an especially risky one. Not only will it make you a bore, it might hinder your success—and your fun—on those precious days on the water. Where did you hear this statement? Was it from your own personal observations? Did you read it in a scientific paper? Most likely you read it in a book or in some drivel in an Instagram comment. I think I have a good idea where this myth came from and why it has been perpetuated. Back in the 1970s, Orvis ran an insert card in the major hook & bullet magazines for “8 Weighted Nymphs and a Fleece Pouch” for $9.95, which was a great deal, almost a steal. In the copy explaining why nymphs are so deadly, there was a line that talked about trout doing 80 percent of their feeding underwater. I don’t think the Orvis copywriter invented that line (it wasn’t me, it was before my time, in fact I bought one when I was a kid), but probably cribbed it up from one of the popular outdoor writers of the day, maybe Ted Trueblood or Homer Circle. It got out there in millions of insert cards and became part of our fly-fishing lexicon.

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But is it true?

I think any time we envision trout populations as carbon-copies of each other, as though they were cloned from some Original Trout we risk running into misperceptions. Even in a single population of trout in a pool, each fish has its own personality that is partially determined by exactly where that trout feeds in a pool, but also by genetic differences. Just as no two trout have exactly the same spot pattern, we should not expect them all to behave and feed in the same way. Considering the vast number of trout rivers in the world, each with its own current regime, riparian zone, food supply and amount of fishing pressure, you magnify these variables to a number that is mind-numbing.

Beyond this, rivers change every day in flow, temperature, amount of sunlight and wind velocity above the surface. It’s said you can never step in the same river twice, so to make blanket statements about a trout’s feeding behavior as if they were gospel is just deluding yourself.

Common sense hints that trout should feed subsurface. That’s where they live, and most of the time they live close to the bottom where water velocity is slower and they don’t need to fight the current to stay in position. It’s true that much of the bottom is covered with caddis cases and mayfly and stonefly larvae. A trout can just kick back and wait for food to drift past. There’s a problem with that thinking, though. The water running past a trout’s nose is not often a rich insect soup. It’s mostly full of junk like stones and sticks and pieces of algae.

Aquatic insects spend most of their time glued to the bottom in caddis cases or hiding on the undersides of stones or buried in the silt. It’s only when they get dislodged that they get inserted into

If you believe trout feed most of the time under the surface so you only fish nymphs and streamers, you’ll miss exciting times like this.

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The South Fork of the Snake River is a place where trout appear to do most of their feeding on the surface, at least in spring, summer, and fall when most people fish it.

the flow. About the only time, outside of this catastrophic drift, that they are abundant above the bottom is when they are emerging as adults—once a year for most species. There is a phenomenon called behavioral drift, where insects let go of the bottom and drift downstream but that happens after dark and ends at dawn. You might catch the end of it if you nymph fish early in the morning but for the most part, outside of a hatch, there are not many aquatic organisms available—at least not as many as we think.

It’s common knowledge that nymph fishing prior to a hatch is deadly because trout prefer to feed underwater, right?

Maybe, but you couldn’t prove it by me for most of the hatches I fish. For instance, the Hendrickson mayfly, one of the most popular hatches in the East and Midwest, hatches in May and invariably the hatch begins at exactly 3:10 in the afternoon on the rivers I fish. So I go out and fish a decent imitation of the Hendrickson nymph from 11 am to 3 pm but I am always surprised how ineffective it is. Sure, I catch a few fish here and there but not at the rate I should be if trout are doing 80 percent of their feeding down there. I’m fishing places that I know harbor trout because I saw them in the same spot yesterday, rising to mayflies. And although my fly pattern might not be perfect, I’m sure it’s close enough. Once the hatch starts, trout

appear out of nowhere, eagerly feeding and sometimes even taking my imitation, more often than they do my nymph a couple hours before. And toward evening, during the spinner fall, I’ll see even more fish feeding, and I seriously doubt they are doing much feeding underwater when the surface is covered with meaty, helpless spent mayflies.

Maybe it’s just more difficult to fool the fish on a nymph and easier on a dry,

I think any time we envision trout populations as carboncopies of each other, as though they were cloned from some Original Trout we risk running into misperceptions. but somehow I doubt that. And many of my experienced angler buddies see the same thing. I think perhaps the nymphs are not as active as we think they are until right before the hatch. Instead of loitering in the current for hours, I think they all rush to the surface at once. Which makes sense in an evolutionary perspective. It’s called prey swarming and is similar in purpose to why baitfish school to confuse and overwhelm predators.

When Dr. Bob Bachman spent three years on his Ph.D. thesis, Foraging Behavior 23

The boneyard of a South Fork guide’s drift boat.

These are the flies he most often uses. You don’t see many nymphs and streamers ready for action.

of Free-Ranging Wild and Hatchery Brown Trout in a Stream, he and his graduate students watched the fish from May through October over thousands of feeding events.

They found that the fish spent 86 percent of their time just watching the drift for possible food and only three percent of their time actually eating something.

Eight percent of their time was spent returning to their chosen location after feeding, nearly always swimming close to the bottom where the current is slower.

He also found that the trout were just as likely to grab something from the surface as they were to eat a nymph underwater.

Granted this is only one study on one river, Spruce Creek in Pennsylvania (a wild trout stretch, not one of the pellet fisheries this stream is known for) but it might lead us to say that instead of “trout spend 80 percent of their time feeding below the surface” we might say “trout spend over 80 percent of their time doing nothing.”

The South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho is one place where trout seem to do

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In certain parts of the world aquatic insect hatches are sparse or dribble off all day long instead of in concentrated hatches. In Chile, for instance, you are more likely to catch your largest fish on a dry fly than on a nymph or streamer.

most of their feeding on the surface, or at fly, so why mess with nymphs?” least look more often toward the surface.

Are those trout feeding more on the It has a population of wild cutthroats surface, or are they more likely to take a sprinkled with some browns, rainbows floating artificial? I don’t have an answer and rainbow-cutthroat hybrids and most but it sure seems like they want to feed days guides will urge you to fish dry flies more than 20 percent on the surface. above anything else. This past October I Does this make sense? I think it does when fished one day when the water rose from you go underwater and look at a trout’s a recent rainstorm where bigger browns world. We know they spend most of their and cutthroats responded enthusiastically time looking for food, and if you suspend to streamers, but a couple days later the yourself below the surface with a mask water level returned to normal and I and snorkel you’ll realize that you can’t couldn’t buy a fish on a streamer. I tried a see food drifting near the bottom very dry dropper combination but the nymph well until it is almost in your face, because hanging down below drew only small it’s hidden in the darker subsurface world trout and whitefish from the depths. and blends into the background. Yet if All the best fish, and most of the fish, you look up at the surface you’ll discover came to a dry fly, either some foam-bodied monstrosity or a size 14 CDC and Elk caddis imitation. And this was not just a fluke. BJ Gerhart of Three Rivers Ranch, a guide I have fished with for many years on this river told me, “I seldom bother hanging a nymph below a dry fly for my clients anymore and I never fish indicators. Sometimes I’ll use a double-dry rig though. Cutthroat trout seem especially prone to feed on the surface. They’ll We just seem to catch more eagerly take big dries or large foam flies, sometimes to the exclusion and bigger trout on the dry of nymphs no matter what pattern you try.

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that you can see objects drifting down the current from much farther away when it’s silhouetted against the sky, even when it is outside the window of what you can see of the outside world because an insect’s legs and sometimes also entire body, penetrating the surface film. Because a trout can see this food from farther away it notices surface food quicker and has a longer time to plan its attack.

I think it’s also easier for a trout to discern the difference between inedible debris and insect food when it’s on the surface because a trout gets a better view of the outline of an object. Sure, they can see quite well up close underwater but those objects come up on them so quickly that they sometimes don’t have enough time to make a decision for an attack.

Trout species appear to differ a bit in their inclination to feed on the surface.

Cutthroats seem especially prone to feeding on top, and I can’t tell you how many days I have started the morning with a dry dropper, my favorite prospecting combination, and hooked all of my fish on the dry and none on the nymph. And it’s just not to big foam-bodied monstrosities. They even seem to prefer tiny mayfly imitations to drifting nymphs. It’s also

Small stream trout see very few drifting nymphs and lots of terrestrial insects falling into the water. In tumbling waters they can see surface food easier.

not only cutthroats. I’ve seen it in certain brown and rainbow populations as well.

I don’t know for sure how much feeding those fish are doing down below, but when they climb all over a dry fly and ignore a nymph I have to believe that observation tells me something other than I am a better dry-fly angler than nymph fisherman.

In Chile, where I have done a lot of trout fishing over the past few years, aquatic insects are sparse in most rivers, and there are no baitfish other than young trout. If adult trout had to do 80 percent of their feeding underwater they’d die. I do fish dry dropper a lot there just because I like to and feel I might be missing a bigger fish feeding subsurface if I only use a dry. But I don’t.

Most of the fish I catch are on the dry fly, and all the larger ones. Streamers

I think it’s also easier for a trout to discern the difference between inedible debris and insect food when it’s on the surface because a trout gets a better view of the outline of an object.

do work sometimes but day in and day out, a big dry that imitates a terrestrial is all you really need. Most of their food (grasshoppers, moths, adult damselflies, and especially beetles) comes from above. I am sure this is not a situation unique to Chile, in fact I know that in small mountain streams, where trout get the majority of their food from terrestrials, it’s impossible that they get 80 percent of their diet underwater. Surface food is most abundant and easiest to capture.

I am sure there are rivers in the world where In rich ecosystems like tailwaters and spring creeks, much of the trout do get 80, 90 or 100 available food will be subsurface and it is almost constant, especially percent of their feeding where midges are abundant. In waters like this, trout might do even more than 80% of their feeding under the surface. below the surface. From 25

late fall into spring, when aquatic insects aren’t hatching and terrestrials are not as active, I’m sure that in most rivers trout do close to 100 percent of their feeding under the surface. Any time of year in rich ecosystems like tailwaters and spring creeks where the drift is almost constantly full of drifting midge larvae and pupae that cliched number is likely valid. Judging by the number of people staring at bobbers or Euro nymphing on most tailwaters it seems like about 90 percent of the fish are taken while fishing under the surface. But fire up a good hatch and although those anglers may continue to fish nymphs right through the rises, they may not be fishing in the most effective (or fun) manner—at least for a short period of time. So be wary of decrees, maxims and cliches and don’t let them dictate your fishing life.

Mix it up a bit, if only for a break in routine. Don’t be That Guy. T R O U T

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Blue Lines

The Judicious Application of Blind Luck

BY THOMAS REED

T

here comes a time in a life when the notions had in the past and seeming so right at that time are, upon reflection, ideas that seem hatched by another being entirely in a place called Stupidville.

Take, as example, a totally voluntary free glissade I made off a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado when I was in my early 20s, the kind of dumb choice that is often made by young men suffering any number of afflictions from lovesickness to testosterone poisoning. Cliff-diving and rattlesnake-tormenting and musclecar-racing are such decisions made with limited neuron-firing and zero cognitive thought. The glissade resulted in stitches to my skull and a deeply bruised hip that has just now, 40 years on, started to keep me up at night when I sleep on it just right. Chances are I did more to it than a bone bruise back then, but about a week later, I was ignoring the pain and the black bruise that ran down my whole leg and surfing with a buddy off the coast of California, just right up the road from Stupidville.

The place a young man flies after leaving the nest can be another of these kinds of choices made by a stranger unrecognizable to one’s adult self. Perhaps not hatched with the same motivations, but similar. I chose college based on sunshine and girls and beer, in a desert far away from my snowy mountain home. Not a choice based on a school’s reputation for academic excellence in my chosen field, driven by a clear focus on what my future would become, but instead one based on my interests in the moment. I had no clue even what my chosen field would or could be. I can still clearly feel—almost in present tense—driving my ‘65 Mustang

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down through Navajo country listening to America’s “A Horse with No Name,” the hot dry air, the rumble of the V8.

Some kind of contamination was going on, no doubt, exhaust fumes or the like, but nevertheless I landed in college in the desert, far from the coldwater I’d grown up wading, fishing and playing in.

I took up the beer drinking—legal age then was 19—the sun tanning and the girl wooing in earnest. I also took up quail hunting, using a wheezing old Remington Model 11 that had a spring weaker than Seattle sunshine and a kick like a rented donkey. I took up a lot of things that I had never done back home in the high Rockies but I somehow kept on with my trout fishing, even though the nearest coldwater stream was more than 100 miles to the north.

Maybe it was my trout fishing roots, or maybe a small amount of talent with words, or maybe it was being a fellow Colorado expat, but an unflappable and sometimes irascible guy named Matt Vincent hired me right out of college to go fishing, take photographs and write about it. He took a chance on me, saw something, which was a lesson I have spent 40 years trying to emulate. Vincent was the editor of a bass fishing magazine and was from far eastern Colorado. I was from the town that Coors beer made famous and we hit it right off and I was soon off to places in Alabama and Florida and running around with bass fishing professionals who became famous in 26

those circles, fellows like Guido Hibdon, Denny Brauer, Tommy Martin, Larry Nixon and Rick Clunn. Clunn was a cerebral guy who won $50,000 cash in 1980s money catching largemouth bass on Lake Mead, which is about as sterile as a bath tub despite all the Mob-deposited human corpses that fertilize its waters.

Professional bass fishermen can shrewdly play right into the “yuck-yuck” stereotypes of outdoor television, but don’t let them fool you because bass fishing calls for far more than belly laughs and luck. I gave Clunn a dog-eared copy of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, a gift he deeply appreciated. No country hick with a fishing pole, he. I also was told by the president of our tournament circuit that once I caught a largemouth bass, I would never go back to trout fishing again and even a five-pound brown trout was nothing compared to a largemouth of similar size. I could just forget about my trout fishing roots.

You can take the boy out of trout country.

Maybe it was the heat, or the love of the tall uncut, as Leopold would say. But more than likely it was the clarity of water washed over mountain stone, the smell of mint crushed beneath boot sole, the chatter of a fellow aquatic insect enthusiast named ouzel, the sudden appearance of a small trout rising to a well-tossed bit of feather no bigger than a house fly. I was on a trout stream beneath the pines, north of the desert, every chance I got.

Where or when I learned about a trout named Apache, I cannot remember. At the time I was living in a town named Apache Junction which has a stunning

view of some of the baddest-ass mountains on the planet, the Superstitions, and a quick route out of town to the higher mountains. Vincent and I also were realizing the need to supplement our incomes with a little freelance writing for other magazines, particularly after a few of our paychecks came back marked “insufficient funds.” The tournament circuit had introduced me to outdoor writers like Homer Circle and also to some magazine editors. Then I stumbled into Apache trout, Arizona’s trout, a fish found in one mountain range and nowhere else on this great big old planet.

I had to know more and if I could write about it and get paid, all the better.

It seemed as if every weekend that summer I was north-bound for the tall ponderosas of east-central Arizona.

There are few places in the world

where sleep is as deep as beneath the sap-scented pines of what Arizonans call Rim Country. East of there, dodging elk in your headlights, pushing away from the heat of the desert as one might run away from a house fire, are the White Mountains, the mountains that were so stunning in Aldo Leopold’s day that he never went back to them after he left them in the early part of the last century for fear of what roads and “improvements” had made of them. He could not bear to see it. But in the 1980s, my 1980s, they were pretty shiny and certainly good enough for me. I threw my sleeping bag out under those pines, curled up with my dog and went fishing the next day. Where I could, I fished for Apache trout, catching a few that I was certain were pure, realizing I had taken something special, although the biggest one, thrashing against my

fly rod, was not longer than my hand.

I even penned an article about Apache trout conservation for a magazine that went defunct before they could publish it and even worse, pay me for it.

Not long ago, I camped beneath those pines, maybe even some of the same pines. I fished for Apache trout again, 40 years after I had caught my first one.

They were as I remembered, beautiful, special, spiritual. Treasures. Kneeling in this altar, I found myself reflecting on a bit of advice I give my daughter now and then: it may seem like it was a stupid decision, especially looking back on it, but it usually works out if you let it.

Thomas Reed works for TROUT magazine from his ranch outside Pony, Montana.

He is the author of several books including Blue Lines, A Fishing Life.

JOSH DUPLECHIAN

Not long ago, I camped beneath those pines, maybe even some of the same pines. I fished for Apache trout again, 40 years after I had caught my first one.

They were as I remembered, beautiful, special, spiritual. Treasures.

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CONVERGENCE

WORDS BY JOHN GIERACH PA I N T I N G B Y B O B W H I T E

A Simple Life Fishing and firewood first began to dovetail for me shortly after I moved from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains in the late 1960s for reasons that anyone who’s ever been young and footloose will understand. I’d never seen snowcapped mountains before and I’d never seen a trout in the flesh either, but I’d heard good things and at the tender age of 21, I’d already worn out my old life. I brought along the only fishing tackle I owned—a bait casting rod and bass plugs—but soon switched by necessity to a fly rod by way of putting down my first shallow roots in Colorado. And it just so happened that some of the places I rented then, as well as both houses I’ve owned here since, had wood heat with conventional backup: first natural gas, now propane and passive solar.

At first, I put in my own firewood, which was easy enough when you could still cut standing dead from the national forest without a permit. If you had the tools, the time and a truck to move the wood, you were in business.

For a few seasons a partner and I even went into the real business of cutting pine bark beetle-infested ponderosa pine for the forest service. We’d drop the trees, limb them out, stack the logs in six-foot lengths and call the forest service, who’d send out a crew to spray them to kill the beetle larvae. After a certain amount of time—I seem to remember six weeks—the wood was ours. We took the biggest logs to a sawmill in Gold Hill, bucked, hauled, split and stacked whatever firewood we needed for the winter and sold the rest. It was hard, honest work and although it’s too easy to romanticize your youth (Lee Trevino said, “The older I get, the better I used to be,”) I was as ripped then as I’ve ever been.

The trouble was, the bulk of the work that our income depended on fell between August and October and that was also the best trout fishing of the year, but I managed. Sometimes I’d fish on 29

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weekends—which were less crowded then than they are now—and sometimes I’d work through Saturday and Sunday and fish a day or two during the week. For that matter, most of the mountain roads home from where we were cutting ran along trout streams and the rod was always in the truck, so it was easy enough to stop for an hour or two in the evenings. I’d release most of my trout, but keep a couple of nice ones to either eat that night or freeze for later.

Catch and release fishing as a management tool was already in the air then, but there were no formal regulations yet, it wasn’t common practice and lifelong fishermen were still asking why you’d want to just throw ‘em back, but on days when the fishing was good, keeping two trout when the daily bag limit was eight was a gesture of restraint on the cutting edge of the conservation movement.

On those late summer evenings when I’d come home with a pickupload of freshly cut and fragrant pine rounds and a couple of fresh trout, I felt like I was living out the old rugged of hardscrabble self-reliance. I may have even imagined that I could go on that way indefinitely, but I suspect now that I’d already glimpsed the new rugged of appointments and deadlines on the horizon with mixed emotions.

And there were the shore lunches.

When I moved to Colorado, I did my best to go native, at least in the way I understood that from mid-century calendar art and old issues of Field & Stream. So on some full days of fishing, I’d carry a lightweight frying pan, small plastic bottle of olive oil, saltshaker, coffee pot, tin cup, coffee grounds and a single-serving can of pork and beans. I know, it sounds like a lot, but none of it weighed much, some things fit neatly inside of others and it was all on the small side. Everything tucked easily into my small rucksack with the handle of the pan sticking out the top flap at an odd angle Lunch took a while to make, but T R O U T

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I loved the ritual of it. I’d hang two 10-inch trout from a limb and then build a fire ring, choosing material from the unlimited supply of rocks provided free by the Rocky Mountains. Next, I’d get my fire together: handfuls of dry grass and dead pine needles, then matchstick-sized twigs and larger sticks broken from the deadfall that littered the small streams I favored. I went for pine, spruce or fir, but aspen made the kind of smoky fire that would give you away as a tenderfoot.

When the fire got going, I’d put the coffee pot on to boil and set the beans close enough to warm up in their opened can. Only then would I grease the pan and start the trout. Those who fry trout

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fresh from the water often find that they curl up in the pan, but if you hang them for a while first, they’ll stiffen slightly, lie flat and cook evenly.

I’d set the coffee pot aside, add a splash of cold water to settle the grounds and eat right from the pan. When I was done, I’d scrape what was left onto the ground to be picked over by the silent audience of gray jays I’d attracted and pour my first cup of the strongest imaginable coffee. There was a joke about the recipe for cowboy coffee: bring equal parts water and grounds to a rolling boil for half an hour and then throw in a horseshoe. If the horseshoe sinks, add more coffee.

It was all as precise as a Japanese tea ceremony and I liked the sense of going all-in by staking lunch on how well I fished. It wasn’t a huge gamble and if I drew a blank, I still had coffee and a can of beans, but I convinced myself that I was living off the land.

Finally, I’d scrub out the pan, douse the fire with as many coffee pots full of creek water as it took to make the coals feel cool to the touch and repack.

Of course, I learned fire-building from my dad when I was barely knee-high and everything was still new. On some winter days we’d go out to the woods and hike until I started to drag and then dad would stop to build a fire, lecturing me at length on how to lay it with the right density of fuel, while allowing for air so the flames could breathe. Then he’d say, “now we’re gonna start it the old frontier way: with flint and steel” and whip out his Zippo lighter. Dad’s jokes were funny enough the first time, but he repeated them so often that they quickly became groaners.

I wasn’t much older than that when dad taught me to fish, which he did by handing me a cane pole with a baited hook and bobber and telling me to stay quiet so I didn’t scare the fish while he and his friends continued to talk loudly.

I did it anyway. I thought dad knew everything then and continued to think that until my teens when fathers and sons traditionally begin to butt heads. Then I decided he didn’t know anything.

I think that by the time I moved to Colorado, building a fire and frying a

couple of fish had already become less of a casual lunch and more of an observance.

An observance of what? Probably of the way things once were as well as the unlikelihood that they’d ever be that way again, although I may not have clearly seen it like that at the time.

Later there were more exotic shore lunches, like one I remember from the

Northwest Territories where I and my partner for the day—a Scotsman with a jones for grayling—fished hard all morning trying to catch a lake trout small enough to feed the two of us and our guide without wasted leftovers.

We released quite a few big fish until finally—near noon with our stomachs growling—one of us managed a little five-pounder. While our guide set up a wire grill on shore, the Scotsman and I went off to gather enough dry wood for the fire. It was black spruce; the only thing up there that grows big enough to make proper firewood. These are tough, compact trees with short needles, miniature cones and growth rings so tight that it burns more like a hardwood than a conifer.

The fish was slathered with oil and vinegar and wrapped tightly in aluminum foil to bake next to a big can of pork and beans. It was to die for, with leftover biscuits from breakfast and canned peaches for desert.

It was all as precise

as a Japanese tea ceremony and I liked the sense of going all-in by staking lunch on how well I fished.

It wasn’t a huge gamble and if I drew a blank, I still had coffee and a can of beans, but I convinced myself that I was living off the land.

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to be too much trouble. Maybe I’d eaten so many trout that they were no longer a treat. (Even a delicacy can wear thin over time.) Or maybe I began to suspect that these streams might not be able to spare that many more trout, while the supplies of bread and peanut butter still seemed inexhaustible.

For that matter, as the 23-year western drought begins to look like the new normal, closures on the bigger rivers aren’t exactly standard procedure, but they’re no longer a surprise, either. And even on the cooler high elevation creeks, public land managers often put bans on open fires. I feel like I could fry a trout without setting the woods on fire, but

PHOTOS BY TIM ROMANO

There’ve been many similar meals before and since, if only because the ceremonial value of shore lunch isn’t lost on the fishing business. Most days a lodge will send you out with a an efficient sandwich and an apple, but plenty still stage a shore lunch sometime during the week because catching, killing, cooking and eating a fish in what amounts to a single, fluid gesture is an irresistibly compelling illustration of what food is and where it comes from and also suggests that these fisheries are still so prolific that eating a few fish now and then won’t make an appreciable dent. These hot lunches really do hit the spot—especially on chilly days when the fire alone is welcome—and guides humbly accept compliments on their cooking, understanding that given a cinematic view, fresh air and genuine hunger, a can of Spam might have tasted just as good.

I once fished for sea-run char at a place in the Canadian Arctic that was too far north for trees, so the Weather Ports were heated by small fuel oil heaters that were as hard to regulate as they were to light, but most lodges have wood stoves or fireplaces in the cabins fueled by whatever trees grew locally. There was even one place in Alaska where they’d have a fire going when you got back from fishing on dank, cold days, so as you’d trudge up from the dock, you’d be greeted by the sight of smoke curling from your cabin’s chimney and open the door to the crackling of a spruce fire in the fireplace. It was nice and homey, even if it didn’t heat the cabin that efficiently.

Rule number one with wood heat is that if you want a fire for warmth, put it in a cast iron stove; if you want it for rustic ambience, burn twice as much wood in an open fireplace and let half the heat go up the chimney.

I still fish the mountain creeks in my neighborhood—most of which have held up surprisingly well after all this time—but I now carry a sandwich in a plastic bag and coffee I don’t have to chew in a small, bullet-shaped thermos.

I can’t remember the last time I cooked a proper trout lunch. Maybe it just got

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that’s what everyone thinks, and some of them have been wrong. It’s true that in the 40-plus years I’ve fished some of these creeks, I’ve yet to see a ranger, so I could probably still get away with it, but who wants to eat lunch while looking over their shoulder?

I do still heat with wood at home, but except for sniffing out some valuable oak, maple or walnut, I no longer cut my own. For one thing, I’m now not so much ripped as what they call “in decent shape for a man your age.” (Leonard Cohen said, “I ache in the places where I used to play.”) And for another, the easiest roadside trees have long since been taken and a permit system now

It’s the kind of pleasant physical work with primitive

tools that fully occupies enough of my mind to keep me from chopping my foot off, while leaving the rest free to compose sentences and paragraphs.

favors professionals over scroungers.

So I buy my pine from a man who cuts it for a living and has a dump truck big enough to deliver it two cords at a time.

It spills out with a satisfying industrial roar, leaving me to carry and stack 4,000 pounds of wood an armload at a time.

But although someone else now does the heaviest lifting, it still takes time and effort. I used to stack all the wood under the deck in front of my office where it was handy to carry in to our two stoves, but now, in the interest of wildfire mitigation, I stack it in an old stable 60 yards from the house and hump it over a week’s worth at a time.

The wood still arrives, as it always has, at the beginning of the year’s best two or three months of fishing, triggering the old tension between getting on the water and getting the wood in. I vacillate, thinking of one while doing the other or thinking of both while I do something else entirely, although the operative fact is that once it’s cold enough for snow and the streams are too skinny to fish, the wood will still be waiting.

Things don’t always go as planned, but I try to spend the bulk of my winters at the desk working on my real profession of writing about travel and fly fishing.

When I get stuck on a story—as everyone does—dealing with the wood makes for a nice break. There’s always something that needs to be done: bringing another load over from the stable, stacking it, splitting the pieces that are too big to burn as is, splitting straight-grained pieces into kindling, carrying some of it into the house to stack again next to

the stoves. The romance of it can begin to wear thin by March, but there are days in November when the cold is still fresh and bracing, there’s a skiff of snow on the ground, crows perch in the bare cottonwoods like punctuation marks and I’m living the cliché by literally keeping the home fires burning.

It’s the kind of pleasant physical work with primitive tools that fully occupies enough of my mind to keep me from chopping my foot off, while leaving the rest free to compose sentences and paragraphs. The wood itself evokes memories of shore lunch campfires and stoves in fishing cabins and the almost constant feeding, poking and venting it takes to tend a fire is reminiscent of the fiddling you do on the water with flies, leaders and floatant, knowing that any solution you come up with will only be temporary. Sometimes I’ll come in to make an edit that’s full of typos because my fingers are still cold and stiff from work. And even if the story stays unwritten for another day, I still got something done.

And a neat stack of firewood reminds me of the smaller but similarly shaped stacks of trout I once had in my freezer at the beginning of winter and the economics of wood, at least, still seem viable as long as you enjoy the work.

A cord of pine (4 x 4 x 8 feet) costs me $325 split and delivered. In terms of BTUs for the dollar, wood is still cheaper than propane and the exercise I get hauling, splitting and stacking it is cheaper than a gym and comes without the loud music and muscle-bound weight 33

lifters preening in front of full-length mirrors.

Trout are another matter. If I bought them at a supermarket now, they’d cost between $11 and $13 dollars a pound, but they’d be farmed fish. They don’t taste as good as trout that live harder lives dodging predators and foraging for natural food, but they’re all you can get at the store. It’s still possible to catch and eat a trout from the river where it was born—even if you now only do that on special occasions—but it’s illegal to sell it, so that markets and restaurants that offer “wild Rocky Mountain trout” are guilty of poetic license at a minimum, if not actual false advertising. There are still some things that can’t be bought at any price.

As for firewood, I was recently at a friend’s house watching him lay a fire in his fireplace when he said casually over his shoulder, “We may be the last generation that’ll be able to do this.” He was referring to the fact that when wood combusts, the excited atoms combine into and burn as, among other compounds, heptane, hexane, pentane and octane—in other words, the main ingredients of gasoline—so that as harmless and cozy as a wood fire seems, it might as well be a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado idling in the driveway.

Once the fire got going, my friend laid on two logs, knowing that one will smolder, but two will keep each other warm and burn hotter. Then we pulled up chairs to toast our feet and talk about how complicated it is to live a simple life.

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PHOTOS BY COLIN ARISMAN

Right: Triston Chaney, Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy graduate, instructor and Bear Trail Lodge guide.

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Pursuing Native Connections How Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy graduates are redefining fly-fishing travel culture in Alaska. B Y DA N I E L R I T Z

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Yupik and Athabaskan, giggles as we circumnavigate the bear who beat us to our hole.

I take note of this subtle paradigm shift. Chaney, without exception, refers to Brooks River, and the fish within it, personally.

Not “the Brooks River” like a southern California highway.

It was a living entity with character, attitude and personality that he knew well.

Nanci Morris Lyon is the owner of

Rounding a blind bend in the Brooks River, the nearly 900-pound brown bear surprises us as it sits haunches deep, ripping into the belly of a bright red 8 to 10 pound Sockeye salmon buck.

“We’ll need to go around,” Triston Chaney, my guide, tells me. In Katmai National Park, anglers must maintain a minimum distance of 50 yards from bears. Believe it or not, that is often difficult.

Now 24-years old, Chaney began fishing on his grandpa’s gillnet boat in Bristol Bay at nine years of age. His father taught him how to fly fish and before the commercial fishing season Chaney and his family still put out a beach set-net to gather food for the year to come.

“That’s Brooks for you. Man, I love this river. The fish are epic and I mean, look around,” Chaney, whose family is T R O U T

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Bear Trail Lodge and the lead instructor of the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy (BBFFGA) since its inception in 2008.

“The BBFFGA is the crowning glory of what I feel lucky to say has been a long, fulfilling, life,” Lyon tells me from below the neon sign appropriately reading “Nanci’s Bar.” Lyon joined Luki Akelkok and Tim Troll to start the BBFFGA, with goals to enable Bristol Bay youth to pursue sportfishing jobs in their own community. The Academy has empowered more than 150 future guides to share local culture and conservation challenges with visitors to the region by training not only in fly-fishing skills, but also customer service, land management, fisheries biology, lodge business management and more.

“My Academy students are by far the most requested guides on my staff,” Lyon continues. “These kids know all about where the fish are and better than that, they know all the things about the history of the people and the area—where the moose hang out, how to trap beaver. The other stuff, that’s the easy stuff to teach: what fly to tie on, what sink tip to use.

These kids grow up knowing where the fish are, how the rivers behave, where the rocks are. Saves me a lot of money in boat repair!”

Not only producing top-of-class guides, the Academy, with support from program partners the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Trout Unlimited - Alaska

SARAH MILLER

Nanci Morris Lyon

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COLIN ARISMAN

“We’ve had elders come to us at the Guide Academy, and speak to the kids, who acknowledged there may be room for sportfishing and that their kids could be the ones to make that happen.

That’s a bridge I never saw being built. It’s done immeasurable things for melding this community.”— Nanci Morris Lyon

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and the Bureau of Land Management, continues to garner interest from around Alaska and the Lower 48 for inspiring community bonds.

“We’ve had elders come to us at the Guide Academy, and speak to the kids, who acknowledged there may be room for sportfishing and that their kids could be the ones to make that happen,” Lyon responds, fighting back tears. “That’s a bridge I never saw being built. It’s done immeasurable things for melding this community.”

I ask Lyon how she judges BBFFGA and its role in the success of Bear Trail Lodge.

“It isn’t without its challenges, because a lot of these kids have other commitments. They might need to work the commercial season or they have family net permits they need to help fulfill. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

The people appreciate it and it gives these kids a lot of options for their future and their families. I guess the question is: How do you measure success? For me, I work with my neighbors, we respect each other and we look out for each other. Maybe it’s not crucial for financial success, you could run a lodge another way, but my success wouldn’t mean anything to me unless it was built that way.”

Rylie Booth, 23, is Lyon’s daughter

and was born in Bristol Bay. Nowadays, she manages the guides and many of the logistics at Bear Trail Lodge.

“I remember the looks I would get from people,” Booth shared, remembering her first full-time guide season in 2018. “It was shocking. I never expected the surprise of people that I was so young, and female. I’d been here my whole life and I was confident in what I was doing. There was more than once I had to remind folks to ‘buckle-up, boys, because I’ll be leading you into the wilderness tomorrow.”

“I love the diversity of it (the guide staff),” Booth says,” and our clients regularly give us that feedback. Our guides’ ability to share the history, culture and

Rylie Booth

yes, their locally honed talent, means a lot to us, a lot to our guides and a lot to our clients.”

“I think it’s important to put your money where your mouth is. Remember that where you’re putting your time, your effort, your hard-earned money into an experience is allowing someone in that community to come home and put food on the table,” Booth said. “This can be a way of giving back. Your engagement doesn’t have to be a donation. You’re getting something back, something beautiful back.”

Kvichak Aspelund, 26, grew up

in King Salmon, Alaska, a country mile from where Bear Trail Lodge stands 39

above the banks of Naknek River.

After graduating from the Academy in 2013, Aspelund has worked as a full-time guide at Bear Trail since 2019 after graduating from the University of Anchorage.

“Everyone lives here. It’s hard not to drive down the road and see a cousin,” Aspelund, whose family is Aleut and Athabascan, says. “My Grandpa’s 91-years old and still tries to go moose hunting. We’re working on getting him to settle down, just a bit.”

“I tell guests things like ‘That’s old Smiley’s cabin, he used to trap down here.’” Aspelund admits, “Then, back at the lodge, I’ll hear that story being shared with other guests or the staff T R O U T

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just as often as they talk about the fish they caught.”

Aspelund feels a responsibility to continue to look out for the future of the increasingly busy Naknek and surrounding fisheries, despite admittedly not knowing the answers of exactly how to do so in a rapidly changing world.

“Local guides, me, Triston, Riley, Reuben, I think our connection adds something to the experience and our concern for the area helps balance the use and the pressure on the rivers and the fish,” he says. “I’m happy here, but not just as a guide, I believe in what Nanci believes in, the ways that this

lodge connects with the community.

It’s the little things that go a long way.

It’s an open invitation for anyone in the community to come over for dinner.

It’s the fundraising that Nanci does for the local schools, the school I went to growing up, even though she doesn’t have kids in the school.”

“I hope people come out and appreciate my home for the way it is,” Aspelund shared. “The eagles, the bears, the rivers and all the things, even Pebble Mine and stuff like that, too. It’s all connected and it’s crucially important people recognize how important it is they make these things important to them.

Kvichak Aspelund

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“I think a lot of our clients

find themselves immersed and lost in the experience of Bristol Bay when they go with one of our Guide Academy students,” Lyon says. “They become entrenched in more than fishing, they forget about their goals they had when they came here.”

Truth be told, I had come to Bear Trail with the explicit goal of connecting with an Arctic char—the 20th and last of the currently available native trout (and char) species of the western United States I had connected with— and closing the book on my Western Native Trout Challenge series.

In true bottom of the ninth style, hundreds of miles south on the Alaska Peninsula, the hours raced by as Chaney, my fishing partner, Thomas, and I sorted through sockeye in hopes of finding the elusive Arctic char at a lake outlet stream.

“They’re here,” Chaney repeated confidently each time I walked back up towards our plane to take yet another run through, “we just need to find them. Try the bend, wade far out. It gets deep, but the current isn’t too fast.

There’s a big salmon bed out there and they’ll be behind it.”

I waded out to within inches of the top of my waders.

“BIG CHAR!” Chaney screams from the bank as the line went taught on the first drift, my 8-weight bending to the cork and the reel screaming.

After wrestling the hefty char to the bank, Chaney and I hug and slap loud high fives before resuscitating and releasing her back into the current, I sink to my knees in the middle of the river, attempting to take in the moment and savor every detail of the long awaited moment.

“Soak it in, Daniel. Soak it in,” Chaney chuckles, looking back from the bank with a smirk.

“I wonder if he knew they were there all along,” I think to myself, matching Chaney’s radiant smile.

I’m sure he did.

“I’m happy here, but not just as a guide, I believe in what Nanci believes in, the ways that this lodge connects with the community. It’s the little things that go a long way.”

PHOTOS BY SARAH MILLER

— Kvichak Aspelund

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BASSWOOD, TIN

Unidentified, Brook Trout Decoy, late 19th century, Smithsonian American Art Museum

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FINS AND LEAD

BY KEN ANDRASKO

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Ken Mayberry decoy, White Earth Reservation, Minn., author's collection

I discovered fish decoys one cold November

in an antique shop in Traverse City, Michigan. Two miniature wood carvings, dense as freestone cobbles, tumbled in my hand, until the shopkeeper edged closer to keep an eye on me.

line, and four to six tin fins—bent to produce a swimming motion—completed the style. They poured molten lead into the underbellies, which cooled into ballast.

Ross Allen Sr. of the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Tribe in Wisconsin was a prominent carver for 55 years, and is represented both in the Smithsonian collection, and in my own. My Allen Sr.

“About 75 to 100 carvers on the rez make at least three decoys a year. When we sell off the reservation, it is a way of sharing our culture with outsiders, and bringing in needed money.”

— Brooks Big John

PHOTO COURTESY OF SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

Fish decoys have been crafted for centuries to draw trout up to holes in lake ice. But they raised questions as well: Who fished with them? Why were most indigenous fish decoys in collections carved on a handful of reservations, especially White Earth and Leech Lake in Minnesota, and Lac du Flambeau in Wisconsin?

A decoy style emerged by the beginning of the 20th century across reservations from the Cattaraugus Territory and Chautauqua Lake area in northwestern New York State, to Michigan and the 11,000 lakes of Minnesota. Indigenous carvers typically sculpted basswood bodies four to seven inches long with curved wood tails, then charred the bodies with a hot tool, painted them green or blue and added lightly-painted spots. Eyes of glass beads or iron tacks, a metal staple driven into the back to connect to the

Ross Allen, Sr. decoy, Lac du Flambeau Chippewa, Wisc., ca. 1970

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decoy from the early 1920s is a 13-inch smolt, sculpted in the Chippewa Flat Body tradition, and painted milk white.

It radiates grace and wildness in my hand.

Decoy carving has revived on Lac du Flambeau and other reservations, and among non-native collectors. Brooks Big John of the tribe is now a full-time carver in the traditional burnt-back charring style, who sells about 100 decoys a year to relatives and via websites. “About 75 to 100 carvers on the rez make at least three decoys a year,” he estimates. “When we sell off the reservation, it is a way of sharing our culture with outsiders, and bringing in needed money.”

“Traditionally, spearing was part of a subsistence economy,” Tim Spreck of St. Paul explained. Tim is an ice fisherman and fishdecoy.net website dealer close to Lac du Flambeau carvers. “Native fishermen carved decoys every fall, used them all winter to put food on the table, then sold them in the spring.” The resource is being

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Tom Young, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Fish Decoy, 20th century

William “Billy” Martin, Lac du Flambeau Ojibwa Nation, Wisc., Fish Decoy, 20th century

Unidentified (American), Fish Decoy, ca. 1940

Unidentified (American), Fish Decoy, ca. 1940

John Cross "Little John" Cross, Lac du Flambeau Ojibwa Nation, Wisc., Fish Decoy, 20th century

Unidentified (American), Fish Decoy, ca. 1930s

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

“preserved by the tribal natural resources department,” Brooks noted, which “sets safe catch rules, fish size limits and even regulates the size of ice holes.”

Indigenous Innuit fisherfolk carved walrus-ivory fish decoys in Alaska’s Bering Strait at least 1,000 years ago.

Colonial accounts of Chippewas ice fishing near Fort Mackinac, Michigan, in 1762 described them laying by a hole in the ice with their heads covered by blankets to prevent illuminating the hunter. They manipulated juvenile trout decoys below the ice like puppeteers, to entice larger trout to the opening… and a 10-foot barbed spear.

Decoys became popular among the sporting public by the early 20th century.

Lake Chautauqua decoys were carved until about 1905, when ice fishing was banned there due to over-fishing (an early act of conservation). These decoys are highly prized for their naturalistic style of charred or slightly painted wood, true to their indigenous origin, and their unique leather tails.

In the 1980s, market demand for decoys exploded. A nine-inch Chautauqua trout decoy by an unknown carver was sold in 2007 for $34,500 by prominent sporting arts dealers Guyette & Deeter on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Jon Deeter (no relation to the editor of TROUT) explained that their auction house “broke the world record for a fish decoy five times in the past five years, including the April 2023 sale of a Hans Janner Sr. decoy for $168,000,” a non-native Michigan master active in the 1930s to ’40s. The firm “sold about $500,000 of fish decoys last year.” But Deeter noted, “indigenous decoys have lower appeal and value in the market, as their designs are traditional and it is hard to identify who carved them.”

Ken Mayberry carved several hundred decoys in the Chippewa Flat Style in the 1960s to 1970s, on the White Earth Reservation. Cradling one of his pieces, I imagine him selecting the right wood, then disguising it with paint, before dropping it through a hole into the deep.

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Frog Squad

BY MARISA-CLAIRE MUMFORD

I stood on the edge of a stormwater drainage pond grasping a rough, wet rope. It was my first morning frogging, which sounded nicer than “killing invasive species.” With each tug, the African clawed frogs (ACF, or Xenopus laevis) within the trap inched closer to their death.

ACF belong in the sunny waters of sub-Saharan Africa, not 16,000 kilometers away in the cool gray mist of Issaquah, Wash.

In 2020, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) learned of ACF’s presence in three locations, but resources were tight and workers few. In 2022, TU’s Three Rivers Chapter stepped up, pitching in reagents and a small army of volunteers to survey five ponds in Issaquah.

The trap on the other end of the rope was almost out of the water now. On an intellectual level, I grasped that ACF had to be removed, yet something about directly contributing to their premature demise didn’t sit well with me. The sermons of my youth never touched on the ethical dilemmas of killing in creation management, of having to choose some lives over others.

The night before, I’d engaged in mental gymnastics to try and keep them from dying. I could catch ACF and T R O U T

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ship them back to their native habitat to live in peace. It was prohibitively expensive. I could drive them to a research center. No lab or school would want or need upwards of 700 invasive frogs…

In seemingly no time at all, the barrel-shaped brown net trap was resting at my feet, wiggling with life.

I couldn’t do it.

Rebecca Lavier, the wildlife biologist spearheading the effort, fearlessly plunged her hand into the trap, emerged holding the squirming invasive frog, and expertly released it into the bucket with a splosh. Minutes prior, sodium

Though I knew it wasn’t the ACF’s fault that some irresponsible person set

pond treats. In the Pacific Northwest, in addition to snarfing up native frogs, insects and young salamanders, ACF can eat salmon fry that the state has spent a billion dollars to protect.

In Washington, ACF are a prohibited species, meaning it’s illegal to own, propagate or transport them, but that was not always the case. Back when my grandmother was just a sparkle in her father’s eye, the frogs were eagerly welcomed. A 1934 Nature paper revealed that female ACF injected with urine from pregnant humans began laying eggs in as little as five or six hours. The frogs, which were easy to keep and could be used multiple times, quickly replaced rabbits as the gold-standard pregnancy test. Lab populations of ACF in the Western world exploded.

their ancestors free and they happened to be born on the wrong continent, my love for the native habitat they were inadvertently destroying became stronger than my

bicarbonate and MS-222, an anesthetic used for fish and amphibians, were added into the bucket. The fine white powder snowed gently down, dissolving into solution. In an instant, it looked once more like water.

Large paddle-like webbed back feet propelled the marbled, olivey blur of a frog in frantic splashing laps. A few minutes later, it slowed and its patterned gradient of splotches came into better focus. I could see the markings on its face surrounding its eyes like crayon-drawn suns. The frog was only sedated—longer exposure was required to fully arrest respiration. As I sexed, weighed and measured it, I noticed how heavy it felt. I imagined its belly smashed full of T R O U T

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MARISA-CLAIRE MUMFORD

aversion to their removal.

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When easier methods for accurately detecting pregnancy emerged, remaining frogs transitioned into the pet trade. Since they can live up to 30 years in captivity, some owners likely grew weary of their pets and set them free in nearby ponds. ACF have impressively thrived despite the climactic differences between their natural and introduced environments.

Rebecca and I checked, baited and set more traps. After data collection, each frog was resubmerged in the bucket to slowly, peacefully check out of this world. Once fully euthanized, they were deposited in an ancient-looking freezer at the TU chapter office. Academic researchers or WDFW employees might eventually adopt some to examine stomach contents, test for pathogen loads

LEFT: JOHN MACMILLAN, ABOVE LEFT: MARISA-CLAIRE MUMFORD

In the Pacific Northwest, in addition to snarfing up native frogs, insects and young salamanders, ACF can eat salmon fry that the state has spent a billion dollars to protect. or map genetics of the populations, Rebecca told me.

As I drove home, I started adding up the drainage ponds I passed that hadn’t been sampled yet. I stopped counting at 30. There were likely multiple chest freezers worth of invasive frogs on the loose.

Back home, I started researching pathogens ACF can carry.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidi (Bd) is one of two fungal species causing chytridiomycosis (chytrid fungus), a virulent infection contributing to the decline of amphibian populations globally. Like a froggy Typhoid Mary, ACF carry Bd but don’t succumb to it like native frogs do. It is currently unknown whether the ACF in Issaquah are carriers of Bd, though over three-quarters of frogs caught in Lacey, a few hours south, tested positive as carriers when

WDFW and U.S. Geological Survey sampled in 2018.

African clawed frogs are also known carriers of Ranavirus, which can infect amphibians, fish and reptiles.

Ranaviruses are serious enough that they are reportable, meaning if researchers detect it, they are required to notify the World Organization for Animal Health.

One of the Ranaviruses, the frog virus 3, replicates so effectively in salmon that labs routinely grow the virus in a Chinook salmon embryo cell line. It is unknown whether Issaquah ACF carry Ranavirus.

With each passing week on the frog squad, my connection with the ponds grew stronger. Though they were roadside drainage ponds, over time they grew to take on an almost enchanted air. Birds sang and dived over the surface of the water, treefrog croaks reverberated in 49

metal pipes on the banks. Coyotes and deer paused, glancing before slinking back into the shadowy tree cover. Baby salamanders won a special place in my heart. There was a distinct magic to the ponds that I deeply wanted to preserve and cultivate. Though I knew it wasn’t the ACF’s fault that some irresponsible person set their ancestors free and they happened to be born on the wrong continent, my love for the native habitat they were inadvertently destroying became stronger than my aversion to their removal. I learned to work the traps myself, pausing to smile and silently find something delightful about each ACF before slipping it into the bucket. At the end of each shift, I sent up a silent prayer that the invasion would be halted in time, that the ponds would once again be a pristine sanctuary full of life.

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RESI LIEN CE ON APACHE TROUT, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ENSURED THEIR SURVIVAL. BY T H O M A S R E E D

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P H OTO S BY J O S H D U P L EC H I A N

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July in Arizona and the heat lies out there like some hulking great beast, a monster with an appetite that seems always unsated. It swallows all when it can, but we humans move behind glass, the bake held at bay in containers of refrigeration. A plane, the rampway from the plane to the terminal, the train to the rental lot, the rental car.

It is the black of night and the thermometer on the rental says 101.

Midnight and 101. Could be a verse from a bluegrass song.

But we leave the city behind us, Josh and I—photographer and writer on assignment for TROUT—and as we climb away from the desert toward the mountains, the temperature falls. One hour north on the Beeline Highway up in Payson it’s in the high 80s and an hour north of that up in the Mogollon Rim country—Zane Grey country—it’s in the low 80s and by three in the morning at our destination beneath the ponderosas, it’s in the high 50s, the windows are down and the air conditioning a forgotten modern technology.

This is Apacheria, the heart of some of the most unlikely country in the desert Southwest, that is if you think of Arizona and New Mexico as desert and cactus and road runners and coyotes. But if you know the topography a little bit, you know that these neighbor-brother states are among the most diverse in the entire country, places of raw, tough beauty and high stunning handsomeness that have climates and life zones across the spectrum. This part of Arizona, the White Mountains, is ponderosa pine and aspen, coldwater streams building in high mountain holds, rushing through deep Englemann spruce forests, into meadows lined with skunk cabbage and wildflowers everywhere.

Apache creation story relays that the mountains were strong, durable anchors that helped the Earth withstand the elements. These mountains, it is said, were T R O U T

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made tall on the eastern horizon so the waters could flow to the west. The White Mountain Apache Reservation, home to approximately 15,000 people, covers 1.67 million acres of this high country, mostly pines, spruce, aspen and juniper.

One of Arizona’s two viable ski areas is here. Snow clings to high rimrock into early summer. To the south lies the San Carlos Apache Reservation at 1.8 million acres; together these reservations are an area more than a million acres larger than Yellowstone National Park.

July in this Arizona looks a lot like July in the Montana of the movies. Maybe even better. The mosquitoes are none.

The hummingbirds are many as are the elk, which are both more plentiful than in my part of Montana but also much bigger; huge bulls trot across the road in the headlights of our car. The Mexican food is almost universally good

APACHE CREATION

STORY RELAYS THAT

THE MOUNTAINS WERE STRONG, DURABLE ANCHORS

THAT HELPED THE

EARTH WITHSTAND

THE ELEMENTS. 52

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The author

WE ARE HERE FOR THE APACHE TROUT. TO FISH FOR THEM, CERTAINLY, BUT ALSO TO SEE THEM IN THEIR NATAL WATERS, THAT ONLY LIVES IN

THIS RARE TROUT

HIGH STREAMS OF THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE RESERVATION AND EASTWARD ON THE APACHE-SITGREAVES NATIONAL FOREST AND NOWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET.

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which is something I cannot say about my home state, not by a long shot. If I were blindfolded and dropped into this country and asked to name where I am, I might guess Montana’s Big Belts or Colorado’s Lone Cone country or Wyoming’s Big Horns.

We are here for the Apache trout.

To fish for them, certainly, but also to see them in their natal waters, this rare trout that only lives in high streams of the White Mountain Apache Reservation and eastward on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and nowhere else on the planet. We are here to understand how this gold-splashed trout has bounced from nearly disappearing entirely to being a candidate to be removed from the Endangered Species list, the first-ever sport fish taken off the fabled (or infamous, depending upon one’s viewpoint) list. This week, as rufous and broad-tailed hummingbirds fighter-jet the sky, we will walk into Apacheria to learn about a trout, a people and a landscape that all can be characterized by one word: Resilience.

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im Gatewood left his part of Arizona, this part of Arizona, as a young man many years ago. Gatewood, a White Mountain Apache, got a job delivering cold drinks in a hot desert,

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lugging cases and cases of soda pop into stores and onto the campus of the University of Arizona. He remembers seeing students in the aptly-named student lounge as he sweated through the three-digit heat delivering RC Cola and the like.

“I thought, ‘Man, I need to go to college,’” he remembered.

He did. After his stint as a pop delivery guy, he knew what he wanted, a career in the great outdoors, so he went back to U of A in Tucson where he got a degree in wildlife biology. After college and back home among the cool pines, he helped survey populations of Mexican spotted owls, another ESA-listed species, guided nonresident hunters on the tribe’s famous trophy elk herd and jumped into the fisheries program for the White Mountain Apache Game and Fish. Today, his career has reached a legacy moment: the proposed delisting.

Late-50s, soft-spoken, Gatewood is what many would call buttoned-up with a pressed black Wrangler shirt, creased jeans and an all-black ball cap carrying the attractive logo of the White Mountain Apache Game and Fish Department, a logo which Gatewood himself designed that shows a regal bull elk and the other icon of the White Mountains, the rare and beautiful Apache trout. Ronnie Lupe, a former tribal chairman, once wrote that “harmony with nature and the natural world is the goal of every Apache,” and Gatewood is the very essence of this statement. In a now-decades-long career with the department, Gatewood has garnered a reputation as a man who gets things done, who has helped bring the venerated sport fish of his tribal homeland back from the brink of winking out altogether, and someone who has worked hard to bring the youth of the Apache people into the great outdoors. It is the later accomplishment of which he is likely most proud, but if the Apache trout comes off the list, that will be an accomplishment almost without peer in any career.

In thick spruce forest at the headwaters of Black River, Josh and I catch up with Tim and Zac Jackson, a North T R O U T

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Dakota farm kid turned fisheries biologist who totes the same can-do attitude as his colleague. Jackson is the project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that has worked alongside the tribal agency for decades. Gatewood and Jackson have just returned from a run-and-gun road trip to Oregon in a hatchery truck carrying hundreds of male brook trout, driving late into the night, buying ice to cool down the fingerlings, fueled by caffeine and “get-‘er-done.” Now Josh and I are tagging along as Gatewood and Jackson lug five-gallon plastic buckets in modified backpacks—think Homer’s Home Depot bucket with shoulder straps. The buckets are filled with water and brook trout and carried into a tiny tributary that flows off the flanks of 11,391-foot Baldy Peak. These brook trout are stocked into the stream to eliminate other brook trout; the new trout are YY chromosome males that only can produce XY male offspring after mating with the females that already exist in the stream. Someday, only male fish will swim here and this boys’-only club, unable to reproduce, will die out, leaving breathing room—and forage—for the Apache natives. This science, developed by fisheries biologists in Idaho, is just one of the methods of eradicating invasive non-native trout from Apache waters.

Others, like the chemical rotenone are faster and effective, but controversial.

On another branch of the same stream are Gatewood’s protégé, Matt Rustin, a member of the San Carlos Apache community who started off working with the tribal agency doing creel surveys and now works with Jackson at USFWS. With Matt is his young daughter, Redgy, learning about what her dad does for a living, working in the woods, appreciating the great outdoors. After a summer of working on Apache trout with her dad, she’ll be off to college to study integrative biology. They too are stocking YY brookies.

None of this would be happening if some prescient tribal council leaders, way back in 1955, had not taken a definitive T R O U T

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Zac Jackson and Tim Gatewood

action that set the course for Apache trout recovery. Way back then, two decades before the Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Nixon, most of the White Mountain Apache Reservation was closed to all fishing. By tribal members and nonmembers alike.

This, along with Baldy itself, is sacred ground with tiny streams building to feed the great fickle rivers of the Southwest, the same rivers that millions of desert rats depend upon, dam up and drink. Up here in the tall country, among the pines and spruce, Apache trout have now been swimming free of any angling pressure for almost three-quarters of a century.

There are two native trout of this part of the Southwest—the Gila and the Apache. Both are golden yellow in color, their sides peppered with black spots, but a coarser grind was used by the Creator on the Apache. The larger black spots and a horizontal stripe through the eye helped ichthyologists to set the Apache apart as a separate species in 1972, just a year before Nixon inked ESA. The trout was on the list as the ink came out of the President’s pen.

As with many native trout, the introduction of non-natives started the slide toward extinction. Prolific brook trout outcompete them in their own waters. Voracious brown trout eat them. Amorous rainbow trout pollute their genetic code. But 1955 came along 56

BROOK TROUT ARE STOCKED

INTO THE STREAM TO ELIMINATE OTHER BROOK TROUT; THE NEW TROUT ARE YY CHROMOSOME MALES

ONLY CAN PRODUCE XY MALE OFFSPRING AFTER MATING WITH THE

THAT

FEMALES THAT ALREADY EXIST IN THE STREAM.

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Nathan Rees, Arizona State lead for TU

and in one master stroke, their territory was protected. In the seven decades since, tribal game and fish biologists collaborated with the USFWS to restore and protect this core territory—creating fish passage barriers so those non-natives could not enter Apache homeland, T R O U T

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eradicating populations of invasives where they had, and monitoring. Always monitoring.

In 2017, scientists with Trout Unlimited worked with agency personnel to develop a very ambitious tracking program en route to potential delisting.

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“The monitoring goals were so rigorous that I didn’t think the agencies would be able to pull it off,” remembered TU’s Dan Dauwalter, the organization’s lead Apache trout scientist. In some cases, this monitoring was 25 times more ambitious than a typical fisheries

intensive five-year scientific review.

Today on the reservation 35 distinct waters hold pure Apache trout, and it appears, with the proposal for delisting filed in August 2023, that the Apache will be the first-ever sport fish to come off the list, highlight of an effort 50 years in the making. Coming off the list will give fisheries biologists even more tools to protect the fish, with much less bureaucratic sausage-making to get there. Monitoring, guarding the core and expanding will continue without the sometimes onerous hurdles that have come in the last half century.

of special interest groups and individuals, including some local members of Trout Unlimited. Others want more opportunity for anglers and it appears as if there is movement in that direction, particularly as more tools become available should the trout be taken off ESA. There is an active program by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to expand Apache trout distribution into

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lthough Apache trout are coveted by bucket-listers, the opportunity to catch a wild one is still thin at best. A few streams on the reservation, almost exclusively put-and-take, are open. Those waters that were closed to all fishing back when the Chevrolet Bel Air was the nation’s hot automobile are still closed.

Off-reservation on the nearby national forest, only a few streams have fishable populations of the trout. In past years, efforts to expand this population have been stunted by misinformation and fear of the highly effective piscicide rotenone and the teeth-gnashing machinations

TODAY ON THE RESERVATION

35 DISTINCT WATERS

HOLD PURE APACHE TROUT,

AND IT APPEARS, WITH THE

surveillance program, pulled off with crews hired and trained by Gatewood and Jackson and the Arizona Game and Fish Department off the reservation.

Every known population of Apache trout—on and off the reservation—was surveyed repeatedly, leading to an

PROPOSAL FOR DELISTING FILED IN AUGUST 2023, THAT THE APACHE WILL BE THE FIRST-EVER SPORT FISH TO COME OFF THE LIST, HIGHLIGHT OF AN EFFORT 50 YEARS

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“THE PROPOSED DELISTING OF

APACHE TROUT IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION .

THE APACHE TROUT’S RECOVERY SYMBOLIZES A HARD-FOUGHT WIN FOLLOWING YEARS

OF COLLABORATION.”—CHRIS WOOD historic range on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. A closed stream was recently surveyed and found to contain viable and vigorous Apache trout that anglers may soon be able to fish.

Stripping off the red tape of ESA will enhance such efforts.

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ome time later, Josh and I travel up a gravel road after looking at an impressive fish barrier that was recently created on a Black River tributary. Above the barrier are miles of stream that await the reintroduction of the Apache to its home waters. But even more memorable is something that catches my eye and keeps it: grove upon grove of young aspen sprouting in a forest that once was black

Fish barrier on the Black River Tributary, protecting Apache trout from non-native species.

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ash and cinder as far as the eye could see.

Like many places in this country, the White Mountains have felt the impact of wildfire in recent decades. Since the turn of this century, huge fires have chewed up thousands of acres of Arizona pine country. Yet here, where we will pitch our tents and spend a night out under the southwestern skies, are millions of young aspen taller than a man on horseback, bouncing back, rejuvenated by fire, pushed by resilience. Resilience.

A landscape, a people, a trout.

HELPING THE RIO GRANDE’S NAMESAKE TROUT

Gila trout

SPREADING THE GILA The year 2024 is one of special significance for lovers of wild places— this will be the 100th anniversary of the world’s first designated wilderness area, the famed, raw, rugged, ragged Gila Wilderness in southcentral New Mexico.

Swimming in this wilderness, and native to other parts of New Mexico and Arizona, is the Gila trout, a species that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Trout Unlimited staff and volunteers are working hard with federal and state officials such as the New Mexico Department of Fish and Game to build resilient, distinct, durable populations of Gila trout across the region. If all goes according to plan, the Gila could come off the list in the next decade.

This is hands-on work, sometimes within the wilderness boundary using hand tools, rolling rocks to catch trout-choking sediment, building fences and other barriers to slow erosion, planting willows and giving nature a chance to resist or recover from wildfire. Today, anglers can catch wild Gila trout in a few places across the region and, using federal and state funding, Trout Unlimited is working to expand, protect and enhance those opportunities.

Outside New Mexico, the Gila Trout’s historic range spans across much of the state of Arizona, from the Prescott National Forest along the Mogollon Rim and even into the Blue Range Primitive Area that borders New Mexico. These trout have faced an uphill battle similar to other native trout, (non-native species, wildfire and climate change). But from the persistence of the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Trout Unlimited, these trout currently swim in nine streams in Arizona, and three of those streams are catch and release. In recent years, Trout Unlimited has started two habitat restoration projects on streams that contain recovery populations of Gila trout, helped stock thousands of recovery Gila trout into remote streams across Arizona and helped conduct habitat assessments with AZGFD.

Rio Grande cutthroat trout

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The other native trout of the great Southwest is the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, found in the Rio Grande drainage from its headwaters in southern Colorado, south into northern New Mexico.

Beginning in 2020, with support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,Trout Unlimited set out to study and characterize these populations and their habitats across northern New Mexico.These initial efforts helped to identify and prioritize opportunities for habitat restoration and RGCT population improvements, resulting in numerous projects that continue today on the Rio San Antonio, Chihuahueños Creek and El Rito.

In 2021, Trout Unlimited identified a previously undocumented population of Rio Grandes in the upper reaches of the Rio San Antonio. After putting these fish back on the map, TU began efforts to improve the instream and riparian habitat of the stretch that is suffering from poor habitat and extreme temperatures. In the fall of 2023, TU and partners broke ground on the first 1.5 miles of restoration in the Rio San Antonio headwaters, with plans to continue that work across an additional 4.5 miles.

On Chihuahueños Creek, a little-known creek in the Jemez mountains, swims a healthy population of Rios. Although currently robust, these fish are also facing the threats of increasing water temperature and degraded habitat. Trout Unlimited successfully received funding from the New Mexico Environment Department’s River Stewardship Program to implement habitat improvements on four miles of stream in 2024. In partnership with the forest service and local permitees, TU is hopeful that this project will ensure the long-term success of this hidden gem.

Rio Grande cutts are present across the El Rito watershed as well.

They vary in density and productivity throughout, and drawing from the initial watershed characterization study, TU has prioritized several projects in the basin. Recently, TU identified a failing fish barrier in the headwaters which we were able to temporarily repair, protecting the pure population of trout above. A full fix will be designed this winter with hopeful implementation of a new barrier in 2024. Farther downstream,TU is designing projects in the middle El Rito to improve habitat, fishing and access throughout the El Rito campground.

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California’s golden trout persist with project help from TU.

BY G R EG F I T Z • P H OTO S BY J O S H D U P L EC H I A N

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Golden Trout Creek An angler since she was four years old, even after a long day working in the backcountry, Trout Unlimited’s Jessica Strickland couldn’t resist the opportunity to fish an iconic stream winding its way through a mountain meadow.

In September, during the last weeks of the fieldwork season in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, a group of TU staff, ecologists and U.S. Forest Service staff left Horseshoe Meadow and hiked 10 miles further into the Golden Trout Wilderness to reach the Big Whitney Meadow complex. The team would spend multiple days mapping and planning in Big Whitney, but a few couldn’t wait until the morning to see it.

That evening, Strickland and a handful of folks hiked an additional two miles to fish on Golden Trout Creek. In narrow runs and pools, native golden trout snapped at dry flies.

Gently cradled in her hands, the wild fish glowed in the evening light.

Like most of the habitat across the California golden trout’s native range, this remote landscape shows evidence of historic land uses that changed riparian vegetation. This degradation is what TU’s Golden Trout Project is working to repair on a new scale. After years of planning, TU and a dedicated network of state, federal and private partners are launching an ambitious effort to protect and restore the remaining habitat of California golden trout.

California Golden Trout Though populations have been stocked throughout the American West and into Canada, the California golden trout’s native range is limited to less than a 600 square mile area high within the headwaters of the Kern River watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. This includes a substantial portion of the South Fork of the Kern River and its tributaries, and an upper portion of Golden Trout Creek and its tributaries. Over the years the fish T R O U T

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Though populations have been stocked throughout the American West and into Canada, the California golden trout’s native range is limited to less than a 600 square mile area high within the headwaters of the Kern River watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Jessica Strickland, the California Inland Trout Program director, doesn't get to survey Golden Trout streams with a fly rod often but after a long day it can be rewarding.

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The California golden trout’s native range is limited to less than a 600 square mile area high within the headwaters of the Kern River watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Though populations have been stocked throughout the American West and into Canada, the California golden trout’s native range is limited to less than a 600 square mile area high within the headwaters of the Kern River watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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Today, with years of planning completed, the Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and TU are partnering to expand the work of the Golden Trout Project, planning to restore over 40 miles of golden trout habitat across nearly 3,000 acres of the Sierra Nevada backcountry.

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have lost access to large portions of their native waters, but much of what remains connected are encompassed within the Golden Trout Wilderness, a protected backcountry portion of the Kern Plateau spanning the Sequoia and Inyo National Forests.

An undeniably beautiful fish, golden trout retain parr marks and are thought to have developed their remarkable gold coloration as camouflage in the bright streambeds of decomposed granite found in the Sierra Nevada. At such high elevations, growing seasons are short and golden trout tend to be small fish. A 10-inch wild golden trout in its native range is a trophy.

Today, native golden trout populations are small fractions of their historic numbers due to compounding threats.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, sheep and cattle were grazed in Sierra Nevada meadows. The animals devoured vegetation, wallowed in creeks and trampled streambanks. Historic mining and logging had considerable downstream hydrological impacts to these meadows as well.

Fishery managers and anglers also spent decades moving fish species into the Sierra Nevada. Non-native rainbow and brown trout were planted, crossbreeding with golden trout and preying upon the native fish. Anglers also spent years harvesting golden trout at extensive rates.

Along with anglers, other user groups like hunters, hikers, campers, mountain bikers, off-highway vehicle users and horseback riders all visited the Sierra Nevada in increasing numbers.

More visitors meant more impacts to stream habitat and water quality.

Now climate change is bringing warmer temperatures and dramatic swings in precipitation. Droughts extend for longer periods, drying small creeks, heating water and increasing risk of wildfire. Warmer temperature means more rain-on-snow events and faster, earlier snowmelt. When these torrents of water rush through the landscape, it scours and straightens 67

stream channels and quickly flushes from the landscape instead of saturating the floodplain and replenishing groundwater.

The Golden Trout Project At the turn of the century, concerns over the status and threats to California golden trout led Trout Unlimited to file a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to protect the species as endangered. Over a decade after the ESA petition was filed, the USFWS declined to list California golden trout.

Instead, the agency worked closely with the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and TU to create a recovery plan.

Today, with years of planning completed, the forest service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and TU are partnering to expand the work of the Golden Trout Project, planning to restore over 40 miles of golden trout habitat across nearly 3,000 acres of the Sierra Nevada backcountry.

Jessica Strickland leads TU’s California Inland Trout Program. She and her team have worked closely with partners and dedicated volunteers to identify the remaining strongholds of California golden trout and prioritize locations in the Sierra Nevada for habitat restoration.

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Throughout the process, Strickland has been committed to reaching communities who work, visit and love the Sierra Nevada backcountry. “I’ve tried hard to make sure everyone involved feels like they have a role in this work.

We need to think about how others use this place, and how their opinions matter.

For example, if I’m going to construct a project next to a cattle grazer’s inholding, I’m going to pick up the phone,” she says.

“I want our work to exist in parallel with their needs, too. That’s how we’ll build durable solutions.”

Howard Kern Today, Jessica Strickland is leading the Golden Trout Project’s work, but she is quick to point out that her opportunity is built upon years of work underway long before she joined TU. “ T he G olde n Trout Project was defined in the 1980s by the South Coast TU chapter and Federation of Fly Fisher clubs,” she explains. “It was eventually led by Howard Kern, who organized massive volunteer restoration projects in the backcountry for nearly 30 years.”

Kern is a legendary volunteer leader in California. With a lifetime of experience hiking, camping, and fishing in the Sierra Nevada, Kern charged into T R O U T

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the role, working with agency partners to help build The Golden Trout Project.

One of the Project’s most impactful efforts was a multi-year partnership with scientists at the University of California Davis to identify remnant populations of unhybridized California golden trout. The project organized extensive work in the backcountry and Kern handled complicated logistics.

Initially, the core group of volunteers was concerned anglers, but the work eventually captured the attention of other user groups such as mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians.

In 2007, in recognition of their dedication and immense contribution, the Golden Trout Project was given the Department of the Interior’s Take Pride in America award. Two years later, Kern was named Conservation Hero of the Year by Field & Stream magazine for his work on behalf of California golden trout.

When asked about the award, Kern points back to the shared effort. “It was an award given to me, but really represents the efforts of hundreds—if not a thousand—other people.”

Let the Water Do the Work During the summer of 2023, years of planning shifted into implementation as the Golden Trout Project moved ahead 68

Monitoring and stream surveys are vital to the Golden Trout Project in California. Beth Long, with Trout Unlimited, works with seasonal field staff to ensure habitat is suitable for their survival.

“The Golden Trout Project was defined in the 1980s by the South Coast TU chapter and Federation of Fly Fisher clubs. It was eventually led by Howard Kern, who organized massive volunteer restoration projects in the backcountry for nearly 30 years.”— Jessica Strickland

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with restoration projects. In the first phase, work will take place in 15 different meadows throughout the Sequoia and Inyo National Forests. Simultaneously, planning for the second phase is underway. For phase two, six more meadows have been identified for restoration.

All told, the work is expected to take a decade or longer. During that time the Golden Trout Project is planning on constructing approximately 2,500 individual Beaver Dam Analogue (BDA) structures to slow down flow of water, reconnect meadow floodplains and recharge groundwater.

The BDAs impound water and sediment, which repairs incised stream channels. By helping to store water on the landscape, they support the growth

of willows and riparian vegetation, which stabilizes streambanks and shades the water. The pools created by BDAs are crucial refuge for trout and other species, including endangered mountain yellow-legged frog.

Alongside the restoration work, the Golden Trout Project partners have committed to rigorous project monitoring.

They install temperature loggers and groundwater monitoring wells, measure streambanks, take eDNA samples and conduct electrofishing before, during and after restoration work.

Astoundingly, much of this work is done in remote, high-elevation backcountry miles from the nearest road. Half the work sites are in the Golden Trout Wilderness. In designated

wilderness, no power tools or motorized vehicles are allowed.

It is grueling work done by dedicated crews, but also creates unique opportunities for shared learning and expanded partnerships. This summer, Strickland and the Golden Trout Project partnered with the Tubatulabal Tribe of Kern Valley to build BDAs on a section of Fish Creek in the South Fork Kern River watershed.

During the week, Tubatulabal young adults got firsthand experience working with low-tech, process-based restoration techniques. These skills translate directly to the tribe’s restoration work on their ancestral lands in the Sierra Nevada and to fieldwork jobs with the Golden Trout Project as their ambitious work moves ahead in the coming years.

The Beaver Dam Analogues impound water and sediment, which repairs incised stream channels. By helping to store water on the landscape, they support the growth of willows and riparian vegetation, which stabilizes streambanks and shades the water.

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Actionline NEWS FROM

THE FIELD

2024 TU Summer Camps and Academies pg 72

Tools & Tips From the Tacklebox Regional Rendezvous, tree planting events and growing a strong governance structure pg 74

Stream Champion Bridget Moran pg 76

North Carolina’s Pisgah Chapter Chapter sposored visitor center aquarium in Brevard pg 78

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2024 TU Summer Camps and Academies

Know a young person interested in fishing and conservation?

Tell them about TU’s summer camps and academies.

JONATHAN ONKEN

Camper age range, daily schedules, and cost of camps varies so get in touch with the directors to find out more.

Also, visit www.tu.org/camps

Alaska Howie Van Ness Memorial Kids’ Fly Fishing Camp

Colorado River Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp

Dates: June 7-9, 2024 Contact: David Vick, davidorrinvick@yahoo.com Location: Lost Lake Scout camp, Fairbanks, Alaska www.facebook.com/TUAlaska/

Dates: June 9-15, 2024 Ages: 14-18 Contact: Barbara Luneau, barbaraluneau@ gmail.com Location: AEI Outfitter, Almont, Colo.

Coloradotu.org/YouthCamp

Kenai Peninsula TU Fly Fishing Camp Dates: May 20-24, 2024 Contact: Alexa Millward, alexa.millward@tu.org Location: Kenai River Center, Soldotna, Alaska

Arizona Council TU Fish Camp Dates: June 2-7; June 9-14; June 16-21, 2024 Contact: Arthur Greenway, education@zanegreytu.org Ages: All youth ages 13-18 Location: R-C Scout Ranch, Payson, Ariz. www.azoutdoored.org

California Sierra Trout Camp Dates: June 22-23, 2024 Ages: 10-12 Contact: Daniel Johnson, dan.johnson@tu.org Location: Olympic Valley, Calif.

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NoCO Youth Fly Fishing Day Camp Dates: July 15-19, 2024 Ages: 14-17 Contact: Jim Durante, youthcamp@rmftu.org Location: Fort Collins, Colo. www.rockymtnflycasters.org *Preference given to North Central Colorado Youth.

Georgia Trout Camp Dates: June 2-7, 2024 Applications open until April 15 Ages: 13–15 Contact: Charlie & Kathy Breithaupt, knc615@ windstream.net Location: Tallulah Falls School, Tallulah Falls, Ga. www.georgiatu.org

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Idaho Trout Camp Dates: July 15-19, 2024 Ages: 10-13 for campers. Leaders in Training ages 13+.

Contact: Kelly Odell, kodelltroutcamp@gmail. com Location: Silver Creek Plunge, Garden Valley, Idaho www.tedtruebloodtu.org/troutcamp/

llinois Youth Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp Dates: July 21-26, 2024 Ages: 13 -18 Contacts: Dan LaFave, dlafave@sbcglobal.net Location: Ralph A MacMullan Conference Center, Roscommon, Mich. www.obtu.org/youth-outreach/youth-camp

Maine Trout Camp Dates: June 23-27, 2024 Ages: 13-17 Contact: Robb Cotiaux, rcotiaux@gmail.com Location: Evergreens Campground, Solon, Maine www.troutcamp.org/

Michigan Youth Conservation & Trout Camp

Tennessee John Thurman Trout Adventure Camp

Dates: June 17-21, 2024 Ages: 13-16 Contacts: Jon Chizmadia, admin@ michigantucamp.org Location: Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Roscommon, Mich. www.michigantucamp.org

Dates: June 17-22, 2024 Ages: 12-16 Contacts: Sean Fagan, tntutroutcamp@gmail.com Location: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Townsend, Tenn. www.tntroutadventure.org

Texas Youth Trout Camp

Montana Fly Fishing & Conservation Camp Dates: July 7-11, 2024 Ages: 11-14 Contact: Bill Pfeiffer, Bill.Pfeiffer@tu.org Location: Camp Watanopa, Georgetown Lake, Mont. www.montanatu.org

National TU Teen Summit Dates: TBD Contact: Franklin Tate, ftate@tu.org Location: TBD www.tu.org/teensummit

New Hampshire Trout Camp Dates: Tier 1: August 9-14, 2024; Tier 2: June 26-30, 2024 Contacts: Phil Donovan, pdonovannh@gmail. com Locations: Berlin and Pittsburg, N.H. www.nhtucouncil.org/nh-tu-youth-trout-camp

New York Trout Waters Youth Camp Dates: June 23-28, 2024 Ages: 14-17 Contacts: Bob Mead, ramead@gmail.com and Mike Walchko, mwalchko@nycap.rr.com Location: Big Valley Lodge, West Branch of the Delaware River, Hale Eddy, N.Y.

North Carolina Rivercourse Dates: June 9-14, 2024 Ages: 12-15 Contact: Chris Marok, tinacac7@gmail.com Location: Lake Logan Retreat Center, Canton, N.C. www.ncturivercourse.com

Oregon Youth Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp

Dates: January 12-14, MLK Jr Day Weekend, 2024 Ages: 12-17 Contact: Dakus Geeslin, VP-Affairs@grtu.org Location: Rio Guadalupe River Resort, Guadalupe River, Sattler, Texas rioguadaluperesort.com/

Utah Teen Fly Fishing & Stream Ecology Camp Dates: June 18-20, 2024 Ages: 12-18 Contact: Jason Eborn, Jason.b.eborn@gmail.com Location: Sportsman’s Paradise, Paradise, Utah

Utah Fly Fishing Camp

Dates: July 27-30, 2024 Ages: 10-14 Contact: Bob Clements; rmcj69@gmail.com Location: Crabtree Pond & Creek, Ore. www.clackamasrivertu.org

Dates: July 31-August 2, 2024 Contact: Paul Holden, pholden442@gmail.com Location: Stokes Nature Center, Cache Valley, Utah logannature.org

Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp

Vermont Trout Camp

Dates: June 16-21, 2024 Ages: 14-17 Contacts: Clark Hall, chall2636@verizon.net Location: Messiah University, Grantham, Pa. www.riverscamp.com

Dates: June 23-27, 2024 Ages: 13-16 Contact: Kurt Budliger, vermonttroutcamp@ gmail.com Location: Quimby Country Lodge, Averill, Vt. www.vermonttroutcamp.com

Washington Northwest Youth Conservation & Fly Academy Dates: June 22-29, 2024 Ages: 12-16 Contacts: Bruce Merighi, hello@nwycffa.com Location: Panhandle Lake, Shelton, Wash. www.nwycffa.com

Wisconsin Youth Fishing Camp Dates: August 15-18, 2024 Ages: 12-16 Contacts: Linn Beck, chlbeck@att.net Location: Pine Lake Bible Camp, Waupaca, Wisc.

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B y J e f f Ya t e s

Director of Volunteer Operations

JOSH DUPLECHIAN

[

Regional Rendezvous Join Us in Nashville, Arlington and Idaho Falls This Spring!

Join hundreds of TU volunteers, members, supporters, partners and staff from across the country at one of three Regional Rendezvous scheduled for 2024! Whether you connect with us in the Northeast, Southeast or West this year, you’ll experience some great fishing, enlightening presentations, inspiring dialogue and engaging conservation learning with those who share your dedication to TU and our mission.

Southeast Rendezvous—Nashville, Tennessee—March 15-17 Northeast Rendezvous—Arlington, Vermont—May 3-5 Western Rendezvous—Idaho Falls, Idaho—May 17-19 TU Regional Rendezvous are occasions to be inspired by the work of TU staff, lessons from volunteer leaders and conversations with newfound friends. They are also an excellent opportunity to discuss unique issues facing each region as well as a chance to network and build relationships with fellow TU volunteers and staff. Along the way you’ll have fun, meet new friends and fishing buddies and experience great angling and conservation opportunities.

Learn more at www.tu.org/regionals.

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]

Got Trees?

Good Governance

Join a Plant for Our Future Event This Year—or Plan One!

Grow Your Pipeline of Leaders with a Strong Committee Structure

Thanks to the support and partnership of Tractor Supply Company, TU is excited to increase our efforts in tree planting activities for the third year of this fun, family-friendly and impactful effort. So far more than 1,400 TU volunteers have planted over 67,946 native trees, restoring 474 acres of streamside land in 17 states!

The heart of TU’s success is our network of grassroots chapters and councils where thousands of volunteers contribute more than 700,000 hours of service to local rivers and communities annually.While chapter volunteer boards often drive the vision for the chapter and set the strategy and goals, the committees of the chapter are where the work of turning these goals into action takes place.

Don’t have a local event near you? Start your own! Planning a tree planting is easier than you think and is a fun way to find people like you who care about clean rivers, healthy air and a better future for our planet! Be sure to work with your local TU chapter, partner with area nonprofits and connect to a network of support for your event. Our “Plant for Our Future” Planning Guide takes you step-by-step through the setup process and our Marketing Toolkit makes it easy for you to spread the news and find volunteers to make your event a success!

Actively investing in a thoughtful and strategic volunteer recruitment process is the best way to carry on the legacy of current and past leaders and continue to grow your local impact. Some good governance tactics for developing new chapter committee members and growing them into board leaders include:

Connect to our plantings and find planning resources online at www.tu.org/plantforourfuture.

• Identify Leadership Needs: Spend time reflecting on your current leadership team to forecast upcoming leadership needs and opportunities. Encourage your Diversity Initiative Committee to have a voice in this discussion as you review term limits, strategic plan goals and future initiatives to cultivate aspirational leadership goals.

• Develop Committee Strategy Materials: Documenting clear goals and strategies for each committee makes it a more attractive volunteer post for future leaders. Be sure your board has thoughtfully framed the expectations of the committee but be sure to also leave room for the passions of the individuals recruited to the committee to guide the tactics and direction within that strategy.

• Orientation Resources: An orientation fosters a foundation for new leaders to have a fulfilling experience, effectively meet the role expectations and increase the likelihood that they will recruit additional members, volunteers and leaders. Set your leaders up for success from the start with an empowering orientation process.

Learn more and connect with your Volunteer Operations staff and more great resources in the online Tacklebox at www.tu.org/tacklebox.

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STREAM CHAMPION Bridget Moran NORTH SOUND CHAPTER

S

ome people can point to their aha moment. The moment that made them choose their career or caused them to dive headfirst into their passion project. But for Bridget Moran, her draw to the outdoors doesn’t have a catalyst, it is part of who she has always been. And when she found TU it was another right choice in pursuing her passion.

“I have this unexplainable attachment to the outdoors. I don’t want to discount that there are a lot of people who are outdoors people but for me it is unexplainable. I find a lot of meaning in taking care of these places I enjoy being in, doing it professionally is a privilege and I like my job because I get satisfaction in the protection work,” Bridget said.

For the last six years Bridget has been a member of the North Sound TT RR O OU U TT

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chapter of TU, serving as chapter president for the last three. She has also served on the Embrace A Stream committee for the last two years.

Bridget found TU through fishing guides who happened to be the founders of the North Sound chapter. She said, “[the chapter] was a bunch of young dudes into conservation and fly fishing, it was a crowd I wanted to be a part of. It was intimidating at first and I hadn’t been fly fishing long. I didn’t 76 76

feel like an expert, but I wanted to be in conservation and freshwater ecology. Even though it was intimidating I felt right at home right away.”

Before TU, Bridget spent years pursuing a future in conservation and biology: “When I went to college I knew I wanted to study fisheries, but my University of Washington advisor said it would be hard for me to get a job in the field without a Ph.D. I was 19, broke and just trying to get through a B.A. degree. It was so hard to fathom grad school, so I dropped out.”

With experience in teaching outdoor recreation to special needs adults and children she enrolled at Western Washington University and earned

her teaching degree. But the classroom setting was not where Bridget wanted to be. “I fumbled around for a few years with odd jobs until I went back to school enrolling at Bellingham Technical College for a degree in fisheries and aquaculture sciences. I felt like I had totally put the train back on the track. It was one of the most surreal experiences to have the opportunity to do what I want to do. I had been volunteering with TU for three years, so I was in the conservation community already,” Bridget said.

She took a job with American Rivers working on projects in hydropower reform and river protection, but she knew she wanted to work with the tribes in the region, “because it feels like the most impactful work I can be doing right now.” And now, Bridget is a habitat protection ecologist for the Skagit River System Cooperative where she reviews proposed activities and works with project proponents to protect tribal resources in the Skagit River watershed and nearshore environments.

Alongside her professional life, Bridget works with her TU chapter and volunteers on an environmental DNA project. Through genetic testing of water samples, it is possible to determine the species of fish in the watershed without catching or seeing them.

The project requires a large number of volunteers from all over the watershed and the large-scale project that can be accomplished alongside volunteer’s activities on the water has drawn the interest they need. The research has also benefited from having two local colleges with students that need credit for field work. Moran also presents the work to the tech college every year to resoundingly positive feedback. The

class is a semester favorite each time it is presented.

With one of the largest chapter membership numbers Bridget says, “I ask myself this all the time, how does this, [high numbers of engaged members], happen? Our chapter is unique because we have a generally younger membership, and we partner with people, groups and companies that are geared younger and I think that is attractive. There is a sentiment of this isn’t the old TU my dad was a part of, these folks will go out and drink a beer, hold social events and they are executing important projects.”

Bridget’s favorite event is Speyapalooza where they celebrate all things Spey casting on the banks of the Skagit River. The Washington Council and North Sound Chapter volunteer at the event along with casting and flytying instructors, tackle manufacturers and conservation professionals to make the two-night camping event fun and educational for all who attend.

Bridget said, “The event is open to everyone, free and food is provided.

It is the most fun thing we do and we interact with a lot of people. We get to make face-to-face relationships with the people in the community.”

“Our chapter is unique because we have a generally younger membership, and we partner with people, groups and companies that are geared younger and I think that is attractive. There is a sentiment of this isn’t the old TU my dad was a part of, these folks will go out and drink a beer, hold social events and they are executing important projects.”

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n August of 2021, Tropical Storm Fred dropped heavy rain in the mountains of western North Carolina. Many rivers quickly rose out of their banks with devastating and tragic impacts on several communities.

Flowing through the Pisgah National Forest, the Davidson River flooded two North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission facilities - Setzer Fish Hatchery and Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. The hatchery was able to resume operations within a few weeks, however, damage to the education center was too extensive to be restored. With the loss of the education center, thousands of annual visitors to the Pisgah Forest lost a popular opportunity to view live trout and learn about watersheds, coldwater ecology and trout conservation.

Last fall, Pisgah Chapter board member Stephanie Adams was fishing on the Davidson River near the boarded-up education center and thought, “Let’s apply our chapter’s expertise as sponsor of 12 Trout in the Classroom schools to install and maintain a trout aquarium at a location that is visited by a lot of people.” After talking to many people around Brevard, Stephanie and Jessica Whitmire, fellow Pisgah Chapter member and manager of Headwaters Outfitters developed a plan to conduct fundraisers and rally the community to support this project. Stephanie approached the Brevard/ Transylvania Chamber of Commerce that maintains a visitor center located in downtown Brevard. Each year, over 25,000 people come to the visitor center to learn about the T R O U T

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area while browsing the shops and enjoying the restaurants of this quaint mountain town.

Headwater’s Outfitters hosted a fundraiser last fall and organized another event at Ecusta Brewing earlier this year. With over $5,000 raised, the Pisgah Chapter purchased a 75-gallon aquarium system to showcase our iconic native trout species, brook trout. Fish were provided by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. A video display provides educational information about the ecology of coldwater streams, watershed conductivity, trout habitat and the on-going efforts to conserve our unique strain of Southern Appalachian brook trout. Pisgah Chapter volunteers maintain the aquarium along with the

River Rangers of the Pisgah National Forest.

Developing and conducting educational programs is a passion of Stephanie as she previously owned a nature-based tour company and is currently a fishing guide for Headwaters Outfitters. This fall, Stephanie plans to engage local schools and nearby Brevard College to develop educational programs at the visitor center.

The Pisgah Chapter board of directors is honored to sponsor this educational opportunity for the Brevard and Transylvania County community. It is rewarding to watch visitors get drawn to the aquarium to see these ambassadors of conservation. By partnering with the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce, this project enhances the Chapter’s engagement with the business community in our conservation programs.

This project is part of the Pisgah Chapter’s efforts to bring together diverse interests to care for and recover rivers and streams, so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout.

Trout aquarium depicts a plunge pool at the base of Looking Glass Falls and a digital display informs the public about coldwater conservation.

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LAFT: TOM CHAMPEAU. UPPER LEFT: ALBERTRAYADAMS.COM

Pisgah Chapter Sponsors Trout Aquarium in Visitor Center in Brevard, North Carolina

TOM CHAMPEAU

PCTU and Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce board members join project supporters in trout aquarium ribbon cutting.

Fund your passion

Pocket Water

and keep it wild

“I wanted to provide for my own needs but also protect and restore the wild mountain waters I love, so I contacted Trout Unlimited about a charitable gift annuity. I signed a contract and sent in a check. Now I have income for life, a charitable deduction, and the knowledge that cold, clean fishable waters will continue to provide joy to future generations.”

—LULU COLBY, GIFT ANNUITANT

Secure your financial future and the future of wild and native trout and salmon.

A Charitable Gift Annuity provides peace of mind with regular fixed payments during your lifetime and ensure future generations can know the joy of a cold running stream.

NEW– If you are 70½ or older, you can now transfer up to $50,000 from your IRA to acquire a charitable gift annuity.

Contact Sue Thomas at (703) 284-9421 or Legacy@TU.org to learn more about these and other gifts that benefit both you AND Trout Unlimited.

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Dear Miriam...

One Fell Swoop

BY C H R I ST I N E P E T E RS O N

I

t’s elk season, which despite the calm winds, 70-degree days and cool nights, is not fishing season. Once the school year starts, you, your dad and I are what some people derisively call “weekend warriors.”

You love school (“learning with friends!” you call it), and you refuse to miss a day. That means our fishing and hunting is restricted to Saturdays and Sundays, and until carefully packaged squares of white butcher paper fill our freezer, we don’t do much more than camp and elk hunt.

But we also set a goal many years ago to catch a fish a month, then eventually modified it to simply go fishing each month. Somehow that can still be a challenge with busy weeks and weekends in the woods rarely camped near streams. A goal is a goal, though, and on September 30 we know we need to go fishing. So your dad puts his bow away, and we drive to a meadow not far from a creek to make a late breakfast and see what we can find. This is why we’re crouching low and sneaking through red and orange willows along a shallow stream in the mountains near our home in southeast Wyoming.

The fishing isn’t easy. The midday sun shines bright. Clouds prove scarce.

The stream is several inches deep at best, punctuated by a few 10-to 12-inch holes. Tiny brook trout flit around in riffles, spooked at the sight of anything from above. We wonder briefly why these abundant, teeny trout in a stream that sees few anglers would be so fearful. Then we turn our attention back to casting.

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Your dad places his small, elk-hair caddis adeptly in a bit of slack water.

It drifts with the current before disappearing with a barely perceptible “plop.” He sets the hook, and out flies a 3-inch-long brook trout.

by yourself, insisting you complete the process, start to finish.

Suddenly an immature bald eagle swoops down from above. We stop to watch, and realize why those brook trout seem so spooky, why they flit into the riffles only to dash back under the cover of grass and an overhanging bank.

The eagle perches on the top of a dead tree nearby, close enough to see, but far enough we have to squint. We keep watching. You ask if the eagle is hunting tiny brook trout. No, we now understand, it’s targeting spawning kokanee salmon. The slightly longer,

In one swoop, it dives into the water, snatches a bright red kokanee and lifts back up, pumping its wings up and down, up and down, back up over the trees and out of sight. We watch with mouths agape that we could witness something so special.

“I want to let it go!” you shout.

Then you hop off the rocks you’d been playing on downstream and dip your hands in the water. Seconds later, the unlucky brookie is back in the creek, and you’re back to playing on rocks.

I cast, much less adeptly, but eventually catch one as you ask for a turn.

It takes you less time than it took me, and soon you’re taking the hook out 80

beefier landlocked sockeye also frantically skitter through the riffles. They’re headed back to their birthplace, we explain, and they would make a highfat meal for any bird of prey.

It’s time to go, it really is. We lingered over breakfast and already spent more time fishing than we should for our limited number of elk weekends.

I can tell your dad feels antsy to grab his bow and get back to the woods.

there, watching a gray and black spot on the top of a broken-off lodgepole pine tree. A few minutes, perhaps, or half an hour. Then the eagle stretches out its wings and flies toward us over the creek. It circles around, drops low, and extends its deadly claws.

In one swoop, it dives into the water, snatches a bright red kokanee and lifts back up, pumping its wings up and

down, up and down, back up over the trees and out of sight. We watch with mouths agape that we could witness something so special.

Maybe fall isn’t just for hunting, or even for fishing. Maybe no season is singularly for one of those activities. Maybe they’re also for noticing, for stopping, for taking our time and for watching.

Love, Mom

MEG THOMPSON STANTON

But if we wait long enough, we wonder, will that eagle swoop down and grab a kokanee? We don’t really decide to wait.

We just… stand there, because we know nothing else matters. The wasting daylight doesn’t matter. The elk we need in our freezer doesn’t matter. Our desire to cast one more time doesn’t matter. So we wait.

And wait.

I don’t know how long we stand

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CL A S S I FI E D S 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.

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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?

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

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Vermont trout? Try these guidebooks: Vermont Trout Streams; Vermont’s Trophy Trout Waters; and, The New Atlas of Vermont Trout Ponds. Each book provides maps and complete coverage of the state.

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4-piece bamboo flyrods handmade with bamboo ferrules. cgbamboorods.com chuck-g@comcast.net”

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 most fish quickly without handling and works even for #22 hooks and bead heads. See also the new, extra sharp No Touch Bodkin. $20/ppd. $1.00/sale to WestSlope Chapter TU. Learn more and buy at NoTouchTrout.com.

T R O U T

W I N T E R

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Spring Deadline: March 29, 2024.

To request a media kit for display advertising, call (703)284-9422

By Dave Ames, author of cult fishing classics including True Love and the Woolly Bugger and A Good Life Wasted, Trout Town is at once a veteran’s struggle with PTSD, a murder-mystery, and a fly-fisherman’s journey to the Backbone-of-the-World. Stir that curious amalgam with a humorist’s deft touch and you have Trout Town: a laugh-out-loud page-turner that will keep you guessing until the final scene.

Trout Fishing West of the Home Water by TU life member and retired professor William Sharpe.

The book begins with brief essays on the author’s research on acid rain, whirling disease and water pollution followed by the author’s sometimes humorous accounts of fishing more than 30 western rivers with extensive coverage of Utah’s Green River and the major rivers of western Montana. Available in paperback at Amazon.com ($14.95) Contact wes@ psu.edu

FLIES & GEAR

Advertise in TROUT Classifieds

FLY FISHING THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES: Small Streams & Wild Places by TU Life Member Paul Downing. Covers Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Available at Amazon.com. Special Club Discount $20/ppd. Contact majesticpress@aol.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

82

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Ernest Schwiebert Prints

With your purchase—you are making a difference!

Proceeds from the sale of these prints help fund the work of the Ernest Schwiebert Chapter.

Thank You! To view available prints visit:

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T R O U T

W I N T E R

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members

BUSINESS ALASKA 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle Wasilla, AK 99654 (907) 373-5434 staff.3riversflyandtackle@gmail.com www.3riversflyandtackle.com Alaskan Angling Adventures LLC. Mike Adams Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (907) 595-3336 alaskananglingadventures@gmail.com www.AlaskanAnglingAdventures.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 Rainbow Adventures Paul Hansen Wasilla, AK 99687 (907) 357-0251 info@akrainbow.com www.akrainbow.com Alaskan Remote Adventures Ryan Kocherhans St. George, UT 84770 (801) 725-1025 info@alaskanremoteadventures.com www.alaskanremoteadventures.com Alaska Rainbow Lodge King Salmon, AK 99613 info@alaskarainbowlodge.com www.alaskarainbowlodge.com Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge Brian Kraft Kvichak River – Lake Iliamna, AK (907) 227-8719 brian@fishasl.com www.fishasl.com Alaska’s Bearclaw Lodge Rob Fuentes Dillingham, AK 99576 (907) 843-1605 info@bearclawlodge.com www.bearclawlodge.com Alaska’s Fishing Unlimited, Inc. Dave Tyson Port Alsworth, AK 99653 (262) 515-3714 (WI – Dave) info@alaskalodge.com www.alaskalodge.com Alaska’s Wild River Guides John Jinishian Dillingham, AK 99576 (203) 247-9070 john@wildriverfish.com www.wildriverfish.com

GOLD LEVEL

Alaska Wild Caught Seafood

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

T R O U T

W I N T E R

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 Zack Dingus at (571) 919-8083 or Zachary.Dingus@tu.org.

Outfitters

Guides

Lodges

Denali Fly Fishing Guides Rick McMahan Cantwell, AK 99729 (907) 768-1127 2fishon@mtaonline.net www.denaliflyfishing.com Deneki Outdoors James Kim Anchorage, AK 99503 (800) 344-3628 info@deneki.com www.deneki.com EPIC Angling & Adventure GOLD LEVEL Rus Schwausch Bear Trail Lodge Alaska Peninsula, AK Nanci Morris Lyon (512) 656-2736 King Salmon, AK 99613 rus@epicaaa.com Lodge: (907) 246-2327 www.epicaaa.com Cell: (907) 469-0622 Equinox gofish@bristolbay.com Cameo Padilla & Brooks Areson www.fishasl.com/naknek/ Sitka, AK 99835 Brad’s Igiugig Lodge (907) 738-4736 Brad Waitman info@equinoxalaska.com Wasilla, AK 99687 www.equinoxalaska.com (907) 360-1856 @equinoxalaska bradinalaska@gmail.com Expeditions Alaska www.alaskaslodge.com Carl Donohue Bristol Bay Lodge Anchorage, AK 99507 Steve Laurent (770) 952-4549 Bristol Bay, AK www.expeditionsalaska.com/ Office: (509) 964-2094 contact.html Cell: (509) 899-0734 www.expeditionsalaska.com slaurent@bristolbaylodge.com Expedition Broker www.fishasl.com Greg Schlachter Chosen River Outfitters Haines, AK 99827 David Stelling (907) 766-3977 Banner Elk, NC 28604 (877) 406.1320 (828) 386-6216 travel@expeditionbroker.com highcountryguides@gmail.com www.expeditionbroker.com www.flyfishthehighcountry.com Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop Classic Casting Adventures Jason Croft Tad Kisaka Anchorage, AK 99501 Sitka, AK 99835 (608) 512-3966 (907) 738-2737 fireislandbread@gmail.com tadkisaka@hotmail.com www.fireislandbread.co www.flyfishsitka.com Fishe Wear Coastal Alaska Adventures Linda Leary Keegan McCarthy Anchorage, AK 99503 Douglas, AK 99824 (907) 854-4775 (907) 723-3006 linda@fishewear.com akpointer@hotmail.com www.fishewear.com www.coastalalaskaadventures.com Fly Out Travel/Media Cooper Landing Fishing Guide, LLC Cory and Katie Luoma David Lisi Columbia Falls, MT 59912 Cooper Landing, AK 99572 (406) 781-7184 cooperlandingguide@gmail.com cory@alaskaflyout.com www.cooperlandingfishingguide.com www.alaskaflyout.com Copper on the Fly Grizzly Skins of Alaska Stephen Munroe Rochelle Harrison and Anchorage, AK 99515 Phil Shoemaker (907) 229-6184 King Salmon, AK 99613 smunroe@natca.net (907) 376-2234 www.copperonthefly.com info@grizzlyskinsofalaska.com Copper River Lodge www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com Pat Vermillion Iliamna River Lodge Iliamna, AK 99606 Bill and Melanie Betts (406) 222-0624 Pedro Bay, AK 99647 info@copperriverlodge.com (719) 371-6177 www.copperriverlodge.com bill@iliamnariverlodge.com Crystal Creek Lodge www.iliamnariverlodge.com Dan Michels Kenai Riverside Fishing King Salmon, AK 99613 Cooper Landing, AK (907) 357-3153 (800) 478-4100 www.crystalcreeklodge.com info@kenairiversidefishing.com info@crystalcreeklodge.com www.kenairiversidefishing.com/ Aleutian Rivers Angling Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 pat@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com Angler's Alibi John Perry King Salmon, AK 99613 (561) 222-9416 jmperry05@gmail.com www.anglersalibi.com

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Kulik Lodge Bo Bennett Anchorage, AK 99502 (907) 243-5448 (800) 544-0551 info@bristoladventures.com www.kuliklodge.com 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 No See Um Lodge 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

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 Rainbow River Lodge Chad Hewitt Iliamna, AK 99606 (503) 720-5063 chad@rainbowriverlodge.com www.rainbowriverlodge.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 Wilderness Place Lodge Jason Rockvam/Cory Wendt Anchorage, AK 99519 (877) 753-3474 wildernessplacelodge@gmail.com www.wildernessplacelodge.com

ARIZONA Arizona Flycasters Gene Hechler Phoenix, AZ 85016 (520) 203-4140 president@azflycasters.org www.azflycasters.org AZ Fly Shop Chris Rich Phoenix, AZ 85032 (602) 354-8881 info@azflyshop.com www.azflyshop.com Imus Investment Partners 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

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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 Sedona Fly Fishing Adventures Brian Mowers Sedona, AZ 86336 (928) 451-0492 sedonaflyfishing@gmail.com www.sedonaflyfishingadventures.com Spiral Creative Services Graphic Design Susan Geer Gilbert, AZ 85234 (602) 284-2515 Susan@spiral-creative.com www.spiral-creative.com 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 JFLY Jake Flood Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 351-0555 gofish@jflyfish.com www.jflyfish.com McLellan's Fly Shop Fayetteville, AR 72703 (479) 251-7037 info@mcflyshop.com www.mcflyshop.comvi 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 The White River Inn Steven Sonnamaker Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 430-2233 info@thewhiteriverinn.com www.thewhiteriverinn.com White River Trout Lodge Jo Anna Smith Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 430-5229 info@whiteriverlodge.com www.whiteriverlodge.com

CALIFORNIA Bix Restaurant and Supper Club Douglas Biederbeck San Francisco, CA 94133 info@bixrestaurant.com www.bixrestaurant.com Bob Marriott's Fly Fishing Store Kevin Bell Fullerton, CA 92833 marriotts@wildonthefly.com www.bobmarriottsflyfishingstore.com

Buff, Inc. Kevin Walker Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (707) 583-8995 customerservice@buffusa.com www.buffusa.com Confluence Outfitters Andrew Harris Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 632-3465 andrew@confluenceoutfitters.com www.confluenceoutfitters.com Fish First!

Leo Siren Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 526-1937 Leo@fishfirst.com www.fishfirst.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 Matt Heron Fly Fishing Matt Heron Truckee, CA 96161 (518) 225-6587 mattheronflyfishing@gmail.comwww. mattheronflyfishing.com Merriam Vineyards Peter Merriam Healdsburg, CA 95448 peter@merriamvineyards.com www.merriamvineyards.com Mongolia River Outfitters/Fish Mongolia Michael Caranci Palo Cedro, CA 96073 (530) 604-2160 michael@mongoliarivers.com www.mongoliarivers.com www.fishmongolia.com Mountain Hardware and Sports Bran Nylund Truckee, CA 96160 (530) 587-4844 Brian.nylund@yahoo.com www.mountainhardwareandsports.com Mike Pease Adventures Mike Pease Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 426-2082 mikepeaseadventures@gmail.com www.mikepeaseadventures.com REYR Gear Derek Roedel Oakland, CA 94601 derek@reyrgear.com www. reyrgear.com Snowbee USA, Inc. William Lin El Monte, CA 91732 info@snowbee-usa.com www.snowbee-usa.com Rodney Strong Vineyards Kim Sayre Healdsburg, CA 95448-9523 (800) 678-4763 www.rodneystrong.com Trout Creek Outfitters Miles Zimmerman & Scotty Koper Truckee, CA 96161 (530)563-5119 info@troutcreekoutfitters.com www.troutcreekoutfitters.com

BECOME A TROUT UNLIMITED LIFE MEMBER TODAY....

We are pleased to offer you your choice of two limited-edition Hardy rod & reel outfits with our thanks for becoming a TU Life Member today.

ACT NOW! LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Hardy Marksman 9-Foot, 5-Weight, 4-Piece Rod The all-new Hardy Marksman is a responsive medium-fast-action rod that has the stability, recovery speed, and versatility to effortlessly cast dry flies, nymph rigs, and streamers with accuracy and ease. It features a strong olive-colored blank with Sintrix FLT technology, an all-new reel seat custom-designed reel seat for weight reduction, ceramic-lined stripping guides, titanium recoil guides dressed in a subtle non-flash golden olive, and a special-edition “Trout Unlimited Life Member” inscription. This rod has the backbone to generate high line speeds and the touch to deliver flies with presentation… it’s the perfect all-around trout rod.

Paired with the Hardy Ultradisc UDLA Reel. Combined retail value: $1,400

Go to tu.org/lifeoffermarksman or scan this QR code with your camera.

Hardy Ultralite NSX SR 8-Foot 8-Inch, 4-Weight, 6-Piece Rod The Hardy Ultralite NSX SR is a smooth medium-fast-action rod that loads easily to cast controlled, subtle presentations in tight quarters. It features an extremely lightweight green-pearl-colored blank with Sintrix NSX technology, a unique asymmetrical reel seat for added security, slick titanium stripping guides, and durable recoil snake guides. This 6-piece rod has incredible feel and accuracy for those who love creek fishing… it’s ideal for traveling, trail hiking, and tons of small stream fun.

Paired with the Hardy Featherweight 3/4 Reel. Combined retail value: $1,394

Go to tu.org/lifeofferultralite or scan this QR code with your camera.

Sign up online using the links above or call 1-800-834-2419.

Note: Those selecting to make monthly or quarterly gifts will receive 85 their rod and reel after they haveT reached R O U T the W Ihalfway N T E Rmark.

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members Wild on the Fly Adventure Travel Kevin Bell Fullerton, CA 92833 (800) 543-0282 marriotts@wildonthefly.com www.wildonthefly.com

COLORADO 5280 Angler Jay Baichi Arvada, CO 80004 (720) 450-7291 info@5280angler.com www.5280angler.com 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 AirFlo USA Jeff Patterson Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 249-0606 jeff@ablereels.com www.airflousa.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 Angles Sports Fly Fishing Shop, Classes and Guide Service Longmont, CO 80501 (720) 600-6855 matburditt@gmail.com www.anglessports.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

T R O U T

W I N T E R

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 Breckenridge Outfitters Breckenridge, CO 80424 (970) 453-4135 info@breckenridgeoutfitters.com www.breckenridgeoutfitters.com Budge’s Wilderness Lodge Nelson Stutzman Gypsum, CO 81637 Cell: 970-230-1386 Lodge: 970-422-1311 (July October) howdy@budgeslodge.com www.budgeslodge.com Campfire Ranch on the Taylor Almont, CO 81210 (833) 226-7227 howdy@campfireranch.co www.campfireranch.co Coldwell Banker Realty Erin Hoover, Realtor Evergreen, CO, 80439 (303) 668-3625 erin@erinmhoover.com www.erinmhoover.com Confluence Casting Jack Bombardier Eagle County, CO 81637 (970) 524-1440 jack@confluencecasting.com www.confluencecasting.com

GOLD LEVEL

Cutthroat Anglers

Ben McCormick Silverthorne, CO 80498 (970) 262-2878 anglers@fishcolorado.com www.fishcolorado.com 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 Duranglers Flies & Supplies John Flick and Tom Knopick Durango, CO 81301 (970) 385-4081 duranglers@duranglers.com www. duranglers.com Eleven Angling Cameron Davenport Crested Butte, CO 81224 (970) 237-5985 cdavenport@elevenangling.com www.ElevenAngling.com Find A Fly Fishing Guide LLC Caiden Boyt Durango, CO 81301 (970) 481-4052 info@findaflyfishingguide.com www.findaflyfishingguide.com Fishpond, Inc. Ben Kurtz Denver, CO 80223-1346 (303) 534-3474 benkurtz@fishpondusa www.fishpondusa.com FlowMap Keny Whitright Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (719) 310-9426 keny@wybron.com www.crossroadmotorsport.com

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FlyWater, Inc. Corey Engen Fort Collins, CO 80524 (970) 217-3182 corey@flywater.com www.flywater.com

GOLD LEVEL

Freestone Aquatics, Inc.

Clint Packo Littleton, CO 80127 (303) 807-7805 clint@freestoneaquatics.com www.freestoneaquatics.com Front Range Anglers Antonio Rodriguez Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 494-1375 antonio@frontrangeanglers.com www.frontrangeanglers.com The Guide Network Ethan Whitson Golden, CO 80401 ethan@theguidenetwork.com www.theguidenetwork.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 Alan Kube Fine Bamboo Fly Rods Alan Kube Denver, CO 80223 (303) 378-2365 akubebamboo@yahoo.com L4 Construction Matt Lamar Greeley and Lyons, CO 80540 (970) 628-0047 mlamar@l4construction.com www.l4construction.com Laughing Grizzly Fly Shop Mike Kruise Longmont, CO 80504 (303) 772-9110 laughinggrizzly@comcast.net www. laughinggrizzlyflyshop.com LoKation Real Estate Libby Earthman Longmont, CO 80501 (720) 487-3126 libby@libbyearthman.com www.libbyearthman.com Maia Wealth Mark Candler Denver, CO 80202 (720) 644-8803 info@maiawealth.com www.maiawealth.com Map the Xperience Dan Bryant Edwards, CO 81632 (888) 306-9580 dan@mtxp.net www.mapthexperience.com Monic Fly Lines Martha Britton Boulder, CO 80301 info@monic.com www.monic.com Montrose Anglers Nolan Egbert Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 249-0408 nolan@montroseanglers.com www.montroseanglers.com Mule Creek Outfitters Larry McCracken Lake George, CO 80827 (719) 748-3250 larry@mulecreekoutfittersco.com www.mulecreekoutfittersco.com North Fork Ranch Guide Service Jeff Poole Shawnee, CO 80475 (303) 478-1349 info@nfrgs.com www.northforkranchguideservice.com

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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 RadoWear Bret Ehret Littleton, CO 80128 (502) 409-3428 radowear@gmail.com www.radowear.com Rainbow Falls Mountain Trout Richard Johnson Woodland Park, CO 80866 (719) 687-8690 rainbowfallsmt@yahoo.com www.rainbowfallsmt.com Ramble House Creede Fly Fishing Cole Birdsey Creede, CO 81130 (719) 658-2482 contact@creedeflyfishing.com www.creedeflyfishing.com Ramble Outdoors, Inc. Matt Oesterle Golden, CO 80401-5608 Matt.Oesterle@gmail.com www.ramble.camp

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 Ripple Creek Lodge Dan and Kerri Schwartz Meeker, CO 81641 (970) 878-4725 dan@ripplecreeklodge.com www.ripplecreeklodge.com Riversmith John Koza Boulder, CO 80301 (888) 795-1483 info@riversmith.com www.riversmith.com Ross Reels Jeff Patterson Montrose, CO 81401 (970) 249-0606 customersupport@rossreels.com www.rossreels.com The San Juan Angler Cole Glenn Durango, CO 81301 (970) 382-9978 sanjuanangler@gmail.com www.thesanjuanangler.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 Angie and Kevin Timm Grand Junction, CO 81504 (970) 208-8108 info@seekoutside.com www.seekoutside.com SET Fly Fishing Kevin Landon Denver, CO 80247 (720) 425-6270 kevin@setflyfishing.com www.setflyfishing.com Steamboat Flyfisher John Spillane Steamboat Springs, CO (970) 879-6552 johnnyspillane@gmail.com www.steamboatflyfisher.com Talon Fishing Company Tallyn Bronson Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 (720) 984-5041 tallyn@talonfishingcompany.com www.talonfishingcompany.com Telluride Outside John Duncan Telluride, CO 81435 (970) 728-3895 fun@tellurideoutside.com www.tellurideoutside.com The Broadmoor Fly Fishing Camp Scott Tarrant Colorado Springs, CO 80906 (719) 476-6800 rbabas@broadmoor.com www.broadmoor.com The Next Eddy Sarah Briam Salida, CO 81201 (719) 530-3024 info@thenexteddy.com www.thenexteddy.com Umpqua Russ Miller Louisville, CO 80027 (303) 567-6696 Umpqua@umpqua.com www.umpqua.com UpRiver Fly Fishing Andrew Maddox Buena Vista, CO 81211 (719) 395-9227 shop@upriverflyfishing.com www.upriverflyfishing.com Uncompahgre River RV Park Mark Hillier Olathe, CO 81425 (970) 323-8706 info@urrvp.com www.urrvp.com

GOLD LEVEL

Upslope Brewing

Henry Wood Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 396-1898 henry@upslopebrewing.com www.upslopebrewing.com Vail Valley Anglers Brett Elkman Edwards, CO 81632 (970) 926-0900 (877) 926-0900 brett@vailvalleyanglers.com www.vailvalleyanglers.com Volpe Law LLC Ben Volpe Parker, CO 80138 (720) 441-3328 ben@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

Wolf Creek Anglers, LLC Brad Shallenberger South Fork, CO 81154 (719) 873-1414 info@wolfcreekanglers.com www.wolfcreekanglers.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 District Angling Richard Farino Arlington, VA 22207 (703) 268-7500 info@districtangling.com www.districtangling.com Interior Federal Credit Union Washington, DC 20240 Reston, VA 20192 (800) 914-8619 info@interiorfcu.org www.interiorfcu.org Wampold Strategies Merv Wampold, Jr. Washington, DC 20002 (202) 258-6182 merv@wampoldstrategies.com www.wampoldstrategies.com

CONNECTICUT Acme Monaco Corporation Lucas Karabin New Britain, CT 06052 (860) 224-1349 acmecorp@acmemonaco.com www.acmemonaco.com Cross Current Insurance Group Pete Sconzo Farmington, CT 06032 (833) 553-2244 pete@crosscurrentinsurance.com www.crosscurrentinsurance.com J. Stockard Fly Fishing Kent, CT 06757 (877) 359-8946 service@jsflyfishing.com www.jsflyfishing.com Old Riverton Inn Adam Towers Riverton, CT 06065-1016 adamtowers2018@gmail.com www.rivertoninn.com Shelter Inc. Chip Parrish Newtown, CT 06470 (203) 231-1236 hello@sheltercares.com www.sheltercares.com Urban Lodge Brewing Company Max Dougan Manchester, CT 06040 (860) 791-8100 info@urbanlodgebrewing.com www.urbanlodgebrewing.com

FLORIDA Captains For Clean Water Daniel Andrews and Chris Wittman Fort Myers, FL 33902 (866) 670-2329 info@captainsforcleanwater.org www.captainsforcleanwater.org FieldCore – A GE Company Tampa, FL 33602 www.fieldcore.com Fresh Catch Coffee Derek and Natalie Edwards St. Petersburg, FL 33705 (724) 771-4372 derek@freshcatchcoffee.com www.freshcatchcoffee.com Outpost On The Nush Dave Pishko Bonita Springs, FL 34134 info@outpostonthenush.com www.outpostonthenush.com

TAKE OUT THE

LOWER FOUR

STAND UP FOR THE SNAKE RIVER SALMON 87

WWW.TU.ORG/LOWERSNAKE T R O U T

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members Recurrent Ventures (Field & Stream, Outdoor Life) Adam Morath Miami, FL 33131 (313) 400-3147 adam.morath@recurrent.io www.recurrent.io

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 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 Hulsey Fly Fishing David and Rebecca Hulsey Blue Ridge, Georgia 30513 (770) 639-4001 (706) 838-4252 info@hulseyflyfishing.com www.hulseyflyfishing.com Kioti Outfitters David Smith Athens, GA 30601 (706) 340-1982 kiotioutfitters@gmail.com www.kiotioutfitters.com Noontootla Creek Farms Emily Owenby Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 838-0585 (voice) (706) 809-6055 (text) emily@ncfga.com www.ncfga.net North Georgia Trout Fishing, LLC Joe DiPietro Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 851-4001 FanninTrout@gmail.com www.NorthGeorgiaTroutFishing.com Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods Blue Ridge, GA 30513 (706) 374-4239 shannen@oysterbamboo.com www.oysterbamboo.com Redd’s Flies Jordan Redd Atlanta, GA 30305 (404) 202-4692 jordanredd590@gmail.com www.reddsflies.com Reel Em In Guide Service James Bradley Ellijay, GA 30536 (706) 273-0764 jbradley@ellijay.com www.reeleminguideservice.com River Through Atlanta Guide Service Chris Scalley Roswell, GA 30075 (770) 650-8630 chrisscalley@bellsouth.net www.riverthroughatlanta.com SweetWater Brewing Company Brian Miesieski Atlanta, GA 30324 (404) 691-2537 info@sweetwaterbrew.com www.sweetwaterbrew.com

T R O U T

W I N T E R

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

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 Decked, LLC Matt Hardinge Ketchum, ID 83340 (203) 979-5555 mhardinge@decked.com www.decked.com Elevate Fly Fishing Trevor Sheehan Boise, ID 83703 (208) 514-7788 trevor@elevateflyfishing.com www.elevateflyfishing.com Henry’s Fork Anglers Mike Lawson Island Park, ID, 83429 (208) 558-7525 info@henrysforkanglers.com www.henrysforkanglers.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 Northwest Outfitters Mike Beard Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 667-2707 info@nwoutfitters.com www.nwoutfitters.com Northwest River Supplies, Inc. (NRS) Mark Deming Moscow, ID 83843 (877) 677-4327 service@nrs.com www.nrs.com Quadrant Consulting Steve Sweet Boise, ID 83705 (208) 342-0091 steve@quadrant.cc www.quadrant.cc RIO Products Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (800) 553-0838 rio@rioproducts.com www.rioproducts.com River Structures Consulting Christopher Boyd Boise, ID 83706 (208) 819-0808 chris@riverstructures.com www.riverstructures.com

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K & K Flyfishers Kevin Kurz Overland Park, KS 66212 (913) 341-8118 (800) 795-8118 sales@kkflyfisher.com www.kkflyfisher.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 StreamTech Boats Link Jackson Boise, ID 83703 (208) 869-7384 info@streamtechboats.com www.streamtechboats.com Tightline Studio Josh Udesen Boise, ID 83703 (208) 559-4423 udesen@tightlinestudio.com www.tightlinestudio.com Tight Line Media Kris Millgate Idaho Falls, ID 83405-0242 (208) 709-0309 kris@tightlinemedia.com www.tightlinemedia.com Trout Jousters, LLC Travis Swartz Meridian, ID 83646 (208) 283-1780 travis@troutjousters.com www.hankpatterson.com

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 Eldredge Bros Fly Shop & Guide Service Jim Bernstein Cape Neddick , ME 03902 (877) 427-9345 info@eldredgeflyshop.com www.eldredgeflyshop.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

High Hook Oregon Wines T. Mark Seymour Leverett, MA 01054 (413) 218-0638 mark@fishhookvineyards.com www.fishhookvineyards.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 Thomas and Thomas Fly Rods Neville Orsmond Greenfield, MA 01301 (413) 475-3840 info@thomasandthomas.com wwww.thomasandthomas.com Vedavoo Scott Hunter Lancaster, MA 01523 (307) 399-0780 campfire@vedavoo.com www.vedavoo.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

MARYLAND

MICHIGAN

MAINE

GOLD LEVEL

WorldCast Anglers

Mike Dawkins Victor, ID 83455 (800) 654-0676 gofish@worldcastanglers.com www.worldcastanglers.com

ILLINOIS Sankoty Lakes Resort Shawn Dixon Spring Bay, IL 61611 Direct (309) 570-1111 Mobile (309) 265-8270 sdixon@sankotylakes.com www.sankotylakes.com

IOWA The Kelley Group Co. Chris Kelley Hull, IA 51239 (712) 746-6500 chris@gotkg.com www.gotkg.com 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 Mike@TroutBuddy.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

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Rich Dennison Fly Fishing Rich Dennison Parkville, MD 21234 (443) 668-3535 richdennisonflyfishing@gmail.com www.richdennisonflyfishing.com Ecotone, Inc. Scott McGill Forest Hill, MD 21050 (410) 420-2600 chall@ecotoneinc.com www.ecotoneinc.com Flys in Disguise Bryan Donoway Jarrettsville, MD 21084 (443) 567-0663 info@flysindisguise.com www.flysindisguise.com Resource Restoration Group, LLC Tracys Landing, MD 20779 info@rrgroup.us www.rrgroup.us Savage River Lodge Mike Dreisbach Frostburg, MD 21532 (301) 689-3200 mike@savageriverlodge.com www.savageriverlodge.com

MASSACHUSETTS BlueLines Fly Fishing Andrew Morgens Sherborn, MA 01770 (508) 330-8080 andrew@bluelinesflyfishing.com www.bluelinesflyfishing.com Cheeky Fishiing Ted Upton (339) 707-3017 North Adams, MA 01247 getcheeky@cheekyfishing.com www.cheekyfishing.com

Au Sable River Guide Service Captain Tom Quail Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 495-2615 ausableriverguideservice@gmail.com www.ausableriverguideservice.com Country Anglers Jac Ford Saginaw, MI 48609 (989) 280-3238 canglers@aol.com www.countryanglers.com 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 Indigo Guide Service Kevin Morlock Branch, MI 49402 (231) 613-5099 indigoguidekevin@gmail.com www.indigoguideservice.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

Muskegon River Inn Jay Allen Guide Service Jay Allen Newaygo, MI 49337 (307) 690-2962 guidejayallen@gmail.com www.muskegonriverinn.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 Pere Marquette River Lodge Frank Willetts Baldwin, MI 49304 (231) 745-3972 staff@pmlodge.com www.pmlodge.com PM Trailhead Lodge Bonnie Price Baldwin, MI 49304 (810) 247-0972 pmtrailheadlodge@gmail.com www.pmtrailheadlodge.com 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/ Steve Lynch Wealth Management Stephen Lynch Albuquerque, NM, 87110 (888) 881-7526 stephenclynch@aol.com www.stevelynchwealth.com Upper Peninsula Concrete Pipe Co. Gabriel Kloet Escanaba, MI 49829 (906) 786-0934 gkloet@upconcretepipe.net. www.upconcretepipe.net Village Eyecare Company Darren Smarch Clarkston, MI 48346 (248) 625-3500 info@villageeyecareclarkston.com www.villageeyecareclarkston.com

MINNESOTA The Driftless Fly Fishing Company Melvin Hayner Preston, MN, 55965-1096 (507) 765-4915 melvin@minnesotaflyfishing.com www.minnesotaflyfishing.com FlyFishFinder Andrew Boeddeker Rochester, MN 55901 (507) 363-1715 andrew@flyfishfinder.com www.flyfishfinder.com Honor Dental Dr. Andrew Greenslade Rochester, MN 55901 (507) 288-1101 honordental@outlook.com www.honordentalrochester.com Namebini Carl Haensel and Jade Thomason Duluth, MN 55804 (218) 525-2381 info@namebini.com www.namebini.com

Make 2024 the year you check the Bighorn from your fishing bucket list!

$1795

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 Mike@TroutBuddy.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

MONTANA Absaroka Beartooth Outfitters, Inc. Cameron S. Mayo Big Timber, MT 59011 (406) 579-3866 cameron@aboadventures.com www.aboadventures.com Alphagraphics Missoula Troy Peissig Missoula, MT 59801 tpeissig@alphagraphics.com www.alphagraphics.com

Alpine Foot and Ankle Clinic Dr. Gregg Neibauer Missoula, MT 59801 (406) 721-4007 www.alpinefoot.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.bauerflyreels.org 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 Bozeman Real Estate Group Keegan Latta Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 587-1717 keegan@bozemanrealestate.group www.bozemanrealestate.group 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 Damsel Fly Fishing Lynae Axelson and Kara Tripp Belgrade, MT 59714 (406) 274-1997 lynae@damselflyfishing.com www.damselflyfishing.com Eventgroove Lance Trebesch Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 600-6321 lance@eventgroove.com www.eventgroove.com Fay Ranches Greg Fay Bozeman, MT 59715 406-586-4001 info@fayranches.com www.fayranches.com

Flint Creek Outdoors Matthew Churchman Philipsburg, MT 59858 (406) 859-9500 matthew@blackfootriver.com www.flintcreekcoutdoors.com Gallatin River Guides Mike Donaldson Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2290 gallatinriverguides@gmail.com www.montanaflyfishing.com Gallatin River Lodge Steve Gamble Bozeman, MT 59718 (888) 387-0148 sgamble@grlodge.com www.grlodge.com Glacier Anglers Mike Cooney West Glacier, MT 59936 (406) 888-5454 info@glacierraftco.com www.glacieranglers.net Glacier Excavating Bob Cuffe Eureka, MT 59917 (406) 297-3155 glacierexcavating@hotmail.com www.glacierexcavating.com Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop Brendan Bannigan Missoula, MT 59802 (406) 721-8996 (800) 297-8996 info@grizzlyhackle.com www.grizzlyhackle.com Grossenbacher Photo Brian Grossenbacher Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 581-4159 photos@grossenbacherphoto.com www.grossenbacherphoto.com

89

GOLD LEVEL

Healing Waters Lodge

Mike and Laura Geary Twin Bridges, MT 59754 (406) 684-5960 hwlodge@gmail.com www.hwlodge.com Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge Nancy Hubbard Emigrant, MT 59027 (406) 848-7755 nancy@hubya.com www.hubbardslodge.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

T R O U T

Missoulian Angler Taylor Scott Missoula, MT 59801 (406) 728-7766 info@missoulianangler.com www.missoulianangler.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 Montana Troutfitters Justin King Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 587-4707 mttrout@troutfitters.com www.troutfitters.com

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members Montana Trout Stalkers Joe Dilschneider Ennis, MT 59729 (406) 581-5150 joe@montanatrout.com www.montanatrout.com Outdoor Guide Association Mollie Simpkins Bozeman, MT 59771 (406) 404-4655 info@outdoorguideassociation.com www.outdoorguideassociation.com PRO Outfitters Brandon Boedecker Helena, MT 59624 (406) 442-5489 pro@prooutfitters.com www.prooutfitters.com The Ranch at Rock Creek Patrick Little Philipsburg, MT 59858 (406) 859-6027 (877) 786-1545 welcome@theranchatrockcreek.com www.theranchatrockcreek.com Realty ONE Group Peak Bryan Atwell Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 579-7616 bryan@bryanatwell.com www.bozemanrealtyone.com The River’s Edge Dan Lohmiller Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 586-5373 info@theriversedge.com www.theriversedge.com The River’s Edge West Dan Lohmiller Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 284-2401 info@theriversedgewest.com www.theriversedge.com Riverside Anglers, Inc. Alice Owsley MT Outfitter #9435 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 (406) 640-1698 riversideanglers@gmail.com www.riversideanglers.com Royal Bighorn Club Dan Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com Ruby Springs Lodge Paul Moseley Sheridan, MT 59749 (406) 842-5250 info@rubyspringslodge.com www.rubyspringslodge.com 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 SCS Wraps Steve Miller Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 585-2635 info@scswraps.com www.scswraps.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

T R O U T

W I N T E R

Stillwater Anglers Outfitters Chris Fleck Columbus, MT 59109 (406) 322-4977 info@stillwateranglers.com www.stillwateranglers.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 Fly Shop Dan Gigone Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 222-9393 dan@sweetwaterflyshop.com www.sweetwaterflyshop.com Sweetwater Travel Company Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com TicketPrinting.com Lance Trebesch Bozeman, MT 59715 (888) 771-0809 support@ticketprinting.com www.ticketprinting.com Total Outfitters Randy MacLean Lolo, MT 59847 (406) 493-1502 info@total-outfitters.com www.total-outfitters.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 Triple-M-Outfitters Mark Faroni Dixon, MT 59831 (406) 246-3249 mark@triplemoutfitters.com www.triplemoutfitters.com TroutChasers Lodge and Fly Fishing Outfitters Jason and Julie Fleury Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 763-9049 jason@montanatroutchasers.com www.montanatroutchasers.com Trout On The Fly Nate Stevane Outfitter #8533 Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 580-7370 nate@montanatroutonthefly.com www.montanatroutonthefly.com TroutRoutes Zachary Pope Columbia Heights, MN 55421 (612) 965-8039 zpope@troutinsights.com www.troutinsights.com Trout Scapes River Restoration, LLC Brian Cowden Bozeman, MT 59715 (201) 230-3383 bcowden@troutscapes.com www.troutscapes.com Trxstle 2915 Broadwater Avenue Helena, MT 59602 (360) 481-8216 sales@trxstle.com www.trxstle.com

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Wild Montana Anglers Mark Fuller Martin City, MT 59926 (406) 261-4343 mark@wildmontanaanglers.com www.wildmontanaanglers.com Wild Trout Outfitters, Inc. J.D. Bingman Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2975 fish@wildtroutoutfitters.com www.wildtroutoutfitters.com R.L. Winston Rod Company Adam Hutchison Twin Bridges, MT 59754 (406) 684-5674 ahutchison@winstonrods.com www.winstonrods.com Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, LLC Bozeman, MT 59715-4630 (406) 585-8667 info@yellowdogflyfishing.com www.yellowdogflyfishing.com Yellowstone River Outfitters Brogan Ballard Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 531-1838 yellowstoneriveroutfitters@gmail.com www.yellowstoneriveroutfitters.com Yellowstone Traditions, Inc. Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 587-0968 info@yellowstonetraditions.com www.yellowstonetraditions.com

NEVADA Nevada Cattlemen’s Association Kaley Chapin Elko, NV 89803 (775) 738-9214 nca@nevadabeef.org www.nevadacattlemen.org 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 Hobbs Brewing Company Ossipee, NH 03814 (603) 539-3795 info@hobbsbeer.com www.hobbsbeer.com Lopstick Roderick DeGreef Pittsburg, NH 03592 rod@lopstick.com www.lopstick.com 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

RoxStar Fishing Mike James Howell, New Jersey 07731 (973) 704-1323 mike@roxstarfishing.com www.roxstarfishing.com Shannon's Fly and Tackle James Holland Califon, NJ 07830 (908) 832-5736 shannonsfly@gmail.com www.sboutfitters.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 Wise Wader Fly Fishing Paul F Ruzzo III Blairstown, NJ 07825 (732) 481-2335 WiseWaderFlyFishing.com www.WiseWaderFF@gmail.com

NEW MEXICO Chama Trails Motel Austin and Karlee Phippen Chama, NM 87520 (575) 756-2156 chamatrails@windstream.net www.chamatrailsmotel.com FishSki Provisions Rob and Tania McCormack Alcalde, NM 87566 (720) 442-0814 fishski@fishskiprovisions.com www.fishskiprovisions.com Fly Fishing Outpost Santa Fe, NM 87506 (505) 629-5688 trout@loeflyfishing.com www.flyfishingoutpost.com High Country Anglers Doc Thompson Northern New Mexico (575) 376-9220 doct@flyfishnewmexico.com www.flyfishnewmexico.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

NEW JERSEY The Perfect Cast Tracey Clarke Oldwick, NJ 08858 (646) 522-3426 Tlw@theperfectcast.com www.theperfectcast.com Ramsey Outdoor Marty Brennan Succasunna, NJ 07876 (973) 584-7798 mbrennan@ramseyoutdoor.com www.ramseyoutdoor.com

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Sitzmark Sports & Lodge Payton Martinez Red River, NM 87558 payton@sitzmarknm.com www.sitzmarknm.com Steve Lynch Wealth Management Stephen Lynch Albuquerque, NM 87110 (505) 881-7526 stephenclynch@aol.com www.stevelynchwealth.com The Reel Life Ivan Valdez Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 995-8114 info@thereellife.com www.thereellife.com Rio Grande del Norte Outfitters, LLC Chris Michael Questa, NM 87556 (575) 776-6216 hcadventurescm@gmail.com Facebook: Rio Grande del Norte Outfitters, LLC Instagram: Rio Grande del Norte Outfitters, LLC

GOLD LEVEL

Taos Fly Shop

Nick Streit Taos, NM 87571 (575) 751-1312 info@taosflyshop.com www.taosflyshop.com Vermejo Park Ranch James Reidy Raton, NM 87740 (575) 445-3097 james.reidy@vermejo.com www.vermejoparkranch.com Watershed Artisans Craig Sponholtz Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 577-9625 watershedartisans@gmail.com www.watershedartisans.com Where the River Runs Gregg Flores Albuquerque, NM 87105 (505) 203-6799 greggjflores@gmail.com www.wheretheriverruns.com

NEW YORK Black Dog Outdoor Sports Target Sports Steve Borst Glenville, New York 12302 (518) 355-8923 www.blackdogsports.com Dette Flies Livingston Manor, NY 12758 (845) 439-1166 flyshop@detteflies.com www.detteflies.com Douglas Outdoors David Barclay Phoenix, NY 13135 (315) 695-2000 info@douglasoutdoors.com www.douglasoutdoors.com Fly on the Water Allen Rupp New York, NY 10023 (872) 205-9211 allen@flyonthewater.com www.flyonthewater.com Joshua D. Hendrickson LCSW, PLLC Wading River, NY 11792 (631) 449-7904 joshua.hendrickson@ficrli.com www.ficrli.com High Peaks Adirondack Outfitters Brian and Karen Delaney Lake Placid, NY 12946 (518) 532-3764 info@highpeakscyclery.com www.highpeakscyclery.com North Flats Guiding Captain David Blinken East Hampton, NY 10028 (917) 975-0912 northflatsguiding@gmail.com www.northflats.com

Old Souls James and Tara Caroll Cold Spring, NY 10516 (845) 809-5886 hello@oldsouls.com www.oldsouls.com Orvis Retail Store–Buffalo Adam Cook Williamsville, NY 14221 (480) 905-1400 cooka@orvis.com www.orvis.com/buffalo Orvis Retail Store–Rochester Jim Wallace Rochester, NY 14618 (585) 586-3956 Retail-rochestermgr697@orvis.com www.orvis.com/rochester Remote Control Media Jordan Harvey New York, NY 10001 (646) 761-6664 info@remotecontrol.media www.remotecontrol.media Tailwater Lodge Brian Benner Altmar, NY 13302 (315) 298-3435 bbenner@tailwaterlodge.com www.tailwaterlodge.com Merrill L. Thomas, Inc. Jonathan Gorgas Bloomingdale, NY, 12913 (518) 637-2873 jonnygorgo@gmail.com www.adirondackestates.com West Kill Brewing Michael Barcone West Kill, NY 12492 info@westkillbrewing.com www.westkillbrewing.com

NORTH CAROLINA Anchor Fly Eric Carter-Spurio Asheville, NC 28806 (828) 490-9077 eric@anchorfly.com www.anchorfly.com Brookings Anglers Matt Canter Cashiers, NC 28717 (828) 743-3768 info@brookingsonline.com www.brookingsonline.com Chosen River Outfitters David Stelling Banner Elk, NC 28604 highcountryguides@gmail.com www.flyfishthehighcountry.com Coastal Cottages Mark Milby Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 obxcottageplans@gmail.com Davidson River Outfitters Kevin Howell Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 (828) 877-4181 (888) 861-0111 davidsonrivr@infoave.net www.davidsonflyfishing.com Ecosystem Services, LLC Kip Mumaw Asheville, NC 28801 (540) 239-1428 kip@ecosystemservices.us www.ecosystemservices.us Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336) 999-8945 info@fiddlinfish.com www.fiddlinfish.com Headwaters Outfitters Jessica Whitmire Rosman, NC 28772 (828) 877-3106 jessica@headwatersoutfitters.com www.headwatersoutfitters.com High Country Guide Service David Stelling Banner Elk, NC 28604 highcountryguides@gmail.com www.flyfishthehighcountry.com

Truckee River

CALIFORNIA/NEVADA

January/February 2024

Noontootla Creek GEORGIA

Brownlee Reservoir IDAHO/OREGON

Incredible fly-fishing destinations

VOLUME 26, NUMBER 1

$7.99 US/CAN • www.americanflyfishing.com

In the Vise

Dan Byford’s Zonker

On the Water Wade Safe

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Breathtaking photography and in-depth information on all aspects of the sport.

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members Hunter Banks Company Frank Smith Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 252-3005 staff@hunterbanks.com www.hunterbanks.com Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions Will Lillard Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 (828) 577-8204 info@lillardflyfishing.com www.lillardflyfishing.com Nantahala River Lodge Mickey and Annette Youmans Topton, NC 28781 (912) 596-4360 (800) 470-4718 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 (828) 773-6256 evenlighteagles@gmail.com www.primaveraleathers.com SWCA Kyle Halchin Charlotte, NC 28205 kylehalchin@gmail.com www.swca.com Whitetail Fly Tieing Supplies Nancy Richardson Chapel Hill, NC 27516 (630) 294-2947 nancy.richardson55@gmail.com www.whitetailflytieing.com

OHIO BEG Group LLC Joseph Greco Atlantic, OH 16111 (724) 681-4414 joe@greco.tc www.thefacilitators.net Outtech Leah Wallenhorst Aurora, OH 44202 (330) 562-9929 lwallenhorst@outtech-online.com www.outtech-online.com Time Timer, LLC David Rogers Cincinnati, OH 45243 (877) 771-8463 dave@timetimer.com www.timetimer.com Wildwood Anglers Bradley Dunkle Sylvania, OH 43560 (419) 540-8585 brad@wildwoodanglers.com www.wildwoodanglers.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

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The Fly Fishing Shop Mark Bachmann Welches, OR 97067 (503) 781-6468 flyfish@flyfishusa.com www.flyfishusa.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 Sawyer Paddles and Oars Zac Kauffman Gold Hill, OR 97525 (541) 535-3606 zac@paddlesandoars.com www.paddlesandoars.com Soul River Runs Deep Chad Brown Portland, OR 97217 (503) 954-7625 chad@soulriverrunsdeep.com www.soulriverrunsdeep.com The Wet Fly Swing Podcast (971) 220-1093 dave@wetflyswing.com wetflyswing.com

PENNSYLVANIA Adventure Explorations 101 Front Street, Suite 1 Boiling Springs, PA 17007 (240) 394-0442 cody@adventureexplorations.com www.adventureexplorations.com 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 Cross Current Guide Service and Outfitters Joe Demalderis Starlight, PA 18461 (914) 475-6779 crosscurrent@optonline.net www.crosscurrentguideservice.com Drop Tine Taxidermy LLC Mason Farnell Albrightsville, PA 18210 (570) 983-4054 droptinepa@outlook.com Fish Gods Tyler Waltenbaugh and Hunter Klobucar Edinboro, PA 16412 (724) 681-4771 fishgodsco@gmail.com www.fishgods.co

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The Fly Fishing Show Ben Furimsky Somerset, PA 15501 (814) 443-3638 ben@flyfishingshow.com www.flyfishingshow.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 Gorski Engineering Jerry Gorski Collegeville, PA 19426 (610 489-9131 jgorski@gorskiengineering.com www.gorskiengineering.com Jim’s Sports Center Terry Malloy Clearfield, PA 16830 (814) 765-3582 terry@jimssports.com www.jimssports.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 McConkey Insurance and Benefits Steven Buterbaugh York, PA 17402 (717) 755-9266 info@ekmmcconkey.com www.ekmcconkey.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

GOLD LEVEL

Sky Blue Outfitters

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

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Spring Creek Trout Camp Mark Lauer Bellefonte, PA 17356 (800) 519-8467 info@springcreektroutcamp.com www.springcreektroutcamp.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 Zach Johnson Medland Designs Zach Johnson Medland Lancaster, PA (570) 460-1169 zachjohnsonmedland@gmail.com www.zachjm.com

RHODE ISLAND EA Engineering, Science, and Technology PBC Sal DeCarli Warwick, RI 02886 (401) 244-5485 sdecarli@eaest.com www.eaest.com

SOUTH CAROLINA Dodson Fishing Company Drew Malone Travelers Rest, SC 29651 (864) 704-4658 info@dodsonfishing.com www.dodsonfishing.com 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 Jocassee Outfitters Fly Shop Kevin Clinton Salem, SC 29676 kevin@Jocasseeoutfitters.com www.jocasseeoutfitters.com Lowcountry Outdoor and Adventure Group Andrew Loffredo Charleston, SC 29407 (704) 846-2634 andrew@lcoutdoorgroup.com www.lcoutdoorgroup.com McConnell Orthodontics, PC Dr. Beechard C. McConnell, III Anderson, SC 29621 (864) 225-0380 office@mcconnellorthodontics.com www.mcconnellorthodontics.com/

TENNESSEE 3 Rivers Angler Allen Gillespie Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 200-5271 allen@3riversangler.com www.3riversangler.com Barrett’s River Lodge Megan Barrett Bluff City, TN 37618 (423) 444-2408 info@barrettsriverlodge.com www.barrettsriverlodge.com Dun Magazine/Fly Squared Media Jen Ripple Dover, TN 37058 (734) 846-3708 jen@dunmagazine.com www.dunmagazine.com The Lodge at Green Cove Green Angler Store Jason McConkey Tellico Plains, TN 37385 (423) 252-4014 greencoveangler@gmail.com www.greencoveangler.com Outfitter Marketing Pros Paul Wingfield Kingsport, TN 37663 (423) 250-9405 paul@outfittermarketingpros.com www.outfittermarketingpros.com Ranger Outdoors, LLC Dave Luzader Charleston, TN 37310 (865) 690-1814 (877) 462-4682 marketing@anglersportgroup.com www.rangeroutdoorsllc.com River Run Angling Taylor Klarman Johnson City, TN 37601 (423) 408-9438 taylor@riverrunangling.com www.riverrunangling.com Smoky Mountain Angler Harold Thompson Gatlinburg, TN 37738 (865) 436-8746 info@smokymountainangler.com www.smokymountainangler.com The Strike Indicator Company LLC Barry Dombro Joelton, TN 37080 (615) 945-0104 info@strikeindicator.com www.strikeindicator.com Toccoa River Outfitters Andrew Bruce Copperhill, TN 37317 (423) 548-0066 toccoariveroutfitters@gmail.com www.graylightoutfitters.com

TEXAS Action Angler Chris Jackson New Braunfels, TX 78132 (830) 708-3474 info@actionangler.net www.actionangler.net Castell Guide Service Dan Cone Round Rock, TX 78130 (325) 423-0045 info@castellguideservice.com www.castellguideservice.com Fly Fisher Pro Ben Kepka Dripping Springs, TX 78620 (512) 333-1896 ben@flyfisherpro.com www.flyfisherpro.com

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 Joshua Creek Ranch Kevin Welborn Boerne, TX 78006 (830) 537-5090 kevin@joshuacreek.com www.joshuacreek.com

GOLD LEVEL

Living Waters Fly Fishing

Round Rock, TX 78664 (512) 828-3474 chris@livingwatersflyfishing.com www.livingwatersflyfishing.com Wild Rivers Coffee Company Marshall and Sammie Seedorff Dripping Springs, TX 78620 Marshall@wildriverscoffeeco.com www.wildriverscoffeeco.com @WildRiversCoffee Soggy Dollar Camp Christy Jagodik Austin, TX, 78738 (830) 294-0203 soggydollarcamp@gmail.com www.soggydollarcamp.com Spoke Hollow Outfitters Josh Crumpton Wimberley, TX 78676 (512) 842-7220 admin@hookandfield.com www.hookandfield.com Texas Injection Molding Jeff Applegate Houston, TX 77034 (281) 489-4292 Jeff@tx-im.com www.texasinjectionmolding.com/ Yeti Coolers Jake Drees Austin, TX 78735 (512) 394-9384 info@yeti.com www.yeti.com

UTAH The Coleman Collection Tyler Coleman Logan, UT 84321 (480) 202-6872 mrtylercoleman@gmail.com www.thecolemancollection.org Fishwest JC Weeks Kamas, UT 84032 (435) 783-6791 (877) 773-5437 jc@fishwest.com www.fishwest.com Headwaters Bamboo David Rogers Washington, UT 84780 (208)789-4391 david@headwatersbamboo.com www.headwatersbamboo.com Hosed by the Hive Charlie Card Dutch John, UT 84023 (435) 720-8821 guidebrigade@gmail.com JANS Guide Service aka JANS Travis Vernon Park City, UT 84060 (435) 649-4949 (800) 745-1020 travis@jans.com www.jans.com MooseHead Outdoor Company Nick D’Urso and Skylar Marsh Park City, UT 84098 (516) 353-1487 mooseheadoutdoorco@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/ mooseheadoutdoors/ Park City Outfitters Brandon Bertagnole Park City, UT 84098 (866) 649-3337 bbertagnole@hotmail.com www.parkcityoutfitters.com

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Support Trout Unlimited’s Business Members R.A. Smith Custom Fly Rods Ross Smith Fountain Green, UT 84632 (435) 445-3497 smary@cut.net www.bamboosmith.com Tactical Fly Fisher, LLC Devin Olsen Springville, UT 84663 (801) 870-7091 info@tacticalflyfisher.com www.tacticalflyfisher.com Twin Territory A.J., Jace and Cameron Garcia South Weber, UT 84405 (801) 663-4162 calynogarcia@gmail.com www.twinterritory.com

VERMONT Early Riser Coffee Roasters Kim Bryant Dorset, VT 05251 (802) 579-4799 hello@earlyriser.co www.earlyriser.co Seiyu Institute for Health and Training, L3C Anthony Parmenter Dummerston, VT 05301 (802) 490-3848 seiyuiht@outlook.com www.seiyuinstitute.com Vermont Fly Rod Company Gavin Wright Essex Junction, VT 05452 bluebamboo80@gmail.com Woodstock Inn and Resort Shay Berry Woodstock, VT 05091 (888) 338-2745 fish@woodstockinn.com www.woodstockinn.com

VIRGINIA Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corporation Mark Short Providence Forge, VA 23140 mshort@atlanticbulk.com www.atlanticbulk.com Beaverdam Falls, LLC Beau Bryan Covington, VA 24426 info@beaverdamfalls.com www.beaverdamfalls.com Crooked Run Fermentation Sterling and Leesburg, VA (571) 375-2652 (571) 918-4446 mckinnen@crookedrunfermentation.com www.crookedrunbrewing.com Dunburn Farms Bed and Breakfast John Lentz Glade Spring, VA 24340 (276) 475-5667 dunburn@naxs.com www.dunburnfarms.com Ecosystem Services, LLC Kip Mumaw Charlottesville, VA 22903 (540) 239-1428 kip@ecosystemservices.us www.ecosystemservices.us Flies by Two Brothers Mason and Palmer Kasprowicz Reston, VA fb2bemail@gmail.com fliesbytwobrothers.com 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

T R O U T

W I N T E R

Matt Miles Fly Fishing Matt Miles Lynchburg, VA 24504 (434) 238-2720 matt@mattmilesflyfishing.com www.mattmilesflyfishing.com

GOLD LEVEL

Mossy Creek Fly Fishing

Colby Trow Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540) 434-2444 store@mossycreekflyfishing.com www.mossycreekflyfishing.com/ Ms. Guided Kiki Galvin Falls Church, VA 22043 (703) 899-6793 angla56@msn.com www.msguidedflyfishing.net 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 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 Bighorn Bamboo Fly Rods and Guide Service Kevin Sugden Selah, WA 98942 (509) 961-9557 kevinsugden1971@gmail.com Canoe Ridge / Ste Chappelle / Sawtooth Wines Seattle, WA 98102 P: (206) 267-5252 F: (206) 267-5251 info@preceptwine.com www.preceptwine.com DRYFT Sam Thompson and Nick Satushek Bellingham, WA 98229 (360) 818- 4047 contact@dryftfishing.com www.dryftfishing.com Emerald Waters Anglers Dave McCoy Seattle, WA 98116 (206) 708-7250 dave@emeraldwatersanglers.com www.emeraldwatersanglers.com Grundens Poulsbo, WA 98370 (800) 323-7327 support@grundens.com www.grundens.com Methow Fishing Adventures Leaf Seaburg Twisp, WA 98856 (509) 429-7298 methowfishingadventures@gmail.com www.flyfishersproshop.com Oly Women on the Fly J Michelle Swope Olympia, WA 98501 (360) 349-0743 olywomenonthefly@gmail.com www.olywomenonthefly.com

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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 Seasons on the Fly TV and Lodge Greg Heister Spokane, WA 99203 gheister@mac.com www.seasonsonthefly.com Silver Bow Fly Fishing Sean Visintainer Spokane Valley, WA 99216 (509) 924-9998 flyfish@silverbowflyshop.com ww.silverbowflyshop.com

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

WISCONSIN Aventuron Carl & Kathryn Martens Sheboygan, WI 53081 contact@aventuron.com www.aventuron.com Driftless Angler Mat Wagner Viroqua, WI 54665 (608) 637-8779 info@driftlessangler.com www.driftlessangler.com Fall Line Outfitters and Fly Shop Craig Cook Stevens Point, WI 54481 (715) 896-8032 c.cook@falllineoutfitters.com www.falllineoutfitters.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 Musky Fool Fly Fishing Company Dan Donovan Madison, WI 53719-1872 (608) 509-7536 shop@muskyfool.com www.muskyfool.com www.pahlowmasonry.com Trout Buddy Driftless Guides Mike Warren La Crosse, WI 54601 (608) 792-2521 Mike@TroutBuddy.com www.TroutBuddy.com

WYOMING Angling Destinations Clark Smyth Sheridan, WY 82801 (307) 672-6894 clark@anglingdestinations.com www.anglingdestinations.com Arrow Land and Water, LLC Chad Espenscheid Big Piney, WY 83113 (307) 231-2389 chadespen@gmail.com

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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 Frog Creek Partners Brian Deurloo Casper, WY 82601 (307) 797-7720 brian@frogcreek.partners www.frogcreek.partners Frontier Brewing Company and Tap Room Shawn Houck Casper, WY 82601 (307) 337-1000 www.frontierbrewingcompany.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 Guild Outdoors Adam Guild Afton, WY 83110 (307) 799-6409 guildadam@yahoo.com www.guildranchwyoming.com JD High Country Outfitters Jackson, WY 83001 (307) 733-7210 scott@jdhcoutfitters.com www.highcountryflies.com Koyoty Sports Warden Patzer Saratoga, WY 82331 Trophyroomtaxi@yahoo.com www.koyotysports.com Live Water Properties Macye Maher Jackson, WY 83002 (866) 734-6100 macye@livewaterproperties.com www.livewaterproperties.com Maven Brendon Weaver Lander, WY 82501 (800) 307-1109 customerservice@mavenbuilt.com www.mavenbuilt.com North Fork Anglers Tim Wade Cody, WY 82414 (307) 527-7274 tw123r4w@yahoo.com www.northforkanglers.com North Platte Lodge Erik Aune Alcova, WY 82601 (307) 237-1182 info@northplattelodge.com www.northplattelodge.com Park County Glass Cody, WY 82414 (307) 587-9303 pcg@bresnan.net www.parkcountyglass.com Sunlight Sports Wes and Melissa Allen Cody, WY 82414 (307) 587-9517 info@sunlightsports.com www.sunlightsports.com Sweetwater Fishing Expeditions, LLC George H. Hunker III Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-3986 phunker@wyoming.com www.sweetwaterfishing.com

Thin Air Angler Bob Reece Cheyenne, WY 82009 (307) 256-2741 coach.bobreece@gmail.com www.thinairangler.com TroutHut Net-Worx Mike Jensen Cheyenne, WY 82009 (307) 421-3188 trouthut@gmail.com Turpin Meadow Ranch Ron Stiffler Moran, WY 83013 (307) 543-2000 gm@turpinmeadowranch.com www.turpinmeadowranch.com Two Rivers Fishing Company Josh Hattan Pinedale, WY 82941 (307) 367-4131 info@tworiversfishing.com www.tworiversfishing.com West Laramie Fly Store Brandon Specht Laramie, WY 82070 (307) 745-5425 flystore@flystore.net www.flystore.net

GOLD LEVEL

Wind River Outdoor Company

Ron Hansen Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-7864 ron@windriveroutdoor company.com www.windriveroutdoorcompany.com

INTERNATIONAL ARGENTINA Nervous Waters Fly Fishing Santiago Seeber Buenos Aires, Argentina 1425 (800) 530-6928 santiago@nervouswaters.com www.nervouswaters.com SET Fly Fishing Kevin Landon Denver, CO 80247 (720) 425-6270 kevin@setflyfishing.com www.setflyfishing.com

AUSTRIA Association Die Bewirtschafter c/o Clemens Gumpinger Tb Gewässeroekologie 4600 Wels Austria / Europe 436648333208 office@diebewirtschafter.at www.diebewirtschafter.at

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

Get Involved:

CANADA 3 Rivers Steelhead Expeditions Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 jeff@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com Frontier Farwest Lodge Derek Botchford Telkwa, BC V0J 2X0 (877) 846-9153 info@bulkleysteelhead.com www.bulkleysteelhead.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

NEW ZEALAND Fly Fisher Pro Ben Kepka Napier, HKB 4110 ben@flyfisherpro.com www.flyfisherpro.com

MONGOLIA Mongolia River Outfitters/ Fish Mongolia Michael Caranci Palo Cedro, CA 96073 (530) 604-2160 michael@mongoliarivers.com www.mongoliarivers.com www.fishmongolia.com Mongolia Taimen Camps Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion Livingston, MT 59047 (888) 347-4286 dan@sweetwatertravel.com www.sweetwatertravel.com

SPAIN Salvelinus Lodges Ivan Tarin C/ Pablo Remacha 17 3o 9 Zaragoza 50008 +34 696 16 48 10 info@salvelinus.com www.salvelinus.com

UK SCOTLAND

Alba Game Fishing Scotland Ltd. Stewart Collingswood Port Seton, EH32 OSX (near Edinburgh) +44 (0) 7734 810706 800 972 0408 (USA Toll Free) stewart@albagamefishing.com www.albagamefishing.com 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

For information on TU’s Business Members program, or to update your listing, please contact Zack Dingus at (571) 919-8083 or Zachary.Dingus@tu.org.

JAMIE APONTE

CHRIS HUNT

JAZ ROBINSON

TROY BASSO

BOB LINDQUIST

JEFF ROWLEY

BEAU BEASLEY

STEVE MALDONADO

ALLEN RUPP

WILLARD FRANKLIN

BRIAN O’KEEFE

TIM URTIAGA

BILL GAMMEL

JULIE MATTSON

SHANNON YOUNG

JERRY HAMON

JASON RANDALL

REX WALKER

*CHECK WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

Annu

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REAL PEOPLE. LIVE INSTRUCTION.

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txflyfishingfestival.com ENTER TO

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T R O U T

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LETTERED LINE

How lettered fly line puzzles changed!

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California tournament caster and Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club member. Gregory’s utilization of an ammunition reloading powder scale cemented the numeric rod and line standardization by line weight.

The new scheme assigned ascending numbers for increased grain weight as standard measurement for each line from 1- to- 12-weight and its corresponding rod. A line’s weight was determined by a grain-scale reading of the first 30 feet, excluding the tip section before the taper starts.

Capital letter identifiers remained with additions of F, S and I for Floating, Sinking and Intermediate.

A Level-D floating line became a 160-grain L-6-F with tolerances between 152-168 grains. Similarly, a HDH double taper floating was DT-6-F and WF-6-F resulted from the HDG weight forward floating.

Three-letter line labels puzzled this mid-1950s fly-fishing beginner. Future line-to-rod-matching was simplified when my newspaper editor father struck a relationship with Leon Chandler, Cortland’s energetic sales director. Dad wrote away to order a new plastic coated 333 Cam-O-Flage fly line after seeing a magazine ad. He added that his elementary school-aged charge was smitten with fly fishing and his casting appeared doomed by the greasy braided excuse for a line on our Medalist. A slippery 333 LevelD-F, cleaner tin, felt pad and a letter from Chandler soon arrived. The line perfectly fit our 3-piece, 9-foot South Bend bamboo.

I abandoned L-6-F lines in the mid-1960s when an Air Force fishing pal demonstrated how easy casting his weightforward taper was on his same Eagle Claw rod as mine.

Over 60 years have passed since fly line and corresponding rod weight standards upgraded. Since 1961 new components, designs and expanded fly-fishing exploration meant meteoric changes in rod actions and line dependability. Despite Classics being about old stuff, 160-grain lines barely bend today’s 6-weights that are capable of what early 7-and-8-weights offered.

he state of fly fishing received an immensely practical gift in 1961. The American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association (AFTMA) installed a number system based on measurable fly line weights. This retired the puzzling capital letter designations mainly based on braided silk line diameters and established in the 1930s.

The largest to smallest diameters from early century silk line makers were identified by capitals “A” to “I.” (A=.o60”, B=.055”, C=.050” etc. through I=.020.”) Tapers used more obvious abbreviations Level, Double Taper, Weight Forward, Single Taper.

For reference, the first Level D fly line was an L-6. The former HDH became DT-6 and HDG translated to WF-6.

Early freshwater fishing distances averaged 30 to 40 feet so rod builders selected line thicknesses that would load their wood, Calcutta, steel, bamboo and fiberglass rods for adequate casting. However, as fly line materials began to change, their diameter ratings no longer guaranteed one maker’s HDH performed on other HDH-rated rods.

Line changes intensified after DuPont discovered its magical Polyamide synthetic fiber. By 1939 Ashaway Line had transformed this substance known as Nylon into fishing line. Continued DuPont innovation yielded Ashaway’s next improvement, Dacron. By 1954 fly lines braided from these synthetic threads were sturdier, lighter and less expensive to produce than silk.

In 1953 Cortland introduced its first fly line with a PVC coating over a braided nylon core. Plastic coated floating fly line development allowed tapers to be easily added during the coating process. Taper innovations and entirely different materials further challenged the relevance of previously standardized fly line diameters to match rods.

AFTMA’s detailed 1960s examination secured input from tournament casting clubs, rod and fly line manufacturers.

Modernization notables were Cortland’s Leon Chandler, Sunset’s Art Agnew and Myron Gregory, prominent

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WE DON’T JUST FISH FOR THE FISHING, WE FISH TO FEEL IT IN OUR SOUL. T H AT ’ S W H Y, F O R O U R E I G H T H R E V O L U T I O N I N G R A P H I T E , WE BROUGHT THE FOCUS BACK TO RHYTHM AND AWARENESS— S O Y O U C A N T R U LY F E E L T H E E N E R G Y H A P P E N I N G I N E V E R Y S I N G L E M O M E N T O N T H E W AT E R .

With R8 technology, we enhance that two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow and control.

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Clean water for trout, and for her.

JOSHUA DUPLECHIAN

Help Trout Unlimited continue to care for and recover rivers and streams by making TU a beneficiary of your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance. For questions, sample language, or to explore which gift is right for you, contact Sue Thomas, Director of Gift Planning.

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