The law of attractors

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Brennan Sang

With the Yellowstone winds quickly whipping our high-country snow out to Eastern Montana, I’ve been spending the blustery days at the vise. Every year I try to tie up a season’s worth of bugs over the course of a winter.

Each year’s crop of flies is a bit different than the last. There are a few bugs, though, that I can’t live without. These are the dry-fly attractors that fill my box at the start of a season.

  • X-Caddis

    Through caddis hatches, mayfly hatches and when nothing was on the water, I fished this fly exclusively for two months one summer. This bug caught fish from the Henry’s Fork to the Yellowstone and tons of tiny creeks in between.

    Three materials (not including hook and thread) makes this bug a cinch to tie.

  • Royal Wulff Cripple

    I’ve been fishing Royal Wulffs as long as I’ve been fishing flies — but the proposition of sitting down to tie a season’s worth often drove me to drop the bobbin and pick up the remote control.

    Enter Rowan Nyman’s Royal Wulff Cripple. It’s got all the wonderful attributes of Wulff’s original with none of the hard-to-work-with calf hair. Add in a zelon shuck and you’ve got a solid improvement on a true classic.

  • Rusty Parachute

    When the water’s low and the trout have seen millions of this season’s hot fly, I go back to basics. My buddy and Madison River guide, Mike Loebl, impressed the versatility of this bug on me during my first summer in Montana.

    It rides low, the color seems to imitate just about anything, and it’s a quick, easy tie. I whip mine up with a moose hair tail, brown hackle and something white for the parachute post.

  • Parachute Madam X

    My good friend Tylor Robinson pushed the PMX on me over the past few seasons, and once we start seeing terrestrials in Yellowstone Country, it can’t be beat. I fish it in sizes from #14 to #8 to cover everything from big ants to hoppers — on glassy streams like the Firehole and big brawlers like the Madison.

    This is one of the few flies that I use and lose regularly that I don’t tie myself.

  • Fat Albert

    This foam, rubber and antron monstrosity seems to provoke suicidal responses from cutthroat wherever I find them. I’ve watched six cutties race each other from the bottom of a pool to take a whack at one of these guys. The next cast I’ll watch five, then four, and so on.

    Like the PMX, I don’t have the patience to tie this bug. But with its synthetic materials and a healthy dose of epoxy, my store-bought Fat Alberts often last a half-dozen trips before I break them off — looking as good as new — on an overzealous hookset.

Tell us about your favorite attractors in the comments.

Photos c/o Blue Ribbon Flies, Montana Fly Company and Flycurrents.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Best Wild Places project wrapping up

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Chris Hunt

The Trout Unlimited “Best Wild Places” partnership with Field & Stream magazine is wrapping up for the year, with the next-to-last installment of the 2011 version of the project now live at the Field & Stream website.

This project, thanks to the gracious donation of staff time and bandwidth from Field & Stream, has been a rousing success, and has taken readers all over America to learn about some of the lesser-known, but higher-value landscapes that need the support of sportsmen and women if these places are to remain unblemished and continue to offer some of the best fishing and hunting in the country.

Take a minute when you get the chance, and visit the project’s home page. Put yourselves in the shoes of writers Hal Herring and Kirk Deeter as they wander the wilds of some of the Best Wild Places in America and experience some of the best wild trout fishing our country has to offer. This project, thanks to Field and Stream, has offered a unique perspective to the American sportsman–one that shows the value of intact habitat to the future of our fishing and hunting pastimes.

We at TU gratefully thank Field & Stream for their help with this project, and we look forward to the final installment of the series, which will focus on the Maine woods, and the native brook trout still found there. Enjoy.

Posted in Conservation, Protection, Sportsmen's Conservation Project | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hey, Presidential campaigns! We love our lands and so should you

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Dietmar Grimm

File:BristolBay5.jpg

As the Presidential campaigns start to gather steam toward the general election, it has become clear that we as sportsmen conservationists, Democrats and Republicans alike, need to ensure the candidates promote the value of our public lands and reinforce the critical role any president should play in ensuring our access to these places where we love to fish, hunt and recreate.

Why should we do this? Simply put, sportsmen have heard precious little about public lands during the campaign season to date. President Obama’s State of the Union Speech briefly mentioned developing renewable energy sources. The Republican debates really have had nothing except questioning the value of these amazing fishing and hunting resources.

Why the lack of focus on our public lands by the candidates? I think the they don’t understand the value of sportsmen and women. We keep hearing talk about jobs and the need to grow the economy. Yes, these are critical issues and a balanced approach to developing some public lands is important to our energy future. We know – we work some of these lands during the day and then escape to other parts of these lands on nights and weekends.

Unfortunately, it seems there is a fundamental misunderstanding among the candidates of what public lands do for us beyond their extraction values. In contrast, we as sportsmen and women know that public lands are much more. Every time we go into a fly or tackle shop before we go out on the water, we see the value we’re creating as sportsmen conservationists. Every time we head out to our jobs in our local communities, whether it is in the gas field, a local restaurant, or at a local community college, we see the value we’re creating as sportsmen conservationists.

And how does this relate to public lands? Most of us live in or travel to these lands that belong to all Americans because of the amazing opportunities they offer. They give us our taste of the wild. They help us escape from our days behind a desk, a computer, or operating a rig. We love our parks, refuges, forests—even BLM sagebrush—because it is on these lands where we create the most passionate memories of our lives: near waterfalls as we struggle to reel in an amazing fish or laughing with each other over beers around a campfire at the end of a great day in the field or on the river. We’ve been doing this for generations and want that legacy for our children.

Photo Credit: Ken Gables, Davidson River, NC, TU Member

 But don’t just take my word—there is also hard evidence to prove we add value.

So I challenge President Obama, Mitt Romney, and other presidential candidates, to take up our cause: Protect our public lands and thereby protect jobs and local communities. Protect places like Bristol Bay where the salmon fishery generates millions of dollars for commercial and sport fishing. Protect places like Yellowstone National Park whose iconic lake is under attack by an invasive fish and we’ll create jobs and some great fishing along the way.

Whoever may become president, we want them to protect the places we love to fish and hunt, protect America’s lands, and protect our heritage.

Posted in Conservation, Protection, Sportsmen's Conservation Project | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tongass Guardians: Documenting Alaska’s Coastal Rain Forest

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Paula Dobbyn

Documentary photographer Julie Denesha has created a new series of stunning images of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. The project — Tongass Guardians – was made possible through a U.S. Forest Service residency program for artists and writers called Voices of the Wilderness.

Denesha spent a week last summer with Forest Service rangers working in the remote 17-million-acre Tongass, the country’s largest national forest, a place with more than 17,000 miles of salmon and trout-producing rivers and streams. Here the photographer describes her unique opportunity:

“I was very fortunate to have a chance to travel with two rangers working in Endicott Arm Fjord in the Tongass National Forest. In order to access and monitor the land managed by the forest service, the rangers patrol the waters in sea kayaks and small motorized boats.

Forest Rangers work on water and land to monitor the vast Alaskan wilderness of the Tongass National Forest. The largest national forest in the United States, the Tongass, covers most of Southeast Alaska. A part of that wilderness, Endicott Arm Fjord, terminates at Dawes Glacier and rangers make frequent visits to monitor flora and fauna, and track the retreat of the massive tidewater glaciers. It is a landscape that is changing rapidly. Since the naturalist John Muir visited Endicott Arm in 1880, Dawes Glacier has retreated dramatically in a sign of the planet’s changing climate. With increasing number of tourists eager to take a closer look at the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, the rangers also track the impact of tourism on the area and educate tour groups they encounter on the trail.”

 Trout Unlimited’s Alaska Program works to conserve and restore the Tongass’ high-value salmon and trout watersheds. Learn more about TU’s Tongass 77 campaign here.

Posted in Alaska, Climate Change, Conservation, Protection, Restoration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Western Voters: Public Lands are Essential to Our Economy

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Chris Hunt

According to the 2012 Colorado College State of the Rockies “Conservation in the West” poll, the majority of Western voters, regardless of their political persuasion, “view parks and public lands as essential to their state’s economy.”

What’s more, the poll says, these voters are in favor of keeping rules in place that protect clean air, clean water and backcountry lands.

This is refreshing news, given a number of efforts afoot to diminish the reach of rules and regulations requiring development interests to protect the quality of our air and our water. And, in the West, where the effects of what sportsmen are calling the Assault on our Sporting Heritage Act would be most obvious, it’s heartening to see that voters support the protection of our intact wild country that supports our best game and wild fish populations.

Trout Unlimited, particularly through its Sportsmen’s Conservation project , has long advocated the protection of intact habitat, and the need for responsible industrial development on public lands that takes into account irreplacable fish and game habitat. To know that Western voters support these ideals, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum, is indeed encouraging.

Here’s hoping this poll finds its way to elected officials in Congress who need to hear from everyday citizens that our public lands and our opens spaces matter to them. They need to hear that these lands aren’t just great for hunting, fishing and a host of other outdoor pursuits, but that they’re invaluable to the Western regional economy that is embracing these public lands for what they offer locals and visitors alike.

As we’re fond of saying here at TU: Intact habitat translates directly into opportunity, which encourages economic activity in the outdoors/recreation economy.

If you’re interested in helping spread the word, please contact your representatives and senators in Congress and share with them the results of this poll. They need to hear it, and they’ll only hear it if we take the time let them know we care about our public lands and our regional economy that benefits so greatly from the West’s wide open spaces.

 

 

Posted in Conservation, Protection, Sportsmen's Conservation Project | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why we are TU: Passion

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Dietmar Grimm

Passion. This is what unites us all as TU members. We are passionate anglers, passionate about conserving the outdoors, and passionate when sharing our experiences with others. River RallyThere are many ways we express that passion:

  • At the most basic level, we simply get out on the water, literally immerse ourselves in the cold liquid truth of nature, and viscerally exude the passion through fluid casting and dynamic reeling – adrenaline pumping through our veins as we catch a piece of the wild
  • Many of us also then become TU members because we want to unite with others who share the love both of fishing and of the places we need to protect for ourselves and future generations
  • At times we can be too busy, so know that we can still express our passion by giving back financially. Whether it is the thousands who have become lifetime members or those who have helped us meet and exceed the TU Board Challenge this year – no matter if it was $5 or $1,000 it all made a huge difference

But what inspired me to finally sit down and write my thoughts was seeing committed TU members and others coming together to: Express our passion and shout it from the roof tops for others to hear. Although the goal for our Colorado TU leaders was very targeted to getting the EPA to finally understand that Colorado’s mountain streams are loved by many outdoor enthusiasts (basically 90% of people who live in Colorado) and should be protected, I believe it had much greater meaning. I believe that it is events like this that ultimately bind us together for common purpose. They allow us to celebrate. They allow us to get mad. They allow us to see that our passion for angling has greater meaning. They allow us to be bold. They allow us to have fun. They allow us to lead. They allow us to be proud and announce who we are. They show us that we are an army that can mobilize to make a difference. And they help us reach out to others to join us in something powerful. What an amazing membership-volunteer-family-leader-army we have. Great work CTU.

What is that? It is TU. It is passion.

Posted in Community, Conservation, Protection | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A wasted effort or a resource worth protecting?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by skinsella@tu.org

We recently received the following letter on TU’s ongoing efforts to protect and restore the fragile Apache trout. What do you think? Worthwhile or a waste of time?

“Not another story about Apache trout (Winter 2012)!  What is your obsession with this obscure, apparently inept species? Who cares what happens to them? What miniscule percentage of TU anglers have fished for (or even flown over) these fish? News flash: Since right after the beginning of time, species have come and gone. It’s the survival of the fittest out there. To cry that the sky is falling whenever an ill-adapted species disappears is lousy logic. Yes, much needs to be done to improve the environment, but your focus on obscure causes is a distraction from much larger issues affecting wild fisheries and the folks who enjoy it.” John R.

Posted in All Things Fishing, Community, Conservation, Protection, Restoration, Trout Magazine | 3 Comments

A wake-up call on Colorado River

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Randy Scholfield

You shoulda been there. More than 100 Trout Unlimited members and coalition allies had a fun, noisy time yesterday raising their voices in front of the EPA building in downtown Denver (that’s Colorado TU president Sinjin Eberle on bullhorn), calling on federal regulators to protect the Upper Colorado River. The state’s namesake river and a major tributary, the Fraser River, have been hammered by years of water diversions to the Front Range of Colorado. And two more major diversion projects are coming down the pipe.  TU is ramping up a public campaign this spring to show public support for healthy flows for the rivers. This is the opening salvo. More about the rally here.

Posted in Conservation, Protection | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why We Fish

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Chris Hunt

One of the many benefits of working for Trout Unlimited is getting the opportunity to occasionally visit the organization’s Arlington, Va.-based headquarters. Situated in the Rosslyn business district just across Key Bridge from Washington, D.C.’s famous Georgetown neighborhood, the “mothership” is within easy striking distance of some of D.C.’s most famous landmarks.

A quick Metro ride gets you to Arlington National Cemetery. The Marine Corps Memorial–the famous pose etched in bronze of the Marines erecting the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II–is literally within walking distance. This memorial has great significance to me–my grandfather, the man who taught me which end of fly rod was which, was a Marine who slogged through some of the bloodiest battles in our nation’s history, fighting at Guadalcanal, New Britain and Peleliu.

The footbridge across a Potomac River channel to Roosevelt Island.

But my favorite D.C. memorial is an easy walk from TU’s home offices, and it’s one I try to visit now and then, if for no other reason than to escape, albeit briefly, the city’s frenetic pace. The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, situated on Roosevelt Island just below Key Bridge, gives me a bit of a respite from the busy city existence my colleagues here in Arlington are so accustomed to. The island, carved from the bedrock by the mighty Potomac River, is a diverse little ecosystem in an otherwise urban setting.

And, the imposing statue of our 26th president, coupled with some of his more poignant words of wisdom–many having to do with conservation–always gives me pause. Roosevelt was an avid sportsman who was one of the earliest subscribers to the idea that intact habitat is what truly benefits hunters and anglers the most, for without wild places, wild things simply don’t exist.

The view of Georgetown from the island.

Take this quote, for instance:

“There are no words that can well the hidden spirit of the wildnerness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”

To me, this nugget of absolute foresight from a man who did his best work 100 years ago offers insight into the true soul of a fisherman. We don’t take a fly rod and wander off the beaten path for any other reason than escape into the wild, even for a bit. When we fish–even if its amid the hustle and bustle of a city like Washington–it’s not to enjoy the city vistas. It’s to connect with something wild, like a migrating shad or a big Atlantic striper… wild things that move through D.C. every year largely unbeknownst to the folks caught in traffic and chattering away on their cell phones.

Consider why you fish. If you need a little inspiration, walk the banks of the Potomac on Roosevelt Island and practice a little introspection. Then, walk out of the woods and stand before the statue of T.R. himself and try this man’s century-old vision on for size. At the very least, you’ll have an appreciation for the work TU does all over this country.

And there’s a chance you might learn something about yourself in the process.

Posted in Conservation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Rally for the Rivers” in Denver

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Randy Scholfield

Hey, river lovers, if you’re in the Denver area this week, put this on your schedule: Trout Unlimited is helping stage a lunchtime Rally for the Rivers in Denver Thursday, Jan. 26 outside the EPA building downtown. The goal is to let our state and federal decision-makers know that the Upper Colorado and Fraser Rivers–beloved by generations of anglers–are on the verge of ecological collapse due to water diversions. Unless our leaders do the right thing for the rivers and ensure healthy flows, these magnificent waters face a long, sad decline.  Speakers include Field and Stream magazine editor-at-large Kirk Deeter and CTU president Sinjin Eberle.

Want to learn more? Check out the www.DefendtheColorado.org website–and be sure to sign the petition.  Raise your voice for one of our greatest Western rivers, before it’s too late. . .

Posted in Conservation, Protection | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments