Trout Unlimited • • Winter 2013

Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out For navigation instructions please click here Search Issue | Next Page

TROUT UNLIMITED • WWW.TU.ORG______• WINTER 2013

Give a child Give a the the joy child of ﬁ shing: joy of a Trout ﬁ shing: Unlimited youth membership.

Sign up the kids you love for a Stream Explorers membership. Pre-teens receive four colorful issues of TU's Stream Explorers magazine, an oﬃ cial TU membership card, a Stream Explorers sticker and much more!

Visit www.tu.org/youth or call 1-800-834-2419 today! PHOTOGRAPHY SPORTS NELSON/MOUNTAIN JAMES

qM qMqM Previous Page | Contents |Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page qMqM Qmags THE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND® OntheDoorstep. BY SUSIEW. LEESON 42 Adeeperlookat fly fishing,sansreel. 40 BY SAMANTHA CARMICHAEL 34 The“Greenbacks” group mobilizes generation next. 28 BY NELLIWILLIAMS 24 AchampionforBristol Bay andits youth. 20 Native. 18 16

l l l l l l l l

10 6 BY PAUL BRUUN The Rod That Changed theWorld 64 BY DAVE WHITLOCK Coho Salmon 58 GeneBahr,Artist TU’s Stream Championandmore. Annual Meeting, National Conservation Awards, 49 BY CHRISSANTELLA With golflegendNickPrice 15 Salmon reintroduced intheSanJoaquin. may improve. Hatch Happenings:Winter Tricos? Greenback study shedsnew light.Delaware flows 5 8 7 Voices fromtheRiver Poetry: “Tangled Lines” Tenkara—What’s OldisNew Let ‘EmRun 20 years after “themovie.” Jason Borger Outfitter Profile: NanciMorrisLyon Blue Lines How To. Watersheds River, by BrianJohnson. “Tying One On”alongthebankofMetolius On theCover: l l l l

u otiuos Our Contributors From theEditor Our Readers Write From theCEO l l l l l

WINTER 2013 www.tu.org Conservation Fisheries Coldwaterof The Journal BY MORGAN LYLE

Chairman of the Board National Leadership Council Jon Christiansen, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Representatives State Council Chairs

Chairman of Chair ARIZONA, Bob Youtz National Leadership Council Larry Harris ARKANSAS, Bill Thorne Larry Harris, MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA Secretary CALIFORNIA, Drew Irby Tom Anacker President/Chief Executive Officer COLORADO, Sinjin Eberle ARIZONA, Jim Walker CONNECTICUT, Jim Glowienka Chris Wood, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA ARKANSAS, Kerri Russel GEORGIA, Mack Martin Secretary CALIFORNIA, Brian Hines IDAHO, Chris Jones Mark Gates, PALO ALTO , CALIFORNIA COLORADO, Tom Jones ILLINOIS, Ed Michael CONNECTICUT, Jeff Yates INDIAN NATIONS (OKLAHOMA,) Greg Mann Treasurer GEORGIA, Larry Vigil IOWA, Brett Lorenzen Harris Hyman IV, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IDAHO, Carmen Northen KENTUCKY, Lee Squires Secretary of the ILLINOIS, Greg Prosen MAINE, Bill Oleszczuk National Leadership Council INDIAN NATIONS (OKLAHOMA,) Scott Hood MASSACHUSETTS/RHODE ISLAND, Paul Knauth Tom Anacker, BOZEMAN, MONTANA IOWA, Brett Lorenzen MICHIGAN, Robb Smith KENTUCKY, Dale White MID-ATLANTIC, George Gaines Legal Advisor MAINE, David Van Burgel MINNESOTA, JP Little David D. Armstrong, Esq., GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA MASSACHUSETTS/RHODE ISLAND, Arthur Howe MONTANA, Dan Short MICHIGAN, Pat Kochanny NEW HAMPSHIRE, Burr Tupper Trustees MID-ATLANTIC, Bruce Eberle NEW JERSEY, Rich Thomas Kai Anderson, WASHINGTON, DC MINNESOTA, Steve Carlton NEW MEXICO, Arnold Atkins Jim Asselstine, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK MONTANA, Doug Nation NEW YORK, Ron Urban John Braico, QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK NEW HAMPSHIRE, Mary Weiss NORTH CAROLINA, Bill Mabrey NEW JERSEY, David King OHIO, Tom Allen Charlie Breithaupt, CLAYTON, GEORGIA

Trout Unlimited Board of Trustees Trout Unlimited Board of NEW MEXICO, Frank Weissbarth OREGON, Tom Wolf Stoney Burke, KETCHUM, IDAHO NEW YORK, Roger Olson OZARK (MISSOURI,) John Wenzlick Matt Clifford, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA NORTH CAROLINA, John Kies PENNSYLVANIA, Brian Wagner OHIO SOUTH CAROLINA, Jim Hopkins Valerie Colas-Ohrstrom, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK , James Geary OREGON, Karl Mueller TENNESSEE, Rick Murphree Charles Conn, KETCHUM, IDAHO OZARK (MISSOURI,) Jeff Witten TEXAS, Mark Dillow Thomas Danco, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA PENNSYLVANIA, Monty Murty UTAH, Robert Dibblee Mike Dombeck, STEVENS POINT, WISCONSIN SOUTH CAROLINA, Meta Armstrong VERMONT, Chris Moore TENNESSEE, Dick Davis VIRGINIA, Graham Simmerman Paul Doscher, CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE TEXAS, Rafael Torres WASHINGTON, Bill Abrahamse Bill Egan, JACKSON, WYOMING UTAH, Paul Holden WEST VIRGINIA, Philip Smith Wallace C. Henderson, NEW YORK, NY VERMONT, Chris Moore WISCONSIN, Kim McCarthy Richard Johnson, WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA, Jack Ward WYOMING, Jim Broderick WASHINGTON, Mark Taylor Howard Kern, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA WEST VIRGINIA, Chris Shockey Sharon Lance, CENTENNIAL, COLORADO WISCONSIN, Bill Heart Nancy Mackinnon, MANCHESTER CENTER, VERMONT WYOMING, John Deakins Mick McCorcle, FAIRVIEW, TEXAS Walt Minnick, GARDEN CITY, IDAHO Dan Needham, CHICAGO, IL Coldwater Conservation Fund Board of Directors 2012 Ken Olivier, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Officers Advisory Kevin Reilly, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO Stephen Moss, Chairman John McCosker Thomas D. Stoddard, MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY Hamilton James, Vice Chairman Whitney Tilt James Kelley, Secretary Steve Strandberg, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Ex-Officio Barrett Toan, SANTA FE, NM Directors Jim Asselstine Dan Vermillion, LIVINGSTON, MT John Bell, Jr. Jon Christiansen Philip Belling Larry Harris John Willis, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Timothy Collins Steve Strandberg Michael Gerber Chris Wood Steven Gewirz David Groff Director Emeritus Charles Johnson Gay Barclay Stephan Kiratsous John Howard Edmond Opler, Jr. Margaret Keller Perk Perkins Thomas Offutt, III Leigh Seippel Steven Renkert Jeffrey Smith Thomas Stoddard Robert Strawbridge Robert Teufel Mark Ullman Paul Vahldiek Henry Wendt Alexander Wiegers Daniel Zabrowski

TROUT WINTER 2013 4

From the President WINTER 2013 • VOLUME 55 • NUMBER 1 Chris Wood [ ] EDITOR Kirk Deeter DEPUTY EDITOR Samantha Carmichael TU Needs More Women Members Trout Unlimited 1300 North 17th Street Suite 500 When I worked for the Forest Service, we were always pushing Arlington, VA 22209-3801 one diversity initiative or another. Ph: (703) 522-0200 I never thought them particularly useful, not because expand- Fax: (703) 284-9400 [email protected]______ing opportunities for women and minorities is not important. It www.tu.org is so important—so vital—that it belongs as a standard operating DESIGN procedure and should not be sidelined to “initiative” status. grayHouse design If openness to, and acceptance of, women and minorities is [email protected] not a part of an organization’s core values, the organization DISPLAY ADVERTISING Tim Romano will not be around for long. [email protected] So it is with Trout Unlimited. (303) 495-3967 According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report from a few years ago, TROUT UNLIMITED’S MISSION: women comprise 22 percent of all trout anglers. A more recent report by the To conserve, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation puts the number of women fly protect and restore North anglers at about 25 percent. At TU, women comprise about six percent of our America’s membership. coldwater fisheries and their Six percent? And don’t buy the malarkey that “Statistics lie. Women just don’t watersheds. fish.” A few weeks ago, TU staffer Erin Mooney sent one single email to the TU

email list offering a free trial membership to women who had never joined TU Trout (ISSN 0041-3364) is before. One email. published four times a year in The result? Nearly 800 new women members joined the ranks of TU within January, April, July and October by Trout Unlimited as a service just a couple weeks. This built on the grassroots efforts Mary Weiss of New to its members. Annual individual Hampshire has been effectively advocating for TU. More members—be they membership for U.S. residents women or men—translates to more influence with decision makers on behalf is $35, $40US for residents of Canada and $55US for residents of trout and salmon and the watersheds upon which they depend. of all other countries. TU offers 10 But it runs deeper than that. Transworld Business magazine, which specializes different membership categories. in action sports merchandising and retailing, notes that women now account Join or renew online at www.tu.org. TU does occasionally make its for 80 percent of the purchasing power in the U.S. The days of TU chapter mailing list available to like-minded meetings filled with a bunch of us middle-aged white guys tying flies and telling organizations. Please contact us lies are over. at the address above if you would As Dr. Miles Bennell said in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, “They’re like your name withheld. Postmaster send address here already! You’re next! You’re next, You’re next...!” For the good of TU, lets changes to: hope so. Trout Magazine TU is here to help trout anglers connect with their passion for fishing, be a Trout Unlimited 1300 North 17th Street part of a community who shares that passion, and help protect our coldwater Suite 500 fisheries for today and future generations. Clearly we’re under serving a huge and Arlington, VA 22209-3801 important section of our community. I hope you’ll join me in fixing the problem. Look at this issue of TROUT. Half of the featured authors are women. That wasn’t planned. It simply reflects reality. Women love to fish for trout, and they love fly fishing. Let’s get them to join Trout Unlimited!

_____

5 TROUT WINTER 2013

From the Editor [ Kirk Deeter] It’s a Cultural Thing I’ve always believed that trout fishing is ultimately more about people and places than it is about the fish themselves. That’s certainly not meant to contravene TU’s mission of protecting coldwater species throughout the country. But I have to say, though I’ve done my fair share of fishing this past year, I don’t remember many trout specifically. I remember fishing on the Little Manistee in Michigan, where I caught some nice brown trout. Yet what sticks out in my mind is reminiscing on the high banks with Jim Barton. And a few weeks ago, Sharon Lance and I stole a weekday to catch rainbows on the South Platte River in Colorado. I caught a few, but what I remember most is watching Sharon’s graceful cast. My son and I spent a number of quality afternoons casting at trout last summer, but the thing is, as I look back, I remember more about eating popsicles and floating on inner tubes than I do about hatches and rises. One of my great satisfactions of the past year was going to the TU Annual Meeting in Asheville. Sadly, I was too busy to get out and fish, but I got to meet many of the people (heroes) I’d heard and read about, folks who are making things happen for trout fishing from coast to coast. It felt like a family reunion. All of which is simply meant to say that, if you’re noticing more human interest pieces in TROUT, that isn’t a coincidence. What we do as an organization transcends casting and catching. It’s about a way of life…

______

TROUT WINTER 2013 6

Erin Block lives in the mountains of Colorado and is a librarian by day, writer by night, and avid fly angler on her days off. She is the author of The View From Coal Creek: Reflections on Fly Rods, Canyons and Bamboo (Whitefish Press 2012), is a contract fly designer with Umpqua Feather Merchants, news curator for MidCurrent, as well as a Our Contributors regular contributor to TROUT. Her Samantha Carmichael has writing can also be found on her blog, been the deputy editor of Trout since http://mysteriesinternal.blogspot.com.______the fall of 2010. She lives in Gainesville, Va. with her husband Paul and black labs Patti and Stella. She is a native of Warren, Pa. in the Allegheny Mountains where she grew up thankful that both herSusie father Warnerand Leeson is an mother had a passion for theavid outdoorsangler, writer and writing teacher and the patience to pass it onat toColorado her. Mountain College’s Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs. Her work has appeared in the CMC Literary Journals: Spilled Ink and Rocky Mountain

Reflections. This is her first contribution ______to TROUT. She also is currently working on her first novel.

______

Nelli Williams is special projects manager for Trout Unlimited’s Save AdvertiseBristol Bay Program. Ain Wisconsin native fulfilling her childhood dream of living in Alaska, she spends her free time coaxing food from the ground and fish from the rivers with her young son, Mason, in tow.

Samantha Carmichael has been the deputy editor of TROUT since ______the fall of 2010. She lives in Gainesville, Va., with her husband, Paul, and black labs Patti and Stella. She is a native of Warren, Pa., in the Allegheny Mountains, where she grew up thankful that both her father and mother had a passion Troutfor the Unlimited outdoors and the patience to TUEB passmembers it on to her. receive a 30 percent discount on display ads in Trout

CONTACT: [email protected] • (406) 248-3666

7 TROUT WINTER 2013

Our Readers Write

“Those Who Forget the issue, we highlighted the latest 2012 study to which Dr. Behnke is referring on page 10, so Past are Condemned to our readers will have a baseline understand- Repeat It…” ing in advance of a deeper, balanced feature, planned for our next issue. In 2003, 2007, and 2012, news releases of greenback cutthroat trout genetic data have resulted in I think the whole idea of do-it-yourself a complete halt and chaos for the stream improvement would be of great ______greenback restoration program. Each interest to TU members. (You) could time, I have expressed my disagree- interview competent authorities, write ment with these conclusions… TU, profiles of successful projects by TU I have always thought that too much TROUT and Colorado Trout Unlimited chapters, and generate a lot of reader emphasis was placed on the West and should be aware of my critique before input on a special exchange ideas page Alaska. In fact, we consider Michigan publishing the 2012 release. The of the TU website. to be a “Flyover” when it comes to TU only way, short of a court order, to Harry Campbell National. If I can speak for my fel- end the chaos caused by “genetics” is Black Earth, Wisconsin low Michigan TU members, we were to cease funding. If CTU or any TU pleased, honored and excited to host chapter continues this waste of funds, I would like to thank you for the the 50th anniversary meeting here in detailed justification is needed. There excellent job your organization has Traverse City—about an hour away are better ways to use funds for wild, done. Restoration and reintroduction from the birthplace on the AuSable near Grayling. Maybe all TU mem- native trout conservation. It’s time of native species is one of the most bers are just a little biased and pas- to get greenback restoration moving important objectives for ecological sustainability. In my country (Czech sionate about their respective home ahead after a 10-year hiatus. waters. You may just have to expand Republic) we have huge problems with Robert J. Behnke, Ph.D. TROUT and provide 50 pages—one for Professor emeritus, Colorado State restoration of native species, especially each state to speak their peace! University brown trout and grayling… I have found your magazine very interesting, —Lou Burhart TROUT editor responds: Dr. Behnke is a especially the important article called “Ted and Trout” (Summer 2011). I read TROUT to find out what is valued authority and contributor to TROUT, going on across the country, and to Marian Rucki so we will, of course, factor his viewpoints into be stimulated by fascinating articles our reporting on the status of greenbacks. Budejovicka Because this is a time-sensitive news Prague SKETCHANDRELEASE.COM ______

Your Letters: Readers are invited to submit letters on anything that appears in Trout. We may edit submissions for clarity or length. Send letters to: Our Readers Write TROUT UNLIMITED • 1300 N. 17th St., Suite 500 • Arlington, VA 22209-3801

[email protected]

TROUT WINTER 2013 8

TROUT editors continue to fuel the “interactive” discussions on the TU blog, found at www.tu.org. We recently asked the (loaded) question of whether our readers thought TROUT had an editorial bias toward the West and here are some of the comments we heard:

and experiences, where ever they are. I vote for one magazine with articles that represent the entire country. If you publish the best articles you can find, I will read them enthusiastically, no matter where they are focused. —Tom Shope

I often feel that TU has become too western-focused, but it is based on nothing. TU is alive and well here in Michigan… With all the recent attention on greenback cutthroat trout (“one distinct population left”) I wonder why we don’t hear the same hand- wringing over eastern strains of brook trout or Coasters in Lake Superior. Personally I think TROUT is a good read and should reflect the national doesn’t directly affect us we’ve lost we had TU spreading the word and scale of TU’s efforts. If our eyes glaze sight of why TU exists. getting more involved with us I think over every time there’s an article that —Jason Tucker it would make things so much more successful in terms of conservation I am so glad you brought this subject but more importantly educating the up. We have so much trout water on public and local authorities that have the East Coast that seems to be under- ability to make the changes we need. rated and pushed aside when it comes We have so much potential, but if to putting attention in conservation we ever want to bring the coldwater in the country where it really needs fisheries to the level they could be, the help. we need to TU to start focusing more I live in the Southeast, specifically of their efforts in the East. north Georgia. We have over 4,000 —Kent Klewein miles of designated trout water, but conservation is at the bottom of the TROUT editor responds: I hear you. But list when you look at the big picture. I’m still going to run the killer Alaska It’s really sad that Georgia, as well as features I have planned for 2013 (along many other states on the East Coast, with some great East, Midwest, South, are far behind on conservation, pro- Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest tection and rehabilitation when you stories). We’ll follow the best pieces, compare it to the western states. If wherever they take us.

9 TROUT WINTER 2013

Pocket Water news bits and bytes

of the fragility and newly-realized significance of this fish population. The study also suggested that each major drainage in Colorado may once have held a distinct strain of cutthroats, with the greenbacks being in the South Platte drainage, the yellowfin (pictured in the last issue of TROUT) in the Arkansas, the Rio Grande cutthroat in streams surrounding the San Luis Valley, Colorado River Cutthroats on the western slope, and a now-extinct lin- Study Sheds Dramatic Light on Status of Greenback eage specific to the San Juan basin in Cutthroat Trout southwestern Colorado. In sum, this work may have done The cutthroat trout that we thought backs (actually declared extinct in the more to untangle the nebulous genet- were greenback cutthroat trout probably 1930s, thought “rediscovered” in 1953, ic identities of cutthroats (consider- aren’t really greenbacks at all. But the and have been reintroduced in various ing that over 50 million cutthroats good news is that the real greenbacks locations on Colorado’s Front Range) from the Gunnison and White Rivers still exist in the wild, just not in their are, in fact, either Colorado River strain were planted throughout Colorado native South Platte River drainage (yet). cutthroats or a distinct lineage they now between 1889 and 1925 alone) than That’s the upshot of an interesting refer to as “Subspecies GB.” any research published to date. genetic research study published by The study’s only population of Maybe. The esteemed Dr. Robert Dr. Jessica Metcalf and Dr. Andrew “true” greenbacks (estimated at sev- Behnke, professor emeritus at Martin of the University of Colorado eral hundred fish) was identi- Colorado State University, and in Molecular Ecology. The study offers a fied in a tributary of the a 30-year contributor to new perspective on the complex natu- Arkansas River—Bear The study’s only TROUT magazine (who ral history of native trout throughout Creek—where they population of “true” is widely consid- Colorado, and will no doubt have are thought to have greenbacks (estimated at ered the foremost lasting ramifications as wildlife biolo- been transplanted several hundred fish) was authority on cut- gists endeavor to reintroduce and in the 1880s. identified in a tributary of the throat trout in the protect native species in specific river “We’ve known Arkansas River—Bear Creek— world) essentially systems. for some time where they are thought to says “not so fast” Dr. Metcalf and her colleagues were that the trout in to those who might have been transplanted able to extract DNA samples from Bear Creek (shown accept this study as fish that had been collected well over here) were unique,” in the 1880s. a game changer in the a century ago, preserved in ethanol, said Doug Krieger, context of understanding and stored in the archives of various senior aquatic biologist for the greenbacks. institutions—from Harvard University Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the With so many layers—and implica- to the Smithsonian. Using sophisti- Greenback Cutthroat Recovery Team tions related to TU’s native fish efforts cated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) leader. “But we didn’t realize they resulting from this study—TROUT technology, the researchers amplified were the only surviving greenback magazine is producing a detailed fea- this DNA, and then compared it to population.” ture on this topic involving various samples obtained from modern trout Interestingly, Bear Creek also is angles. Look for it in the Spring 2013 populations. the focus of concern regarding heavy issue of this magazine. Their results suggest that the fish that use of off-road vehicles in that area, —Kirk Deeter were until recently considered green- and that concern is growing in light

TROUT WINTER 2013 10

Delaware Flows May Benefit from Coordinated Efforts When New York City built water-supply dams on the million gallons per day of high quality water back into the branches of the Delaware River in the 1950s and 1960s, system that was not there in the past 20 years or so. Once it created one of the finest tailwater trout fisheries in the that happens, it’s time to hit the reset button and get rid of country—and a perpetual tug-of-war with fishing and this 800 MGD requirement from the Delaware.” wildlife advocates about how much water to release from The New York City Department of Environmental the dams so the rivers below could flow. Protection wouldn’t comment on the plan, except to say Even though the releases in the early decades were “limited amounts of Croton water have been used for NYC erratic, a superb self-sustaining population of rainbow drinking needs for the last few years.” and brown took hold in the cold water released from the “We expect to begin pulling water again from the Croton bases of the dams. Over the years, more stable flow regimes system in the early fall of 2013, at which point we will be in have been established. But they still leave the rivers at the a better position to re-examine how best to manage the water mercy of late spring or early fall heat waves. And now that a supply from the Catskill, Delaware and Croton systems,” a hydro-power reservoir in Pennsylvania discharges into the spokesman for the agency said. Delaware, less water is needed from the cold, deep reser- The river advocates seem to have a powerful argument for voirs on the branches to meet legally required flows down- more generous releases. They also have something they didn’t river – and that leaves the Delaware below the confluence have in years past: a united front. A decade ago, relations of its branches too warm for trout for much of the season. between TU chapters, fishing organizations and environmen- Trout Unlimited leaders in New York, New Jersey and tal groups were often strained. Today, they’re working together. Pennsylvania have a plan to make more water available to “All the science and proof means very little if someone the branches of the Delaware. New York City can get by isn’t out there getting the results of this hard work in front with taking less from the Delaware watershed, they say, of the folks that are capable of making change,” said Dan because another river system—the Croton River watershed, Plummer, chairman of Friends of the Upper Delaware River. about 100 miles to the east—will be coming back online this “This is where our coalition-building and relationships with year after barely being used at all in recent times. The city the decision-makers have been key.” is scheduled to complete a multi-billion-dollar filtration In fact, Plummer said, Delaware advocates are conscious plant for Croton water this summer. of being part of a bigger cause. “We know now we are not just “Once that happens, you don’t need to draw so much connected from our headwaters to the bay, but to all the great from the system and we can start releasing normal flows waters across the country,” he said. “We will now be operating to the Delaware River,” said Garth Pettinger of the Long under a NATO-type strategy—if any great water is in trouble, Island chapter, who drafted the TU leaders’ Equitable we will do what we can to lend a hand, and hope others will Apportionment Plan. “When the Croton system comes do the same in our time of need.” online, New York City’s going to be receiving up to 290 —Morgan Lyle

11 TROUT WINTER 2013

Pocket Water

here have opportunities to cast to rising fish with a variety of dry flies, even in February! In the winter months, Pueblo often enjoys tem- peratures 10 degrees warmer than Colorado Springs or Denver. As a consequence, this tailwater sees not only typical winter hatches of midges and little black stoneflies, but also substantial emergenc- es of mayflies like blue- winged olives (Beatidae) and, oddly enough, even the occasional trico hatch (which, on most rivers anglers are accustomed to seeing only during the dog days of summer). Whether you’re a dry fly purist looking for some winter action, or simply tired of watching a strike

JAMES NELSON/MOUNTAIN SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY SPORTS NELSON/MOUNTAIN JAMES indicator from November through March, the Arkansas below Pueblo is one of the few places that While the upper waters of the offers the angler a chance to “match Winter Tricos? Arkansas River may be best known the hatch” all year. By Robert Younghanz for its famous hatch of Brachycentridae, commonly known as “Mother’s Day “Hatch Happenings” will be a regular Caddis,” did you know that this same TROUT item from entomologist Robert river—downstream, below Pueblo “The Bug Guy” Younhanz. To learn more Reservoir—is a prolific dry fly fishery, about his acclaimed DVD: The Bug Guy: even in the winter? Entomology for the Fly Fisher, visit What makes this “high desert” tail- www.the-bug-guy.com, or meet him in per- water unique when compared to, son at the International Sportsman’s Expos say, New Mexico’s San Juan below In Sacramento (January 10-13), Denver Navajo Dam or Wyoming’s North (January 17-20), or Salt Lake City (March Platte below Gray Reef Reservoir, 14-17). Note: TROUT editor Kirk Deeter is that this fishery is less exclusively will be host of the Fly Fishing Theater at the ISE midge-focused (although midges cer- event in Denver, so he invites any TU member tainly play into the mix). Instead of (or prospect) to stop by and visit. LUCAS CARROLL being pigeonholed into only fishing tiny subsurface nymphs and emerg- ers, eggs or streamer patterns, anglers

TROUT WINTER 2013 12

For Your Library

Salmon Reintroduced in the San Joaquin TU representatives recently helped introduce a number of adult fall-run Chinook salmon into California’s upper San Joaquin River below Friant Dam. This release marked a historic milestone, not only for the San Joaquin Restoration Program, but also for conservation in California, as this group of salmon will be the first to spawn in the Upper San Joaquin River in half a century. Said Rene Henery, TU’s Califonia science director: “Many challenges still loom on the horizon for the San Joaquin River Restoration. Upstream migration for this experimental release group to their spawning grounds occurred, in part, on an interstate, and the potential for their progeny to successfully out-migrate in the spring remains an open question. Salmon reintroduction is much more a process than The Orvis Guide to Family Friendly Fly Fishing an event. Re-establishing self-sustaining populations Tom Rosenbauer (Lyons, $17.95, orvis.com) in the heart of California’s most altered landscape will require years of additional research, active res- As Chris Camuto points out in this issue’s “Watersheds” column (page toration, and continued dedication. 16), one can fill a library with books that teach people how to be “Even so, as I watched our releasese group swimswim off,off, better trout anglers. (Some of the oldest works are still the most rel- heard the ping of their acoustic tagsgs inin the receiver,receiver, evant, and many now blur the lines between “how to” and literature.) and thought about this core connectionction between the Yet it seems to me that precious little has been written on teach- river and the ocean being re-established,ished, I could see ing anglers to teach other anglers. As many of you who have taught our line through the obstacles, and thethe opportunityopportunity a child, grandchild, friend or others surely realize, teaching the art of on the other end was palpable.” angling can be an art unto itself. Done well, it goes well beyond mere “guiding” into a deeper realm of mentoring. Tom Rosenbauer has produced a remarkably clear and concise book on this topic called The Orvis Guide to Family Friendly Fly Fishing. Like all of Rosenbauer’s books, the lessons are well organized and straightforward. I particularly like a few things about this work: First, Rosenbauer explains that a first-time angler should start with a push- button rod. No need to make things too complicated, too quickly. Second, he focuses the subject matter on many species of fish. There might be more bluegills in this fly-fishing book than any other “general instruction” book I have seen, though much of it certainly (rightly) revolves around trout. Third, Rosenbauer hits the obvious topics—what gear, what flies, where to find fish, and how to make them eat—but he also hits the topics mom is wondering about—like how to plan a family vacation, and how to stay safe. Most importantly, Rosenbauer dedicates an entire chapter to conservation. In the context of creating a generation of anglers, it’s important to understand that being a “complete” angler involves having a conscience when it comes to resources, as well as an ability to catch fish. We get that. Yet there are many other nuances in this book that makes it worthwhile for even the most seasoned mentors. Add this one to your library, but be sure to take it off the shelf and put it to use regularly.

—Reviewed by Kirk Deeter BECK & CATHY BARRY

TROUT WINTER 2013

Pocket Water

Chickley Restoration Begins Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection commis- sioner Ken Kimmell recently approved a settlement agreement between MassDEP and the heavy construction firm E.T.&L. Corp. that allowed the start of restoration work on the Chickley River. TU played critical role in bringing this about. According to Andrea Donlon of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, restoration work will include raising the level of the river bottom, scattering Film Tour Hits the Road boulders in the river to create habitat structure, placing root wads and boul- The only thing that comes close to actually being out on the water (especially der clusters to create more structure, on cold winter evenings) is hanging out with like-minded anglers and watch- angling the river bottom to help guide ing fishing adventures and characters captured in film and projected on the sinuosity in the river over time, and big screen. The Fly Fishing Film Tour has surged in popularity as it has trav- re-doing some of the areas in which elled from coast to coast, often times serving as a fundraising platform for the river was re-routed. She also noted local TU chapters. This year’s tour kicks off this winter, and it promises to be that almost all landowners along the the best showcase of fishing film yet. Be sure to visit flyfilmtour.com to check Chickley signed access agreements with out movie trailers and a listing of the show dates in your area. E.T.&L. to allow this work to take place.

Invasion by non-native trout is one of the greatest threats to native trout and one of the most common management strategies in response is to construct an artificial barrier to isolate the native trout from the invading species. This approach may work in the short-term, but it has some big downsides, including the likelihood that the isolated The Science of native population is so small that it will not survive drought, Barrier Location wildfire or some genetic problem down the road. So, a critical question for managers is: Where can we locate the barrier in the drainage that would maximize the long-term survival of the population? A group of scientists in Montana attempted to answer this question for a population of westslope cutthroat trout that was being threatened by non-native rainbows. They evaluated whether potential barrier sites met four criteria: provided adequate deep pool habitat, provided a target population of 2,500 total fish, did not divide a genetically distinct group, and maintained genetic diversity. This is a good approach to a common problem. —Jack Williams, TU’s Senior Scientist The Open Fish Science Journal 2012. Vol. 5. Pages 9-20. NEWS FROM THE WORLD THE WORLD NEWS FROM OF FISHERIES SCIENCE. REEL SCIENCE

TROUT WINTERT ER 20120133 14

Question & Answer With Nick Price, World Golf Hall of Famer

BY CHRIS SANTELLA l Nick Price has tallied 18 PGA TOUR victories and 24 international wins since turning pro in 1977. In 1994, he enjoyed one of golf’s greatest seasons, winning six tourneys, including the British Open and the PGA Championship; he was named PGA TOUR player of the year in both 1993 and 1994. Though golf has been good to Nick, he readily admits that his real passion is fly fishing. We sat down for a few minutes with Price to discuss the appeals of fly fishing… and the similarities between his profession and his passion.

How did you happen to take up fishing? I know that many pro golfers like to fly fish, including Jack Nicklaus, Mark O’Meara, Nick Faldo, Davis Love My dad was a huge fisherman and so were my broth- III and Justin Leonard. What’s the shared appeal of the ers. Nearly all of our holidays were spent as fishing two sports? trips. When we lived in Durban, we’d head to the Drakensberg Mountains and camp on a stream there. At heart, golfers are outdoorsmen. They appreci- Brown and rainbow trout had been introduced to ate anything that takes them out into the fresh some of the rivers. When I was a toddler, my father air—including bird shooting or fly fishing. There’s would take my two older brothers fly fishing down- also the role the field of play has in the experience. stream, and I’d be left at the camp with my mom. I You can put two golf courses next to each other, and vividly remember complaining that I wanted to go each course can be completely different… and they fishing. My dad had a couple trout rods, and he ended can demand that you play them differently to have up tying 9 feet of leader material to the top eye of one success. The same can be said of two rivers, or the of the rods, and attached a fly to the end. I found a difference between fishing a river for trout or a flat log that went over the stream by our camp, and I sat for bonefish or permit. Each requires different tech- for hours on that log working the fly while he and the niques to catch fish. older boys went off on their own. Eventually, I caught Another thing that pro golfers appreciate about fly a trout. I was three and a half. fishing is the solitude. You can be playing in a major “When I was six or seven, my dad taught me championship on Sunday, surrounded by throngs of to throw a fly rod. By this time, we’d moved to people on the course, signing autographs before and Rhodesia. The eastern highlands of Rhodesia, like after. A day or two later, you can be alone on a river the Drakensbergs, had streams where trout had been or a bonefish flat. The seclusion fly fishing provides introduced. The streams were very small. When you is a nice balance. learn to fish on such small streams, you’re very close I think the most telling similarity between golf to the fish. Many times you can see them. This was and fly fishing is that with both sports, you’re how I got the taste of fly fishing. Once you get com- constantly learning, constantly trying to improve petent enough with your casting and fly presentation, your methodology. Just because you played golf well it’s all about the hunt. That’s why sight casting to fish one day doesn’t mean you’ll play well the next. I’ve is the most exciting form of fly fishing for me. been playing golf professionally for 35 years, and I’m constantly saying to myself, ‘Why didn’t I fig- ure out what I’m working on now back in my 20s?’ Do you have a favorite type of fishing? The same is true of fishing. If you ever think you’ve In recent years, I’ve really gravitated to flats fishing. I figured everything out about fishing, you’re in have a flats boat, and I often fish with my wife, Sue. deep trouble. The fish behave differently wherever She can throw a fly rod, but often she’ll spin fish, you are, and you need to try to stay a step ahead of and I’ll pole. Sometimes, I’ll anchor up on a flat on them. That’s what fascinates me about fly fishing. an incoming tide and wade near a slough, hoping to You never stop learning. That’s what gets me out intercept the fish as they’re coming in. I’d rather look each day.” for bigger fish than focus on numbers, and you’re more likely to find the big guys on the edge, closer to the deep water, rather than in the middle of the flat.

15 TROUT WINTER 2013

Watersheds [ by Christopher Camuto]

How To

IF YOUR ANGLING LIBRARY GROWS and could invite him over for a beer The Art of Tying the Wet Fly (1941) to find to any size, you’ll find yourself and a confab. instructional books whose unvar- shelving trout fishing books into the What, for example, do I do with nished practicality now earns them obvious categories of guide books, Vincent Marinaro’s 1976 In the Ring of a place on the literary shelf, so well how-to books and the more literary the Rise? Once a revolutionary how-to do they illustrate commitment to the tomes. No need to take a seminar book, whose very title focuses us on task of tying workmanlike flies. A. J. in the mysterious Dewey Decimal the iconic center of fly fishing, its McClane’s 1953 The Practical Fly Fisherman, system. You just want the where-to pages read more like literature now. whose purpose is baldly stated, is an books handy near the road atlases “A trout lives in a secret world…” the important part of angling literature for when you might sit and do some book begins and then flows into a now, useful as much in the character trip planning. You want your soulful narrative of expertise that is as much of its angling advice as in the details of why-to authors—Haig-Brown, Russell poetic as practical. The same can be its instruction. Datus Proper’s elegantly Chatham, Tom McGuane—nested on said of Marinaro’s A Modern Dry-Fly written What the Trout Said (1982) is so a shelf not far from your Hemingway Code (1950) which along with Ernest companionable and easy going in its and Faulkner. And your how-to books Schwiebert’s Matching the Hatch (1955), problem-solving that it always cast a on fly tying, casting and the practice put a practical foundation under a literary glow. of angling will find a natural resting half-century of fly fishing for trout The value of most how-to books place, maybe in the same room as the but which now, perhaps because we dies out, and often quickly, simply Perhaps enduring angling books are written by people we can imagine we would like to fish with—going back to the gregarious and generous-spirited Charles Cotton—and that is the secret to their appeal wherever we choose to shelve them. fly-tying desk or wherever you tinker have absorbed their lessons so well, because they are not well-written with gear. All done. seem part of angling literature. It is enough. And I mean that as an angler’s But the angler’s “rage for order,” perhaps the highest achievement of complaint, not a writer’s. They do not, like the poet’s, is not that simple. Any a “how-to” book to continue to be like the books I’ve mentioned, fuse the shuffling of a decent trout fishing readable as a chapter in trout fishing trout fisherman’s experience of angling library in such a utilitarian fashion history even after its practical lessons with their distillation of instruction. will lead us to transcendental problems and perhaps quaint illustrations have They are often marred by the weird, and existential dilemmas. What else been superseded by the continuous out of context paramilitary jargon is angling for? Depending on how outpouring of excellent technical of “tactics,” or with the equally odd many years you have been obsessing angling books, online chat room sense that the authors think of trout about trout and salmon, and how discussions and blog posts that keep fishing as an affair of us versus them orthodox your devotions, you’ll have an us up to date. (the angler as predator), or as a battle of interesting pile of hard-to-categorize I can back cast a little farther to wills (the angler as conquering hero). books that may well have you wishing Reuben Cross’ modest Tying American The how-to books that eventually edge you knew Dewey Decimal personally Trout Lures (1936) and James Leisenring’s over to the literary shelf embody in

TROUT WINTER 2013 16

since it was published in 1857. G. E. M. Skues’ remarkable Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream (1910) seems as fresh with energy and insight as when it first drove dry fly purists into apoplexy. On the American side of things, George LaBranche’s The Dry Fly and Fast Water (1914) might still be read for pleasure and angling profit. Trout fishing changes and trout fishing stays the same. Good angling books account for the paradox; indeed, they take advantage of it. The ring of the rise has always been there—for Dame Juliana, W. C. Stewart, Francis Francis, George LaBranche—blooming upstream of us all. How we get to it, and in what guise, that has changed just as sure as culture changes through time. And time will winnow which how-to books outlive their historical moment to become part of the literature of fly fishing and which become unreadable and irrelevant. Perhaps enduring angling books are written by people we can imagine we would theirhi style l and d substance b the h essence effortff and d kknowledge l d that h went iinto a like to fish with—going back to the of what trout fishing is—an elegant trout fisherman’s tackle needs in the gregarious and generous-spirited shift of human attention toward the 15th century. We probably don’t need Charles Cotton—and that is the secret world of water and insects and fish, a to sit down to tie Francis Francis or to their appeal wherever we choose to pleasure in all its practical demands Lord Kelson’s ornate patterns, but shelve them. from selecting a fly that will entice in being aware of the 19th century British the ring of the rise to casting the tight aesthetic in trout and salmon flies is Chris shuffles angling tomes around loop that will get it there. part of our education as anglers, and the shelves at Wit’s End, his home on We value our oldest how-to books each of us probably has a gaudy attractor Wolftree Farm in central Pennsylvania. not only for their expertise but for the or two, if not a fully dressed hair wing, The author of four books and the earnestness with which they approach somewhere in our vest. We should book review columnist for Gray’s the angling problems of their day. be wary of relegating older how-to Sporting Journal, he teaches at Bucknell Presumably we do not need Dame books to the shelf of ancient literary University. Juliana’s advice on fashioning horse- curiosities. W. C. Stewart’s The Practical hair lines, but we like knowing the Angler hasn’t lost any of its horse sense

17 TROUT WINTER 2013

BLUE LINES BRIAN GROSSENBACHER TROUT WINTER 2013 18

There’s a chain of mountains I know that again. I see the fish and its timeless colors and patterns, are rumpled upon one another like the tangled bedding of but I also see the place, the water and the land and the enthusiastic lovers. They run north-south for more than now. For being in a place where a fish is un-changed, 100 miles and they pierce the sky baldly. Boldly. pure and there because it belongs, is truly being there From these mountains seep the birth waters of three as a part of the whole, a portion of the panorama. The different river systems. One can hike up the steep face species come back to me now and forever. on the east side, up out of the Colorado River drainage, Apache? White Mountains, 1987 with my friend and pop over into the Columbia River drainage. Or, George and the gold light from late afternoon slants from another direction, one can sweat his way out of through spruce and aspen. The desert’s heat is far away the Columbia and stagger into the Bear River system, and long forgotten and I un-pin the I’ve-caught-so-many- which washes out into a salt-poisoned no-man’s-land I’ve-lost-count Apache from a bedraggled fly. They are in the heart of the Utah desert. The mountains were small. Wild. And they belong. made with the outdoorsman in mind, or perhaps the Westslope? Greg and I are up near the Idaho line and outdoorsman would make such a place if he or she could we take turns casting at each pool and at each pool, we create rock and river, tree and wildflower. They harbor take turns catching. We’ve lost count. Maybe we never big game and upland birds and the dried lodgepole pine even started counting. It doesn’t matter. We are there grown on her flanks feed campfires beside sparkling and here and present. That’s what matters. And there clear trout streams. It is in these mountains that I find is laughter. myself when I want to fish for native trout. Colorado River? East side of the Wyoming Range, I am fascinated by the fish that belong not because solo trip, riding and packing horses in the high country. we put them there, but because they Nine days from top to bottom and clung when the seas receded. The I’m tired and worked hard, the soft fish that were stocked by the Creator, I love wild fish, fat from my flanks long gone and the not the creative. They cling to high horses and my bird dog Sage my only mountain melt water, far above our but they can be friends. The small stream pulls my non-native sport fish. I like to catch any place. attention after dinner and I lean into native trout in native waters…and it and catch one, then two, take a few herein is the essence of it—native Native fish are photos, turn them loose. I have a blue fish are as much about place, about only in one place grouse I shot over a Sage point from belonging, as they are about purity and one time. today in the saddle bag for tomorrow. and birthright. Enough meat to get on down the trail. Years ago, my friend Chris and I GREGSON BRYAN Greenback? 1971 and I’m nine found our way into the mountains I mention. We cast and I’m on a creek on the front side of Rocky Mountain thread-thin fly rods and caught dozens of Snake River National Park, with a steel telescoping fly rod, an automatic cutts. We laughed and took photos and smoked cigars and reel and cumbersome too-big rubber hip boots that clunk had tailgate beers. Mostly, though, that place was about around my sweaty feet. No matter, though, because I am native fish and country tilted on end. I cannot think about catching fish, brook trout mostly, but then one special, catching Snake River cutts without putting myself on big fish rises up out of the beaver pond depth and takes the banks of that little river in Wyoming’s rugged heart. the fly. It is red and yellow and green and it fights hard Same goes for a feeder creek on the southwest side of and I’ve caught my first native fish in native land. those mountains. There, a few days later, we stumbled Brook trout? I’ve never fished for them in their native through beaver suck holes and Pungi sticks and caught waters, but I’d like to some day. A fish that belongs where Bear River cutthroat as long as a grown man’s shin bone. it was created. We drank gin and tonics by a crackling campfire that I love wild fish, but they can be any place. Native fish night and laughed about how I almost fell on my ass in are only in one place and one time. the stream that day. This is how it goes for me and native trout. It is Author Tom Reed works for TU from his home outside hallowed ground, the tall-up-there country and a close Pony, Mont. He has written four books. For more friend or two. Name a native trout species and I am there information, www.tomreedbooks.com

19 TROUT WINTER 2013

OUTFITTER PROFILE

BY NELLI WILLIAMS

RUSS SCHNITZER RUSS TROUT WINTER 2013 20

21 TROUT WINTER 2013

he plane lands and guide, laughs, when describing her boss And it’s that inspiration that is so over the intercom and mentor. important to Nanci. It justifies the late we hear, “Welcome That’s likely contributed to her suc- nights, cold wet days, early mornings to King Salmon, cess. More than 25 years ago, Nanci and, frankly, what keeps her going while Alaska. If you are made her way to Bristol Bay as a young wearing her numerous hats and crazy here to commercial guide and was the first woman to make a schedule. Her involvement in the Guide Tfish—good luck. If go of it in the male dominated industry. Academy is one way for her to give back you are here to sport fish—have fun. And “I don’t think it ever occurred to her to the rivers she loves. if you are not here to fish…well, what in that she was a pioneer. As a young and We make final preparations just as the heck are you doing here?” new angler, I admired her tenacity and the students arrive for a whirlwind week. It’s no joke. In summer, King needed a female that I could relate to From sun up to sun down, we practice Salmon, and the rest of Bristol Bay for and draw experience from. I found casting and knot tying; learn about that matter, lives and breathes fishing. inspiration to continue my pursuit in bear, airplane and cold-water safety; My visit is no exception. I am meeting a male-dominated industry while still chase rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and up with Nanci Morris Lyon to go over remaining true to myself and character,” grayling; discuss customer service and the final details of the Bristol Bay River Kate explains. the challenges of guiding; and learn Academy before students arrive the next day. I find Nanci tucked in her office at Alaska Sportsman’s Bear Trail Lodge. She is finishing a couple emails to her clients, barking orders to her newly- arrived staff, and making a phone call to check in on a barge order—yes, all at the same time. Waiting for a break in the action I contemplate this no-nonsense, clever, confident woman, and wonder where she finds time—between being a mom, refereeing high-school basketball, coach- ing the school swim team, serving on numerous local boards and running a five-star fishing lodge—to teach the annual Academy. But each year when I call to ask if she’s interested, she responds cheerily: “I was hoping you’d ask!” The action-packed week of riverside fun teaches local young adults, primarily Alaska Natives, how to fly fish, skills needed for guiding jobs, and about local river conservation issues. For TU, it’s an opportunity to invest in the long-term health of the Bristol Bay watershed by working with young leaders who will be making conservation decisions for their communities in the near future. Nanci hangs up the phone and turns to me with a warm smile. A calm, quiet confidence leaks from her pores brought on by long days on and off the river. “Nanci is smart, sassy, witty and tough…she doesn’t take crap from

anyone,” Kate Taylor, a Bear Trail Lodge SCHNITZER RUSS BY PHOTOS

TROUT WINTER 2013 22

“I can think of nothing more worth my time than the future of Bristol Bay… I feel like the knowledge I have gained in my years on the river is worthless unless it is shared and passed along.”

about the importance of riparian areas, ates on her payroll. “These kids may lure that those fish are around for future clean water and the complex conserva- still be green but they possess local and generations to use, enjoy and love. tion issues facing the region. By the end, traditional knowledge that is impos- As I gaze out the window on my we are exhausted, beat, spent... sible to teach to the most educated and flight back home, the pilot comes over Yet, there is a humming vibe of experienced guide.” the intercom pointing out landmarks excitement beneath the drone of exhaus- In the end, it’s more than teaching far below. It’s a wild and rugged, yet tion—like the satisfied lump in your gut kids how to fly fish. In a place where hard-working landscape and I quietly when enjoying a cold beer and good food life revolves around the tides and the thank the committed souls like Nanci after a nice long day on the river. “Why annual flood of salmon, it’s about help- who work tirelessly to make sure Bristol do you do it year after year, Nanci?” I ask. ing young people connect to and care Bay’s rivers and communities remain “I can think of nothing more worth for their home resources in a different healthy, hard-working…and fishy. my time than the future of Bristol Bay… light. It’s about presenting new doors of I feel like the knowledge I have gained opportunity that are in line with local Learn more about the Bristol in my years on the river is worthless values and lifestyle in a place where Bay River Academy at ____www. unless it is shared and passed along,” complicated conservation decisions lie BristolBayRiverAcademy.org Nanci explains with a determined look. at the doorstep. It’s about fish and it’s And she’s not just saying that. Nanci about people and it’s about making sure Learn more about TU’s work in Bristol backs it up by putting Academy gradu- that whether you fish with a net, fly, or Bay at www.SaveBristolBay.org

23 TROUT WINTER 2013

TROUT WINTER 2013 24

Jason Borger A Life in Art and Fly Fishing, 20 Years After A River Runs Through It By Chris Santella

Among insiders in the fly fishing industry, it’s referred Given Jason’s pedigree, he’s the son of acclaimed to as “The Movie”—namely, A River Runs Through It. When angling writer/educator Dr. Gary Borger, it’s little the film—directed by Robert Redford, starring a young wonder that fly fishing has figured prominently in Brad Pitt and based upon the elegiac 1976 novella by his life. “My father was a teacher as I was growing up,” Norman Maclean—premiered in 1992, it received an Jason said. “During the fall, winter and spring he was enthusiastic, if not overwhelm- a science professor (at University ing response from the general of Wisconsin in Wausau); in the public. summer, he was a trout profes- Among the faithful, it left a sor. The year that I was five, our rise form like a 10-pound brown family began spending most of gorging on Hexagenia. the month of July at Vermejo Depending on who you speak Park Ranch in New Mexico. It to, it either launched an unprec- was an amazing place for a kid—a edented boom in the heretofore 600,000-acre playground, with somnolent fly-fishing world… justj guests and ranch employees or brought over-accessorized/ present. The property, which under-educated Visigoths to the reached over 12,000 feet in river to ruin the pastime for all elevation, and was dotted with the true believers. lakes and streams, was mine One thing is for sure: A to explore. While my father River Runs Through It made some instructed people how to learn Americans who’d never eyed a this art/sport, I honed my own fly rod long to unleash perfect fly-fishing skills. Talk about a loops across unknown Montana training ground for a young fly streams. fisherman!” For that, you can thank—at least iin smallll part—JasonJ FastF fforwardd 166 years. Jason, now a seasoned angler Borger: artist, writer, rod designer and casting double. with several articles and fly-fishing videos under his I met up with Jason recently at a brewpub in belt, was finishing up his degree in film/television Portland, Ore., to learn how he came to participate production and theory at University of Wisconsin, in the famed “shadow-casting” scene, and how his when his dad got a call. role in America’s seminal fly-fishing movie has gone “I’d heard that the movie adaptation of A River Runs Through on to inform his life. It was going into pre-production,” Jason recalled, “and

25 TROUT WINTER 2013

the fly-fishing coordinator contacted my the lead actors—Brad Pitt (Paul Maclean) It was a fitting coincidence that the father about being involved. Within a few and Craig Sheffer (Norman Maclean) iconic shadow-casting scene shot on the weeks, we received parts of the script, —in terms of height and build, so I Gallatin River was just a stone’s throw and were asked to show up on the set in ended up as one of the casting/fishing away from Squaw Creek, where Jason Montana. [Though the novella’s fishing doubles for both of them. It wasn’t caught his first-ever trout on a fly rod. segments unfold largely on the Blackfoot lost on me that I was at a point in my “All told, being part of ‘River’ was near Missoula, the movie’s fishing scenes life much like the Norman Maclean about as perfect a combination as I were filmed on the Gallatin, Boulder character. The story certainly struck could’ve hoped for,” Jason said. “I came and Yellowstone Rivers.] It turned out some underlying themes in my own out of film study and a few months later that I was a reasonable combination of fly-fishing life.” was working on an A-list feature with For me, art goes beyond painting. It applies the layout of a book, the design of a t-shirt or a rod. It even touches my fishing. When I make the right presentation and a nose comes up, it’s art.

an Academy Award-winning director, and on a story heavy with fly fishing, based on a book I had read as a kid. I was able to see how everything I learned came together, from concepts in story- boarding to how the camera was being moved. Working on ‘River’ showed me what high level filmmaking was all about, and it instilled confidence and helped to cement a sense of personal capability. ‘The Movie’ proved to be a mind-expanding experience in a number of ways.” Jason ended up moving to Los Angeles once filming concluded, and did film, TV and commercial work for the next five years. Did his casting double work help him land projects? Not as much as his deep connection to fly fishing. “There are a surprising number of people in Hollywood who love to fly fish,” Jason explained, “and if they didn’t know about my role in the movie or fishing world, they often knew of my father’s videotapes.” Since leaving Los Angeles, Jason has immersed himself in a number of creative endeavors—writing, painting, graphic design and rod design—all with fly fishing front and center. “I’m finishing up a book on single-handed casting, and have been working with Kerry Burkheimer (founder of C. F. Burkheimer) to design a personal line of rods. I do a lot of painting, as well. My goal is to represent fly fishing

and say ‘I got into fly fishing because of A River Runs Through It. Twenty years later the movie still has relevance for many.” As of this writing, Jason and his wife Kelley are expecting their first child. Anticipating this momentous occasion has given him much cause for reflection, and thoughts have drifted back to “River.” “In the movie, the river courses through the family’s lives, bringing them together,” he said. “It’s been much the same in my family—except unlike Mrs. Maclean, my mother fishes too! Right now, there’s an excitement between my wife (who also fly fishes) and I about showing our daughter all the places we love to fish, enjoying them together and caring as a journey,j withith itsit sensationsti andd righti ht presentationt ti andd a nose comes for them. One of the great legacies spiritual aspects. When I’m painting up, it’s art. Like my father, I also do a of ‘River’ may be that it has raised a fish, my mind wanders to other lot of teaching. [Jason is co-founder awareness for our fishing resources fish that have meant something in of the Fly Casting Institute, which and created a deeper connection. my journey. For me, art goes beyond is dedicated advancing the science, If people fall in love with the sport painting. It applies the layout of a book, medicine and art of fly casting.] It and understand the importance of the design of a t-shirt or a rod. It even seems that at nearly any big fly-fishing the resource in that relationship, it touches my fishing. When I make the event, there are people who come up helps us all.”

27 TROUT WINTER 2013

Colorado’s “Greenbacks” Group Involves the Young Professional

Crowd in the TU Mission BY SAMANTHA CARMICHAEL VAL ATKINSON VAL

The Greenbacks are a confederation of different skills and ideas that share a common age connection, a passion for all fishing and special appreciation of trout.

TROUT WINTER 2013 30

ome call anglers in their 20s and 30s the “disappearing subset” or the “gap group” adrift in the “lost membership years.” But a Colorado TU offshoot organization called “the Greenbacks” is demonstrating that being spitS out of college into fast-paced lives of full-time jobs, new husbands and wives, and growing families doesn’t pre-empt involvement with TU and trout fishing. Quite the contrary—by banding with others in the same age group they’ve created a niche, as well as opportunities to make profound contributions of their own designs. “I felt like something was missing—a way to reach out to the young people,” said Nick Hoover, who helped establish the group, and now serves as its president. “I knew I couldn’t be the only one thinking that.” So Hoover and several other like-minded younger Colorado TU peers started meeting for regular “happy hours” to talk fishing, the places they love to fish, and what could be done to help or restore them. They soon knew they had a good thing going and they approached the Colorado Council and its president, Sinjin Eberle, with the hope of taking their new informal organization, the Greenbacks, to the next level and putting ideas into action. Their focus was set on native trout restoration. “What the Greenbacks have done is found out how to get back the gap group,” said Eberle. “It doesn’t force them into the chapter model. They might not all go to chapter meetings because they have families that need their time, or maybe they don’t feel they fit in with that demographic. But having the flexibility to work around the set 7 p.m. meeting on a given Tuesday night allows them to stay connected and involved. And that’s what’s most important.” The Greenbacks group is not a unique TU chapter; members come from chapters around the Denver metro area. Rather, the Greenbacks are a confederation of different skills and ideas that share a common age connection, a passion for all fishing and special appreciation of trout. “We have titles but the group is really organic. I don’t give marching orders. [They] are invested or not. I’m not [their] boss. I run the meetings and keep people moving. They are part of the group, but they are also leaders,” Hoover said. Former Colorado Council outreach director Erica Stock (her- self a member of the Greenbacks) explained that the Greenbacks are called an “affinity group.” This puts a bit more pressure on the Council to provide flexible oversight, but the end results are justifying the means. “People within Colorado TU have been absolutely awesome. They have been supportive in what we want to do. We have the freedom to do what we want to do and we still have the oversight of

TIM ROMANO Colorado TU, but they are great in letting us run,” Hoover said.

31 TROUT WINTER 2013

Eberle added that traditional chapter members have welcomed the Greenbacks because they see themselves in this younger generation and recognize the need for prospects to be cultivated for leadership positions in chapters and the Colorado Council. While the Greenbacks have been welcomed warmly, Stock added: “Change is hard…it works well from the bottom up, not on a top-down demand. Nationally, councils can be catalysts in initiating offshoot groups and advocating changes and progres- sions. You put together the right ingredients and someone wants to get their friends and buddies together, and then they go to the councils and say, ‘hey we have this idea’ and then the council can sign off on it. That said, councils have limited capacities and not every state has a council.” The Greenbacks have come up with some innovative means A Visionary Effort to fund their efforts, including creating “Surface Film,” an annual event featuring artistic photography (see sidebar), and Called “Surface Film” hosting fly-fishing film premiere events. These films sell out The Greenbacks’ signature event, “Surface Film,” local theaters, and they’re designed to be family events. They’re is a showcase of fine art photography from the fly also priced within a price range affordable to the average young fishing world. Created three years ago by gallery family. Hoover said that it is important to them to do events where owner Zach Custer and Tim Romano, whose work a $20 donation from a 20-something person is just as important appears regularly in TROUT, Field & Stream, The Drake, Fly Rod & Reel, and elsewhere, Surface Film as those events where a $150 or more donation is standard. involves the images of a number of professional In the past few years, the Greenbacks have raised well over outdoor photographers. Contributors provide clas- $10,000, and that money is earmarked for key TU projects sic shots for framing and display at the Anthology of Fine Art (635 Santa Fe, in the Art District of The Greenbacks have created a viable template downtown Denver). This year’s opening gala, replete with live music, cocktails, etc., will be for generating more participation among young held on January 3, and the exhibit will remain on professionals, and they’re hoping that the idea display throughout January. Patrons can purchase translates to other parts of the country. framed prints throughout the month, as well as online at http://midcurrent.com/photography/ within Colorado. For example, the group donated $1500 worth of ______surface-film-iii-fly-fishing-photo-gallery/, with willows for restoration work on the Roan Plateau, and members proceeds going directly to the Greenbacks and their TU-focused efforts. Unframed prints can also worked with the local TU chapter to plant them. be purchased, with proceeds going to the artists. “Colorado TU is growing because they are taking on bigger “We’ve worked to make Surface Film a celebra- projects and being more proactive. We aren’t a fishing club,” tion of the culture of trout fishing, and to delve said Eberle. deeper than the gratuitous action shots people see Hoover stresses that keeping all members informed and up so often,” explained Romano. “You’ll see people, to date is vital but they did not want to create a full webpage that places, natural details, and other elements that needs a lot of time constantly to keep large amounts of informa- ultimately make the fishing world so compelling tion new and fresh. The Greenbacks have utilized social media and interesting.” like Facebook to post all events and directly interact with people. Romano added that the Greenbacks are will- They also use the program Base Camp so they can chart their ing to chat with other chapters and councils who projects and assign specific tasks that can be marked off when might adopt their template in a way that has national reach. For more information on Surface things are done, and the entire group is sent messages to keep Film, contact Tim Romano via email at ____info@ everyone in the loop. timromano.com. “It is very good because we don’t have monthly meetings. We know where we are at all the time,” Hoover said. In sum, the Greenbacks have created a viable template for generating more participation among young professionals, "Vessel" by Copi Vojta (above) and "Concentration" by Kenny Smith and they’re hoping that the idea translates to other parts of (right) were winners in the 2012 Surface Film exhibition. the country.

TROUT WINTER 2013 32

33 TROUT WINTER 2013

BRIAN FLEMING TROUT WINTER 2013 34

B y M o r g a n L y l e

35 TROUT WINTER 2013

ven in February, it’s rare to have the pool known as The Bathtub on the East Branch of the Croton River all to yourself. I took advantage of my good luck by flicking a Polish-style woven nymph—curvedE hook, dark back, light belly, gold bead—to a reliable lie on the far bank, about 20-feet away. My rod was nearly 14 feet long. The line—12 feet of bright pink, 15-pound-test fluorocarbon plus three feet of 5X tippet—angled down to the slot along the bank. I watched it where it entered the water. When its drift seemed to hesitate, I struck and felt the strong pull of a 14-inch wild brown. The long, light rod bent deeply, absorbing the fight so the tippet wouldn’t break. The trout didn’t struggle for very long. I lifted the rod and pulled the fish to me, lightly taking the tippet in my hand to complete the retrieve and scooping the trout up with my net. I plucked out the Polish fly and slipped the brown back into the icy river. This is tenkara fishing, American style, and it has established itself as a vibrant subculture of U.S. trout fishing. Before Tenkara USA introduced the concept to the western world in April 2009, almost no one outside Japan had ever heard of tenkara. Today, thousands of U.S. anglers have gotten used to fishing without a reel and even learned a few words of Japanese, tenkara’s native tongue. There are at least two dozen blogs devoted to tenkara and almost as many website-based brands selling tenkara rods, lines and accessories. But the real proof that tenkara has come of age is that the big companies are getting in the game: TFO has a tenkara model called the Soft Hackle, and the Orvis Co. now carries Tenkara USA’s flagship rod, the Iwana. Tenkara is indeed “radically simple,” as the first English- language book on the subject describes it. It employs a long, telescoping rod with a line, which most western anglers would think of as a leader, attached to the rod tip. At the end of the line is a few feet of tippet, and to the tippet is tied the fly. Tenkara is without question fly fishing, because it pos- sesses fly fishing’s defining characteristic: the rod casts the line, and the fly goes along for the ride. In fact, this is how fly fishing was practiced from ancient times until relatively recently; reels weren’t routinely used on fly rods until the mid-1700s. “I’m a traditional fly fisher,” tenkara enthusiast Brian Flemming once quipped. “I don’t use a reel.” Casting distance is obviously limited, but what you lose in range, you make up in presentation. Most tenkara fishing is done with little or no line lying on the water. Picture a shallow triangle: One leg is the rod, the other leg is the line and the water is the base. There is no drag and the angler is fully in

TROUT WINTER 2013 36 BRIAN FLEMING

37 TROUT WINTER 2013

SilverTROUT Creek WINTER 2013 38

Tenkara rods also cast dry flies beautifully, and their length allows the angler to reach over intervening currents and keep the fly drifting naturally in distant feeding lanes or even resting motionless in a pocket behind a rock. BRIAN FLEMING

touch with the fly. You effortlessly snap in a pocket behind a rock. High-stick Gone are the days when fly fishing was your “kebari,” as trout flies are known nymphing is marvelous with a tenkara 95 percent trout fishing with a 9-foot in Japanese, into seams, pockets and rod. This is one case where you have 5-weight, with an occasional summer- undercuts, not thinking about casting, more distance, not less, than a western time smallmouth or trip to Florida for but rather about where you want the fly rod—because the rod is longer to begin tarpon. Today, while traditional stream to be and what you want it to do once with, and especially because you have no trout fishing is still the most popular, it gets there. drooping fly line pulling the leader in fly fishing is becoming a family of sub- This is bug-fly fishing; tenkara isn’t close. Your line angles down to the water categories, like Spey rods for steelhead, very good for fishing streamers, although from the apex of the triangle. European nymphing, carp fishing, some people do it. The classic Japanese What if you need to let the fish run? Atlantic stripers, Gulf redfish, gonzo tenkara fly looks just like a western-style In most cases, you don’t need to. False Russian salmon expeditions, warmwater soft-hackle wet fly, except the hackle tips albacore and steelhead must be allowed fishing and competition fishing. lean out over the eye of the hook instead to run, but with most trout it’s simply not Like some of these other niches, of leaning back toward the bend. When necessary, especially with a long, soft rod. tenkara has its own traditions and values. pulsed or jigged in the water, the hackle The fish will struggle for a while, maybe The tenkara purist in Japan disdains wiggles enticingly. It’s the fundamental zig-zag around a bit, but they usually give hatch-matching and overstuffed fly Japanese tenkara technique. up pretty quickly—more stumped than boxes. Pattern is practically irrelevant, Tenkara rods also cast dry flies beau- exhausted by the gentle but unrelenting except perhaps as an angler’s signature; tifully, and their length allows the angler pressure of that big spring. it’s the presentation that matters, not the to reach over intervening currents and The tenkara movement seems to be fishing. Many anglers will fish only one keep the fly drifting naturally in distant one of a number of specialties that have fly all the time, no matter what’s hatching feeding lanes or even resting motionless evolved in fly fishing in recent years. or whether the trout are rising.

TENKARA USA TENKARA 39 TROUT WINTER 2013

The collapsible rod and modest kit are perfect for the angler who likes to walk into the backcountry in search of fish that didn’t come from a hatchery.

Few Americans are willing to go sees a parallel with another pared-down that far. But most U.S. tenkara anglers version of a popular sport. “The cost have embraced simplicity in their fly of fly fishing is killing fly fishing,” he selections, sticking with basic attractor said. “Tenkara is going to augment this patterns. This makes sense for tenkara crowd like snowboarding did to skiing.” fishing, because so much of it takes place Tom Rosenbauer, the director of on the kind of stream where a Humpy marketing at Orvis, sees tenkara as a or a Royal Wulff is a perfect choice. bridge to fly fishing, but no threat to the Some people use the gear for bass rod-and-reel. “It’s a fun diversion, but or panfish, but tenkara is by definition I doubt it will ever take over,” he said. trout fishing—in particular, shady, Tenkara surely is well-suited to high-gradient stream fishing, very youngers and newbies because it is so preferably for wild trout. The collaps- simple and intuitive. But most tenkara ible rod and modest kit are perfect for anglers in the U.S. are experienced the angler who likes to walk into the fly fishers. A good example is Erik backcountry in search of fish that didn’t Ostrander of Salt Lake City, a lifelong come from a hatchery. Places like Rocky fly fisher who fell for tenkara and even Mountain National Park in Colorado started a specialized guide service, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of the TenkaraGuides LLC. Eastern Seaboard have become tenkara Ostrander caught more fish than hotspots. The tenkara angler likes a bit anyone else in the Utah Single Fly Event of adventure. on the Green River in September, There are also currents of crafts- 2011, contest except for one—and the manship in tenkara. The flies are gen- one was Lance Egan, who just two erally simple to tie, but some tenkara weeks before had been the high rod on anglers like to carry them in exquisite, the U.S. men’s team at the fly fishing hand-carved wooden fly boxes. Some world championships in Italy. (“Erik tenkara fans furl their own lines. The kind of came in first among mortals,” small spool used to store the line when a teammate said.) the rod is collapsed for moving from As far as anyone knows this was the spot to spot is available for purchase, first time a tenkara rod had been used but anglers have been known to make in competition in the U.S. Using a their own, as simply as cutting a slice foam hopper pattern, Ostrander caught off a pool noodle or as elegantly as 33 trout, and helped his team—the carving and polishing a segment of Stonefly Society, a TU chapter from moose antler. And then there are the Salt Lake City—to victory. handmade nets, or tamo. These too His teammates “were a little reluctant can be purchased, but making one that I was going to be fishing with fixed is a terrific DIY project that involves line,” Ostrander said. “The Green River finding the perfect pine branch and is a big river, and what happens if a fish several weeks of woodworking. decides to run to the other side? What Where tenkara fits in the fly fishing do you do? But I’ve fished tenkara on the world depends on who you talk to. Green River several times and caught Adam Trahan of Phoenix, who runs fish up to 21 inches and handled them a website called Tenkara-Fisher.com, beautifully.”

TROUT WINTER 2013 40 USA TENKARA

41 TROUT WINTER 2013

Tangled Lines Susie w. Leeson In a two-person (actually four but Mom won’t go) Red and white passenger plane, Dad and I fl y Up off the runway into the air. Stomachs dipping and rising in mechanical currents Like trout and big salmon in the river. We land on a bumpy runway in Baldwin, Michigan. On a bank above the river Underneath the screened-in porch Of the A-frame cabin my folks built Down the river from my Grandpa’s log cabin, We collect and assemble our gear. He ties on fl ies, A quick twist wth a clear leader. I wrestle into waders, Smell the mildew of old fi sh and the dank basement air. My garb: a net, a creel, a rod, a vest, an old Grandpa hat, bug dope. Pitch one giant step from a green bank Into the darker swirls With Cool River Dad Sunshine through leaf and needle split skies Gurgle and blump White pine air. We are poised for a strike from a rainbow or brown. Scary burst of salmon explodes from the muck Big fi sh hits my scrawny eight-year-old leg Fish slime Slippery and hidden in shadowed runs. I refuse to unglue my hold on my Father In the river. He pushes me off Says the fi sh are more scared of me. Says we should keep going. But I stand too close And tangle our lines when I cast. AARON PETERSON AARON

On the DoorstepBy erin block

about taking her Christmas tree down Autumnutu and on the Epiphany. An elderly couple wtogetherin hereter in the mergehigh country. Like with their grandson rigs rods next to a meeting of old friends, falling back a red Subaru a ways down the line, and into same speech patterns and rhymes we exchange nods and smiles as fly after years. No clear beginning, no fishers do, all buckling against a cold clear end, just going on as they always wind coming down off the Continental have. As the aspens start to tinge and Divide. Being polite because they seem the willows dry brown, as the brook to be kindred spirits, yet all the while trout grow even more color for their hoping they aren’t headed to our spot. spawn; then, winter is on the doorstep. Jay and I drop in where the gradient You have a few weeks left, if you’re lucky. starts in earnest, where the wide canyon And today, we’re hoping we will be. stream narrows, winding around and I’ve fallen hard for these places over boulders beneath pines dripping this year, for small streams of pocket usnea lichen, or “grandfather’s beard” water (always coming back with as it’s called, with stains of coffee and bruised knees). They merge, grow and surely a cigarette or two left from the sometimes they dry up, ending with old man’s time in the Navy. the runoff. But sometimes they stay, And we work hard and quickly up well fed by headwaters. Merging and the stream, against gravity. Against forking, growing, gaining speed and current, felled trees, the force of breadth until they spread out into a the mountains themselves. Against river that runs to the plains. Perhaps altitude; which as Ted Leeson wrote, down at the heart of it, feeling as if is both “a fortification, and it is also I’m standing in a vein connecting to fortifying.” The thin air discourages home explains my love for these places. some, and yet those of us who keep on On a fall day, crisp like the Pink are strengthened. Changed, even. For Ladies we had in our packs, Jay (my at length, altitude messes with more fishing partner) and I start at a well- than your breathing and state of mind, known trailhead, the entry point for a it messes with your blood. Marking nearby wilderness area and a relatively you. As I’ve been, living at around untouched small stream. It’s unassum- 8,000 ft. for a few years now. Doctors ing, running deep through a draw. have noticed. And there’s something The kind of stream the average hiker extremely visceral about that—about walks past, though estimated to be a fine being impacted by your environment watering trough for wildlife. And that’s to such an extent that doctors and their about it. If an observant hiker spots microscopes can tell exactly where you you, perhaps they’ll ask, “Are there live, and can guess what kind of person actually any trout in there?” Sometimes you are, just from a drop of your blood. I answer honestly; sometimes I don’t. As our lungs work harder and It all depends on whether or not the we push on further, the stream gets person looks as if they could be a fly steeper and navigation sometimes fisher. So I wear browns and greens seems sketchy. But we’re rewarded the to blend in and hopefully disappear, longer we go and the trout get more trying to avoid the situation altogether. naïve. This, in my book, is what I’d There are cars in the parking lot. call “private water.” There is no fence, There always are (this is Colorado after and there are no signs. It’s protected all), and people here are as religious only by distance and terrain. But it about “just getting out” as cats are about works; it keeps most out. And these their naps and my grandmother is high country small streams are some

TROUT WINTER 2013 46

If an observant hiker spots you, perhaps they’ll ask, “Are there actually any trout in there?” Sometimes I answer honestly; sometimes I don’t. It all depends on whether or not the person looks as if they could be a fly fisher.

of the few manifestations left in life of you’d packed away for the summer. And pool. Clambering up with a mix of ballet near-guaranteed hard work paying off, still, with every take, I’m surprised. For and bouldering moves, I make a cast to calling back my Midwest upbringing, hours and hours I am led on by what the far side, stretching my arm, keeping I suppose, to something I understand: may be the defining allure of a small line off the water where foam from the namely, that if you work hard enough stream: curiosity. What’s coming in pour-over fizzles into clear, and a large and long enough, something good is the next bend, next plunge, the next cutthroat with colors that look like they’ve bound to happen. But then again if it pool. Barely noticing cold hands, been painted on by Kandinsky, slowly doesn’t, there is always grandma’s pie bruised shins, bloody scrapes on the rises to take my elk hair dry. And again, for comfort. And so you’re covered, palm of my hand, or the clouds that I’m surprised. Surprised that such things however things turn out. have devoured the mountains above exist, and that I’m allowed to see them, Around noon it begins to rain—a me. We fish on the belief that trout will as if I’ve been shown a secret meant for cold and steady rain. No lightning still rise to dries among the dimples someone else. and no thunder, no tension of sum- of raindrops. And they do. Eagerly. I walk the two miles out smiling; mer storms as we cross into cutthroat Until Jay takes a break, sitting on a smiling and cold, knowing that there territory, to the high waters they’ve felled pine, and says, “I think I’m good won’t be many more days here before reclaimed. There’s one in every pocket for the day.” winter blows in, covering over that you’d expect, and some you wouldn’t, “I am too… after that one,” I say, small stream and its trout. too. Like finding loose change in jeans pointing at a higher and deeper plunge Back at the truck, the folks who were rigging up when we set out are also just returning. For hours and hours I am led on by “Was snowin’ up at the lake...” what may be the defining allure of a small they say. stream: curiosity. What’s coming in the And winter walks through the door. next bend, next plunge, the next pool.

TROUT WINTER 2013 48

ActionlineNews from the Field

North Carolina Annual Meeting recap 50

Pennsylvania Chapter sets example in using teamwork to accomplish big things 52

Michigan/Illinois People, partners and project on North Branch of the Au Sable 53

Pennsylvania/New York The Monument Pool gets much needed cleanup 53

Tools and Tips Regional meetings, national meetings and grant proposal support 54

Stream Champion Carolyn Thomas 56

Highlights from TU’s 2012 Annual Meeting in Asheville, N.C.

Trout Unlimited had yet another successful annual meeting this past fall in Asheville, N.C., where council and chapter representatives (as well as staffers) from around the country met to acknowledge recent TU successes, but more importantly, to plot strategies to further the organization’s mission. TU’s CEO Chris Wood kicked things off with a “State of TU” address that illustrated several key “wins” on behalf of cold water conservation, including removal of Maine’s Great Work’s Dam, and the defeat of a proposal to build a new dam at the Oneida Narrows on the Bear River in Idaho. He also noted that the organization is enjoying membership growth, and is poised to make even more significant gains next year with a number of critical conservation issues moving to the forefront. The conference included many topic-specific sessions ranging from women in fly fishing to access, all of which underscored TU’s reliance on the grassroots base to move a coordinated national agenda forward. The conference reached a zenith when Greg Ponte was awarded TU’s highest honor, the Mortensen Award, for his works involving numerous conservation, restoration and stewardship projects in his home state of Maine. Here is a listing of the winners of Trout Unlimited’s 2012 National Conservation Awards:

TROUT WINTER 2013 50

State Council Award Gene Bahr Turns River Memories into Art Wisconsin Council A number of individuals honored for their Gold Trout Award contributions to Trout Unlimited were fortu- Oklahoma Chapter nate to leave the annual meeting in Asheville, Silver Trout Award North Carolina, with more than memories. Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter Artist Gene Bahr of Sebago, Maine, created and donated a series of stunning trout carv- Bollinger Chapter ings as unique mementos that will no doubt Newsletter Award become heirlooms. Hatches and Rises, Penn’s Gene is himself an avid outdoorsman and Woods West a professional taxidermist by trade. He has Best Website Award been carving fish since 1984, and is consid- www.wvtu.org, West Virginia ered one of the country’s preeminent masters Council of this art form. In 2000, Bahr abandoned taxidermy altogether to fully focus on this “kinder, gentler” approach to the fish mount. Calling it Conservation Volunteer Award “catch and release” fish carving, he has spent years studying fish anatomy Greg Cuda and colors—he even works from specific images—to create wooden repli- cas of the ones that didn’t get away… until anglers let them go. Conservation Volunteer The net results are artifacts that not only last longer and look more Award natural, but they also grow in value over years. To commission Gene on Bob Volkmar your own unique project, to view more Distinguished Service examples of his remarkable works, or Award even just to thank him for his contribu- Deane Gonzalez tions to Trout Unlimited and the promo- tion of catch and release conservation, Distinguished Service visit www.genebahr.com. Award Bill Heart

Distinguished Service Award Drew Irby

Distinguished Service Award Brett Lorenzen

Youth Education Award Bob Fields

Youth Education Award Greg Potter

Lifetime Achievement in Trout & Salmon Conservation Jim Sedell

51 TROUT WINTER 2013

Grassroots Spotlight On-the-ground chapter success stories

Chapter sets example in using team work to accomplish big things PENNSYLVANIA

In August 2012, the Falling Spring The landowners also provided enthusiastic support for the Chapter in Chambersburg, Pa., com- project by first getting involved in the initial stages of planning, and pleted a fish habitat improvement later by providing drinks and a meeting place where the chapter plan on the Falling Spring in partner- held its monthly meeting right at the project site. The chapter ship with the Pennsylvania Fish and was pleased to have John Arway, the executive director of the Boat Commission. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, attend a meeting where he The project site consisted of talked about many initiatives that the Commission is considering. a 350-foot stretch through the The site also features an historic water wheel that needed privately-owned properties of the Frey Dairy and Carl and Becky some attention. Chapter member “Took” Coder arranged Helman. Although privately owned, the landowners welcome for the wheel to be shot blasted by his company T.B. Woods fishermen on this fly-fishing-only catch-and-release section of and powder coated by another company. After that work is the Class A wild rainbow trout fishery. There is also a good complete, the wheel will be placed back on its supports to make population of wild brown trout in this section of Falling Spring. the very scenic and very public area a showcase project for the The chapter focused work on improving physical habitat Falling Spring Chapter. features that scored low on the low gradient EPA Rapid Bio A seeding and planting plan is being developed with the Assessment Protocols, stream channel width, velocity and depth landowners and a local quality nursery. regimes and substrate composition. They used stone deflectors with logs (which physically narrow the stream channel to a more desirable width), a single log vane deflector and a series of random boulders. These devices will also create deeper runs and pool areas while providing overhead cover and feeding currents for fish. The random boulders provide pockets of habitat as well as side cover for fish. Many volunteer members of the Falling Spring Chapter participated in the two- day project and some brought their kids and grandchildren. It provided a great introduction for youth in the grassroots level of stream habitat protection and development.

TROUT WINTER 2013 52

The Monument Pool Gets Much Needed Clean Up PENNSYLVANIA/NEW YORK

Several tons of illegally dumped garbage no longer defaces the banks of the Delaware River. The Monument Pool, so named because of it’s location near the stone boundary line monument at the border of New York and Pennsylvania, was the focus of a cooperative effort by concerned groups to clean up this eyesore. Removing the amount of garbage lying on the steep west branch riverbank looked People, Partners and like an all day job, but thanks to the dona- Project on North the valuable lesson that conservation and tion of equipment including a 30-yard stream restoration does not come easy. dumpster, vehicles with winches, flat bot- Branch Au Sable That third P—the project—gave all a sense tomed duck boats used to haul the garbage of accomplishment and pride knowing they up the hillside and the over 30 volunteers, MICHIGAN AND ILLINOIS could return to those half log structures the task took less than two hours. Garbage even many years later to attempt to bounce at the river’s edge, out of reach of the When the three P’s—People, Partners and a fly along the structure without snag. winch cables, was loaded onto drift boats Projects—come together, only good things and floated downriver to a location where it can happen. Last summer, the Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp of the Illinois Council partnered with the Mason-Griffith Founders Chapter, the North Branch Restoration Committee and the Anglers of the Au Sable to install half log shelters on the North Branch of the Au Sable River at Twin Bridges. With planning and research complete, 16 young men from the Illinois camp, their TU camp mentors and Michigan TU members got to work. Once the log shelters were constructed on the bank, they placed them in pre-surveyed sites in the river. Over the last century, the population of grayling from the Au Sable has dwindled, due largely to poor logging practices. In all, 28 half log shelters were assembled, of which only a dozen were moored in the river. Due to the heavy cobbled streambed, only two shelters were placed that day, but all 12 are now in the system, thanks to the Michigan partners, with the rest destined for emplacement next year. The sight of huge trophy browns, while fishing that morning, coming from natural wood cover brought home the meaning of habitat. Doing the hard work to improve stream habitat that afternoon also taught

5353 TROUTTROUT WINTER FALL 20122013

could be transferred to a pick-up truck and then hauled to the dumpster which, in the end, was almost filled. Landowner and local historian Karl Egner of Sherman, Pa., was on scene to express his gratitude and talked about taking steps that would be taken to prevent future illegal dumping and to prosecute any offenders. The volunteers involved in this effort included among the many, many volunteers were Jay Downs and Joe Gruszkiewicz of the Stanley Cooper Chapter of TU, Peter and Grace Kocubinski, Guy McPhail, Chris Tufts and Jackson Rezen of the New York City Chapter, Andy Boyar of the Upper Delaware Chapter, Tom LoProto of the Long Island Chapter and Matt Wishneski, Wayne Popich, Tim McGoey, Frank Dudinski, Charles Mieszler, Jr. and Manny Vidal of the Pike/Wayne Chapters of TU.

TU Regional Meetings Don’t get left out in the cold… Join fellow anglers and TU volunteer leaders at one of five TU regional regions in 2013.

Who should attend? Anyone committed to building effective TU The Actionline section of TROUT provides chapters and councils and, in turn, strengthening TU as a whole while a perfect forum for exchanging informa- advancing the good work we do across the country. tion and sharing successes. Send us a short item—150 to 300 words— What will you learn? Opportunities abound to develop your describing your project or event, why governance skills and practices, discover solutions to your leadership chal- it was significant and, if possible, how lenges, and increase your understanding of the key trends and coldwater it might benefit other chapters. Send conservation issues impacting particular regions. TU regional meetings are Actionline submissions, plus photos (digi- occasions to be inspired—by the work of TU staff, lessons from leaders tal images are preferred), to Samantha and conversations with newfound friends. Don’t miss out! Learn more and Carmichael at [email protected], 1300 register at tu.org/events. North 17th Street, #500, Arlington, VA., 22209, (703) 284-9422. Feb. 15-17: Mid South Regional Meeting in Sattler, Texas March 23: Southeast Regional Meeting in Glade Springs, W.Va.

April 5-6: Western Regional Meeting in Spokane, Wash.

April 20: Upper Mid-West Regional Meeting in Madison, Wisc.

July 26-27: Northeast Regional Meeting in the Catskills, NY

TROUT WINTERFALL 2012 2013 54

By Beverly Smith [ Director of Volunteer Operations ]

Dollars and Common Sense The foundation of TU’s success is, in many ways, its grassroots-based structure. Chapters and councils operate with locally-raised funds going into locally-run projects. When a member, a business or a foundation gives to a chapter or council, those funds are managed by a local, volunteer-led board of directors. TU has Sept. 27-29, 2013: Annual Meeting in Madison, Wisc. over 400 chapters and councils, and it is always expanding its influence into more The National Conservation Agenda watersheds. Because of this, TU must be The National Leadership Council (NLC) which is responsible mindful to coordinate efforts, particularly for reviewing the National Conservation Agenda (NCA) revised related to fundraising on the federal level. and added to the NCA's critical focus areas, approving the fol- For chapters and councils developing lowing critical focus areas: larger projects and considering applying • Pebble Mine for grants from foundations, corporate • Yellowstone National Park native fish conservation giving programs or federal restoration programs, coordinating with your local or • Gas and oil development including, but not limited to, withdrawal, distribution, sand mining, and waste management regional TU staff is a great way to improve the strength of your application and • Upper Colorado water withdrawal increase your chances of getting the grant. • Clean Water Act Moreover, coordination between the local • State and federal natural resource funding grassroots and national staff ensures that • Good Samaritan fix via legislation or administration

foundations and other grant-makers have a MARK YOUR CALENDARS! • Hard rock mining issues good experience working with TU and are Each year the NLC reviews and revises this list as issues arise encouraged and inspired to become even or rendered completed. To read the full NCA, visit tu.org and stronger supporters. The National Fish and click “public information.” Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), for example, has asked that all chapters and councils coordinate their grant proposals through its national staff. This simply means that IRS Forms 990 or 990N due Feb. 15, 2013 if your chapter or council is interested in Attention chapter and council treasurers. Please a NFWF grant, be sure to reach out to a remember that, because TU is organized under TU staff member nearest to you, or call the a group exemption, the IRS requires that each national office at 703-284-9425. chapter and council file its own Forms with the IRS. TU’s success hinges on maintaining Required forms to file with the IRS: our effective grassroots network, and that • Gross receipts over $50,000 on average over three years: File Form 990 or starts with good communications in every 990EZ direction. • Gross receipts under $50,000 on average over three years: File Form 990N e-postcard

5555 TROUTTROUT WINTER FALL 2013 2012

determine whether the brook trout being raised in their classroom might be re-introduced into a nearby creek. Brook trout, West Virginia’s only native trout, have been extirpated from the state’s eastern Panhandle as a result of degraded habitat and poor water quality. “It was serendipitous to receive the grant at that time because the city had just begun transforming former pas- tureland donated by a local developer into a 30-acre park dedicated to con- serving natural resources, educating students and providing residents with a place to enjoy the outdoors,” adds Thomas. The park—which is surrounded by big box stores, a four-lane highway, Carolyn Thomas a sewage treatment plant and two Shepherdstown, W.Va. approved high-density residential subdivisions—includes the headwaters Were it not for a 2010 blizzard referred for Flowing Springs, a tributary of the to now as “Snowmageddon” Carolyn Shenandoah River. Carolyn Thomas Thomas might still be teaching her knew that the stream historically sup- regular 7th grade science curriculum at ported brook trout before becoming Wildwood Middle School in Ranson, a dumping ground for tires and trash W.Va. As it turns out, being cooped and a recreational area for ATVs. It quickly became a living laboratory for Favorite Fly: up for several days during the storm provided unexpected time for laying Thomas and her students. The flies in my dad’s fly box. the groundwork to execute a Trout in Over the course of the year, Thomas Growing up I thought they were so neat—and beautiful. I also loved the Classroom program like no other. and her students spent time in the the little boxes that contained them. That is when she applied for a classroom researching the life cycles Toyota Tapestry grant, a pot of money and water quality needs of brook trout dedicated towards recognizing educa- with respect to the surrounding land- Favorite Place to Fish: tors demonstrating excellence and scape and broader ecosystem. They Any place beautiful and wade-able. creativity in science teaching. also paid several visits to take samples “I was building on momentum and conduct testing at the stream. Most Memorable Fish: gained after securing a small Ecolab “The year-end, multi-media pre- My first brook trout caught in June Foundation grant to set up a TIC sentations by student teams were fan- 2012 on the Au Sable River in aquarium in my classroom,” says tastic—far beyond what you’d typically Michigan. Thomas. “I began thinking about what see at a middle school level—more like else might be possible.” high school or even college,” says Mark Thinking bigger paid off and Zimmerman from TU’s Winchester, Thomas received $10,000 from Virginia, chapter, the closest in prox- Toyota to develop a year-long proj- imity to Thomas. “Each team came ect aimed at challenging students to up with compelling conclusions about

TROUT WINTER 2013 56

whether Flowing Springs could ade- and her students have benefited from quately support trout.” living in an epicenter of professional While they ultimately determined expertise in science and conserva- that the stream currently cannot sup- tion—with the National Conservation port brook trout, Wildwood Middle Training Center, the USGS Biological School students haven’t given up on the Resources Division, Potomac Valley possibility of welcoming them back to Audubon Society, Trout Unlimited, the area someday in the future. That’s Shepherd University and even a local what this year is all about. Thanks fly fishing school engaged in their to another grant from Dominion work and at their disposal. Electric, they are digging back in to “Carolyn stimulates a sense of determine how Flowing Springs might wonder in the kids,” says Joe Hankins, STEM Education be restored to receive the species. director at The Freshwater Institute Carolyn Thomas’s work with middle school “This year there is more focus where Thomas’s students have visited. students in West Virginia not only benefits on engineering and hydrology, with “She engages all of us through class- children and wildlife in her home state. students using a stream table to study room visits, field trips to our facilities It also reflects a national movement to flow, velocity, gradient, discharge, and even a level of career counseling. increase student engagement in science, channeling, erosion and runoff in There are teachers we remember technology, engineering and math. STEM order to make recommendations for as children—Carolyn will be such a represents an education trend steering states to teach science and math in the classroom re-engineering and restoring Flowing teacher for those kids.” in ways that better connect them with the Springs,” says Thomas. “They are At the rate she is moving, it will real world and foster interest for future comparing findings and theories with be quite a few kids. This year she schooling and careers in a world projected a restored stream located down the expands her operation to include to have increasing demand for scientists road in Maryland and will ultimately an additional middle school teacher and mathematicians with an ability to tackle submit their data to inform the man- and a 5th grade elementary teacher issues that include energy demands, water agement plan for the park.” with TIC setups, and plans to build quality and changing climates. Throughout both phases, Thomas a broader network of classrooms and teachers who have similar interests and energy. Participating classrooms will share research and knowledge Can Brook Trout Return Home to Jefferson County? with students around the state While Carolyn Thomas and 7th graders from Wildwood Middle School pondered this question, through videoconferencing and other they delved into many academic disciplines—all in the name of studying brook trout. electronic media. Employed earth science, biology and chemistry to study water quality and learn about the “I want to spend the rest of my life cycle and habitat requirements life doing this,” says Thomas, who Studied physics and engineering principles such as study flow, velocity, gradient, discharge, embarked on her very first fly fish- channeling, erosion and runoff to inform stream restoration strategies ing excursion just last year. “Having Engaged in fly tying and fly fishing, which connects anglers with the outdoors and its fish in the classroom led to ques- natural cycles tions about what they need and how Studied literature describing a “sense of place” and the art and activity of fly fishing it connects with people. Then it led Documented and communicated work through various media including films, online postings and presentations for classwork and for to promote their efforts and share information with the the students outdoors—where more community [Note: Carolyn MAY want to add something here once she sees this.] and more kids around the country “So often in environmental studies, middle school students feel that the problem is so need to be. None of it would have big they can’t make a difference. Planting trees, restoring riffles and removing invasive plants been possible without that first TIC connects them with the effort to find ’a place to call home’ for brook trout while strengthening aquarium.” their own connections with the community park,” Carolyn Thomas said in her application for the 2011 Toyota Tapestry grant.

57 TROUT WINTER 2013

Art of Angling [ By Dave Whitlock] Coho Salmon (Omcorhynchus Kisutch)

COHO OR SILVER ARE VERY SPECIAL close to shore feeding on the diverse and backwaters and/or tributary inlets Pacific salmon because of their aggres- food forms on the continental shelf where they have little hesitation about siveness for striking flies and lures while such as herring, shellfish, crustaceans rising repeatedly to brightly colored, at sea, as well as during their spawning and squid. Here, they also readily rise swinging flies, even on the surface, or runs up West Coast rivers from north- to streamer flies, spoons and lures that to spoons and spinning lures. ern California to Alaska and the Great suggest these foods. Once hooked, they steal away in fast, Lakes. These salmon average six to 10 Coho enter streams to spawn exactly long, downstream runs and frequent pounds, which also happens to be the where they were spawned, if possible, water-clearing leaps. My first encounter ideal size to create fast, strong runs and in September and October, after one with silvers was in September on Bristol impressive and numerous water-clearing to two years of living in the open ocean Bay’s Togac River and is still vivid in vaults on light fly and spin tackle. In or the Great Lakes. On this upstream my memory. I hooked nine the first the Pacific Ocean, they mostly range movement, they stop to rest in pools morning and managed to land only one!

Coho salmon, once they enter fresh water to spawn, cannot eat, buy they will eagerly rise and strike colorful flies—even at the surface. It’s always interesting to see what color phase each hook-up brings. The fresher, more silver females leap highest and fight hardest, but the brilliantly colored, large-kyped males are so fascinating to look at and photograph.

TROUT WINTER 2013 58

Those Alaskan silvers were about six- to 10-pounders, but in the Great Lakes, where silvers were introduced in 1966, they easily exceed these average weights, often reaching 10 to 12 pounds or more in years when Alewife and smelt populations peak. The current world record of 33 pounds 4 ounces is a Great Lakes fish, coming from a tributary of the Salmon River of Lake Ontario in 1989. Silvers are elegantly chrome-plated while they are at sea, but once on their spawning runs in September and October, they become more fantasti- cally colorful each day. As they move upstream, the colors on their silver sides begin to tarnish with goldens, pinks, Coho salmon are most attracted to surface and subsurface flies that are garnished reddish-orange or copper and rusty brightly with pink, orange, purple and silvers. red. I’m always fascinated by the wide variety of color phases in any big school This unorthodox early male maturation tal and over-fishing exploitations in of migrating cohos. The males grow an is another great example of how nature California, Oregon and Washington. almost comical, over-sized kype (upper attempts to ensure species survival and Wild varieties, still existing in the states, and lower jaw) that for me resembles the healthy, genetic diversity. are further endangered by farmed droopy nose of an elephant seal. Coho are a perfect match for 7- and salmon and the diseases and genetic Most silvers on spawning runs are 8-weight fly tackle. The most popular fly dilution that they bring to the game. less than 100 miles upstream. Often, line is the Number IV or V sinking tip Today, the best wild silver fishing in however, wild silvers in the Columbia which is ideal to swing Coho streamers North America is throughout British and Yukon Rivers travel 500 to 1400 in four to 12 feet of water just above the Columbia and Alaska. Some Chilean miles to their ancestral spawning grav- concentrations of fish that rest near the rivers provide silver fishing for escapees els. Like all Pacific salmon, silvers die bottoms of pools and back waters. A of salmon farming during their spawn- shortly after spawning. Eggs hatch by floating line is required if you’d like to ing efforts. spring, and the Coho parr emerge from lure them to the surface to attack wak- Fresh-from-the-ocean silver salmon their incubating gravel and spend about ing hair and foam flies, an opportunity remind me so much of steelhead in size, one year in freshwater rivers where they no Coho fly fisher should miss out on. shape, leaping and fighting ability, but grow four- to six-inches long. At that It seems silver salmon are most excited fortunately, they are generally easier to point, as if given some invisible signal, during their spawning runs by flies raise on flies than steelhead. They are they smolt, swim down river and out that are from 6 to 1/0 in size and in truly a special gift to fly fishers and to to the ocean where they will stay and the brightest colors of pink, orange and the eyes of the beholder. They are the grow for 16 to 18 months and then start metallic silver, purple and blue. I’ve often second least abundant Pacific Salmon, the long trek back up their birth rivers thought that they seem most attracted to but it’s hard to believe that when you are to begin their one and only spawn. A the same colors that magically appear on swinging your flies over a magnificent, small percentage of males will live in the their extraordinary forms. big, fresh run. ocean for only one year before moving Silver Salmon populations have been back into the rivers to attempt to spawn. heavily impacted by man’s environmen-

59 TROUT WINTER 2013

CLASSIFIEDS

OUTFITTERS & GUIDES The most complete line of exquisite, hand-woven transferable Forest Service, BLM and NPS permits BlueSky Furled Leaders plus our expanded selection of for fishing,photography and transportation. Plus INTERNATIONAL accessories. We’re the leader in furled leaders. Ph/Fax commercial zoned real estate,employee housing and (920) 430-1239. blueskyfly.com______highway frontage in Teton County,Wyo. Turn key NEWEST RESORT IN NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO! operation includes two drift boats and two whitewater Lakes, rivers, streams abundant with wild brookies up Looking for fishing partner for Lake Nipigon/ grade fishing rafts:$1,000,000. Owner financing to 7 pounds. Countless small brookie lakes that have Nipigon River June 2013 Dan Manninen possible (307) 733-5362 seldom seen anglers. Northern Woods Lodge is remote, (906) 934-2211 yet road accessible with all the amenities. For more CUSTOM FLY PLATES – FOR RENT information, go to www.northernwoodslodge.com or call your flies, memorabilia, etc. [email protected] (807) 937-6584. EAST The Original Rodrule measuring trout with accuracy. EAST WNC Mountains – great fishing! Fishing Guide tested, angler approved. www.rodrule.com club, friends, family vacations. Fish the Davidson, Exclusive Fly Fishing Club in western N.C. Enjoy Buying and selling fly rods. 50 fly rods plus fly Oconoluftee, Tuckasegee, many more trophy waters in over a mile of private trophy trout stream all to yourself! reels all in excellent or mint condition. For a list write 30 min. radius. Large 5 bedroom lodge near Asheville, www.hollerfarm.com CCP, 8307 Alston Rd, Towson, MD 21204 Maggie Valley, Waynesville. Year ‘round fishery. Two MIDWEST Call 1-410-296-1746. www.chesapeakeproducts.net beautiful acres with brook, waterfalls. www.watersonglodge.com VRBO #306051 Northern Driftless Area Quality fishing flies at reasonable prices. 22 www.kinnicreek.com 1-877-504-9705 years of dependable service from Caylor Custom Flies Missouri River in Montana. Stay in comfort Specializing in Southern Appalachain Stream and andd convenience in the trout town of Craig while Guided fly-fishing trips in the Driftless Zone in Tailrace patterns. www.caylorcustomflies.com you fish the world-class Missouri River. Great lodging Southeastern Minnesota, Healing Rivers LLC (850) 957-4071 [email protected] options for all size groups and budgets along with (507) 254-2180 [email protected]______boat rentals and guides. (406) 235-3433 Arctic grayling in Michigan. Also trophy brook PROFESSIONAL SERVICES www.crosscurrents.com trout up to three pounds. Private lake ______www.brookhaven- Healing Rivers, LLC www.healingriversllc.com WEST _____lake.com (313) 510-0928 (507) 254-2180 Southeast Minnesota Driftless Area. West Yellowstone, Montana Angler’s Rest: SOUTH Experience psychotherapy where a trout stream and 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, full kitchen, sleeps 10, fly rod are healing tools! downtown West Yellowstone half mile from Park Arkansas’ White River! McKenzie drift boat fly- entrance, minutes from major trout streams. Be fishing on Beaver and Bull Shoals tailwaters. Scott FOR SALE comfortable after your day on the stream. www.burkinc. Branyan, Ozark Fly Flinger, 888-99-FLING; net/anglersrest (301) 461-0902 www.flyflinger.com MIDWEST Fly Fishing Paradise – 4 bedroom, 2 bath, Arkansas White River trout, Ozark smallmouth in Five acres, Pere Marquette River, east of furnished cabin in Island Park, Idaho 20 minutes Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Drift boat fishing since Baldwin, Mich. Trout, steelhead, salmon, “blue ribbon” from Yellowstone National Park. Fish the Henry’s 1996, Ken @ (479) 531-5741, JustFishinGuides.com section, frontage both sides, adjoining government Fork, Madison, Gallatin, Henry’s Lake, Hebgen Lake, land, wooded, pole barn, water, sewer, electric. Island Park Reservoir or Yellowstone NP...all within WEST $59,000. (847) 630-1448, [email protected] 30 minutes drive. $210/night or $1,250/week. See Colorado – Gold Medal Waters. Float fish WEST at www.vrbo.com/47282. (208) 244-1570 or email for rainbows and browns with the best guides and [email protected]______equipment. Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers. Glenwood Full Section 365 acres, Sierras NE of Foresthill, Springs, Aspen area. Lic. # 1985. (970) 216-7899 Cali. Branch of the American River, cabin, good fishing. Big Hole River, Montana – Nicely furnished, Difficult access, very private. $700,000 or BO. post & beam cabin, 4 bdrm, 2.75 baths, prime river Consider Montana’s Bitterroot dry fly fishing (707) 937-4704, [email protected] frontage. $1,450.00 weekly (303) 489-1607 at its best. Three days floating, walking, wading. www.montana-rental.com/ Four nights lodging, airport shuttle $1595. One or White River, Colorado – over 30 miles of Private two anglers. Bill Abbot 1-800-363-2408. 32 years River, finest dry fly fishing in the lower 48, spectacular experience, MT guide #76 owner lodge, home sites start at $2,000,000. Serious Advertise in and qualified potential purchasers are welcome to Idaho Fly Fishing-Henrys Fork: 4BR, 2 Bath, experience the opportunity. Only 60 home sites Classifieds nicely furnished & comfortable-Last Chance/Island total, 56 already sold. Contact Dennis Saffell, Broker/ Park area Walk to Henrys Fork & fly shops Close to Angler/Life-Time TU Member, [email protected] or Yellowstone Park, Madison, Teton, South Fork rivers, Cell (970) 531-3200 Henry & Hebgen Lake - Call (602) 228-5636 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.henrysdrift.com Fraser River, Winter Park, Colorado – just 5 miles from the ski slopes of Winter Park Resort, ¾ mile SOUTHWEST of private improved river, Rainbows average 16” to over IRONHORSE OUTFITTERS. We guide in Arkansas 20”. Beautiful home on 23 acres $989,000. . Contact and New Mexico. Wade or float. Great rates! “Art With Dennis Saffell, Broker/Angler/Life-Time TU Member, Attitude” Joepaul Meyers (918) 424-5545 [email protected]______or Cell (970) 531-3200 or e-mailed to [email protected]. www.ironhorseforge.net 1000+ feet river front, Rio Grande Gold Medal ALASKA Trout Water, just east of South Fork, Colorado, 4.87 Acres. 21 Miles to Wolf Creek Ski Area. Secluded, fast Denali Park, Alaska. Join us on a half- or full- water, large brown trout, great home site. $285,000. day adventure searching for our native Arctic grayling (713) 515-4441. [email protected]______on clear water streams in the Alaska Range. Denali Fly Fishing Guides (907) 768-1127, www.denalifishing.com. Salida, Colo. Fly-fishing heaven, real mountain community. Hayden Mellsop real estate guide, buyers’ FLIES & GEAR agent to fly fishermen. www.Home-Waters.com Pinon Real Estate Group. BAMBOO RODS Buy Sell Consign Established guided fishing business www.coldwatercollectibles.com (616) 554-6239 located in Jackson Hole,Wyo. for sale. Includes

TROUT WINTER 2013 60

Support Trout Unlimited’s Endorsed Business Members

Tenkara USA North Fork Ranch GEORGIA Whether you’re planning Daniel W. Galhardo Dean and Karen May San Francisco, CA 94121 Shawnee, CO 80475 Atlanta Fly Fishing School a fishing trip or searching (888) 483-6527 (303) 838-9873 Mack Martin for new fly patterns, Trout [email protected] (800) 843-7895 Cumming, GA 30040 www.tenkarausa.com [email protected] (770) 889-5638 Unlimited’s business www.northforkranch.com www.atlantaflyfishingschool.com members can help. These The Trout Spot [email protected] Richard Desrosiers Jr. OneFish Engineering, LLC companies are run by Santa Clara, CA 95050-3928 Suzanne Huhta Escape to Blue Ridge LLC, Blue people like you: anglers 1-800-822-7129 Fort Collins, CO 80521 Ridge, GA Pamela Miracle who love the sport and [email protected] (970) 237-0739 www.thetroutspot.com [email protected]______Alpharetta, GA 30023 want to protect it for the www.onefishengineering.com (866) 618-2521 next generation. COLORADO (706) 413-5321 The Peak Fly Shop [email protected] Angler’s Covey Bradley Tomlinson www.EscapetoBlueRidge.com Outfitters Guides Lodges David Leinweber Colorado Springs, CO 80918 Colorado Springs, CO 80904 (719) 687-9122 Frog Hollow Fly Fishing 1-800-75FISHN [email protected]______Kenny Simmons [email protected] http://www.thepeakflyshop.com Dahlonega, Georgia 30533-3042 www.anglerscovey.com (706) 244-4372 ALASKA Wilderness Fishing, Inc. Rainbow Falls Mountain Trout [email protected] Reed Morisky Colorado River Outfitters Richard Johnson www.froghollowflyfishing.com Alaska Fly Fishing Goods Paul Killino and Jim Brunjak Woodland Park, CO 80866 Bradley Elfers Fairbanks, AK 99708-3707 (907) 322-8004 Bond, CO 80423 (719) 687-8690 River Through Atlanta Juneau, AK 99801 (970)653-3474 [email protected] Guide Service 907-586-1550 [email protected]______www.wildernessfishing.com [email protected] www.rainbowfallsmt.com Chris Scalley [email protected] www.coloradoriveroutfitters.net Roswell, GA 30075 www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com Wilderness Place Lodge Rancho Del Rio (770) 650-8630 Cutthroat Anglers Jeff Gibson [email protected] Alaska River Adventures Jason Rockvam ______Jim Buckler Bond, CO 80425 www.riverthroughatlanta.com George Heim Anchorage, AK 99519 (907) 733-2051 Silverthorne, CO 80498 (970) 653-4431 Cooper Landing, AK 99572 Unicoi Outfitters [email protected]______(970) 262-2878 [email protected] (888) 836-9027 [email protected] www.ranchodelrio.com John Cross www.wildernessplacelodge.com [email protected] www.fishcolorado.com Helen, GA 30545 www.alaskariveradventures.com Women’s Flyfishing Rio Outfitters (706) 878-3083 Duranglers Flies & Supplies Brent Cranfill [email protected] Brightwater Alaska, Inc Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf ______Anchorage, AK 99524 John Flick and Tom Knopick South Fork, CO 81154 www.unicoioutfitters.com Chuck Ash Durango, CO 81301 (719) 588-7273 Anchorage, AK 99516 (907) 274-7113 (970) 385-4081 [email protected] 907-344-1340 [email protected]______IDAHO www.womensflyfishing.net [email protected]______www.riooutfitters.com [email protected]______duranglers.com Henry’s Fork Lodge www.brightwateralaska.com Trout’s Fly Fishing Island Park, Idaho 83429 ARKANSAS Dvorak Fishing and Rafting Tucker Ladd Denali Fly Fishing Guides (208) 558-7953 White River Trout Lodge Expeditions Denver, CO 80218 [email protected] Rick McMahan Bill Dvorak (303) 733-1434 Cantwell, AK 99729 Jo Anna Smith www.henrysforklodge.com Nathrop, CO 81236 [email protected]______(907) 768-1127 Cotter, AR 72626 (870) 430-5229 (719) 539-6851 www.troutsflyfishing.com The Lodge at Palisades [email protected]______800-824-3795 Creek www.denalifishing.com [email protected] Willowfly Anglers [email protected] Justin Hays www.whiteriverlodge.com Three Rivers Resort Deneki Outdoors www.dvorakexpeditions.com Irwin, ID 83428 Almont, CO 81210 (866) 393-1613 Alaska West Lodge CALIFORNIA FinAddictz, Inc. 1-888-761-FISH Andrew Bennett [email protected] Thomas Guest [email protected]. Seattle, WA 98107 AirStream Escapes www.tlapc.com Forestville, CA 95436 Boulder, CO 80302 www.willowflyanglers.com (425) 985-5938 Middle Fork River Expeditions 855-247-8646 (970) 387-8798 [email protected][email protected][email protected] CONNECTICUT www.alaskawest.com www.finaddictz.com James Ellsworth www.AirStreamEscapes.com J. Stockard Fly Fishing EPIC Angling & Adventure, LLC Stanley, ID 83278 Buff, Inc. Fish Envi Kent, CT 06757 800-801-5146 Rus Schwausch Mike Stagnitta 1-877-FLY-TYING Alaska Peninsula, AK Santa Rosa, California 95403 [email protected] (707) 569-9009 Sterling, CO 80751 [email protected] www.idahorivers.com (512) 656-2736 (970) 526-6791 www.jsflyfishing.com [email protected][email protected]______www.buffusa.com [email protected] Morning Star Lanyards www.epicanglingadventure.com www.fishenvi.com Mill River Fly Rods Lynda MacButch Cedar House Sport Hotel Bill Lanzoni Pocatello, ID 83204 Grizzly Skins of Alaska Freestone Aquatics, Inc. Wallingford, CT 06492 Rochelle Harrison and Phil Shoemaker Jeff and Patty Baird (208) 232-7510 Truckee, CA 96161 Clint Packo (203)815-2414 office [email protected] King Salmon, AK 99613 Littleton, CO 80127 (203)506-6600 mobile (907) 376-2234 (866) 582-5655 www.mslanyards.com www.cedarhousesporthotel.com 303-807-7805 [email protected] [email protected]______Pro Guide Direct [email protected][email protected] www.millriverflyrods.net www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com www.freestoneaquatics.com Fletcher White Keen Eye Anglers Fly Fishers Club of Orange County FLORIDA Victor, ID 83455 Doug Jones Freestone Outfitters, LLC 3055090332 Kyle Kolodziejski Clint Packo Southwick Associates Moose Pass, AK 99631 Santa Ana, Cali. 92711-3005 [email protected] (951) 451-3005 Littleton, CO 80127 Donna Leonard www.proguidedirect.com (907) 227-5308 720-448-5621 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035 [email protected] [email protected][email protected] (904) 277-9765 RIO Products www.keeneyeanglers.com North Coast Solar www.flyfishfreestone.com (303) 717-0291 Simon Gawesworth Brian Hines [email protected] Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Randa’s Guide Service The High Lonesome Ranch Dennis Randa Santa Rosa, California 95407 www.southwickassociates.com (208) 524-7760 (707) 575-3999 [email protected] Soldotna, AK 99669 Scott Stewart/Scott Bystol Costa (907) 262-9484 [email protected]______www.rioproducts.com www.ncsr.com DeBeque, CO 81630 Marguerite Meyer [email protected] (970) 283-9420 Daytona Beach, FL 32117 Solitude River Trips – www.randafishing.com Pit River Company [email protected] (386) 274-4000 Middle Fork Salmon River Riffles and Waves Alaska Fishing Brian MacDonald www.thehighlonesomeranch.com (800) 447-3700 Al and Jeana Bukowsky Adventures Petaluma, California 94954-1449 www.costadelmar.com Carmen, Idaho 83462 (707) 763-7575 High Mountain Drifters Guide (800) 396-1776 Bob Gill Service Cordova, AK 99574 [email protected][email protected] www.pitrivercompany.com/ Travis Snyder www.rivertrips.com (800) 498-1068 Gunnison, CO 81230 [email protected]______(970) 641-1845 www.akflyfishingadventures.com [email protected] Continued on next page www.highmtndrifters.com

61 TROUT WINTER 2013

Continued from previous page Waterwisp Flies Big Hole Lodge Madison Valley Ranch, LLC WTR Outfitters Jim Greene Craig Fellin Elizabeth Warren & Dan Larson Michael and Megan Kmon Teton Valley Lodge (L) Chevy Chase, MD 20815 Wise River, MT 59762 Ennis, MT 59729 Ovando, MT 59854 Matt Berry 1-800-4-MAYFLY (406) 832-3252 1-800-891-6158 (406) 793-5031 Driggs, ID 83422 [email protected] [email protected][email protected] [email protected] 208-354-8124 or toll free www.waterwisp.com www.bigholelodge.com www.madisonvalleyranch.com wtroutfitters.com 800-455-1182 [email protected] Wisp Resort Big Sky Anglers Montana Fishing Outfitters Yellow Dog Flyfishing tetonvalleylodge.com Michael Valach Joe Moore Pat Straub and Garrett Munson Adventures, LLC Mc Henry, Maryland 21541-1402 Outfitter #8939 Helena, MT 59601 Jim Klug WorldCast Anglers (301) 387-4911 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 (406) 431-5089 Bozeman, MT 59715-4630 Mike Dawkins [email protected]______(406)581-6059 [email protected] (406) 585-8667 Victor, ID 83455 www.wispresort.com [email protected] www.dragfreedrift.com [email protected] 1-800-654-0676 www.bigskyanglers.com www.yellowdogflyfishing.com [email protected] MICHIGAN Montana Troutfitters www.worldcastanglers.com Blackfoot River Outfitters, Inc. Kris Kumlien NEVADA Manistee River Salmon John Herzer and Terri Raugland Bozeman, MT 59715 KENTUCKY Captain Ben Wolfe Missoula, MT 59808 (406) 587-4707 Donup Beulah, MI 49617 (406) 542-7411 [email protected] Jeremy Ochsner Shane & Teresa Young, (877) 442-4294 [email protected] www.troutfitters.com 4790 Caughlin Pkwy #371 Attorneys at Law [email protected]______www.blackfootriver.com Reno, NV 89519 Montana Trout Stalkers Shane Young www.manisteesalmon.com (775) 657-6050 Budget Host Parkway Motel Joe Dilschneider Elizabethtown, KY 42701 [email protected] Vanessa Haines Ennis, MT 59729 ______(502) 773-3622 Mystic Fly Rods www.donup.org [email protected] Dennis Klein Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 581-5150 Portland, MI 48875 (406) 222-3840 [email protected] NEW JERSEY MAINE (248) 672-9375 [email protected] www.montanatrout.com [email protected] www.budgethostparkway.com GBW Insurance Appalachian Mountain Club www.mysticoutdoors.com PRO Outfitters CrossCurrents Fly Shop Katie Boedecker Glenn Tippy Maine Wilderness Lodges Flanders, NJ 07836 Switchback Outfitters Chris Strainer Helena, MT 59624 Shannon Leroy (800) 548-2329 Nick Simon Craig, MT 59648 [email protected] Greenville, ME 04441 [email protected] Marquette, MI 49855 (406) 235-3433 www.prooutfitters.com ______(207) 695-3085 www.gbwinsurance.com/ (906) 362-4327 [email protected] [email protected] Prudential Montana Real Estate www.outdoors.org [email protected] www.crosscurrents.com Shannon’s Fly and Tackle Shop www.goswitchback.com Bryan C. Atwell, Realtor Fishtales Outiftting LLC Bozeman, MT 59718 Jim Holland Chandler Lake Camps Califon, NJ 07830 Wolfe Outfitters Michael Stack (406) 579.7616 Jason Bouchard (908) 832-5736 Capt. Ben Wolfe Sheridan, MT 59749 [email protected] Ashland, ME 04732 [email protected]______Beulah, MI 49617 (406) 842-5742 www.bryanatwell.com (207) 290-1424 www.shannonsflytackle.com 231-883-4265 [email protected] [email protected] Riverside Anglers, Inc. www.chandlerlakecamps.com 877-442-4294 fishtalesoutfitting.com www.wolfeoutfitters.com Alice Owsley NEW MEXICO Gallatin River Lodge MT Outfitter #9435 Eldredge Bros Fly Shop & [email protected] Brazos River Ranch Guide Service Steve Gamble West Yellowstone, MT 59758 Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 640-1698 Bo Prieskorn Jim Bernstein MINNESOTA Las Vegas, NM 87701 1-888-387-0148 [email protected]______Cape Neddick York, ME 03902 (505) 453-1212 Lewiston Area Trout Guides [email protected]______www.riversideanglers.com 1-877-427-9345 [email protected]______Mark Reisetter www.grlodge.com [email protected] Stillwater Anglers Fly Shop and www.nmoutfitter.com Lewiston, MN 55952 www.eldredgeflyshop.com Glacier Anglers Outfitters (507) 523-2557 Mike Cooney Chris Fleck Cimarroncita Historic Ranch Munsungan Hunting & Fishing [email protected] ______West Glacier, MT 59936 Columbus, MT 59109 Retreat Club www.minnesotatrout.com (406) 888-5454 1-855-785-5987 Alan Huerta Jim Carter Ute Park , NM 87749 Namebini [email protected][email protected] Washburn, ME 04786 (505) 603-1559 (207) 592-8411 Carl Haensel www.glacieranglers.net www.stillwateranglersmt.com Duluth, MN 55804 [email protected][email protected] Greater Yellowstone Flyfishers, Inc. Stillwater Outfitters (Outfitter) (218) 525-2381 www.cimarroncita.com www.munsungan.com Chad Olsen Matt Robison [email protected] ______Bozeman, MT 59718 Cooke City , MT 59020 Land of Enchantment Guides Red River Camps www.namebini.com (406) 585-5321 (406) 838-2267 Jen Brophy-Price Noah Parker Portage, ME 04768 [email protected][email protected] MISSOURI www.gyflyfishers.com www.stillwateroutfitters.com Velarde, NM 87582 (207) 554-0420 (505) 629-5688 Chartered Waters Guide [email protected] Greco’s on the Fly Sweetwater Travel Company [email protected]______Service www.redrivercamps.com Capt. Brett Greco Dan, Jeff & Pat Vermillion www.loeflyfishing.com Brett Rader Weatherby’s Ennis, MT 59729 Livingston, MT 59047 Hollister, MO 65672 (406) 640-2627 1-888-FISH-BUM Jeff McEvoy 1-866-362-1928 NEW YORK Grand Lake Stream, ME 04637-3834 [email protected][email protected] [email protected]______www.grecosonthefly.com www.sweetwatertravel.com Douglaston Salmon Run (207) 796-5558 www.charteredwaters.com Garrett Brancy [email protected] Healing Waters Lodge TicketPrinting.com Pulaski, NY 13142 www.weatherbys.com Fishing Guide Branson Greg and Janet Lilly Lance Trebesch John Sappington (315) 298-6672 Twin Bridges, MT 59754 Bozeman, MT 59715 [email protected] MARYLAND Branson, MO 65616 (406) 684-5960 (406) 600-6321 (417) 434-2823 http://douglastonsalmonrun.com Adrenaline High [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.hwlodge.com www.ticketprinting.com The Fly Shack, Inc. Tommy Burdett www.fishingguidebranson.com Michael Bokan Salsbury, MD 21804 Lewis and Clark Expeditions Ticket River Gloversville, NY 12078 (443) 523-0642 MONTANA Mike Geary Lance Trebesch 800-801-2318 [email protected] Clancy, MT 59634 Bozeman, MT 59715 [email protected] Absaroka Beartooth ______www.Adrenalinehigh.com (406) 449-4632 (406) 600-6321 www.FlyShack.com Outfitters, Inc. Backwater Angler [email protected] [email protected] Cameron S. Mayo www.lewisandclarkexpeditions.net www.ticketriver.com North Flats Guiding Theaux Le Gardeur Big Timber, MT 59011 David Blinken Monkton, MD 21111 (406) 579-3866 Linehan Outfitting Company Triple-M-Outfitters East Hampton, NY 10028 (410) 357-9557 [email protected]______Tim Linehan Mark Faroni (917) 975-0912 [email protected] www.aboadventures.com Troy, MT 59935 Dixon, MT 59831 [email protected] www.backwaterangler.com 1-800-596-0034 (406) 246-3249 www.northflats.com Angler’s West Flyfishing Savage River Lodge [email protected] [email protected] Outfitters www.fishmontana.com www.triplemoutfitters.com Ontario Fly Charter and Mike Dreisbach Matson Rogers Stream Frostburg, MD 21532 Emigrant, MT 59027 Long Outfitting Trout On The Fly Scott Feltrinelli (301) 689-3200 (406) 333-4401 Matthew A. Long Nate Stevane Webster, NY 14580 [email protected] [email protected] Livingston, MT 59047 Cameron, MT 59720 (585) 694-9328 www.savageriverlodge.com www.montanaflyfishers.com (406) 222-6775 (406) 580-7370 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.Ontariofly.com www.longoutfitting.com www.montanatroutonthefly.com

TROUT WINTER 2013 62

Woodstock Hardware SOUTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA Live Water Properties Carrileufu Valley Lodge Vincent R. Christofora, Jr. Alex Maher, Broker/Owner Pancho Panzer Woodstock, NY 12498 Nantahala River Lodge 44 Outdoors, Inc Jackson, WY 83002 El Bolson, Rio Negro (8430), (845) 679-2862 Mickey and Annette Youmans Art Major 1-866-734-6100 Argentina Winchester, VA 22601 [email protected] Topton, SC 28781 [email protected]______+54-9-2944-330254 (540) 905-0031 912-596-4360 www.livewaterproperties.com [email protected]______NORTH CAROLINA 800-470-4718 [email protected] www.carrileufuvalleylodge.com [email protected]______www.44outdoors.com The Lodge at Jackson Fork Davidson River Outfitters www.nantahalariverlodge.net Ranch Chime Lodge Kevin Howell Cabins at Rose River Farm Dan Abrashoff Junin de los Andes Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 Sporting Adventures International, Douglas Dear Bondurant, WY 82922 Patagonia, Argentina (888)861-0111 LLC Syria, VA 22743 1-866-953-1290 (786)266-5068 (703) 930-8229 [email protected] Joe Miles [email protected][email protected] www.davidsonflyfishing.com Camden, SC 29021 [email protected] www.jacksonfork.com www.chimelodge.com (803) 713-8888 www.roseriverfarm.com The Eseeola Lodge at Linville [email protected] North Fork Anglers AUSTRIA Resorts www.sportingadv.com Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Tim Wade Alan Burchell Colby Trow Cody, WY 82414 Association Die Bewirtschafter Linville, NC 28646 TENNESSEE Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (307) 527-7274 c/o Clemens Gumpinger (828) 733-4311 (540) 434-2444 [email protected]______Tb Gewässeroekologie [email protected] [email protected] Watauga River Lodge & Outfitter ______www.northforkanglers.com 4600 Wels www.eseeola.com http://www.mossycreekflyfishing.com/ Austria / Europe Brownie Liles Pfister Land Company, LLC 436648333208 Hunter Banks Company Ms. Guided Buffalo, WY 82834 Watauga, TN 37694 Kiki Galvin [email protected] Drake Whitlock (828) 208-3428 (307) 684-5201 www.diebewirtschafter.at Asheville, NC 28801 Falls Church, VA 22043 [email protected][email protected] (703) 893-7020 [email protected] www.wataugariverlodge.com www.pfisterlandco.com BAHAMAS www.hunterbanks.com [email protected] South Holston River Lodge www.msguidedflyfishing.net Reel Deal Anglers JH, Inc. Deep Water Cay (Bahamas) Rhett J. Bain Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions Jon Hooper Ridgeland, SC 29936 New River Fly Fishing Jackson, WY 83002 Will Lillard Bristol, Tennessee 37620 (8880 420-6202 Mike Smith 1-877-744-0522 Pisgah Forest, NC 28768 (423) 878-3457 [email protected] (828) 577-8204 Willis, VA 24380 [email protected] [email protected] (540)789-7811 ______www.deepwatercay.com [email protected]______www.southholstonriverlodge.com www.reeldealanglers.com www.lillardflyfishing.com [email protected] Deneki Outdoors www.newriverflyfish.com Rock Creek Anglers Andros South Lodge TEXAS Clark Smyth Nantahala Outfitter Andrew Bennett Saddlestring, WY 82840 Fred Mix Ol River Hideaway LLC WASHINGTON Seattle, WA 98107 (888) 945-3876 Bluffton, NC 29910 Bob or Kim Kane (425) 985-5938 (843) 683-3474 ConserveWare [email protected] New Braunfels, TX 78132 [email protected] Jay Clark www.rockcreekanglers.com [email protected] (830) 964-4443 www.androssouth.com www.nantahalaoutfitter.com Seattle, WA 98177 [email protected] (206) 356-7564 Rocky Mountain Ranch www.olriverhideaway.com OHIO [email protected] Management CANADA Jim Broderick www.conserveware.com Frontier Farwest Lodge UTAH Jackson, WY 83002 Time Timer, LLC Derek Botchford David Rogers Emerging Rivers Guide (307) 690-9189 Falcon’s Ledge Telkwa, BC V0J 2X0 Cincinnati, OH 45243 Services [email protected] David Danley ______(877) 846-9153 (877) 771-8463 Derek Young www.rockymountainranchmanagement Altamont, UT 84001 [email protected] [email protected] Snoqualmie, WA 98065 .com ______(877) 879-3737 __ www.bulkleysteelhead.com www.timetimer.com (425) 373-6417 [email protected] Stephen L Hays DDS, PC [email protected] Scott Lake Lodge www.falconsledge.com Steve Hays Troutside Media www.emergingrivers.com Rhinelander, WI 54501 John Kolkmeyer Saratoga, WY 82331 Flaming Gorge Resort (888) 830-9525 Cincinnati, OH 45243 WEST VIRGINIA (307) 326-8895 Kevin Clegg [email protected] (513) 240-4743 Dutch John, UT 84023 [email protected] Angler’s Xstream www.scottlakelodge.com [email protected] (877) 348-7688 Parkersburg, WV 26101 Sweetwater Fishing Expeditions, www.troutsidemedia.com [email protected] ______1-877-909-6911 LLC CHILE www.flaminggorgeresort.com George H. Hunker III OREGON [email protected] Patagonia Sur LLC Park City Outfitters anglersxstream.com Lander, WY 82520 (307) 332-3986 Ben Taylor Deep Canyon Outfitters Brandon Bertagnole New York, NY 10022 Damien Nurre [email protected] Park City, UT 84098 WISCONSIN (212) 888-0215 Bend, OR 97701 www.sweetwaterfishing.com 1-866-649-3337 [email protected] (541) 323-3007 BlueSky Furled Leaders [email protected] Two Rivers Emporium www.patagoniasur.com [email protected]______www.parkcityoutfitters.com John Cantwell www.deschutesflyfish.com Green Bay, WI 54301 Mike Kaul RodsReelsandGear.com (920) 430-1239 Pinedale, WY 82941 Fish On! Fly & Tackle Wayne Hamilton [email protected] 1-800-329-4353 Michael Unruh Orem , UT 84097 www.blueskyfly.com [email protected] Milwaukie, OR 97222 (800) 390-9343 www.2rivers.net (503) 756-9010 [email protected] WYOMING Westbank Anglers [email protected] www.RodsReelsandGear.com www.fishonflies.com Bear Basin Adventures Baker Salsbury Spinner Fall Guide Service Heath & Sarah Woltman Teton Village, WY 83025 PENNSYLVANIA Scott Barrus Fort Washakie, WY 82514 307-733-6483 Dutch John, UT 84023 (307) 349-4630 800-922-3474 Arnot Sportsmen’s Assoc. Inc (877) 811-3474 (307) 840-3579 (cell) www.westbank.com Ron Signor [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Arnot, PA 16911-0142 www.spinnerfall.com www.bearbasinadventures.com Get (570) 638-2985 [email protected] Trout Bum 2 Fish the Fly Guide Service & Involved… Peter Robinson Trave l INTERNATIONAL Aquatic Resource Restoration Park City, UT 84098 Jason Balogh For information Lee Irwin (435) 658-1166 Jackson, WY 83001 ARGENTINA Seven Valleys, PA 17360 www.troutbum2.com (307) 690-1139 on TU’s Endorsed (717) 428-9368 [email protected][email protected] Andes Drifters Business Members [email protected] www.fishthefly.com Kevin Howell www.arrc1.com VERMONT San Martin de Los Andes, 8370 program, or to High Country Flies/Jack Argentina update your listing, FishUSA.com Quimby Country Lodge and Dennis Sports 1(828)883-4750 Sales Manager please contact Cottages Howard Cole [email protected] Erie, PA 16502 Ray Wojcikewych Jackson, Wyoming 83001 www.andesdrifters.com Walt Gasson at 800-922-1219 Averill, VT 05901 (307) 733-7210 [email protected] (802) 822-5533 [email protected] [email protected].______http://www.fishusa.com [email protected] www.highcountryflies.com www.quimbycountry.com

63 TROUT WINTER 2013

EAGLE CLAW TRAILMASTER

The Rod That Changed the World

BY PAUL BRUUN Anybody whoo is around ketingketin and product director reports numerous trout fishing for a while grins whenn spottingspotting a callscalls asking about early Trailmaster warranty yellow, four- or six-piece fiberglass rodrod wearingwearing workwor for a loose reel seat or frayed guide the familiar Eagle Claw indicia. If Trailmaster wraps.wrap These are met with the offer of a free rods could talk, their collected adventuresntures would currentcurr model replacement. Such generosity is produce an epic. Despite the now proliferationroliferation ooftenfte refused because the old rod is so full of of 4-piecers, this multi-tasking mmasterpieceasterpiece mememories,m there is no interest in a new one. remains history’s most recognizedd combina- Trailmasters climbed into Jeeps, tion pack rod. backpacks, canoes, horse saddle bags, Of the thousands of fishing devicesvices created panniers and Honda Trail 90 gear by Denver-based Wright & McGill/Eagle/Eagle Claw racks. Everyone from youngsters to bush during its nearly 100-year history, nnoo rod, even gguides, leathery cowboys and vacationeers the storied Granger bamboos, incitesncites more tottotede Trailmasters to cast grasshoppers, flies nostalgia and tales than the Trailmastermaster and worms to Kern River California series. goldens all the way to the Smokies for Introduced in 1960 by W&M,M, the Eastern brookies. Trailmaster—unlike most two-piecepiece In the mid 1970’s one of my jobs was rods of the day—was a shorter mmulti-ulti- selling showcases full of Trailmasters piece spinning and fly rod combinationnation to eager Jackson Hole locals and outfit sized to go. It wore bright WrightWright tourists. In the beginning of my out- & McGill yellow and, according toto the fitting career, a memorable float trip catalog, was created in four, six andd eighteight incident happened after lunch when pieces of hollow fiberglass and coulduld be two young brothers left their treasured varietally packaged in aluminum tubes,tubes, Trailmasters behind. Retrieving the Vista Packs, Leatherette cases andd even rods that evening required my wading traveling briefcases. the swollen Green River. This took The magic survives today withith its forever because the newest Trailmaster reversible handle. When the 7- or 7 1/2-1/2- guardians—a massive bull moose and ft. rod is inserted into one handle end,end, a a determined skunk—took a half hour fly reel mount sits at the bottom. By fitting to vacate the lunch spot. the rod into this handle’s other end,d, a hood Eagle Claw Trailmasters are uncondition- and ring locking system holds eitherr a spinspin-- ally guaranteed for the life of the rod. ning or spin-cast reel. Thus Trailmastersmasters I’m not sure if that covers their owners handily present natural baits, spinnersinners and guides! and flies in streams and lakes. Chris Russell says whenever he’s spottedpotted Do you have a story about the Eagle Claw in his Eagle Claw shirt, stories about an old Trailmaster? If so, tell us about it at Trailmaster that someone has had passedpassed ______TU.ORG/BLOG down to them begin rolling. W&M’ss marmar--

TROUT SPRING 2007 64

Trout Unlimited has partnered with Capital One® to offer you three credit card options to ﬁ t your needs. Choose a card that earns you great rewards, one with a low introductory APR or another to help build your credit. Plus, you can choose an image for your card that highlights your support for TU. Apply today! Protecting the Places You Love to Fish www.tu.org/capitalone

Non-Proﬁ t US Postage PAID Harrisburg PA Permit # 406

TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY ...and then the fish you love. Did You Know? A simple gift in your will to Trout Unlimited comes with numerous benefits: You can put family first by leaving us a percentage or the remainder of your estate. You can reduce possible future estate taxes. You can direct more of your money to the people and causes you care about.

LEARN MORE about how you can protect trout and salmon fisheries for future generations.

Visit tu.org/giftplanning or contact Georgia Sullivan at (703) 284-9413 or [email protected].______