It is sometimes amazing how one small act of giving can multiply into many. Last year, I was looking for donations to encourage people to get involved with Trout Unlimited’s fledgling Wild Steelhead Initiative. The donation would be the prize – incentive – for TU chapters to get involved in the fight for wild steelhead. The first person I …
Another opportunity to protect the Smith
Please Take Action now to help Wild Steelheaders United preserve this amazing wild steelhead fishery from top to bottom. See “HOW TO COMMENT.” Comment period closes May 27, 2016. The jade-green waters of the legendary Smith River are hauntingly beautiful. But for the better part of a century this stream has haunted anglers primarily for another reason: it’s consistent runs …
The Skagit River open for catch and release, why?
Recently a few of our members raised some questions and concerns about opening a spring catch-and-release (C&R) fishery on the Skagit River. Their primary concern was to protect the healthiest remaining wild steelhead run in Puget Sound — meaning there should be no C&R season — to prevent another population collapse like the one that resulted in the closure …
Oooh-Ooh, That Smell…
By Bill Herzog Can’t you smell that smell? It starts with the first real spring day, usually in early March. It rises to a crescendo in mid April, when hard rains or even a trip to midtown cannot dampen the olfactory onslaught. I’m talking about the tree bloom scent from alder, cottonwood, just the wild flowers in general that produce …
News flash: “Jailed hatchery steelhead released after being held captive for two years! Anglers rejoice!”
By: Rob Masonis That was essentially the message spread by various Puget Sound media outlets this week when the federal government allowed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to release fish from several steelhead hatcheries after two years. The hold-up had been, until last week, the hatcheries had not received permits establishing they did not jeopardize wild steelhead protected …
What “once was” may still come for steelheaders
As steelheaders, we’re all familiar with conventional wisdom about steelhead fishing. The fishing isn’t what it used to be. You should have been here 50 years ago. Stories of huge fish and numerous multiple fish days, of fishing places that no one else had fished for weeks, or months. Tales of what once was, all centering around …
Oregon HGMP scoping comments
March 17, 2016 Sent via email to: OregonCoastHatcheryEIS.wcr@noaa.gov National Marine Fisheries Service Sustainable Fisheries Division 2900 NW Stewart Parkway Roseburg, OR 97471 RE: Oregon Coast Hatchery EIS Scoping Comments To Whom It May Concern: Trout Unlimited (TU), the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring our nation’s trout and …
Supporting steelhead in the Columbia Basin
Since April 1, 2010, anglers over 15, who fish for salmon and steelhead in Washington’s Columbia River basin, have been required to purchase a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (CRSSE). This tag generates on average $1.6 million annually to help improve fishing opportunities throughout the Columbia River Basin. Recently we made a push for the renewal and extension of the …
Catch and Release is not a Crime
Occupy Skagit April 30, 2016 Howard Miller Steelhead Park Rockport, WA Drift boats full of steelhead anglers plying emerald green waters are a common fixture of Northwest Rivers in late winter and spring. However this is no longer the case in Puget Sound where spring steelhead seasons have been closed for nearly a decade.The Skagit River was arguably …
Proposed Mine Threatens Methow Headwaters
The Methow River is one of Washington’s most iconic rivers for steelhead fishing and other outdoor pursuits, and it continues to be a Pacific Northwest mecca for anglers, hunters, recreationists, and conservationists alike. But proposed large-scale copper mining on Flagg Mountain, within the headwaters of the Methow River, directly threatens this investment and poses a serious threat to these fish …