We’re still riding high from the incredible story of recovery told by Shane Anderson in last week’s premier of Rising from the Ashes. Today, we’ve got another in our Meet the Team blog series and this week the spotlight is on Jenny Weis, Alaska Communications Manager for TU. Jenny is part of the team that put together content for Elwha …
COVID and steelhead: how anglers can stay safe and sane during the pandemic
It’s been close to a month now since the first wave of stay-at-home orders were issued here in the Pacific Northwest due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Anxiety, fear, confusion, sadness, and anger, are all emotions that I’m sure we’ve all felt at one time or another as close to 92% of United States is under a stay-at-home order because of …
Finding Fish in the Tongass National Forest
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), 322 of Southeast Alaska’s 5,000+ anadromous waterways (waters that support ocean-going fish like salmon and steelhead) are officially recognized as supporting annul escapements (or runs) of steelhead. The “officially recognized” part is key, as this means they are included in the ADFG Anadromous Waters Catalog (AWC). We believe there are many more than 322 that are not documented …
What is the relationship between freshwater and ocean growth and steelhead life histories in the Situk River
We are in the heart of winter steelhead season now. Some regions are experiencing poor returns of wild fish this year, while others are faring better. As steelheaders we ride the wave, from good years to bad ones and everything in between. This week we are back with a Science Friday post on a recent study on wild steelhead in …
Throwback Thursday- Voluntary Beatdown Part I
This post is part of our Throwback Thursday series and originally appeared on the now deceased blog “Voluntary Beatdown.” Author Jason Koertge can be found on Instagram at @bacon_to_fry. Thanks to Jason for letting WSU revive your epic work as one of the best fishing experience writers we’ve had the pleasure of reading. RIP VB. take any …
Throwback Thursday- A Friendly Reminder: Hatchery Steelhead Are Tasty
With summer just around the corner, the Wild Steelheaders crew is feeling a bit nostalgic. Winter rods are packed up and summer steelhead are a ways away, and we’ve been finding ourselves daydreaming of tiny flies, drylines, baseball games, cherry pie, and some of the internet’s most prolific fishy blog posts. In the spirit of days gone by, we’re kicking …
The Last Steelhead
Longtime angling author, steelhead aficionado, TROUT Magazine contributor and musician Chris Santella has created a novel way to publicize the plight of wild steelhead. Santella’s new rock opera, The Last Steelhead, looks at the factors contributing to the decline of wild steelhead runs and “the attitudes surrounding our behaviors and policies that seem to be standing in the …
The Life Cycle of Wild Steelhead
Well, it is steelhead season. No doubt. “Septober” is officially underway. To celebrate the changing season we are re-posing the question that every serious steelhead angler should be able to answer in the affirmative: Do you really know a steelhead? Think about it, we spend thousands of hours pursuing steelhead, but how much of that time is …
WSU leading the charge on sonar
Occasionally, we get asked what Wild Steelheaders United is really doing to improve wild steelhead populations across their range. We could start by mentioning that our habitat restoration and fish passage improvement projects are delivering big results in some of the last best wild steelhead strongholds in North America. In the past year alone, our work along California’s fabled …
Mining & Transboundary Rivers: What do the Skagit, Taku, Stikine, and Elk rivers have in common?
British Columbia is in the midst of a mining boom, with dozens of large-scale mines in various stages of exploration, development, and operation. Lax mining regulations and low standards for financial bonding have encouraged the industry’s expansion in the region, but at what cost? Many of these mine sites sit within watersheds of rivers — like the Skagit River …