Latest Post
A New Season’s Topography
I'm just dying to get on the river, but the weather and prospects for local fishing in the winter is pretty low. In anticipation of the new season, I bring you something a little different: me reading the post to you.
Featured Post
I'm just dying to get on the river, but the weather and prospects for local fishing in the winter is pretty low. In anticipation of the new season, I bring you something a little different: me reading the post to you.
News and Info
-
Need Plans to Fuel Your Pre Fishing Season Excitement?February 20, 2010 @ 7:33 am
Head on over to Island Park and watch the big cutts on their spawning run as they make their way from Henry's Lake to Hatchery Creek. You can watch the IDFG as they take eggs from the fish at the fish ladder. This supports their stocking program with 1.2 million fingerlings released back into Henry's Lake in the fall.
Post a comment -
If only you were born a few million years ago…February 20, 2010 @ 7:16 am
...then you could have posed for your ultimate grip-n-grin shot with the Leedsichthys, a filter-feeding fish that reached lengths of 30-50 feet.
-
Update Your Links to Mike Savlen’s New Blog AddressFebruary 20, 2010 @ 6:57 am
If you've tried getting to Mike Savlen's Fresh Art Blog and keep in touch with his excellent artwork, but you're having trouble, make sure you update your address for him (see link above) since he's recently changed it.
-
Rock Rollers at Soul of StreamsFebruary 18, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
Robert Williamson from "Soul of Streams" has a great little piece on rock rollers (aka rock worms, aka cased caddisflies). Robert is an excellent fly tier here in Utah, specializing in air-filled and chain-stitched flies. He first had this current piece on his blog published in Fly Fishing & Tying Journal (in other words, this guy is legit when it comes to writing and tying—not a hack like some of us). He has some nice science and history in the post. Go check it out.
-
Five More Angling ArtistsJanuary 30, 2010 @ 9:37 am
Here are five more angling artists for your optic pleasure. Derek DeYoung's Canvasfish.com bills itself as "art for the avid angler." His artwork is stylized using a bold palette with much of the work being close-ups of fish. I didn't notice any people or landscapes in his work, just fish. He has originals, prints, decals, notecards, etc. for sale. The originals are pricey (as one would expect), but his giclee prints are quite reasonable. Bob White's Whitefish Studio offer's Bob's original artwork. John Gierach's Fly Rod and Reel columns were illustrated with Bob's paintings. He uses a more traditional palette and I believe all of his pieces include people except his landscape series. His "Fish Prints" feature several species and all of them depict a person holding a fish out of the water except for his two "Three Wise Men" series. Besides angling art, he also offers other sporting works. [His site can be a bit difficult to navigate to find all of the angling art, but the link I give probably provides the best option, but be sure to browse the other areas as well.] Matt Zudweg's Carvedfish.com offers hand painted signs, including a nice selection of angling signs. The signs are created in such a way that gives them a vintage look. He also offers some actual carved signs with fish on them. The fish are painted by Derek DeYoung. Kelly Dangerfield has about ten paintings of fish. They are all headshots. It looks as if most of the originals are sold, but prints are available from Imagekind. Fran Friesen has some angling art displayed at FlyBC.ca Gallery. She has some nice mixed media pieces and an interesting set of flies painted on small river stones. I can't seem to find any information on how to contact her for purchasing. [The FlyBC.ca site has some additional artists you may be interest in.]
-
Aspiring Writers: 2010 Traver Writing AwardJanuary 30, 2010 @ 8:18 am
The 2010 Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award sponsored by Fly Rod and Reel is now accepting entries. This "is your chance to get your original work read by fly-fishing-writing professionals and possibly published in FR&R. The Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing award carries a $2,000 First Prize, from the John D. Voelker Foundation, sponsor of the award; a Second Place award of $750 will be included this year; Third Place is $250."
-
California’s DFG’s Hatchery Stocking ReportJanuary 20, 2010 @ 7:33 pm
For those of you concerned about the impact of hatchery released fish into native fish habitat in California, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) released their Environmental Impact Report (EIR) / Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on January 11. It's a weighty tome consisting of over 25 PDF files. The reason for the EIR/EIS is because of a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Rivers Council and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in which they said that the CDFG's stocking program failed to meet the standards of California's Environmental Quality Act. The CBD released a statement January 18 responding to the EIR/EIS in which they said, "Although the report disclosed many severe impacts of the program, it failed to analyze the full impacts of stocking or adopt adequate measures to reduce the program’s harm."
-
Super Bow – from FlydahoJanuary 12, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
Granny (Bob Granstrom) runs a blog called Flydaho, dedicated to fly fishing Idaho (although this story takes place in Oregon, we'll forgive him). His health has slowed him down this past year, but he's come roaring back to start off this new year with a great piece of writing. He tells of an adventure titled "Super Bow" with his faithful dog Bozo back in June of 1964 (most of us young punks weren't even born yet--full disclosure: I was conceived one month before his story took place, so I can claim "young punk" status on this) and the black drake hatch. Get over there, enjoy the piece, and drop him a comment.
-
In the Land of the Cutthroats – DVDJanuary 12, 2010 @ 7:39 am
I saw this over at Mike's blog: Of Dry Flies and Fat Tires (fly fishing and mountain biking the west blog—go check out his site). Nick Clement of Reel Escape Films has a nice trailer (4:33) of his In the Land of the Cutthroats (this is the link to the HD version on Vimeo). This is what fly fishing for cutties is all about: the scenery and the fish. If this doesn't get you ready for the upcoming fishing season...well, may the fishing gods take pity on your angler's soul. "Full Trailer for 'In the Land of the Cutthroats' a short film that tells the story of three native trout species that evolved along the Continental Divide in Colorado. The film is an official selection of the 2010 Fly Fishing Film Tour" Music by Drew Goldstone www.reeltoreelrecords.com
-
Thom Glace – Watercolors of TroutJanuary 2, 2010 @ 10:56 am
Thom Glace is a painter living in central Pennsylvania. He works in watercolors. Check out Thom's latest painting, a California Golden Trout. He has a nice series of trout and bass.as well as some other fish that may be of interest to fly fishers. Look at the buttons on the left of his home page to access them. He does have a painting of a brown trout with a double humpy fly at the bottom of the "Fish Art III" section. His art reminds me of early fish illustrations found in biology texts. I think it's because he uses a lot of browns and there seems to be a type of stippling to his work. I think his warm water fish are especially good. All-in-all I think Thom has some nice work being offered.
-
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout – Suit Aims for ProtectionNovember 25, 2009 @ 7:18 am
Yesterday, the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the USFWS to seek protection for the Colorado River cutthroat under the Endangered Species Act. They claim that the USFWS dened the protection in 2007, it was based "on a flawed Bush-era policy that allowed the agency to look only at current range when considering whether the trout is endangered." The CBD would like a more expansive interpretation used, reflecting the historical range of the fish. (See a pdf file containing the full suit here.) "The Center for Biological Diversity has been actively working to overturn Bush-era decisions limiting protection for endangered species, including suing to overturn decisions affecting 54 species. To date, this campaign has been highly successful, with the Obama administration agreeing to reconsider 45 of the 54 decisions."
-
Mike Savlen’s New Cutthroat ArtOctober 10, 2009 @ 8:39 am
Mike Savlen has done his first (I believe it's his first) painting of a cutthroat. The colors are exceptionally brilliant. It's for sale too. Go check it out and buy it for me for your favorite angler me again who would really appreciate it. I'm saving my pennies Mike!
-
South Fork of the Snake & Teton Rivers – Scenic or Recreational Waters?October 10, 2009 @ 8:08 am
Things to keep an eye on. Anyone familiar with the Teton Valley or Swan Valley in Idaho knows about the rivers flowing through them: The Teton River runs through the former and the South Fork of the Snake River through the latter. The BLM is considering if parts of these two rivers should be designated as scenic rivers or recreational rivers. Here's a nice article (from the Rexburg Standard Journal) about the efforts on these two rivers. This website has information about wild, scenic and recreational designations of waters.
-
Local Cutthroat Rehabilitation ProjectSeptember 24, 2009 @ 7:17 pm
A local (just over the mountain) creek, Swan Creek, is being rehabilitated and restocked with Bonneville cutthroat. There are multiple ongoing projects to help Bear Lake's feeder creeks. DWR will rotenone the creek this fall and then restock with Bonnies. For those concerned about "killing fish," there is a pretty decent comparison in the article: "Just as rogue weeds that choke out native plants are eradicated to preserve natural ecosystems, the alien hybrids in Swan Creek will be wiped out to make way for natives."
-
Fishing Imperiled in the Rocky MountainsSeptember 23, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
Public lands are being leased for oil and gas extraction, just like they always have. However, over the next 20 years, "an estimated 126,000 new wells are planned." Last week the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (SFRED) published a report, "Hunting and Fishing Imperiled," in which they name ten large parcels of public land that are under siege. The World Fishing Network has a nice overview of the report. You can get SFRED's executive summary (4 page PDF file) or the full report (31 page PDF file).
-
Stocking Lakes with Cutthroat – by HorsebackSeptember 19, 2009 @ 5:37 am
A nice little article from the Helena Independent Record about stocking westslope cutthroat into Montana's back-country lakes by horseback. A little old-timey nostalgia of the way things used to be.
-
Montana’s Upper Clark Fork RestorationSeptember 7, 2009 @ 7:52 am
Nice article about the problems with the Upper Clark Fork and the restoration work needed.
-
Whitewater Parks in Native Trout Rivers?September 7, 2009 @ 7:21 am
Possibly coming to a river near you: your favorite fishing hole turned into a whitewater "park." Apparently this is becoming a more common occurrence than you might think. Cities are taking naturally flowing rivers and converting them into areas for tubing, kayaking, etc. As part of that transition, they often remove vegetation along the river. Sparks, Nevada opened a park in June of this year which is causing Nevada Fish and Wildlife Services to condemn the building of the park because of the Lahontan cutthroat trout native to that river. Some people say these parks displace fish from the rivers. Others, such as Trout Unlimited officials in Colorado (which has a handful of these parks) are embracing them as a way to preserve constant water flows in the river.
-
Job – Wildlife Staff Specialist – RenoAugust 19, 2009 @ 6:43 am
Anyone looking for a change of jobs? Have a bachelor's degree in wildlife management or biology? Want to move to Reno (close access to some incredible fishing)? Feel like making $51k-$77k? Get your keister moving and check it out now.
-
Robert Proposes a Great “Hoppertunity” on the Logan RiverAugust 17, 2009 @ 9:06 pm
Robert, from "Soul of Streams," suggests a great opportunity to share a little fun, food and fishing on the Logan River. He wants us to test a "Twisted Hopper" pattern that he will provide. Hop over to his blog, read it and leave a comment. If you're one of my regular readers (this applies to all three of you), I can put up a couple of you at my place for the night if you need to crash for free and don't want to rough it camping (although I can mostly only offer floor space, but I've got plenty of that).
Welcome to Cutthroat Stalker
This is my little attempt at sharing the meanderings of my mind (why anyone would choose to enter that realm, I have no clue—but here you are). Cutthroat Stalker—it sounds a bit intimidating, but I’m pretty harmless. You can read more about me, sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter (I doubt I’ll add any new content just for Twitter, most likely just the blog posts in case you want to follow that way).My Recent Posts
Book Review of An Entirely Synthetic Fish, by Anders Halverson. The book goes on sale next week. You’ll want to grab a copy of this fascinating look at the history of stocking and conservation of non-native fish in the United States that is told with a reporter's zeal for facts yet with a storyteller's touch.
The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation has 42 great experiences still open for bidding. The first item to be sold outright was a wolf pup count for two people in the Sawtooth National Forest for $900. As much as I would have loved to win that bid, it's a little out of my price range. Most of the trips are under $100 for starting bids, and quite a few below $50. Check out the cool trips (jet boat patrol on South Fork Snake River, Hells Canyon white sturgeon research, guided fly fishing on Silver Creek, elk calf capture, back country lake fish planting by horseback, several spawning surveys, etc., etc.), and bid on something.
The ezine version of Cutthroat Stalker is hitting the virtual stands today. Get your free copy and give me feedback (please).
The temperature inversions in our valley have one positive affect: some incredible hoar frost (radiation frost) builds up. As I wait for ice and joints to thaw, and fish to move, I walk the valley. Exchanging fly rod and flies for tripod and camera, I stay as close to water as I can. Stalking scenes of [...]
Ted Leeson has been one of my favorite authors since his first book in 1994, The Habit of Rivers. Inventing Montana has a lot more personal feel and more humor than his previous works. For those of you who might have tried Leeson before but didn’t quite get into it, give this one a try. For those who already enjoy Leeson, you’ll love the extra dimensions this book adds to his repertoire.
A handful of artists are featured in this post as I try to get caught up. Fly fishing art has some great artists plying their skills. In addition, I find many of them keep some great blogs where you can get a behind-the-scenes look at an artist at work.
Janicke Nordgreen is back with bells on! She's the Norwegian doctoral student from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NSVS) who brought us the morphine and goldfish study last year resulting in this title: "Fish May Actually Feel Pain And React To It Much Like Humans Do." In October 2009 she defended her PhD-thesis, entitled “Nociception and pain in teleost fish.”
Logan, in northern Utah, was not much different than most early Mormon settlements. White settlers first arrived in 1859 and located near the Logan River. They planted crops, diverted the North Branch of the Logan River for irrigation, and the settlement grew. Canals and ditches were expanded and added to meet the city’s growing needs. Mills sprouted along the canals. Still more people arrived and with them came changes: adobe walls replaced logs, clapboard replaced adobe and brick replaced clapboard. However, one constant through the changes were the canals. Mills along the canals came and went, but the canals remained.
The Western Watersheds Project (and some others) filed an appeal concerning the local USFS's ranger's ruling concerning the Franklin Basin allotment. On December 9, 2009, the USDA, through the Forest Supervisor, Brian Ferebee, sided with WWP.
Dean Bell, one of New Zealand’s premiere guides, fishes Fiordland of New Zealand’s South Island giving excellent instruction on how to fish using the "dead drift," as well as additional information and analysis.
