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Good news for the headwaters of the Upper Blackfoot River

Good news for the headwaters of the Upper Blackfoot River--Cleaning up mine remnants polluting the Blackfoot River get a little closer.

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The Fish on Fallingwater

The calendar proclaims summer. But snow is still on the peaks. Rain spits in fits of fury. Temperatures crawl toward seventy yet stop shy. Our never-ending spring continues. Rivers are high and turbid—I am low and torpid. A potential break in the cloudiness presents itself and on pretenses of picking up sod to turf my yard, Dan and I make for Williams Creek.

News and Info

• June 26, 2009 @ 8:00 am
  Obama nominates Sam Hamilton to head the US Fish and Wildlife department. The USFWS has had credibility issues during the Bush administration for altering or suppressing scientific findings. However, Hamilton is currently the head of the USFWS's Southeastern Region where scientists and employees were surveyed and have some low ratings for key issues in their region. Although The National Wildlife Refuge Association and Ducks Unlimited have both given support for the choice as well as The Trust for Public Land.
  
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• June 26, 2009 @ 6:18 am
  In a news release from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, they said they "...welcomed an announcement by the Utah Bureau of Land Management that valuable public-lands fish and wildlife habitat would receive additional review before being leased for oil and gas development." Ted Williams has a brief piece here as well.
  
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• June 26, 2009 @ 5:54 am
  Oh no, it looks like some anglers in Tennessee are having some problems very familiar to those of us in Utah who just dealt with HB 187. Property owners along the Holston River are trying to exert/enforce/enact their real/imagined rights along the river which is causing friction with anglers there. Read about it over at flyfishmagazine.
  
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• June 23, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
  Great news from some of my home waters where they are working hard at restoring important Bonneville cutthroat spawning runs. The historic range of these cutthroat have been greatly impacted by humans, especially degrading spawning creeks and the introduction of nonnative trout species. They are doing some fantastic work (our local TU chapter was recently filled in on some of the work being done). This article has some excellent information about what's going on.
  
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• June 23, 2009 @ 8:30 am
  A couple of blokes (Ed Weber & Gary Giudice) are fly fishing the Rocky Mountains this summer. Apparently they haven't quite caught the vision of small stream fishing for native species: they are not always easy to catch and they are usually small. Anyhow, in this report on attempting to catch the Gila trout they do hit on an important aspect of small stream fishing for natives: the people you meet in rural locations. And they talk about the fishing too.
  
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• June 21, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
  Jeff and Taylor Turner from Virginia are trying to fish 50 trophy waters in 50 US states in 50 days. Read Steve Knight's article about them. You can also follow the father and son tandem on their own website. As part of the outing they are also trying to raise a little money for a couple of causes, including TU. This sounds like such great fun that I though I would start taking donations for a 7 continents in 7 years adventure. (I'm accepting donations in the form of cash/PayPal or airline tickets.)
  
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• June 21, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
  For you native trout types, you need to move to Washington State. Gary M at Native Trout Fly Fishing is a hardcore nativist. Check out his recent entry where he wraps up his quest for all 12 of the state's native salmonid species. (Quick Quiz: How many other states have that many?) If you haven't visited Gary's blog before, do yourself a favor and check that out as well as the non-blog portion of his site. He has a lot to offer any other hardcore nativists out there.
  
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• June 21, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
  These incidents are always fun to see what kind of excitement it can stir up in people with strong opinions one way or another: Bob Kingston lands, kills and plans to have mounted a 35" brown he caught from the Big Hole River in Montana. He caught the 20 pounder on a 5wt rod with a two nymph set up. Browns aren't native to the area. They aren't protected. No big deal. Right? Is there a size in your mind at which you would ever think of keeping (not for eating) a trophy trout (or any fish for that matter, knowing that each species would have a different size making it a "trophy" fish)?
  
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• June 21, 2009 @ 5:56 am
  Is the Moffitt System of angling gaining momentum? It has recently been approved in Colorado [pdf file] where initially it was thought as a method of "snagging" (other states may have the same qualms). The system uses hookless flies tied above a "circle hook." When the fish takes the hookless fly, the fly slips through the fish's mouth and then the hook penetrates the outside of the jaw. Is this helpful for the fish, or just a money making opportunity?
  
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• June 20, 2009 @ 6:59 am
  If you haven't been to Justin's site before, swing over to Winona Fly Factory. He's been hard at work for a little over a year learning to fly fish and he is doing a great job of recording his learning. Take a look through his archives (found at the bottom of the page). I've enjoyed his ability to grasp the technical underpinnings as well as the sheer joy of fishing. He's accomplished a lot in a little over a year's time.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 10:50 pm
  Check out Robert Williamson's original trout art. He's got some nice talent with his colored pencils and I'm excited to see what he does in the future with his oil pastels.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
  Many sovereign tribes in the US are working cooperatively on fisheries management. There are some interesting articles regarding this in the current (Spring 2009) issue of "Eddies" (USFWS's quarterly concerning fisheries conservation).
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 10:20 pm
  Lance Egan from Utah shares some of his experiences on the 2009 World Fly Fishing Championship team from USA. (Actually, the article is written by Brian Milne and I'm not sure if he interviewed Egan or got the info elsewhere.)
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
  These fish aren't rockers, but they do collect heavy metal. New research shows how heavy metals are transferred to fish in the wild.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 9:22 am
  U.S. v. Stevens case in which the following law is being challenged: "Whoever knowingly creates, sells, or possesses a depiction of animal cruelty [including dead animals] with the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both." Let's hope none of you catch a grass carp in Michigan, kill it, take a picture of it and post it to your blog which I then view in Utah, since it is illigeal to have/kill a grass carp in Utah.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 7:48 am
  Rock snot strengthens its hold on Espous Creek in the Catskills. Interesting article about Didymo, it's impact and spread on the historic eastern creek.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 7:22 am
  New invention lets commercial fish live for 10-18 hours without water. New fodder for the "anti-cruel" proponents, although inventor claims "initial laboratory tests...showed no traces of toxins or abnormalities in the fish" because of the process.
  
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• June 19, 2009 @ 5:55 am
  Court orders cattle grazing to temporarily stop in Oregon's eastern Malheur National Forest. The measure is to help protect native trout species (including steelhead). Read complete story at Oregon Natural Desert Association's website: "Judge orders measures to protect native trout from grazing" (funny title, but good info).
  
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