"Trout Truths" by D.W.C. Farrington

Illustration by J.E. Grace

From The Brook Trout and the Determined Angler, by Charles Barker Bradford, 1900.

"Mandarin Ducks and Snow-Covered Reeds" by Paula Bohince

"Mandarin Ducks in Snow" Woodblock Print, Ohara Koson, 1935

When one dives, separate from her mate,

death is mere illusion.

She peers through water, assuring this.

When the crippled reeds rehabilitate, begin

their constant arc toward spring,

pain seems impossible. So distance. So change-

of-heart. From above or beneath, how

a body will twist, intuiting fear

and replacing it with here-ness, exhibit of

faithfulness. Wordlessly saying, Be not afraid,

Beloved, for the present exalts us!

Paula Bohince is the author of The Children and Incident at the Edge of Bayonet Woods. She lives in Pennsylvania.

RIVER POLLUTION

It makes me sick to see this, but I think more and more people need to see it. When will an outrage like this finally tip the balance and lead to sane safeguards and controls?

Rocky Ford Creek Report: Un-Black Friday

It was an Un-Black Friday. After a relaxing Thanksgiving Day with family I was eager to get outside and fish.

On Thanksgiving Day the river was flowing free. On Friday morning it was iced over. Time to hit the road.

There were three people fishing near the parking area when I arrived at Rocky Ford Creek. I would see three more the rest of the day, all from a distance.

It was cold, but the sun was bright and the wind was mostly calm. I didn't feel the cold until the sun went down.

It was more of a Blue Friday: blue sky, blue water. The creek was up a little, limiting the shoreline access. I found a narrow spot to stand on. It felt a little like fishing from a diving board.

The fish were there, lined up and looking for something to strike their fancy.

I stripped a bead-head nymph, and drifted a few nymphs under an indicator. I got some bumps, but I also had a couple of fish come up and nose the indicator.

So I went dry, starting with a small muddler. The fish nosed it, and swirled under it, but they didn't grab it.

I went to an old, sparse Adams, maybe a #14. More swirls, and a brief hookup before the fly was soaked through.

I found a beautiful little #12 Callibaetis that I had tied up for the Henry's Fork. I tied it on. I gave it a drift, and after five feet a fish came up and ate it, no mistake. I missed it, feeling the grate of the hook against its jaw. I cast again, and after another five foot drift got another lunging take. This time I hooked up.

It felt good to have a fish on again. It fought hard, churning the shallows. I finally worked it in to the shoreline. I got down on my knees with the net, but I couldn't reach the fish. The tip top guide was frozen and I couldn't bring any more line in. So I grabbed the leader to slide the fish into the net--and it gave one more thrash and broke off. It was gone in the blink of an eye--and it took the fly with it.

The sun was down now and it was getting cold, dropping toward a forecast low of 15.

I tied on a #18 BWO, thinking I should probably have used it first. But the fish didn't like it as much as they had liked that Callibaetis. But after some patient casting to rises and wakes I managed another hookup. This time I got it in the net. Not the biggest that Rocky Ford Creek has to offer, but just what I was looking for, nonetheless.

I was feeling the bite of the cold, but I stayed longer than I thought I would, tempting the fish with a muddler again. They seemed to enjoy playing with the fly as much as I did, bumping it, chasing it, swirling under and around it, but never taking it.

I finally reeled in and walked back to the truck through the early dusk. Two cars pulled out before I got to the parking area. Another fisherman was putting things in his pickup when I got there. He wished me safe travels, I wished him the same, and he pulled out and was gone. I was the only one there.

I packed up and began the liesurely drive home under the un-black moon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"Freedom From Want" Norman Rockwell 1943

Three Poems for Thanksgiving

"Home for Thanksgiving" Currier and Ives Print of a painting by George Currie, 1867

IN BLACKWATER WOODS

by

Mary Oliver

Look, the trees

are turning

their own bodies

into pillars

of light,

are giving off the rich

fragrance of cinnamon

and fulfillment,

the long tapers

of cattails

are bursting and floating away over

the blue shoulders

of the ponds,

and every pond,

no matter what its

name is, is

nameless now.

Every year

everything

I have ever learned

in my lifetime

leads back to this: the fires

and the black river of loss

whose other side

is salvation,

whose meaning

none of us will ever know.

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

"In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver, from American Primitive. © Back Bay Books, 1983. 

A LONG AND GRACIOUS FALL

by

David Budbill

A long and gracious fall this year.

The leaves are down. Gardens: emptied,

manured, tilled, smooth, and waiting.

Mower and tiller serviced and put away.

Smoker put away, as is the summer table.

Prayer flags, windsocks and their poles: down.

Twenty-foot homemade badminton poles,

peace flag at the top of one, store-bought net—

all down and put away for another year. No more

outdoor summer chores.

Fall planting — peonies and tiger lilies — done.

Summer flower stalks removed, beds mulched,

a blanket for the cold. Fall pruning done.

Woodshed roof hammered down and sealed again.

Cellar closed. Drive staked and flagged so the

snowplow knows where to go.

What else is there to do? Finally, for once, we are ready

for the snow. Ready now to come inside. Time now for

words and music, poems and shakuhachi. Time now

to light some incense, sit and stare at candlelight.

"A Long and Gracious Fall" by David Budbill, from Happy Life. © Copper Canyon Press, 2011.

A PRAYER AMONG FRIENDS

by

John Daniel

Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive

with one another, we walk here

in the light of this unlikely world

that isn't ours for long.

May we spend generously

the time we are given.

May we enact our responsibilities

as thoroughly as we enjoy

our pleasures. May we see with clarity,

may we seek a vision

that serves all beings, may we honor

the mystery surpassing our sight,

and may we hold in our hands

the gift of good work

and bear it forth whole, as we

were borne forth by a power we praise

to this one Earth, this homeland of all we love.

"A Prayer among Friends" by John Daniel, from Of Earth. © Lost Horse Press, 2012. 

HATCH - Fly Fishing Crew

Italian trout speak my language.

HATCH - FLY FISHING CREW from RobaDaLocal on Vimeo.

Two More Years Gone

One-on-one with prime Montana trout.

2 years gone from Bryce McLean on Vimeo.
A look back at some of our best moments while fly fishing in Western Montana. We had a great time filming this and we hope you enjoy watching it!

Vestlandets Parla

More from Norway, this time with Atlantic Salmon. Wow.

Vestlandets Pärla from Salmoniserad on Vimeo.
Flyfishing for big atlantic salmons at a beautiful, crystal clear river in Norway known as The Pearl of Vestlandet.
English Subtitles available by clicking the CC button inside the movie. Any feedback of the movie appreciated.

Credits to Joe Pug and Northern Indians who let me use their great music in this movie.

"Intimations of Mortality" by JYA

An August evening on the lake.

All seems calm, but
everything is hurtling at breakneck speed
through time and space.

Each day dies a little more;
each coming of summer dark presages

the onset of the season of darkness.

The trout know, and rush to intercept

the swirling fragments of life that will

stave off starvation in the dark time.

They fight the hook, struggle frantically

to reenter their element, to obey the instinctive drive

not for freedom
but for time, precious time.

I fish calmly in the middle of it all,

going a thousand miles an hour.

Season Delivery

More hard-fishing Norwegians and the season that was...

SEASON DELIVERY. FLYFISHING RECAP 2015 from MAGICRIVER on Vimeo.
Flyfishing with dryfly after wild trout in Norway. A small summary of a trip we had this july.
Tørrfluefiske etter ørret i Norge. En liten oppsummering av juli i år.

Tr:Outlands

What we all need....

Tr:Outlands from Sjöberg & Mjöberg Production on Vimeo.
FOR SUBTITLES: Press the CC-button.

Tr:Outlands

A norwegian paradise. Scandiflyguides amazing fishing destination is where this adventure took place during a couple of amazing days the summer of 2015.

Not only did we catch a couple of beautiful trouts ourselves, but we got to tag along some great fishermen and capture their hunt for the stealthy fish in some amazing environments.

Made with support from:
Scandiflyguides - http://www.scandiflyguides.se/
Fishline - http://www.fishline.se/
Howler Bros - http://howlerbros.com/

Music:
Ryan Taubert - Pioneer (Licensed via Musicbed)
Joe Pug - Hymn #35 (Thank you Joe for letting us use the song, http://joepugmusic.com/)

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it!

The Wild Steelheader, November 18, 2015

Greetings,

Most of you out there-by the very virtue of receiving this newsletter-support wild steelhead conservation. And not just a little. You understand the fishing gospel, so to speak; the part that says, "Take care of the fish and the fishing will take care of itself." You're the converted. The chosen ones who will lead steelheaders forward into better waters.

But what about all the other steelhead anglers out there?

As it turns out they support conservation too.

How do we know? Well, simple. We asked.

This summer, Trout Unlimited, with the help of Southwick and Associates, a well regarded, non-partisan public opinion research firm that specializes in natural resources issues, conducted a poll that, to our knowledge, has never been conducted before. The poll surveyed more than 600 active steelhead anglers in Washington, Oregon and California regarding fishing preferences and opinions on steelhead management.

And for the most part, the results confirmed what we at the WSU have long suspected: We all-be it bait anglers, gear anglers, fly anglers, bank fishermen, boat fishermen, North, South, Democrat or Republican-have more that unites us than divides us.

Being a science-driven group that believes in the power of data, we feel compelled to review the numbers (full reports are available on our website).

  

• A solid majority of anglers (62 percent) favor a balanced approach to managing steelhead with some rivers for wild steelhead and other rivers for hatchery fish.

• When wild populations are low, a strong majority (68 percent) of anglers support releasing any wild fish caught versus just 24 percent of anglers who would prefer to keep wild fish they caught.

• In order to protect wild steelhead, more anglers (55 percent) chose longer seasons with more restrictions on fishing gear and methods than shorter seasons with fewer gear/method restrictions (32 percent).

• 58 percent of anglers support closing a hatchery that provides harvest opportunity if that hatchery harms wild steelhead and jeopardizes a catch-and-release fishery for wild fish. Given these conditions, only 27 percent of anglers supported keeping the hatchery in operation.

The numbers tell the story. We as steelhead anglers have great value for wild steelhead, their conservation and the opportunity to fish for them. Now it's time to get down to the hard work of restoring them.

Two things you can do for steelhead right now:

1. Help us celebrate our birthday! Wild Steelheaders United launched one year ago this week, and it's been a crazy and rewarding ride. Help us double our ranks of dedicated steelheaders by getting one friend to sign the credo. Just one. And if you have more than one friend, get them to sign the credo too. Let's make 2016 the Year of the Steelhead.
2. Help a steelhead. Buy a hat. If you haven't ordered your very own Wild Steelheaders United hat, now is the time (Christmas presents anyone?). A portion of all sales go directly back to WSU.

WSU Welcomes Nick Chambers

From Nick:

I would like to introduce myself to all of you as the newest staff member of Trout Unlimited's Wild Steelhead Initiative. I hail from a small town in Southwest Oregon and am a third generation Pacific Northwest angler and hunter. My first steelhead encounter came on my childhood home waters of the Rogue River. The experience changed my life forever and I have since dedicated myself to pursuing

steelhead and learning their habits and biology.

I have been fortunate enough to fish for steelhead throughout their native range from California to Alaska and I continue to be a student of these fish. I hold a fisheries degree from Oregon State University and have worked for a variety of agencies and organizations in fisheries research and management and guided in Oregon and Alaska. I have also been an active member of TU and helped to organize and participate in a number of angler science events. As the Washington based organizer I will be working with staff and our awesome volunteers to continue the work that has begun over the past year and help to expand the reach of the Wild Steelheaders United. I look forward to meeting and working with many of you.

Washington

Anglers turned out in droves to support the WDFW Olympic Peninsula (OP) rule 

changes. More than 3,000 comments were submitted on the proposal that, among other things, would eliminate wild steelhead harvest and ban bait fishing during the period when most wild steelhead return to the OP.  Rob Masonis and John McMillan testified on behalf of TU and Wild Steelheaders United.  Many of you played a vital role in generating comments and being present to testify. An overwhelming majority of written and oral comments supported the changes. The Commission will meet again in December to come to a decision.

On the other side of the state, Washington's Western Water and Habitat staff has been working to keep water in important steelhead tributaries. After dangerous drought conditions in the Yakima River Basin, key tributaries and their steelhead entered the fall season in a precarious position. Many tributaries dried completely 

as temperatures soared, base flows dropped, and irrigators used what little creek water existed to keep crops alive. To help save steelhead and the creeks, Trout Unlimited leased 2.5 cfs of irrigation water for instream flows while the Kittitas Reclamation District wheeled downstream water rights through its canal system 

and spilled the water at canal-tributary intersections. KRD supplemented creeks to mimic natural summer flows by as much as 15 cfs depending on stream size. This work by KRD, TU and Washington Department of Ecology was enough to keep seven streams alive and give steelhead a fighting chance during a critical drought year.

Idaho

Juvenile and adult steelhead will soon get access to more spawning and rearing habitatin Idaho's upper Salmon River basin. TU, in coordination with the Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Program, has begun to move irrigation diversions on important steelhead tributaries of the Lemhi River to points downstream. Water will be pumped to irrigators' fields from those downstream points where there is more water, which will keep enough water in the upper tributaries so that steelhead can use them.   

Oregon

This month Oregon's Board of Forestry announced it would increase no-logging buffers from 20 feet to 80 feet on medium streams and 60 feet on small streams - a huge victory for steelhead.

While TU  and WSU were not the only players in the fight to increase buffers, the work many of you did to reach out to the board and voice your support for healthier riparian areas made the difference. Thanks to you, more than 14,000 miles of Oregon streams will enjoy cooler water conditions when they need it the most, giving fish the necessary shade and shelter they need in the height of summer.

Also in Oregon, steelhead will face one less barrier as they migrate up the 120 miles of​big water on the Nehalem River. This year the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council, with the help of the TU and the Orvis 1,000 Miles Campaign, replaced a barrier culvert with a full span arch culvert on Oak Ranch Creek in the upper Nehalem. This is just Phase 1 of a two-phased project to restore more the 6 miles of spawning habitat. Learn More.

California

The Klamath River is the epicenter of one of the nation's most bitter water wars and time is running out for Congress to implement landmark agreements that would provide water security for agriculture, tribes, communities and fish and wildlife. Trout Unlimited played an important role in negotiating these agreements, which must be authorized by Congress before the end of the year to be fully implemented. The issue has been covered by the New York Times, Circle of Blue, Public News Service and other media.  Also a new film A River Between Us tells the human story of the Klamath water struggles and the cost to lives, cultures, and communities.  

Also in California, Wild Steelheaders United hosted two Steelhead Science for Anglers events at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and at the Veterans Center in Davis. These educational workshops brought together steelhead researchers, advocates, and anglers to discuss the latest science on O. mykiss.

Alaska

A new blog series has been launched highlighting the people and fish of select watersheds in Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest, where TU has proposed permanently protecting 77 key watersheds. In addition to possessing excellent steelhead fishing these watersheds are home to all five species of salmon, cutthroat and char. The most recent post features' TU's Mark Hieronymus and his experiences in Sitka, home to 14 of these key watersheds. Send your comments to the Forest Service and let them know that conserving these 77 key watersheds is important to steelhead anglers.

"As imperceptibly as Grief" by Emily Dickinson

Sarah Ross

As imperceptibly as Grief

The Summer lapsed away—

Too imperceptible at last,

To seem like Perfidy—

A Quietness distilled

As Twilight long begun

Or Nature spending with herself

Sequestered Afternoon—

The Dusk drew earlier in—

The Morning foreign shone—

A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,

As Guest, that would be gone—

And thus, without a Wing

Or service of a Keel

Our Summer made her light escape

Into the Beautiful.

Glimpses

Nice. All the good stuff, and not a single product placement. (Some language.)

Glimpses from Steelheadwater on Vimeo.

Floodplains, November 2015

Floodplains is a new literary blog featuring original art and writing with a fly fishing theme.

Jim Lampros, one of the founders, writes:

"Therein lies the inspiration for Floodplains – a window into the wonder that awaits wherever water moves. By capturing moments and memories born of the river, we hope to remind our readers of the significance of these places and inspire others to find their own floodplains to explore. As the river constantly reinvents and redefines itself day by day, season by season, it’s an open invitation for us to rethink what we thought we knew. We hope to do the same with Floodplains, providing story angles and illustrations outside the new norm. Step into the woods and take the long way to the river. You’ll be surprised at what you find."

Pretty nice. Check it out HERE.

Browns 2015

"Five Wishes" by Anne Porter

Kacho Fugetsu, Mid-nineteenth century, Meiji period, lithograph

I’d like to have a wild bird

Perch on my hand

A sparrow or

A chickadee

Sudden with her sharp feet

And fragile daring

I’d like to see again

The etchings Rembrandt made

Of stories from the Bible

Though they’re as plain

As Bethlehem’s hay

A radiance fills them

And I would like to visit

The Laguna Indians

And their old church

Made of whitewashed clay

With logs for rafters

And in it their Madonna

To whom they’ve given

A white lace apron

And I would like to learn

To accept my death

To accept our dying

That strange dawn

So deeply scandalous

That God himself wept

At the death of his friend

I’d like to find

The shrine of Chimayo

Where the lame leave crutches

I’d like to go there

With my daughter Katie

It would be enough

Just to be there

Without any miracle.

"Five Wishes" by Anne Porter from Living Things. © Zooland Books, 2006. 

Nature and Time Will Heal Our Wounds

From Le Mouching:

"Auoutou, means autumn in the local language of Massif Central the mountains in the middle of France. Pierre Monatte was editing his latest film when he learned what happened in Paris this Friday. So he decided to send us this film all about nature, fall colours and easy living. To heal our pain. Pierre, the same name as our friend Pierro who was shot while having fun at a rock concert. And sweetness as was young Suzon, who loved the band she went to see. May this kindness be for all of you. We know that nature and time will heal our wounds."

AUOUTOU from PM Productions on Vimeo.

I was ending my last short film on this tragic Friday of November. I wished to headlight the colours, the smoothness and the majesty of Autumn. The day after, I found a resonance between these motion pictures and abomination of men become crazy. This modest film was like a solace, a distancing, a peg to hang up our little hope in our human condition :
"This Friday night, humankind became crazy. Maybe God exists, if yes, he’s here in the transparency of a grayling’s fin, in the simple pleasure of pan-fried mushroom, in a sunrise on autumn mists, isn’t he? Auoutou is autumn in my local dialect, it’s the light of a benefactor fire, more powerful than the destructive fire of human misery."

How 'Bout That

November: How Did We Get Here?

November. Already half over. How did we get here?

I haven't fished since Trout Lake closed. I needed some quiet time to process and adjust. What usually happens when you put something on hold for awhile is that other things step forward and demand attention. That happened.

That means I've been busy. Good stuff, enjoyable stuff. Just not fishing.

So I need to fish. The river is up, and it's gray and rainy. That could mean steelhead are moving, and more could be here now waiting for me.

At the same time weather reports call for temps dropping into the teens at night next week. I know that story. One day the river is there, the next day you get up and it's hiding under a foot of ice.

So this is called a "window" --that fleeting opening between now and when the ice comes.

I'll be trying to hit that opening. Soon.