"January Thaw" by JYA

Marc R. Hanson

Somewhere between shed and barn

he enters the heart of the fog.

Everything trembles, lets go and falls away

like icicles in spring.

In white space he waits breathless.

One sharp birdsong splits the veil thin as itself.

Silence fills the rent as quickly as night

heals the wound of a star's falling.

He awakes in the heart of the fog,

marvels at the weight

of the bucket pulling at his hand,

of himself pressing into the earth.

Tenkara Angler, Winter 2015-16

You've been curious, haven't you? Find out more about it HERE.

Rocky Ford Creek Report: Mouse Works But Stimulator Brings Home the Prize

You wend your way through the glacial rubble back down to Rocky Ford Creek.

It's another springy day on the spring creek. There are fish moving. The mouse is still on the line from last time, so you launch it out there where you saw some wakes converging.

A fish is on it instantly. It follows it all the way in. You flip it out again, sure that fish is still looking up, and get ready. This time, after a single strip, the fish whacks it. You set and it's hooked. It's just as you pictured it, except for the size of the fish. This isn't a big old trout, but it's a scrappy youngster who knows how to jump. And you do enjoy seeing that mouse hanging from its jaw.

You're the mouseman now, so you work it some more. But apparently that was the only trout at the moment willing to tackle a mouse. Way to go, fish. You clip the mouse off and stick it on your fly patch for later. You affix an indicator and begin to work the depths.

That's fun for awhile. You miss some tugs, and lose some hookups, but bring one in on a little san juan worm.

Time for a change of pace. There are more surface takes going on now, so you go on top with a light caddis. The fish take notice right away, and you get follows, but you have to work a little to coax a take. Another jumper. Not all the fish jump here, but the ones that do jump like crazy.

You get another good fish to take the caddis, but after a brief confrontation it gets off.

You switch the sodden caddis for a pretty little stimulator. It gets a quick take, a little fish that sucks it in on a twitchy strip.

You cast the stimulator out again, and, for some reason, let it sit. It's riding high out there, moving ever so slowly with the current, when a fish rises head and shoulders out of the water and calmly engulfs it. One of the prettiest dry fly takes you've ever witnessed. You wait just the right split of a second, raise the rod, and you've got a hookup.

It takes a few minutes, but you finally bring it close enough to lead it into the net. It takes another few breathless moments for it to stop thrashing and settle down into the basket. You just look at it for a moment. This is one of those long and strong twenty-plus Rocky Ford beauties that make all the miles and all the casts more than worthwhile.

You watch it swim away and know that this has been another one of those moments that define your fly fishing life, when everything comes together and the world makes sense. You stand for awhile and try to make the feeling last.

It's evening all of a sudden, and there's only one thing left to do. You tie the mouse back on and begin to work it. You stay until dark again. You get some follows--one fish leaves a chain of rings ten feet long as it bumps it over and over--but no takes.

 But that's OK. You're still smiling about that last fish.

"January" by Baron Wormser

“Cold as the moon,” he’d mutter

In the January of 5 A.M. and 15 below

As he tried to tease the old Chev into greeting

One more misanthropic morning.

It was an art (though he never

Used that curious word) as he thumped

The gas pedal and turned the key

So carefully while he held his breath

And waited for the sharp jounce

And roar of an engaged engine.

“Shoulda brought in the battery last night.”

“Shoulda got up around midnight

And turned it over once.”

It was always early rising as he’d worked

A lifetime “in every damn sort

Of damn factory.” Machines were

As natural to him as dogs and flowers.

A machine, as he put it, "was sensible.”

I was so stupid about valves and intakes

He thought I was some religious type.

How had I lived as long as I had

And remained so out of it?

And why had I moved of my own free will

To a place that prided itself

On the blunt misery of January?

“No way to live,” he’d say as he poked

A finger into the frozen throat

Of an unwilling carburetor.

His breath hung in the air

Like a white balloon.

Later on the way to the town where

We worked while the heater

Wheezed fitfully and the windshield

Showed indifference to the defroster

He’d tum to me and say that

The two best things in this world

Were hot coffee and winter sunrises.

The icy road beckoned to no one,

Snow began to drift down sleepily,

The peace of servitude sighed and dreamed.

"January" by Baron Wormser from Mulroney and Others. © Sarabande Books, 2000.

An Interesting Afternoon At Rocky Ford

Had an interesting afternoon at Rocky Ford on Tuesday. Report on the way.

Rocky Ford Creek Report: You Can Hardly Wait

Two long weeks since the last trip. Now, finally, a break in the weather and your schedule. It has been overcast at home since forever. Driving south again you escape its gray grip and enter into dazzling sunlight. Your eyes take awhile to adjust to the unaccustomed glare.

Down here in the banana belt the January thaw that has begun at home has already transformed the landscape. Last time it was snow-covered.

Now the ice and snow are almost gone.

You start with the mouse left in the hook keeper from the last trip. It's a good casting warmup, but it has no noticeable effect on the fish. You put it away for later.

You screw on an indicator and hang a big blood midge off it. Down goes the indicator, up comes a trout--emphatically. It jumps at least six times before you get it into the net. You figure we're all feeling good today.

You stay with that big red nymph for awhile and get plenty of entertainment from it. You miss some takes and catch some more fish.

The afternoon wears on and the big red nymph wears out its welcome.

You try a scud, and the fish like the change.

Soon a scud, too, ceases to get any attention. There is more activity on top now, as the light wanes, so you try a little may, with no luck, and then a smaller griffith's gnat.

It takes some coaxing, but you finally get a take and a hookup.

The moon peeks over the eastern ridge. You're delighted. You haven't seen the moon for weeks.

It casts its spell over the water, and day flees and evening settles in. I hear what I think at first is a fly reel being reeled slow. But it's a precocious frog. It croaks a few times, and then is silent. At the same time I hear a familiar conk-a-reeee from the cattails across the creek: red-winged blackbirds. What are they doing here? Then again, what are any of us doing here?

You know what you're doing here. You knot a deer hair mouse onto a stout tippet and begin mousing.

You work that mouse hard. Mostly it's ignored, or followed with not even a bump. But two times you get a heart-stopping take and hookup. You feel the pull and then the slack as the fly comes out. You ponder that. Is the fly too big? Or are the fish too small? There are smaller fish cruising in pods and you figure it must have been a couple of those reckless youngsters who grabbed the fly.

You fish in the dark for awhile, and have to force yourself to quit. You hike back to the truck in the moonlight. You're thinking--and you're still thinking--that there will come a day when the time is right and a big old trout will come to that mouse, not to play, but to kill. 

You can hardly wait.

Rocky Ford Creek Report Coming Soon

I had a good afternoon at Rocky Ford on Friday. Report coming as soon as I can get to it.

Four Hours

Four Hours from Zangs Films on Vimeo.
'Four Hours' is a timelapse series depicting Iceland's unbelievably short, but incredibly beautiful winter days - four hours is the average amount of time the sun shines during this coldest season of the year. This series was shot during one week at multiple locations throughout Iceland during the month of January, 2016.
Cinematography/Post-Production: Octave Zangs
Original soundtrack: Four Hours by Octave Zangs
Shot using Canon cameras and Syrp motion timelapse devices.

The Wild Steelheader, January 19, 2016

January 19, 2016 Hello, As I write this, we are deep in the heart of winter steelhead season. Snow levels have crept down in elevation and river gauges resemble roller coasters.  One thing is now certain: We finally have water. After a summer of lethal river temperatures and wildfires, is it ok to complain about blown-out or frozen rivers? Probably not. If we learned one lesson from last summer it was the need to redouble our efforts to restore and protect wild steelhead. And we are continuing down that path. This winter we will see volunteers planting trees, monitoring stream temps, throwing fundraisers, counting redds, conducting snorkel surveys and taking action for crucial policy changes, all in the name of wild steelhead conservation. We do this because we are steelheaders -- because opportunity means getting out there on a beautiful river and, if the fishing gods are generous, hooking into a silver bullet. I wish you good fortune in your winter steelheading, and encourage you to dedicate that same level of passion and action to wild steelhead conservation. Dwayne Meadows Pacific Northwest Outreach Coordinator Trout Unlimited Three things you can do right now to help wild steelhead We have a chance to protect 70 key watersheds for steelhead and salmon in the Tongass National Forest, home to some the most intact habitat in the U.S.  Please let your comments be heard by Feb 22nd. Commit yourself to get involved or donate. Go to a local Trout Unlimited meeting and ask how you can help with your local river. You can find it here. Forward this newsletter to friends and encourage them to sign the Credo. Donate $40 or more and get a Wild Steelheaders United hat. Donate here. Volunteer for an Angler Science project on Oregon’s Siletz, Smith and Coquille Rivers or on the Hoh or Skagit in Washington. Learn More. The case for a portfolio of wild-only and hatchery steelhead rivers in Puget Sound What does “fishing opportunity” mean to steelhead anglers? The answer depends on who you ask. For some, opportunity must include the ability to harvest steelhead. But for the majority of anglers, based on our extensive poll of roughly 650 active steelhead anglers, opportunity is defined as being on the water with the chance to catch and release a steelhead.  So what is a steelhead manager to do given this divide in the community of steelhead anglers and thelegal (and I would argue, moral) imperative to protect and sustain wild steelhead? The solution we propose is a portfolio approach to management. That means we should manage some rivers for hatchery fish, thus providing harvest for those who desire that type of fishery, and manage other rivers for wild fish and catch-and-release opportunity. Our extensive polling suggests this is the type of management model preferred by most anglers – 62 percent want some rivers dedicated to wild steelhead and others where hatcheries provide harvest opportunity, while the remainder either want hatcheries in all rivers or no hatcheries at all. The challenge comes with actually implementing the framework. A number of anglers have asked how Wild Steelheaders United would deal with such a challenge. We describe below how we would implement the portfolio approach for winter steelhead in three different rivers in north Puget Sound in Washington.  This example is timely because decisions are currently being made in this region about how to manage steelhead hatcheries and where to establish wild steelhead management zones. First, we would manage the Skagit River system exclusively for wild steelhead.  Why? It has by far the largest wild steelhead population of all Puget Sound rivers, roughly 9,000 which is more than the Hoh and Queets rivers on the Olympic Peninsula combined. It has a lot of relatively high quality habitat that can support a fishable (catch-and-release) wild steelhead population and tribal harvest consistent with the tribes’ treaty rights (50 percent of the “harvestable surplus”). And it is a critical population for recovering wild steelhead in greater Puget Sound, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Second, though we believe the Skykomish River has substantial wild steelhead production potential, in the spirit of compromise we would support continuing the current winter steelhead hatchery program in the Sky with a solid monitoring program. If success is defined as the number of hatchery fish caught in fisheries, this is the most successful (and most cost-effective) winter steelhead hatchery of its type in Puget Sound (i.e., segregated hatchery designed to provide harvest opportunity). Mind you, that is not a high bar to clear given the overall poor performance of such segregated hatchery programs. The Skykomish hatchery should also be operated consistent with standards established by the Hatchery Scientific Review Group to minimize harm to wild steelhead. Third, in the Stillaguamish River, we suggest experimenting with a different type of hatchery program, one that uses local broodstock to try to rebuild the river’s depleted wild steelhead population. This would enable us to evaluate whether such a hatchery program could be effective for this conservation purpose. To date, there is thin evidence that this is the case, but it could be tried on an experimental basis. This type of portfolio approach has multiple benefits. First, it would provide different types of fishing opportunity consistent with angler preference; catch-and-release fisheries for wild fish on the Skagit, and harvest (hatchery fish) opportunity on the Skykomish during the hatchery fish return. The catch-and-release fishery on the Skagit also would increase economic activity in Skagit River communities by adding a fishery that currently does not exist due in significant part to the large number of wild steelhead harvested in past decades. Second, it would align with the goal of recovering Puget Sound steelhead to the point that they no longer need ESA protection. In particular, ensuring that the “cornerstone” wild steelhead population in the Skagit is spared the harmful impacts of hatcheries and trying to boost the Stilly’s wild steelhead population with a local broodstock program would be consistent with recovery objectives. Harm to the Sky’s wild steelhead would be minimized through use of best management practices consistent with the recommendations of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group and Washington State policy. But it should be recognized that there is absolutely no conservation benefit to wild steelhead of segregated hatcheries such as that used in the Sky, and that there are serious genetic and ecological problems with these types of programs.  The science is very clear on this. Third, it would enable all of us – wild fish zealots and hatchery fish devotees – to learn how these different approaches work relative to one another in relation to both conservation and fishing opportunity goals. In other words, we will have a large-scale, controlled experiment that we have been sorely lacking in Puget Sound. And as we learn from that experiment, we can improve management. We at TU and Wild Steelheaders United are going to push hard for rivers with high wild steelhead potential, such the Skagit system, to be managed exclusively for wild fish because the evidence shows that it is the best bet both for reliable, sustainable fishing opportunity and conservation of wild steelhead. Stepping back from the north Puget Sound example, the challenge of managing hatchery and wild steelhead is a microcosm of a larger issue across the range of wild steelhead in the lower-48. Anglers want sustainable fishing opportunity. We are anglers ourselves. We get that.  At the same time we want to recover wild steelhead, a requirement established in federal law. We believe the portfolio framework described here is the best approach for meeting these dual objectives. We hope other anglers will see the wisdom in having such a portfolio of wild-only and hatchery rivers and will join us in asking for it. John McMillan Steelhead Science Director Trout unlimited The State of our Progress Oregon:  Chapters in Corvallis, Eugene and Coos Bay are gearing up for another season of steelhead angler science. The Bluebacks Chapter is conducting winter spawning surveys on the Siletz River. The Redsides Chapter and Coastal Cutthroat Chapters are beginning surveys and restoration work on the West Fork of the Smith River. The Coastal Cutthroats are also starting a new project on the Coquille completing pre-restoration surveys to gain a baseline for upcoming restoration work. Watch the great video on Angler Science and Find out more and how you can participate. California: An Action Alert circulated by TU and Wild Steelheaders United in December prompting over 789 messages to Congress in support of the Senate’s Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act. However, the House of Representatives failed to pass its own version of this legislation before adjourning for the holidays, dooming the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), which expired on December 31, 2015. This landmark agreement would have resolved decades of water conflict by providing greater water security for farmers and ranchers while boosting streamflows at critical times for salmon and steelhead. Two other Klamath settlements--for dam removal and water sharing in the upper basin--remain in effect. TU and the other parties to these agreements are already working hard to find new  ways to move forward together. In early January, 2016 WSU representatives met with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to discuss the concept of managing some watersheds or segments of rivers specifically for recovery of wild steelhead runs. There are five Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of coastal steelhead in California. Four of these are listed under the Endagered Species Act as threatened or endangered. The good news is that quite a few coastal watersheds from San Luis Obispo to Crescent City still provide enough intact habitat to sustain wild steelhead populations. In fact, the Eel and other Lost Coast rivers have some of the best wild steelhead genetics on the West Coast. Now, WSU will work with CDFW on next steps utilizing scientific tools (including TU’sConservation Success Index) to guide adjustment of management policy and procedures and to improve angler outreach and education. Washington: Hard won rules implementing barbless hooks, no wild harvest, and no bait during the winter steelhead season will take effect July 1st on the Olympic Peninsula. A short section of the Hoh River has been designated as a pilot study area to look at minimizing angler impact by restricting fishing from boats. Next steps include working with WDFW to re-open a spring catch and release fishery on the Skagit River, which will in turn take pressure off of OP steelhead. Second we are working to secure funding for increased enforcement of regulations. In December, Washington PBS featured Scotty Creek, an important steelhead tributary in the Wenatchee system in a piece it did on suction dredging. More formally known as motorized recreational mineral prospecting, the activity has come under fire as the state of Washington spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to restore habitat for sensitive species such as steelhead. Due to a lack of regulation a dredger can come in and single handedly unravel that work – legally and most often without repercussion. Trout Unlimited is pushing for common-sense regulation of this activity and be looking to WSU supporters to obtain it. Idaho: A great step was taken in Idaho this year. Wild Steelheaders United’s first step in Idaho was to ask for better wild steelhead handling regulations and angler education. This year Idaho Fish and Game ran this ad in their fishing regs, a great step forward. A new and unusual cross-border Trout Unlimited chapter will be holding a formation meeting January 23rd in the Lewiston-Clarkston area. Find out more here and please join them for pizza, beer and a showing of Wild Reverence. Near Stanley Idaho, a Salmon River tributary known as the Yankee Fork has been getting a serious facelift. Heavy equipment used for gold dredging moved the channel in the 1940’s and 50’s. TU is working with local stakeholders to now use heavy equipment to reconstruct the historic channel. Watch a video of this process here. By the end of next summer the Yankee Fork will once again have access to its natural channel and floodplain, and wild steelhead will be among the beneficiaries. Significant timber harvest coupled with mining also resulted in reduced quantities of large wood instream by the early 1900’s. Using helicopters and track hoes, large wood was returned to historic densities in the Yankee Fork, enhancing fish habitat for steelhead, chinook and resident fish species. TU has been able to secure half a million dollars for the second phase. Alaska: In Southeast Alaska, the U.S. Forest Service is modifying the Tongass Forest Plan, which provides the management blueprint for the forest. The Tongass National Forest is the largest in the country and a mecca for wild steelhead. Currently development activities that harm important fish habitat are still allowed in the Tongass National Forest. Take a moment to support protection of the key 70 watersheds that are key to steelhead and salmon recovery. Take Action Events Calendar: January 23: Trout Unlimited Chapter formation meeting and Wild Reverence Showing inLewiston, Idaho. February 13-14: WSU will be present at the Lynnwood Fly Fishing Show. February 20: Fly Fishing Film Tour, Corvallis, Oregon – A fundraiser for steelhead angler science programs on the Siletz River. February 27: Fly Fishing Film Tour Fundraiser: Bainbridge Island, Washington - A fundraiser for Wild Steelheaders United. March 30-31: Third annual West Fork Smith River restoration tree planting, near Eugene, OR. April 1-2: Trout Unlimited Western Regional Meeting, Eugene, Oregon.