While known more for work in the rafting and kayaking community, American Rivers and its Anglers Fund initiative puts fishing and habitat preservation first. Its focus includes: blasting outdated dams, protecting rivers through Blue Trails and advocacy programs, and working with power companies to improve hydro operations—virtually all of it benefitting fishing.
Efforts to bolster conservation and management of Florida’s bonefish, tarpon, and permit fisheries are in jeopardy, with a vote due at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb. 13). Whether you live in Florida or you travel there to flyfish, BTT is urging all anglers to support new Sportfish and Gamefish rules…
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Utah Stream Access Coalition is holding a Press Conference and Rally to fight the proposed House Bill68 and to support a new bill (yet to be numbered) sponsored be Rep. Dixon M. Pitcher to offer a Compromise. It will be meeting at the Utah State Capital on Friday, February 15 at 10…
Showcasing the stories and images behind well-used gear that stands the test of abuse in the river, on the mountain, et cetera—is rather brilliant. So much so we thought about running a similar thread featuring Drake readers and their high-mileage back-issues, but there’re only so many sitting-on-the-can-in-midshit shots we can handle. Vetoed.
Drake contributor Steven Hawley recently reported on Stanford University’s useless, dangerous, and longstanding Searsville Dam: an impoundment that produces no hydroelectric power. Provides no flood control and potable water benefits. Has been labeled “high-hazard” by the State of California. And stretches across San Francisquito Creek—once home to coho and chinook salmon, and still cradling a handful…
The meal. Lentils the color of cocoa. A piccalilli of summer beans in deep gold mustard. An emerald drizzle of pureed Turkish parsley. And, in the center of it all, a six-ounce fillet of steelhead. In a new article from Seattle Met, author Allecia Vermillion details the journey of Hoh River steelhead from tribal gillnet…
We like Utah’s Green River for many reasons. Sight-fishing. Bug-blankets of spring baetis and midges. Ridiculous trout numbers. And the fact that until now, meddling flow-spongers have been unsuccessful in their efforts to suck it dry.
The flyfishing public became aware this week of a new bill aimed at crippling our public stream access rights. And we’re respectfully urging YOU—those entrusted with upholding our simple civil liberties—to take a stand for the sake of Utah waters and its passionate devotees.
Tusheti is a mountainous nature preserve that squats on the border of Georgia and the pseudo-independent Russian state of Chechnya—far, far off the trout fishing radar. In the fall of 2012, Drake contributors Matt Hansen and Dan Armstrong traveled to the region to breath the culture and to learn a few river tricks from their…
Are Washington State’s wild salmon on the upswing? The short answer is yes. And no. According to salmon recovery reports data varies from one watershed to the next. But generally speaking, salmon will not be going the way of the Twinkie anytime soon, with numbers better than they were a decade ago.
Scandinavians continue to rocket some super classy fish porn to the next level, as evidenced by this totally NSFW photo spread from Genusfotografen.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour 2013 (aka F3T) is roadtripping the country and about to hit a theatre near you, with tickets available online today and selling fast. Join The Drake and the crew at Trout’s Fly Fishing this Saturday night, Jan. 26, for the world premier at Denver’s Oriental Theatre. Beers, anyone?
Back in the fall, during the second presidential debate, President Obama and Mitt Romney got into a somewhat spirited exchange on the topic of energy. It began by Romney saying that “oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production is down nine percent. Why? Because the President cut in…
Sneaking onto a golf course to catch a few unguarded bass is one of the most time-honored traditions in flyfishing, especially if you’re a golfer. Who among us hasn’t walked down some random Sun Belt fairway (or rough, more likely) only to peer upon a hungry four-pounder lurking in a water hazard along the way?…
Following the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission’s barbed hook ban on the Lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers, the Native Fish Society is launching its “Crush the Barb” campaign to expand the boycott—specifically to include all Oregon streams in the Columbia basin, as well as all coastal streams.
The Greenbacks and Trout Unlimited are putting the final touches on their 3rd annual Surface Film event, showcasing top professional flyfishing photography from across the country. Framed prints will be available through a silent auction to benefit the Greenback’s work to conserve Colorado’s coldwater fisheries.
Buying land in Grand Teton National Park is a spendy proposition, but one worth the bank when it comes to securing TR’s dream of conserving public lands in perpetuity… free from the hands of development. The National Park Service recently spent $16 million on the cause, acquiring 86 acres of “school trust lands” within the…
The New Year is a time to reflect. Get smashed and forget. And to consider the benefits of horrifying exercise to trim the post-Christmas fat. The good news is on the brink of 2013, we’re still here. And almost 130 years later so is Salmo Trutta, the badass import that outlived apocalyptic outcries from the…
The Columbia River below British Columbia’s Arrow lakes is a slice of tailwater that rivals Calgary’s Bow River as one of the country’s best. It’s also home to a notorious, shit-spewing polluter known as Teck Cominco (or Teck Metals Inc.). The Canadian mining company, which has for years dumped millions of tons of smelting waste…
Despite growing concerns about the ill-effects of fracking, gas exploration has been booming in northern British Columbia—including Shell Canada’s controversial bid to tap into some of the province’s sacred salmon and steelhead headwaters. Drake contributor Mark Hume is reporting today that Shell is giving up its rights to shale gas in the iconic wilderness stretch…
First Fish captures the essence of life’s inaugural steelhead through the wide eyes of a 5-year-old. We see a Drake subscription (and high potential for metalhead squalor…) in this kid’s future. Precious resources, indeed.
Just when you thought your stockings were fully stuffed, dynamic filmmaking duo Peter Christensen and Rolf Nylinder of the Kokkaffe Conglomerate drop one more banger to make ’em burst. Only the River Knows takes place on New Zealand’s legendary Lethe River and chronicles trout obsessed cabin-dweller Lars Lenth through the lost-in-the-woods eyes of a young…
After a high and cloudy Colorado premier at Denver’s Oriental theatre last month, critically-acclaimed documentary Low & Clear—by Kahlil Hudson and Tyler Hughen of Finback Films—continues to kill it.
The Last Salmon Forest from Detonation Studios highlights the ecological imperative of protecting two-million acres of pristine watersheds in southeast AK’s Tongass National Forest—strongholds home to five species of Pacific salmon, as well Dolly Varden, steelhead, sea-run cutts, and rainbows. The teaser is now officially official… and up on Vimeo.
The history goes something like this: In 1972 CalTrout fought to restore Hat Creek—winning it a wild trout designation. By 1983 it supported more than 5,000 trout per river mile. And as recently as 2011 those numbers have sunk to less than 1,000 due to a steady deterioration of habitat that’s led to what’s been…
No guides, plans, itineraries, or rules, the Provo Bros hit AK for blower pow capped with chrome. Check out the latest 18-minute edit of Steelhead and Spines after the jump.
For those following Casting For Recovery’s annual holiday-online-autction-a-thon—with proceeds destined for its quality of life programs for breast cancer survivors across the country—you officially have two days left to get in on the bidding. Of course, featured in this year’s mix is the stellar collection of classic Atlantic Salmon flies and original art from the…