Washington legislators made steelhead the state symbol in 1969. But as contributor Jonathan Stumpf writes in “Chrome Plated” (Summer 2016), over the ensuing years anglers haven’t had a design to compliment their steelhead whips en route to the Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere. In March, Governor Jay Inslee changed that when he signed a law to help conserve wild steelhead through the sale of specialty steelhead plates.

This week, Washington unveiled the new plates that feature an iconic steelie design by Michigan-based artist Derek DeYoung. They are slated to go on sale Jan. 1 and are expected to generate more than $200,000 during the first year. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) said it will use the funds for everything from management and fish monitoring activities to studying interactions between wild and hatchery steelhead.

DeYoung, who’s been discussing similar conservation projects with Montana and Michigan, said his decision to donate the art was easy. He received an official letter from WDFW this week saying they’d selected one of his mockups. “We’re excited to be contributing to the steelhead cause,” he said. “It’s an important one.”

As for the inspiration behind the design, steelheading on the OP has always been on DeYoung’s get-done list. But since he was stuck dodging snowstorms in Livingston, Montana, last February, he decided the next best thing would be to hit the easel and paint the fish.

“I started researching steelhead from there. After an hour or so I really wanted to gear up and jump on the next Seattle-bound jet. Instead, I started mixing colors and planned out the composition for my steelhead painting.”

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Tom Bie
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Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

Category: Daily Drake
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Author: Tom Bie

Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

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