Articles

Native Fish Society Issues New Call to Action for Wild Oregon Steelhead

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Feb 11th, 2014

A wild Oregon steelhead (photo: Chad Shmukler).

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has extended the public comment period regarding the current draft of its Coastal Management Plan (CMP). Originally scheduled to close yesterday, the public comment period has been extended for an additional month, now closing on March 10th 2014. The current plan has come under fire from steelhead advocacy groups, such as the Native Fish Society (NFS), which has re-issued a call to action asking supporters of wild steelhead conservation to make their voices heard regarding the shortcomings of the CMP.

According to information distributed by NFS, two independent scientific reviews of the ODFW's currently proposed plan concluded that "the CMP is a status quo hatchery and harvest management plan, not a conservation plan, and it is unlikely that this draft plan will ensure these salmonid populations are viable in the future."

Despite recent years characterized by poor steelhead returns and drastically lower-than-expected fish counts, in addition to studies verifying the importance of the survival wild steelhead, the plan would actually establish three fisheries that would allow a "modest" harvest on wild steelhead but, according to the NFS, offers no evidence that the steelhead populations in question are able to withstand changes in current harvest management principles. The establishment of wild steelhead harvest fisheries seems at odds with the findings of the independent review panels, which concluded that "out of the 15 distinct population segments of steelhead on the west coast, 12 are listed as threatened or endangered, and not one has been recovered or de-listed from the Endangered Species Act.”

RIO Introduces New Line for Czech, Polish and other Euro Nymphing Styles

by Ben Kryzinski - Thursday, Feb 6th, 2014

RIO Euro Nymphing Line

RIO announced yesterday a new line designed to suit all the increasingly popular european nymphing styles of fly fishing. The line is also designed to be legal in all european nymphing competitions, whether it be Czech, Polish, Spanish or other popular short-line nymphing styles.

Unlike typical fly lines, the RIO Euro Nymphing line is available in only one size. It was designed by nymphing specialist Steve Parrot. According to RIO, the line features an ultra-thin diameter and is very low-stretch to allow for the fastest of hook sets. The line also features a high-visibility orange tip section which functions as a strike indicator.

Idaho in Winter - Part II

by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Feb 5th, 2014

The zebra midge is a wintertime favorite on rivers everywhere, not just in Idaho.

Crest the ridge on Fisherman’s Drive overlooking the Henry’s Fork, and it’s easy to see why this river contains the closest thing to Holy Water that can be found without the Pope’s blessing. Even in the dead of winter, its banks blanketed in snow and its edges glassed with a thin sheen of ice, this river simply looks sacred.

Certainly there are more sacred stretches, however, but I’ve always found myself drawn to this length of the Henry’s Fork. Here, below the confluence with the Warm River, it slices through a foothill canyon and tumbles and rolls through a series of riffles and runs for about 10 miles before it slams against Ashton Dam. Fish in this stretch have shoulders—they have to.

And I love this run of water in the winter—starting about right now through March, as the days get a longer and the fleeting sunshine hits the river a few minutes longer than the day before, swarms of midges and, later, blue-winged olives, hatch along this reach and bring the rivers browns and rainbows to the top. Whitefish, too, live in this water, and they’re dependable winter fare, as well.

Idaho in Winter - Part I

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Jan 30th, 2014

The Black Canyon stretch of the Bear River is one of the few public access points on this river in eastern Idaho (photo: Heidi Oberstadt).

There comes a time when the notion of casting through icy guides or standing in frigid water in search of trout feels more like a chore than an actual fishing endeavor.

But sometimes the urge is simply too great—particularly on familiar water where the exploration process isn’t as important as past knowledge. The elements are easier to handle if you know, generally, what’s coming.

Such is the case with Idaho’s Bear River as it runs through Black Canyon near the little farming town of Grace and just over Fish Creek Summit from the resort community of Lava Hot Springs. This is one of only a handful of public access points to the Bear in Idaho that’s easily reached by the public—a cooperative arrangement between Idaho Fish and Game and Pacificorp allows anglers to visit this gorgeous stretch of river in southeastern Idaho, where rainbows and native Bonneville cutthroat trout can be dependably targeted.

And winter might be the best time of year to pay this stretch of river a visit.

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