No Open Pit Mine Needed in America's Great Salmon Place

We're in the late innings of a critical game where the fisheries of Bristol Bay are at stake. Time to step up and go to bat for North America's greatest salmon fishery.

The Ecological Angler takes a close look at a few of the rivers and the local inhabitants of North America's greatest salmon fishery.

Ecological?

By definition, ecological is the interactions and relationships between organisms and their environment. The science of ecology teaches the angler, it is impossible to separate the study of a species of fish such as trout from the study of their environment.

A good ecologist can dovetail into dovetail until the whole thing stretches out of sight. We call it an ecosystem now; earlier Americans called it the Sacred Circle. Either way it can make your little head swim with a vision of a thing of great size and strength that still depends on the underpinning of its smallest members.
Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing by John Gierach  

Freshwater ecology is a broad and complex science, and the scope of this site only allows a brief overview of the critical elements - Fly patterns (a.k.a. aquatic insects), Habitat and Species.

It starts with a trout's favorite class of food - aquatic insects. (Grasshoppers, ants, beetles, minnows and leeches are also on the menu here.) And in the case of the angler, the fly patterns which imitate these insects. The goal of the EcoAngler is to recognize the insects that freshwater trout survive on, and to the extent possible the ecology of these tiny creatures.

The EcoAngler focuses on trout habitat in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Northern California. Each of the fisheries covered in habitat includes information critical to your angling success - such as fly patterns, map of area and flow information.

No species of fish has excited the freshwater angler through the years as the trout. California is home to two native trout species (rainbow and cutthroat) and numerous subspecies including California golden trout, Lahontan cutthroat and Kern River rainbow trout.

As the author of several Ebooks, I document some of the West's most unique native trout and salmon fisheries. Extensive photography coupled with maps and access information provide the reader with a do-it-yourself guide to experience these fisheries.

Conservation Articles

TROUT Magazine

Look for my photography in the feature story highlighting TU's 20th Anniversary of the North Coast Coho Project in the Summer 2018 issue of TROUT.

The article details Trout Unlimited's groundbreaking conservation partnership with a private timber company on California's North Coast enters its third decade restoring and protecting critical habitat for coho salmon and steelhead.

Look for my photography in the feature story The Complicated Relationship Between Beavers and Trout in the Winter 2016 issue of TROUT.

Writer Philip Monahan reports on the ecological role of the beaver (Castor canadenis) in freshwater habitats. He writes: Aside from man, no animal has such a profound impact on its ecosystem, and many anglers see the beavers' work as predominately destructive--turning a babbling trout stream into a slow-moving wetland, for instance. However, wildlife biologists recognize that each of these "destructive" effects has a flip side...

Look for my photography in the cover story State of the Trout in the Summer 2015 issue of TROUT.

The Trout Unlimited Science Team takes an extensive survey of native trout in the United States. The report includes chapters on the Pacific Coast, the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, regions which have been plagued by drought in recent years. The report finds native trout throughout the West are in trouble due to the "one-two punch" of drought and hot temperatures throughout the region.

Look for my photography in the article Walking A Trout Tightrope in the Spring 2014 issue of TROUT.

Writer Jay Cassell delves into the day's hot button issue - Is there a way to balance wild and hatchery trout in our nation's waters. Thankfully, after years of indiscriminate stocking, many state and federal agencies are reevaluating their policies. The future of wild salmon and trout populations will pivot on striking the right balance.

Bay Nature

In this feature story for Bay Nature I put down my flyrod (just for a while) and do some research. Driven by curiosity about the coho salmon that once lived and spawned in the streams of the Santa Cruz and San Mateo Coast, I begin a three year quest to find them.

Learn what I discovered and meet some of the folks dedicated to helping this fragile population survive in the
October - December 2012 issue of Bay Nature.

Fly Fishing Articles

Northwest Fly Fishing

Look for my feature article on Fly Fishing the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in the July/August 2018 issue of Northwest Fly Fishing

Our country's greatest proponent of experiencing wilderness, John Muir wrote in The Yosemite, Every one who is anything of a mountaineer should go on through the entire length of the canyon, coming out by Hetch Hetchy. There is not a dull step all the way. And I would add the fishing in the Tuolumne River isn't bad either.

I wrote a feature story for the January/February 2008 issue of Northwest Fly Fishing. The article covers fly fishing the Merced River in Yosemite Valley flowing down through the Merced Canyon until it meets the South Fork of the Merced.

Southwest Fly Fishing

Look for my feature article on the Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River in the July/August 2017 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

If you’re a fan of catching wild trout surrounded by strange geologic formations, then you can’t do any better than fishing the Middle Fork San Joaquin River as it flows in, out, and through Devils Postpile National Monument.

Look for my article on Heenan Lake in the September/October 2015 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

Going to fish Heenan Lake can be risky. You might damage your rig getting down to the launch area. An angry confrontation over your personal fishing space could break out. So why take the risk? The answer seems clear to me - trophy size Lahontans.

Revive

Look for my essay - Rebuilding the Beast appearing in the Summer 2016 issue of Revive

The story is as much about the opportunity to catch a trout-of-a-lifetime, as it is about correcting the past of an ancient desert lake in Nevada.

Ultimately, it wasn't about breeding just any trout to stock into Pyramid Lake.

Salmon & Steelhead Journal

Look for my feature article on one of North America's finest steelheading rivers the - Rogue River - in the Spring 2012 issue of Salmon & Steelhead Journal.

With a focus on the middle Rogue, you'll learn effective techniques to fish thisclassic steelhead water.

American Angler

Look for my feature article - Secrets of the Sierras 4 Classic Walk-In Trips appearing in the current May/June 2010 issue of American Angler.

You'll learn about some terrific wild trout fisheries of the Central Sierra Nevada.

Photography

Southwest Fly Fishing

Look for my EXPOSURE on fly fishing for Pyramid Lake's Lahontans in the January/February 2020 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing.

Look for my native cutthroat photography in the Exposure Section of the May / June 2019 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

The photographs include a Lahontan cutthroat native to the Tahoe Basin of California, a Whitehorse Basin cutthroat from the southeast corner of Oregon, a Yellowstone cutthroat, and a Pilot Peak strain Lahontan from Pyramid Lake Nevada.

Look for my EXPOSURE photo essay on fly fishing the California Surf in the January/February 2019 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

I contributed photography for a feature story on the Tuolumne River Meadows Section in the March / April 2018 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

Yosemite National Park is home to a vast and healthy population of wild trout. And if you're a fan of catching wild trout in one of the Sierra Nevada's most scenic alpine meadows, then Tuolumne River through its namesake meadow has got the goods.

Look for my photograph of a California Golden in the FishEye two page spread of the November / December 2017 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

I photographed this California Golden Trout in it's namesake creek - Golden Trout Creek. As the early evening sun dropped, the light softened and this golden turned perfectly in front of the camera capturing the sunlight along it's body. Their colors are striking and I hope you get the chance to see one first-hand!

Look for my Exposure photo essay on fly fishing the Eastern Sierra around the Mono Lake Basin in the September October 2017 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing

The Eastern Sierra Nevada in the early fall explodes with color. Most of the creeks draining the eastern slope of the Sierra support healthy groves of aspen trees, and early October can be an amazing time to explore the Mono Basin with a fly rod and a camera.

FLY FISHERMAN

Look for my photography on fly fishing California's Goldfield Bows in the June/July 2016 issue of FLY FISHERMAN .

The Lower Yuba River's runs of wild steelhead trout and resident trout persist in a watershed that was driven like a rented mule. The discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada in 1848 set in-motion habitat destruction on the Yuba on a grand scale. Despite the dams and hydraulic mining, aquatic insect hatches can be prolific. And where there is food, there are trout.

MidCurrent

I'm truly fortunate to have my photography in the MidCurrent gallery! MidCurrent hosts a Who's Who of fly fishing photographers - I feel honored to be included as part of the display!

Outdoor Life

Look for my photography on fishing for native golden trout in the September 2014 issue of Outdoor Life .

California Trout 2014 Calendar

I'm extremely fortunate to have a couple photographs selected by the staff at California Trout for their 2014 Calendar. The photographs they choose - a landscape of Hot Creek & a native California Golden - highlight just two of their projects in state.

If you aren't already a member of CalTrout today, then consider becoming one to support their critical mission to protect and restore wild trout, steelehead, salmon and their home waters throughout California.

FLY FISHERMAN 2013 Photo Contest

Some detail on the photo - I fished a couple of days last September with my friend and guide Dennis Nagel on the Wood River in Southern Oregon. I've fished the Wood over the course of ten years. It's a beautiful stretch of spring fed water that runs north of Agency Lake in the Klamath Basin.

Enough said about the river ... As you can see in the photo detail, the drift boat is definitely hand crafted. I believe this one represents the third drift boat Dennis has built since I've known him. Dennis designed this boat precisely to float the Wood River. The Wood is a small, spring creek and has a few obstacles to get through including a really low bridge.

A huge thanks to Ross Purnell and the staff at Fly Fisherman for selecting this photograph and to the folks at Sage for putting the EVOKE reel in my steelhead arsenal.

Photo Gallery