Dr. Aaron Adams of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust posted this cool video of bonefish being released, and the film’s tagline says it all: “Because It’s More Fun than Grip and Grin.” If you love fly-fishing for bonefish, Aaron’s blog is a must-read.
The way that the International Game Fish Association has kept big-fish records has never really meshed with the ways most trout fly fishermen talk about their catches. When a fly fisher catches a huge fish, he almost always describes it in inches, and most guys never weigh a fish—especially when they plan to release it. But beginning January 1, IGFA will add a separate category for released fish, which will be measured in inches. The category will include 60 freshwater and 70 saltwater species, and will require that all entered fish be returned to the water alive. Score one for the catch-and-release crowd.
Have you ever wondered if the steelheader next to you is a witch? Well, it turns out there are ways you can tell. For instance, “If the guy catches a steelhead he has obviously used some kind of incantation or magic spell and is definitely a witch.”
Looks like steelheading on many of the Great Lakes tributaries are shut down for awhile. Seems the water has gotten kind of hard.
The appearance of some dead, fungus-covered brown trout on the Missouri River downstream of Holter Dam caused a bit of panic, but Bruce Auchly of Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks uses it as an opportunity to ruminate of how tough the brown trout’s life really is.
Northern California’s Eel River is enjoying a record run of Chinook salmon this year, with some 1,600 fish already counted at the Van Arsdale Fisheries Station. This is great news after a century of logging and damming had nearly wiped out the run.