
Have fun and support two great causes during March Madness.
[Editor’s Note: “First Casts” is an occasional feature that highlights great fly-fishing content from around the Web—from how-to articles, to photo essays, to interesting reads.]
- Angler access was dealt a blow when the Utah Supreme Court stayed a recent ruling by 4th District Judge Derek Pullan which opened public access to streams that flow through private property. Granted without comment on Wednesday, the stay is the Utah Stream Access Coalition‘s first set back in its five years of litigating against the Utah Public Waters Access Act.
- Do want to experience March Madness but don’t care about basketball? Check out the TU/Cheeky fundraiser, which offers a bracket that pits fish species against each other. Participants can win more than $5,000 worth of fishing gear, all while 100 percent of the proceeds go to TU and Casting for Recovery.
- A great piece by Monte Burke on Forbes.com profiles Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) and offers and interview with Dr. Aaron Adams. Fascinating stuff.

The discovery of spawning Atlantic salmon in the Connecticut River may re-energize restoration efforts.
Photo via fieldandstream.com
- If you dig fly-fishing literature, Big Sky Journal offers three personal essays from Montana authors David Abrams, Malcolm Brooks, and Bryce Andrews.
- The effort to bring back Atlantic salmon to the rivers of New England got a big boost recently, when biologists found wild Atlantic salmon spawning in the Connecticut River. This may be the first wild spawning since the time of the Revolutionary War.
- Do you find yourself shaking your head at the ways some of your fellow anglers act on the water? Writing on the Flymen Blog, LeVern Burm offers “6 easy things to consider when fishing in a crowd.”
- Keeping the srum beat going is an important part of any major conservation battle, and Dan Frasier of the Gink and Gasoline blog offers an important message: “Be warned, the Pebble Mine is not a settled issue.”