A dead trout lies encased in mud along Wyoming’s Shoshone River downstream from Cody.
Photo by Raymond Hillegas, via codyenterprise.com
[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.]
- Disaster struck Wyoming’s Shoshone River last week, when workers repairing a diversion dam released millions of tons of sediment into the river about 15 miles downstream from Cody. “Laura Burckhardt, an aquatic habitat biologist with Game and Fish, is concerned recovery may be a long process. In addition to the fish kill, the silt has buried the cobble river bottom. This will likely lead to a significant loss of aquatic invertebrates — mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies — that are trout’s primary food source.”
- As catch-and-release anglers, we want to do everything we can to ensure that the fish we catch swim away healthy and likely to survive. Writing on the Gink + Gasoline blog, Louis Cahill offers “14 Ways to Prevent Fish Mortality.“
- Although it seems like a topic far removed from fly fishing, the fate of the Atlantic menhaden is vital to the health of game-fish populations up and down the Eastern Seabord. Writing on Midcurrent, Mike Connor explains how these pelagic baitfish are the key to the food web for predatory birds and game fish.
Ben Miller casts paint onto a canvas alongside the river.
Photo by Raymond Hillegas, via kbzk.com
- Angling art takes many forms, but we’ve never seen the like of what Ben Miller is creating. Using his fly rod as a paintbrush, he creates unique works that even include water from the rivers he loves..
- A legend of South Florida fly fishing, longtime saltwater guide Bill Curtis passed away on Monday night. according to Marshall Cutchin of Midcurrent. Click here for a profile of Curtis by Kirk Deeter and Andrew Steketee.
- The first episode of “Streamer Chronicles,” from Fly Fishing the Ozarks, features Mike Schmidt, the owner and tier at Angler’s Choice Flies. Mike discusses how he got started fly fishing and tying, his favorite flies, how he comes up with the names of his flies, and more. Click here to check out Mike’s Meal Ticket, which he mentions in the video.
That’s some bull.shit concerning the Shoshone River fiasco. How sad. There better be lawsuits and EPA involvement… or something to get it cleaned up. That was a fantastic fishery, especially in the winter.
Where’s the EPA when you need them??? I’m calling on the EPA for help with this blunder. Someone needs to step up to the plate. ugh. What a tragedy.