fly fishing, conservation and politics.
Puppy’s chew. It is just a fact.
So when I let my latest fashion accessory help with the laundry she decided to add a bit of tailoring to the mud flaps of my favorite pair of Mountain Khakis.
Not that you would notice her addition to these well worn and beloved trousers but it is the thought that counts…
As a Mountain Khakis ambassador I know often it is my good looking pants rather than my rugged looks that gets attention. Since I am committed to both the brand and the lifestyle -who wouldn’t like dogs and trucks- I figured I could up my game for the spring. I mean MK has some great new tops and bottoms in the spring line up, I needed an edge. One my favorite MK photos was an inspiration but I wanted to compliment, not copy it.
Well I know I am not going to get any better looking but how can you resist this latest “accessory” to my wardrobe?!?
Editor Note: The post below showed up on OBN inviting other to use it as a guest post. The economic connection caught my attention.
Sounds counterintuitive doesn’t it, how can more fish be bad for business?
As Schustrom and Farling explain, angling numbers have declined on Flathead Lake as well as tourism dollars. Read below to learn why.
Not convinced? Check out this great Flathead lake fishery FAQ on Chi Wulff; The Battle to Restore the Flathead’s Bull and Cutthroat Trout Goes On…
By Chris Schustrom and Bruce Farling
This spring native westslope cutthroat and bull trout will stage for their epic journeys from Flathead Lake to spawning streams in the Middle and North Forks Flathead River. Once quite common, their numbers are significantly diminished from the recent past because many cannot navigate the gauntlet of predacious non-native lake trout (and illegally introduced northern pike) that occupy the lake and river. Our neighbors, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, want to bolster the populations of native fish to once again provide a diverse sport fishery as well as revive an important part of tribal culture. With the support of anglers, the assistance of objective science and a review panel of biologists from state and federal agencies, as well as the university system, the tribes are working hard to strike a reasonable balance in the fishery at Flathead Lake. They deserve your support.
Flathead Lake once hosted one of Montana’s most popular and robust sport fisheries, featuring millions of kokanee salmon, cutthroats, yellow perch, bull trout and lake trout. Today, the salmon are gone and cutthroat and bull trout numbers have been reduced dramatically. Also gone are many fishermen. Perch and lake whitefish remain, but their availability fluctuates year to year, depending on water levels and predation. Well-meaning state managers who introduced Mysis shrimp into the Flathead system in the 1980s triggered the decline in the lake’s fishery and fishing opportunities. The shrimp provide an ample food source for young lake trout, improving their survival rates. Once these lake trout get larger they feed on other fish. In the nineties the exploding lake trout population consumed about 10 million kokanee in Flathead Lake, collapsing perhaps the most popular lake fishery in the state. Angling numbers then dropped by about 50 percent. When the kokanee disappeared, so did hundreds of bald eagles that gathered each fall to gorge on spawning salmon at McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park. Thousands of tourists then stopped coming to view the eagles. Tourism dollars dropped.
The large lake trout population – as well as illegally introduced northern pike — also preys on bull trout. The result has been an alarming loss of the native fish in the lake and the connected North and Middle Forks. Today, adult bull trout in Flathead Lake are estimated to be only about 3,000 fish. Localized spawning populations continue to disappear. It is now illegal to fish for them. Scientists estimate lake trout numbers, however,are around 1.8 million. They are tough to catch without a large boat and specialized gear. Lake trout migrating from Flathead Lake have also nearly eliminated bull trout from 10 of 13 lakes on the west side of Glacier Park. Further, they have severely reduced cutthroat numbers in the upper Flathead system, reducing their population to less than half of what they were before Mysis arrived. Because many of the easier-to-catch cutthroats in the upper Flathead River system migrate from the lake, angling opportunities – and the tourism dollars they generate — in the Middle and North Forks are threatened by lake trout.
The near monoculture of lake trout in Flathead Lake threatens the future of sportfishing in the upper Flathead basin. The tribes, however, are addressing this challenge head-on. They are evaluating tools, including maintaining fishing tourneys coupled with limited and scientifically based netting, that can reduce the lake trout population to a reasonable number. This could reduce predation and benefit native bull and cutthroat trout, as well as other sportfish such as perch and lake whitefish. It would also still maintain a lake trout fishery for the minority of anglers who can afford powerboats and the specialized gear it takes to pursue them. Despite the fears of the small cadre of commercial charter operators who fish for lake trout, it would be impossible to eliminate their favored fish from Flathead Lake.
Without new approaches at Flathead Lake, bull trout and cutthroat trout will eventually be reduced to a tiny fraction of their historical numbers, or even extirpated. Without new approaches, angling opportunities and the economic benefits they generate, will continue to dwindle. Without trying, and instead turning the lake and river over to lake trout, we will be judged harshly by future Montanans who will never feel the tug of a large cutthroat on their line at Flathead Lake.
[signoff]
Pretty much every day I find some intresting tenkara news as I peruse the interwebs. The more the better as far as I am concerned. What has been especially rewarding for me this year is the increasing interest in tenkara.
I not talking about the silly stuff about fads, cults or the haters on the forums. That stuff doesn’t advance knowledge, it’s mostly noise. Most of those folks never use a tenkara rod before they spout off. Of course that noise does help with name recognition and SEO. Like my grand pappy, with his sharp political mind, used to say about name recognition, “I don’t care what they say about me as long as the spell my name correctly.”
There is clearly an increase in curiosity and desire to learn more about the tenkara technique. So far this month I have given tenkara presentations to the Massanutten, Rapidan, and Potomac/Patuxanat chapters of Trout Unlimited, done a tenkara demostatation at the National Capitol Chapter of Trout Unlimted and have a four day and a couple of 1/2 day tenkara guiding gigs lined up.
And if the number of articles about tenkara is any indication than more people are giving tenkara a serious look. Give these articles a look.
My good friend Chris Hunt of Eat More Brook Trout put together a terrific video: Tenkara Winter.
A great post with wonderful photos on Bug Chuckers about the many advantages of tenkara: Tenkara
Yours truly gets a quoted in this excellent article in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine: Tenkara fly fishing is gaining momentum in the United States.
Here is a handy tip from Teton Tenkara: What I learned from band.
The new Daiawa rod gets a test on Casting Around: Tenkara Rod Review: Daiwa LL36SF.
The Ito gets the Teton Tenkara field test: Tenkara USA Ito review.
Tenkara USA has a new fly box: Bamboo Tenkara Fly Box.
Kiwi over at The North River works his magic again: Tenkara Rod Plugs.
Tenkara Talk compares somes level lines from Tenkara USA and Tenkara Bum: New Tenkara USA Yellow Level Line.
We go to pick her up from the breeder next Saturday!
We haven’t been this excited in a long time. And when you look at this bundle of adorableness can you blame us?
I put my AFFTA hat on last Friday to participate in the White House Conference on Conservation. The conference was excellent and while I often grouse about having to “go to DC” this was time well spent.
The theme for the conference was “Growing America’s Outdoor Heritage and Economy.” A theme that is near and dear to our heart here at Dispatches. The drum beat of “habitat equals opportunity equals economic activity” is getting louder and I couldn’t be happier. It is to the great credit that the Administration, especially the Department of Interior, is championing the economic value of the conservation and outdoor recreation.
The conference was part of the on-going America’s Great Outdoors initiative. The “on-going” is important to note. Since the Obama Administration rolled AGO out under the capable guidance of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his team, they have kept stakeholders and the public informed and engaged. This conference was the latest example.
The purpose of the conference was to “engage directly with conservation leaders from all 50 states to strengthen partnerships and identify next steps in advancing community-driven conservation and outdoor recreation initiatives that are building strong local economies and healthy lands, waters and wildlife across America.
Joining Salazar at the conference were Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Each participated in panel discussions to help frame the discussions in breakout sessions later in the day.
The three panels during the conference were (the links take you to videos of the panels):
Each panel was moderated by an administration official with remarks from folks who have experience or involvement in the subject areas. Of special note was Dave Perkins Vice-Chairman of the Orvis Company. Perkins was part of the Restoring Rivers panel and did a great job in connecting the dots to the economic contributions of river recreation and restoration. Having a major player from the fly-fishing industry was important recognition of both the economic and conservation contributions the industry makes.
The capstone to the day came with remarks from President Obama. Having the President come to Interior underscores the importance the administration puts on conservation and the impact of the recreational economy.
In order for folks to talk about specific interests there were 11 breakout sessions:
These breakout sessions were used to learn from stakeholders what was working in the AGO initiative and more importantly what needed to be done.
I attended the Rivers Restoration and Recreation session moderated by Rock Salt from the Dept. of the Army (Civil Works) and Rebecca Wodder from Interior.
Wodder framed the discussion by asking, when it came to rivers, what works and what needs work.
Earlier in the week, Salazar had signed a Secretarial Order establishing a National Water Trails system under the National Trails System Act.
“The order sets the framework for Secretarial designation of water trails that will help facilitate outdoor recreation on waterways in and around urban areas, and provide national recognition and resources to existing, local water trails.”
Many in the room pointed to the new National Water Trails as an important step forward and one that has great potential to provide stakeholders a way to promote water-based outdoor recreation, encourage community stewardship of local waterways, and promote tourism that fuels local economies across America.
From AFFTA’s perspective, this is a great opportunity. It really is very simple, rivers are our business, they are the principal venues for our customers and clients. There is an indisputable nexus between the health of a river and its viability as a recreational resource.
I used the case of the Colorado River and its tributaries as an example. It was one the Secretary was familiar: “It’s a mecca of economic development in outdoor recreation, and that needs to be recognized in how we manage the Colorado River System.” I encouraged them to remind Secretary Salazar and Asst Secretary Darcy to keep those economic impacts in mind when making decisions that affect water supply and quality.
I know that my AFFTA colleagues will welcome the chance to work on making the new National Water Trails system a recreational and economic success.
Salazar also announced that is working with the Secretary Vilsack and Commerce Secretary John Bryson on a Memorandum of Agreement to ensure that Federal resources are effectively focused in support of the collaborative conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Partnership.
The National Fish Habitat Partnerships provide local, public-private conservation partnerships that are the foundation of the three part equation, “Habitat = Recreational Opportunity = Economic Activity, which so important to AFFTA. Healthy habitat and clean water create the venues for AFFTA member’s customers and clients.
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan and the National Fish Habitat Partnership are strongly supported by AFFTA and this announcement that an agreement is in the works is excellent news. This is an important step to having our federal partners work together to insure the success of the partnerships and the important work they do.
As a member of the steering committee of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, one of the 18 National Fish Habitat Partnerships, I know that a well coordinated effort with the various federal agencies can only help the EBTJV continue its successful efforts to ensure healthy, fishable brook trout populations throughout its historic range.
As someone who is often cynical about the value of these types of get togethers, this one was a winner. Sure there is more to be done but the America’s Great Outdoors initiative has been a lot more than rhetoric. The President has shown his support, traveling to the Department of Interior twice and hosting a gathering at the White House. There are AGO projects in 50 states.
Now with this engagement on rivers and fish habitat there is a new opportunity for anglers and the sport fishing industry. That can only be a good thing.