The Trout Unlimited scheduled speaker for tomorrow night, Darian Hyde of Hareline Dubbin, had to back out at the last minute due to illness, but Jay Nicholas swooped in to save the day. Jay will be presenting tomorrow night on Oregon Winter Steelhead:
Oregon Coastal Winter Steelhead
-Biology
-Monitoring
-Status
-Hatchery programs
-How to ketch ‘em on flies
-North Umpqua Winter Steelhead, the fish and the controversy
-Management options for the future
If you like Jay’s videos, you’ll love seeing him in person. Come on out Wednesday night for the free talk at the February Trout Unlimited meeting. We’ll have more news on the McKenzie River Hatchery issues as well. 7pm at 1375 Irving Road Eugene, OR 97404. Our meetings are free and open to the public.
-MS
Wow. That’s too good to miss.
Will we be serving Bunny Grahams?
I attended the TU meeting last night as a first time guest in hopes of hearing Mr. Jay Nicholas impart some knowledge on the elusive steelhead I keep hearing so much about. Some how-to’s and if I was lucky enough, some where to’s would be shared. Well, as those of you who attended know, we didn’t quite make it to the “How to Ketch ’em” topic—but I couldn’t have left any happier with what I did hear from Mr. Nicholas and from the rest of the group. I moved here last summer from a small town in Ohio, where a word like conservation is rarely spoken much less put into practice. I think the Caddis Fly has a staffer that hails from Ohio, and I’m sure you’ve all heard horror stories so I won’t bore you with too many details. But having the Ohio River as my home waters for so long brought me to one certainty: I didn’t belong there. The atrocities I saw from other “fishermen” (I think a vast majority were really beer-drinkers that happened to be holding or standing near a fishing rod) on a daily basis would make any of you cringe. The offenses ranged from HEAVY pollution (unfathomable amounts), senseless killing of fish they believed to be “garbage”- thrown on banks to die, and every kind of harvesting violation imaginable. Keeping over limit, oversize, undersize, snagged fish–you name it, I saw it. The sense of entitlement to keep anything and everything they caught was baffling and disheartening, to say the least. The “I paid my license fee, this fish is mine” mentality was not only an acceptable credo, but seemed to be embraced. Some days I became so distraught by what I was witnessing that I had to quit fishing and leave, fuming and shaking my head in disbelief and feeling like I was the only one that thought something was amiss. I’m not so naive to believe that problems like these don’t exist everywhere that there’s fishable water, but sitting in that room last night with people so passionate about protecting our waters and fish made me feel hope. What a feeling to finally be among people not only celebrating their shared interest for catching fish today, but more importantly the desire to ensure that our children will have fish to catch tomorrow, and for generations after that. I knew I was going to love Oregon for the beauty of its rivers and streams, but finding a group of such like minded folk was the just the affirmation I needed to know that I’m at home here. Thank you all for that, and I look forward to getting to know all of you and joining up with your efforts.
Matt: glad you found the “modified” discussion interesting. Ya think this group is interested on management of McKenzie River wild trout?
No, we never got to the steelhead “how to ketch’em” part, but, like you, I really appreciated the audience’s passion, inquisitiveness, and genuine effort to function effectively as a Conservation Organization.
Invite me back sometime and we will all agree to LIMIT the discussion to winter steelhead – and the ins & outs of trying to earn a hook-up!
JN
Jay: Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. Look forward to the insider tips, and “trying to earn a hook-up.” I’m a very patient fella. I chased muskey around for five seasons of heartache and misses before finally connecting with one (my only one) before moving here. Learning all this new water, tactics–it’s exciting for me. I’ve got nothin’ but time to learn.