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Upcoming Events | May 2015

May 11, 2015 by Caldwell Rohrbach Leave a Comment

Writers on the Fly

Thursday, May 14th, 7pm, FREE

Join host Jason Rolfe for an evening of readings, art, beer and shenanigans at Writers on the Fly #4.

Our featured readers this month include Cameron Chambers, author of Chasing Rumor out soon from Patagonia Books; Cameron Scott, poet and fishing guide in Oregon and Colorado and the author of the poetry collection The Book of Ocho; and finally Catie Webster, a writer and flyfisher making her way from Montana to a new home and new job in Seattle!

We’ll see art from the inimitable Amy McMahon, and have an outdoor gear drive for our featured non-profit, YMCA’s BOLD/GOLD Outdoor Leadership Program!

Trout Unlimited Duwamish Chapter Meeting and Presentation: Flyfishing Puget Sound with Dave McCoy

Tuesday, May 19th, 6:30pm, FREE

Join the TU Duwamish Chapter for their monthly meeting and presentation by local Puget Sound flyfishing guru Dave McCoy as he shares tips and tricks for fishing the Puget Sound learned from nearly two decades on the water here!

This event is free, and great for anyone looking to learn more about Trout Unlimited and the unique and exhilarating fishery right outside our backdoor!

Fishing the Cascade Creeks Presentation with Alex Collier

Thursday, May 21st, 6:30pm, FREE

Alex Collier is no stranger to the blue line, and he’s ready to share his knowledge of fishing the many creeks and larger streams that tumble down along the Cascade slopes. From highway 2, to the I-90 corridor and beyond, Alex will show you how to find the fish, what flies they like to eat, and talk about the best equipment for chasing the beautiful, wild trout that call these streams home.

EWA Summer Fly Fest and Guide Gourmet at Lincoln Park

Saturday, May 30th, 10am-4pm, FREE

Join the EWA Staff and Guides for a fun day at the park! Product reps from Scott, Hardy, Winston and Patagonia will be on hand to show off the latest gear, rods and reels, while EWA’s own certified casting instructors will be giving free casting clinics and presentations.

We’ll be holding our annual Guide Gourmet Cookoff, as well. Come and taste the best shore lunches our guides have to offer, which will be judged by a panel of local chefs and food lovers.

This event will be a lot of fun for the whole family–we hope to see you there!

Coming up in June…

Flyfishing the Mountain West with Bobby Foster

Thursday, June 4th, 6:30pm, FREE

Writers on the Fly

Thursday, June 11th, 7:00pm, FREE

SUP Fly Fishing with Parker Bunbury 

Tuesday, June 16th, 6:30pm, FREE

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: events, presentations, Puget sound fly fishing, Trout Unlimited, writersonthefly

A creek Rod

September 14, 2011 by adminewa

I recently got a new rod for the creeks. This is a remodeled Tout Bum Rod from Orvis. Their 7’6″ 1# Super Fine Touch rod is super sweet. It has old school matte wrapping and a cork handle that fades right into the first rod wraps. It is a full flex, super slow action rod that is a blast to cast. I paired it with a weight forward 2# line and a Mirage Reel. It is slow and steady casting and weighs next to nothing.

The first day fishing it was on a small brook trout pond in Northern Maine. I spent the afternoon with TU Brook Trout Guru Jeff Reardon. The trout were actually see-run and would move back and forth to the Atlantic down a 1/2 mile creek. They hit with absolute ferocity and the new rod made for a fantastic few days of fishing! I can’t wait to head out to the Cascades with it soon.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Brook Trout, creek fishing, Emerald Water Anglers, Lucas St.Clair, Orvis, Seattle Fly Fishing, Super Fine Touch Rod, Trout Unlimited

Pebble Mine Fight Takes a Hit — WTF–K!

July 18, 2011 by adminewa

House approves bill to undercut the Clean Water Act
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Date:
07/14/2011

Izaak Walton League of America ● National Wildlife Federation ● Trout Unlimited

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

House approves bill to undercut the Clean Water Act

H.R. 2018 puts nation’s waters, fish and wildlife at risk.

Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to approve sweeping, harmful changes to the nation’s bedrock water-quality protecting law, the Clean Water Act. In a 239-184 vote, the House passed H.R. 2018, a bill that will adversely affect waterways across the nation.

H.R. 2018, dubbed the The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011, purports to strengthen “cooperative federalism” by giving the states more control over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act oversight. In fact, the bill undermines the federal-state partnership on which the Clean Water Act is based. Introduced less than four weeks ago, the House of Representatives held no legislative hearings on the bill and rushed to approve it, apparently to avoid giving it the scrutiny it deserves.

“For 38 years, the Clean Water Act has provided protection for our nation’s waters,” said Steve Moyer, Vice President for Government Affairs at Trout Unlimited. “The Clean Water Act has led to immense progress nationwide on cleaning up our waters, restoring fish habitat, protecting drinking water sources, reducing wetlands loss, and developing water-based recreational economies. This bill weakens the power of the Clean Water Act and puts our lakes, rivers and streams at risk,” Moyer said.

U.S. waters sustain the activities of 40 million anglers who spend about $45 billion a year, and about 2.3 million people spend $1.3 billion per year hunting ducks and other migratory birds. Sportsmen conservationists strongly oppose HR 2018 and urge the U.S. Senate to do a more thorough job of assessing the impacts of HR 2018 on the nation’s waters before taking any action on this harmful bill.

The goal of the Clean Water Act is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters,” was written at a time when lakes and rivers served as wastewater treatment plants and as dumping grounds for toxic, flammable chemicals. H.R. 2018 undermines the Clean Water Act’s goal, and by extension, threatens to return our waters to the deplorable conditions of the past.

“This bill would undermine the use and enforcement of water quality standards, and allow our waters to become dumping grounds,” said Jan Goldman-Carter, wetlands and water resources counsel for the National Wildlife Federation. “Not only would our country’s waters be at risk, but fish and wildlife would become collateral damage of this dangerous legislation,” Goldman-Carter said.

“This bill would create a hodgepodge of water quality standards around the country,” said Scott Kovarovics, Conservation Director, of the Izaak Walton League of America. “Some states will adopt stronger standards while others will choose weaker standards, while the waters of states with stronger standards may be polluted by water flowing from adjacent states with weaker standards,” Kovarovics said.

H.R. 2018 attacks two critical components of the Clean Water Act: enforcement of water quality standards; and protection of waters from discharges of dredged and fill material.

H.R. 2018 undermines the use and enforcement of water quality standards, the Clean Water Act’s engines of water quality improvement and wildlife habitat protection.

H.R. 2018 would also limit the federal government’s ability to compel states to implement or improve their water quality standards to deal with pollution and habitat- destroying activities.

The bill would also block the EPA from objecting to individual permits that fail to comply with water quality standards. For bodies of water that span multiple states, like the Great Lakes or Chesapeake Bay, federal oversight is needed to ensure one state’s weaker standards do not undermine progress in reducing pollution across the body of water.

The bill will next move for a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Alaska, Clean Water Act, Pebble Mine, Trout Unlimited

UP’s and down’s of our fishing world…

March 22, 2011 by adminewa

There is a ton going on in the angling community and while some of it is very vivid and in our face here, others may not be so much so I thought I would share some of the struggles and silver linings of yesterday.

First, here at home in Washington:

Some wildlife lands and boat launches face closure under state budget shortfall
The statewide revenue shortfall is threatening a host of important state services, including state wildlife lands and water-access sites.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Department of Natural Resources and State Parks and Recreation Commission are collaborating to support proposed legislation that would create a recreation land user fee to supplant lost state General Fund support and maintain public access to state recreation lands.

The proposed measures, Senate Bill 5622 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5622&year=2011 ), introduced by Sen. Kevin Ranker, and House Bill 1796 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1796&year=2011 ), introduced by Representative Kevin Van De Wege, are still under consideration in the Legislature.

The proposed bills would create an access pass-known as the Discover Pass-for use of all state recreation lands managed by WDFW, State Parks and DNR. The Discover Pass would cost $30 per year or $10 for a single day pass. Those purchasing certain fishing or hunting licenses could purchase a $7 annual pass for use solely on WDFW lands and water-access sites. Campers who pay for a State Parks campsite would not be required to purchase the Discover Pass and volunteers who provide 24 hours of service to any of the state agencies could receive a complimentary pass.

The Discover Pass is vitally needed to avert steep reductions in wildlife land operations and recreational access. It would provide an estimated $5.5 million for WDFW recreation lands in the coming biennium, an identical amount of support for DNR recreation lands, and $60 million for State Parks. The proposed Discover Pass revenue allocation reflects what is needed simply to maintain current operations.

The reduction proposed in the Governor’s budget comes on the heels of other budget reductions. Since 2009, WDFW lands operation and maintenance has lost one fifth of its state funding. As General Fund support has declined, WDFW has been forced to turn to hunting and fishing license revenue to maintain recreational access. In essence, hunters and fishers are subsidizing other, non-paying users of WDFW lands.

The Discover Pass proposal is consistent with the Governor’s suggestion that agencies adopt a user-pay model to maintain services that can no longer be supported through the state General Fund. The Discover Pass would allow all users-hikers, campers, equestrians, wildlife watchers, boaters and others-to share the cost of maintaining and operating state recreation lands.

Since the final outcome of the Discover Pass proposal is uncertain, lawmakers have asked WDFW what recreation land and boat launch service reductions would be necessary if the proposal is not successful.

In response, WDFW has developed criteria to guide the determination of permanent or seasonal closures on wildlife areas and water access sites that may become necessary if funding solutions are not found. Closure means that land management-such as toilet pumping, garbage removal and weed management-would not occur and that the areas would be closed to public access.

Final wildlife area and boat launch closure decisions would depend on the state budget that is adopted by the Legislature, and would be subject to a public process and consideration by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The criteria for assessing wildlife areas and water-access sites for potential closure follows the Governor’s “user pays” direction, and is aimed at maximizing fishing and hunting use, since recreational licenses revenues currently provide the majority of WDFW’s land operating funds.

The criteria to evaluate wildlife areas for possible closure are:

Level of weed management required, based on current conditions and the presence of agriculture or ranching activity
Percentage of critical wildlife habitat
Cost of maintaining recreational access
Amount of annual use for licensed activities such as fishing, hunting and trapping
Amount of other types of recreation
Access control (number of roads adjacent to or passing through the wildlife area)
Annual maintenance cost per acre
Restrictions associated with grant funding or contract obligations
The criteria to evaluate boat launches/water-access sites for potential closure are:

Maintenance costs (grading, toilet pumping, ramp upkeep, vandalism clean up, enforcement)
Amount of annual use for licensed activities such as fishing, hunting and trapping
Amount of use for non-licensed recreation
Presence of access-control points (gates)
Availability of alternate, nearby public access sites
Restrictions associated with grant funding or contract obligations
Contemplating possible closure of public recreation lands is a difficult and troubling prospect. We are working closely with our sister agencies and state leaders to try to avert such closures.

Back east some good news:

Stripers Forever NC – CCA NC and the Coastal Fisheries Reform Group recently introduced HB 353 into the NC legislature. HB 353 would make red drum, speckeled trout, and striped bass game fish in NC. These three species could be taken only by rod and reel and the sale of the fish would not be permitted. Additionally the bill would compensate commercial fishermen for three years of lost revenue on these species. The bill has passed its first reading in the House and has been assigned to “ Committee On Commerce and Job Development Subcommittee on Business and Labor”. Stripers Forever strongly supports this bill and applauds the CCA and CFRG for getting this action underway.

The bill will be discussed in committee this Wednesday, and will be voted on at that time. If passed, it will then be sent to the House floor for discussion and a vote. Our next hurdle is to win the vote in this committee, and therefore we need to email and call every one of these committee members encouraging them to vote for the bill. Here are the members, their email link, and their phone numbers. Please forward this to your email list and encourage them to do the same. It does not matter if these folks are your personal representatives or not. They are now responsible for considering this bill, and they ALL need to hear from ALL of us tonight or tomorrow at the lastest!

Lastly from Trout Unlimited in AK, this is AWESOME!!

Fellow Bristol Bay Supporter,

Thanks to you, over the past three weeks the Environmental Protection Agency heard from more than 60,000 sportsmen and women, salmon-lovers, commercial fishermen, Alaskan natives, and other outdoor enthusiasts asking them to protect Bristol Bay. Your hard work is paying off. The EPA recently took a great first step by initiating a comprehensive scientific review of the issue. We commend them for initiating this process. But the work to protect Bristol Bay is not done. The foreign mining companies proposing the Pebble mine are applying constant pressure with their high-powered lobbyists to push this mine through. We need your continued support to protect Bristol Bay’s fish, wildlife and people from Pebble and the roughly 10.8 billion tons of mine waste it would create.

I like ending on good notes, fine casts and hearty laughs.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Alaska, boat ramps, Emerald Water Anglers, North Carolina, Pebble Mine, public lands, Stripers Forever, Trout Unlimited, Washington, WDFW

W”h”ine about Steelhead

July 23, 2010 by emeraldw


So there is no lack of whining about steelhead fishing in our community for a multitude of reasons; weather, poor management, dams, destroyed habitat for spawning, netting and so on.

Well a vineyard in California is doing some wine-ing of their own and working to improve habitat for steelhead in their region. Here is a short note from their website:

Our Steelhead wines come from the world-renowned Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, California and are a tribute to Quivira’s restoration of the Steelhead habitat in Wine Creek – a tributary of the Dry Creek River – that runs through its estate. Steelhead are an important part of California´s ecosystem and are a good indicator of water health because they require cool, clean water in order to thrive. Working with Trout Unlimited and state and university organizations, our extensive restoration of the spawning grounds within the creek bed have led to the return of the Steelhead each spring. Now neighboring landowners inspired by Quivira’s example are doing the same.

So for the more sophisticated palettes out their among you chrome chasers, savor some of this fantastic wine and help steelhead in the process. Support their effort by asking your local wine shop or grocery store to bring it in and tell everyone you know to pick up a bottle. Two varietals available and both are awesome!

Great work and congrats on your efforts Quivira!

For more info, check out their site: www.steelheadwine.com

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: California, Dry Creek, habitat, steelhead, Trout Unlimited, wine

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