Got to run by the Colorado Trout Unlimited – Greenback photography benefit. One thing I noticed while walking in, was the photo above of small little leaches poking at a lower lip. While this was my prize in the room, I think others had their sites set on it and were not going to let it go. I’m not giving up though – I think I need a Vrtaric in the office.
Which one would you choose? And yes, I have a favorite.
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Great photography from Aleksandar Vrtaric – check it out on Suck My Fly.
Growing up fishing the Southwest rivers and creeks of Colorado, I’ve been keeping up in this issue. While raised in Oklahoma, my parents first introduced me to fly rods in this area, and we could get lost casting short 3wts and landing rainbows, browns, and cutties all day.
There was nothing out there when I was a little kid. We could drive a mile outside of Pagosa Springs and be completely isolated. That’s changed over the years. Now, there’s a full resort west of town, and Pagosa itself has become a close tourist spot for Wolf Creek, the San Juan River, and the Rio Grande River. The last time I visited our house was last summer, and I can still get lost on some of my secret spots and beyond near the town.
So now, there’s this Pagosa Reservoir, which in theory would support growth for more than 100 years. Don’t lecture me on money – I know. But this is just an example of how growth effects our river health, and sometimes memories and what you can share with future generations. I know where I want my ashes dumped, I know exactly where I caught my first trout on a fly, and I know where I want my family to continue to spend time together and enjoy the same places we’ve visited for over 20 years.
Trout Unlimited recently reached an agreement to limit the proposed Pagosa Reservoir from approximately 35,000 acres to 11,000 (Nicely done TU!). The agreement was reached after TU researched and showed how the reservoir could impact the San Juan Basin. While this is a victory for habitat and conservationists, it’s not so who think that growth is opportunity. I say, support growth by preserving, funding, and listening to your locals before presenting a plan to stop a river from flowing and possibly doing harm to the habitat some of us grew up with. Keep your people in mind. Thanks.
In the 2011 legislative session, Colorado Trout Unlimited is introducing a bill to create the Protect Our Rivers license plate. Please review, sign, and share!
Colorado Trout Unlimited, a non-profit conservation organization, is collecting signatures for a bill to create the Protect Our Rivers license plate.
The plate will be available to all CO residents through a tax-deductible contribution of $25 to Colorado Trout Unlimited and 100% of the funds will be used locally to protect, conserve and restore Colorado rivers. For more information, please visit the CTU website.
Signing this petition indicates your interest in obtaining the Protect Our Rivers license plate. You are not obligated to purchase the plate.
State Representative Christine Scanlan has graciously agreed to carry the bill in the 2011 legislative session. We will keep you apprised of the bill’s progress and availability of the license plate via email. Thank you for supporting Colorado’s rivers!
Rick Matsumoto
Vice President, Colorado Trout Unlimited
As all well know, I’m a sucker for good fish porn. But, there’s a difference between the so called fish porn, and what Felt Soul Media is producing these days. They have completely raised the bar by creating compelling content, great talent, and excellent music to accompany each piece they produce.
I was fortunate enough to receive a preview copy of the full version of Eastern Rises directly from Felt Soul. It came as a burned DVD with hand written notes “Eastern Rises – Preview – Do Not Copy”. Yes, the excitement set in as I knew I was going to be one of the first people to view the entire film.
As I threw it in my player, at first glance, it read:
If you come to a strange land
Bow Down
If this place is outlandish
Bow Down
If the day is all strangeness
Submit
You are indefinitely more strange
The movie progresses as if to down play the wildness of Alaska (though the ‘no pebble’ sticker is still attached to their boats), but that is not the point. The point is to show that no one else has dared to reach this place they call the Kamchatka in Eastern Russia – rich with huge Rainbow Trout and ginormous brown bears. As they reach points on the peninsula via decommissioned cold war helicopters, the trout rivers they find are by far some of the most pristine in the world.
Rich with deep history, the film shows the journey through Russia to reach this amazing fishery. Frank Smeatherst could be called the focal point of this expedition, as he catches his first wild Kamchatka rainbow, and then reveals his expected first child back at home in Colorado. It’s almost teary how he says this may be the time to calm down and that this may be his last (for a while) great adventure.
This film follows in the footsteps of one of the greatest documentaries I’ve seen, Red Gold -though this is a different insight into the great unknown of wild Russia. It’s poised as a classic Felt Soul production, with a great soundtrack and beautiful scenery. No one does it better than Felt Soul.
Thanks again to Ben Knight and Travis Rummel at Felt Soul
