Sunday, February 28, 2016

Super Deal Trip Alert...


Alaska Steel from Hatch Outdoors on Vimeo.

Alaskan Spring Steelhead.   Get on it.  For much less than normal.

Rick Matney's Chrome Chasers Southeast Alaska program has had a few prime dates open up for this season.

Typical week long packages are $4495, but for the openings on the weeks of April 17-23rd and May 1st-7th are reduced to just $3500





















Photo Credit--Bryan Gregson Photography

Up to 9 streams in 6 days, conditions permitting.  Crab and spot prawns.  Gourmet dinners.

These fish are as wild as they get, in streams that are also as wild.    It's steelhead fishing at it's most intimate.  You still have to work to find and catch them, but this juice is very much worth the squeeze.

It's a trip I dream to do someday, and if you have the flexible schedule maybe this is your opportunity.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Action Vs Talk in Conservation






























Wasting away one afternoon recently on the internets, I came across a thread on a message board that really got me thinking.

Are you spending your time talking, or acting on or being a part of the conservation of our outdoor resources.

The responses were quite interesting.   Some spoke of who they support, what groups they're members of, and who they contribute time to with boots on the ground effort on specific projects.

More telling, were the responses that were either truthful

"I'm not doing enough"  or  "I hope to get more involved soon" 

or the question seemed to hold a mirror up to folks who deep down knew they weren't giving back and they didn't like what they saw staring back at them.

A few days prior, there was an interesting article in Forbes about outdoor companies that actually contribute hard dollars or labor to conservation efforts.

The article and the message board conversation go hand in glove.

Are you giving, or are you just taking from our collective outdoor resources.

Are you investing for the future of hunting, fishing and outdoor endeavors, or are you just profiting from short term sales success?

So here's my ask of you....

Who are you supporting?  Who are you volunteering for?  Are you rewarding companies that support conservation with your wallet?

The time is WAY over for you to be standing on the sidelines and not be involved.

Love cold water fisheries like and or fish like steelhead, salmon or westslope cutthroat?  Get involved, here are a few for you to consider

Wild Steelhead Coalition
Wild Steelheaders United
Native Fish Society
Save Our Wild Salmon
Trout Unlimited

Dream 365 days a year about high mountain mule deer, elk or wild open spaces with chuckars and other upland game?  Get involved, maybe with these groups

Mule Deer Foundation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Pheasants Forever
National Wild Turkey Federation


There are countless organizations that would be jumping for joy for your volunteer hours, groups like the Wild Steelhead Coalition that are almost entirely volunteer run, or up and coming groups like Backcountry Hunters and Anglers  and The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership who are battling public land access issues daily.

The biggest tip I can give you is join the group that best fits your passions.  Don't spread yourself thin, make the biggest impact with the organization that you believe in the most.    Own it, commit to it and be a part of the solution that gives our kids hope that what we love in the outdoors will be there for them when they're old enough to join us.

And if your an owner of a company that makes money off gear, trips, or collective outdoor resources, please take a look at how you can financially contribute back.   It's nothing but solid business sense to invest in the future of the sports that use your equipment and or services.

Its time.  Stop talking about it and put your plan into action

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Left Handed Cousins In The Hatchery Tank...




























A new study out of Oregon State University is out there's some interesting news

take this headline...

"DNA evidence shows that salmon hatcheries cause substantial, rapid genetic changes"

and..

"The research, published today in Nature Communications, found that after one generation of hatchery culture, the offspring of wild fish and first-generation hatchery fish differed in the activity of more than 700 genes"

Read the article, it's a doozy.  

Monday, February 15, 2016

Vintage Brothers....
































Look at this gem.

OMR and his brothers, circa mid 70's.

So much to love about this picture,  it's as if they're shooting a promo picture for a Hams beer (see already in hand) or a cigarette ad.

The vintage puffy coats, the mackinaw sweater, the orange hats.

I see heritage in hand.  That old Savage .270 is still taking deer to this day.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Home Water....
























I had not been back to this stretch of river in over 2 years.   It was where we cut our teeth learning to fly fish for steelhead and our default spot to go to.

The minute I stepped into the flow, I could tell I had missed it

Its just a little farther, takes a little bit more effort to get to.  Conditions can vary quickly and other rivers can be a safer and sometimes a more productive bet later in the season

Checking the weather and cfs predictions, we saw the window upcoming where it was all going to come together.

Wifey approval, check.  Vacation day submitted, check.   Crew assembled, check!

We dropped the boat in at the first launch I ever used on this river years ago and the fish cooperated, the weather cooperated, the river cooperated.  

It just felt right.  It felt like home.