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The angler-funded fishing challenge has generated more than $130,000 for native trout restoration since its 2016 launch, with 95 percent of every registration fee going directly to on-the-ground work. Image by Steve Dally The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah Trout Unlimited announced on February 19 the selection of five new native trout projects to receive funding from the Utah Cutthroat Slam, a popular catch-and-release challenge that asks anglers…

The Berkshire Environmental Action Team is pressuring MassWildlife to end its stocking program, citing ecological harm to native eastern brook trout—and invoking the governor’s own biodiversity mandate to do it. The Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), a Pittsfield-based nonprofit, has launched a statewide campaign called “Stop Non-Native Fish Stocking,” demanding that the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) end the routine release of hatchery-raised trout into the state’s rivers,…

A flurry of legal rulings, agency declarations, and legislative pushes have converged on the question of where anglers and hunters can go in Big Sky Country—and the answer depends on who you ask. Montana’s long-simmering fight over public land and water access boiled over in February, driven by parallel developments that underscore how contested the state’s outdoor landscape has become. In rapid succession, two Montana legislators announced a renewed push…

Construction on a federally funded canal improvement near Del Norte, Colorado, dewatered 7.2 miles of the river, killing trout and native fish across all age classes in numbers too large for a nine-person crew to collect. Biologists say recovery will take three to five years. Images courtesy of CPW Colorado Parks and Wildlife has confirmed a “large-scale fish kill” along the Rio Grande below Del Norte after a river restoration…

In this week’s selection, Savage Flies revitalizes the iconic Adams by incorporating Jungle Cock feathers, blending tradition with premium aesthetics. Technical precision continues with Davie McPhail’s Cased Caddis, which utilizes drop beads for realistic profiles and weighted balance, essential for mid-column success. Meanwhile, McFly Angler tackles the controversial Squirmy Worm, a devastatingly effective pattern that challenges tyers to master a notoriously finicky material. Finally, the Panfish Wiggler by Dressed Irons…

The MAPWaters Act, signed in late December, gives agencies five years to digitize access points, fishing restrictions, and boating regulations on all federally managed waters. The Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act is now law. The Senate passed the bill unanimously on December 16, 2025, and President Trump signed it on December 26 as Public Law 119–62. The law requires the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the…

  A landmark USGS study documents four decades of recovery in 42 Adirondack streams, while a new DEC management plan confronts invasive species, habitat loss, and a warming climate. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) now occupy 33 of 42 western Adirondack study streams—more than half of which held no trout in the mid-1980s—according to a peer-reviewed U.S. Geological Survey study published in Freshwater Science in December 2025. The research, commissioned by…

A statewide tying challenge asks members to stock fly boxes for youth programs before April 1. Image courtesy of Colorado Trout Unlimited Colorado Trout Unlimited has turned the winter tying season into a statewide competition. The organization’s new Tie-4-the-Future Challenge, launched in January, asks members and chapters across the state to tie and donate flies that will fill the boxes used in CTU’s youth conservation and education programs. The chapter…

The conservation group ties the repeal of the federal endangerment finding to accelerating threats against the state’s salmon, steelhead, and trout—and launches a once-a-decade scientific assessment to track the damage. California Trout issued a stark warning on February 18: without science-based federal climate action, the state’s wild native fish face “almost certain extinction events.” The statement landed six days after the EPA formally rescinded its 2009 endangerment finding, stripping the…

Mid-February can feel like purgatory for the fly angler—ice is creeping off the edges but hatches are still weeks away, and the boat ramp feels like a distant memory. The antidote, as always, is a loaded bobbin and a purpose. This week’s Tying Tuesday brings four patterns that cover serious ground: Cheech’s upgraded Wedge Head Trout Slider, a diver that darts and pulses; Rob Streeter’s Articulated Jerk Fly, built to…

The largest annual investment through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund sends $812,000 to Trout Unlimited for native brook trout habitat in the Potomac headwaters. Image by Danita Delimont The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on February 11 announced $44.2 million in grants for water quality and habitat restoration across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 72 grants, awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship…

NOAA’s decision not to list OP steelhead under the ESA has conservation groups reviewing legal options and demanding immediate action from state and tribal co-managers — all while the peak of the wild winter run is underway. Image by Hone Creative NOAA Fisheries concluded on January 14 that Olympic Peninsula steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) do not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act—even after the agency’s own status review team found…

As fly fishermen along the Atlantic coast prepare for the spring migration, the regulatory picture for 2026 is now settled—and largely unchanged. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Striped Bass Management Board voted in late October 2025 to maintain current management measures, rejecting a proposed 12 percent coastwide harvest reduction. The decision was reaffirmed at the ASMFC Winter Meeting in Arlington, Virginia, held February 3–5, where the Board turned its…

The Guadalupe River—the southernmost year-round trout fishery in the United States—is back in the national spotlight. The Victoria Advocate reported on February 10 that Trout Unlimited has again recognized the Guadalupe as one of America’s “Top 100 Trout Streams,” a distinction that resurfaced this week alongside the release of Chris Johnson’s new book, “Texas Fly Fishing,” and the lead-up to a reimagined Troutfest TX 26 event in New Braunfels, Texas….

Every spring, the same question nags warmwater fly anglers from Oklahoma to Ohio: Is it happening yet? Are the largemouth moving shallow? Have the pike pushed into the backwaters? Is it worth burning a vacation day, or will you spend six hours casting into dead water? Most of us answer these questions the old-fashioned way—scrolling through forum posts, texting fishing buddies, or simply driving to the water and hoping. But…

This week’s Tying Tuesday brings together four patterns that couldn’t be more different from one another—proof that a little variety at the bench can keep things interesting when the water isn’t cooperating. We’re starting small with a Perdigon—a competition-style nymph that’s as clean and precise as they come—and a Biot Midge Emerger from Charlie Craven that’s been quietly fooling trout in the film for years. From there, we jump to…

Image courtesy of SITKA Sitka Gear, the Bozeman, Montana–based technical hunting apparel company, has launched Sitka Fish, a new line of performance fishing apparel designed to work across all waters. The expansion marks the brand’s move from a seasonal hunting focus to a year-round outdoor apparel company. The launch isn’t a stretch for the brand—Sitka says 70 percent of its existing customers already identify as anglers. With nearly 58 million…

New crab colorways, updated hook platforms, and destination-specific baitfish patterns lead the company’s saltwater additions for the year. Image courtesy of Fulling Mill. Fulling Mill kicked off 2026 with a batch of new saltwater patterns aimed at flats anglers, tropical destination travelers, and European coastal fly fishermen alike. The company published an international overview on January 8 covering its non-US catalog. A separate US-specific saltwater roundup—last year’s appeared on January…

Deadline is March 1 for a week of STEM-based conservation education and hands-on fly fishing in the Colorado high country. Photo courtesy of Colorado TU Applications are officially open for the 2026 Colorado Trout Unlimited River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp, a weeklong immersion in coldwater conservation and angling skills for teenagers. The camp runs June 14–20 at AEI Basecamp in Almont, Colorado, nestled at the confluence of the…

There’s an unscratchable itch that comes with staring at open water you can’t quite reach yet. But the good news is that your vise doesn’t care about weather forecasts. For this week’s Tying Tuesday, we’ve gathered four videos that represent a genuine shift in how tiers are thinking about fly design—a snag-resistant jigged bugger built for pressured trout water, an articulated baitfish pattern with a signature wiggle, an unconventional leech…