See what Mother Earth is offering
Ways of walking through a changed world
CFStrians,
100! We made it. That's a big milestone. I first started this site on July 3, 2011, so it's been around a while, but let's call this the two-year anniversary of our little Weekly Update.
This wouldn't be half as fun to write without you reading, contributing, and giving feedback.
Thanks for caring: About this little thing we have, about fly fishing, about wild rivers, and about the creatures that call them home.
Steelhead masters recap
Tuesday evening I went downtown to the Mission Theater to see the Deschutes River Alliance's Steelhead Masters panel. A quintet of fine anglers who have, combined, spent over 250 years pursuing anadromous fish on the West Coast: John Hazel, Bill Bakke, Steve Pettit, Randy Stetzer, and Bill McMillan. Moderated by the DRA's Steve Hawley, it was a frank and fun conversation tracing the lineage of PNW steelhead angling.
A whole lot has changed since the group started out. At one point in the panel, it was mentioned that Pettit, from his home on Idaho's Clearwater River, has logged over 12,000 steelhead caught since he started fishing for them, over 6,000 leading up to his 2001 journal, and probably as many since then. I'm a patzer, a part timer, who only started fishing for steelhead on the West Coast a decade ago. The thought of encountering even a hundred fish in the rest of my days would be an exceptional outcome. It's hard not to hear something like that, and think "Welp, wrap it up."
How do we even think about angling in an era where the quasi-extinction of steelhead, if not the full enchilada, is a realistic scenario we have to contend with?
McMillan, author of Dry Line Steelhead and dedicated conservationist, seemed to contribute to the panel in beautifully instructive, tightly-packed mantras, from a place of great humility. Every thing he said seemed to address the looming question of where we go from here, when so much is gone and seemingly not coming back.
He pointed to three pillars of "responsibility for any [steelhead] angler to stand up for the fish we believe in":
- Do independent research
- Outside of areas agencies are pursuing
- Insist agencies incorporate it
"Your responsibility is to bring back the fish you care about," McMillan said. "Accept it."
When an audience member asked how to help their child into the sport, given its present state, he expounded:
Learn that fishing is a way to connect you to nature. Pay attention to what you see. The birds, the trees, the fish, everything you see, are trying to tell you something about themselves. They’re also trying to tell you something about you, about yourself. Fish in a way that respects the river, but works for you. Don’t listen to anybody else. It should never be a competition, but a way of seeing the world that makes you appreciate it more.
I'll leave it there, because that's the perfect way to frame it. The DRA filmed the whole talk, and will be releasing the entire thing. McMillan is working on a new book, Nature's Revelations, and I can't wait to read more of his perspective.
The perfect Father's Day gift? Perhaps! Get dad a Lower Deschutes Ribbon Map. He'll love the blank check to explore.
Events 📆
Got an event you want the community to know about? Send it over, and I'll include it here. You can see all of our upcoming CFS events on Luma.
June 23, "Running Wild" Tour, San Francisco
(Wild Salmon Center)
CFS: June 23, 25, 27, Portland OR
PCC Intro to Fly Fishing Summer Term (full; contact me to join the waitlist)
June 26-28, La Pine, OR
Tenkara Oregon's Tenkara Bugout (Tenkara Oregon)
June 27, West Yellowstone, MT
Big Sky Anglers 10 Year Anniversary (Big Sky Anglers)
🎥 Film pick of the week
Walk around. Look for fish. Catch fish. "A Stroll with Sled" from Schultz Outfitters shows a wonderfully relaxed approach to smallmouth and carp fishing in Michigan.
"Let's see what Mother Earth is offering?"
"Shall I try to feed one?"
"Numbers are numbers at the end of the day. Smiles outweigh numbers, 100-1, in all formats...find your own expectations when you fish."
Words of wisdom.
Leaders
Fishy links to start your week. Got one to share? Hit reply and send it over! 🪝
The carp stars align 🤩
Southern Culture On the Fly is always a fun flip. New issue just dropped. (southerncultureonthefly.com)
Trout in drought 🏜️
USGS, NOAA, and Montana FWP have integrated a bunch of data to launch a new tool called TroutCast, exploring the impact of drought on key Montana trout streams. Meanwhile, FWP's fish abundance surveying for this year has emerged, with a stable estimate on key rivers. (fwp.mt.gov)
Start at Stage 0 🏔️
Jaclyn Moyer gives an excellent overview of the last few decades of riparian restoration techniques and the new trend toward "Stage 0" restoration, on Quartz Creek, a tributary to Oregon's McKenzie River. (hcn.org)
Soft eyes 👀
Follow Jenny Odell on a journey of observation and take a tip for the river, in an essay taken from her 2026 Henberg Environmental Lecture at the College of Idaho. (longreads.com)
Finding the Glorians 🌤️
Terry Tempest Williams in conversation on grace, and rediscovery. (emergencemagazine.org)
Double fault 🎾
It's tough to be a tennis couple and make it. Is there a fly fishing equivalent? (mortarmagazine.com)
School of stoke 🍎
Surfer and mountain biker Joe Jackson wonders why more adventure-sport adults don't "get over their egos and take a damn lesson." One possible answer: they don't know the power of the magic band he describes. (fieldmag.com)
That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.
You can also find CFS on Bluesky 🦋, Instagram 📸, YouTube 🎥, or the Fishcord 💬
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