We are busy being born
Private equity is buying Michigan dams, George Daniel gives beginner students advice, salmon and steelhead get a win on the Columbia, and more.
CFStronauts:
We may have made the turn into spring this week in the Pacific Northwest. Even though we never really felt winter's sting, flowers are blooming, bugs are hatching, and the days are noticeably warmer as we get a little more solar exposure every day. We welcomed a new baby cousin into the world this week, who has her whole life ahead.
All around us, every day, the new world is being born and the old world is dying. We feel the sting of loss, but must also count the wins, and keep in mind the unlimited opportunity of the present.
Upcoming classes
Registration for Spring class opened last week, and filled up immediately. Thanks to all who registered to join us there. If you didn't get a slot, don't fret. We have a special soon-to-be-announced Intro to Fly Fishing offering for mid-May at a new class venue.
And don't forget about the Maupin Meetup in late May. Spaces are filling up, so get your spot now if you're planning on coming out.
Leaders ➰
Ten fishy links to start your week on the fly side of life
🎥 George Daniel Q&A with current Penn State students, and how to fish in extreme conditions (37-min watch)
Spend some time with George Daniel as he talks about the Penn State program, adapting to extreme fishing conditions, and takes questions from Penn State students. George is an icon, and an amazing educator. I was lucky to be able to profile him for Penn State's alumni magazine last year, and continue to recommend anyone beginning their angling journey follow some simple advice: Just listen to George. (FlyFishermanMagazine)
2026 Howler Privateers (2-min read)
The ultimate fly fishing summer internship? Probably. Apparel company Howler Bros is looking for a creative twosome to vlog their way around the USA this summer, combining sales rep stoke stops with a fair bit of fishing. Grab a pal, make a video, and toss your straight-brimmed cap into the ring. (howlerbros.com)
Bug of the Month: Skwala (8 min read)
DRA's water quality coordinator Hannah Camel introduces the skwala stonefly, an important genus across the American west. Skwalas have been in short supply around the Deschutes lately, but they're an important species to imitate pre-runoff around Montana, Idaho, and Utah. (deschutesriveralliance.org)
Cecil Heacox’s Charmed Circle of the Catskills articles (7 min read)
CFS member and blogger supreme Chuck Grimmett did some hard shoe leather reporting to track down all 12 issues of Outdoor Life from 1969 for two articles by Cecil E. Heacox on the “Charmed Circle of The Catskills.” Then, just because he's a mensch, he scanned them so we can enjoy the reflections on upstate NY fly fishing and amazing period illustrations. (cagrimmett.com)
Missing person SAR: Green Wall Rapid, Illinois River (22 min read)
Earlier this month, when a kayaker abruptly abandoned his party and disappeared during a trip down the wild and unpredictable Illinois River in Southern Oregon, the whitewater community had dozens of questions. Nicole Smedegaard, who helped mobilize the initial Search and Recovery effort and lead a team (including the victim's brother), gives an epic account of how the rescue came together, showcasing what makes these sorts of efforts work: communication, preparation, and perspiration. (Nature Nicole Whitewater)
🎥 Legacy: The Story of Cathy and Barry Beck (44 minute watch)
What happens when you lose your fishing partner? What about when that's your life partner, too, your true love? This moving portrait of the relationship between Cathy and Barry Beck as told by Joshua Caldwell, director of the Netflix hit “Mending the Line” is not only a testament to the lives Cathy touched and inspired, but also the strength and courage of the partner she left behind. (FlyFishermanMagazine)
Consumers says dams may be torn down if Michigan rejects hydro sale (9 min read)
Michigan power company Consumers Energy is trying to sell 13 dams on iconic Michigan rivers to a Maryland-based private equity company for $13, plus a guarantee to purchase the nominal power from those dams, and the agreement to get the dams up to snuff. OR, it says, it'll have to tear them down. But citizens, conservation and angling representatives, and even economic watchdogs are calling that a false dichotomy, with failure backstopped by the state, and potentially severe environmental and economic consequences, Garret Ellison reports.
Supreme Court of Mexico recognizes the right to environmental protection for a person living near an Ecological Reserve (3 min read)
It may seem like a small thing, but establishing a new baseline—that you don't have to have been injured or have suffered some sort of damage to have standing—is another advancement in the idea that protecting ecosystems has broader value. (noticiasambientales.com)
Preached Whales (photo essay)
Sea pulpits – shaped like fish, whales and boats – are perhaps one of the strangest manifestations of how the ocean plays a surprisingly strong role in Christian iconography. As we voyage through (landlocked) Poland and Czechia, down to Austria and southern Germany, here’s our splash of the most buoyantly baroque iterations
(The World of Interiors)
Historic funding for wildlife passes Oregon Legislature, heads to Gov. Kotek for signature (3 min read)
One beef conservation-minded folks have with state "wildlife departments" is with the limited definition of "wildlife." Typically it is narrowly defined as species hunters and anglers prefer. A recent bill in Oregon is seeking to expand this idea, with a 1.25% increase in the state's lodging tax appended and earmarked for conservation programs for a broader range of creatures. Arran Robertson at Oregon Wild lists some of them:
Species included as having the greatest conservation need are sea otters, Sierra Nevada red foxes, American pikas, silver-eared bats, North American porcupines, pygmy rabbits, western painted turtles, tufted puffins, great grey owl, desert horned lizard, Pacific lamprey, western bumblebee, and monarch butterfly. (Oregon Wild)
Federal judge orders increased spill over Columbia and Snake river dams in renewed court case (8-min read)
The latest round in the saga of salmon and steelhead passage along the Columbia River has gone to the fish, as a judge ordered emergency spillway operations to run through the summer to aid juvenile fish passage across its eight dams, in defiance of a Trump administration effort to scuttle a hard-won plan. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Inlander)
Meet my favorite fly boxes
In Praise of C&F Design, my idea of the world's best fly storage system.
Register for the Maupin Meetup!
The salmonfly hatch and all the beauty of late spring in the high desert will be upon us soon. Join CFS May 28-31 in Maupin, Oregon, for some classic big bug fishing and the DRA's TroutFest celebration.
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.
March 14, Portland, OR
Anna Le of Grayling Education, who you may remember as the host of last year's amazing TroutFest Trivia, is collaborating with the great folks at Guss outdoor sauna to bring sauna and angling to Sellwood Riverfront Park.
March 18, Ann Arbor, MI
Spencer Lecture Featuring climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe (University of Michigan)
NEW: March 31, Santa Barbara, CA
Actor Tom Skerritt, author John Maclean, Trout Unlimited CEO Chris Wood, and others gather on a panel to discuss the movie's impact, and more. (Lobero Theater)
April 24-25, Gresham, OR
Sandy River Spey Clave (Sandy River Spey Clave)
April 25, Vida, OR
The Wooden Boat Show on the McKenzie River (The Redsides)
April 30, Seattle, WA
"Running Wild: Return to the River" showing at the Pacific Science Center (Wild Salmon Center)
CFS: May 2, Willamette Valley, OR
Waterside fly tying and fishing field trip (More details to come)
May 20, Portland, OR
"Running Wild: Return to the River" showing at OMSI (Wild Salmon Center)
CFS: May 28-31, Maupin, OR
It's our annual Maupin Meetup! Registered now, before it fills up. (CFS Events)
June 23, San Francisco, CA
"Running Wild: Return to the River" showing at the California Academy of Sciences (Wild Salmon Center)
June 26-28, La Pine, OR
Tenkara Oregon's Tenkara Bugout (Tenkara Oregon)
That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.
What rebirth are you most excited for? Tell me on Bluesky 🦋, Instagram 📸, YouTube 🎥, or the Fishcord 💬.
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