We agree on a lot of stuff: all fish are great, don't be disrespectful of some, or snooty about it if you're only focused on others.
But wild salmon and steelhead in the upper left of North America are getting their asses kicked in an existential fight. Continuing the hatchery programs which have burnt through $9bn of your money over the last four decades with only decreases in wild stock seems like crazy town. Sticking with the status quo is not working. We have to demand better.
And I'm like a 3 on the Zealot Meter. Native fish out here are literally folks' livelihoods and religion. Which makes that metaphor a little rough to read.
Look, we can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. There's no need to dumb down conservation to avoid having opinions or <gasp> conflict. Let's not go gentle into that good night.
If that makes me "obnoxious" or a "bad person" just know I will also smoke your cigarettes if you hit the rack early on the fishing trip and are silly enough to leave the pack out. And tease you if you think a hatchery steelhead or Great Lakes fish is a tough fight.
p.s. I enjoyed your recent Cut & Retie appearance!
I think you're correct. We do agree on a lot of stuff, not the least of which being the massive cluster that hatchery fish continue to create in the PNW. The essay explicitly calls out my feeling that we should absolutely not be putting hatchery fish in places where they compete with and hybridize with native steelhead and salmon. I would go even further with that, though, and say that we should not plant hatchery salmonids in any systems that have successful reproduction and recruitment. The science is clear on that one. Doing so doesn't help the fish, the fisheries, the fishing, or the ecosystem.
I'm absolutely not calling on anyone to dumb down conservation, quite the opposite. We need to recognize the level of complexity we're facing. That was the main argument I tried to lay out; we can't afford to fall back on simple binaries. If my goal was to avoid opinions or conflict, writing this would have been an immensely stupid thing to do.
I don't think advocating for native salmon and steelhead in the PNW makes you or anyone else a bad person. I have tried to do that myself in previous work. I also don't think that's what was said or implied in this piece. But we should be able to fight for native salmon and steelhead on the West Coast without condemning or vilifying Great Lakes steelheaders, WV "golden trout" lovers, or the hordes of walleye addicts in the Midwest.
Here's hoping we get to chop all this up over a beer one day.
Thanks for the response Miles! Sorry if I missed the nuance of your argument, or came off as overly snarky. I think it's especially sensitive for me for a few reasons:
I read this coming off a weekend looking (unsuccessfully, naturally) for steelhead on a small coastal river in Oregon. I was chatting with a guy working at a gas station as we stopped for essentials and he was bitching about having to C&R two fish because they had their "freedom fin". Despite my envy, I couldn't imagine being resentful at that. It was frustrating that even among other anglers native fish aren't considered precious. How can we get the folks chuckin' Little Cleos in on this?
At the same time my summer steelhead gear is in the rig, I'm having a blast looking for smallmouth in the Columbia and its tribs—as you know they get chunky. I know they're getting big by chowing down on salmon & steelhead smolts. But I can't bring myself to kill them.
One of the things I loved about this essay was the breadth across so many fisheries and different ecosystems. It's such a complex, tangled, writhing lump of problems and to hold it all in your head is impressive. Kudos.
I have no doubt we'll have a chance to untangle this and other problems of the universe out with a mere few hours and a stocked cooler. Or, we'll just chuckle off the conundra of this sport and the modern condition. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
Good stuff, Miles. Sadly, true-believer heads are exploding all over the country right now. In any case, here's hoping that we decide to take a long, hard look in the mirror -- both on this issue and other, more important, ones -- before we piss away pretty much everything we care about ...
I can't wait to release my next carp - with a smile. As I always have and always will. One of the great fish on the planet along with many others that has to deal with this "Non-Native" BS. How about Yellowstone turning lake trout, one of North America's finer game fish, into villains. Its not the lakers fault. The whole thing is sad. Its gross. It's ridiculous. There's a long list of examples, but I think you made it clear. Fantastic article Miles. I haven't added my bigmouth buffalo to the list yet. I'm going to get after it! Thanks for this excellent read.
An engaging, thought-provoking piece; thank you for publishing it. However, in this era of climate change and regulatory rollback, a focus on the enhancement of sport fisheries is no longer enough. We fly fishers should broaden our perspective and invest more of our time, talent, and treasure into improving overall watershed health. Doing so will usually help fish, too, of course, although the benefits might be indirect rather than a project’s emphasis. The health of the waters we fish depends largely on what’s happening upslope in their drainage.
This is spot on - 1. lowering the temperature around species specific in-fighting and 2. thinking about overall watershed health are two ways we can build stronger coalitions. Look no further than the recent campaign to stop public lands divestment: the reason the pushback was so powerful and effective was because of coalition diversity. Everyone from hunters, anglers, paddlers, hikers and more cared about the issue.
One of the better fishing pieces I’ve read in a good long while. And you very eloquently preached for all of us to not be so “holier-than-thou” while not sounding too “holier-than-thou” … which is no small feat. I am constantly self conscious about sounding too holier than thou when trying to help other anglers. But this is just well thought out and articulated. Bravo! 👏🏽
Tim, this article is a must read for all fishers. I must admit, I would like to time travel to those years when native fish abounded in our North American waters. But alas, I find myself just trying to catch and release anything moving in the water for the thrill and then for the peaceful feeling of it slipping through my hand into its world. Thanks for the insightful comments. Jim
I would agree Jim. Very worthwhile read. Miles nailed it. I will also agree that time travel would be an incredible way to see some of our historical fisheries. I've often thought about that... Can't poke holes in your C&R reasoning either. Thanks for the note.
Truest thing I've read all week: "Publicly, we advocate for native fish. Privately, we spend most of our time fishing for aliens." Truth is refreshing when you encounter it in the wild. Even if it's non-native.
Refreshing honesty. I appreciate it. We need a lot more of it, but people are threatened by it. How about the class divide and what that’s done to fly fishing? Or the insane monetization of the sport, like every other damn thing in the U.S. of A.?
Tough read here in the PNW.
We agree on a lot of stuff: all fish are great, don't be disrespectful of some, or snooty about it if you're only focused on others.
But wild salmon and steelhead in the upper left of North America are getting their asses kicked in an existential fight. Continuing the hatchery programs which have burnt through $9bn of your money over the last four decades with only decreases in wild stock seems like crazy town. Sticking with the status quo is not working. We have to demand better.
And I'm like a 3 on the Zealot Meter. Native fish out here are literally folks' livelihoods and religion. Which makes that metaphor a little rough to read.
Look, we can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. There's no need to dumb down conservation to avoid having opinions or <gasp> conflict. Let's not go gentle into that good night.
If that makes me "obnoxious" or a "bad person" just know I will also smoke your cigarettes if you hit the rack early on the fishing trip and are silly enough to leave the pack out. And tease you if you think a hatchery steelhead or Great Lakes fish is a tough fight.
p.s. I enjoyed your recent Cut & Retie appearance!
Hey Nick,
I think you're correct. We do agree on a lot of stuff, not the least of which being the massive cluster that hatchery fish continue to create in the PNW. The essay explicitly calls out my feeling that we should absolutely not be putting hatchery fish in places where they compete with and hybridize with native steelhead and salmon. I would go even further with that, though, and say that we should not plant hatchery salmonids in any systems that have successful reproduction and recruitment. The science is clear on that one. Doing so doesn't help the fish, the fisheries, the fishing, or the ecosystem.
I'm absolutely not calling on anyone to dumb down conservation, quite the opposite. We need to recognize the level of complexity we're facing. That was the main argument I tried to lay out; we can't afford to fall back on simple binaries. If my goal was to avoid opinions or conflict, writing this would have been an immensely stupid thing to do.
I don't think advocating for native salmon and steelhead in the PNW makes you or anyone else a bad person. I have tried to do that myself in previous work. I also don't think that's what was said or implied in this piece. But we should be able to fight for native salmon and steelhead on the West Coast without condemning or vilifying Great Lakes steelheaders, WV "golden trout" lovers, or the hordes of walleye addicts in the Midwest.
Here's hoping we get to chop all this up over a beer one day.
Thanks for the response Miles! Sorry if I missed the nuance of your argument, or came off as overly snarky. I think it's especially sensitive for me for a few reasons:
I read this coming off a weekend looking (unsuccessfully, naturally) for steelhead on a small coastal river in Oregon. I was chatting with a guy working at a gas station as we stopped for essentials and he was bitching about having to C&R two fish because they had their "freedom fin". Despite my envy, I couldn't imagine being resentful at that. It was frustrating that even among other anglers native fish aren't considered precious. How can we get the folks chuckin' Little Cleos in on this?
At the same time my summer steelhead gear is in the rig, I'm having a blast looking for smallmouth in the Columbia and its tribs—as you know they get chunky. I know they're getting big by chowing down on salmon & steelhead smolts. But I can't bring myself to kill them.
One of the things I loved about this essay was the breadth across so many fisheries and different ecosystems. It's such a complex, tangled, writhing lump of problems and to hold it all in your head is impressive. Kudos.
I have no doubt we'll have a chance to untangle this and other problems of the universe out with a mere few hours and a stocked cooler. Or, we'll just chuckle off the conundra of this sport and the modern condition. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
Good stuff, Miles. Sadly, true-believer heads are exploding all over the country right now. In any case, here's hoping that we decide to take a long, hard look in the mirror -- both on this issue and other, more important, ones -- before we piss away pretty much everything we care about ...
Excellent piece! Love your style. Please write more.
I can't wait to release my next carp - with a smile. As I always have and always will. One of the great fish on the planet along with many others that has to deal with this "Non-Native" BS. How about Yellowstone turning lake trout, one of North America's finer game fish, into villains. Its not the lakers fault. The whole thing is sad. Its gross. It's ridiculous. There's a long list of examples, but I think you made it clear. Fantastic article Miles. I haven't added my bigmouth buffalo to the list yet. I'm going to get after it! Thanks for this excellent read.
An engaging, thought-provoking piece; thank you for publishing it. However, in this era of climate change and regulatory rollback, a focus on the enhancement of sport fisheries is no longer enough. We fly fishers should broaden our perspective and invest more of our time, talent, and treasure into improving overall watershed health. Doing so will usually help fish, too, of course, although the benefits might be indirect rather than a project’s emphasis. The health of the waters we fish depends largely on what’s happening upslope in their drainage.
This is spot on - 1. lowering the temperature around species specific in-fighting and 2. thinking about overall watershed health are two ways we can build stronger coalitions. Look no further than the recent campaign to stop public lands divestment: the reason the pushback was so powerful and effective was because of coalition diversity. Everyone from hunters, anglers, paddlers, hikers and more cared about the issue.
Honest and solid essay. Well done, Mr. Nolte.
One of the better fishing pieces I’ve read in a good long while. And you very eloquently preached for all of us to not be so “holier-than-thou” while not sounding too “holier-than-thou” … which is no small feat. I am constantly self conscious about sounding too holier than thou when trying to help other anglers. But this is just well thought out and articulated. Bravo! 👏🏽
Tim, this article is a must read for all fishers. I must admit, I would like to time travel to those years when native fish abounded in our North American waters. But alas, I find myself just trying to catch and release anything moving in the water for the thrill and then for the peaceful feeling of it slipping through my hand into its world. Thanks for the insightful comments. Jim
I would agree Jim. Very worthwhile read. Miles nailed it. I will also agree that time travel would be an incredible way to see some of our historical fisheries. I've often thought about that... Can't poke holes in your C&R reasoning either. Thanks for the note.
Great piece!
Truest thing I've read all week: "Publicly, we advocate for native fish. Privately, we spend most of our time fishing for aliens." Truth is refreshing when you encounter it in the wild. Even if it's non-native.
Matt, didn’t U2 write, “You’re dangerous, ‘cos you're honest…” Yes, we just referenced Achtung Baby.
Refreshing honesty. I appreciate it. We need a lot more of it, but people are threatened by it. How about the class divide and what that’s done to fly fishing? Or the insane monetization of the sport, like every other damn thing in the U.S. of A.?
A really well reasoned article. I appreciate the work to conceive it and then present it