This is the day we have been waiting for, for more than a decade. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that mine waste would harm the Bristol Bay watershed and effectively nixed its discharge into rivers, streams and wetlands of the North and South Fork of the Koktuli River and Upper Talarik Creek in the vicinity of the Pebble deposit.
The decision effectively prevents development of the long-proposed Pebble gold and copper mine, which for decades has threatened the world’s most productive wild sockeye salmon runs, Alaska’s strongest Chinook salmon run, and the region’s famed sport and commercial fishing industries.
In a Trout Unlimited press release today Nelli Williams, Alaska director for TU said, “This is an incredible day for the Bristol Bay region. For more than a decade, the science has remained strong and public support has been unwavering for Clean Water Act protections. An Alaska-sized thank you to the Biden Administration and the EPA for listening to Alaskans, Tribes, anglers and hunters, and for doing the right thing for a world-class renewable resource and the people and jobs that depend on it. The work in Bristol Bay isn‘t done, but today is a milestone to be celebrated.” Continue reading
Anyone who’s followed Angler’s Tonic over the years knows that I appreciate sea run cutthroat trout and consider them to be an extremely overlooked fish. Just last year I caught some of the largest sea runs of my life, fish that ranged toward 18 inches. I saw a few more than were definitely over 20 inches and could have been mistaken as a small steelhead. I plan to get back to Southeast Alaska again this year, to visit those same pools on a remote stream and see if I can break that 20 inch mark. But you don’t have to go that far fro sea runs. Puget Sound has an excellent fishery and you can find good options all year long. Here’s some recent info on sea runs, released by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
My new issue of FFI Magazine just went live. Check it out to read about fly fishing in the Galapagos and other cool destinations. All the quality writers you like have contributed to the issue, including Chris Santella, Stephen Sautner, Tom Keer, Dave Karczynski, Gord Ellis, Frank Sargeant and others.
This should not arrive as any surprise. Washington State blew up its ability to manage wild steelhead when the 1974 Boldt Decision went into place. Wild steelhead populations declined immediately. Hatchery steelhead production shot through the roof. Tribes destroyed what they had access to. And things have never gotten better. They’ve only become worse. This decision to close steelheading on the coast should protect some late season spawners, but in no way secures the future of steelhead on the Washington coast. So, really, this post is only a reminder to schedule your steelhead adventure somewhere else this spring. The Skeena will be open, although returns are super low there, too. Southeast Alaska is a great option, but space at lodges and on motherships is extremely limited. You could fly to Ketchikan, stay in town, rent a vehicle and drive 
Just finished up the February version of FFI Magazine, which I like to call the best fly-fishing publication that nobody knows about.
One of the least heralded islands in the Bahamas chain is Bimini. This small island rests just 50-some miles away from Miami and was one of the inspirations for Hemingway’s book Islands In The Stream. It it’s also where Hemingway chased marlin and other pelagic species when he wasn’t doing the same in Cuba.
The Gallatin River is under extreme pressure due to population growth in and around Bozeman, Mont., but a collaboration between Simms Fishing Products and 10 Barrel Brewing should help shed light on just what this river needs to survive.