Full moon rising as I trace my steps back to civilization!

A quick ski in to check on a famous fishing pool in Rangeley, ME: Steep Bank Pool. Glad that they have protected this important part of the fishery!
#flyfishing #conservation #xcski #nordicski

And the first xc ski of the year!

Lakes are frozen and geese are headed out in search of open water. Almost time for ice fishing!

What’s better than a child in nature?

Love a good “tip up” and getting to explore the intricacies of a spruce root system!

Here is some likely habitat! Will come back with a flyrod next spring!

Exploring a hidden gem of a trail on the coast of Maine at Edgar M Tennis Preserve on Deere Isle. Looking for habitat for “salters”, or anadromous brook trout that spend part of their life cycle in brackish water and part in fresh water streams that run into the oceans.

‘Love the feeling of the Big Stretch as you edge your fish to the surface. Beats going to the gym!

In fact, nothing better for brain and body than a day on the river!

#flyfishing #flyfishing junkie

Brown trout-fall colors.

#flyfishing #flyfishUtah

Fishing the Weber was amazing! I highly recommend it!

I love November fishing: water is low, cold and super clear, and you can actually sight fish. I am almost as happy to just walk the stream and watch the fish - almost!
#flyfishing #browntrout #sightfishing

Brown trout on Weber River, caught on yellow whitefish egg…

Amazing day on the Weber River outside of Salt Lake City! 20+ browns and white fish on tiny nymphs. Beautiful, blue skies and didn’t see another angler all day! My kind of fishing!

Honored to give the Sergei Wilde Distinguished Lectureship on Forest Soils today at the Soil Science Society of America. It was also a chance to celebrate 40 years of progress on environmental science, and reflect on how to combat disinformation and anti-science going forward!

Flyfishing tomorrow!

Excited to be at the 2025 Soil Science Society of America Meetings in Salt Lake City, UT. I have three talks to share: 1) multi sensory approaches to teaching hydrology, 2) mass and chemistry of periodical cicadas, and 3) the Sergei A Wilde Lectureship in Forest Soils. If anyone is here, look me up!

Last of the Old Man Rivers from this trip: Racehorse Creek. A gem of a river, with a picture perfect campground. And lots of eagar cutthroat!

Hey, can’t believe you picked up on that! Yes, custom Maine Fly Company 5 wt rod. I love it. That and my Hardy!

Woah! Optical illusion! That’s water not lake bottom!!!! It’s shallow, but not dry!

First snow here in Maine mountains!

The Livingston River in the Oldman River Watershed…beautiful hiking and plenty of fish!

Back to the deep green, cold, clear waters of the Livingston!

Found a sweet spot on the famed Livingston River, a tributary of the Oldman River in southern Alberta - a waterfall into a small pool holding - dozens of actively feeding 16” cutthroat. Flyfishing at its best!

Road was closed for repair, so we had to hike our way up Dutch Creek, dropping down to the runs and canyons in the creek as we went. Covered 8+ miles but was rewarded with occasional, spooky cutthroat and magnificent views.
#OldManWatetshed #Alberta #cutthroattrout #flyfishing

The Oldman River watershed in southwest Alberta is a network of cold, clear freestone streams fed by the Rockies. Rivers like the Livingstone, Crowsnest, Castle, and creeks like Racehorse and Dutch hold native Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout. Clean flows. Wild fish. Big sky. Perfect!

So many elk passed us en route to Bull River, BC. 100 easy! Traffic was stopped for 20 minutes!

Love when a Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep saunters in front of you car on a backwoods fishing adventure!
#wildlife
#BigHornSheep

Return to the wild!

Part of the allure of angling is close encounters with these amazing creatures. This aligns with my past research focus of making “making the unseen in Nature seen”….

As temperatures remained summerlike and a drought deepened in Maine, we appreciated exploring new waters in SW British Columbia. We admired the strict regulations on angling: barbless, single hooks only, Sept 1 closure of spawning tributaries & rod limits. We need to balance sport with conservation.

‘While wandering remote streams in search of trout, I have been pondering what we have learned from the past 50 years of environmental science research-and how to apply this to the troubling times we are in now. Hope to see some of you at SSSA CANVAS 2025 in November!

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