March 2015 – The 52 Rivers Blog

Joan Wolff, An Inspiration

shelleyw — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 23:55:03 +0000

As Wikipedia states about Joan Wolff, ” Joan Salvato Wulff [is] known as the First Lady of fly-fishing, [and] has been casting since she was a school girl in 1937. She was National Casting Champion from 1943-1960 in distance casting against an all-male competition; she made a record cast of 161 feet.”

So credentials aside, I also admire her as a writer and woman. As she says, “The woods and waters of the outdoors became my church, a place where I could examine my thoughts and feel I was connected to all living things. This feeling is especially strong she, with rod in hand, I am wading a river for trout or salmon…where everything makes sense, where there is nothing but truth. There will be no disenchantment with this church.”

Reconnecting with Joe Moore

shelleyw — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 23:44:50 +0000

I met Joe Moore on the Madison River last August and am excited to have booked a week in West Yellowstone with him and two couples from Durango for a week of fishing. We’ve booked Joe for four days and look forward to a float on the Madison and some hikes into some remote streams in Yellowstone Park. I remember well my first trip to Yellowstone Park with my sister, Susan Packard, and my two sons, Michael and Scott, in 1990. It snowed over the 4th of July. We’re playing it on the safe side and waiting until August.

Joe’s company is Big Sky Anglers. He is one of those fly-fishing experts that you want to hang out with every day so you can learn, learn, learn. Joe grew up in Quincy, IL, fishing the Mississippi. (I always did love to spell that word.) He married a park ranger and they live in idyllic West Yellowstone. In addition to guiding full time throughout the season, Joe also runs snow cats into Yellowstone during the winter sharing his knowledge of the Park. Can’t wait to see you again, Joe.

Getting Ready

shelleyw — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 23:06:39 +0000

March 8, 2015. I could have fished all winter in Durango with the weather we’ve had, except the “W” word got in the way, as my husband always says…i.e. work. With a new accounting program, a new network and two software migrations at our Pine River Library…yes, two… in one month, it’s all I can do to find time to sleep!

The dust is settling and some snowfall over the last month will help local rivers.That said, southwest Colorado is still only at about 60% snowpack and the latest reports from the Durango Herald indicate the Animas is struggling. High fecal counts taken near the Colorado/New Mexico border are troubling. A recent count of fish indicate that numbers are down. Hopefully this is just one of those cyclic adjustments, but it’s disconcerting.

Our rivers and wildlife areas are so important to the health and welfare of our country. One of my missions when writing my book was to bring awareness to the importance of taking care of our very fragile earth. I worry about the 30,000 new homes going in on the eastern side of Denver. I worry about the Pebble Mine debacle up in Alaska’s pristine Bristol Bay. If you’re not aware of this issue, please go to the link to learn more about it.

As I walked toward the Animas today, it was hard to imagine that these resources are threatened. I heard magpies crackling, the tumbling sound of red-wing blackbirds and the gurgling sounds of small waterfalls on the Animas. The lenticular clouds hovered over the cliffs and the temperature reached a high of 55. With daylight savings time and spring just around the corner, there’s a lot to feel optimistic about. But, only if we are good stewards of our precious planet.