Trout Whisperers Will Brighten Your Winter Solstice
If a river could talk, she’d probably say she’s seen one of these guys.
Finding Light in the Winter Darkness
Winter is early upon us this year: in the valleys, the weather looks sketchy for the next few weeks, snow gathers in the hills, and the days will continue to get shorter for another month. On the lower Deschutes River, the last pulses of steelhead make their way upriver, and trout anglers with an aversion to heavy sinking lines will soon be relegated to waiting for short bursts of sun and the attendant possibility of a quick mid-afternoon blue-winged olive hatch.
Don’t let the onslaught of atmospheric rivers and daylight hours of nearly arctic brevity dampen your spirit. Start by putting something to really look forward to on your calendar: Trout Whisperers: Legends of Conservation will happen December 17th at Steeplejack Brewing. The panelists and moderator for this winter solstice version of Trout Whisperers represent a half-century of angling and conservation passion, experience and wisdom:
Trout Whisperers Lineup
Bill Bakke has worked in fish conservation for a half century, and has spent his life advocating for wild fish. He founded Oregon Trout and The Native Fish Society. He’s worked for the Columbia River Fisheries Council and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. He’s written over 100 articles for sporting, news and scientific journals. His expertise is featured in several books about salmon conservation, including A Common Fate by Joseph Cone, Song For The Blue Ocean by Carl Safina, and A River Lost by Blaine Harden. He currently serves as Scientific Advisor for The Conservation Angler.
Guido Rahr is President and CEO of The Wild Salmon Center. WSC has developed scientific research, habitat protection and fisheries improvement projects in dozens of rivers in Japan, the Russian Far East, Alaska, British Columbia and the US Pacific Northwest, raising over $100 million in grants, establishing fourteen new conservation organizations, and protecting 35.7 million acres of habitat, including public lands management designations and ten new large scale habitat reserves on key salmon rivers across the Pacific Rim. The Wild Salmon Center, alongside local partners, have defeated hydroelectric dams, industrial mining, road building, overfishing, clear-cut logging, water withdrawals, and other threats to healthy watersheds.
Kerry Burkheimer built his first fly rod almost 50 years ago, when he was just out of high school in Boise, Idaho. Not long after he discovered steelhead fishing on the rivers of Oregon and Washington, and embarked on a career path that made him one of the industry’s renowned rod builders. “Burkie” rods these days are praised with the same reverence musicians talk about Martin guitars or cowboys covet a Severe Brothers saddle.
For 35 years, he’s owned and operated his namesake company, C.F. Burkheimer Fly Rod Company. The company donates rods to, and supports the work of many river conservation groups. “Rolled soul,” is a turn of phrase Burkheimer uses to describe what he hopes to accomplish with each rod his company produces. In an interview with Swing the Fly magazine, he described part of what the phrase means to him: “If you can share not only your passion but the reason why it’s so important to work to save this amazing resource, that’s that soul connection.”
Rick Hafele (moderator) has a Master’s degree in aquatic entomology and a minor in fisheries biology. He has worked as a professional aquatic biologist for 40 years, specializing in using aquatic communities as water quality indicators. While working for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Rick was instrumental in developing the state’s bioassessment program and writing Oregon’s water quality standards for aquatic life. He is also the author or co-author of seven books and eight instruction videos on fly fishing for trout. Rick is a noted aquatic entomologist in the Pacific Northwest and a recognized expert throughout the western United States.
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