In the News: U.S. Fish & Wildlife's Facebook Page

We are big fans of Eddies magazine around here, but I bet you didn't know that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service runs a very active Facebook page. In fact, they are currently running the Ugliest Tackle Box contest, and I am betting some of you out there have a potential winning entry!



The site also runs a Throwback Thursday in which they discuss fish hatchery and fisheries history. All in all, it is well worth your time checking them out!

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine (Fall/Winter 2011)

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine (Fall/Winter 2011)

Another new edition of the very fine magazine Eddies: Reflection on Fisheries Conservation has hit the stands!


Of interest to fishing historians is the really great article on Dewitt Clinton Booth by Carlos R. Martinez. Booth was a hugely influential fisheries biologist who eventually began became the U.S. Fish Commissioner in 1899. Booth's work at Yellowstone was hugely influential on the future of this region's fisheries.

I strongly suggest everyone subscribe to this great magazine. It is integral this information gets out, and is read, by the greater fishing public. The more we know the better equipped we are to deal with the future of our fisheries--a subject of great importance for the 21st century.

Remember, back issues of the magazine can be found on-line by Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Spring Issue of Eddies magazine

Thursday Review: Spring Issue of Eddies magazine



The latest edition of one of my favorite magazines just came out. Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation is the official publication of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and is as good as advertised.

First of all, AWESOME cover harkening back the 1930s and 1940s and the golden age of outdoor painting. Leaping largemouth with a Rapala at that! Second of all, SUPERB picture of a Heddon Punknseed Spook on Page 4! Always great to see vintage tackle so featured.

As a historian, my favorite article is always the Pioneers column. This issue we get Dr. Livingston Stone, a legendary figure in fish culture, penned by Carlos R. Martinez.

We also get a nice piece on Striped Bass by Dean Fowler, a "Conservationists for Tomorrow" by Denise Wagner, Tess McBride's "Double Rainbow," Corky Broaddus' "Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Celebrates 20 Years," and "Once Bitter, Forever Hooked" by Richard DeMarte.

Another highlight is the article covering the cover art -- "The Art of Conservation: Young Artists of Wildlife Forever's State-Fish Art Contest" which covers the many ultra-talented youngsters and their original work.

Eddies has a unique line up of writers and covers topics not often discussed in other publications. It is artfully edited by Craig Springer, and you can check out the latest issue by Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd

An Anniversary Worth Remembering: The First Salmon Protection Law (March 02, 1889)

Craig Springer, editor of the always excellent Eddies magazine, sends along this reminder of an anniversary today:

An Anniversary Worth Remembering

by Craig Springer

On March 2, 1889, Congress enacted the first federal law intended to ensure the safe passage of salmon upstream. The law was plainly titled, " an act to provide for the protection of the salmon fisheries of Alaska." A violation would cost you $250 per day in fines.

Still, 122 years later, fish passage remains a top priority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries Program, not only in Alaska, but across the country. The National Fish Passage Program  strives to connect fish to historic habitats needed for spawning, rearing, or overwintering. It’s a voluntary, non-regulatory program that provides technical and financial assistance to remove barriers to fish. To help get that done, you can take advantage of this tool. More habitat means more fish—and that’s good for people, too.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Program is in its 140th year, working with you to conserve America’s Fisheries.

-- Dr. Todd

Roosevelt's Fishery Legacy - This Day in History

Craig Springer, the editor of the outstanding Eddies Magazine, sent me a blurb worth repeating today. It's a special anniversary! The 140th anniversary of the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Robert Roosevelt was a prodigious writer and ardent outdoorsman. This uncle to the future conservationist-president, Teddy Roosevelt, authored such books as Game Birds of the North and Superior Fishing; or The Striped Bass, Trout, Black Bass and Bluefish of the Northern States. Both were published in the 1860s at a time when he served on the New York State Fishery Commission -- a commission that he created.

Roosevelt's most lasting written work was a Congressional resolution that he penned during his single term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He wrote the resolution that created the U.S. Fish Commission, which later became the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and today's Fisheries Program.

The resolution became effective 140 years ago today, Feb. 9, 1871, and you can read it here at the Library of Congress.

-- Craig Springer (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine (Fall 2009)

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine (Fall 2009)



The latest edition of one of my favorite magazines just hit the mailbox. Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation is an official publication of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and if you have any love at all for the outdoors, you know how much the USF&W has done to promote and preserve our sport.

This issue is the best yet. Great articles like "'Running' a Historic Hatchery" by Lee Allen and "Restoring Ancestral Waters" by Ben Ikenson are outstanding, but I found particularly compelling the "Meanders" column by Dr. Samuel Snyder, a new Ph.D. specializing in American fishing history.

Eddies serves an absolutely critical need in our sport by disseminating timely and interesting articles about the past and current state of fisheries management in America. I encourage everyone to subscribe.

Sample issues of the magazine (including the most recent issue) can be found on the Eddies web site by Clicking Here. The magazine is brilliantly edited by Craig Springer.

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Eddies Magazine

The great magazine Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation just celebrated its first anniversary, and I wanted to both congratulate this fine journal as well as encourage others to subscribe to it. The magazine is a publication of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Fisheries Department, and is intended to publicize the news of the fish culture and conservation, but also has a lot of great stories (from outstanding writers) about fishing in general.


Eddites is capably edited by the noted outdoor writer Craig Springer, and we wish them the best on the occasion of their first anniversary and wish them many happy returns.

You can subscribe (and check out the inaugural issue for free as a downloadable .PDF file) by Clicking Here.

-- Dr. Todd

Thursday Review: Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation Magazine

A brand new magazine on a subject I am very much interested in has just launched, and I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention as it impacts almost every aspect of angling, from catching fish to the tackle industry. It is called Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation and is edited by the noted outdoor writer Craig Springer. The magazine is a publication of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Fisheries Department, and is intended to publicize the news of the fish culture and conservation. The first issue is an extremely well done publication with features that cover not only the current state of fish conservation, but also profiles pioneers--this issue details the career of Robert Thoesen, a member of the Fish Culture Hall of Fame. You can subscribe (and check out the inaugural issue for free as a downloadable .PDF file) by Clicking Here.


This magazine is an idea whose time has definitely come. Whereas the 19th century saw a proliferation of articles on fish culture in The American Angler, Forest & Stream, The Chicago Field, and others--many written by pioneers of the sport of angling ranging from Seth Green and Thad Norris to Charles Hallock and Dr. James Alexander Henshall--when was the last time a mainstream outdoor journal covered this subject in depth?

We wish Eddies a long and successful run and look forward to reading and contributing in the future.

-- Dr. Todd