April calls river herring, northern pike and volunteers to shallow waters. Gather by a herring run to see the miracle of migration then pack lots of shiny spoons for big Spring pike action as they head in to spawn and attack anything approaching their young. Oh there's lots of action this month in skinny waters.
Rivers mean everything to us so this week, we celebrate Spring's rivers and riders. There's a Trout Unlimited banquet, a new kayak lift on the Saugatucket River and sadly, we say goodbye to one of the best, Matt Wunsch. Matt was a fisherman, writer, family man, friend and all around good shit.
After two years at sea and a million years miraculously returning to the very waters of thier birth, river herring arrived with a full moon. Now their challenge is to get to their natal waters through countless animal predators and decaying impediments which quite often force them to turn around and return to the sea without spawning. Read how you can help these mighty forage fishes.
Each spring, river herring migrate to rivers and ponds of their birth and for hundreds of years, they have been pushed back by dams and ancient impoundments. Volunteers move them around some but nature's clock is ticking. Offshore, wind farm turbines are being constructed quickly so we show you a virtual tour of navigating through one hundred proposed turbines east of Block Island.
Rivers once ran silver with shad, herring, sturgeon and stripers; now there are calls to rebuild rivers and populations for the abundance our ancestors enjoyed and took for granted. This week, learn how we can turn the tide to support forage fishes and native brook trout.