Which is excellent because last night was part one of the not-a-festival beaver event in Methow, Here are some late-breaking photos of last nights gathering (thanks Sarah!). Looks like they had an excellent turn out! Although the critics are withholding comment on Ben’s late-summer man-bun.
This morning there is more good news for anglers with a glowing beaver report from New Hampshire. I think the Chris Wood’s article set many things in motion and I hope we see more like this soon!
Adventures Afield with Andy Schafermeyer: Beavers help create brook trout habitat
A SUCCESSFUL angler often understands the relationship between fish and the world they live in. This complex system, often referred to as ecology, is crucial to catching fish.
Over the years, I have observed a direct relationship between Brook Trout and beavers that warrants further explanation. My favorite trout fishing is often small streams where beautiful brookies swim in pools and undercut banks. It is no secret that beavers create aquatic habitat where it might not otherwise exist and their role in expanding fishing opportunities seem clear.
To investigate further, it must be noted that beaver ponds/impoundments trap not only water, but many of the nutrients necessary for fish to grow larger than they would otherwise.
Why yes they do, Andy, So good of you to notice. Just wait, it gets better.
In short, I feel like beavers and I are working together to make the world a better place for Brook Trout. They set ‘em up and I knock ‘em out –- metaphorically speaking, of course. I don’t exactly knock them out but, rather, release them gingerly into the water I found them in. More accurately, I enjoy the experience of exploring a system perforated with small streams and still beaver ponds. I can catch fish in the fast moving current on a heavy nymph, and cast a dry fly on the still water of the pond. I find this type of fishing irresistible.
Well yes. Beavers are doing it just for you. And for trout. And for frogs and woodducks and otters. Why not be totally anthropormorphic about this?
The final selling point of these beaver ponds and connecting streams is that they are constantly changing — so frequently, in fact, that you will never see them on a map. I may fish a system for two or three summers only to find it gone the next. Beavers die, they move on, and dams break.
In contrast, these busy creatures are always moving into new areas. They are looking for water and unknowingly create awesome fishing experiences for a simple guy like me with an admittedly average understanding of the ecology that surrounds me.
I really hate to break it to you, Andy, but the truth is beavers are doing it for themselves.
Beavers have a lot in common with the women’s movement really, because when they are allowed to take care of their own needs society as a whole benefits.
Funny how that works.
