What’s living in Carey’s Slough?  Three volunteers assisted SFEG with finding out that answer, by going fly fishing!  Volunteers Dick Raisler, John Leighton, and Robin La Rue recently joined SFEG staff and interns to assess the fish population of this Skagit River backwater slough using a different technique than our usual seine or snorkel surveys.  These three local fly fishermen and AmeriCorps member Nik Novotny offered their skills to see what they could find in the slough.   Although floating this calm waterway in a canoe made for a very relaxing morning, we didn’t catch much!  They caught two cutthroat trout and one pumpkin seed sunfish.  This information gives us another piece of the puzzle for analyzing Carey’s Slough for future restoration projects.

A few fish species and a few very wet staff members later, we at least got some neat photos!