OREGON BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
By MAGGIE MULLEN
Ryan Hudson would describe himself as a bit of a hermit.
“I don’t like to deal with people. I hide out,” said Hudson.
He lives in the small town of Daniel, Wyoming—population 150. For the last 14 years, he’s worked as a fly fishing guide, but a recent cover photo on the January edition of the magazine American Angler caused Hudson to step out of his quiet world and write an op-ed.
Hudson said, “I just thought, ‘boy this is going to create a lot of nonsense in my life.'”
He was right. His op-ed criticizing the photo of a well-known angler and brand ambassador went viral. In the picture, the angler is showing off the roughly two-foot long brown trout he just caught.
“The cover clearly depicted the bones coming out of the fish’s tail,” Hudson said.
Any skilled angler will tell you that means it’s spawning. Fish are particularly vulnerable at this stage of their life cycle and easier to catch. Hudson said it’s not unusual to see inexperienced anglers targeting them. It’s not illegal. But for experienced anglers, it’s a shady practice.
