Here’s one from the other side of the mountains; an underwater glimpse into the life of wild Pacific Salmon, Cutthroat and Rainbow Trout by Icicle TV’s own Russ Ricketts.  Music by Washington Singer/Songwriter Josh Clauson.

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I grew up on this unnamed creek, hiking, swimming and rambling as a young man. Washington’s salmon populations were in pretty bad shape back then. Sometimes I would only see a couple salmon all winter. These days the creek is supporting small, but healthy wild populations of nearly every type of Pacific Salmon as well as Rainbow and Cutthroat trout. Closed to fishing for over 40 years, this fragile recovery from near extinction is becoming evident.

Wild Coho, Pink, Chinook and Chum salmon are returning in steady numbers to this hidden watershed, despite the terrible state of wild fish stocks in the Pacific Northwest. This is a very small success, and the road ahead is not clear, but for now it’s wonderful and incredibly heartening to share this moment of abundance.

Music by my friend Josh Clauson. Josh also grew up in these woods, swimming in this creek. He’s was very happy to lend his wonderful music to this project. You can check out his music at: joshclauson.com

You can learn more about River Snorkeling at: facebook.com/riversnorkeling