To understand “Why Trout Unlimited” you need to know what the organization stands for. Hank Patterson put together a funny but informative video in January 2016 about TU and what it stands for. Memorably quoting,” An organization dedicated to giving the best possible futures and life experiences to each and every young trout born into this world.” If you go to Trout Unlimited’s website and look up "Who We Are" it states:
“Founded in Michigan in 1959, Trout Unlimited today is a national non-profit organization with 150,000 
members dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Our staff and volunteers work from coast to coast to protect, reconnect, restore and sustain trout and salmon habitat on behalf of today’s anglers and coming generations of sportsmen and women who value the connection between healthy, intact habitat and angling opportunity.”
Now that you have some idea what Trout Unlimited is as a non-profit organization I bet you are still asking Why TU? If you look back into the history of fishing and population growth in your local area, state or even the United States you see that in the early to mid 1900’s there was a lot of over fishing, construction, diversion and overall lack of attention to the rivers and fisheries in the United States. When fish populations dramatically started to drop or become non-existent that is when TU started and developed a focus to sustain our fisheries.
So Why? It's as simple as thinking of the future and wanting to continue to have amazing fishing days that you brag about how big or how much you catch. Just as it's really nice to have powder day after powder day at the resorts you apply the same principle of reduce and or reuse, you try to make sure your footprint on the fishing environment is minimal. TU has carried this torch through promoting carry in carry out, catch and release as well as cleaning up and or rebuilding river ways that have been heavily polluted. Many of these standards began at TU that we just take for granted today. What we don't realize is this was and still is an uphill battle that took more than one generation to change the mindset of people, organizations and industries. We need to carry it on so the work our parents did does not go to waist.
Why Trout Unlimited? Once again, it comes down to what we want for the future of our sport, recreation, ecosystems and way of life. We need to plan and be conscious of how we recreate in the outdoors. Trout Unlimited began the path to helping us understand there is a balance to the river systems of the world. So the minimal annual fee of $35 is not just for you to go to a monthly meeting to learn how to tie dry flies, here about a local fishing lodges or socialize with like minded anglers its your investment into the future of the sport and most of all the future of trout and their ecosystems for generations to come.
So take what you want from this small blog post but know every little bit from financial to donating your time goes a long way. It is a great feeling to give back and make sure our future generation can enjoy what we have fished for decades. To find out more about TU please click on the link to their homepage HERE.