Trout Unlimited leaders who attended the 2026 Annual California Council meeting.
The Trout Unlimited California Council held its annual meeting in Redding, CA on November 6-8. The event, hosted by the Shasta Trinity Cascades Chapter, drew leaders from 10 of the 11 California chapters ranging from the Shasta Trinity Cascades Chapter in the north to the Golden State Chapter in the south. The meeting was timed to coincide with the Nov 6 screening of the 2026 International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) that the STC Chapter hosted as their major annual fundraiser to support Chapter conservation activities.
In addition to the usual business topics that “keep the lights on” for Chapters and the California Council, the sessions included round-table discussions and multiple briefings TU staff and partner organizations. Trout Unlimited California Director Matt Clifford provided an update on the status of TU and its outlook for 2027. California Trout staffer Mikey Weir described projects CalTrout is executing and what it has planned for 2027. Patrick Cuthbert, a biologist from fisheries and environmental consulting company FISHBIO, described the state of the art in tracking, studying, and counting fish populations. Dillon Williams from Hybrid Indigenous Stewardships provided an overview of restoration methods that integrate traditional ecological knowledge with modern methods.
Chapter leaders also came together to brainstorm ways to raise the Chapters’ collective game on fundraising, promoting projects and activities, engaging more people across all age groups, participating and partnering with like-minded organizations in cleanup and other project activities, and providing more options for developing connections with anglers interested in protecting and improving our watersheds.
Stay tuned as Chapters take these ideas and make them realities over the coming year.
To learn more about partner organizations and staffers who presented at the 2026 annual meeting, follow the links below:
California Trout: https://caltrout.org/ and https://caltrout.org/about-us/staff/mike-wier/
FISHBIO: https://fishbio.com/ and https://fishbio.com/staff/patrick-cuthbert/
Hybrid Indigenous Stewardships: https://his-services.org/