The Last Steelhead: An Eco Rock Opera

When the going gets tough, the tough pick their guitars and play.

Or at least that's what angler, author, lifelong musician and wild steelhead advocate Chris Santella and his band Catch & Release did in response to the decline of wild steelhead in Oregon and across the Northwest. Their Eco Rock Opera, The Last Steelhead features 11 songs, which can be streamed online for free, and detail the challenges that hyrdopower, overharvest, hatcheries, and habitat degradation create for these remarkable fish.

The songs are available with a booklet titled, "What You Can Do To Save Wild Steelhead", which details practical actions listeners can take to help slow the decline and encourage the recovery of wild steelhead. Santella hopes that telling the steelhead story through song will introduce these totemic wild fish and their plight to audiences beyond the typical angling communities.

A big thanks to Chris Santella, his band Catch & Release, and their friends for pulling off this great effort.

For those about to rock (to The Last Steelhead) we salute you!