Articles

The Mecan River Project is Underway

CWTU and EDTU members getting their hands dirty to protect those trout!

For the second consecutive year we joined forces with the Central Wisconsin Chapter, the Trout and Salmon Foundation and the Wisconsin DNR for a restoration project. This year it's the Mecan River near Wautoma.

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Youth Camper Lands First Steelhead on the Fly

by Grant Brown

Joe Crosson, Youth Camp Scholar with his first steelhead

Joe Crosson age 14 of Chicago landed his first steelhead on the fly. Joe was the 2009 recipient of The EDTU Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Scholarship. We expected great things from Joe since he returned from the school. TU National Leadership Council Representative Greg Prosen said, "Joey was the star of the school." It seems youth education works because this kid is hooked for life. Way to go Joe!

The Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing School will be held again this year from July 18th through July 23rd. It is conducted on the banks of the Au Sable River and the students are instructed on the basics of fly fishing, fly tying, water ecology, water chemistry, hydrology and invertebrate biology. If you have a son or daughter between the age of 13-18 please contact me at grant.brown@ubs.com for a scholarship application.

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Spring Orvis Days

by Jeff Hoffmann

Orvis Chicago (142 East Ontario) has some great seminars and events coming up this weekend, including a FREE fly-fishing school! Here is the schedule, for details click on "Read the full article":

SATURDAY, MAY 8
12:00 p.m. - Discover the Pacific Northwest's Pristine Waters on the Yakima River
1:00 p.m. - Swinging Flies for Big Fish
2:00 p.m. - Summer Run Steelhead on the St. Joe
3:00 p.m. - Bucket Mouth Heaven

SUNDAY, MAY 9
All Day FREE Fly-Fishing School
9:00 a.m. to 11:00a.m. - Mother's Day Casting Clinic
1:00 p.m. - Fly Fishing 101: Equipment Selection and Rigging
2:00 p.m. - Fly Fishing 101: Entomology and Fly Selection
3:00 p.m. - Fly Fishing 101: Reading Water

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April Meeting Details

Guest speakers Joe Bailey (left) and Dr. George Patterson (right) hosting a seminar in Chile!

WOULD YOU BELIEVE FLY FISHING FOR THE MIND?

Okay, here is the ultimate trivia question. Who sang the theme song to “Gilligan’s Island?” The answer is …(drum roll, please)…The Wellingtons. So what does this have to do with fly fishing? Well, a member of the Wellingtons, George Patterson, is one of the most devoted fly fishers you could ever find and is one of our two presenters at our next meeting. Dr. George Patterson and author/psychologist Joseph Bailey will share some of the insights they have learned while leading their retreats which combine fly fishing adventures with personal development. They have offered their fly fishing seminars at some of the most pristine locations around the world.

Their seminars were highlighted in the recent December/January issue of Fly Rod & Reel magazine in an article called “Mind Expansion-Exploring the Therapeutic Qualities of Fly Fishing.”

See the weblink at the end of this article for a reprint or more informaion about their seminars.

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President’s Angle on the Fundraiser

by Grant Brown

The final tally is in and we were just shy of a $10,000 profit. That's a bit more than last year and it seems that everyone enjoyed the Erie Cafe as our new venue. There were numerous folks who made it work and the generosity was outstanding.

Thanks to all our donors, especially:

• Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters
• Alistair Stewart
• Nohr Chapter of TU
• Chuck Hawkins
• Sean McDonald
• Marty Owens - Gerber & Brunton
• John Matenaer
• Trout & Grouse
• Patagonia Chicago
• Echo Rods - Mike Allison & Tim Rajeff
• Simms - Colleen Trayser
• Fishpond - Dave Halblom
• Jerry Darkes
• Jeff Kennedy Studio
• Tom Anderson
• Rusty Gates AuSable Lodge
• Paul Douglas Gallery Madison, WI
• Jim Tingey artwork
• Hairline Dubbing
• Robert Tomes
• Mrs. Jim Chapralis
• Whispering Pines B&B

And Chapter members, especially:

Mike Jacobs, John Uhlenhop, Jeff Goad, Doug Conover, John Crosson, Frank Aiello, John Frankot, John Weaver, Bill Wobbekind, Cliff Gately, Thomas Chmielewski, Jim Coursey, Jerry Maynard, Jeff Hoffmann, Larry Yellen, Kent Carlson, Dan Postelnick, Todd Barrett, Sue Mathewson, Marc Amstadter and Dave Meyer.

And most of all our event chair Jim Brown for putting it all together.

Happy Holidays!

GB



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Orvis Chicago Wine and Cigars

by Jeff Hoffmann

Orvis Chicago is having an after hour event in conjunction with Stonefly Vineyards including free wine tasting and cigar sampling. Blues musician Keith Scott will be here playing and local trout artist Tom Sasser will be displaying some of his prints. Each year 5% of the total sales from Stonefly Vineyards is awarded to conservation organizations such as Trout Unlimited.

November 4th, 2009 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Orvis Chicago
142 E. Ontario St.
Chicago, IL 60611

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World Record Trout

by Grant Brown

Two world record trout were caught last week, one of them right here in the midwest on the Manistee River.

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Iceland Trip

by Sue Mathewson

Iceland Trip: "Openings on the Hofsa River are available for Atlantic salmon unheard of in years past. With the Krona down, it's a great time to go and see this lovely island nation." .....

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The AuSable Trip Scores for New Member!

by Grant Brown

New Member Jeff Hoffmann scored a Trophy Trout Hat from Hawkins Outfitters while on this years chapter trip to the Wa Wa Sum Lodge. Jeff joins a distinguished list of EDTU members to bag a 20+ inch trout on the trip.

Check it out in the Photo Gallery and make sure you ask Jeff what the secret is at the next meeting. Nicely Done!

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4th-graders’ class pets are no longer small fry

by Tara Malone, TRIBUNE REPORTER

"Maggie Maher, 9, said she was a little sad about the sending the fish off into the wild as she wrote her poem: "Some of my friends die. But I was still a fry. I didn't want to say good-bye."

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Rusty Gates Receives FFF Conservation Award

by Grant Brown

The Federation of Fly Fishers has awarded long time friend of the chapter Rusty Gates their 2008 Conservation award. The FFF wrote in their Conclave publication, "Whether leading stream clean-up work, engaging in critical lawsuits or advocating for fisheries, Rusty Gates of Grayling, Michigan has made extraordinary personal contributions to our fisheries."

Thank you Rusty and Congratulations!

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”Muskie on the Fly”

by Robert S. Tomes

The September meeting will kick off this years speaker series with Robert S. Tomes, author of "Musky on the fly." If you have caught your fill of Trout, Robert will share stories and tactics on how to conquer the elusive muskellunge. There will be copies of his book available for purchase to be autographed.

Please RSVP to Kent Carlson (312) 663-9601 or email kentrcarlson@sbcglobal.net.

The Brehon Pub at 731 N. Wells St. 5:30 social and Book signing 6:30 dinner and presentation.

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Mason Tract Logging Cutting up Residents

by Sheri McWhirter

Some nature lovers wonder if state officials can't see the forest for the trees. Stately oaks and pines -- some 100 years old -- are being clear cut at the Mason Tract, a 4,700-acre swath in southeast Crawford County that has roots as a conservation gift to the state.

"This is a pretty sensitive area. Why did they have to do this here?" said Doug Maidment of Crawford County, who lives near the Mason Tract.

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Hawkins Bans Bottled Water

Hawkins Outfitters is taking a small stand against bottled water

Bottled water is harmful to the environment every step of it's life. Millions of gallons of oil are used to make water bottles. Huge amounts of fossil fuels are used to move the water to market. We feel that everyone has to help reduce energy consumption and waste.

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Trout Leap to Freedom in Incredibe Escape

by By NICK McDERMOTT

The Daily Mail
Alresford, Hampshire, UK

Down on the fish farm, workers could not understand why the number of brown trout had suddenly taken a dive. But close observation revealed the reason - an aquatic version of the Great Escape. The resourceful fish are leaping 3ft out of the water and into an eight-inch pipe which brings fresh water into the farm near Alresford, Hampshire.

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The Grand Slam Breakfast

by Grant Brown

A compromise of passions turns into a worthy quest.

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Pollution saves fish is like man bites dog.

by Kirk Johnson, New York Times

Out of Old Mines' Muck Rises New Reclamation Model for West

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Pollution saves fish is like man bites dog.

But that is what happened in this mining town turned resort as contaminated water from abandoned gold mines drained into French Gulch creek beginning after World War II. The pollution created a barrier that isolated the native Colorado cutthroat trout — a threatened species — from nonnative competitors like the rainbow trout that could not fight their way through the muck. The cutthroats thrived in their accidental sanctuary above the mines, where the water was clean.

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Troubled waters: South Branch Root River

by Chris Niskanen, outdoors writer

You can fall in love on a trout stream, and you can fall in love with a trout stream, and I've done both with the South Branch Root River in the southeast blufflands of Minnesota.

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2006 Chapter Trips

The dates for the Spring Creeks trip (April 28- April 30), Wolf River Trip (May 19-May 21) and the Au Sable trip (June 14-18) are firm.

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