August 2025 Newsletter
- EDTU
- Dec 24, 2025
- 8 min read
"The solution to any problem—work, love, money, whatever—is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be." - John Gierach
In Memoriam
Walter J. Bock
Wally was an active member and leader in Trout Unlimited for over four decades. He served as Chair and later Treasurer of the Illinois Council, National Leadership Council Representative, President of Oak Brook TU, EDTU Youth Chair and Trout in the Classroom Coordinator, and Co-founder of TU DARE. Wally was the first recipient of the Elliott Donnelly Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Fishing with Wally was much more than fishing. His knowledge of the history, geography and geology of the Driftless Area was unsurpassed. Wally was always generous with his time and wisdom and he will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held at Thompson & Kuenster Funeral Home on Thursday, July 31st at 11:00 am. Visitation will be Wednesday, 4:00-8:00 pm. For more information click here.
Letter from the President, August 2025
by Jim Brown
Home Waters
Every summer our family vacations in my home state of Oregon with other members of my extended family. This year we had 21 individuals ranging in age from 2 to 94 years. Although it is always fun to see new places, there is a certain comfort in heading to the same destination each year, and for me, having the opportunity to fish the same lakes and streams. A week of fishing each summer for 30 years gives you some level of knowledge about the waters.
I love to fish the Driftless, and other steams and rivers of the Midwest, and I usually take a trip to Montana each year, but I consider the alpine lakes and streams of Central Oregon my home waters.
Fishing was more difficult than usual this year. The typical afternoon Callibaetis hatch on the lake was not happening, and I was skunked two out of the four days I fished. I did not mind, because the beautiful views of the mountains and the meadow, and the sound of the wind blowing through the pine trees always leaves me in a state of calm that I do not find anywhere else. I hope you will have an opportunity to fish your home waters this season.
Remembering Wally Bock
We have lost a conservation champion in Wally Bock. Wally gave so much of himself to EDTU, the Illinois Council of TU, TUDARE, and many other initiatives. In the 30 years I have been a member of EDTU, Wally was a constant presence, whether he was spearheading Trout in the Classroom projects, representing EDTU at regional TU events, or showing new EDTU members the ropes on chapter trips.
I distinctly remember Wally guiding me on an obscure Driftless stream on my first EDTU Spring Creeks trip. He showed me where to cast in each section of the creek and made sure I had the right fly. You could always hear Wally coming down the creek, as about every fly fishing gadget available was attached to his vest – he jangled when he walked.
It is passionate conservationists like Wally Bock, who give so much of themselves, that will ensure that our children and grandchildren will have cold and clean streams, with healthy populations of trout, to fish.
2025 Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation and Fly-Fishing Camp
by Mark Segraves
Early one Sunday morning in July, a group of seven youth campers and seven adult mentors met in an Oak Brook parking lot to make the trip to the Michigan DNR’s Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center in Roscommon, MI for the start of the 6-day Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp. Mentors included Dan Postelnick and Mark Segraves from our own EDTU Chapter, as well as members of the Oak Brook TU Chapter, including our leader, Dan LaFave. Arriving at Roscommon at 2:30 pm, no time was lost issuing boots, waders, fly rods and vests and leading the campers to the shore of nearby Higgins Lake for casting instruction.
The camp followed a packed schedule with wakeup at 6 - 6:30 am and continuing until bedtime at 10 - 10:30 pm. Activities were split between fishing in the mornings and evenings along with presentations and hands on activities devoted to learning about macroinvertebrates, invasive species, knots, wading safety, fishing tactics, fish anatomy (no trout were harmed, sorry largemouth bass), electroshock fish surveying, visiting the remnants of an old growth forest, learning the history of logging in the region, a stream restoration project, water quality testing, and fly tying.
Tricos were the predominant mayfly on the streams with heavy hatches between 8 and 9:30 am on most days with stragglers appearing throughout the day. Despite the 6 – 7X tippets and size 22 - 24 flies required, every camper caught fish. No lunkers, but many beautiful brook trout and a few browns. Mentors did not fish, and with the one-to-one camper/mentor match, each camper received “expert” tutelage in fly casting, presentation, and reading the water.
All the campers loved the fly-tying demonstrations and the chance to tie their own flies. A Woolly Bugger and Foam Beetle were used as foundation flies. This activity was so popular that some of the campers got together to continue tying during some free time that was available on Thursday afternoon.
Everyone dove in to help with the stream restoration project Wednesday afternoon. This work is sponsored by chapters of Trout Unlimited from the Au Sable River region. Currently, two teams are employed by the TU chapters to work on the upper reaches of the Au Sable mainstream, and on the North Branch. Our project was located on the mainstream at a site upstream of Pollack Bridge. Recently, a lot of effort has gone into stream improvements to improve flow exposing the gravel bottom and to control beaver populations which are prone to making dams across this narrow section of the Au Sable headwaters. We were told that over the past few years, the population of brook trout has increased 600 percent in the area with stream improvements! Lunker structures have also been put in place and there were photos shown of large brown trout caught during the recent Hex Hatch. The log and brush structure that our group helped with was designed to narrow the channel increasing the depth and speed of water flow and to provide cover for young fish.
The campers’ level of enthusiasm was contagious! At the Fly-Fishing Museum in Lovells on the North Branch, they nearly emptied a box of trout and fly-fishing books that were free for the taking. They were extremely excited to have the opportunity to visit a fly-fishing shop where they stocked up on flies they hoped to use on future trips. Their enthusiasm and competitiveness were also on display during a game of Jeopardy played Thursday afternoon with topics focused on trout fishing and stream conservation. During the ride home, there was a lot of talk about their hopes and plans for future trout fishing adventures.
The TU Trout in the Classroom program is one of the major feeders of camp applicants who range in age from 13-18 years. Campers contribute roughly 50% of the cost of the camp, and in addition to the mentors’ contributions of time effort and expertise, the Illinois Council of TU funds a substantial portion of camp costs and offers scholarships to underprivileged youth. These youth are the future stewards of our cold-water fisheries. I will speak for myself, but I think every adult mentor would agree that the individual contribution they made as well as the funding provided by the IL TU Council will help to ensure that the advocacy for and care of trout habitat will be in good hands.
Linn Beck, CWTU, Elected to Trout Unlimited National Board of Trustees
We are proud to announce that Linn Beck, from Central Wisconsin TU, has been elected Grass Roots Trustee to the the National Board of Trustees of Trout Unlimited. Linn has served as President (among other positions) of CWTU, Chair of the Wisconsin State Council, TU Cares Chair, Troutfest committee and the TU National Leadership Council. Linn along with Steve Miller, WA and Linn Slosher, KY were selected by the NLC from six very strong Candidates.
Why Smallmouth Bass Are One of the Most Dangerous Fish in the Country
Anglers love Smallmouths because they smash lures and fight hard. But bronzebacks also have a dark side. Smallmouth bass rank high up on the list of most popular fish species in America. Though they fall short of the distribution range of the largemouth bass—America’s most popular gamefish—they’re still accessible to millions of anglers. From the Great Lakes up North to the deep reservoirs of the Mid-South, Northeast streams to the mighty rivers of the Pacific Northwest, “bronzebacks” have become stars in so many regional fishing cultures. Because of this, it’s easy to forget they actually don’t belong in many of the places we catch them. Read the "Outdoor Life" Article here.
Back to Basics
Fly Casting with Pete Kutzer of Orvis. Re-examine the basic fly casting technique with a world renowned expert, To watch the short YouTube video click here.
August Fly of the Month: The Gurgler
by Stan Vajdic
The gurgler is a multi-species top water fly. It can be used for mousing for Trout, Small and Large mouth Bass, and Northern Pike. It can be tied in a variety of colors, and styles: with/without legs, marabou tail, buck tail for a tail, Chenel body, tinsel or frizzle. Your imagination and what you can sell to the fish you are targeting is your only limitation. If you are able to tie a wolly bugger you will be able to tie the gurgler!
Materials:
Hook: Streamer style hook, this is sturdier than a dry fly hook. Size 6-2 can also use extended shank size for larger profile.
Tail: Deer hair, dyed buck tail and/or Marabou feathers, crystal flash if you so choose. I strip the feather fibers off the marabou quill to enhance movement. I will use both materials, the buck tail provides some strength and helps float the fly while the marabou provides added movement.
Thread: Color of choice, 6 or 8.
Body: Color of choice for Tinsel, or Ersatz Chenel, can also wrap with Hackle feather to give the body both color and movement. Intent
Foam: 2 mm foam, color of choice. Cut into strip in width up to ½ inch. Use your discretion, larger the foam width, the more water the front of the fly will displace and create action.
Legs: Color of your choice, if you want to add
Tying instructions;
Lay down a thread base the length of the hook back to the barb or bend of hook.
Tie in your tail, for length i use one and a half times the length of the hook.
Tie in the body material, chenel, ersatz, etc. You will wrap this onto the hook after you tie in the foam.
Cut your foam piece to a point so you have a easy tie in section. Secure this to the hook with your tying thread.
Can also add a pair of legs to each side. Method that works for me is to wrap the leg material around the thread, one for each side, tying in each side separately.
Run your tying thread back up to the front of the hook. Leave some space behind the eye. Dont crowd the eye, as you will fie in the foam to create a head that will disperse water.
TIe in your body material. For ersatz or other fibrous material a trick is to pull the fibers up and back as you wrap on the material. This will keep the material from clumping and create more movement for the body material. Once you get to your stopping point lock in the material with 2-3 wraps of your tie thread. To add more strength you can also use a touch of glue to hold everything in place.
Now fold you piece of foam forward to you where you have stopped the thread and you body material. Pinch the foam around the hook. You will want foam extending past the eye of the hook for the head. Lock down the foam with as many wraps as you feel comfortable to hold in place.
Once the foam is secure you can attach a second set of legs if you desire.
Iin front of the foam I build up a small thread dam to help push the foam up so it will displace water and "gurgle".
You can then cut the foam to the shape of the head you desire, i prefer a crescent shape.
Good luck and may the biggest, hungriest fish int he water find and eat your fly!
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