October 2025 Newsletter
- EDTU
- Dec 24, 2025
- 8 min read
"I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness. ― Aldo Leopold"
Wisconsin DNR Riparian Maintenance Report for Fall and Winter 2025
Read the WDNR Riparian Area Habitat Maintenance of Southwest Wisconsin Trout Streams for Columbia, Dane, Grant, Iowa and Richland Counties, Wisconsin here.
See below for plans for the next two years. Thanks to EDTU's Bill Wobbekind and to Lloyd Meng, Fisheries Biologist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
October Letter from President Jim Brown: TU Regional Rendezvous May 1st - 3rd
Dear Members and Friends,
I hope that everyone has had a chance to get out fishing in recent weeks. With some rainfall and cooler temperatures, the reports from the Driftless have been positive. It sounds like the terrestrial bite has been excellent. The Wisconsin Fishing Season ends October 15, so get out there.
National Trout Unlimited will hold a Midwest Rendezvous on May 1, 2 and 3, 2026 at the RAM Center in Roscommon, MI. This is the same facility where the Illinois Council of TU holds its annual Youth Camp each summer. Roscommon is located near Grayling, MI, so it is near the AuSable, Manistee and several other prime rivers. It has been several years since TU has held a rendezvous in our area, so this event is an excellent opportunity to meet other TU members from chapters around the Midwest, meet TU leadership, learn about key initiatives TU is implementing in Midwest waters, and have some fun. There are several EDTU members on the Rendezvous Planning Committee and the agenda for the program is already taking shape. Registration for the event is open and there are limited rooms available at the conference facility, so if you are interested in attending, please make your reservations. The fishing should be good this time of year in Michigan.
Click here to link to the registration page.
Tight lines,
Jim Brown
President
Elliott Donnelley Trout Unlimited
The EDTU Podcast is Live!
Thanks to Pablo Signori, EDTU Multimedia Expert, for creating our first two EDTU podcasts. To listen to the podcasts click here.
Let's Tie! EDTU Fly Tying Get Together October 11th
It’s been far too long since our last EDTU fly tying get-together, so for those who are interested we will be reconvening on Saturday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m. Since this is shortly before the chapter’s Iowa trip, the group tie will focus on flies proven to WORK on that outing.
As always, you can choose to either tie along with the group (a materials list will be sent out to participants ahead of time) or you can work on your own choice of patterns. In fact, tying is completely optional if you just want to come hang out with the crew and enjoy a cool beverage! If you do plan to tie, please bring your own vice and tools, as well as a desk lamp if you have one.
PLEASE NOTE, this is not a fly tying class. For instruction we strongly encourage you to see the professionals at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters and attend one of their excellent courses. That being said, all skill levels, including complete beginners, are welcome to join on the 11th. If you plan to attend, please reach out to Jeff Hoffmann directly at hoff.edtu@gmail.com or call 312-623-0050 for location details and any other questions.
Wednesday Fly Casting Lessons at the Pier End of Summer Report
by Robert Tomes
August 27th marked the end of another great season on the casting pier! Hard to believe but this was our 14th year on the pier and thanks to our dedicated team of regular volunteers and mostly good weather over three months we were able to teach over 1,000 new anglers young & old how to cast with an emphasis on fly casting whenever practical! Special thanks to EDTU & ACC weekly casting regulars: Steve Gomberg, Bill Wobbekind, Mark Segraves, Bruce Beavis, Marty McFadden, Mike Stegall, Hank Hodges, Greg Mudd, Bill Davis & Jim Brown and our amazing pier maintenance & Nature Fest volunteer team of Dan & April Postelnick, Michael Patterson, Jack Tavenner, Quinn Keenan, Jeff Goad & Pablo Signori!”
Drastic Cuts to Dept. of the Environment and MDNR Budget Proposed by Michigan State House
The Michigan State Legislature has proposed over $200 million in cuts to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and over $53 million to the State DNR and State Parks. The EGLE is responsible for, among other things, protecting Michigan Lakes (including the Great Lakes) from degradation and pollution, and the safety of Michigan's drinking water. The Michigan DNR operates a wonderful State Park system which is at the heart of its tourist industry.
To read the MLive story, click here.
To read the Michigan Environmental Council story click here.
Up-date: Michigan State Government shut down for 1 hour today before the legislature passed an 8 day budget continuation bill.
Fly Fishing Fundamentals - Understanding RIVER Structure
"Reading the water" is a key skill for every fly angler. In this short video, Steve Peach from Peachy Fly Fishing explains the basics of structural elements in the river. Learn more about seams, runs, riffles, pools and tail outs. The new age music and Aussie accent doesn't hurt, either.
Watch the YouTube video here.
October Fly of the Month: Bionic Ant 2.0 by Lance Egan and Pablo Signori
I got into fly fishing about eight years ago, and honestly, I couldn’t have picked a better time. Some folks call this era the “golden age” of fly fishing — and they’re not wrong. The amount of gear, the endless line and rod options, all the niche tools & gadgets you never knew you needed but now can’t live without — it’s all right there at our fishy fingertips. Fly tying is no exception. And let’s be real: the fact that you can jump on YouTube and learn how to tie pretty much anything? It’s a game-changer!
When I first started tying, instead of ordering a stack of books from Dave Hughes and alike, I went straight to YouTube (don’t worry though, that has since changed—love Dave!). Like a lot of you, I ended up binging the Fly Fish Food channel. For anyone unfamiliar, Fly Fish Food is a fly shop, media hub, and YouTube channel out of Utah that’s become one of the most influential voices in modern fly tying. Overtime, not only did I become a fan, but I ended up working with those guys. In the past 4 years, I’ve been lucky to now have become good friends with the gang, including Lance Egan — Lance being my podcast co-host, the Fly Fish Food’s shop manager, an Umpqua signature fly tier, former captain of Fly Fishing Team USA, and one of the sharpest minds in fly design.
He has this way of taking a pattern and refining it — either stripping it down to the essentials or tweaking it to fish even better. One of my personal favorites is his Bionic Ant. Think of it as a tricked-out, high-performance version of the Sailor ant pattern. It’s a fly that produces from late spring straight through fall — and since we’re bucked up to the orange-and-brown season right now, when the terrestrials start disappearing, now’s the perfect time to tie a few.
The Bionic Ant is a great choice when trout are still keyed in on the surface but the natural buffet is running thin.
To give you a better sense of it, I asked Lance to weigh in for our newsletter himself. Straight from the source — here’s what he texted me about his pattern:
The Bionic Ant is one of my top producing flies. It is an effective pattern much of the year, but as summer hatches start to dwindle, terrestrials become increasingly important. The Bionic Ant in its range of sizes and colors is an exceptional option for terrestrial sipping Trout.
A couple of tips for use:
1- While a common tendency is to fish small ant patterns, I suggest going bigger than you think, and only downsize if you’re getting consistent refusals. I most often use size 12. Second most, size 10. Then a distant third in size 14. 16 and smaller only occasionally. With a proper drag free drift, Trout will eagerly accept the plop and silhouette of the Bionic Ant. 2- Speaking of silhouette, one of the key features of this fly is that it creates a smaller imprint on the water than the overall size of the fly. By that I mean only about half of the foam segments are pushing into the waters surface, so the Bionic Ant fishes smaller than it appears. It’s still very buoyant and visible, so don’t hesitate to hang a dropper off the back, or plop it on the surface for a fun reaction strike.
However you fish it, I’m confident you’ll find success and it will become a go-to pattern you’ll always want to have in your fly box.
-Lance Egan
To watch Lance tie the Bionic Ant on Youtube, click here.
On a personal note, while you can tie this pattern in a variety of colors, for me tying it in black with a Coachman brown hackle gives me the most confidence. That black-and-dark-brown/red contrast mirrors the look of carpenter ants—which are ubiquitous in the places I fish.
Hopefully, you’ll find this pattern as deadly as I do. And if not… blame Lance!
Suggested Material List:
Hook: TMC Tiemco 9300 Dry & Wet Hook - 12
Hook (Alternate 1): TMC 100 Dry Fly Hook - 12 - 25 Pack
Hook (Alternate 2): TMC 100BL Barbless Dry Fly Hook - 12
Thread: Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread - 8/0 - Black
Thread (Alternate): Danville Flat Waxed Nylon Thread - 140 Denier - Black
Body (#10, #12): Foam Ant Bodies - X-Large - Black
Body (#12, #14): Foam Ant Bodies - Large - Black
Wing: EP Trigger Point Int'l Fibers - White
Wing (Alternate): Para Post Wing Material - White
Wing (Alternate 2): McFlylon Synthetic Yarn - White
Legs: UNI Flexx - Black
Legs (Alternate): Life-Flex Spandex Material - Black
Dubbing: Kapok Dry Fly Dubbing - Black
Dubbing (Alternate): Wapsi Super Fine Dry Fly Dubbing - Black
Tying Instructions: Bionic Ant 2.0
Step 1
Start your thread just behind the hook eye and lay a smooth base back to the bend. Now wrap back up, stopping with the thread about one hook-eye length behind the eye.
Step 2
Secure the foam body by tying in the white “head” section plus an equal length of black “body” extending past the hook eye. Wrap the thread back in open spirals to bind the foam along the shank, finishing at the hook point.
Step 3
Tie in a short piece of synthetic yarn on top as the wing post/indicator. Placing thread wraps in the middle of the yarn. Now, fold it over, and wrap thread down over the fold so that it lays back and up. Trim yarn slightly longer than the body.
Step 4
Add legs. Tie in one or two strands of fine black rubber on each side so they angle out at about 45°, forming an “X.” Trim them to just under the hook length.
Step 5
Bring the thread to the rear of the wing post. Trim the hackle stem butts at the tip and secure the stem tip with tight thread wraps.
Step 6
Dub a small clump of black dubbing in front of the hackle stem to create a level base for wrapping.
Step 7
Palmer one or two turns of Coachman brown hackle around the center of the fly, between the crossed legs. Secure the stem, then wrap the thread forward to the head and trim the excess stem.
Step 8
Whip finish neatly behind the hook eye. Add a drop of head cement or glue for durability.
Step 9
To help the fly land hook-down and ride lower, trim the hackle fibers flat across the bottom, leaving the side fibers intact.
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