Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited News and … - July.pdfWisconsin Trout Summer 2018 Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited 1423 Storytown Road Oregon, WI 53575 wicouncil.tu.org NONPROFIT

Wisconsin TroutSummer 2018

Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited1423 Storytown RoadOregon, WI 53575wicouncil.tu.org

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 1MADISON, WI

News and Views from Wisconsin Trout Unlimited

By Mike Kuhr, Council Vice Chair and VSP Coordinator

With the recent rise in popularityof TU’s Veterans Service Partner-ship (VSP), many chapters have in-creased efforts to serve our militaryveterans and welcome them into ourTU community. Here in Wisconsin,some of our chapters have beenworking specifically with veteransfor more than a decade.

Our most popular programs in-volved a partnership between TUchapters in Milwaukee (SEWTU),Madison (SWTU) and Green Bay(GBTU) and the Project HealingWaters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) orga-nization. These local chapters havebeen providing fly-fishing instruc-tion to local veterans at VA hospi-tals as part of their recreationaltherapy programs.

According to their mission state-ment, Project Healing Waters FlyFishing, Inc. is dedicated to thephysical and emotional rehabilita-tion of disabled active military ser-

vice personnel and disabledveterans through fly fishing and as-sociated activities including educa-tion and outings.

Over the last year, the PHWFForganization has become morestringent about enforcing a policyasking local volunteers to verify thedisability status of veterans beforeallowing them to participate. Thishas put our volunteers in a difficultposition. If veterans are receivingtreatment at the VA hospital forsome reason, we’ve always wel-comed them to join our fly fishingclasses, regardless of their disabilitystatus. Sometimes we’ve even invit-ed VA staff or a veterans spouse orchildren to participate.

The program leads and volun-teers at each of these three pro-grams – Milwaukee, Madison andGreen Bay -- have made the difficultdecision to cut ties with the PHWFForganization. However, our commit-ment to serving veterans in these lo

See VSP, page 4

WITU chapters committed to serving veteransThree chapters make difficult decision to cut ties with Project Healing Waters.

By Matt Krueger and Mike Kuhr

Even though legislators have leftthe Capitol to focus on in-districtevents through the upcoming electionseason, the WITU Advocacy Commit-tee remains active. The Committee hasoutlined its conservation policy objec-tives for the next year and re-authori-zation of the state’s stewardshipprogram tops the list. Other prioritiesinclude protecting groundwater andsurface water resources, increasing the

trout stamp fee, and fully funding natural resource agencies and critical re-lated programs.

According to Council Chair Linn Beck: “not only do we fight for ourcoldwater resources and the trout, but in the long run, we are fighting for themost important resource that all of us need: water.”

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has protected and providedpublic access to hundreds of miles of trout streams, via streambank ease-ments. This vital program allows WITU to leverage hundreds of thousandsof non-state dollars to restore and improve fishing on these streams, whichdraw out-of-state anglers from all over the country. It is about as good a re-turn on investment as one can find. WITU supports re-authorizing the stew-ardship program at current funding levels.

Protections for groundwater supply have been eliminated in recent years,endangering the supply of vital flow to the spring-fed streams that supporttrout in Wisconsin. Sportfishing is annually a $2 billion industry Wisconsin,and in order for it to remain vital, WITU believes that both periodic reviewand the consideration of cumulative impacts should be allowed for withinthe high-capacity well-permitting process.

Every year, trout anglers pay an extra $10 fee on their fishing license for atrout stamp, and the funds go directly into habitat work that makes fishingbetter. Most anglers happily support paying the fee, particularly as they areaware that funding for natural resources has been reduced in recent years.However, the trout stamp fee has not been raised since 2006. WITU sup-ports a moderate increase to the trout stamp fee, provided it continues to bemanaged in a segregated account that directly funds trout stream habitat im-provements.

WITU has a strong partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natu-ral Resources (DNR). Whether fisheries biologists improving trout habitatin streams, technicians operating heavy equipment to restore a degradedstream, or runoff management specialists working with landowners to mini-mize erosion from uplands, DNR staff do essential work in protecting andrestoring trout streams.

In recent years, funding has been slashed to these critical areas of DNR,and recent heavy equipment sales are making restoration projects more ex-pensive to undertake. WITU supports fully funding biologist and technicianpositions in the Fisheries Bureau, nonpoint source pollution managementspecialists in the Runoff Management Bureau, and review of the heavyequipment sales so that our trout streams can thrive, and Wisconsin can con-tinue to attract more than 335,000 annual angling visitors.

The funding for county conservation departments that work with privatelandowners to reduce polluted runoff to trout streams is at 60 percent ofwhat it was 20 years ago. WITU supports fully funding county conservationdepartments, and the state funds they utilize to implement conservation onprivate lands.

Keep an eye out for upcoming action alerts to find out what you can do topush for these important policies. We’d also recommend inviting your elect-ed officials out to a stream restoration project this summer. It’s a great wayto showcase the work we’re doing while strengthening relationships with de-cision makers.

Wisconsin TU announces policy priorities

A BEAUTIFUL RAINBOW TROUTVeterans from the Milwaukee VA hospital recently participated in SEWTU’s Veterans On The Fly program at Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra.

Mik

e K

uhr

Summer 2018 Page 2Wisconsin Trout

Chairman’s Column

The time is nowBy Linn Beck

Everyone talks about timing intheir lives. Whether it is the righttime, wrong time, bad time, or I re-ally need to make some time. If youhave time to spare to help our wa-ters, our kids and our veterans, wewill always welcome your help.

We've been dealing with many is-sues lately, from mining andCAFO's to high-capacity wells,which all very important environ-mental issues revolving around wa-ter. They are constantly needing ourattention, and we have plans to dealwith these issues. Our membershave done a fantastic amount of ad-vocating for our coldwater resourc-es, but we still need to be vigilantand think of ways to get a head ofthese issues, and not have to be re-active.

One thing that comes to mind iswater monitoring. There are a lot ofteams out there taking flow read-ings, dissolved oxygen, macro inver-tebrate studies and phosphorousnumbers on quite a few of ourstreams, but there are a lot ofstreams that need the same atten-tion.

This recorded data will provide abaseline when discussing such thingsas water withdrawals, or determin-ing sources of contaminates. The in-sect recording will give an indicationof the health of the stream and pro-vide a great baseline. Having goodbaseline data on a section of wateror a watershed could make a differ-ence on a decision that might fur-ther impact that stream orwatershed.

Why am I writing this? Earlierthis spring we were contacted byJake Lemmon, the Eastern AnglerScience Coordinator for TU Na-tional. We are working with Jake todevelop a plan of attack. My hope isthat our chapters can identify watersin their areas that at some point mayneed protection, and we can set up aprogram to get these waters moni-tored and thereby provide someprotection for them. Of course, atsome point there will be an ask forvolunteers to help for the monitor-

ing. I can tell you from experience ittakes about a half hour to do, whichleaves time for fishing if you are go-ing to be at the stream anyway.There will be more to follow on thisas our plan develops.

Another concern coming fromchapter leaders is how do our chap-ters fill important vacancies? Ourchapter leaders make the ask all thetime from their membership to jointhem on their boards, committeesand the chapter activities. This takesme back to right time, wrong time,or possibly making the time to help.

I know a lot of our members haveother obligations. I was in that posi-tion also. I used to sit around andcomplain to my wife about the stateof the streams I fished, what was be-ing done to fix these issues and ofcourse why isn't this being fixed inmy timeline. Hey, I'm human. Thenone day she turned to me and toldme that I should quite complainingabout things and do somethingabout it.

So, I started first with getting to achapter meeting, feeling out the wa-ters. Then after a couple of meet-ings and hearing the issues, Ithought that I could get involvedand try and help on a problem area.Nothing big at first. Just a workdayhere and there. Next thing somemore time freed up and I was askedto sit on the board. You can proba-bly guess what happened fromthere. I became work day chair,vice-president, then president, statecouncil vice-chair and now chair.

I am not saying that this theroute I would like to see all of youtake, but it was funny how I thoughtI didn't have any free time to helpand just by attending a couple ofmeetings I really felt that I couldmake a difference. The best thingabout all this was finally my wifecould sit next to me and not listen tome carry on about what needs to bedone.

There’s no better time than now,so I am asking to please help wher-ever you can to make a difference. Iam sure any time you can give wouldbe greatly appreciated.

COUNCIL CHAIR LINN BECK ENJOYING HIMSELF ON A WESTERN RIVERLinn beck encourages all members to think about how they can offer their skills and abilities to further our mission as dedicated TU members.

Recently a letter from the “Pine Melanchthon Group” was sentto all of the Natural Resource Board members, the Trout Manage-ment Plan Team, DNR Secretary Dan Meyer and biologists in theBureau of Fish Management.

In it was the claim that the 1990 Trout Regulations were the rea-son that trout harvest has declined in Southern Wisconsin troutstreams despite increasing populations of brown trout.

Normally, I would not comment on a letter of this type exceptthat the return address was mine and I neither wrote the letter norwas contacted by the group for permission to use my return ad-dress.

My legal counsel has indicated this could be fraudulent in thatthe author intentionally posed as me to present a position he es-pouses as coming from me. It could be libelous in that it was inten-tional (yes), false (yes) and damaging to my reputation if therewere people that thought it came from me (likely, yes).

At the very least he misappropriated my identity by using my ad-dress to identify me as the sender.

The trout resource in Southern Wisconsin continues to be man-aged by professional biologists who have the best interests of boththe anglers and the resource inmind. There are also almost limit-less opportunities for those whowant to keep fish to do so. I wishthe Pine Melanchthon Groupwould just go fishing instead of us-ing potentially illegal methods inan attempt to get their pointacross.

David VetranoFisheries Biologist (retired)

Letters

On June 4 the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality ap-proved Aquila Resources’ wetland permit for the Back 40 Project withsignificant conditions. The extensive conditions and MDEQ's owncomments have led many to believe this permit did not get approvedby its merits.

In their letter approving the wetland permit MDEQ stated, “Wehave determined that the project as proposed could not be permittedwithout additional supporting documentation because the hydrologicmodeling provided does not define the anticipated impacts to aquaticresources described in the application.”

They continue, “However, based on the United States Environ-mental Protection Agency (USEPA) recommendations, the MDEQcan issue a permit with conditions that require revised groundwaterand wetland modeling to demonstrate existing and future site condi-tions and impacts proposed by the project.”

These conditions, and the conditions on the three other Back 40permits, require a lot of work from Aquila Resources. Many of theseconditions include information that has been requested from AquilaResources for some time and they haven't satisfactory provided therequired information. All of the partners that have been working to-gether to stop this proposal are reviewing the permit details and all ofthe options available next.

You can learn more about the deficiencies in the permit in thepress release from the Upper Peninsula EnvironmentalCoalition, http://savethewildup.org/.

If you want to stay up-to-date on this topic, you can sign up foremail alerts from the River Alliance of Wisconsin, https://www.wis-consinrivers.org/back-forty/—Allison Werner, Wisconsin River Alliance

Back 40 Project receives permit

Split Bamboo Rods New, repairs, restoration, appraisals Rodmaking Tools and Advice

Call or email Scott for details at

920/687-0987 or [email protected]

Scott W. Grady Rodmaker

Page 3 Summer 2018

WISCONSIN TROUTVol. 30, No. 3 — Summer 2018

Wisconsin Trout is the official publication of the Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited and is distributed to the members of Wisconsin’s 21 TU chapters. Non-member subscriptions are $12.50/year. Publication dates are the first weeks of January, April, July and October. Dead-lines for articles and advertisements are the 10th of December, March, June and September. For a current advertising rate sheet, contact the editor.

Photo/article contributions, letters to the editor and advertisements are welcomed. Submit to:

Todd Franklin, Editor1423 Storytown RoadOregon, WI 53575(608) [email protected]

Wisconsin TU Chapters, Presidents, and Websites

Are you getting emails from TU? If you are currently not receiving news and event-related email messages from your chapter, the state council and TU National, then you are truly missing out on what’s happening at all three lev-els. TU National manages the mailing list for the council and chap-ters, so update your address by going to www.tu.org, log in, then go to “Email Preferences.” You can also call 1-800-834-2419 to make these changes, or to ask questions about making the changes via the web site.

Aldo Leopold (#375): Mike Stapleton, W8002 Whitetail Drive, Pardeeville, WI 53954; (608) 742-3665; [email protected]; aldoleopold.tu.org

Antigo (#313): Scott Henricks, 213 Mary St., Antigo, WI 54409-2536 (715) 623-3867; [email protected]

Blackhawk (#390): Dave Brethauer; 17348 W. Gepler Road, Brod-head, WI 53520; (608) 897-4166; [email protected]; www.BlackhawkTU.org

Central Wisconsin (#117): Laura Tucker; N5424 Sunny Hill Rd, Sax-eville, 54976 (920) 622-5401; [email protected]; cwtu.org,

Coulee Region (#278): Dave Krier; 704 Williams St., Viroqua, WI 54665; (612)-417-0652; [email protected]; CouleeRegion-TU.org

Fox Valley (#193): Nate Ratliff, 199 Taylor Street, Little Chute, 54140 (920) 851-0502; [email protected];www.foxvalleytu.org

Frank Hornberg (#624): Matt Salchert, 1800 Minnesota Ave., Ste-vens Point, WI 54481 (715) 321-1394; [email protected];www.Hornberg-TU.org

Green Bay (#083): Staush Gruszynski, 1715 Deckner Ave., Green Bay, 54302 (920) 216-3793; [email protected];greenbaytu.org

Harry & Laura Nohr (#257): Tim Fraley, 2 Pagham Court, Madison, WI 53719; hm:(608) 271-1733; c:(608)220-0762; [email protected]; www.NohrTU.org

Kiap-TU-Wish (#168): Scott Wagner, 1208 Highway 35 N. Hudson, WI 54016; 715-781-6874; [email protected]; kiaptuwish.org

Lakeshore (#423): Myk Hranicka, N2766 Hopeman Heights, Waldo, WI 53093; 920-627-5779; [email protected]; www.Wisconsin-TU.org/Lakeshore

Marinette (#422): Dale Lange, N2095 CTH BB, Marinette, WI; 715-582-1135; [email protected], marinettecounty.tu.org.

Northwoods (#256): Jay N. Joppa; 8570 Oak Park Circle, Minocqua, WI 54548; (715) 499-1022; [email protected]; northwoods.tu.org

Oconto River (#385): Tom Klatt; 1677 Forest Glen Drive Green Bay, WI 54304 (920) 621-9266; [email protected]; ocontorivertu.com

Shaw-Paca (#381): Nate Sipple, 931 E. Fifth St., Shawano, WI 54166; (715) 304-7581; [email protected]; Wisconsin-TU.org/ShawPaca; www.facebook.com/shawpacatu

Southeastern Wisconsin (#078): Todd Durian; 4724 W. Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, 53186; [email protected]; 414-403-5670; SEWTU.org; facebook.com/southeastwisconsintroutunlimited

Southern Wisconsin (#061): Matt Sment; 608-218-4133; [email protected]; P.O. Box 45555, Madison, WI 53744-5555; www.swtu.org

Wild Rivers (#415): Bob Rice 74355 Kaukamo Road, Iron River, WI 54847; (715) 292-1143; [email protected]/wildrivers

Wisconsin Clear Waters (#255): Dick Duplessie, 335 Corydon Road, Eau Claire, WI 54701 (715) 577-5805; [email protected]; WisconsinTU.org/ClearWaters

Wisconsin River Valley (#395): Doug Brown, R4800 Timber Lane, Ringle, WI 54471; [email protected]; 715-899-0024; www.wrvtu.org

Wolf River (#050): Andy Killoren, N1493 Hwy 45, Fremont, WI 54940; (920) 667-5385; [email protected]; WolfriverTU.org

Linn Beck, Chair

Tom Lager, Secretary

Mike Kuhr, Vice Chair

Gary Stoychoff, Treasurer

Douglas Bayfield

Ashland

Iron

Vilas

Forest

Florence

Marinette

Oconto

Langlade

Shawano

Lincoln

Marathon

Taylor

PriceSawyer

Rusk

WashburnBurnett

Polk

Barron

St. Croix

Dunn

Chippewa

Wood

Portage

Waupaca

Outagamie

Waushara WinnebagoCalumet

Manitowoc

Kewaunee

Door

Fond du Lac

Sheboygan

Ozaukee

Washington

Dodge

MilwaukeeWaukeshaJefferson

Racine

Kenosha

WalworthRockGreenLafayette

Grant

Iowa

Dane

ColumbiaSauk

Green

Lake

Marquette

Adams

Juneau

Richland

Crawford

Vernon

MonroeLa Crosse

Jackson

Trempealeau

Buffalo

Pepin

Clark

Eau ClairePierce

Oneida

Brown

Menominee

WILD RIVERS

NORTHWOODS

FOXVALLEY

LAKESHORE

FRANK HORNBERG

WISCONSINRIVER VALLEY

SHAW-PACA

MARINETTE

GREEN BAYANTIGO

OCONTORIVER

SOUTHEASTERNWISCONSIN

BLACKHAWK

SOUTHERN WISCONSIN

HARRY &LAURA NOHR

COULEEREGION

CENTRALWISCONSIN

ALDO LEOPOLD

WI CLEARWATERS

KIAP-TU-WISH

WOLFRIVER

Wisconsin Trout

State Council LeadershipState Chair: Linn Beck, 160 W. 19th Ave., Oshkosh, WI 54902 (920) 216-7408;[email protected] Chair: Mike Kuhr, 6103 Queensway, Monona, WI 53716; (414) 588-4281;[email protected]: Tom Lager, 1700 Spring Hill Ct., Neenah, WI 54956; (920) 540-9194;[email protected]: Gary Stoychoff, 1326 14th Ave., Green Bay, WI 54304 [email protected] Trustee: Henry Koltz, 2300 N. Mayfair Rd., Ste. 1175, Milwaukee, WI 53226 (414) 331-5679 (H); [email protected] Chair, Central Region:Tom Lager, see aboveVice Chair, Northeast Region:Doug Erdmann, 2418 Woodview Lane, Marinette, WI 54143; 715-735-7407; [email protected]

Vice Chair, Southern Region: Jim Wierzba, 2817 Country Club Drive, Mequon, WI 53092 (262) 238-0282; [email protected] Chair, Western Region: Gary Horvath, 623 W. Pine Street, River Falls, WI 54806 (715)425-8489; [email protected]: Bill Heart, 29450 Verners Road, Ashland, WI 54806; (715) 209-0431;[email protected]: Open

Education: Bob Haase, W7949 Treptow Ln., Eldorado, WI 54932 (920) 922-8003 (H);[email protected] of WITU and Watershed Access Fund: Doug Brown, R4800 Timber Ln., Ringle, WI 54471 (715) 899-0024; [email protected] Counsel: OpenLegislative Chair: Henry Koltz Membership: Chair Paul Kruse, 500 Saint Jude St., Green Bay, WI 54303 (920) 639-2361); [email protected]; National Leadership Council Representative: Kim McCarthy, 736 Meadowbrook Ct., Green Bay, WI 54313 (920) 434-3659;[email protected] In the Classroom Coordina-tor: Greg Olson, 16370 Division St., Lakeland MN, 55043; [email protected] Services Partnership Co-ordinator: Mike KuhrWater Resources: Bob Obma, 12870 West Shore Drive, Moun-tain, WI 54149 (715) 276-1170 (H)[email protected]: Brandon Schmalz, 1229 Goss Ave., Menasha, WI 54952; 920-851-8129; [email protected]’s Initiatives: Heidi Oberstadt, 456 Wadleigh St., Stevens Point, WI 54481; 715-573-5104; [email protected]

State Council OfficersExecutive Committee includes officers and vice chairs

Visit the Wisconsin State Council’s web site at wicouncil.tu.org, or find us on Facebook.

Summer 2018Page 4 Wisconsin Trout

VSP, from page 1

cations has remained strong, and all three programs continue to operate under the TU Veterans Service Partnership umbrella.

By running these programs solelythrough our local chapters, we’reable to tailor each program to meetthe needs of the unique patient pop-ulations at the VA hospitals. It alsoallows us to open the programs toall veterans, and not just those withdisabilities.

PHWFF did give our programssome name credibility, and theygenerously supported each pro-gram with annual funding for cer-tain activities. Our chapters seemconfident that they can make up thefunding gap with local donations. Ina re-branding effort, we’ve titled thenew programs Veterans On The Fly.

Wisconsin TU friend Eric Chris-tensen created a catchy logo for ourVeterans On The Fly programs touse. While not required, we’ve of-fered it for use to our chapters thatare teaching veterans to fly fish.SEWTU, SWTU and GBTU haveall adopted the name and logo fortheir programs.

I’ve personally watched the tran-sition in Madison, and the SWTU–Veterans On The Fly program is do-ing great. Aside from the namechange, I don’t think any of the vet-erans noticed a difference in thequality of the program being provid-ed. We have the same great TU vol-unteers, providing the same fly-fishing instruction, and the samewillingness to share their passion forthe outdoors with our veterans.

GBTU leaders Paul Kruse andGary Gillis, SEWTU leader JohnGraba and SWTU leaders SteveDavis and Mike Johnson deserve atremendous amount of credit fornavigating their respective programsthrough a very difficult situation.Our volunteer support has been tre-mendous.

SWTU recently wrapped up aneight-week fly-fishing course whichfeatured trips to places like BlackEarth Creek and Salmo Pond. Theywill start another eight-week coursein July. SEWTU just welcomed 14

new veteran participants by sendingthem on a trip to Rushing WatersFisheries for a day of trout catching.Several SWTU participants madethe trip as well. Literally hundredsof rainbow trout were brought tohand.

GBTU’s Veterans On The Flyprogram has a consistent group ofvets that meet every other week atTight Lines Fly Shop in De Pere.Fly-casting lessons with hula-hooptargets and several trips to local bassand bluegill ponds have been popu-lar so far.

Other chapters have found suc-cess with TU’s Veterans ServicePartnership as well. Last summer,volunteers from Northwoods andthe Wisconsin River Valley chap-ters did some fly tying and fishingwith veterans and their families atCamp American Legion near Mi-nocqua.

This spring the Coulee RegionChapter held a fly-tying class at theVA hospital in Tomah and also puttogether an outing for veterans onthe West Fork of the Kickapoo Riv-er. CRTU’s VSP Coordinator WillLusignan expects even more activi-ties for veterans in the future.

Fox Valley Chapter VSP Coordi-nator Jeff Moureau has been takinga slightly different approach. Heand others from FVTU have spentthe last few months reaching out tothe veteran community at the localVA Clinic, American Legion andFox Valley Technical College. Theirefforts include inviting veterans tovarious chapter activities, fromchapter meetings to fishing outingsto workdays, and they even offeredveterans free admission to their in-credibly popular Cabin Fever Dayevent. The groundwork has beenlaid for another successful VSP pro-gram.

To all those dedicated volunteersand supporters who make our workwith veterans possible, we saluteyou.

To find out more about how youcan help your chapter serve veteransin your community, contact CouncilVSP Coordinator Mike Kuhr [email protected].

Next Council meeting October 6

A PLEASANT DAY OF FISHING IN PALMYRAVeterans from the Milwaukee VA hospital recently participated in SEWTU’s Veterans On The Fly program at Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra.

Mik

e K

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Mik

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PLENTY OF BENT RODS IN PALMYRAVeterans from both the Milwaukee and the Madison VA hospital and volunteers from SWTU & SEWTU enjoyed great fishing together at Rushing Waters in Palmyra. To find out more about how you can help your chapter serve veterans in your community, contact Council VSP Coordinator Mike Kuhr at [email protected].

NEW LOGO FOR VETERAN’S PROGRAMWisconsin TU friend Eric Christensen created a catchy logo for our Veterans On The Fly programs to use. While not required, we’ve offered it for use to our chapters that are teaching veterans to fly fish. SEWTU, SWTU and GBTU have all adopted the name and logo for their programs.

The State Council will hold its fall meeting on Saturday, October 6 in Rhinelander. The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. until about 2 p.m. at the James William Middle School, 915 Acacia Lane.The Council requests that each chapter have at least one member in attendance. If you plan to attend, please inform Council Chair Linn Beck so we can estimate food for lunch, which is always provided at Council meetings.If you have any items to be added to the agenda, please contact Linn Beck. His email address is [email protected].


More than 400 projects improv-ing trout habitat on more than 100miles of streams are now easier forinland anglers to find and fish.

The project locations and detailshave been added to the Departmentof Natural Resources'online T.R.O.U.T. tool, giving an-glers a ready resource to help guidethem to stream segments where fishpopulations and angler access arebenefitting from the projects, saysJoanna Griffin, Department of Nat-ural Resources trout team coordi-nator.

“These projects occur on troutstreams all over the state in inlandbrook trout and brown troutstreams and Lake Superior tributar-ies,” she says. “They would not havebeen possible without the help andsupport from our partners.”

Trout habitat work benefits fish and anglers

Griffin says the projects wereconducted from 2011 through 2016and range from brush removal andaccess to maintenance and larger in-stream habitat improvements.Much of the work is funded throughtrout stamp revenues: anglers fish-ing inland waters for trout are re-quired to buy a $10 inland troutstamp and the resulting revenuesare used to support trout habitatimprovement and habitat mainte-nance projects, and trout popula-tion surveys.

Increasingly, fishing clubs, otherconservation groups and federal,tribal and local entities are playing abigger role in providing funding andlabor. These examples illustrate theimportance of these partnershipsfor fish and anglers, Griffin says:• DNR staff and multiple partners

teamed up in 2015-6 to improvefishing access and wild brownand brook trout populations onthe Upper Kinnickinnic River.

Their efforts resulted in 1,572feet of riprap along two banks,nine lunker covers installed, oneriffle, one plunge pool, 17 rootwads installed, and two cattlecrossings upgraded. Trout stamprevenues and fisheries land fundscovered about one-third of thecost; other partners contributingfunds included the St. CroixConservation Fund, FairmountSantrol, Friends of WisconsinTrout Unlimited, Patagonia, Em-brace A Stream, Carpicide Tour-nament, and Kiap-TU-Wishchapter of Trout Unlimited. Part-ners contributed more than1,200 volunteer hours cuttingand burning trees, removingfence, building lunkers and seed-ing and mulching. Surveys afterproject completion showed thefish numbers more than doubledin the section with habitat work.

• Phase II of the Fall Creek trouthabitat improvement project wascompleted downstream of Coun-ty Highway T in Pepin County infall 2017, stabilizing more than1,700 feet of bank and addingtrout habitat including rootwads, plunge pools, boulder clus-ters and riffles. Financial supportfor this project was provided byPepin County, USDA NaturalResources Conservation Ser-vice, Rock Falls Sportsman'sClub, Durand Sportsman's Club,Clear Waters Chapter of TroutUnlimited and Xcel Energy.Fisheries biologists expect a sim-ilar boost in trout populations towhat habitat improvement workimmediately upstream yielded:recent survey data found a five-fold increase in brook trout overeight inches long.

• A stretch of Buckhorn Creek inSawyer County that was the bedof an old beaver pond has beentransformed, thanks to the ef-forts of DNR staff, the Wild Riv-

More than 100 miles of improved trout habitat added to online T.R.O.U.T. toolPartnerships with fishing clubs, local governments benefit fish and anglers.

By Paul Cunningham, DNR

The Streambank Protection(SBP) Program purchases ease-ments directly from landowners. Inreturn for payment, the landownerallows public fishing and hiking, andDNR management activities alongthe stream corridor on their proper-ty. The easement area is generally66 feet of land from the stream bankon either side of the stream. Ease-ments are perpetual and remain onthe land even if it sold or deeded toan heir. The SBP program has beenpopular with landowners and an-glers. Landowners enjoy the abilityto sell part of their rights in theirproperty and in some cases get as-sistance from the DNR or local con-servation clubs in restoring thestream corridor, while anglers en-joy access to streams that providehigh-quality recreational experienc-es.

As part of the re-tooling of theStreambank Protection Program,the DNR set forth a goal to pur-chase stream bank easements along100 miles of stream. The NaturalResources Board approved this newstrategy in October 2013. Since Juneof 2014, nine Local Implementa-tion Teams have worked with con-

servation partners across the stateto buy easements directly fromlandowners within their focus areas.

To date, the DNR has acquiredstreambank easements from 125landowners along 52.2 miles ofstream at a cost $2.94 million. Weare now more than halfway hometoward accomplishing our 100-milegoal. The ability of the departmentto meet this 100-mile goal is influ-enced by the staffing and effective-ness of the department’s localimplementation teams, our out-reach efforts, coalition building, astreamlined acquisition process, lo-cal real estate market, and ofcourse, funding.

Recent SBP easement acquisi-tions are found in 27 counties acrossthe state, although Crawford, Dane,Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant and Piercecounties hold a larger share of thenew acquisition projects.

Once the easements are pur-chased their specific locations areavailable via the Department’s Pub-lic Access Lands Mapping Applica-tion; Public Access Lands MappingApplication or the Trout Viewer.Bureau of Fisheries Managementstaff have made a couple new en-hancements to the Trout Viewer; weadded habitat project locations and

Streambank Protection Program update

also show county-owned fishingeasements.

I would also like to give a bigthanks to the Southern WisconsinTrout Unlimited Chapter for co-sponsoring the Pecatonica Water-shed Streambank Supper in Janu-ary. It was a great event, and time

well spent visiting with trout streamlandowners discussing conservationoptions for their property.

For more information about theStreambank Protection Programplease visit the DNR’s website athttps://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/StreamBank/

er Chapter of Trout Unlimitedand the Lac Courte OreillesYouth Conservation Corps. Thebed of the beaver dam was re-moved, brush bundles were usedto re-channelize the stream andscour out the 6-10 inches ofmuck that had been covering theold stream bed. Now, nativebrook trout are moving back intothe area and are successfullyspawning.

Such partnerships and anglers'purchase of trout stamps have paidoff over the years: habitat improve-ments have played an importantrole in increasing angler opportuni-ties and the mileage of Class 1 troutstreams from 3,536 miles in 1980 tomore than 5,000 today. To accessthe online tool, search the DNRwebsite at dnr.wi.gov and use thekeyword “trout.”

Source: Wisconsin DNR

Edwin BarnesCharles BarnhillJohn & Susan BleimehlStephen BornAndrew Cook IIRichard DuPlessieAshton HawkStephen HawkBill HeartWalter Heil Jr.Bob HellyerJeff JacksonJohn Kenealy IIILane KistlerBarb & Joe Kruse

Doug MacFarlandCris MeyerCherly & Winston OstrowRon RellatzBob RetkoJames SchoolRobert SelkJohn ShillinglawGary StoychoffGreg VodakDon WagnerDan WisniewskiRobert WymanFred Young

The reliables!We’d like to thank and recognize WITU’s most consistent financial supporters. The following people have made donations to our Friends of Wisconsin TU grant program for at least five consecutive years.


This year’s camp is well on itsway and is experiencing a very excit-ing first. The camp was full to capac-ity by mid-May. I reported at thespring Council meeting that we hadtwo spots open and by the time I re-turned home and opened my com-puter and got into my emails wewere full. A huge “thank you” goesout to the chapters for making thishappen.

There are some changes thisyear. In February at CWTU’s Trout-Fest, Shawn Sullivan said that aftertalking to his crew, all of themagreed that they wanted to be moreinvolved after hearing the stories ofhow much fun it was for the volun-teers at the camp. Everyone work-ing out of the Wild Rose DNRoffice has graciously offered theirtime to help with the various activi-ties and presentations.

Each year the enthusiasm grows.With a major focus of teaching allaspects of fishing, we were able to

work out a couple of conservationopportunities for the camp this year.In working with Shawn, we wereable to build on his conservationtalk and this year’s youth will havethe opportunity to see a TU workday in progress. Students will get tosee the work being done and reallyunderstand why it is being done.

Jim Wierzba of SEWTU and ourSouthern Regional vice president ,has set up the opportunity for theyouth camp attendees to join theWisconsin Conservation Congressas youth delegates and will contactthem all with the opportunity totake their conservation interests onestep farther after completion of thecamp.

We are still in need of some vol-unteers as mentors. Contact WayneParmley at 920-540-2315 or [email protected]. This year’s campshould be very exciting and informa-tive, thanks to all our volunteers.

WITU Youth Camp V shaping up nicely

REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITIES HIGHLIGHT THE TALKS AT THE RECENT TUDARE WESTBY WORKSHOPRegional restoration partnerships and women’s opportunities highlighted the talks at the TUDARE Westby Workshop in early April, and attendees were excited about the ideas they heard and took home. A women’s panel organized by Amy Klusmeier of Southern Wisconsin TU featured (left to right) Klusmeier, Valley Stewardship Network Director Shelley Brenneman, TU’s National Leadership Development Manager Lisa Beranek and Lysianne Unruh, Ice Age Trail Alliance. They brought numerous ideas for developing successful events for women and families.Building on lessons learned from TUDARE, two strong sub-regional partnerships are being built in northeast Wisconsin and central Wisconsin. Kim McCarthy and Tom Lager described those efforts, and Iowa Driftless TU’s Gary Arner reported on a new effort to organize around restoration efforts in northeast Iowa’s Driftless streams. A dinner catered by the Rockton Tavern and featuring their “soon to be world famous” grilled chicken was the featured event Saturday evening. The first Westby Workshop was conducted by TUDARE in 2006. Since then, we’ve trained more than 500 volunteers how to organize and carry out restoration projects.—Duke Welter, TUDARE

There will be a workshop for those who deal with road/stream crossingson October 2–4 at the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville. Those who can benefit from thisworkshop include designers or installers of road-stream crossings, managersof road systems with stream crossings, regulators of municipal or privateroad-stream crossings and private and public partners interested in protect-ing and enhancing stream connectivity

The workshop is $125 per person and includes three days of lunches,snacks and beverages, workshop binder and transportation to field sites.Please enroll by September 14, 2018. Enroll early, as the limit is 40 attend-ees. To enroll, visit https://gifts.tu.org/road-stream-workshop. Twenty Profes-sional Development Hours (PDH’s) are available. Payment can be madewith credit card via the registration link below. Additional information canbe found in the “Learning” tab at https://dnr.wi.gov/topic.Sectors/Transpor-tation.html.

Road-stream crossing workshop Oct 2-4Professionals can learn about inventorying, assessing, designing and constructing proper road-stream crossings.

The Wisconsin Trout Unlimited State Council would like tomake an amendment to our bylaws. We would like to address itemB in Article III Section 2 which reads:

“B. Officers may serve for multiple terms, except that the Chairmay not serve more than two consecutive terms. As provided in theBylaws of Trout Unlimited, the NLC Representative shall serve amaximum of five consecutive one year terms.”

We would like to amend this section to:“B. Officers may serve for multiple terms, except that the Chair

may not serve more than one 3-year term. As provided in the By-laws of Trout Unlimited, the NLC Representative shall serve amaximum of five consecutive one year.”

With this announcement we would like to call a special meetingat the October 6 meeting for this purpose, per Article VI listed be-low:

“These bylaws may be added to, amended or repealed in wholeor in part, by a two-thirds majority vote of the Council members atthe Annual Meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose,provided that notice of the proposed changes has been provided atleast 45 days prior to the meeting.”

Attention Wisconsin TU members

Council requests bylaw amendment

By partnering with conservation groups we protect and enhance quality lake and river fishing. Through our fundraising efforts, we donate to children’s fishing programs, conservation groups such as The River Alliance. We fund boat ramp improvements and work in cooperation with the Fisheries Bureau, Conservation Congress, and the Natural Resources Board.

Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance

Join the fun - wisconsinsmallmouth.com

We’re Celebrating

25 Years


By Bob Haase, WITU Education Chair

The Midwest Outdoor Heritage Education Expo seems to get better ev-ery year. It is well organized, from the coordination with the schools to theevents taking place on the grounds. Every year it seems like they add a fewmore events for the kids to participate in, and everything just seems to flowsmoothly. The only thing that I see that they could improve on is making aprogram like this available for the northern half of the state.

We helped 839 kids tie a fly this year, and many spoke of being able to useit when they go fishing with their dad or grandfather. We provide handoutsshowing how they can take the fly they tied and put it behind a spinning floator small bobber to catch bluegills. We are not trying to make them fly tyers orfly fishers. We are just trying to get them hooked on fishing.

A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers. Some traveled quite a dis-tance and some took vacation to spend the day helping the kids tie flies. This

year’s volunteers included: Jerry Smet, Rand Vander Schaaf, Tom Connelly,Bob Haase, Bill Millonig, Mike San Dretto, Jim Murphy, John Tucker, BobBurke, Dave Ehrenberg, Ira Giese, Linda Lehman, Jarad Sagal, Mike Sta-pleton, Julie Vandenberg, Dave Brethbauer and Bob Asam. The next timeyou see these volunteers, please thank them for their service. These kids willalways remember this day.

This event usually takes place the third Wednesday and Thursday in May.Put those dates on your calendar for next year and make plans to volunteerwith fly tying, or perhaps help us introduce a new activity, such as knot tying.Maybe TU could put together a display showing the work we do on ourstreams, or water monitoring. Maybe we could have a display showing thedifferent kinds of fish we have in Wisconsin waters and have the kids identifythem. We have almost a year to think about the things we can do for nextyear, in addition to the fly tying.

Midwest Outdoor Heritage Expo report

FULL CONCENTRATION REQUIREDAll concentration is on tying the fly. Bill Millonig from the Central Wisconsin Chapter is shown helping this child tie his first fly. It is great to see the expressions on their faces as they tie the fly and you can only imagine the excitement they might have catching a fish on the fly they tied.

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KIDS JUST LOVE THE HANDS-ON ACTIVITIESDave Brethbauer from the Blackhawk Chapter sure had the attention of this student learning to tie his first fly. Hands-on activities like this are very popular with the kids.

FISHING COMMUNITY LOSES TWO IMPORTANT FRIENDSThe fly fishing community in the Driftless Area lost two important friends recently. Brian Schumacher and his wife Janet Veit drowned while fly fishing in Iceland. Relatively new to fly fishing, they took to it quickly and began writing, guiding, supporting TU activities and Reel Recovery, and much more.

Fishing community loses two important friends

New Mexico to provide two trout print tumblers that we used as prizes. They also gave a lot of their time to help others enjoy the outdoors. Janet

was a mentor in several women’s fly-fishing clinics to help new anglers findsuccess on the water. They both were on-the-stream volunteers for the localReel Recovery retreats for men dealing with cancer. The past two years I washappy to have had them both as team members during the Cozad’s Driftless1Fly contest, an event that raises several thousand dollars each year for theCoulee chapter to fund youth outdoor activities. They were talented and funteammates, but more importantly they were great mentors to my teenage sonGavin, who was just learning to fly fish.

We will miss Brian and Janet, but their memory should inspire us all to beas generous as they were with their time, talents and resources.

Memorial donations can be sent to the Win-Cres TU Chapter at 2199Clinton Drive, Winona, Minnesota, 55987. Another option is to help fund aveterinary scholarship in Janet’s name at the University of Minnesota. Dona-tions can be made online at https://crowdfund.umn.edu/VeitScholarship ormailed to Hillside Animal Hospital, W5706 State Hwy 33, LaCrosse, Wiscon-sin 54601.

On May 20 we lost two important friends and members of the fly fishingcommunity. Brian Schumacher and his wife Janet Veit drowned while flyfishing in Iceland. Both were friends of mine and to so many more peoplehere in the La Crosse and La Crescent area of the Driftless.

No matter how you knew Janet and Brian, you loved them. They enjoyedlife and were role models for how to balance work and play. Brian had a suc-cessful career as a histotechnologist at Gundersen Health. My friend Jasonand I would always kid him that histotechnologist was not a real job, and thathe just made that word up. Janet was a beloved veterinarian at Hillside Ani-mal Hospital and was kind and patient with her furry patients, including myown dog. She was compassionate with her patients and their owners, espe-cially when pets were coming to the end of their lives.

I met Brian and Janet about five years ago when they attended the annualCoulee Region TU banquet. Both had just begun fly fishing after attendingTrout Fest in Coon Valley. They loved the outdoors and adding fly fishing totheir hobbies was the next step. The CRTU chapter offered fly casting demosto the Trout Fest attendees and Janet and Brian were eager learners.

Mel Haynor, owner of the Driftless Fly Fishing Company, was another im-portant fishing mentor to Brian. For anyone who knew Brian, it is no surprisethat he put 110 percent into his efforts to become an excellent angler. He wasso successful that he was soon employed as a guide by Mel at his fly shop inPreston. Brian certainly loved catching his own fish, but he had great pride inhelping other anglers find success on the streams in southeast Minnesota. Ofcourse, Janet was also a quick learner with a fly rod and was preparing to joinBrian and Mel as a guide later this summer.

Their outdoor activities took them all over the country, from the SierraNevadas of California to the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire and somany other trout waters in between. Their trip to Iceland was something theyhad planned for a long time, and they spent the last several months preparingall the right gear and tackle to ensure they found fish success. The prepara-tion paid off as Janet landed a 27-inch, six-pound brown on one of their firstoutings in Iceland. My last communication with Janet was about this fish inthe comments of her Instagram account. She exclaimed about this fish,“They fight! Took her to the backing.”

Aside from their personal enjoyment with fly fishing and other outdooractivities, both Janet and Brian gave a lot back to the outdoor community.Brian loved writing articles for Midwest Hunting and Fishing to help othersfind success on the stream and in the field. He was also a key member of theCoulee Kennel Club and enjoyed time with other dog owners. Brian was anactive member of the Win-Cres TU chapter of Minnesota. Brian and Janetwere both very generous with their support of the Coulee Region chapter. Inaddition to attending our chapter banquet, they always donated an amazingraffle/auction prize or two. Last year they gave us an incredible bottle ofsmall batch rye whiskey. This year, Brian tracked down a talented potter in


The America’s Most Endan-gered Rivers report is one of thebest-known and longest-lived an-nual reports in the environmentalmovement. Each year since 1984,grassroots river conservationistshave teamed up with AmericanRivers to use the report to savetheir local rivers, consistently scor-ing policy successes that benefitthese rivers and the communitiesthrough which they flow.

American Rivers reviews nomi-nations for the America’s MostEndangered Rivers report fromriver groups and concerned citi-zens across the country. Rivers areselected based upon the followingcriteria:

• A major decision (that thepublic can help influence) in thecoming year on the proposed ac-tion

• The significance of the riverto human and natural communi-ties

• The magnitude of the threatto the river and associated com-munities, especially in light of achanging climate.

The report highlights 10 riverswhose fate will be decided in thecoming year, and encourages deci-sion-makers to do the right thing

for the rivers and the communitiesthey support. The report is not alist of the nation’s “worst” or mostpolluted rivers, but rather it high-lights rivers confronted by criticaldecisions that will determine theirfuture. The report presents alter-natives to proposals that woulddamage rivers, identifies thosewho make the crucial decisions,and points out opportunities forthe public to take action on behalfof each listed river.

Rivers American Rivers pro-tects wild rivers, restores damagedrivers, and conserves clean waterfor people and nature. Since 1973,American Rivers has protectedand restored more than 150,000miles of rivers through advocacyefforts, on-the-ground projects,and an annual America’s MostEndangered Rivers campaign.Headquartered in Washington,D.C., American Rivers has officesacross the country and more than275,000 members, supporters andvolunteers. Rivers connect us toeach other, nature and future gen-erations. Find your connections atAmericanRivers.org, Face-book.com/AmericanRivers, andTwitter.com/AmericanRivers.

Source: American Rivers

The group American Rivershas included the KinnickinnicRiver in its annual list of 10 mostendangered rivers in the U.S.,based on factors such as majordecisions (that the public canhelp influence) in the comingyear, the significance of the riverto human and natural communi-ties and the magnitude of thethreat to the river and associatedcommunities, especially in lightof a changing climate.

The Kinnickinnic River (the“Kinni”) is an Outstanding Re-source Water and one of the besttrout streams in the Midwest.Two dams disrupt a full mile ofthe Kinni in the heart of RiverFalls, Wisconsin, destroying habi-tat and warming the river bymore than 4.5 degrees Fahren-heit.

Removing these dams wouldrevitalize and restore the LowerKinni’s coldwater habitat, resur-rect an entire mile of this world-class stream and fully restore thehistoric Junction Falls waterfallin the heart of the city. The Cityof River Falls must remove thesedams before the river deterio-rates under another 20 or moreyears of hydropower operation.

The Kinnickinnic River is thelast major tributary to the Wildand Scenic St. Croix River beforeits confluence with the Mississip-pi River. The Lower Kinni dropsmore than 70 feet through a deepgorge. The Kinni is an extremelypopular kayaking and trout fish-ing destination, drawing peoplefrom across Wisconsin and theMidwest to recreate on the free-flowing sections of the river.

This river anchors the localcommunity’s identity as the Cityof River Falls and is also home tothree endangered mussel species:Higgins eye pearlymussel, spec-taclecase mussel and snuffboxmussel.

The threatTwo dams disrupt a full mile

of the Kinnickinnic in the heartof River Falls, which in the ab-sence of the dams would featurea beautiful drop of cascades andwaterfalls. The Upper Dam de-stroys the falls, diverting all ofthe water from the Kinni’s bankswhere the dry ledges of the wa-terfall sit today. The two dams onthe Kinni support an outdatedhydroelectric facility that causesfluctuations in flow, increases inwater temperature, and directlyimpacts trout, macroinvert-ebrates, mussels and other wild-life.

The hydroelectric facility cur-rently produces less than 2 per-cent (0.375 MW) of theelectricity for the City of RiverFalls with a population of 15,000.The power could easily be re-placed with conservation and ef-ficiency measures. These damsdo not provide recreation oppor-tunities, flood control, irrigation,water storage, water supply,drinking water, navigation, quali-ty fish habitat or aesthetic ap-peal. Further, the damscompound the impacts of in-creasing development and agri-cultural groundwater depletion

throughout the watershed.Dam operations cause signifi-

cant flow fluctuations in theLower Kinni that stress vital re-productive sites for macroinver-tebrates and trout. There is also awell-documented annual warm-ing trend of the Kinni recordedsince 1992, and the Lower Kinniis 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmerdownstream of the dams thanabove the dams, which is a resultof thermal pollution from the im-poundments.

The combination of broaderclimate trends in warming andwarming caused directly by thedams, presents an alarmingthreat to the sustainable futureof the river.

The future of the Kinni is un-certain because the City of RiverFalls is considering relicensingthis hydroelectric facility with theFederal Energy Regulatory Com-mission (FERC) for continuedoperation of the Upper Damthrough the year 2040.

The City Council passed anon-binding resolution on Febru-ary 27, 2018, establishing a policyframework that acknowledgesthe fact that both dams should beremoved from the Kinni. Howev-er, their current plan is to re-move the Lower Dam in 2023and postpone the removal of theUpper Dam until a target date of2040. This more than 20-year de-lay in the complete restoration ofthe Kinnickinnic River is unac-ceptable.

What must be doneThe Kinnickinnic River dams

must be removed in order toachieve the Wisconsin Depart-ment of Natural Resources’(DNR) goal of providing optimaltemperatures for coldwater trouthabitat in the Lower Kinni. In1998, Wisconsin DNR’s Kinnick-innic River Priority WatershedReport concluded that, “In orderto achieve this long-term goal itwould likely be necessary to alter,modify or remove the Kinnick-innic River impoundments inRiver Falls.”

If the dam relicensing movesforward, it will be more than 40years until potential restorationfrom the time of this report.

The time to restore the Kinn-ickinnic River is now. We cannotwait another 20 or more years torestore this special place and ex-pect that the quality habitat thatexists outside of the impound-ments today will be attainable inthe future. The City Council ofRiver Falls must vote to removeboth of these dams now beforethis opportunity passes by. Split-ting the restoration of the Kinn-ickinnic River through damremoval into two projects, sepa-rated by two decades, will allowthe continued degradation of thisbeautiful river and miss an amaz-ing opportunity for our commu-nity to restore this river now.

The removal of these damswill restore a full mile of theKinnickinnic’s most scenic ter-rain, and is key to the preserva-tion of the coldwater resourcethat is the Lower Kinni. Thisproject would restore urban trout

Kinni included on endangered rivers listSelection based on factors including major decisions that the public can influence.

About the America’s Most Endangered Rivers report

stream habitat, provide whitewa-ter and recreational kayaking op-portunities, reveal the majesticJunction Falls Waterfall, and helppave the way for future river res-toration projects.

--Source: American Rivers

NOTE: The Kiap-TU-WishChapter has been actively in-volved in efforts to remove thesedams. If you’d like more informa-tion on how you can help, contactGary Horvath. His contact infor-mation is on page 3.


Wisconsin State Council AwardsResource Award of MeritRecipient can be a person, corporation or organization and may be a nonmember. Award can be presented posthumously.Award is given for outstanding contributions to conservation (does not need to be given for trout or salmon contributions).

Gold Trout Award for ServiceRecipient must be a member in good standing of Wisconsin TU.Award will be presented to any person who has been an officer of the State Council, a national director, or any committee chairperson.This individual must have served at least one year of his or her term.

Silver Trout Award for Chapter MeritRecipient must be a WITU chapter that has restored, enhanced, or protected Wisconsin’s trout or salmon resource. The end result of the project must demonstrate a long-term commitment or benefit to the trout or salmon resource.The total value of the project, including the value placed on man-hours and materials, must total at least $3,500.The project must involve trout and salmon resources available to the public to fish. Projects for private use only do not qualify.

Gold Net AwardRecipient must be an individual who has been a member in good standing of WITU for a period of at least five years.Recipient must have participated in at least one major state or chapter fundraising event in the last five years.Recipient must have worked on or attended at least five TU resource projects in the last five years.

Joan and Lee Wulff Award for Outstanding Conservation LeadershipRecipient to be an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service in the field of conservation. WITU’s Executive Committee will choose the

recipient. The traveling award, a framed collection of flies tied by Lee Wulff, remains with the recipient for one year.

Robert Hunt Resource Professional AwardRecipient must be a state fish manager or other conservation professional who has shown concern for the trout resource over and above his or her normal duties.

Corporate Sponsor AwardRecipient must be a business or corporation that has shown outstanding support of the State Council through financial contributions or by providing other support for TU’s activities.

Certificate of AppreciationRecipient can be a member of Wisconsin TU or be someone indirectly related to the trout and salmon resource. Recipient can be someone in an organization for his or her efforts within that organization.

Tomorrow’s Angler AwardIndividuals who have significantly contributed to youth education.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Jeffrey Carlson Leadership AwardRecipient must be a WITU member who, following the example of Jeff’s work over many years on coaster brook trout restoration, has taken a leadership role on a major stream project, or preserved or restored a species in a body of water.

Unsung Valuable Trouter

Reel Partner Award

The Wisconsin State Council of TU believes itis important to recognize the outstanding effortsof our members and the broader conservationcommunity, and we have been presenting a num-ber of awards since 1983.

We are currently seeking nominations forawards to be presented in February at the annualmeeting and banquet in Oshkosh. We rely on you,our members and leaders, to let us know about

those who deserve special recognition. So pleasetake time nominate individuals, groups or othersyou feel qualify for one of our awards.

Please submit your nominations, including ashort narrative, to Awards Committee Chair ToddFranklin by December 10, 2018. Please contactTodd if you have any questions. His email addressis [email protected] and his othercontact information is on page 2.

The awards committee also includes BillHeart, Mike Kuhr and Henry Koltz. We welcomeadditional members to this committee, so pleaseconsider it. It takes very little time, and is one ofthe most rewarding things we do for TU: recog-nizing those members, chapters, groups, business-es and professionals that support our mission.

Nominations sought for 2019 State Council awards

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

William Shakespeare

Remember TU as Part of Your Legacy

Have you considered making Trout Unlimited part of your legacy? For loyal TU members, making a bequest to TU in your will or trust is a wonderful way to continue supporting clean water and healthy trout populations. Help assure that TU is able to continue its good work now and into the future.

Should you decide that TU is worthy of a legacy bequest, be sure to specify in your will or trust if the bequest is intended to benefit National TU, the State Council or your local chapter.

Thank you for considering Trout Unlimited in your estate planning.

Our youth fishing camp is in need of some items, such as waders and wading boots of all sizes. They don’t need to be new. We can repair them. They just need enough life to inspire a youngster.We could also use rods, reels, flies, lures and nets for the fishing outings and other small items that can be given away as prizes.Cash donations would also be greatly appreciated.You can mail any items or donations to me, Linn Beck at 160 W. 19th Ave., Oshkosh, WI 54902. Thank you for considering this and thank you in advance for your donations.

Items needed for Youth Camp

Donate to Council via Thrivent Lutheran Financial

If you are a TU member and have investments withThrivent Lutheran Financial, you may have the ability tomake charitable donations to groups of your choosingthrough Thrivent Financial’s Thrivent Choice program.

The Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited is now alisted entity within the Thrivent Choice program.

If you are a Thrivent member and have the ability tomake Thrivent Choice donations, we would be honored ifyou’d consider including the Wisconsin Council of TUwithin your charitable planning, and making a donationto our cause.


By John Motoviloff

Since first fishing Bear Creeknear La Farge when I moved toWisconsin in the early 1990s—flush-ing the smell of wild mint as Istalked the stream’s wary browns—Iknew this was the start of some-thing. What I didn’t realize then washow big this thing was, and that itwould shapeshift like the bends somany other spring creeks and turnfrom an infatuation into an abidinglove and from a hobby to my currentjob recruiting new hunters and an-glers for the National Wild TurkeyFederation. More on that later

On Friday evening May 18, I washelping teach a class called Fish forDinner at DriftlessFolk School outsideLa Farge and withgreat angling com-panions includingTheresa Stabo, DNRR3 Coordinator andFishing for Dinner’screator; Dave Vetra-no, retired DNRfisheries biologist(and synonymouswith Driftless wildtrout restoration);Duke Welter, for-mer Wisconsin TUchair and current TUDARE Coordinator;plus, TU volunteersBruce Ristow andDale Jonson of theCoulee Chapter.

It had been a longevening of learningas I watched from my sleeping quar-ters on the porch of the instructor’scabin.

Twelve adult students plus a fa-ther-daughter pair settled down forthe night in their tents. Spring peep-ers called from the wet meadowflanking Middle Bear Creek below,and lights in the tents glowed likeJapanese lanterns. As these flick-ered out I remembered a detailfrom my nature-starved childhoodin New Jersey some 40 years ago—how my pet toads glowed ever sobriefly when I fed them fireflies andjust how happy this made me.

Sleep was still in my eyes Satur-day morning as sun filtered throughthe white pine canopy that shadedthe folk school. I joined Theresa,her husband and former DNR em-ployee Jeff Schimpf and my coun-terpart from Pheasants Forever,

Marty Moses, in preparing coffeeand a hearty breakfast.

Soon trout camp was abuzz withstream names: Otter, Camp, Jug,Kickapoo, Warner, Weister, Bill-ings, Bishop’s Branch. Duke, Bruce,Dale, Jeff, Marty and I gatheredwith our mentees. Bruce was so con-fident, and secretive, about thestream where he was taking men-tees that he renamed it the Streamof Instant Gratification.

The groups departed around 8a.m., with the skies still slightlyovercast, and were to return tocamp around 3 p.m. I took AnnikaMerksman and Marcus Gardner, acouple who lives on an organic farmnear Newton, to Bishop’s Branch

where they prac-ticed skills learnedin class: readingwater, knot tying,stalking, fish ID.Neither Marcusnor Annika hadmuch angling expe-rience, but theycaught brown troutthat helped providefor the night’s din-ner. Interestingly,Bishop’s Branchwas one of the res-toration successstories Dave hadtalked about in hispresentation.

Mentor-menteeparties began totrickle back tocamp. Like return-ing anglers to any

trout camp, they shared beveragesand stories. Some had fishedworms, other fished spinners. Oth-ers, still, flies. While good-naturedcompetition is the rule in manyhunting and angling camps, withparticipants jostling for the biggestbuck or the fish, cooperation wasthe rule here. Everyone helpedclean fish; everyone helped cook;everyone washed dishes.

Duke fried fillets for his famousParmesan-Crusted Trout. I dredgedwhole fish for one of my specialties,Simple Fried Trout. Theresa cookedon soaked cedar planks as Dalegrilled his mentees’ catch over awood fire. Now, I am veteran of ma-ny camps, from deer to duck andsquirrel to salmon. And they havealways been, without exception,high points of the years they oc-curred.

Returning to Bear Creek: full circle for the future“Fishing for Dinner” program provides memories, fishing lessons and a tasty trout dinner.

FILLET MASTER WELTER PREPARES FRESH TROUTTUDARE’s Duke Welter prepares trout filets for his parmesan crusted trout filets. Welter helped out at the recent “Fishing for Dinner” program, which introduces people to the joys of catching and eating fresh fish.

TASTY TROUT Attendees at the recent “Fishing for Dinner” program enjoyed a variety of trout preparations, including grilled trout, fire-cooked trout, pan-fried trout and more.

Simple fried trout

While there are fancier waysto cook your catch, few are asgood or dependable.• 1 gutted trout per person• Equal parts flour and corn-

meal for dredging• Cajun or Old Bay seasoning• Equal parts butter and peanut

oil.

Begin by making sure the allthe inside matter and blood arescraped away from the trout. Re-move gills. Rinse under cold wa-ter and pat dry inside and out.

Season fish inside and outwith seasoning of choice.

Mix cornmeal and flour to-gether in baking dish; add sea-soning to taste. Mix throughout.

Dredge fish in mixture.Heat skillet until it begins to

gray over. Add butter and oil.Fry fish to golden brown on

one side, about 5 minutes. Re-peat on other side.

Remove to warm platter.Serve with lemon wedges.

Parmesan crusted trout filets

These filets are perfect forappetizers after a good day offishing. • 1 trout per person, 10-13

inches• Cracker crumbs, ¼ c. per fish• Grated parmesan cheese, 1/

8-1/4 c. per fish• Salt & Pepper• (Optional) seasoned salt or

Cajun spice mixOlive oil &butter

Kill trout promptly after youdecide to keep it. Examinestomach contents to see whatit’s been feeding on. Fillet andtrim off ribs and fins, leavingskin intact. Cut into 1 ½ inchchunks. In plastic bag or othercontainer, mix cracker crumbs,parmesan and spices. Heat oil& butter in pan to medium-hot.Shake trout chunks in breadingmix and cook in hot pan untilgolden brown. Serve with crack-ers, lemon and libation of yourchoice.

But, as I reflected on own jour-ney, from first fishing these creeksdecades ago, to taking friends andfamily to enjoy them in intercedingyears, to building a cabin here, tobeing inspired to write four books(Driftless Stories, Fly Fisher’s Guideto Wisconsin and Iowa, and twocookbooks) to working now leadingconservation-skills classes, the joy Ifelt here was different. It wasn’trunning my own race, but rathertaking part in a relay with other run-

ners.It doesn’t matter that these other

runners may wear one kind of shoesor shorts, or fish with one type ofgear instead of another. And itdoesn’t really matter whether an an-gler decides to practice catch andrelease or keep an occasional fishfor dinner.

What matters is that there arerunners to take the baton, that therace continues, and that we’re all onthe same team.

Neither Marcus nor Annika had

much angling experience,

but they caught brown

trout that helped

provide for the night’s dinner.


By Tim Waters and Laurie Zen Netzow

The Wolf River in LangladeCounty, designated as an Outstand-ing Resource Water, located in East-ern Langlade County is a specialplace. Undeveloped forests stretchfor miles along a free-flowing wildriver and serenity permeates thevery air. Bears lumber through thewoods, searching for food. Turkeysstrut, dance and gobble in the field,and eagles soar high above the tallhemlocks that line the winding river.

The great attraction of the area isthe peace and quiet. People travelhundreds of miles to enjoy the quietsports like hiking, kayaking, canoe-ing, mountain biking, rafting andfishing. The Wolf River is the largestfree-stone river in the midwest thatstill holds trout.

Forces have been pushing “prog-ress” for the better part of a century.From the loggers of the 1870's “im-proving” the Wolf by building damsand blasting boulders to the wellknown Crandon Mine proposal atthe headwaters of the Wolf, man hascontinually jeopardized the naturalbeauty of eastern Langlade County.

The Upper Wolf River StateFishery Area (UWRSFA) along theriver provide public access. Theselands were purchased by the DNRstarting in 1967 to protect themfrom development. There is a move-ment in the county by ATV clubsand the DNR to open part of the ar-ea to motorized vehicles, namelyATVs/UTVs. Snowmobiles were in-cluded as an allowed recreationalactivity on trails in the UWRSFAfrom the beginning.

Snowmobiles are unique in thatthey are only used in the wintermonths on frozen snow coveredground. During Spring, Summer andFall there is no evidence of theirprevious use as when the snow meltsand the ground thaws the tracks dis-appear.

ATVs/UTVs however leave per-

manent scarring to the trails theyride on and unfortunately, they arenot policed as closely as they need tobe because they do go on trails thatare closed to them and sometimeseven travel off the trail for more ex-citement or just because that is whatthose types of vehicles are designedto do.

The old railroad grade north ofHighway 64 to Lily is a perfect ex-ample of this. It has a section of trailclosed to ATVs/UTVs. It is open tosnowmobiles, mountain bikers andhikers. It travels alongside the WolfRiver and crosses the river on an oldrailroad trestle bridge near themouth of Ninemile Creek then con-tinues on up to Lily.

There is documented evidencethat the ATVs/UTVs are already us-ing this trail illegally scarring theearth by ripping up the trail, poten-tially adding silt runoff into the riverand ruining the enjoyment of legalusers with the roar of four wheelerengines among other issues such asrunning legal users off the trail.There is very little enforcement nowof the ATV laws and regulations.

The proposed Wisconsin DNRamendment change to the 1979 Up-per Wolf River State Fishery AreaMaster Plan to allow a bridge to bebuilt for ATV/UTV, snowmobilesand pedestrians to cross the rivernear the intersection of Highways64/55 and a connecter trail to gothrough the Langlade Ranger (un-manned) Station to join trail systemsin Langlade County and OcontoCounty needs to be stopped now.

To read the proposed amend-ment go to dnr.wi.gov and searchproperty planning and look for Up-per Wolf River State Fishery Area.

Please help to protect the WolfRiver from ATV/UTV use by fillingout the public input survey beforeJuly 10, 2018, before permanentdamage is done.

The ATV/UTV user should trail-er their vehicles from trail to trailjust as boat owners trailer from laketo lake. A bridge should be built forsnowmobiles and pedestrians only,for safety, which would not requirean amendment change.

Also please take into accountthat there already is an ATV bridgecrossing the Wolf River at CountyRoad A in Pearson that is advertisedby the ATV clubs as having access toWhite Lake, Pearson, Pickerel andall other trails in the system.

A bridge at Highways 64/55 inter-section will potentially overrun theTown of Wolf River with ATV traf-fic. From the East in Oconto Coun-ty, the proposed trail to connect withthe bridge will go through a residen-tial neighborhood as does the trailfrom the West. This will undoubt-ably change the character of the ar-ea between the roar of their enginesand dust rolling across Highways 64and 55.

Silent sports folks, who use thisarea where the proposed bridge andtrail are to be placed, will begin orend their experience to the din ofATV/UTV engines and dust filledair. Fun for the ATVer, but not somuch for others trying to enjoy thearea fishing, canoeing, kayaking,rafting and tubing. Sound travels along way over water so the roar ofATVs/UTVs will extend well beyondthe borders of the unmanned DNRLanglade Ranger Station. Of

course, it will allow the people togain access to the taverns alongHighway 55 from White Lake viatheir ATVs/UTVs. This is not a val-id reason to amend the recreationportion of the UWRSFA MasterPlan.

Other areas that have more in-tensive ATV traffic such as theHighway 32 corridor in OcontoCounty will make people think twiceabout allowing ATVs anywhere nearthe Wolf River. If you travel by caron Highway 32 be prepared to washyour car because you will feel likeyou have been through a dust stormin Oklahoma in the 1930s. The dustrolls across Highway 32 from theATV/UTV trail from south of

Mountain to well past Townsend,lowering visibility for car traffic andforcing windows closed from thedust.

Please help to protect the WolfRiver, as many have done before us,by voicing your opinion to stop theWI DNR from amending the Mas-ter Plan for the Upper Wolf RiverState Fishery Area to allow ATV/UTV as an allowed recreational ac-tivity. If history repeats itself, and itcertainly does, the ATV clubs willnot stop requesting more and moretrails further destroying a beautiful,wild river full of trout and smallmouth bass.

GUEST EDITORIAL

ATV bridge planned over Wolf RiverMaster Plan Amendment proposed for the Upper Wolf River State Fishery Area to allow ATV/UTV use.

5,000That’s how many trout enthusiasts receive a copy of Wisconsin Trout.

Plus, copies are distributed at various TU events, fly shops, sporting goods stores and beyond.

Advertise in Wisconsin Trout:Four issues a year.

1/8-page ad for an entire year, as little as $180.1/4-page ad for an entire year, as little as $3601/2-page ad for an entire year, as little as $633.50Full-page ad for an entire year, as little as $1,188

Contact Todd Franklin at [email protected].

Elevate your fly fishing to a newlevel. The Original BlueSkyFurled Leader. Sizes for all fish &fishing conditions. BlueSky - theleader in furled leaders.TM

[email protected] • Ph/Fax 920-822-5396

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Jason Anderson Mukwonago WIEdwin Barnes MiddletonWICharles Barnhill MadisonWIJim Bayorgeon AppletonWIJolene Berg Chippewa Falls WIJohn and Susan Bleimehl VeronaWIStephen Born MadisonWIAllon Bostwick Port Washington WIMaxwell Burgert Neenah WIRick Christopherson NorwalkWIAndrew Cook II Sister BayWIBruce Davidson WauwatosaWIMike Duren Mazomanie WIEd Eggers Genoa WIJim Flesch Fox Point, WIJerome Fox Two Rivers WID. James Fruit Jr. Hartland WIScott Geboy Fox Point WIDan Geddes Appleton WIJohn Gribb Mount Horeb WIGordon Grieshaber Mineral Point WIDean Hagness MD Custer WIAshton & Stephen Hawk Madison WIWilliam Heart Ashland WIBrian Hegge Rhinelander WIWally Heil De PereWIBob Hellyer Boulder JunctionWIWalter Hellyer Egg Harbor WICharles Hodulik Madison WIJeff Jackson Oconto FallsWICharles Jorgenson Oconomowoc WIJohn Kenealy III Waukesha WILane Kistler MilwaukeeWIRalph Klassy Phillips WIMark Kraft Madison WIBarb and Joe Kruse LaCrosse WIJoseph Kubale Dane WIThomas Lukas Manitowoc WIThomas and Larissa Lyon Janesville WIDouglas MacFarland DousmanWIBrian Madsen Ellsworth WIAnna Magnin MarshfieldWIKevin Mahaney Middleton WIKim McCarthy Green Bay WIAustin McGuan Green Bay WI

David Menke Bristol WICris Meyer Middleton WISteven Miller Sun Prairie WISteve Musser Middleton WIHerb Oechler Wauwatosa WICheryl and Winston Ostrow De PereWIDonald Persons Janesville WIRandall Rake Helena MTRon Rellatz MertonWIBob Retko Cedarburg WIThomas Rogers Princeton WITom Ryan Whitefish Bay WIMichael San Dretto Neenah WILisa and Todd Scheel St. Germain WIJeff and Mary Schmoeger Cot. GroveWIJames Schommer Lodi WIJames School KaukaunaWIJim and Marie Seder New Berlin WIRobert Selk Madison WIJohn Shillinglaw MadisonWIGeorge Shinners Antigo WIBrent Sittlow HudsonWIMichael Staggs Poynette WIMike Stary New Richmond WIGary Stoychoff Green Bay WIRick Szymialis Waupaca WIJulie & Todd Templen Dubuque IADonald Thompson Cumberland WIChuck Urban Wauwatosa WIDennis, Becky Vanden Bloomen E.Claire Eric Van Vugt Milwaukee WI

Greg Vodak Stoughton WIKen Voight Sugar Grove ILDon Wagner GillettWIDenis Wandtke Ogdensburg WIStephen Wilke MarinetteWIPaul Williams Madison WIDan Wisniewski Middleton WINancy and Roland Woodruff OshkoshWINorb Wozniak Stevens Point WIRobert Wyman Beaver Dam WIFrederic Young RoscoeIL

TROUT UNLIMITED CHAPTERSKiap-TU-Wish TU ChapterAntigo ChapterSEWTU Chapter

In Memory of Mike Rands.Donation from Tom and Nan Siebert

Special Thanks to Todd Hanson for the donation from the sale of his books.

Name

Address

City, State Zip Phone #

MAIL TO: Friends of Wisconsin TU% Doug BrownR4800 Timber Lane

Yes, I want to join the “Friends” of Wisconsin TU.

Ringle, WI 54471

Enclosed is my check, payable to Wisconsin Trout Unlimited.

Providing habitat improvement grants since 1991. The latest projects are...

$2,000 to Wis. Clearwaters Chapter for Waumandee Creek in 2015

$2,000 to Wild Rivers for White River in Ashland County in 2015

$2,000 to SEWTU for Little Willow Creek in Richland County in 2016

$2,000 to Harry & Laura Nohr Chapter for Pompey Pillar, 2016

$2,000 to the Northwoods Chapter for habitat crews in 2015

$2,000 to Marinette and $1,500 to Wolf River for NE Region work in 2015$2,000 to Wisconsin River Val-

ley for Prairie River Project in Lincoln County in 2015

Here are ourFriends of Wisconsin TU

The 2018 fundraising campaign is in fullswing and the immediate response is always im-pressive. It looks to be another great year raisingmoney for so many projects across this state tohelp improve our coldwater resources. The 2017campaign closed with more than $20,000 in do-nations.

In May the State Council approved threeFriends grants, including one to support a Wis-consin Clear Waters Chapter habitat project on1,500 feet of Hay Creek in Chippewa County.Hay Creek is an important coldwater feeder toDuncan Creek. Funding to the Harry & LauraNohr Chapter will be used on multiple projects,

most notably on the Blue River and Six MileBranch. The Fox Valley Chapter will use itsgrant to help fund a DNR habitat crew that willwork on the White River, West Branch WhiteRiver, Bird Creek and portions within the PineRiver watershed.

In February, the Council approved Friendsgrants for the Fox Valley, Antigo and Wild Riv-ers chapters.

I hope you all get out this season and enjoysome of our fine coldwater streams.

Doug Brown, ChairmanFriends of Wisconsin TU

Summer 2018 Friends of Wisconsin Trout Update

$2,000 to the Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter for the Upper Kinni in 2014 $2,000 to Green Bay Chapter for a

habitat crew 2015

Friends grants support DNR LTE crews like this one with Doug Weber, Kyle Siebers, DJ Loken.


STOP AQUATIC HITCHHIKERS!Prevent the spread of invasive species. It’s the Law!

Help protect our fishing areas

erc.cals.wisc.edu

WADER

CLEANING STATION

Take these steps BEFORE and AFTER visiting the river to stop INVASIVE SPECIES that could be hitchhiking on your gear.

For more information, contact the River Alliance

of Wisconsin at (608) 257-2424 or visit

www.wisconsinrivers.org

If you have fished out-of-state or in invasive-species-infested waters within the past five days, further decontamination of gear may be necessary.

Use the long-handled brush to scrub off any remaining mud and debris from your waders and boots.

Use the three-sided boot brush below to remove mud and debris from your boots.

Drain all water from your waders, boots and gear.1

2

3

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APAN

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HOP

SIN

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– N

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EALA

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David Eagan

Paul Skawinski

Photo Credit?????

Photo Credit?????

DIRTY WADERS AND BOOTS SPREAD

THESE INVASIVE SPECIES AND MORE!

By Natalie Dutack,River Alliance of Wisconsin

Summer Greetings from RiverAlliance. With the spread of NewZealand Mudsnail (NZMS) intotwo more southern Wisconsinstreams, this brings the statewidetotal to four creeks: Black Earth(2013), Badger Mill (2016), Row-an (2017), and Mount Vernon(2017).

If you have been following theNZMS story you know that this ti-ny, rapidly reproducing invasivecan outcompete native speciesthat serve as food for fish andchange the nutrient flows instreams. Coming in at only 4-6 mmin length, it can be very hard to de-tect and therefore easily spread byrecreational water users. Thismeans paddlers and anglers needto be vigilant to help prevent thefurther spread of NZMS.

We already have some greattools in our NZMS prevention kit.Implementing clean angling prac-tices is still critical. Anglers shouldinspect all fishing equipment pre-and post-trip and remove anyplant/animal debris before leavingthe site; then drain all gear and dryfor up 26 days before the next trip.

Scrub boots and waders with aboot brush or soak in 120°F water.If possible, disinfect equipmentwith bleach (2 tablespoons ofbleach per gallon of water). In ad-dition, it is strongly recommended

to switch to rubber soled waders,as felt waders can harbor aquaticinvasive hitchhikers. Otherwise,consider investing in a separate setof waders for use in NZMS-infest-ed streams.

Continued installation of waderwash stations is another greatmethod of prevention. Signagehelps promote NZMS educationand outreach and each stationcomes with both a 3-headed bootscrubber and long handled bootbrush to help implement clean an-gling practices. Stations should beplaced at high access points, in ahighly visible location, away frombare soil where seeds can germi-nate – the more stations we can in-stall the better.

We have two new additions toour toolkit including new eye-catching signs for the wader washstations. Our first order of 10 willgo to the Coulee Region Chapter.

Our second new “tool” is a newdecontamination method reportedon by the DNR at the recent Wis-consin Lakes Partnership Conven-tion. Recent tests of hand-heldsteam cleaners have shown a 100-percent kill rate when NZMS wereexposed to steam at a distance ofabout three centimeters for fiveseconds or longer. These results,while still preliminary and set toundergo further analysis, are ex-tremely promising. The compactcleaners can be powered usingyour vehicle and a 750-watt power

New Zealand mudsnail update

converter, and thus are very porta-ble.

If you are interested in learningmore about NZMS, wader washstations, and/or River Alliance’sother aquatic invasive species

training and monitoring pro-grams, please contact new Water-shed Groups Manager NatalieDutack at [email protected] or 608-257-2424 x 111. Wehope to be working together soon.

NEW SIGNS FOR WADER WASH STATIONSThese new eye-catching signs for wader wash stations will start making their appearances soon. The first order of 10 will go to the Coulee Region Chapter.


By Bob Haase

Bill Sherer has been tying fliesfor more than 55 years and incorpo-rates creativity and functionality inhis flies. He is known for his creativemusky and bass fly patterns, but youwill also find the same creativity andquality in his trout flies.

Bill, along with his wife, Dawn,own the We Tie It fly shop in Boul-der Junction. Bill is also a full timeguide, helping anglers find trout,bass and muskies in Northern Wis-consin. Check out their website [email protected] or call him at715-385-0171.

How long have you been tyingflies and how did you get started?

I have been tying flies for 55years or so. My grandfather startedme tying flies. My folks owned asummer camp and one of the activi-ties we had at summer camp onrainy days was to tie flies. I just sortof gravitated toward the fly tyingand loved it. I started tying warmwater flies and was never really in-troduced to trout flies until my teen-age years.

Can you remember some of thetyers who helped you get started, orwho helped you develop the skillsyou have today?

I was fortunate to have somegood teachers such as Ron Brown,Royce Damm, Lefty Kreh, ChrisHelm, and Dave Whitlock. Out ofall of them I would say that Roycewas probably my biggest influence.He really pushed me toward themore creative side and toward thecommercial side.

You tie all kinds of flies, fromsmaller trout flies to bass flies andlarge musky-pike flies. Do you thinkthat tying flies for various species offish has helped you with your fly de-sign?

Absolutely. I do a lot of observa-tion. I have just sat by a stream andwatched how the food interacts.Wether it's a bait fish, a bug, or a bigfish chasing a little fish, I have al-ways tried to envision what is it thatthe fish sees. People say that youhave to think like a fish, but I be-lieve you also have to think like theirfood. What is it that the fish seesabout their food? That's the key.The fish have different observationsand they are the final judge on whatthey are going to eat. A lot of thecharacteristics that make a fly workfor one specific species will carryover to a different species.

It is one thing to tie a beautifulfly and yet another to tie flies thatare just as appealing to the fish asthey are to the fisherman. Do youthink your experience as a guideand your time on the water contrib-utes to your fly designs?

It does. One of the things Ilearned as I got into the commercialaspect of fly tying is that you have tocatch the fisherman before youcatch the fish. There are a numberof flies out there that catch fish butfirst they caught fisherman. Theymay not be the best choice but thefly was glitzy, it had bigger eyes, andall the bells and whistles that themagazines say that you have to putinto your flies.

But it seems to me that some-times the simpler flies catch morefish. The fly that the average fly tiercan and does tie are still some of thebest and most productive flies.

As far as fly design goes, I ob-serve a lot of things when I am outfishing. Last year it seemed like if amusky-pike fly didn't have orangeon its belly the fish were not going toeat it. I never experienced it beforeto be that pronounced. We put 75muskies in the boat in October lastyear just because of that observa-tion.

That is the beauty of tying yourown flies is that you can make those

Many people do not realize how many great fly tyers we have in Wisconsin. Some are well known and others may be less known, but they are some of the best in the country. Bob Haase is interviewing a different tyer for each issue of Wiscon-sin Trout to discuss their favorite flies, how they tie them and how they fish them. This includes their tying tips and information that will make us better tyers and fly fishers. It will be done in a question & answer format and feature all kinds of flies and targeted species, not just trout.

Wisconsin’s Fly Tyers

Bill Sherer: Blending creativity and functionality in tying

little modifications that the fishwant for that particular situation.

Every year we see more and moresynthetic materials used in fly tying.What are some of the advantages ofusing synthetic materials?

The synthetics are usually lighterin weight. They sometimes have aproblem in movement and haveproblems making the same fine ta-per as natural materials. That canbe overcome with the movement oraddition of other materials.

I tie some flies that are all syn-thetics and many others that are acombination of synthetic and natu-ral materials. The synthetics makethe fly lighter because they don'tsoak up and hold water as much asmost natural materials. Especiallywith larger flies we want to considernot just the physical weight of thefly, but the weight of the fly in thewater. Do we want it to sink, do wewant it to float, or do we want tomake it more neutral? The flies thatare more neutral or sink more slow-ly are often the flies that catch morefish.

I like the fly that seems to hoverfor a while and kick side to side withthe stripping action you impart onthe fly. That is something that I real-ly believe in is that you have to bethe bait. You have to start it andstop it and impart the action the fishwant in a fly to entice them to takeit.

How important is it to fully un-derstand the characteristics of thematerials we tie with as we designand tie our flies?

It’s a huge importance. Certainmaterials just don’t work well forwhat we want to achieve. The syn-thetics give us the ability to create

more seeming movement with lessmaterial. One of the things I believein is sparseness. There are times,maybe more so with musky flies,that we want to achieve a large sil-houette and need to use more ordenser materials. If we look at everysingle fly that has ever been made inthe history of fly tying, it seems likeit is the sparse flies that catch morefish.

I think it is also important to usematerials that can create motion orthe illusion of motion. We don'thave a 5:1 gear ratio in our fly reelsthat we can illicit a strike based on apredator response. We are trying toget that fish into a feeding modeand want them to take it as a naturalfood source. We can’t move it fastenough for a long enough period oftime to trigger a predator reactionresponse. We need to create the il-lusion of motion in the flies we tieor create that movement in the waywe fish the fly using a slower presen-tation.

You recently developed a dub-bing brush maker called the “X-treme Dubber” that can make large8-inch diameter dubbing brushesfor musky-pike flies, or smaller siz-es for bass and trout. I have beenusing your X-treme Dubber to makesmall dubbing brushes for troutflies down to size 18 with a varietyof materials. I do this to create thatillusion of motion we just talkedabout. What are some of the advan-tages of making and using dubbingbrushes in our tying?

We can make a great big fly witha larger profile with less materials.We can make a real small fly thathas the right kind of material in theright places to make it look alive al-so. It can add movement that cre-ates a trigger to the outline or

THE “PADDLE TAIL”The “Paddle Tail” fly is an example of how bill incorporates creativity and functionality into a fly. The finished fly is shown above and a partially finished fly is shown below to show how it is assembled. See the photo with the hook with the weed guard to see how the weed guard is attached. A microfiber strip with a short strip of rabbit zonker is attached to both sides of the strip at the end. The microfiber provides excellent motion and doesn’t shrink up like many other materials. The short pieces of zonker help give a little kick or action to the tail. A combination of dubbing brushes and other synthetic and natural material make up the remainder of the fly. Bill’s large synthetic dubbing brushes provide enough length to give good action without absorbing water, making a large fly like this easier to cast. The weed guard on the hook was designed and produced by Bill using a special coated wire to allow bringing the fly through the weeds. You can even cast this into a downed tree without getting snagged.

Bill Sherer has been tying flies for more than 55 years and incorporates creativity and functionality in his flies. He is known for his creative musky and bass fly patterns, but you will also find the same creativity and quality in his


profile of the fly. We can incorpo-rate different kinds of materials intothe brush to create exactly what weneed for the fly we are designing. Itis always a challenge to the thinkingfly tyer to think ahead to the fishingsituation and not just to the designof the fly. Dubbing brushes give usmore options.

Why not just buy your flies rath-er than tie them yourself?

Sometimes you have to adjust tothe fishing situations you have. Thatmeans that you have to change thecharacteristics of the fly such as thecolor, shape or size of the fly.

Some shops may not have whatyou are looking for and it may take alonger time to have someone cus-tom tie it for you. The best way toget the fly you want in a timely man-ner is to tie your own. Trout can bepicky eaters.

We have all seen it where a fishwill only take a fly that acts a certainway in the water and tying our ownflies allows us to create flies that wecannot purchase. The fish in pres-sured waters seem to get a more dis-cerning palette and they also requirebetter presentations. This meansputting the fly in the right place onthe first cast. The first cast countsand it shouldn’t take three casts toget it there.

We have a lot of new materialsthat become available to fly tyers ev-ery year. How can we find out aboutthese materials and determine ifthey might work for the flies we tie?

Some of it is trial and error. Youmight have heard about it fromsomeone else or seen it online. May-

be it doesn't fit your style of tyingbut it might work great for someoneelse tying a different style of flies.Being an industry insider I get to seesome of the new materials beforethey become available to the public.I get samples sent to me and someof these might be new or just a dif-ferent color of an existing material.Sometimes it may be an older mate-rial that we no longer use but nowfind a use for it in the flies we de-sign. It isn't just using new materials.It's finding and using the materialsthat work for us for the flies we tie.

Do you have any other tips or ad-vice for the average or experiencedtyer?

Slow down. When I was youngerI could crank out flies faster than Ido now, but they were not as good,or as durable. More wraps of threaddoes not make a fly stronger. Someof my older mentors actually count-ed the number of wraps that theywere going to use.

Using the proper size thread,based on the hook diameter, makesa huge difference. Don’t use brand“A” thread just because a frienddoes. You might find a differentbrand or kind of thread works betterfor your application. You and I bothknow that thread control is the corekey to creating really good flies. Us-ing the right thread, proper threadtension, and the correct number ofwraps will help you tie a better fly.

Rather than step-by-step direc-tions on how to tie one of Bill’s fa-vorite flies, I asked him to show ussome of the creative things he hasdone with his musky-pike fly de-signs.

BP MUSKY FLYBill designed the BP Musky Fly using foam head and a plastic lip to make it wiggle, causing the tail and marabou to move in the water. The way he forms the foam head and makes the diving lip makes this fly work exceptionally well. Again, the design and material selection helps create motion.

BILL’S RATBill’s Rat pattern is a little different style of rat/mouse design that can be used for musky, pike or bass. The first time I saw this fly I thought of down-sizing just a little to search out big brown trout at night. It is similar to other mouse patterns, but notice where the hook is at and the hair is sparse enough at the end to allow for a good hook up.

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Driftless RamblerWith Duke WelterTUDARE Outreach Coordinator

Excuse me for actually ramblingin this column. I’ll try to keep itbrief while discussing several topicson my mind these days.

Spring weather was mercurialhere in the Wisconsin Driftless Ar-ea this spring. We had a gradualmelt from the winter’s snow, fol-lowed by rain, hot weather, then afoot of snow around April 20 in Vir-oqua. After that, finally, actualspring weather.

By now, mid-June, things are ona more normal course, with theblossoms, bug emergences andcrops coming in a succession you’dexpect. It has seemed to me thatwe’re seeing more caddis andcraneflies and fewer mayflies in re-cent years. Those first two speciesare more tolerant of somewhat de-graded coldwater conditions, thethird less tolerant. Some research inIowa suggests some suppression ofcaddis species may be going on as aresult of agricultural chemical use.

Area couple dies in fishing accident, and will be missed. We all need to be more careful anglers.

This afternoon we’re on our wayto La Crescent, Minnesota for thejoint funeral of a couple of friends,Janet Veit and her husband, BrianSchumacher. While on a dreamfishing vacation in Iceland a monthago, they both drowned in an icycold river. One fell in and the othertried a rescue, unsuccessfully. Theywere swept into the lake just down-stream. The shocking news of theirloss swept over our community.

Janet and Brian were widelyliked and respected in our area andour community. In addition to hisday job at Gunderson Lutheran inLaCrosse, Brian guided for the flyshop in Preston, Minnesota and wasbecoming a well-known anglingwriter.

Occasionally he ran his articlespast me for some suggestions, andhe was finding his voice. He alsoloved working with his bird dogs.Janet used her days off from vetpractice for fishing, and regularlyoffered trout pictures that made usdrool.

But she also taught novice wom-en anglers and was a valued part ofthe effort to welcome more womeninto this sport. Both these delightfulpeople will be sorely missed.

My New Year’s resolution thisyear is to remember that I’m no lon-ger 29, and to stop thinking like Ican physically do at my age what Ieasily did at that earlier age. Lastyear Kris and I found ourselves in a

couple of situations highlighting thechronological facts, or alternatelythat our assumptions can get us intotrouble. We both needed to betteranticipate those situations and ourlimitations. The loss of these friendsprovided a kick in the pants for thatpreparation. The actual plan is toequip ourselves, before our west-ern trip later this summer, with in-flatable PFDs. It’s a start.

Hog operation decides against opening plant

Over this way in western Wis-consin we need some encouragingnews to brighten our days. Somemonths ago I mentioned a contro-versial pork-slaughtering operationproposed for a facility betweenWestby and Viroqua.

A local butcher shop had beenpurchased by an Iowa pork process-ing operation, which announcedplans to slaughter 750 hogs a day.That could have been up to 270,000pigs a year, and they would havehad to set up a batch of pig farms toprovide the animals. Citizens wereappalled, and the issue became adiscussion point in the many springelections in these parts.

In May, the Iowa company an-nounced that it wouldn’t open theplant, and would put it up for sale.What made the difference, mostlikely, was the refusal by all the larg-er local wastewater treatmentplants that they wouldn’t accept thewastewater and offal from theplant. Hauling it more than 45 or somiles would have been prohibitivelyexpensive.

They’ve invited the citizensgroup formed to oppose them tohelp find a buyer. We hope to see anew owner committed to handlinglocal meat from our many sustain-able producers and area hunters.Any ideas?

Stream daysMore encouraging news comes

from Buffalo and Crawford coun-ties. Saturday, Buffalo County con-servation clubs and restorationpartners held their sixth annualstream day at the confluence ofWaumandee and Danuser ValleyCreeks, near the crossroads town ofMontana. Each year since 2013, thelocal rod & gun clubs, with aid fromthe Wisconsin Clear Waters Chap-ter of TU and TUDARE, DNR andothers, have held one of theseevents on a stretch of local streamrestored by this team of partners.

I’ve talked with landowners whoare excited about the improvementin these streams, and glad they do-

nated easements to enable the proj-ects. Many, many parents andgrandparents bring out the kids, andthe fishing lures and baits are flyingthroughout. When a hundred peo-ple follow the DNR’s electroshock-ing team up the stream, it'’ likebiologist Dan Hatleli is the PiedPiper of Buffalo County.

And you can rest assured thatthe community is supportive, notonly of these events, but of the com-munity conservation impulse thatthese projects represent. I think theclubs will also benefit from the ex-posure to a wider public that seesthem as being actively focused onthe wider-scale betterment of theircommunity, and will be inclined tojoin and participate in those clubs'efforts. That’s great news in so verymany ways.

Tainter Creek stream/field day a huge success

And finally, the Tainter CreekFarmer-Led Watershed Council is agroup of conservation-mindedfarmers working together in Vernonand Crawford counties to take careof this major Kickapoo River sub-watershed. They include farmers ofmost varieties found in this area:beef grazers, small and mediumdairies, row-crop growers and sus-tainable organic growers.

They work with Valley Steward-ship Network and TU to encouragecover crops and other ag practicesthat eventually protect the stream'squality, and to recruit volunteerstream monitors who keep track ofthat quality. And they supportstream restoration too, on a streamwith several miles of past resto-ration and stream easements.

A large restoration project beingorganized by TUDARE and de-signed by Stream Project SpecialistPaul Krahn is on the drawing boardsto obtain easements and raise fundsfor work expected to begin this fall.

In early June the watershedcouncil hosted its own stream/fieldday along the creek on restored wa-ter on the Bruce and Sue Ristowfarm. The Ristows are long-timestream monitors and their near-stream area is grazed by Angus cat-tle. More than 150 people, the ma-jority seeming to be kids, coursedup and down the stream with theirfishing rods, and fish were caught bythem as well as DNR biologist KirkOlson and the fish population sur-vey team, with help from retired bi-ologist Dave Vetrano.

A pile of spin and fly rods andother gear were given out to luckykids and a tasty lunch was served.Not a single business we ap-proached, from Cabela’s to OrganicValley to Culvers and local grocers,hesitated in offering their support.Landowners, anglers, kids all had agood time. The future of this water-shed looks bright with this coalitionworking together.

Plenty of Driftless Area water-sheds need work, upland and near-stream. The ones where that work ismost likely to happen are those withfriends. Buffalo County and TainterCreek are models, as are places likethe Blue River in Grant County, theSugar River and Gordon Creek insouthwest Dane County, and sever-al rivers in west central Wisconsinwhere the Kiap-TU-Wish and Wis-consin Clear Waters chapters havegreat restoration efforts moving for-ward. There’s room for more.

NEW FISHING RODS BROUGHT PLENTY OF SMILES TO THESE KIDSLucky kids celebrated winning their first spin or fly rods at the Tainter Creek Stream Day in Crawford County June 2. With them in the right background is Viroqua trout writer Jay Thurston, who demonstrated his spin-casting techniques. Trout were caught on the Class I stream, and more than 150 area residents attended.

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GIANTS, from page 28

There is no stocking on Local. In 10 years of fishing here, I’ve never evenseen a rainbow in this stream. None of this made sense. It was my first outingof the year, so hallucination and exaggeration were not out of the question.

A day later and I was still unsettled and disappointed about the one thatgot away. I texted my tale to my friend Mike to try and make sense of whathappened. Giant fish, not a brown, too big for a brook. He’s a good friend, sohe took in my outrageous story without too much critique. I had shared thesame story to my high school son Gavin who has fished this portion of Localwith me many times. He chatted with a friend of his, Henry, who lives withinwalking distance of this section and fishes it at least once a week. Henry tellshim, “Oh yah. There’s a giant rainbow in the stream that I have seen severaltimes in the past few months. Probably about 28 inches. Actually there are abunch of big rainbows in there.”

Multiple rainbows over 20? Teenage boys are not a reliable source of in-formation, are they? How could a trophy rainbow live here in Local Creek?

I shared the ludicrous teenager talk about a 25”+ rainbow to Mike. Hedoes some back channel research with a DNR friend and informed me thatthe big rains in July wiped out several private ponds upstream. Stocked fish(mostly rainbows, but a few browns and brooks) in those ponds were washedout and ended up in the creek. This crazy fish tale has become somewhatreasonable. Private pond monsters have escaped and now patrol Local. Noneof this could actually be verified, but it helped make some sense of the bigone I lost. Even if they are non-native pond pets, raised on fish pellets anddog food, I still wanted to catch one of them.

Over the subsequent months, I fished Local several more times, lookingfor one of the giant escapees. I caught a few decent wild browns and brooks,but not the fish I had hooked back in January. Spring arrived and the memo-ry of the January encounter started to fade from memory when I ran into an-other fish friend, Eric. We chatted about where we have been fishing andwhat sections have been good. He knows my angling tendencies and admira-tion for Local Creek and quietly/secretly asks, “Do you know about the bigrainbows on Local?” I think he’s pulling my leg. I may have told my story totoo many people and word got to him. He’s not messing with me. Eric sawthe beast just the previous week with his own eyes. He also mentioned seeingplenty of the other big pondees. He got me excited again to head back to Lo-cal.

I shared the news of the pond escapees with a few other close friends whoregularly frequent that section of Local. My tip pays off. My friend Davidtexts me a photo of a 21” rainbow he caught. While the photo is closelycropped, I know exactly which hole on Local that fish came from. Aside fromthe big ‘bow, he sends me a photo of a 16” brook that also looks like a formerpond resident. Two days later, I was sent photos of a 23” rainbow caught onLocal by Mike’s friend. I felt justified that my tale about these fish finally hadtruth to it, but I was also becoming jealous that other people were catchingthem.

My son, Gavin, and I hit the water two days later with a precise game planof what holes to work, which banks we will cast from, and who gets to throwto each spot first. The weather was a beautiful blue bird day and there hadn’tbeen any rain for a week. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and the waterwas crystal clear. Terrible trout conditions.

We worked the magic stretch where the beasts live, now known as Rain-bow Run, and didn’t catch a thing. However, due to the bright sky and clearwater, we were easily able see to the bottom of the run. First we saw the typi-cal skiddish 10-13” fish that are so common in the Driftless. They zipped upand down the pool, letting us know that they were on high alert to our preda-tory presence. Then, we saw the big rainbows that we were after. They didn’tzip. They slowly cruised as if to say, “We see you, you see us, we aren’t bit-ing.”

We were easily able to spot several rainbows over 20 inches. Several oth-ers in the 16-plus range accompanied the big ones. It was cruel and beautifulat the same time. The fish were vibrantly marked, red stripes very evident,more colorful than the typical stockers I’ve seen in other area streams. We

stopped casting because we knew that it wouldn’t work at this time. We justquietly watched these western fish slide up and down the run. Rain was fore-casted in the next couple days and we would come back when the sun wassetting and there was a stain to the water.

We came back a few days later after a healthy rain. The water looked per-fect and more rain was expected in a few hours. The sky was overcast, and afew raindrops dimpled the water. Perfect conditions to catch one of these bigones. Gavin and I eagerly got out of the car, geared up, and skipped most ofthe pools that usually produce good wild fish. The rainbows were the onlything on our mind. Just when we got to the run where the big ones hang, thesky to the west of us lit up pink with lightning. I tried to ignore it, thinking itwas just one strike. More lightning comes and the western sky was lookingominous. I wanted to keep fishing, but thankfully 15-year-old Gavin had thecommon sense that evening. “Dad, I don’t want to die.” I had no good re-sponse to that, so we skulked back to the car and then home.

Work, school, and track meets kept us away for a handful of days, but itdidn’t keep the fish out of our minds. Gavin called me in the middle of theschool day, “Dad, I talked to Henry (Local resident) and Rob during studyhall. They caught 3 over 20 inches last night.” Happy for them, but torturefor us. We had a plan to get back in a couple days when the calendar andweather cleared up. But before that happened, my good friend Mike who Imentioned above texted me a photo of a 21” rainbow he caught on Local. Ettu Brute? While this is public water, I can’t help but think these fish areMINE. I saw the first big one five months ago and have been chasing themever since. Just because I tell people about these freak immigrants to Local,it doesn’t mean that they have to catch them, does it? Or at least if they catchthem, could they have the decency to not send me photos?

Epilogue: I had hoped by the time this article went to print, I would addone more paragraph describing my triumph of finally catching one of theserainbows. This is not the case. I am haunted by waters, patrolled by hand-fedgiants.

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IS THIS A PRIVATE POND ESCAPEE?Private pond trout are occasionally washed downstream during flood events. These hand-fed giants may be what haunts author Curt Rees.

On Thursday June 7, representatives from the Village of Hatley,the Department of Natural Resources, and TU met in Hatley (Mara-thon County). Joe Szews, Brian Janikowski and Robert Combs repre-sented the village. DNR employees there included Al Niebuhr, TimParks and Jason Spaeth. TU members were Kirk Stark of the Wiscon-sin River Valley Chapter and myself.

We walked the Plover River from the village limits at the south endof Veteran’s Park upstream to the wooden bridge crossing of the IceAge Trail. It was decided that the river between those two pointswould provide a suitable site for a major rehabilitation project similarto the one recently completed in downtown Waupaca.

Because of DNR projects already under construction, the necessityto put together a rehabilitation plan, and the need to procure ease-ments and public support from the Hatley community, the projectedstart date would be in 2020. As of this writing, there seems to be con-siderable public enthusiasm for what has been dubbed the “HatleyProject.” Assuming continued interest, we hope to enlist the help ofmembers of the Wisconsin River Valley, Frank Hornberg, Green Bay,and Shaw-paca chapters.

Given the huge amount of deadfall in the river, the efforts of manypeople will be required to prepare the river for the actual installationof the DNR’s rehabilitation plan. I suspect there will be no shortage ofwilling and able-bodied TU members when that time arrives.—Dan Holland, Frank Hornberg Chapter

“Hatley Project” in planning stagesMaking a Destination II update

The NLC Youth Education Work Group has been working on issues in-volving Trout In the Classroom. The first issue involves using TIC as a mar-keting tool. We all know what a fantastic educational tool TIC is for teachingstudents about what trout need to thrive. Our chapters have done an incredi-ble job of working with the schools to provide this learning experience forlots of students.

But, recently the NLC began to think about the marketing opportunity wemay be missing. In many cases the tank setups are unmarked. In those casesparents, staff and visitors are unlikely to know that the learning experience isactually being provided by TU. The Youth Education Work Group believesthat getting the tanks marked could attract people to TU. This group is ac-tively working on tank stickers that would provide information about the lifecycle of trout, announce that TIC is a TU program and provide contact infor-mation.

The second TIC issue involves power outages that lead to dead trout.Some areas have had power outages turn off tank electronics long enough tokill most or all of the fish. I did a quick survey of chapters at the last councilmeeting and this has not been a big issue in Wisconsin, but certainly is some-thing that could impact any tank at any time. By now most of you involvedwith TIC have been contacted by Mack Martin. Mack is investigating whatkinds of power requirements would be needed to protect the fish populationsin tanks around the country. After power needs are determined, the NLCcan begin to look at the costs involved to provide backup power.

Thanks to those of you who’ve put so much work into our TIC program.—Kim McCarthy is the WITU representative to the TU National LeadershipCouncil.

National Leadership Council reportFrom WITU’s NLC Representative Kim McCarthy New stickers to promote TU’s involvement with Trout In the Classroom; backup power for tanks discussed.

Summer 2018Page 18

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

Aldo Leopold Chapter

The Aldo Leopold Chapter hasmade it through the extended win-ter in pretty good condition, and hasmade good use of the better weath-er we've enjoyed since the snow fi-nally departed.

Several chapter members attend-ed the Midwest Outdoor HeritageEducation Exposition (MOHEE) atPoynette's MacKenzie Center inMay, helping many busloads full ofeager grade schoolers tie their firstfly. Once the kids arrived, action un-der the TU tent was fast and furi-ous, with lots of really good lookingflies being constructed, and some-times the best part (for us) was hav-ing a younster's jaw drop when theyrealized that they actually got totake their creation home with them.

Thanks to Bob Asam, Jared Sa-gal and Mike Stapleton for repre-senting ALCTU. We also thankCWTU member Bob Haase for hishard work in organizing what hasbecome one of the most enjoyableTU events of the entire year.

Another year of TIC is under ourbelts as fifth graders from PineviewSchool in Reedsburg, once again

under the guidance of Scott Allen,released their fish into Sauk Coun-ty's Dell Creek in late May. Of the20 trout fry received by the class, allwere successfully raised to a lengthof five inches and were released intothe stream following an electro-shocking demonstration by DNRFish Manager Nate Nye. Thanks toNate for his highly educational de-mo and to Scott Allen for all of histime coordinating TIC on behalf ofthe chapter.

The annual ALCTU picnic washeld recently in Lodi. This is ourmajor fundraiser for the year, andwe had an impressive lineup of raf-fle and silent auction items to temptour attendees, including a PaulDouglas custom bamboo rod and afull day's guided angling with Drift-less Angler of Viroqua as our twogrand prizes.

Board member and Water Ac-tion Volunteer Sally Gawle sam-pled insects in Spring Creek prior tothe drawing of the prize winners,and we had boot brushes for distri-bution to all of our attendees.

The chapter recently placed an

Aldo Leopold bench in Poynette'sPauquette Park as a memorial toJerry Gorman of Beaver Dam, whopassed away in June of 2017. Jerrywas a long-time TU member, andone of his favorite angling hauntswas Rowan Creek. The creek flowswithin a long cast of where the

bench is located. Thanks to TomGawle for his artistry in constructingthe bench and Mike Stapleton forshepherding the project through theVillage of Poynette Parks Commis-sion, which granted its approval forthe placement.—Mike Stapleton

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ALTU HONORS JERRY GORMAN WITH LEOPOLD BENCHThe Leopold bench memorial to Jerry Gorman, located in Poynette's Pauquette Park, contains a carving of Jerry's favorite fly, The Professor.

ALTU, PINEVILLE SCHOOL FIFTH GRADERS WRAP UP TIC Two classes of smiling fifth graders from Pineview School in Reedsburg line the bank behind DNR Fish Manager Nate Nye as they celebrate the release of their TIC trout fingerlings into Dell Creek.

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ANTIGO CHAPTER HOLDS SUCCESSFUL KID’S FISHING DAYThe Antigo Chapter had more than 400 kids show up at their annual Kid’s Fishing Day and they all caught nice brook and rainbow trout, provided by Silver Moon Springs.

Antigo Chapter

I hope you are all having a greatsummer. We held our annual Kid’sFishing Day in early June, and thekids and TU members had a greattime.

A big thank you to all the helpersthat make it possible and to thesponsors who help fund the event.We had more than 400 kids show upand they all caught nice brook andrainbow trout provided by SilverMoon Springs.

Thanks to our local DNR repre-sentatives for again running ourcasting contest. Each kid received aprize for the prize fish tank and thenwe had a drawing for a girls andboys bike. Everyone had hamburg-ers and hot dogs until we ran out offood. Also, thanks to the Antigo

Fire Department for bringing andmanning their fire safety house forthe kids to go through.

We held a work day on the Ever-green River in early June, and wehave two signs to repaint at projectsites soon.

Antigo TU helped fund onebrushing crew for the summer againand we are paying $3,000 for fuel forthe DNR's dredge, which is in theMayking Flowage again this year.

We are happy to say that for thecoming school year we have a thirdhigh school signed up for the TICprogram. We are happy to welcomethe Bowler school district this yearalong with Antigo and Witt-Burnschool districts.—Scott Henricks

Central Wisconsin Chapter

Bob Haase, with the support ofCWTU members, coordinated a fly-tying experience for students attend-ing the Midwest Outdoor HeritageEducation Expo at the MacKenzieCenter in Poynette. About 3,000 stu-dents grades 4-6, and their chaper-ones came from across the state.

The goal of the event is to intro-duce youth to outdoor sports andconservation. Nearly 50 different ac-tivities include archery, trapping. flytying, dog trials, insect identificationand much more. A school curricu-lum is available to add further edu-cation to the activities.

Bob has been organizing the fly-tying instruction for more than 12years. This year he was supported by16 volunteer fly tyers from variousTU chapters. Ten came from CW-TU, including Ira Giese, Jerry Smet,Tom Konnelly, Bill Millonig, MikeSanDretto, Jim Murphy, Dave Eh-renberg, Bob Burke, and John Tuck-er. About 900 youth tied flies overthe two days. They were busy. Wetaught them to tie a fly they can usewith a bobber and spin rod to catchbluegills. Bob Haase donates all thefly-tying kits with the monies re-ceived from his book, “Fly TyingTips and Techniques,” published in2017. This is such a great gift to our

youth.The UW-Extension and the

DNR recognized CWTU for our ef-forts leading to increased participa-tion in stream monitoring, collectingstream data and sharing theirknowledge and data. We receivedthese awards in April at the WaterAction Volunteers Symposium inStevens Point.

CWTU Riverkeepers earned theOutstanding Organization Award.The chapter has been involved inwater monitoring for more than adecade, modeling the positive im-pacts of gaining and sharing knowl-edge through citizen science. TheRiverkeepers have 30 teams, 80 vol-unteers and monitor 36 sites in mul-tiple counties, while continuing toseek new volunteers and new streamsites.

They work closely with DNRstaff to monitor high-prioritystreams where data is needed, andwhere their monitoring can saveDNR staff time and money. CWTUis also involved in the assessment offish habitat structures, streambankrestoration and the expansion of wa-ter quality projects. Many thanks toBob Jozwowski for his intense ef-forts as CWTU Riverkeeper coordi-nator.

Summer 2018 Page 19

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

CWTU RIVERKEEPERS EARN OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATION AWARDCWTU’s Riverkeepers were recognized as Most Outstanding Organization by the DNR and UW-Extension. From left are UW-Extention Water Action Volunteers Coordinator Peggy Compton, Coordinator for Central Wisconsin Trout Unlimited Riverkeepers Bob Jozwowski,- DNR Water Action Volunteers Coordinator Ilana Haimes and DNR Section Chief Tim Asplund.

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CWTU AND ELLIOT DONNELLEY CHAPTERS TEAM UP ON WHITE RIVERCWTU’s first river restoration work day of the 2018 season was held May 19 on the White River in collaboration with the Elliott Donnelley Chapter. Work day coordinator Dennis Drazkowski planned a great project and always serves a tasty shore-side lunch after the hard work.

CWTU HOLD BOB HUNT EDUCATIONAL MEETINGCWTU held its 2018 CWTU Annual Bob Hunt Commemorative Educational Series Meeting in May at the Fin ‘n Feather in Winneconne. Elward Engle shared his wealth of knowledge and understanding of our Central Wisconsin trout waters. Here Elward and Bob’s wife Phyllis pose with a beautiful cake that has a river running through it.

CWTU HOLDS FLY FISHING SCHOOLCWTU held its Dan Harmon III Annual Fly Fishing School at the Riverside Bible Camp on the Waupaca River in Amherst in early June. Twenty students attended this year.

The 2018 CWTU Annual BobHunt Commemorative EducationalSeries Meeting was held in May atthe Fin 'n Feather in Winneconne.Elward Engle shared his wealth ofknowledge and understanding ofour Central Wisconsin trout waters.

CWTU's first river restorationwork day of the 2018 season washeld May 19 on the White River incollaboration with the Elliott Don-nelley Chapter. Work day coordina-tor Dennis Drazkowski planned agreat project and always serves atasty shore-side lunch after the hardwork.

This year’s upcoming work dayschedule is: • July 21, West Branch of the

White River• August 18, Pine River• September 15, Pine River

Come join the fun. All are wel-come to attend.

The picnics this summer will in-clude casting at each event. Attend-ees are encouraged to bring theirfishing equipment.

The dates are: • June 12 picnic; Bird Creek, Wau-

toma with Shawn Sullivan. Pro-gram: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Open tothe public. Presenter: ShawnSullivan, Bird Creek will discussthe importance of the WhiteRiver Watershed and Resto-ration Plans

• July 10 picnic at the Tuckers• Aug 14 picnic at Harvey Jones

home on the Pine River.

We held the CWTU Dan Har-mon III Annual Fly Fishing Schoolat the Riverside Bible Camp on theWaupaca River in Amherst in earlyJune. Twenty students attended thisyear. There is nothing better thanbeing next to the water and learningabout fly fishing from some of thebest mentors.

Jeff Treu, John Gremmer andmany others worked hard to pro-vide a memorable hands-on experi-ence of a lifetime, carrying on theexperience created by Dan HarmonIII. Russ Bouck tied flies through-out the day for a free raffle for at-tendees. What a gift. And we hadplenty of good food.

Our chapter will be receiving theDNR’s esteemed External Partnersaward from senior administrators ofthe DNR. CWTU is being recog-nized for the outstanding partner-ship we have developed with theDNR Fisheries Unit and the qualitywork we have performed towardour mutual mission of conserving,protecting and restoring Wiscon-sin's coldwater fisheries.

Thanks again to all our volun-teers for making our chapter awe-some. The chapter would not besuccessful without the talent and ef-fort of our members. Their work iswhat makes CWTU successful, andthey make the chapter fun to be apart of.—Laura Tucker

Coulee Region Chapter

Summer is here so that means wewon't have our regular chaptermeetings until September. Howev-er, we have been and will be busywith several outdoor events in ourarea.

TUDARE coordinated a stream-side celebration on Tainter Creek inearly June. There were educationalevents on fishing, stream ecology,conservation and more, for kids andadults. Jeff Hastings, Duke Welterand Paul Krahn did all the heavylifting, but we had plenty of CRTUmembers in attendance to helpmake the day a success.

On June 9 CRTU teamed upwith SEWTU for a work day onMormon Creek in La Crosse Coun-ty. Thank you Jason Freund for co-ordinating this effort. We had more

than 40 strong-backed volunteersclear willows and other debris onboth sides of the stream on a half-mile section. The good folks fromSEWTU brought their work trailerand 20 members, and CRTU provid-ed the food for a tasty brat lunch.

Special thanks to Boy ScoutTroop 168 of Onalaska for providingplenty of help on this work day. Wewere also fortunate to have thelandowner, Pat Kammel, join us forthe work and lunch. This section ofland has been in Pat’s family formore than 50 years and he is a greatcaretaker of it.

Cy Post and Fred Spademan willlead the charge for the Youth Out-door Fest in La Crosse on July 7.This event is coordinated by the LaCrosse Park and Recreation Depart-

Summer 2018Page 20

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

CRTU AND SEWTU TEAM UP ON MORMOM CREEKLandowner Pat Kammel (right) talking to SEWTU members during a joint CRTU/SEWTU workday in June.

FVTU’S FISHING DAY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESFVTU held its 40th annual Fishing Day for People with Disabilities. The chapter served a picnic lunch and everyone enjoyed a piece of cake for dessert.

ment and brings out nearly 3,000people each year to learn about allof the outdoor recreation opportu-nities in the area.

The CRTU crew will offer fly-casting demos and help kids tie theirown flies. July 28 is Trout Fest inCoon Valley. This community cele-bration takes place right on CoonCreek and CRTU will again providefishing opportunities for the kids be-ginning at 10 a.m. We stock extrafish in the creek and provide tackleand assistance to make sure kidsand their families have fun catchingfish.

We have had a few changes inchapter leadership. Dave Krier isthe new president, replacing CurtRees, who held the position forthree years. Dave lives in Viroquaand is very connected to the troutfishing and the conservation com-munity. Dave had previously servedas the chapter events coordinator,

arranging all of the presenters andlocations for the monthly chaptermeetings.

Curt is back to his previous roleas secretary and will focus on com-munications and social media forthe chapter. Duane Meighan was se-lected as the co-coordinator for thechapter Veterans Service Project,serving alongside Will Lusignan.John “Lucky” Townsell was electedto the board of directors. John hasbeen a constant volunteer and con-tributor to the chapter in his twoyears living in the area.

Dave, Curt, and treasurer MarkKowaliw spent a steamy day onHornby Creek at the end of May,planning and budgeting for the up-coming year. The fish were willingand we got a lot accomplished to en-sure another good year with chapteractivities and resources.—Curt Rees

Fox Valley Chapter

The late Spring and Summer ac-tivities for the Fox Valley Trout Un-limited Chapter are now wellunderway. These activities offer ma-ny options for chapter members toenhance the coldwater resources inCentral Wisconsin.

The Annual April Angling Ad-venture was at the end of April.About three dozen anglers spent theweekend based at the West ForkSportman's Club campground onthe West Fork of the Kickapoo Riv-

er in Avalanche. Event organizerRoger Genske said the weather wasgreat and that many nice fish werecaught and released. Plans are beingmade at this time for "Quad A- # 5"in 2019, so check the website in acouple of months so you can startplanning for the event.

On May 12 the chapter held therescheduled tree-planting habitatday on the Pine River just northeastof Wild Rose. We also planted sometrees and did some brushing on Da-

vies Creek near where it meets thePine River. Volunteers planted a va-riety of trees and shrubs after theyreceived instructions from the DNRcrew, who also assisted with theday’s activity.

We held our 40th annual FishingDay for People with Disabilities onMay 19. The chapter has been in-volved with this very successfulcommunity outreach program sinceDel Schwaller planned the inaugu-ral event in 1979. The event wasagain held at the Appleton YMCAday camp called Camp Shioc, justnorth of Appleton.

Attendees included 55 happy an-glers, family members or caregivers,chapter members and friends ofTU. They caught some very nicerainbow trout, and several caughttheir limit of five. The fish werecleaned and iced by chapter mem-bers Dick Stielow, Todd Calder andTodd’s daughter Caitie. We served apicnic lunch and everyone enjoyed apiece of cake for dessert. The hugecake was a thank-you from one ofthe attendees who has taken part inthe event for a number of years.

May 19 was also a joint habitatday with the Central WisconsinChapter on the West Branch of theWhite River. The work that is beingcompleted on that section of theWhite River is in the TU CARESproject that has been in the plan-

ning stages for several years. TomLager is the coordinator of the proj-ect and provides regular updates inWisconsin Trout.

July 30 will be the third and finalwork day with the young men fromRawhide Academy, located justsouth of New London. The habitatwork is on Davies Creek, creatingbrush bundles to be placed in thestream and removal of blow downsthat are impeding stream flow.

For our July 21 and August 18habitat days, we again will partnerwith the Central Wisconsin chapterand continue with the habitat workon the West Branch of the WhiteRiver. Please check out our websiteor the CWTU website for specificinformation about the work to becompleted on those dates.

There are a number of chaptermembers who will be involved withthe Wisconsin TU Youth FishingCamp July 26-29 at the Pine LakeCamp. FVTU is sponsoring twoyoung people, who just happen tobe friends, for the camp this year.

There are many opportunitiesfor chapter members to become in-volved with one or more events thissummer, so please pick a date andjoin in. Also, check out other statechapters and their websites. Maybeone of their activities would besomething that is of interest to you.—Rich Erickson

Frank Hornberg Chapter

The annual Frank Hornberg FlyFishing School was held in May atthe Ken Pierce and Brenda Ginglesproperty in Nelsonville. This loca-tion is ideal, since their back yardfronts the Tomorrow River, and theweather was perfect.

Instructors this year were MattSalchert, Stu Grimstad, WyattBohm and Jan Tully. Dan Hollandtook charge of purchasing the hotlunch. Brenda Gingles, Julie Mead-ows and Dan Holland contributedsalads. Patty Holland and JulieMeadows did the cooking. Ourthanks to all the chapter memberswho helped make this year's school aresounding success.

Our River Keepers group had itsfirst river survey on May 17. KenPierce organizes this activity, withthe assistance of Rick Foris, Mary JoPhankuch, John Vollrath and JimZack. Our location is the same asprevious years, just downstreamfrom the highway bridge in Nelson-

ville. It was not suprising to find theriver running higher than normal,thanks to the generous amounts ofrain this Spring.

Stu Grimstad represented ourchapter at the Little Plover RiverAppreciation Day May 4. Gradeschool students always appreciatehis demonstration of fly-castingskills.

Dan Holloway is the new treasur-er of the Hornberg Chapter. He re-places Jean Klein, who served inthat capacity for several years. Ourthanks to Jean for faithfully execut-ing the duties of the office.

Our chapter scheduled a workevening and a work day in June aswe needed to do some repair workon the Tomorrow River as it runsthrough the Lea property. We ex-pect to have more work days thissummer, as time permits.—John Vollrath

HORNBERG CHAPTER HOSTS FLY FISHING SCHOOLThe annual Frank Hornberg Fly Fishing School was held in May at the Ken Pierce and Brenda Gingles property in Nelsonville. This location is ideal, since their back yard fronts the Tomorrow River, and the weather was perfect.

Summer 2018 Page 21

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

Harry & Laura Nohr Chapter

We had our annual meeting inApril at UW-Platteville, which be-gan with a report by our student in-tern. We also heard a short report bythe Oversight Professor, KrisWright. Overall review shows aslight increase in trout size andnumbers and a decrease in numbersof warmer water species.

About 75 people attended ourannual banquet May 4, and we tookin about $7,500. We had attendance

from a couple other chapters andour college-related chapter.

We gave out two school grants of$600 each to Eric Erickson of BlackHawk High School in South Wayne,who will teach a new ecology coursefocusing on impacts on healthy wa-terways and stream beds.

Linda Ihm and Donna Williams-Richter of Fennimore CommunitySchools with students from Fenni-more Middle School and Iowa

NOHR CHAPTER ANNOUNCES SCHOOL GRANTSAt its recent banquet, Susan Carpenter announces school grants from the Harry and Laura Nohr Chapter. They gave out two school grants of $600 each. One went to Eric Erickson of Black Hawk High School in South Wayne, who will teach a new ecology course focusing on impacts on healthy waterways and stream beds. Another went to Linda Ihm and Donna Williams-Richter of Fennimore Community Schools with students from Fennimore Middle School and Iowa Grant Middle School. They will use our grant to partially support a Lake Superior field trip which focuses on climate changes in northern Wisconsin.

NOHR CHAPTER GIVES LANDOWNER APPRECIATION AWARDMary Grimm, shown here with Tim Fraley, was honored by the Harry and Laura Nohr Chapter with the Landowner Appreciation Award.

NOHR CHAPTER HONORS GORDON GRIESHABERAt its annual banquet recently, the Harry and Laura Nohr Chapter presented its Service Award to Gordon Grieshaber for 20 years of being chapter secretary.

Grant Middle School, will use ourgrant to partially support a Lake Su-perior field trip which focuses on cli-mate changes in northernWisconsin.

We gave out the following chap-ter awards: • Friend of Nohr TU to DNR Fish-

eries Biologist Brad Simms and-NRCS District ConservationistJoe Schmelz.

• Golden Net Award to GeneMazewski.

• Service Award for 20 years of be-ing secretary to Gordon Grie-shaber.

• Landowner Appreciation toMary Grimm. We have approved our support

for Trout In the Classroom for Fenn-imore K-12, with Kurt Meyer head-ing it up. The TIC program at NorthCrawford, which we set up with theCoulee Region Chapter is still going.

We are sending three kids to theWITU Youth Fishing Camp, includ-ing Trent Hill, Isaac Wheeler Bonillaand Chloe Landon. We will sponsorall three or share that sponsorshipwith another chapter.—Brian Larson

Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter

Kiap-TU-Wish sponsored a FlyFishing for Trout clinic in River Fallson June 2. The 15 people who at-tended had a great time fishing andlearning about the river, the fish andthe aquatic life in the KinnickinnicRiver.

During the afternoon partici-pants learned casting skills, some en-tomology, knot tying, fishingstrategies, safety and a lesson incourtesy. After supper, which wassupplied by the chapter, studentsfished with volunteer guides. Due tothe outstanding volunteerismdemonstrated by the chapter mem-bership, the guide-to-student ratiowas 1:1.

Many thanks to members ScottThorpe, Maria Manion, Mitch Ab-

bett, Mark Peerenboom, Jim Kojis,Ed Constantini, Sarah Sanford, RonKuehn, Scott Holway, Charles Con-don, Ryan Myers and Tim Chris-tensen. We also had help from BillHinton and Joe Schreifels. Specialthanks to Gary Horvath for the ecol-ogy lesson, Brian Smolinski for thefood, and Joe Gathman for the ter-rific lesson on stream invertebrates.

In mid to late May, Kiap-TU-Wish volunteers participated in anumber of youth education opportu-nities. Volunteers assisted with therelease of brown trout into the Wil-low River by the Amery Intermedi-ate and Greenwood Elementaryschools. On release day, and underthe tutelage of Dean Hansen, thekids were able to find and identify

Summer 2018Page 22

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

KIAP-TU-WISH FLY FISHING CLINIC A SUCCESSKiap-TU-Wish volunteer guide, Sarah Sanford, consulting with a fly fishing clinic attendee.

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PERUSING ALL THOSE AMAZING FLIES IN THE FLY BOXESKiap-TU-Wish Chapter fly fishing clinic attendees peruse the fly box of Kiap-TU-Wish volunteer Ed Constantini.

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many different species of aquatic in-sects, as well as a crayfish and arainbow darter.

John Carlson taught fly tying.Tom Carlson, Tom Schnadt, BillHinton and Greg Olson taught flyrod casting. All 90 kids had a greattime and their enthusiasm was con-tagious! In total, the chapter had 4programs releasing fish into the Wil-low: Amery Intermediate School,Greenwood Elementary School,Rocky Run Elementary, and AmeryHigh School.

Prior to their release day, Green-wood Elementary went through ourBugs in the Classroom program ledby Dean Hansen and assisted bychapter members Perry Palin andMark Peerenboom.

Rocky Branch Elementary hadan ECO Day, with chapter membersDean Hansen and Tom Schnadthelping kids collect and identifystream insects from the Kinnickinn-ic River.

On May 21 Fairmount Santrolsponsored a field day for 145 Ells-worth eighth graders. The PineCreek restoration project was thefocus of the field day. MichelleMaxson and Mark Peerenboomshowed students how to capture andidentify invertebrates and relate thespecies mix to overall stream health.Tom Schnadt led a discussion onhow and why stream restoration isnecessary in the Driftless Area.

In project work, John Carlson,Tom Schnadt, Gary Horvath, BobDiesch and many other Kiap-TU-Wish members raised funds to re-place a perched culvert on Parker

Creek in Polk County. This perchedculvert prevented brook trout fromreturning upstream to their spawn-ing beds, once they had passeddownstream through the culvert andinto the Apple River.

Kiap-TU-Wish board memberJohn Carlson spearheaded thismulti-year project, which involvedPolk County, the Town of Alden,DNR, Star Prairie Fish & Game,Bosch Foundation and several otherentities. The culvert was replacedwith a fish-friendly culvert last fall.

Kiap-TU-Wish board membersand DNR employees met onsite toreview the culvert project thisspring. As noted by DNR specialistJon Simonson, “My take is that thislooks like a very successful culvertreplacement project! Great work! Itwill be really neat to watch the ex-posed sediment upstream establishwith vegetation and continue to re-store itself!”

Kiap-TU-Wish volunteer coordi-nator Randy Arnold totaled the re-sults of the 2017-2018 winterbrushing season. Roughly 120 vol-unteers spent approximately 2,300hours working on easements alongthe Kinnickinnic River, WilsonCreek, Hay Creek and the TrimbelleRiver. More than 2,000 box elderswere cleared on just one easementalone.

The chapter began work on theKaplan easement on the upperKinnickinnic, a 15-acre tract ownedby Kiap-TU-Wish member John Ka-plan. The site had been cleared ofbox elders about a decade ago andneeded work again.

An NRCS funding delay prevent-ed work from starting on the Gut-ting easement along the Trimbelle,so Kiap-TU-Wish assisted the Wis-consin Clear Waters Chapter andbrushed along the Klingman ease-ment on Wilson Creek, anotherNRCS-funded stream restorationproject with bank work scheduledfor this summer.

At the request of the DNR's NateAnderson, Kiap-Tu-Wish thenmoved to the Ruenger easement onHay Creek. Volunteers removedhundreds of mature box elder treesand the Ruengers assisted on manyof the workdays, even providingfreshly baked cookies courtesy ofBarb Ruenger and her grandchil-dren. Fairmount Santrol (now Co-via) volunteers turned out for onemid-week workday to finish up atthis site.

Finally, late in the season, thechapter shifted work to the Guttingeasement along the Trimbelle River,

where over the course of sevenworkdays volunteers logged 600hours removing about 1,000 box el-der trees.

We thank all the volunteers whospent time working on these rivers.Clear sites makes it easier for therestoration crews when they work onthese rivers during the summer.Special thanks to volunteers whoparticipated on more than eightworkdays, some of which never gotabove 10 degrees: John Rock, JimTatzel, Charlie Schlatter, Scott Wag-ner, Matt Wysocki, Dale Dahlke,Dave Gregg, Loren Haas, Dave Ko-zlovsky, John Skelton and Pete Kili-barda. On two separate occasions,only a single volunteer turned out tohelp: Mark Peerenboom on one dayand Pete Kilibarda on the other.—Mike Alwin, Scott Wagner, Greg Ol-son, Tom Schnadt, Randy Arnold,Maria Manion

Northwoods Chapter

In late April we held our mainfundraising event, the 42nd AnnualConservation Banquet at Rhine-lander's Quality Inn. Many chaptermembers took on additional respon-sibilities to boost attendance. Theeffort paid off in getting a 70 per-cent increase in attendance. Also,thanks to the generosity of Lauraand David MacFarland and BillSherer, our grand prize raffle lead-ing up to the banquet was a success.

In May we held our annual elec-tion, and existing officers and boardwere retained intact. Plus, we addedone new member to our board. Forthe next term we will be represented

by President Jay Joppa, Vice Presi-dent Bill Sherer, Secretary John Za-topa, Treasurer Terry Cummings,Board of Directors Mick Mlinar,Dave Tipple, Jack Loomis and DukeAndrews.

We are anxiously looking forwardto teaming up with the summer crewfrom the Chequamegon-Nicolet Na-tional Forest to work on areastreams this summer. As needed,the chapter will continue to assistLaura MacFarland as she invento-ries culverts for their ability to allowunhindered passage of fish andaquatic life.—Terry Cummings

Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter

It’s been a busy spring for theSoutheast Wisconsin Chapter of TU(SEWTU). Our chapter, with thesupport of many dedicated mem-bers, has been very active with habi-tat projects, outreach programs andchapter meetings.

A number of talented and dedi-cated volunteers, led by JohnSchick, continued to host fly-tyingworkshops at the Oak Creek Com-munity Center the first and third

Tuesday of the month during Apriland May. To be informed aboutwhat is being planned for each ses-sion John has created the Fly Tyingemail list that members can be add-ed to by sending a request [email protected].

Our first habitat workday of2018, organized by our conserva-tion-chair and habitat committee co-chair Andy Avgoulas, was our annu-al Menominee River Clean-up Day

Summer 2018 Page 23

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

SEWTU MEMBERS HELP STOCK PARADISE SPRINGSSEWTU helped the DNR to stock Paradise Springs with trout. On May 14 members Stan Strelka and Ken Rizzo arrived to provide help with the stocking of approximately 170 trout.

PARADISE SPRINGS: TROUT FISHING CLOSE TO HOME FOR SEWTUSEWTU recently helped stock Paradise Springs. This is a special place for the chapter because it lends itself to being the perfect outside venue for enriching youth education and making the annual family day a success.

on April 21. Each year we assist theMilwaukee River Keepers and manyother volunteer organizations toclean up the Menomonee River bypulling tremendous amounts oftrash from the river, its banks, theHank Aaron Trail, and Miller Park,which abuts the river at this loca-tion.

Like in past years, we teamed upwith the Milwaukee River Keepersand the DNR on Saturday morningfor the annual cleanup of theMenomonee River. This stretch ofthe river and trail is popular withrecreational hikers, bicyclists, birdwatchers, dog walkers and otheroutdoor enthusiasts.

As many of our members know,this river has an excellent spring andfall run of steelhead and other sal-monid species. Unfortunately, thisriver collects more than its fair shareof junk, so we are excited and proudto be working with the River Keep-ers to give it a good spring cleaningeach year.

On May 12 we headed back tothe northeast side of Oconomowocto work on spring-fed RosenowCreek, which maintains a healthypopulation of naturally reproducingbrook trout. A big thanks goes outto the many years of work by TU,the DNR and ecology students fromOconomowoc High School. This isan important workday for our chap-ter, because it's a stream in our owncommunity.

SEWTU had its last RosenowCreek workday in July 2015. Thestream is in relatively good shapebut some fallen trees needed to beremoved from the stream and bankareas along with some brushing anddebris removal needed to maintainthis nearly urban quality fishery. Aspecial thank you goes to Ken Rizzofor providing outstanding leadershipand organization for a successfulworkday.

On May 19 we were led and co-ordinated by Jim Hartman to teamup with the Lakeshore Chapter on ajoint work day on the Onion River,which is a great brown trout fisherya short distance from Milwaukee.This was the fifth year in a row thatthe two chapters donned waders,gloves, boots and protective glassesand armed with pry bars, hand saws,loppers and other work tools, joinedforces to work on streams.

The Lakeshore Chapter is muchsmaller in size then SEWTU, butthey have many volunteers who arepassionate about coldwater resourc-es, with the Onion being a favoritestream.

This year our summer fishingouting and workday in the DriftlessArea took place in early June. Just

as in recent years, the offered ourmembership several opportunitiesto get outdoors and work on streamsor just participate in some fun andcamaraderie. We joined the AldoLeopold and Coulee Region chap-ters. We headed back to the WestFork Sportsman's Club on banks ofthe West Fork of the Kickapoo Riv-er for a weekend of stream work,camping and fishing.

Saturday morning stream workwas on Mormon Coulee Creek andprimarily consisted of clearing brushfrom the creek, removing downedtrees and smaller willows and box el-ders. Saturday night was an eveningof fishing and camping, and manyvolunteers fished the evening hatch-es. On Sunday there was show andtell in the West Fork and bug sam-plings took place to give people anidea of what to imitate while fishing.Thank you to all of the TU memberswho showed up to make this specialevent, especially Jason Freund andRick Larkin for their leadership andcoordination of this productive andfun weekend.

Another exciting opportunity forSEWTU was helping the DNR tostock Paradise Springs with trout.On May 14 members Stan Strelkaand Ken Rizzo arrived to providehelp with the stocking of approxi-mately 170 trout into ParadiseSprings. This is a special place forour chapter because it lends itself tobeing the perfect outside venue forenriching youth education and mak-ing our annual family day a success.

SEWTU continues to be very ac-tive in educational and outreachprograms in our area. On April 14Rick Frye, who chairs our educationcommittee, and board member NickSchmal, worked with the West BendEarly Risers Kiwanis Club and theDNR to help coordinate SEWTUsupport for their annual Kid's Fish-ing Day. The day is always a successfor about 250 children.

Several additional events thattook place in April were The FlyFishers open house and IF4 FilmFestival. Pat Ehlers has been astrong supporter of SEWTU for ma-ny years and he, along with his staff,continue to provide opportunitiesfor our members to get together andshare stories and learn new thingswhile enjoying a few good beveragesand delicious food.

Pat continues to host The Inter-national Fly Fishing Film tour as asignificant fundraiser to help ourhabitat committee and chapter dostream restoration efforts. Pleasemake sure to continue supportingPat by visiting his store at 9617 WestGreenfield Avenue in West Allis,and surfing his on-line store to pur-

chase your fishing and tying equip-ment and materials.

SEWTU chapter meetings aregreat opportunities to learn aboutSEWTU events, and they also pro-vide insightful informative guestspeakers.

In April Jim Bartelt from SpringCreek Specialties talked about fish-ing and guiding in spring creeks. Jimhas a lifetime of fly--fishing experi-ence and has been guiding anglersfor trout on spring creeks since 1990.He is a professional fly-casting in-structor and veteran Fly FishingSchool Instructor. He has spent hisentire career sharing knowledge withothers, and we are very fortunate hecomes to share his experiences andtips with us.

Matt Brush and John Klinzing ofthe Orvis Milwaukee store were ourguest speakers for the May chaptermeeting. Matt and John delivered atwo-part presentation. The first por-tion was a short segment focused ontrout fishing in Colorado, presentedby Matt and highlighting his experi-ence as an Orvis Endorsed Guide atFly Fishing Outfitters in BeaverCreek. The second portion gaveSEWTU members the opportunityto cast the new Helios 3 rods.

John Klinzing is the newly ap-pointed Fishing Manager at the Or-vis Milwaukee store, and with justover five years invested in the sportof fly fishing, he encompasses awealth of knowledge that he is excit-ed to share with newcomers andskilled anglers alike.

Now that summer is here, we willbe taking a break from our monthlychapter meetings. We will be busy atworkdays, fishing and vacationingwith family and friends. Our monthlymeetings will resume in September.

Here is a list of upcoming work-days, meetings and events:• Early July - Annual Mid-Summer

Casting Clinic, Greenfield Park• July 21 - Scuppernong River

workday #1, Kettle MoraineSouthern Unit

• August 18 - Family Stream Explo-ration Day at Paradise Springs,Kettle Moraine Southern Unit

• September 22 - Bluff Creek work-day #1, Whitewater

• Late September - chapter meet-ing

• Early October - Annual Fin andFeather Festival in Shorewood

• Early October - Annual RootRiver Steelhead Facility OpenHouse

• October 20 - Bluff Creek Work-day #2, Whitewater

• Late October - Annual fundrais-er/banquet

• Late November - chapter meet-ing

• December 1 - Scuppernong RiverWorkday #2, Kettle MoraineSouthern Unit

• Mid- December - chapter meet-ing/holiday party

SEWTU members should watchfor monthly email updates fromSoutheastern Wisconsin Trout Un-limited for the latest opportunitiesand updates to participate in activi-ties, courtesy of Tony Olveda.

Our members are committed toproviding outreach opportunities tohelp educate others about our mis-sion, and committed to conserve,protect and restore coldwater re-sources.

I hope everyone has a great sum-mer and I wish for you to enjoy tightlines, with many fishing opportuni-ties.—Todd Durian

Southern Wisconsin Chapter

A busy spring has SWTU readyfor a bit of a summer break.

We had a great group of eager-to-learn people for our annual River-smith Casting Clinic. A fun groupspanning ages and experiencelearned about casting, bugs, streamecology, reading the water, gear andmore. Many thanks to Tristan Klossfor organizing it, and to the volun-teer crew who lent their time and tal-ents.

Our Stream Team has hacked,sawed, cleared, burnt and plantedalong a variety of tremendous

stretches of cold water. We are luckyto have Jim Hess as our Conserva-tion Committee Chair and congratu-late him on his recent recognition.At the Summit for Natural Resourc-es Volunteer banquet, Jim wasawarded for his outstanding achieve-ment in citizen-based monitoring.

We were surprised to learn thathis coldwater restoration work is justa slice of Jim's volunteering! Amongother things, Jim monitors bats, in-sects/bees, rare plants, 27 bluebirdboxes and nine kestrel boxes, eight

Summer 2018Page 24

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

LEANING IN FOR A CLOSER LOOK At SWTU’s recent Casting Clinic, students young and old got lessons on casting, Tenkara, reading the water, gear and entymology. That’s Mike Burda in the black coat sharing some insights on the little critters trout love to eat.

SWTU’S JIM HESS AWARDED FOR MONITORING EFFORTSSWTU is lucky to have Jim Hess as its Conservation Committee Chair and congratulate him on his recent recognition. At the Summit for Natural Resources Volunteer banquet, Jim was awarded for his outstanding achievement in citizen-based monitoring.SWTU INSTALLS BRUSH BUNDLES ON SARABACHER EASEMENT

The rainy spring delayed a SWTU workday until June, when our hearty crew had perfect weather for installing brush bundles on the Sarabacher easement. These should be tremendous for stream and fish health.

SWTU GETS HELP FROM FOURTH GRADERSAn enthusiastic group of 4th graders from Lincoln Elementary School haul prairie seed to scatter at the Neperud property. It was a field trip to remember, for the students and the members of SWTU.

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of which host breeding pairs. Jimplans to add monarch monitoring tohis duties this year. He and his wifeMarci are also actively involved inthe Prairie Enthusiasts and in con-ducting prescribed burns.

Jim is also on our board of direc-tors, which saw some changes thisspring. We thank Matt Sment,Tristan Kloss and Mike Burda fortheir great service to the resource.We are excited to have several newboard members and a new Presi-dent, Amy Klusmeier. Read ourJune newsletter or visit the “Contactus” tab on swtu.org to learn more

about the amazing women and menwho lead our efforts.

It’s also not too early to markyour calendar for our annual Ice-breaker fundraiser. It will be Satur-day, January 26, 2019 and onceagain at American Family Insur-ance, Madison. Our new event chairis Ben Lubchansky and we look for-ward to the great event.

Please stop by swtu.org for morenews about our chapter and tocheck out our calendar of events.You can also find us on Facebook.—Drew Kasel

Wild Rivers Chapter

I love this time of year, when thedemands of raising pigs and grow-ing produce compete with gettingon the river once in a while. Thissummer, the pigs and produce arewinning, but every once in a while, Ihave been able to grab a rod and hitmy favorite stream.

In April, Bob Haase visited WildRivers territory to present some ofhis great ideas about tying innova-tions and thinking through factorsinvolved in both tying and presenta-tion to trout. Bob had to hit theroad fast after the presentation be-cause our final winter storm was onits way, but it was great to have himjoin our chapter meeting.

In May, Nancy Larson fromProject Greenfire presented to thechapter on the mission of the orga-nization. Project Greenfire is agroup of scientists (mostly retiredDNR) who are working to ensurethat relevant science is being con-sidered by lawmakers and citizensas policy changes are sought.

During the first week of June Iwas fortunate to attend the partnersmeeting held annually to celebratethe partnership between GreatLakes area tribal members and fish-eries professionals from the GreatLakes Indian Fish and WildlifeCommission, the DNR and federalagencies and to acknowledge theaccomplishment of all of these part-ners in developing a fisheries as-sessment of the Wisconsin CededTerritories.

The event is a fun day fishingand socializing and networking withsome of the partners, and having a

few Green Bay Packers join in onall the fun. It is an honor for TroutUnlimited to be invited to theevent. I enjoyed catching up withmany of the Wild Rivers Chapter'spartners in our little piece of fisher-ies conservation, as well as meetinglots of new people. A big thanks tothe Lac Courte Oreilles band ofOjibwe for hosting the event at TheLanding on the Chippewa Flowage.

Our chapter is excited to hear ofsuccessful work on habitat improve-ment projects in the ChequamegonNicolet National Forest, which weare fortunate to be partners in thecompletion of. We are looking for-ward to a later summer date forsome post-beaver removal habitatimprovement in Sawyer Countywith DNR fisheries biologist MaxWolter.

Finally, the Knowles-NelsonStewardship Program is awarding a$362,900 grant to the Bayfield Re-gional Conservancy to purchase 590acres of forested land adjacent toCopper Falls State Park that has theTyler Forks and two tributaries ofclass 1 trout water running throughthe property. Our chapter, alongwith the Wisconsin State Council,partnered with the Bayfield Re-gional Conservancy to see this im-portant conservation opportunitycome to be. Congratulations to theBayfield Regional Conservancy,and thanks to the Knowles-NelsonStewardship Program, for recogniz-ing the importance of protectingthis large parcel of land in AshlandCounty.—Bob Rice

Summer 2018 Page 25

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

Wisconsin Clear Waters

WCWTU has had an activespring calendar, including the re-cent chapter camping and fishingtrip to the Driftless Area and thebeginning of the summer activities.

June 2 was the Knapp YouthDay. Dale Dahlke organizes andoversees volunteers for this youthfishing event at Knapp Pond. Thefamily fun fishing day started with athunder storm that ended just intime for 30 kids to enjoy some greatfishing action with their parents andsix chapter volunteers.

While an extreme heat wave keptthe trout deep and out of reach, thebluegills were very cooperative. Weprovided the spinning and fly rods,worms and flies, and prizes, whilethe local Menomonie Burger Kingprovided free Whoppers and icecream cones. The morning's eventconcluded with the casting contest.Categories included age group spincasting and fly-rod casting. As smil-ing faces returned to their cars, therain, with exquisite timing, returned.

Fly-casting lessons were taughtby volunteers Greg Lynch and LonChristianson. This was a free multi-ple night course that teaches flycasting and educates as to the bene-fit of TU.

June 9 was our trout fishing les-son and outing at Beaver Creek re-serve. We pay for the complete costassociated with this class, providethe volunteers to teach class and or-ganize a trip to a local pond to putnewly acquired skills to use.

Also on June 9 we co-sponsoredthe Trout Day Celebration in Buffa-lo County, along with associated ar-ea outdoor clubs. This is a well-attended local event that celebratesthe work of local landowners andclubs rehabilitating streams in theBuffalo, Trempealeau, and PepinCountry area.

In late June we held our finalwork days on the Sand Creek proj-ect in Chippewa County. Nate An-derson of the DNR has been busyplacing rock and doing instreamwork on a parcel that connects twoprior project areas. Once Nate givesthe word, volunteers will assist inseeding and mulching new work tocomplete the project.

Nate Anderson will begin workon Wilson Creek after completionof the Sand Creek project. TheKiap-TU-Wish chapter and ourchapter volunteers did yeoman'swork brushing this section in prepa-ration for Nate's work.

We hope to establish a more ac-tive brushing crew in the upcomingseason. Many area streams are ingreat need of brushing and cleanup.Gary Welch and Frank Lowry haveagreed to help organize workdaysand bushing crews. See our websitefor updates as they become avail-able.

On June 6 we announced a newproject on Hay Creek in Chippewa

County. This is a Class I troutstream that meanders for six milesthrough western Chippewa Countybefore it empties into DuncanCreek.

It is home to a native brook troutpopulation that is sustained entirelyby natural reproduction. The densi-ty is well above the average for west-ern Wisconsin with about 2,500brook trout per mile. However, dueto a lack of habitat, there is about1,200 brook trout per mile in theproposed project site downstreamof 93rd Street. The proposed site forthe habitat improvement project hasthe potential to have a brook troutdensity equal to or above that of therest of the stream if the right prac-tices are implemented.

This habitat project will add tothe long history of trout habitatwork that was completed in HayCreek the 1960s and 1970s. Much ofthe habitat work is accessible to thepublic, including the proposed site,because easements provide angleraccess along almost the entirety ofthe stream.

Hay Creek has excellent waterquality and has been designated abrook trout reserve stream by theWisconsin DNR. Brook trout re-serve streams are streams wherebrook trout will likely persist intothe future given the current climaticprojections. Reserve streams havehealthy brook trout populations,strong ground water input, and lowcatches of non-native salmonids.Reserve streams are given prioritywhen it comes to easement acquisi-tion, trout habitat improvementprojects and native plantings thatwill provide future shading. Addi-tionally, Hay Creek is an importantcoldwater tributary of DuncanCreek, which is thermally chal-lenged due to an upstream im-poundment. Hay Creek likelyprovides thermal refuge for troutfrom Duncan Creek during warmstretches in the summer and it alsois a seed source for brook trout re-cruitment into Duncan Creek.

Hay Creek work should begin inlate 2018 or early 2019. It is hopedthat the project can be completed in2019.

Finally, the fall season will beginwith the election of a new board andnew officers. Several long-timeboard members' terms expire, sothere is opportunity for new faces toget actively involved (or re-in-volved) in TU. Please contact chap-ter President Dick Duplessie if youwould like to help out.

An interesting fall meeting/pro-gram schedule had been set up byJim Erickson. Please see wcwtu.comfor a list of meetings and topics. Thelocation of chapter meetings haschanged. The new location is at theMODICUM, 3732 Spooner Ave-nue, Altoona.—Dick Duplessie

Wisconsin River Valley Chapter

Hello everyone. After the stun-ning 30 inches of snow in late April Iwas concerned what the weatherwould be like to travel to Poynettefor the Midwest Outdoor EducationExpo in mid-May. I haven't beenable to make it to this one for thelast two years and it was great to beable to participate and tie flies withthe students again. The weather wasbeautiful. I like to bring a few colorsof crystal flash for kids that want to

add a little sparkle to their creationand am always asked “what is that?”One of the girls visiting my stationdidn't think the name crystal flashhad enough pizzazz and suggested“Unicorn Hair” instead. I liked thesuggestion and have been sharingher story.

On May 18 we traveled to Med-ford for the Taylor County Sports-mans Youth Expo. Many thanks toHenry Kannemoto, Bob Pils and

Gene Koshak, who had a busy daydemonstrating their fly-tying skillsto the 5th and 6th graders fromschools in the area. I stayed busy onthe other end of the fairgroundswith fly casting. One of the boys whocame to try out told me that he wassure he was not going to do well ac-tually turned out to be the best cast-er of the day. On top of a fairlystrong cross wind, he was able to hitthe frizbee target three times in arow. I think he was pleased with hissuccess, he stopped again a fewhours later and hit the target again.

On June 2 I traveled to Wiscon-sin Rapids for Kiwanis Kids day formore fly tying. I have had kids asyoung as three years old sit on mylap to tie Emu bluegill buggers. Itwas an overcast day but it didn'tseem to slow any of the kids down.They told me that they had partici-

pated in climbng a rock wall, shoot-ing a BB gun and tasting the sweettreats being offered by the beekeep-er set up in the parking lot. Manystudents had to wait in line but werepatient and passed the time watch-ing the “bugs of the Underworld.” Ihad about 30 kids sit with me and allwere pretty pleased with their cre-ations.

We held our first Wisconsin Riv-er Valley Fundraiser picnic June 23at Prairie Trails Park near Merrill. Afree picnic meal was provided andthere were raffles with nice prizes,including door prizes for the kids.

On July 21 we will have a work-day in northeast Price County. Partof the funding for this trout day is agrant from the Great Lake Troutand Salmon Foundation.—Linda Lehman

Wolf River Chapter

May was a busy month for theWolf River Chapter. On May 5 wegathered at Herb’s Landing, a wellknown fishing and rafting access tothe Wolf River near White Lake, todedicate a bench and plaque com-memorating Herb Buettner. Theevent was well attended by HerbBuettner's family, friends and theWolf River Chapter.

May 5 was chosen for the dedica-tion as it is the opening day of regu-lar trout fishing on the Wolf River,and Herb was a dedicated trouter.Andy Buettner, Herb’s son, brought

two of Herb’s fly rods and his fishingvest to the dedication. As Bill Kall-ner dedicated Herb's bench, he re-minded the group of howthroughout his life Herb worked toprotect the beautiful and wild riverby preventing any more dams on theriver, sanitary sewer dumping, achemical/hazardous waste dump inLily and, most importantly, theCrandon Mine from opening at theheadwaters of the Wolf River.

He also worked with DNR offi-cials through the Wolf River Chap-ter to improve trout fishing. The

WOLF RIVER CHAPTER HONORS HERB BUETTNERJohn Rose, Laurie Netzow, Zach Buchanan, Andy Killoren, Bill Livingston, Bill Kallner pose with the bench dedicated to Herb Buettner at Herb’s Landing.

WOLF RIVER CHAPTER MEET & GREET ALONG THE WOLF RIVERThe Wolf River Meet & Greet in May, with lead organizer Travis Stuck, was well attended. Trout were caught and there were rave reviews about lunch at the Livingston's on the banks of the Wolf River. It is a great event to learn where the access points are, what flies work and a great way to meet other trouters.

Summer 2018Page 26

Chapter News

Wisconsin Trout

OBTU CONTINUES ITS SUPPORT OF WEISTER CREEK PROJECTThe phase 4 section the of the 2.6-mile Weister Creek multi-year project will be completed this summer, with support from the Oak Brook Chapter.For the past several years OBTU and other organizations have provided financial support for this project, which is within the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. It is a big project with a total length of 2.6 miles. In addition to stream improvement, the project provides habitat for hunting, and is a demonstration site for many nongame wildlife habitat practices.

bench and plaque were donated bythe Wolf River Chapter.

The fishing was great in May,even if the river levels were on thehigh side. Many fishermen enjoyedreeling in nice-sized browns, rain-bows and brookies and maybe got alittle water in their waders. Mostcommented on how great the fish-ing was, how big the trout were andhow the new regulations on theWolf are working.

The Wolf River Meet & Greet inMay, with lead organizer TravisStuck, was well attended. Trout

were caught and there were rave re-views about lunch at the Living-ston's on the banks of the WolfRiver. If you are not familar withfishing the Wolf River, this is a greatway to learn where the access pointsare, what flies work and a great wayto meet other trouters. Spin and fly-casters are all welcome. Also, theGreen Bay Chapter, which hadbeen working in the area on streamrestoration, joined us for lunch.Thanks to all who made this annualevent an enjoyable affair.—Laurie Zen Netzow

Oak Brook Chapter

The Oak Brook (Chicago)Trout Unlimited chapter (OBTU)will return to Sparta for a streamrestoration work day in the heartof the Driftless Area. The workday will be focused on buildingLUNKER structures for installa-tion in Beaver Creek north oftown. Since 2014, OBTU has pro-vided both volunteer manpowerand financial support that hasbeen leveraged with local govern-ment funds.

“We plan to continue the im-portant conservation work on ourchapter's priority projects in sup-port of Wisconsin’s Driftless Ar-ea,” said Dave Carlson,Conservation Committee Chair.

We are also continuing our fi-nancial support of Weister Creekin Vernon County. Work on the

Phase 4 section is well under way;with in-stream work to be com-pleted this summer. Fundraisinghas begun for the Phase 5 finalsection, which is expected to becompleted next year.

Weister Creek is another exam-ple of a stream restoration in theDriftless Area supported by OB-TU. For the past several yearsOBTU and other organizationshave provided financial supportfor this project, which is within theKickapoo Valley Reserve. It is abig project with a total length of2.6 miles. In addition to streamimprovement, the project provideshabitat for hunting, and is ademonstration site for many non-game wildlife habitat practices.

We have continued financialsupport of the Trout Unlimited

Driftless Area Restoration Effort(TUDARE) initiative and hostedDuke Welter, TUDARE’s Out-reach Coordinator, as the chap-ter's featured speaker at a recent

membership meeting. He high-lighted TUDARE's past accom-plishments and top priorities overthe next 10 years.—Jim Schmiedeskamp

2017 ContributorsEd Barnes Middleton WIJames Baxter Whitefish Bay WIJolene Berg Chippewa Falls WIRobert Burke Markesan WIDennis Buzzar DeForest WITom Crabb Monona WITerry Cummings Rhinelander WIDavid Darling River Falls WIRichard Duplessie Eau Claire WI

David Dybdahl Middleton WIChuck Egle Amherst Junction WIBeatrice,William Evans NewRichmond John Ewen Neenah WIErik Forsgren Fremont WIRichard Galling Hartland WIRobert Galvin Crivitz WIDaniel Geddes Appleton WIGiorgio Gimelli Madison WI

MAIL TO: TU Watershed Access FundAttn: Doug BrownR4800 Timber Ln.

Ringle, WI 54471

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Phone

Ron & Margery Ginsbach Elmwood WIThomas Goodman Miami FLDan Grauer Wausau WIJohn Gribb Mt. Horeb WIJack Halbrehder Sparta WIStephen Hawk Madison WIAshton Hawk Madison WIJames Hayett Hartland WIJan & Mark Heifner Appleton WIWalter Hellyer Egg Harber WINancy and Dan Hill Spencer WIMike Hittle Appleton WIEd & Irene Josephs Oconomowoc WIPatrick Kirsop Stoughton WILane Kistler Milwaukee WIRobert Kleba Crivitz WIBarb & Joe Kruse LaCrosse WIPeter Kurtz O.D. Menominee WIDavid Lange LaCrosse WIRandy Lueth Marshfield WIBrian Madsen Ellsworth WIMatenaer Corp. West Bend WIKim McCarthy Green Bay WIFred Mikolajewski West Allis WIRobert Moser Milwaukee WIHerb Oechler Wauwatosa WIEdward Parsons Platteville WIRay Piehl Wautoma WI

Gary Preisler West Bend WIRandall Rake Helena MTBob Retko Cedarburg WIKen Rizzo Oconomowoc WIJames Roden Eau Claire WIDan Rorabeck Hudson WINancy Rosenbacher Waupaca WIMichael San Dretto Neenah WIJeff & Mary Schmoeger Lake Mills WIGeorge Shinners Antigo WITim Stark Wind Lake WIWayne Stockman Spring Valley WIJuergen Stuebs Wautoma WIRonald Suslick Peshtigo WICharles Urban Wauwatosa WIKaren & Martin Voss Eau Claire WIDick Wachoski Eau Claire WIDon Wagner Gillett WIRodd Wangen OregonDonald Wellhouse Kaukana WIJared Wunderlich DePere WI

Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter of TUMarinette County Chapter of TU

Summer 2018 updateThe 2018 Watershed Access Fund campaign is off to an

incredible start with more than $10,000 in donations! Thankyou all for continuing to support this important program,which permanently protects access to our favorite troutstreams.

There are some potential projects that may require sup-port from this program in 2018. Please consider supportingthis important program so valuable trout streams across thisstate can be protected for your permanent access and enjoy-ment.

Chapters can request up to $7,500 for an easement fromthis program, but because two chapters may each request fora single acquisition, the Watershed Access Fund can provideas much as $15,000 for a single purchase or easement.

Wishing you the best in the 2018 fishing season.

Doug Brown, Wisconsin TU Watershed Access Fund Chair

Here is my contribution of $100 or more to the Wisconsin TU Watershed Access FundMake your check payable to Wisconsin Trout Unlimited


By Laura MacFarland, Great Lakes Stream Restoration Manager

For the third year, Trout Unlimit-ed staff and volunteers are assistingthe U.S. Forest Service and localmunicipalities in northern Wiscon-sin to identify and replace road-stream crossings that are barriers totrout movement, are degradingtrout habitat and/or are at risk offailure.

While it would be tough to beatlast year’s stats (11 barriers removedto reconnect 42 miles of coldwaterhabitat), we have some excitingprojects slated this summer in col-laboration with the Forest Service.If all goes as planned, five additionalroad stream crossings will be re-placed on the South Branch PoppleRiver, Stoney Creek, Otter Creek,an unnamed tributary to the northfork of the Thunder River and JonesCreek.

We also continue to partner withthe Forest Service, Forest County

Potawatomi Community, DNR,Town of Wabeno and the Friends ofWabeno to improve trout habitat onthe North Branch Oconto River.This will entail brush bunding, largewood additions, the removal of rem-nant dam material and the replace-ment of one road stream crossing.

We are excited to welcome twosummer interns to our team, TylerTwite and Spencer Davis. Both arestudents at UW-Stevens Point. Ty-ler and Spencer will be spending thesummer assisting us to documentgeomorphic changes at our 2017project locations, survey 2019/2020projects, and fill in gaps within ourexisting road-stream crossing inven-tories.

Thank you to the WisconsinState Council and chapters includ-ing Southeast Wisconsin, GreenBay, Wild Rivers, Marinette, North-woods, Antigo and Oconto River.They continue to provide financialsupport for this program. None ofthis would be possible without you.

OTTER CREEK CULVERT REPLACEMENT IN THE WORKSThis set of culverts on Otter Creek in Forest County is slated to be replaced in 2018. This project is anticipated to improve habitat for the yellow rail, a state-threatened bird, in addition to improving instream habitat and aquatic organism passage.

LEARNING THE ART OF SURVEYINGTU Stream Restoration Specialist Greg Orum instructs TU Interns Tyler and Spencer on how to operate a surveyor’s total station.

PESHTIGO RIVER WATERSHED SEEING RESULTSTrout Unlimited is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to continue to eliminate fish-passage barriers within coldwater streams within the Peshtigo River watershed. It is our hope that by 2020 we can eliminate those projects

Wisconsin’s Great Lakes stream restoration program update

RESTORING STREAMS, WORKING WITH KIDS, WORKING WITH VETERANSThat’s what we do, and your purchase of a Wisconsin TU license plate supports our efforts.Support Wisconsin TU and get your Wisconsin TU license plate now.Go to www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/trout.htm


Bears Among Us

November-December 2017

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By Curt Reese

Trout people never give specificstream location information, unlessit is for a work day to clear brush orbuild LUNKER structures. I won’tbreak that secrecy protocol here,but think it is important to providesome details to give context to thefollowing fish story.

I live in western Wisconsin andthere’s a healthy stream in the areathat I’ll call Local Creek for this sto-ry. It’s my favorite stream to fish be-cause it is a close drive from homeand it has a healthy population ofbrowns and brooks.

In early season 2018 I was fishingwith my friend Chris. He’s fromMinnesota, but was coming throughthe area from a work trip and want-ed to connect and fish my local wa-ter. We met on Local Creek andnetted a couple browns on one sec-tion and then we moved upstreamto look for brookies. The sceneryand conversation were great, but thefishing was not. The warm after-noon had led to snow melt whichdropped the temp of the stream,and the fish just weren’t that active.

Chris and I walked and talked alot and realized the end of our daywas just a few minutes away. I tiedon a crystal white woolly bugger towork one last run while Chriswatched my turn to cast. I stood inthe stream and made a cast into theright edge of the run.

My fly hit the water and mo-ments later I had a good fish on. Itsextremely large red-cheeked headrose out of the water, and thenmade a run past me and then backupstream. This was easily the big-gest fish I had ever hooked in theDriftless. It all happened so fast, butmy estimation on size was that 25inches would be a conservative esti-mate of this leviathan. While I wasfoolishly planning my Instagramcaptions for this monster, the hookcame loose and I had my buggerback in my hand, no fish.

What just happened? I lookedover my left shoulder to make eyecontact with Chris to see if I imag-ined this. He was 20 feet away ontop of the bank, having viewed thewhole incident.

“Was that a big fish?” I asked forreassurance. “Bigger than big.”Chris said. “Are there salmon orsteelhead here in this stream?” hejoked.

This didn’t make sense. The fishI had hooked was not a brown,which can grow to great size here inthe Driftless. Could a brookie getthat big here? Probably not. Defi-nitely not. I’ve caught a 14” brookhere in the past, but our native fishcertainly don’t grow to more than20” in this part of the world. Rain-bow? Why would a rainbow of thatsize be here? Why would any rain-bow be here in Local Creek?See GIANTS, page17

FISH STORIES

Patrolled by hand-fed giants

Dav

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ash

and

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isch

IS THERE A TROUT (OK, CHAR) AS BEAUTIFUL AS THIS?The 20-plus-inch fish that haunts the author was probably not a brook trout. As it turns out, there are a few giant rainbows lurking in his favorite local stream.

Documents

Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited News and … - July.pdfWisconsin Trout Summer 2018 Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited 1423 Storytown Road Oregon, WI 53575 wicouncil.tu.org NONPROFIT