APRIL ANGLING ADVENTURE! FUN - FELLOWSHIP - GREAT FISHING

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1 Issue April 2015 Voice of the Fox Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited FOX VALLEY TROUT UNLIMITED FIRST ANNUAL APRIL ANGLING ADVENTURE! FUN - FELLOWSHIP - GREAT FISHING Fish the productive Driftless Area streams with experienced FVTU anglers. April 24-26, 2015 Meet at W.F. Sportsmen s Club, Avalanche, WI Don Clouthier, contact person: (920) more information inside this issue of Trout Talk! Fish the Driftless Area

The small dark colored caddis escaped from my hand and posed for pictures on my arm.

Only one was about throughout the afternoon; a few midges were about as expected but not enough inducement to move trout.

As for being truly black in color, only wing veins are so; wings are gray and the body is dark brown.

2 Let s Talk Bugs Tom Lager Just days after the early season opener, while kneeling to maintain a low profile in an Adams County stream and casting to bank-hidden brookies, a caddisfly came flitting across the stream. I had hoped for more than a pleasant distraction and wanted trout to become enthusiastic about something enough to initiate rising. The small dark colored caddis escaped from my hand and posed for pictures on my arm. It was the first caddis of the year and as shown in regional hatch charts it is the Little Black Caddis, a member of the Chimarra genus. Only one was about throughout the afternoon; a few midges were about as expected but not enough inducement to move trout. These caddis are called little for a reason, they are no longer than 8 mm as adults and are usually tied on a #18 or smaller hook. As for being truly black in color, only wing veins are so; wings are gray and the body is dark brown. Some fishers familiar with Grannom (Brachycentrus) will recognize it as a small version of Grannom or refer to it as a small Black Caddis, another local term for the Brachycentrus caddis, which is a common spring Central Sands Region caddis. This is one of those cases where fishers are going to call this adult caddis any one of the three above common names. The distinction is mainly one of size for the adult insect stage; the Little Black Caddis (Chimarra) is typically a #18 - #20 and Grannom or Black Caddis is #12 - #16. The adults are generally similar in color and in behavior, which means you can keep it simple, just bring the appropriate size range to the stream and match the one on the wing. Females, laden with a yellow-green egg sac, will skitter across the surface and dive through the surface to lay eggs on submerged surfaces; therefore animate your fly accordingly. Granted it is the adult form of these caddis that is usually fished; however, if you were to fish in a manner to imitate the larvae of these caddis, it is necessary to recognize their significant distinctions. Fishing late afternoons and into dusk is the best time to take advantage of the natural behavior of caddis larvae to become mobile and drift in search of new habitat; trout are cued into this behavior and feed on drifting bugs. The pictures show Little Black Caddis larvae have yellow amber heads with a light cream colored long slender bodies and drift free of their net-case; where as Grannom larvae have black or dark brown head and thorax, long dark legs, short cream colored bodies and usually drift with their cases attached (Grannom with #16 TMC hook). Both caddis are filter feeders; however, the former creates a fine meshed long slender tubular flexible net and the Grannom creates a rigid four-sided long rectangular case composed of plant and sand materials. Grannom anchor their cases on rocks, limbs and grasses exposed to swift current and filter suspended food items with sieve-like hairs on their forelegs. The Little Black Caddis seek pockets among rock and debris sheltered from direct current to anchor their fragile nets that filter microscopic foods from the current. Trout are known to pick Grannom larvae, case and all, from exposed rocks and branches hanging in streams. When tying a larval pattern, note larvae tend to be one hook size larger than adults, so tie accordingly. The Au Sable River in Michigan has a well-known Little Black Caddis hatch composed of Chimarra aterrrima that peaks in early May. Ross Mueller reports for Wisconsin emergence starts in the third week of March and over-laps the Hendrickson hatch. So enjoy God s country - if you want to be a generalist fish the adult forms, if you want to dabble in the specific, pick the rocks to see who is there and fish the appropriate larval pattern.

Office: 920.832.2409 2901 E. Enterprise Ave.

com The Little Black Caddis Jesse Walters

Rib: Brown/Gray thread Body: Black dubbing

thread, coated Legs: Black/dark brown Z-Lon

3 Office: E. Enterprise Ave., Suite 500 Appleton, WI The Little Black Caddis Jesse Walters Hook: Mustad 94859, Thread: Black 8/0 Rib: Brown/Gray thread Body: Black dubbing with green dubbing tip Antennae: Black thread, coated Legs: Black/dark brown Z-Lon Wing: Black Antron See more of Jesse s flies on Etsy: jwaltersflies

Catch More Fish Don Clouthier April Angling Adventure FVTU Driftless Area Early Season Chapter Fishing Trip Information and Details Here is the info you need to plan this First Annual Early Season

Registration: Please notify Don Clouthier of your interest, number of anglers in your party and overnight plans: clouthier4@aol.com (subject line-fvtu) or call Don at 920-851-0597.

Camping will be around the Portage shelter (middle of the campground) which we have reserved for the weekend. For info and directions: www.westforksportsmansclub.

For firsthand accounts of early season fishing go to our web- site and read March 2014 and February 2013 issues of Catch More Fish.

local knowledge. The last week/weekend of the early season is a very popular time to fish the Driftless Area so get there early and be prepared for considerable fishing pressure.

There is a livestock show in town that weekend so motel space will be tight and we need to book early. While this is a FVTU event, members are encouraged to bring a guest(s).

4 Catch More Fish Don Clouthier April Angling Adventure FVTU Driftless Area Early Season Chapter Fishing Trip Information and Details Here is the info you need to plan this First Annual Early Season Chapter Fishing Trip. When: April 24-26, the last weekend of the early season. Arrive earlier if possible. Registration: Please notify Don Clouthier of your interest, number of anglers in your party and overnight plans: (subject line-fvtu) or call Don at Camping is $10/night per tent ($20 per RV/Trailer) and annual membership is $10 per angler. Camping will be around the Portage shelter (middle of the campground) which we have reserved for the weekend. For info and directions: Lodging: Numerous value motels are nearby in Westby and Viroqua. See note below. For firsthand accounts of early season fishing go to our web- site and read March 2014 and February 2013 issues of Catch More Fish. ( Fishing tab) Chapter members, who regularly fish the early season in Driftless, will be on hand to assist FVTUers new to the Driftless or ES in stream and fly selection, ES tactics and to provide local knowledge. The last week/weekend of the early season is a very popular time to fish the Driftless Area so get there early and be prepared for considerable fishing pressure. Note: Most of us who fish the early season in April camp in Avalanche. For non-campers there are numerous motels in Westby and Viroqua. There is a livestock show in town that weekend so motel space will be tight and we need to book early. While this is a FVTU event, members are encouraged to bring a guest(s). Please call or Don to register your interest so our organizers are prepared to meet the needs of participating FVTU anglers. Closer to the date, when we know our group size, we will begin to plan and schedule the group events: dinners, happy hour, campfires fly tying and post fishing BS sessions. I will be in contact with those interested the week of April 13th. At the same time updated AAA event information will be posted on our website and Facebook. Some additional notes: The perfect rod/reel combination will be a 8-9 ft. 4 wt. rod with matching line and reel If you do not have the above rod/reel combo whatever you have will be perfect. Bugs can be found on hatch charts at Mayfly and Caddis charts there posted by FVTU board member Steve Heuser Prior to coming check the (daily) fishing reports on or call Matt at his shop in Viroqua. Do not forget your new 2015 Fishing License. Weather can be unpredictable and the nights chilly so dress in layers and be prepared. Additional printed local stream and fishing tactics info will be provided to those participating. You will Catch More Fish if you participate in our April Angling Adventure Fishing Day for People with Disabilities Rich Erickson The Fox Valley Trout Unlimited chapter is sponsoring our 37th annual Fishing Day for People with Disabilities on Saturday, May 16, 2015 from 10:30 1:30. The event will again be held at the Main Creek Farm north of Shiocton map is on our website. Chapter members are needed to: help with the fishing activities, cleaning and icing fish, cooking burgers and brats, and clean-up. If you can help out for a few hours on May 16th please call Rich Erickson or Jim Jenkin. Also, if you know of someone who would enjoy being able to take part in the Fishing Day for People with Disabilities please contact Rich or Jim.

5 Member Musings With the spring comes the annual elections for Fox Valley Trout Unlimited. The annual elections were held before the Chapter meeting on April 19th. We would like to welcome both Jen Erickson and Todd Yaekel to the board. Both have been active members; Jen has been managing the Facebook page and you have probably seen Todd at many meetings and events. Along with our new members we also would like to thank both John Hammond and Scott Heinritz as they leave the board. John s contributions have stretched over many years, since he is one of the original Chapter members and Scott has been our link to Fox Valley Tech. We say thank you for their time and energy devoted to the Fox Valley TU. Reelected to another board term were Tom Lager as President, Dick Stielow as Secretary and Al Johnson as Treasurer along with Don Clouthier and Jim Jenkin.. On April 19th, Chris Jape from Rivers End Guide Service spoke to us about smallmouth fishing on the Menominee. Chris shared a wealth of information during a very informative and well done presentation. Topics from tackle, to flies, and techniques were covered. Chris is also an avid tier and had many smallmouth patterns to examine. If you missed the presentation, you may want to check the website that Chris has, it can be found at: In place of an April program the Chapter is organizing a fishing trip to the Driftless Area. For those who have not fished this extremely productive fishery, it is a chance to add some new areas to your list of favorites. This early catch and release season will provide a very nice opportunity for all. Dates are scheduled for Friday April 24th through Sunday April 26th. You are free to join for one or all days. Many will most likely camp at the West Fork Sportsman s Club in Avalanche, WI (Gazetteer, page 41 D4), but local hotels are also readily available in Viroqua. For those interested, our coordinator is Don Clouthier. You can reach Don at Clouthier4@aol.com and please add Driftless Trip in the subject line. You will also find more details in this newsletter. The Chapter Habitat work begins on Saturday April 18th at the Davies Creek in Waushara County. It has become a tradition that the first Habitat Day of the season be on the Davies where we do some maintenance work on this major restoration which was previously completed by FVTU. This normally includes touch up work on structures and some brushing. Come out and spend the morning with us and enjoy a streamside lunch. Looking into May, we have the annual Fishing Day for People with Disabilities scheduled for the 16th at the Maine Creek Game Farm near Shiocton. You will see details in the newsletter and all volunteers are welcome to help those fishing and enjoy the day. Rich Erickson, our organizer, has ordered nice weather. The early season is under way, although as usual the weather has been a mixed bag. Watch for one of those nice days to get out and wet a line. Just ahead is the opening of the regular trout season; that we are all looking forward to. Once we hit warm weather things begin moving quickly and it won t be long before events like the Hex Hatch will be in front of us. Thank you for your support of the Fox Valley Chapter. Jim Jenkin Editor Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing. Chauncy Lively

6 NON PROFIT US Postage PAID Appleton WI Permit No W. Spencer St. Appleton, WI Mark Your Calendars! 1st Annual April Angling Adventure April W.F. Sportmen s Club Avalanche, WI Join us and fish the Driftless Area! Check website for details! Chapter Board Members President Tom Lager Vice President Open Secretary Dick Stielow Treasurer Al Johnson Board 1 Keith Bassage Board 2 Duane Velie Board 3 Norm Christnacht Board 4 Jen Erickson Board 5 Tony Garvey Board 6 Steve Heuser Board 7 Roger Genske Board 8 Todd Yaekel Board 9 Don Clouthier Board 10 Jim Jenkin Board 11 Rich Erickson Board 12 Rick Schinler Past President Joe Bach Jerk Tilapia Tilapia fillets, completely thawed and patted dry with paper towel. Or better yet, fresh tilapia. Juice from a fresh lime. Jamaican Jerk sauce. I used a basic sauce and it was not overly hot or spicy. Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded. Fresh chopped cilantro or fresh parsley. I've used both and they are equally enjoyable. The quantities of the ingredients are up to the individual as you can't really screw this recipe up. Lightly coat a 9x9 or 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Arrange fish in a single layer. Size of baking dish depending on how many fillets you have. Cut a fresh lime in half and squeeze juice over fish. Coat fillets with a layer of Jerk sauce. Top with shredded cheese. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for minutes. It's done when it flakes easily with a fork. Remove from oven and sprinkle some fresh cilantro or parsley on each fillet. Enjoy, BoB Kinderman

Member Musings. Voice of the Fox Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Issue 97.7 May 2014

Member Musings. Voice of the Fox Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Issue 97.7 May 2014 Issue 97.7 May 2014 Member Musings Well the new Trout Season is finally here, something much anticipated by many. The early season got off to slow start due to the cool weather conditions and a winter