BROOKIE NEWS Next Issue: Western Trout Fishing on a Budget, Yellowstone Edition

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1 BROOKIE NEWS Next Issue: Western Trout Fishing on a Budget, Yellowstone Edition <<< Illustration One Last Look - Brook Trout courtesy of Bob White of Whitefish Studio Newsletter of The Central Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CWTU) July 2014 Prez Sez We had an excellent turnout (40) for the July 8 Board meeting at John & Laura s home on the Pine River. I guess the word got out about Laura s cooking! We had a short agenda and took plenty of time eating and talking. The main topic for the evening was a presentation by R. J. Wickham, Wautoma Forestry Team Leader. After hearing about a proposed timber sale from the land near the Mecan Springs, I invited RJ to give us a presentation assuring us that the headwater springs would not be damaged by the timber removal process. I was satisfied, as I believe were most of our members at the meeting, that the DNR Forestry planning was very thorough and that our main concerns had been considered. There will be Oak removal and regeneration, Pine thinning, and Locust eradication. There will be a barrier of trees left between the springs and the logging areas, and no logging on the banks. There will also be a large uncut area surrounding the Eagles nest. RJ explained that Oak in our sand country survives less than 100 years and that the trees in the selected areas are a maturity. Surely most of us are saddened by the removal of beautiful forest. The regeneration of Oak forest takes decades. But done properly, the environmental impact should be positive in the long term. Mr. Wickham gave an excellent presentation and we thank him for his efforts.

2 We spent a short amount of time discussing our chapter objectives and then moved on to some old business/new business topics. Dan Harmon has finally received approval from the DNR for the placement of three (3) memorial benches on state property. Two will be on the White River and one on the Mecan River. A fourth bench had previously been installed on the Pine River at Covered Bridge Park, owned by the Village of Springwater. I believe this whole process has taken about 3 years, I commend Dan for never giving up. Tom Poullette announced that he has sold his home and is in the process of deciding where to live. He feels it is time to retire from his post as a faithful Watch Dog. Well served Tom! Our only remaining Watch Dog is Elward Engle, so we are looking for someone to fill Tom s position. Watch Dogs are ever on the alert for potential threats to our cold water streams. John Tucker CWTU Board Meeting, July 8, 2014 At the Home of John and Laura Tucker, Saxeville, WI 1. Meeting was called to order by President Tucker at 6:45 p.m. 40 in attendance. 2. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved as published. 3. The Treasurer s Report was approved as distributed. Treasurer Schaefers reported an excellent return from the annual Trout Schoo.l He explained several of the highlights from the past three months and for the fiscal year to date. While we hold a large cash balance, a considerable portion of it is restricted to specific projects and purposes. 4. Wautoma Forestry Team Leader, R.J.Wickham, with the assistance of Forester/Ranger Roderick Glaman, presented the DNR s plans for logging in the Mecan Springs area. He provided a clear and wellstructured account of the plans and objectives and responded to numerous good questions from the membership, receiving a generally positive response. It appears that the watershed will be well-protected during the logging operations. His team would be willing to show interested members around the site. 5. The draft of Chapter Objectives circulated by President Tucker was discussed. Mr. Haase distributed a revised version which had the virtue of grouping the 11 original objectives into six broader groups which might provide form and substance to a revised committee structure for the

3 Chapter. Mr. SanDretto noted that this version did not give a clear sense of priorities for the objectives. After some discussion, the matter was laid over for further consideration at the next meeting. One matter requiring special consideration is the appointment of an official chapter historian. Mr. Tucker invited volunteers. 6. Old Business: Mr. Poulette will be ending his extensive and productive service as a Watchdog. Mr. Tucker requested that one or more members willing to join Mr. Engle on the Watchdogs Committee should contact him as soon as possible. The Chapter expressed its thanks to Mr. Poulette for his service. Mr. Harmon reported that contracts have been signed for the placement of the remaining memorial benches and they should all be in place this summer. The Chapter expressed its thanks to Mr. Harmon for his long and dedicated efforts on this project. Ms. Laura Tucker noted that the Annual Conservation Banquet will be held on the first Saturday in October at the same Wautoma venue, and asked members to consider donations for prizes. A kayak has been secured again as a major raffle prize. Mr. Haase reported that the Trout Camp has space for a few more kids. He expressed his thanks to the 36 members of this and other chapters who have volunteered to serve as camp counselors. Mr. Harmon moved that the tuitions for the Chapter s sponsored campers be paid from the Beck Education Fund rather than general operating funds. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. 7. New Business: Mr. Haase will be hosting the August picnic and meeting with a fish fry at his home in Eldorado. Mr. SanDretto volunteered to assist with the grilling. The Chapter expressed its heart- (and stomach-) felt thanks to Laura Tucker for hosting and for another great feeding opportunity! 8. Meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, David Seligman, Secretary Thank You Department From Henry Koltz, State Council Chairman, Re: Summer Camp

4 Linn, Bob, and all: On behalf of Wisconsin TU, I want to thank you all for your work at the camp. From what I observed, it was fantastic, and the kids were engaged and having a great time. I am very glad that the camp was broad spectrum, and taught about all types of angling, and that the kids got to see everything good that happens when you take care of the resource. Thanks for making the camp great, and thanks especially to Linn and Bob for all of their work in putting it together and making it happen. - hek From Jim Williams re: Troutfest From: James Williams Subject: Black Earth Angling Date: July 25, 2014 at 5:36:18 PM CDT Hi John; I just got from a day of guided smallmouth bass fishing with Kyle Zempel, and I had a blast! The fish were many and willing to be caught. And the outing would not have happened if I had not gotten the lucky raffle ticket at this year's TroutFest. Thank you CWTU! All the best, Jim RIVER KEEPERS NEWS Fahrenkrug Secures CWTU River Keeper Grant Thanks to the work of Rick Fahrenkrug, CWTU River Keepers has been awarded a $5000 grant for The money will be used to help our organization grow, buy equipment, involve youth, and help organize/coordinate a network of clean water organizations in central Wisconsin. The people awarding this grant are aware of the important work that the CWTU River Keepers are doing monitoring streams, involving citizens in the monitoring process, and educating young and old about the importance of our rivers and lakes. Thanks to all who are making this program a success! Anyone who would like to get involved with the CWTU River Keepers should contact me at John Gremmer More River Keepers News: Gifts and Grants The Citizens Natural Resources ASSN. has given the CWTU River Keepers a $500 grant for chemicals and equipment. The CWTU River Keepers trained two members of the Aldo Leopold Chapter Trout Unlimited at our May training session. They donated $ dollars to the CWTU River Keepers. Still More River Keepers News: CWTU River Keepers Train Students and Teachers In May, CWTU River Keepers helped the Appleton Plamann Montessori School set up a water monitoring program on Apple Creek. Apple Creek runs through Plamann Park

5 which is behind the school building. Rick Fahrenkrug, Jim Murphy, Dick Stielow, Norm Christnacht, Judy and John Hartl, Andy Hudak, Ed Hudak, Andrew Aslesen, and John Gremmer participated in the training and planning. The school will be monitoring all Summer and their data is being posted on the Water Action volunteers website. Thanks go to Rick Fahrenkrug for doing the bulk of the organizing on this project. From: "STRAND, SARAH" Subject: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please pass on to all of APM's water testing volunteers! Date: June 19, 2014 at 2:43:10 PM CDT Dear John G., John H., Dick, Jim, Andy, Rick, Andrew, Norm, Ed and Judy, Thank you so much for coming to our school and teaching our students about water conservation and testing. I d like to acknowledge your generous gifts of time and patience as you led all of us through each water testing station. Your knowledge and experiences really got us excited about helping the environment and understanding the immediate world around us! As a teacher, I am absolutely ecstatic about this opportunity for our students. I could go on and on about all of the academic connections students will be making- math, science, writing, observing, measuring, using scientific equipment, recording data, etc. But I am most excited about the realness that this experience has to offer our students. In our Montessori training, we learned that we should always bring the real into our classrooms. I think we are accomplishing that especially with the collection of data from their extended school campus and onto the website database for long term study. I am really pleased about being involved with all of the parts of this program. We just finished our 1 st solo water testing this week, with a small group of summer school students. I was amazed at how much they remembered from your trainingboth in word and in action. In our training we also learned about how practical life exercises such as these, can bring out the best in students and raise them in other academic and social areas. This is often hard to measure in the traditional sense, but trust me, the time that you gave has already made a big impact with these students!!! I think we are well on our way to achieving some of our school s goals for the year, including using the environment around us, developing partnerships within the community and developing leadership opportunities for our students. Thank you!!

6 Lastly, I d like to thank you for your flexibility with the weather and schedules. Hats off to Rick for his extra assistance with coordinating all of this and to John G. for his leadership within this program. Thank you to Ed and Rebecca for bringing this into my vision- I remain very excited and grateful! So happy to be participating! Thanks again, Sarah Strand From Greenville Middle School Joe Bach, FVTU, Mike San Dretto, CWTU VP, and I each spent a morning teaching Greenville Middle School students about fly fishing in late June. The teacher, Sara Hans, learned about CWTU at TroutFest '14 and requested some help in teacher her classes on fly fishing. The students had been tying wooly buggers and learning how to tie the knots. They were also getting quite good at mastering the casting stroke. Maybe one of them will be a chapter president or state chair someday. See Sara Hans' letter below. In the image I was showing the kids what kind of flies I use for different fish. John Gremmer Dear John, Thank you so much for visiting my summer school classes today. The students, Monica, and I enjoyed seeing all of your flies, your telescopicfly rod, and learning the four basic steps to casting. Your instructionwas valuable and will be practiced each day. Thank you for the cards and for the wonderful flies. The boys looked forward to sharing them withtheir family members. Attached are some neat photos of you instructing my students today. Enjoy! John, I sincerely appreciate your support. I know the boys are finding thejoy in fly fishing and hope this will become a lifelong sport for them. Warm regards, Sara Mike SanDretto gives casting lessons

7 John Gremmer at the tying table with students John Gremmer and Students with Flies Joe Bach at the tying table with students Joe Bach shows students varieties of flies

8 Update on the CAFO Fight in the Central Sands From: Bob Clarke Subject: Update on our CAFO fight in the Central Sands Date: July 9, 2014 at 11:19:44 PM CDT As I return to the normal work week after the beautiful July 4th weekend I can t help but reminisce about the time before. Beforethe CAFO was announced in our back yard, Before we learned how our water was at risk, Before our nearby friends showed us how their lake is almost gone, Before we were taught about how our prized streams may not support trout habitat...before we took legal action to protect our water. July 4th We celebrate our independence! And for many this holiday represents the half way mark for summer. I watched many families enjoying skiing and tubing and wave runners. My wife and I watched the sailboats and paddle boards and kayaks and canoes. We laughed at the fun that people were having swimming, floating, splashing and snorkeling. We listened to our neighbor s excitement when the eagles were spotted. We saw people fishing and hiking and biking and we saw tents. Lots of tents and tarps and campfires. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed sleeping with our windows open while others slept on porches or under the stars. It was beautiful weather to enjoy our wonderful outdoor world. But we couldn t help but think about how all of these activities will be negatively impacted. What would it be like to experience the sights and smells of manure on the fields, spilled on the roads and pooling in ditches? What would it be like to sleep with windows closed tight against the stench of liquid manure or hazardous air pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia? For us the 4th represents other things as well. Over the 4th of July weekend in 2011, we were preparing for a public hearing on the thenproposed Richfield Dairy highcapacity well permit. Over three years, two permits, two court victories, and three weeks of contested case hearings later, we still don t have a decision on whether the DNR was within its rights to issue the high-capacity well permit without considering the impacts of other wells. But we are getting close, despite a recent effort by the DNR to delay a decision again. Hearings challenging the Richfield Dairy high-capacity well permit concluded in December 2013, and the attorneys submitted final post-hearing briefs in early May In early June, the DNR asked the administrative law judge to stay a decision and reopen proceedings so it could re-do its analysis yet again. This analysis still would not have led to any changes in the well permit.

9 But we prevailed...last week, the judge denied that request. What s more, the judge stated he would make every effort to issue a decision in 60 days. Our legal actions are still going strong as we enter our 4th year and we are making a big difference! Our costs now hover near $300,000 and we need your help. Please support these efforts to protect why you enjoy making family memories on holidays such as the 4th! I have always admired the anadromous species of the Great Lakes, the Pacific Salmon, providing the first migration of the Fall season and early sport for the fisherman. The big powerful Fall Browns, the almost unequaled battlers of Fall and Spring the Steelhead, the big and rare Coasters (Brook Trout) of summer, and as of late the Atlantic s. A Trip to the St. Mary s River, Canada By Jeff Treu Salmo Salar of thest Marys Known in some parts of the world as the king of fish, the Atlantic Salmon is a beautifully colored fish of sterling silver with iridescent hues of blue, violet and olive in the Spring. In the Fall with the arrival of the spawning season this same fish changes its look to that of rich gold, the males now growing large kypes and sporting round protruding snouts. This is a fish I ve had an increasing fascination with over the last several years. A fish I have come to admire for its tradition, beauty and fighting qualities. I ve always heard about them, these great fish of Europe and eastern Canada but they seemed mysterious and out of reach, both geographically and economically. Then about 15 yrs ago I began to hear bits and pieces about this fish thriving in the St Marys River just 6 hrs from home. This started me on a search to find out all I could about this fishery.

10 The first time I fished the Soo (Sault Sainte Marie) area both on the Canadian and U.S. side of the border was about 8 yrs ago, since then I have made several more trips. Wade fishing the famous St Marys Rapids is only accessible from the Canadian side of the border. You can access the river on the U.S. side by boat. The month of May is prime for Steelhead but the Atlantic s don t make their migration up the river from Lake Huron until about mid June, on a normal year. However they don t enter the Rapids until about mid July or even later, at least in fishable numbers. It s the warming of the slower waters of the lower river and the ever increasing spawning urge that inevitably drives these fish into the oxygen rich waters of the Rapids. I just returned a few days ago from a trip to the Soo in search of Atlantic Salmon. This trip occurred the 2nd wk of July. A friend of mine, Dirk Denzin, invited me to join him on a 4 day trip he had booked with guide Brad Petzke to boat fish the river. It took me about 1 second to accept his offer. At this time fishing out of a boat was our only choice not only did the time of year with our unseasonably cool weather dictate we do so because the fish would not be in the Rapids yet but also because the Army Corp of Engineers had opened more gates at the head of the Rapids making them to high and treacherous to wade. Hopefully this event will end by next year and fishing the Rapids will once again be a possibility. Dirk and I arrived at the boat landing to meet Brad, our guide, at 5am. I must warn you that fishing the St Marys out of a boat may not be what you envision when you think about the stories you ve heard or read concerning Atlantic Salmon. You may picture a 20 wooden freighter canoe on a rock strewn river flanked by majestic bluffs that are so common in eastern Canada. Maybe the volcanic landscape of Iceland or the northern forest terrain of Norway or maybe even the trimmed hedges and quaint villages of Ireland. Along with the scenery a person can expect a 1 or 2 fish week, if you re lucky maybe more but possibly worse. Not so here in the Soo. No this is the river that houses the Soo Locks, some of the biggest and busiest in the world. Ocean going barges and other vessels are a common sight. That being said the river is frequently traveled by small fishing boats, the Atlantic Salmon are still Atlantic Salmon and there are good numbers of them available to the angler. Yes these fish migrate up the river from Lake Huron instead of the ocean but they are still the same big beautiful powerful fish that readily take a fly. Fish that will run you into your backing and take you down into the depths on one side of the boat and if you re not careful come rocketing up out of the water 3 or 4 into the air on the other side of the boat. If you re lucky, after a minute battle or more you may get to hold and photograph a silver Atlantic Salmon of different iridescent hues weighing maybe 10 lbs or more. Our guide Brad Petzke showed us some innovative nymph and streamer techniques we used to catch these fish. For the record

11 if you re interested in the numbers and I don t usually quote numbers but I will in this case for the sake of a comparison to other Atlantic Salmon destinations around the world. Well Dirk and myself boated 24 Atlantic s in 4 days of fishing 8 of which were in the 10 lb range. We also caught 14 Steelhead, the St Marys being one of the few places in the world where you can catch Steelhead and Atlantic s out of the same water. For good measure you can also add 20 plus Whitefish and Lake Herring to the count. As long as I m mentioning numbers I must admit that my friend Dirk did school me on both numbers and size of fish caught, that s ok though because we truly enjoyed having the fishing time of our lives. Brookie News Articles and Features Members and friends of CWTU are encouraged to submit articles, notices, and photos for publication in the Brookie News. Contact the editor at Seligmand@gmail.com. Current CWTU Officers and Board Members are listed elsewhere on the CWTU.org Website This trip truly ended up being a world class trip for us but not at world class prices. Jeff Treu For more info you can contact ; Captain Brad Petzke Riversnorth Guide Service

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