THE WOLF RIVER HATCH

Transcription

1 THE WOLF RIVER HATCH NEWSLETTER OF THE WOLF RIVER CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED WISCONSIN S FIRST CHAPTER ISSUE 4 Spring 2015 Trout Regulations by President Tim Waters OFFICERS President Tim Waters MuddyWaters@new.rr.com Vice President Andy Killoren akilloren@centurytel.net Secretary/Treasurer Linda Anderson lindaanderson57@aol.com BOARD MEMBERS Brian Heikenen bheiken@earthlink.net Bill Kallner wolfmoon@granitewave.com Bill Livingston wolfriverfish@gmail.com Travis Stuck easternridges@live.com Laurie Zen Netzow lznetzow@me.com Web Site Find us on Facebook Newsletter Editor Laurie Zen Netzow lznetzow@me.com Mail hard copy submissions to PO Box 235 White Lake, WI (715) Thanks! As many of you know, the WDNR is going through the process of simplifying the trout regulations throughout the state. The Wolf River Chapter of Trout Unlimited has 17 1/2" Brown caught just south of Langlade on a worked with sculpin pattern Olive Cougar Tease April 21st, 2015 by Tim Waters DNR Fisheries Biologist Dave Seibel on a new compromise proposal. Old Proposal 3 trout in total 8 minimum length limit on brook trout All brown and rainbow trout kept shall be less than 12 Only artificial lures may be used Eliminate the catch & release section New Proposal 3 trout in total 8 minimum length limit on brook trout All brown and rainbow trout kept shall be less than 12 with 1 trout over 18 allowed per day Eliminate the catch & release section Notice the artificial lures only regulation has been removed from the new proposal. The bag limit has also been changed to include 1 trout over 18. Stocking Trout stocking on the Wolf has changed over the years, mainly due to studies and surveys of survival rates. Since 2010 the goal was for 10,000 Browns and 10,000 Rainbows. 38,997 Rainbows have been stocked, but according to my trout logs, only 12 of the 384 trout I caught in that span were Rainbows (3.1%). I do not think they are surviving as well as the browns they plant. Dave Seibel agrees, and they are eliminating the stocking of Rainbows for The Brown Continued on page 4

2 Wolf River Chapter Trout Unlimited Spring Meeting March 28, 2015 President Tim Waters called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The first order of business was election of two board member positions. Jim Robinson had decided not to run again. Andy Killoren nominated Travis Stuck for the position, seconded by Linda Anderson. No other nominations were forthcoming. Travis Stuck was elected by unanimous vote. The second board position held by Bill Livingston was also open. Bill Kallner nominated Bill Livingston, seconded by Andy Killoren. No other nominations were forthcoming. Bill Livingston was elected by unanimous vote. New Business Tim Waters gave a State update. The DNR will be taking over the Trout Stamp program. The Stewardship program was also discussed. The Friends of Trout Unlimited has given our Chapter a $1,500 grant in the past. The brat stand was the next order of business. The stand is located at Mike s Service on most major weekends during the summer. (Thanks Mike and Alice.) The brat stand is our Chapter s major fundraiser. Andy Killoren volunteered to take the Memorial Day weekend to open our season. Travis Stuck and Tim Waters also volunteered to take a weekend each. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED, even for a few hours. Bill Kallner generously offered to donate some of his hand-made furniture the Chapter could sell. New board member Travis Stuck introduced himself and gave a brief background. Travis is an avid hunter/fisherman and the Chapter is happy to have him as its newest board member. Travis discussed an idea for a meet & greet forum for people interested in fishing the Wolf River. Our Chapter could assist in lodging and guiding these visitors to the river s access points. A discussion was held regarding new proposed fishing regulations and changes by the DNR. Some of these changes affect the Wolf River directly. Sportsmen can vote on these issues at the DNR Spring Hearings held in each county in April. The topic of current fish plantings on the Wolf River was also discussed. Some members would like to see more big fish planted in the spring and would also like to be involved with the process again. Our Chapter used to assist with fish planting, and this seemed to work better. A Chapter newsletter will be issued by Board Member Laurie Netzow this spring. Thanks, Laurie for a great job! Waders of the Wolf patches were given to the Chapter and will be offered for sale in the future. Stream Work Stream work for 2015 was discussed. Tentative dates are July 18 and August 22 for Spring Creek and possibly the Hunting River with the DNR. Work on the Nine Mile is planned for August 15 with assistance from the Green Bay Chapter. These work projects are much needed and comprise our Chapter s major efforts in stream restoration. Duane Fronek will continue to monitor the beaver activity on the various streams. Duane is the Chapter s trapper. Tim Waters, Duane Fronek and Dave Seibel are planning a site visit to Nine Mile Creek. Explorations of the Wolf River and its tributaries are planned in order to check on beaver activity and other drainage issues. Dates will be noted on the Chapter s web site, and members will be notified by . Tim Waters will be conducting the water monitoring program again this summer. Anyone wishing to go along with Tim is certainly welcome. Andy Killoren moved to adjourn the meeting. Tom Arndt seconded the motion. Motion carried. Lunch was served. Respectfully submitted, Bill Livingston assisted by Linda Anderson!! 2

3 Wolf River Chapter Trout Unlimited General Meeting October 11, 2014 President Tim Waters called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. and thanked members for attending. Reading of the March 15, 2014 meeting minutes was waived as the minutes are in the newsletter which is included in the web site. Tim thanked Bill and Susie Livingston for their support of the chapter in delivering and returning brat stand equipment and making all food arrangements for the chapter for the year. Treasurer s Report Andy Killoren prepared documents for the Treasurer s Report. A Check Detail Report, Deposit Detail Report, Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement were distributed. The chapter has $8, in its account. The brat stand and contributions are our only forms of income. $ has been earmarked for the purchase of a trailer. In past years, donations to the DNR have generally been $3000-$3500. In 2015, Tim would like to only spend what we made this year which will mean a donation of around $1500. New Business Three positions will be open in the spring of Election of a secretary and two board members (Bill Livingston and Jim Robinson) will need to be made at the spring meeting. Laurie Netzow will list these positions in the next newsletter. In 2015, Tim Waters would like to see the brat stand open five weekends. The stand should definitely be open Memorial Day, the 4 th of July, Labor Day and the weekend of the Wolf Man Triathlon. Dates and volunteers will be discussed at the spring meeting. Tim has pictures of completed stream work which will be made available at brat stands showing work done by the chapter on the Wolf River and feeder streams. The chapter will put a sign facing the road stating the brat stand is being run by the Wolf River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Laurie Netzow suggested a sign be placed by the newsletters stating a $1.00 donation would be appreciated. Sharon Waters suggested the chapter look into selling t-shirts at the brat stands. Proposals for new simplified regulation changes for the Wolf River were discussed. A final presentation will be made at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearings in April The new regulations will be effect in spring The position of Northeast Trout Coordinator has been filled by Jonathan Pyatskowit. Tim will contact him and invite him to the chapter s spring meeting. Stream Work In 2015, clean-up work will be needed on the Nine Mile. Brushing and bundling will not be needed. Per the DNR, work done on the Nine Mile further than East Hollister Road is not a priority. The new culvert is in and looks good. Tim and Andy will coordinate projects with the Green Bay and Antigo Chapters. The chapter may incorporate downstream from Silver Moon Springs as a water testing site. Duane Fronek found two dams on the Nine Mile. In spring, he will trap the beavers and remove the dams. The Forest Service owes us a couple dynamite dam removals. Tim found a beaver dam on a feeder creek by an island near the west shore of the Wolf River near the south Wolf Road. He sent the information to Dave Seibel. Tim would like to get the GPS coordinates for smaller feeder creeks and do an exploration of the creeks for dams. Laurie Netzow moved to adjourn the meeting. Sharon Waters seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Anderson, Secretary!! 3

4 Linda Anderson receives her Unsung Hero Award at the Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited Annual Banquet in Oshkosh, Feb 7, 2015 from outgoing State Council Chairman, Henry E. Koltz. Congratulations! Continued from page 1-Trout Regulations Trout stocking will increase to 20,000 per year. I think this is a good move, and will maintain a good population of Browns in the river. On the other hand, Brook Trout have never been planted in the Wolf. In the past five years 13.3% of the trout I caught were Brookies. This is a good sign for our Wolf River watershed. Temperature Monitoring The three biggest feeder streams to the Wolf are the Hunting River, Lily River and Nine Mile Creek. We placed temperature monitors near their confluence with the Wolf. The results for 2014 show that the coldest of the three is Nine Mile Creek. For instance, the average of the hottest temps for each day in May on the Hunting River was 64.5 degrees, the Lily River was 63 degrees and Nine Mile Creek was 61.4 degrees. I'm still going through the numbers, and will post them all on our web site ( when finished. $3500! 2015 Wolf River RESTORATION PROJECTS FUNDRAISING HELP US KEEP THE WOLF RIVER A COLD WATER FISHERY Please send your donation (tax deductible) to: Thank you Helen Sanvidge! by Laurie Zen Netzow I had the pleasure of visiting with Helen Sanvidge (90 years young) last October at her home with new husband, Del Schwaller, in Winneconne, WI. You might think to yourself, hey I recognize that last name. Well, Helen was married to Neil Sanvidge, an avid Wolf River trout fisherman, for most of her life. Shortly after Neil and Helen married, they began spending time on the banks of the Wolf River near Langlade. They camped, got a really cool bus to camp in, and then built a summer cabin on the Wolf River, later building their last home together next door. Neil fished and Helen kept camp, took care of the kids and in her spare time spearheaded the demise of the proposed Pearson Dam. Herb Buettner was busy...saving the school in White Lake,(hmm...sounds familiar.) The year was 1963, yah, 52 years ago, Langlade County and some real estate developers thought it would be a grand idea to make a new lake at Pearson by damming up the Wolf River. It was already approved, although the what is now called WDNR was against it. What to do? Helen, who didn t fish, stepped up to the plate after a long talk with her dad, who gave her some seed money to get started($20). She made up petitions and went door to door not only in Langlade County but also in Continued on page 5 WOLF RIVER CHAPTER of TROUT UNLIMITED PO Box 156 White Lake, WI Our goal is to raise $3500 before the end of Any amount is helpful. Please send your check today! Get your name on the WRC-TU Appreciation List or be anonymous. Also a wonderful way to honor or memorialize someone special. Tim Waters President Wolf River TU!! see page 6 4

5 Wolf River Meet & Greet Event Advertisement June 6-7, 2015 Please contact Travis if you can help with this event ASAP! If you know someone who would enjoy this event have them call Travis (920) soon to reserve a spot! Continued from page 4-Thank you Helen! the Fox River Valley, she wrote letters to the editor (Antigo Journal), Handy DNR Website Links contacted an interested attorney and newspaper reporters throughout Wisconsin. She kept the fight going until Herb Buettner and a few other big wigs got to the legislative body in Madison to stop the madness of putting a new dam on the Wolf River. You see, even though she did trout/ not fish, she still loved the Wolf River and did not want to see its remarkable recovery from logging days undone as a new dam surely Trout stream maps would severely traumatize the mighty Wolf and her trout, the wildflowers, trees and animals. To quote George Rock, She is a spark. She is the spark that got Wisconsin Trout Stream the Historical Society going for White Lake and Wolf River Area. Classifications Helen was interviewed for the Fox River/Wolf River Oral Environmental History Project in 1995 and even had a song written about her in 1997 by Dave Habeck, entitled Caretaker of the River. Guide to Wisconsin trout fishing So I say THANK YOU, Helen Sanvidge, for helping to protect the Wolf River at such a critical time. She s a SPARK!!! 5

6 TU Brat Stand at Mike s Service at Langlade (intersection of Highways 55 & 64) The Brat Stand is our only fundraiser (other than your generous donations!) We have three weekends scheduled May 23, 24 & 25th. Contact Andy Killoren at AKilloren@Centurytel.net July 3 & 4th. Contact Travis Stuck at EasternRidges@Live.com July 24 & 25th. Contact Tim Waters at MuddyWaters@new.rr.com Please come, brings friends, family and strangers to eat brats. The more the merrier! Please contact Tim Waters if you would like to help at the Brat Stand! Wolf River Chapter - TU Donation Appreciation List Just let us know if you prefer to be anonymous 2014 Contributors (we apologize for any inadvertent omissions) LILY RIVER ($10-$99) Gregory Prosen Dave & Judy Peterson--In memory of JoAnn Eisch SPRING CREEK ($100-$249) Tim Waters Bill & Susie Livingston--In memory of Neil Sanvidge Kiwanis Club of Antigo EVERGREEN RIVER ($ ) Laurie Zen Netzow LILY RIVER ($10-$99) SPRING CREEK ($100-$249) Ed & Pat Anderson EVERGREEN RIVER ($ ) Bill & Susie Livingston HUNTING RIVER ($500-$999) J.M. Sheldon of Mepps (specified for Trailer) Walmart John Hogan NINE MILE CREEK ($1,000-$1,999) WOLF RIVER ($2,000 +) Items Donated Brian Outhouse donated an 8 by 10 enclosed trailer. John Lowen donated 60+ Waders of the Wolf embroidered patches Dale Druckrey Conservation Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin 2015 Let s fill this up! HUNTING RIVER ($500-$999) NINE MILE CREEK ($1,000-$1,999) WOLF RIVER ($2,000 +) Dale Druckrey Conservation Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin THANK YOU to YOU ALL!!!! 6

7 Stream Work 2015 Our stream work contact is Andy Killoren at May 30th Elton Creek. Small clean-up at Tim Winkle's hatchery. July 18th Hunting River. Working with the WDNR Brushing Crew out of Antigo. August 15th Nine Mile Creek. Working with the Green Bay chapter of TU. August 22nd Spring Creek. WDNR needs a large crew to help. If you can volunteer for only one day please consider the August 22nd work day on Spring Creek. We are reaching out to other chapters, trying to get a large group. Please contact Andy if you are interested in helping out with any of our projects for Hollister Notes 2014, A High Water Year by John Rose After a winter snowfall of 80 and record cold well into April, ice out came late to the Wolf. Due to high flows in May, the river was difficult to fish until late in the month. Things rapidly changed when levels fell to 600 CFS or below. Most notable was the abundance of small rainbow trout. These were healthy, active, brightly colored fish. Most were seen in late May thru June, however I did catch one (10 ) in mid August. Most of July and August s activity consisted of Small Mouth Bass. The argument is still unsettled whether or not this is a good thing. From my point of view, I ll take what I can get. If it s too warm for trout, a hard fighting small mouth will suffice. Many were in the range with 2 measuring 16. A bass that size give a good account of itself on a 5 weight fly rod. The most effective presentation was the largest popper I could find. White, yellow and frog seemed to be the most effective colors. As I write this in early September, the river is holding at just under 2000 CFS, about 19 on the old gauge. Hopefully, flows will drop to a more reasonable level for the October extended season. One last note, a new and easy route has opened up into the Ox Bow area. A little over two miles south of Hollister Road on the old railroad right of way (now a bike path) there is a DNR Access sign on the left. The river is about 500 feet down a decent foot path. This puts you at the apex of the Ox Bow. It s a ten minute mountain bike ride or a 30 minute walk down the nicely graded bike trail. When my neighbor and I scouted this route we could hear the river as we reached the two mile point. This is much easier than walking in from Highway 55. Hope to see you on the river John!! 7

8 Why Keep a Trout Log? 1. So you know where to catch trout in the future! 2. Statistics from a trout log are helpful for future stocking and proposed regulations. 3.For your own pleasure of looking back thru with your grandkids 5, 10, or even 25 years from now. Data to Collect Date Location Time of Day Weather What Trout Specie & size Fly, Lure or Bait Notes Wolf River Creel Survey The Wolf River Chapter of Trout Unlimited would like to solicit dedicated fisherman of the Wolf River to keep a log of their trout fishing. The thought is to get the most accurate information we can get, and we do encourage fly casting and spin casting to both participate. Anyone interested in participating, please contact Travis Stuck. for more information Tim s Creel (Trout Log) April 2015 (early season catch & release) He fished 14 days (60 hours total) He caught 40 TROUT of which, eleven fish were under 12, thirteen fish were 12 13, ten fish were 14 15, five fish were & two were 18+ Of the 40 trout caught, 35 were brown trout, 3 were rainbow (2 were 12 1/2 ), and 2 were brookies ( 1 was 13 3/4 ) (editor s note: WOW!) Wolf River Water Shed Tro ut Stocking Summary from WI DNR April 2015 October 2014 WOLF RIVER Rainbow Trout (large fingerling average size 6.30 ) 9,997 October 2014 WOLF RIVER Brown Trout (large fingerling average size 5.80 ) 10,343 October 2014 NINEMILE CREEK Rainbow (large finerling average size 6.40 ) 2,519 October 2014 LILY RIVER Rainbow (large fingerling average size 6.30 ) 7,000 Dave Seibel, DNR fish biologist for Lincoln and Langlade Counties, believes that it is better to stock the Wolf River during the fall when water is cooler and less likely to shock trout, weakening them, so he does not request trout for spring stocking of the Wolf as warmer summer water soon follows-- Inspiration for WRC members to continue to restore cold water sources coming into the Wolf River, monitor river temps & conditions, and keep fishing logs.!! 8

9 Water Monitoring Water monitoring for the Wolf River and tributaries will be conducted at the beginning of each month throughout the summer. Contact Tim Waters at for more details. Fourth Annual Music at the Depot sponsored by White Lake Area Historical Society Location: Rain Site: Tuesday, June 16 Tuesday, July 15 Tuesday, August 19 Depot Museum Platform White Lake Pavilion The Reason Why! The Silhouettes Gary s Basement Band MUSIC STARTS AT 5:30 PM Food: Pizza, Pie and Culver s Custard, refreshments with assistance from the Evergreen 4-H Club Pass the Hat for the band Donations will be collected for White Lake Christian Food Pantry. The Depot Museum and a new Historical Center built in are located in White Lake, WI at 700 Lake Street. They are open Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, Sat. and Weds., 10am-3pm; and by appointment. The museum is a Restored Depot with 132 feet of track in front, with a Pede car and a Car House. The Historical Center and Museum house many original artifacts from both the White Lake and Wolf River areas. Scott Skodinski & Friends Phone: or Lumberjack Breakfast to fundraise for the White Lake Area Historical Society All you care to eat May 16, 2015! 12 years + $ years $5.00 7:30-11:30 AM 5 & under FREE White Lake Community Center 615 School Street White Lake, WI!! 9

10 Wolf River Trout Unlimited PO Box 156 White Lake, WI BROWN TROUT- (Salmo trutta) Common Names: Brown trout, German brown trout, German trout, European brown trout, brownie, brown. Length: inches Weight: 2-16 pounds from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Website Join Trout Unlimited today at the special introductory rate of just $17.50 and get involved in the fight to protect our country's trout and salmon fisheries. This low introductory rate is available to new members only and $15 of your $17.50 dues is automatically rebated back to the chapter that directed you to this website. More is rebated to your chapter if you join TU at a higher membership level. By joining now and entering the chapter number of 050 Wolf River Chapter at the link below, you are supporting The Wolf River TU chapter. Join us today!