RIPRAP Conserve
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RIPRAP Conserve. Protect. Restore. The KIAP-TU-WISH CHAPTER’s almost monthly publication The Drift: Words from our President. Volume 12 l Issue 4 December 2018 hades of grey and brown. As I drive through Western Wisconsin at this time Sof year, that’s all I see. Grey, leafless bushes along the roads and bare grey trees across the fields. Light brown corn stubble in the fields and light brown grass and weeds in the ditches. The ponds have a thin layer of grey ice on them, while the rushes and sedges surrounding them are all light brown, except for the dark brown cattail pods. Maybe the harvested corn and bean fields give farmers a sense December 6, 2018 of satisfaction, of a job well done and of crops harvested and safely stored away at the in their grain bins, but to me, the harvested fields look empty and bleak, as do the The Lake Elmo Event Center leafless woods and the frozen ponds beside them. There is a certain beauty to it all, 3712 Layton Ave No but it’s a subdued, somber beauty and it makes me think. Lake Elmo MN 55042 It makes me think by reminding me that it wasn’t always so. Just last April we were clapping our hands together trying to stay warm and blend into the still grey and light brown surroundings as we snuck up on early-season brook trout on the South Fork. In May, there were bright, light-green leaf shoots, woodland wildflowers blooming, migrating birds flitting all around us and, best of all, blue wing olive hatches like clockwork on the Rush. June started well with bushes leaf- ing out, birds nesting and both sulfurs and caddis flies being gratefully consumed Holiday on the Kinni. Then things got busy with summer activities, the weather warmed and I have no idea what happened in the woods or on the water in July and early Conservation August. Thank goodness for a big hopper hatch that started in July and continued into late August and September, and that brought the season to a strong close. Banquet But that was then and this is now. The fields still look grey and brown and emp- ty through my windshield. Thinking about this past spring and summer reminds me that we really do have a lot to be grateful for in the past year and specifically in Wisconsin. Maybe November really is a good time to pause and remember im- portant people in our lives, like my dad (who loved the outdoors) and who passed away peacefully in July at the ripe old age of 92. Maybe November is also a good DON’T FORGET: time to remember important places in our lives, like the over 13,000 miles of classi- • Visit the K-TU website & Facebook page for news, announcements & updates. fied trout streams we have to enjoy in Wisconsin. I don’t have any way of verifying • The next RipRap deadline is Friday, this, but I recently heard a WDNR biologist share that we probably have more December 14. Class I trout water in Wisconsin now than at any other time since the 1850s. Now • Send info to: [email protected] that’s something to be grateful for! RIPRAP: Restoration, Improvement & {continued on page 2} Preservation through Research And Projects {The Drift. from page 1} 2018-2019 We all know that trout streams in Wisconsin were severely degraded by early agricultural and logging practices in the state. To get Wisconsin trout streams back EVENTS CALENDAR to where they are today has been a long, steady, concerted effort by those trout • Holiday Conservation Banquet fishers, cooperative farmers and loggers and many others who, like my dad, have December 6, 2018 Lake Elmo Event Center, Lake Elmo, MN gone before us. Now it’s our turn. It’s up to us to protect what they’ve accom- plished up to this point and to carry their coldwater conservation efforts forward. • Chapter Meeting We can all do that in some way: by sharing the importance of our coldwater re- January 9, 2019 / 7pm Kasey Yallaly: Online Stream sources over coffee with friends; by attending our Annual Conservation Banquet Access Resources in WI & in December; or by responding to Randy Arnold’s calls for volunteer help on brush TU Youth Camp Presentations clearing days this winter. In whatever way you choose to respond, know that you Junior's Restaurant, River Falls, WI will be in good company with many others, carrying the long, steady, worthwhile • Belle Rivière Book Club effort of coldwater conservation forward in the State of Wisconsin. —Scott Wagner January 2019 / Details TBA • Chapter Meeting Editor's Note & What Not February 6, 2019 / 7pm Before you read any further, go to that people of all ages have for our Guide Carl Haensel: Inland Trout the back pages of this newsletter and coldwater resources. Fishing in Northern WI and MN look at the pie chart summarizing all Then get your tickets and come to Junior's Restaurant, River Falls, WI of the volunteer hours that our chapter the Holiday Conservation Banquet to • Chapter Meeting accrued last year. It's the sum of time celebrate with friends old and new. March 6, 2019 / 7pm spent doing things like brushing on Yes, we need money to keep going WDNR Projects & Fish Survey Results Junior's Restaurant, River Falls, WI winter workdays, planning future and your spending it freely on raffle restoration projects, teaching kids and auction items allows the work to • Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo about what trout eat, writing for this continue; but the banquet is also about March 15-17, 2019 Hamline University, St. Paul, MN newsletter, sitting behind a booth at our community of people socializing, fishing expos, writing grants for TIC having fun, applauding chapter • Belle Rivière Book Club equipment, and so much more. achievements, and recognizing the March 2019 / Details TBA After you've looked at that pie volunteers who have given freely of • Chapter Meeting chart, continue reading the articles that their time and effort. Hope to meet you April 3, 2019 / 7pm illustrate the passion and appreciation there. —Maria Manion Annual Fly Tying Night Junior's Restaurant, River Falls, WI • Chapter Meeting May 1, 2019 / 7pm Chapter Social & Trip Planning Night Details TBA • Belle Rivière Book Club May 2019 / Details TBA photo courtesy of Tom Carlson Wild Tiger Trout: Silent Auction Teaser: This wild tiger trout Each year, Kiap-TU-Wish member Sarah Sanford creates some- was caught by Tom thing unique for our holiday conservation banquet. One year it Carlson. The tiger was a handbag made from license plates, one year it was a man's trout is a sterile hy- tie made from custom-designed fabric, one year it was a leather brid cross between tooled reel case—the list goes on and on. This year she's made a brown trout and a lined, leather purse with brass fittings, interior pockets, and brook trout. They're interchangeable straps for shoulder and cross-body wear. When rare in the wild, completed, she mailed the purse to Jeff Kennedy, the artist be- appearing only in hind the blog and book Drawing Flies 365, and asked him to paint areas where brook something on it as a donation to Kiap-TU-Wish. He readily agreed and brown trout and played off the wave-like shape by adding a rising brown trout. share spawning She fought the urge to keep it after seeing Jeff's painting, but it's grounds. already got a bid. Just a heads up. Sarah Sanford photo 2 | RIPRAP DECEMBER 2018 Holiday Conservation Banquet Approaches! The Date: Thursday, December 6th more important coldwater conservation The Time: Check-in begins at 5:30 Only a few projects. Take a look at our work on The Venue: The Lake Elmo Event Center Pine, the South Fork or the Trimbelle. 3712 Layton Ave No days left to That’s what we do, Folks. Lake Elmo MN 55042 register! We have collected really nice tackle The Price: $45 if you register ahead of time, so far and expect to acquire more. We $50 at the door if you're not registered have a beautiful Dave Norling cane rod for which there are only 100 tickets available at a mere $20. We have a su- To Register By Phone: per premium Cabela’s cooler for which Lunds Fly Shop (715/425-2415) or the Alwin residence (651/739-3150) there are only 100 tickets available at a mere $10. We have a stunning oil paint- To Register and Pay Online: ing of Pine Creek by Joshua Cunning- www.eventbrite.com and search for "Kiap-TU-Wish" ham for which there are only 50 tickets available at a mere $20. The bucket raf- Those are the details, now here’s the Another station will serve potstickers, a fles promise to be rewarding and the ta- fun part. You don’t have to sit at a table seasoned pork and vegetable dumpling bles will groan under the weight of the unless you want to. There will be sev- pan fried with Teriyaki sauce. Finally, silent auction items. en food stations which belie the idea of you will find a station with a delicious But tackle isn't all we’re about. We appetizers. There will be a table serving sweet potato tart in a flaky crust topped like art work, books, jewelry and as- rounds of beef with a creamy horse- with a walnut chutney. Plus, you'll find sorted bling, craft items and fly tying radish and spicy Dijon mustard.