By Jim Hess, Conservation Chair
SWTU Workday – Saturday, December 7, 2024
Conley Lewis Creek (Iowa County)
(Northwest of Hollandale near the intersection of Hwy 191 & Banner Road)
Time: 9am to 12 noon (Sawyers that have completed a chainsaw safety course, please arrive at 8:30. We can provide the equipment).
What: This will be another joint workday with the Nohr Chapter (Ted Swenson, Conservation Chair). Justin Haglund, DNR Fish Biologist, and his crew will be joining us. Topf Wells recently wrote this summary of the Conley Lewis Creek… “Conley-Lewis is one of the trout streams in an interesting complex of streams in eastern Iowa County, all part of the East Branch of the Pecatonica watershed. Near the easement we’ll be working on Conley Lewis joins the Dodge Branch. Not far upstream, Whitford Creek, a Class 1 brook trout stream, also flows into the Dodge Branch.”
This will be a major clearing of box elders and other invasive woodies along the streambank to provide access and a healthier environment. Lots of chainsaw work, so we will need a good turnout from our sawyers. We will be returning next spring to continue this clearing project, and hoping to get as much done as possible at this workday.
We will be building burn piles to be burned later. To assist the DNR, we need to spend more time in building the burn piles. The trees need to be bucked up so that the larger logs and limbs can be laid down parallel to each other side-by-side in the same direction. Smaller limbs need to be placed between the layers of larger logs. This will make the pile denser and allow the wind to flow through, providing more oxygen. Read More
Newscasts – December 2024
Posted: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
This issue is filled with great information, including:
Good News About Black Earth Creek
Last Updated: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Join us good food, good fun and good news at our chapter meeting on December 10
James Brodzeller, in charge of Dane County’s trout program, will share some good news about Black Earth Creek (BEC) at our Tuesday, December 10th meeting.
He’ll describe and illustrate the massive Dane County restoration of a large section of BEC in Mazomanie and the County’s Walking Iron Park. You’ll be pleasantly amazed at the scope and detail of this project, which the County completed this fall. Read More
Last Updated: December 4, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Help our Trout Waters / Help Your Taxes
Join the Last Workday of 2024
Posted: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
By Jim Hess, Conservation Chair
SWTU Workday – Saturday, December 7, 2024
Conley Lewis Creek (Iowa County)
(Northwest of Hollandale near the intersection of Hwy 191 & Banner Road)
Time: 9am to 12 noon (Sawyers that have completed a chainsaw safety course, please arrive at 8:30. We can provide the equipment).
What: This will be another joint workday with the Nohr Chapter (Ted Swenson, Conservation Chair). Justin Haglund, DNR Fish Biologist, and his crew will be joining us. Topf Wells recently wrote this summary of the Conley Lewis Creek… “Conley-Lewis is one of the trout streams in an interesting complex of streams in eastern Iowa County, all part of the East Branch of the Pecatonica watershed. Near the easement we’ll be working on Conley Lewis joins the Dodge Branch. Not far upstream, Whitford Creek, a Class 1 brook trout stream, also flows into the Dodge Branch.”
This will be a major clearing of box elders and other invasive woodies along the streambank to provide access and a healthier environment. Lots of chainsaw work, so we will need a good turnout from our sawyers. We will be returning next spring to continue this clearing project, and hoping to get as much done as possible at this workday.
We will be building burn piles to be burned later. To assist the DNR, we need to spend more time in building the burn piles. The trees need to be bucked up so that the larger logs and limbs can be laid down parallel to each other side-by-side in the same direction. Smaller limbs need to be placed between the layers of larger logs. This will make the pile denser and allow the wind to flow through, providing more oxygen. Read More
History and the Future, Looking Good (November 9, 2024 Workday)
Posted: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
By Topf Wells
The SWTU workday at Sawmill Creek on 11/9 was, per usual, successful and fun, with perhaps a bit more significance than usual.
The mission was to clear honeysuckle and box elder to improve access, streambanks, and the general health of the corridor. Steve Fabos of Indigenous Restorations led the honeysuckle and box elder removal. Much is cleared although we also girdled some of the bigger box elders. Not as much work, less debris on piles, and the dying box elders are good for a variety of wildlife. Woodpeckers should think kind thoughts of us. Read More
Registration Open for the 2025 Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics
Last Updated: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Please register now or share this with someone who may be interested. These fill up and we want our members to have an opportunity to take part in these groundbreaking clinics. (Check out the article in this issue and this one from October about this year’s successful clinics.)
There are two types of clinics detailed below with links and QR codes for more information. Both are set in Westby, WI (near Viroqua, in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area) and the cost is $355 until April 1, 2025, and $375 after that. Read More
I attended the Wisconsin Women’s “On the Water” Fly Fishing Clinic’s, ………… it was FANTASTIC !
Last Updated: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
By Mary N-P
My sister and I prefer to gift each other activities and adventures rather than stuff. In 2017, we hired a fly fishing guide for a half day river float, and I fell in love with a new sport.
I knew I wanted to continue fly fishing, but didn’t know quite where to look for guidance. Mom dug out Grandpa’s old Eagle Claw rod, and I went to a store to get a fresh line. I lost a bunch of flies, got tangled in many trees, and even caught a fish or two.
I met a woman at our local fly shop, and she told me about a group of women that taught other women to fly fish. This was an opportunity better than I had imagined. Basically, it is a three day fly fishing summer camp for adult women! Read More
Trout Unlimited Fly-Tying Courses – 2025
Posted: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Trout Unlimited invites you to learn fly tying or improve your tying skills this winter. Experienced SWTU instructors will teach both beginning and intermediate level fly-tying courses in Fitchburg starting Wednesday January 15, 2025. Classes consist of instructor-led demonstrations and hands-on tutorials. The courses are completely free of charge, and all materials needed during in-class instruction are provided. You need only supply fly-tying tools and thread, a list of which is available at https://www.swtu.org/learn/flytying/flytying-classes/. Read More
Posted: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Learn What Your Board’s Been Up To – December 2024
Minutes from SWTU Board of Director meetings can be viewed in this Google Drive. If you have questions on what you read in them, reach out to one of the Board members listed on the last page of each newsletter. (Note that you may need to click the “Last Modified” header at the top to sort the list with the latest minutes at the top.)
Please watch out for scam emails from TU – One thing your board continues to be up to is sorting through different types of scams directed at them and possibly other chapter members. Often these take the form of asking a person to purchase gift cards. Generally, you can ignore and delete these – if you want to make sure an ask is legitimate, do not (ever!) reply to an email you think may be a scam … write a separate message using one of the legitimate emails at the end of each newsletter.
Zug Bug
Last Updated: December 3, 2024 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
by Rusty Dunn
The popularity of many fly-tying materials changes with time. New materials appear in the market, are popular for a few years or maybe even a few decades, but eventually fade from use, being replaced by newer (usually better) materials. The old materials disappear into obscurity, only to be encountered later as amusing oddities. Try to find flies today tied of hog’s wool, sea swallow, stoat tail, kapok, hedgehog belly, wren tail, or monkey fur. It won’t be easy. Each of these materials had its fifteen minutes of fame, but they are now oddball relics found mostly in antique fly boxes and long-forgotten angling books. On the other hand, some tying materials have graced our hooks for centuries. They are the furs, feathers, fibers, and flash whose ability to fool trout has never been surpassed. Such materials that have survived the most demanding test of all … the test of time. Read More
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