Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and cancellation of our April and May 2020 chapter meetings, SWTU is conducting the 2020 Board of Directors election online. Please complete this web ballot by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. One vote per SWTU member.
The Nominating Committee of the SWTU Board presents the following slate of candidates for the 2020-2021 program year:
President: Jim Hess
Vice President: Topf Wells
Treasurer: Tom Parker
Secretary: Henry Nehls-Lowe
Directors: Dave Fowler, Pat Hasburgh, Ben Lubchansky, Zach Olufs, Curt Riedl, Tom Thrall
State Council Delegate: Michael Williamson
Past President: Amy Klusmeier
Meet the nominated new board members and officers
Jim Hess
Jim has been a member of SWTU for 19 years, joining the chapter after moving to Madison to become the Executive Director of Monona Terrace Convention Center. After retiring in 2010, he focused his efforts on conservation issues, including volunteering at our workdays. He is currently the Chair of the Conservation Committee, planning and leading our workday activities, which he plans to continue doing with help from his committee members. He also has served as a SWTU Board Director from 2013 to 2019.
Zach Olufs
Zach has been living in and fishing the Madison area since 2009. He joined SWTU in 2017 attracted by the stream restoration workdays. Since joining, he has attended most chapter meetings and stream workdays, participated in the fly tying classes and volunteered at the SWTU booth at the Wisconsin Fishing Expo. He has also taken the responsibility of monitoring an easement on East Branch Blue Mounds Creek as part of the Streamkeepers Program. Zach currently works in research for UW’s Department of Anesthesiology and in his free time actively maintains an all-things-fishing social media presence on YouTube and Instagram under the ‘brand’ of Olufs Waterview.
Henry Nehls-Lowe
Henry previously served on the SWTU board for 2000-02, and during his term led a chapter-sponsored stream improvement project of 1 mile of the West Branch of the Sugar River. For the past 14 years he has co-instructed the SWTU intermediate and advanced fly tying courses, and currently coordinates fly tier demonstrations at the SWTU Icebreaker. In 2017 Henry retired from 28 years in environmental public health with the State Department of Health Services.
Michael Williamson
Michael first joined SWTU in 1980 and has been a member of TU ever since, either here in Wisconsin or his home state of North Carolina where he first started trout fishing in the Smokies. He has served on the SWTU Finance Committee for the past five years and has been active in Chapter events and workdays since moving back to the state in 2012. He has been a lifelong fisherman and outdoorsman and has focused on conservation issues in both states including his service as Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and as a board member for the Wisconsin Natural Resources Foundation. He retired in 2017 as Executive Director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
Stewart’s Black Spider
Last Updated: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
by Rusty Dunn
Seine a stream, and the insects you capture will not look anything like the glamour photos of a fly fishing magazine. Instead of flawless specimens, you’ll see a rag-tag collection of fluff and rubble that barely resembles the insect world. “Stillborns”, “cripples”, “failed emergers”, “stuck-in-the-shuck” … call them what you like, but insects of the drift are disheveled knots of legs, wings, and body parts splayed every which way. What flies imitate this untidy mess? Untidy flies, of course. Soft hackles are perfect for the task. If you’ve not discovered the pleasures of fishing soft-hackled flies, it’s about time you did. Read More
Posted: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Follow SWTU on Instagram
Last Updated: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Learning More About Some Trout Streams
Three great resources!
By Topf Wells
If you need to read a different sort of news these days, your local and hard-working DNR fish biologists might have something of interest. Nate Nye, the biologist for Columbia and Sauk Counties and Dan Oele, biologist for Dane, Green, and Rock have recently released their survey, analysis and recommendations for watersheds and trout streams that should be of interest to SWTU. You can find them here online or by Googling: WI DNR Wisconsin Fishing Trout Surveys and Assessments Read More
Posted: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
New Easement, New Creek
By Topf Wells
Dane County has just introduced legislation to purchase a new easement on Halfway Prairie Creek near Mazomanie in partnership with Groundswell Conservancy
The easement will enable the public to fish about 1,250 feet of Halfway Prairie and enable a restoration to occur in the future. The surrounding land will also lead to more trail development in the Mazomanie/Black Earth area. Read More
Posted: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
DNR Purchasing Land Along Anthony Branch
At its June 24th meeting, the DNR Board will consider buying an additional 44 acres along Anthony Branch in the Anthony Branch Fish and Wildlife Area. The purchase would include .3 mile (about 1600 feet) of double stream frontage. The area is on the west end of the property, near the stream’s headwaters, and off USH 14, just south of Oregon. SWT President Jim Hess, with the Board’s approval, sent a letter to the DNR Board supporting this purchase. Read More
Posted: June 17, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Remembering Tom Wendlelburg
Tom was one of the most memorable characters in SWTU’s history and in the last 50 years of Wisconsin inland trout fishing. He battled demons in his life and finally fought them to at least a draw by the end of his life. He could be challenging to be around. Read More
Last Updated: June 17, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
New Members – June 2020
We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following new members to our ranks! Read More
Newscasts – May 2020
Last Updated: June 24, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
This issue has lots of great information, including:
Last Updated: May 11, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Online Chapter Election
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and cancellation of our April and May 2020 chapter meetings, SWTU is conducting the 2020 Board of Directors election online. Please complete this web ballot by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. One vote per SWTU member.
The Nominating Committee of the SWTU Board presents the following slate of candidates for the 2020-2021 program year:
President: Jim Hess
Vice President: Topf Wells
Treasurer: Tom Parker
Secretary: Henry Nehls-Lowe
Directors: Dave Fowler, Pat Hasburgh, Ben Lubchansky, Zach Olufs, Curt Riedl, Tom Thrall
State Council Delegate: Michael Williamson
Past President: Amy Klusmeier
Meet the nominated new board members and officers
Jim Hess
Jim has been a member of SWTU for 19 years, joining the chapter after moving to Madison to become the Executive Director of Monona Terrace Convention Center. After retiring in 2010, he focused his efforts on conservation issues, including volunteering at our workdays. He is currently the Chair of the Conservation Committee, planning and leading our workday activities, which he plans to continue doing with help from his committee members. He also has served as a SWTU Board Director from 2013 to 2019.
Zach Olufs
Zach has been living in and fishing the Madison area since 2009. He joined SWTU in 2017 attracted by the stream restoration workdays. Since joining, he has attended most chapter meetings and stream workdays, participated in the fly tying classes and volunteered at the SWTU booth at the Wisconsin Fishing Expo. He has also taken the responsibility of monitoring an easement on East Branch Blue Mounds Creek as part of the Streamkeepers Program. Zach currently works in research for UW’s Department of Anesthesiology and in his free time actively maintains an all-things-fishing social media presence on YouTube and Instagram under the ‘brand’ of Olufs Waterview.
Henry Nehls-Lowe
Henry previously served on the SWTU board for 2000-02, and during his term led a chapter-sponsored stream improvement project of 1 mile of the West Branch of the Sugar River. For the past 14 years he has co-instructed the SWTU intermediate and advanced fly tying courses, and currently coordinates fly tier demonstrations at the SWTU Icebreaker. In 2017 Henry retired from 28 years in environmental public health with the State Department of Health Services.
Michael Williamson
Michael first joined SWTU in 1980 and has been a member of TU ever since, either here in Wisconsin or his home state of North Carolina where he first started trout fishing in the Smokies. He has served on the SWTU Finance Committee for the past five years and has been active in Chapter events and workdays since moving back to the state in 2012. He has been a lifelong fisherman and outdoorsman and has focused on conservation issues in both states including his service as Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and as a board member for the Wisconsin Natural Resources Foundation. He retired in 2017 as Executive Director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.
Posted: May 11, 2020 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Remembering Dan Wisniewski
Earlier this year, the State Council of Trout Unlimited honored Dan’s significant achievements with a Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s the second such award ever granted – read the article about Dan to learn about some of his many accomplishments.
Dan made a real and lasting difference as a husband, father, friend, conservationist, fly tier and fishing partner. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
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