SWTU, P.O. Box 45555, Madison, WI 53744-5555 president@swtu.org

Newscasts – April 2020

This issue has lots of great information, including:

The Meeting Notice That Wasn’t

Our someday soon we’ll see ya Chapter meeting
As with everything, everywhere at this time … our normal upcoming slate of meetings and events are postponed for the future. Read below for updates and information. We have a new plan for elections, cancellations of Project Green Teen and the soonest workdays, but are still hopeful the Women’s Clinics will go on as planned (with plenty of help and volunteers from the Chapter).

Keep an eye on your email and www.swtu.org for further event updates. Be well and keep a 9 wt rod length from others as you chase trout, watch eagles soar and glory in the natural world.

SWTU Board Elections Postponed

The SWTU Board Elections were planned for our April 9 chapter meeting. Since that meeting is cancelled we will be delaying the vote until May and conducting the elections online (assuming there is no in-person Chapter Meeting in May). The Nominating Committee has been hard at work putting together a great slate of candidates for the election. In early April the Committee will send an email to all members with the slate of candidates and ask for any final nominations. Here is the timeline for the elections process:

  • April 24 – Nominations dueuncle sam fly fisher
  • May 4 – Nominating Committee sends email to members with final slate of candidates and a link to an online ballot
  • May 14 – Deadline for members to complete online, anonymous ballot
  • May 20 – New board announced to membership via email

Watch your email for updates from the Nominating Committee, and please contact Mary Ann Doll if you are interested in running for a board seat: madoll@aol.com

Funding appeal a big success: Thank you!

Contruction on Gordon Creek

To celebrate SWTU’s 50th anniversary and start the next 50 years with some great projects, the Board launched an end of the year appeal to all our members.  Without further ado, the results:

$10,135 in member donations.

$2,348 in expenses, consisting of
$122 in credit card fees
$720 for hats
$467 for postage
$1,039 for printing

$7,787 NET INCOME! (so far …)

Pausing now for celebration and thanks. Read More

So how are the donations making a difference?

In making our funding appeal, we promised you that we would use the funds you donated to support some excellent projects.  The Board took that responsibility seriously and made the following decisions at our March Board meeting.

Kittleson Valley Creek, DNR – $14,000
This project will occur upstream of Drammen Valley Road and is the second year of a five-year DNR restoration of two large, contiguous easements.  The problems are very steep, highly eroding banks, sedimentation, silt, lack of in-stream cover and spawning areas, and very difficult access and fishing.  Major stream re-shaping and stabilization, clearing of invasive or undesirable trees and brush, use of that material in the stream stabilization and in-stream, other in-stream devices, and planting of native vegetation will address those problems. Read More

Extended-Body Green Drake

Extended-Body Green Drake

Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

Locals and wannabe locals affectionately call it ‘The Fork’.  Simply, The Fork.  As if any other fork were of no significance.  Its headwaters are trickles atop the con­tinen­tal divide.  They collect in a shal­low lake whose out­flow is but a small creek.  A few miles down­stream, though, the creek receives 185 cfs of con­stant 52° spring water every hour, of every day, all year long.  The creek is now a full-fledged river, one of tremendous spring-fed fertility.  It passes through an irri­ga­tion res­ervoir, squeezes down a short steep canyon, and then slows to a crawl as it meanders in an open plat­eau be­neath the majestic Centennial Moun­tains.  The area’s first explorers came in search of beaver, but to­day’s explorers seek far greater riches – large wild trout. Read More

Wisconsin Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics – June

Everyone who helps with the Wisconsin Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics in June, please meet Tom Thrall, our new “guide wrangler.” Tom will contact you and give you information on dates, times, etc. for the women’s clinics. His contact info is: (608) 219-4249 or tpthrall@gmail.com.

Please call him and let him know if you can help out in June. It is easier to cancel and have extra time than it is to find people at the last minute should the clinics occur this year. We have 22 Women signed up for the clinics and will need 22 guides for Wed (17th) evening fishing, and two rounds on Thursday (18th). A fabulous lunch is provided to the whole group on Thursday early afternoon, along with some rest time before heading out for the 2nd time that day.

Thank you everyone for your donations of flies and gear for the clinics. We really appreciate it. All other donations can go to Tina Murray or Dave Fowler. Hang in there everyone. Be safe, stay sane and think of things that make you smile. ~ Tina Murray

Project Green Teen a no-go for 2020

It’s with a heavy heart that we have decided to cancel this spring’s SWTU partner events with Project Green Teen (PGT) including the casting clinics in April and the Avalanche trip in May. We have a terrific group of students enrolled in PGT this year, so it is particularly disappointing that they will not get the full program experience this spring given all of the terrific promise they have demonstrated as a group. Given the large scale and multiple generational experience of the partnership experiences we offer, it felt like the only responsible decision to keep all of our students and guides healthy. Read More

Pruning Project to Bear Fruit

By Topf Wells
We had a safe and productive morning of pruning at the Neperud orchard.  Safe because the small turnout made for ample spacing and avoidance of any coronavirus that had found its way to Paoli (which we hope and expect has not happened, at least not yet) and because no one dropped any limbs on one another or severed any digits or appendages with Lisa Johnson’s deluxe pruning saws. Read More

New Members – April 2020

We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following new members to our ranks! Read More