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Meeting Minutes – September 14, 2011
Oct 4th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy,Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Bob Hagin, Bill Myers, Penny Myers, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker, Tim Magnuson, Joseph King
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the August meeting were approved as amended.
Fishing Reports
Mike reported catching 4 browns and 1 rainbow on August 16. He used a size 16 Madam X. He also caught 6 rainbows on September 1 at SR 120 at Bristol.
Leonard caught some brookies on the Black River up to 12+ inches.
Bill and Penny Myers did well on their western trip.
Don Fiewk fished the Eagle River at Avon Park in Colorado.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $9,749.64.
By-Laws
Don did some work on our by-laws in response to the Trout Unlimited initiative and presented the revised by-laws for approval. Lee suggested that instead of eliminating written approval of expenditures of $200 or more that we include approval of $200 or more and that email approval by the President is sufficient. Don made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Leonard. It motion was approved.
Communications
Brandon will prepare and send the fall newsletter shortly. Mike will submit the featured fly as well as a write-up on stream work, Riverfest , Youth fishing and the President’s message. Court will do a write-up on the beginning fly fishing class.
Habitat Project
There is a work day this Saturday which will be our last work day of the year. We will start at Spring Street and work downstream to the steel bridge. Workers are to meet at Riverbend Park at 8:00 AM.
CR 43 Project
Mike has been working with John Law on the planning for improving the stretch downstream from the CR 43 bridge. John Law has experience in laying out this type of project and the permitting process. John has written up the various documents required for the permits, etc. Landowners will also need to be contacted about the proposed project. The permit fee is $200. However, there is the chance that the regulatory agencies may give approval after an on-site walk-thru of the proposed project. After approval, we have two years to get the project started.
Beginning Fly Fishing Class
A beginning fly fishing class was conducted by Charlie Ray on August 27th. The participants reported that it was well done and that they learned a lot. The only snafu was that another group had rented the pavilion at Riverbend Park. There is interest in repeating this class next year. We will need to make sure that we reserve the pavilion.
Casting for Recovery
Penny thanked the club for their donation. Penny stated that there were 120 women applied for this year’s retreat. There is only space for 14 women to attend.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Mike Beachy will get us registered for the event. He has the application ready to send in.
Indiana Gaming Commission
The qualification application is ready to send in. Mike will take care of this.
Adopt-A-Trout
After discussion, it was decided that we will get a Winston 9’ 5 wt rod along with a Hardy reel for this year’s raffle.
GLC of FFF
This was brought up at our August meeting and tabled until our September meeting for action. It was decided that we not contribute to the Au Sable and Manistee River studies at this time.
Clean Air Defense Letter
Mike received a letter from G. Richard Mode of the National Wildlife Federation soliciting supporting signatures to defend the continuation of the Clean Air Act. The letter stated that there are initiatives in government to eliminate all or portions of the act. The club decided to take no action at this time.
Officer Elections
The following slate of officers was presented:
President – Mike Beachy
Vice President – Leonard Gustin
Secretary – Lee Troyer
Treasurer – Don Fiwek
Board of Director (3yr) – Court Walker
Leonard moved to adopt the slate as presented. Bill seconded. Motion was passed.
Wayne Andrews will have 1 more year as a director. Bob Roth will have 2 more years as a director.
Trout Stocking
It was decided that we will continue to stock 7 – 9” browns going forward for the foreseeable future. Stocking the same size each year will give us a better baseline for determining growth rates and survival rates.
Next Meeting – October 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
September Meeting
Sep 13th
Meeting Notice
Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited
Wednesday , September 14 at 7:00 P.M. at the Middlebury Public Library
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2tygvg
Stream Cleanup
LECTU has scheduled Stream Cleanup work days this summer. Our goal is to move log jams out of the main channel of the river to keep the water moving and cool. This provides better habitat for the trout that we are trying to protect. The more volunteers we get the more we can accomplish. I would like to start to spread out and tackle areas outside the catch and release section in the coming years. We need help in identifying problem areas, securing permission from property owners and volunteers to work on improvement projects. If we continue to work as a team I believe we can accomplish a lot. Please consider volunteering some of your time this summer to help LECTU make a difference for the river and for the trout.
Saturday September 17th
Stream Cleanup – 8:00am Riverbend Park Map
We will be working in the river. Bring your waders, water, gloves, garden rake, bug spray and long sleeves.
Stream Cleanup – 8:00am Riverbend Park Map
We will be working in the river. Bring your waders, water, gloves, garden rake, bug spray and long sleeves.
Catch Report
Don’t forget to report your catch at lectu.org
© 2010 Little Elkhart Chapter Trout Unlimited http://www.lectu.org
17585 Ireland Road
South Bend, IN 46614
Meeting Minutes – August 10, 2011
Sep 12th
Meeting Attendees
Wayne Andrews, Mike Beachy, Tom Cripe, Leonard Gustin, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the July meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Tom Cripe reported catching a 15” rainbow at Tornado Bend on June 22nd.
Mike B. caught 4 browns and 2 rainbows on July 29 downstream from Chris Miller’s place.
July 31, Mike caught 1 rainbow on the Rowe Eden and 4 browns and 2 rainbows on the Little Elkhart.
Mile and Chris spoke with a bait fisherman at CR 35 who said he had just caught and killed his 163rd
trout of the season.
Fish Shocking
Daragh Deegan did some shocking on the Little Elkhart upstream of SR 120. That resulted in 2 browns
from 10” – 12” and 6 rainbows ranging from 11 1/2 “ to 14+”.
Treasurer’s Report
There was no Treasurer’s report as Don Fiwek was not in attendance.
Communications
It was decided that we publish a fall newsletter in late September, prior to the deer hunting season.
There is a lot of deer hunting that takes place along the Little Elkhart corridor and anglers need to be
reminded to be cautious.
Beginning Fly Casting Class
A beginner fly fishing class will be held on August 27th and will be limited to 5 participants. Charlie Ray
will be the instructor. Cost will be $10. It will start at 9:00 AM and end at 11:00 AM. We still have room
for one more participant.
River Fest Report
LECTU participated with the Middlebury Parks Dept in the planning and running of the Middlebury River
Fest held on July 16th. It was estimated that 250 people attended. LECTU had a booth, demonstrated
fly tying and also fly casting. While LECTU did not have a lot of traffic, we did make several worthwhile
contacts. In addition, it was a good community program for our club to support.
Youth Fishing Derby
Middlebury is having their Youth Fishing Derby at the Essebhaus ponds on Saturday, August 13th from 9
– 11AM. Our club has helped in the past and we will help again this year. Court, Brandon, Mike and Lee
will help to measure and count fish. Volunteers are to be there at 8:30 AM.
River Work Days
We have had 3 work days thus far. In previous work days, we cleaned out from Tornado Bend to
Rassler’s Run. Last Saturday, we removed tree tops and built wing dams below Rassler’s Run. We will
have a work day on September 17 and the goal will be to complete the work to the steel bridge.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. Mike Beachy will get us registered for the event.
Indiana Gaming Commission
The Indiana Gaming Commission is having a seminar on gaming permits in South Bend on August 26th
from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM on the process of gaming permits. We applied and received a gaming permit
for our raffle for this year’s spring outing.
Stream Improvement Planning
Mike Beachy and John Law of the SJRVFF did a walk through from CR 43 to the Schwartz’s property. A
large extent of this stretch is loaded with sand with very little habitat. John suggested that our best
approach in improving the habitat in this stretch is to cut some trees that are leaning over the river in
such a way that it will push water to the other side to create holes for habitat. In addition, rocks placed
along the banks would protect and stabilize the banks. This work would be done in concert with the
landowner. John will write up his plans and work on getting the required permits.
GLC of FFF
The Great Lakes Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers is conducting a study on the effects on pre-
fracking on the Au Sable and Manistee rivers. They are raising funds for this. Lee suggested that
possibly LECTU would do a matching fund deal up to a certain pre-defined limit. This will be tabled until
the next meeting when our Treasurer will be in attendance.
Correspondence
John Legg of Fort Wayne inquired about fishing the Little Elkhart. Mike Beachy responded by giving him
some guidance.
Officer Elections
The officer elections for LECTU will be held at the September meeting. Jim Phillips term as a director will
be up and will be replaced by a director for a 3 year term. Court Walker has announced that he will run
for that position.
Trout Stocking
There was considerable discussion about our trout stocking plans for 2012. The discussion centered
around whether we should stock larger browns or smaller browns. Leonard suggested that this would
be a good time to determine as a club what our long term stocking goals should be and what we are
trying to achieve long term.
Next Meeting
September 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
An Open Letter from the Anglers of the AuSable
Jul 20th
July 20, 2011
Dear Fly Fishing Club Leader,
By working together, the Michigan fly fishing community has an opportunity to better understand some of our most prized rivers and stay in front of emerging threats to coldwater streams and trout populations. We are writing to ask for your financial assistance to fund a major, two year study of temperatures, flow rates and water chemistry on the Upper Manistee and Au Sable Rivers and their tributaries.
In June, the Anglers of the Au Sable board of directors approved a major investment in water quality monitoring on the Au Sable and Upper Manistee rivers. This two-year project will help scientists, regulators and anglers clearly document the state of our rivers today – at the dawn of a potential boom in new and intensive oil and gas development in northern Michigan. This research, performed by some of the top geologists in state, will also provide DNR fisheries biologists with a wealth of new data to better understand and improve our coldwater fisheries – even in the face of deep budget cuts within the department.
To pull this off, we could really use your help.
Fracking Controversy Nationwide
Over the past year, the Anglers of the Au Sable have worked to gain a better understanding of “fracking” – a controversial method of extracting natural gas from deep reserves previously unreachable by traditional drilling methods. For more information about some of these critical issues read Riverwatch Issue 60 on our website, ausableanglers.org.
In short, hydraulically fractured gas wells are the subject of numerous conservation and public health debates across the country. Fluids used to extract shale gas from deep formations contain toxic chemicals; the ensuing migration of methane gas through rock fissures is suspected for outbreaks of contaminated drinking wells; and isolated cases of fluid spills have directly contaminated rivers.
The state of New York imposed a temporary moratorium on fracking in 2010. The state of Arkansas imposed a moratorium earlier this year after numerous earthquakes raised concerns that the fracking of deep shale wells was causing abnormal seismic activity. And in April 2011, Chesapeake Energy — one of the nation’s largest producers of natural gas — temporarily halted
all fracking operations in Pennsylvania after one of its deep shale wells suffered a spill that polluted a nearby stream. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a comprehensive study of the environmental impact of fracking. That study may not be completed until at least 2012.
New Urgency in Michigan
In Michigan, one of the most acute concerns with fracking is large-scale withdrawal of groundwater. The Au Sable and Manistee rivers rely on groundwater for their consistent, cold-water flows. It takes five million gallons or more of groundwater to drill a “fracked” gas well. That’s 100 times more water than each of the traditional Antrim Shale wells that have dotted the northern Michigan landscape over the past 50 years. And, this withdrawal takes place “up front” during the process, so while the effects may be temporary, they may be severe when the withdrawal is taking place.
As of early May, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had issued 18 permits to drill hydraulically fracked wells for natural gas in the Utica-Collingwood formation in northern Michigan. Another 12 permit applications were pending. One of those wells was within a couple miles of the headwaters of the Manistee River.
The upper Au Sable River and Upper Manistee watersheds sit atop some of Michigan’s thickest deposits of Utica-Collingwood shale, and the watersheds may see considerable fracking-related development in future years. In two auction cycles in 2010, oil and gas companies paid nearly $200 million for state-owned mineral leases on more than 120,000 acres across northern Michigan. That sum equaled the total lease revenue to the state over the past eight decades. In October 2010, for example, one firm spent $1 million to acquire drilling rights on more than 33,000 acres within the Au Sable watershed near Grayling. Because shale gas in the Utica-Collingwood formation is found at a depth of 10,000 feet, all of the wells drilled into that layer of gas will use the fracking technique.
Our Answer: Document River Conditions Now
The long-term potential impacts of additional development, including fracking, on cold water trout fisheries are largely unknown.
At our June board meeting, Anglers approved Part 1 of a comprehensive, two-year water quality monitoring study on the Au Sable and the Upper Manistee. Conducted by Dr. David Hyndman, the chair of the geology department at Michigan State University, this study will place advanced temperature and flow gauges at 40 locations on those two rivers. The result will be a detailed portrait of river conditions before any fracking rush is fully underway. If fracking takes off and river flows are impacted, we seek to have clear evidence to urge regulators and industry to prevent any degradation of our world-class fisheries.
In addition, regarding Part 2 of the study, we are in the planning stages of a water chemistry study of the same waters. If finances permit, this will take place over the same period of time. Patterned after similar work in Pennsylvania, the chemical analysis will allow us to detect potential future chemical impacts in the rivers from fracking.
We Need Your Help to Keep Watch Over Rivers
The Au Sable-Manistee monitoring study is patterned after a similar approach led by local Trout Unlimited chapters in Pennsylvania, where the fracking controversy is in full bloom. In Michigan, our monitoring techniques are scalable, meaning we can eventually add detailed chemical analysis and more river systems to the project if additional funds are available. We plan to share all data with state biologists to enhance further understanding of the fisheries.
None of this is cheap. The cost of Part 1, the Au Sable-Manistee temperature and flow study, is $96,000. That’s a huge expense for any nonprofit. But we view it as crucial. An investment of up to $5,000 from your Club would go a long way to help the Anglers cover these significant river protection expenses.
We welcome your feedback on this project and the rest of Anglers’ ongoing conservation work.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tom Baird
Vice President – Anglers of the Au Sable
Chairman – Anglers of the Au Sable Oil & Gas Committee
Terry Lyons
Chairman -Anglers of the AuSable Resource Agency Committee
VP Conservation, GLC, FFF
Meeting Minutes – July 13, 2011
Jul 20th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Bob Hagin, Jim Phillips, Justin Phillips, Brandon Rasler, Carlisle Roose, Lee Troyer, Court Walker
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the June meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike reported fishing for 9 hours on Sunday, June 10th and catching 11 browns and 11 rainbows. Water
temperature in the Little Elkhart was 68 degrees and 63 degrees in the Rowe Eden. Mike also found a
dead 16” brown in the meadow that looked like it had been stabbed by a heron.
Treasurer’s Report
The balance is $9,714.96. There are currently no payables outstanding.
Don reported that the 12 month CD has rolled over.
Thank You Letter
Don reported that he had received a thank you letter from Mary Smith for our donation to Reel Women
– Reel Men.
Indiana Gaming Commission
Form CG-22 due by August 15th. There was a question whether we had already filed this report or not.
Mike and Don will follow up.
Beginning Fly Casting Class
A beginner fly fishing class will be held on August 27th and will be limited to 5 participants. Charlie Ray
will be the instructor. Court Walker, Carlisle Roose, Bob Hagin and Don Fiwek signed up for the class.
There is still one opening. Don will be the host of the event, which will be at Riverbend Park.
Web Site
Brandon reported that there are a number of new updates to the web site. The newsletter went out
within the last couple of days.
Indiana on the Fly
The date for the event in 2012 is Saturday, January 7th. We have been asked again to be a supporter.
There is no fee for this but it puts our name on the official supporter list. Booth rental for non-profit
organizations is $200. The headliner this year is Beau Beasley.
Middlebury RiverFest
The Middlebury RiverFest will be Saturday, July 16th from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Riverbend Park.
We will be putting up a canopy with a display. Lee will bring several casting hoops and yarn flies.
Volunteers are to bring waders and nets to assist in the flotilla event to catch the toy boats drifting
down the river. Lee, Brandon, Mike and Bob H. will be there.
Youth Fishing Contest
The youth fishing contest will be at The Essenhaus on August 13th. LECTU volunteers are Brandon, Mike and Lee.
River Work Days
The first work date is July 23rd. We will meet at Riverbend Park at 8:00 AM. We will reschedule the
August 13th work day to August 6th due to the Youth Fishing event. In addition, we will have a work day on September 17.
Thank You Letters
Mike sent out thank you letters to the Spring Outing donors.
Adopt-A-Trout
There was a discussion on the prize for the Adopt-A-Trout raffle for 2012. Among items discussed was
another rod and reel or possibly a guided trip. Justin stated that he can get 40% off Sage. TU gets
discounts on Winston and Orvis. Mike will check on some pricing.
Trout Catch Reporting
Jim Phillips spoke about our catch rates per hour declining 20% for brown trout based on data between
2008 and 2010 and referenced a book on trout biology and studies of trout in streams and the impact
of stocking trout in streams where wild trout are established. He states that we need to feed the fish
in the Little Elkhart catch and release section to provide both the stocked trout and the resident trout
with necessary nutrients during times of competitive stress, to increase the chances of mutual survival.
Discussion followed concerning stocking methodology and feeding issues.
Brandon Rasler quoted some statistics from our catch rate database for 2011, which shows a catch rate
per hour for brown trout increase of 65% for 2011 over 2010.
No further action was taken.
Next Meeting – August 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
Summer 2011 Newsletter
Jul 13th
Catch up with what is going on with LECTU in the 2011-Summer newsletter.
Meeting Minutes – June 8, 2011
Jun 9th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Brandon Rasler, Bob Roth, Lee Troyer, Leonard Gustin, Court Walker, Carlisle Roose
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the May meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
During the SJRVFF Trout 101 on the Little Elkhart, one of the participants that caught a 19 inch brown. All the participants caught trout that evening.
Treasurer’s Report
Don Fiwek was not at the meeting, so there was no Treasurer report.
Beginning Fly Casting Class
A beginner fly casting class will be held on August 27th and will be limited to 5 participants. Charlie Ray will be the instructor. Court Walker and Carlisle Roose signed up for the class. It is believed that Bob Hagin and Don Fiwek will also want to sign up for the class. That only leaves one opening.
Cabela’s
Cabela’s asked us recently to do a fly casting demo and to teach fly casting on June 11th. This was insufficient notice and we declined.
Correspondence
Mary and Bob Smith of Indianapolis sent us a thank-you note on the spring outing we had. We are receiving calls from the outing attendees about the river conditions due to all the rain lately.
Brown Trout Stocking
Mike will check with Crystal Springs in Michigan to see if they will be a source for our trout stocking next year.
Donation to ECC
A check for $250 was presented to John Law at the SJRVFF meeting in May.
Web Site Update
Brandon reported that we will be adding a page to our web site to feature flies for the Little Elkhart. Please email a picture of your favorite pattern to communications@lectu.org.
Spey Casting Clinic
Lee reported that he thought that SJRVFF will be bringing the instructors back from Ohio for a Spey Casting clinic.
Thank You Letters
Mike will be drafting thank you letters to the outing contributors.
Indiana Gaming Commission
We need to re-apply for our gaming permit for next year’s outing.
Work Day
Our first work day of the summer is Saturday, June 11th. We will meet at Riverbend Park at 8:00 AM. Due to the high water, we will be unable to do any in-river structure improvement. Instead, we will focus on cutting trails along the river to make fishing access easier. Bring gloves, long pants and any tools you have for cutting weeds, including nettles. We will not be going into the river so waders are unnecessary.
Barbless Hook Resolution
Lee Troyer made a motion that the LECTU club encourages the use of barbless hooks when fishing the catch and release area and that we state that on our web site. Pinching down the barb is considered a barbless hook. The motion was seconded by Bob Roth and the motion passed.
Next Meeting – July 13, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
2011 River Clean Up Projects
May 25th
LECTU will be holding four workdays this summer. The focus of the clean up is to open up the main river channel and clean out some of the logjams that impede the flow of the river. The logjam clean out accomplishes several objectives.
We need volunteers to assist in these projects. The camaraderie is good and we always have a blast. I would encourage you to come and help out. Bring someone with you especially if they are young and strong. The work may be hard but the rewards can be fulfilling. It is a great way to get to know the river and it’s secret spots. It will make you a better fisherman once you are in tune with the river.
We meet at Riverbend Park in Middlebury at 8:00 am for all work days. You will need to come ready to get in the water. Waders and bug spray is a must. I would recommend a garden rake and some rubberized gloves.
2011 Work Days:
June 11 8:00 am
July 23 8:00 am
August 13 8:00 am
September TBD 8:00 am
Meeting Minutes – May 11, 2011
May 23rd
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Bob Hagin, Brandon Rasler, Bob Roth, Lee Troyer, Don Fiwek, Chris Miller
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the April meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike Beachy reports catching about 50% browns to 50% rainbows. Charlie Ray caught trout after the outing on prince nymphs as well as soft hackles. There is some evidence of poaching. There was an empty worm container on the Schwartz property by the big hole.
Treasurer’s Report
The Adopt-A-Trout raffle raised $1,420. Total net outing revenue (including Adopt-A-Trout) was $2,524.55.
The silent auction did well at $910 revenue versus $195 in expense. Meal donations exceeded expense by $98.
Total balance in our bank accounts after all invoices paid (including the 500 brown trout) is $10,224.91.
Brown Trout Stocking
We received 500 brown trout that were 7 to 9 inches on Monday, May 9 from Cedar Brook. We released 50 at CR 43, 200 on the Hoover property and 250 were released in Wilbur’s meadow. We purchased our trout from Cedar Brook both in 2011 and 2010. We purchased them from Crystal Springs in 2009 but were not able to use them this year. It turns out that the brown trout he killed last year was due to a false positive in the testing results. They are in the
process of testing the water in his hatchery and if that turns out okay, we will look at using him again in 2012.
In 2008, we purchased our trout from Twin Pines, which is located near Duluth, which resulted in very expensive transportation costs. Total cost of the brown trout this year was $1,714, which includes the transportation costs.
Outing Recap
Our annual spring outing was held at Riverbend Park on Saturday, May 7. There were about 55 people in attendance. The highlight of the outing was a presentation by Chris Wood, President of Trout Unlimited. Our chapter presented him with a jacket with the LECTU logo on the back and his name on the front. It was well received.
Don Fiwek will fill out the after event gaming permit documents. Mike will prepare a letter thanking those who donated for the outing.
Review of outing activities is as follows:
• We need to re-print the Adopt-A-Trout tickets to get the correct information on them.
• The Charlie Ray fly casting demo was a positive.
• The fly casting course was a bust and will probably be discontinued next year.
• Setting up a separate table with the raffle items under a separate canopy was good. Last year attendees sat around the picnic table with the items, restricting access.
• Don Fiwek felt he could have used some help in collecting money so that he could be relieved at times, rather than being tied up for the entire outing.
• The silent auction was good. It is believed that it raised a lot more money than letting those items be a part of the general raffle.
• The river access tour is always a popular event as was proven out again this year. Chris Miller had a large van and he still had to give two tours.
Next year suggestions:
• It would be nice to have a door prize. Every attendee gets a ticket when they sign in for a
drawing for a door prize(s).
• We need to think about ways of improving the way revenue is handled in order to minimize the
efforts and still get the accounting by revenue source that we want. Lee reported that he was able to run a tab on all purchases this year and then pay with a check at the end of the event. However, this was simply a one-off accommodation. It was pointed out however, that it is human nature to spend more money if you can charge items and pay for them all at once, rather than to reach for cash every time you buy a raffle ticket, silent auction item, etc. Club members are to give this some thought for next year.
The outing for next year will be May 5th.
Donation Support
It was moved and passed that we donate $250 to the Elkhart Conservation Club towards their trout rearing program. This check will be presented at the upcoming May SJRVFF outing. It was also moved and passed that we donate $250 to Casting for Recovery.
Apparel
Mike stated that we only have 6 blue and 6 yellow hats left.
NEITA Meeting
Mike attended the NEITA meeting. He reported that they work closely with the state DNR. Mike also found out that there is a proposed slot limit for smallmouth bass state wide where those measuring between 12 and 15 inches have to be released.
TU Board of Directors
Mike announced that since the State of Indiana does not have a TU Council, we can actually nominate someone for the TU Board as a grass-roots nomination.
Fly Casting Class
Charlie Ray is willing to put on a fly casting clinic at our location. The cost would be $5 per person. For his beginner class, he limits the class to 5 participants and the class lasts for 3 hours. His advanced class is limited to 2 participants at a time and lasts for 1.5 hours. He has limited availability this summer. Two open dates are June 4 and June 18.
Lee also announced that the instructors from Ohio that held the Castapolooza at Leeper Park would put on a spey casting clinic for approximately $500 for 5 participants.
FlyMasters of Indianapolis
They are now an Orvis Gold level dealer. As such, they are willing to put on a fly fishing 101 clinic. More on that later.
River Cleanup
We will have river cleanup work dates as follows:
June 11
July 23
August 13
September ???
We will meet at River bend Park at 8:00 for the cleanup dates.
Chris Wood stated that there is grant money available for stream improvement projects. He can provide resources to assist in the filing of applications for these grants. As this would probably require permits from the various state agencies, we may want to think about teaming up with SJRVFF who is well versed in the permitting process.
Meeting Program
Dave Arrington had to cancel his presentation this month due to the fact that his company had an opportunity with a Canadian Airport that was having bird strikes. He left immediately for that airport.
Next Meeting – June 8, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
