River Project
May 14th
May 14, 2013
Attention Little Elkhart Chapter Members and Friends of:
The Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited is embarking on a an aggressive stream habitat restoration project in conjunction with River Tenders Inc. and the Middlebury Park Department at Riverbend Park in Middlebury. The project includes placement of multiple “Lunker Structures” for trout habitat and rock and stone for bank stabilization.
A Lunker Structure is a wooden pallet made out of white oak. These boxes are 6 to 8 feet in length 4 feet wide and 10 inches deep. Each structure weighs several hundred pounds. The structure is placed on the bottom to emulate an undercut bank. The structure is then anchored with rebar and covered with rock and stone.
The project has cleared all phases of permitting; all materials have been stockpiled and are ready to go. Our role in this project is providing the manpower to assist in the restoration construction. Once this project has been completed it is our hope that this restoration will serve as a showcase example of what can be done to stabilize stream banks in a trout friendly manner.
This notice serves as an invitation and a call out for your assistance. We need volunteers to make this project a success. We have duties for everyone, whether you are a young body builder capable of lifting heavy stones or feeble and elderly delivering water bottles to the laborers we can use your help.
The project is scheduled for June 1, 8 and 9. We plan to get started at around 8:30 to 9:00 am and end in the afternoon. We will be meeting at Riverbend Park, 511 E. Warren St. Middlebury, IN. You, of course being a volunteer, are at liberty to come and go as required. Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated, even if it is only part of one day. A lunch will be provided in the early afternoon. All you need to bring is an old pair of work waders and some gloves that are suited for working wet. All other tools and equipment will be provided.
This type of river work is an enjoyable experience. The camaraderie built working alongside other folks with like minded results is truly a reward. The creation of trout habitat will pay dividends long into the future not only for us but for those who follow in our footsteps.
You are free to invite (recruit) guests to come along and help. If you have some strong young bucks that are willing to help, we could use them. Bring a buddy, a neighbor, or an entire football squad because this is going to be quite an undertaking.
Questions or concerns pertaining to the project should be directed to Mike Beachy, cell phone (574)596-4929 or e-mail beach@bnin.net.
I thank you in advance-
Mike Beachy
LECTU President
Little Elkhart Chapter Trout Unlimited
17585 Ireland Road
South Bend, IN 46614
Meeting Minutes – May 8, 2013
May 9th
Meeting Attendees
Mike Beachy, Don Fiwek, Leonard Gustin, Bob Roth, Jim Phillips, Pete Lehman, Lee Troyer, Court Walker, Chris Miller, Wayne Andrews, Cameron
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the April meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
There are lots of fish being caught. The rainbows that the state stocked this year are exceptionally large.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $10,300. The spring outing netted $2,400 – $2,800.
Spring Outing Wrap-up
This year’s event was attended by more than 70 individuals. The access tour and the fly casting were extremely popular. There was a mention that the raffle drawing tended to drag toward the end. It was suggested that some of the smaller items could be bundled in zip locks in order to speed up the process.
The fly tyer from Montana was not able to make it due to an accident. Andy Kitson filled in for him.
The silent auction netted approximately $1,000.
The Adopt-A-Trout raffle netted $1,283.
The table raffle netted $920.
Mike reported that the KOA will be selling our river access guide. They will reimburse us $3 per each.
Middlebury Riverfest
Mike stated that we donated 3 T-shirts and an LL Bean outfit to the Riverfest.
Schwartz Property
There was some confusion as to whether we needed passes for the Schwartz property this year. Lee stated that he had spoken with Phillip who said that they are considering putting up signs instead. Lee offered LECTU to take the lead on getting the signs in place. Lee will check with both Phillip and John Schwartz.
Beginner Fly Fishing Class
There are 9 signed up with 1 maybe. Charlie prefers to hold two separate 2-hour classes with a 15 minute break between the 2 classes. The class will be June 8 at Riverbend Park and the first class will start at 8:30 or 9:00.
August 10th Activities
On August 10th, there will be a spey and switch rod casting clinic at Shamrock Park on the St. Joe in Berrien Springs. They would like LECTU to participate with a booth. Since this conflicts with the Middlebury Youth Fishing day, we will have a couple of members at Shamrock Park but not have a booth.
Brown Trout Stocking
Lee reported that the trout will be here Friday morning, May 10th. The hatchery truck will meet us at McDonalds at 8:00 AM. The stocking plan is to stock at 4 locations including CR 43, Wilbur’s meadow, Hoover’s farm and the well field. Each location will get 100 trout except Wilbur’s meadow will get 200. Volunteers to help with the stocking are to bring clean 5 gallon buckets.
Jim Phillips suggested that we tail punch approximately 50 fish so that we can see if they hang around. There was concern that this would stress the trout as they had just bounced down the road for several hours and are being dumped into a new environment.
Chestnut Lamprey Project
Trevor Nunamaker is taking water temps for Dar Deegan.
Riverbend Habitat Project
Joe Mitchell had stated that he wanted to start work on the project mid-May but had not set any firm dates yet.
Stream Wrok Dates
Our work dates this year are June 22, July 13, July 27 and August 24. Meet at Riverbend Park at 8:00 AM with old waders and gloves and prepare to get dirty.
New Business
Next Meeting –June 12, 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
SJRVFF Offers Fly Tying Class
Feb 8th
The Saint Joseph River Valley Fly Fishers are hosting a flytying class in Elkhart, and have openings available.
TERRESTRIAL FLY TYING CLASS WITH GLENN WEISNER
FEBRUARY 16, 2013– ELKHART CONSERVATION CLUB (MAIN BUILDING)
9:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m.
$50.00 PER PERSON – LUNCH AND SOFT DRINKS INCLUDED
Glenn hails from Toledo, Ohio and is the owner of Glenn River Fly Co. He was the speaker at our March 2012 meeting and his program was on Terrestrial insects for the fly fisher. We will be tying 5 – 7 terrestrial patterns that you will be able to use in our area for trout, bass, and panfish.
Class participants are expected to have basic tying skills as this will be an intermediate skill level class. You will need to bring heavy and light tying threads in several colors, vise, tying tools and a light. The tying materials will be provided.
The class size will be limited to 20 fly tyers. If you are interested in taking the class please email Eric Wroblewski or call 574-850-5441.
If you would like more info about Glenn please visit his website.
December 2012 Meeting Minutes
Dec 26th
http://lectu.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/LECTU-Minutes-2012-12-12.pdf
Meeting Minutes November 14, 2012
Dec 11th
Meeting Attendees
Brandon Rasler, Lee Troyer, Mike Beachy, Court Walker, Leonard Gustin, Don Fiwek, Tom Cripe, Tim Magnuson
Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the October meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports
Mike Beachy – 11/2 – 3 browns, 11/4 – 11 browns, 11/9 – 9 browns.
Two of the browns were about 4” long indicating natural reproduction. Mike also spotted a large brown on a redd.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported a balance of $9,963.62
My Healthy Stream Book
We received the books (My Healthy Stream) from TU. Each member in attendance received one and we will also give one to each Little Elkhart property owner along the C & R stretch. These will be delivered with the Christmas hams.
Indiana on the Fly
Mike reported that we are registered for the event, which is January 5th. Mike will update our display board and get Adopt-A-Trout tickets printed.
Everett Drake Letter
Mike will send a letter and LECTU decal to the TU members that we picked up with the disbanding of the Everett Drake TU Chapter in Indiana.
Communications
We will prepare a fall/winter newsletter that will be published by mid-December. Brandon has agreed to write a guest article.
Annual Spring Outing
• Reservations for Riverbend Park have been made.
• The Gaming Commission application has been sent in for our raffle.
• A number of possibilities were discussed for a featured speaker.
• Charlie Ray will again bring his casting process.
• The Adopt-A-Trout prize has been ordered.
• Mike also ordered 50 dozen trout flies from Spirit River for $150.
• Bob Hagin will again be in charge of raffle and auction donation procurement.
Catskill Fly Fishing Museum
Mike received a book (Beyond Catch and Release) from the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum along with a donation request for some of their programs. After discussion, it was decided to decline as they are so far outside our geographic area.
Middlebury Parks Erosion Project
The Middlebury Parks Dept has identified some erosion issues on the Little Elkhart in Riverbend Park on the West bank. Dave Arrington already has grant money on a matching funds basis for this type of project. LECTU donated labor for the project can be used to offset the matching funds portion. Using Joe Mitchell’s expertise was discussed. Since this is the Parks Dept project, Mike will pass on all this information to them and let them know that we will support the project with our volunteer labor.
Brown Trout Stocking
Mike asked for a volunteer to take over the stocking program, including getting the required permits and scheduling the delivery and stocking of the browns. Lee Troyer volunteered.
It was also suggested that we consider stocking our browns in the fall rather than the spring. There were a number of questions as to the impact on the trout which no one could answer. Brandon will write as letter to fisheries biologists including Darah Deegan and Ann Miller to see if they can offer any insight.
Habitat Access Maintenance Project
Mike will order the hams from Old Hoosier Meats, which will be distributed to C & R landowners in December. Those receiving hams will be:
Oesch – 1
Schwartz – 3
Fry – 1
Wilbur Yoder – 1
Hoover – 1
Lee Yoder – 1
Next Meeting –December 12, 2012 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library.
Lee Troyer – Secretary
Meeting Minutes October 10, 2012
Oct 14th
Attendees: Mike Beachy, Joe King, Bob Hagin, Don Fiwek, Brandon Rasler, Tom Cripe, Court Walker, Leonard Gustin, Tim Magnuson, Tom Martin
Meeting opened at 7:00 PM by Mike Beachy. Meeting Minutes from Sept. 2012 meeting were approved.
Fishing Reports: Joe King caught Salmon at Pucker St. Dam, Niles, MI with egg patterns, Mike Beachy 9/30/12: 5 browns, 1 rainbow, one 4” natural brown?? Sighted some large browns.
Treasurer’s Report: Fiscal year completed 9/30/12. $10,315.38, with an approximate non-profit savings of $710.00. No liabilities at present. TU insurance bill will be paid when due again.
Work Days: September 15, 2012; 14 volunteers were present to work on Barking Dog site. Previous work done at the various work day locations done this holding still looking good and filling in nicely.
Volunteer Hours: LECTU stream cleanup / stream workdays only: Total 203 volunteer hours. Total volunteer hours for Riverfest, Youth Fishing Derby, etc. and above mentioned work days Totaled 869 volunteer hours.
Indiana On The Fly: January 5, 2013, Indianapolis, IN. Patty Beasly contacted LECTU for sponsorship for 2013. LECTU members agreed.
TU Everett Drake Chapter Dissolution: LECTU received the cities of Kokomo and Lafayette, IN. We received approx. 65 new members due to this. A letter will be sent to these new members introducing them to LECTU.
Tie-A-Thon: LECTU would like more participation to help SJRVFF. A list of requested flies may be found at www.sjrvff.com
LECTU Spring Outing: The date for the LECTU Annual Spring Outing will be Saturday May 4, 2013.
Adopt-A-Trout: Discussion regarding a Winston 9’, 5 weight, 4 piece rod with Lamson reel as raffle grand prize. Models to be determined.
Raffle License: Application will be made.
Pavilion Reservation: Mike Beachy to contact Tom Enright of Middlebury Parks Department to reserve the site for the 2013 outing.
Guest Speaker: LECTU to determine guest speaker for the 2013 Outing.
Donations: Bob Hagin to contact manufacturer’s, fly shops, etc. to begin Soliciting prize donations for 2013 Outing.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:17 PM
Minutes Taken By: Court Walker
