Little Elkhart Chapter’s Spring Outing 2012
The 7th Annual Spring Outing is set for May 5, 2012 at Riverbend Park, 511Warren Street, Middlebury Indiana on the banks of the Little Elkhart River.
The 2012 Annual Spring Outing is shaping up to be one of our biggest and best events yet. The headline speaker will be Ann R. Miller from St Joseph, Michigan. Ann is an aquatic biologist, a writer and an accomplished fly angler. Ann has recently published a book entitled Hatch Guide for Upper Midwestern Streams. This book is a comprehensive guide to aquatic insects common to our area. The photography, information and suggested fly patterns in this book will make it a standard must have publication for fly fishermen in this area of the country.
Ann has a great interactive program in store for the LECTU Outing this May. The plan is to sample the Little Elkhart River during the morning prior to her talk and collect aquatic insects. Outing attendees are invited to help in the collection of these invertebrates so bring your waders along to assist Ann with her effort. Ann will then identify these insects and allow each of us a chance to view them as well. She will then provide information pertaining to the life cycles of the collected samples. Ann will have copies of her book available and conclude with a book signing event so you can purchase your own personalized copy. This program promises to be of utmost importance to all area trout fishermen.
LECTU will be holding a cook out style luncheon around noon. We are asking for a $5 donation for lunch to offset our expenses. Otherwise the Outing is free to all those wishing to attend. We invite all fishermen to attend and you do not have to be a LECTU member so feel free to bring a friend.
We will once again have Charlie Ray available as a casting instructor. Charlie is a retired school teacher and an accomplished fly fisherman. Charlie has been instructing fly fishing classes for many years with a unique ability to communicate with his students and impressive results. Bring your own fly rod or use one of Charlie’s instruction rods and let him critique your cast. If you are a beginner allow Charlie to teach you the correct manner in which to handle a fly rod and eliminate some of the frustration.
Chris Miller will be in charge of the Little Elkhart River Stream access tour. Chris has been doing a chauffeured stream access tour for several years and rather than getting old it has grown in popularity to the point that last year we had to rent an extended passenger van and run two tours to accommodate all those wishing to take part. Chris will take visitors on a drive along the river and highlight the access points along the way. Chris will provide you with insights on what to expect at each access point. For anyone who is not familiar with the Little E this tour is a must. It will give you an idea of where to fish and what to expect on your next or first fishing trip.
Tom Park tying flies at the 2010 Spring Outing
LECTU will have fly tiers exhibiting their talents throughout the morning. The fly tiers will be creating flies that are commonly used on the Little Elkhart River. You are welcome to ask them questions about fly selection and how they would fish the flies at what time of year and so on. These guys possess a wealth of information so do not be afraid to pick their brains for some good information.
Following the noon luncheon LECTU will hold our fundraising event. We will have raffles and a silent auction in an effort to raise revenue required to fund our projects and run the organization. The list of donated and purchased items for the raffle and auction is growing longer every week. A sample listing follows to whet your appetite. We have been fortunate to receive several items that will be especially attractive. Dave Ruimveld from Kalamazoo, MI has donated a framed print. Dave is a very accomplished outdoor painter and rising in name in the world of outdoor art. The Old Au Sable Fly Shop has donated a 4 night stay in their lodge above the Fly Shop in Grayling Michigan. The apartment can accommodate up to 8 guys and the high bidder could make quite a fishing trip to the Au Sable River out of this. Josh Lantz is a guide from southwest Michigan and has donated a Trophy Bass trip for two to a private Lake. This is one of those trips that will be a conversation of a lifetime.
The fundraising event will feature the Adopt-A-Trout raffle. Monies raised through Adopt-A-Trout are dedicated to purchasing and stocking brown trout into the catch and release section of the Little E. 2012 marks our 5th year of annually stocking 500 brown trout into these protected waters. The Adopt -A-Trout raffle prize this year is a Winston WT 9 foot 5 weight fly rod and a Hardy Ultralight fly reel. Ticket price is $10 per ticket and the winning ticket holder need not be present to win. Tickets can be purchased at the outing.
The LECTU Outing Committee has put a tremendous effort into making this Annual Outing the best one yet. If you have been to the outing before you know how informative they can be. If you have never been please feel welcome to attend. Buddies and kids are welcome as well.
Registration will begin at 8:30 am and the Outing will conclude around 2:00 pm. Many of the attendees and volunteers will fish the river after the Outing has concluded so bring your fishing gear along. If you are making a trip up to the Outing you might as well stay and sample the waters afterwards.
A special thank you to all of this year’s contributors. Here is a nearly complete listing of raffle prizes.
Tentative Schedule of Events
9:00 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
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11:00am
12:00 noon
1:00 pm
After Drawing
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ders, rod/reel and tackle along with an Indiana fishing license including trout stamp are required.
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View Riverbend Park in a larger map
View Riverbend Park in a larger map
