BROOKIE NEWS

<<< Illustration “One Last Look -

Brook Trout” courtesy of Bob White

of Whitefish Studio

Newsletter of The Central

Wisconsin Chapter of

Trout Unlimited (CWTU)

July 2014

Prez Sez

We had an excellent turnout (40) for

the July 8 Board meeting at John &

Laura’s home on the Pine River. I

guess the word got out about Laura’s

cooking! We had a short agenda and

took plenty of time eating and talking.

The main topic for the evening was a

presentation by R. J. Wickham,

Wautoma Forestry Team Leader.

After hearing about a proposed timber

sale from the land near the Mecan

Springs, I invited RJ to give us a

presentation assuring us that the

headwater springs would not be

damaged by the timber removal

process. I was satisfied, as I believe

Next Issue: Western

Trout Fishing on a

Budget,

Yellowstone Edition

were most of our members at the

meeting, that the DNR Forestry

planning was very thorough and that

our main concerns had been

considered. There will be Oak

removal and regeneration, Pine

thinning, and Locust eradication.

There will be a barrier of trees left

between the springs and the logging

areas, and no logging on the banks.

There will also be a large uncut area

surrounding the Eagles nest. RJ

explained that Oak in our sand

country survives less than 100 years

and that the trees in the selected areas

are a maturity. Surely most of us are

saddened by the removal of beautiful

forest. The regeneration of Oak forest

takes decades. But done properly, the

environmental impact should be

positive in the long term. Mr.

Wickham gave an excellent

presentation and we thank him for his

efforts.

We spent a short amount of time

discussing our chapter objectives and

then moved on to some old

business/new business topics. Dan

Harmon has finally received approval

from the DNR for the placement of

three (3) memorial benches on state

property. Two will be on the White

River and one on the Mecan River. A

fourth bench had previously been

installed on the Pine River at Covered

Bridge Park, owned by the Village of

Springwater. I believe this whole

process has taken about 3 years, I

commend Dan for never giving up.

Tom Poullette announced that he has

sold his home and is in the process of

deciding where to live. He feels it is

time to retire from his post as a

faithful Watch Dog. Well served

Tom! Our only remaining Watch Dog

is Elward Engle, so we are looking for

someone to fill Tom’s position.

Watch Dogs are ever on the alert for

potential threats to our cold water

streams. John Tucker

CWTU Board Meeting, July 8, 2014

At the Home of John and Laura

Tucker, Saxeville, WI

1. Meeting was called to order by

President Tucker at 6:45 p.m.

with @ 40 in attendance.

2. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved as

published.

3. The Treasurer’s Report was approved as distributed.

Treasurer Schaefers reported an

excellent return from the annual

Trout Schoo.l He explained

several of the highlights from

the past three months and for

the fiscal year to date. While

we hold a large cash balance, a

considerable portion of it is

restricted to specific projects

and purposes.

4. Wautoma Forestry Team

Leader, R.J.Wickham, with the

assistance of Forester/Ranger

Roderick Glaman, presented

the DNR’s plans for logging in

the Mecan Springs area. He

provided a clear and well-

structured account of the plans

and objectives and responded to

numerous good questions from

the membership, receiving a

generally positive response. It

appears that the watershed will

be well-protected during the

logging operations. His team

would be willing to show

interested members around the

site.

5. The draft of Chapter Objectives

circulated by President Tucker

was discussed. Mr. Haase

distributed a revised version

which had the virtue of

grouping the 11 original

objectives into six broader

groups which might provide

form and substance to a revised

committee structure for the

Chapter. Mr. SanDretto noted

that this version did not give a

clear sense of priorities for the

objectives. After some

discussion, the matter was laid

over for further consideration at

the next meeting. One matter

requiring special consideration

is the appointment of an official

chapter historian. Mr. Tucker

invited volunteers.

6. Old Business: Mr. Poulette will

be ending his extensive and

productive service as a

Watchdog. Mr. Tucker

requested that one or more

members willing to join Mr.

Engle on the Watchdogs

Committee should contact him

as soon as possible. The

Chapter expressed its thanks to

Mr. Poulette for his service.

Mr. Harmon reported that

contracts have been signed for

the placement of the remaining

memorial benches and they

should all be in place this

summer. The Chapter

expressed its thanks to Mr.

Harmon for his long and

dedicated efforts on this

project.

Ms. Laura Tucker noted that

the Annual Conservation

Banquet will be held on the

first Saturday in October at the

same Wautoma venue, and

asked members to consider

donations for prizes. A kayak

has been secured again as a

major raffle prize.

Mr. Haase reported that the

Trout Camp has space for a few

more kids. He expressed his

thanks to the 36 members of

this and other chapters who

have volunteered to serve as

camp “counselors.” Mr.

Harmon moved that the

tuitions for the Chapter’s

sponsored campers be paid

from the Beck Education

Fund rather than general

operating funds. The motion

was seconded and carried

unanimously. 7. New Business: Mr. Haase will

be hosting the August picnic

and meeting with a fish fry at

his home in Eldorado. Mr.

SanDretto volunteered to assist

with the grilling. The Chapter

expressed its heart- (and

stomach-) felt thanks to Laura

Tucker for hosting and for

another great feeding

opportunity!

8. Meeting was adjourned at 8:25

p.m. Respectfully submitted,

David Seligman, Secretary

Thank You

Department

From Henry Koltz, State

Council Chairman, Re: Summer

Camp

Linn, Bob, and all: On behalf of Wisconsin TU, I want to thank you all for your work at the camp. From what I observed, it was fantastic, and the kids were engaged and having a great time. I am very glad that the camp was broad spectrum, and taught about all types of angling, and that the kids got to see everything good that happens when you take care of the resource. Thanks for making the camp great, and thanks especially to Linn and Bob for all of their work in putting it together and making it happen. - hek

From Jim Williams re: Troutfest From: James Williams Subject: Black Earth Angling Date: July 25, 2014 at 5:36:18 PM CDT

Hi John; I just got from a day of guided smallmouth bass fishing with Kyle Zempel, and I had a blast! The fish were many and willing to be caught. And the outing would not have happened if I had not gotten the lucky raffle ticket at this year's TroutFest. Thank you CWTU! All the best, Jim

RIVER KEEPERS NEWS

Fahrenkrug Secures CWTU River

Keeper Grant

Thanks to the work of Rick

Fahrenkrug, CWTU River Keepers

has been awarded a $5000 grant for

2015. The money will be used to help

our organization grow, buy

equipment, involve youth, and help

organize/coordinate a network of

clean water organizations in central

Wisconsin.

The people awarding this grant are

aware of the important work that the

CWTU River Keepers are doing

monitoring streams, involving citizens

in the monitoring process, and

educating young and old about the

importance of our rivers and lakes.

Thanks to all who are making this

program a success!

Anyone who would like to get

involved with the CWTU River

Keepers should contact me at 920-

582-7802. John Gremmer

More River Keepers News:

Gifts and Grants The Citizens Natural Resources

ASSN. has given the CWTU River

Keepers a $500 grant for chemicals

and equipment.

The CWTU River Keepers trained

two members of the Aldo Leopold

Chapter Trout Unlimited at our May

training session. They donated

$100.00 dollars to the CWTU River

Keepers.

Still More River Keepers News: CWTU River Keepers Train Students

and Teachers

In May, CWTU River Keepers helped

the Appleton Plamann Montessori

School set up a water monitoring

program on Apple Creek. Apple

Creek runs through Plamann Park

which is behind the school building.

Rick Fahrenkrug, Jim Murphy, Dick

Stielow, Norm Christnacht, Judy and

John Hartl, Andy Hudak, Ed Hudak,

Andrew Aslesen, and John Gremmer

participated in the training and

planning. The school will be

monitoring all Summer and their data

is being posted on the Water Action

volunteers website. Thanks go to

Rick Fahrenkrug for doing the bulk of

the organizing on this project.

From: "STRAND, SARAH"

Subject: Thank you, thank you,

thank you! Please pass on to all of

APM's water testing volunteers! Date: June 19, 2014 at 2:43:10 PM

CDT

Dear John G., John H., Dick, Jim, Andy, Rick, Andrew, Norm, Ed and Judy, Thank you so much for coming to our school and teaching our students about water conservation and testing. I’d like to acknowledge your generous gifts of time and patience as you led all of us through each water testing station. Your knowledge and experiences really got us excited about helping the environment and understanding the immediate world around us! As a teacher, I am absolutely ecstatic about this opportunity for our students. I could go on and on about all of the academic connections students will be making- math, science, writing, observing,

measuring, using scientific equipment, recording data, etc. But I am most excited about the realness that this experience has to offer our students. In our Montessori training, we learned that we should always “bring the real into our classrooms”. I think we are accomplishing that especially with the collection of data from their extended school campus and onto the website database for long term study. I am really pleased about being involved with all of the parts of this program. We just finished our 1st solo water testing this week, with a small group of summer school students. I was amazed at how much they remembered from your training- both in word and in action. In our training we also learned about how “practical life” exercises such as these, can bring out the best in students and raise them in other academic and social areas. This is often hard to measure in the traditional sense, but trust me, the time that you gave has already made a big impact with these students!!! I think we are well on our way to achieving some of our school’s goals for the year, including using the environment around us, developing partnerships within the community and developing leadership opportunities for our students. Thank you!!

Lastly, I’d like to thank you for your flexibility with the weather and schedules. Hats off to Rick for his extra assistance with coordinating all of this and to John G. for his leadership within this program. Thank you to Ed and Rebecca for bringing this into my vision- I remain very excited and grateful!

So happy to be participating! Thanks again, Sarah Strand

From Greenville Middle School Joe Bach, FVTU, Mike San Dretto,

CWTU VP, and I each spent a

morning teaching Greenville Middle

School students about fly fishing in

late June.

The teacher, Sara Hans, learned about

CWTU at TroutFest '14 and requested

some help in teacher her classes on fly

fishing. The students had been

tying wooly buggers and learning how

to tie the knots. They were also

getting quite good at mastering the

casting stroke. Maybe one of them

will be a chapter president or state

chair someday. See Sara Hans' letter

below. In the image I was showing

the kids what kind of flies I use for

different fish. John Gremmer

Dear John, Thank you so much for visiting my summer school classes today. The students, Monica, and I enjoyed seeing all of your flies, your telescopicfly rod, and learning the

four basic steps to casting. Your instructionwas valuable and will be practiced each day. Thank you for the cards and for the wonderful flies. The boys looked forward to sharing them withtheir family members. Attached are some neat photos of you instructing my students today. Enjoy! John, I sincerely appreciate your support. I know the boys are finding thejoy in fly fishing and hope this will become a lifelong sport for them. Warm regards, Sara

Mike SanDretto gives casting lessons

John Gremmer and Students with Flies

Joe Bach at the tying table with students

John Gremmer at the tying table with

students

Joe Bach shows students varieties of flies

Update on the CAFO Fight in the

Central Sands From: Bob Clarke

Subject: Update on our CAFO fight in the

Central Sands Date: July 9, 2014 at 11:19:44 PM CDT

As I return to the normal work week

after the beautiful July 4th weekend I

can’t help but reminisce about the

time “before”. Beforethe CAFO was

announced in our back

yard, Before we learned how our

water was at risk, Before our nearby

friends showed us how their lake is

almost gone, Before we were taught

about how our prized streams may not

support trout habitat...Before we took

legal action to protect our water.

July 4th … We celebrate our

independence! And for many this

holiday represents the half way mark

for summer. I watched many

families enjoying skiing and tubing

and wave runners. My wife and I

watched the sailboats and paddle

boards and kayaks and canoes. We

laughed at the fun that people were

having swimming, floating, splashing

and snorkeling. We listened to our

neighbor’s excitement when the

eagles were spotted. We saw people

fishing and hiking and biking and we

saw tents. Lots of tents and tarps and

campfires. The weather was perfect

and we enjoyed sleeping with our

windows open while others slept on

porches or under the stars. It was

beautiful weather to enjoy our

wonderful outdoor world.

But we couldn’t help but think about

how all of these activities will be

negatively impacted. What would it

be like to experience the sights and

smells of manure on the fields, spilled

on the roads and pooling in ditches?

What would it be like to sleep with

windows closed tight against the

stench of liquid manure or hazardous

air pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide

and ammonia?

For us the 4th represents other things

as well. Over the 4th of July

weekend in 2011, we were preparing

for a public hearing on the then-

proposed Richfield Dairy high-

capacity well permit. Over three

years, two permits, two court

victories, and three weeks of

contested case hearings later, we still

don’t have a decision on whether the

DNR was within its rights to issue the

high-capacity well permit without

considering the impacts of other

wells.

But we are getting close, despite a

recent effort by the DNR to delay a

decision again.

Hearings challenging the Richfield

Dairy high-capacity well permit

concluded in December 2013, and the

attorneys submitted final post-hearing

briefs in early May 2014. In early

June, the DNR asked the

administrative law judge to stay a

decision and reopen proceedings so it

could re-do its analysis yet again.

This analysis still would not have led

to any changes in the well permit.

But we prevailed...Last week, the

judge denied that request. What’s more, the judge stated he

would make every effort to issue

a decision in 60 days.

Our legal actions are still going strong

as we enter our 4th year and we are

making a big difference! Our costs

now hover near $300,000 and we

need your help.

Please support these efforts to

protect why you enjoy making

family memories on holidays such

as the 4th!

http://www.friendsofcs.org/

www.Facebook.com/FriendsofCS

A Trip to the St. Mary’s River,

Canada By Jeff Treu

Salmo Salar of theSt Marys Known in some parts of the world as the king of fish, the Atlantic Salmon is a beautifully colored fish of sterling silver with iridescent hues of blue, violet and olive in the Spring. In the Fall with the arrival of the spawning season this same fish changes its look to that of rich gold, the males now growing large kypes and sporting round protruding snouts. This is a fish I’ve had an increasing fascination with over the last several years. A fish I have come to admire for its tradition, beauty and fighting qualities.

I have always admired the anadromous species of the Great Lakes, the Pacific Salmon, providing the first migration of the Fall season and early sport for the fisherman. The big powerful Fall Browns, the almost unequaled battlers of Fall and Spring the Steelhead, the big and rare Coasters (Brook Trout) of summer, and as of late the Atlantic’s.

I’ve always heard about them, these great fish of Europe and eastern Canada but they seemed mysterious and out of reach, both geographically and economically. Then about 15 yrs ago I began to hear bits and pieces about this fish thriving in the St Marys River just 6 hrs from home. This started me on a search to find out all I could about this fishery.

The first time I fished the Soo (Sault Sainte Marie) area both on the Canadian and U.S. side of the border was about 8 yrs ago, since then I have made several more trips. Wade fishing the famous St Marys Rapids is only accessible from the Canadian side of the border. You can access the river on the U.S. side by boat. The month of May is prime for Steelhead but the Atlantic’s don’t make their migration up the river from Lake Huron until about mid June, on a normal year. However they don’t enter the “Rapids” until about mid July or even later, at least in fishable numbers. It’s the warming of the slower waters of the lower river and the ever increasing spawning urge that inevitably drives these fish into the oxygen rich waters of the “Rapids”.

I just returned a few days ago from a trip to the Soo in search of Atlantic Salmon. This trip occurred the 2nd wk of July. A friend of mine, Dirk Denzin, invited me to join him on a 4 day trip he had booked with guide Brad Petzke to boat fish the river. It

took me about 1 second to accept his offer. At this time fishing out of a boat was our only choice not only did the time of year with our unseasonably cool weather dictate we do so because the fish would not be in the “Rapids” yet but also because the Army Corp of Engineers had opened more gates at the head of the “Rapids” making them to high and treacherous to wade. Hopefully this event will end by next year and fishing the “Rapids” will once again be a possibility. Dirk and I arrived at the boat landing to meet Brad, our guide, at 5am. I must warn you that fishing the St Marys out of a boat may not be what you envision when you think about the stories you’ve heard or read concerning Atlantic Salmon. You may picture a 20’ wooden freighter canoe on a rock strewn river flanked by majestic bluffs that are so common in eastern Canada. Maybe the volcanic landscape of Iceland or the northern forest terrain of Norway or maybe even the trimmed hedges and quaint villages of Ireland. Along with the scenery a person can expect a 1 or 2 fish week, if you’re lucky maybe more but possibly worse. Not so here in the Soo. No this is the river that houses the Soo Locks, some of the biggest and busiest in the world. Ocean going barges and other vessels are a common sight. That being said the river is frequently traveled by small fishing boats, the Atlantic Salmon are still Atlantic Salmon and there are good numbers of them available to the angler. Yes these fish migrate up the river from Lake Huron instead of the ocean but they are still the same big beautiful powerful fish that readily take a fly. Fish that will run you into your backing and take you down into the depths on one side of the boat and if you’re not careful come rocketing up out of the water 3’ or 4’ into the air on the other side of the boat. If you’re lucky, after a 15-20 minute battle or more you may get to hold and photograph a silver Atlantic Salmon of different iridescent hues weighing maybe 10 lbs or more. Our guide Brad Petzke showed us some innovative nymph and streamer techniques we used to catch these fish. For the record

if you’re interested in the numbers and I don’t usually quote numbers but I will in this case for the sake of a comparison to other Atlantic Salmon destinations around the world. Well Dirk and myself boated 24 Atlantic’s in 4 days of fishing 8 of which were in the 10 lb range. We also caught 14 Steelhead, the St Marys being one of the few places in the world where you can catch Steelhead and Atlantic’s out of the same water. For good measure you can also add 20 plus Whitefish and Lake Herring to the count. As long as I’m mentioning numbers I must admit that my friend Dirk did school me on both numbers and size of fish caught, that’s ok though because we truly enjoyed having the fishing time of our lives.

This trip truly ended up being a world class trip for us but not at world class prices. Jeff Treu For more info you can contact ; Captain Brad Petzke Riversnorth Guide Service www.riversnorth.net

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