Leaders & Tippets Lee Squires, Editor · 1/1/2017 · During 2016, we celebrated good events such as the completion of the New Hatchery reek at Lake umberland’s Wolf reek Hatchery

As we embark upon the New Year 2017, we can embrace AND commiserate on the good news and bad news before us.

During 2016, we celebrated good events such as the completion of the New Hatchery Creek at Lake Cumberland’s Wolf Creek Hatchery. Together, with Bluegrass TU, we planted 100 trees there. We established the Otter Creek Fund, to teach the lifecycle and habitat of trout to about 2500 kids at Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area, taught by Park Manager Charlie Logsdon. (See article on Charlie). We began a TU Youth Program and TU Women, both affiliates of our TU Chapter. We started our first “Trout In the Classroom (TIC)”, and continued support of a fly fishing museum, Casting for Recovery and Reel Recovery retreats for cancer survivors.

We have had some great chapter meeting programs and fly tying events. We showcased TU at the DCFF Fly Fishing Show.

In 2017, we plan to do even more.

And now for the bad news. A nontraditional and somewhat controversial President of The United States has been elected and soon will be sworn in. His agenda implies many adverse plans to gut the Environ-mental Protection Agency and other environmental platforms in the name of business. Our national parks, sacred Native American Burial Lands, educational programs, watersheds, and the air we breathe could likely be endangered. Although TU is not rooted in the political area, we must not be complacent. More now than ever, we must make our voices heard in Washington, DC, Frankfort, and yes, our local communities as well.

This January, our legislators have convened in Frankfort. There is a bill, BR257, co-introduced by Addia Wuchner, R-Florence and Marie Rader, R-McKee, to exempt landowners’ guests and non-resident family members to be able to fish their ponds without a license. Passage of BR257 will reduce KDFWR revenues by some 10% or more resulting in the reduction or cancellation of many initiatives. Many of these ponds were originally stocked AND even dug by KDFWR. Some have drawn their water from KDFWR managed waterways.

Leaders & Tippets Lee Squires, Editor

January– February

President’s Corner Mike Lubeach, President

2017

GOOD NEWS………………..BAD NEWS

Stockings will be greatly reduced, enforcement staff reduced, restoration projects pared back or shelved. As we all know, no state monies support KDFWR. Licenses are the mainstay operating revenue. We pay for the PRIVLEDGE of fishing and hunting in Ken-tucky. In doing so, we support many programs and facilities we enjoy as outdoor sportsmen. Other states could learn by the exam-ple of Kentucky. We are fortunate to have a great outdoor management system. Let’s not let it be diminished by thoughtless legis-lation or selfish interests and possibly leading to more assaults on our great outdoor recreation system.

I have had extensive conversations about BR257 with Dep. Comm. Karen Waldrop, Dep. Comm./Biologist Dave Dreves,

KDFW Foundation Director Rachel Crume, and Director of Fisheries Ron Brooks and all have expressed serious concern.

Comm. Greg Johnson has been aggressively working on this issue. Dist. Comm. Rusty Gailor is also weighing in to stop this bill. NOW IT’S TIME FOR ACTION. Write your legislators NOW. Tomorrow may be too late. Keith Bratcher is the Chmn. of the Licensure Committee. Addia Wuchner was given a tour of programs and facilities by Comm. Johnson but was not swayed. Here are the ad-dresses:

Rep. Addia Wuchner Rep. Addia Wuchner

PO Box 911 702 Capitol Avenue

Burlington, Ky. 41005 Annex Room 424F

Frankfort, Ky. 40601

OUR NEXT MEETING

TIM TIPTON : FISHING GUIDE

IN THE SMOKEY MOUNTAIN AREA

Tuesday, Jan. 24th at 7:00 at Cabela’s

FLY TYING IS AT 6:00 FOR INTERESTED MEMBERS

SEE YOU ALL THERE !!!

2017 Kentuckiana

Fly Fishing Show Presented By: Derby City Flyfishers

Show Theme - Regional & Local Fishing Wa-ters

Featuring:

Lee McClellan - Author & expert on smallmouth fishing in KY.

Gerald McDaniel - Author, guide, & expert on the Cumberland River • Fly Casting Demonstrations • Fly Tying Contest • Educational Seminars

• Retailers • Guides & Outfitters • Watercraft • Fish & Wildlife Agencies • Kids’ Corner • Raffle Prizes

January 28, 2017 9am to 5pm

Paroquet Springs Conference Center 395 Paroquet Springs Drive, Shepherdsville, KY

Admission: $7 Free Entry to Active Military

and Kids 12 & Under

For more info, visit: www.kyflyshow.com or

2017 CALENDAR OF EVENTS - TROUT UNLIMITED CHAPTER 476

JANUARY

Wednesday 11 Board Meeting 7:30 Commonwealth Bank

Tuesday 24 Fly Tying 6:00 Cabela’s

Tuesday 24 Program & General Meeting 7:00 Cabela’s

Tim Tipton, Smokey Mountain area Fishing Guide

Saturday 28 Derby City Fly Fishing Show 9:00-5:00 Paroquet Conf. Ctr.

FEBRUARY


Tuesday 28 Fly Tying/No General Meeting 6:00 Cabela’s

MARCH




Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Updates

TBA Otter Creek Cleanup & Fishing Outing 9:00 at Otter Creek

This one day outing will be either Wed. 29, Thurs. 30, or Fri. 31 depending on rain & water conditions. Watch for email updates, or contact Paul Vitello at #502-425-1427

APRIL


Friday 21 – 23 TU Southeast Regional Meeting ------ Gatlinburg, TN

Saturday 22 Earth Day Celebration 9:00 CST Wolf Creek Hatchery


MAY




Special Fly Tying Demo

Mon 22 – Wed 24 Reel Recovery 8:30 T-W Wooded Glen, Henryville

JUNE

Friday 2 – Sunday 4 Casting For Recovery ------ Wooded Glen, Henryville


Tuesday 20 Picnic 6:00 TBA


JULY




Sow Bug Festival and Fishing in Arkansas

AUGUST



SEPTEMBER

Tuesday 5 Annual Banquet/Fund Raiser 5:30 Knights of Columbus Hall

Tuesday 26 Fly Tying/No General or Board Mtg. 6:00 Cabela’s

Wed 27 – Sat 30 TU Annual Meeting ------- Roanoke, Virginia

October



Tuesday 24 Program - TBA/General Meeting 7:00 Cabela’s

Election of Board Members for the year 2018 & 2019 also 2017 Review

November



December Holiday Schedule

Wednesday 13 Holiday Party/No Fly Tying or Board Mtg. 6:30 Commonwealth Bank

TURKEY QUILL SOFT TACKLE

Tied by Roy Weeks at a recent

Kentuckiana Fly Tyers Meeting

MATERIALS:

Hook: standard dry fly 12-18

Thread: 6/0 to match body color

Tail: two turkey biots splayed

Body: turkey quill

Rib: extra small copper wire

Thorax: Peacock Herl

Hackle: partridge feather

Bead: small glass bead to match body

TU & TIC By Mike Lubeach

We often hear the phrase “Making A Difference” as it is applied to many things. Is it just a catch-phrase used to tout some charitable or beneficial cause ? How significant is the true impact of “Making A Difference” ? Is this just lip ser-vice or does our action speak louder than words ?

I, for one, have seen many examples of the true meaning of

“Making A Difference”. Many of you, I’m sure, have witnessed positive examples as well.

TU members, now some 150,000 strong, have accomplished many worthy projects over the years, since TU began in 1959, enhancing healthier cold water fisheries through stream mitigations, clean-ups, restorations, educating elected officials and teaching environmental responsibility.

Let’s explore one such example in our own back yard :

Louisville Trout Unlimited has launched it’s first “Trout In the Classroom” (TIC) Project, an initiative that dozens of chapters are currently involved in. To ensure the future of our cold water fisheries for our children, grandchildren and genera-tions to come, we must invest in educating our leaders of the tomorrow, our youth. With the guidance of our friends at Bluegrass TU Chapter, we established a TIC in Louisville at the Catalpa Project of Milburn T. Maupin Elementary School. Brandon Cox, fourth grade teacher and Abby Terranova, resource teacher, both attended a course on TIC in Lexington on August 13, 2016. Louisville TU funded this project and is actively monitoring its project. With a 55 gallon aquarium, pump, filter, chiller, and a plethora of chemicals and supplies, Mr. Cox’s class of eager kids began monitoring the unfolding of the life cycle of trout.

On December 8, 2016, Lee and Linda Squires and Mike Lubeach visited Mau-pin to observe the TIC progress, provide technical support, and give presenta-tions. Mike provided video snippets of

Trout in the Classroom at Maupin Elementary

Brandon Cox & Mike at school

The 55 gallon aquarium

Happy trout fry in Brandon’s tank

adult trout action at Wolf Creek Hatchery and flowing stream environment at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains.

The enthusiasm of these fourth graders was overwhelming.

Other classes in the school also visit Mr. Cox’s class room to watch as the eggs begin to hatch and tiny fry swim in their birthing tank.

As these trout grow, each child will learn about the habitat of stream life. The course details multiple disciplines :

Aquarium Preparation 11. Kentucky Watersheds

Dechlorination 12. Stocking

Trout Markings 13. Water Consumption

From Eggs to Fry 14. Fish Art

External Trout Anatomy 15. Measuring Stream

Dissection Health

Life Cycle 16. Macroinvertibrates

Needs of the Trout 17. A Field Trip

Ecosystem 18. Assessing Data &

10. Threats to Trout and Survival Drawing Conclusions

19. Leaf Pack Study

In late January or early February, 2017, Mike, the Project Chairman, and Paul Vi-tello will visit the class to observe the progress of TIC. At that time, they will also give presentations.

Mr. Cox is working on plans for a field trip in the spring to have a formal trout release ceremony at Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

From the Editor …………………………Lee Squires

We are very proud of our Trout in the Classroom setup at a 4th Grade class at Maupin School. It is a good project for our chapter and an excellent learning experience for the children.

In mid-January ,Sandy Broughman, a T.I.C. supporter for the Bluegrass Chapter, emailed me with a re-quest. He asked if someone from Louisville could come to Lexington to pick up 100 trout fry on Jan. 18th and deliver 1/2 of them to the Maupin School and 1/2 to Westport Middle School (one of Bluegrass’s schools). He said that over Christmas break the unhatched eggs had some fungus problems and did not hatch. Bill Davig, the Bluegrass Chapter’s tireless T.I.C. advocate, was going to the Wolf Creek Hatchery to pick up 300 + trout fry. Four other schools in Lexington also had some fungus problems. Being retired and ready for some interesting action, I volunteered to go pick up the trout. Sandy said all I needed was two gallons of dechlorin-ated water around 50 degrees in a cooler and a portable aerator. I went to WalMart and picked up the sup-plies.

I have some extensive fish handling experience from my days of being a tropical fish and saltwater fish hobbyist. Starting in the 9th grad I was one of the youngest successful breeders of Siamese Fighting Fish, aka, Bettas, in the Louisville area……..no brag, just fact. I bred (actually the pair bred for me) I just provided the ideal mating conditions in my breeding tank, a beautiful pair of fish. One was an iridescent blue male and the female was white with deep red fins. They provided me with close to 300 eggs and all hatched. Keeping the fry alive was a problem and feeding them was difficult but I managed to save a small percentage of them.

The water from our tap at home tested at 52 degrees and was ideal for the fish transport. I took along a few bottles of frozen water in case the temperature increased during the drive. The fish transfer occurred around 2:00 PM and I was back on the road to Louisville.

My first stop was Maupin and their 50 fry adjusted quickly to the 53 degree water in the aquarium. They were happy. I next made it to Westport Middle around 4:00 and met the teacher. Her tank was 66 degrees since her chiller had broken the week before. I put a few fish in the water and they seemed to be OK. Since the school was about to lock up I went ahead and dumped the two gallons of cold water from my cooler into the tank to help cool the water. This small amount of added water pressure caused the plastic support bar at the top middle of the tank (plastic fatigue with an old tank) to break and the front glass of the 55 gal. tank bowed out 1/2”, close to the breaking point ! Egads, I think I said. The next morning at 9:00 I took a furniture clamp back to the school and clamped the top bringing the front glass back in line thus saving an enormous mess. The glass luckily held overnight.

One never knows what you will face when you take on a project but we will assume the outcome will be worth it when the students get to release the trout into Otter Creek this Spring.

A Road Trip for…….

Trout in the Classroom

2016 Holiday Party

CHARLIE LOGSDON …………………….. EXIT STAGE LEFT

By Mike Lubeach

It is with deep admiration that we acknowledge the decades of service to KDFWR by biologist Charles Logsdon. Most of you know of Charlie’s most recent endeavor as Manager of Otter Creek Outdoor Recrea-tion Area (OCORA). This was undoubtedly the biggest challenge of his career with KDFWR.

The old Otter Creek Park, formerly the Van Buren Estate, was selected by the Federal Government in 1934, as a recreational demonstration area because of the sub-marginal nature of the land, and its scenic features, and its proximity to Louisville. Most of the land was purchased in 1935. In 1947, it became part of Louisville Parks and Recreation Department. Over time, it was left to deteriorate due to lack of funding and the obvious distance from the City of Louisville, now Metro Louisville.

In his short tenure of about five years, Charlie began the daunting task of turning this 2600 acre area, near Muldraugh, Kentucky and Fort Knox, into a major destination for hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. He hit the ground running with many projects and initiatives of this work-in-progress as his budget would allow. He worked a few miracles along the way. Amongst the park’s history were four leased camps. The first camp, and only one still there, was Camp Piomingo, a YMCA Camp. It was built and established in 1938. Today, Camp Piomingo is still going strong.

In the spring of 2016, Charlie created a course to teach the life cycle of trout and the stewardship of Otter Creek as a trout stream (although not a cold watershed). Louisville TU established a perpetual fund, the Otter Creek Fund, through the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation to teach this course to some 2500 campers at Camp Piomingo. Microscopes and lab supplies were purchased by the fund. He stressed the im-portance of stewardship of our fisheries for our generations to come.

On December 1, 2016, Charlie Retired from KDFWR. He will be sorely missed as a major asset to us all. We wish our friend Charlie only the best in his retirement years. Somehow, I don’t think Charlie will stop making an impact on our environment, our natural resources and stewardship of this great land we call Ken-tucky.

At the time this article was written, no replacement for Charlie had been chosen, but the search is on to fill Charlie’s boots. In the interim, Regional Coordinator Scott Harp is overseeing OCORA.

Ed. Note: If you instill in your child a love of the outdoors

and an appreciation of nature, you will have given him a

treasure no one can take away.

Ted Trueblood

F I S H T A L E S

Southern Appalachia Fly Fishing Museum

By Dan Jackman

Adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bryson City is 1 hour west of Asheville,

2 hours from Knoxville, Greenville/Spartanburg & Chattanooga, and 3 hours from Charlotte,

Winston-Salem and Atlanta. It is there that you will find the Southern Appalachia Fly Fishing

Museum. Roy Weeks and myself took time off from our fly tying, and fishing in North Carolina

to visit the museum.

The museum had been located in Cherokee North Carolina, until after renovations of the

building prompted the Cherokee Tribe to retake the building for other uses. That left the mu-

seum with trying to find new a new location, that would fit their budget. After much search-

ing, they were able to relocate in Bryson City, about 7 miles from Cherokee, and in the center

of town within the municipal building. This building also houses the police department, and

other city departments. However, after talking with the curator of the museum, it was rev-

eled that the museum would be taking over the rest of the building when the other depart-

ments are relocated, giving the museum approximately three times the space it use to have in

Cherokee.

Through the information obtained, we learned much about the origin of museum and how it

all began. Our visit was more inspiring then we could have imagine. We learned where all of

the Appalachian region was located, and how really big it is.

The Southern Appalachians region includes more than 14,700 miles of accessible trout

streams in the nine Southern Appalachian states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Mary-

land, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama; as well as the

Qualla Boundary, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; the Great Smoky Moun-

tains National Park; and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

There was a lot to see in the museum, and a lot to learn about. Our Chapter has made dona-

tions to the museum, and we can tell you from our visit that it was well worth it. If you ever

get the chance to visit the Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Museum, it would be something

that you would really enjoy doing.

The city of Bryson is going to start having a fly festival every year, in the center of the city by

the old train station. They will have fly tying demonstrations and other attractions going on

as well. Roy and I will be participating in the tying segment of the festival, and doing some

fishing as well. The dates and time are still be set, but should be announced in the near fu-

ture. This would be a great time for you to come out and visit, and take in the museum as

well. It would be worth the trip.

Documents

Leaders & Tippets Lee Squires, Editor · 1/1/2017 · During 2016, we celebrated good events such as the completion of the New Hatchery reek at Lake umberland’s Wolf reek Hatchery