BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#251: Apr. 3, 2022
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Helpers Needed for Bitterroot Buggers This Tuesday! |
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The second tying session for the 2022 Bitterroot Buggers class will be from 6:30 - 8:00 PM this coming Tuesday evening - April 5. All sessions will be at the Hamilton School District's Keystone Enrichment Program facility on Madison between 5th and 6th Streets. Look for the blue door with the flower painted on it.
The first tying session on March 22 very well. The Beginner's class learned the Black Wooly Bugger - the group's name sake fly! The Advanced Class was taught by BRTU high school board member Ty Balser, a Bugger alum and a student at Hamilton High School. Steve Davis did the breakout session for casting instruction.
The key to success in the classes is an adequate number of helpers to assist the kids with the tying. There was a really good turnout of helpers at the first tying session (almost a helper for each Bugger), and we hope that this continues. Please come on down and assist with our flagship youth program.
This newsletter goes out to over 750 people and it would be marvelous if a few came down each Tuesday to join the small number of regulars. It is very gratifying to see these young people catch on to flytying and learn about conservation. You need not be an experienced tier to make a big difference.
Supply chain issues have delayed our shipment of quality tying vises, so if you can come Tuesday, perhaps you can bring a vise down for the kids to use.
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The Jefferson River from the Waterloo Bridge. This is the focal point of the management plan. Source: Chris Edgington. |
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Extreme low water on the Jeff' during the summer of 2021. Source: Chris Edgington. |
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The Shaw Diversion on the Boulder River, a tributary to the Jeff'. Source: Chris Edgington. |
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A road captured by the Middle Fork of the Judith River. The current road has 17 fords of the river, and one of Chris's projects is to reroute the road in order to rehab these fords. Sure looks like a gorgeous stream! Source: Chris Edgington. |
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Jefferson River Featured at April 21 BRTU Meeting. |
Although convening in person with a beverage for our chapter meetings is great, going virtual enables us to feature topics from other parts of the state/country and speakers that can't attend in person.
The April 21 meeting on Zoom will feature Montana TU's Jefferson Watershed Project Manager Chris Edgington. Chris will highlight MTU's efforts in the watershed over the last several years. Chris will give an update on the fisheries trends, completed and upcoming MTU projects, and his role in the drought management plan. He will also discuss a major road relocation and stream restoration on the Middle Fork of the Judith River.
These Jefferson River projects were started almost 20 years ago at the time of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial. MTU recognized that the river named for President Thomas Jefferson was having serious problems and felt it was time to devote effort to that stream. Chris's program will be an update on those projects.
A number of Montana rivers were named by the Corps of Discovery, including the Marias, Jefferson, Judith, Madison, Gallatin and Clark's Fork. The Judith River was named on May 20, 1805 by William Clark for his cousin and future bride Julia Hancock. The Marias River was named by Meriwether Lewis that same summer for his cousin Maria Wood. Of course, these streams -as well as all the other waterways in North America - had been named centuries before by the Native Americans.
The meeting will be on Zoom and this is the link to register. Once you register, you will receive the link and will receive an reminder a day or so before the meeting. Note the Zoom will be active at 6:30, but the meeting won't start until 7:00.
Please let me or Chapter President Dave Ward know if you have any questions or have an announcement you'd like us to make that evening.
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Winner Announced for Winner of Svaroski Binoculars! |
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BRTU's on line raffle for a pair of Svaroski CL Companion 10X30 binoculars ended last month and in the presence of a number of reliable witnesses, BRTU Board member Marisa Sowles drew the name of the winner.
The winner was Mary McAlister. Mary picked up the binoculars from BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward and they posed for a photo. Mary read about the raffle and bought a ticket!
Thanks to Mary and everyone else who bought tickets. The raffle netted over $1000 for our coffers.
Plans are in the works for another raffle this spring, so stay tuned.......
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BRTU Caps Available Soon!
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The BRTU caps all sold out last summer and they are no longer available.
However, despair not. A new batch is on hand and will be for sale at the first in person BRTU meeting. They will only be available through BRTU.
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This issue's Picture of the Week tells a sorry story and was submitted by my friend Wade Fellin.
Wade and his dad Craig operate the Big Hole Lodge near Wise River and are 2 of the most conservation minded angling professionals in the business. They have dedicated their careers and business to keeping the Big Hole a perfect trout stream.
Last summer, Craig came over to do some snorkeling and photography on the Bitterroot and wound up taking some very upsetting photos. The water temps were high although Hoot Owl had not yet been instituted. This photo shows a dead westslope cutthroat bleeding from what was likely a bad hookup. Rather than remove the hook, the angler should have just cut the tippet. This would have given the trout a better chance at surviving.
As fishing starts to pick up on the river, it is time we remind ourselves of the proper way to handle and release fish. The Keep Fish Wet site has some of the best information and videos on this topic.
Please send your photos and stories to me. Your picture might end up as the Picture of the Week! Any photos related to fishing and conservation are welcome. We prefer pictures of released fish in the water.
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Well! This Puzzler must have been too easy because I had 4 correct answers in the first 24 hours.
However, Cory Hoffman sent in the correct answer within minutes of the newsletter going out. Cory correctly identified the fish as a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) that had been recently caught in the Gardner River close to the boundary of Yellowstone National Park. As pointed out in this story, smallmouth are a non-native species in these waters, indubitably the result of an illegal introduction, and may pose a risk to the native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the Park as well as to all the native and wild fish in the Yellowstone below the Park.
Cory is from Missoula Montana and a life long fish enthusiast. He went to the University of Montana earning a B.A in Wildlife Biology and a B.A in Ecological Restoration both with aquatic concentrations. He is currently serving as a Big Sky Watershed Corp member with Montana Trout Unlimited and the U.S Forest Northern Region.
Thanks to Cory and all the other folks who played the BRTU Puzzler and submitted a correct answer.
If you have a cool fishing or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. We prefer photos of actual fish in the water rather than in the hand.
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Monte Dolack BRTU prints
now available at Joe's Studio.
A small number of Publisher's Proofs of the limited edition "Bitterroot River-Lost Horse Bend" by Monte Dolack are now available at Joe's Studio. BRTU commissioned Monte Dolack in 2007 to create this iconic print of the Bitterroot River.
The remaining Publisher's Proofs are $375 and all proceeds support BRTU efforts to protect trout and streams.
Joe's Studio, a regular sponsor of our banquets, is located in Hamilton at 220 Marcus Street (961-4586, joesstudio@aol.com)
The "U" in BRTU
Unlike many groups, BTRU has no paid staff. We are an entirely volunteer organization. We are always looking for new members to get involved in projects or to join our board and assist with maintaining our focus on native fish, clean healthy streams and education. If you would like to help out, please contact BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward. We could sure use your help!
In other words, how about putting a little "U" in BRTU?
If "U" are not already a member, "U" can join TU today by going to the the BRTU website. chapter number is #080. If you have a question about your membership, please call Clayton at 406-543-0054.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BRTU board meetings are usually being held on ZOOM. They are open to all BRTU members. Date and time vary, so please contact Chapter President Dave Ward if you would like to log in and learn what is going on.
The BRTU Mission statement is "To conserve, protect, and restore the Bitterroot River and it's watershed," directly in line with the Montana TU mission statement.
For your information, here is a tabulation of our current hard-working BRTU officers and board members.
BOARD OFFICERS
Donna Haglund; Vice President; E-mail: haglunddonna@gmail.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
Ty Balser; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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