CCTU Bear Creek Earth Day Conservation Project - Sat, April 23...Still Have Spots! |
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Conserve, Protect And Restore |
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MEETING CHANGES MAY-JULY DUE TO CRESTHILL M.S. CONSTRUCTION
The April 19 chapter meeting will be our standard Cresthill Middle School in-person meeting and Zoom simulcast.
However, May through July will be different due to construction and other schedule issues
· May 17 “Easy Access Mountain Lakes” - will be Zoom only
· June 21 – replaced by the Raffle Party at Breckenridge Brewery (in-person only)
· July 19 Meeting "Suburuable South Park Brookies - likely Zoom only (TBD)
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CCTU APRIL CHAPTER MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 7PM
IN-PERSON AT CRESTHILL MIDDLE SCHOOL & ZOOM SIMULCAST
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PROGRAM 1 - DAVID NICKUM, CTU EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE STATE OF CTU & COLORADO PRIORITY WATERS INITIATIVE
We are lucky to have David Nickum with us for the April meeting. If you’ve wondered what Colorado Trout Unlimited is doing on behalf of you and other members around the state, here’s your chance to get that picture in a nutshell. David will give a high-level overview of CTU’s efforts across the state, including a detailed perspective on the Colorado Priority Waters Initiative.
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PROGRAM 2 – DR. ASHLEY RUST, COLORAD PARKS & WILDLIFE, WILDFIRE IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS AND THE RECOVERY THAT FOLLOWS
You may have read the Summer 2021 Trout Magazine article “Fish & Fire in the West”, detailing Ashley Rust’s research on fires and the impact on fisheries. Her presentation will give a broad overview of how wildfires impact water quality in the western U.S. from two studies on over 150 fires. She will also dive into field observations and data collected after two Colorado wildfires, the West Fork Complex Fire (2013) and the 416 Fire (2018). She will share results illustrating how the fires impacted macroinvertebrates and fish and how quickly populations recovered. Dr. Rust is a Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Specialist for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and has served as a technical advisor for TU on multiple water policy issues.
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CCTU BEAR CREEK EARTH DAY CONSERVATION PROJECT
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS...SLOTS STILL LEFT!
SAT, APRIL 23, 7:45AM-12PM BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK
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Spring is here, as is our first conservation event of 2022. Join us for an Earth Day Conservation Celebration with the City of Lakewood on Saturday April 23, 2022. CCTU is working with the staff of Bear Creek Lake Park to help restore the Bear Creek Greenbelt riparian environment in Lakewood. This part of their Earth Day event is only open to CCTU members and friends. We will be planting 6 Ninebark Natives, 6 Red-twig Dogwood, 5 Golden Currant, 6 Choke Cherry, 10 Narrow Leaf Cottonwood in a 100% outdoor event.
We are calling for volunteers, if you would like to join us, due to the limited spots, you must contact CCTU’s John Egan, john.j.egan@icloud.com, (303) 824-9714 to reserve your spot. Don’t delay, be part of this excellent annual event.
NOTE – There was a mix-up with the City of Lakewood on earlier sign-ups, where the City mistakenly told callers that all spots were full. We have a number of spots left and you just need to call John Egan to sign up.
- We will meet at 7:45 am on Saturday April 23 at Bear Creek Lake Park at the Meadowlark Cove picnic shelter, Lakewood, CO.
- Once there we will register as well as have some breakfast. At 8AM, we will gather for an orientation.
- We will split quickly into groups, and head out to the Greenbelt to work with park staff planting.
- The City of Lakewood will provide all necessary tools. Volunteers will need their own gloves and appropriate work clothes.
- Lunch will be provided by the City at 12 noon.
- The fishing contest is back as in years past, so bring your equipment for an afternoon of fun.
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MARCH MTG PRESENTATION ON CCTU YOUTUBE CHANNEL |
What a fantastic, yet unsurprising, turnout at the March meeting for Pat Dorsey. Pat presented a look at his favorite Colorado flies and best trout streams, breaking down Cheesman Canyon, the Gunnison, Taylor, the Dream Stream, Blue, and more. If you missed the meeting or want to take some notes on some of those fantastic locations, the presentation is up on the CCTU YouTube site at https://youtu.be/7QzEkavrBJU. Book a trip or pick up some equipment at The Blue Quill Angler at www.bluequillangler.com or check out Pat’s stream report at https://www.patdorseyflyfishing.com/rivers/
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CCTU 2022 ANNUAL RAFFLE
BUY TICKETS ONLINE NOW!
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The Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s annual Raffle Program is back…and this year earlier than ever before. As usual, this will be CCTU’s primary fundraiser for the year, with all proceeds going completely toward chapter conservation projects, youth education, CSU fisheries scholarship, and more.
35 items will be offered, with over $13,000 worth of prizes. These items range from
· 8 different guided float, fishing trips and lessons, incl. a Pat Dorsey full day trip
· 11 great equipment packages, including a Scott Tampa custom-built bamboo rod
· 10 fly box prizes filled with nearly 50 dozen flies
· 5 framed artwork/photography, including two Dave Whitlock framed, s&n prints
Tickets are $100 and we will limit ticket sales to 150…your chances of winning are roughly 1 in 4. You can purchase as many tickets as you want and win more than once.
Winners will be announced at a special Raffle Party (replaces the June chapter meeting) on June 21 at Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton. We have room for 75 attendees, and the first 75 ticket purchasers get free entry. CCTU will provide the food, you buy the drinks. Winners need not attend the event to win.
Tickets will be sold through the beginning of the June 21 Raffle Party if they don’t sell out earlier. Don’t delay, with only 150 tickets, it will be easy to miss out.
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COME FISH WITH US EVENTS - BACK APRIL 22 |
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CCTU’s monthly Come Fish With Us program is back again on Friday, April 22, 5-8pm at Lake Lehow. Always great if you can RSVP to David Coward at dpcoward@hotmail.com, but you can also just show up that day.
The Come Fish With Us program is designed for chapter members and non-members to explore local fisheries with experienced chapter members also there to answer questions, offer tips, and provide help on casting, fly selection, hooking, playing and landing fish. Lake Lehow is a private lake (Denver Water) that is heavily stocked with bass, panfish, and trout.
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NEW TRIP! EXPLORE SECTIONS OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER
SATURDAY, APRIL 30
SECTION 2 – PARKDALE
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Our first trip to fishing the Arkansas on March 19 was a splendid adventure. We had great weather, made new friends, and did no damage to the fish population along in Canon City! Eight of us fished that day and Harlan gives a big “thank you” to each of you who came out to fish and explore. He looks forward to continuing our exploration of the Arkansas river fishery, with our next trip scheduled for April 30th. We will fish the Parkdale access, a short distance west of Canon City on Hwy 50.
April Explore the Arkansas Outing:
When: 7:45, Saturday, March 19
Park-n-Ride, C470/University Blvd (SW quadrant)
8392 S Burnley Ct, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
(Harlan will be driving a red Astro van.)
Where: Arkansas River, Parkdale Access
Approximately 15.5 miles west of Canon City on Hwy 50
Access is on north side of road. We’ll park in the big parking lot above the river.
Trip timing and details:
7:45am - Meet to organize carpooling
8:00am Leave for Arkansas
9:00am Biology break at McDonald’s in Colorado Springs
10:00am Arrive at river at Parkdale – start fishing!
1:00pm Optional: eat lunch on the river as a group (bring your lunch)
5:00pm Conclude fishing. Decide on having dinner together in Canon City before driving home.
If you prefer to drive on your own, meet us at the Parkdale parking lot about 10am.
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CCTU MAY CHAPTER MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 7PM
ZOOM ONLY - NO IN-PERSON MEETING
PHIL TEREYLA, ANGLERS COVEY, COLORADO’S EASY ACCESS MOUNTAIN LAKES
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Phil Tereyla, noted South Park guide, presented to CCTU a couple of years ago a fantastic discussion on Targeting Fall Trophy Brown Trout. Mid-2021, his latest book came out…FlyFisher’s Guide to Colorado’s Easy Access Mountain Lakes. This presentation will focus on material from that book, which covers over 60 mountain lakes in Colorado that are under three miles to access and hits all the areas of the state. Long hikes are not necessarily required to get to alpine lakes with solid fishing for larger trout and multiple species. He will talk locations to catch specific species, including lakes that hold several subspecies of Cutthroats, artic grayling, big brown trout, lake trout, rainbows, cuttbows, splake, tiger trout, tiger muskie and more. He’ll talk some tributary streams, and review the seasonality and fly selection for many of the lakes he covers in the book.
Due to construction at Cresthill Middle School, this will be a Zoom only chapter meeting (not in-person). To join the presentation please go to…May Meeting Zoom Link or go to www.zoom.com and use Meeting ID: 821 4786 5436, Passcode: Cutthroat.
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ORVIS PARK MEADOWS FLY TYING FANATICS FEST IS BACK!
SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 10AM-3PM
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Kick off the spring fly tying and fishing season with a FREE all-day fly tying extravaganza on April 30. 20 of the top tiers in the Rockies will demonstrate their signature ties, and give away their favorite fly fishing and fly tying secrets. Drop in any time and watch tiers like Rim Chung, Phil Iwane, Rick Takahashi, Steve Maldonado, Scott Stisser, Eric Pettine, Kevan Davidson, Chris Krueger, Gary Okizaki, Frank Whispell, Tim Jacobs, Merne Judson, CCTU's Richard Pilatzke, Walter Newman, Cat Toy, Ben Baxter, Antonio Rodrigues, Janine Ballentine, Daryl Eakins, Vincent Su. Enter the raffle for fly boxes and materials, refreshments, chili and light snacks throughout the day…and great in-store deals.
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DONATE TO CCTU FROM YOUR IRA WITH A QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION |
If you are 72 or older, IRS rules require you to withdraw required minimum distributions (RMD) from your tax-deferred retirement accounts. If you intend to make a gift to CCTU, consider making it directly from your IRA. Your Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) counts toward your RMD but is not included in your taxable income.
BENEFITS OF A QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION (QCD)
· A QCD counts towards your Required Minimum Distribution.
· QCDs from your IRA are not subject to taxation as ordinary income.
· QCDs can reduce your Medicare Premiums.
· QCDs can lower your overall marginal tax bracket, including capital gains.
· QCDs avoid the standard deduction limitations for charitable gifts.
· QCDs are available to anyone with an IRA who is over 70½.
· QCDs reduce or eliminate eventual income tax burden, if left to individual heirs.
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PRO TIPS – HOW TO TAKE BETTER FISH PICS |
We continue to see grip and grin pictures on social media nationally and locally that appear to likely not be resulting in released fish that have a great chance of survival. This recent Orvis article gives some solid advice on how to take pictures without damaging the most valuable resources that all of our work is focused on protecting…the fish.
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DREAM STREAM WILLOW PLANTING PROJECT
MAY 7-8, MAY 13-15 CHARLIE MEYERS SWA
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The Pikes Peak Chapter of Trout Unlimited has an upcoming event and are looking for volunteers from any chapters. They have a 5-day project on the Dream Stream in south park for planting willows to stabilize work done by CPW last year. They have planted many willows in the past on the Dream Stream to help prevent erosion, provide shade, block the wind and provide insect habitat. Last year CPW did some stream restoration on areas that were impacted by floods from large thunderstorms in the area. This year we will be treating those areas with willows to help stabilize this work. PPCTU will be providing lunch for these volunteer days. To sign up or get more information please send an email to don.logelin@ppctu.org .
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CCTU BOARD OF DIRECTORS - NEEDS NEW BLOOD |
We elected/re-elected 2022/23 CCTU board members at the Feb chapter meeting. While we have a solid board with nine highly active members, chapter workload indicates we need 1-2 additional members. The board meets the first Tuesday of each month from 7-8pm. All BOD meetings continue to be held virtually, and the board welcomes any CCTU members who want to join a meeting for any reason. With pending BOD retirements at the end of 2022, we need to fill some key positions…most urgently, the Communications Director, which includes publishing the monthly newsletter. If you would like to find out more about the Communications role or about being part of the CCTU Board at any level, please contact Scott Tampa (scott.a.tampa@gmail.com) for more information.
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CCTU 2022 CHAPTER FISHING TRIPS |
CCTU Chapter fishing trips sign-ups are currently under way. Please contact each of the CCTU leaders below for more information.
Green River Fishing Trip – April 8 – 12, 2022
-2022 just completed – contact Rich about 2023
Bighorn River Fishing Trip – May 9 – May 14, 2022
-One slot open due to a cancellation
-Deposit $75
San Juan River Fishing Trip – Oct 22 - Oct 27, 2022
-16 slots for the trip – will fill on first come first serve basis
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CCTU/PROJECT HEALING WATERS CRYSTAL LAKE TRIP
THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2022
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The Cutthroat Chapter will host Project Healing Waters disabled veterans this year on Thursday, July 7th. Excluding the last two covid years, this will be the eighth consecutive year CCTU has hosted this event. We expect at least 10 veterans from Denver and Pueblo to attend. Volunteers will meet at a central location at 7:00AM the day of the event (exact location TBD). We will combine vehicles and carpool to Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake is located 5 miles from Leadville on Highway 24 in the upper Arkansas drainage. From Denver, take I-70 to the Copper Mountain exit, drive over Fremont Pass to Leadville, and follow Hwy 24 out of Leadville. If you are interested in helping with the event, contact CCTU’s Richard Pilatzke at
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FLY OF THE MONTH - MANHATTAN MIDGE
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Forrest Dorsey is Pat Dorsey’s son, and with his fly tying and signature patterns, he has now become one of the younger fly fishing professionals to watch over the next decade. The Manhattan Midge takes a lot of the good things from the Black Beauty, Mercury Midge and then marries both with the Top Secret Midge. Fish it in the film, fish it down deep and on the swing. This fly works on tailwaters all over Colorado, the west, and even some of the best southeastern watersheds. Very easy to tie, definitely a “guide fly” you want in your box. For more info on Forrest and this and other patterns check out his website at www.tailwaterjunkie.com. Video courtesy Umpqua Feather Merchants.
Hook – TMC 2488 #18-22
Thread/Body – Veevus 14/0 Brown
Ribbing – UTC Ultra Wire Small Copper
Thorax – Peacock Herl
Wing – Glamour Madeira
Bead – XS Silver Lined Glass Bead
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NEW READS & RE-READS
PAUL WEAMER, DRY FLY STRATEGIES
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Just finished reading this 2021 book. Had seen it mentioned in an industry magazine and was intrigued. With tightline European style nymphing gaining all kinds of recent traction, the art of fishing dries seems to have slipped below the radar. Many beginner and intermediate fly fishers stay away from dries, or only fish on top a small percent of the time. You can certainly catch a lot of fish on nymphs, but what is more beautiful than a perfect curve cast, or that dainty sip from what turns out to be a 19 inch rainbow. Weamer’s book has something for all levels of experience. Excellent info on the strengths of key dry fly styles, mending and casting techniques, equipment, and specific tactics for tougher trout. Paul Weamer is a leading authority on aquatic entomology, is a Fly Fisherman magazine editor and the author or several key fly fishing books.
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Richard Pilatzke with a Lake Lehow bass on his foam frog pattern.
Lake Lehow rainbow that fell to a Pilatzke foam frog. Come catch some for yourself on April 22!
Explore the Arkansas Trip #1 - a few members of that trip's crew
Explore the Arkansas Trip #1
More Explore the Arkansas Trip #1
More Explore the Arkansas Trip #1
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CCTU EVERYDAY FUNDRAISING VEHICLES
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King Soopers Card Program – Link up your King Soopers Rewards Card to CCTU for their Community Rewards program and get King Soopers donations flowing to the Chapter. Requires no ongoing effort on your part. Set up is very simple….check the CCTU website at CCTU Website for the directions how to link your King Soopers card to Community Rewards donations to CCTU.
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Amazon Smile - Amazon Smile provides .5% of the price of your Amazon purchase to the charitable organization of your choice. When buying something from Amazon, simply go to the Amazon Smile website (https://smile.amazon.com) to sign into your Amazon account, rather than going to Amazon.com. Once you sign into your Amazon account via the Amazon Smile website, you will be transported to the Amazon website and all purchases will register for the .5% donation to CCTU.
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4/19 CCTU Chapter Meeting, Cresthill Middle School & Zoom, 7-8:30pm
4/22 Come Fish With Us 5-8pm, Lake Lehow
4/23 Bear Creek Earth Day Conservation Project, Bear Creek Lake Park, 7:45am-12pm
4/30 Explore the Arkansas River Trip #2, Parkdale, 7:45am-5pm
5/3 CCTU BOD Meeting, Virtual Meeting via Zoom, 7-8:30pm
5/17 CCTU Chapter Meeting, Zoom Only, 7-8:30pm
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Cutthroat Chapter Trout Unlimited
1285 Nightfire Circle
Castle Rock, CO 80104
(720) 584-9396
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