BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#256: May 30, 2022
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More BRTU Youth Projects.
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Joe Byrne explaining a knot to a graduating Bugger during Buggers Fishing Day at the park in Hieronymus Park. Source: Dave Ward
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Under the watchful eye of BRTU Board member Jack Mauer, a graduating Bugger works on his casting during Buggers Fishing Day at Hieronymus Park. Source: Dave Ward.
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Learning knots was the order of the day at the 2002 Buggers Fishing Day. Source: Dave Ward.
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BRTU Board member Jack Mauer coaches a parent and daughter at Buggers Fishing Day. Source: Dave Ward.
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Florence-Carlton High School biology teacher Joe Ruffatto gestures at the cooler of little trout on the banks of the pond at Hieronymus Park. The cooler served as a temporary aquarium for the trout from his TIC program on the trip up from Florence. Source: Dave Ward.
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The full class from Joe Ruffatto's class posed for a photo prior to releasing their little TIC trout in to the pond. Source: Dave Ward
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The Florence-Carlton High School TIC fish anxiously await their new home in the Hieronymus Park pond. Source: Dave Ward.
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The trout are transferred from the cooler into the pond by means of a small net. Source: Dave Ward .
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This spring has seen BRTU board members and volunteers spending a lot of time on our youth programs.
The 2022 Bitterroot Buggers came to a close last Saturday with Buggers Fishing Day. This year the group convened at the Hieronymus Park pond. Thanks to the terrific organizing of lead coordinator Joe Byrne and Chapter President Dave Ward, a number of Buggers got to test their casting skills on the pond. They had some additional instructors in Board members Jack Mauer and Donna Haglund, Jay Haglund, Marshall Bloom as well as some engaged parents.
The fish were not cooperative this year, but the superb fried chicken from the Deli at Hamilton Marketplace and the pleasant setting once more alleviated any disappointment. The Buggers got off to a late start this year due to pandemic restrictions, but we expect that the 2023 Bitterroot Buggers will mark a return to the full program. Joe Byrne and Greg Chester have already started talking about dates.
BRTU's other major youth program is Trout in the Classroom (TIC) - now finishing its 3rd year. I previously reported on the TIC classes from Hamilton and Corvallis High Schools, but this year there was also the Florence-Carlton High School class of Joe Ruffatto. The students in Joe's class got to see how trout develop from eggs into small fish and to learn important lessons about water quality as well as conservation, before the little trout were released in the pond at Hieronymus Park.
The TIC trout are teaching these students a lot and hopefully they will become good stewards of the natural world. With luck, some of the little trout released by the TIC classes into the pond will be around for the 2023 Bitterroot Buggers to hook up with next spring!
TIC has become another cornerstone from BRTU's commitment to youth education as a key element of its efforts. Thanks to Greg Chester, we have secured funds to extend the program to additional 2 valley high schools for a total of 6.
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The reservoir at Painted Rocks Lake has filled and water is now roaring over the spillway.
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The May 30, 2022 Montana SNOTEL Map. The recent snow, rain and cool weather have brought the snowpack up dramatically. Source: NRCS.
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DNRC engineer Larry Schock reported that water started going over the spillway at Painted Rocks Dam at 4:00 am on Wednesday, May 18.
That was 12 days ago and with all the rain and cool weather that we have had in the interim, the snowpack in Western Montana has jumped dramatically. The SNOTEL report from today cites the current snow water equivalent (SWE) for Bitterroot drainage as 244% of the 20 year median. This is a lot of water and the weather from here on out will determine the risk of flooding and summer streamflows.
If you have driven over one of the bridges across the river the last day or so, the water is really high but is still very clear. Flows at the Darby gauge have been hovering between 5,000 and 6,000 cfs for the last few days, far above the median of about 3600 CFS. The West Fork at Conner is running right around 1800 cfs, and Bell Crossing there is a whopping 8360 cfs.
These are substantial flows so it is a good time to stay at home and preen your tackle before heading out when the level gets a bit more manageable. Of course if you happen to know good side channel that you can access on foot,........
Unfortunately, things are not that rosy all over the state. The Missouri below Holter Dam is 3000 cfs, just about 1/2 what it should be. And although the snowpack has improved there, too, the reservoir levels are quite low. The Big Hole gauge at Wisdom has gone from a scarily low 600 cfs on May 26 to a bit above seasonal today at 1900 cfs, and the Big Hole at Melrose has just touched the seasonal normal at about 3600 cfs. The fate of these rivers this summer is going to depend on the weather.
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[Bill Pfeiffer at 2021 camp. Source all photos: Dave Ward.]
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BRTU Fly-Fishing Day Camp set for June 11.
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There are still a couple open spots for this day camp, so please share the story if you know families that might be interested in participating.
Another plank in BRTU's youth education platform has become the Kid's One Day Fly Fishing Camp. And for the second year in a row Montana TU's Education Director Bill Pfeiffer will be the instructor at a BRTU Sponsored fly-fishing day camp for boys and girls between 10 and 15 years old. Bill is a very experienced teacher and the response at last year's camp was very positive.
This year the camp will be held on Saturday, June 11 at the Hieronymus Park pond in Hamilton. Incidentally, this is the pond where the Buggers Fishing Day was held and where the Trout in the Classroom trout were released.
The class will cover what trout eat, stream entomology, fly selection, fly casting and finish off with some fishing. Participants may bring their own flyrods, but there will be rods available for those that don't have a rod.
The class is limited to 10 students between the ages of 10 and 15, so people are encouraged to sign up soon! Permission from a parent or guardian will be required.
The cost is a recommended $20 donation. Lunch will be provided and there will be a few prizes.
Please contact Charlie Harris (434-962-6065) or Dave Ward (406-241-3903) to sign up, if you have questions or to volunteer.
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A cute hot-pink floy tag inserted near the dorsal fin of a trout. Source: MFWP
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This issue's Picture of the Week of a tagged trout was shamelessly stolen from the MFWP website after reading a story on KECI.
Travis Rehm, an MFWP Fisheries Biologist, is doing a study of the effects of the Cabinet Gorge Dam on migration of trout in the lower Clark Fork River. The dam was built in 1952 and since then upstream migration of fish has been completely prevented.
In brief Travis is examining the fate and migratory behavior of westslope cutthroat and other resident salmonids that have been transported upstream of the dam. A floy tag, with unique identification features, is being put in the transported trout near the dorsal fin. Anglers who catch a fish with one of the tags are being asked to note the inscription on the tag and report the information to Travis at 406-382-3032. MFWP has issued a news release that describes the project in more detail.
Please submit fishing, conservation and nature photos that you would like to see featured in the BRTU E-News Picture of the Week.
BRTU E-News will no longer publish grip and grin photos of native fish out of water but welcomes photos of actual fish in the water.
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This week's BRTU Puzzler was submitted by long-time BRTU member and supporter Whygin Argus.
Whygin had just finished one of Mark Twain's best known stories - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and decided to do some research on Wikipedia about jumping critters. Well.... we all know what happens when we start perusing a dictionary or encyclopedia. Sure enough, he came across this annelid and started berating me to use it as a BRTU Puzzler.
The BRTU Puzzler is to provide the common and binary designation of the animal. You also have to explain its origins and why it is more of a concern to the environment than our own night crawlers.
Send entries to the BRTU Puzzlemaster. The first correct answer will be the winner of this BRTU Puzzler.
The BRTU Puzzler now has a new sponsor - Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton. Chapter One is offering a $10 gift card to each winner but it must be picked up in person. The book store is a long time BRTU supporter and has an unbelievable inventory of books and magazines. If Chapter One doesn't have the tome you want, they can get it in a jiffy. Shouldn't we be patronizing local small independents rather the big online services?
If you have a cool fishing or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. BRTU E-News will no longer publish grip and grin photos of native fish out of water but will highlight photos of actual fish in the water.
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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 the Montana TU office 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
Vacant, Treasurer;
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
JuliAnne Thomas; E-mail: thomasjulianneh@gmail.com
Ty Balser; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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