To conserve, protect, and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds |
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Happy New Year to the membership of Old Pueblo Trout Unlimited. I hope you had a happy and healthy New Year.
The Board of Old Pueblo Trout Unlimited has scheduled several interesting Events to start the New Year off. Here is a brief overview of what we have planned for 2024.
In February our Conservation Chairman Jeff Collins will host an Event at Sahuarita Lake. This will be a “One Fly Tournament”. Many of you have read about these events in the past. The Tournament will be held on Saturday Feb. 03 at 0800. The Sahuarita Lake is a well maintained facility. Look for the details and the Rules of the Tournament in our Newsletter. This is a family friendly event. Participates will be members of Trout Unlimited. Contact Trout Unlimited National if you need membership information. Our plans are to hold this event each year at Sahuarita Lake. Please consider attending this event, our attendance at Outings has been light. Bring your family for a day of fun. Sahuarita Lake is a short drive from Tucson and well worth the trip.
Our March 06, 2024, meeting will be back at the Randolph Community Center. Our plan is to have an interesting Speaker to get the Spring fishing season underway. Hope to see you there.
Our April 13, 2024, will be a very special event. Alex Young from AZGFD has planned a weekend event for Rose Canyon Lake on Mt. Lemmon. This will be called the “Old Pueblo TU Summit”. One of the sponsors for this event is the Lodge on Mt. Lemmon. The details of the Event will be published later this year. Plans are to meet at the Lodge on Friday April 12. The fishing event will be held the following day at Rose Canyon Lake. AZGFD is planning to Stock the lake with Trout for our event. We have several sponsors for the event. We will have prizes and food for the members that Register for the event.
Please consider attending the events planned for 2024. We have struggled to keep our membership involved after the health crisis in our nation.
One reminder is to renew your membership with Trout Unlimited. This will help fund the events we have planned. If you have not attended a meeting or Outing this past year, please consider attending our events and give us the opportunity to get to know you. The Board is working hard to make Old Pueblo Trout Unlimited a success in our Community. See you on the Water.
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February 3rd: Outing at Sahuarita Lake at 8:00am
February 5th: Fly Tying with Jeff at Randolph at 6pm
March 6th: Member meeting at Randolph at 6:30pm
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Tentative Schedule for 2024 |
February - Outing
March 6th - Meeting
April - Outing
May 1st - Meeting
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Reminder, there is no member meeting in February. We will have an outing at Sahuarita Lake and will be back for a member meeting in March. |
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This month's tying meeting is Monday February 5 at Randolph Recreation Center. Last month we handed out 19 tying kits, number 20 is reserved for a member who called and reserved his because he picked up his daughter at the airport and couldn’t make the meeting. So we are FULL, I don’t have anymore kits; hopefully you didn’t miss out. We will be tying nymphs again from our book, Essential Fly Tying by Dave Hughes. I have 3 copies for the three members who didn’t have it. I believe everyone in the class also have the essential tools needed but I will have some extra tools available to borrow. If you weren’t there last week you are still welcome to attend and observe. We are out of table space so please leave table space for the kit holders. The nymph we will be tying is the Pheasant Tail and its variants . Great news! I found a great sale on some hooks and made a , so you will all be getting extra hooks for your kits. I will also discuss hooks and great values for you to purchase on your own if you decide to. There are plenty of Fly Tying Expos going on around the country, it’s Fly Tying Season! New products are coming out daily. I recently purchased a new tool to help put beads on your hook. Hopefully I’ll have it figured out and demo it at our tying class. Next year I’m planning on going on the Winter tying trail. I plan to attend at least 3 tying events. The closest is the Denver show. There is also one in Pleasanton California, Oregon, Idaho, Salt Lake City. The biggest show is in New Jersey, which I’d love to attend. Maybe I’ll make it next year. |
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Fly tying instructor Jeff, also Teaches Project Healing Waters |
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We are now well into our new year of 2024. We are now involved in the Temperature Monitoring Project for Apache Trout. A small team is in the process of meeting to determine what waters and specific locations will have monitors. I’m hoping to have a workday to install monitors by June 2024. More to come…stay tuned.
Golden Algae showing up in some Urban Community Waters
Golden algae (GA) has been showing up in some Community Fishing Program (CFP) waters as well as in a Salt River Project canal in Mesa. Positive CFP waters so far this trout season include Steele Indian School Pond, Cortez Lake, and Alvord Lake; however, aquatic consultants are reporting positive samples for GA in several homeowner’s association waters as well.
Under certain conditions, GA can produce a toxin that can be lethal to gill-breathing organisms, but poses no risk to humans. GA can turn the water a golden brown or golden/greenish color when in high concentrations. Symptoms of GA actively producing a toxin include fish dying in large numbers, fish congregating near inflows or waterfalls or bubblers where oxygen concentrations may be higher, and fish acting lethargic such as swimming erratically or bumping into obstacles. All fish species are susceptible to GA toxin, but sometimes GA may disproportionately cause mortality in one species. Colder water temperatures can also cause tilapia and shad to die, as well as stress the catfish.
Help stop the spread of invasive species
Boaters and anglers are reminded that aquatic invasive species (AIS) are found in many waters across Arizona. You can do your part to stop their spread and protect Arizona waters. Please remember to clean, drain, and dry all equipment (including watercraft, equipment, and fishing gear) after recreating at a waterbody listed in Director’s Orders 2.
• Procedures for decontaminating watercraft can be found here.
• Tips for decontaminating fishing gear are available here.
Additional recommendations for anglers
Anglers are also urged to consider these options to help minimize the spread of these aquatic invasive species:• Start your fishing trip at the most upstream point, then move downstream to avoid introducing aquatic invasive species into unoccupied areas.
• When fishing in multiple lakes on the same trip, a second pair of wading equipment (waders and wading boots) is recommended until gear can be properly cleaned and decontaminated.
• Avoid felt-bottom boots and waders to prevent the spread of pathogens and aquatic invasive species. Building Fish habitat
On Dec. 13, a group of AZGFD employees and seven volunteers created 100 Georgia Cubes in just a few short hours. Georgia Cubes are a cost-effective and long-lasting alternative to traditional fish habitat structures. They have proven to attract and hold just as many fish as man-made brush piles, but last three times longer. They are, however, more time intensive to prepare and build. The goal of this particular project was to cut time out of the work needed on site at Apache Lake during the upcoming installation on Jan. 27. The group measured, cut and assembled 200 tops and bases which will be used to make 100 structures.
"We appreciate everyone who came out to help," said Nathan Bailey, Aquatic Habitat Specialist. "This is really a tremendous thing for sportfish in Arizona and will make the process of assembling and sinking the structures so much easier when we are on the ground at Apache Lake later this month."Cleanups- Volunteer opportunities There have been periodic cleanups on the lower Salt River, with fishing afterwards. This is a shared venture between several organizations in Arizona. Imagine flyfishing for trout on a river in the low desert a few miles from a major metropolitan area! There are actually two rivers as the Verde flows into the Salt. There is a weekly stocking program but holdover trout are not uncommon. Holdover trout have been reported running up to 20”. This area of the Salt is less than a 2 hour drive from Tucson. Give it a try, I think you’ll enjoy your day.l
Next cleanup at Salt River:
Saturday February 17 9-11am
Blue Point Recreation Area
Salt River
33.554605, -111.571916
Fort McDowell, AZ 85364
Until next month…
Jeff Collins
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Sahuarita Lake One Fly Trout Tournament
Sahaurita Lake South End by the Ramada
Saturday, February 3, 2023 8-11am
Tournament starts at 9am, ends at 10am
First Place Trophy
Free raffles
You have to be a member of Trout Unlimited to enter Tournament. You use one fly; same fly, if you break off you’re done. One hour; you have from 9am until 10am to catch one fish. You then decide if that is you entry fish, if so measure and release or keep, you’re then done. No culling fish. You can catch a fish, not count it, and keep fishing until a bigger one is caught up until 10am. Please take a picture of your entry with the tape measure. You can release the fish or keep it. We meet at 8am, then is the time to ask questions. Tournament starts 9am sharp. Flies only, no bait.
Thanks,
Jeff Collins
Event’s Coordinator for this meeting
Rules:
1. All ages eligible, must be a TU member and have a valid AZ fishing license
2. You start with one fly of your choice, you supply the fly.
3. If you lose the fly, you’re done.
4. You have one hour to catch the trout
5. If you catch a trout, measure it. If you decide that’s your entry, stop fishing
6. If you catch a fish you decide if you want to enter it, if not keep fishing but the first fish now doesn’t count.
7. Biggest, longest, trout wins.
8. You can keep you trout whether it’s the entry fish or not, 4 fish limit
9. But you can only count one fish and decide if that’s your entree or not, keep fishing if it’s not.
10. Basically, 1 fly, 1 hour, 1 trout, no culling fish.
Sahuarita Lake
February 3rd (Saturday)
8:00 am meet, 9:00 START
TU Members Only - you can join the day of the tournament or prior
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Fly fishing Report
I don’t have much here as my January was a mess, first month in years that I didn’t fish! I had COVID, which I don’t wish on my worst enemy. Then my mother got COVID. Who is 92 and in hospice. It ended up taking her life. So it wasn’t a good month for me. From my sources here are the best bets for trout right now. The Tucson Urban lakes are still receiving stockings. Best bet is Sahaurita; it has less pressure than the other Tucson area lakes and seems to retain fish longer. There is a small flyfishing club that fishes it and most practice catch and release.
The next possibility is the Salt River below Stewart Dam(Saguaro Lake). It’s stocked weekly and is a true river flyfishing experience. It’s water runs cold from the dam and also from the input of the Verde River. You’ll need waders and all your river gear, bring a net. Most typical small nymph patterns work and I suggest a San Juan worm and egg patterns. It’s also Rainbow trout spawning season, so they’re chasing eggs. I suggest trying the Salt River on February 17, it’s a Saturday and a Cleanup day for the Phoenix area clubs, including TU Zane Grey Chapter. So there will be people there willing to help get you started if you’re not familiar with fishing there. More details are in my Conservation article.
Bonus catch from the Salt River. Sonoran Sucker. It’s one
of the few places in the world you can catch one.
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Board member Marcia Lescault will be a volunteer for the first year of the Mayfly Project here in Tucson. Jake Alpert, a Tucson native and 9 year fly fish guide took on this project after reading about it in an Orvis magazine. The project focuses on introducing fly fishing to foster children between the ages of 8 - 18. All aspects of fy fishing will be addressed; fly rods, casting, types of flys for different fishing conditions, tying flys, reading the river, knots. Five Saturday sessions start in March and finish in April. If you are interested in joining Marcia as a volunteer, please reach out to her at lescaultmarcia@yahoo.com. |
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NZ Mudsnails Confirmed in Canyon Creek
Anglers and others recreating in Canyon Creek are now required to clean, drain, dry and decontaminate their equipment after each visit.
Checkout the AZGFD news release for more details.
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On Monday, November 13th volunteers picked up eggs in Camp Verde for Payson and Flagstaff region schools and another for the Phoenix metro area and Tucson schools. The Bass Pro Shop parking lot served as the distribution center for the various volunteer couriers throughout the Phoenix metro area and relayed to Tucson. By the end of the school day, 32 schools welcomed the eggs to their new homes.
The next day 4 remote schools successfully received their eggs via FedEx.
This year over 4,200 students and teachers will see their aquariums and growing fish daily in their classrooms and another 11,000 others will see the fish tanks throughout the year. The student and teacher smiles are energizing. Some of the excitement experienced can be seen in the Arizona Trout in the Classroom video at www.aztic.org.
A big THANK YOU goes to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, supporters, and volunteers for their commitment to the program.
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Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) showcased in its monthly e-news the Arizona TIC program that offers students hands-on experience in raising trout in a classroom setting.
See the 4-minute video here.
Steve Reiter is the OPTU TIC chairman. If interested in the TIC program to spread the word or to volunteer, contact Steve at sreiter4@cox.net
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Check out Jim Strogen's latest article in the Payson Roundup.
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Groundwater News in AZ
Groundwater continues to be a hot topic in Arizona! The Ad-hoc Committee in Arizona continues to promote the message that local control of groundwater in rural communities is critical to their livelihoods. Twenty percent of Arizona's groundwater became managed in 1980 with the "Groundwater Management of 1980". But the other 80% of groundwater in Arizona still has no protection. Landowners can pump as much water as they want, without measurement, reporting or limit. The group working with the Arizona Department of Water Resources is looking to find an executable protocol for managing water outside of the Active Management Areas of Phoenix, Prescott, Pinal County, Tucson, and Santa Cruz which were established by the legislation in 1980. The draft legislation would empower local and rural communities to create Rural Groundwater Stewardship Areas if the groundwater in their rural community became threatened.
The Committee is currently hosting county-based dialogue sessions to engage local residents in the issues. One was held in Flagstaff for Coconino County on October 25th and had an attendance of local community members of approximately 70 people. Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman, the water manager for Flagstaff, the mayor of Tucson, a hydrology professor from NAU, and our AZTU-PPC Past Chairman, Tom Osterday, were panelists. Additional meetings/events are being planned.
We encourage you to be alert for calls to support the Rural Groundwater Stewardship Areas legislation in the upcoming legislative session!
Two articles published in the Arizona Republic recently:
Arizona won't explain why it has paused leases on some state-owned farmland
Is the Arizona State Land Department taking steps to reverse a handful of unpopular leases? Or, more widely rethinking water use on state trust land?
Water shortfall could halt growth
Check out the story: here
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A National Network of Priority Waters
Chris Wood
January 18, 2024
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Tom Sawyer was made to whitewash the fence as a punishment for being mischievous, but he appeared to be having such a good time with the chore that soon all his friends were bribing him with apples, feathers and other trinkets so they could paint, too.
There’s a lesson in Mark Twain’s story that speaks to Trout Unlimited’s Priority Waters initiative for the United States. We’re not going to disappear while others paint the fence, but many hands make light work and we’re inviting our friends to help us care for and recover a shared network of Priority Waters. Joining together, our chapters and external partners will make it possible for us to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars to do this.
... Continue reading on tu.org
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THE STUDIO
A Film by Trout Unlimited with support from Simms
Scot Simmons has dealt with various forms of anxiety, PTSD and depression for most of his adult life. He is committed to creating a better life for himself and others, and he strives to be a better role model for his own family.
Premiering on YouTube, a new film from Trout Unlimited highlighting Twin Cities TU board member Scot Simmons’ path to creating a better life for himself and others as he strives to be a better role model for his own family. Fly fishing has helped him find his equilibrium.
You can watch the film for free here.
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I am thinning out my flyfishing possessions, my loss is your gain: Call on items you are interested in 520-403-4062
-Jeff Collins
- Winston VSL 9’7wt and Ross Rapid 7/8 reel with backing. $350
- Simms Freestone wading boots with cleats, no felt size 12 $99
- Frogg Togg wading boots size 12 $25
- Redington wading pants 2xl $70
- Hodgeman Chest Waders XL $60
- Echo Ion 10’ 6wt fly rod with case…$100
- Redington Path 10’ 7wt with case…$80
- Maxcatch Extreme 9’ 5 wt with Maxcatch “Brown Trout” reel…$50
- Maxcatch V-Access 9’7wt fly rod with case…$40,;)
- Redington Voyant 9’ 6wt fly rod with case…$85
- Redington Predator 7’11” 8 wt fly rod with case…$85
- Headwaters Bamboo 7’6” 5wt bamboo fly rod…$150
- South Bend “Custom” 8 1/2’ 6 wt bamboo fly rod…$150
- Oasis Benches “Fly Factory tying bench…$50
- Oasis Benches “Dubbing Brush Machine” new!…$100
- Hareline small dubbing brush machine…$25
- Maxcatch Extreme 8’3” 3 wt fly rod with case, Maxcatch 3/4 ‘Brown Trout’ reel…$50
More to come...
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Member Mike Carpenter has a Battenkill 7/8 pristine reel he'd like to trade for Pflueger 1494 and extra spool. He also has a Pflueger 1495-1/2 with two extra spools he'd like to trade for 1495 or 1494.
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