The solution to any problem – work, love, money, whatever, is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.”
As many of you are aware, John Gierach recently passed away. I have enjoyed many of his books and writings and will miss his quarterly article in the TROUT magazine published by TU National. Rest in peace John.
Our trout season is now closed and the browns and brookies are now or soon will be on their spawning redds. In the next few months you will hopefully have plenty of time to wash and hang-up your waders, clean your wading boots, clean your lines and inspect them for any damage, oil your reels, and maybe check those rows in your fly boxes for empty spaces that you can fill during the up-coming tying season.
This is an exiting time for our chapter. The Annual Holiday and Chapter Awards Banquet will be held on Tuesday December 3rd, at Juniors Restaurant and Tap House in River Falls. Menu items have been selected by our Banquet Committee and details regarding event time and ticket purchases will show up in your email in-box via Mail Chimp.
We will have live entertainment as well. Chris Silver, an outstanding local musician, will be playing and singing during the buffet dinner. As roots music renaissance performer and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Silver has made a name for himself as a songwriter and is known throughout the U.S. for his virtuosity on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. His music is soulful and innovative and takes the listener to a musical space where Americiana roots music is fused with jazz, blues, folk and country with the sensibility of a contemporary singer/songwriter. So mark your calendars and be looking for further details and ticket purchasing options.
Fund-raising efforts are in full swing with the Hap Lutter Memorial Fund. In late January/early February, we will be conducting an on-line auction coupled with a 4 x 2 chance offering featuring a Norling 5wt bamboo rod and an original painting by Josh Cunningham.
The DNR sprayed and cleared the willows on the South Fork of the Kinni. Randy and some volunteers also helped with the cutting down of some large willows. The rock from Haas Trucking that was selected in September for the bank restoration and installation of ERO structures will be delivered and stored on site.
Randy has already started his volunteer brush and tree clearing season and is gearing up for more projects as the winter progresses. Please watch your email in-box for his announcements and join Randy for some good quality outdoor work and fun. If you stick around at one of his outings, he may even offer you a couple of hot dogs and a few cookies to boot after all your hard work.
Well, here we are. Our summer season is nearing its end. I’m not quite sure how to describe this past summer though. Looking back it seems to me that June was pretty blustery but throughout summer’s course we had adequate rains and warm temperatures that kept our streams at base flow or above, and our corn and bean fields green and thriving. I suppose though it might have been better had the rains been more frequent rather than coming in batches that flooded our streams and put fly fishing on hold for more than a few days each time.Overall though I’d have to say I am willing to give the summer a thumbs up.
Chapter activities started with a very successful STREAM GIRLS event held at the Ellsworth Rod & Gun Club. Thirteen girls participated and enjoyed activities that included fly-casting and tying, collecting and identifying macro-invertebrates, calculating stream velocities, and an hour of fishing (yes there was some catching) to wrap up a truly wonderful day. Thanks to Linda Radimecky and Michele Bevis for putting together this great program and thanks also to Kiap-TU-Wish chapter members and friends who helped out with the activities.
Two major chapter events were held in June. Our Summer Solstice gathering was not highly attended due to the torrential rains that ruined a chance to fish. Those who did attend, however, had a very nice time talking fishing and eating grilled hot dogs, potato and pasta salads and deserts. Some members participated in fly casting bamboo rods that are owned by a few Kiap-Tu-Wish members and friends. Many thanks to Greg Olson our ex-officio president for arranging for all the food and activities.
The Kiap-TU-Wish June Fly-Fishing Clinic, held in cooperation with the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of river Falls, continued to be a great success. Participants were given instruction in fly-casting, stream-side and on-water skills, and were treated to a great lunch. Many of the participants were successful at landing a few trout as well. Matt Janquart spearheaded the program for the first time and did a great job!
More recently, the chapter’s Phil’s Full Moon Fever Event was held on August 19th at Phil Kashian’s Milkhouse Cottage and Gardens on the Rush River. Close to 60 chapter members and friends attended. Once again Greg Olson took care of the Food and grilling and the hot dogs were accompanied by pasta salads, watermelon, grilled corn, chips, baked beans and beverages of choice. Many members fished afterwards. Thank you to Phil Kashian and Kay Peterson for being such wonderful hosts.
Our new season begins on September 5th (note the day of the week change from Tuesday to Thursday for this event) with our annual Kiap-TU-Wish Open House and Gear Swap to be held at the Rush River Brewery. If you have a piece of gear that is gathering dust, put a price on it and bring it with you. If it sells the money is yours to keep. We will also be signing up new members at a reduced price of $17.50.
We have a great season of meetings lined up and I am looking forward to meeting our new members and seeing all your familiar faces during the course of the year.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the movie “Miracle on Ice” that depicted the victory of the United States’ Olympic men’s hockey team over the Soviet Union in the 1980 winter Olympics held at Lake Placid, New York. There is a scene in the movie in which Coach Herb Brooks addresses his team before the game with the Soviets. In his speech, Herb told his players that “Great moments are born from great opportunity.”
A great moment and opportunity for me arrived when the Kiap-TU-Wish board elected me to be your president for the next three years. During my six-year term as the chapter treasurer, my knowledge of trout, and the preservation of our cold-water streams has increased exponentially through the many board meeting discussions I’ve participated in, my association with the Kinni Corridor Collaborative (KCC), and in my numerous interactions with members and friends of the chapter.
I am looking forward to leading our chapter and continuing the great work of my predecessors. Having Greg Olson as our “Ex Officio” president and my wingman is comforting. I know that whenever difficult decisions need to be made, his mentorship will be much appreciated as will the wise counsel I hope to receive from the rest of our board members.
So, with that, I would like to take this opportunity and make my first official act as one to say, THANK YOU, to all of you, for your continued support of Kiap-TU-Wish and the many projects we have completed and for those being planned for the upcoming seasons. During the past year volunteer hours continued to grow and donations and contributions have reached an all-time high of $38,264.
With your on-going support, Kiap-TU-Wish will continue to fulfill our mission to Conserve, Protect, and Restore the cold-water streams that flow through our local and nearby watersheds, while maintaining a strong community presence that benefits both young and old and our surrounding environment.
