October 09, 2006
Winding Down
Well, that’s the last official blog entry of the 2006 season. It’s snowing hard here in Montana and I’m gearing up for another winter in the mountains…
I had a lot of fun keeping the blog this summer. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to all the people mentioned in these pages for sharing their conservation projects and trout streams with me. It was their time and generosity that made the blog possible.
I also want to thank T. Grand, Matt Handy, Kenny Mendez and Trout Unlimited for trying this new medium of communication and for making me “The Luckiest Guy in America.”
And most importantly, thanks to those of you who “TUned in” and read the blog. I greatly appreciate your interest and your support.
When winter descends on your neck of the woods, consider taking a few minutes to peruse the blog’s archives (accessible through the menu on the left side of this page). I visited TUers in about 20 states and posted over 60 stories, so I hope at least a few of them will interest you.
Also, when the ground is frozen and the sky is gray, take a look at the photo galleries and I’m sure memories of past fishing seasons will come flooding back.
And next season isn’t far off, so if you liked the blog and you want to see a similar feature in the future, please e-mail your thoughts to me (ladelfio@tu.org) or to my boss, T. Grand (tgrand@tu.org).
Thanks again for reading and supporting coldwater conservation!
Another fine sunset, Raynolds Pass, Madison River, MT
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Jersey Trout
I associate “New Jersey” with chemical plants, crowded beaches, and gridlocked traffic. So I was glad to visit the northwestern corner of the state where rolling hills and secluded forests are still the norm. TUers here are doing big things for their trout and I visited with them on one of their prettiest streams…
TU volunteers electrofishing in Ken Lockwood Gorge, NJ
The South Branch of the Raritan River in Ken Lockwood Gorge is a popular place to fish. The boulder-strewn river offers great trout cover and wild and stocked trout await anglers’ flies. Even when the fish aren’t biting, the scenic surroundings make the experience well worthwhile.
Maintaining such a fine fishery in a densely populated state is not automatic. Water quantity and quality must be protected. The health of the watershed and the streamside riparian corridor must be maintained. The state Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife needs to understand the fishery to set the appropriate regulations and stocking schedule.
Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups make sure these considerations are taken and our remaining trout streams are protected. New Jersey TUers cooperate closely across chapter lines to push for responsible development and mitigate past damages.
Last year, TUers completed a massive streambank restoration effort on the South Branch of the Raritan. By tapering and re-vegetating 11,000 feet of bank, they stabilized a highly erosive area, preventing sediment from accumulating in the stream.
New Jersey TUers volunteer to assist the Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife with electrofishing surveys and stocking. The state fisheries biologists are appreciative of the volunteer support. On big streams including the South Branch, it would be difficult for them to complete an electrofishing survey without the extra hands.
I joined well over a dozen TUers at Ken Lockwood Gorge to see them in action. Three chapter presidents and other “regulars” were on hand along with a few first time volunteers. The crew spread out across the river and marched up stream stunning and netting fish as they went.
The collection buckets were filled with a menagerie of fish species including sunfish, smallmouth bass, eels, and, of course, trout. The data will be used to better manage the fishery. I’m sure a few of the volunteers also took mental notes about where those big wild browns were found.
Elsewhere throughout the state, TU is active in conservation education. New Jersey chapters sponsor Trout in the Classroom (TIC) programs in 33 schools! If you haven’t already read about my visit with TIC in New York, please CLICK HERE.
No matter where you live, if you volunteer a little time to TU, you can help your favorite trout fisheries… and someday you might learn exactly where “the big ones” live.
CLICK HERE to see a couple photos from Ken Lockwood Gorge.
CLICK HERE to visit NJ TU's hompage
CLICK HERE to use TU’s chapter search to find your local chapter. Autumn is a great time to get involved.
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October 05, 2006
Bogs and Brookies
No time to stop for breakfast. I ate dried cranberries and sipped motel coffee on the drive to Plymouth. Little did I know that I’d learn a lot about where those tasty “Craisins” came from…
A Red Brook Salter Brook Trout
Cranberry farming is highly labor intensive. The berry bushes require just the right combination of sand and water, particularly in the fall when an early frost can damage the crop. So I’m told by Peter Motyka, Secretary of the Southeast Massachusetts Chapter of TU.
Peter grew up playing hockey on frozen cranberry bogs. Now he is working to get his TU chapter involved in a large-scale restoration effort at a fallow cranberry bog near his home.
The bog was cultivated for 100 years before it lost its productivity and was donated to the town of Plymouth. The fast growing community is looking to set aside the land as an American white cedar preserve. Favored for shingles and other products, eastern seaboard cedar forests are now few and far between. Along with the trees, we lost a unique ecological community when we cleared most of the white cedar forest.
Transforming the cranberry bog into a more natural ecosystem will require a lot of work. The first step will be removing 100 years worth of sand, exposing the peat below. While the town and Inter Fluve, an environmental engineering firm, will be doing most of the work, Peter hopes the Southeast Massachusetts chapter will be able to assist the effort.
The Eel River flows through the bog and part of the overall restoration plan would call for a stream improvement project. With a little work, the Eel River may support a viable population of native brook trout once again.
After spending the summer visiting completed and near-completed projects, it was enjoyable to visit a potential project site in the initial planning phase. I hope that Peter and the Southeast Chapter are able to pull it off.
This particular TU chapter has a history completing large-scale projects. After visiting Eel River, Peter took me to Red Brook, the site of an acclaimed salter brook trout restoration. Salters are rare sea-running brook trout.
The chapter, along with the Massachusetts-Rhode Island TU Council, has spent decades restoring and protecting this beautiful coastal stream. Click HERE to read more.
A beadhead nymph tempted a few salters. Peter and I marveled at these unique specimens before gently releasing them back into their natal waters.
Click HERE to see my photos.
Click HERE to visit the Southeast Mass Chapter website
Click HERE to visit the MA-RI TU council website
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Good Water
Three months ago, Charlie Shadan fulfilled a long-time dream and opened a fly shop in Pepperell, MA. Through the business, Charlie hopes to attract new members to the Squan-a-tissit Chapter of Trout Unlimited…
TU information displayed at The Evening Sun Fly Shop
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many fly shop owners and guides who are ardent conservationists. TU depends on the volunteer hours, the donated tackle and the publicity generated by the angling business world.
Fishing professionals are in a unique position to attract new TU members. Charlie signed his business, The Evening Sun Fly Shop, up for a TU Outfitters, Guides, and Business membership. Whether you own a pizza parlor or a fly shop, this program is a great way to support TU.
Charlie has dedicated a corner of his store to conservation information, including handouts from TU. He also encourages customers to join the organization and chooses products, such as Hodgman waders, that include a TU membership with each purchase.
As Charlie puts it, his business depends on clean water. He can’t understand why any fishing professional wouldn’t actively support TU.
The members who sign up through Charlie’s shop will join to the ranks of the Squan-a-tissit Chapter. One of the chapter’s ongoing efforts is stream monitoring. Squan-a-tissit TUers work closely with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to keep track of water quantity and temperature as well as search for unrecorded populations of native brook trout.
Past chapter president Russ Schott took me to Gulf Brook, a diminutive stream that flows through a tight, wooded gorge. Chapter members discovered brook trout here in 1999. Gulf Brook is spring-fed. The springs were bottled by the Pepperell Springs Water Company for years and the product was awarded “best tasting water” at the World Fair in the early 1900s.
The bottling company recently went defunct and the chapter helped the town of Pepperell and the Trust for Public Land purchase the property, preserving over ½ mile of creek frontage and a sizeable chunk of the watershed.
With the springs now protected, the resident brook trout will benefit from clean, not to mention tasty, water for years to come.
To learn more about the Squan-a-tissit Chapter, visit their website at www.squanatissit.org.
To read more about the Outfitters, Guides, and Business Members program, CLICK HERE.
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