Notes-January-2006

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A friend of mine invited me to a local TU meeting several years ago, where I was introduced to fly tying by the great fly tyer Sam Surre. This was my first exposure to Trout Unlimited. Through the meetings and events CVTU held I was able to meet some friends and relax my mind with them on a river nearby and sometimes up north. In recent years, for some reason the interest in the general membership meetings have declined to the point where we are averaging six members per meeting. In the past year we’ve had two members outside the Board attend a general membership meeting. The Board did a study this past summer and found the majority of the membership lives along the Gratiot corridor between Grosse Point and Port Huron. Therefore, we changed the meeting location from Madison Heights to the Macomb County Library on the campus of Macomb Community College on M-59. Membership attendance averaged only eight the past two meetings, with only one member outside the Board attending each meeting. Due to lack of interest in the general membership meetings, it is disappointing for me to announce cancellation of general membership meetings until further notice. A 2006 fall meeting will be considered, but only if the membership expresses interest.

Did you know the current board has been in place for four years, with only one addition? We have three former presidents who have continued to serve on the Board because of their desire to see the mission of CVTU succeed. Ken Koster has served the least amount of time on the board and that is 1.5 years. The average service of the rest of the board is seven years. Please consider what needs to be done to keep the organization operating:

* Attendance at four Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited meetings per year,
* monthly Board meetings to plan upcoming events and conservation as well as educational efforts,
* attendance at the Clinton River Coldwater Conservation Project monthly meetings,
* putting on a fly fishing / fly tying instructional class for the Clinton River Free Fishing Day at Sterling Heights Nature Center (50 students took part, one girl even caught a fish!),
* community involvement at the Stage Nature Center for a Nature / Art show in Livonia where Howie Everson, Josh Roden and myself tied flies and discussed conservation with attendees,
* the board conducted an Intro to Fly Fishing class at the Sterling Heights Nature Center to thirteen people,
* the booth at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo was staffed by only the Board (with one exception),
* the banquet successfully cleared $2,000 in order to cover some expenses for operation,
* financial reports are prepared each November and submitted to MCTU,
* the Board also logged many miles, and sacrificed time with family.

I don’t want to mention all of this to whine for sympathy or boast for accolades, but I and the Board need to communicate a cry for help for volunteers.

Why did you join Trout Unlimited? Was it so you could contribute to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds? That is our mission. National TU and CVTU alike need the financial contributions to survive and advance the mission, however, money is not all that is needed. As demonstrated in the CRCCP effort to restore the Clinton River into a viable trout stream between Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, volunteer labor is a necessity. Quite honestly it should be the duty of someone who calls themselves a conservationist and member of Trout Unlimited to demonstrate this call to service in labor as well as financial gift. Are you hoping that by giving money that somebody else will step up and do the work? We have close to 300 members, including local and national. The facts show that less than ten are the only ones volunteering time. The Board is tired.

The following steps are planned:

1. No General Membership Meetings will be held until possibly fall of 2006, assuming interest is expressed.
2.Unless there are 50 tickets sold to the banquet by March 1st, the 2006 Banquet will be cancelled. We have seen a 20% decline in banquet attendance in the past four years.
3. Wa Wa Sum will be a reward for those who participate by volunteering. For any member who volunteers by participating in this year’s booth at the expo, being part of the banquet committee, or labor for CRCCP activities on river projects, a $35 per night charge will remain for staying at the lodge. Any other member will be charged $70 per night. Please contact one of the Board members if you would like to volunteer. Board members can be reached by email if you go to clintonvalleytu.com. There is a link to contact Board Members. The Board does apologize for mistakenly scheduling the Wa Wa Sum trip on the wrong weekend last year, however, maybe if the ratio of amount of responsibility per person on the board was in balance an oversight wouldn’t have occurred.

The Board is excited about some things planned in the coming year. There will be a focus on youth education. We have a teacher that is potentially interested in doing “Trout in the Classroom” next fall, and we can provide support and funding for that program. You will often see my son and Rob Bowden’s son, Howie’s grandkids, as well as other member’s children at Wa Wa Sum and other various events. We invite you to introduce your young sons and daughters or even grandchildren to Trout Unlimited.

The CRCCP will be focusing stream improvement efforts this year on our home river, Paint Creek. It is imperative we show up to work on this, the premier trout stream in Southeastern Michigan. We have thirty years of history working on Paint Creek. Let’s build on that legacy. Ken Koster, CVTU Conservation Chairman, will layout the opportunities both at the banquet in March and Wa Wa Sum in May.

We are excited about what we can do as a chapter, but we can only get it done if we have people to lead, and membership who are willing to get dirty and help with programs in order to protect our resources. We want to spend time educating the community, invite them to come to us when there is a problem, and then have the ability to provide the resources to address the concern or opportunity. The most valuable resource Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited has is you! The chapter is you. How, as the resource can you help, even if only a few hours during the year?

Thank you,
Ed Roden
Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited President

Notes-February-2006

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Reaction to my letter in the newsletter (and in the President's Corner below) has been mixed.

One lady called who was amazed that there was a local chapter. They are members of the Grouse Society, and thought they were just supporting another cause. She ordered 4 banquet tickets, and was trying to convince another couple to join her. Others have called and apologized that they have not been around, volunteering to help out and pledging to be around more often. These are the reactions that I hoped to achieve with my letter - to wake people up to the cause of which they claim to be a part!

Others have been more disappointing - long-time members who are more concerned that we are raising the rates for WaWaSum than anything else. I hope that their passion can be redirected to the fact that Clinton Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited has a mission to conserve, protect and restore North America's trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds, particularly Paint Creek and the Clinton River Watershed here in southeastern Michigan - not to pleasing its members with fishing trips.

I look at some of the past presidents - Carl Crook, Rob Bowden, Howie Everson, Duane Creviston, Ken Miller, and Al Johnston to name a few; board members such as Clay Groomes, Dave McFarland, Mark Gillette, Ken Barch, Tom Dierwa, Leon Fickel, and Paul Hefka (knowing that I am leaving out a number of people!) - and the legacy that they left is daunting at times, but that is what I and the board are striving towards. I remember Dave McFarland's welcoming smile at the casting competition, Mark Gillette and Tom Dierwa's dedication, Ken Barch's dream of a full newsletter (which is finally coming to pass), Clay Groomes encouragement, Paul Hefka's continuing wisdom about Paint Creek and the history of the chapter's work on it. Other members have other memories of these men and others who have been a part of the chapter. We haven't all gotten along perfectly, but the mission has kept us focused.

Will we please everybody? Impossible! But the people we want to please are the ones who share the vision for protecting the watershed - those are the ones I want by my side as we get dirty while improving the stream, the ones I want teaching the next generation about conservation, casting, and tying. Too old to do stream conservation? You're not too old to tell stories or teach knots. Never learned how to tie flies, but know alot about how to improve a stream? Come teach others and help Ken Koster in his role as Conservation Chairman. Just want to tell stories? The Midwest Fly Fishing Show is a great place to tell stories and sell some tickets for the Ron Barch Bamboo Rod. If you want to know how to volunteer, just shoot me an e-mail or call me....I'll be glad to plug you in!

Notes-March-6-2006

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000

I regret to inform the chapter that we had to cancel the banquet due to a lack of interest. We allowed the March 1 date to pass as phone calls were made, and we waited through the weekend for additional registrations, but with only 30, there was not enough to ensure a financially profitable banquet. As the stewards of the chapter's funds, we did not want to lose money just to continue to hold the banquet.

The chapter is very financially sound, so the loss of the fundraiser is not a hardship. We are investigating some additional ways to continue to raise funds to support the projects we are a part of - including Paint Creek, the Clinton River Coldwater Conservation Project (CRCCP), the MCTU Executive Director, Cedars of the Au Sable, and more.

We will still be holding the raffle for the Ron Barch Bamboo Rod. Tickets will be sold at the show and at WaWaSum, with the drawing being held on that Saturday night.

On a very positive note, positions are filling up for staffing the booth at the Fly Fishing Show, and the board wants to thank you for that. There are still some positions available (particularly Saturday 3-5). We can add an additional person into the booth - 2 can do it, but 3 provides more coverage for answering questions and selling raffle tickets. We will be selling tickets for the Ron Barch rod, as well as a free raffle for all kids under the age of 16 for a fly rod and reel combo. This last was a memorial donation and request from the children of a TU member, Gary Kelly, who was not a member of our chapter, but they contacted us to distribute it for them.

Notes-March-20-2006

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000

I remember going to my first Midwest Fly Show about 8 years ago. I walked in with Aaron Rubel, and he immediately started introducing me to David McFarland, Tom Dierwa, and Clay Groomes. He knew John Vincent, and many others. I was blown away and completely overwhelmed. I was amazed at the stuff packed in at the Southfield location, and didn't think I would ever figure out all this fly fishing stuff and who all these people were.

Now, 8 years later, I walk around and know people in all of the TU booths, many of the different vendors, guides, and tiers, and some of the spectators from various other facets of the sport. I'm still amazed as I learn something new from a tier or at one of the seminars, watching Lefty Kreh effortlessly send a line across the casting pool, and learning about what new equipment and gadgets are out this year (as if I need more!).

And I'm also amazed at how much money you can drop on raffle tickets and other items (even the necessary and overpriced hotdogs!). I had fun walking around with my son on Sunday. We got him a new hat, he scammed one of the vendors for a plastic cuthroat trout, took home his annual fly from Sam Surre, and figured out exactly when we have to take a deer to get the right hair for tying bass bugs (thanks Chris Helm!).

I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to each of the members who helped out with the show this weekend. You made it a huge success! I had some great conversations with each of you (as great as they can be in between selling tickets and dragging kids over for the youth rod raffle). Got some good ideas for potential fundraisers, talked to several other members who were helping out the show in other ways, or who were just there wandering for a couple hours.

Steve Bell
Rob Bowden
Carl Crook
Howie Everson
Dennis Furman
Mike Hrabonz
Mike Jarvis
Al Johnston
Mark Johnston
Ken Koster
Carl Maldonado
Steve Priest
Frank Starbuck
Mark Tracey

Notes-January-12-2007

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Chapter Member,

I would like to start off by thanking Ed Roden, President Emeritus, for the contributions given to our chapter during the past two years. Prior to Ed taking on the President’s role two years ago he contributed as a member of the board as well as Webmaster. Ed encouraged the chapter a year ago to become engaged with the new direction the chapter was heading in. The goal for the chapter last year was to focus on introducing children and adults to fly fishing through education. Through that encouragement and vision the chapter realized more involvement from chapter membership and many were introduced, for the first time, to fly fishing. Ed’s hard work was also recognized at the state level of Trout Unlimited. Ed was appointed to Chairman of the Operation and Finance Committee for the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited. If you haven’t visited the MCTU website, please take some time and do so. It is a great resource to you and a valuable insight on activities at the state level. You can find the website at www.mctu.org.

We are also encouraged to have some new board members with us this year. Mark Johnston will serve on the board as Secretary as well as take over the very important roles of Newsletter Editor and Webmaster. Mark Tracey was also voted in as a board member and we welcome him as well. Be assured the chapter hasn’t dropped our attention on conservation. Ken Koster, CVTU Conservation Chairman, represents our chapter on the Clinton River Coldwater Conservation Project committee. This year, the focus of the CRCCP is on Paint Creek. There are upcoming opportunities to be a part of and we will keep you informed of these later this spring.

Last year there wasn’t enough interest in the form of purchased tickets for the annual banquet to afford the risk of holding the event. Due to the increased involvement by the membership during 2006 at various activities and volunteer events, we are optimistic for a banquet to be held on March 22nd, 2007. We really hope this transpires, as few funds were raised last year and this significantly reduces the ability for our chapter to make financial contributions back into trout habitat. See the registration form in this issue of the newsletter. Please register soon so we can assess the level of interest. Youngsters are welcome, and bring a friend too!

Additionally, it is important that we raise funds through the annual local chapter donation drive. It is especially important you send in the recommended donation if you don’t plan on coming to the banquet. We obtain the majority of the funds for supporting the objectives of the chapter through the banquet and donation drive. The chapter is financed only through the raising of funds by the membership. Please see the pertinent page in the newsletter for local dues/donation fundraising as well as the banquet registration form.

Remember to take some time for yourself this winter and study for the upcoming fishing season, tie some flies for your next fishing outing, and dream of catching a rising trout on a delicately made cast with a perfect drag free drift!

Best Regards,
Aaron Rubel – CVTU President - deaddrift@comcast.net

Notes-October-9-2007

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Membership and Partners,

As the traditional trout season came to a close this past weekend, plans were being finalized for the upcoming fall season of Trout Unlimited meetings. Looking back on this past trout season I can’t help but think about the progress made on the Paint Creek stream bank restoration project we participated in at the Dinosaur Hill location upstream to the Paint Creek Trail. We also contributed funds for conservation needs around the state and held an Introduction to Fly Fishing class during the Clinton River Days in June. There were some fond memories of fishing adventures this year too, but most of mine revolve around eight fish I lost over the span of three nights fishing the Hex hatch in June. So, to maintain what sanity I waded out of the river with that third night, I’ll choose to remember what we accomplished as a chapter this past summer!

The Officers and Board of our chapter are rolling out a new donation process that will provide distinction between donating to the chapter for direct funding of local conservation projects and the renewal of your membership to Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited through national. Yes, in order to be a member of Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited, each of us needs to sign up or renew through National Trout Unlimited and identify Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited as your chapter of choice. However, there are those of us inside and outside of the chapter that would like to donate to conserve, protect, and restore local coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. In January we will be rolling out a donation process that will streamline our chapter process and provide a recognition program that parallels other conservation organizations around the state. The process will be streamlined, because we will no longer need to cross-reference membership lists to identify whether the individual is seeking membership or making a donation to local conservation efforts. There will be a separate process for each. We have found that most individuals seeking to donate have done so at the $18 level and many donate higher amounts. Therefore, we will welcome donations of any amount, but starting at the $20 level we will bestow special distinction and increase the level of recognition at the $50, $100 and $200 values. We hope this will both challenge you to contribute as an individual under the new program and encourage you to speak to your employer about contributing toward our chapter goal of funding more projects with higher values in 2008. For any individual donating $20 or more directly to the chapter for local conservation efforts, we will award special merit printed in our newsletter. For any business contributing to the chapter, we will print our expression of gratitude in the newsletter and offer advertising space on our website. Classification titles for donation levels will be announced in the January newsletter.

I hope to see you at one of the fall events!

Best Regards,
Aaron Rubel – CVTU President

Notes-January-24-2008

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

In the next few weeks there will be opportunities to get out of the house and enjoy some activities leading up to the warmer weather and trout fishing. On February 12th, Jon Ray will be coming to speak to us about fishing with grasshopper flies at the Sterling Heights Nature Center. A winter storm in December required us to re-schedule with Jon. In March, there is of course, the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo at Macomb Community College. Just a few weeks later on April 3rd, we will enjoy the 2008 Conservation Fundraising Banquet. Be sure and reserve a ticket and bring a friend. Every person that attends who hasn’t been a Trout Unlimited member before will be offered a free membership.

For the past few years there has been a tool in development for assessing approval for water use, and how the process would work across separate categories of rivers. The goal of the project lead by the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council was to develop a science based process for water use and guidance as to policy. In December, the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited Executive Committee called an emergency meeting to discuss legislation on a House and Senate version of bills that are a result of the work compiled by the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council. This advisory council was made up of a cross section of interests and government appointments from around the state. The Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited was represented on the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council during the development phase of the project. During the emergency meeting in December, representatives from the DNR, DEQ and the Michigan Environmental Council explained the history of the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council, , water withdrawal approval under the newly created process, and features of the tool that are a step in the right direction and those that also may need improvement. Following their presentations, there was discussion with the representatives on the challenges and obstacles of the water use assessment tool and approval process for water use. Suggestions were also made by some of the Trout Unlimited members in attendance for continuous improvement. The session concluded with a closed door meeting of those members of Trout Unlimited and the Michigan TU Council in attendance. MCTU will be represented at round table discussions to negotiate final details of the assessment tool and water use approval.

Take a look at our new chapter donation form. We invested more funds back into the resource last year than we took in. We would love to do more this year than last. Can you help with even a small donation? Every little bit helps. Does your employer give to charity? Most companies have a budget to give to charity organizations. Check with your employer. If they make a donation to Clinton Valley Trout Unlimited, we’ll give them advertisement in our newsletter, post a link to their website and just about anything else we can do to thank them. Remember to renew your membership when it comes due as well. Trout Unlimited needs your support and membership is the core of our organization. We are thankful to realize a 7% increase in membership this past year. Thank you for your support. It energizes the chapter.

I would like to also thank those that are serving on the board. We have a full board of nine members. The newest member of the board is Alan Johnston. Alan is a long time member of some 25 years and now serving as our Vice President.

I hope all is well with you and your family.

Thank you,
Aaron Rubel
President