CCTU and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing – Denver Trip to Crystal Lake

On Thursday, June 27, CCTU and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing – Denver had another great trip to Crystal Lake outside Leadville.  Eleven vets joined the group and had a great day on the water with the team.  Thanks to Richard Pilatzke and Jim Cowell for organizing as they always do, John Cristantiello for a delicious lunch, and all the CCTU and PHWFF members that attended the event.  All the vets caught fish and it was a great time getting to know them on a beautiful day in a fantastic setting.  Damsels, Quigley Cripples, and Squirmies were all working well.  Everyone looks forward to doing it again next year.

Brian YoungVice President - Cutthroat Chapter Trout Unlimited

CCTU and Greenback Reintroduction Project

On June 25, George Franklin, Bill Wiebesiek and Greg Ledges helped out on a Greenback reintroduction project up near Rock Creek.  CCTU donated funds for design of a fish barrier on Rock Creek and CCTU members have worked CTU projects up there as well.  This latest project was on adjacent Black Canyon Creek, which flows into Rock Creek and is part of that same project.  We notched beaver dams and drained beaver ponds in preparation for treatment of the creek to remove brookies and browns.  Check out the full article at the CTU website https://coloradotu.org/blog/2018/6/p7g37e3emjwgv7w6nlwjpdam9olio6

Bighorn Trip Recap

On May 14, fourteen CCTU members descended on Ft. Smith, Montana.  Their destination was the triple wide trailer complex affectionately known as “The Condo”.  Their goal was to erase the disappointment of last year when the normal 2200 cfs spring time flow of the Bighorn River was eclipsed by flows over 14,000 cfs.  Last year made this annual Cutthroat Chapter pilgrimage too dangerous for even the most experienced river guides, let alone manageable by serious amateur rowers from our chapter.  This year the snow pack was still 260% above normal in that drainage, but a different flow management philosophy made the river about half of last year’s volume.  The Cutthroat anglers decided it was worth a try and that triple typical spring time flows might still be manageable. The daytime highs were in the low eighties the first three days making it a very pleasant time to be on the water, but the fish weren’t buying it and the catch rate was less than optimal. The higher flows made it difficult to approach the usually wade-accessible spots, and the fish normally confined to those holes had the freedom of movement to spread out thinly across the swollen river.  Fortunately on the fourth day a cold front moved in and drizzle and cold brought the blue winged olives out to play.Swallows filled the air over the water like clouds of locust, and the productive Isle of Rich brought some love into the lonely nets of those anglers.  It was a good way to end a trip that was filled with lots of joking and camaraderie, if not filled with more than a handful of big fish stories as well as few stories of the ones that got away.

NEW MEETING LOCATION! Starting January 16th

IMPORTANT REMINDER…WE HAVE CHANGED OUR MEETING LOCATION…STARTING WITH TUESDAY’S (JAN 16) MEETING

The South Metro Denver Realtor Assoc Building has been sold, and the new owners are not interested in leasing it out going forward…and cancelled our lease about a month ago.  We looked at many different locations in the Highlands Ranch/Littleton area and came up with Cresthill Middle School as being the best option from all standpoints.  Cresthill Middle School is located one block north of Highlands Ranch High School, right off University, in Highlands Ranch.  The address is 9195 Cresthill Lane, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130.  The location has ample parking and a great grass areas for casting demos and other activities.  We will be meeting in the library, on the south end of the parking lot.  We will utilize a large, open plan conference room, and some excellent audio visual equipment.  Although not a key goal of our new meeting location selection, we are excited that this venue will cost about half of what we paid at the old location.

Directions from C-470 and University Blvd – Head south east on University Blvd.  Travel through the intersection of University/Highlands Ranch Pkwy/Colorado Blvd for a total of 2.4 miles to Cresthill Lane.  Turn left on Cresthill Lane.  Drive past Highlands Ranch High School and you will reach Cresthill Middle School in 0.4 miles, on the left side of Cresthill Lane.  Click on the attached Google Maps link for more details https://goo.gl/maps/FVbNmtxo76J2.

Directions for I-25 and Lincoln Ave – Head west on Lincoln Ave for 2.4 miles.  Lincoln Ave turns into S University Blvd at Quebec Street.  Travel 1.0 miles and make right on Cresthill Lane.  Drive past Highlands Ranch High School and you will reach Cresthill Middle School in 0.4 miles, on the left side of Cresthill Lane.  Click on the attached Google Maps link for more details https://goo.gl/maps/kVNJkfHaNVn

The International Sportsmen's Expo (ISE) - Thursday, Jan 11 - Sunday, Jan 14

Stop by the annual ISE show at the Colorado Convention Center starting Thursday, January 11^th.  Tickets can be purchased at https://www.axs.com/events/345044/international-sportsmen-s-expo-tickets?skin=ccc.  Catch shows by CCTU members Pat Dorsey and Richard Pilatzke…all located at the Fly Fishing Theater.

Thursday – Jan 11

       4:30 - Pat Dorsey “Fly Fishing Western Tailwaters”

       6:30 - Richard Pilatzke “Stillwater Fly Fishing”

Friday - Jan 12

       2:30 - Richard Pilatzke “Stillwater Fly Fishing”

       3:30 – Pat Dorsey “Tips to Catch More Trout”

Saturday – Jan 13

       1:30 – Pat Dorsey “The Secret Season: Winter Fly Fishing”

Sunday - Jan 14

       2:30 – Pat Dorsey “Colorado’s Best Trout Streams”

CUTTHROAT CHAPTER TROUT UNLIMITED – DECEMBER CHAPTER MEETING IS OUR HOLIDAY PARTY

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 7PM (DOORS OPEN AT 6:30)

SOUTH METRO DENVER REALTOR ASSOC. BUILDING (BROADWAY & MINERAL)

7899 S LINCOLN CT, LITTLETON, CO 80122

Program: HOLIDAY PARTY INCLUDING WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE

For our December chapter meeting, please join us for an evening of raffles, white elephant gift exchanges and delicious food.DINNER - Thanks to long-time CCTU member and new board member John Cristantiello, CCTU will be providing all the food and beverages. John is a chef and food broker by trade, and brought an amazing spread to the CCTU picnic this year if you missed it. For the holiday party his menu includes the following…

• Bread – Dinner Rolls
• Salad – Mixed Green Salad and Dressing
• Vegetables – Mixed Vegetables, Mashed Potatoes
• Entrees – Demi Glaze Stuffed Chicken Breast, Herb Crusted Pork Loin
• Dessert – Apple Cranberry Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

RAFFLE – We will have the monthly Fly Raffle and a special Holiday Raffle of a fishing oriented prizes for on and off the stream. Five shekels buys a ticket.WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE – Have fun and join in our long-time chapter holiday party tradition. Surprises abound in this type of exchange. Please bring a wrapped gift, however your choice as to how it is decorated. Gift should be less than $25 in value (not including any flies that might be involved). Usually everything has a fishing overtone, but you can be creative and provide a surprise, too…the sillier/stupider, the better. There will be a few extra gifts in case someone didn’t have time or forgot (these require $20 donation to the chapter). Each item is assigned a number, then randomly picked. Each item is susceptible to be “stolen” by the next participant. Any item is retired after the third exchange.If you haven’t been to a CCTU holiday party before, it is a great way to meet chapter members in a truly fun, laid-back evening. We look forward to seeing everyone there.One favor – It would be great if you could RSVP to Brian Young (brianyoungco@comcast.net) if you plan on attending. Members, potential members, visitors, friends are all welcome. Please don’t hesitate to come even if you don’t RSVP, but it would be great to get at least a rough count as to how many folks will be there for food planning purposes. As always…chapter members, potential members, visitors, friends of any of the previous are all welcome!

CUTTHROAT CHAPTER TROUT UNLIMITED – NOVEMBER CHAPTER MEETING

CANCELLED

We have decided to cancel this month’s chapter meeting as it is only two days before Thanksgiving, which would impact attendance greatly. Stay tuned for info on the December Holiday party…thanks to John Cristantiello we will be bringing food in, and the party will be bigger and better than ever.

CCTU/CPW Electroshocking Survey on Lower Bear Creek - Post Event Summary

 Hidden in Plain Sight: Anatomy of an Urban Fishery – Article by Richard PilatzkeOn a cool morning in September, a group of volunteers and Colorado Parks and Wildlife(CPW) personnel thread their way between homes and condominiums and adjacent to a golf course.  Their destination is Bear Creek, a small tributary of the South Platte River in the Southwest metro Denver area.  It is a small drainage, averaging only fifteen feet in width. It is considered a transitional fishery, as it is a combination of cold water and warm water habitat for fish.  It is supported by stocking of fingerling brown trout, which thrive in the temperatures in this habitat. This group is there to conduct an electrofishing survey to gauge the health of the fish population.A project like this is an example of cooperation between a cold water conservation group like Trout Unlimited (TU) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.  The event was organized by the Littleton-based Cutthroat Chapter of TU.  The volunteers range in age from 16 to 76.  This project is an integral part of Cutthroat’s aggressive conservation agenda.The day starts with the CPW personnel forming a phalanx across the stream with their electrodes that will stun the fish nearby. The TU volunteers man nets and floating fish carts to store the fish as they are recovered. Two reaches of the stream are sampled, each approximately 100 yards long.  The stream seems narrow and shallow in many places, but there are some surprisingly deep holes, some as deep as 5-6 feet. As the electrodes are passed through the water, fish start to float to the surface, stunned by the electric current.  They are carefully netted and passed to a floating net.  They are then placed in a larger holding net for counting. The CPW personnel carefully measure length and weight and the fish are released.  The results of the survey are surprising.  Out of this little urban stream we have collected three brown trout between 18 and 19 inches – beautiful buttery brown healthy fish.  We also collected more than a dozen other brown trout between 14 and 18 inches.  Also present were a group of Colorado native fish – longnose dace, whiter sucker, creek chubs, and longnose sucker.  These minnows provide an ample food source for the brown trout.The results of our survey revealed a thriving brown trout fishery in the middle of a suburban setting.  This stream had not been electro-fished by CPW previously, so they are encouraged by our findings. Joggers, walkers and bikers pass the stream on a regular basis and most don’t know what secrets it contains.  Only a few fishermen frequent this little gem of a stream, but the rewards can be surprising. This urban fishery is clearly hiding in plain sight.

Call for Volunteers

On Saturday August 5 Cutthroat Chapter will partner with CUSP for the first of two projects this season in the Horse Creek drainage near Deckers. This area continues to suffer from the 2002 Hayman Fire and we will continue our efforts to stabilize the soils and prevent habitat destruction in and around the South Platte River. This is part of a multi-year project and we would appreciate any help our chapter members can provide.We will meet in the parking lot of the Deckers Community Hall (behind Flies and Lies) on Saturday August 5 promptly at 9am. Work will go until about 3pm. Cutthroat Chapter will provide a lite breakfast of donuts and muffins along with bottled waters. We will carpool to a site nearby for the work day. The site will involve a hike of about a quarter mile which might take 20 minutes. Bring your own gloves if you prefer though gloves, tools, and safety equipment will be provided by CUSP. Workers are expected to pack in their own water, lunch, and rain gear along with some provided tools. Long pants, long sleeves, and sturdy boots are advised. We will be constructing erosion control methods such as sill log structures, log erosion barriers, flying v’s, and rolling log structures, further reducing sedimentation into the Upper South Platte River. This project should be considered physically strenuous.After this project many of us will stick around to fish in the Deckers area. Everyone is welcome, and if new anglers so desire they should be able to team up with a seasoned angling veteran for advice.For more information or to volunteer please contact George Franklin at georgefr@aol.com or at 303.902.9827. Contact with George prior to the event is requested so the appropriate amount of food can be brought along for breakfast.

Check Out CCTU's New YouTube Channel

That's right, there's a YouTube Channel for the Cutthroat Chapter. Put together by Brian Young and George Franklin (thanks guys), the channel will feature videos from our events and fishing trips. Please check it out by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO1z28Pg09DweF6RJ5jmzWg