The Cutthroat Chapter is sad to note the passing of one of our most respected chapter members – Walter “Bud” McAlister. Bud will be remembered for his devotion to cold water conservation and especially his passion for fly tying. Bud provided thousands of flies for our raffles and fundraisers, did fly tying demonstrations at many venues, assisted disabled vets at our Crystal Lake trips, and especially loved to teach fly tying to youngsters. Bud passed away on May 20th at the age of 78 after a short battle with aggressive cancer. True to his nature, Bud went fishing just six days before he died. A memorial fund for Bud, the “Bud Fund”, is being set up to remember this respected Cutthroat member. Donations may be made at chapter meetings.
San Juan Cutthroat Trout Discovered
Hopefully, ya’ll saw this reported in the Post earlier this week. Read the article here: https://coloradotu.org/blog/2018/9/extinct-no-more-cpw-discovers-remnant-san-juan-trout
SOLD: To the highest bidder, an op-ed by CTU President, Chris Wood
Recently Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited, commented on the shift of conservative values away from protecting and investing in public lands, to recklessly selling them off to the highest bidder. Read the full op-ed below, which has been reposted from the Denver Post.Read it here.
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
Alma River Walk Project Visit - 6/18/18
The town of Alma, CO is north of Fairplay in Southpark and at 10, 578 feet, is the highest incorporated town in North America. Alma is an idyllic location with several 14ers nearby and more importantly for TU, the headwaters of the South Platte River are just above and adjacent to the town. Alma is a small town (less than 400 residents) but that is about to change. Up to three new multi-unit housing developments are being planned for Alma so the population will increase substantially in the next few years. The town of Alma and the Alma Foundation are planning a project that will consist of platforms and walkways in the Upper South Platte wetlands for both recreation and fishing access. They wish to create a multi-use area while also managing and protecting these important headwaters for future generations.
On June 8, 2018 a meeting was held to provide TU (Cutthroat and Cherry Creek Chapters) with key information for the Walkway Project, including a tour of the wetlands, a discussion of project options, and solicitation of ideas for improving the project. Attendees from TU included George Franklin, John Aaron, Peter King and Tim O’Connor (Cutthroat Chapter) and Steve Rozendaal (Cherry Creek Anglers). Jara Johnson represented the Alma Foundation and Tim Zingler represented the town of Alma (Director of Public Works). They currently have a contract for a wetlands delineation study (report due the end of June 2018) and they will soon be contracting with a small engineering firm for engineering design and review of alternatives. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has donated $30,000 and TU Cutthroat Chapter has committed $5,000 for this phase of work. Considerably more funding will be required for the construction phase, scheduled for 2019-20. TU’s Cutthroat Chapter is offering to help find corporate sponsors for that phase. Some ideas that TU provided include: giving these headwaters a “Catch and Release” designation to ensure a sustainable fish population; adding large rocks to the stream in selected locations to provide structures for the fish; and dredging the pond next to the planned fishing dock as it is currently very shallow.
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.
Ladies Fishing on the Fly Recap - May 11-12 at Highlands Ranch
Cyndy Scholz and her team of volunteer instructors had a great time with the 15 students at this year’s spring Ladies Fishing on the Fly. Friday night was the classroom session from 6-9pm. They learned about equipment (rod, reel, line, leader, tippet & more), how to read water, tied the two knots, and had a brief entomology session with CTU’s Cam Chandler. Saturday from 8:30AM to 1PM, after a casting lesson from Buzz Soard, they put into practice what they learned at the Fly’n B Park pond in Highlands Ranch. They had a blast catching bluegill, sunfish and even some rainbow trout. Thanks a ton to the HRCA for setting up and for all the CCTU volunteers that participated. The Fall program runs August 24-25. Get tickets at the Highlands Ranch Eastridge Recreation Center (9568 University Blvd, Highlands Ranch), at www.HRCAonline.org or by calling (303) 791-2500. Any chapter members that would like to help with instruction, please contact Cyndy at cyndyscholz@msn.com or (303) 507-3068.
Spring Bear Creek Conservation Project and Fishing Contest Recap
A TON ACCOMPLISHED AND A GREAT TIME HAD BY ALL
April 28 was a beautiful spring day…the kind of day the City of Lakewood and CCTU were hoping to get for the annual spring planting and clean-up day at Bear Creek Lake Park. This year, 19 CCTU volunteers partnered with the city to help conserve, protect, and restore a stretch of urban Bear Creek. These industrious folks helped revegetate the stream side by planting 350 red osier dogwoods, willows, buffalo berries, and star bushes along with eight good sized cottonwood trees. All native plants! In addition these folks built a barrier wall to block and restore an unauthorized equestrian stream crossing. The twist this year was all these materials were purchased through funds earned by our own CCTU fundraiser and the support of all our CCTU chapter members. After the work we held a tongue-in-cheek fishing contest on that same stretch. Data from that contest goes to Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help them manage what is hoped will become a proper urban trout fishery in time. Contest awards were given for quickest fish landed (two hours 11 minutes), largest trout caught (6 inches) and most flies lost (11). A fun and rewarding time was had by all, and many thanks to our volunteers!
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