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Littleton Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Denver's Cutthroat Chapter

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Multi-day Trips (for 10-12 people)
~Green River, UT May 2-6
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Big Horn, MT May 20-25
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San Juan, NM Oct 28-Nov 1

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Site Updated - June 5, 2009

June Electronic Newsletter Available - Click Here to view the contents.

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"Conservation Corner" - Issues related to Colorado from both the local and state perspective. For the most comprehensive coverage of conservation issues/projects affecting Colorado's cold water environment check out the CTU website. CTU has added the CTU NewsBlog featuring News and Happenings from Colorado Trout Unlimited.

ATTENTION - RiverWatch Program Update - Collection/Sampling is June 6th

The Chapter's River Watch collection/sampling site has been moved to a new location above the bridge at Deckers. The new site (#922) will double as a macroinvertebrate collection site for the spring and fall "bug surveys". If you are interested in becoming part of the River Watch program and want to enjoy a little fishing contact Bill at (303) 771-1855 or blhoneyfield42465@msn.com. The June River Watch will be conducted in conjunction with the South Platte River Cleanup described below.

Volunteers Needed June 6th - South Platte River Clean-up

On Saturday, June 6th we will be meeting to pick up trash along the South Platte River in the Deckers area. We have been picking up trash along our river for many years and there is always plenty of trash to be had. We always get our limit!!! Our partner for this event is the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP). CUSP will supply the bags and haul away the trash. After picking up trash we will have a BBQ at the picnic table near the parking lot behind Flies & Lies at Deckers. The leader for this event is Doug McFarland, 303-771-3299. Please contact Doug to sign up. Note: June's River Watch collection/sampling activity will be conducted in conjunction with the cleanup and BBQ.

Details for the CLEAN-UP from Doug McFarland

Thank you all for volunteering to help with the S. Platte cleanup effort next Saturday, June 6. We will meet in the big parking lot in Deckers at 9:00 a.m.

Anyone wishing to carpool should plan on meeting at the parking lot (South Metro Board of Realtors) where we hold our meetings at 7:30 a.m.

Those coming from the west side of town should take hwy 85 (S. Santa Fe) to Sedalia, then 67 all the way to Deckers, about one hour twenty minutes.

If you are farther east, the I-25 to Happy Canyon, right to 85, north to Deckers, and 67 to Deckers is the best bet.

Dress according to the weather...looks promising and hopefully we will be dried out by then. Wear good shoes or boots, or even waders. Gloves and hand sanitizer, sunscreen, and hat for protection.

Once there we will divide into teams and be assigned sections of the river to police. Trash bags are provided. The cleanup generally runs until about noon. The grill will be going and burgers and brats will be the fare. Sodas will be provided but you are welcome to bring your own drink...

After lunch Kent Higgins will offer a streamside session on the local entomology. Of course, the river is yours to those who want to stay and get in some fishing. Additionally, Bill Honeyfield and the River Watch crew will be taking water samples in the afternoon...you may want to observe or get involved in this project.

If you are bringing others to help please let me know so I will be sure to have enough food for everyone. Looking forward to seeing you there!!!

Doug McFarland
303 771 3299


brookJune 16th @7 PM - Kerry Caraghar "Fishing Within an Hour of Denver"

Our June Speaker Will Be Kerry Caraghar "Fishing Within an Hour of the Denver Area". If you've only got a half day to fish, or if the gas prices are still too much to bear, join us on Tuesday, June 16, to hear about where to fish in close to town.

Kerry Caraghar will talk about the many opportunities within an hour's drive of Denver. He'll concentrate on Clear Creek and Bear Creek. If you've never explored these near-by waters, you're going to be amazed at the fishing opportunities they offer.

The membership meeting will be preceded by Richard Pilatzke's Fly Tying mini-clinic starting at 6 PM. This is an excellent opportunity for beginners to learn fly tying skills. Richard is the Chapter's resident fly tying guru.

As always admission to our meeting is free and open to the public.

Directions to the Chapter meeting location are described in the left column (near top).


July 21 is Our Annual CCTU Picnic
And This Year We're Providing All the Food!

July is the month when we hold our Annual Picnic in lieu of an inside meeting. It will again be held at Clement Park, on West Bowles Avenue in Littleton, in Shelter #6. Folks can start to arrive about 4, and the food should be ready by 5 or 6. We usually stick around until 8 or later, depending on the weather.

This year, we're "sweetening the pot" and trying to expand the attendance by providing not only the soft drinks and condiments, but ALL THE MEAT AS WELL! PLUS, we'll have a few Door Prizes for lucky attendees.

In the past, everyone brought his own food, and the scene around the grills was kind of hectic. So this year the Chapter has decided to provide the hamburgers and hot dogs, along with buns, cheese, kraut, and chili. PLUS, soft drinks, water, condiments, plates, utensils, napkins, someone to do the cooking, and a wealth of good companionship. All you need to bring is any "adult beverage", as they say, and your own charming presence.

You could also bring a side dish to share, like potato salad, slaw, beans, dessert, tomatoes and lettuce, or, for you culinary-challenged individuals, a bag of chips will always work. But don't let that stop you from dropping in after work. We'd rather have you come empty-handed than not at all.

And bring the spouses and kids if you can, or even a neighbor. Clement park offers plenty to do before and after dinner. Adults can walk off their meal with a sunset stroll around Johnson Reservoir. And the older kids can skateboard on the Clement facility while the younger ones climb on the playground equipment. If we decide to hold another casting competition, bring a kite, as the wind never fails to blow when we do.

As always, there's no charge, but we'll need a count to buy the food & drink, so let me know at RWEBB@CHISP.NET if you're planning on coming and how many you'll bring.

Clement Park is located south of West Bowles Ave. just east of Wadsworth Blvd. We'll be in Shelter #6, which is best accessed behind the library at West Long Drive and Bowles Ave. Take the first left south of Bowles off Long and then right at the Stop sign. Then bear left where the road turns into the library. Click here to get to a Mapquest map images of the site. Shelter 6 is on the hilltop and overlooks Johnson Reservoir to the west.


TU-50T.U.N.E. for Kids is Coming in July
TU is Teaming to Host a 4-Day Camp for Boys & Girls - Fishing Instructors needed July 13th


TU and Pheasants Forever (PF), another nationally-known conservation/education organization, are joining to host The Ultimate Nature Experience, a 4-day, 3-night camp for kids at the beautiful and famous Cal-Wood Education Center in Jamestown, CO on July 11-14.

Students will learn not only about trout and fishing, but about the shooting sports, dog training, water biology, archery, survival, falconry, land use ecology, and even career opportunities in the out-of-doors.

T.U.N.E. underscores PF's No Child Left Indoors® initiative, which is part of a national movement aimed at getting youths unplugged from electronics and turned on to the outdoors, nature and wildlife. Leaders of both organizations recognize the need to recruit more youths into our outdoor sports.

Adults from Cal-Wood, TU (both CCTU and West Denver) and PF will be on hand to assist at the camp, and outside expertise from the 4H, CBA, CDOW, and others will ensure a quality educational experience.

The camp is open to all youths entering 6th thru 12th grades. Cost is $350, but sponsorships are available if the cost is a hardship. For more information, click here or contact Bob Hix at (303) 743- 8957 or BHix@pheasantsforever.org

And we can still use a few more adult volunteers on Monday, July 13, too help teach the kids to cast and fish for trout in the stocked Cal-Wood pond. Email me at RWEBB@CHISP.NET if you'd like to lend a hand.


Photo Contest To Return in 2009
Send Us Your Favorite Photos and Win Prizes


Last year's photo contest was such a big success we've decided to repeat it this year. Don Cushing (cushco7@comcast.net) will organize things once again, collecting the entries and bringing enlargements to the December Membership Meeting/Christmas Party for your inspection and voting. Last year we had quite a few very good entries and the competition for prizes was close.

The rules are simple: The photo must have some connection to trout, and it must be taken and submitted by a current CCTU member who is not a professional photographer.

So remember to take your camera along when you go fishing this summer, get some snapshots and send them in. You may win a Gift Certificate for some great merchandise.


EXCITING NEW FEATURE - CCTU's "Calendar of Upcoming Events"

The Cutthroat Chapter's Board of Directors is proud to announce a new on-line feature - a Calendar of Upcoming Chapter Events which should be of great interest to the general membership. The calendar will include regularly scheduled events such as Chapter meetings, kids conservation events, picnics, as well as our scheduled fishing trip, etc. The schedule will also contain late-breaking items such as calls for volunteers, special meetings, gathering, parties, etc. Our goal will be to update the calendar on a frequent basis so all important events are captured in one convenient location. Right now the calendar may "thin" but will soon be populated with all kinds of information on up coming events. Click on the underlined link above and become familiar with the calendar's features. If you have an item of significance, contact klucas27@gmail.com


Cutthroat Lending Library Reactivated

The library contains nearly 85 books, DVD's, and VHS tapes related to fishing. Items may be checked out for 30 days free of charge. Click on the "Library Link" to download a listing of the library's selections. Contact Duane "Van" VanDeVenter 303-935-4403 to borrow any item.


FatAlbertAmazing Fly Tying Website Available!

You have to see this to believe it! Click here to see the FlyTyingClips.com website. Interactive three dimensional views of flies tied by 18 of Colorado's professional fly tiers appear on your desktop. Click on the image of the fly and move your mouse to rotate the image for a 360 degree of each fly. Choose your favorite fly tier including the Cutthroat Chapter's own Richard Pilaztke, to see a dropdown menu of his flies. Select an individual fly and after it appears, rotate the image by moving your mouse. The recipe for many flies are also displayed. This website is truly amazing. (The fly at the left is Richard's Fat Albert).

 

 


fish-tissueDOW Fish Tissue Study - Mercury Content Measured/Reported

The Colorado Fish Tissue Study is a five year study that began in 2004. Go to this DOW webpage to view an interactive map containing clickable links to specific water bodies and individual reports. The data on this site will be updated on a regular basis. These pages contain all analytical data, all reports, and Fish Consumption Advisories (FCAs) generated from the study. The FCAs place limits on safe quantities for consumption of fish from McPhee and Narraguinnep reservoirs as well as other lakes in the state.

 

 

 

 

 


TICCutthroat Chapter Sponsors
"Trout in the Classroom"

The Cutthroat Chapter has undertaken the first step toward sponsoring a school for the "Trout in the Classroom" program. Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a conservation-oriented environmental education program for elementary, middle, and high school students. Through the school year, students raise trout from eggs to fry and then release them into approved cold water streams and lakes. This act of raising, monitoring, and caring for young trout fosters a conservation ethic within participating students and promotes an understanding of their shared water resources. The Program goals are:

• Connect students to their local environments and their local watershed
• Teach about watershed health and water quality
• Get kids to care about fish and the environment

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) programs have been in place all across the country for more than 20 years, the results of numerous collaborations between teachers, volunteers, government agencies, and local organizations including (but not limited to) Trout Unlimited. The programs were designed specifically for teachers who wanted to incorporate more environmental education into their curriculum. For more background information go to this website.

A project school has been tentatively selected by the Cutthroat Chapter and the final details are being worked-out with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Stay tuned to as this program matures.


bgtrout
Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park
Excellent article on stream fishing RMNP linked from the electronic version of Fly Fisherman magazine

Just looking at a map of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) rivets your attention. (Click here to see a map.) What you see at a glance is a peppering of 150 alpine lakes and a lacework of flowing water that adds up to 450 miles of streams. About 50 lakes (360 total acres) and 150 miles of streams hold trout. Click here to read the entire article by Ross Purnell, the editorial director of Fly Fisherman. The article discusses fishing both the major river systems flowing out of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP)--the Cache la Poudre, Colorado River, the North Fork of the St. Vrain, the Big Thompson, and the Fall River --as well as the smaller creeks flowing from alpine trout lakes like Glacier Creek, Ouzel Creek, Fern Creek, Roaring River, the North Fork of the Big Thompson, Columbine Creek, Timber Creek, and Paradise Creek.


Fishing Information - ColoradoOnThe Fly.comspinney

ColoradoOnTheFly.com is designed as a Colorado Fly Fishing directory, categorized with hundreds of websites. No where will you find a more complete directory with rich content and easy navigation. Participation is encouraged and will always be acknowledged.


knotAnimated Fishing Knots (Updated Mar 09)

Here are two websites that provide great educational tools into the sometimes technical world of fishing knot tying. The first site, Animated Knots by Grog, offers a step by step, fully animated sequence of how to tie over seventy five fishing knots. The second site, VideoFishingKnots.com by Morten Kjems provides menu of close-up videos of many fishing knots important to anglers. Take a look at them.


What is the connection between Cancer and Flyfishing?
The answer is "Reel Recovery"!


So You Want to Hire a Fishing GuideClick here for perspective (including pictures) in what a fishing guide should offer & do for you!


Cutthroat Chapter Fishing Buddies

Looking for someone to go fishing with? Click here for the list.


New Zealand Mud Snail Infestation in Colorado
Click here to learn about the NZ Mud Snail in Colorado and how to Sanitize Your Fishing Equipment - contains updated information about the Formula 409 Disinfectant /Antibacterial product courtesy the West Denver Chapter of TU. Please note that the previously recommended use of bleach or Grape Seed Extract as cleaning methods has been proven ineffective.


Copyright © 2009 [Trout Unlimited, Denver Cutthroat Chapter]. All rights reserved.
Revised: June 5, 2009

Special thanks to FirstLink for their exceptional website hosting.

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