Fung Chin, has decided to step down from the leadership position of GBTU TIC program. Bob DeGraff has stepped up to take on this position. Thanks you Fung for all of the hard work and time you put into this program and thank you Bob taking on this program. Let’s all support these gentlemen in their new adventures.
Darwin Adams, President
I want to thank all of you that came to GBTU Happy Hour fundraiser at The Bottle Shop on May 1st. Special thanks to Kyle Kamp for getting The Bottle Shop to host the Happy Hour and working with F3T’s Mr. Thompson and thanks to Mitch Kiseler and his committee for getting the great raffle items. We did not take in as much as last year, but we still had a great time. The amount was approx. $1070.00 net still a nice amount. GREAT JOB all of you.
Darwin Adams
Tonight, May 1st!
Come on out for the 3rd annual Fly Fishing Film Tour. GBTU will be having a raffle/fundraiser happy hour event from 5-7 before the film kicks off at 8. The happy hour event will be held at the Bottle Shop just down the street from the Wilmette Theater where the film showing will be.
Hope to see you there!
The Bottle Shop – 1148 Central Ave, Wilmette, IL
Wilmette Theater – 1122 Central Ave, Wilmette, IL
Late Breaking News! Yet one more reason to come out to Thursday night’s Chapter Meeting. The chapter has accumulated some very nice raffle items over the past few months and will be fielding a banner crop of gear, books, and sporting clothing for your perusal. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20, so bring plenty of cash! Just to whet your appetite, here is a sampling of what you’ll find on the raffle table:
Redington CPX Core Performance 10’ 6” #6 Switch Rod
L.L. Bean Remote Water Fishing Backpack
Reddington Sonic Pro Wading Jacket
L.L. Bean River treads Wading Boots
You know that type of gravitational pull… Memories of whispers in that backwoods bar about isolated pockets of greenback cutthroats even further north, that tight-lipped game warden who took a look at the car and said “ya, you might make it but it’s 4 hours on jeep trails,” online message boards that clam up at the most innocent of questions, and spotty, vague, but promising descriptions in guidebooks… Having let two years slip by since their last western angling adventure , it was just these thoughts that had been gnawing at GBTU members Matt Jennings and Scott Foster. By summer it was just too much to bear, so they saddled up again to hit the Northern Idaho rivers they missed last time, some old favorites, and some newly discovered gems…
Come out to Thursday night’s chapter meeting where Scott and Matt will tell us about their trip into the Clearwater National forest, one of the most remote areas in the lower 48. Their slide-show and stories are sure to reveal some secrets, so be sure to bring your Gazateer, highlighter, pen & paper!
Trout in the Classroom
Release Date- April 16, 2013
On Tuesday morning, April 16, the GBTU sponsored Trout in the Classroom program will close for the 2012-2013 season with a release into the Millard Ravine. The donated fish come from Maine East High School, under guidance of teacher Pat Voitik; and the Highland Park High School program, under the guidance of Howard and Christine Hill.
3 classes will come out separately throughout the day, for an hour at a time
(Class 1@ 9:45, Class 2 @ 10:40 and Class 3 @ 12:15).
GBTU supporters are invited. Any members wishing to assist with the release should contact Jim Tingey or Matt Jennings.
Because parking is limited at the ravine, everyone is encouraged to park on Forest Drive and walk down to Ravine Drive to the release site.
Need some help with your casting? How about some remiders about the knots you can never remember how to tie when your are out on the water? What if you have a family member or friend who might want to learn some of the basics of fly fishing in order to get started in the sport. No matter what you or friends would like some help with come and enjoy the morning with other chapter members getting some friendly advice on any of your “fishing issues” you might need some help with.
The Gary Borger Chapter will host the second annual Skills Day on Saturday April 27th at Jones Island in Grayslake, IL. The day will begin at 8:30 at the shelter on the island and run till 1:00. Bring your gear with you and some selected flies suitable for pan fish since the area we will be meeting has access to the lake. Around noon we will fire up the grill for brats and some side dishes. Water and soda will be provided as well.
Hope to see you there either to help your fellow members with their issues or to get some help yourself. If you think you might be able to attend let Barry Coddens know (bac248@northwestern.edu) since that will help in making sure we have sufficent supplies there for lunch. Hope to see you on April 27th.
Barry Coddens
Education Chair
For all those who were unable to make it to the last couple chapter meetings, here are the final number for our fall fundraiser. Before I give you all the good news though, I have to tell everyone how impressed I am and fortunate we all are that we have such giving folks in our chapter. I understand that not all of our members have the time or other resources to help us with the great work we do on behalf of the fisheries we care about so much about but when we give the chapter members the opportunity to step up and deliver in other ways, they show up and really let us know that they are out there and taking note of what we are doing for the environment and all of us.
When the final donation was deposited and the last of the books were sent out, the bottom line was a phenomenal $2,637.02 that we have available to continue working on the projects that we are dedicated to, either on our own or in cooperation with other like-minded organizations.
The breakdown went like this; we received $2,780.00, we spent $142.98 to buy envelopes and postage to send out the books we were making available, there were 51 donors in all, 20 chose not to receive any books and a total of 67 books were sent out.
We don’t manufacture anything for sale so the only way we can get the funds we need to continue improving our environment and educating the public is through our fundraisers like this last event. We try to offer about two per year and just so everyone knows, we are already working on the next one. The chapter uses these funds for projects or activities you read about all the time here in The Tippet and these things we do always appear to be worth the effort. We know this because of all the recognition and awards we receive and the many “thank you”s from our members and our community.
Some of the more notable recent involvement by our members has been in our own neighborhood. One such project is in Highland Park where we have teamed up with a couple other organizations to restore some ravines leading into Lake Michigan which historically had populations of fish and are capable of hosting them again. The BSA Merit Badge program being offered over the summer is an ongoing educational program that helps our young boys become safe and successful fly fishers of the future. And of course, our Trout in the Classroom is another huge success for educating the youth of our community even if they don’t like to fish.
Sometimes I look around the room at our monthly meetings and see the same faces I have seen for years and it’s no secret that these faces are getting older and I wonder about the future of our chapter and our favorite fishing holes. All I have to do is look at the results of the fundraisers like the one we just closed the books on and I feel confident that we are in good hands as is evident by our youngest donor this past fall. A young boy scout sent us $10.00 and in his words, “Please use it where it’s most useful.” Thanks Gabriel, I hope to see you on the water some day.
The good news is that the weather is warming up. The good news continues with the fact that this cold spring has cut down on early fishing pressure on some of our favorite Wisconsin spring creeks. In fact, so many of us are excited to get out on the water that the Fenway House Hotel is now fully booked.
At the upcoming March 14th meeting, located at Christ United Methodist Church, 600 Deerfield Rd., Deerfield, Captain Austin Adduci, owner and head guide of Grab Your Fly Chapters will be the evening speaker. He has grown up in the South Suburbs of Chicago with a passion for fishing his whole life. He started fly fishing at the age of 15 and never looked back. Austin started guiding in 2009 out of his Maverick Flat boat for carp and smallmouth on the south end of Lake Michigan. 2011 Austin started running the Kankakee River in a Clacka Craft Drift boat. He guides on South Lake Michigan, Kankakee River and Beaver Island.
He will tie some of his favorite flies at the meeting.
So come to the meeting, have some pizza and listen to Austin and watch him tie some flies.