Serving Northern Illinois

Most of our schools came thru with most of the fish intact after the holidays.  Hubbard Woods  School had most of it’s fish disappear.  The likely cause was the premature release of the fish from the breeding nets.  The  natural instinct of the fish is to hunker down into the gravel.  Many do not learn how to feed and succumb.  This has also been the case with a number of TIC programs across the country over the holidays.  Former GBTU member Dean Lippold, now located in Boulder, Co. sent a note with the same trouble in his school’s TIC program. GBTU was able to give him a couple of tips.

Not to fear, The Illinois DNR and Marv Strauch have come to the rescue with the delivery of 100 new fish this past Monday.  Thanks to GBTU member Jim Tingey for assisting with the delivery.

Next outreach- GBTU will be displaying trout at the Woodstock Outdoor Show on March 3 & 4.

View a cool GBTU TIC video here: http://www.winnetka36.org/HubbardWoods/ResourceCenter

Dear Illinois Trout Unlimited Member:

Since 2005, TU’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort (DARE) has helped expand watershed restoration across the un-glaciated region of Southwest Wisconsin. With grassroots volunteers leading the way, we have worked with our neighboring states to raise money, train project planners, oversee projects, and protect resources across the Driftless Area.

The results are significant, but we could do more. Restored stream miles have trebled in the four Driftless Area states. Dollars applied to projects have more than doubled. Chapters inside and outside the region have strengthened their capacity to do watershed projects and other parts of TU’s mission. Partnerships have been built based on projects, and they continue to grow. Agencies and other conservation groups that had never done projects are now willing to take them on with volunteer help. And the number of miles of trout streams continues to grow. Through DARE and these projects, we’ve developed

public access on miles and miles of restored streams. TU in the Upper Midwest is stronger for DARE’s efforts, and the Driftless Area has better and more accessible fishing resources, and healthier rivers. We would like to do more, but we need your help.

Though we’ve raised significant project funding, little of that goes to support DARE. No portion of your TU dues directly supports DARE. Key support has come from foundation grants and contributions from some chapters, councils, and individuals. If you support Driftless Restoration, this is your chance to make an individual, tax-deductible contribution to DARE. You can show your support with a nifty

“DRIFTLESS SPONSOR TROUT UNLIMITED” license plate holder for a $100 contribution.  For a $250 contribution, you’ll receive the license plate holder and a TUDARE cap.

Click here to download the Support Form.

Click here to watch the fly fishing movie trailer of Reverb, Robert Thompson’s new flick due out in 2012.

The GBTU Winter Party is all set for Thursday, February 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.  The location will be the Heller Nature Center, located at 2821 Ridge Road, Highland Park, IL (just north of Half Day Road – Rte. 22).

There will be cross country skiing, an outdoor bonfire, indoor and outdoor games, warm drinks and the renewal of many a warm friendship, as we share this beautiful facility together.  Plan to bring your family and friends.  The cost is just $15 per person, with kids under 16 free.

The Chapter will provide hot chocolate, soft drinks and coffee as well as the main entrée.  We are asking folks to bring a dish to share; organized by last names:

A to G – an appetizer;

H to M – a salad; and

N to Z – a dessert.

Don’t forget to bring your head lamps or flashlights for the cross country skiing (not to mention the snipe hunt).  You can even try out those snow shoes the family gave you.  For details, please contact Kurt Meier at:  wkurtmeier@hotmail.com

Pat Ehlers opened his fly shop, The Fly Fishers Inc. in 1988 in Milwaukee. Pat has guided throughout Wisconsin and the Great Lakes as well as in Montana and Alaska. Pat has designed fly rods for Echo Rods, and fly lines for Airflo, he also has a line of bass flies for Rainy’s Flies, and is a technical advisor for Simms. Pat is a pro team or pro staff member for the following companies: Evinrude Outboards, Stratos Boats, Renzetti, Inc. Pro Staff Titusville, FL, Boulder Boat Works Boulder, CO, and Lowrance Electronics. On the conventional gear side he is on the pro-staff of Shimano.  Pat is a sought after fly tier, teacher, adviser, and speaker.

Best of all Pat Ehlers is coming to our GBTU January 12th meeting to give a presentation called “Ways to Become a Better Predator”. It is aimed at anyone that fishes, no matter what species, to have more success! This presentation comes with many rave reviews from those that have seen it… Don’t Miss It! Pat’s bringing with him plenty of products to spice up our raffle for this meeting.

Checkout the rest of Pat’s bio below and see why he’s a fishing legend.

Capt. Pat Ehlers lives in Franklin, WI.   Pat opened his fly shop, The Fly Fishers Inc. in 1988. He has been fishing for over forty years and fly-fishing for over thirty of those. Pat has guided throughout Wisconsin and the Great Lakes as well as in Montana and Alaska.

Pat is a licensed United States Coast Guard Captain.  He has taught fly-fishing schools, fly-casting and fly tying classes around the country.  He has also appeared as a speaker and instructor at shows and seminars throughout the U.S.

Pat has designed a line of fly rods developed for warm-water fly-fishing for Tim Rajeff owner of the Echo Fly Rod Co. of Vancouver, WA, the Pat Ehlers’ Echo Edge 84 fly rod series. He also has designed a series of fly lines, The Bass/Muskie line for the Airflo Fly Line Co. of England. Pat is a contract /royalty fly tier and consultant for Rainy’s Flies of Logan, UT. Pat is a Technical Consultant and Advisor to Simms Fishing Products of Bozeman, MT.

The DVD, Tying the Flies of Pat Ehlers – Bass Flies is a product of Pat’s and the production company he is a partner in, Four Reels Player Productions. Pat is a regular columnist and a consultant for ATightLoop.com Magazine. He was also a regular contributor for Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine and has written for other publications as well along with having contributed to a number of books. Photography is also one of his pursuits and lends itself very well to his business.

Pat is a pro team or pro staff member for the following companies: Evinrude Outboards, Stratos Boats, Renzetti, Inc. Pro Staff Titusville, FL, Boulder Boat Works Boulder, CO, and Lowrance Electronics. On the conventional gear side he is on the pro-staff of Shimano.  He has done promotional appearances for Skoal Outdoors and has been a co-owner and an instructor for The Chequamegon Bay Smallmouth School in Wisconsin for 16 years.  Pat has served as a retail advisory board member of AFFTA (American Fly Fishing Trade Association).

Pat has appeared in newspaper and magazine articles, makes regular appearances on radio programs and has also appeared on numerous TV shows throughout the country; both regionally and nationally including Fox, ESPN and The Outdoor Channel networks.

Pat participates in local and regional bass tournaments as well as “fly only” bass tourneys in the western United States.  He also fishes extensively for saltwater species. In chasing both fresh and saltwater fish his fishing has taken him across the US from Alaska to Florida, as well as Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Central America, South America and the South Pacific.

GBTU was recently recognized in an article for the “Trib Local” for Highland Park/Highwood.  Read the article below.

Highland Park 4th Graders get a First-Hand Look at the Life Cycle of Rainbow Trout.

Fourth grade students at Braeside Elementary School are raising baby trout for eventual release into the ravine stream in Millard Park, 35 Ravine Drive, Highland Park, IL. The stream, which flows into Lake Michigan, is the site of a USEPA-funded habitat restoration project being undertaken by the Park District of Highland Park (PDHP.

“We were happy to connect our Trout Unlimited partners to the community and Braeside School for a program we’ve been working together on for some time,” said Rebecca Grill, Natural Areas Manager at the Park District. “It’s these kinds of partnerships –and the involvement of our youngest community members — that raise restoration projects like the one at Millard Park to a new level of environmental stewardship and learning.”

On November 17, Jim Tingey, a volunteer for Trout Unlimited, visited the school as part of the conservation organization’s Trout in the Classroom program. Tingey led the students in a discussion about what they had learned about the life cycle of rainbow trout and the group watched a student-made video on the topic.

Trout Unlimited supplies the funding for the aquarium set up, including all of the fish food and water quality materials. Most importantly, the organization sends experts like Tingey to share real life experiences and provide logistical support for the classroom teachers and their students. Tingey is a member of the Gary Borger Chapter of Trout Unlimited which is partnered with PDHP in the Millard Park restoration project.

Braeside is one of the 10 schools in Illinois that is benefitting from the Trout in the Classroom project. The national program is more than 50 years old. Braeside fourth graders will apply math, science, art, creative writing, music and more to learning about stewardship of these North American fish.

The students will be finishing this project around Earth Day 2012, when they will be releasing the trout they have been raising into Lake Michigan.

Click Here to Watch the Latest Video!