SWTU, P.O. Box 45555, Madison, WI 53744-5555 president@swtu.org

Adams Midge

Adams Midge - Rusty Dunn

Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

“Of all feathers required for fly dressing, the hackle is the most important and, unfortunately, the most difficult to pro­cure.” –F.M. Halford, 1886 in Float­ing Flies and How to Dress Them

How times have changed. If Halford could visit a fly shop today, he would be astonished. The quality and variety of modern dry fly hackle is extraordinary. Colors that used to be as rare as the crown jewels are now as com­mon­ as a knockoff Rolex. How did it happen? A handful of meticu­lous, observant, and persistent fly tyers raised chickens for decades, choosing and breed­ing at each generation only birds with the best quality of hackle. Such ‘selective breeding’ yielded today’s birds having long uniform feathers with thin flexible stems and short, stiff, glassy barbs. Read More

Quick links to cool content

  • Here is an excellent article on the brown trout removal project on Maple Dale Creek to bolster brook trout. (PDF)
  • Dane County Waters Survey: The Madison Area Municipal Stormwater Partnership is partnering with the University of Wisconsin Extension on a survey to gather input from residents and groups interested in protecting Dane County waters. Results from the survey will help guide future programming and resources. Please consider sharing your thoughts and concerns about our waters and actions to help protect them by completing this survey.
  • (new add) If you are interested in water quality monitoring on SW Dane County streams as explained at our May meeting, please use this link to help Wade Moder schedule training.  Please direct any questions to Wade.

New Members – June 2024

We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following new members to our ranks! Read More

Newscasts – May 2024

This issue is filled with great information, including:

Elections and updates on local trout streams – Our May 14 Meeting

Please arrive early – a meeting so action-packed it starts at 6:30!

The last TU meeting until September is on Tuesday, May 14, at Schwoegler’s on Grand Canyon Drive with dinner and drinks available from 5:30 p.m. on.

BUT THE BUSINESS MEETING AND SPEAKERS WILL START AT 6:30 INSTEAD OF 7.

We have a full, worthwhile, and fun agenda::

  • Elections for the SWTU Board of Directors (see separate article for candidates)
  • Other business such as work days and PGT
  • Report on another successful Spring Fair Fundraiser (thanks to everyone who helped and contributed — we will share MUCH MORE about it in the June newsletter)
  • A brief presentation by Wade Moder of the Dane County UW Extension Office on stream monitoring in SW Dane County
  • Nate Nye, the DNR fish biologist for Columbia and Sauk Counties and our featured speaker, on trout fishing opportunities in his area.

See below for more details on all these speakers and topics.
And please be sure to arrive by 6:30. Read More

Board Elections at the May Meeting

The Nominating Committee of the SWTU Board presents the following slate of candidates for the election to be held at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 14.

  • President: Steve Musser (incumbent)
  • Vice President: Topf Wells (incumbent)
  • Treasurer: Marty Chiaro (incumbent)
  • Secretary: Henry Nehls-Lowe (incumbent)
  • State Council Delegate: Michael Williamson (incumbent)

Four open Director positions:

  • John Freeborg (incumbent)
  • Josh Reilly (see bio below)
  • Riley Bellin (see bio below)
  • Ben Mechelke (see bio below)

Read More

Remembering Jim Kanvik

Jim KanvikWith sadness, we report the passing of Jim Kanvik, who served on the SWTU Board, organized immense bucket raffles that helped raise tens of thousands for the resource, played a key role in the celebrated Gordon Creek project and served as a workday stalwart. The picture is of Jim receiving the chapter’s Golden Trout Award. Read his obituary here, and see below for thoughts on Jim from chapter members. Read More

Congrats to Brian Counselman: Teach of the Year

We were please to see the news of Brian Counselman’s well-deserved accolades. Chapter member Dave Fowler has worked with Brian to support Project Green Teen for several years and had this to say:

“Brian definitely deserves the Teacher of the Year award. It’s been great working with Brian on PGT over the past several years. He had big shoes to fill with Tina’s retirement, but he hit the ground running and never looked back. From my perspective, the transition was really smooth. He’s been able to put his own spin on the program and the PGT students seem to thrive under his guidance. I feel good that PGT has a great future under Brian’s leadership.”

Learn What Your Board’s Been Up To – May 2024

Minutes from SWTU Board of Director meetings can be viewed in this Google Drive. If you have questions on what you read in them, reach out to one of the Board members listed on the last page of each newsletter. (Note that you may need to click the “Last Modified” header at the top to sort the list with the latest minutes at the top.)

Rob’s Sugar River Ramble – June 2, 2024

Your SWTU board unanimously voted to make a $2,000 contribution to this year’s Rob’s Sugar River Ramble on June 2, 2024, which makes SWTU a Platinum sponsor for this event. It looks like a ton of fun and that it will do a ton of good for one of the most important nearby coldwater streams.

This is the 10th annual Rob’s Sugar River Ramble, a hike, bike and paddle followed by a lunch, this year hosted by Seven Acre Dairy in Paoli. This event supports conservation efforts, including monitoring invasive species and habitat restoration within the watershed, as well as educational efforts, like the recently developed explorer’s backpacks to engage school children with the outdoors.