SWTU, P.O. Box 45555, Madison, WI 53744-5555
president@swtu.org
Conserving coldwater fisheries
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Sherry Spinner
Last Updated: May 7, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
by Rusty Dunn
Fly tyers have long been obsessed – some would say excessively so – with matching the color of artificial flies to corresponding naturals. The concept of precisely imitating insect colors dates to the very beginnings of fly angling. In Walton & Cotton’s timeless masterpiece The Compleat Angler (1676), Piscator instructs Viator on the subtleties of color in fly tying:
Piscator: So, here’s your dubbing now.
Viator: This dubbing is very black.
Piscator: It appears so in the hand: but step to the door and hold it up betwixt your eye and the sun and it will appear a shining red. Let me tell you, never a man in England can discern the true color of a dubbing any way but that. Read More
Last Updated: May 7, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
New Members – May 2025
We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following new member to our ranks!
We are honored to have you among us. Please join our next meeting. We’d love to get to know you better, answer any questions and give you some free flies! If any questions about the meeting, please contact Topf Wells.
* Note that some longer-term members may be captured in the list above. A glitch in the excel file has made it harder to sort … but it’s better to be inclusive and we’re happy to have your continued support!
Newscasts – April 2025
Last Updated: May 4, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
This issue is filled with great information, including:
Streamer Fishing in the Driftless – Tips From Our Friends at the Musky Fool
Posted: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Learn tactics for targeting the biggest trout in the creek at SWTU’s April 8, 2025, Chapter Gathering. Presenting will be Tim O’Connor of The Musky Fool fly shop in Waunakee (muskyfool.com).
Why learn to fish streamers? Because lots of time they’re a great choice. At different times of the year and in different conditions, streamers might be the type of fly that gives you the best chance at a fish. If this is the season you’re absolutely, definitely going all out to catch the 20+ inch brown trout, you absolutely, definitely should know how to fish a streamer. SWTU is here to help. Read More
Last Updated: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Chapter Gatherings: A Look Back & Ahead
Ahead in May 2025 – We will gather on WEDNESDAY, May 14 (as opposed to our usual Tuesday due to some scheduling with Schwoegler’s).
Read More
Posted: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Board Elections at May 15 Meeting: You Can Make a Difference!
Please consider running for the SWTU Board.
Elections will be in May (instead of April), and we don’t yet have a full slate with a couple of Board openings. We know people are busy, but the commitment isn’t too large and much can be handled virtually. In short, candidates are hard to come by this year and we need people to step up. We have some openings created by some having served multi-year terms and one tremendous member who moved to Green Bay.
Our biggest need is Treasurer. Marty Chiaro leaves having improved all the functions of that office and leaving it in the best shape ever. The Board has also learned from Marty’s labors and expert advice and has taken a big step in making the Treasurer’s duties simpler and more manageable. We are in the process of hiring a CPA/devoted SWTU member to file tax documents and handle some key bookkeeping functions. We intend this improvement to be permanent. Read More
Posted: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Learn What Your Board’s Been Up To – April 2025
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.)
Join our First Stream Workday of 2025 – Saturday, April 5
Posted: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
By Jim Hess, Conservation Chair
Below is information for our first workday of our spring season. It will be at the Duerst property on the Sugar River located at 7309 Riverside Rd. We are hoping for a big turn out as there are a lot of invasive honeysuckles to be removed and burn piles to be built. The workday will be lead by Dane County staff.
Saturday, April 5, 2025 – Sugar River, Duerst Property
Time: 9 am to 12 noon (sawyers that have completed a chainsaw safety course please arrive at 8:30, if needed we can provide a chainsaw and safety equipment).
Where: Sugar River, Duerst property, 7309 Riverside Road. Take US 151 (Verona Rd) to Hwy 69, go south about 1 mile to Riverside Rd, turn right (west) and go about ½ mile. Here is a Google Map Link to this location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9o9sJJ19ZzTJvo8G7 Read More
Riversmith Casting Clinics: 2025
Posted: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Each spring, we hold our Riversmith Fly Casting Clinic (named after Jeff Smith, who was the driving force behind this event for many years). The clinic is free and available to anyone interested in learning how to cast a fly. Beginners are especially encouraged to attend. This year, we will be holding two clinics.
Read More
Iron Blue Nymph
Last Updated: April 1, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
by Rusty Dunn
Tie an Iron Blue Nymph on a #16 hook, and you’ve recreated the most famous fly of perhaps the most famous angler to ever cast a wet fly before trout. Walk into a fly shop and ask for an Iron Blue Nymph, and the clerk will probably look at you funny. “A what?” he might ask, to which you should reply, “Young fellow, perhaps you know it instead as a Dark Watchet, Dark Whirling Dun, Little Blue Dun, Iron Blue Drake, Little Purple, Little Dark Blue, or Iron Blue Quill. Got any?” You won’t get the flies you’re looking for, but at least you will have made the point that nymph fishing was refined long before the Pink Squirrel reigned supreme. Read More
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