Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
The hopes and dreams of most dry-fly anglers rest on the shoulders of but two groups of insects, the mayflies and the caddisflies. Admittedly, stoneflies, midges, and terrestrials have their periods of glory, but day in and day out, mayflies and caddisflies are the bread and butter of fly fishing. But look inside your fly boxes. Are the bread and the butter represented equally? Probably not. Most anglers practice what famous authors or influencers preach, and mayflies have been the darlings of fly-fishing books and media for centuries. Caddisflies and other insect orders received their justified recognition in recent decades, but mayflies still enjoy an inherited legacy of prominence and privilege. For example, fly tyers often discuss mayflies in code (aka. Latin names) and dwell on minute details of size, color, form, and behavior. They carry multiple fly boxes onstream, each devoted to a single mayfly species. Those boxes, furthermore, hold flies of immense variety. High floating, low floating, half-submerged, wings held up, wings held back, wings held forward, no wings, no hackle, hair hackle, reverse hackle, and on and on. Such is the legacy of mayfly privilege. Read More
Newscasts – December 2025
Last Updated: January 5, 2026 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
This issue is filled with great information, including:
Last Updated: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Keeping and Eating Trout: Our Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 Chapter Gathering
It might have been a forbidden topic at TU meetings a decade or two ago. TU has always been a proponent of catch and release. In the old days you could hardly attend a TU meeting without being reminded that Lee Wulff said, “Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once.”
Catch and release, when properly followed, was part of the foundation of TU’s conservation ethic.
And one reason we have thriving populations of wild trout across southern Wisconsin. So much so that the DNR has liberalized regulations on many streams to encourage anglers to keep trout. In some cases, the DNR hopes enough anglers will keep trout to change the population structure so that a stream might have more trout larger than 12 inches.
They are delicious, too.
Ben Lubchansky is a professional cook and fly tier. He owns the 608 Community Supported Kitchen meal subscription service, as well as Two Wick Flies www.608csk.com and www.twowickflies.com Instagram @608csk and @twowickliving. He lives and works in Mazomanie, Wi. At our December 9 gathering, Ben is going to discuss how to keep and prepare trout. It’s gratifying to watch a trout swim off in good shape. It also can be satisfying to prepare a meal of fresh trout for you and yours, reminding you what a wonderful and multi-faceted natural resource trout are. Read More
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Learn What Your Board’s Been Up To – December 2026
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.)
Member Meeting and Board Meeting schedule around the holidays:
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
You Shall Not Receive a Fundraising Letter From SWTU This Year
By Topf Wells, SWTU President
We might be the only non profit which can say that.
Please consider donating anyway.
SWTU has tried to improve our performance in every way: stream conservation, education, outreach and fun.
We just completed our year of workdays. We held more on streams throughout SW Wisconsin with more volunteers to plant more oaks and remove more invasive vegetation. Streams are more accessible, stream banks more stable, and fishing more fun. Honeysuckle fears our name. We’ve helped fund two major stream restorations which are underway with a third starting in spring. We increased our support of the DNR brushing crew (they’ll work on Mt. Vernon Creek this year) and enabled the fish biologists to have full survey crews this summer. Stay tuned for an announcement of our agreement with the DNR on a cool version of the DNR’s Adopt a Fishery Area program. Read More
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Remembering Sue Fey
By Topf Wells, SWTU President
TU at any level did not have many women leaders in the years Sue was most active. Almost as remarkable as her decisions and achievements were was her style and demeanor. As a Board Member and President, she acted with the quiet confidence that no one would doubt her ability, dedication, and hard work. She was right on all counts. SWTU was and is a much better organization because of Sue.
A summer gathering will be planned to remember Sue. Her obituary will be posted here when available – for now, you can read many wonderful remembrances by Sue’s friends and post your own if you like.
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Trout Unlimited Fly-Tying Courses – 2026
Classes are filling up fast: As of publication on December 2, there is 1 open seat in intermediate and 10 in beginner!
Trout Unlimited invites you to learn fly tying or improve your tying skills this winter. Experienced SWTU instructors will teach both beginning and intermediate level fly-tying courses in Fitchburg starting Wednesday January 14, 2026. Both beginning and intermediate courses meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Fitchburg Community Center (5510 Lacy Rd., Fitchburg) beginning January 14, 2026. Courses run for eight consecutive Wednesdays (final class March 4, 2026). Classes consist of instructor-led demonstrations and hands-on tutorials. The courses are completely free of charge, and all materials needed during in-class instruction are provided. You need only supply fly-tying tools and thread, a list of which is available at https://www.swtu.org/learn/flytying/flytying-classes/. Read More
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
DONE!
About 20 SWTU volunteers arrived at Dane County’s Duerst property on the Sugar River for the second of three work days to clear invasive brush, mostly honeysuckle, in Phase 1 of the County’s restoration of the river on this property. James Brodzeller, in charge of the County’s trout stream program and other wetland restorations, led the effort with Jim Hess.
This is a tough site. The honeysuckle has been growing for decades on a narrow embankment created from dredge spoils from the river. Removing that mound of dirt and reconnecting the river to its floodplain, wetland, and springs are the principal aims of the restoration. That narrowness means we’re working in tight quarters, always a concern with chainsaw operations. And it’s a long walk in, the last part through another miserable invader, reed canary grass. Read More
A Glorious End to an Excellent Year of Work Days
Posted: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
About 25-30 folks showed up at Deer Creek for our last work day of the year on November 15.
This part of Deer Creek flows out of some improved sections and is in pretty tough shape. It then joins Frye Feeder and forms Mt. Vernon Creek. This is another staging work day for Dane County’s more comprehensive restoration of this lowest part of the creek. The work will sound familiar – take out the dense understory of honeysuckle and small box elders so that a professional crew (Dane County’s in this case) can remove the large box elders and begin the hydrological restoration. Eventually, Deer Creek should be much healthier with more trout, best access, better habitat, and a stream corridor of prairie and wetlands, including some sedge meadows to be rejuvenated. Read More
Little Red Sedge
Last Updated: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
by Rusty Dunn
The hopes and dreams of most dry-fly anglers rest on the shoulders of but two groups of insects, the mayflies and the caddisflies. Admittedly, stoneflies, midges, and terrestrials have their periods of glory, but day in and day out, mayflies and caddisflies are the bread and butter of fly fishing. But look inside your fly boxes. Are the bread and the butter represented equally? Probably not. Most anglers practice what famous authors or influencers preach, and mayflies have been the darlings of fly-fishing books and media for centuries. Caddisflies and other insect orders received their justified recognition in recent decades, but mayflies still enjoy an inherited legacy of prominence and privilege. For example, fly tyers often discuss mayflies in code (aka. Latin names) and dwell on minute details of size, color, form, and behavior. They carry multiple fly boxes onstream, each devoted to a single mayfly species. Those boxes, furthermore, hold flies of immense variety. High floating, low floating, half-submerged, wings held up, wings held back, wings held forward, no wings, no hackle, hair hackle, reverse hackle, and on and on. Such is the legacy of mayfly privilege. Read More
Last Updated: December 2, 2025 by Drew Kasel Leave a Comment
Remembering Chuck Bayuk
Just before publication, we learned of this December 13, 2025 event honoring Chuck Bayuk and wanted to share.
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