36 HOURS LEFT!!!

The countdown is on!!!  Less than 36 hours remaining!  Lock in your highest bid now!  Take another look!  Yes, you need that auction item!  

Tune into the live (ZOOM) drawing of Norling rod and Cunningham painting!  Coverage starts at 7:45 pm on the 21st, with the drawing at 8 pm.  ZOOM link at the bottom of the email. A Mailchimp email showing the two winners will go out soon after and the winners notified via email.    

You can visit the auction here:
http://go.tulocalevents.org/kiap2023auction

You can insure that the beautiful brook trout pictured above and his children and his children’s children and their…. well, you get the picture, can thrive for generations to come!  Don’t delay, pick up your computer and bid now!  

We have over 80, yes I said 80 – items on our auction!!!  Our biggest and best auction ever!  There is something for everyone!  

  • Guided Trips – Patagonia, Big Horn, and 17 others!!!  That’s not a typo!  19 total!!!
  • Fabulous Stays – Bahamas, UP of MI, On the Rush River, Northshore of MN
  • 15 Fly Boxes – Most hand tied by chapter tiers!
  • Art – Prints by Bob White and Jon Q Wright!
  • Fishing Gear – Abel reel (just added), Sage graphite rod, Heddon bamboo rod, Diawa spinning packages, lines, waders, vests, packs, and much more!
  • Gift Cards to Wonderful Area Merchants 
  • Jewelry, Beer, Booze, even a Puzzle – yes I said Puzzle!
  • And much more!!!

This is one of our biggest fundraisers on the year, that we use to pay for all our programs – restoration, dam removal, education, and monitoring.

What are you waiting for!  Click on the link above and start bidding!  Thanks so much for your support!!!  Auction ends March 21st at 8 pm!

Kiap TU Wish is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: 2 X 100 Drawing
Time: Mar 21, 2023 07:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83347511303?pwd=dk56ZjRGNVRFYVZhQkRwRit3dTYrZz09

Fundraising Auction Update

Won’t you help this brookie??!!??  We currently have items on our auction starting at only $20, that works out to less than 4 cents a day. For much, much less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can make a difference in his life.  Trout, like this native brook trout,  thrive in cold, clean water and 100% of your donation goes to protecting his home!  Please help!!  Won’t you go to our auction site right now and pledge your support by bidding on some items today?  

You can visit the auction here:
http://go.tulocalevents.org/kiap2023auction

You can insure that the beautiful brook trout pictured above and his children and his children’s children and their…. well, you get the picture, can thrive for generations to come!  Don’t delay, pick up your computer and bid now!  

We have over 80, yes I said 80 – items on our auction!!!  Our biggest and best auction ever!  There is something for everyone!  

  • Guided Trips – Patagonia, Big Horn, and 17 others!!!  That’s not a typo!  19 total!!!
  • Fabulous Stays – Bahamas, UP of MI, On the Rush River, Northshore of MN
  • 15 Fly Boxes – Most hand tied by chapter tiers!
  • Art – Prints by Bob White and Jon Q Wright!
  • Fishing Gear – Abel reel (just added), Sage graphite rod, Heddon bamboo rod, Diawa spinning packages, lines, waders, vests, packs, and much more!
  • Gift Cards to Wonderful Area Merchants 
  • Jewelry, Beer, Booze, even a Puzzle – yes I said Puzzle!
  • And much more!!!

This is one of our biggest fundraisers on the year, that we use to pay for all our programs – restoration, dam removal, education, and monitoring.

What are you waiting for!  Click on the link above and start bidding!  Thanks so much for your support!!!  Auction ends March 21st at 8 pm!

River Falls Film Festival

Friday’s River Falls Fly Fishing Festival (R4F) gave many of us a chance to see each other in person, which long overdue, and to celebrate our own Mr. Steady, Gary Horvath, being honored as the national Conservationist of the Year by Fly Fisherman magazine.  A full house of over 500 folks gave Gary a standing ovation and Fly Fisherman Editor Ross Purnell (Right) and Simms Fishing Products Marketing Director John Frazier (Left) gave Gary a check for $10,000 which will go toward the city’s share of the feasibility study with the Corps of Engineers. 

Here’s what John Frazier had to say: “We have partnered with Fly Fisherman on the Conservationist of the Year award for many years. It always feels great to celebrate the achievements of individuals such as Gary Horvath,” says John Frazier of Simms Fishing Products. “But it’s also fundamentally essential to amplify their successes in a way that illustrates the fact that positive steps forward in the conservation landscape can happen, and they are happening. It’s our hope that highlighting these individuals and more importantly, their achievements will serve as an inspiration to others to engage, get involved, and take action.”

Greg Olson, president of Kiap-TU-Wish TU, told the magazine, “We’re grateful to Simms and to Fly Fisherman for recognizing Gary as the Conservationist of the Year,” Olson said. “It was rewarding to have his efforts over the past 30 years recognized, but more importantly it will raise awareness of our continuing efforts to raise money for the feasibility study. The R4F event was the perfect place to celebrate our successes and bring our community together. It was the perfect venue and a packed house!

December Holiday Banquet & Chapter Awards Program

December Get Together:
After two years without a holiday banquet due to the pandemic, Kiap-TU-Wish is reconstituting the annual celebration. Mark Tuesday, December 6th on your calendar. The venue is Junior’s Bar and Restaurant in River Falls. We are planning a social hour, a buffet and an awards program to honor our many distinguished volunteers.

Menu: Meat and Cheese Board, Salad Bar, Chicken Wings, Cheeseburger Slider, Mashed Potato Bar, Beef & Chicken Satay Skewers, Seasonal Fruit Display, Smoked Salmon Display

The program will consist of a social hour from 6-7 p.m., with the meat and cheese board, seasonal fruit display, and smoked salmon display served. Additional menu items will be served from 7-8 pm. We will then have a short awards program at 8:00 p.m.

Ticket information: Price: $30. Tickets can be purchased on-line (Eventbrite) or at the door.

On-Line: Log on to the Eventbrite site through this LINK.

At the door: Call Greg Olson at 612-300-8970 to register. The registration deadline is 11/25/22. You can pay with cash or check upon arrival at the event.

Date, Time, and Place:
December 6th, 2022, 6:00 p.m.
Juniors Bar and Restaurant Located in the Radisson Hotel
414 Main Street, River Falls Wisconsin 

STREAM Girls Event – May 21st

Trout Unlimited describes it’s STREAM Girls program as one that “builds confidence and breaks down barriers in science and the outdoors. Through the eyes of a scientist, artist, and angler, girls make a personal connection to their home waters.”

The KiapTUWish Chapter of Trout Unlimited conducted its first STREAM Girls event on May 21, 2022. The Ellsworth Rod and Gun club donated use of their facility for the event which was attended by ten Girl Scouts from Girl Scouts River Valley. The girls participated in a multi-faceted program which included eight core activities; STREAM walk, Go with the Flow, Fly casting, Macro-invertebrate survey, Fly tying, STREAM scavenger hunt and bracelets, and Reflection and Discussion. Linda Radimecky and Michele Bevis served as the program leaders and were supported by a host of volunteers who offered their expertise as the activities unfolded. 

The girls were welcomed by Linda and Michele who provided the ground rules for the event along with writing materials and the STREAM Girls Handbook. Girl Scouts staff member, Meghan Belanger, coordinated the logistics and recruitment of the Girl Scouts who represented several Scout chapters from different regions of eastern Wisconsin and central Minnesota. The four Team Leaders, Ellody and Emilene Nemeth, Holly Wandersee, and Lindsay Maxfield, helped each Girl Scout get fitted and put on the waders and boots they would wear for the day. 

The girls divided into 4 teams and completed each event with their respective youth Team Leader.

The first event was a STREAM Walk, hosted by Kasey Yallaly (WDNR) and Missie Hanson (MNDNR, Ret.). During this time the girls learned about the make-up of the river, its water clarity, what type of bottom it contained and if it was composed of riffles, runs, and pools. The Riparian Zone (streamside plants) was studied to determine the different types of vegetation growing along the streambank and if there was any evidence of wildlife. As an aftermath, the girls were asked to discuss their impressions of the stream and to write down what they observed.

Rainbow Barry (Biology, River Falls) and Kasey Yallaly lead the girls through the Go with the Flow event. Girls worked together to measure the stream velocity and calculate the area of a cross-section of ’their’ river. Once they had determined the velocity and area, they calculated the flow in cubic feet per second. They experienced the relevance of Math in understanding importance river functions; some girls even liked the Math part!

Instruction on Fly Casting was provided by Linda Radimecky (Mn State Park Naturalist) and Monta Hayner (teacher and certified Orvis guide) with added assistance from some of the volunteers. Each girl was provided a fly rod and reel which allowed them to experience some great hands-on instruction. 

Lunch was provided by Judie Babcock and the Kinni Corridor Collaborative (KinniCC). The KinniCC is a public, non-profit, river community development association located in River Falls Wisconsin working with the Wisconsin DNR to restore the Kinnickkinnic river corridor below the Junction Falls Dam following removal of the Powell Dam. Judie and husband Dave delighted the Girls STREAM Team by recording a group picture using a drone to capture images of the group and the surrounding stream environment. You can view this on YouTube  at https://youtu.be/uOtAgVCUP5o.

The afternoon sessions consisted of Fly Tying, Macro-invertebrate studies, a scavenger hunt and bracelet making. Grace Glander demonstrated how to tie a Wooly Bugger as the girls tied along with her. Cindy Winslow (retired biology teacher) provided an in-depth study of major insects using multiple visual aids to help the girls with the identification of insects they might capture when in the stream with their collection nets.

The last 2 programs of the day incorporated the “A” for Art in the STREAM Girls program. The Team Leaders led the girls on a Scavenger Hunt to locate and identify nine parts of a healthy stream, parts such as riffles, plants and rocks. Then the girls returned to the lodge and assembled a line of beads that each represented one of the nine stream parts they had learned about that day. This bracelet keepsake would serve to remind them of a healthy stream.

Late afternoon was highlighted with a session of on-stream fishing. Each girl was paired with a mentor who gave instructions on how to fish for trout. The girls were shown where the trout might be hiding and how to cast and present the fly; some were lucky enough to experience catching a trout. 

The day closed with the Girl Scout pledge and each girl receiving a certificate of participation and a STREAM Girls Trout Unlimited badge. 

KiapTUWish would like to thank the following volunteers who donated their time and knowledge in order to make the first KiapTUWish STREAM Girls program a huge success.

Linda Radimecky, Michele Bevis, Emilene Nemeth, Ellody Nemeth

Lindsay Maxfield, Holly Wandersee, Kasey Yallaly, Missie Hanson

Rainbow Barry, Grace Glander, Cindy Winslow, Judie Babcock, Monta Hayner, Ken Hanson, Ed Constantini 

Fly-Fishing For Trout Clinic – June 4

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 virus, we’ve decided to take a chance and conduct another Fly Fishing for Trout clinic in River Falls. We will make every effort to ensure everyone’s safety by providing masks and hand sanitizer, but it will be a challenge to conduct hands-on casting instruction. Even so, we need your help as volunteers to act as guides, mentors, and instructors.

This year’s Fly Fishing Clinic, sponsored jointly by Kiap-TUWish and River Falls Parks and Recreation, is set for Saturday, June 4, from 1:00-9:00 in Glen Park. We’ve been conducting this clinic for years and we know that it’s always popular; we expect about 20 students. The clinic will cover casting, knot tying, entomology, fishing strategies, and wading safety.

Kiap-TU-Wish will provide supper during a break at 5:00, and guided fishing in the evening. Our chapter members are invited to join us as instructors, mentors, guides, and supper servers.

Mark your calendars for June 4 and volunteer by contacting Mike Alwin at mikealwin@gmail.com or Brian Smolinski at brian@lundsflyshop.com. I guarantee you’ll have fun.


Mike Alwin