We kick off the KIAP calendar year with an Open House and Gear Swap at Rush River Brewery in River Falls. The event will start at 6 pm on Thursday, September 5th (note- the remainder of our chapter meeting will be the first Tuesday of the month at Juniors in River Falls).
Please come out and meet up with your old friends and make some new ones, discussing how your summer went and how the big one got away. Please invite spouses, significant others, friends, and anyone you think might be interested in joining Trout Unlimited.
There will be something for everyone! Farmers market, food truck, and music. Plus we will be having a gear swap. Bring in your used fishing equipment and drop it off with your name and price. If your item sells, the money is yours to keep. We will also be signing up new members at half off the usual price – only $17.50!
Kent Johnson, Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter, Trout Unlimited
Clarke Garry, Professor Emeritus, UW-River Falls
Presenting: Kinnickinnic River Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Past, Present, and Future
What do we know about aquatic insect trends: nationally, regionally, and locally, including the Kinni? What do we need to learn, and what can we do?
Radisson Hotel in downtown River Falls, 414 S. Main St.
Trout anglers in the Upper Midwest have observed declines in insect hatches on their favorite streams. Is this just “Rosy Retrospection” bias, or is something more insidious at work? At this meeting, Clarke Garry and Kent Johnson will discuss the current state of knowledge regarding aquatic insect populations, threats to these populations, and some possible solutions. They will then tie this general overview to the multi-year (2022-2025) project they have been conducting to understand the past and present health of aquatic insect populations in the Kinnickinnic River. To help make this comparison of past to present, a survey will be distributed, to solicit Kiap-TU-Wish member observations of possible changes in Kinni insect communities during the past 20+ years.
Kent Johnson holds a B.A. Degree in Biology from St. Olaf College and a M.S. Degree in Aquatic Biology/Aquatic Toxicology from Michigan Technological University. He worked for 38 years as an Environmental Scientist and Manager, developing, implementing, and directing water quality monitoring programs for large rivers, streams, and lakes for the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services in St. Paul. He has been a KIAP member since 1988 and has been heading up our stream monitoring and storm water management since 1990. He has also worked with TUDARE on stream monitoring and was the WiseH2O project coordinator.
Dr. Clarke Garry is a Professor of Biology Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who retired after 30 years teaching General Biology, Zoology, and Entomology. He has a B.A. Zoology and a M.S. Entomology from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a Ph.D. Entomology, University of Wisconsin – Madison. Clarke came to appreciate the insects and crustaceans of the Kinnickinnic River beginning with group projects carried out by his students on the South Fork. In 2001 and 2002 he completed comprehensive macroinvertebrate surveys of the Kinni, documenting insect and crustacean populations inhabiting the mainstem. He contributed regularly to the entomology column of Midwest Fly Fishing magazine. His essays are available in book form: In the Kinnickinnic, Stories of a River and Its Insect Life.
Before the presentation, we will be holding board member elections.
We will also be having an in-person silent auction. Some of the items up for bid we did not sell during our on-line auction, and they now have a reduced starting bid. We also have new items that we received after the on-line auction. Items include an almost new package including a Lamson reel, Simms boots, and L.L. Bean waders. Also, a Winston fiberglass rod, rod/reel/line outfit, flies, vests, artwork, fly lines, and more!!!
You don’t want to miss this meeting!
Dinner menu and silent auction will be available at 6 pm, with the program starting at 7 pm. Silent auction will conclude 15 minutes after our speaker’s presentation. Hope to see you there! If you can’t make it in person, the ZOOM link Can be found in a separate post.
All reactions:
3Jonathan Jacobs, Brock Badger Flowers and 1 other
Tattersall Promotion! Driftless Area Stream Restoration Symposium! Now through May 3rd, Tattersall is generously donating 4% of the proceeds from the sale of their Tightline Organic Vodka, to KIAP-TU-WISH!!! Plus you can enter to win $2600 in fly fishing gear from St. Croix Rods, Orvis, Simms, Yeti, Hatch, Fullingmill, Scientific Anglers, and Riversmith! No purchase necessary!
Scan the QR code above or click on https://www.tattersalldistilling.com/tightline/#entertowin. Former chapter president, Greg Dietl, who won the Tattersall gift box on our recent on-line auction, confirms that Tightline Vodka is top-shelf! The online Driftless Symposium on March 11th and 12th is right around the corner! The experience and research of this year’s presenters will enhance your own work, play and appreciation of the Driftless whether you are a resource professional, a scientist, an angler, or simply a person who loves the outdoors.
Please click the links below to register for the symposium. Registration is free. The schedule of presenters and their topics can be found under the details tab.
March Chapter Meeting! Our Guest Speaker – Bob White! March 5th at Juniors!
Please join us as world renowned artist and guide, Bob White, presents, “Beauty and the Beast – Fly Fishing for Trout and Golden Dorado in Argentina.” Bob’s presentation will encompass his recollections from 40 years of trout fishing in Patagonia, and contrast it with his first experience fishing for Golden Dorado in the Parana Watershed of Northern Argentina. You won’t want to miss this entertaining presentation!!!
Bob White is an artist and author whose work expresses a misspent youth. Instead of doing his homework, his nose was constantly in the outdoor books and sporting magazines of the day. Consequently, he has wandered between Alaska and Patagonia for over three decades as an itinerant fishing guide, looking for gainful employment. He now paints and writes for a living; which is to say, he’s still searching.
Bob was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Artist in 2009. He was Fly Rod & Reel magazine’s Guide of the Year in 1988. As the 1994 Artist of the Year for the Alaska State Parks Foundation, Bob produced and donated the artwork for the first Alaska State Parks Foundation print. His work has been presented twice in Fly Rod & Reel magazine’s Gallery. Bob has been featured as a guide and artist on ESPN’s “Fly Fishing the World” and “Fly Fishing America”, as well as on Ron Schara’s “Minnesota Bound”. He currently illustrates the closing column for Ducks Unlimited magazine and illustrates every issue of the Trout Unlimited magazine. He regularly contributes artwork and the occasional story to a myriad of national and international sporting publications.
Bob lives in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota with his wife, Lisa, their daughter Tommy, and their wonderful retrievers, Quill and Reuben.
Bob has graciously donated a print to the chapter and we will do a card raffle, at $5 a card for the beautiful print below (“Spring Peepers”, 19″ x 15″, signed and numbered edition of 100) . Bring some cash!!!!
Meeting Specifics:
Join us, March 5th at Juniors (Radisson Hotel) in downtown River Falls (414 S. Main St.), for the Bob White’s presentation.
Dinner menu will be available at 6 pm, with the program starting at 7 pm. Hope to see you there! If you can’t make it in person, ZOOM link is below.
Kiap TU Wish is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: March Chapter Meeting Time: Mar 5, 2024 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Well, my time as president of Kiap-TU-Wish is coming to a close. It is hard to believe it has been three years already?!?! Well, you’re still here and the chapter is still solvent, so I didn’t muck things up too badly. That is testament to a fabulous board and you chapter members who helped me along the way. I couldn’t have made it without you! It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as your president and I can’t imagine a finer TU chapter and I am proud to be a member.
Looking back over the past three years it’s amazing what we have accomplished. I figured I would never see a River Falls dam removed in my lifetime; to thinking I would see one removed, to now being very hopeful that both will be gone! During this process we have strengthened ties with KCC and TCTU, demonstrating the great things we can accomplish when we work together.
We’ve overcome the difficulties with meeting during the COVID outbreake, although I never overcame the difficulties with setting up a ZOOM meeting …… The Kiap-TU-Wish Holiday Banquet was revived and since has been a huge success; it has been wonderful to see our members come back and support it.
The on-line auction continues to expand and coupled with the chance drawings, the Hap Lutter appeal, and most importantly our member’s generosity, our fund-raising efforts continue to reach new heights.
The addition of a June and August outing has allowed members to stay connected during the summer months and both events were well received last year. Look for the Sulphur Solstice and Full Moon Fever at Phil’s to continue this summer.
Important chapter work continued. Education opportunities such as TIC, BIC, PFF Youth Day, TU Camp, and the RF Fly Fishing Clinic went on as usual. We expanded our offerings with the addition of a Stream Girls program which has been an exciting development, thanks to board members Linda Radimecky and Michele Bevis. We now have board member Rainbow Barry on the Pierce County Groundwater Advisory Committee to make sure our interests are considered and studied. Badger Flowers and Scott Larson are heading up chapter communications efforts and bringing us into the 21st century, a dream come true as we are getting all the chapter documents, research, and history stored on the cloud. Trout stream restoration work continues, making our trout habitat world class! Don’t forget, due to your efforts we received the 2022 Wisconsin TU Chapter of the Year!
Thanks again for all the support and encouragement you have given me, the board, and the chapter over the past 3 years! None of it would have been possible without you!
Now through May 3rd, Tattersall is generously donating 4% of the proceeds from the sale of their Tightline Organic Vodka, to KIAP-TU-WISH!!! Plus you can enter to win $2600 in fly fishing gear from St. Croix Rods, Orvis, Simms, Yeti, Hatch, Fullingmill, Scientific Anglers, and Riversmith! No purchase necessary! 
The online Driftless Symposium on March 11th and 12th is right around the corner!
