RipRap May 2020

Due to the Corona-Virus and stay at home orders, the May issue of RipRap, our monthly chapter newsletter, will not be going to print and will not be sent by mail. The electronic version is available here on the website under News & Events | Newsletter Archive. You can follow this link and go directly to it. RipRap May 2020 >

While you’re there check out the other RipRap archives going back to the 80’s.

River Falls Fly Fishing For Trout Clinic

UPDATE! Due to the insidious nature of the COVID-19 virus, we made the decision to cancel this year’s
Fly Fishing for Trout clinic in River Falls. Originally scheduled for June 6th, we’ll make another
run at it next year. Thanks to the many folks who volunteered to help; it’s a huge source of
pride for me to know that Kiap-TU-Wish steps up. Thanks for you patience during these weird
times. —Mike Alwin

This year’s clinic, an all-day affair that K-TU has been running for a couple of decades, is scheduled for June 6th. Sponsored by River Falls Parks and Recreation and Kiap-TU-Wish, the clinic invites citizens in the immediate area to learn to fly fish for trout on the Kinnickinnic River. The River Falls parks and rec department does all of the marketing for this event, and all we have to do is show up and teach it! We teach the students casting, some entomology, a little knot tying, stream strategies and wading safety. Plus, we feed ’em supper and take them fishing in the evening. It doesn’t get any better.

We usually have about a dozen volunteer guides/mentors from the Chapter but the cast is always changing so there’s always an opportunity for you to get involved. Contact Brian Smolinski at: brian@lundsflyshop.com or Mike Alwin at: mikealwin@gmail.com. Mark your calendar for June 6, and I promise you’ll have a good time. —Mike Alwin

More Clinic information can be found here>

Board Member Election

Kiap-TU-Wish will elect board members at our chapter business meeting in April. At this year’s meeting there will be two, 3-year terms open: Perry Palin and Maria Manion have decided to step down from the board. Two chapter members have been nominated for election to the open positions: Dustin Wing and Scot Stewart. See their bios below if you aren’t already familiar with Dustin and Scot. You can vote for candidates at the April 1st chapter meeting, so we hope to see you then. Background Information: Positions on the board are three-year terms elected by the general membership at the chapter business meeting and board members may be re-elected. Officer positions are one-year terms elected by the new board of directors at the first April board meeting. The only limit on officer re-election is a maximum of three years for the treasurer and president.

Dustin Wing: Dustin grew up near the Redwood River in Minnesota. He saw the impact that human activities—such as the surrounding agricultural land—had on the river and it influenced his academic pursuits.
Following high school Dustin joined the U.S. Marine Corps and became an avionics technician on Harriers. While on deployment he enrolled at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He was active with undergraduate research and — while assisting a PhD candidate by trying to capture wild mysis to feed trout in the lab—had a near death experience while crossing an ice heave alone on Lake Superior.
After graduating from UMD, Dustin worked as a North Pacific Groundfish Observer in the Bering Sea before going back to school at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi to study aquaculture and shrimp nutrition.
While in Corpus Christi Dustin met his wife Abbey, moved to Austin, Texas, and had their son Galen. For many reasons Dustin and his family decided to move north via a three-month road trip out West, suffering through heat waves and dodging wild fires. That experience made Dustin even more grateful to be settling in Wisconsin.

Scot Stewart: Scot was born in Michigan and raised there and in Wisconsin. He attended the University of Minnesota for his Bachelor of Science in Fisheries Biology and Ohio State University for his Masters of Science in Fisheries Management. Scot began his career with the WIDNR in Baldwin and covered St. Croix and Pierce counties as a Fisheries Manager. Scot then moved to Madison where he served as an area fisheries supervisor, then a district supervisor until his retirement in 2016. Scot served on the statewide trout and muskie committees for most of his career, led the most recent trout regulation review, and conducted extensive habitat improvement on many coldwater streams.
Scot is married to Jo and has two sons and daughters-in-law and four grandsons. He loves to fish for trout and muskie, train retrievers and hunt ducks. In his retirement, he is running an animal control business and is doing some guiding for trout and muskie. He is an active member of TU, served as a State Council Representative, and taught fly tying for TU for twentyfive years. He is a member of Muskies Inc., Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Trappers, and the Wisconsin Wildlife Control Operators Association.
Scot resides in Somerset, Wisconsin, on the St. Croix River with his wife Jo and Labrador retriever, Rosie.

TIC Update – Mar 2020

As you recall, in order to streamline the process for the increasingly popular Wisconsin Trout in the Classroom (TIC) programs, the WIDNR agreed to handle all the fish farm paperwork and ship eggs, for free, from a state hatchery this year. In principle, this made things much easier, but our eggs did not like the UPS shipping treatment and we think that contributed to a high rate of stillborn alevin death that was observed in all eight schools. We had never seen this before. In discussing the issue with the hatchery manager, he said that when the eggs are close to hatching, they are very susceptible to injury; our eggs hatched only two days after delivery.

With any new process there is a learning curve and we will make plans for direct pickup from the hatchery next year. Nonetheless, all classes had alive alevin and they have now released the resulting fry from the egg basket into the tank at large. The kids are all very excited to see the rapid changes from egg to alevin to fry, and now they get to feed the fish which is a daily highlight! The kids are doing well monitoring the temperature and nitrate levels in the tank, ensuring that the remaining fish stay healthy. — Greg Olson

River Falls Fly Fishing Clinic

A couple of decades ago the Chapter was facing an uncomfortable challenge; with the completion of the WI 35 bypass around River Falls, the new four-lane highway promised Wisconsin commuters easier access to jobs in the Twin Cities. Almost immediately developers started lining up to purchase development rights on hundreds of acres surrounding River Falls and the city was expected to almost double in size.

Recognizing what might happen to the Kinnickinnic, a number of initiatives were started to combat the threat. When the farm at the Swinging Gate came on the market, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust (KRLT) organized enough donors to be able to outbid a prominent developer at the public auction. Kiap-TU-Wish initiated a temperature study on the Kinni to demonstrate the effect that River Falls had on the lower river. The Chapter also funded and produced a beautiful instructional video to illustrate what development would do to the river. And our Education Committee, recognizing that the Chapter had few natural allies in River Falls, decided to acquire some and the first Fly Fishing for Trout clinic was born.

It’s inarguable that progress has been made over the ensuing decades. The Swinging Gate is safely in the hands of the WDNR, the KRLT continues to acquire and protect parcels throughout the watershed, the city of River Falls has decided to remove the dams on the lower Kinni…and the Fly Fishing for Trout clinic is still rolling along, making friends and allies for the Kinnickinnic River.

This year’s clinic will be held on June 1 (free fishing weekend) in Glen Park. The clinic will run from 1:00 to 9:00 PM and will include instruction in casting, entomology, fishing strategies and wading safety. Plus, the Chapter provides supper and guided fishing in the evening. The cost is a mere $20 and registration is as easy as contacting River Falls Parks and Recreation.

We have eight or nine volunteers so far. These folks will walk around and help people with casting, show them the contents of their fly boxes, help them tie a knot and mentor them during the evening’s fishing. It’s a good time, and if you’d like to join us, contact: mikealwin@gmail.com or brian@lundsflyshop.com.

June 1 (free fishing weekend)
Glen Park, River Falls, WI
1 PM -9 PM
Supper provided
Guided fishing in the evening
$20/Register with River Falls
Parks and Recreation
To volunteer:
mikealwin@gmail.com or
brian@lundsflyshop.com