ETU President's Page

2011-12-07T12:02:00.002-07:00

Please join us for the 2011 ETU Holiday Extravaganza this Saturday. We will enjoy food! fabulous prizes! fun! and fish stories!

All ETU members and guests are invited, Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 5 pm at Randy & Lisa Huiting’s home.

ETU will provide entrée and beverages. If your last name begins with A–F bring an appetizer, G–L bring a side dish, M–S bring a salad, T–Z bring a dessert.

Directions to the Huiting’s home: 2580 Pinehurst Drive. From light in downtown Evergreen, take Highway 74 approximately 3 miles north toward I-70; turn right on Brookline Drive (entrance opposite Elk Meadow Park); take first right onto Pinehurst Drive. Follow Pinehurst Drive about 0.2 miles to Hunting’s (located on your left as you approach). If you’re coming from the north (I-70), Brookline is about 4 miles south on Highway 74.

DON’T FORGET OUR FAMOUS BUCKET RAFFLE!
Bring something — anything — to contribute to the holiday spirit. All donations are welcome, and we mean anything. Fishing and non-fishing items are welcome. The more stuff you bring, the more fun we have.

Upcoming Events/Annual Meeting & Elections

2011-09-17T09:34:00.002-06:00

Don't forget about our Family Fish Day on Sunday, September 25th @ Buchanan Ponds. Gather at the patio around noon and fish all you want. ETU will provide refreshments and sandwiches. Please, bring a side dish if you can.

Our ETU Officer elections will be held at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. The Annual Meeting will take place at Beau Jo's in Downtown Evergreen at 6:30pm.

Ned Parker of Breckenridge Outfitters will be our presenter the same night at 7:00pm. Ned will be talking about the Blue River.

Please, update your contact information at tu.org via the member login!

Thanks and we'll see you on the 25th!

Other Happenings/Upcoming Events

2011-08-14T12:01:00.003-06:00

Sunday, September 25th Family Fish Day @ Buchanan Ponds

Mark your calendars now for our Family Fish Day at Buchanan Ponds. This will take the place of our regular Wednesday General Meeting in September. ETU will provide sandwiches and refreshments. Please, bring a side dish if you can and come on out and enjoy the camaraderie and fishing! We gather on the patio just north of the lower lake around noon.

Saturday, October 15th, Bear Creek Fall Clean-Up

Our second clean-up of Bear Creek is scheduled for Saturday, October 15th, weather permitting. We meet in the large parking lot in downtown Evergreen at 8:30am. We should be in the stream by 9am and wrap up around noon. Free lunch and possibly a beer or two are provided to volunteers that make the age requirement! Please, contact Ron Belak (303-674-2239), ronbelak@msn.com to volunteer.

Wednesday, October 19th Annual Meeting/Board elections

We are taking nominations for ETU Board positions. We vote in person, or by proxy, at our October Annual Meeting (October 19, 2011 @ Beau Jo's Pizza in Downtown Evergreen). In following the Articles of our By-Laws, the President shall be elected by vote of the membership at the October Annual Meeting for a term of one year and can be eligible for only one successive term. All other officers shall be elected by vote for a one year term and can be eligible for two consecutive one-year terms. I, along with Ron Altman, have just completed our first year as President and Vice President. Nominations are being taken now for President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Communications Director, Program Director, etc. We are in dire need of a Communications Director to handle our newsletter and Fly of the Month pieces. The Program Director schedules presenters for our General Meetings. Please, email your nominations to me (president@evergreentrout.org) and I will put all your nominations on the ballot.

Paul Winkle returns!

2011-08-09T07:45:00.002-06:00

Paul Winkle of the Colorado Division of Wildlife will be our featured speaker at the ETU general meeting on August 17th. Paul is always a favorite and his talking points will include:

1. Results of the 2010 fish survey on Bear Creek
2. Alpine Lake opportunities near Denver
3. An overlooked trout fishery - Clear Creek

Please, join us for dinner before the 7pm presentation. And, shake Paul's hand and thank him for being such a good friend to ETU!

Bear Creek

2011-07-07T08:24:00.002-06:00

Karen Christopherson continues her diligent monitoring of temperatures on Bear Creek. We have to send out our thanks to her for this continuous volunteer effort!

Bear Creek will get skinny sooner or later. When it does, we don't want to stress the fish in our home stream too much. Our little section of the watershed had about 42% snowpack this year. We didn't get the 200%+ that other Colorado watersheds received. So, go easy on the fish and don't pound them too hard.

Thanks!!

A Successful Summer So Far

2011-07-07T08:09:00.002-06:00

Our 4th of July Kids Clinic was a huge success. The weather was hot and so was the fishing. We send out our thanks to the Colorado Division of Wildlife for stocking Bear Creek with cut-bows out of Pueblo and big, fat rainbows out of Yampa. Kudos go out to the Evergreen Metro District and Evergreen Parks & Recreation for loaning us materials to pull off the event. And, the biggest thanks goes out to the dozens of ETU volunteers who pulled off this event. Your dedication is very much appreciated by a lot of folks. Thank you so much!

Don't forget. The Trappers Lake trip was pushed back until July 20th through July 24th. Please, contact Ron Belak for details and updates (303-674-6396) or ronbelak@msn.com.

John Haile is looking for volunteers for the second Camp Comfort. Please, contact John (303-679-3262) or johnhaile@aol.com for an experience you will cherish for a lifetime!

Trappers Lake Trip Pushed Back!

2011-06-15T17:14:00.003-06:00

The annual ETU camping and fishing trip to Trappers Lake has been pushed back to July 20 through July 24 due to ice and heavy snow conditions in the high country. This trip is wading for Colorado River Cutthroat, predominately dry fly fishing in still water. This is only the second time in 17 years that we've had to push the trip back due to ice and snow. We'll be staying at the Bucks Campground which is within easy walking distance from the lake. The campground will accommodate RVs and Trappers Lake Lodge (970-878-3336) is a short distance away. Contact Ron Belak (303-674-2239) ronbelak@msn.com for details and updates.

Free Fishing Night @ Buchanan Ponds

2011-06-13T18:07:00.002-06:00

Please, join us for our Free Fishing Night @ Buchanan Park Recreation Center on Wednesday, June 15th. We'll be gathering on the patio beside the lower lake around 6:30pm for a meet and mingle. Then, we can all fish until just about dark! ETU is providing sandwiches, refreshments and side dishes. All you need to bring is your fishing gear and bubbly personality! See ya' there!

ETU List of Events

2011-05-29T09:06:00.002-06:00

We have a lot of events scheduled for the next few months. We need volunteers for most of the events! I thought I would list them so you could mark your calendars:

-- Our June 15th General Meeting will be held @ Buchannan Ponds with food and free fishing for all! We'll be gathering at 6:30pm.
-- June 17 to 19 is the Free Fish weekend @ Buchannan Ponds for all those who have volunteered in the past year for an ETU event. Check the ETU website (evergreentrout.org) for other Free Fish weekend dates.
-- The first Camp Comfort of the summer is June 25th and 26th. Contact John Haile at johnhaile@aol.com if you can help out (we also need volunteers for the second Camp Comfort, July 30-31)
-- We will be installing the fence in Bear Creek on Wednesday, June 29th at 2pm for our Annual Kids Fishing Clinic. Contact Mike McGinnis at mossyshoal@aol.com if you would like to volunteer. Bring your waders, good gloves and any tools you might find handy to wrap the wire fencing.
-- Monday, July 4th from 9am till 4pm is the big Kids Fishing Clinic as part of the Evergreen Lake Festival. We'll be located under the big white canvass on Bear Creek. Come early, bring your waders, your vest (especially clippers!), sunglasses, etc. Contact Mike McGinnis at mossyshoal@aol.com if you would like to volunteer.
-- The annual trip to Trappers Lake is, tentatively, scheduled for Wednesday, July 6 through Sunday, July 10. The snow is still deep in the high country but we're hoping to keep these dates. Check the website for updates. There will be no General Meeting in July.

Thanks and we'll see you soon!

Outdoor Lab

2011-05-27T17:54:00.002-06:00

Phase I of the fundraising is complete!! Just over $625,000 has been raised by the June 15th deadline! Congratulations to all who have worked for and supported this great initiative! Keep the donations going. Go to:

http://www.outdoorlabfoundation.org/Save_our_Lab_Schools.html

To keep the dollars flowing!

The Health of Bear Creek

2011-05-15T11:42:00.003-06:00

Don't forget that Wednesday, May 18 is the date that Chris Schauder will be our featured ETU speaker. Chris will discuss the current health of the Bear Creek Watershed, water quality, pollution, responsible land use and solutions to help in preserving our Chapter's home stream. The presentation starts around 7pm @ Beau Jo's Pizza in downtown Evergreen.

ETU/Evergreen Park & Recreation Kid's Fishing Clinic

2011-05-09T07:18:00.003-06:00

Mark your calendars. Saturday, May 21st, is the day you'll want to visit Buchannan Ponds! ETU, in conjunction with Evergreen Parks & Recreation, will be holding our annual Kid's Fishing Clinic. ETU will provide all sorts of instruction on fly fishing and fishing in general targeted for kids aged 7 to 14. If you would like to volunteer, please contact John Ellis (jellis@enbcolorado.com) or Len Wheaton (303-674-4243). If you can't volunteer, you can still bring a kid and have some fun! There is a $25 registration fee through Evergreen Parks & Recreation.

Collegiate Peaks Anglers Caddis Festival Banquet & Auction

2011-05-01T11:05:00.003-06:00

Our TU brethren over is Salida don't want you to forget about their Caddis Festival Banquet and Auction this Saturday, May 7th. I understand it's one great time. The Conservation Fundraising Banquet doors open at 5:00pm at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds in Poncha Springs and dinner is at 7:00pm. Check out http://www.collegiatepeaksanglerstu.org for more information.

Bear Creek Clean-Up is a Rousing Success!

2011-04-30T16:08:00.004-06:00

A bunch of ETU volunteers showed up on a cold and windy Saturday to clean up Bear Creek. Actually, we all had a great time and enjoyed a nice lunch at The Little Bear. All the volunteers will enjoy an entire year of ETU's free fishing weekends at Buchannan Ponds!

DOW Youth Outdoor Skills Day

2011-04-29T12:01:00.003-06:00

Another great event that Evergreen Trout Unlimited is involved in takes place May 14th at Pine Valley Ranch. All sorts of outdoor activities are planned for the kids (targeted towards kids aged 7 to 16) including archery, shooting, trout fly tying, fly casting instructions, rod & reel fishing, wildlife study, viewing and more. We need volunteers for this fun event to help tie flys and teach fly casting! Please, contact Terry Walters @ 720-224-5423 (twaltershome@msn.com) or me @ mossyshoal@aol.com, if you would like to volunteer. If you can't, bring a kid and come on out and see us. We'll be at the lake pavillion.

The Health of Bear Creek

2011-04-28T08:32:00.003-06:00

Come on out Wednesday, May 18 to hear Chris Schauder discuss the health of our home stream. Chris is the New Service and Environmental Manager for the Evergreen Metropolitan District and Co-Chairman of the Bear Creek Watershed Association. And, a long-time member of ETU.

Chris will discuss the current health of the entire Bear Creek watershed, water quality, pollution, responsible land use and solutions to help in preserving our Chapter's home waters. After the presentation, we can discuss areas of concern and possible projects for improving Bear Creek.

The presentation starts at approximately 7:00pm @ Beau Jo's Pizza in downtown Evergreen. Feel free to join us for beer and pizza at 6:30pm or so!