Texas Chapter of Trout Unlimited

President: Howard Itten

Vice President: Mike Small

Secretary/Treasurer: Bob Story

Recording Secretary: Barbara Parvin

January 1991 Notice of Meeting & Newsletter

WINTER MEETING

Date: January 26, 1991

Place: St. Thomas Church Activity Center adjacent to the church (just below Canyon Dam on River Road ‑ Sattler, Texas)

Time: 10:00 AM ‑ Registration (Coffee Bar)

10:30 to 12:30 ‑ Meeting Business Honorary Award Raffle & Door Prize Auction

LUNCH: 12:30 ‑ Venison Chili by Itten, Dr. Johnson's famous beans other delights. Once again our thanks to the ladies who furnish those special extra dishes and deserts and to Margaret Ann and Betsy for their noteworthy contributions to the success of our luncheon efforts.

MEETING: 1:30 PM

ABOUT THE AUCTION

The lead item was on display at our Fall meeting. Contributed by Judy Cobb, DEFIANCE is a fine trout statue commissioned by Field & Stream magazine and created by The Franklin Mint. It was the first such piece. But now, we think there is a companion statue believed to be a bass. Value of DEFIANCE is approximately $300.00. This fine piece will be offered by sealed bids subject to acceptance, of the highest bid received, by the contributor. In addition, there will be an auction of items contributed by members. This will be an opportunity for you to recycle all that fishing gear and other useful items that you are no longer using: Rods, Reels, Waders, Vests, Flies (always a hot item), sporting goods or any other adult toys that others might find useful, However, only contribute items in good useable condition. Irving O'Neal & Bill West will log in your contributions. You may set a minimum bid on your contribution(s). A receipt will be issued to you, for tax purposes, on those items that sell. Most items will be offered by the "Silent Auction" method while some may be offered by traditional "Voice Auction". If no bid is received on an item(s), we request that you take them with you after the meeting.

EVENTS AND ACTIONS OF INTEREST

The Board has elected William Y. (Bill) Cobb for posthumous entry into the Chapter's roll of Honorary Members. An Honorary Award Plaque will be presented to Judy Cobb at the Fall Meeting January 26th.

A new classification of membership: Associate Junior Member, was approved by the Board at its meeting October 27th. Subject to certain restrictions: children of supporting & Century Club Members between the ages of ten (10) and sixteen (16) may, under the supervision of their parent member, participate in Chapter activities including recreational fishing. If interested in this Junior Associate Member program for your children, details may be obtained from Bob Story, Sec./Treas.

Now some not so good & not so bad news: Rising costs of administration and communication for our expanded membership has prompted the Board to raise the minimum donation for voluntary dues to $10.00 effective November 1, 1991. Likewise the increased number of members participating in the Access Lease Program has had its impact on our ability to provide access to the Guadalupe and supply fish to meet the growth in this activity. Effective November 1, 1991 the minimum donation for the Access Lease Permit will be raised to $40.00 for Supporting Members. Century Club Members will not be affected. At the Directors Meeting scheduled January 26th, the Directors will be asked to adopt lesser rates for Auxiliary and Junior Associate Members requesting an Access Lease Permit.

REMINDER DEPARTMENT

Access Lease Permit holders are expected to carry their trash. Please don't leave it behind. Especially on our access properties. Your compliance can mean the difference when it comes to renewal time for our lease & other access arrangements. Also, on those properties where we have installed locks on the sates, close and lock the gate after you enter and be sure the gate is locked and secure when you leave. We thank you for your consideration in these and all matters that will ensure good relationships with fellow members, our lessor, the proprietors of special access properties, and the environment.

Remember our advertisers, they specialize in our area of interests and have been generous in their support of the Chapter. it costs no more to go first class. Last but not forgotten, don't forget to pay your nominal voluntary Chapter dues if you have not done so already.

Pertinent items are always needed for the newsletter. Send anything that might be of interest to our members. Use the address on the cover or give to any club officer or director. Comments .... pithy or otherwise will be considered. Share your fishing tips, hints, recipes, words of wisdom, caveats, gripes, ideas on trips, rustic/urban humor, plans for the future, fish jokes (whoever heard a fish tell a joke), or use your creative juices for cleaning up and expanding this sometimes published periodical. Trout being at the top of fresh water fishing means that those who attempt to catch them with flies are pinnacle people with varied talents, hobbies & expertise in a great many fields. Also more persevering and patient than those who use the cruder methods to catch trout. Let's hear from you.

MUSINGS & OBSERVATIONS BY THE KINGFISH

On occasion we have heard the observation that a great deal of the material in our Newsletter has to do with solicitation of funds. Yes, we acknowledge that it may be true. However, volunteers provide all of the administrative and operational labor. None are compensated for their time or efforts. The requirements to keep the Chapter going are "labors of compassion" for the objectives we all benefit from. After all, its still the best deal in Texas for the trout and you!!

Access to the Guadalupe River, excepting only the public area immediately below Canyon Dam, is privately controlled by owners and/or their commercial lessee operators. Exclusive access rights (proprietary) are extremely difficult to obtain and the opportunities for negotiating an access agreement of, any kind, is rare indeed. Those we have been able to obtain are precariously held, year by year or short term, none have negotiated rights of renewal. Why? It's not because we haven't tried, but because the principals have not been willing to consider any long term formal agreements. What rights do we have then? Only ingress & egress across the land to the river with vehicle parking privileges (restricted in some cases) on a limited time basis. Therefore, there is no opportunity for improving access to or along the river. During the 90‑91 season, we were very fortunate in being able to add access to the program. We trust that the conduct of our members wi I l encourage a renewal of those we have this season and perhaps cause other owners or operators to consider us. Access to the river is, without question, critical to our enhancement, experimental or research projects and the adjunctive recreational fishing provided our members.

DEPARTMENT OF HELPFUL HINTS

Always keep 2 quarters (four bits) handy while fishing, because at this time of year, the Guadalupe and the air can be quite chilly. If for some reason you stumble, fall, and fill your waders with water and have not packed any dry clothes listen carefully. Take those 2 quarters and go to the nearest laundromat ... Kimbo's is one that is nearby..divest yourself of the wet garments and crank up the dryer with the quarters. In less than 30 minutes you will have a complete set of dry duds. You can undress behind the washing machines after alerting any lingering customers your intentions. You might borrow a towel, use the dryest apparel or what ever is at hand to cover your nakedness. This is what my fishing buddy did when he fell into the river and we were 50 miles from home and still wanted to continue fishing. But don't attempt to climb into the dryer yourself.

FISHING NEWS AND INFORMATION

An additional $2000.00 was approved by the Board of Directors for the purchase of adult rainbow trout. We plan to have two drops this season. Access Lease Permit holders will be notified when the drops are scheduled. The balmy days we had during November & December produced numerous and large hatches along the river. All kinds of insects flying, emerging and carrying on. All shapes and sizes..unbelievable! Not being an entomologist, I cannot give all the nomenclatures. From visual observation, there must be plenty of food along the stretches below Canyon Dam.

The creel cards indicate that both browns and rainbows are being caught with rainbows in the lead. Would like to repeat here ... keep those cards coming in! Additional info regarding type of fly, weather, and any other information and comments would be helpful.

Some news from Arkansas' White River Bull Shoals Dam. A stretch of river downstream has been classified for November thru January as catch and release ‑ artificial flies or lures ‑ barbless size 8 or smaller hooks ONLY. The 1 1/2 mile stretch is a major spawning area for brown trout. The regulations only apply to brown trout ‑ not rainbows. A sadder item concerns the lack of oxygen during the fall months when the lake turns over and releases dead water into the river killing great numbers of fish. This not only affects the spawning "rout, but makes for poor fishing. The problem was especially bad this past year. It has also been reported that fishing is relatively good a few miles downstream as the river regains oxygen.

If you missed the October aka Fall Meeting you did not, hear our guest speaker, John Specht the General Manager of The Guadalupe/Blanco River Authority. A very interesting and illuminating presentation. One nugget gleaned was that the river below the dam is highly oxygenated due to advance planning during the building of the generating station. The turbines are perforated and thereby force air into “dead” lake bottom water and actually enhance the Guadalupe river. One more reason why the Guadalupe is a choice place to fish for trout. Reports from creel count cards indicates types and sizes of Rainbows and Browns are getting longer and heavier each year. One eyewitness report related the catch of a 3 lb. Rainbow by a meat fisherman who promptly released it.

Fly fishers are doing well on both wet and dry flies. 8 to 18 inch catches are numerous on all sections of the river. Send in your creel count cards we need them to help monitor our stocking efforts. R.Giedlin recently sent in the most complete card ever received ... 25 fish listing from 8" up to 17.5 inches! Rainbows, all in the month of December. Other cards indicated rainbows 8" through 16.5 and browns 9.25" through 17.5". No telling what was not reported.

The trash situation has improved on the river. Whether it is because of the end of the Summer Tubing Season, the effort's of W.O.R.D.*, and the signs is difficult to determine. Those big wire baskets seem to be doing a splendid job. The day following next Memorial Day should tell us more about the various efforts. We have also heard that some citations were given last year for littering.