Thank you all for coming out and showing your support!! We hope you had an enjoyable evening!
H&L Nohr Chapter of Trout Unlimited Banquet Report
After having to cancel our annual gathering in 2020 and twice in 2021, attendees
gathered at Castle Rock Ridge on May 6 for the 2022 Banquet. Our venue of the
past several years is just a few miles up the hill from the Blue River watershed.
That stream and a couple of its major tributaries have been the sites for our
stream restoration efforts. Dr. Kris Wright gave a presentation on how he and the
UW-Platteville students annually study the chapter’s stream work and measure
the impact on the stream size, water temperature, stream bed characteristics,
macroinvertebrate diversity, and trout population size and density. Dr. Wright
gave a brief summary of the benefits of the chapter and university’s data
collection from our local stream work and how that 18 years of data collection is
unique in the study of stream improvements and adds to the research of how
best to maintain and improve cold water streams. He thanked us for the ongoing
financial support and how many of his students go on to careers in conservation.
Two families and landowners who have granted fishing easements and allowed us
to work on their Blue River property were thanked and honored. The Zadrazil and
Stanek families’ children were present to accept the awards and a summary of
their efforts was outlined by Project Chairman Don Pluemer.
Awards were presented to chapter members for their leadership and support of
chapter efforts to educate adults and youth on the value of keeping our streams
cold and clean. Our highest honor, the Gold Net Award went to new chapter
president Carol Murphy. She has brought a lot of energy and new ideas to the
group and organized the Water Monitor Volunteers, has led several gatherings
designed to teach women how to fish, and has been involved in state wide events
that help women get outdoors, become better fishers, and get involved in
conservation efforts.
Kurt Meyer’s State Council Award as Youth Leader of the Year was highlighted.
He has Trout in the Classroom in his Fennimore School science classes which lets
students see trout hatch from eggs, grow in his cold water aquariums, and are
then released into a local trout stream. He teaches youth how to fish, tie flies,
cast, and about the Driftless Area and how special the local cold water streams
are. Many of his students are not aware of how unique the streams are since
they grew up here and consider that just a normal part of the landscape.
Don Pluemer was honored by the Gathering Waters Land Trust Group for his
ongoing work and leadership in stream restoration. Don was mentored by the
late Pete Esser and Pete’s goal of improving the Big Spring to how good a fishery
he remembered it as a young man has continued with improving many miles of
the Blue River as well under Don’s guidance.
Our chapter lost our president, Tim Fraley, and several other regular banquet
attendees and chapter supporters over the past couple of years—Laurie Balk, Jim
Coursey from the Chicago Donnelly Chapter, Paul Carpenter, Pete Esser, and Bill
Weege. Those people were remembered and their contributions praised.
Many prizes and auction items were won and the contributions from the Bill
Weege and Paul Carpenter estates enhanced the number of rods and reels
available for bidding. Many classic books from the collections of Bill Weege, Jeff
and Cleo Ware, John Morton, Dave Fritz, and Gene Mazewski found new homes.
Several guided fishing trips, two rods built by Dave Fowler, and a host of tied flies
from several local tyers such as John Gribb, John Morton, Brian Smolinski, Rich
Osthoff, and Scott Hanson were cherished auction items.
Thank you for all those who attended and contributed repeatedly during the
years we were not able to hold the banquet. The chapter’s work goes on.
