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Writer's pictureTy Figg
Jun 20

Mid MO TU Newsletter June 2024

President’s Message:


Dear Mid-Missouri Trout Unlimited Members,


We are on our summer break and so the next meeting chapter meeting isn’t until September 3. The meeting will be held at the Fickling Shelter at Bethel Como Park. The address is 4500 Bethel Street Columbia. For more information about this venue and directions go to the following link: https://www.como.gov/contacts/j-w-ficklin-shelter/. Our meetings start with a social hour beginning at 6:00 PM, followed by a short business meeting and a presentation.  


In June we had the annual hot dog burn. We had a good time even a few fish were caught.  Hope you can make it next year. The hot dogs were provided and cooked by Bill Lamberson. Thank you Bill.


We are headed as a group to Yampa for some fishing in August starting on the 18th. There is more about the trip elsewhere in the newsletter. Hope to see you there.


Well I’m wandering and definitely not lost. Currently sightseeing in Quebec. I don’t speak or read French so it is a bit challenging. What I love about these folks is the use a lot of images to tell you what you need to know on their signs. I usually have no idea what the image is about. Driving through the mountains above the Gulf of St. Laurence today I saw what looked like a good trout stream (I’m not fishing). 10 km further on I saw a signs that seemed to say salmon fishing. Later on another 10 km I saw a fly fisherman. Another 10 km I saw a whale image sign. Ok I’m still 30 km from the Gulf so maybe the sign was saying big fish here. Anyways I think I will make it back even if communications is challenging.


So enjoy your summer and hope to see you in Yampa in August and at the September meeting.


Doug Grove


June Minutes:

The Mid-Missouri Chapter of Trout Unlimited met on June 4 at Gordon Shelter at Stephens Lake Park. There was good attendance with 19 members and guests. Several members fished and brats and dogs provided by Bill Lamberson and side dishes by all members were served at 6:15. After dinner there was a brief business meeting during which Curt Morgret described the August trip to Colorado. The next meeting will be September 3. (Ficklin Shelter, Bethel Park). There was little other business and President Grove adjourned the meeting at 7:30.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Bill Lamberson

Secretary

 

Colorado Flattops trip:

Last August several TU friends traveled to Western Colorado where we had an awesome time fishing and camping. We will have another friends and guests trip beginning August 18th. Mike shared some tips, reserved the big campsite and took most of us fishing. He also served as the contact. Mike did more than his share last year, so it will be great if someone will volunteer to be the contact. We are pretty autonomous but it will be nice if someone arrives early to claim the triple campsite so we can gather for diner and share fish stories. The campsites are not reservable, so getting there early is the only way to secure them. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mbr/recarea/?recid=23030   A contact list can be useful in the event plans change, so let me know if you are willing to help. - Jeff


Mike shared a wealth of information about the area:


I thought it might be helpful to those of you planning, or thinking about, going on the Colorado trip to have a bit more detailed information. 


Our "western Colorado" trip will be focused on the northeast side of the Flat Tops area.  Much of it is in the White River National Forest, but some is part of the Medicine-Bow/Routt National Forest. To the south and west of our campground is designated wilderness, but much of the other surrounding lands are U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management areas that offer other public fishing opportunities. How far is it?  Type in Yampa, Colorado in Google or your GPS. You'll see its a very long day's drive, but a day and a half or two is a better choice (see below).


The area we're headed to is the Bear River valley in the headwaters of the Yampa River (Medicine-Bow/Routt National Forest). There are developed and dispersed camping areas all up and down the valley, but none are reservable. Our intention is to stay in the Bear Lake Campground (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mbr/recarea/?recid=23030). This is a nice, developed camping area with potable water, "long drop" toilets, tables, bear proof storage boxes and trash containers. It is adjacent to "Bear Lake" (shown as Upper Stillwater Reservoir or Yampa Reservoir on some maps). It's a trout filled body of water. If you are easily amused, you could spend days fishing the lake, or the stretch of Bear River adjacent to the campground, but more on fishing next month. 


Bear Lake campground is located at approximately 9,700'. It's a pleasant place to get away from the late summer heat of Missouri, but it is typical mountain weather: highly changeable. Typically, summer mornings begin clear and cool (if not cold). Warming progresses into comfortable late morning conditions. After lunch, clouds often develop and brief squalls of thunderstorms are common in the afternoon. Keep raingear and a warm jacket handy. Sleeping bags rated to 40 are fine for warm sleepers. Others may want a heavier bag or extra clothes.


If you have not spent time at high elevation, plan on taking it easy for the first 2-3 days.  Don't push yourself too hard, stay hydrated and listen to your body. Elevation sickness isn't usually serious, but it can be very unpleasant. Spend your first night in Limon, CO or Denver (both about 5,300'). It breaks up the drive nicely and helps ease you into elevation.  Those Colorado craft beers are awesome, but they hit a lot harder on flat landers that aren't acclimated, so beware.


Bear Lake campground is 11 miles southwest of Yampa, CO. Yampa is a funky little place that retains a little of the old west flavor that "ski resort Colorado" has erased elsewhere.  Moffat Avenue holds all the local businesses. It's not paved and the bases of the light poles bear the brand marks of local ranches. Montgomery's General Merchandise is my favorite place in town. It's an authentic general store where you can get pretty much anything you need. Antlers Cafe and Bar is a cool old place on Moffat Avenue. There's a gas station, a liquor store, a diner, a motel, a post office and a Forest Service office. If you need something major like a new tent, a Sage rod, or a new catalytic converter, you'll need to drive to Steamboat Springs, another 40 minutes up the road where there are fly shops, the Big Agnes headquarters, a Wal-Mart and all the bars, restaurants, motels etc. you could ever need. 


Much of the 11 miles between Yampa and Bear Lake Campground is on Forest Road 600.  It's a maintained gravel road, but due to rather heavy use, can be extensively washboarded. You can drive it in any vehicle, but the less rugged your ride, the slower you'll go. In addition, some of the places you'll want to fish require some ground clearance. If you drive a Corolla, by all means, load up the tent and head west. Just take your time on FR 900 and bum a ride in my Tacoma to Lost Anchor Lake.


Mike


Advocate for Trout:

Reduce plastic use:

Help keep our waters cleaner with reusable water bottles. Did you know 5 Companies produce about 25% of the worlds’s plastic waste, Coke, Pepsi, Nestle, Danone and Altria? https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/just-five-companies-produce-nearly-25-percent-all-plastic-waste-worldwide?utm_source=sierra&utm_medium=print&tum_campaign=sierramagdigital


Support Legislation that will benefit coldwater fisheries:

The bi-partisan PROVE IT Act, is consistent with the TU 2015 policy of reducing emissions.(thanks to Jeff Witten for pushing this). It has 12 co-sponsors in the Senate and is likely to be introduced in a bi-partisan manner in the House. This will benefit trout by lowering global emissions. It does this by measures  intensity of GHG emissions: aluminum, cement, crude oil, fertilizer, iron, steel, plastic and more. US industries are cleaner and that puts pressure on other countries to lower emissions in order to compete. The US Chamber of Commerce, Oil, Steel and several other groups support this legislation. Over 1000 climate volunteers recently lobbied Congress in support. Please consider calling your members of Congress to help. 


Another bill that will help trout and aid in our tree planting efforts is Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration. The bill will direct funding from the Bi-partisan Infrastructure Act be available to state nurseries to purchase seedlings for reforestation.


Water Quality Monitoring:


Cicada Magic:

Bobby Zylstra from the Capital City Flyfishers had a phenomenal day on the Current and Outdoor Life has the story: https://www.outdoorlife.com/fishing/how-to-fish-cicada-emergence/


Keep sending me information to share with our chapter and enjoying fishing,

Jeff Holzem
MMTU Newsletter Editor 
MMTU Advocacy Coordinators
Ozark Council Climate Change Coordinator
NLC Climate Change Workgroup Co-Chair

President

Doug Groves

Past President

John Wenzlick

Secretary

Bill Lamberson

Treasurer

Ty Figg

Financial Reviewer

Curt Morgret

At Large Board Members

Lynn Kleopfer & Eric Cunningham

Banquet Chairs

Curt Morgret

Alternative Funding Committee

Chalen Jackson

Education Director

John Wenzlick

Stream Team

John Wenzlick

Membership

Curt Morgret

Conservancy

Bill Lamberson

Conservancy

Sam Potter

e-Newsletter

Jeff Holzem

Web Master

Ty Figg

Facebook editor

Ben Moore

Event Planning

Doug Grove

Advocacy

Jeff Holzem

Diversity

Open

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