President's Beat

March 7, 2007

Greg Evans

Hey there Weary Winter Warriors! Spring is in the air with all the snow banks gone. As soon as the lakes de-ice we can wait patiently for another foot of snow again in March then it's all clear! No, it's not that bad. Milts Mays, a guide for Great Western and TU junkie told me the Big T is wide open and fishing great. Get out there and let that cold air renew you.

Speaking of fishing, the second annual TU Chapter trip to the Green River was a roaring success last weekend! Eleven guys made the six-hour trip to the Green tailwater below Flaming Gorge in Utah and none were dissappointed. (Excepting Ken Eis our VP, who came down with a broken foot days before!) Friday was miserably cold, 13 degrees, Sat-Mon were sunny with good portions of each day ice-free in the guides. The biggest fish was Mike Friehauf's 19 inch brown on a #22 biot midge and Guy Turenne caught the most fish by going to a #26 something-or-other. My personally favorite moment was watching my Dad catch fish out of a drift boat on a float down A section. This father-son team boated about 30 fish and had three doubles—now that's a day to remember!

Chapter wise, things are also heating up. We are in the midst of a fundraising challenge for our new Robert Behnke Scholarship fund. I will announce at the next meeting that the donation incentive will get a little sweeter with everyone donating $20 or more receiving a separate raffle ticket to win an Orvis TLS 6wt, Orvis backpack, Hardy Reel or other prizes. Let's get those tax deductible contributions rolling!

Also, we are recruiting high schoolers for application to the annual CTU Youth Camp; if you know of a kid who deserves a week-long all expense-paid camp experience, let me know quickly. The application deadline is March 15th!

Down the road, our board members are preparing for the annual CTU meeting in Redstone, putting together a project list for the coming summer, and meeting with The Nature Conservancy to team up on educational projects on Phantom Canyon.

We always have room at the board meetings for folks who want to connect and volunteer a little time. Think about how you would like to get involved, and I bet I can find a place for you to meet some great similar minded folks. They may also know a few secrets about some fishing spots! See you at the next general meeting. If you have never heard Eric Pettine speak, you're in for a treat!

Tight lines and small lies.