Early Bird Deadline is March 7, 2023
President’s Message
It’s Spring! Well, not really, but it certainly feels like it lately. I rode my (first ever) motorcycle eight days in February and could have ridden a few more days had I not been out of town for various reasons. Hopefully you all had a chance to hit the water and wet a line a time or two during the past few weeks.
But Spring will indeed be here before you know it, and among other things, that means the end of our fiscal year is fast-approaching. The end of FY 2022 means that year-end reporting with TU National, the state of Ohio and the IRS is pending. It also means the Mad River Chapter will be having our Annual Meeting in conjunction with the Mad River Gala at the Simon Kenton Inn on Saturday, April 22nd. We will keep the “meeting” portion of the event as brief as possible and keep the emphasis on the “GALA.”
Speaking of the Gala, we have sent the announcement out to the membership via Mailchimp and have the EventBrite info posted on our website and Facebook page. We also contacted those members who had us hold their reservations from the postponed Gala that was originally scheduled in 2020 before you-know-what happened. We have received replies from all but a handful of those members, most of whom transferred their reservations to this year’s re-scheduled event.
If you haven’t purchased your tickets for the event, you can purchase them HERE. More information about the Gala and Raffle is available later in this newsletter. We would love to have a full house! The event is open to all, so bring your significant others, friends and guests who may have an interest in preserving our valuable resource even if they don’t fish. There’s plenty of parking and room for up to 200 or so guests, so spread the word.
A few of us visited the venue after a planning meeting a few weeks ago and it is really nice. It’s the perfect place for our event with beautiful facilities and grounds and is an important site in Ohio history.
In other Chapter-related news, after years of searching, we now have a volunteer who is willing to take on the role of Vice President. I will be staying on as President through the end of Fiscal Year 2023. Then the new VP will slide into the President’s position. The position of Secretary is another role that has been difficult to fill. I have been serving as acting Secretary during my time as President and unless we find someone else to volunteer, I will be staying on as Chapter Secretary after I step down.
We are in the process of purchasing ballcaps and embroidered patches that include our new Chapter name and logo. These will be available for sale by the time the Gala comes around and we will also have a few of each for raffle prizes at the Gala. Hopefully these items will be popular among the members and if so, we are considering having other logo-wear items such as shirts, jackets, thermal cups, etc. available at some point in the future.
Anyway, that’s about it for now. Hope everyone’s year has started out well. We’re all hoping for a “normal” year in 2023 with no cancelled stream water quality monitoring sessions, a continuation of in-stream habitat restoration projects, a few fishing outings with our associated programs, successful clean-up efforts, not a lot of log jambs and lots of fishing.
Tightlines Everybody!
p.s. Articles Always Needed!! Pam could use your help with future newsletters. If you’ve been on a fishing trip, or have something else you’d like to share, like a fly recipe, we’d love to hear about it. Write an article and send pictures to her at pamallen@tumadriver.org; it’s that easy 🙂
April 22, 2023, 5:30pm
Simon Kenton Inn, Springfield, Ohio
Includes a buffet dinner of Lemon and Herb Chicken, Beef Brisket, Garden Salad, Mediterranean Vegetables, Roasted Red Potatoes, assorted desserts and soft beverages. Cash bar
Dinner will be buffet-style followed by a 15-minute (or so) business meeting. Our main presentations by Sarah Hippensteel Hall and Kiki Galvin will follow. The evening will conclude with our biggest raffle yet, including a Thomas & Thomas fly rod and reel (TBD) as the Grand Prize. We have many other “grand” prizes from generous donors. We will be updating the page on Eventbrite weekly. Check back often.
5:30 p.m. — Social Hour with a cash bar, videos, fly-tying demos, etc.
7:00 p.m. — Buffet Dinner and Business Meeting
8:00 p.m. — Guest Speaker, Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D.
8:20 p.m. — Guest Speaker, Kiki Galvin, Owner, Ms. Guided Fly Fishing
9:00 p.m. — Raffle
Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club
by Bruce Smith
Trout, indeed, are special fish, and trout fishing (and trout rearing) at Benjamin Logan Schools is alive and well. Six members of the TU Mad River Chapter visited the campus in February to provide instruction in fly tying and fly casting to students in the Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club.
Tom Allen and Sam Hanna provided fly casting instruction. The students learned the basics using a practice rod to establish rhythm and then progressed to an 8-foot fly rod. Taking advantage of the high ceiling in the high school commons, many of the students became proficient enough to consistently hit the target laid out for them. If only the commons floor was a deep pool with a six pound rainbow responding to their casts.
Fly tying vices were set up at tables in the commons. Students created wooly buggers under the tutelage of Kevin Ramsey, John Davis, and Mitch Tucker. The students learned that flies could be created to mimic whatever the fish are feeding on at the moment.
At another station, Pam Allen taught the students how to identify macroinvertebrates in order to assess the health of an aquatic ecosystem. In addition, the ESC members discussed the importance of the green corridor that should line a healthy stream, the riparian zone. Each student received an Ohio Scenic Rivers Activity Book courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Due to its special status as a cold water ecosystem, both brown trout and rainbow trout are found in the Mad River. For more than ten years, Benjamin Logan Schools has participated in a Trout Unlimited sponsored program known as “Trout in the Classroom.” Benjamin Logan teachers Spencer Reames and Bruce Smith obtained initial funding through the Ohio EPA to purchase 55-gallon aquaria, one for each building, and special chiller units that provide the low temperature high oxygen content water required by trout. Each year TU members arrive on campus with trout eggs from various western states via the state hatchery in London, Ohio. Brown trout eggs arrive in the fall, and rainbow trout eggs arrive a few months later in early winter. The eggs hatch in the aquariums, and the students in each building care for the newly hatched alevin. As the trout grow and develop, the students monitor water quality to maintain the conditions that the trout need in their natural ecosystem. The following spring, the fingerlings are released, at the direction of the Division of Wildlife, into a tributary of the Mad River in West Liberty.
The Environmental Science Club is cosponsored by the school district and the Logan County Land Trust and is in its 5th year of operation. Approximately forty students from fourth through sixth grades participate in activities weekly. The club hosts guest speakers, conducts learning activities such as the dissection of owl pellets, and participates in service projects such as the establishment of a permaculture area in Ricketts Park in West Liberty. The Environmental Science Club is directed by Ryan Kerns, Spencer Reames, Bruce Smith and Bob Stoll. For more information about the Logan County Land Trust, visit https://www.logancountylandtrust.org/
Conservation Work on the Mad Continues
This Winter, volunteers cut a large downed tree to use in future in-stream habitat projects. To help with erosion control and provide in-stream habitat, they also tied Christmas trees onto existing cabled in logs. Honeysuckle removal, trail clearing, litter cleanups and in-stream habitat improvement work at the Pimtown Rd. bridge will continue in 2023.
WE ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEERS! Contact Tom Allen at ptallen111@insight.rr.com.For larger events, we also will post events to our Facebook page.
For the future of the watershed, sustaining the existing riparian zones and restoring the impacted areas on the main stem of the Mad River and its tributaries is an especially important issue to address. It is going to take a long term, coordinated effort and it begins by working with the landowners; as a part of building collaboration and cooperation, there must be respect and understanding of their needs with a variety of options to encourage them to protect and restore these areas. Also, we will need to have cooperation and collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies, groups and organizations, elected officials, community and local business leaders. Bob Stoll from the Logan County Land Trust (LCLT) shared information about their efforts to educate the community about the importance of soil health. Mr. Stoll also is actively involved with the Benjamin Logan Schools Environmental Club.
Last year, with the assistance of the Lewis and Dorothy Tamplin Trust, LCLT brought Ray Archuleta to Logan County where he spoke to well over 200 students and adults in three presentations spread throughout the county. The principles he espoused, if adopted, can improve our soils, heal the environment, and result in healthier plants and animals including humans. Instead of fighting nature, these practices mimic nature and build a more stable regenerative ecosystem.
The LCLT also purchased copies of the John Sitka book, A Soil Owner’s Manual, How to Restore and Maintain Soil Health, and will give a copy to those interested if they promise to read it and pass it on to another family member or friend to teach what many of us did not understand about soils. if you’d like a copy to read and share, contact Bob Stoll at bob.stoll5@gmail.com
Here is a link to a movie trailer that includes the concepts covered in Mr. Archuleta’s presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-V1j-zMZw
Here is a link to his presentation, “The Power of Soil Life: Little Things Matter”: https://youtu.be/WW6-RmmcA0o
Ray Archuleta is a certified professional soil scientist with the Soil Science Society of America. He has over 30 years of experience as a soil conservationist, water quality specialist, and conservation agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Archuleta received his Associate Degree in Livestock Science from Northern New Mexico College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Biology plus 30 hours of graduate work in soil-related courses from New Mexico State University. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in Guatemala as a livestock specialist. Retired from NRCS in 2017, Archuleta now travels the globe to teach biomimicry strategies and agroecology principles for improving soil function. Archuleta along with his wife and family own and operate a 150-acre farm near Seymour, Missouri.
by Andrew Dafler, Member, Mad River Chapter and Central Ohio Fly Fishers (COFF)
Last February, I tried fly fishing for the first time, and it wasn’t fun. For me, or my wife, Ashlynn, who tagged along with me. I was nervous, stressed, and didn’t know what to expect. And by the time I finally said to myself “that’s it, I just need to go and try,” I was at the point of near burn out from information overload. Hours spent reading up on tips and techniques and watching instructional videos. I didn’t want to “mess up,” and more importantly, I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know what I was doing. But why did I care so much? I honestly don’t know. I knew chances were I wouldn’t even see another angler out on a cold Monday in February, let alone be judged or ridiculed by one for not getting everything completely correct. I kept telling myself that everyone was a beginner at some point. But that didn’t help much. Several hours passed and all I had caught were the tree branches behind me. Ashlynn was cold and over my poor attitude, and rightfully so. I wasn’t being or having fun, and was letting the stress get the best of me. Perhaps it was time to call it a day. “I’ll just throw a few more casts,” I told her as she was already heading to the car. On the second cast, I see my indicator drop down in the water. I pull up, set the hook, and see a small flash of a small fish near the surface of the water. Fish on! I strip my line in, pull out my net, and land my first ever fish on the fly – a small, 8-inch brown trout from the Mad. Even though I was happy I caught my first fish on a fly, I wasn’t quite sure how I did it, and felt like it was a fluke. I also knew the day, as a whole, did not go as it should have. There should have been more laughs and less frustration, more joy and less stress.
I didn’t let that first outing discourage me from getting back out on the water. Even in the three or four outings after the first, when I didn’t catch a thing, I kept trying to tell myself that it was all part of the process. I would make it a requirement for myself to learn something each time I went out, regardless if I caught a fish. I would continue to learn at home, too, and try to apply my newfound knowledge to each outing. I also realized I didn’t have to do everything on my own. There are plenty of people out there who love to share knowledge of the things they love to do, and fly fishing is no different. You just need to put yourself out there and seek the help.
The past year has flown by, and in it, I’ve been blessed to have been able to fish many times in some beautiful waters – from our own Mad River here in central Ohio, to the small blue-line streams of the Great Smoky Mountains, and even the mighty Yellowstone River in southern Montana. I’ve met some incredible people along the way and have gained a wealth of knowledge. But I’ve also realized two things: you will always be learning, and you will never learn everything. Fly fishing can be daunting to a beginner. But, if you have the right mindset, try to learn something new each time you go out, and make it about the experience instead of just catching fish, you will never have a bad day on the water.
This is one of Andrew Dafler’s favorite flies.
Materials
Hook: Kumoto Wide Gap Dry Fly Hook Size 14
Thread: Veevus 10/0 Brown
Foam: Rainy’s Cross Link 2mm Cinnamon
Body Cutter: River Road Creations Tappered XX-Small
Dubbing: Spirit River UV2 Seal X Ice Dub – Fire Tiger
Wing: MFC Widdows Web White
Legs: Grizzley Micro Legs Clear
Fly Recipe courtesy of Montana Fishing guides, https://montanafishingguides.com/how-to-tie-a-mini-chubby-chernobyl/
Upcoming events:
March 18 &19 – Kid’s Fishing Weekend, Cabela’s (Stocked Pond), 1650 Gemini Pl, Columbus, OH
April 15, 2023 – Stream Water Quality Monitoring, US 36 bridge, Urbana, OH, 9:00 am
April 22, 2023 – Mad River Gala – Simon Kenton Inn, Springfield
June 24, 2023 – Stream Water Quality Monitoring, US 36 bridge, Urbana, OH, 9:00 am
Upcoming Events
Latest News
- 10/16/26 -International Fly Fishing Film Festival at Nocterra Brewing, Powell
- Mad River Drift Newsletter - June 2026
- Cancelled — Saturday’s Stream Water Quality Monitoring
- Reminder: Mad River TU Annual Meeting – April 18
- Mad River Drift Newsletter - March 2026
- Mad River Drift Newsletter - December 2025
- Help our local fly-fishing community!