The momentum of the summertime Southeastern Wisconsin TU Chapter (SEWTU) workdays carried into the fall of 2021. In September we assisted the Lakeshore Chapter on a workday on the Onion River. With a combined force of 30 volunteers, we focused on the stretch of public water south of Highway U. We installed bank covers and stabilizing fiber mats and removed debris from the stream, creating newly improved trout water downstream from past workday efforts. This area is part of an ongoing restoration effort of the Onion River. More work will be needed going forward. The area will offer improved habitat and, in turn, better fishing not that far from Milwaukee. Rosenow Creek in Waukesha County is only 30 miles west of Milwaukee and receives a lot of fishing pressure. Despite this, the DNR’s fish surveys show a good number of naturally reproducing brook trout in the creek. SEWTU has been involved with the habitat restoration and maintenance of this creek since the late 1980s. Nineteen volunteers participated at the October Rosenow Creek work day. We saw the largest number of volunteers for an October workday. They cleared debris and removed large limbs and branches that had fallen into and partially dammed the creek. We accomplished all of our planned work, although there is still debris to be cleared on the lower portion of the public-access area of the creek. On a very nice December Saturday, 18 volunteers participated at the Scuppernong River workday. Volunteers repaired a previously worked section of the river by installing 20 biologs and back-filling the area with brush upstream of the river-gauge bridge. We completed all of the planned work, but there is still more work needed on the improved section of the river. This little river has great potential and long-range restoration plans were discussed afterwards as the volunteers stayed for SEWTU’s traditional brat fry.

Five SEWTU volunteers ran a tent at the Shorewood Fish and Feather Festival in October. Volunteers answered questions about our mission and fishing, and demonstrated fly casting to kids and adults. The water on the Milwaukee River was low, so the migratory fish were few and far between, but that didn’t damper the fun we had as we continue to partner with other organizations in our community.

In October we returned to New Berlin Hills Golf Club for our fundraising banquet. More than 50 members and non-members attended the event and many took home some really nice prizes such as fishing equipment, art work and wine. Herb Oechler was the honoree, and we presented him with an award for his years of outstanding volunteer leadership and generosity. SEWTU is truly grateful for all Herb has done for TU and specifically, the chapter.

The SEWTU Service Partnership began building a community outreach program with Wisconsin Hero Outdoors in November. Now that water has begun to harden, and fly-tying season is upon us, We began organizing local events with other organizations in the southeast Wisconsin region to host fly tying and other informational events for their local heroes. The November event saw several folks come out to tie a marabou leach pattern with several beginners and even saw them sharing their new learned skills with each other as they added new variations. We hope to lead more events in the greater Milwaukee area shortly after the holidays, including an event at the recently founded Wisconsin Veterans Network, located near the Milwaukee VA Hospital.

Our chapter will continue to have membership meetings on the fourth Tuesday of the month from January through May. As has been customary, we will take the months of June-August off from our membership meetings and will pick them back up in the fall. We plan on having some great raffle prizes for each event and are looking to secure some awesome speakers as an extra incentive to attend. Please look for our email blasts on the specifics of each upcoming event, as well as our Facebook, Instagram and website. Currently our meetings are held at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Glendale with an official start time of 7 p.m. Arrive as early as 5:30 p.m. if you want extra time to socialize and have some dinner.

Longtime member Greg Schick will again be hosting fly-tying sessions on the first and third Thursdays from January through June at the Oak Creek Community Center at 8580 S. Howell Ave from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Please bring your own vise and tying supplies. The workshops are intended for advanced novice fly tyers. For more information or questions, please contact Greg at g.a.schick@wi.rr.com. If you are in need of basic fly-tying lessons, contact Andy at andyavgoulas@yahoo.com.

Not getting our emails? Have a suggestion or question? Need some fishing tips? Want to help out? Please reach out to Andy at andyavgoulas@yahoo.com or 262-893- 4965. For general inquiries, please send an email to southeasternwisconsintu@gmail.com. Please note we inadvertently provided an incor rect email address in our last Wisconsin Trout chapter report. Take care and I hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming events. —Andy Avgoulas