Seedskadee TU Board Meeting

14-Jul-15

5 pm to 7:00 pm

Fish Bowl Restaurant, Green River

(West side of Uinta next to Little Bear Motel)

Agenda additions – new business -  None

Board Member contact information

-  E-mail address, cell number, home phone number

-  What is the best way to contact each board member? Everyone wrote down their info

Kids Fishing Day

-   Kids Fishing Day was a success. Great turnout

-   Does having Kids Fishing Day on Father’s Day’s Day weekend affect turnout?

It used to be the 1st weekend in June, but there was usually bad weather. It was first at Seedskadee with over 400 participants. Refuge has talked about creating a fishing pond for such events, but there has been no traction.  Father’s Day is easy to remember and the weekend after will likely have more conflicts with weather and other summer events. The board decided to keep the event on Father’s Day.

-          Did the fishing event prior to Kids Fishing Day hurt our numbers? The Huck Finn derby the weekend prior may hurt our numbers, so we discussed combining the events. Pro- there would be good participation, con- there will be less fishing opportunity and our focus might get lost with their competition.

-          What is the need and purpose for Kids Fishing Day? The objective is to introduce fishing to kids and families, so the board decided to keep it as a separate event.

-          Stream trailer- The set up this year was a bit of a struggle due to unfamiliarity with the trailer. Some thought it may have been a distraction from fishing, but others thought it was a great addition. We will likely use it again next year. We would also like to bring the hatchery truck and release fish again if possible, since it was so popular last year. We could also do a bug station where kids get to looks at aquatic insects.

The format for handing out door prizes this year was great. It sped things up and everyone got to keep fishing. Amy said she used leftover prizes from last year, so the expenses for next year may be larger. There should be plenty of room in the budget to compensate for that though.

Green River Chamber sign

-          Review criteria – message has to be short and precious- How do we convey a good message with the space we have? Not sure if there is room to do much more than refer to Facebook.

-          Where to go from here? Amy suggested alternating the logo with the national one to mix things up. The board is open to any ideas for how to improve our message on the sign. Scott is going to check and see if our “like” total on Facebook has grown since the sign was installed.

-          Future messages? We could possibly promote the chapter on the Rock Springs Chamber sign. Hillary and Nick will talk with Josh Coursey about promoting chapter happenings on the radio.

-          Perhaps we should promote what we do for fish and fishing on the Chamber sign.  Might appeal directly to more people – John Crouch

There is very little time to read a lengthy message on the sign. If we did any promotion, it would have to be very short.

Ladies Fly Fishing Retreat

-          Update – Hillary

8-9 boats, so 16-18 fishing spots open. Sept. 11-13.Would like to do weekend event (casting Fri night, float Sat. and camp both nights. Sunday open to more fishing). Families encouraged to come out for at least one night.

-          What help is needed?

Volunteers for casting clinic on Friday night. Campfire chefs- Pat and Scott volunteered to make ribs and dutch oven dinners. We will charge $50 to attend, which should cover food costs. Preference will be given to women who did not attend last year and to women who are more likely to get involved afterwards.

Youth representative for Seedskadee Chapter

-          Do we need/want a youth representative with Haley in college? – John Crouch

We will send out an email to members asking if anyone is interested. Hopefully we will have some interest from youth after the Adopt a Trout program starts.

Options for raffling remaining Yeti Cooler?

-          Sit on it until the next Bash.

-          We still have the Matt Mullan painting and Tenkara rod. Both would be great for the next burbot bash or F3T.

Project Healing Water

-          Fall 2015 – SNWR- The board decided to not officially help out this fall, but if individuals are interested in volunteering their time, they are welcome to help out with the group.

-          Fall 2016

 i.      Is the chapter interested in tackling this project in the fall? Spring run-off is so variable, fall would be best for next year. Will sponsor the event again in the fall 2016.

 2016 chapter projects and meeting presentations

-          Projects?

 i.      Ideas?- We discussed installing a temperature gauge on Seedskadee, is there really a need? Hot water only occurs 6-8 weeks out of the year. Will it change people’s behavior? We need to educate people also, if we install it. Calvin emphasized the importance of talking to people when you are out fishing, it really does make a dfference.

ii.      When Chapter brochures are done, we would like to pass out while fishing.

-          Chapter meeting presentations?

 i.      Hot water fishing – what are the consequences to trout? Will share articles on Facebook in June and July. Will also share articles about fishing redds in the fall to get the message out.

1.      May 2016 - Wayne Hubert, someone else?

ii.      Yellowstone Lake Update

1.      Spring 2016 - Dave Sweet

 iii.      Other ideas- 1. Kevin to come and do a Big Sandy update

2. A famous Charlie Card presentation, maybe carp fishing?

3. Reservoir release- where do amounts come from?

4. Fontenelle Dam armoring and the consequences downstream

5. Pinedale Soda Lake

6. G&F update on CRC recovery in Trout Creek, Gilbert Creek and LaBarge Creek

7. Entomology of the Green River.

Upcoming chapter activities and projects -  July, August, September, October

-          Adopt-a-Trout/burbot – Green River

                                                              i.      Project leads Nick Walrath and John Walrath

                                                            ii.      Classroom events will need help this fall

                                                          iii.      Need help tracking BBT and BNT

                                                          iv.      Interested folks call John Walrath (307-875-3202) or Nick Walrath (307-532-0753)

-          Green River Side Channel surveys

                                                              i.      Project lead – Kevin Spence (WGFD) Williams donated Rick Shablo to survey the side channels.

-          Planting on Trout Creek (Ramsay Diversions)

                                                              i.      Project lead – Nick Walrath

                                                            ii.      Project status- Completed last week, Jim Hissong caught fish. Willows need to be dormant, so planting needs to occur late October. We will need a small crew to plant.

-          Green River – River Walk

                                                              i.      Project lead – Nick Walrath

                                                            ii.      River Walk - August 15

                                                          iii.      Help needed? YES! Contact Nick

-          Red Creek – habitat project

                                                              i.      Project lead - Janae Neff

                                                            ii.      Project planning field trip August 11

                                                          iii.      Chapter outing planned for September.

-          Lying and Tying

                                                              i.       September 10th

                                                            ii.      Time – 6:30pm

                                                          iii.      Location- Green River college

-          SNWR Ditch Salvage

                                                              i.      Middle to late October

                                                            ii.      Hamp I and Powell Ditch? Tom did not see any fish in the Hamp II ditch behind the new screen. The screen is passing the necessary water to the ditch system.

1.      Hamp I – EF and net pond

2.      Powell Ditch - EF

                                                          iii.      Eddie Baker (Chapter lead); John Walrath (WGFD lead)

Need to nail a date in late October- October 24th. We will need two teams of 8-10 people to simultaneously shock each one of the ditches.  Since the weather has the potential to be cold, Eddie will cook dinner or lunch for the volunteers in the dutch ovens.

·         Future Chapter meeting presentations:

-          Oct – Steve Wolff (SEO) Colorado River compact – what it means to anglers in the Green River drainage.

-          Nov – Nick Walrath TU Green River Manager - Hamp II fish screen

-          Dec – Christmas Party

                                                              i.      Where?  What?

                                                            ii.      Project lead?

-          Jan – Calvin Hazlewood - Belize Fishing trip

****************************Future Board Agenda Items**********************************

·         Programs to promote fly fishing and improve fish habitat at the area high schools?

-          Does National TU have any such programs for education – John Crouch

·         Seedskadee Chapter pamphlet of accomplishments

-          Progress?

·         How do we increase Chapter attendance:

-          Capitalizing on free advertizing opportunities?

                                                              i.      Do the radio stations have PSA’s for community group?  - John Crouch

                                                            ii.      Project lead?

-          Facebook – can we use it better?

                                                              i.      Put slides show on Face book or Google docs

                                                            ii.      Keep Calendar on Facebook updated

                                                          iii.      Project lead?

-          Green River and Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce

                                                              i.      Are they a resource we can use to grow the chapter?

                                                            ii.      How can they help us?

                                                          iii.      Project lead?

-          Poster of Calendar events

                                                              i.      Do we know events well enough in advance to a poster?

                                                            ii.      Project lead?

-          Sweetwater Now

                                                              i.      Are they a resource we can use to grow the chapter?

                                                            ii.      How can they help us?

                                                          iii.      Project lead?

-          Should we be paying for advertizing?

                                                              i.      Pay for advertisements in paper

                                                            ii.      Pay for advertisement on radio

                                                          iii.      Project lead?

·         Review Seedskadee Chapter mission statement and By Laws

-          Do bylaws need to be updated

-          Include management and access to Seedskadee g-mail account

·         Review and audit of the chapter financial records

-          Need?  How do we get there from here?  Who conducts audit?