CTU STREAM Girls Opportunities September 9th & 10th

Colorado Trout Unlimited and the Cutthroat Chapter are excited to host a STREAM Girls 1.0 and STREAM Girls 2.0 this weekend at the Kassler Center and Lake Lehow in Littleton! We still have 10 slots available for our STREAM Girls 1.0 on Saturday, Sept. 9th from 8 am - 5 pm at the Kassler Center and 7 slots available for STREAM Girls 2.0 on Sunday, Sept. 10th from 10 am - 2 pm. 

 STREAM Girls is an outdoor watershed experience that employs STEM-education (science, technology, engineering, math) plus recreation and arts to explore a local stream.  By visiting a local stream and having the opportunity to observe it as scientists, anglers, and artists, Girl in the 4th through 8th grade will get the complete picture of what their stream could mean to them.

 STREAM Girls 1.0 is a full day program which includes local stream exploration, collecting flow data, sampling macroinvertebrates, tying flies, and learning fly casting. If you aren't a Girl Scout no worries -- you can join in the fun too. Please note STREAM Girls 1.0 does not include fly fishing due to our limited time, that comes in STREAM Girls 2.0.

 STREAM Girls 2.0 is a half day program which builds upon their already learned casting skills and grow into confident anglers and river conservationists. It is highly recommended that you have already taken STREAM Girls 1.0 before enrolling in this event.

RMFTU Helps Stock Rainbows in Poudre River

From Denver7:

Bucket by bucket, thousands of tiny rainbow trout were released into the Poudre River on Wednesday morning, part of an ongoing effort to restore the fishery that was decimated by a massive debris flow in 2021.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) worked alongside volunteers from Rocky Mountain Flycasters, the local Trout Unlimited Chapter, to introduce 108,000 little trout — no more than 2 inches in length — to their new habitat. Under scorched hillsides from the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, they carried buckets of the fish from parked trucks to the waterway, and gently released the animals.

Read more at Denver7.

Update on Cheesman Canyon

Ivan Orsic at Trout’s Fly Fishing provides us an update on the Cheesman Canyon event that dropped 2.5 inches of water, bumping flows from 239 cfs to 630 cfs.

August 2023 Currents

This months issue of currents features Cheesman Canyon Flooding, STREAM Keepers, Chapter Events, and More!

Find Chapter Events In Your Area

As summer winds down and kids get back to school, there are still plenty of local chapter events scheduled. Find an event in your area:

2022 Carp Slam champions Russ Miller & Addison Price

August 18th - 19th - Gunnison Angling Society's Superfly - Almont, CO - Two-person teams compete to see who can catch the most inches of trout in one day using the two flies of their choice. Learn more here.

August 20th - West Denver Chapter Family Picnic - Denver, CO - Join the West Denver Chapter for their family picnic at Lake Lehow. Learn more here.

September 8th - 10th - Golf Trout - Steamboat Springs, CO - Join Yampa Valley Fly Fishers for the 20th annual 4-person fly fishing and golf tournament. Learn more here.

September 16th - Carp Slam - Denver, CO - A fly fishing tournament testing world class fly anglers | Presented by Denver Trout Unlimited. Learn more here.

September 29th - Oct. 1st - South Fork Par Fly Tournament - South Fork, CO - The San Luis Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited & 8200 Mountain Sports are pleased to invite you to participate in the 1st Annual South Fork Par Fly Tournament. Learn more here.

October 7th - 2023 Pig Roast - Boulder, CO - Eat tasty roast pig and protect Boulder Creek. The PIG ROAST is a fun, family-friendly fundraiser benefitting the Boulder Creek watershed. Learn more here.

October 7th - Upper Colorado Fall Classic - Vail, CO - The 9th Annual Upper Colorado Fall Classic will take place on the Upper Colorado River and at venues in the Eagle Valley. Learn more here.

Join CTU in Golden, CO for F3T

Colorado Trout Unlimited is excited to partner with the Buffalo Rose in Golden, CO for the 2023 Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T). The showing will take place on September 7th. Doors at 6pm - show at 7pm. Come early and enjoy food and drinks while participating in a raffle to benefit CTU’s conservation efforts.

The 16th annual tour is back with a selection of films; from Costa Rica to Australia to Louisiana and beyond, catch the action and unique stories of anglers from across the globe.

STREAM Keepers Program Has a Busy July and August

STREAM Keepers at Lincoln Hills Cares in Black Hawk, CO, The Nature Connection in Delta, CO, and Hotchkiss, CO

By Lauren Hacke - 2023 Colorado Trout Unlimited Intern

Colorado Trout Unlimited had a great time with kids exploring our rivers and streams in Black Hawk, Delta, and Hotchkiss in July and August! CTU joined Lincoln Hills Cares, Sun Valley Youth, and The Nature Connection in hosting STREAM Keepers for dozens of kids to teach them about fly fishing and what makes a healthy stream.

CTU headed to Black Hawk on July 28th to learn about watershed ecosystems, fly-tying, casting, and fly-fishing with the kids of Sun Valley Youth at Lincoln Hills Cares. The kids investigated macroinvertebrates in Lincoln Hills Cares’ creeks and found mayflies, caddisflies, water striders, and more! Then, CTU volunteers taught the kids how to tie flies, and all of the kids got a fly to take home. The kids also practiced casting with Lawntrout to prepare to fish in the ponds. A few kids caught trout and learned how to release their trout!

CTU partnered with The Nature Connection for a STREAM Keepers program in Delta on August 1st and Hotchkiss on August 2nd. First, the kids evaluated how healthy or polluted the Gunnison River was at Confluence Park and the Delta Fairgrounds based on the macroinvertebrates they found. We found plenty of crayfish! The kids used their knowledge of macroinvertebrates to build their own bugs with crafting supplies. Then, the kids learned how to cast fly rods with Lawntrout!

Thank you to Ray, Dan, Andy, and Scott for volunteering and all the Lincoln Hills Cares and Sun Valley Youth staff for collaborating and helping with STREAM Keepers in Black Hawk! Thank you to our volunteer David and our partners at The Nature Connection for supporting STREAM Keepers with their counselors and staff!

If you would like to learn more about our STREAM Keepers programs click here to visit our website.

Fish New Zealand and Donate to CTU

Book an amazing New Zealand fishing experience now, and $250 of every trip goes directly to Colorado Trout Unlimited

Check out this awesome special…BOOK NOW!

 $5,999.00 

Fly Fishing Package - $7,999.00 (website price Airfare included!!)
October 2023 – April 2024

*5 Days fly fishing
*7 Nights’ accommodations
*4 Days walk and wade
*Economy Round Trip airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco included (business/premium economy upgrades available at additional cost)

*Price is per person, based on 2 anglers sharing rooms and guide

*All transportation and airport transfers to & from lodging included

*Private party (drinks and appetizers) 1st night of arrival

*All meals included…. excluding dinner

Cheesman Canyon Will Need Our Help, Again

Devastating rain event in Cheesman Canyon on July 31st is just the latest traumatizing event to hit this section of the cherished South Platte River.

Cuthroat Chapter (CCTU) board members Scott Tampa and Meg Renton were enjoying a day in the Cheesman Canyon section of the South Platte River with their favorite guide, long-time chapter member and supporter, Pat Dorsey. The day progressed normally until a particularly dark sky approached and caused the group to seek shelter while the storm passed. Unfortunately, this storm really packed a wallop and dropped 2.5” inches of rain in a short time. As the group watched helplessly, they saw the hillside running down beside their refuge and into the river turning its normally crystal clear water into that heavy mocha you drink in the morning. In some places, the path of the river was permanently altered due to the incredible amount of hillside that was rushed into the river. The group of anglers eventually made it safely back to the parking lot but not before observing and navigating entirely washed away sections of the Gill Trail.

As you may be aware, many of our Cutthroat Chapter members frequent this section of the South Platte River and we consider it our home waters. Because of that, Colorado Trout Unlimited has reached out to us as a de facto point of contact for what will surely be a herculean effort to repair the Gill Trail and restore the Cheesman Canyon section of the South Platte River.

If you are interested in providing manual labor at any point in this sure-to-be lengthy project, please fill out the form below and we’ll reach out for help once there is a formal plan and direction.

Carp Slam - Presented by Denver Trout Unlimited

Carp Slam XVII is Saturday, September 16th, 2023

Denver Trout Unlimited’s Carp Slam fly fishing tournament helps restore the health and habitat of Denver South Platte River and supports its environmental education programs like Trout-in-the-Classroom and Meet-the-River team building events. It also helps fund its continued fight for pollution protections on the Denver South Platte.

It’s a fly fishing tournament where the finest professional and amateur anglers in the region (and beyond) match wits with the wily and elusive common carp. Carp are one of the most difficult freshwater fish to pursue on fly – meanwhile, the urban South Platte River running through downtown Denver is one of the finest carp fisheries in North America.

The purpose of the tournament is to raise money for the reconstruction/rehabilitation of the Urban South Platte River below Chatfield Reservoir and through Denver.

Brand new Golden Ghost Lager is coming August 12th from River North Brewery Join DTU for a Denver South Platte River Cleanup event at 11:30am and we’ll head to RiverNorth afterwards to enjoy a cold brew and lunch from Moya’s tacos. $1 of every pint sold benefits the DSP!