Spring 1999
President's CornerAs president I want to express my personal gratitude to the past president Ken Collins. In January 1995 Ken Collins became the founding president of Friends of the Grand River. He looked at this as an opportunity to give something back to the river. Ken has always looked towards the future of the Grand River with optimism, applying his strong leadership skills for the benefit of FOGR and the angling community. Ken Collins has probably worked harder for Friends of the Grand River during his four-year term as president than most volunteer members. Ken has given diligently of his time and energy to the many programs and projects undertaken by Friends of the Grand River. His efforts always went far beyond the normal expectations of a president and have resulted in many significant achievements. In his role as president he was a consistent source of inspiration and always allowed the board to work freely and effectively toward the goals of FOGR. Ken was instrumental in building bridges between FOGR, MNR & GRCA. Ken is one of the greatest friends that any river could have and if the Grand Old Lady herself could speak, she would graciously say", Thank-you Ken.." On behalf of the membership, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ken for everything he did and wish Ken & his family all the best. Sincerely, Larry R. McGratton President |
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1999 Election Results The member elected to the executive in 1999 are: President, Larry McGratton; Vice President, Ian Martin; Treasurer, Terry Ryckman; and Secretary, John Dadds The 1999 Board of Directors consists of Art Patterson, Dave Whalley, Doug Ratz, Tom Coulter, Alex Albl, Derek Strub, Jeff Prickett, Steve May and Dave Muller. CONGRATULATIONS! On February 3, 1999 Friends of the Grand River were honored by receiving the President’s Award from the Fergus & District Chamber of Commerce. The award was present at the Chambers Awards banquet, the board of directors were present to accept the award on the behalf of FOGR membership. The award prented to the Friends reads as follows; Presented to this action oriented volunteer group for its activities in and around the Grand River watershed
Food for thought! Trout fishing isn’t just fishing for trout. It’s fishing for sport rather than for food, where the true enjoyment of the sport lies in the challenge, the lore, the battle of wits, not necessarily the full creel. It’s the felling of satisfaction that comes from limiting your kill instead of killing your limit. It’s communing with nature where the chief reward is a refreshed body and a contented soul, where a license is a permit to use – not abuse, to enjoy not destroy our trout waters. It’s subscribing to the proposition that what’s good for trout is good for trout fishermen and that managing trout for the trout rather than for the trout fishermen is fundamental to the solution of our trout problems. It’s appreciating our trout, respecting fellow anglers and giving serious thought to tomorrow. What you have just read, was the original philosophy of Trout Unlimited written by Art Neumann, one of the founding members of TU. It is amassing how this statement is so accurate 40 years later. FOGR Events Calendar Fly Fishing Shows April Tenth and Eleventh, 1999 Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Forum is April 10 and 11. If you are able to volunteer a few hours to help out at the show, please contact Terry Ryckman at (519) 843-3806 or Larry McGratton at (519) 843-3102 Grand Opportunities June Fifth, 1999 In support of Grand Opportunities, Friends of the Grand River will be holding a will be holding a used equipment sale. Fraser Hale is the Chairperson for the forum, he is hoping to run the used equipment sale as a fundraiser for FOGR. The items will be sold on consignment with 80% going to the owner and 20% to Friends of the Grand River. Fraser will also be running the day Barbecue with the help of volunteers. If you can help out contact Fraser Hale at (519) 787-0292 Elora Trout Fest June Fifth, 1999 On June fifth FOGR will be involved in the Elora trout fest, which is a celebration in the honor of the Grand River put on by the Community of Center Wellington. This event is to be run with the Grand Opportunities Forum for a day full of family enjoyment for everyone involved. So please come and join in the fun, Trout fest starts at 10.00am and ends at 11pm. Trout Fest will be held at Bissell Park, in Elora, some of the day’s events are. The Great Elora Trout Race Fun Activities & Games Canoe & Kayak Events Music, Music, Music Beer Tent Food vendors & refreshments FOGR will be running 3 or 4 events on the day, Fly-casting, nail driving, buck saw log cutting, as well as a information booth about Friends of the Grand River. All Trout Fest proceeds go to Friends of the Grand River Anyone wishing more information contact Doug Ratz at (519) 846-5902 Adopt a Road Clean-up dates May 2nd, 1999 at 8.00a.m. Fergus Arena July 11th, 1999 at 8.00a.m. Fergus Arena September 19th, 1999 at 8.00a.m. Fergus Arena Anyone wishing more information contact Art Patterson at (519) 843-5212 River Watch MNR River Watch training information meeting will take place on April 8th, 1999 at the Belwood Dam GRCA office. Do to nice weather all experienced River Watch volunteers should be aware that there is a lot of early fishing going on. Try to hookup with a partner and get out for a couple of hours. Anyone wishing more information contact Tom Coulter at (519) 843-4919 Fish Stocking for 1999 The Grand River will receive 20,000+ brown trout for stocking this year, however as in the past the dates for this project are uncertain. For stocking to take place the temperature in the river must be within a couple of degrees of the hatchery, there fore no one can pin down the exact date in advance. So if you are interested in volunteering for this project, you should consider the date may change and stocking is always during the week and never on the weekend. If you have signed up on the project sheet or on our membership renewal forum you will be called when a date has been confirmed, FOGR are usually notified 2 to 3 days prior to the date of stocking. Anyone wishing to volunteer for stocking can contact Larry McGratton at (519) 843-3102 Tree Planting This Year there are two separated tree planting dates, the first is May 1st, 1999. The Cubs & Scouts of Wellington County will plant the 3000 trees. They will be working on their forestry badges. Doug could use 6to 8 Volunteers on this date to act as captains. The second date will be the main tree plant for FOGR, it will take place on the 7th & 8th of May 1999. On Friday the 7th of May the high school students from Dan O’Gorman’s class will be planting about 600 trees, 6 to 8 volunteers are needed to act as captains for this date. On Saturday the 8th of May FOGR will be planting trees along carol creek. Anyone wishing to volunteer to help at any of the above dates can contact Doug Ratz (519) 846-5902 Membership Renewal Reminder 1999 memberships are now due, please respond promptly as this would be greatly appreciated. The board of Friends of the Grand River thanks you for your continuing support and for sharing and caring for the future of the Grand River. Annual Fees:
Please make cheques payable to: "Friends of the Grand River" and return to: P.O. Box 271 Troutfitter Challenge Troutfitter Challenge is a fly-fishing contest that originated at Grand River Troutfitters. A fun event that raised over $300 for Friends of the Grand last year, this is a friendly fly-fishing competition at Primrose Trout Farm. There is a great chance to wear off the rust a week before the season starts and to help raise money for some of our projects throughout the summer. This year the tournament falls on Sunday April 18. To get involved in the challenge you need a friend to fish with, a fly rod and $50 per team to enter. One member of each two-person team ties a fly that his or her partner fishes with for a set amount of time. The total number of fish are counted and scored. Then the roles are reversed and we fish for another round. The team with the most fish landed wins prize money. You do not have to be an expert to participate. There are tons of fish in the pond, and luck has a big role in the final outcome of the challenge. There will also be a variety of other prizes, and in the afternoon there will be an opportunity to try out new fly-fishing gear, rods and lines. Casting help will be available. We will also have video casting analysis available and a yummy barbecue to highlight this entertaining fund-raising event. To register or to help out call Troutfitters at (519) 787-4359 or Steve May at (519) 846-8396. Register soon because there is a limit of 20 teams in the Troutfitter Challenge. Garbage Kiosk Renewal 1999 Kiosk Renewed Sponsors: Grand River Troutfitters Ltd. The Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club Jordy Enterprises Friends of the Grand River would like to welcome New Sponsors for 1999: Dofasco Angling Club If you’ve fished the river, you must have seen the kiosk. This year we have a few extra kiosks available for sponsorship. The Kiosk are a lot of work, but its work that benefits the environment and helps us be good neighbors to the whole community. Anyone who is interested in sponsoring a kiosk for the 1999 season should contact Terry Ryckman at (519) 843-3806 for the details. Donation to Friends of the Grand River. Special Thanks to Vaughan Norris, of Norris Bakery, 480 Frederick Street, Kitchener, for the donation of the bakery treats provided for the Annual General Meeting. Editor’s Notes Anyone wishing to contribute to the newsletter is welcome. If possible, send material on a floppy or over the Internet. I’ll be glad to supply you with a mailer and a floppy if necessary. Send material to:John Dadds Friends of the Grand River P.O Box 271 Fergus, Ontario N1M 3E2 Deadline for the next newsletter is June 30 1999 Fish the Net Can’t get out fishing? Try connecting to some of the hundreds of web sites available on the Internet. Friends of the Grand River now has its own web page. www.friendsofthegrandriver.com The Bill Hooks Award Bill Hooks was one of the founding board members of Friends of the Grand River and he was know throughout Waterloo County as an outstanding teacher and educator- many of us also knew Hooksy as a fine sportsman and fellow fly-fisherman. In memory of Bill Hooks, the board of Friends of the Grand River set up the Bill Hooks Award in River Stewardship through the many donation made by Bill's friends and loved ones. On the evening of Friday, 6, November, 1998, representing The Friends of the Grand River (FOGR), Ian Martin attended the commencement exercises of Center Wellington District High School in Fergus to present the Bill Hooks Award in River Stewardship to the recipient Mr. Craig Machan of the CWDHS graduating class. The science teachers at CWDHS selected Craig to receive the award based on his interest and participation in conservation activities on the Grand River, and also on his determination to pursue a career path in a conservation related field. In his final year at CWDHS, Craig completed an independent research project involving the computerized mapping of fish spawning areas in the Grand River, using geographic information systems (GIS) software. His project enables display and organization of the data in a manner that can be related to other land-use information collected along the river. Since his graduation, Craig has been enrolled in first year studies at Sir Sanford Fleming College, where he is in the Forestry Technician/Fish and Wildlife Conservation program. His teachers describe him as a hard working, intelligent, and personable young man, who is clearly deserving of the award. Craig was very pleased to have been selected for the Bill Hooks Award in River Stewardship and so stated in writing to the Hooks Family. |
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