From the President’s Desk

Dear Friends:

Seems like it's been a while since we last put out a newsletter. We apologize for that. It wasn't an oversight, more like overworked.

As Summer recedes into Fall I can now find the time to sit at the computer and write the newsletter. During the summer things just seem to get put on the back burners. The board of Friends of the Grand River (FOGR), worked hard till the end of June either running or helping with FOGR Projects and on going meetings with the many partners (MNR, GRCA, DFO, etc) that we have built a relationship with.

As July started it was time for the members of the board to make time for their own families, so there were no meetings in July and the board deals with the running of FOGR by email or telephone. The best source for our membership to keep in contact with what is going on is the FOGR web site www.friendsofthegrandriver.com

We had a dazzling spring into summer this year. A few false starts because of the weather, but by and large, things worked out nicely.

The big news these days is the Beatty Dam. One of our late spring downpours resulted in flows in the 140 cubic metres per second range. The dam succumbed and a four-metre breech appeared. So its days were numbered. Contractors were called in to remove the rest of the structure as a public safety emergency, but the township intends to apply for approvals from the authorities for a replacement. We'll see. (See full story below)

So we've planted trees, stocked fish, put out garbage Kiosks worked on access points helped out with stocking on the Conestogo and the birth of a new group, the Conestgo River Enhancement Workgroup (CREW) over there.

We had a fine Grand Opportunities in terms of both weather, contents of the seminars and chances to meet and greet friends from the fly-fishing community.

Your support of the rod draw was wonderful. The last few tickets went as we sat down for supper that night. The lucky new owner of a Sage 8-wt rod (890-4 Xi-2), disc-drag reel (Sage 3400D) and Sage Performance Taper line is Janice Duffield of Arkell, Ontario.

Tight Lines

Larry R. McGratton
President

The Beatty Dam, then and now...

Let's step back a few years. When there was still a Town of Fergus (prior to municipal amalgamation) there was a public debate about what to do with the Beatty Dam.

The dam, purchased by the town for $1 from the Beatty company, now known as GSW, was a wooden structure erected in the early 1950s to supply power to the Beatty works in the building which now houses the Fergus Market.

Built on a level cement sill, the sloping deck of the dam was braced with 12” x 12” timbers. Over the years the structure deteriorated; holes, known to the locals as “vortexes,” opened up where part of the water control mechanism broke up.

At normal summer flows or higher, little if any water went over the dam — it all plunged through the holes, and the unsightly wooden deck was exposed.

A public meeting was held to examine options and Friends of the Grand went in with a bunch of landscape architect's drawing worth several thousand dollars to show what it would be like without the dam. That's the position we took — the river would be better off without an obstruction to fish passage.

We also took the position that it was a community decision. We'd state our view, but we wouldn't be lobbying and knocking on doors to get the dam pulled down.

With amalgamation, the Town of Fergus disappeared and the new Township of Centre Wellington grew up in its place. The Beatty Dam dropped off everyone's agenda, especially as other issues took up the council's time, like the new racetrack. That didn't mean the problem had gone away. It was just festering.

There's a movement by a number of nostalgic souls to get the dam replaced. They like a downtown reflecting pool. And to hell with the environment.

That thought pushed the council into appealing a refusal by the Ministry of Natural Resources to allow removal and replacement of the dam. They started a process which involved an appeal of the decision to the Mining and Lands Commissioner, a provincial body which can review MNR decisions on various resource management issues.

MNR asked us to become a “party of the third part” to the review process, which meant that we supported their position. This we did.

The Mining and Lands Commissioner review procedure suggests that parties enter into a mediation process, and we have been involved in that for many months.

In an effort to be constructive, Friends of the Grand offered both cash and in-kind support for rehabilitation of the upstream riverbed. We stopped short of helping to fund the actual removal of the dam.

Where we go from here in view of the collapse and removal remains to be seen.

In a news release announcing that contractors would be on site in July to remove the wooden portion of the dam, the township said it would be asking to replace the dam. If that's their position, we will continue to object to it. We will also leave our offer to help with site improvements on the table as a gesture of good faith.

Part of our role as an organization is to act as an advocate for the river. This thought has constantly been at the back of our minds as we have gone through this process.

The unfortunate part is that it is draining energy that could otherwise be spent on more constructive processes.

Larry McGratton, Ian Martin, Massimo Rovazzi and John Dadds have all been involved in the dam issue. It has taken up many hours of these people's personal and work time. The only saving grace is that most of the action took place outside of fishing season.

We'll keep you posted on developments. Watch the web site for news.•

( Written before the dam collapsed, this story is included to give a fuller picture of the dam issue.)

Sage Conservation Fundraising Raffle 2004

Janice Duffield of Arkell, Ontario, was the winner of the 2004 Sage Conservation Fundraising Raffle, Janice was delighted to take home a top-of-the-line Sage rod, reel, and line and is making plans to try out her new fly fishing outfit on some steelhead or bonefish! The draw was held at FOGR's Grand Opportunities Fly Fishing Forum on Saturday, 05 June at Belwood Lake Conservation Area near Elora.

All of the 400 tickets printed were sold at $10, raising $4000 for FOGR's conservation projects on the Grand River and its tributaries. The prize package, consisting of a Sage 8-wt rod (890-4 Xi-2), disc-drag reel (Sage 3400D) and Sage Performance Taper line, were donated by Sage Fly Rods of Bainbridge Island, WA, Sage's Ontario retail dealers, and Sage Representative Bob McKenzie Agencies. With the addition of this year's Sage Conservation Fundraising proceeds, a total of $16,500 has been raised over the 5 years of this annual event.

Where are all those fish hiding?

Summer can prove frustrating, early mornings and late evenings apart, the main part of the day can be a challenge when you're casting at lethargic brown trout that don't seem in the mood to chase anything. Although the water temperature didn't get above 20*C this summer, August was a tough month for anyone on the river and while trout fishing remains my over-riding passion I have to confess that I enjoy encounters with both smallmouth bass and pike on the fly. Armed with my trusty five weight (you may want a six weight) a fly box of streamers and a 4x leader/tippet I head to the river with my mind set on fishing for pike or bass, I know what you are thinking, a 4x mono leader for pike? Is he nuts?

All I have to say is ADRENALIN RUSH, and there in lies the reason for the 4x leader. Nothing is more thrilling than hooking a fish and knowing that unless you do everything just right and have a whole lot of luck, you don't stand a chance. Yes you will lose fish every once in while, but you will also land a lot of those fish and the challenge of doing it without a steel bite guard is what it is all about.

So rather then using the same old excuses- ("it's much too bright", "it's not worth a cast", "the river flow is far too low", "the fish just weren't interested "or that most pathetic excuses "the fish are not there" ) and not fish the Grand River tailwater or become discouraged with your success, why not try pike or bass on the fly. Who knows you may even catch that excusive trophy brown trout, I know I have.

What are your views?

If you have a view that doesn't agree with anything written in Grand Times , don't hesitate to write to us.

We've never had a 'Letters to the Editor' section, mainly because we've never had any letters.

As this is your newsletter, you have every right to see your views in print.

Take us to task; tell us we've done the right thing. While the editors and the board (often one and the same) try to do things in all of our best interests, sometimes the target may be missed.

Although we hold the pen, it doesn't mean we have to always have the last word.•