April Streamkeepers Report

Greetings from the TCTU Streamkeepers. 
 
Quote of the Month:  "I said, what are they biting on!"  Paul Maclean (i.e., Brad Pitt), asking his brother Norman in the classic movie, A River Runs Through It
 
MACRO INVERTEBRATE/ BUG STUDIES
One of my favorite parts of the movie, "A River Runs Through It," is when Paul yells to his brother, Norman, "I said, what are they biting on!"  I use that same line a lot when I visit with other anglers on streams. 
 
Our TCTU Macro Invertebrate/ Bug team has conducted two studies on areas streams.  We participated in a large repeater study on the Rush River in Wisconsin in October 2023.  The second one was part of the Izaak Walton League Save Our Stream training held on Eagle Creek last August 2024.  We are also planning to do a "Repeater" bug study on the South Branch of the Whitewater in early June 2025.

The Rush
At the Rush River study, a total of 4440 specimens were identified from the 16 samples, with a total of 133 taxa identified. Abundant species included the mayfly Teloganopsis deficiens (746 specimens), the riffle beetle Optioservus fastiditus (622), the mayfly Baetis tricaudatus (269), and the two caddisfly species Ceratopsyche alhedra (202) and C. slossonae (197). Scuds were also abundant at two of the tributary sites.
 
For a more detailed pdf presentation of our Rush River results, go to:
 
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:d264fe17-667f-4b59-ba75-67f189f203d9
 
Eagle Creek
Based on our macro invertebrate "score" at Eagle Creek from last August, the creek was determined to be "fair" in quality.  A habitat project is planned for Eagle Creek during this summer.  We found the following bugs on Eagle Creek:  Caddisflies, Mayflies, Water snipe flies, scuds, midge flies, and lunged snails.
 
For more details on our Eagle Creek Study and other results from our Streamkeepers, go to the Clean Water Hub at:
 
https://www.cleanwaterhub.org/account/login
 
Log in at the Clean Water Hub, click My Sites, Click Organizations, and enter TCTU as the organization.  Our sites include TCTU-Target Streams and Non Target Waters (TCTU).  Happy exploring!
 
What are they biting on? 
Let's get back to Paul's original question about what they are biting on.   Based on our "snap shots" of bugs on the Rush River and Eagle Creek in October and August respectively, midges, caddis, mayflies, and scuds are always good choices.  We only saw on stonefly, and it was a giant.
 
STREAMKEEPER UPDATES
Are you interested in monitoring streams?  You can start by joining the nitrate and salt watch and becoming a General Streamkeeper.  You can randomly take reading whenever you are fishing or near a stream.  Supplies are free from the Izaak Walton League.  Baseline nitrate data is helpful as we enter the "spring flush" of higher nitrate levels due to increased precipitation and application of fertilizers.
 
The nitrate watch site is at:  https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/nitrate-watch
 
The salt watch site is at:  https://www.iwla.org/water/stream-monitoring/salt-watch
 
Our "Targeted" Streamkeeper teams will soon be starting our work on area streams in the coming weeks.
 
STREAMKEEPER/SAVE OUR STREAM (SOS) CHEMICAL TESTING TRAININIG EVENT
 
Date:  Saturday, April 26
Time:  10:00 am
Location:  Eagle Creek, 126th St. W.  Bridge Access, Savage, MN, 55378
GPS:  44.775642, -93.385900
 
Sign up for the event at:  https://www.twincitiestu.org/events.html
 
We will do on stream water quality chemical training for new Streamkeepers and current Streamkeepers that need some refresher training and anyone that has interest in learning more about taking chemical water tests.  We will follow the Save Our Stream (i.e. SOS) protocol and learn about taking measurements including water temperature, clarity, nitrates, nitrites, pH, alkalinity, hardness, phosphate, and salt.  We will also discuss the Google Form that we use to record the data.
 
That's all for now.  Tight lines.
 
Jim Sauter
TCTU Streamkeeper Coordinator