by Harold Slawik
This is the fourth year that Ike’s Creek (aka Mall of America Creek) has been part of the TCTU Streamkeepers Program. You will find its headwaters southeast of the intersection of Killibrew Drive and Old Shakopee Road, just a few hundred feet from the Mega Mall. This beautiful little stream flows in a narrow valley for less than a mile into Long Meadow Lake in the Minnesota River Valley. It flows clear and steady throughout the year and has a population of naturally-reproducing brook trout.
The creek is primarily on Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge property and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is overseeing a major habitat improvement project this summer. USF&WL biologist Vicki Sherri has been overseeing Ike’s Creek conservation efforts since brook trout were reintroduced to the creek in 2007, and the current project is a crowning effort with major funding from the Minnesota Valley Trust.
In April and May TCTU volunteers participated in two efforts to protect the creek’s trout by moving them out of the 400 to 500 foot improvement zone. Minnesota DNR trout specialist Mark Nemeth walked the creek with electro shocking equipment while volunteers netted the fish and put them in a holding tank for later movement upstream.

by Jim Sauter
Greetings from TCTU Streamkeepers.
To date our Streamkeeper volunteer monitors have conducted 37 chemical observations on 10 streams and two macroinvertebrate samplings on the South Branch of the Whitewater River.  Our thirty plus Streamkeeper volunteers, along with the over 2,000 of our TCTU members who are fishing and hiking in the area, are providing a small army of "eyes and ears" on streams in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and beyond.  
Our stream chemistry numbers are looking good so far this spring.  We still have elevated chloride numbers on the Mall of America/ Ike's Creek, and the nitrate level on Hay Creek was "fair".  Little Cannon River was experiencing some erosion from our spring rains.
BUGS AND BUFFERS, THE REPEATER PROJECT
I believe there is a rare breed of people that get really excited about bugs.  Some folks hate bugs, some are indifferent, and then there are those of us that love them and get excited to see them.  

by Bob Luck
Two weeks ago, I tore myself away from the Driftless Area to spend a few days with some friends in the Boundary Waters.  I did manage to smuggle my new 8-weight into the canoe—the Ant Bullet that I won at the Oktoberfish silent auction last fall.  I must admit that catching smallmouths and northerns on poppers is a pretty fun way to fish, as well as providing some fresh meat to go along with those freeze-dried meal kits. 
Inspired by my BWCA adventure, I went to my friend Mike Miller’s farm last week, borrowed his ATV, and drove down to the Kinnickinnic River to fish at dusk.  Mike is far too sensible to fish at night.  He stayed in his house with his dog Ernie and a beer and told me to give him my report when I returned.  Figuring an 8-weight was overkill, I cast poppers into a large, slow-moving pool against the bluffs with my 5-weight.  Nothing.  Just in case, I tried a large hopper pattern.  A few casts later, the line started screaming off the reel.  After a few seconds, the line went slack, and I reeled in a straightened-out hopper with a few tufts of beaver fur attached. Time to go home.

by Yves Charron
Dear fellow Twin Cities Trout Unlimited members,  I hope you all had a chance to go fishing.   This has been an unusually cold and wet June so far, but the trout don’t care--they are already wet. ; - )
This month’s edition of the President’s angle will be slightly different.   It will be about safety. 
As some of you know, I like to fish in streams for trout, but since we are in the land of 10,000 lakes, I have a  kayak and fish lakes around the Twin Cities and the great state of Minnesota.   One Saturday in May, I did just that.  After a successful outing on a lake just north of the Twin Cities catching largemouth bass, I pulled my kayak off the lake and strapped it to the top of my car as usual.  Below is what it looks like on top of my car.

As usual, I checked everything to make sure it was well secured and before driving.  Then through my sun roof, I monitor to ensure the kayak is still well secured.   I exited the parking lot, took a few side streets, and merged through traffic to get on the highway.   After a few minutes of driving, I heard a big bang on top of my car.  When I looked-up, the kayak was no longer there.  ​