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QUOTE OF THE MONTH Bob Luck, Woolly Buggers Don't Count "A friend told me that fish caught on Woolly Buggers don't count, but that is sour grapes." Spoiler alert. I agree with Bob. Catching trout with streamers do count and are a key strategy for catching big fish. I discovered when reading Bob's book that the title is a bit misleading since he caught a 20 incher using this classic fly. Personally, I have caught some of my largest trout using a fancy variation of the classic Woolly Bugger called the JQ Streamer (i.e., formerly the CQ Streamer). When taking the Orvis fly tying class in St. Louis Park, guess what fly was the first one on the list? WB! A classic. I have included fly tying instructions for these flies in the photo section. Thanks to Paul Johnson for his contribution. INTRODUCTION Greetings from the TCTU Streamkeepers. Welcome to 2026! As always, we are anxiously anticipating the upcoming season. I have found this to be a good time to restock my fly boxes. Perhaps some more Woolly Buggers? One of my fishing friends braved the 25 degree temps recently in Wisconsin and caught a lot of fish. He was finding success with some egg patterns. I personally usually wait until the temps reach the 40's. The long term weather predictions for 2026 at this stage are speculative at best. According to Paul Douglas from the Minnesota Star Tribune, El Niño will again impact our weather for the coming year. Paul recently stated, "Weather? 2025 was the 13th-warmest year in state history, dating back 152 years. It was a warm, wet and volatile year with 56 (mostly small) tornadoes and serious flash flooding near Morris and Ely, but we saw persistent drought up north. A brewing El Niño in 2026 may keep us warmer and wetter again this year. Seems to be a trend." PREPARATIONS FOR THE 2026 STREAMKEEPER SEASON Preparations are under way for the TCTU Streamkeeper monitoring season for 2026. In the coming weeks we are finalizing our Targeted teams for our nine streams. We will also be taking an inventory of our supplies, and training will be set up on a Saturday in late April or early May. The training will be both for new stream keepers and our veteran monitors that might want a refresher. Not interested in joining a team? You can still participate as a General Stream Keeper by getting some test strips, taking the training, and taking readings on a more random basis during the year. The date, time, and location for training will be determined in our next newsletter. JOIN THE SALT WATCH Our partner organization, The Izaak Walton League (i.e., IWL), is again sponsoring the 2026 Winter Salt Week on January 26-30, 2026. If you are interested in participating, you can request a Salt Watch kit and take some readings in area streams, ponds, or lakes. You have the option of entering the salt/ chloride data to our TCTU Google Form or directly to the Clean Water hub. Once you have the kit, the testing on a stream takes about ten minutes. According to IWL, road salt helps keep us safe on roads and sidewalks during winter, but too much of it is harmful. Collectively, we spread an estimated 10–20 million tons of salt each year, much of which is washed away by melting snow and rain into storm drains, streams, and even drinking water, while also damaging infrastructure. Let's work together to get the salt out! Trivia question: Let's say you want to use salt-based deicer for a 20-foot driveway. How much should you use? a. A tablespoon b. A 12-ounce mug c. A three-gallon bucket d. Just use the whole bag Answer: b. Yes! A little bit goes a long way. If you feel the crunch of salt underfoot, you applied too much. Free Salt Watch kits are available here: 2026 DRIFTLESS SYMPOSIUM IS COMING IN FEBRUARY Interested in learning more about the trout science? The 2026 Driftless Symposium may be for you! There will be a full agenda with speakers on trout science, current management & policy challenges, emerging threats, project activities and more! Tickets for the conference and meals are available now. Feel free to book a room on the 25th with instructions and discount code below. You are invited to attend the 2026 Driftless Symposium. The symposium, hosted by the Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Restoration Effort, will be held in-person Wednesday Feb. 25 and Thursday Feb. 26 at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Event Center in Onalaska, WI.
The 2026 symposium will feature a tremendous slate of presenters who are on the forefront of research and management of our Driftless Area watersheds. In January, watch our Facebook feed for spotlights on individual presentations. A complete list of presenters and topics will be published on our event page when our lineup is set. One of the reasons the Driftless is thriving is the army of scientists, restoration specialists, and nonprofit and agency partners working to study, care for and recover our fabled streams. The symposium features some of the most powerful and important voices in the partnership. For more information regarding the symposium, you can reach out to Sara Strassman at [email protected]. We hope to see you at this year's Driftless Symposium. PHOTOS Woolly Bugger, Paul Johnson, Laughing Trout Fly Fishing Club Tying instructions on You Tube: https://youtu.be/4x2vAbXNDM0?si=86jGm-nAIk0UwZdp  Photo of a JQ Streamer, formerly the CQ Streamer. Source: River Run Outfitters, Branson, MO Tying Instructions: https://www.riverrunoutfitters.com/fly-recipes/cq-streamer-2/ 
1 Comment
Dan Shindelar
1/17/2026 06:04:14 pm
Jim, Leave a Reply. |
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