November 2024| View Upcoming Events

November 2024 Newsletter

It’s November and a time for us to be thankful. Most of us are thankful that this presidential election will soon be over. The constant barrage of television and radio commercials, newspaper ads, text messages, telephone calls, unsolicited emails, etc. will soon be over (we hope).

The temperatures are cooler, and although not quite “frost-on-the-pumpkin” type days, our triple digit days are behind us for a while. And while the temperatures are cooling, our activities are beginning to heat up.

We begin with a Salt River Saturday on November 16 and continue through April. Look for additional announcements later this month.

We host a series of Salt River Saturdays with our Fishing Club partners, Desert Flycasters Club (DFC), and Arizona Fly Casters Club (AFC), and of course with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD).

We scheduled the Salt River Saturdays as follows:

Look for announcements coming up.

Zane Grey Chapter is expanding, so we’ll have a series of Pint Nights around Western and Northern Arizona. Our next TU on Tap will be in Lake Havasu City, December 5. Look for an announcement and more details to come. Stop by and say hello, and better yet bring a friend. We plan these as an occasional series of live meetings for our members, and to make new friends. So, stay tuned … there are more to come!

Is Patagonia on your bucket list? And we don’t mean a new fleece jacket! The Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited (AZTU) has a special Chile sweepstakes where the lucky winner can bring a friend for a Buy-one get-one (BOGO). More about this great adventure below, but you may enter the sweepstakes here.

Scroll down to the volunteer section to learn more and look for a follow up email addressed to Zane Grey members asking for your help and support.

Your ZGTU board asks that as you read this newsletter, please think about how you would like to join in and help promote fishing, conservation, education, and love of nature. You may contact me or any board member to let us know about your ideas.

We hope you can join us, or better yet volunteer to help with these many and varied activities. 

Until then, 

Tight Lines. 

Alan Davis

We can’t always be chasing rainbows on a mountain stream, or casting to prowling snook in the Everglades; we only have so much time and treasure. So, we scratch that itch by reading about other angler’s adventures in books and sporting journals and pay for the privilege. Even reading about fly fishing costs money. 

What if reading about our favored pastime was virtually free? What if all you had to do was get a public library card and get your desired magazines and books delivered to you on-line? Well, here’s how. 

It’s called the Libby app and it’s a virtual library at your fingertips. 

Public libraries have been getting creative in recent years about how they network to stay relevant in the Internet age. You no longer have to go to the quiet stacks of a library to check out books and magazines. With Libby and your digital library card you can order, for example, Fly Fisherman magazine, delivered monthly to your inbox for…zip, zero, nada. And it’s not just Fly Fisherman, there are many other high-end journals you can subscribe to with just your public library card. Books, too. You check them out digitally just like you would at the library. No money needed!

So, check it out (pun intended). It took me less than a minute to install the app on my phone. Thanks to my fishing and shooting pal, Mike Bush, for giving me the heads up on Libby. 

Another great source of everything fly fishing is the monthly Desert Fly Casters newsletter compiled and edited by our good friend Bob McKeon. Bob is one of Arizona's fly fishing treasures, and has been for many years. The DFC newsletter is always well-done, entertaining and informative. This month is no exception. 

Aquatic entomologist extraordinaire, Jim Strogen’s article on high country stream insects and how to improve your fishing success in these waters is worth the price of membership in DFC. Jim’s on-stream class on aquatic bug life is always a great hit with all the kids (and adults) at our annual Fish Camp at R-C Scout Ranch during the summer. Every fly angler should know about the bugs and what they look like in different stages.

If you are not a member of DFC and do not get Bob’s newsletter, you’re behind the curve. Go to www.desertflycasters.com to sign up. 

The White Mountain Lakes Foundation (WMLF) has rescheduled its annual membership appreciation day to Wednesday, December 4, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., according to membership chair, Joe Staller. 

The new location will be the Elk's Club in Chandler, located at 1775 West Chandler Road, AZ 85224. This is on the SW corner of West Chandler Blvd. and Pennington Street. The Elks will bring in their cook staff to prepare sandwich items to order. Options include Burgers, Patty Melts, Chicken fingers and Chicken Salad sandwiches. The Elks also have a full bar, so you can wash down your sandwich with a cold beer, soft drinks etc. Dinners are reasonably priced at $10.

There will be a raffle open to everyone. You do not need to be a member of WMLF to participate, (although they hope you will join).

The raffle has been significantly enhanced this year. Items include a Sage One 4 pc 8 weight (over $1000 retail), 2 certificates for guided fishing trips (thanks Cinda and Todd!). An Oasis Grande Fly tying bench, Reddington, Ross and Lamson reels, hundreds of new flies, fly boxes, new fins, vests, sling packs, and many other items.

There will also be a much anticipated drawing for the Dave Weaver built 9 foot 4 weight rod built on a Winston Air 2 blank. This rod is built using the finest components, and features a custom turned grip. Retail on the factory built version is $1195, and this rod is so much cooler.

To participate in this drawing you need to be a member of WMLF who has paid their annual dues, or is a lifetime member. There's still time to join! Go to WMLF.ORG, push the "Join Us" button and follow the instructions. Anyone who joins by December 3 will be added into the drawing.

Coming up in Zane Grey Land

Arizona Fly Casters' monthly meeting will be Tuesday, October 8, at the American Italian Club 7509 N. 12th Street, Phoenix, AZ. Speaker is Steve Berry of Destinations Fly Fish. Topic will be fly fishing Chilé. Meeting starts at 6 p.m.

Desert Fly Casters' monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, November 13 at the Elks Club, 1775 W. Chandler Blvd, Chandler. Speaker is Dave Foster of Lee's Ferry on the Fly. Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

And, if you need to renew your TU membership you can do it here easily. This link should take you directly to the renewal page.

October Meeting Summary

The AZ Trout Unlimited Public Policy Committee (AZTU-PPC) held its normal monthly meeting on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 7:00 pm. The October meeting was delayed one week. The speaker was Mark Truax, the president and CEO of Pac/West Strategies. He is a renown political strategist and communicator with expertise in policy, politics, and planning the overall strategy and operations of effective programs and campaigns for clients. He spoke about the anti-hunting campaigns in Colorado and how to effectively combat the anti-hunting rhetoric and anti-hunting legislative activity. The approach to anti-hunting activity can be applied to land use and water use legislative actions.

Legislative Update

The state legislature closed on June 15th, 2024, we do not have any current updates for our members. During the off season, TU is staying connected with its legislative contacts and helping identify and draft legislation that will be beneficial for water conservation, forest health, public land access and wildlife habitat. Stay tuned as we progress through the calendar year and look forward to the 2025 legislative session.

While the Legislature is Out of Session,

Let's Do Some Conservation Work

Tom Osterday - Past Chair AZTU PPC

Silver Creek Reed Removal Project

The Silver Creek reed removal was a two-day project held on September 17 and 18, 2024. A discussion of the work project accomplishments will be forthcoming in the December 2024 newsletter.



Upcoming Public Policy Events

The normal meeting of the AZTU-PPC will be held on Thursday, November 14, 2024. The speaker for the AZTU-PPC November meeting will be Daniel Dauwalter with the TU National Organization who will speak on the follow up procedures/activities to be performed to monitor the progress of the Apache Trout recovery.

The AZTU-Public Policy Committee hosts a virtual meeting on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 until 8:00 PM. If you are interested, please contact Ron Stearns at PublicPolicyChair@az-tu.org.

Join us as we host a series of Salt River Saturdays with our Fishing Club partners, Desert Fly Casters Club (DFC), and Arizona Fly Casters Club (AFC), and of course with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD).

We begin with our first Salt River Saturday on November 16 and continue through April. Look for additional announcements later this month. We scheduled the Salt River Saturdays as follows: 

PATAGONIA CHILE TROUT FISHING

A SWEEPSTAKES BENEFITTING ARIZONA TROUT UNLIMITED!

The Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation (AZSFWC) license plate fund is derived from the sale of wildlife conservation license plates and member organizations as well as non-member organizations are eligible to apply for those funds. 

The Arizona TU Council and Chapters have received funds over the past twelve years to support the Annual Native and Wild Trout Conferences, Fish Camp, Trout in the Classroom programs and varius conservation projects.

The next time your registration comes up for renewal, choose the conservation license plate option at registration to show your support for conservation and our projects. 

Below is a list of fishing organizations in Arizona. Feel free to join, explore, visit their websites or attend a meeting to find out more information:

You may access our calendar here. 

Zane Grey Trout Unlimited