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Meeting Minutes May 2023

Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2020

Meeting Attendees

     Tom Vanderputten   Keith Loutzenhiser  Nick Christofeno   Mike Beachy  Chase Spaw

     Mark Holcomb    Steve Mack   Jon Christofeno  Wayne Andrews  John Hollister  Leonard Gustin

Meeting Minutes

  • The meeting minutes for March 11, 2020 were approved.
  • There was no April meeting due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The May meeting was held outdoors at Riverbend Park, since the library was still closed.

Fishing Reports

  • Last couple of weeks the Little Elkhart has been outstanding! Blue wing olives, Caddis & Hendrickson hatches. All members present agree about the great fishing.

 Treasurer’s Report

  • Keith Loutzenhiser reported a total balance $ 29,234.87 in all accounts.
  • LECTU received a $ 150 donation from Dr.Burns.
  • LECTU received a few requests for the Little Elkhart River guides ($30).
  • Received additional $ 370 for the Adopt-A-Trout mail-in.
  • The raffle results will be submitted to the Indiana State gaming commission with explanation.
  • Keith is preparing the LECTU annual financial report for TU National which is postponed until July 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Communications

  • The spring newsletter has been sent.
  • Jim Phillips has passed away since our March meeting. Please read the Memoriam to Jim and also the Memoriam to Charlie Ray in the spring newsletter.
  • There have been 6 guide requests and numerous emails seeking information on the Little Elkhart.

Little Elkhart River Guide (reprinted from March meeting minutes)

  • The river guide is outdated and contains obsolete information.
  • After discussion it was decided to keep the current tri-fold format for the guide. After it is updated and new copies printed, they will be available at No Charge.
  • Keith volunteered to work on a new draft for the guide.

LECTU Web-Site Manager

  • The LECTU web-site is often not updated, and contains old and stale information.
  • LECTU will search for someone that can take over full time management of the Web-Site.

Annual Spring Outing

  • The May 2 annual outing was postponed due to the pandemic.
  • After much discussion regarding a possible fall meeting a motion was made and carried that the meeting for 2020 be cancelled. We will hold our annual meeting on the first Saturday in May 2021.
  • Nicole Watson (the Featured Speaker) is willing to reschedule.

Corson County Park

  • Ronda DeCaire of the Elkhart County Parks stated that although the survey is complete there is an issue with the south boundary that needs to be resolved.
  • The county has submitted a Land and Water grant to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and there will be no more crop plantings.
  • The Zoning Board will meet within the next two months, and Ronda will notify LECTU.
  • LECTU does not yet have permission to use the lane. Please park near the road.

NLC Youth Education

  • Workgroup Skype meeting on May 6. Keith will report next meeting.

Cub Scouts

  • Contacted Mike Miller about the Fisherman fence “up and over” installation.
  • There have been no meetings due to Covid-19 and therefore no information.

Wood Duck Houses

  • Mark Holcomb has agreed to look into this for LECTU.

CITU

  • LECTU received a Thank You note from Central Indiana TU for our participation in the 3FT.
  • Mike donated a fly rod for their silent auction.

LECTU Fundraising

  • Pandemic has stifled this effort and we have postponed the annual outing until 2021.
  • Steve Mack will retain the information and leads.
  • Jim Lothary donated a brown trout carving.

Annual Adopt-A-Trout Raffle

  • Mail back generated $ 2,085.
  • Fly shows, sales at other clubs, and personal sales added to mail-in= over $4,000 without Outing!

Edward Donnelly Chapter

  • Nick guided the past president of the chapter (Jeff Goad) on May 7th. They fished the new Corson County park area. Jeff was quite impressed with the fishery.
  • The Edward Donnelly Chapter will donate $ 500-$1,000 to LECTU for our stream maintenance.
  • The Edward Donnelly Chapter also has a list of our work days, and plan to assist for conservation hours.

No Trespassing at Well Field 

  • New signs have been posted below the No Trespassing Signs. The new signs: “Fishing Permitted” This will remove any ambiguity regarding the access at this section of the Catch/Release.

Summer Work Days

  • The trail cutting through Hoover Woods will be either Saturday June 13th or June 27th. The decision will be made at the June meeting.
  • In addition, due to many fallen trees there will need to be chainsaw work as well.
  • The other work days are July 11, 25, August 8, 22, and September 12 (all days are Saturday).

Brown Trout Stocking

  • LECTU stocked The Little Elkhart with 500 brown trout at the Meadow in the Catch/Release area, and another 500 brown trout in the Corson County Park area.
  • The stocking was on Wednesday May 13th.
  • All the trout stocked were 10”-12” with some exceeding 13”

Riverfest 

  • The Middlebury Riverfest event is August 29th. Our contact is Tom Enright.
  • Keith will be the chairperson from LECTU for the event.

Adopt-A-Trout Drawing

  • The raffle was conducted at our May meeting since the outing was cancelled.
  • The Grand Prize winner was Larry Beachy.

Next Meeting – Wednesday – June 10, 2020 at 7:00 PM at the Middlebury Library

Tom Vanderputten – Secretary