Thank you Bitter Root Brewery, Spice of Life, and Banque Club

(Hamilton, Mont., Mar 17) March 2011 is a good month for winter recreation and for Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (BRTU) to recognize and thank three exceptional supporting businesses. The BRTU chapter is very fortunate to have many establishments in the area that are good supporters and reliable contributors to TU’s conservation and education efforts. The local TU Chapter encourages visitors and residents to patronize these places to eat and drink as you recreate around the Bitterroot Valley. These recommendations don’t come lightly. Read about each supporter below.

o   Bitterroot Brewing Company

Nicol and Tim Bozik are the daughter-father team owning and running Bitter Root Brewing. In addition to sponsoring the BRTU banquet and providing the best microbrews in the valley, the Brewery also hosts a fly-tying roundtable every Wednesday evening. According to Greg Chester, the fun and tying starts about 5:30 P.M. Prominent tiers from around the valley periodically show up, flaunt their abilities, and provide entertainment and fishing fables. If you want to pick up some tips from the best, stop by, grab an IPA and check it out. Rumor has it that even local living legend John Foust occasionally shows up. The food is superior pub fare, too. And, check their website for information about the brews and the popular music venue.

Bitter Root Brewing Co.
101 Marcus Street
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-7468
Directions | Menu | Hours and Calendar

o   The Banque Bar

Al Mitchell, owner of the Paper Clip in Hamilton, has opened a full-service bar in the old Banque Club and Bar on Hamilton’s Main Street. Paper Clip has been a donor to BRTU since the late 1970’s when Cherie and Dale Linduska opened it; Carol and Al continue this tradition. If you are still thirsty for a drink and some conversation after the Brewery closes at 8:00 pm, head on over to the Banque. It is an historic building worth spending time in.

Banque Club
225 W Main St
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-5205
Directions

o   Tapas at the Spice of Life

Karen Suennen and the crew at Spice of Life are also long-time supporters of BRTU. In fact, Spice catered the banquets for a number of years before BRTU moved the event out to the Bitterroot River Inn. Karen recently added Tapas based on her regular menu between 5:30 and 6:30 on Wednesdays through Saturdays. In case you don’t know, tapas are “small plates” of delectables designed to whet the appetite and stimulate conversation over a glass of wine or a beer, perfect before a larger meal or before heading home to dinner. Stop in for dinner or for a very modest price enjoy a beverage and a selection of A to Z nibbling including hummus & crostini, tuna yakitori with sushi rice and nori, and olives in warm olive oil. Click the menu link so you can check it out yourself.

Spice of Life Cafe and Catering
163 S 2nd St
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions | Menu | Hours

For more information about Bitterroot Trout Unlimited and becoming a sponsor:
Visit www.brtu.blogspot.com
Contact:
Bitter Root Chapter
PO Box 262
Hamilton, MT 59840

President: Cassie Buhl
cassie.buhl@gmail.com
(406) 363-3485

Vice President: Greg Chester
gchester55@aol.com
(406) 363-0033

BRTU special events: Marshall Bloom
drtrout@mtbloom.net
(406) 363-3485

Fishing the Bitterroot River with a living legend, John Foust speaks to BRTU

Legendary fly-tier, guide and general raconteur, John Foust, will be the speaker for Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (BRTU) at the March 17, 2011 public meeting. It is still winter, but we can talk about fishing. Soon it will be warm enough to enjoy the river. Get inspired, come hear John Foust tell fishing tales and more.

What: John Foust, speaker
When: 7:00 PM, March 17, 2011
Where: the Elks Lodge - Get directions
203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031

John, his wife Elna, and their dog Mayda are among the best known characters on the Bitterroot River. John and Elna have forgotten more about fishing than most of us remember or will ever know. John has graciously agreed to give this month’s presentation. Come hear John talk about his life’s adventures, including lots of fishing, in an interesting and entertaining fashion.
Before John speaks, Chase Sanderson, the Bitterroot National Forest Service Fisheries intern for 2010 will give a quick recap of his summer project on native trout.

For more information, call 406-363-3485 or email BRTU President cassie.buhl@gmail.com.

All are invited to join John, Elna and BRTU members at Spice of Life in Hamilton at 5:00 PM before the meeting. Long-time TU supporter Karen Suennen, owner of Spice of Life, will be donating 10% of the proceeds to BRTU. Come on down and join the fun!

Information for Spice of Life Cafe and Catering
163 S 2nd St
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions | Menu | Hours

More about Bitterroot Trout Unlimited

• Like BRTU on Facebook
• Follow @BRootTU on Twitter
• Follow the BRTU blog at: http://www.brtu.blogspot.com/ or
• http://www.brtu.org/blog/generously hosted by Cybernet1 in Hamilton, MT
• See BRTU photos: BRTU online photo album at Picasa.com

Suggested by the author:

• Be a sponsor of Bitterroot Trout Unlimited, a win for you, trout, and the future
• Fishing 101: Take your kids fishing this spring and summer - tips and resources
• Bitterroot Buggers, fly fishing program for kids is now in session
• Your chance to win a BRTU Commemorative Montana made bamboo fly rod

Three more BRTU monthly programs to note on your calendar

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited proudly presents monthly programs open to the public. For 2011, we only have three more. See below.

February 17, 2011 – “State of the Bitterroot.” Chris Clancy, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Hamilton, MT.

March 17, 2011 – “Fisheries and Fishing in Yellowstone National Park.” Todd Koel, Supervisory Fisheries Biologist, Yellowstone National Park

April 21, 2011 – “The Kootenai and the Yaak: Rivers and Fishing that Time Forgot.” Tim Linehan, Linehan Outfitting Company, Libby, MT.  

The meetings begin at 7:00 pm at the Elks Lodge
203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031
Get directions.

It is tradition to have dinner before the meetings at with the speaker at Spice of Life at 5:00 pm. Long-time TU supporter Karen Suennen will be donating 10% of the proceeds from each bill to Bitterroot Trout Unlimited. The public is invited come on down, have dinner and a drink and visit before the meeting.

Information for Spice of Life Cafe & Catering
163 S 2nd St
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions | Menu | Hours

To join or for additional information about Trout Unlimited, go to www.montanatu.org, or contact Greg Chester, 363-0033, gchester55@aol.com), Marshall Bloom (363-3485, drtrout@mtbloom.net) or Chapter President Cassie Buhl, cassie.buhl@gmail.com.

Annual state of the Bitterroot by Montana FWP biologist Chris Clancy, 2-17-11

Chris at last years talk

February 17, 2011, Chris Clancy will talk about the state of the Bitterroot River to the public. The talk is sponsored by Bitterroot Trout Unlimited.

The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm at the Elks Lodge
203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031
Get directions.

Chris will offer a status report and update on the river system and fishery trends. Among the other topics to be covered are fishing regulations, a floating bypass for the Corvallis Canal, and the impact of fish screens and siphons on Skalkaho Creek.

It is tradition to have dinner before the meetings at with the speaker at Spice of Life at 5:00 pm. Long-time TU supporter Karen Suennen will be donating 10% of the proceeds from each bill to Bitterroot Trout Unlimited. The public is invited come on down, have dinner and a drink and visit with Chris.

Information for Spice of Life Cafe & Catering
163 S 2nd St
Hamilton, Montana
(406) 363-4433
Directions | Menu | Hours

For more information, please contact Greg Chester (gchester55@aol.com) or Chapter President Cassie Buhl. cassie.buhl@gmail.com

Rainbow trout - an entirely synthetic fish. Learn more Feb 7 in Missoula, MT

Join Missoula and the author for a reading and signing of Anders Halverson's An Entirely Synthetic Fish. The event will be at Fact & Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave, Missoula, Montana on February 10^th from 7 pm to 8:20 pm. For more information call the book store at (406) 721-2881. Click here for directions to Fact and Fiction downtown.
About the Book

An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World (Hardcover)

By Anders Halverson
$26.00 - ISBN-13: 9780300140873
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Yale University Press, 3/2010
Anders Halverson provides an in-depth account of the rainbow trout and why it has become the most commonly stocked and controversial freshwater fish in the United States. Rainbow trout have been proudly dubbed “an entirely synthetic fish” by fisheries managers. According to Halverson, his book examines the paradoxes and reveals a range of characters, from nineteenth-century boosters who believed rainbows could be the saviors of democracy to twenty-first-century biologists who now seek to eradicate them from waters around the globe. He discusses how the story of the rainbow trout is the story of our relationship with the natural world—how it has changed and how it startlingly has not.

Anders Halverson is an award winning journalist with a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology from Yale University. With support from the National Science Foundation, he wrote this book as a research associate at the University of Colorado’s Center of the American West.
A lifelong fisherman, he currently lives in Boulder, CO.

• Anders Halverson’s An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World just won the National Outdoor Book Award. You can get a copy for yourself if you donate $25 to Trout Unlimited.
  
• Click here for excerpts of reviews.

Other Montana events for this book are:
Book Signing at Country Bookshelf Bookstore, Bozeman, MT on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 4:00pm. Click here for more information about the Country Bookshelf Bookstore.
Book Discussion at Montana State Univ., Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT Monday, February 7, 2011 at 6:00pm. Click here for the website for Museum of the Rockies
Plenary Address at the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Great Falls, MT, Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 9:00am. Click here for AFS information http://www.fisheries.org/units/AFSmontana/

For fun, he posted this quiz on GoFishn.com. The winner received his book.
The Rainbow Trout Quiz: Question #1 - GoFISHn on GoFISHn
In 1996, IdahoDepartment of Fish and Game hatchery managers routinely taught their fish one thing before releasing them into the wild. What was it?

The answer: worms. Candy Craig got it right, and she's the winner of a copy of the book. The reason the fisheries officials put the fish on a worm diet was to prepare them for the wild. They feared the fish would swim around looking for pellets  when they were released, which is their normal fare in the hatchery.

BRTU presents Bad Boys and Bull Trout - Sordid Tales of Montana Men - Jan 20 in Hamilton

The January Bitterroot Trout Unlimited Meeting will be Thursday, January 20, 2011, 7:00 PM at the Hamilton Elks Lodge, 203 State St.

The speaker will be Wade Fredenberg, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Kalispell, MT

The title of Wade’s talk is: "Bad Boys and Bull Trout - Sordid Tales of Montana Men Who Fished For Bull Trout and the Dollies Who Loved Them."

The Bull Trout is one of Montana’s native trout. Native Americans once fished for enormous bull trout all up and down the Bitterroot, but big bruisers are rare now in the main stem of the river. Wade Fredenberg coordinates bull trout programs for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He is going to give an incredibly interesting and entertaining historical account of these special fish and describe their prospects for the 21st century .

And, don’t forget! We will be having dinner with Wade at Spice of Life at 5:00 pm before the meeting. Long-time TU supporter Karen Suennen will have a special tapas menu for us and will be donating 10% of the proceeds to our club. So come on down, have a beer and a bite to eat and meet Wade.

The meeting and the dinner are open to the public and you need not be a TU member to attend.

For more information, contact 363-3485 or  gchester55@aol.com

BRTU presents Grant Grisak's program, the Smith River

Photo of the Smith River by Derek Goldman

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited presents Grant Grisak who will talk about “The Smith River: fabled icon of Montana streams and fishing.”  Grant is Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Fisheries Biologist from the Great Falls, Montana office.

The program is on Thursday, November 18, 2010, 7:00 PM at the Hamilton Elks Lodge located at 203 State Street, Hamilton, Montana. For more information, contact Bill Bean at (406) 363-6158 or fishaus@montana.com or Greg Chester at gchester@aol.com.

Lewis and Clark explored the Smith River as they ascended the Missouri River in the summer of 1805. Today, the Smith is one of the most notable rivers. It boasts spectacular scenery and a productive trout fishery, but the unique aspect is the limited access. It has only one public put-in and one public take-out for a 59-mile stretch of the river. If you put-in, pack and plan for at least a four day float to the take-out. This is a permitted floating stretch and permits are allocated to the public through a lottery system prior to the spring season. Check online at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) Smith River permit page for instructions and information. The process usually begins in January and has a mid-February application deadline.

Greg Grisak is the MFWP manager of the Smith River. Plan to attend this program to learn more about this special river and how MFWP works to protect its special character.

Also available at the program are raffle tickets for a Montana made “Sweetgrass bamboo fly rod” This exquisite rod is valued at $2,500 and is inscribed “Bitterroot Trout Unlimited 2010.” It is custom-crafted by the “Booboys” of Sweetgrass Rods in Twin Bridges, Montana. Visit www.sweetgrassrods.com for more information about the Boo Boys and their rods.

Raffle Ticket Prices are; $20/each, 6 for $100, 20 for $300. Only 300 tickets are printed.

Tickets will be sold during the program. The drawing of  the winning ticket will be held at the end of the program. The winner does not need to be present to win. The rod is on display at Art Focus on Main Street in Hamilton. Tickets are available at Fishaus Tackle, Western Flies & Guides, and Art Focus.
For more information see: Your chance to win a BRTU Commemorative Montana made bamboo fly rod