Author: Karl Redin

Well folks it’s that time of year again were I have to bring you all up to speed on the affairs of your Ontario Steelheaders. Where to begin lots has happened since we last talked.

The fall transfer went well but it cost me a case of beer to Mr. Choronzey as we had a side bet that we would or wouldn’t get our 500 adults transferred my side was that we would and his was that we wouldn’t as mother nature was closing in on us. He must have a hand on her pulse as the weather shut us down and we fell short by twenty some odd fish but hey the way I look at it some is better than none and Grant McAlpine and his crew did a great job as usual so I don’t mind losing to Mr. C. We also did a stocking of advanced fall fingerlings which is an added bonus as we’ve only done this once before in 2012 when the LHFC had another banner crop of little guys and so we had to lehttp://www.steelheaders.ca/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=paget some go early to make room in the hatchery.

Speaking of the weather are you all as tired of this winter as I am my back still aches when I see snow flakes. It certainly has been a brutal winter for snow and cold but it is Canada and we all will get through it. If your and ice fisherman or snowmobiler you sure had a awesome winter for it. The down side of all of this is if we get a quick thaw we could be facing some bad flooding in numerous places and this could delay our time spent this spring chasing our favorite fish.

The club has all it’s paper work in order for the spring transfer of adults and now we sit and wait for the weather to break, we have three transfer tankers now so as long as we have tow vehicles available we should this year finish in record time. We will again be doing the transfer of our yearlings from LHFC hatchery. The little guys were all clipped back in February so they are eating and growing waiting for their new home in Saugeen later this spring.

Clipping this year thanks to a big turn out of OS and LHFC members set a record number of little guys clipped in one day at just over twenty thousand great job guys well done.

The newsletter is later than usual for this we apologize but as the OS is a volunteer group life sometime gets in the way and things don’t go as planned. The group has had a number of personnel health and other issues so we are moving as best as we can and there will be a newsletter in a new and improved format. We are still working towards our Not For Profit status and also planning to have an AGM later this year, we will keep you informed as things progress so we ask for your patience and understanding.

The website as you all may or may not have seen looks and works great and is continuing to evolve for the better so visit it often and enjoy the labour of love from our web guy, Scott Kidwell. Thanks Scott, job well done.

Thirty five years ago the OS started with it’s upwelling boxes on the Beatty Saugeen and have been working on this system ever since. That is a long time and things have continued to move forward like the fixing of Walkerton the addition of the fishway at Maple hill and soon another at Maple hill, other projects are in the works but are still in the planning stages so stay tuned for these will be very exciting if all comes together.

Thank you to all the people and MNR staff who over the years gave of themselves to the improvement of our beloved Saugeen and continue to do so without these selfless individuals we wouldn’t be were we are today so keep up the hard work and thank you again.

Due to all this hard work our efforts this year came to the for front as the OS and LHFC jointly were recognized by the Canadian Fishing Hall of Fame as the Conservation Project of the Year a real feather in the hat of both organizations. The presentation took place at the Spring Boat and Fishing show with all the top people in the fishing world being present. Darryl Choronzey made a very heartfelt presentation to both groups of course with a few jabs during the presentation at his peers re various issues but we also have to thank him as we all know he’s worked just as hard to help the Saugeen get to were it is just like the OS and LHFC. Along with a beautiful plaque the group received a donation of One Thousand dollars of which the OS portion was donated to LHFC to assist in the cost of feeding our little guys. We hope to have the plaque on display in Steelheader Park at the bulletin board so come take a look.

Have a safe and great rest of 2014 and we’ll be in touch sometime later this fall but keep looking at the Website as things will be posted as they happen.

Best Regards,
Karl H. Redin
President

Well folks it’s that time of year again were the OS is busy with a number of things. First we captured our adult’s at Denny’s Dam and moved them up stream to the prime spawning grounds of the Beatty headwaters of the Saugeen.

Next came egg taking for next year’s little guys and along with that will be the release of this year’s little guys who have by this time grown to some 6-10 inches and ready to take on the new world after spending almost a year being cared for by the guys at the LHFC and trust me they did as always, an excellent job.

There will be a release of about 60,000 from LHFC/OS and this year as an added bonus the MNR released approximately 35,000 more at the Beatty Saugeen these guys although slightly smaller than the LHFC guys due to colder water temp at the Chatsworth hatchery will no doubt only make the fishery that much stronger in the future.

Along with the MNR’s release at the Beatty there will some much needed follow up on the little guys in the Beatty later this year in the form of some Biomass work which will tell lots about how they are doing and the stream’s condition as well. We’ll keep you posted on that as the MNR’s Jody Schiefly made need some help with this.

Mother Nature was up to her old tricks and gave us a normal spring and so it took a little longer than usual to get the transfer done but the guys managed to as always get it done and transferred 962 adults to the prime spawning water of the Beatty Saugeen. A huge thank you goes out as always the volunteers that give their time and effort to get this done year after year and without this dedicated group the Saugeen would not be where it is today. The guys at the Dam also managed to take all the eggs needed by LHFC, OS and a couple of other groups and the MNR, all of these are going to the next generation of fish for next year.

Also this year at the request of Dave Gonder of the MNR and the Michigan DNR fish were wanded to check for implanted tags. If the fish was discovered to have a tag it was to be taken for study by the Michigan DNR as this would have been a Michigan fish which strayed over to our waters no fish were discovered to have tags.

The transfer of our little guys from the LHFC hatchery took place the weekend of April 26/13 and even though it was opening weekend of trout season the dedicated group got it done and all went smoothly. The little guys are now swimming around in their new home the Saugeen for a short time till they smolt out and migrate to Lake Huron were they’ll spend the next three years growing before they come back to their home the Saugeen. This year for the first time in many years the OS will take part in a Sportsmen Show. We will be at the Sportsmen in Walkerton Ontario the weekend of May31-Jun2 so if you haven’t got any plans make a trip to the show and stop by for a visit.

Also a first in the history of the OS we have a finalized constitution so a big thank you to the current BOD of the OS for getting this done.

Also very shortly the OS will have the revised Website up and running and there will be lots of new features for all you tech- types so stand by for this in the next couple of months.

The BOD is also looking into getting the Club incorporated for the future so we’ll keep you posted on how this is going.

So as you can see it’s been a busy time and looks to stay that way for quite some time to come, also keep in mind that there will be some upcoming elections in the near future so think about it as Member of the OS if it’s time to step up to the plate and take on a job to help lead the Club into the future.

Have a great summer, be safe and enjoy the great outdoors.

Karl Redin
President
Ontario Steelheaders

Well folks it’s that time of year for putting out another newsletter. Time has flown by and who’d believe it’s been two years since the current board of Directors were voted in. A lot has changed and the Board has really done an amazing job of getting the club back on its feet. Out of that work, we hastily drafted a constitution only to discover that it needs some fine tuning, so it is our next goal to complete that fine tuning in a timely manner.

The elections that were to take place this fall will have to be postponed. We hope this doesn’t discourage those of you who may have wanted to take the reins and contribute to the OS, but the board felt strongly and unanimously, that with a little more time, the transition will be much smoother for our successors once this constitution and many other projects are complete. So please, be patient and we will work even harder to get things in order so we aren’t handing the “new crew” a bunch of half-finished projects and unfinished business. Remember, just 2 short years ago, this organization was in peril and grave disorder. We’ve come a long way in 2 years, but for us folks with jobs and lives outside the Steelheaders, 2 years as it turns out; simply wasn’t enough time to sort our affairs properly. In the meantime, don’t be shy! The Directors need help, and it’s a great way to show genuine interest to the voting members for when the time comes… There’s lots of work to go around, so don’t be afraid to step up.

The current low water conditions are not helping our adult fall transfer efforts as we’ve only been able to move 47 adults to date. We still have time, and hope Mother Nature comes through with some much needed rain. The low water conditions are hurting us all over as there was no water coming through the fishway at Walkerton and nothing at Maple hill until mid-October. We’ve had reports that fish were trying to get through the breach in the Traux Dam in Walkerton but this is no easy task for them and most get blown back but they keep trying!

I’m happy to report that both the LHFC and MNR (Chatsworth) hatcheries are telling us that our little guys are doing well and LHFC has indicated that as soon as their Browns are planted the Rainbows will be moved to the larger tanks and then we’ll really start to see them take off …currently they are about 2-3 inches. The LHFC has recently had their election for a new BOD’s so on behalf of the OS BOD’s please welcome them and wish them all great success in their endeavors: Brian Garnet (President), Mike Hahn (VP),Mike Blumhagen (Treasurer),Dave Armstrong (Secretary), Harold Cowan (Director),Kyle Watson (Director), Robert Greason (Director), Carmen Gazel (Director), Norm Dobson (Director) and Todd Devries (Director)

Also, the OS wishes to send a well-deserved thank you, to Past President Al Wilkins for all his work over the last number of years not only with the OS’s current BOD’s but all those previously. Job well done Al! You should be extremely proud of what you helped create, and with continued cooperation between the OS, the LHFC and MNR it will continue for years to come.

This year, between what LHFC and the Chatsworth hatcheries are raising the OS should be able to plant almost 80,000 yearling Rainbow Trout in the spring of 2013. Keep in mind that this early-winter we’ll need volunteers again to clip our little guys; we will put out a quick reminder in Feb with dates and location.

As some of you may have noticed, there are some new signs along the banks of the Saugeen regarding poaching, over limits etc. The OS has put these as a reminder that there are limits and rules and everyone must abide by them. The MNR has shown that they are taking our request for a bigger presence seriously and tell us that this will be occurring more often. Please make sure that you carry your valid fishing license with you so that when you’re asked for it you have it with you. I’ve seen a number of cases when asked people said “oh it’s in my vehicle or trailer” and the CO would either walk with the person to where it is or wait for them to return and this only slows down the CO from making his tour of the river so to help them do their job keep your license on you when your fishing.

We recently lost another friend of the river with the passing of Jim (Mac) McIntyre. Jim was a lifelong friend of Rod Jones and Keith Berkeley who left us not that long ago, Mac and Keith both helped over the years with everything from the original egg boxes to adult transfers. Mac and Keith will be missed just like the other friends of the River who passed before them.

One other thing we would like to mention if you see garbage please take the time to pick it up and drop it in the bin on your way out. We recently had a Scout troop come in and do a great job of cleaning up not only the garbage along the banks but also the limbs and pieces of wood left after the SVCA came and cut some trees that had died and were presenting a potential safety hazard. So a big thank you goes out to 20th Faith Brant Scout Troop for a job well done you’ll see some pictures and an article in this newsletter.

In closing please keep in mind that if you have any suggestions, ideas or comments please feel free to come forward with any of these to any one of the BOD or myself and as mentioned before we will address it to the best of our ability.

Karl H. Redin
President

Hats off to everyone involved in transforming this fishery. Our achievements are made possible by “Teamwork in Action”