TROUT UNLIMITED BANQUET SATURDAY MAY 10

The White River Trout Unlimited Chapter #698 will hold its annual banquet on Saturday May, 10 at the Elks Club in Mountain Home. The doors open at 5:30 PM and the auction begins at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $35.00 for one or $50.00 per couple. They are available online at http://whiterivertu.com, at Rivertown Gallery in Mountain Home, Dally’s Ozark Angler in Cotter and Twin Rivers Fly Shop in Norfork. The ticket covers admission, a buffet dinner and two drink tickets per person. The White River Trout Unlimited Chapter is a tax exempt conservation organization (501C3). 

Among the fishing community, this is the premier social event of the year. My wife Lori and I never miss it. We always see old friends and make new ones. The special draw for us is the music and dancing at the end of the evening. Lori loves to dance and I always enjoy dancing with her. I must admit that I prefer the slow dances. There are lots of great conversations and some good food. 

This is Trout Unlimited’s major fundraising event of the year and it enables all of the good work in trout conservation that they do. My personal favorite project is the stocking of Bonneville Cutthroat trout. This represents a five year project to stock the Bonneville strain cutthroat trout in potential spawning spots in Catch and Release sections of the White and Norfork Rivers on an annual basis. The concept is to introduce a renewable stock of quality cutthroat trout that will spawn every year and reproduce naturally. This would be a welcome addition to our great trout fisheries and make them even better. 

Their Summer Youth camp (scheduled for June 21 and 22 this year) is a conservation education program that combines fun with learning. This two day program covers an abundance of subjects like trout life cycle, entomology, fly casting, fly tying, fly fishing and the delicate balance of our ecology. There is plenty of time to fish Dry Run Creek and also help keep the creek clean. 

The trout in the classroom is a joint effort with White River Trout Unlimited, The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and our local schools. The schools are supplied with a fifty five gallon aquarium, a refrigeration unit (to make the water cool enough to accommodate trout) and trout eggs. The eggs are planted in the aquarium and the children are able to observe the eggs hatch and the trout grow. It is an important biology lesson. This program is currently in Mountain Home High School, Cotter and Norfork. There are three other schools that have requested the program. 

In addition to the cost for admission, funds are generated by a silent and live auction. The live auction features several guided fishing trips, a custom fly tying desk, some great art work and several other nice items. The silent auction has several items and I am sure there are plenty to interest you. 

This is a great function for a good cause. I hope to see you there.