Meetings and Events

MadDog TU goes to the Montpelier Farmers Market on Saturday June 12th! Please volunteer to work our table. We're selling raffle tickets for the Quilt Raffle and, of course, raising awareness for our work and hopefully attracting some new members!

Annual MadDog TU Chapter Connecticut River Outing from June 25th to 27th in Boomfield, VT.

Warning! Didymo now in the Gihon River in Johnson and in the East Branch of the Passumpsic In East Burke! Remember to Check, Clean and Clear your gear!

REGULAR MEETINGS:

Chapter meetings resume each November and run each month through the following April. Our concluding event is the Chapter Banquet. We meet on the 1st Thursday of the month. Meetings start at 7:00 P.M. Please plan to arrive around 6:00 P.M. and have a meal at The Steak House! They don’t charge us for the meeting space so the least we can do is to patronize them for dinner!

Our regular venue for monthly meetings is the The Steak House Restaurant on the Barre/Montpelier Road in Berlin, Vermont.  This is Vermont Route 302 approximately 3/4 to a 1 mile from the junction with US Route 2.

Not a TU or MadDog Chapter Member? You are invited nevertheless, but please click on the JOIN button above!

Why the regulations on the Dog?: Why the changes in the Lower Dog River regulations?

The Dog River has been managed as a wild trout fishery for many years now. It has not received stockings of rainbow trout since the early 1960’s and brown trout have not been stocked since the early 1990’s. This means that the populations of these two species as well as the native brook trout have been self sustaining. The river has been carefully monitored to keep track of the trout populations in the interim period.

Young trout are a key element in the overall population of these fish. As these smaller fish grow they take the place of larger trout that have died due to age or predation- this is called recruitment. During the 1990’s many young trout were found: over 1000 trout under 6 inches were found per mile of river. Recent surveys have found over 200 trout under 6 inches per mile of river only twice since the year 2000. This is a drastic decline in the overall population. There may still be some larger fish found in the lower stretches of the Dog but there are fewer small trout to replace them.

The reasons for this decline are not obvious. There is no “smoking gun” to blame. It is likely a combination of factors including in stream habitat loss, warmer water temperatures, and possibly the phosphorus reduction steps taken at the Northfield sewage treatment plant. There have also been some issues related to trout being able to access their spawning habitat. Steps are being taken to look into and address some of these problems.

The new regulations are an effort to help this troubled river with the one aspect that can be easily controlled- angling mortality. Angling is still allowed but it is now restricted to catch and release using artificial lures and flies only. Studies have shown that these methods of catching trout have a 3-4% mortality rate while use of live bait has an average mortality rate of 40%. By limiting the use of live bait there is a much greater likelihood that a caught trout will survive. By having more trout released unharmed into the Dog there is a better opportunity for them to spawn.

The new regulations are in no way an effort to prevent anyone from fishing the lower Dog River but instead are trying to provide an opportunity to better manage this special wild trout fishery. The same management practice has been used on the Battenkill River in Southern Vermont and has shown some signs of success. Hopefully the Dog River will have the same chance to recover thanks in part to the new regulations. Thanks to Drew Price for writing this for our chapter!

Again our next fishing event!

June 25-27 2010, "Lawton's Meadow", Bloomifield, VT on the bank of the Connecticut River our annual retreat to the this northen New England gem.