Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited

For even more details, click on our “Events” page.

PCTU Youth Fishing Day
Date: Sunday, June 8th, 2014
Arrival time:  11:45
Place: Clark Fork Pond @ Clark Fork Lodge

Activities include fly casting instruction, fly tying instruction, and fish identification.  All equipment will be provided by PCTU.  Event starts off with a simple cook out, then on to the activities.  Parents are encouraged to bring their own camp chairs.

Pond will be stocked by Idaho Fish & Game.  Thanks to a generous donation by a TU Board Member, the PCTU Fly Fishing Day is now FREE to all participants.  Participation includes 1 year TU Youth Membership which includes a subscription to Trout Magazine, TU’s fishing calendar, local chapter membership, and a chance to apply for TU’s national Teen Summit!

To participate, please fill out and return the signed release form and information sheet to PCTU, 1326 B Baldy Mt. Rd., Sandpoint, ID 83864 or return to info@panhandletu.org.  Please contact Paul Koch with any questions:  208-290-2401.

Release Form
Information Sheet
Event Poster

Once again the Panhandle Chapter is excited to help Big R Fly Shop bring the Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) and the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) to Sandpoint.  Two separate films, one each night!   Both films will be shown at the Panida Theater, with doors opening at 6:00 for a pre-event social hour and early bird door prize drawings.  Movies start at 7:00

Friday night April 25th we bring back F3T for it’s 3rd consecutive year!

Then on Saturday, April 26th from 11:00-2:00pm there will be Demo Casting Day at Big R Ponderay Parking Lot.

Special guest instruction with Tim Rajeff  from Echo Rods. From 2:00 to 3:00pm put your skill to the test in the 5WT Casting Competition for Accuracy and Distance.  Learn some new skills and win!

Then IF4 will show Saturday night!  All proceeds from both shows will benefit the Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Pend Oreille Water Festival.

Tickets will be available both online and for local pick-up at Big R Fly Shop and Eichardt’s Pub (ticket sales to begin in March).  Tickets are $12 advance, $14 online, and $15 day of show.

Join us for BOTH nights – a different film each night!

The Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be offering a wilderness medicine course designed for anglers. When you venture away from the road, you may need more training than provided in a basic first aid course. This 8 hour course, taught by an instructor from Longleaf Wilderness Medicine, will address the specific needs of anglers on water.

The morning session will cover CPR, submersion injuries, hypothermia and cold injuries, bites and stings

The afternoon session will cover musculoskeletal injuries and splinting, wounds and wound care (including hook removal), ear, nose and teeth injuries, and first aid kit building.

The course will be held in Sandpoint on Saturday, February 8th and will be split into two four hour sessions with a break for lunch. Cost is $44. and open to all TU members. Please contact Chapter President Don Childress with any questions or to enroll, (208)255-7928 or at dwc1rsc@televar.com.

The Panhandle Chapter has set the date for the annual meeting! Please join us at DiLuna’s Café in Sandpoint on November 21st.  More details on our Events page.

Join our friends at the Rock Creek Alliance at their Annual Party on Thursday, August 9th!

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has developed a draft Management Plan for the Conservation of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Idaho. Westslope cutthroat trout are a native species and an important game fish. They occupy an estimated 80 percent of their historical range in Idaho.

The draft plan discusses the population status of westslope cutthroat trout in major watershed groupings and the conservation actions the Department intends to pursue to protect and enhance populations and habitat across the species range in Idaho.

The Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited is preparing to draft formal comments and would like your input. In the interest of brevity, we have selected pages (below) that we feel should be reviewed by those in the Moyie, Clark Fork/ Pend Oreille and Priest River drainages, i.e. most of our members.

Please read the pages indicated and let our Cutthroat Committee Chairman, Greg
Mauser, aware of any comments on the plan. We will be making an official response before the deadline of July, 26, 2013.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Don Childress, Chapter President

Gregg Mauser: 208-683-1751

Link to website with entire draft plan

We know most of you are familiar with the campaign to stop development of the mammoth Pebble Mine in Alaska.  But did you know that the EPA’s Revised Watershed Assessment shows a clear need for protecting Bristol Bay?  The Assessment, released April 26, is open for comments now.  Trout Unlimited is offering a trip to the Crystal Creek Lodge in the Bristol Bay region…you can learn more and help save Bristol Bay here.

In support of the campaign, the Panhandle Chapter is planning a free showing of Red Gold (54 minutes) and a bonus showing of Eastern Rises (38 minutes).  For those of you who may have been at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, you’ll remember seeing some of the beautiful footage of Kamchatka, Russia – now we bring you the full length film!

We invite you to join us!  Read details on how to get tickets here!

Along with our sponsor, Big R Fly Shops, the Panhandle Chapter is bringing both the Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) and the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) to Sandpoint.  F3T will show Friday, April 19th and IF4 will show on Saturday, April 20th.  Both films will be at the Panida Theater, with doors opening at 6:00 for an  pre-event social hour and earlybird doorprize drawing.  Movies start at 7:00pm.

This year we have expanded into a 2-day event!   Additionally, on Saturday during the day Big R Fly Shop in Ponderay will host reps from the best names in fishing gear for equipment testing and workshops. 

All proceeds from both shows will go to the Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Pend Oreille Water Festival.

Tickets are available for both shows online.  Visit the F3T website for tickets for Friday night’s showing of F3T, and/or visit the IF4 website for tickets for Saturday night’s showing of IF4.

Tickets are also available for local pick-up at Big R Fly Shop and Eichardt’s Pub .  Tickets are $12 advance, $14 online, and $15 day of show.  Email us at panhandletu@gmail.com with any questions.

Join us for a great weekend of fly fishing!

The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 9th @ 6:00 pm at the Albright & Thurston office in Sandpoint.