GREENS AND STREAMS BLOG
A New Director
With the election of Bruce Rauner as governor of Illinois, a new Director of the DNR has been appointed. I had met the previous director, Mark Miller a number of times and I had hoped he'd be staying on but like all government appointed jobs, once a regime change occurs, the current director is given the boot.
Illinois now has a new director, Wayne Rosenthal. Wayne unlike Mark Miller who is a biologist, could be considered an administrator with a passion for conservation. He owns a farm, is an avid hunter and will be working to rebuild and restore the deer hunting in Illinois. Which at the time of Brent Manning was considered one of the best in the country with a large number of trophy whitetail being harvested.
I'm not sure of what he thinks of fishing, nor have I met him personally so I sent an email to the offices of the DNR with several questions about what his plans were for the Illinois watershed. I'll wait and see what he says.
Illinois isn't known for its fishing aside from Lake Michigan. Our rivers were highly polluted and while that is changing, I don't know of too many people who consider Illinois as a fishing destination. Although we have some very good places to fish down south, there still isn't much management and I am hoping that the new appointment will address some of these issues. Perhaps Wayne will appoint a fishing czar, and this time someone who is a biologist and fishes but who understands how to preserve, protect and renew fisheries as well as work in harmony with groups like Trout Unlimited and the Smallmouth Bass Alliance. Groups that promote volunteer participation and help maintain and promote our fisheries.
The previous head of fisheries was asked to resign after taking sick-leave to fish in bass tournaments. Which I'm okay with as long as I'm not paying the tab.
You might ask what any of this has to do with fly fishing? If you want to be able to wade on a particular body of water and not be accused of trespassing, if you want to see a trout stream in Illinois, if you want clean water and a healthy and growing fishery, then many of these decisions are made at the state level and whomever is there, can make a difference. If the DNR is decimated, if it is poorly run, then everyone who fishes, hunts or uses the outdoors is affected. Illinois has faced problems with poaching, with water sheds being poisoned, and with animal populations going out of control. With a strong DNR, one that works with sportsmen and organization, everyone will benefit, including the state.
Here is a note from the new Director:
Fellow Conservationists,
I hope you will grant me a few moments to introduce myself. My name is Wayne Rosenthal, and I am the new Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. I hope to have the opportunity to meet and talk with many of you over the coming months as we work together to manage and protect our precious natural resources.
During my first few weeks at IDNR, I have met many of the dedicated staff members that make this agency strong. I look forward to visiting our Illinois State Parks and other IDNR offices to meet more of our staff and hear first-hand about their accomplishments and concerns.
My passion is conservation. As many of our IDNR employees will tell you, I love to talk about my farm and the conservation practices I have put on the ground during the past 20-plus years. I also created the Wild Rural Park Hunting and Fishing Preserve, to provide opportunities for young hunters.
Before being appointed to this position by Gov. Bruce Rauner, I was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 2011. I also served in the Illinois Air National Guard for 30 years, retiring as a Brigadier General. I commanded hundreds of officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel. With that responsibility was a budget of $15 million and military assets worth $500 million. That experience, I believe, has prepared me well to lead IDNR’s 16 divisions.
I live in central Illinois, hailing from Morrisonville. My roots in the community run deep. I have been a trustee on the Lincoln Land Community College Board, and a member of my local school board, the Morrisonville Community Unit School District. I also served on the Macoupin County Soil and Water Conservation District Board.
My first priorities as IDNR Director will be to strengthen our customer service and responsiveness to your concerns and questions. We also will get to work promoting the state’s recreational assets to attract tourism and the dollars it brings in to the state. These are tough economic and budget times. Together, I believe we can make things better. I am looking forward to working with all of you.
My Next Adventure?
So I'll be honest - I'm a dreamer. Dreams get me through the days, weeks and months. I'm even willing to call some of my dreams goals, as not all are completely out of reach. But more often than not, I'm trying to reel in my brain and get it back on track. If only I could get paid for day dreaming.
I'd love to be able to have unlimited funds and the chance to travel around the US or World and chase as many varieties of fish I can find. To have my wife alongside as we travelled around spending time in different places enjoying the outdoors would be phenomenal.
One adventure that is high on my list is getting out West and breaking out the mountain bikes and fly rods and riding our way to some, well off the beaten path, trout streams. Toss a backpack full of my camping and fishing gear on my back and ride off in to great unknown of the wilderness.
Outside Magazine recently featured a video of a few buddies who did just this and turned it in to a short film. We follow Eric Porter, along with Neil and Ian Provo, as they venture out to the Unita Mountains for a few days of fun.
If you're like me and love to ride and fish, I challenge you to watch this without feeling the tug of the mountains. I'm ready to pack up my gear and head out. Slough Creek one of these days, Keith?
In September 2013, Eric Porter, along with Neil and Ian Provo, set out in search of a grand adventure in their own backyards. In true multi-sport fashion, they grabbed their mountain bikes and headed into the Unita Mountains with fly rods in tow. They completed a loop that brought them in and out of 4 different river valleys where they camped and fished from their bikes.
Recycled Waders
The mourners slowly paraded by the pine box and one by one dropped something into the casket: elk hair caddis, royal coachman, humpies, zoo cougars, sex dungeons, clouser minnows, at the end of the day, a small mountain of fur and feathers accumulated. The funeral director said she'd never seen such a colorful display.
Hough was decked out as well as any guide, including hat, sunglasses, although we agreed that you never iron a fishing shirt nor vest and some were guessing that he had either wader pants or no pants on. A few of the women were trying to take a peek under the cover.
We were huddled in the back, the olive/tan bunch would have been the best way to describe us and if you took the vest off of Hough, it could have been any one of us in that wood box.
We were talking about what a nice turnout it was and it was good to meet up with a lot of Hough's friends and clients. In our area he was one of the most respected and busy guides that we'd met. Then a woman standing near us has to ask, "He was so handsome, how’d he die?"
It must of have been how we dealt with our grief, I tried not to laugh, Timmy was staring at the floor and the grin was starting, of course Hawk couldn't hold it in and we had to move outside where the laughter finally stopped when Pat said, “C’mon guys, show some respect for the dead,"
But the story never went away and on a long float we'd be asked, “What do you know about that guide was killed, wasn't he part of your crew?"
I had made the 911 call and was there the day he died. I usually tell them it was just a tragic accident but the boys in the crew happened to be close by and so we all knew.
I had just come past the bend and was rowing for the take out area. Hough's client, as pretty a girl as you'd of ever met made an errant cast and stuck the hook right through her waders and it went deep into her thigh. She started yelling and screaming. Hough, ever the gentleman, got up to pull the hook out but it was stuck solid, he was certain he’d debarbed it but then there were those late night ties, where he’d miss a few. This must’ve been one of them.
And between the yelling, screaming, and chaos of the moment. Hough forgot to set the anchor and the boat hit an eddy and spun him out of the boat. I rowed to get him but he'd gotten back to the boat and was able to pull himself in. He got the boat to shore, got his client quieted down and asked her to pull her waders down so he could get the hook out. He stripped out of his waders and wet clothes and wad down to just his shorts and wet socks.
The client has dropped her waders down and it was a warm summer day so she'd decided to wear a string bikini.
So let me tell you about Hough. He rowed nearly every day, he was, and we all thought this was sad, a vegan. Yep, a vegan guide, and while most of drank beer, there'd be Hough, drinking bottled water or some sort of juice. He'd been photographed so much with his shirt off that we were going to nickname him six-pack. Ruggedly handsome was the copy line they’d said about him the small town paper.
Women weren't his strong suit. “ I love women, married, single as long of their of age, I love em all.” And they loved him.
Hough certainly seemed to have no end of dates usually single or so we thought.
And there he was, half-naked with a half-naked woman, bent down and pinching the barb off the hook, her hands on his back, his hands on her bottom, her going,"Ow, ow, ow" and bucking as he gently eased the hook out. Then her grateful and embracing hug.
I heard the shot and they both went down.
And there stood the woman’s husband, "I told her if I ever caught her with another man, I’d shoot em both!”
I row and look at where Hough and I had spent a good deal of time. After the funeral I gathered up his waders and sent them off to Seattle.
He used to put a little HH, at the bottom of his chest straps and so when the bag I'd ordered arrived, I checked to see if they were there but didn’t find any letters of marks. However late at night, when the light hits the lining just right, it seems to glow, and the next day the fishing is always great.
It carries a log book and a fly box that Hough had made for me the first year I started. Last night it glowed with a yellow light as bright as I’d ever seen. On the way out I looked at the calendar, it’d been two years to the day. So I loaded up with some spring water, organic everything and headed out to meet my client. She was a redhead and I stopped to make sure that all my hooks were de-barbed.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Note: no one has to die in order for you to send your waders to www.recycledwaders.com some shops will offer to send them in for you and give a small percentage off of your purchase of new waders. Please contact your local fly shop and see if they offer this service.
I have the messenger bag and I can vouch for the build quality and uniqueness of the bag.
Stuart Van Dorn
