Three Rivers Trout Unlimited - May 2025 Newsletter
Join us for some early summer fun and cookout, Saturday, May 31st, 12 PM – 4 PM at Lake Sammamish State Park. We have reserved the Kokanee Shelter is located at the far north end of the parking lot within the park. We recommend parking as far north in the parking area. This covered shelter offers 6 covered picnic tables, 2 grills, electrical outlets, and 10 uncovered picnic tables. The Three Rivers Chapter will be providing grill-out food, refreshments, and outdoor activities.
We appreciate all the volunteers and members and will be acknowledging them, in addition to hoping to see some new or returning faces! All are welcome! Feel free to bring your family and friends, whether they enjoy fishing, conservation, or simply being outdoors, and want to spend a fun afternoon at the park. Activities include enjoying delicious food, engaging in fun conversations, practicing fly casting, participating in the kokanee catapult, playing corn hole, and other lawn games.
Raffle Announcement!!! We are also amid a fantastic fundraiser raffle. If you’d like a new fly rod, we are raffling off not one, but two excellent fly rods! A 7wt, 9’6” Sage R8 Core rod and a Sage Spectrum LT 7/8 reel. Raffle Tickets are $20 and can be purchased with cash during the afternoon. CASH ONLY. The drawing will be held at this event, though you do not need to be present to win.
Here is the Google Maps link to the shelter: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jrNUoguTEYRqPe7n9
Fish OUT Recap
Give Big Campaign happening through May 31st!
Happening Now: Our chapter always is in need of donations in order to continue our critical work to restore habitat across the region. Kokanee are still in need! Right now, via the Give BIG 2025 campaign, Washington is mobilizing to support ongoing efforts and new projects. You can make a donation to our chapter. Simply click on this URL - https://mtyc.co/ehc94g. We’ve set a goal to raise $2,000 by May 31st. Thanks to generous donations by our community members, we have raised about ~25% of that goal. It would be fantastic to share that we have met that goal at the cookout on the 31st as well.
Our annual Fish Out for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing occurred on April 13. This was another fantastic event, which has taken place for over 15 straight years! 3RTU did the overall planning and was supported by the Annie Pulliam Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Overlake Fly Fishing Club. WDFW also provided support in providing an Educational Fishing License for all participants and dumping a whole lot of trout into Beaver Lake a few days before the event. All participants, both experienced and novices, caught lots of fish! Breakfast (provided by DAR) and lunch (provided by OFFC) were also great, as was the weather. We had 80 participants and volunteers and put 18 boats on the water. A special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers - boat captains, shore support, as well as breakfast and lunch support. And, most of all, thank you to all of the service members who proudly served our country!
Kokanee Fry Trapping - Closing in on our final days!
This year we experienced a phenomenal kokanee fry run! Over 36,000 kokanee fry were counted between the end of February and beginning of May! Fry traps are still in place, and counting continues for a little while longer, but the season is definitely slowing down. Thanks to EVERYONE that volunteered this spring. Many of you were counting thousands of kokanee each night, and we really appreciate your dedication to this project. We could not have done it without you!
Welcome to our new Operations Manager - Katey Queen!!
We are excited to introduce Katey Queen as the new Operations Manager for the Three Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Katey joins us with a strong freshwater ecology, community science, and environmental outreach background. She brings scientific insight, a deep passion for conservation, and a strong sense of stewardship, which she hopes to bring out in others.
In this role, Katey will help advance the chapter’s mission to restore, preserve, and protect fisheries and their habitats in the area. She will coordinate community engagement efforts, support our annual events and restoration projects, lead communications and outreach, and assist with fundraising and partnership development.
With roots in research and community organizing, Katey is committed to expanding our chapter’s impact across King, Snohomish, and Skagit counties. Please join us in welcoming her—we’re excited for what’s ahead!
Puget Sound Women On The Fly
PSWOTF is a place for women anglers in the greater Puget Sound area to build community, share fly fishing stories, connect, plan fly fishing adventures, and simply network. We are an open, welcoming, and positive community, committed to ensuring all women anglers feel respected and valued. We currently have 393 members and counting! Our activities range from fly-tying and local river outings to beginner clinics. We are a very active group, often having several activities lined up each month, and we support 3RTU activities.
PSWOTF is a very active women’s group that 3RTU supports. There are currently 393 members and growing! If you would like to learn more or join this amazing group, you can find them on Facebook, or reach out to Penny Mabie (penny@washingtontu.org).
3RTU Gear Lost due to theft - an update
Last fall, during the major storm and power outage in the area, the Trout Unlimited storage area was broken into. Most of our fly fishing equipment (approximately 35 outfits) was stolen, as were our pop-up canopies—nearly $5000 worth of equipment. All I can say is that "man, that's cold." If anyone would care to donate to our chapter, we need some funds to replace our stolen equipment. Also, as you all know, we are very involved in many other conservation and educational projects, which also require funding. You can help by visiting our website - https://www.threeriverstu.org/ - and clicking on the red DONATE button in the upper right corner, or donate during our Give Big 2025 campaign! Any amount helps, and is greatly appreciated.
Friends of Issaquah Fish Hatchery - Fire update
A fire at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery on April 22 destroyed the FISH volunteer office, a vital part of the community’s education and outreach efforts. Thankfully, no lives—human or fish—were lost, and first responders acted swiftly. The loss is deeply felt, as the hatchery has been a cherished place of connection and learning for generations. Despite the devastation, the community is committed to rebuilding, emphasizing that the hatchery is more than just a building—it’s a reflection of shared values and history. Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) are assessing the loss and encourage support through volunteering, sharing memories, and donating to aid in recovery. The organization remains hopeful that, together, they can restore this treasured space. (Summarized report from Mark Clemens, Executive Director, Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, www.issaquahfish.org).
A May 6 vote by the House Natural Resources Committee during the budget reconciliation process passed a late-night amendment to sell public land in Nevada and Utah with no public input and no consideration for impacts to public access. Thousands of Trout Unlimited members and supporters have already spoken up to defend America’s outdoor heritage. Add your voice!
Please visit the following links for more information.
https://www.tu.org/public-lands-protecting-americas-outdoor-heritage/#action-alert