Apr 13 (Sat) In-stream Workday – Hedden Creek. A 44-member strong conservation conclave descended upon the Double Bit campground to do good deeds for wild brown trout. This multigenerational gang followed the lead of Forest Service and GADNR fisheries technicians and repaired nine trout habitat improvement structures, placed into Hedden Creek decades ago by the preceding generation of Rabunite sledgehammer-slingers. A national flag ceremony by the Boy Scouts kicked off the morning. Volunteers then received a Forest Service safety talk, split into work groups, and hit their designated work stations in and along the creek. Large cover logs were cut and toted, anchoring rebar was pounded thru the logs and into the stream bed, and the structures’ rock cribs were refilled. Work crews were refreshed by the dedicated two-scout crew of waterboys.
When the work was done at noon, the scouts treated the entire conclave to a hot dog lunch with all the fixins’. Stories were told around the campfire, individual scouts were honored (with fishing lure prizes!) for their hard work, and some new “secret” spots were shared by the Rabunites with their new, flatland brethren like Hilton Cundiff. NGTO’er Landon Williams took a brief, post meal “sample” of the stream’s brown trout and speck populations with his three-weight and pronounced them “healthy.” For some of us older Rabunites, seeing those fireside festivities reminded us of our great memories at this same campsite 30 years ago, and gave us hope for this next generation of conservationists who are now joining our ranks. And the brown trout of the Reed Creek watershed are better for it! This workday was in memory of Bill Kelly.
Report and photos provided by Jeff Durniak
The Rabunites would like to thank the following groups for their participation: GA Foothills and Savannah River chapters of TU, North Georgia Trout Online, Boy Scout troops 5 (Clarkesville), 6 (Clayton), and 40 (Mountain City), Forest Service wildlife professionals David Vinson, Mike Brod, and Mike Joyce, GADNR fisheries tech Leon Brotherton, and especially the stream project leader and Boy Scout coordinator, Jerry McFalls, for a job well done. Waaahhh- HOOO, everyone!
Volunteers – TU: Rabun=8, Foothills=6, Savannah=9, NGTO=1, Scout troops: #5=1, #6=14, #40=1, USFS = 3 & GADNR=1
Doug Adams, An Ole Rabunite, adds: “As I looked around the Double Bit campsite, the memories came flooding back. There were memories of the many campouts we’ve had there, beginning almost 40 years ago. I remembered the Klondike camps HERE , the first Chattooga electro-shocking in ‘86, the Klondike group decision in May of ‘86 to form a TU Chapter, Ben’s sleeping pits, the live bluegrass music, the campfire stories, the fish fries, the Reed Creek in-stream workdays of the late 80s and early 90s. Particularly memories of folks like Tom, Kelly, Klein, Ben, Old Crowe and Yank: https://rabuntu.org/join-support/legacy-funds/ Those are all good memories.”
