Kris Kendrick with a nice catch from the 2013 Parker Paddle.                                Photo by Kevin Correa

Everyone caught fish and some boats were in double digits this year for the chapters annual Parker Paddle to Crane Pond. We welcomed some new faces to the event as well. A dozen chapter members took part in the morning fishing which ended in a wonderful riverside BBQ lunch prepared and executed by chef Mike O'Neill. The weather cooperated with cool but comfortable temperatures. Partly cloudy skies and a light breeze may have been helpful factors in making the fish very aggressive.

This year we counted eight species brought to hand using all manner of tactics. The 2013 species roll call included; Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Chain Pickerel, Yellow Perch, Bluegill, Crappie, Hornpout and Golden Shiner. Some anglers managed "grand slams" catching four species and many got triples. Also of note were many interesting bird species pointed out by Jim MacDougall which included Northern Goshawk, Least Bittern, Virginia Rail, Osprey, Swamp Sparrow as well as many Redwing Blackbirds, Cardinals, Grackles and Canada Geese.

Following lunch members took part in our traditional clean-up of the area that resulted in several trash bags being filled leaving the area cleaner than when everyone arrived. Since we've claned up the same area over the last four years, we have noticed a year to year improvement in how much trash accumulates in this area.

More photos from the event can be found in the Photo Album titled Parker River Paddle 2013.

This year's "Dirty Dozen - plus 2.5" beneath the IRWA's Deck House Headquarters

Front Row Left to Right; Sally Mann "the wonder dog," Tim Twombly, Tim Martell, Kevin Correa, Mike O'Neill. Back Row; Chett Walsh, Bill Mann, Matt Keating, Roger Martell, Jim MacDougall, Bob Torkildsen, Jack Monaghan, and Bruce Bromby. Thomas Wooldridge and John LeJeune also participated.

On April 22nd chapter members successfully completed another punch list for the Ipswich River Watershed Association. This year a railing was put in at the dockside stairway to complement the steps the chapter installed last year. The driveway was patched and cleared of all winter brush. Many down trees and limbs were cut and stacked in the meadow. The driveway pavers were moved and restocked for an upcoming driveway repair. Brush was cleared in the parking area. Finally a new Wood Duck box was installed on the river trail. Many hands made light work of it all and the impending rainfall held off until all the work was completed. Thanks to all the members that participated and especially to Jim MacDougall for guiding the chapter in moving the tasks along from the IRWA task list. Our work for the watershed association is meager compensation for the chapters use of the headquarters building for chapter meetings throughout the year.

The April Newsletter was sent out and there are lots of dates to put on your calendar. You can download a copy of the calendar here. Events include river clean-ups, fishing, camping, river restoration, cookouts, paddling and fellowship. Here is a summary of what to look forward to.

April 17, 2012
Shawsheen River Restoration
Presentation
Andover Conservation Commission
Hosts a meeting on Shawsheen
River dam removals. (See Newsletter Article)
Andover Town Offices
36 Bartlet St., 3rd Floor
7:00PM

April 22, 2012
IRWA Work Day
Come pitch in on a little spring
cleaning at the Ipswich River Watershed
Assn. (See Newsletter Article)
143 County Road
Ipswich
9:00AM

April 28, 2012
Parker River Paddle
Meet at Thurlow Street Bridge in
Georgetown at 8:30AM. Cookout
to Follow. (See Newsletter Article)
8:30 AM

May 18-20
Indian Hollow Weekend
Mark your calendars for the Mass/RI
Council’s annual camping weekend
at Indian Hollow on the banks of
the Westfield River. More details to
come.

All events are posted to our calendar which you can view by clicking on this link.
You can also view it on the Google Calendar website by clicking here.
If you have a Google Calendar and want to subscribe to our Google Calendar and view our events within your calendar click here.

Mill River Assault Team - Left to Right: Nick Hurlin, Marlene Schroeder, Thomas Wooldridge, Natalie Wooldridge, Amy Madden, Max Madden, Jack Van Loan, Jack Monaghan, Chett Walsh, Tom Schultz, Mike O'Neill, Behind the lens - John LeJeune

Nor'East TU joined forces with the Parker River Clean Water Association for another battle against trash on the Mill River. The team labored fiercely for over an hour and a half yielding more than 20 man hours dedicated to trash removal at the Rowley/Newbury line put in. Fourteen bags of trash were collected and disposed of thanks to neighbor and friend of Mill River, Chris Latham. Chris facilitated the disposal of the trash collected via private trash collection. Although there was still a large volume of trash removed it is an improvement over last year's efforts that yielded large appliances an amazing amount of cans and bottles along with paper and plastic trash of all kinds. This year's team was able to really scour the area on both sides of the highway and remove every visible piece of trash in the area. Many items which became exposed due to the heavy snows of last winter were literally dug up from the river banks by the team. There was little debris in the water this year a welcome improvement over last year. We hope that keeping the area clean will encourage would-be polluters to think twice about defacing this beautiful part of the Mill River waterway. Following the clean-up, Thomas Wooldridge produced an amazing lunch for members to enjoy. Kudos to all who participated it was a fun and rewarding event. Special thanks again goes to Chris Latham for solving the disposal problem.


Chris Latham crossed the river to collect another bag of trash for the clean up.

Please join the Nor'East chapter this Saturday morning for a clean up event at the Mill River. We'll meet at the put-in on Route 1 on the Rowley - Newbury Line. This event will be held in conjunction with the Parker River Clean Water Association. Bring waders or boots, gloves and any clean up tools used to pick up trash. The chapter will supply the trash bags. We'll meet at 9:00 AM and work the morning, then have lunch available for the volunteers when we finish. This area is important to the chapter since it is ground zero for the brook trout stocking program started last year by First Light Anglers. Please consider participating in this worthwhile and fulfilling activity. It always feels good to know you are directly impacting a cleaner, safer and more beautiful environment. If you'd like to sign up or have any questions or comments please contact us. Thanks to Thomas Wooldridge for coordinating this chapter event. See you there!

When:
Saturday May 7, 2011 9:00 AM
Where:
Mill River Put-in

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