President’s Message
Greetings,
2023 was a year of many achievements. Our chapter released the first batch of Appalachian Brook trout into Pigpen Creek after a successful pond and dam removal project. The existing brook trout were removed and placed into the Walhalla hatchery for their protection and breeding. We also removed many invasive aquatic species from the creek. Future releases of Brook trout will take place over the next few years. The Pigpen Creek project was our second restoration project. Over the last few years we did a successful pond and dam removal on Matthews Creek. Both projects resulted in the creation of beautiful and rare mountain bogs. There are only about 5000 acres of these bogs in the United States today. As a chapter we are currently partners in an engineering feasibility study to eliminate wastewater discharge into Matthews Creek, redirecting this wastewater to leaching fields. Additionally, we are working to identify more high priority cold water restoration projects to begin in 2025.
Our Trout in the Classroom programs continues to grow. Currently, we are in six classrooms in Greenville County, and have chartered the first-ever Trout in the Classroom program in Spartanburg County.
The 2023 Film Fest was the largest ever with over 200 attendees and a financial fundraising success. A special thanks to Dodson Fishing Company for being the show sponsor.
Our Upstate Warriors program continues to grow, serving more and more veterans. Thanks to a generous donor, we were able to provide our veterans with great fishing outings last season. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your sacrifice and service to our country.
Many thanks go out to all our board members and volunteers who spend countless hours working to make these projects successful.
Last but not least, a special thanks to our partners and donors for their support which helps us to continue to conserve our cold water resources in the Upstate of South Carolina. Many thanks to SCDNR, Naturaland Trust, Save our Saluda, Upstate Forever, United States Forest Service, Spartanburg Regional Hospital, and others. Looking forward to 2024.
Tom Theus
President.
See the gallery below of our Pigpen Branch Stocking!
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Our Mission
Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited is a natural resources conservation organization of volunteers dedicated to conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.
In 1959, sixteen dedicated anglers gathered on the banks of Michigan’s Au Sable River. United by a love of fishing and a desire to help wild trout survive, they launched Trout Unlimited with successful campaigns championing catch-and-release fishing and the use of barbless hooks. Today TU has over 155,000 members working out of 380 chapters and 36 state councils nationwide to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries. We donate well over 650,000 volunteer hours and significant funds every year to clean up polluted streams, repair and restore stream riparian and watershed areas, restore water to damaged and dried-up rivers, and teach young people about responsible stewardship of our coldwater resources and good fishing habits. We have won major victories in court and in Congress, using a nonpartisan, action-oriented approach that has earned the support of state and federal agencies, universities, non-profits, landowners and thousands of partners. The scale of our work continues to expand, but our focus remains the protection of wild and native fish, and our greatest resource is still the energy and enthusiasm of America’s anglers.
Together, we are working to ensure that our favorite streams and rivers will still be there—cold, clean and fishable—for the next generation. (TU is a tax exempt Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.)
Mountain Bridge Chapter
The MISSION of the Mountain Bridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited (MBTU) parallels the Trout Unlimited mission but is focused on upstate South Carolina, specifically: "To conserve, protect, and restore South Carolina’s trout fisheries and their watersheds (and on a selective basis, those of western North Carolina) through chapter and member activities, advocacies and common goals."
In addition, our VISION reflects our mission, which is: "To ensure that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish continue to thrive within their original South Carolina range, so that our descendants can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters." All our efforts and activities are ultimately directed toward our belief in these tenets. More about our goals and objectives and the operation of our chapter can be found under the tabs at the top of each page.
The Mountain Bridge Chapter is the original South Carolina chapter of Trout Unlimited founded and headquartered in Greenville in 1974. It was founded by Bob Martin, Jerry Alexander, Larry Vickery and others with the initial effort to facilitate the transfer of private property of Jones Gap to the State of South Carolina - now Jones Gap State Park. A few years later, MBTU members helped to start the Saluda River Chapter in Columbia, SC, and later, the Chattooga River Chapter in Clemson, SC. These three chapters, along with at-large members in the lower and coastal regions, make up the South Carolina Trout Unlimited State Council and comprise over 1,600 members.
Our MBTU chapter currently has over 540 members primarily from upstate South Carolina’s greater Greenville-Spartanburg area and extending over to the Rock Hill area. Our members cover all adult ages, are both male and female, and come from all walks of life, socio-economic status, and interests. We all share the same passion to preserve, protect and restore cold water fisheries and to spend time together fly fishing for trout in those cold rivers and streams of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and beyond. We meet monthly featuring a speaker with specific expertise and experience on various areas of our interests in trout and trout fishing, conservation, and community service. Additionally, we have chapter outings at popular regional fishing streams during the spring and fall, along with other scheduled social and conservation activities. There is much more information about us and our activities on this web site.