George Douglas will be joining us to speak on Fly Fishing for Steelhead. George began his fishing career in 1991 guiding on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY, where he also started his first magazine, “Salmon River Success” and authored, “The Complete Guide to the Salmon River.” Since then, he has authored six more books, and produced seven fishing DVD’s.

Currently, George is guiding for steelhead in the Steelhead Alley region of Ohio and NY. Recently he has been inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, as one of forty-eight Legendary Communicators in the sport.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 8th at 7:00 pm at the Miry Brook Firehouse in Danbury, Connecticut.  Stop by to get some dinner, talk with members and see some of our member’s favorite, top producing ties.

Pizza: As has become our tradition,  pizza will be served.

Fly Tying: If you’re interested in demonstrating your best patterns, please contact Doug or Tony.

Swap Table: If you have something you’d like to sell or swap bring it to the meeting and place it on the swap table. Stop by the table to see if there are any bargains to pick up!

Meeting Agenda

• Call to Order at 7:30 pm
• Pledge of allegiance: All
• President’s report: James Belden and Dick Rothen
• Treasurer’s report: Chuck Rich
• Guest Speaker: George Douglas, Fly Fishing for Steelhead

Tony Ballato and Doug Peterson are the co-chairs of the Program Committee and could use your suggestions and help in arranging for speakers. If you have any recommendations for speakers, please share your ideas with Tony and Doug.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting! [directions]

The Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CVTU) will celebrate the 42nd annual Earth Day by cleaning up garbage and debris along the banks of the Pootatuck River in Sandy Hook center on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Volunteers are needed. Those interested in helping out should meet at St. John’s Episcopal Church parking lot at 11:30 a.m. rain or shine. Representatives will be available to sign forms for students participating in community service. Please also contact Ann Astarita (ann [dot] astarita [at] cvtu [dot] org) to confirm your availability for this important event.

Immediately following the event, Steve Zakur will lead a stream walk of the Deep Brook/Pootatuck River Class 1 Wild Trout Management Area. All those who volunteered during the day are free to join Steve for a tour of the fishery and learn a bit about fishing for wild trout.

Please wear clothes and boots that can get wet and/or dirty; bring gloves, bug spray, and sunscreen as needed. Mike Burton of Michael Burton Builders is allowing use of this property for staging, and Associated Refuse Haulers has donated a dumpster. Hope to see you on Earth Day.

Mike Humphreys, a fisheries biologist with the Connecticut DEEP, will join us on Tuesday, April 10th to update us on the status of fisheries in Connecticut. Among the topics that Mike will cover are the impact of last year’s high water on our rivers, the plans for hatcheries in the state, and the impact of last year’s mild winter on trout stocking and this year’s flows.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 10th at 7:00 pm at the Miry Brook Firehouse in Danbury, Connecticut.  Stop by to get some dinner, talk with members and see some of our member’s favorite, top producing ties.

Pizza: As has become our tradition,  pizza will be served.

Fly Tying: If you’re interested in demonstrating your best patterns, please contact Doug or Tony.

Swap Table: If you have something you’d like to sell or swap bring it to the meeting and place it on the swap table. Stop by the table to see if there are any bargains to pick up!

Meeting Agenda

• Call to Order at 7:30 pm
• Pledge of allegiance: All
• President’s report: James Belden and Dick Rothen
• Treasurer’s report: Chuck Rich
• Guest Speaker: Mike Humpreys, CT DEEP Fisheries Biologist, Update on Connecticut Fisheries

Tony Ballato and Doug Peterson are the co-chairs of the Program Committee and could use your suggestions and help in arranging for speakers. If you have any recommendations for speakers, please share your ideas with Tony and Doug.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting! [directions]

The State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has published the results of   last year’s macroinvertebrate sampling.

The good news is that Pond Brook and the Halfway River are rated among the top rivers from a sample perspective with five of the most desirable species present. The Pootatuck River was in the next category with four of the most desirable species present. Deep Brook continues to struggle with sample that included no more than two of the most desirable species at any of the sample sites. The health of that stream appears to continue to struggle back from the two oil spills and other threats to water quality.

Download the full report.

If you have any questions, you can contact Ann Astarita.

Our annual banquet will be held on Friday, March 30th at the Stony Hill Inn in Bethel, CT at 6:30 p.m. This event is a great opportunity to get together with your friends (fishing and otherwise) and help raise some money for our conservation efforts. Most of this money will go towards supporting our Youth Education efforts. A group of children will be on hand to discuss our Trout in the Classroom program.

No speeches – just good food, friendly people, lots of stuff, and a great cause!

Auction items include:

Youth Education

• Guided fishing on the Housatonic River
• Guided fishing on Penns Creek
• Guided trips on the Delaware River
• Float trip on the Deerfield River
• Signed Bob White print
• Float trip on the Housatonic River
• Guided fishing on the Pootatuck River
• Professionally (and amateur) tied flies

Door Prize: Thomas & Thomas 4 weight rod

Tickets are $40

Contact  Tony Ballato at aballato [at] sbcglobal [dot] net or by calling 203-740-8636 or pick them up at the meeting in March.

The event will be held at the Stony Hill Inn located at 50 Stony Hill Road (US Route 6), Bethel, CT.

View Larger Map

That meeting subject sets some high expectations and Frank Plona will join us on Tuesday, March 13th to deliver. Frank is a member of the Farmington Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited. He will share his experience in catching the large “survivor strain” trout on the Farmington River and help you build the skills to find and catch such fish elsewhere.

Frank has years of experience fishing the Farmington and describe the situations and techniques he uses to stalk the large Browns that lurk in the Farmy.

You can find an interesting article about Farmington River Survivor Strain trout on the ctfishguides website.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 13th at 7:00 pm at the Miry Brook Firehouse in Danbury, Connecticut.  Stop by to get some dinner, talk with members and see some of our member’s favorite, top producing ties.

Pizza: As has become our tradition,  pizza will be served.

Fly Tying: If you’re interested in demonstrating your best patterns, please contact Doug or Tony.

Swap Table: If you have something you’d like to sell or swap bring it to the meeting and place it on the swap table. Stop by the table to see if there are any bargains to pick up!

Meeting Agenda

• Call to Order at 7:30 pm

• Pledge of allegiance: All
• President’s report: James Belden and Dick Rothen
• Treasurer’s report: Chuck Rich
• Guest Speaker: Frank Plona, Catching Large Trout on the Farmington

Tony Ballato and Doug Peterson are the co-chairs of the Program Committee and could use your suggestions and help in arranging for speakers. If you have any recommendations for speakers, please share your ideas with Tony and Doug.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting! [directions]

Thanks to all who responded to the events survey over the past few weeks. The results of the survey were very helpful in guiding the discussion at our last Board Meeting as we discussed which events to run either later this Spring or in the Fall.

The top three desired events for the future are:

1. Reading Trout Streams Class & Streamwalk
2. Housatonic River Stream Walk
3. Farmington River Stream Walk

There’s a clear preference to have these events on the weekend and there’s also some interest in having fly tyers at the meetings though that’s not something we’ve done in a few months. If anyone wants to set-up and tie a few patterns prior to the meetings, feel free to bring your vise.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll look into scheduling two out of three of the events above. We’ll likely have to wait until the fall to get them on the calendar but I think that’s okay. Everyone is soon going to be busy casting to Spring trout to want to attend a class.

Stay tuned.

We have reached our enrollment limit on the Youth Education Event. Thanks to everyone for their interest. I look forward to seeing all our student on the 28th!

We’re pleased to announce that our 4th Annual Youth Education Day will be on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event will take place at St John’s Episcopal Church in Sandy Hook, CT on the banks of the Pootatuck River.

If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to teach a child about coldwater conservation, the sport of fishing or simply the love of the outdoors this is a great way to get started.

The day will include instruction on fly tying, casting with a fly rod, and river ecosystems and ecology. We’ll also get some hands on experience with trout!

Next generation casters

Lunch will be provided as will all equipment for the day. All you have to bring is you, your child and a desire to have some fun. Additional information will be provided once we’ve accepted your reservation. Please note that parents are required to stay for the event.

There is no charge but advance reservations are required.

We limit the day to 36 children and their parents so register early to ensure you have a spot. Registrations will close on April 14th so please be sure to register by then.

To reserve your spot you can:

• Fill out the web form, or THIS FORM IS NO LONGER ACTIVE. WE HAVE REACHED OUR ENROLLMENT LIMIT
• Email Steve Zakur: steve [dot] zakur [at] cvtu [dot] org
• Call Steve at 203.364.1336

Once your reservation is confirmed you will receive additional information about the day.

For additional information Download the Youth Education Day Flyer

Gary Whipple will be speaking at our next meeting about a trip that Joe Hovious, Mike Gilzow  (a West Virginia fishing friend) and Gary took to fish the Skeena system for steelhead last October.   During the trip they had the chance to catch large steelhead, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, and bull trout on two handed rods.

In addition to the requisite fish porn, we’ll get a photographic tour of the scenery and some wildlife.  We’ll also talk about their lodge experience,  the daily challenge of fishing for large fish in some very large water, the joy of and seeing your backing and the disappointment of losing a large fish.   While they’ll share their fish stories,  and even some stories about what might have been,  they’ll also share information about planning the trip that might be useful as you consider your next trip.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 14th at 7:00 pm at the Miry Brook Firehouse in Danbury, Connecticut.  Stop by to get some dinner, talk with members and see some of our member’s favorite, top producing ties.

Pizza: As has become our tradition,  pizza will be served.

Fly Tying: If you’re interested in demonstrating your best patterns, please contact Doug or Tony.

Swap Table: If you have something you’d like to sell or swap bring it to the meeting and place it on the swap table. Stop by the table to see if there are any bargains to pick up!

Meeting Agenda

• Call to Order at 7:30 pm

• Pledge of allegiance: All
• President’s report: James Belden and Dick Rothen
• Treasurer’s report: Chuck Rich
• Guest Speaker: Gary Whipple, Steelhead on the Skeena River

Tony Ballato and Doug Peterson are the co-chairs of the Program Committee and could use your suggestions and help in arranging for speakers. If you have any recommendations for speakers, please share your ideas with Tony and Doug.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting! [directions]

Also, don’t forget to get your new 2012 license.