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September 2008 |
General Meeting - September 9, 2008Our speaker for September is Brian Cowden, TU’s Musconetcong Home Rivers Coordinator, who will be presenting “The Musconetcong Home Rivers Project - A Six Month Overview”.This newest Home Rivers Initiative is now in its seventh month and much work has been accomplished toward restoration, protection and sustainability of TU's work in this important New Jersey watershed. We have scheduled numerous riparian restoration plantings for this fall and many TU volunteers will be needed, especially from our Central chapter who has adopted the Musky as its home river. Additional dam removals, streambank restorations and riparian buffer plantings are in the works for 2008 and beyond. Part of the Home Rivers Initiative involves land preservation and we have been working closely with NJ Green Acres, Heritage Land Conservancy, the Open Space Institute, Highlands Coalition, and the US Interior Department to acquire sensitive lands in the Musky watershed, opening them up to passive recreation such as fishing and kayaking while keeping them out of developers' hands. In addition, Brian will show a Power Point slide tour of the recent Gruendyke Dam removal project, our first dam removal working with our partners, the Musconetcong Watershed Association.
Heavy equipment removing silt from the Gruendyke siteThe October meeting will feature Don Bastian with a program titled “Traditional Wet Fly Fishing: Tactics, Techniques,and Tips.”The program will address trout in various water types, utilizing classic wet fly patterns and fishing tactics. Patterns, techniques, & tackle are covered. Don will also do a casting and retrieve demonstration, with a question and answer session concluding the program. Don Bastian has 44 years of fly tying and fly fishing experience. He has authored three fly tying DVD's; two on classic wet flies and one on traditional streamers and bucktails. 
Our speaker for November is Rich Murphy, who will give a presentation on "Fly Fishing for Striped Bass". |
News & Events |
President’s LetterSeptember 2008By the time you read this the kids will be back in school, the nights are starting to get a little bit cooler, and even though it will officially last for more than another month, what most of us think as summer has come to an end. For many people the end of summer leaves them feeling a little down. For me it’s the exact opposite. The end of summer can only mean one thing, the beginning of autumn, my favorite time of year. It means cooler weather, brilliant colors, time spent wandering the forests and fields in search of game and most important the return of trout fishing for me in New Jersey. Even though I probably fish for trout 12 months out of the year, I seldom target them in New Jersey during the warmer months. Registrations for our electronic version of Main Stream are still coming in and if you are reading this you have already signed up. However, we still do not have all of our members on board yet. If you know someone from the chapter, who has not signed up yet, please encourage them to do so. Remember, we have a rod giveaway coming up this fall for all those that have signed up to receive paperless version of Main Stream. I am also looking for feedback; let me know what you think of the new format. So far some of the new features like the Action Alerts, which are e-mail notifications of upcoming events, have been used with great results. These notifications allow us to get information to our members in a timely fashion especially when something comes up between meetings. So please drop me a line at and let me know what you think. Central Jersey Trout Unlimited has a lot going on in the next few months. Coming up in a few weeks will be our Kids Fishing Education Day. This is event, which will take place at the Pequest Hatchery Education Pond on Saturday September 20th, is open to all C.J.T.U members and their families at no cost. In fact feel free to bring a neighbor’s child as well. The whole purpose of this event is to introduce children to the fine sport of fishing. The hours for the event are 10am-3pm and please remember fishing in the pond on this date can only be done by children ages 16 and under, we “grownups” will be there to supervise. C.J.T.U will provide the bait (only worms fished on single barb less hooks will be allowed) and rod and reels if needed. We will also provide a lunch of pizza and soda. Please look for the additional information in this month’s addition of Main Stream and sign you and your children up at the September meeting. Our chapter also hopes to have a presence at the Wildlife Heritage Festival at the Pequest Hatchery on September 28th & 29th. We are looking for volunteers to help out with this event. If you are interested ask one of the directors at the September meeting for additional information. If we are able to get volunteers for this event we will send out an Action Alert with additional details. As you can tell, we work very closely with the folks up at the Pequest Hatchery. One particular individual stands out among all of the fine employees and volunteers that work there. Carole Skwarek, a Resource Interpretive Specialist, recently retired from the Division of Fish and Wildlife. She worked at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center. Carole played an integral part in our Pequest Programs and it was because of her tireless work and dedication to her job that our programs ran so smoothly. If there was anything we needed, Carole was there. Central Jersey Trout Unlimited presented Carole with a waterproof digital camera as a thank you for all the years she was there to help our chapter. We hear she enjoys, taking close-ups of butterflies and all the other creatures in her backyard pond, so we know she will put it the camera to good use. We will truly miss her. Work is continuing on the Musconetcong River. Brian Cowden, Trout Unlimited’s Musconetcong Home Rivers Initiative Coordinator will be looking for volunteers to assist him with various projects. When the requests come in we will notify you via e-mail. In closing I would like to invite everyone to attend our first annual C.J.T.U Barbeque being held this October on Saturday the 4th at the Raritan Inn. Check out the article in this month’s Main Stream for all the details. It will be a day of great food, fishing and fellowship. I hope everyone and their families come out to spend the day with us. |
CJTU's First Fall Picnic / Fishing DaySaturday, October 4,2008Join fellow TU members and their families Saturday, October 4,2008, 11 am to 6 pm, at the Raritan Inn at Middle Valley for CJTU's First Fall Picnic / Fishing Day. We'll be featuring a pig roast, ready around 3 pm, but will have other grilled items available at noon. We welcome any special side items you may wish to bring. Soft drinks and water will be provided, otherwise it's BYOB. We'll provide the coolers and ice, you bring the rest. Advance tickets are $40 for adults, $10 for kids under 16 years of age, $45 /adults and $12 / kids on the day of the picnic. You can purchase your tickets at the September 9th General Meeting in Dunellen, or by mailing your check or money order made out to CJTU to:
Central Jersey Trout Unlimited |
Volunteers NeededThe following is from Brian Cowden: We now have the Musky Home Rivers Initiative in full swing which means that we will be in need of lots of TU volunteers to handle riparian plantings and beaver caging around the newly planted trees at both the former Gruendyke Mill Dam (Mount Olive/Hackettstown border) and the current Finesville Dam (Holland and Pohatcong Townships on the lower Musky). Gruendyke dam planting dates are Friday, Sept. 12th and Saturday, Sept. 13th. Work begins at 8 am and ends? Finesville Dam planting dates are Friday, Sept. 19th (students from Holland Twp. School will do most of the work this date) and Saturday, Sept. 20th (we need adult volunteers to help with the beaver cages to protect plants that the students planted the day before). There are additional planting dates for Gruendyke tentatively scheduled for Friday, Sept. 26th and Saturday, Sept. 27th. These dates dependent on a second round of plant materials being delivered by US Fish & Wildlife. We will also schedule dates in October or November for yet another round of plant materials secured by NJ Audubon for the former Gruendyke dam property next to the Pump House Restaurant. Shovels, gloves, etc. will be provided. Lunches should be provided for the Gruendyke planting dates, details are being worked out now for that. I need to know approx. how many volunteers I will have on each planting date to best be prepared. Please have volunteers email or call me if they can help out and give me a date or dates that work best. See below for my contact information. Volunteers should check out our state council website (www.njtu.org) under "Upcoming Events" on the right column of the home page the night prior to any planting dates to see if dates have been deleted due to completion of plantings or changed due to bad weather or lack of additional plant materials being delivered in time. Those links to each planting date will also give more info on time, meeting place, equipment to bring, etc.
Many thanks!
Brian Cowden - Trout Unlimited |
TripsThere are still a few trips left for this season. To see what is available, click here. |
Pequest Programs For 2008 - By Ozzie OzefovichDue to staffing hours reductions at the Pequest Hatchery there may not be any programs run on Saturdays or Sundays after July 1st. So, please check online or contact Ozzie at to find out the latest update.CJTU Kids Fishing Education Day -- Free !!Saturday, September 20th 10am - 3pm Kids Fishing Education Day is a special program for family members of Central Jersey Trout Unlimited. We always get a great turnout, rain or shine! All children up to age 16 that are family of CJTU members can also invite a friend to come along. Please let Ozzie know if you will be attending and how many family members/guests you will be bringing. All chapter members are invited to assist the youngsters. A pizza lunch and soft drinks will be provided.We will have spin casting outfits for the kids, with barbless hooks, and we also supply the worms. Lures are not allowed. You can bring a fly rod or bring your own fishing outfits, as long as there is someone accompanying your youngster. Safety glasses are supplied for those that aren’t wearing plain glasses or sunglasses. For information on all programs during the year, and there are many that not just in the fishing category (and they are all free): Snakes of New Jersey, Owl Prowl, Owl Pellets and what they eat, Butterflies and Moths, Life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, Indoor fossil hunt, Trees of NJ, Birds of NJ, Black bears, and more, visit www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/budding.htm . |
