October 2009

News & Events

General Meeting - Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The October meting will feature Jay "Fishy" Fullum" with a program titled "Creative Flies and How to Fish Them"

After working as a designer and graphic artist for over 30 years, Fishy retired in 1995 to pursue his passion for writing, tying flies and fly-fishing. He still utilizes his art talent when illustrating his magazine articles or a new book. Fishy also established himself as an accomplished watercolorist shortly after retiring; selling many paintings that combine his art and fly tying talents.

Fishy has been tying flies since the early fifties. During the past twenty years he has designed nearly a hundred and fifty productive, innovative patterns for everything from bluegills to bonefish. Many of these patterns are featured in his CREATIVE TYING column published in FLY TYER MAGAZINE. Other patterns can be found in Fishy's two fly tying books, FISHY'S FLIES and FISHY'S FAVORITES and A JAR FULL OF HOPPERS, a book of short stories on fly fishing and fly tying. Fishy is featured at fly tying/fly fishing events from Massachusetts to Florida, where he teaches and demonstrates the art of fly tying at the vise, through his PowerPoint presentations and his new video.

Fly Tying with "Fishy" Fullum

As part of the Octobr meting program, Fishy will give a hands on program to interested TU members, demonstrating how to tie a variety of his personal salt and freshwater patterns. All special materials will be provided. We ask that interested tyers bring their basic tools and vise, along with a variety of threads.

Cost for the two hour session, which will run from 4 to 6 pm on the day of Fishy's main program, is only $ 20.

Interested tyers should contact Nick Romanenko at to reserve a space in the class. Fees will be collected at the session.

Coming in November - Jim Freda

Fly Tying Demo

Dunellen Public Library
Novemberber 23, 2009
6:30 - 8:30 pm

CJTU volunteers man the pond at the Wildlife Heritage Festival held at the Pequest Hatchery - Nick Romanenko Photo
More photos from this event can be seen here

President’s Letter

October 2009

Autumn has finally arrived. As I have said many times in the past this is my favorite time of year. Especially when it comes to fishing for trout. The crowds of spring are long gone despite the fact that many of our streams get a fresh influx of fish as part of the state’s fall stocking program. This fall looks especially promising on our wild and holdover trout waters due to the cool, wet summer that kept our trout streams in their best shape in years.

Every year I hesitate to encourage more people to fish in the fall months because I really do enjoy the solitude on the water. If you’re a springtime only trout angler give fall fishing a go. Truth be told, it has its challenges. Low stream flows and ultra clear waters mean long leaders and stealthy presentations. These are not the same fish you fished over this spring. Fish that have survived the summer dodging herons, ospreys and other predators are no longer naïve hatchery trout. To survive the rigors of summer they have learned to live as wild fish do. Throw in falling leaves and acorns and you can have some interesting fishing.

Just yesterday I was fishing to a nice sized brown trout that was consistently rising. He was consistently rising in a difficult lie and several casts had missed their mark but had not put the fish down. I finally pulled of fthe cast, had a perfect drift and just as I saw the fish tilt up and began to rise to the surface an acorn the size of a silver dollar crashed into the water an inch from my fly. The fish turned and bolted downstream into the protection of deep water. Luckily it was not the only fish in the stream and plenty were brought to the net by days end.

There should be plenty of volunteer work available this fall. Stream restoration work on our dam removal site will be continuing. Speaking of dams there has been some progress made on work concerning several other dams on the Musky. I hope to have good news to share in the upcoming months. So keep a look out for our action alerts in your inbox. We will send them out when work dates are finalized.

Fall is also the time of year I brush off the fly tying gear and start filling all the empty spaces in the fly boxes. One thing my fly boxes have told me is that Czech/European nymphing has been very successful this season. I have more empty spots and tattered flies in this box then all my other boxes combined! Speaking of fly tying we have a great speaker lined up for you this month. Fishy Fullum, a renowned fly tier and artist will be presenting next week. Fishy is a regular contributor to FLY TYING magazine and the author of several books on the subject. Our November meeting will have a saltwater theme followed by our flea market and presentation by some chapter members in December. We have some good stuff coming up so I hope to see you out at a meeting.

Tight Lines,
Bart Lombardo

You can contact Bart at

Articles

This month we lead off with a press release from TU National titled "Trout Unlimited Comments on New York State’s Draft Regulatory Report on Marcellus Shale"

This evening, New York state released its draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement (DSGEIS) for gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. This 800-plus page document, once finalized, will provide the regulatory framework for how the gas industry must operate when drilling in the Marcellus Shale in New York state. Continue here

In early August, Brian Cowden, Musconetcong Home Rivers Coordinator, coordinated and oversaw a riparian buffer planting and caging project on an important Musky tributary for spawning brook and brown trout. This project, funded by partners, will help reduce bovine fecal coliform waste from entering the river. Students from the SCA were used to perform this work where well over 200 native trees and shrubs were planted and caged within the area fenced to keep the cattle away from the tributary.

Projects such as these are important to the water quality in both this tributary and in the main Musconetcong which mixes ground with surface water, especially in the lower half of the watershed where our diary farms are mainly located. TU and partners continue to focus in this area, identified as having exceptionally high levels of bovine fecal coliform, to fence the cows out of the majority of the stream corridor, restore the streambanks damaged from being trampled over many years by the cattle, and plant proper riparian buffers to maintain bank stability, shade the stream, and to filter out pollutants including fecal coliform from entering this important trib which contributes wild fish to the Musky. Continue reading

And finally we have another short history lesson from Dick Turse.

In the early 1970's a major undertaking of NJTU was the production of the NJ Trout Guide. Some of you might have a copy of this wonderful publication but many new members might not even know of its existence. It was a booklet which covered all aspects of trout fishing in New Jersey. There were articles on the fish, the stocking, locations, directions, flies, knots, and leaders, etc. It was sold through most of the sporting goods stores of that era as well as at shows and meetings. Continue here

Fly of the Month

This month we have another pattern from Ron Ruskai called the "Swiftwater", which was originally tied as a brook trout wet fly. Probably named for the Swiftwater Creek in the Poconos that feeds Broadhead Creek in Paradise Valley at Henryville, PA. Click here for the recipe !

Pequest Programs 2009

We have been informed that Pequest will once again be shutting its doors on weekends with the upcoming voluntary furlough days that Governor Corzine is imposing. Sorry for any inconvenience but all weekend programs are being cancelled.