December 2010

News & Events

General Meeting - Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Bart Lombardo presents
“Tenkara”

2011 CJTU Fly Tying School

Enrollment is now open!
Fly tying classes for all ability levels

More info here

See us at the following shows

Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen's Show

New Jersey Convention & Expo Center in Edison
January 13 - 16

Fly Fishing Show

Garden State Convention Center in Somerset
January 21 - 23

Trout in the Classroom Update

There are now 106 schools participating in the Trout in the Classroom program. Our chapter now has 5 more schools added for a total of 16 schools and 18 classrooms -- see the full list here.

Volunteers from our chapter are always on call to assist the teachers with any concerns regarding the welfare of their trout. Chiller failures are the most serious problems since the aquarium temperature must be kept between 50 and 55 degrees fahrenheit. Plastic bags filled with ice cubes are then floated in the aquarium until we replace the chiller -- promptly!

The Brook Trout eggs were delivered on the last week of October and at this time ( December ) all the eggs have hatched. After hatching, and the trout have absorbed their egg sac, the fish must be fed on a regular schedule. There are times when a teacher's conference or a holiday occurs after the eggs have been delivered -- no problem! The teachers can control the time the eggs hatch using a formula that is based upon water temperature -- colder water delays the hatching so that the students can witness this natural phenomenon.

Articles

Starting A New Tradition

By Nick Romanenko

Photo by Nick Romanenko

Califon’s Shannon’s Fly Shop, along with the Raritan Inn and a sponsorship from Hardy North America hosted the first annual Traditional Angler Day, which included the New Jersey Fly Fisherman of the Year Tournament on Saturday, November 6th. The competition was conceived by Shannon’s owner, Jim Holland, as a one fly tournament pitting representatives from every New Jersey chapter of Trout Unlimited, along with representative anglers from the South Branch and Upper Raritan Watershed Associations and the Musconetcong Watershed Association.

Central Jersey’s TU chose, by very popular consent, Bart Lombardo to represent the chapter, not just because he’s the current president, but mostly due to his acknowledged mastery as a fly fisherman. Bart narrowly missed out winning the entire tournament as his last catch of the day, getting a lunker tangled up in the net resulting in a declaration of a foul hook. This resulted in a “fish off” round between URWA’s Keith Bologno and Ken Lockwood TU’s Bill Silvia on the River Styx run of the South Branch.

For the next two rather frigid hours, Bill and Keith kept casting to wary trout. Both anglers lost their flies and were allowed to replace them with different patterns. In the end Bill Silvia landed a beauty rainbow and the crowd withdrew to the banquet at the nearby Raritan Inn barn.

The banquet was a big hit, with good food, bucket raffles for great fishing gear and the invaluable conversations of a room full of some of the best and most involved fly fishermen in the state sharing a drink and a fish story (or two).

Jim promises to bring this event back next year, and both watershed associations and State Council of TU received fundraising checks at the end of the night. The TU funds will go towards helping the major restoration project at Point Mountain on the Musconetcong River.

President’s Letter

December 2010

The holiday season is once again upon us. I have been getting in as much fishing as I can before the water gets hard. The late fall fishing has been fantastic, lots of fish and no crowds. On days where the weather is less than ideal for fishing I have spent the time tying flies. It feels good to have full fly boxes once again. I did not get a lot of mid season fly tying in this year so my fly boxes are in serious need of replenishment. I should have the nymph boxes squared away by Christmas then it's on to streamers and dries. Late fall and winter fly fishing can be very enjoyable as long as you are prepared for the conditions and pick your days. Another favorite activity of mine during this time of year is attending area hunting and fishing shows.

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited will have a presence at two area shows next month. The first show is the New Jersey Outdoor Sportsman Show at the New Jersey Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey. The show dates are January 13 - 16, 2011. The second event is the Fly Fishing Show at the Expo Center in Somerset, New Jersey starting January 21st through the 23rd, 2011. As I stated earlier we will have a booth at both events, so stop by and say hello.

There is not much going on at the present time in regards to projects. We are currently in a holding pattern on the Point Mountain project and I honestly don't expect any change in this status any time soon.

For those of you that attended Ozzy's presentation on the CJTU fly tying event, you will be happy to know that the DVD's are ready and will be at the meeting. If you pre ordered you will be able to pick them up at this month's meeting and I believe there may be a few extras available for purchase as well.

Speaking of this month's meeting we will giving a presentation on Tenkara. For those that may be unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a Japanese style of fly fishing. Tenkara is a simplified style of fly fishing utilizing a long rod and no reel. Several members of the chapter and myself will be presenting the material, I think you will find it an interesting presentation. In addition to the talk we will have Tenkara equipment and flies on hand for demonstration purposes.

That's it for now. Let me take this opportunity to wish every one a happy and safe holiday season and healthy and prosperous New Year. Merry Christmas!

Fly of the Month

“Light Bivisible” by Ron Ruskai

Light Bivisible Click here for the recipe !