January 2013

News & Events

General Meeting - Tuesday, January 8, 2013

CJTU “Fly Tying Night”

Our January meeting will be our 3rd Annual Fly Tying Night. We are asking all our members who tie flies to grab your vise and some materials and come out and tie one on. Some of the chapter's best tiers will be on hand showing off their favorite patterns. This is a great opportunity to get some hands on instruction if your are a novice tier. Our more experienced member would be happy to work with you and provide some one on one instruction. We will be starting up a little early with most of the tiers setting up around 7:00pm. Our business portion of the meeting will be very short and our tiers will be there all night. Even if your not a fly fisherman or fly tier this is a great evening out to socialize. We will have some great raffle prizes and there will even be some donuts and coffee on hand. Break that cabin fever and come on out and tie some flies with us.

Pre Meeting Capsule Classroom

As a new feature in our meetings, we have be holding short focused sessions right before our meetings (and repeated immediately after our meetings and maybe during the break depending upon circumstances). Each session features a presentation and demo by one of our Chapter members or Guest on a topic that will improve your skills in tackle management, fly tying, or casting. So show up at 7:30 to enjoy this pre-meeting feature.

Our Fly Tyers will be doing plenty of demoing and teaching so there will be no Capsule Classroom this month.  The next Classroom will be a pre-meeting feature at our February 12th Meeting.  Bill Ninke will show how to make a simple but extremely effective Yarn Strike Indicator.

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

Meeting starts at 8 PM - Non Members are always welcome!

2013 Fly Tying School

Classes start on January 15th
Sign up Now!

Download the 2013 Fly Tying School brochure

Download the 2013 Workshop info

Efinger’s Fly Tying Sale

Efinger Sporting Goods now has their annual month-long January fly-tying sale. All fly-tying items including tools, such as vises, are on sale at 20% off retail. TU members will receive an additional 10% off bringing their total discount to 30%. This is a perfect time to stock up on your needs for the coming season. They have increased their inventory considerably and can order any item not in stock. Those people participating in the CJTU fly-tying course can get all the necessary items at Efinger’s at this discount. Good tying.

Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show

January 10-13
Raritan Center Expo Hall

On January 10-13, 2013 CJTU will be participating in the 2013 Garden State Outdoor and Sportsmen’s Show. This show is 30 years old and we have been a factor in every one of them including the 2013 version. Now the parent organization of the show is the Outdoor Sports Group which now has several new shows. Check out their website, www.orgshows.com for more details of the new shows and www.gsoss.com for details of this show.

The Fly Fishing Show

Garden State Convention Center
Somerset, NJ
January 25 - 27, 2013

President’s Letter

January 2013

I would like to start off by wishing every one a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Another year is behind us. The beginning of the new year is always a busy time for us. During the month of January, CJTU will be present at two area events and we will be conducting fly tying demonstrations every Saturday at Efinger's Sporting Goods on Rt. 28, in Boundbrook, NJ. As an added incentive, Efinger’s is running a month long sale on fly tying materials, this is an excellent time to stock up. The sale will offer 20% off for all customers and 30% off for all TU members on all fly-tying items including hardware such as vises. Come out and watch us tie and pick up a bargain or two.

We will also be present at two fishing shows this month. The first show is the Garden State Outdoor Sportsman Show. The dates are January 10-13 and the show will be held at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center at the Raritan Center in Edison, NJ. At this show we will be running all of our normal activities. There will be fly tying lessons for the kids as well as casting demonstrations and instruction in the casting pool. We will also have our merchandise for sale, including flies tied by our members. In addition we will be running a raffle for a fully loaded tackle box. The proceeds of this raffle will go directly to some upcoming conservation projects.

The second show is the Fly Fishing Show. The dates are January 25-27, the show will be held at the Garden State Convention Center in Somerset, NJ. At this show we will be running a raffle for a fly rod. I don't have the exact specs of the rod yet but it will be a good one, guaranteed! We will be in our usual location, in the front lobby, so stop by and say hello.

Our January general meeting will be our annual CJTU Fly Tiers night out. We invite everyone to bring out your vise and materials and join us for a night of fly tying. Some of the chapter's best tiers will be on hand demonstrating their favorite patterns and answering questions. We encourage tiers of all experience levels to come out and join us. This is a great opportunity for novice tiers to get some free instruction.

If your looking for instruction that is more structured why not sign up for our fly tying classes? The classes kick off the third Tuesday in January. We offer something for every skill level from beginner classes to workshops for advanced tiers. The cost of the class is $50.00 and the workshops are $10.00 a night. If you are interested see one of the directors at Tuesday's meeting or check out our website for additional information.

We are still collecting donations for the Pequest Open House Flea Market in March. The chapter is looking for donations of any type of outdoor sporting equipment. Please consider donating any used or unwanted gear to us. We will also sell items on consignment for you if you are looking for some cash yourself. Just let us know the details when dropping off the gear. We will be accepting the donations at our general meetings in January, February and March.

So far the fall and winter season have been quite mild with plenty of fishable days. The rivers are looking good and the fishing has been quite productive. I am optimistic that this winter's fishing will be as good as last year. Start looking for little black stoneflies near the end of the month if the mild weather persists. Last year they were going strong by the first of February. Don't let your fishing rods gather dust this winter, get out and wet a line!

Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo

Fly of the Month

“Disco Midge”
by Tom Kapusta

As we settle into the winter months there are still opportunities to get out an catch a few trout. I usually look for sunny days when the temperature will be above 40 and the water temperature will rise a couple of degrees to get the fish active.

The hatches of mayflies and caddis are now a memory but the river produces a steady supply of midges all year long, and during the winter they become a major food source. Even though they are small they are present in large numbers and the fish can feed on them all day long.

My favorite midge pattern for this type of fishing is the Disco Midge. Originating in Colorado, most likely for use on the tailwaters, it is easy to tie and very effective. Using Flashabou as the body, they can be tied in several colors in sizes 18 - 22. My favorite color is red, and I will fish it along with a #12 beadhead soft hackle or other weighted fly.