March 2014

News & Events

General Meeting - Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Jon Dugan
Macro Invertebrates

Jon Dugan the NJDEP/AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador will present to us how certain macro invertebrates have varying degrees of sensitivity to pollution. A macro invertebrate is a creature without a backbone that can be seen with the naked eye. The presence of many varieties of macro invertebrate indicates a healthy stream. Inversely the absence of macro invertebrates indicates poor stream health. The over-all health of a stream can be evaluated by enumerating all the species of macro invertebrates found in samples collected from a stream during a set time. Jon will also cover stream entomology & how to properly i.d. insects that are in the river.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

“Not Just Trout”
Wendell 'Ozzie' Ozefovich

Not Just Trout answers the question “Why do we love to fish?” It includes the most picturesque and unique clips of trout in their liquid environment together with other creatures, flora and fauna – both above and below the water’s surface – that were encountered over many years while fishing and filming the underwater world of trout.

Also included are the transformations that wild brook trout go through from the color change in early autumn, to the actual spawning sequence -- and I must include, lots of laughs.

Here is a video link: http://youtu.be/R3ykeeE3ECI

Tuesday, May 12, 2014

“Tuna on the Fly ”
Tom Gilmore

After almost three decades of service, Tom Gilmore retired in the spring of 2012, as President and CEO of the New Jersey Audubon Society, the oldest and largest conservation organization in the state of New Jersey. During that time, he led the conservation community through numerous extraordinary environmental achievements. It's no surprise that Tom has received numerous awards and honors, including the Conservation Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution, New Jersey Environmental Lobby's first Environmental Legacy Award, Tom was recognized by The Star Ledger newspaper (New Jersey's largest daily paper) as Winner of the Year, for his work to save the Highlands. New Jersey Monthly magazine recognized Tom as one the "101 Most Influential People in New Jersey." He was also awarded the Governors Environmental Achievement Award by both Governors Corzine and Christy.

In addition to being an accomplished environmentalist, Tom is an avid fly fisherman. He has fly fished for around the world for over 40 years. Tom is a well know fly fishing celebrity having given well over 100 programs on fishing for all most all of our North American He is an accomplished author having written numerous articles and is currently working on his fourth book, East Coast Trophy Tailwaters, which will be published in the fall of 2014.

. His first book, False Albacore, was published in 2002, his second book entitled, Tuna On The Fly, was published in the Fall of 2006. Tom's third book a Flyfisher's Guide to the Big Apple was published in 2011.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

“CJTU Picnic Meeting”

Come join us for what has become a very popular event: our annual "A Meeting With Food", to be held in the grove behind the American Legion Hall on Tuesday, June 17th, from 5 to 8 pm. A great opportunity to wind into the summer and exchange some spring fishing stories with new and old friends. We will be cooking up a bunch of burgers, hot dogs and Kim Ott's famous sausage and peppers. Plenty of side dishes, soft drinks and water, and the American Legion Hall will have it's usual full bar available just steps away. See if you are the lucky door prize winner.

Price is only $ 10 in advance (we'll be collecting advance sales during the March, April and May General Meetings- see Dick Turse, or John Wester at the raffle table) or $ 15 at the door. Hope to see you all there !

Remember the June 17th meeting will be on the Third Tuesday of the month.

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

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

President’s Letter

March 2014

Rumor has it that Spring is just a few weeks away. I typically don't put much faith in rumors, but I really want to believe this one. This year may go down as the first year I have not enjoyed a pre-season winter fishing trip. There have been a lot of reasons that have prevented from wetting a line this year, but the weather is at the top of the list. It has been a tough winter for most of us here in New Jersey. This type of winter, though a headache for us, is actually a blessing for our cold water fisheries. All this white stuff on the ground will eventually start to melt. Unlike rain that tends to run off more than soak in, most of this snow will end up in the ground. That is good news for our ground water systems that have been in need of a re-charge. The last few season openers have seen our rivers flowing at late spring or summer levels. This year should see a return of normal spring time flows.

Its ironic that we will finally have normal river conditions, but this season's fishing may be severely impacted for some folks. It is probably common knowledge by now that there has been another furunculosis outbreak at the hatchery. Furunculosis is a naturally occurring bacterial disease (harmful to fish not humans) that was likely introduced to the hatchery by outside sources such as birds. The fish in the hatchery have been successfully treated but there are concerns that there is still a possibility that the disease could be spread to wild fish. In an effort to protect our wild fisheries from this threat, a modified stocking program will be implemented. Public hearings on the issue are still taking place as of this writing. At the moment, the plan is not to stock trout in waters that may contain wild or native trout populations. This will include many of New Jersey's popular trout waters. If you would like more information on this situation visit the Pequest Hatchery's website, a proposed list of trout stocked waters can be found there.

This would be a good time to discuss Trout Unlimited views on trout stocking. Trout Unlimited has had a long standing position on this issue. We are generally opposed to the stocking of any trout over native species. But here in New Jersey we realize this is a delicate balancing act. That being said, Central Jersey Trout Unlimited strongly supports the actions being taking by the state to protect our native fish. Recognizing the fact that our organization is primarily made up of trout fisherman, we realize this is a very important issue to most of you. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide additional information when it becomes available.

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited is looking for volunteers for two separate programs this month. First on the list is a call from help from NJ Conservation Officers. Each year conservation officers post the trout stocked water signs you see on our trout streams. They are requesting assistance from our members to put up these signs on sections of the Musconetcong River. Please contact me if you are interested in helping out. You can reach me via email, through our website, or speak to me at our meeting next week. The second event is the Pequest Hatchery Open House. This is a two day event is scheduled for March 29th & 30th (rain or shine). We are looking for volunteers to help out at the fishing pond and to assist at our booth.

At next week's meeting we will be distributing the flies tied for our first fly swap, which focused on midge patterns. As a participant, I am excited to receive my flies. I'm interested to see what other chapter members have tied and I am looking forward to testing them on the water this year. Based on the success of the first one we will be doing it again, this time with a focus on caddis patterns. We will discuss it in more detail at the next meeting. We have a great program on macro-invertebrates lined up for this month. Next month, we will bring back "Ozzie" Ozefovich who's program entitled "Not Just Trout" will answer the question "Why do we fish?". Following that we have a presentation about tuna on the fly on the deck for May. The big news is the month of June. This year we are bringing back our annual BBQ. On Tuesday, June 17th we will hold our 2nd Annual CJTU BBQ. There will be great food, door prizes and good company. The cost for the event is $10.00 for a prepaid ticket and $15.00 at the door.

The last item I want to mention is our fly sale program. We have secured hundreds of dozens of flies to sell as part of our fundraising program. We selected flies that are effective on local waters and we will be selling them at a great price. In addition to special events we will be selling these flies at our general meetings. Be sure to check them out! I have run a little long this month so I am going to wrap things up. Hopefully the rumors of spring are true and we'll all be back on the water soon.

Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo