November 2017

General Meeting

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Before the meeting, at 7:15 pm CJTU board member (and Rutgers University photographer) Nick Romanenko will be photographing portraits for the New Jersey WCC cards/badges. We will be providing this service for free to all those interested in joining WCC and helping to further TU's conservation mission.

The Wildlife Conservation Corps (WCC), with more than 1700 members, is the largest natural resource management volunteer group in the state. WCC members are involved in all phases of Division activities from wildlife research to fishing education. Every year volunteers contribute services valued at more than $1,000,000.

Central Jersey TU members who are also WCC volunteers help in our annual stocking and Pequest Hatchery programs by the pond. One of the advantages of having the WCC certification is it provides you with insurance protection when participating in such projects.

Anyone 18 years of age and older is welcome to join the Division of Fish and Wildlife as a volunteer. If interested, complete and submit the application form below, or e-mail questions to WCC_DEP@dep.nj.gov.

The WCC application form can be accessed by this link:
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/wcc_appl.pdf

PA Trout Streams and Patterns for Success

Ben Turpin

Growing up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, a small town situated along the Delaware River, led to a lot of fishing opportunities. Until the mid-80’s we lived in a neighborhood that was actually sandwiched between the Delaware River and the Delaware Canal. I was surrounded by water and it became a big part of my life. When the neighborhood children weren’t playing baseball, riding bikes or racing quarter midgets, we fished. It was that simple. Mom would often load a couple of kids in the car and take us to the local pond or creek and we’d go fishing.

My life has been blessed by many people, like my Uncle Sandy, who welcomed me to use the pair of ponds on his family farm thereby honing my fly fishing skills as a youngster. And his friend, Chris, who got me hooked on trout fishing in New Jersey’s Rock Brook many years ago. In my early teens my family continued to help me follow my fishing interests. My Aunt Nette and my father drove me all around the state to fish the best trout streams we could find. It was at this time that my aunt introduced me to Dan Shields and Steve Sywensky at Flyfisher’s Paradise Fly Shop in State College, PA. A couple of classes with Joe Humphrey’s and lots of great advice and I was on my way to becoming a successful fly fisherman.

I attended college at East Stroudsburg University, where I majored in fly fishing the Pocono streams and Environmental Science. It was there that I met and became good friends with Don Baylor, a well-known fly fisherman, entomologist and author, who taught me the Brodhead Creek and all of the nuances of the hatches of the Poconos. In 1996 I started teaching family, friends and even strangers on the stream how to fly fish, until eventually my part time business, Ben Turpin Custom Rod Building and Guide Service was born. I gained valuable experience from my employment in several fly shops and lodges while continuing to guide and build rods. Word got out that I had a knack for catching fish which led to invitations to lecture at local Trout Unlimited meetings and fishing clubs as well as Fly Fishing Shows. Sharing my knowledge and experience with other fishermen through writing Keystone Fly Fishing, Fly Fisherman Magazine and helping authors like Tom Gilmore with editing their books or writing short testimonials for use in articles has also been a pleasure.

Many a client has fantasized about trading places with me and although I’ve been successful and really enjoyed the work, it hasn’t always been easy. The fishing profession can be either feast or famine and I was often away from my wife and children. In 2015 I had the opportunity to accept employment as a Stream Manager for a private fishing club in the Poconos. I now enjoy watching over the McMichaels Creek and instructing members and their guests. I’m also able to guide part-time along with my friends Mark DeLorenzo and Kevin Craig. Between the three of us we continue to teach and guide throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and are keeping anglers hooked up on our local streams. To learn more about Ben Turpin Custom Rod Building and Guide Service contact us at www.BenTurpin.com.

Over the years I have had lots of support from my wife, Jodie, who has always encouraged me and was the first person to believe that I could actually make a living from hunting and fishing. Many said it couldn’t be done, but through the grace of God, I am still enjoying making my living on the stream. We currently live in Saylorsburg, PA with our children Andrew and Valery.

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

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

President’s Letter

The Point Mountain Stream Walk last Saturday, Nov. 4 was a great time. The weather and stream flow were perfect for a day of learning and then fishing. We had three CJTU members turn out to learn "the ropes" about that stretch. They included Sonia Reynes, Stephen Burley, and Charlie Winkle. Charlie and I stopped along the walk when I noticed one of my favorite pools free of other fishermen (Please excuse me Sonia, fisherpeople!). Ed Cordyla and Fred Simonson took Sonia and Stephen further upstream to finish the walk. Charlie and I fished, and finally I hooked up and landed a nice rainbow. Before long Stephen arrived where we were fishing and told us he had already caught a rainbow upstream. Shortly afterward, Sonia came down to see what we were doing. She took some pictures, which you can see below. She went back upstream and phoned Stephen to tell him she landed a fifteen-inch rainbow. Stephen, Charlie and I then headed upstream. We found Sonia fishing in my other favorite run where she caught the large rainbow. Oh well! I thought I would show Charlie and Stephen another good spot but Fred and Ed made sure they pointed it out earlier on the walk. The best fishing news of the day was what Fred had caught. Fishing a distance downstream after he and Ed finished the walk, he got four fish. What was so special about his catch was what he caught. He got a smaller rainbow but the other three fish were small wild browns, all about eight or nine inches.

All of our efforts as TU members are to protect, restore, and enhance trout habitat. It appears our work over the years, with the final effort of the actual stream improvement with heavy equipment, has paid off at Point Mountain. Nothing is as rewarding as catching wild trout! A few years from now we may be rewarded by wild trout flourishing in the stretch of the Musky we're now working on.  We refer locally to that stretch the "A-Frame Stretch". I'm sure that will happen!

You will receive this issue of Mainstream before this Sunday, November 12. On Sunday we will be tying flies at Orvis/Princeton from 11:00 to 3:00. Along with fly tying, Orvis has invited us to test cast their new Helios 3 rods. The H3 is advertised as a super accurate casting rod. Come join us in Princeton to see for yourselves by casting the new H3. Please make sure to show your TU membership card at the store and sign up for their mailing list. You don't want to miss any of their future promotions. 

This coming December our fly tying meeting will be different with a holiday flare. First of all, anyone wishing to tie flies that evening is welcome. Just bring your tools and materials. The holiday aspect of the evening is an appearance by Santa! Santa will bring his bag of goodies, and you'll have to attend to see what Santa is up to. It should be a welcome change to make it more of a holiday gathering, along with fly tying.

This month we welcome Ben Turpin to our meeting. We will learn more fishing secrets about Pennsylvania from an expert. As has been the case the last few months, the meeting will begin with pizza and soda at 7:30 followed by a brief business meeting. We'll have another super raffle as well as a gift certificate for a door prize. We also hand out an envelope of worthwhile fishing items for people attending their first meeting with us. For those of you who have never attended a meeting, please join us on November 14. You just may enjoy the evening!

Tight lines,
George

News & Events

Garden State Outdoor Sports Show

January 11 - 14, 2018

New Jersey Convention & Expo Center
Edison, NJ

The Fly Fishing Show

January 26 - 28, 2018

New Jersey Convention & Expo Center
Edison, NJ

Trout in the Classroom

Central Jersey Trout in the Classroom Schools
2017 - 2018 School Year

Thanks to the following Egg Day CJTU Volunteers: John Wester, Larry Gove, Jim Frace, Stephen Burley, Sonia Reynes, John Young and Ozzie.

John Wester and Bart Lombardo are now the CJTU Coordinators for the Trout in the Classroom Program.

Alexander Batcho Intermediate School in Manville. Pictures of 12 inch rainbow trout pasted on the aisle floor lead up to the classroom.

Approximately 150 rainbow trout eggs were delivered to the Alexander Batcho Intermediate School on Egg Day. The eggs were then placed in petri dishes and the students picked out the white dead eggs and discarded them. The rest of the orange “eyed eggs” were placed into a breeder basket in the darkened 55 gallon aquarium. Take note that I am holding a thank you care package filled with candy, cookies and trail-mix goodies. You too can be showered with these delectable morsels, so join in the fun and become a TIC volunteer and a celeb to these enthusiastic students.

I visit a few schools that participate in the program with an interactive presentation, A Video for Trout in the Classroom Students. It is a narrated video presentation which includes footage of trout in their underwater environment. The presentation is of 30 minutes duration, and interaction with the students during the presentation extends the time to 40 minutes or more depending upon your schedule.

It shows the students where the trout eggs came from, and what happens to the trout after their release. Included is the life cycle of both hatchery-bred and wild brook trout that reproduce naturally in our streams and rivers, the food they eat, their predators, and other perils that trout face throughout their life cycle. It also includes the spawning sequence of wild brook trout from the physical changes that take place in the fall, to the final spawn.

You can join me and witness the questions and rapt attention I get in a classroom or auditorium full of youngsters. Drop me an email at cutredd@comcast.net and I’ll contact you with the name of the school where I will be presenting this program.

Ozzie Ozefovich

Unwanted Outdoor Gear Still Wanted

For the past few years CJTU has conducted a fund raising event at the sportsman's flea market at the Pequest Hatchery. We have raised money for the chapter by selling CJTU members old, unwanted gear. We ask that you take a look in the garage, the basement or the shed out back for any unwanted outdoor sporting gear such as fishing, camping or hunting equipment. We can turn your unwanted gear into money for the chapter. These funds will support our future help us keep the chapter running and support our future conservation efforts. We currently have another restoration project in the works, similar to the work we did on Point Mountain, on a tract of public water on the Musconetcong River. This project, like all the work we do, requires your financial support.

Please consider making a donation of your unwanted gear to CJTU. You can bring the gear to any monthly meeting right up until the time of the event. If you can't make a meeting, we can make arrangements to pick the items up at your convienance. If you want arrange for a pick-up please send an email to bartlombardo@optonline.net. Thank you in advance for your support.

Thanks,
Bart

Fly of the Month

“The Black Ghost (Variant)”

Tied by Paul Erdo

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited’s Supporters