www.cjtu.org

December 2021

General Meeting

All meetings will be virtual on the Zoom platform through December 2021!

We will be having a virtual meeting on Tuesday, December 14th at 8:00 pm. We will be using the platform ZOOM to conduct this meeting. The link below can be used for all meetings through December 2021.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86184198571?​pwd=ZnNQTkVzMkRiR3d​jQm1xRUYrWm8vdz09

Meeting ID: 861 8419 8571
Passcode: 205012

General Meeting

Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Tim Flagler – Night Fishing

When the sun goes down the activity on the stream goes up. Join us when Tim Flagler explores this special time to be on the water. There will be tips, techniques and things to look for that’ll help you to catch more fish in these sometimes difficult conditions.

Tim, a videographer and fly tier, is the owner of Tightline Productions, L.L.C., a video production company located in Califon, NJ. Although Tightline produces video programs over a wide range of topics, their specialty is fly fishing. Almost every week they produce a new fly tying or “how to” video which appears not only on their Vimeo and YouTube channels but on Midcurrent and the Orvis fly tying blog as well. These videos often get picked up by other sites too, including Frankenfly, Chiwulff, The Limp Cobra, Globalflyfisher, Gink and Gasoline and Wideopenspaces, just to name a few. Many of the tying videos take the viewer well beyond just the tying of the fly and show what it looks like underwater, what natural it represents and how it can be fished.

All meetings will be virtual on the Zoom platform through December 2021!

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

Meeting starts at 8:00 PM - Non Members are always welcome!

President’s Letter

Greetings CJTU Members and Friends!

As the Holidays and the end of the year approach we are reminded of all that we have accomplished together this year, on behalf of Central Jersey Trout Unlimited (CJTU)!

We are reminded of the fun of our meetings along with the great Speakers and Presentations, the techniques and the destinations that we learned about. New Directors joined our Board and took on responsibilities right away. Once again CJTU members came together for the "Musconetcong River Clean-up and made a difference. We held our "Picnic" indoors, it was well attended and fun! "Thank you" to John Wester for again organizing the delicious event. CJTU collaborated with the Ernest Schwiebert TU chapter and attended the "Trenton River Days" as an outreach event with the nearby communities, teaching fly casting and talking about TU. "Thank you" to Tom Kapusta for representing CJTU at this worthy event!

Our meetings, held via Zoom, have been well received and allowed us to stay connected with members. And, we have invited other Chapters to join us for these informative evenings and they have done so! Our Speakers have been from a variety of places and have presented on lots of interesting topics. Our own Agust joined us from Colorado and as usual was entertaining and informative. Ben Turpin taught us how to up our game with "Guide Lessons" and Matt DeLorenzo spoke about fishing the Adirondacks. In December we will hear from our friend Tim Flagler. "Thank you to Nick Romanenko and John Wester for keeping us in the loop with our great monthly Speakers and Presentations. CJTU was represented at the FFoY's One-Fly event by one of our newest Directors, Mike Marucci. We also made a donation to the event's Auction, which was the scene of some fun Chapter bidding. We are excited to hear that Trout in the Classroom is back. CJTU is again participating through the leadership of John Wester, with assistance from other CJTU members.

Our membership has grown this year. Bart Lombardo has continued to make and stay in contact with those who have expressed an interest in joining CJTU. Let's help to grow and diversify our membership.

CJTU was recently one of the chapters that participated in the Lopatcong Creek Tree Planting. Four chapters participated, almost 100 trees were planted and I saw firsthand how much hard work was done! More work will be done in the future, so there is an opportunity for CJTU members to participate and make a difference!

CJTU will have a booth at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show January 6 through January 9th, at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center (Raritan Center Expo Hall). This is a great opportunity to get the word out about CJTU and the work that we are doing in New Jersey. We need Volunteers to help staff the CJTU booth! If you would like to give a few hours on any of the days please contact Marsha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com or (908) 216-4855 and let her know when you are able to support the Chapter. We appreciate your help! For specific information about times and other info check www.gsoss.com.

CJTU is also participating in the TU "Priority Waters" project. This selection process is happening all over the country. It will help TU "to identify a set of shared statewide "Priority Waters " to guide our organization's wild and native trout work", It will help us to develop a shared vision of TU's NJ conservation goals. Chapter and Partner knowledge and expertise will be used to identify these "Priority Waters". It will not detract from local opportunities of chapters' home waters. Our CJTU representative to the "Priority Waters" project is our newly appointed Conservation Coordinator Daniel Calligaro.

CJTU members have another opportunity to help the Chapter by representing us at the yearly Fly Fishing Show, January 28-30, 2022 in Edison. This is another great opportunity to tell the CJTU story! Please check your calendars and reach out to Marsha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com or (908)216-4855 and let her know when you can help staff the CJTU booth. Thank you for volunteering! As the year comes to an end, we would like to "Thank you" for your support of CJTU! We are grateful for all that you do to make CJTU and our work a success! And, we are looking forward to working with all members in 2022! Stay well and safe! Wishing you all "Happy Holidays"!

Marsha Benovengo,
Interim President,
CJTU

News & Events

CJTU Needs Your Help! We Need Volunteers!

Garden State Outdoor Sports Show

Thursday, January 6th through Sunday, January 9th 2022
Raritan Center Expo Hall in Edison, NJ

CJTU has again secured a booth at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show. This show is a great opportunity for CJTU to build awareness of the Chapter and to do Outreach. At this show, we have the chance to make attendees aware of the work we had done, the plans that we have and invite and encourage them to join CJTU and work with us to live out the TU Mission to conserve, protect and restore fisheries in New Jersey.

Please check your schedules, find some time to join us and help staff our booth at the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show, and tell the CJTU story! If you are able to help please contact Marsha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com or (908) 216-4855 and let her know when you can help.

Thank you, we appreciate all that you do to support Central Jersey Trout Unlimited!

The Fly Fishing Show

January 28 - 30, 2022
New Jersey Convention and Expo Center
Edison, NJ

Sign Up for a Free Membership!

Help CJTU when you shop at Amazon!

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Use the link above to access amazon.com and help support CJTU

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Central Jersey Trout Unlimited.

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Fly of the Month

Swisher’s Mono Caddis Pupa

Tied by Bill Ninke

The nail knot is one of the first knots learned by the beginning fly fisher. It’s used to attach backing and a leader to a fly line. In both these uses the knot has a core (the fly line) inside the wraps of the backing or leader butt. Another early learned knot is the double surgeons or two turn overhand knot. It’s used to attach tippet to a leader. It too is a nail knot but coreless. If you take more than two turns you still have a nail knot but with a longer cylinder of the wrappings. Nine years ago Tim Flagler recognized that a ten turn overhand knot in red monofilament would give him a translucent cylinder that he could use as a detached body midge larva. Juan Ramirez learned of Tim’s technique and used a multi-turn overhand knot in green monofilament to form an extended body for a caddis pupa (actually two versions). But the earliest entry in using a nail knot in monofilament for a translucent body is this month’s fly. It’s the creation of Doug Swisher. It uses a whip finish directly on the hook wire. Yes, a whip finish is a nail knot which is most easily recognized if you wrap your whip finish always forward toward the hook eye in none overlapping turns before pulling the knot tight. This is also the most durable way to whip finish since the return is totally buried under the wraps and not exposed to cutting by the trout’s teeth.

When you read the name Doug Swisher I’m sure you think of his pioneering book with Carl Richards, “Selective Trout”. In that book they introduced many new fly styles that more closely resembled real insects as compared to then existing designs. But after that book Swisher continued to explore various attractor designs. The Madam X and Parachute Madam X are very well known. But his Mono Caddis Pupa was also part of his exploration. He never published this pattern until quite recently but I learned of it directly from him in the early 90s.

The learning was on a float trip on the West Fork of the Bitterroot River that I took with him. The West Fork is a not a caddis stream and we fished mayfly and stonefly patterns. But at lunch we got to talking about where I fished back East. I mentioned the Beaverkill and Swisher immediately cited his personal experience on the Beaverkill and the effectiveness of his Mono Caddis Pupa there. I asked how he tied it. As I recall he said something like this. “Take a 12 or 14 scud hook, add an appropriate size bead, do a hand whip fish with Berkeley Solar Green Mono directly over the back of the hook, and finish with a collar of my black Rub-a-dub dubbing which you can buy on my web site. The mono should be about the same diameter as the hook wire. Be sure to pick out the collar well since the dubbing has lots of small rubber wigglies that give the fly lots of action. The mono fluoresces and gives the pattern lots of pizazz”. He gave me a tying sample from his box and told me he carries the pattern with him wherever he goes.

Upon returning home, I ordered the dubbing and went to Efinger’s to see if they had the mono which they did. So I bought spools (300 yards) of sizes 15lb and 20lb which match hook wire for 14 and 12 hooks. When the dubbing arrived, I tried to tie the pattern but doing a hand whip finish on the bare hook as Swisher recommended was beyond my skills. You have to control the two ends of the mono plus the loop and I only have two hands. Swisher somehow manages this but I couldn’t and still can’t. So I tied in one end of the mono with the tag facing backward and used a Matarelli Extended Reach Whip Finishing tool to form the body. This takes a little wiggling as a large loop is needed for the many turns required for the body of the pattern. And the loop shortens and the mono in the loop twists with every rotation of the finisher. This makes the loop want to furl. But, with a little practice, it’s definitely doable. I give extensive details in the tying instruction section. And a cheating hint.

Even after many years of use, I still have lots left on my Berkeley spools. But this mono is currently available on Amazon (Amazon Smile gives returns to CJTU). If you have any Sunset Amnesia mono in chartreuse color, maybe used in making indicator leaders, you can use it instead. As for the dubbing, Swisher closed his sales web site several years ago so his dubbing is no longer available. But when I ran out I started using Pine Squirrel dubbing hand mixed from material cut from a black Pine Squirrel zonker strip. It has lots of long guard hairs in it which act like Swisher’s wigglies. The trout haven’t noticed the difference.

In recent years I’ve used Stren Gold mono in 12 lb test to tie a tan version of this pattern. Tan thread is used to tie down the mono. It also works well locally and in the Catskills. I show it in the photo in size 16 along with the green versions in sizes 12 and 14.

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