News & Events
Jim Holland's Tying Jam is an informal gathering of fly tiers and fishers from the NY Catskills and New Jersey. Some of the best fly tiers in the region will share their patterns and teach you a few tricks. Learn to tie regional fly patterns or tie and donate a fly to Not-for-Profits using fly fishing and tying to heal.
Open to the public at no charge. Donations are welcomed.
Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries Annual Trout Stocking Meeting
March 11 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Join NJDEP Fish & Wildlife’s Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries to learn about current activities with the trout stocking program. This important meeting provides an excellent opportunity for anglers to ask questions, voice their opinions and give suggestions regarding New Jersey’s trout stocking program.
This meeting will be held virtually on GoTo Webinar . You must register to be able to attend the meeting.
Click here to register for the Annual Trout Stocking Meeting.
Volunteers Needed!
Annual Musconetcong River Clean-up - Point Mountain
Saturday, April 12th, 2025
9:00 am
CJTU members will again gather at Point Mountain for the Annual Musconetcong River Clean-up on April 12th at 9am. We come together to show our concern and caring for the River as we gather to bag trash.
Bags and gloves will be provided and we will supply grabbers out to help with picking up wet trash. Please bring reusable water bottles. CJTU will supply water. After the Clean-up at 12pm the Musconetcong Watershed Association will sponsor a complimentary BBQ at their office at 10 Maple Avenue, Asbury, NJ for all Volunteers.
If you are interested in being part of the CJTU Clean-up Team please contact Marsha Benovengo by email at volunteer@cjtu.org or by text or phone at (908) 216-4855. Sign up sheets will be available at the 2/11, 3/11 and 4/8 meetings.
Please bring a friend or family member!
Thank you for all that you do!
Califon Trout Fest
Saturday, April 12th, 2025
Rutgers Day
Saturday, April 26th, 2025
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Fly of the Month
Daysaver Midge Variant
Tied by Bill Ninke
Last month I presented a floating midge pattern to be used if the weather had warmed and there was an afternoon hatch. Well, the weather certainly didn’t warm. Instead temperatures plummeted. So to start this month it’s time to use the reliable combination of a small nymph and midge pupa.
The pupa I’m recommending you tie and try is a pattern I’ve used for many years. It originated when I found midge pupa clinging to my waders when fishing Armstrong’s Spring Creek one early April. I was fairly new to tying my own flies at that time but It occurred to me that I could use a small black brass or tungsten bead to quite accurately represent the head and thorax of the pupa I had picked off my waders. Then a simple thread body, a strand of pearl flashabou over the bead, and some sparkly fibers to represent the legs would give me about as exact match to the natural as I could imagine. I never gave the pattern a name. But recently I discovered that Brian Hilbert, a Colorado guide, professional fly tier, and fly designer for the Montana Fly Company, had created an almost identical pattern and named it the Daysaver Midge. I like his catchy name so I’m calling my pattern a Variant. The back end of my pattern is the same as his.
To tie this month’s pattern I recommend you first view his recently posted YouTube video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpYrp6cXsN4&t=41s) Then if you check out the materials list, study the flies in the photo and follow the details of the instructions section covering the front of the fly, you should have few tying problems. In the instructions you’ll note I use 2 turn whip finishes at the end of a number of steps so that the thread is precisely placed for the next step. These are important for this and other small patterns to keep exact proportions.
I originally used a dark olive thread to match the pupa I’d captured. But I found black and light olive to also be effective. Hilbert suggests additional colors to try. I originally used a strong barbless scud hook with a slight offset and have stuck with it over the years. I’ve found the offset increases the chances of a solid connection in a small pattern. And, as I’ve often observed, small flies are often get imbedded deep in the throat.of a trout and removing a barbless hook is much easier for the angler and certainly kinder for the trout.
I’ve taken to tying many of this pattern at a session, doing the rear part of a half dozen or so flies, coating them with thinned Liquid Fusion and letting them dry before doing the fronts. I get funny feelings on my lips if I use resin but resin is an alternative if you aren’t as sensitive. With some coating, the thread body is more resistant to damage if you are forced to use your forceps to remove the fly.
You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org
Click here for the recipe!
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