News & Events
Point Mountain Stocking Program
The CJTU stocking team will resume stocking of the Point Mountain stretch of the Musconetcong river on Monday, March 17th when we will be putting 940 fish into the river. There will be three other stockings this spring - 1 in April on Friday the 25th, 2 in May on the 16th and the 23rd, both on Friday.
We will meet at the Point Mountain parking lot at 8:00 AM on the day of the stocking to put on waders and wait for the hatchery truck. We will put in fish at different spots along the river bank for about a mile above the bridge on Point Mountain road.
Anyone interested in joining the stocking team should see me at our general meeting or send me your email address and I will put you on the list. My email address is edward.kordyla@aol.com.
You should also be a member of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's wildlife conservation corp- the WCC. This is done for insurance purposes. You can sign up by going to the Division's web site and filling out the forms for volunteering.
It usually takes about three hours to stock the fish and since the stretch is a trout conservation area we can fish right after we stock - catch and release only.
Ed Kordyla, CJTU stocking coordinator
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 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
Volunteers Needed!
If you are interested in helping out at Trout Fest, please contact Marsha Benovengo by email at volunteer@cjtu.org
Rutgers Day
Saturday, April 26th, 2025
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Volunteers Needed!
If you are interested in helping out CJTU at Rutgers Day, please contact Marsha Benovengo by email at volunteer@cjtu.org
Fly of the Month
Thomas’s OJO Buzzers
Tied by Bill Ninke
Nick Thomas is a very thoughtful fly tyer who lives in Cardiff Wales. I’ve featured two of his patterns before, chosen because he recognized a problem and chose materials and created a fly that solved the problem. If you have been a regular reader you know that I like flies that solve problems. This month’s pattern turns that process around. Thomas chose only one material first, organza ribbon, and then used it and only it to design a fly that responded to the general problem of creating a fly that trout and other fish find attractive enough to eat. In fact he has made the bold statement that if he had to be limited to one material to use to tie flies for the rest of his life that material would be organza ribbon. He calls these patterns OJOs for Organza Just Organza. I present his simplest variant the Buzzer. Of all his patterns, this is the one I have been tying and fishing the longest. He does have many other effective patterns that combine organza ribbon with other materials. Just browse his web site and you’ll be amazed.
https://nickthomasflytying.myportfolio.com/work
Organza ribbon is made by weaving fine nylon fibers across identical nylon fibers that run the length of the ribbon. Thick bunch of fibers at the edges of the ribbon, the selvedges, hold everything together if you cut a piece of the ribbon and then cut that piece down somewhere in the middle and strip out the longitudinal fibers. You end up with the synthetic equivalent of a hackle feather from which the fibers have been stripped from one side. The selvedges are analogous to the stem of a hackle and the cross fibers are analogous to the hackle fibers. In fact fly shops sell the ribbon in a one inch width under the name Pseudohackle. A length of ribbon is folded and placed in a plastic zip lock bag. But I buy my organza ribbon on spools at lower prices at craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels where it comes in a wide variety of widths and colors. For the Buzzers shown in the photo I used 3/8 inch wide ribbon cut down the middle to yield synthetic hackles with fibers 2 or 3mm long depending on how accurately I cut the ribbon down the middle. This produces nicely proportioned flies when wound on size 10-14 hooks. The flies in the photo are on a size 12 hook. One color was wound for the rear two thirds of the fly and another color for the rest. The translucency of the nylon fibers and their natural crinkle produce a very lifelike sparkly impression when submerged which is why I believe they are very effective.
The best way to learn all the details of preparing the organza and using it is to watch Thomas’s YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CScVQ9WNHH0&t=514s He first describes preparing the ribbon, then ties these simple buzzers and then goes on to show more complicated variations.
I tie my Buzzers just as Thomas describes. Only technique difference is I use a dental explorer instead of a straight needle bodkin in stripping the ribbon sections. I find the “hook” of the explorer makes it easy to strip the fibers faster. And the hand and wrist positioning needed while stripping the ribbon is less fatiguing.
In rivers you can fish this pattern on a dropper with a heavy nymph on the point in a Euro or indicator rig. In still water you can use it alone. Once cast, the heavy wire hook specified gets it under the surface quickly. It is then slowly twitched on the retrieve. I’ve found the bright green and black color combo at the top right of the photo and the olive and brown combo on the top left to be especially effective for bass and panfish in local ponds.
You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org
Click here for the recipe!
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