2024 President’s Letters

March 2024

bartpres3

When I arrived home from the Fly Fishing Show in Lancaster, PA, this Sunday, I heard Spring Peeper frogs singing in the wetlands around my home for the first time this year. The song of these amphibians is a sign that spring is near. It usually also means that warmer weather and better fishing are right around the corner. However, with our mild winter, the fishing has been great since the beginning of the year. I encountered good hatches of midges, little black stoneflies, and blue-wing olives in February, and that activity should continue through early March. The rivers are up due to recent rains, but that is the norm for this time of year.

If the warming trend continues, we may even see some larger mayflies and even some early caddis activity by the end of the month. If you live near a trout stream, keep an eye on those forsythias in the neighborhood. Those yellow flowers often indicate that conditions are ripe for a Hendrickson hatch when they bloom.

We had ten students in our fly tying class last month, four of whom took up fly-tying for the first time. Everyone enjoyed this year's course of instruction. Unfortunately, I could not participate as an instructor this year as I was conducting classes for Orvis in Princeton on the same weekends. There has been a renewed interest in fly tying in recent years, and our chapter offers some of the best instruction available. Our fly tiers are some of the best in the area.

Unfortunately, the only two significant weather events occurred on the days of our monthly meetings, which resulted in both the January and February meetings being canceled. If the stars realign, we will meet next Tuesday for the first time this year. Our March meeting will feature a good friend, Fritz Miller, who will give a presentation on Fly Fishing for Northern Pike in New Jersey. Fritz and I work together at Orvis and as guides for South Branch Outfitters. He is an experienced angler and talented fly tier who has unlocked some of the secrets of fishing for these toothy predators in New Jersey. If you have ever thought about fly fishing for pike, you will want to attend this presentation.

At our next few meetings, we will be conducting a fly sale. We still have a large number of flies that we used as a fundraising method several years ago. The flies are coming out of storage and will be available for purchase at our meetings. This sale will be a great way to fill those fly boxes before the season begins. Soon, we will also be offering fur selections for the fly tiers in the group. One of our members donated a large assortment of furs to the chapter. These furs have been sorted but still need to be cut up and packaged for sale. We will likely be doing this work before a general meeting. If you want to help out, drop me a line, and I will keep you informed when we will be working on this project.

Looking forward to April, our annual fly tying night, which was rescheduled from January, will take place. Several of our talented fly tiers will be on hand to demonstrate some of their favorite patterns. If you tie flies, you are welcome to bring your vise and tools along and join in. I'll share more information in next month's newsletter.

We have a few events on the calendar in the coming months. We will do some restoration work at the Burnt Mills tract on the Lamington River sometime in March. The trees we planted after the dam removal at that location need a little TLC. We will seek volunteers to help replant and restore some trees damaged during recent high-water events. A tentative date of Friday, March 22, is being considered. We will have a sign-up sheet for those interested in helping at the meeting. Check for an Action Alert email once the details are sorted out.

Our first stocking of Point Mountain is set to take place on March 18. Ed Kordyla has a short article about the program in this month's newsletter. Our volunteers stock the length of this particular regulation water, ensuring that fish are evenly distributed throughout the tract instead of being dropped off at the bridges crossing the river. If you want to help us stock this stretch of stream, contact the program coordinator, Ed Kordyla, at edward.kordyla@aol.com.

On the last Saturday of March, we will be attending Rutgers Day. This event is an opportunity to expose the public to our conservation work in this state. We will be set up at the event to educate folks about Trout Unlimited and give free casting lessons to anyone interested. We are seeking volunteer support for this event, so please lend a hand. You can email me at president@cjtu.org, and I will gladly give you more information about the event.

On Saturday, April 13, 2024, we will participate in a river clean-up at Point Mountain on the Musconetcong River. We will meet on the river at 9:00 a.m. and work for a few hours cleaning up the area. The clean-up is a family-friendly event and an excellent opportunity to get outdoors and do something good for the environment! Contact Masha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com for more information or to sign up for the event.

Our annual BBQ is scheduled for June 11, 2024. We are still working out the details and the menu. The BBQ committee will have an update for us soon. As part of the afternoon's festivities, I am working on having a few of the new Orvis Helios fly rods on hand for anyone who would like to cast one of these new state-of-the-art rods. I will also bring up a kayak rigged for fly fishing, float tubes, and a pontoon boat to introduce folks to an exciting way to fly fish during the warmer months.

We are still seeking volunteers to serve on the current Board of Directors, which is the group of individuals responsible for running the organization's day-to-day operations. We have several vacant positions that need to be filled. I am happy to discuss what is involved and what is expected of someone who decides they would be interested in helping out. Don't hesitate to contact me at president@cjtu.org if you are interested.

I look forward to seeing you (in person) at our next general meeting on Tuesday, March 12, at the American Legion Hall in Dunellin, NJ. Please join us for an evening of conservation, camaraderie, and fishing!



Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo

You can contact Bart at


February 2024

bartpres3

I want to start by thanking everyone who volunteered their time to staff our booth at the Fly Fishing Show in Edison, NJ, at the end of last month. We had a great show and collected over $1800.00 in donations! Our booth was fully staffed for the whole event, and everyone appeared to enjoy themselves.

Our next event is Rutgers Day on Saturday, April 27. We are still looking for volunteers to help out with this event. We will spread the word about Trout Unlimited's work in New Jersey and participate in activities like teaching basic fly casting. If you're interested in helping out, send an email to volunteer@cjtu.org.

We are kicking off our fly tying classes this month. This year, we are offering two levels of classes, a beginners and an intermediate class. In the beginner's class, we will introduce you to the art of fly tying, and by the end of the class, you will have all the skills needed to tie your own flies. Everything is provided for the beginner's class, including all tools and materials. The other class is the Intermediate Fly Tying Class. This class is for the fly tier who has acquired the basic skills in handling tools and materials by taking a beginner's course and/or tying flies regularly for a year or two. The classes occur over two Saturdays, February 10 &17, 2023. The class hours are 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the same American Legion Hall where we have our monthly meetings.

Our speaker at our February meeting is Rick Nyles. Rick has been fly fishing for over 45 years and started guiding in 1999. Rick is an accomplished fly tier known for his CDC patterns, straightforward approach to fly tying, and fishing techniques. His presentation, Tactical Dry Fly Fishing, is sure to help you solve some of the challenges you will encounter on the water in the upcoming season.

Next month, my good friend Fritz Miller will be giving a presentation on fly fishing for pike in the Garden State. The Passaic River has developed into a world-class pike fishery but is still relatively unknown. Fritz will introduce you to a fantastic fishery and help you catch your first New Jersey pike on the fly!

Some future events for March and April include the pre-season stocking of the Point Mountain tract and the annual river clean-up on the Musconetcong River. We are still awaiting updated information on the stocking program and will provide it when it becomes available. Our volunteers stock the length of this special regulation water, ensuring that fish are evenly distributed throughout the tract instead of being dropped off at the bridges crossing the river. If you want to help us stock this stretch of stream, contact the program coordinator, Ed Kordyla, at kordyla@aol.com.

Once again, the river clean-up will occur at Point Mountain on the Musky. The date for the clean-up is Saturday, April 13, 2024. We meet on the river at 9:00 am and work for a few hours cleaning up the area. This is a family-friendly event and an excellent opportunity to get outdoors and do something good for the environment! Contact Masha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com for more information or to sign up for the event.

We are still seeking volunteers to serve on the current Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is the group of individuals responsible for running the organization's day-to-day operations. We have several vacant positions that need to be filled. I am happy to discuss what is involved and what is expected of someone who decides they would be interested in helping out. Don't hesitate to contact me at president@cjtu.org if you are interested.

For the past five years Bill Ninke has been authoring the Fly of the Month feature in pretty much an open loop fashion. Starting this month and continuing into the future you can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill via email at fotm@cjtu.org

I look forward to seeing you (in person) at our next general meeting on February 13 at the American Legion Hall in Dunellin, NJ. Please join us for an evening of conservation, camaraderie, and fishing!



Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo

You can contact Bart at


January 2024

bartpres3

I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself, although I suspect that many of you may already know me. My name is Bart Lombardo, and I am the “new” president of Central Jersey Trout Unlimited. “New” is probably not the best way to describe my role as president as I have served in this capacity many times over many years!

I want to thank our outgoing president Masha Benovengo for the fine work she did running the chapter for the last few years. For those of you that may not be aware Marsha has been pulling double duty serving as our chapter president and the president of the New Jersey State Council of Trout Unlimited. Fortunately, Marsha is not leaving CJTU and is staying on as a board member where she will continue to support our chapter.

One of my goals as president is to try and breathe some life back into our chapter. We have been struggling since the outbreak of COVID 19. The shutdown hit us particularly hard, and we have some work to do to get us back to where we were pre-pandemic. We are looking for help on several fronts including bringing some new folks onto the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors are the individuals responsible for running day to day operations of the organization. Over the years we have lost a number of board members, and it is critical that we get a few folks to take a more active role in the organization. There are a number of open positions available, and I am happy to discuss what is involved and what is expected of someone who decides that they would be interested in helping out.

The board meets once a month (the first Tuesday) via a zoom call, so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to participate. Board meetings are open to all members, and I encourage you to attend one if you have any interest in helping out. Believe me when I say it is not a heavy lift. It is a role that anyone can fill if they have a desire to help Central Jersey Trout Unlimited succeed in the future.

The beginning of the year is always a busy time for us. We have several events and activities taking place over the next few months. Starting out in January is the Fly Fishing Show at the end of the month. The Fly Fishing Show takes place at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison NJ on January 26-28, 2024. CJTU will be manning a booth at this event to promote our conservation and fund raising efforts. We still have some spots available for volunteers at our table. No prior experience is required, we can bring you up to speed in a few minutes if you want to help us out at the show. Give us three or more hours at our table and we will cover the cost of your admission to the show ($20.00). If you’re interested in helping reach out to Marsha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com .

In February we will be kicking off our fly tying school. This year we are offering two classes. The first class is our Beginners Fly Tying Class. In this class we will introduce you to the art of fly tying and by the end of the class you will have all the skills needed to tie your own flies. For the beginner’s class everything is provided including all tools and materials. The second class is the Intermediate Fly Tying Class. This class is for the fly tier who has acquired the basic skills in handling tools and materials either by previously taking a beginner’s course and/or tying flies regularly for a year or two. The cost for each class is $50.00. The classes will take place over two Saturdays, February 10 &17, 2023. The class hours are 10:00am to 3:00pm and take place at the same American Legion Hall where we have our monthly meetings. If you are interested in taking a class or would like more information, drop us a line at cjtutying@cjtu.org .

In March we kick off our Point Mountain stocking program. CJTU has adopted the Point Mountain Tract on the Musconetcong River as our “home waters”. Our chapter led the efforts on the restoration project completed there some years ago. We have also been assisting the state in stocking trout on this beautiful stretch of trout stream for many years. Our volunteers stock the length of this special regulation water ensuring that fish are evenly distributed throughout the tract opposed to being dropped off at the bridges that cross the river. If you would like to help us stock this stretch of stream reach out to the program coordinator Ed Kordyla at kordyla@aol.com .

In April is our Annual River Clean-Up. Once again this takes place at Point Mountain on the Musky. The date for the clean-up is Saturday, April 13, 2024. We meet on the river at 9:00am and work for a few hours cleaning up the area. This is a family friendly event and a great opportunity to get outdoors and do something good for the environment! Contact Masha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com for more information or to sign up for the event.

Also, in April our chapter will be participating in Rutgers Day at Rutgers University. This one-day event is a big one for us and we are always looking for volunteers to assist us. You can contact me for additional information (my contact info is at the end of this letter). Rutgers Day is Saturday, April 27, 2024.

Our next general meeting is Tuesday January 9, 2024. We are doing something a little different for this meeting. Some of CJTU’s most talented fly tiers will be showing off some of their favorite fly patterns. They will tie the flies right there at the meeting and what’s going on behind the vise will be projected on the big screen for all to see. They will tie the flies right in front of you while discussing where, when, and how they fish them. This should be a great meeting so be sure to come out and join us. The meeting begins at 8:00pm, though folks show up earlier to set up and socialize. Meetings are held in the American Legion Hall, 137 New Market Road, Dunellen, NJ 08812.

I look forward to my “new” role for the next two years! I hope to see you at a meeting or event soon.



Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo



You can contact Bart at