June 2014

News & Events

General Meeting - Tuesday, June 17, 2014

“CJTU Picnic Meeting or "A Meeting with Food"”

Come join us for what has become a very popular event: our annual "A Meeting With Food", to be held in the grove behind the American Legion Hall on Tuesday, June 17th, from 5 to 8 pm. A great opportunity to wind into the summer and exchange some spring fishing stories with new and old friends. We will be cooking up a bunch of burgers, hot dogs and Kim Ott's famous sausage and peppers. Plenty of side dishes, soft drinks and water, and the American Legion Hall will have it's usual full bar available just steps away. See if you are the lucky door prize winner.

Price is only $ 10 in advance (we'll be collecting advance sales during the May General Meetings- see Dick Turse, or John Wester at the raffle table) or $ 15 at the door. Hope to see you all there !

Remember that the June 17th meeting is on the Third Tuesday of the month and starts at 5:00 pm.

There are no meetings during the months of July and August. Next General Meeting will be on September 9, 2014.

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

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

Fly Fishing 101 Event at Efingers Sporting Goods
by Angelique Wurpel

On May 10th, in conjunction with  Orvis, Efingers and  the Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders  CJTU took part in Flyfishing 101 : Introduction to Fly Fishing.

Efingers hosted the event in the building next to the sporting goods store, which allowed us enough room for three stations which covered knots, stream entomology, fly selection, and casting.  With over thirty participants, we had a great turnout!  Our ‘students’ were broken into three groups, and rotated through the different ‘classes’.  Ed & I taught about the different types of insects, fish, and other prey species that are present in streams, and how these animals translate into flies. With some books provided by Efingers for reference, it was easy to compare pictures of mayfly nymphs to flies such as the hare’s ear to see how close these little bits of fur and feather are to the real thing. We also talked about how to fish these different patterns, when to choose a one fly over another and how rewarding catching fish on flies you've tied yourself is.

At the next station, the Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders covered two more great topics: knots and how salt water fly fishing can differ from the freshwater.  To help with their demonstrations, they brought huge rolls of colored monofilament to teach the various knots with. Albright, cinch, nail and surgeon’s knots were covered, and I think everybody got a piece of the line to practice with. While it may not be the same size as the 4x tippet we’re tying improved cinch knots on, it certainly help to practice the motions. While salt & freshwater fly fishing have a lot in common, they also have some differences. The difference in size between a typical trout setup (4 wt.) from a striper setup (10 wt.) can be daunting but the Bayshore Saltwater Flyrodders made it seem manageable with some practice.

 

The final station was headed by the regional rep from Orvis, Doug Baer, and taught casting. Several members of our Board of Directors were there to provide one on one instruction to the classes of about a dozen students each. John Wester, Lou DiGena, Ozzie, Tom Kapusta, Larry, and Bart Lombardo were just a few of our members who were on hand to provide one on one instruction to the students. They covered basic false casting, the bow and arrow cast, and the roll cast. (I should’ve signed up – I always seem to hook myself on bow & arrow casts!) While it was chaotic in the shop, everyone got hands on time with the flies, rods, and knots that build the basics of successful fly fishing. The rep from Orvis was very helpful, Efingers provided a generous coupon, and every student received a free one-year membership to Trout Unlimited. Hopefully with the great turnout & positive attitude that was prevalent – we’ll have many new members to greet at the meetings! 

President’s Letter

June 2014

I can't believe that spring is slipping away into summer already. It has been an unusual year on the fishing front. Our prolonged winter has delayed many hatches on waters here in the northeast. I have taken a number of trips this spring that historically coincided with reliable hatches only to be stymied by conditions that are several weeks behind schedule. I had hopes that our fishing season would be extended later into the year, but it looks like we are jumping right into warmer summertime weather. If you fish for trout during spells of warmer weather please be conscious of the fact that these are cold water fish that are easily stressed to the point of death if water temps are too high. I typically don't fish for trout when water temps approach the seventy degree mark. Give trout a break during the summer in watersheds where temperature could be an issue. The summer months are a great time to chase warm and cold water species.

I want to remind everyone that our regular meeting date has been changed this month. We are meeting on the third Tuesday (June 17th) instead of the second Tuesday of the month. In addition to the date change, there is a time and format change as well. Instead of our typical meeting we are hosting a BBQ for our members. We will kick off things at 5:00pm instead of our usual 8:00pm. We will have tickets available at the door so please come out and join us. This is strictly a social event so there will be no speaker or business portions during this "meeting".

There is no news to speak of in regards to the Point Mountain Restoration Project other than we are still working through the permit process. When I have an update I will share the information with the chapter. Right now we are hoping for work to begin sometime during the fall months.

The Fly Fishing 101 event at Efingers Sporting Goods was a great event. We had over thirty beginner fly fisherman and women show up for instruction. The class was broken down into three components. We had a section that dealt with stream entomology, fly selection and fly tying, a section devoted to knots, gear and saltwater fly fishing, and a third area dedicated to hands on casting lessons. In addition to The Efinger staff, a representative from Orvis and volunteers from the Bayshore Saltwater Fly Fishing club as well as TU volunteers all worked together to present this class. My thanks go out to all that participated both instructor and student alike. Folks that took part in the event received a one year membership to TU and a generous discount on Orvis gear. As usual Efingers provided a little something for everyone as well.

On June 14th NJTU is hosting a Women's Initiative Open House Event for the ladies. You can get all the details in this month's newsletter or on our Facebook page.

I'll give you the basic scoop right here:

• Saturday, June 14, 2014 from 1:00pm-4:00pm
• Private residence, Hampton Borough, NJ
• Free weekend, no fishing license required
• Stations for women to learn about fly fishing, gear, fly tying, river reading and coldwater conservation
• Email kebuchta@njtu.org to register for event and get directions

I'll wrap up with a reminder that there will be no general meetings or newsletters during July and August. We resume normal business in September. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer!

Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo

Fly of the Month

“Apple Core Caddis”
by Agust Gudmundsson