December 2018

General Meeting

December 11, 2018

Annual Holiday Gathering with Fly Tying

Please join us at our next General Membership meeting on Tuesday, December 11th featuring our annual Holiday Gathering with Fly Tying. We will also be recognizing the work done by CJTU volunteers this last year and unveiling several new service awards created in honor of past CJTU members. The action starts at 7:30 pm at the American Legion Hall, 137 New Market Road in Dunellen, NJ.

As in past December meetings, we invite our talented CJTU fly tiers to demonstrate their patterns, techniques and general prowess to other attendees. So if you are one of these tiers, bring you materials and tools and be prepared to show off.

First, we want to encourage those who have never tied a fly to get started. So please invite any friends , neighbors, spouses, family members, significant others or whatever that fit this category to the meeting or come yourself and one of our excellent instructors will provide guidance in tying a first fly. Tools and materials will be provided. And if you are inspired by what you see, sign up for the fly tying courses that CJTU will be sponsoring starting at the end of January 2019.

Second, for existing tiers who have questions about a particular pattern or technique, bring the relevant hook and materials and your own vice and tools and our instructors will guide you in answering your questions. Could it be that none can help? We doubt it. But maybe you can wipe the smug confidence off their faces to the delight of all attendees.

Finally, for those who never have or never will tie flies, we invite you to share social interactions with other Chapter Members. A few surprises may be in store too, so come on down and have a great time.

January 8, 2019

Cole Baldino

Bigger Wild Fish and Healthier Watersheds:
Combining Science & Fishing

Cole will take you through the Home Rivers Initiative’s Upper Delaware River Program within NJ. This presentation will touch on threats to current native and wild trout in NJ, planned/future projects and how we do it, how to get involved and what you can do on the river to become a better conservationist and catch more fish.

Cole graduated from SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry in Syracuse with a major in watershed science and coldwater fisheries biology, with the hopes of working for TU. He is now the Upper Delaware River Manager for TU’s Home Rivers Initiative, where he implements watershed restoration for native and wild trout populations through NJ’s Upper Delaware River Basin. In his spare time, you can find him floating the Upper Delaware or rock climbing when he’s giving the trout a rest in the summer heat. He currently lives right over the border in PA’’s Delaware Water Gap.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Tim Flagler

Unforgettable Patagonia

A trip to Patagonia should be on every fly fishers bucket list. The fish, the food, the scenery and the warmth and humor of the people are like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Tim’s video based presentation, shot in stunning 4K resolution, will make you feel like you’re there! It includes footage of his experience during his first trip to the region and perhaps explain his zeal for returning annually. Big fish, big country, big meals that you have to see to believe. 

Tim Flagler, 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.

Tuesday, March 12, 2018

Tim O’Neill

“Shad Fishing 101”

A look through the different Shad species we have available to us. Gear and techniques will be discussed as well as fly design.

Tim is the founder and owner of O'Neill's Fly Fishing, an online community dedicated to all aspects of fly fishing culture. www.oneillsflyfishing.com He began fly fishing at the age of 10. During the following 3+ decades, his passion for the sport carried him through many parts of the industry including: retail sales, commercial fly tying, lecturing, seminar teaching, and guiding. Currently he operates O’Neill’s Fly Fishing as well as being the owner of the Nor-vise fly tying system. www.nor-vise.com Tim’s fly fishing exploits have been written up in publications like “Out and About Delaware” and “Delaware Today” as well as being interviewed for NPR radio to discuss fly fishing. He considers himself an educator first and gets the most pleasure in helping others learn more about this great sport. When asked what his favorite fish to catch is, his response is always the same: “the one on the end of my tippet.” Please feel free to contact him to discuss all things fly fishing at tim@oneillsflyfishing.com

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

Meeting starts at 7:30 PM - Non Members are always welcome!

President’s Letter

We are in the midst of the holiday season and for many of us our thoughts are not about fishing. Not so for me, December is one of my favorite months of the year to fish. During this time of year there will still be some mild days to enjoy on the water (as I write this it is nearly 60 degrees outside!). Chances are you will find plenty of solitude on the river as most folks are busying themselves with shopping and other preparations for the upcoming holidays. Unfortunately it has been difficult to get out on the river this fall. We have been blessed with ample rainfall this year, and as a result, our area rivers have been running in a perpetual state of high water. These high flows are good for the river and the fish swimming in them but it makes it a little tough for us fisherman. Non the less I will make every attempt to get out a few times this month before old man winter comes calling. I hope you will too.

Show season is right around the corner and we are in desperate need of volunteer help. Central Jersey Trout Unlimited needs the help of our members to help spread the word about great work trout Unlimited is doing in New Jersey. CJTU needs your help to help staff our booth at the upcoming NJ Outdoor Sports Show and Fly Fishing Show in Edison NJ. These two shows are great events, at which we always manage to sign up a few new members. For the NJ Outdoor Show (January 10-13, 2019) we are looking for volunteers to tie flies at our booth, talk with show attendees about some of the recent projects we are involved with, help promote our 2019 fundraising efforts or help teach fly tying to children. Donate a few hours of your time and we will even cover your admission into the show! For the Fly Fishing Show (January 25-27) we have a smaller booth and will only be talking to folks about TU and selling tickets for our annual raffle. If you are interested in helping out at either show please send an email to volunteer@cjtu.org.

Our December meeting is our annual Fly Tying Night Out. If your a fly tier, bring your vice to the meeting and join us for a night of socializing and fly tying. As always there will be refreshments and a few holiday surprises. The festivities will start at 7:30pm.

Not a fly tier, do you want to learn? If so, your in luck! CJTU will be starting our annual fly tying classes in early 2019. You will find all the info on these classes in this newsletter. Taking a class with a live instructor is the best way to learn how to tie flies. Books and the internet are great resources but nothing beats an actual instructor who can guide you through the learning process and answer your questions along the way. For beginners all tools and materials are provided.

Things are quiet right now with our conservation projects. The clean up on Anderson Brook will not be taking place this month and will be rescheduled for early 2019. We are always on the look out for new projects and we will keep everyone in the loop as new potential work is identified.

That wraps things up for this month. I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo

News & Events

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CJTU 2019 Fly Tying School

Dates: February 13, 20 & 27 & March 6, 13 & 20, 2019

Time: 7:30 to 9:30 PM

Registration Fee

$50.00 for Beginners, Materials and Tools provided.
$50.00 for Intermediate Courses (Students must have there own vise and tools.)

Catching a fish on a fly you’ve tied yourself is a great thrill. And Fly Tying is a wonderful hobby in itself. It leads you to a better understanding of insects and other fish prey and thus become a better fly fisher. To get you started on tying or to help you grow your skills, we offer three six-session classes expressly tuned to the Internet Age.

Beginners Class: People have learned to tie flies from books for years. Books allow an ordered sequencing in the introduction of new techniques that build on previous ones. But books are static and subtle dynamics are hard to convey. Youtube videos convey dynamics, but the quality of the instruction is not uni- form. Some videos are good; some are bad and bad habits are hard to break. Proper introduction of techniques is commonly missing. Books and videos can’t correct you if you are doing something wrong. That is where our individual instruction excels.

Learn to do things “right from the start” from our excellent instructors who are some of the best in the East. Techniques are taught in a sequence that continually builds competence. Our instructors watch you and make sure you are doing things right. Further, we provide a quality vice, tools, hooks and all materials. The only upfront cost is our modest fee and your time. Finally, we provide a printed manual with summarized tying descriptions for each pattern plus a reference to a web video we believe is the best for that pattern. So sign up for and take our course and “be the best that you can be” in the shortest time possible.

Transitions Class: Did you take the Beginners Class last year or have you been tying a while on your own and feel you’re not quite up to our Intermediate Class. Then you’ll want to enroll in our Transitions Class. You’ll tune up your dubbing and hackling techniques and learn new families of techniques including working with deer hair, CDC, Snow Shoe rabbit and UV resins.

Intermediate Class: While our Beginners and Transitions Classes are the same from year to year, after all, basics are basics, our Intermediate Class is redesigned each year. New patterns and techniques introduced by tiers through-out the world during the previous year are monitored, and the best ones that mesh with the skill set of the Beginners and Transitions Classes are selected. Thus the class remains interesting to past attendees and also to those who have never taken it before. So sign up to continue your growth as a tier and enjoy the camaraderie of other like-purposed students.

Location, Registration and Payment: All Fly tying classes are held at the American Legion Hall, 137 New Market Road, Dunellen, NJ 08812. We ask you to register as soon as possible so that we may plan accordingly to make your class a success.

You can register at the Registration Table during the CJTU Chapter Meeting held in the American Legion Hall on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 or Tuesday, February 12; at the CJTU booth at the NJ Outdoors Show or Fly Fishing Show, or by email at cjtutying@cjtu.org.

Payment by of check or cash on or before the frst session is required. Please make your check payable to Central Jersey Trout Unlimited.

Fly of the Month

“Anchor Caddis”

Tied by Lou Digena

The Anchor Caddis is a variation based on Hans Stephenson "The Bomb." It makes a great anchor fly for winter nymph fishing when you need to get on the bottom.

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited’s Supporters