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April 2019 |
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General MeetingTuesday, April 9, 2019Agust Gudmundsson“Fly Fishing Montana on the Cheap”
Montana, the last best place. Unfortunately for many anglers it is a far off and exotic place to be visited after winning the lottery. But in reality, it is within almost everyone’s grasp, and for a surprisingly reasonable amount of money. Agust Gudmundsson has been a CJTU member since 1987, and has been visiting the Big Sky state since his first trip with Bill and Andy back in the 1990’s. Join him as he explains how to make a Montana fishing trip an affordable reality. He’ll also give a preview of what’s happening in F&W back here in New Jersey.  Pre-Meeting Fly Tying ProgramFly tying is a wonderful companion activity to fly fishing. We offer a Beginners Class every year for those who want to get started. For further progress, CJTU's six week Intermediate Class serves the needs of those willing to make a strong commitment to advancing their knowledge and skills. But what about those who don’t want to or can’t make such a commitment. As a broadening of our Chapter’s educational offerings we are launching a new pre-meeting program this month aimed at those in our Chapter who have interest in a specific pattern or technique mentioned in the Fly of the Month. Some may be interested in a pre-meeting session only once or twice a year. Others may be interested every month. Or there may be no interest. We don't really know at this time so we're going to start and see what happens. So come at 7pm this coming Tueday if you are interested. Bill Ninke will be demoing the techniques for tying the "Right Way" Hendrickson Comparadun featured as the April Fly of the Month. Other Chapter tiers are welcomed to contribute future presentations. Tuesday, May 14, 2019 Erik Barton
Influenced by his father, Erik started fishing when he was four years old. Previously an avid bass and muskie fisherman, it wasn’t until the age of ten when he started to transition into the fly fishing genius that he is today. After his first year of trout fishing on the Musconetcong, he couldn’t help but notice how effective fly fishing was for the fishermen around him. It was then that he asked his father for his first fly rod. Within a few short minutes of getting down the basic fly cast, Erik landed his first fly caught fish.
Since that day, fly fishing has encapsulated Erik’s life. Every available weekend has since been spent fly fishing with his father on streams near and far, whether it be locally on the South Branch of the Raritan or on the numerous wild trout streams throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. Although some of Erik’s favorite fishing is for big wild brown trout on the West Branch of the Delaware or on one of Pennsylvania’s fine trout streams, his preferred stomping grounds are found on the Salmon River in New York. Catching big steelhead on a swung fly is truly his forte.
When he’s not fishing, Erik can be found tying some of his favorite flies. Erik specializes in all kinds of salmon and steelhead flies, ranging from big, weighted intruders for winter steelhead to small spey flies for Atlantic Salmon. If he’s not tying he’s either doing research on anadromous salmonid locations or research on reptiles, one of his other favorite hobbies. Tuesday, June 18, 2019CJTU Picnic MeetingMeeting LocationAmerican Legion Hall
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President’s Letter
The rivers are in fine shape for the season opener, and the weather is looking pretty good. So I am sure the crowds will be out in force! Despite that, I hope all of you plan to spend some time on the water this weekend. If rubbing elbows with the masses is not your thing, take heart, as the crowds usually thin out in a few weeks and it is once again possible to find solitude. We have many things in the works this month, and as usual, we can use your help. On Saturday, April 13 we have three simultaneous events. I will be giving a fly tying demonstration at LL Bean in Freehold NJ. At the moment I am running solo so if anyone wants to join me reach out for me at president@cjtu.org. The reason I am running solo is that the bulk of our volunteers will be involved in two river cleanups! Our chapter members and other volunteers will be conducting a clean up on the Point Mountain tract of the Musconetcong River as well as Anderson Brook a tributary of the Musky. The clean up on Anderson Brook is the first of many projects on that watershed to improve the habitat for the wild trout that reside there. If you would like to join us, you can find all the details in an article in this month’s newsletter. On Saturday, April 27 we will be at Rutgers Day on the Rutgers College Campus. We will be giving free fly casting lessons and spreading the word about all the excellent work Trout Unlimited is doing in New Jersey. On Sunday, April 28 we will be at the Pequest Open House event at the Pequest Trout Hatchery. If you can volunteer a few hours to help out at either event contact us at volunteer@cjtu.org. Looking forward towards May we will be attending the Trout Fest in Califon New Jersey on Saturday, May 4th. Trout Fest is an outdoor community event that will feature a fishing derby for the kids and have plenty of activities for the adults. We will be on hand with our team of casting instructors giving some free lessons to anyone that wants them. I am happy to announce that we are in the process of setting up a fly fishing class at the Pequest Hatchery in June. We will announce all the details at our upcoming meeting next week. Speaking of next week’s meeting, it is one you will not want to miss. Agust Gudmundsson will be giving a presentation focused on fishing Montana on the cheap. August’s presentations always draw a crowd, and this one is going to be a good one, so come on out to the meeting Tuesday night and enjoy the show.
Tight Lines |
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News & Events
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7355313 Use the link above to access amazon.com and help support CJTUCJTU is now part of the Amazon Smile program. By clicking through to Amazon with the above link, CJTU will receive a small percentage based on your purchase. CJTU Fly Tying School WrapupAll sessions for the 2019 Beginners and Intermediate Fly Tying Classes have now been completed. A total of 15 students participated in the Beginners and Intermediate classes. Thanks go to our instructors, Tom Kapusta and, Bill Ninke, Lou DiGena and Ed Kordyla. Special thanks go to our Tying School sponsors, Shannons, Wapsi, Hareline and Fly Shack for their donation of materials used in the classes. Musconetcong River Cleanup 2019April 13, 2019
We need volunteers to help with the Musconetcong River Clean-up. This year marked the 27th Spring Clean Up on the Musconetcong River. CJTU in conjunction with the Musconetcong Watershed Association will conduct river cleanup on Saturday, April 13, 2019, from Lake Hopatcong State Park to Finesville, NJ. CJTU will do our annual cleanup of the Point Mountain TCA section of the Musky. We will meet at the Hunterdon County side of the bridge on Point Mountain Road at 9:00 a.m. We will finish up by noon. I encourage members to get out and participate in this and any cleanup events because you see the direct effects of our impact on rivers and at the end of the day feel the accomplishment of restoring a small stretch of stream. Lou Digena Fly Casting & Fishing Clinic
Call for volunteers. We'll be signing up members at our next meeting on Tuesday April 9th who can help us run a Fly Casting & Fishing Clinic For Beginners at the Pequest Hatchery on Friday June 7th (from 10 am to 2 pm). We'll be opening up the clinic to the public shortly, but will need to limit the number of folks we can enroll depending on our volunteer corps. Thanks. NJ Trout Season OpensSaturday, April 6, 2019Rutgers DayApril 27, 2019Pequest Open HouseSaturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, 2019Fly of the Month"Right Way" Hendrickson ComparadunTied by Bill NinkeBill Ninke will be demonstrate the techniques for tying the "Right Way" Hendrickson Comparadun featured here starting around 7:00 pm before the Tuesday, March 12th meeting. 
The Comparadun pattern was introduced by Caucci and Natase in their classic book, Hatches. It is based on the Haystack pattern of the famous Adirondack tier Fran Betters. I’ve caught hundreds of trout on this pattern with the tying as described by Caucci. But something always bothered me. The wing is formed from hair with the tips forward and is stood up straight in the initial tying. But the wing always seemed to slowly angle forward as the fly was fished. This seemed un-mayfly like to me. There are many tying tricks to keep the wing straight but my wings still seemed to drift forward. The trout didn’t care but I did. So a few years ago I started mounting the wing with the hair tips back. The wing was stood up straight in the tying but drifted back slightly in the fishing creating a wing angle more like a real mayfly. I found this tying process was easier mechanically than the original and proportions were easier to control. The trout liked this tying just as well so I present it to you here. (Actually I think they like it slightly better but it’s probably just my wishful imagination).
In the following tying description I introduce some tying techniques that are not widely known. So if you don’t recognize rope dubbing and thumb nail slide, come out to the pre-meeting demo and you’ll leave enlightened. Click here for the recipe! |
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Central Jersey Trout Unlimited’s Supporters
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Spring has finally arrived! I am sitting in my garden in a T-shirt typing out these words on my tablet surrounded by a flock of chickens! If that is not a sign of spring, I don’t know what is! I spent the better part of the morning preparing my gear for opening day, and I just spent a few enjoyable hours this afternoon working in the garden. It is great to be outdoors in the warm sunshine for a change. Truth be told there was not a lot to do to get prepared for this weekends fishing as I have been fishing all winter. I am ready to go and looking forward to it.
