Hi Folks – The snow is pretty but, erring on the side of caution, tonight’s meeting of the Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited is cancelled.  Hope to see you in March.

Our November meeting speaker for the Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be Rob Nicholas of Housatonic Anglers.
 
Since 1993, Rob (owner / head guide) has been guiding and teaching the sport of fly fishing to all skill levels from beginner to expert on both the Housatonic and Farmington rivers, as well as some lesser known, smaller streams.
 
The doors will open at 6:30 for food and refreshments, the meeting will start at 7:00 pm.
 
Our meetings take  place at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, 540 Oregon Road, Meriden, CT

This Thursday’s meeting will feature Steve Culton and his presentation “the Little Things”. There will also be pizza, cookies, soda and water starting at 6:30 pm.

See Steve's website at https://currentseams.com/ for interesting content on this and many topics. 
 
Our meetings take  place at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, 540 Oregon Road, Meriden, CT

The Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited, an organization dedicated to conserve, protect & restore cold water fisheries is announcing it’s April monthly meeting to be held on Thursday, April 14,  2016 at our meeting place at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, 540 Oregon Road, Meriden, CT starting at 6:30 PM. This meeting and future meetings will feature interesting information on stream conservation and fishing topics and will also include member interaction  and  light refreshments.
 
Our April 14 presentation will be : “Making Your Own Tapered Furled Leaders with speaker Mike Shannon. The process utilizes a homemade wooden board and pegs plus a few cup hooks and push pins along with a slow speed electric hand drill. The leader materials can be tying thread, monofilament and fluorocarbon. This process can produce high performance leaders at low cost in various lengths for given fishing conditions.

The March 10 HCTU chapter meeting program will be on Sea-run Trout fisheries in CT.

Out chapter is very are lucky to have one of the states sea run trout streams In our area, the Hammonasset River.

The speaker for this month is Ron Merly. He is a licensed Ct. fishing guide and is the author of Fly fisher's Guide to Connecticut. He holds the current Ct. state record for sea-run brown trout, sits on the BOD for the Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition, is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Assoc. and is a former President of the Nutmeg Chapter of T.U.

Ron's program 'Sea-run Trout in CT' is an overview on the fisheries in the state as well as techniques and which rivers fish well during different tides etc.

We hope to see you at the meeting.

Our January speaker will be Pete Picone, Conservation Chair for the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association. He will talk  about a project being developed to enhance the Upper Quinnipiac River Canoe Trail that originates in Cheshire at the boat launch off of Route 322 and finishes in Meriden near the Carpenters Dam. The aim of the project is to redesign the canoe trail brochure, install a new sign at the parking area in Cheshire, re-gravel the launch area and do some maintenance to keep the trail passable to canoes and kayaks.
 
In addition to improving the canoe trail they are also using project funds (funds came from a settlement with two Superfund sites in Southington) to remove two dams on the Quinnipiac (the Clarks Brothers Dam and the Carpeters Dam). Thus, they see some great opportunities here to expand recreational use of the river through the canoe trail and also raise public awareness about fish passage and the river ecosystem as a whole.  

Please join us for this informative presentation.  Roomer has it that food available for the evening is pulled pork!

Just a quick reminder that we won't be meeting this week.  Happy Holidays to all and we'll see you in January. 

We at HCTU wish you all a Happy Holiday season.  There will not be a meeting in December so enjoy your holidays with family and friends.  Get out and catch a fish if you can!

The November HCTU meeting will be this Thursday, November 12th, at QRWA  at 7 pm.   QRWA is at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden.  Hope to see you there!

November Hammonasset Chapter Meeting Presentation

Kevin Zak is President of the Naugatuck River Revival Group (NRRG). He is a member of the Waterbury Greenway Advisory Committee and the Naugatuck River Greenway Committee. The NRRG is a 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to cleaning and documenting the Naugatuck River. The NRRG has received several volunteer awards and creates documentaries about the river and homelessness.
 
Kinneytown: The Dam of Death.
By Kevin Zak
 
This is the first public presentation to explore this dam, the world it affects and the laws and bureaucracy that allows it to exist. It will take you under and over the water from the East and West Branch in Torrington to Derby where it enters the Housatonic.
 
Few know Kinneytown exists and often confuse it with its cousin the Tingue Dam and its new $6.4 million dollar Bypass. Why does Kinneytown fly under the radar?
 
Spanning over 400 feet across the Naugatuck River in Seymour it lies about 1mile south of the new Tingue Dam Bypass. It was built in 1844 by Raymond French from Seymour. The dam was breached during the 1955 Flood. A fish ladder was built in 1999.
 
There is much evidence that the Dam needs to be inspected and shown that the fish ladder simply does not work. This is the most important piece remaining and blocking the restoration of the river. In 2011 DEEP recorded just one American shad and zero Alewife passed through the Kinneytown dam for the entire year. This spring 59 American shad and 20 alewives passed through the Kinneytown Fishway passage. Are fish rescue’s taking place at the dam without public knowledge?
 
In the last inspection of  Kinneytown by the Army Corps in the 1980’s it was determined to be in “Fair” condition and rated a "Class C Significant Hazard". It was determined at that time that Kinneytown needed further inspection and repair. FERC does not see it as a hazard at all. Why and what does that mean in 2015?
 
The public excitement and awareness of the existing and potential benefits of the Naugatuck River and the original Naugatuck River Basin Anadromous Fish Restoration Program can and will lead us to open the door to what can be. Now that the Tingue Dam Bypass has been built it is time to unlock the Kinneytown puzzle and shed a light on the harm it does to an entire ecosystem and quality of life along, under and over the largest In-state river.
 
The Naugatuck River Revival Group has begun a five year project to put together and understand the mechanism's that will lead to the next positive ecological change in the Naugatuck River Basin: Change what exists at Kinneytown.