Hammonasset Chapter of Trout Unlimited - #446 CT

COVID-19 Response

3/18/2020

HCTU Meetings Cancelled Until Further Notice

As the vast majority of active Chapter members are in the most vulnerable age group, please take this Covid-19 pandemic seriously and practice social distancing. We hope to resume our usual schedule of meetings and events soon.

Below is the most recent message we received yesterday from Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited, Inc.

Dear Trout Unlimited leader:

We are all adapting to the new realities of the COVID-19 virus. Because of our concern for the health and well-being of our employees, we are closing all of TU’s offices and have requested all TU staff to work from home. We have also canceled all travel.

We are in a very fluid situation, and new information is rapidly emerging. Yesterday, the White House urged that we all avoid social gatherings in groups of 10 or more people.

Here is what the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control says:

“Older adults and people who have severe underlying chronic medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at a higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness. People who are at higher risk are encouraged to avoid crowds as much as possible.”

For that reason, all in-person and indoor Trout Unlimited events and gatherings, including chapter meetings, are cancelled for the next 30 days. We will assess where we stand in 30 days and have further guidance at that point. Small group outings may proceed with all of the proper precautions taken about social distancing.

COVID-19 has everyone on edge. Please be safe and be careful, but also enjoy the time with family and friends, and the people you love. Know that we will get through this together, and we will continue the good work of protecting and restoring the places we live, love, and fish.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I wish you and your families all the best.

Chris

P.S. Please help us spread the word by sharing these messages from our blog and YouTube channel with your members and partners.

We will continue to communicate through email updates and blog posts on our website at HCTU.org as information is available.

March 2020 Update

2/24/2020

Have you tried euro-nymphing? Our March 2020 speaker, Zach St. Amand, is a native of New England and has been fishing since he could hold a rod. Zach grew up fishing rivers and streams in the woods of his childhood home and eventually expanded his angling to rivers throughout the northeast. A family tradition angling has always been a part of his life: bringing equal parts of adventure, peace, challenge and excitement.

Zach will talk on long line euro-nymphing technique and line management strategies for fighting and landing big fish fast. Don't miss this exciting and informative presentation.

Zach was also featured in a Men's Health article: https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19528571/why-every-eater-should-go-fishing/

Please join us on March 12th at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden for a very informative presentation and some good fellowship! Food at 6:30, a short business meeting, program updates, and raffle precedes speaker.

Help make the Chapter what you want it to be!

We are always interested in suggestions for how the Chapter can best serve your interests. If any of you have a few hours to help, your efforts would be greatly appreciated. Our next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for April 13, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the United Churches of Durham, 228 Main Street, Durham, CT 06422. This would be a great opportunity to express your interest in how the Chapter operates,suggest projects, and offer any volunteer assistance.

At our BOD meeting on February 10th we reviewed the bylaws and made some changes to officer positions to be in accordance with the bylaws. We expect to hold election of officers at the October 2020 meeting. In the meantime, please let any of the current Chapter officers know of your interest in joining the Board of Directors and/or taking on a leadership position. A complete list of positions will be included in the April Update.

Upcoming Schedule

March 7th - HFFA Expo & Trade Show, See:More info @ HFFA FACEBOOK

March 12th - HCTU Regular Monthly Meeting - Zach St. Amand, Farmington River Guide (see details above)

March 14th - Fly Tying with vision impaired veterans (see details above)

March 21st - HFFA Dinner Meeting, Monticello's; 5pm to 9pm; Guest Speaker - John Field

April 9th - HCTU Regular Monthly Meeting - Samantha Dennis, Delaware River Guide

Stay tuned for additional information on events through the balance of the year!

Save The Date!

2/21/2020

SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020
8:30 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M
A ONE DAY FLY FISHING CLINIC FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS AGE 12 AND UP
MATTHIES GROVE - PEOPLE’S STATE FOREST, 106 EAST RIVER ROAD, BARKHAMSTED, CT
WORKSHOPS – FOR NOVICE AND ADVANCED ANGLERS
FLY FISHING — FROM EQUIPMENT TO CONSERVATION AND ENTOMOLOGY, TO CASTING AND FLY TYING TO KNOTS SAFETY AND MORE.
$20 FOR WOMEN, $10 FOR AGES 12 TO 18
*NOTE: GIRLS 12 TO 17 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN*
INCLUDES BOX LUNCH AND REFRESHMENTS
LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF FLY FISHING FROM EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS REPRESENTING A CROSS SECTION OF CONNECTICUT’S FLY FISHING AND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS.
PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO CASTING FOR RECOVERY, A NONPROFIT THAT HELPS WOMEN RECOVER PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY FROM BREAST CANCER THROUGH FLY FISHING.
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:
CONNECTICUT FLY FISHERMAN’S ASSOCIATION, FARMINGTON VALLEY TROUT UNLIMITED, CONNECTICUT TROUT UNLIMITED COUNCIL, HOUSATONIC FLY FISHERMAN’S ASSOCIATION, CASTING FOR RECOVERY, CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FISHERIES DIVISION, SISTERS ON THE FLY
CONTACT: 2020WOMENFISHING@GMAIL.COM FOR MORE INFO

February 2020 Update

1/28/2020

Alicea Charamut will be our speaker at the regular Chapter meeting on February 13th. Alicea is the Executive Director of Rivers Alliance. Prior to that, she was the River Steward for the Connecticut River Conservancy. She is the past Council Chair of the Connecticut Trout Unlimited. Alicea also serves as a volunteer in several capacities as Secretary of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a member of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality, and on the Advisory Board of the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources. She is also the Co-Chair of the Water Planning Council Advisory Group. Alicea holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut.

Alicea's talk will be on the state of our rivers. There are so many ways we can keep our rivers clean, healthy and full of life. Join us for our February meeting where you will hear from Alicea about what is going on at the state-wide level and locally. What are the opportunities and challenges our river face? What can you do to help?

Please join us on Thursday February 13, 2020 at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden for a very informative presentation and some good fellowship! Food at 6:30, a short business meeting, program updates, and raffle precedes speaker.

So sorry for not getting something posted to this blog in the last two months. Please email me at fhuntley1452@comcast.net if you want to be added to our Mailchimp monthly email update.

Best regards,
Rick Huntley

November 2019 Meeting Update

11/8/2019

Our speaker for the November meeting will be DEEP fisheries biologist Neal Hagstrom. Neal will give a talk about "The big picture- how development and the planning process in CT complicates trout population conservation."

Please join us on November 14, 2019 at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden for a very informative presentation and some good fellowship! Light food at 6:30 with a short business meeting, program updates, and raffle preceding the speaker.

October Update

10/8/2019

Our meeting speaker for October is outdoor writer and guide Steve Culton. Steve will give his presentation on "Trout Fishing For Striped Bass — How to catch the stripers that everyone can’t.” Please join us this Thursday (October 10, 2019) at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden for a very informative presentation and some good fellowship! Food at 6:30, a short business meeting, program updates, and raffle precedes speaker.

September 2019 Update

8/29/2019

Our September meeting speaker will be John Kovach, Managing Director of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Chairman of the Connecticut Council of Trout Unlimited. John will give us an update on the museum in Livingston Manor, N.Y. and an update on TU Council activities and initiatives. To learn more about the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum, check their website: https://www.cffcm.com/ . A resident of Fairfield, John is an editor of weekly newspapers for Hearst Connecticut Media

The fall through spring meeting/speaker schedule should be coming out soon following our Board of Directors meeting. Stay tuned!

Picnic Update

5/14/2019

Just a reminder to RSVP to fhuntley1452@comcast.net on or before May 18th if you plan to attend the picnic on May 30th. Here's a bit from their website about our guest Jerry Jahn with Spey Casting North East: Jerry has been fishing for Atlantic Salmon for over 30 years and 25 of them has been with the two handed spey rod. He began on the Penobscot River in Maine and the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. In that time we did not have books, DVD's or instruction on how to cast or set up lines. They used Double Taper lines imported from Europe and cut up lines for their needs. The rods were very long and slow action in comparison to today's equipment. Jerry is an excellent caster of single hand and two hand rods, his enthusiasm is infectious and very well received by all of our students. He is focused on getting the student to understand Spey casting and only pleased when they have success.

You certainly won't want to miss this! We hope that the venue (Chatfield Hollow in Killingworth) will draw some of our members from south central CT who may find it difficult to attend meetings in Meriden. Please join us any time Thursday afternoon starting around 2PM. Picnic fare will be available from 5 to 7 PM.

May 2019 Update

5/3/2019

Our Meeting this month has been moved to Thursday the 30th. This will be our annual picnic meeting. We have decided to try a new venue for this event, Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth. We will have Jerry Jahn from Spey Casting Northeast demonstrating starting at 4:00 pm. Come early and/or stay late to take advantage of the varied fishing opportunities at this Trout Park that include two ponds and a small stream.

Please RSVP by email to Rick Huntley if you plan to attend so we can plan for food quantities.

Please join us on May 30th at Chatfield Hollow State Park, 381 Route 80, Killingworth, CT 06419, See:
https://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325182&deepNav_GID=1650%20
for more information about the park. We plan to have the picnic at the pavilion. See the map at: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/18d24b8cc535ba0afcdde8795/files/9c515e02-4bb8-415c-adba-32f3d94024f7/chatfieldhollow.pdf.

April 2019 Update

4/8/2019

Our featured speaker at this month's meeting is FFI (Fly Fishers International) Certified Master Casting Instructor and author of two casting books John Field. John will be giving a talk based on his book titled Fly-Casting Finesse. As described on his website, fieldflyfishing.com, Fly-Casting Finesse reveals John ’s secrets of fly-casting based on modern observation, his experience as an angler and casting teacher, and his collaboration with international members of casting clubs and schools.

Whether the reader is a salt- or freshwater angler, Fly-Casting Finesse will help the caster increase accuracy and distance as well as hone presentation. It runs the gamut from one-hand spey techniques to dealing with wind on the flats.

John has spent extensive time exploring the waters of the Northwest Territories and the provinces while on the mast of Canadian Sportfishing Magazine. He also filmed in the Amazonas in Venezuela and elsewhere while shooting and co-producing Hunt for Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg. John has decades of experience flats fishing the Florida Keys and striped bass fishing in the Northeast. John also makes regular fishing trips to the Balkans of Europe and the Yellowstone region. He is past-president of the New York City Chapter of Trout Unlimited and past president of the ACA (American Casting Association). John is an FFI Master Casting Instructor and author of two books; Fly-Casting Finesse- A Complete Guide to Improving All Aspects of Your Casting, Skyhorse Publishing, 2015 and ACA’s Beginner’s Guide to Fly Casting- Featuring the Twelve Casts You Need to Know,Skyhorse Books 2018. He is currently working on another book titled, Trophy Striped Bass on the Fly, Stackpole Books. It should be available in 2019. John’s feature articles have been published in Fly Fisherman Magazine and many others and John has contributed to several books by other authors. Visit his website- fieldflyfishing.com.

Please join us on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden for a very informative presentation and some good fellowship! Food at 6:30, a short business meeting, program updates, and raffle precedes speaker.