Chapter eventspagesepsitename%%

Written by NutmegTrout21703Apr, 2014

Mill River project on web radio

Nutmeg TU President Charles Petruccelli is scheduled to appear on Yankee Fisherman Friday, April 4, to discuss the Mill River Improvement Project and the chapter’s efforts to remove invasive knotweed from the banks along Congress Street.

The show, hosted by Nutmeg TU member John Kovach, airs live from 2 to 3 p.m. on hanradio.com, and is replayed throughout the weekend.

The second year of cutting is scheduled to be performed April 5 and 12. Click here for details, including how to volunteer.

Mike Abramowitz attacks Japanese knotweed some 7 to 8 feet tall Saturday, June 1, 2013. The towering stalks are now only inches tall, but must be cut again to keep the invasive plant from reestablishing itself.

Written by NutmegTrout21701Apr, 2014

Help make the Mill River better April 5, 12

Volunteers are again needed to help remove invasive species from the banks of the Mill River along Congress Street at the Easton-Fairfield line, near the Merritt Parkway.

Last year Nutmeg TU started a three-year invasive species removal project along the Congress St. section of the Mill River. This is the section that flows down stream from Sport Hill Rd. to where it flows under Congress St. If you drive by you’ll notice a lot of the knotweed is lower from the initial effort. It is time for the second year cutting, when volunteers cut the dead plants from the previous year’s fall spraying. The cutting is done early in the growth season so as not to cut down live plants from this year’s growth.

Volunteers are needed Saturdays, April 5 and 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you can volunteer, please post a comment indicating the day and hours you can help out.

Nutmeg TU will provide the weed cutters, face masks, water and snacks.

Lou Zambello, Maine guide and author, recently appeared on Yankee Fisherman on hanradio.com prior to his March 18 talk with Nutmeg TU.

Written by NutmegTrout21710Mar, 2014

Zambello interviewed on Internet radio

Lou Zambello, Maine guide and author “Flyfishing Northern New England’s Seasons,” appeared on Yankee Fisherman, hosted by Nutmeg TU’s John Kovach on hanradio.com.

Zambello discussed his new book, fishing in Maine, and the topic he will discuss March 18 at 7 p.m. “Tactics to Successfully Fly Fish each of the Northern New England Seasons.”

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.

Click here to listen to the interview, as well as Nutmeg’s Dave Edgeworth promoting the recent tag sale/swap meet.

Lou Zambello will discuss “Tactics to Successfully Fly Fish each of the Northern New England Seasons” at the March 18 meeting of Nutmeg TU.

Written by NutmegTrout21702Mar, 2014

Zambello to share tips on fishing New England’s seasons

Maine guide and author Lou Zambello will travel to Connecticut Tuesday, March 18, to discuss “Tactics to Successfully Fly Fish each of the Northern New England Seasons” at the next meeting of the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Port 5 Naval Veterans, 69 Brewster St., in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. Like all Nutmeg TU meetings, Zambello’s talk is open to the public.

Zambello recently published a book, “Flyfishing Northern New England’s Seasons,” available at amazon.com.

Zambello has fly fished northern New England for more than 30 years and has been a registered Maine Guide for over 10 years, guiding primarily in the Rangeley area.

He worked at LL Bean for more than 14 years and got the opportunity to fish with and learn from a number of fly fishing legends, such as Dave Whitlock and Dick Talleur.

He has traveled throughout the United States and the world to pursue his passion including Labrador, Newfoundland, Russia, the Bahamas, the Southeast U.S., Southwest U.S., Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and other destinations.

Lou writes a monthly column for the Maine Sportsman magazine and will soon appear in other fly fishing magazines.

He has several other book projects in the works including a how-to catch trophy brook trout book.

Lou has been fortunate enough to catch a number of salmonids exceeding 8 pounds, including brook trout, Atlantic salmon, brown trout, steelhead and rainbow trout.

Lou’s wife, Lindsey, and their three children all fly fish.

More information about Lou Zambello can be found at http://www.mainelyflyfishing.com.

Information about Nutmeg TU Chapter 217 can be found at nutmegtrout.org.

Written by NutmegTrout21713Nov, 2013

Nymphing demystified on Nov. 19

Bill Keister will take the mystery out of using nymphs to catch trout at the Nov. 19 meeting of Nutmeg Trout Unlimited 217.

The meeting will be held from 7-9 p.m. at Port 5 Naval Veterans, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.

“Is nymphing a mystery? Could your nymphing be more effective?” Keister writes. “The presentation is conducted as workshop where interaction is encouraged. The program starts with definitions and explanations of long line and high stick nymphing. Particularly effective flies are described. Rods, lines, leaders, strike indicators and methods to get flies down are covered. The importance of drag free drifts is explained. The causes of drag are described. Casts and method for eliminating drag are covered. Questions will be answered at any time during the presentation.”

Bill Keister is a Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) certified Master Casting Instructor (MCI). He ties his own flies and makes most of his fly rods. He has caught trout and salmon in Labrador, Newfoundland, Kamchatka, the Kola Peninsula, Alaska, Chile and three additional Canadian provinces and fifteen US states. Each spring he catches 200 to 300 fish nymphing on Connecticut’s Salmon River.

Written by NutmegTrout21706Oct, 2013

Nutmeg TU meets Oct. 15

Nutmeg TU 217 will resume regular meetings Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at Port 5 in Bridgeport.

Chris Cryder, Special Projects Coordinator for Save the Sound, will discuss “The Forage Fish that Feed the Sound’s Ecosystem.”

Connecticut, Cryder said, is a leader in opening riverine habitat for migrating forage fish such as river herring and shad. To date, 43 fish ladders have been built (such as Save the Sound’s latest on the Pequonnock) and 12 dams have been removed.

However, when the juvenile river herring that are born in Connecticut rivers and streams return to the ocean to mature, they are being incidentally caught and killed in great numbers in the commercial trawling industry for Atlantic herring. There are methods that can be employed to minimize the bycatch of river herring, but currently forage fish do not have adequate protections under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the law that governs fisheries in U.S. Waters.

“We believe this needs to change,” Cryder said.

Nutmeg TU members will learn about the status of forage fish in Connecticut, hear updates on restoration work on the Pequonnock River (and others), and hear how they can assist with strengthening the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Chris Cryder has worked for Save the Sound, a program of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, for the past seven years. He has managed habitat restoration and green infrastructure projects, and has coordinated land preservation and watershed planning initiatives. He coordinated the Pequonnock River Initiative in 2010-11, which resulted in the creation of an EPA watershed-based plan for the river.

Cryder has a biology degree from The Pennsylvania State University, and a master of health services administration from The George Washington University.

He resides in Old Saybrook.

A blog by Cryder can be found at http://greencitiesbluewaters.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/the-forage-fish-that-feed-the-sounds-ecosystem.