Ed Grzeda of Nutmeg TU will lead a saltwater fishing trip to Short Beach in Stratford on Saturday, Oct. 20.
Drive into Short Beach, turn left when the entry road reaches the beach.
We will meet at 9 a.m. Low tide is 10:30 a.m. that day.
The trip is open to fly and spin fishers.
Ron Merly will discuss sea-run trout, where to find them and how to catch them on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport.
The talk, open to all, is hosted by the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited. It is open to fly and spin fishermen. TU membership is not required to attend.
The talk will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a fly tying demonstration by Eric Peterson of South Benson Outfitters in Fairfield.
The owner of Ron Merly’s Fishing Guide Service has more than 45 years of experience fishing the trout streams of Connecticut. He has been fly fishing since age 5, possesses excellent teaching skills and is an award winning outdoor writer whose credits include On The Water, Eastern Fly fishing, Trout and American Angler magazines.
He is the author of The Fly Fisher’s Guide to Connecticut, which gives tips on how to find water to fish.
Pizza is served, and beverages can be purchased from Port 5.
The Nutmeg TU Board plans events for Nutmeg TU Chapter 217. The board meets the first Tuesday of most months, usually at the Fairfield Public Library at 1080 Old Post Road in Fairfield. Meetings are open to all.
There are ways anyone could help the board improve Nutmeg TU activities. We are looking to expand outreach in a number of areas, including diversity and veterans programs.
We could use all the support we can get.
Just in times for the fall blitzes, salt water fishing experts will share their knowledge of the Long Island Sound on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., in the Black Rock section of
The talk, open to anglers of all styles — fly or spin, surf or boat, catch-and-release or keep — is hosted by the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited. There is no charge for admission, Pizza is available and beverages can be purchased from Port 5.
Confirmed members of the panel include:
Ian Scott Devlin, fly fishing guide on the Long Island Sound;
Eric Peterson of South Benson Outfitters, who has been doing fly tying demonstrations before Nutmeg TU meetings;
Jimmy O of Jimmy O’s Bait & Tackle in Bridgeport, whose previous visits to Nutmeg TU have drawn crowds;
Paul Dinice, who has written extensively about stripers.
The blues and stripers should be busy. Take some time to learn how to get in on the action.
Nutmeg TU is kicking off it’s 2019-20 season with a trip to the Cascades in Mohegan Lake Park in Fairfield on Sunday Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Mill River is catch and release and holds some very nice fish, both stocked and holdovers from Lake Mohegan. There are opportunities for lake fishing, pond fishing and fast water, all within a 1/4 mile stretch. Bait, spin and fly fishing are all allowed.
We will meet at the Cascades parking lot which is up the dirt road which parallels the lake if you drive past the lake, keeping the lake to your right. We’ll walk the river and then people can drop off and fish their favorite spots.
Please RSVP to your host, Rich Rosen rhrosen@aol.com so we know how many to expect.
Trout Unlimited is among the organizations fighting to stop efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act.
This blog by Kate Miller provides a look at TU’s stance and efforts.
The Endangered Species Coalition, of which TU is a member, has started a petition to stop the changes.
The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters is asking Attorney General William Tong to join other states in a lawsuit to protect wildlife, according to a letter from Deputy Director Amanda Schoen, Deputy Director of the CTLCV.
“When one species dies off, it can threaten an entire ecosystem. In the case of key species or major pollinators, that can also impact our farms, agriculture industry, and even our food supply. Rolling back the Endangered Species Act threatens not just our environment, but also our economy,” Schoen wrote.
Volunteers are needed on a major project that will improve trout habitat in the Mill River, one of the most valuable and storied wild trout streams in New England.
On Saturday, Sept. 14, the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited, working with the Town of Fairfield, will reshape the Mill River along Congress Street. Once a meandering stream, the waterway was straightened due to development. Using a technique known as conifer revetment, turns and pools will be restored to a river known as one of the best wild brook trout habitats in Connecticut.
Trees were placed in the steam in August of 2018. Click here for a video from that day.
Work will begin at 10 a.m. on Sept. 14. Volunteers should park in the dirt area across Congress Street from the river. Please be careful crossing.
Bring gloves and be prepared to wade.
Those who wish to volunteer are asked to click here to RSVP to Nutmeg TU President Rich Rosen.
Conifer revetments use discarded natural Christmas trees to shore up the banks, collect sediment and reroute the river. Volunteers anchor now-dead evergreens in the water along the banks. There they will trap sediment and build up the bank, extending land into the water and creating a curve in the river.
In the fall of 2017, the Nutmeg Chapter received a grant from the Embrace A Stream program to support removal of invasive species and shoring up of the banks of the Mill River near the Easton-Fairfield border, along Congress Street in Fairfield.
Money was also raised when Nutmeg TU collaborated with the Candlewood Valley and Mianus chapters on showings of the Fly Fishing Film Tour earlier this year, as was done in 2017 and 2018.
The 2019-20 season is about to start, and we are planning to have a variety of activities that you and your families can participate in.
We will continue our programming with member meetings and monthly fishing trips, and, will be upping our game with additional conservation work.
Starting Sept. 17 we will kick off the year with a saltwater fishing roundtable, headed by four local experts. In October we will learn about Sea Run trout fishing in CT with Ron Merly (state record holder) and in November we will learn from Steve Culton about how wet flies can improve our trout fishing. December will be our annual Potluck dinner featuring John Kovach’s (our communications and event coordinator, and head of the TU CT Council) famous gumbo, along with fly tying, knot tying and some great raffle prizes.
We all love to fish. On Sept. 8 I’ll be leading a trip along the Cascades section of the Mill River in Fairfield. In October Ed Grzeda (our membership chair) will be leading us on a saltwater outing and on Nov. 16 Alex Ziemkiewicz will show us the secrets of Campville, and hopefully hook into a few salmon.
Gian Morresi is leading our conservation efforts. On Sept. 14 we will have phase 2 of the revetment project along the Mill River on Congress Street to rebuild the banks and deepen the river. In the same area we will be putting in temperature loggers and start an annual macro invertebrate program to measure the health of the river. The invasive species along the Mill, where we sprayed and removed knotweed a few years back, have returned. Our goal is to put together a team to go in there monthly to whack the knotweed back, and give the non-invasive trees a chance to prosper and then naturally inhibit the growth of the knotweed. We are working to replace/repair the sign of Ford Road, place monofilament receptacles and much more.
It is very disheartening how people, fishermen included, do not respect nature and tend to leave their trash, bait containers etc. and expect someone else to pick it up. Unfortunately, that someone is often TU. Last year we had only one river cleanup and with your help, we can do more this year.
Our TIC program has been very active, with 15 local schools participating. After many years of great work our TIC coordinator, Dave Edgeworth, has decided to step down and we are looking for a new coordinator. If you are interested in TIC and love to work with kids, this program might be for you.
We are working to increase our membership and diversity. Thanks to Jerry Goldstein (our VP and Treasurer) last year we supported two local fishing derbies and want to do more with families, veterans and women. In fact, TU CT is planning a women’s only outing for next spring.
If you are interested in joining the board or volunteering for a one-off event, let me know rhrosen@aol.com . We can use your help. And if you think there are things we should be doing, or doing differently, we’d like to know that as well.
Looking forward to meeting many of you soon in the coming year.
Rich Rosen, President, Nutmeg TU
Just weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency released comments critical of Pebble’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the agency today withdrew the 2014 Proposed Determination.
If finalized, the Proposed Determination would have safeguarded the Bristol Bay region – the world’s greatest wild salmon ecosystem – from the proposed Pebble mine and other large-scale industrial development by placing limits on the amount of mine waste that can be disposed of in Bristol Bay’s rivers and wetlands.
“Sixty million fish can’t be wrong,” Trout Unlimited CEO Chris Wood said. “That’s how many sockeye returned to Bristol Bay last year. That’s the resource that is being put at risk by this unjustified and fundamentally boneheaded decision. We have spent $18 billion on unsuccessful efforts to try and recover salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers, meanwhile Alaska’s resource is outstanding and all we have to do to keep it intact is have the good sense to leave it alone. We will look at all options—including litigation—to protect Bristol Bay from large-scale industrial mining.”
TU Chapters from across Connecticut, including Nutmeg TU, are partnering with the Naugatuck Pomperaug chapter to clean the Naugatuck River on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. as part of the Sweetwater and Costa “Kick Plastic” campaign.
Volunteers will meet at Linden Park, then spread out to various river access points along the Naugatuck. Dumpsters will be located at Linden Park for volunteers to dispose of their trash pick up.
There will be a wrap up party immediately after the event at a TBD location. TU National and Sweetwater will be sponsoring the after party complete with Sweetwater’s new“Kick Plastic Pilsner”, which is a joint venture with Costa Sunglasses. Sweetwater is buying the first round to celebrate our volunteer efforts.
This should be a great volunteer opportunity and a chance to meet our neighbors and friends with the Naugatuck Pomperaug chapter.
We need to understand how many members will be participating, so please click here to register.