Nutmeg TU recently hosted one of its fishing trips, held almost monthly, this time on the Saugatuck River in Westport.
David Ader and John Kovach of Nutmeg led the trip, and father and son due of Joe and Ryan Welsh of Shelton both had success in the fly-only area along Ford Road.
Want to help shape the present and future of Nutmeg TU? Come to the next Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, May 1, at 7 p.m. in the Shared Space Study Room at the Fairfield Library, 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield.
The board plans the programs, speakers, cleanups, fishing trips and other activities of Nutmeg TU. Help is needed in all aspects of running the chapter, and on levels from volunteer to coordination to chairman.
Contact President Rich Rosen at rhrosen@aol.com for more information.
Board meetings are over by 9 p.m. and are held the first Tuesday of the month.
The Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition will plant trees in Stonington Saturday, the next step in a project that was supported by Nutmeg TU.
Volunteers are needed to help plant some 100 trees will in an area of Anguilla Brook on Saturday, April 28. The Nature Conservancy and DEEP partnered with the landowners to have a dam removed on the property a few years back, revealing a beautiful streambed now in need of thermal protection.
The planting is scheduled for 11 a.m., with a rain date of Sunday, April 29, and a deluge date of Saturday, May 5.
The location is at the end of Lane Way in North Stonington which is right off of Route 1 and looks more like a driveway than a road.
Take shovels, pick axes, pitch bars and anything else that would be helpful in planting trees.
Paul Dinice will give a presentation, Fly Fishing for Stripers on the Housatonic, at the Milford Point Coastal Center on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, from 1 to 2 p.m.
The cost is $8 for CAS members, $10 for non-members. Payment may be made the day of the presentation by cash or check.
The classroom is limited to 50 seats. Space may be reserved by calling the Milford Point Coastal Center at 203-878-7440.
“The Housatonic is a very unique and beautiful river,” Dinice said. “Where else can you catch trophy trout at the foot of the Berkshires and then travel an hour south to the river mouth at Stratford/Milford and catch striped bass all in the same day.
Dinice is a 64-year-old resident of Derby who began spin fishing and fly fishing at a very early age. He lives close to the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers and has been exclusively fly fishing since 1980. He is a member of several environmental organizations, including Trout Unlimited and the Connecticut Audubon Society. He is also a member of the Derby Inland Wetlands Commission and has been employed by the Town of Orange as zoning administrator for the past 38 years.
His “home” club/organization is the Housatonic Fly Fisherman’s Association. For the past 35 years he has written “Fly of the Month” section of the HFFA newsletter and website.
He has contributed to a book entitled “Over-Winter Striper Secrets” by Captain Al Anderson. His contributions included photographs and writings which were incorporated in the section on fishing the Housatonic.
His “closer crab” pattern appeared in the 2012 Winter edition Fly Tyer Magazine. Dinice has organized numerous small fly fishing expos in Connecticut.
This presentation will cover:
He will also hand out a limited number of “A Guide to Stripers n the Housatonic”.
The Coastal Center will be open from noon to 4:30 p.m. April 22.
Whether you can volunteer for an hour, the day, or just want to check out the events, join Nutmeg TU at the Pequonnock River Fest at Beardsley Park in Bridgeport on World Fish Migration Day, Saturday, April 21, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. We just really want people to see the grounds, the fish ladder, the river and the environment we’re working on, and learn to cast and fish a little.
Nutmeg TU President Rich Rosen outlined events in a letter:
Hi all,
On Saturday April 21, Nutmeg Trout Unlimited and Beardsley Zoo are holding a Pequonnock River Festival in celebration of World Fish Migration Day.
Volunteers are needed to make this day a great success.
At 9:00 am we will meet at Beardsley Zoo’s Hanson Pavilion and fan out from there to start the cleanup. (Tree planters will be starting at 8:00). Hanson Pavilion is inside and to the right of Beardsley Zoo’s parking area.
Nutmeg TU activities include a Pequonnock River Cleanup, Nature Walk/Insect Discovery, Fly Casting Clinic and Fishing. The Zoo’s activities include Tree Planting, Fish Ladder Tours and a Birds of Prey Encounter.We need your help to volunteer. If we have enough volunteers we can add additional kid-friendly activities. If you can volunteer for the day, or part of it, please email me with your contact information and when you can volunteer.
Here is our World Fish Migration Day schedule of activities:
If you are interested in volunteering please email me at rhrosen@aol.com and let me know which activity you want to help with. We also need volunteers to tie some Wooly Buggers for the fishing session. Wooly Buggers can be brought on the 21st or to our next chapter meeting on April 17th.
This is a day for fun and learning. Bring your spouses and kids and to celebrate and enjoy the Pequonnock River.
Regards,
Rich Rosen
President
Nutmeg Trout Unlimited
You’ve probably wondered about fishing that body of water just beyond New Haven when you drive over it on I-95. Learn the secrets of accessing and fishing Lake Saltonstall from Jeff Yale, Program Specialist for the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, on Tuesday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.
The talk, open to all, is hosted by the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited. All are welcome, free of charge; pizza and beverages can be purchased.
Yale will talk about how anglers can get into the property, which only hosts a limited number of fishermen at any one time, and what species can be caught there. Nutmeg TU is planning a trip there for April 23.
Jeffrey Yale is a graduate of UMaine, Orono with a BS degree in Wildlife Ecology. A lifelong Connecticut resident and avid hunter and fisherman in our state, he has been with the Regional Water Authority for 16 years.
Spring fishing derbies are a great way to introduce kids to angling, and there are several in the Nutmeg TU area.
The Fairfield PAL will hold its annual derby Saturday, April 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Gould Manor Park, 749 Holland Hill Road, Fairfield. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The Fairfield PAL Trout Derby is open to ages 3 to 15; prizes are awarded for the largest and smallest fish.
The 50th Milford Children’s Trout Derby, sponsored by the Milford Striped Bass Club, will be held Saturday, May 5. Trout Derby co-chairmen Shawn and Jenn Lalond have been organizing and running the event for more than 10 years. They can be reached at poolshark442@aol.com.
The Stratford Recreation Dept. is having its annual Catch-and-Release Fishing Derby for children of all ages on Saturday, May 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., at Brewster Pond in Stratford. The fee is $5; register April 2-May 4 online at www.townofstratford.com/recreation or in the Recreation Dept. office at 468 Birdseye Street, Stratford.
The 15th annual Monroe Police Fishing Derby will be held Saturday, May 19, from 6 to 9 a.m. at Wolf Park’s Great Hollow Lake in Monroe. The event is open, free of charge, to children 3 to 15. Prizes are awarded for the heaviest fish in the age groups 5 and under, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-15.
The Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited will lead a fishing outing in the fly fishing only area of the Saugatuck River on Saturday, March 31, at 8 a.m.
The Doc Skerlick Fly Fishing Area is located not far from the Merritt Parkway, along Ford Road in Westport. Click here for directions. Parking is available along the road.
The fly fishing only area is easily accessible and a great place for new anglers to learn and practice skills. As a Trout Management Area it is open, catch and release, year round.
You will need waders, Connecticut fishing License and trout stamp (a new requirement for fishing in Trout Management Areas and for harvesting trout), and fly rod and gear. Members of Nutmeg TU will be on hand to help.
If you plan to attend, click here to RSVP.
The state has begun stocking trout in advance of the opening of the 2018 season, and stocked the fly-only section of the Saugatuck Trout Management Area Thursday, March 15.
The state offers updates on stocking via the Connecticut Fish & Wildlife Facebook page.
Remember that anglers who keep trout, or who fish in special regulations areas such as Trout Management Areas or Trophy Trout Parks, must purchase a Trout & Salmon Stamp for $5. Click here to read more about the stamp.
New Connecticut fishing regulations went into effect Friday, requiring some anglers to purchase a Trout & Salmon Stamp, and extending the Mill River Wild Trout Management Area and making the Mill River Trout Management Area catch and release all year.
Fees from the Trout & Salmon Stamp will go to the DEEP to support fishing activities.
Highlights of the new regulations include:
TROUT & SALMON STAMP – A trout & salmon stamp is required for any angler 16 years of age and older fishing in a Trout Management Area (TMA), Wild Trout Management Area (WTMA), Trout Park, or Atlantic Salmon Broodstock Area; or keeping trout, Kokanee Salmon or broodstock Atlantic Salmon anywhere statewide (some exceptions for waters not stocked by DEEP that are stocked by another entity). The fees for the Trout & Salmon Stamp are $5 for resident anglers who are 18 and older, $3 for CT residents ages 16 or 17 and $5 for nonresident anglers age 16 and older. The trout & Salmon stamp is now available for purchase on the Online Sportsmen’s Licensing system. Click here to read answers to frequently asked questions about the Trout & Salmon Stamp.
MILL RIVER WTMA & MILL RIVER TMA (Easton-Fairfield) – The Mill River WTMA is extended downstream to the Merritt Parkway and the Mill River TMA is now catch-and release year round.
FARMINGTON RIVER TMA – A small portion of the West Branch Farmington River in the Riverton area from the intersection of Hogback Road and Route 20 in Hartland downstream to the gas pipeline crossing approximately four-tenths miles downstream of the confluence with the Still River in Barkhamsted will now be closed to all fishing from April First to 6:00 am on the second Saturday in April.
FISHING SEASONS – Alexander Lake is open to fishing year round. Baldwins Pond and Green Falls Reservoir are open to fishing from 6:00 am Opening Day through the last day of February.
CATFISH – There is now a creel limit of 6 Channel Catfish and White Catfish in aggregate per day, except in Beaver Park Lagoon, Birge Pond, Bunnells Pond, Center Springs Park Pond, Freshwater Pond, Keeney Park Pond, Lake Wintergreen, Lakewood Lake, Mirror Lake, Picketts Pond, Rowans Pond, Mohegan Park Pond and Stanley Quarter Pond where the creel limit is 3 catfish per day.
COMMON CARP – There is now a creel limit of 5 common carp per day, with no more than 1 fish greater than 30 inches in length, except in Trophy Carp Waters (see below).
TROPHY CARP WATERS – Batterson Park Pond, Connecticut River (including the portions of tributaries open year-round), Squantz Pond and West Thompson Reservoir are designated as Trophy Carp Waters with a one carp per day creel limit and a 26 inch maximum length for Common Carp.
METHODS – Tenkara fishing (a traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing without a reel) is now allowed in fly fishing areas.
ATLANTIC SALMON BROODSTOCK AREAS – The period when broodstock salmon gear restriction applies to all species in broodstock areas is now from September 1 to March 31 (inclusive).
TROUT PARKS – Pasture Pond at the Quinebaug Valley State Trout Hatchery, Plainfield, is now a designated Trout Park with a 2 trout per day creel limit.
Click here to read the new regulations.