Nutmeg Chapter Trout Unlimited

Written by NutmegTrout21705Nov, 2014

Aquarion official to describe natural resources

George S. Logan, director of Environmental Management and Government Relations for Aquarion Water Company, will discuss natural resources and the land management in terms of source protection and watershed management as it relates to Aquarion with Nutmeg TU Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The meeting will be held from 7-9 p.m. at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport. Pizza will be sold, and there will be a raffle.

Logan earned a Bachelor of Science Degree (1991) in Engineering from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and a Master of Science Degree (1995) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport. He has recently taken on the role of Director of Environmental Management and Government Relations for Aquarion Water Company (Aquarion) of Connecticut. He is responsible for leadership and support roles related to government relations and environmental functions related to sustainability programs, alternative energy programs as well as watershed maintenance, law enforcement, source protection, environmental compliance, natural resources management, and community outreach programs.

Prior to taking on this new position with Aquarion, Logan was responsible for leadership and support roles in all aspects of water utility engineering. In other previous roles with Aquarion, Logan was also responsible for supervision of Aquarion’s land survey, CAD drafting and design functions and was in charge of Corporate Purchasing for the entire Company.

Aquarion is the public water supply company for more than 625,000 people in 50 cities and towns throughout Connecticut, as well as serving customers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It is the largest investor-owned water utility in New England and among the seven largest in the U.S. Based in Bridgeport-CT, it has been in the public water supply business since 1857. Across its operations, Aquarion strives to act as a responsible steward of the environment and to assist the communities it serves in promoting sustainable practices. For more information on Aquarion Water Company, please feel free to visit www.aquarionwater.com or www.facebook.com/aquarionwater.

Nice Housatonic River rainbow caught recently outside of the TMA. Don't be afraid to explore!

Written by NutmegTrout21705Nov, 2014

Merly: Trout, salmon in full swing

The trout and salmon fishing is in full swing right now. We have received some much needed rain and the rivers are looking better. The Housatonic and Farmington Rivers are fishing very well with some large spawning browns being caught. Brook trout fishing has been excellent throughout the state and they are in their full spawn colors at this time.

The salt water fishing has been very good as well with great blackfish reports as well as a lot of stipers being caught. There is still a lot of bunker out there to kep the fish around but they’ll be gone soon.

I just returned from Pulaski, New York where the steelhead fishing is now in full swing as well. Lots of big steelhead in the rivers and a few fresh salmon still tricking in. If you’ve never been up to catch these fish, try it. It is a world class fishery only 5 hours away.

The chapter needs to take action on a serious problem which has recently occurred in the Mill. Apparently, some of Connecticut’s finest citizens parked in the lot on the Congress St. side of the Meritt Pkwy., dragged logs across the river to pool it, and then took a drag net though the stream netting all of the trout that they could take. The smaller trout were thrown onto the banks to die as they would have been too small to eat. This was told to me by very reliable witnesses and I was also told that this was not the first time that this has happened. Unfortunately, there were no photographs of this atrocity. As far as I know, the logs are still in place.

My suggestion is that the loggs be removed and camo cameras be installed such as deer cams to try and prevent this from happening again or to catch the people who are doing this. The chapter could also use river stewards to patrol the chapters streams weekly as there were many bait containers found along the Saugatuck Fly Area and anglers aren’t catching many fish there.

Our state has a serious problem with poaching and I believe that all anglers should unite at this point and demand better protection for our fisheries. Millions are spent each year raising and stocking trout, pike, walleye, salmon etc. but yet that investment is not protected. Maybe a petiton to the state legislators is in order.

Tight light lines

Ron Merly

Written by NutmegTrout21725Oct, 2014

Nutmeg president plans casting clinic

Nutmeg TU President and certified casting instructor Chuck Petruccelli will hold a casting clinic for interested anglers on Saturday, Nov. 1.

For information on the date, time and location, click here to email Chuck.

This being a clinic, what will be covered will depend on the attendees’ abilities. The clinic will include analysis and video of the attendees’ casting.

Work may cover:

The basic cast (pick up and put down);

casting accuracy;

shooting line;

roll cast (most useful cast in the East a must for the Mill, Saugutuck, Far Mill, and Pequonock rivers);

presentation casts;

slack line;

reach mend and

casting in the wind.

Petruccelli has 35 plus years experience fly fishing. He has extensive experience fishing the Housatonic and the Farmington rivers, and in shore from Milford to Westport. Petruccelli has also fished Maine, Montana, Wyoming, New Brunswick Canada, Belize, and Puerto Rico.

“I’m looking forward to helping people improve their casting and catching,” Chuck said.

Written by NutmegTrout21725Oct, 2014

TU scientist to talk climate change

Jack Williams, Ph.D., senior scientist for Trout Unlimited, will talk about TU’s national Climate Change Committee on “Yankee Fisherman,” hosted by Nutmeg TU member John Kovach, on hanradio.com Thursday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m.

Williams will discuss TU’s position on climate change and the work of its committee.

Williams also serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Rivers Conservancy. Prior to his current position with Trout Unlimited, he was a Professor at Southern Oregon University, Forest Supervisor of the Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests in Oregon, and Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Boise National Forest in Idaho. He also taught at the University of California-Davis and has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management, including serving as the BLM’s National Fisheries Program Manager, and the Science Advisor to the BLM Director in Washington, D.C.

His education includes a BS in Wildlife Biology from Arizona State University, a MS in Biology from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, and a PhD in Fisheries Science from Oregon State University. If not fishing with family and friends, he is with his springer spaniels.

Also on the show is David Deen, river steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Councill.

Deen spent 28 years as an Orvis-endorsed guide in Vermont and a licensed guide in New Hampshire. He operated his own business called Strictly Trout, but fished for anything he could catch with a fly rod, including shad, stripers and smallmouth and largemouth bass in the watershed. He has been river steward for the upper valley in Vermont and New Hampshire for 16 years working with the Connecticut River Watershed Council.

Kovach hosts Yankee Fisherman, a look at fishing and conservation related topics with a focus on the Northeast, Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. Archives of all prior shows can be heard on hanradio.com

Written by NutmegTrout21725Oct, 2014

Nutmeg TU going striper fishing

Members of Nutmeg TU will meet to do some fall striper fishing at Short Beach in Stratford, 1 Dorne Drive, Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

There is plenty of room to fish and park.

Come meet fellow chapter members and share techniques, flies and lures. Bring a 8 or 9 weight fly rod, or a medium to heavy spinning or surf casting rod.

We will fish the outgoing tide. High tide Saturday is 12:06 p.m., low tide at 6:35 p.m. We will fish till dusk.

The rain date is Sunday, Nov. 9, with the meeting time at 1:30 p.m. Sunday’s high tide is 12:52 p.m., while low tide on the rain date is 7:21 p.m

Written by NutmegTrout21720Oct, 2014

State seeks input on wildlife plan

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will be holding a series of informal meetings throughout the state to obtain public input as it updates the state’s Wildlife Action Plan, which serves as Connecticut’s blueprint for conservation action. The agency must complete a comprehensive review and revision every 10 years to make sure the Wildlife Action Plan reflects current needs and priorities for species of greatest conservation need and their habitats. The revised plan is due to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by October 1, 2015.

Click here to read more.

Written by NutmegTrout21713Oct, 2014

Meeting Oct. 14 on Exide cleanup

Dredging more than 20,000 cubic yards of lead-contaminated soil from the Mill River is about to get underway now that a processing plant to clean the sediment has been installed on Exide’s 6.25 acres on the Post Road, according to the Fairfield Citizen.

TRC Environmental Corp. of Madison, Wisc., is doing the work for Exide, which is under orders from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, to clean up the river that was polluted by waste from Exide’s now-closed battery factory over the years.

A public information meeting on the cleanup will be held Oct. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Board of Education conference room, 501 Kings Highway East.

Click here to read more

Written by NutmegTrout21713Oct, 2014

Catching the big ones Oct. 21 topic

Frank Plona returns to share his wisdom about fishing the Farmington River with Nutmeg TU Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Port 5 Naval Veterans, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.

A fellow member of TU, Frank will speak on “How to Catch Big Survivor Trout on the Farmington and Other Places.”

Frank knows the Farmington like the back of his hand. He has technique honed years of experience and he has a storyteller’s way of engaging us. He is a friend and a “fun to have” speaker.

He will outline sets of conditions where you can hook up with bigger, more wary survivor trout in the Farmington River along with an explanation of situations with techniques for handling them and where they will not work. Expect that you will also learn of sections of the Farmington that you may not know of that produce! Frank knows ‘em all.

He just spoke at the recent meeting of his home chapter, Farmington Valley TU, and he filled the house!

Pizza will be served.

Ron Merly with an 18 and one-half inch palomino trout recently caught and released in one of Connecticut's beautiful streams. Perfect Autumn colors!!

Written by NutmegTrout21712Oct, 2014

Merly: Now is the time to go fishing

Now is the time to get out and fish for everything!!; Atlantic salmon have been stocked into the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers. The Saugatuck Fly only TMA and Cascades TMA on the Mill have just been stocked with trout as well as the Housatonic TMA’s in Kent and in Cornwall. Water levels are down but the fishing is good despite the lower water. The Farmington continues to fish very well.

Blackfishing has been very good lately. There is a lot of bait out in the sound. I saw a pic of a 60+ lb. striper which was recently caught in the Connecticut River and the bonito and false albacore are giving anglers a thrill out east. So whatever your quarry, get out there before the weather turns too cold.

I spoke with state biologist Mike Humphreys recently and he has submitted a proposal for regulation change on the Mill River. The proposal will be to change the currently fragmented area of the stream which is a WTMA from the Easton Reservoir down to Rte. 59 where it becomes put and take fishing along Congress St. and then changes to a seasonal TMA from the Congress St. Bridge down to Lake Mohegan.

The changes will be to make the entire stream from the reservoir down to Lake Mohegan catch and release fishing only with possible supplemental stockings of rainbows throughout the Cascades area which they do not feel will compete with the wild trout. (???) Anyway, it will all be catch and release.

The electro-shocking survey conducted by the state on the Mill this year yielded some excellent results. The largest numbers of 6- 10″ brown trout that they have recorded to date were electro-shocked this year. There were browns over 20 inches, wild rainbows (which the state believes are the progeny of the spring spawn rainbows that were stocked by what was formerly the 25 Sportsmens Club which was a private club that ran from the bridge near Buck Hill Rd. up to the reservoir) and wild tigers. However, the best news is that the brook trout population is finally expanding all the way down to Congress St. This makes the Mill one of the most unique wild trout streams in the entire northeast. It is a tailwater release wild trout stream that runs down into a 60 ft. deep thermal refuge (Lake Mohegan) in less than 3 miles and Nutmeg should be proud to be the keeper of this excellent self-sustaining fishery. I pointed this out to the state in a letter that I wrote to them which was the final letter that I wrote as President of the chapter which is largely what led to these changes.

There is more promising news on the Mill. The Aspetuck Land Trust is trying to raise money to purchase the South Park Ave. property that runs along the Mill from the Town of Easton. The land trust was successful in obtaining Trout Brook Valley many years back with the help of Newman’s Own, The Nature Conservancy, the State of Connecticut and other private donors and conservation organizations. ALT needs that same support now as this would obviously be the best acquisition of that land and this is a great opportunity for Nutmeg as well as the community in general as it would make the Mill even that much more of an asset to the state.

Tight, light lines,

Ron Merly

Written by NutmegTrout21730Sep, 2014

Fish passage being built on Aspetuck

Work is getting underway on a fish passage project in Westport that will provide access to more than a mile of the Aspetuck River and associated wetlands for migrating alewife, blueback herring and American eel.

A pool-and-weir fishway will be constructed to allow fish to bypass the dam, sometimes called the Newman dam. The fishway, which also will benefit non-migrating resident fish, will incorporate field stone and wooden weirs to create the pools.

The Aspetuck river dam is jointly owned by Joanne and Melissa Newman and Raphael Elkind.

Click here to read the full story in The Weston Forum.