The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reports that the full print version 2013 CT Angler’s Guide will be published and distributed in early April.
An electronic version of the 2012 Guide continues to be available online.
There are no new regulations in effect for the 2013 season at this time, according to the DEEP; all regulations found in the 2012 guide remain in effect.
Reservations, and donations for prizes, are needed now for Nutmeg TU’s 36th annual banquet.
The banquet will be held Saturday, March 23, at the Restaurant at Tashua Knolls Golf Course in Trumbull.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with an open bar till 7:30 p.m.
The evening will include a door prize, raffles, a silent auction and presentations on Nutmeg TU activities.
Donations of prizes are still needed. To donate a prize or volunteer to help with the banquet, contact Banquet Chairman Chuck MacMath at cmacmath59@yahoo.com.
Click to download a printable reservation form, to be printed and returned to the address on it by March 15.
The Housatonic Fly Fishermen’s Association will hold its annual expo Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 65 N. Main St., Wallingford.
Directions can be found at hffa.net.
A $1 donation is requested.
Those who attend a Salt Water Tying Class at 10:30 a.m. will learn how to tie two salt water flies, Bear’s Bunker, & Paul’s Bucktail Bait Fish. The cost is $1; all materials and hooks provided. Seating is limited; reservations must be made with Paul Dinice at 203-305-3850 or pdinice@snet.net.
HFFA Members will be on-hand to tie many of the best patterns used on the upper and lower Housatonic. Those who attend may take a vise and join in tying (materials provided for free). There will also be casting demonstrations and lessons (weather permitting), a gear sale and swap, vendors, guides and fly fishing experts to answer questions.
Connecticut DEEP Inland Fisheries staff began the 2013 spring trout stockings this week. Among the areas scheduled to be stocked sometime in the next two weeks are many of the state’s Trout Management Areas (TMAs).
Early spring stockings are very dependent on weather and site conditions. (Click here for trout stocking maps.)
As of March 1, fishing season is closed on many rivers and streams, and at a number of lakes and ponds.
All 16 of the state’s Trout Management Areas remain open year-round, but all are catch-and-release only during winter and early spring.
Class I Wild Trout Management Areas are also open year-round for catch-and-release fishing.
Nutmeg TU is looking for volunteers to help take veterans fishing.
National is launching TU’s Veterans Service Program, involving those who have served the country in conservation projects and fly fishing instruction.
Currently there is a program called Take a Vet Fishing at First Branford Congregational (www.firstcongregationalbranford.org/vets.html), led primarily by Hammonasset TU volunteers. That meets quite a distance from Fairfield County; they have so many vets go there for winter fly tying and for warmer-season fishing that they have a constant need of volunteers.
On Thursday, Feb/ 21, from 10 a.m. to noon, voluuntters from the Farmington Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be joined by volunteers from Candlewood Valley TU in the third floor conference room at the Newington Health Center of the Veterans Affairs, 555 Willard Ave.Newington, CT (860-666-6951). Anyone interested should contact Gian Morresi at 203-763-4015 or gmorresi@gmail.com.
Port 5 Naval Veterans, new home of Nutmeg TU meetings (see related story) takes blind veterans fishing once a year.
John Henry Merwin, one of America’s pre-eminent fishing writers who authored or edited 15 books on the subject, has died. He was 66.
Merwin was a native of Norwalk.
Among his books are “The New American Trout Fishing” and best-selling “Trailside Guide to Fly Fishing.”
Click here to read the Burlington Free Press story.
The window for public comment on Exide’s proposal for cleaning contamination from the Mill River near the former battery factory has closed, but local officials continue to raise questions.
At its most recent meeting, the Shellfish Commission petitioned for a public hearing with the DEEP.
Updates will be posted as they become available
Reservations, and donations for prizes, are needed now for Nutmeg TU’s 36th annual banquet.
The banquet will be held Saturday, March 23, at the Restaurant at Tashua Knolls Golf Course in Trumbull.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with an open bar till 7:30 p.m.
The evening will include a door prize, raffles, a silent auction and presentations on Nutmeg TU activities.
Donations of prizes are still needed. To donate a prize or volunteer to help with the banquet, contact Banquet Chairman Chuck MacMath at cmacmath59@yahoo.com.
Click to download a printable reservation form, to be printed and returned to the address on it by March 15.
Click here for directions to the restaurant.
Nutmeg TU’s Ron Merly will discuss his book, The Flyfisher’s Guide to Connecticut, at the next regular chapter meeting Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be held at Nutmeg’s new home, Port 5 Naval Veterans, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport. The hall is next to Fayerweather Yacht Club, The former site of regular Nutmeg TU meetings.
In addition to discussing his book, Merly said he will talk about “different streams people probably haven’t fished or don’t fish.”
Merly has been fishing fresh and salt water around Connecticut for some 45 years.
The Flyfisher’s Guide to Connecticut includes more than 30 detailed maps showing every access point, state park, state forest, boat ramp, campsite, access road and bridge. Also included are hatch charts, detailed driving directions, as well as fly and tackle shops, accommodations, restaurants, and air service, plus where to find Atlantic salmon and sea-run trout, as well as head-to-toe coverage of the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers.
The book can be purchased at amazon.com.
Nutmeg TU has found a new home.
Starting Tuesday, Feb. 19, regular meetings will be held the third Tuesday of each month, from 7-9 p.m., at Port 5 Naval Veterans, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.
The hall is located next to Fayerweather Yacht Club, The former site of regular Nutmeg TU meetings.
Port 5 can be reached at 203-576-9366, and has a website at portfiveusa.com.