Dick Fincher will discuss the wooden, handmade plugs he creates and sells through Westport-based Phase II Lures when he visits Nutmeg Trout Unlimited Chapter 217 on Tuesday, Jan 17, at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be held at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.
Simple in design, Fincher says Phase II Lures are designed to catch fish, not fishermen.
“It doesn’t take ornate lures to catch fish,” according to www.phaseiilures.com. “It takes the right combination of design, water action and colors, all included in Phase II Lures.”
“Trout Unlimited is not limited to fly angling,” said John Kovach, programming chairman for Nutmeg TU. “We hope to attract anyone interested in angling, and in supporting conservation efforts so future generations can continue catching fish.”
“Phase II Lures are simple — readily available materials, ordinary tools, hand processes as much as possible, with hands-on/personal attention to every step — design, testing, individual lure fabrication, assembly, packing, shipping,” the website continues.
The designs are based on lure Fincher encountered growing up in the midwest, and are are “based on a lifetime of fishing experience and observation, primarily with light-medium tackle, both salt and freshwater,” according to the Phase II website/.
“I’ve concentrated on inshore saltwater fishing in the Northeast during the past 30-plus years,” he added. “I’ve caught stripers, blues and weakfish on the East River in front of the U.N. building, in Long Island Sound from the Norwalk Islands to Crane’s Neck on the Long Island side, back to The Race off New London and around Fisher’s Island, at Cuttyhunk, out to the rips and flats of Monomoy Island off Cape Cod.
I’ve landed bonefish in the Keys and St. Croix, king mackerel in Key West and the BVI’s, along with countless porgy, flounder, fluke, snappers on children and grandchildren outings in L.I. Sound. In freshwater I’ve caught bullheads in Kansas, cutthroat in Wyoming, musky, pike, and walleye in Wisconsin, perch in Lake Michigan, panfish in Virginia, large-mouth at nearly every freshwater stop, and rainbows in Colorado.”
Nutmeg TU meetings are open to the public free of charge; pizza and a cash bar are available.
The Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited 217 encompasses Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Easton, Redding, Trumbull, Monroe, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford and Shelton. Its mission is to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries and their watersheds, particularly in local rivers such as the Saugatuck, Mill, Aspetuck, Pequonnock and Farmill.
More information can be found at nutmegtrout.org.
