Tie One On Tuesdays @ 8:00 PM
Weekly Fly Tying Night on Zoom. Join to Tie, Watch, or just Drink!
Celebrate the cold days of winter with a warm fire, a tasty drink and the company of friends and fellow anglers in our weekly fly-tying night.
Held every Tuesday from January through March, Tie One On Tuesdays will feature a different local fly tyer each week showcasing one of their favorite patterns and pairing it with their adult beverage of choice.
Whether you come with your equipment and tie along or just tune in to watch and join the conversation, you're sure to have a fun night.
Register for each night for Zoom login:
Jan. 5 - Gustavo Castano - Turkey Marabou Leech paired with Maker's Mark
Jan. 12 - Rich Thibodeau - Red & Black Zebra Midges paired with a Dirty Vodka Martini
Jan. 19 - Mark McBeth - Klinkhammer paired with Bell's Brewery Two Hearted Ale
Jan. 26 - David Surowiecki - Pheasant Tails 57 Ways paired with Kuber Absinthe of Switzerland (or Pilsner Urquel)
Feb. 2 - John Hildenbrand - Kelly Galloup's Crippled Spinner paired with New Belgium IPA
Feb. 9 - Gerald Berrafati - Pat's Rubber Legs paired with Lawson's Sip of Sunshine
Feb. 16 - Jeff Yates - Easy Mianus Black Stonefly paired with Nod Hill Brewery's First There Is A Mountain
Feb. 23 - Paul Woodcock - Egan's Tungsten Surveyor paired with Maccallan 12-Year
March schedule TBD.
New Regulations For Tiger Musky in CT
One of our board members, John Forlenzo, is also a board member of the Lake Lillinonah Authority. LLA’s board is backing an effort to propose changes in the sport fishing regulations regarding the Tiger Musky. A petition is being circulated and you can sign it online at the link below. The petition will be present to CT DEEP early in the new year.
The Tiger Musky is a hybrid fish, crossed between a northern pike and a muskellunge. The have been stocked in one of Connecticut’s public lakes. This petition strongly suggests a specific catch and release or large fish creel limit to be added to Connecticut’s fisheries fish keeping guidelines. Currently tiger musky are planned to be included in the northern pike and its hybrids regulation. These sport fish cannot reproduce so the keeping of them will reduce a population that does not sustain itself.
Sign the petition here
Neil Baldino with a nice Tiger Musky
Why is this important?
These fish help control populations of pan fish that are destroying other fish’s reproduction. Fish such as the white perch eat bass fry and deplete the population. Tiger musky are apex predators integral to keeping a balance in their waterways. These fish cohabitate with pike populations and bring anglers to the area as a very desired sport fish.
Ugly Sweater 2020 - Lots of Fisherman - Few Sweaters
We had a great turnout for our “Ugly Sweater” event this past Saturday, December 12th. We know that the 2nd weekend in December can be a crap shoot when it comes to the weather. Although 2020 has been a disaster on a lot of fronts, the typical December cold front managed to stay away for our day of fishing the Farmington. The mild weather brought out more than a dozen hearty fly fishermen from Mianus and Candlewood Valley chapters of TU.
What we lacked in sweaters we more than made up in ugly face coverings. The crew met at Upcountry Sportfishing at 10:00 am. After a few purchases in the store and the traditional picture, we broke up into several smaller groups and headed for the river.
Many of us who attended the CVTU chapter meeting with Derrick Kirkpatrick and Zach St. Amand presenting winter trout tactics, were able to put some of those tactics to good use. Many fish were caught. Definitely more than the last few years. Was it the weather, or was it the knowledge gained from the Wednesday meeting. I’m going with the latter personally. I targeted water that was deep and slow and manage to connect with three trout on a jig woolly bugger; 1 caught, 1 lost, 1 missed. Others connected on nymphs fished both tight line and indicator, and others nailed them on streamers fished low and slow.
After a few hours of fishing we met back at the Peoples State Park Pavilion for lunch and a warm fire. Face coverings were worn and social distancing was practiced. Over all it was a great day and great way to ring in the Holidays, catch some fish, tell some stories, and just enjoy the good company of friends.
Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in the new year!
Mark McBeth
December Chapter Zoom Meeting Draws Full House
CVTU’s December Chapter Meeting saw an all-time high in attendance. The Zoom meeting room limit of 100 was reached shortly after the start of the meeting at 7:30 Wednesday night the 9th. Zack St. Amand and Derrick Kirkpatrick presented a very informative presentation on Winter Trout Fishing on the Farmington. Both Derrick and Zach were able to draw in several of their clients and followers from all around the state and region. There were plenty of CVTU’s regular members and many new faces as well.
Zack and Derrick covered 4 separate segments during the 1:50 minute presentation. They started with a very educational segment on “what to wear”. It is something that many of us have never really though that much about. You don’t just throw on a whole bunch of layers. There is a specific methodology to layering that will help keep you warm, even on the coldest days. They shared the benefits of wool vs. fleece, upsizing your boots, breathable vs. neoprene, wind protection, and even when to pee. All of it made sense and many attendees are sure to change their approach to layering.
Derrick Kirkpatrick
Zach St. Amand
They followed that segment with discussions on early, mid and late winter fishing, covering everything from tight-lining, indicator nymphing and dry fly fishing. They say there are 40 fish days out there in the winter and I for one, believe them. If I follow their lead from this presentation, maybe I’ll catch 4. That would be fine with me.
If you were unable to attend, you can find a replay of the meeting on the CVTU YouTube channel here.
Zach and Derrick can be found on the web at the following links. Their rates for guided trips are very reasonable and once you start following them on Instagram, you’ll be itching to get out on the river with either one.
Derrick Kirkpatrick - ctfishguides.com - Instagram - instagram.com/ctfishguides
Zach St. Amand - fishingwithzach.com - Instagram - instagram.com/fishingwithzach
"Black Friday" Stripers on the Housy
Black Friday is a great day to be on the water striper fishing and this year’s trip confirmed that yet again. The weather was perfect with low winds and warm temperatures. The warmer than usual water temperature held the main body of fish well down in the lower river all the way out into LI Sound.
The bait had been leaving the river all week while the stripers kept arriving in greater numbers. This intersection of gamefish and bait always results in good fishing. We all came across good numbers of fish and everyone was able to land at least a few striped bass. Largest fish of the day was Bill Bennet’s 33” striper taken on a soft plastic jig.
Bill Bennett with the fish of the day…
It was nice to share intel with other club members out there and the comradery between boats makes the day more enjoyable. The following club members shared the day together in 6 different boats:
Neil Baldino, Mike Fatse, Bob Mylnar, Joe Perrone, Ryan Knapp, Jon Forlenzo, Bill Bennet, Tony Ballato, John Hildenbrand, Evan Hildenbrand.
It was easy to social distance with 10 fisherman in 6 boats. Check out the pictures from the event on our gallery here.
AmazonSmile - Supporting CVTU is Easy
Have you heard about “Amazon Smile”? Well, it is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.
If you’re like me, and an Amazon Prime member, you’re probably ordering a lot of stuff off Amazon. Especially with the Holidays approaching and during this pandemic. What if you used AmazonSmile instead, and listed your charity as Candlewood Valley Trout Unlimited? I listed CVTU as my charity and have been using AmazonSmile exclusively since the summer of 2019. A few others in our chapter have jumped on board in the last 6 months. In the year and a half that our small group has been using AmazonSmile, we’ve generated $29.47 in donations. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it didn’t cost us anything and if 50 of us were on board, we would generate at least 5 times as much. That could pay for an event like our summer BBQ or a nice auction item for our banquet.
AmazonSmile is easy to setup. Just click on this link, which will take you to AmazonSmile and automatically set up CVTU as your charity; https://smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1496855. Once your setup you can bookmark the site and add it to your favorites, so it’s easy to find when you’re ready to shop.
Please note that you don’t have to be a Prime member to use AmazonSmile, and of course you don’t have to list CVTU as your charity. Pick whoever you want as a charity or share the wealth with CVTU. You can change charities back and forth whenever you want.
If you want more information about AmazonSmile or need help getting set up, please email me at grt4dead@hotmail.com, or ask your questions in the “Comments” section below.
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and tight lines!
Mark McBeth, CVTU Webmaster
November Virtual Chapter Meeting Replay Available on YouTube
Wednesday evening November 18th, CVTU members and friends gathered via Zoom for our November Chapter Meeting. We’re still unable to meet in person, but Zoom has proven to be an engaging platform for our monthly gettogethers. There were 23 attendees on the Zoom call, making this meeting about 75% of typical in-person attendance.
CVTU President Mike Fatse gave updates on current TU state of affairs, and he told attendees about CVTU logo Masks and Neck Gators that will soon be available for purchase on the CVTU website. They will be sold at CVTU costs with Masks running $3.50 and Gators $6.50. Shipping is free. We’re hoping to have them on the website and available before Thanksgiving.
Mark McBeth then gave a short presentation on the weekend trip to Pulaski and the Salmon River. Though fishing was slow, steelhead and a few browns were landed by all. Randy Walker then gave an engaging look at his home waters in his home state of Arkansas, focusing on the White River. Neil Baldino rounded out the presentations with an in-depth look at bass fishing on Candlewood Lake.
A replay of the meeting can be found on the CVTU YouTube page here…
October Virtual Chapter Meeting Available on CVTU YouTube
This past Wednesday, October 14, CVTU held its chapter meeting via Zoom. This virtual platform will be our standard for meeting until restrictions are lifted for in-person gatherings. We have access to the Zoom platform for up to 100 attendees, with social media streaming and recording capability.
Last week’s meeting was recorded and can be found on the CVTU YouTube channel here.
The meeting featured presentations from CVTU members on their “Summer of COVID”. Presenters included Mike Fatse telling us about his 30-day trout fishing streak, Kirsten Begg’s exploration in the back woods, Bob Mylnar’s most excellent adventures, Mark McBeth teaching his grandson how to fish, and John Hildenbrand, John Forlenzo and Dave Surowieki, reporting on their salt water exploits on the “Sound”. There is literally something for everyone in these presentations.
Stay tuned for November’s meeting notification and agenda and please plan to join us virtually next month.
Why We Are So Loyal to Our Fly Fishing Brands
I had one of those “Oh S@#t” moments out on the river the other day. My fully rigged 10’6” Cortland Competition Nymph rod, was stowed from the back of my Forester, across the laid flat back seat, over the center console, and down into the passenger front seat foot-well. That’s how I’ve always stored it, while driving between holes. But this day I also had a fully stocked cooler occupying the foot-well. The rod laid over the cooler, bending down to its tip deep in the foot-well. Nice and snug, huh?
Well, needless to say when I applied too much brake pressure to pull into the next turnout, the cooler tipped over and snap… there went the tip section of my rod! It would be one thing if I broke it on a 22” holdover Brown. But, total stupidity on my part made it worse. That rod has probably seen more action over the last 4 years than all my others combined. I had to get it fixed.
That was Saturday. On Sunday morning I took a picture of the broken section, along with the rod case and 1st section clearly showing “Cortland Competition Nymph – 10’6” 3wt”. I opened the Cortland Line Company’s website and clicked the “Contact Us” link.
Yikes! Broken Tip
I completed the form as instructed and truthfully told the story of the broken tip section. I wasn’t expecting Cortland to replace the tip for free, and I had seen the “$50 flat rate replacement” statement on the support site. What I didn’t expect was the response I got. By mid-morning Monday I had received and email from Matt, a customer service & sales rep. He included an invoice with an embedded link for me to complete my replacement order. The link took me directly to the “cart” on the website with my tip section already there. In a couple of clicks I had my shipping information and credit card info completed. Another click and the order was complete. This morning I wake up to a shipping notice from Cortland with an expected delivery date of this Friday. Pretty cool. I won’t even miss a weekend of fishing.
Why am I telling you this story? Well, how many times have you fought with a customer service rep over the most mundane issue, never getting it resolved, and feeling totally frustrated with the process. How many emails to support go unanswered or worse, answered by a BOT and not a person? How long have you waited on hold with your cable company, bank, or airline? Forever, I bet. What fly fishermen have come to realize is that the companies we deal with aren’t like those cable companies, banks or airlines. Our friends at Cortland, Simms, Orvis, Trouthunter, J. Stockard, Firehole Outdoors and others, are part of a network of small American, mostly private businesses, that value customer relationships and produce reliable, well made products. Yeah, we spend a little extra money, but we’re buying quality and that relationship after the purchase.
I have had similar experiences with Simms (replaced broken wading staff, no questions asked), Cabela’s (replaced my broken 4wt travel rod, no questions asked), St. Croix (replaced broken rod 20 years ago, no questions asked). I didn’t know what Trouthunter tippet was until I saw the Grateful Dead logo with the Osprey head in the center. Hmm… how do I get one of those? I went to their website and asked them that very question. Just four hours later I received an email response simply stating, “it’s in the mail”. A week later I had a whole envelope worth of Trouthunter stickers. That simple gesture created a customer for life.
These are the little things that separate successful small businesses from those that fail, and the fly fishing universe is littered with them. We’re lucky to have a passion that these companies share with us. And when we shop at our local fly shop for these products, we’re helping those small businesses succeed as well (some of which are TU Business Partners).
It’s a win win for all involved in the pursuit of fly fishing. Buy local, buy American, and tight lines.