Late Winter

Transcription

1 The Long Cast TU 225 Long Cast FEBRUARY 2016 Late Winter Inside This Issue President s Message 2-3 Editor s Corner 4 Learning Opportunities 5-6 Upcoming Activities 7 Contact Info 8 Meetings & Membership 9

2 The Long Cast FEBRUARY 2016 F r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t Happy New Year, everybody!! The and I wish you the very best for 2016! I trust everyone is busy either trying to entice a wary winter trout before closing day on 29 February or tying the flies you will need for the new fishing season which starts Saturday, 9 April. Oh, and don t forget the free fishing days of 7 and 8 May for you and your friends who don t have licenses. Although we can all put our fluorescent orange vests away until the 2016 shotgun season for deer starts, don t forget the RI Fishing Regulations ( regs/fishwild/fish1617.pdf ) still require us to wear fluorescent orange hats (200 sq. inches) between 16 April and 31 May. Ron Marafioti President I hope you all are ready to support a busy 2016 season for TU225. First, the Dare to Dream Ranch organization has scheduled their first fly tying & casting sessions for our veterans. Tying sessions will be held 6:30-8:00PM on Mondays 7, 14, 21 and 28 March at the VFW Post 449, 197 Providence St, West Warwick, RI We will need volunteers to serve as fly tying instructors, and then, as fly casting instructors for the fly fishing event that will be scheduled after Opening Day. We will do our best to get the word out promptly as the calls for volunteers start. TU225 has also submitted our list of proposed habitat improvement and restoration projects to RIDEM for approval. As soon as those projects receive approval, we will establish a schedule and send out invitations for volunteers. At this point, please accept my sincere appreciation to all of you who donated your time in support of our projects in 2015/16; the 2,000+ hours you volunteered to help provide better habitat for the trout in the Arcadia watershed. Your hard work helps our Chapter accomplish our Mission and achieve our Vision...and TU National has noticed our successes. We have an interesting and exciting list of events coming our way over the next few months. Presentations include an overview of the Block Island Wind Farm Project by Grover Fugate, a TU225 member and RI s Project Director for this gigantic program (24 February), a summary and suggestions about Maine Brook Trout Lakes & Ponds. by Bob Mallard (30 March), and the first presentation to TU225 that I know of by the River Herring Alliance (27 April). Tickets are now available for the TU225 Annual Banquet for 2016 which will be held at the East Greenwich Veteran Fireman s Hall at 80 Queen Street; this event will start at 3PM on Saturday, 2 April with dinner served at 4PM. As you all know, this Banquet is the Chapter s primary revenue generating event and the proceeds allow us to support our projects, meeting fees and Summer cookouts and other activities. Tickets can be purchased from most and Banquet Committee members. We hope to see many of you at this fun event! And for those who would like to network with our friends in the Northern RI Chapter TU737, their 2016 Breakfast Get-Together will be held on 19 March at the Kountry Kitchen Restaurant, 10 Smith Avenue, Greenville, RI; this event will start at 10AM. For those interested, please see Al Ball or myself. In conclusion, I am sure that many of you have heard about the organization Protect Rhode Island Brook Trout (PRIBT), their proposal, their comments (Continued on page 3)

3 P a g e 3 T U L o n g C a s t Winter Angling Dick Diamond VP & Long Cast Editor From the President (Continued) against TU225 and their interpretations of our goals and actions. Let me assure you, our members, that our actions are in compliance with and exceed the requirements that TU National has published as policy. Many of PRIBT s derogatory comments against TU225 are based on old information or are simply not true. Our intent is to stay our course, complete our Habitat Assessment Group (HAG) efforts and then use the expanded understanding of the Arcadia Management Area we have gained from these efforts to enter into a couple of new programs. First, we are planning to enter into a long -term partnership to establish a longer term water monitoring process. Second, we hope to enlist help from some of our partners to enroll RI in the Rivers Calendar ( riverscalendar.drupalgardens.com/ ) and start our Rivers Calendar cataloging of the bug life in the Arcadia watershed. To accomplish these two initiatives with the least pain, we will be asking for more volunteers to support these activities. Look for more to be coming on these programs soon. As you can see, 2016 will be a fun and busy year for us members of TU225. I look forward to seeing each of you out on a river whether it be fishing, working on projects and initiatives, or networking and telling true (of course!) fishing tales. Enjoy 2016!! Ron Marafioti

4 P a g e 4 T U L o n g C a s t Editor s Corner 13 Habits of Highly Effective Anglers 1. Check your knots. Every single time you tie a knot. Every time Dick Diamond VP & Long Cast Editor 2. Keep your hooks sharp. Check your hook often and sharpen it or replace it. 3. Organize your gear. Alw ays have the right gear for the situation, organized so you can find what you need, helps a lot. 4. Fish the near water first. Alw ays make some short casts into the near water first. Don t spook the lunker near the bank. 5. Listen to your guide (or local gray beard). Y ou re fishing with a guide for a reason he or she knows the water better than you do. Listen up and catch more fish. 6. Keep your fly in the water by minimizing false casts and re-casts. A fly in the air catches no fish keep it in the water, even if it wasn t the best cast you ever made. 7. Keep the fly in the water by not constantly changing flies, sink tips, etc. False casting w astes seconds...wasting 5 minutes at a time by constantly changing your rig is brutal. Focus on presentation and keep it in the water. 8. Take what the day gives you. Effective anglers aren t rigid about their plans or techniques they look at weather, water conditions and more, and base their plan on those variables. 9. Let the fish eat. I n most freshw ater situations it s a common sin to set the hook way too early. Relax and let him eat it! 10. Practice your casting. You w ouldn t golf at Pebble Beach without visiting a driving range first. Why spend $5,000+ and 9 days on a fishing trip without practicing your casting even 2 or 3 times for 10 minutes each? 11. Never stop learning. Truly great anglers know that they can learn something about fishing from almost anybody. 12. When in doubt, check for knots in your leader, a fouled fly, etc. If you have any doubt, make sure your rig is right. 13. Stay positive. If you re mad about your bad casting or that fish you just lost or the guy w ho just crow ded your spot, you re not going to catch very many fish. Effective anglers are anglers who are positive and grateful to have the opportunity to spend a day on the water. (Reprinted by permission of Deneki Outdoors, Alaskan Outfitters)

5 P a g e 5 T U L o n g C a s t Learning RI Saltwater Fly Fishing Cinder Worm Hatch Fly Tying & Fishing Seminars at US Fish & Wildlife Kettle Pond Nature Center 28 APR, 04 May, 09 MAY 16 Registration Info Soon All Aboard! The Fly Fishing Express Saturday, 04 June 2016 Newport & Narragansett RR Sponsored by RIDEM Tackle, Flies & Guides Provided

6 P a g e 6 T U L o n g C a s t So You Want To Learn Fly Tying... RIDEM Fly Tying Classes All Tools & Materials Provided Expert Instructions Various Dates and Locations Call or Kimberly Sullivan (401) <kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov> For info or to volunteer United Fly Tiers of Rhode Island Meets 1st Wednesday of the month Knights of Columbus Hall 475 Sandy Lane Warwick, RI Instruction, Tools & Materials Provided

7 P a g e 7 T U L o n g C a s t Upcoming Activities Late Winter February Regular Monthly Meeting 6:30 PM at Elks Club, Coventry, RI The Block Island Wind Farm Project Presentation by Grover Fugate Call any TU225 Member for info or to Volunteer 30 March Regular Monthly Meeting 6:30 PM at Elks Club, Coventry, RI Maine Brook Trout Lakes & Ponds Presentation by Glenn Mallard Call any TU225 Member for info or to Volunteer 02 April Annual TU225 Banquet 3:00 PM at East Greenwich Veteran Fireman s Club Italian Buffet Raffles Live Auctions Prizes Galore! 06 April RI / CT Trout Fishing Opening Day D2DR Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Course for Vets VFW Post 449, 197 Providence St., West Warwick, RI Mondays in March Volunteers Needed See a Member for Info Wood River Post Opening Day Cleanup Volunteers Will Be Needed to Pick Up Trash, Groom Trails, Remove Fallen Trees & Obstacles, etc. Date and Tasking Info TBD

8 T h e L o n g C a s t P a g e 8 C o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n f o r c h a p t e r o f f i c e r s a n d b o a r d m e m b e r s President Officers Ron Marafioti 40 Kristen Court Warwick, RI C (571) <rmarafioti@msn.com> Members Glenn Place Webmaster <Glenn@tomsmarket.com > W (401) Vice President Dick Diamond Long Cast Editor 27 Prides Crossing Lane Saunderstown, RI H (401) C (401) <diamonddri2011@gmail.com> Rich Benson H (401) <jbenson22@cox.net> Secretary Vacant (Volunteer Needed) Conservation Chair Al Ball <ozziepup@gmail.com> Treasurer Jim Less 55 Spring Street Hope Valley, RI (401) (401) <James.less@verizon.net> Lawson Cary, III C (401) <lawsoncary@gmail.com> Roger Lima <rlima1@hotmail.com>

9 T h e L o n g C a s t P a g e 9 T h e B a c k P a g e MONTHLY MEETINGS ARE HELD AT 6:30 P.M. ON THE LAST WEDNESDAY (NOT NOV/DEC) OF THE MONTH AT THE COVENTRY ELKS CLUB, 43 NOOSENECK HILL ROAD, WEST GREENWICH, RI DIRECTIONS: FROM THE NORTH TAKE I-95 SOUTH TO EXIT 6 STAY RIGHT ON RTE 3 N / NOOSENECK HILL ROAD GO.5 MILE ON THE RIGHT FROM THE SOUTH TAKE I-95 NORTH TO EXIT 6 TURN LEFT ON RTE 3 N / NOOSENECK HILL ROAD GO.6 MILE ON THE RIGHT MEMBERSHIP If you are interested in learning more about joining the Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited contact our President, Ron Marafioti, at <rmarafioti@msn.com> All members also receive TROUT, TU's award-winning color magazine. You'll get four issues a year, full of conservation news, updates on TU activities, grassroots success stories, and fishing destinations recommended by "The Budget Angler." (This paragraph was excerpted from Trout Unlimited's National web site. ) Membership Level Yearly Dues Stream Explorer (18 and under) $12 Senior (62 or older) $20 Regular $35 Family/Contributor $50 Sponsor $100 Outfitter, Guide and Business $295 Conservator $250 Stewardship $500 Life (One Time Payment) $1000 Trout Unlimited is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational, charitable organization, and All monetary or property donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.