F i s h : B i g l a r g e m o u t h a n d l a r g e B r o o k i e

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1 February 2014 February 2014 F i r s t F i s h : B i g l a r g e m o u t h a n d l a r g e B r o o k i e B y Editor s Note: Gene is long time TU 225 member and a regular presenter at our meetings. He gave a presentation on striper fishing last year that was well received. Gene is also a person who noted every fishing trip, weather and tide conditions and what was caught. Ask him to show you his records next time you see him. They are well worth a look. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Book Review: Trout Fishing in the Catskills 2 New Member Spotlight: Dino Messina 5 Put N Take Table 5 Just When: Joe and Chris Grenon 6 Banquet News 7 Board Of Director List 7 I caught my first fish when I was four years old. I was fishing with my father at John Gustafson Pond in Warwick. I remember that my father felt I was catching the same bluegill over and over again. It was the start of the greatest sport that I could even get involved with. I am still fishing with a passion 78 years later. When I was eight years old we moved to the Norwood section of Warwick. The Dyer family lived across the street. Howard Dyer, father of Kenny Dyer, enjoyed fishing at their camp on Wallum Lake, Pascoag, R.I. I was invited to their camp quite often and was G e n e M a t t e s o n fortunate to have Howard not only show us where the best spots on the lake to catch small mouth bass, pickerel, perch and Gene Matteson horn pout, but also how to catch them. Closer to home was Sandy Pond. It was only about a 15 minute walk from my home and I spent as much time there as possible fishing there for largemouth bass. I will never forget the first large bass I caught in the pond. It was on the east end of the pond near the swimming hole near some lily pads. The bass was so large that my reel could not handle it so I set the rod behind me and hand lined the fish into the boat. It was a beauty of a bass, at least six pounds. I could not wait to take it home to show my friends and family. When I got the bass on a stringer I turned around to reel my line in only to find that in all the excitement I dropped my rod (Continued on page 4) P r e s i d e n t s M e s s a g e R o n M a r a f i o t i I hope everyone enjoyed a Merry Christmas in 2013, and that you all are ready to enjoy a wonderful 2014! This is my first article as your new President, and I want to thank each of you for your vote of confidence in me. Before I start talking about what I hope we can accomplish in this New Year, I would like to thank Jim Less and the past Board members for the leadership and guidance each of them has provided to the members of TU225. We have accomplished many things over the past year, and the combination of these leaders, you our members, and the volun (con t. p.3)

2 P a g e 2 T h e L o n g C a s t In each issue of the Long Cast we will bring a book to our reader s attention that might, in our opinion, be worth reading. All will be related to fly fishing in some way, shape or manner. All were recommended by a person in the TU 225 and, or, the Wood River Fly Fishermen s Club family. Our first entry This is a wonderful read for anyone who wants to learn about the early years of fly fishing in the USA B o o k R e v i e w : T r o u t F i s h i n g i n t h e C a t s k i l l s R e v i e w b y E d W a l s h is Trout Fishing in the Catskills by Ed Van Put. This is a wonderful read for anyone who wants to learn about the early years of fly fishing in the USA because the Catskills is where it all started in our country. It discusses the early flies used and the transformation from wet to dry flies and the people who developed and fished them. It chronicles the more than 1,500 miles of trout streams in the region and the effects industry had on their wellbeing. It also tells of the introduction of non-native trout to the region when German Brown Trout and west coast Rainbow Trout were stocked first by private fishing clubs and then by the state when hatcheries were built and maintained. The great names of fly fishing like Theodore Gordon, Ed Hewitt, Roy Steenrod, Rube Cross, Walt and Winnie Dette, Harry and Elsie Darbee and Art Flick, and many more, are highlighted along with their impact on the sport we all love. In my estimation this is a book every fly fisherman who s fished the Catskills should have in their library or on their coffee table. - Ed Walsh

3 F e b r u a r y P a g e 3 P r e s i d e n t s M e s s a g e ( c o n t. f r o m p. 1 ) teers who have stepped forth should all rightfully take credit for them. Because of your accomplishments, I feel we have a bright and energizing year to look forward to. As you can see from the activities scheduled for our membership meetings during the next four months, we all will have opportunities to learn from local experts. First, I hope everyone enjoyed the proactive Grenon brothers, who gave us many useful and successful insights into steelhead fishing on New York s Salmon River hopefully the document we will post soon of their entertaining teachings will allow everyone to review Joe and Chris guidance and counsel before next November. Then Steve Culton will speak to us about wet fly fishing a very successful fishing technique that begs more attention. In March, TU225 s Habitat Assessment Group (HAG) will give its presentation on its report on the current state of trout habitat in the Upper Wood River that will, by then, be vetted among our Chapters key partners and will have been reviewed by TU National. Then at the April meeting, everyone will have the opportunity to receive expert guidance from Capt. Jim Barr for the pending cinder worm hatch in Rhode Island s salt water estuaries. In the meantime, the Banquet Committee is building up steam as it plans the best Annual Banquet TU225 will have the pleasure of hosting in many years. This Banquet will be held on 5 April at the Fireman s Hall in East Greenwich, RI In addition to arranging a super buffet dinner, the Committee has started soliciting donations that everyone will find desirable; as all of you know, the Banquet is our major fundraiser for the year, so if anyone would like to pitch in and help the Committee in its challenging TU 225 President Ron Marafioti tasks, please contact Al Ball or any other Board member to put your name on our list of volunteers who are willing to make the Banquet a success. I hope to see you all at these expert presentations, as well as at the Annual Banquet! As far as projects go, we are starting to put plans together of what has to be done in The Conservation Committee, which presently includes the Projects Subcommittee, the HAG, and the Exploratory Group, is the coordinating body for these plans, and, when complete, you will hear about these plans during meetings, and they will show up in our activity list. As always, all members are invited to participate in these activities that these plans will put in place. Then, I hope that we will schedule some fishing outings for anyone who wishes to join us in rivers and streams both within the Ocean State as well as our neighboring States. And lastly, I hope that you find news about current and future activities more accessible during this year. As many of you know, TU225 has a number of ways to communicate with its members, but we also have to consider cost issues as we conduct the business of the Chapter. Recent investigations into the roster of our current membership shows that a little over 50% of our members have addresses and access to the Web. Since the cost of using these means is nearly 0, this method is our primary method of communications. In addition, information concerning member meetings will be published in local newspapers, primarily the Providence Journal, the Warwick Beacon, and the Sun Publications in South County. In addition to mailing copies of the Long Cast newsletter to our key partners, we will continue to mail copies of the Long Cast to members who have specifically asked for this method of delivery. We are always willing to listen to suggestions about improving our methods of communications, as well as other business practices, so please talk with your Board members and let them know what we can do better all I ask is that please remember that the Board has to manage and lead the Chapter, and they have a number of factors to consider as they do their job. Continued on p. 5

4 P a g e 4 T h e L o n g C a s t G e n e M a t t e s o n : F i r s t F i s h ( c o n t. ) overboard. Thank God I still had the end of the line, and as I pulled it into the boat I prayed that the line was still secured to the reel arbor. It was! All seemed well until we reached the end of the pond where we docked the boat at the fishermen s Place. Bessie, the lady that we rented the boat from ( for a whopping 10 cents an hour ) saw the fish and was all over me for keeping the bass as the season did not open until the following day. Seeing that I did not want to cause any trouble I released the fish. Although that was over 74 years ago I can still visualize that large bass swimming away. My first large trout, a 13 brook trout, was something special. It was caught in 1940 at little Hardick Brook in Warwick. The state stocked 6 trout back then so my 13 Brookie was considered large, especially for a ten year old. There were two or three small wooden bridges that crossed the brook back then. As I approached the second one a covey of Phtoo: travelbrigade.com I turned around to reel my line in only to find that in all the excitement I dropped my rod overboard. quail exploded in front of me. I took this as a good omen and felt if I crawled toward the bridge I would not scare any of the big fish. When I was about half way across I started searching the water upstream and to my amazement right in the middle of the brook was a Monster Brook Trout holding in the current. I crawled to the other side of the bridge and up the opposite bank of the stream stopping about four feet up from the trout. The water was only about 20 deep and gin clear. I attached a nice new garden worm to my snelled hook and flipped it up stream so it would drift naturally to the fish. I went by him about 10 to the left and he just ignored it. My next cast was a little past him so I stripped the line in until it was drifting right past his nose. As it got closer I could see its gills start to quiver and all of a sudden he opened his mouth so I could see the white inside it before he clamped down on the worm. I believe I just sat back and yanked him right out of the water and up on the bank. Boy, I was so proud of this handsome trout and could not wait to get home and show it to my fishing buddies. That evening my mother pan fried it along with some potatoes, corn and apple sauce. It was delicious. A lot of years went by before I caught another brook Trout that size. I forgot to mention that my rod was a True- Temper square steel casting rod with red agate guides. I still have it hanging on my wall with a Lange Bait-Casting Reel. My favorite lures were the pike minnow, jitter bug, huller popper and spinner with a treble hook with a red and yellow feather attached. Fishing gear sure has come a long way. The memories of my early years of fishing are still with me and I cherish each and every one. It is a pleasure for me to share my early exploits with you. I hope you enjoyed reading about them. Tight Lines, but not too tight. -Gene Matteson

5 F e b r u a r y P a g e 5 W e l c o m e N e w T U M e m b e r : D i n o M e s s i n a Dino is a long time fly fishermen having honed his skills fishing the surf and piers on his native Long Island during his adolescent years. He also spent much time fishing the great Catskill Rivers and tells me Roscoe, N.Y. was always the destination of choice even before it became Trout Town USA. He actually caught his first trout on the Neversink River using a Coachman Wet Fly. It was during those trips that he spent time at the fly shops of Mary Dette and Harry Darbee who provided some useful advice and direction to a young fisherman. Dino also tells about his family camping trip to the Adirondacks where he fished the Au Sable and met the famous Fran Betters. These were the experiences that help grow his passion for the great sport of fly fishing. He has fished throughout the world and suggests he became a Steelhead Junkie while spending time in the Pacific Northwest. More recently he spends time floating the Housatonic for trout and pike or P U T N T A K E T A B L E surf fishing at Montauk for stripers. Dino comes to us from Brewster, N.Y. where he was a member of the Candlewood TU Chapter in Danbury, Connecticut. He s recently moved to R.I., with his wife and three year old son, where he s taken a position at Brown University but suggests having the opportunity to fish the salt with his kayak did influence his decision to relocate. Dino s wife also loves to fish and they expect to encourage their son to follow. Dino looks forward to becoming an active member in TU 225. Let s all welcome new member Dino Messina. In the past, the chapter had a Put N Take Table at each monthly meeting. This is where a member could bring in an item that they no longer found useful but might be useful to another member. Anything from an old fishing equipment to books or tying tools to tying materials that you want to get rid of just might be useful to someone else. When you re cleaning out that drawer or rearranging your equipment and find stuff that is no longer useful, bring it to a monthly meeting. We are betting that someone will find a use for what you might consider ready for the junk pile. Thanks to Chris Grenon, who submitted this idea and will manage the hidden treasures that you no longer find useful. P r e s i d e n t s M e s s a g e ( C o n t. f r o m p. 3 ) In conclusion, I d like to say thank you, again, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you to make TU225 a vibrant and progressive Chapter under the Trout Unlimited umbrella. As I have said before, and you will hear again, the strength of Trout Unlimited is in their Chapters, and the strength of each Chapter is in its members and volunteers! Best wishes for a wonderful 2014! Tight lines!! Ron Marafioti

6 P a g e 6 T h e L o n g C a s t J u s t W h e n Y o u T h i n k Y o u K n o w S o m e o n e : J o e a n d C h r i s G r e n o n Any discussion about active TU 225 members would have to include the Grenon Boys, Joe and Chris. Both are on the Board of Directors. Both are active outdoorsmen who hunt and fish when and where ever possible. Both are ready and willing to assume more active and responsibly roles in our chapter and both just happen to be really good guys. They are native Rhode Islanders having spent most of their adolescent years in Coventry and West Warwick. Joe did live out of state for a while ( Florida, Virginia ) and Chris spent a short period of time in Pennsylvania before returning to the Ocean State. Joe attended CCRI and graduated with an AS in Law Enforcement and Business. Chris also spent time at CCRI but economics caused him to leave after his freshman year. Both played football, track and wrestled in high school. Chris was an undefeated wrestler and team captain in his senior year before being defeated in the state championship in a close match. Both have played semi-pro football ending their football playing careers with the R.I. Prowlers where Joe was a team captain. The brothers always enjoyed spin / bait fishing but Chris tells us he wasn t as patient as his brother and usually got bored after a few hours while Joe could stay on the bank of a stream or lake from sun-up to sun-down enjoying every minute. Neither brother thought much about fly fishing until they watched A River Runs Through It. The seed was planted. In 2007, Chris was Christmas shopping with his mother and saw a fly fishing combo set that he thought might be a good gift for Brother Joe. Mom agreed and the combo set was purchased. Little did he know that Mother Grenon figured if Joe was getting a fly fishing set it would be a good idea to get one for Chris as they always fished together. Chris tells us he was really excited when Joe opened his gift but maybe even more excited, and certainly a bit surprised, when he opened his set up from his Mom. Although they weren t familiar with the Arcadia Management Area they were told people fly fish in the streams throughout the property so that s where they went. Chris suggests he was a bit disappointed at first because he wasn t catching many fish and returned to spin fishing until one day by chance they stopped at Dave Porreca s River & Riptide Anglers Fly Shop in Coventry. Dave made a few suggestions and gave them a few flies only asking that they stop back and let him know how they did. As they say the rest is history. Dave became a supporter, instructor and good friend introducing the brothers to the art of fly fishing, fly tying and places to fish. They learned quickly and this great sport has become a passion to them both. If I am on the Wood River on any weekend or weekday evening and don t see Joe and Chris I am surprised. Together they ve fished for salmon and steelheads in up-state New York, browns and rainbows in the Catskills and stripers in the surf in R.I. and Cape Cod. It was Dave who also encouraged them to join TU and become active in 225. They have fished in many R.I. streams, out West in Yellowstone Park ( with fellow TU 225 member Mike Donahue), in Virginia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, the great Catskill Rivers and the Au Sable in upstate New York where during a trip Joe met, and had flies tied by the late / great fly fishermen, fly tier Fran Betters. I asked what s on their fly fishing Bucket List and they suggest fishing the great rivers of New England. A list they expect to start conquering this summer. When asked what they enjoy most about fly fishing the response comes quickly: the people they have and will meet and the guys from the Wood River Fly Fishing Club who ve gone out of their way to teach and support their passion. Having fished and worked with Joe and Chris I know our chapter and the sport of fly fishing will be respected and well represented going forward.

7 F e b r u a r y P a g e 7 P r e s e n t i n g t u s A n n u a l B a n q u e t The Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU225) will hold our Annual Banquet on Saturday, April 5, 2014, at the East Greenwich Veterans Fireman s Hall, 80 Queen Street, East Greenwich, RI. There will be a buffetstyle dinner at 5:00PM. The cost of tickets is $30 each for adults, and $15 each for children 15 years old or younger. We will have bucket prizes, silent auctions, as well as live auctions. This banquet is our main source of revenue; it funds membership meetings, guest speakers, conservation endeavors, outreach activities, and everything else needed to run our Chapter. One of the highlight of this year s banquet will the raffle of a Tahoe 14 Mad River Canoe. This unit has a 14 depth, a center width of 38, a 1,000 lb. maximum weight capacity and includes two oak paddles. The canoe will be on display at the banquet and will be delivered to the winner by the Banquet Committee. This wonderful prize was donated by TU 225 member Dave Miles. We are also still looking for donations for the prizes and auctions, so if you have something to donate, please contact Al Ball within the next month. Al can be reached at: ( 401) Please join us in supporting TU225, have fun, and feel free to participate in taking your chances on winning excellent prizes and auctioned items. - Al Ball T U B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s Officers President - Ron Marafioti / C: (571) / rmarafioti@msn.com Vice President Dick Diamond / C: (401) / diamonddri2011@gmail.com Secretary Position Open Treasurer Jim Less / C: (401) / james.less@verizon.net Board Members Al Ball Banquet Chairman / C: (401) / ozziepup@gmail.com Rich Benson - H: (401) / jbenson22@cox.net Chris Grenon C: (401) / gimpdog1@cox.net Joe Grenon C: (401) / 22joey44@gmail.com Lawson Carey III (401) / lawsoncary@gmail.com Long Cast Ed Walsh Editor C: (401) / walsh4613@cox.net

8 T h e B a c k P a g e M E E T I N G S A R E H E L D O N T H E L A S T W E D N E S D A Y O F T H E M O N T H A T T H E C O V E N T R Y E L K S C L U B 4 2 N O O S E N E C K H I L L R D W E S T G R E E N W I C H, R I S O C I A L H O U R 6 7, M E E T I N G B E G I N S 7 : 0 0 Directions From North: 95 South Take Exit 6 to Rt. 3 N to Nooseneck Hill Road.5 miles on right From South: 95 North Take Exit 6 to Rt. 3 N to Nooseneck Hill Road.5 miles on right Membership If you are interested in learning more about joining the Narragansett Chapter of Trout Unlimited, visit our website 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."