GROUPS OF DISTINCTION
This trout bum has been privileged to speak at a lot of great
organizations and meet a lot of great people.
I intend to spotlight one of the following clubs regularly.
Adams County Chapter of TU, Brodhead TU, Bucks County TU, Cabin Fever, Central Jersey Trout Unlimited, Croton Watershed, Cumberland Valley TU, Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers, Daughters of The Eastern Star, Delco-Manning TU, Doc Fritchey TU, Donegal TU, East Jersey Trout Unlimited, Ernest Schwiebert Chapter Trout Unlimited, Forks of the Delaware TU, Fred S Burough’s North Jersey TU, Great Outdoor Expo, Hacklebarney Trout Unlimited, Hokendauqua TU, Jersey Shore Trout Unlimited, Ken Lockwood Chapter Trout Unlimited, Little Lehigh TU, Long Island Fly Rodders, Main Line Fly Tiers, Mid Hudson TU, Monocacy TU, Penn’s Woods West TU, Perkiomen Valley TU, Ray Neirle South Jersey Chapter Trout Unlimited, Saucon Creek TU, SE Montgomery County TU, South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers, Stanley Cooper Sr. TU, Susquehannock Fly Fishers, The Fly Fishing Show, The Sporting Gentleman, Valley Forge TU, Western Pocono TU, White Clay Creek Fly Fishers.
In 1967 the Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Championship. The AFL Championship featured the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. Kansas City won 31-7; behind Quarterback Len Dawson.
Sonny and Cher released the Beat Goes On, a fire in the Apollo I Command Module killed astronauts Grissom, White & Chaffee, Mario Andretti won the Dayon na 500, Aretha Franklin released the Billboard Song of the Year, Respect and Thurgood Marshall was nominated as the first African American Supreme Court justice.
All of this paled to the efforts of a handful of conservationists meeting to form Pennsylvania’s seventh Trout Unlimited Chapter, the Donegal Chapter.
Their mission was to obtain regulated fly fishing areas on the Donegal Spring and Octorara creeks and to ifntroduce folks to fly fishing.
Today the Chapter works to protect and enhance cold water resources.
The seven-member group has grown to over seven hundred. Annual spending has increased from $350 to almost $500,000.
The Donegal Creek has been restored, and the Lititz Run has been completed and is being maintained. Donegal has worked to restore portions of over 14 streams in Lancaster County and sponsors 21 Trout In the Classroom projects.
Donegal deserves your support and invites you to join them in making the environment cleaner one stream at a time
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1971 marked the start of the digital age, the first year of North Sea oil drilling and the voting age was lowered to 18. This was the year of Apollo 11, the opening of Disney World and the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. While Greenpeace was coming into existence we were watching Diamonds Are Forever, listening to Tony Orlando and Dawn and watching McCloud and the Odd Couple on TV, Dallas won the Super Bowl, Pittsburg the World Series and Montreal the Stanley Cup.
All of these events pale in comparison to the work of Dr. Ogden Frank, Jack Mickievicz (the father of one of my favorite fly tying materials, HONEYBUG CHENILLE) , Ken Fulton, Tom Finkbinder of Slate Run Tackle fame, Richard Estler, Dick Allebach and Frank Wilson.
Jack Mickievicz drew up the club's first by-laws, and was the first President. and provided the "glue" in the early days that held everything together.
The club takes its name from Dame Juliana Berners, a 15th century Benedictine nun who wrote one of the first essays on fly fishing entitled "A Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle" published in 1496.
They adopted French Creek, Chester County, PA as home water. Club member Dick Esther designed a logo using a drawing of the first wet fly tied and fished by Dame Juliana in England several hundred years ago.
The club shares camaraderie and fishing trips, but it is a working club. Besides doing stream improvement projects on French Creek they worked with the Kimberton Fish & Game Association, the Chester Valley Sportsmen's Association, local landowners and the area's Waterways Conservation Officer to establish a Catch and Release Fly Fishing Only on French Creek It’s float stocked by club members.
The club consists of over 110 members and continues to grow. It publishes, a quarterly newsletter, conducts a annual fly fishing course is taught, regular monthly meetings with noteworthy speakers and conducts fly tying workshops.
I’ve been privileged to speak at the club a few times and was impressed.
If you live in their neck of the woods you want to check them out
Long Island Flyrodders
If you’re a fly fisherman living on Long Island, why wouldn’t you belong to the Long Island Fly Rodders.
My friend Cathy calls them the fun bunch and they are!
They meet at 8:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each Month, at the Levittown VFW Hall, 55 Hickory Lane, Levittown, NY. (North of Hempstead Turnpike ). For the months of June thru September, there is a barbeque preceding the meeting courtesy of Chef Paul and his able assistants.
I’ve had the honor of speaking there a couple of times and can attest to the quality of Long Island Fly Rodder cuisine.
During my last visit with the LIFR my talk was upstaged by the LLIFR choir. As entertaining as they were they won’t cause the Mormon Tabernacle choir to lose any sleep.
During the winter, club members tie flies, attend shows, fish for Steelhead or find a tropical climate.
During the summer they are vacationing at fishing destinations coming back with awesome stories.
In July, they enjoy the Annual Family Picnic. Trips run all spring and summer, with a focus on warm water species like large and smallmouth bass.
THE MISSION OF THE LONG ISLAND FLYRODDERS CLUB :
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To stimulate interest in fly fishing as a major sport;
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To improve our skills as fly fishers;
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To enjoy the fellowship of other fly fishers;
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To exchange techniques and ideas;
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To encourage our youth in the love of this great recreation, and
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To encourage conservation and preservation of our waterways.
Main Line Fly-Tyers
When I first opened the Little Lehigh Fly shop in the early nineties, fishermen from the Main Line Fly -Tyers impressed me with their deportment. When Dave Baker their, president, invited me to speak at their meeting room in Archbishop Carrol High school I was honored.
That was about thirty years ago. They were HOT SHOTS in Radnor, they are still HIGH SPEED now that they meet at the Greater Plymouth Community Center
Established in 1971, MLFT is Phillys oldest fly tying club. It’s meetings are professionally run, geared to be structured and informative.
I’ve spoken there a few times since. I continue to be impressed.
Check them out by clicking here.
Enest Schwiebert Trout Unlimited.
In 1974 the Six Million Dollar Man premiered on ABC, Barbra Streisand' had her first number one hit, Blazing Saddles opened and Richard Nixon resigned. The highlight of the year however was the founding of Trout
Unlimited Chapter 227 by Dr Ernest Schwiebert.
The Chapter accomplishes it’s mission of conservation and education while involved with contributions to projects such as the Muskie Home Waters Initiative, Trout in the Classroom, Stream cleanups and Project Healing Waters
ESCTU meets on the 2nd Monday of each month (excluding July, and August) at the D&R Greenway Trust, One Preservation Place, Princeton, NJ.
I'm looking foward to speaking with them on May 13, 2019 at 7:30 pm at the D&R Greenway Land Trust in Princeton, NJ.
More details will follow.