www.cjtu.org

January 2025

General Meeting

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Fly Tying Night

This year, we are hosting an open tying night, and we invite all of the fly tiers in the chapter to come out to the meeting with their vises and materials (and maybe a good light) and join us for a night of fly tying. This social event lets you interact with our fly-tying instructors and other talented members. Watch, ask questions, or sit down and tie along! The event is open to tiers of all skill levels and non-tiers alike. We will start setting up at 7:00 pm and will have a short business meeting at 8:00 before we start tying.

Meeting Location

American Legion Hall
137 New Market Road
Dunellen, NJ

Meeting starts at 8:00 PM - Non Members are always welcome!

President’s Letter

Before I begin this month’s message, I would like to wish each of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. I hope some of you got a chance to go fishing around the holidays. I made it out a few times and enjoyed a few great days on the water. I always find that spending time on the water during the holiday season slows the world down a little bit, at least for me.

January is the start of one of our busiest times of the year. Our chapter will be at the Fly Fishing Show (January 24-26) at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison, NJ. This three-day event is one of the largest fly fishing shows in the country. Anglers near and far flock to this show, so it is an excellent opportunity to get the word out about Trout Unlimited. We are looking for volunteers to help operate our booth at this event. Do not fear if you have never helped at one of these shows. We will have experienced members on hand to show you the ropes. If you can volunteer more than three hours at our table, we will even give you a free pass to the show. We are only allowed five passes per day, which will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. Contact Marsha Benovengo at volunteer@cjtu.org for more information or to sign up for the event.

Our January meeting is our annual fly-tying meeting. This year, we are hosting an open tying night, and we invite all of the fly tiers in the chapter to come out to the meeting with their vises and materials (and maybe a good light) and join us for a night of fly tying. This social event lets you interact with our fly-tying instructors and other talented members. Watch, ask questions, or sit down and tie along! The event is open to tiers of all skill levels and non-tiers alike. We will start setting up at 7:00 pm and will have a short business meeting at 8:00 before we start tying.

While on the topic of fly tying, we start our annual fly-tying classes in February. We will follow the same format as last year by holding the class on two Saturdays instead of Tuesday evenings. The class dates are February 8th and 15th. We will offer both beginner and intermediate courses. Visit https://www.cjtu.org/tyingschool.html for more information.

Our beginners class is our entry-level class for the person just getting started in fly tying or has minimal experience. We will provide the tools, techniques, and materials necessary to tie various basic flies, concentrating on patterns that work well on local rivers and streams. You will learn from our excellent instructors, some of the best in the East. Techniques are taught in a sequence that continually builds competence. Our instructors watch you and make sure you are doing things right. Further, we will provide a quality vice, tools, hooks, and all materials, or you can bring your own. Finally, we provide a manual with summarized tying descriptions for each pattern, plus a reference to a web video we believe is the best for that pattern.

While our Beginners Classes are the same from year to year, our Intermediate Class constantly evolves. We monitor new patterns, techniques, and materials introduced by tiers throughout the world, and we select the best ones that mesh with the intermediate tier's skill set. Thus, the class remains interesting to past attendees and also to those who have never taken it before. Students must bring their own vise and tools; some materials will be provided.

Our Annual River Clean Up occurs on the Musconetcong River on Saturday, April 12th. Our clean-up crew will meet at the Point Mountain Trout Conservation Area to clean up that river section. We will meet on the river at 9:00 a.m and work for a few hours cleaning up the area. The clean-up is a family-friendly event and an excellent opportunity to get outdoors and do something good for the environment! We are still looking for volunteers. Contact Masha Benovengo at volunteer@cjtu.org for more information or to sign up for the event.

Later that same day (Saturday, April 12th ), we will be at Trout Fest in California. South Branch Anglers sponsor this growing local event. During this event, we do our usual outreach activities and give the public free casting lessons. It is a fun day with plenty of good food, craft beer, and vendors. We are also looking for a few people to help out at this event. If you can help us, contact Marsha Benovengo at volunteer@cjtu.org for more information or to sign up for the event.

Also in April is Rutgers Day on Saturday, April 26th. We have the potential to reach hundreds of people at this event. Like Trout Fest, we will be involved in telling folks about Trout Unlimited and giving casting lessons, but on a much grander scale. This event attracts thousands of people. We will have sign-up sheets for this event and all of the previously mentioned events at our next few meetings.

We are looking to set up some fishing day trips to nearby Pennsylvania trout streams this spring. We are looking at fishing waters like the Little Lehigh River, The Broadhead River, and others. We will discuss these trips more at the upcoming meeting, and if you would like some more information, you can reach out to me at president@cjtu.org

At our last directors' meeting, I learned that our Treasurer is stepping down. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rob Paull for the fine job he did as CJTU’s Treasurer. His dedication and hard work over the years are truly appreciated.

This brings me to my final request. Over the years, we have reached out to our members to help us in our efforts to save the environment. Now, I am asking all of you to help save your chapter. When I joined the CJTU board many years ago, I was one of over twenty board members. Today, our numbers have dwindled to a handful, with Robb’s departure that leaves all of the officer positions, except President, empty. I am currently being challenged by some personal matters that may require me to step down as president soon. Without new individuals to step up and assume these roles, the chapter may fold, which will be a true tragedy. We have existed for over 50 years and are one of the largest TU chapters in NJ.

Please consider volunteering your time to help steer CJTU into the future. We seek members to serve on the board in all capacities. If you can assist, contact me at president@cjtu.org, and I can explain all the opportunities you have to help.

Tight Lines
Bart Lombardo
CJTU President

You can contact Bart at president@cjtu.org

News & Events

CJTU Fly Tying School 2025!

Open for Enrollment

Part 1: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Part 2: Saturday February 15, 2025

10:00 to 3:00 PM

Beginners Fly Tying Class

This is our entry-level class for the person just getting started in fly tying or who has very little experience. We will cover the basic tools, techniques and materials necessary to tie a variety of basic flies, concentrating on patterns that work well on local rivers and streams.

Learn to do things “right from the start” from our excellent instructors who are some of the best in the East. Techniques are taught in a sequence that continually builds competence. Our instructors watch you and make sure you are doing things right. Further, we will provide a quality vice, tools, hooks and all materials or you can bring your own. Finally, we provide a manual with summarized tying descriptions for each pattern plus a reference to a web video we believe is the best for that pattern.

Intermediate Class

This class is for the intermediate tier who has acquired the basic skills in handling tools and materials either by previously taking a beginners course and/or tying flies regularly for a year or two.

While our Beginners Classes are the same from year to year, our Intermediate Class constantly evolves. New patterns, techniques and materials introduced by tiers through-out the world are monitored, and the best ones that mesh with the skill set of the intermediate tier are selected. Thus the class remains interesting to past attendees and also to those who have never taken it before. Students must bring their own vise and tools, some materials will be provided.

The cost for all classes is $50.00. To register or ask questions contact us at cjtutying@cjtu.org. Please register early so CJTU can plan ahead to make your course a success.

Fly tying classes will be held in the American Legion Hall, 137 New Market Road, Dunellen, NJ 08812

This course is open to members and nonmembers. We welcome anyone who has an interest in the sport of Fly Fishing or Fly Tying.

Our courses are taught in a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie. We feel that with the patient, guiding help of our instructors, everyone will finish the course with a good working knowledge of how to tie flies.

Please remember to bring a light for your vise, lighting conditions in the building might not be as bright as you may like.

Volunteers Needed!

The Fly Fishing Show

January 24, 25, & 26, 2025
New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center
Edison, NJ

Central Jersey TU (CJTU) will again, as we have for many years, be participating at the Edison Fly Fishing Show. We will have a booth to do Outreach to folks who attend the Show, new attendees, and get reacquainted with long time friends!

The Edison FF Show will be held on January 24th (Friday) from 9am - 6pm, January 25th (Saturday) from 9am - 6pm and January 26th (Sunday) from 9am to 4:30pm. CJTU is able to provide 5 Worker Admittances per day for those who staff the Chapter booth for a minimum of 3 hours per day.

This is a great opportunity for members to support the CJTU! If you would like to help staff the CJTU booth please reach out to Marsha Benovengo at casabeno@msn.com or (908) 216-4855 to discuss your schedule and the Chapter needs.

Fly of the Month

Palomino Midge Emerger

Tied by Bill Ninke

On our streams this month the most productive rig to fish when both the air and water are cold is a small nymph trailed by a midge pupa. It’s hard work but someone has to train those stocked rainbows. But, if the weather warms up for a few days in a row and the sun is out in the afternoon, you might see a few sips in the film. Then it’s time to attach this month’s pattern to a few feet of 6 or 7X tippet and put some drag free reach casts over those sip locations. Witnessing actual sucks rather than watching an indicator is preferred by me and I suspect most of you.

The pattern is the assemblage of Davie McPhail, the famous Scottish tyer. If you have been tying for a year or two and have an inquiring mind, you’ve undoubtedly run into his videos on youtube. He has hundreds. I say assemblage and not design because the technique of using an extended body of ultra chenille or similar material was pioneered by Brett Smith several decades ago in what he called a Palomino Caddis. McPhail has merely down sized the hook to match midges and matched it with recent materials for the body extension.and the wing.

For tying instructions I refer you directly to McPhail’s 2016 video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUxb9iZ3u5o). It’s how I first tied the pattern for testing back then. However experience over the intervening years has motivated me to make some simple changes. First is that I use Hareline EZ Magic Dub which is readily available in the US vs the Veniard Easy Dub Micro Chenille which is more easily obtained in the UK. The two products are extremely similar and either will work fine. .Another change is the recommended hook. I tried the Fulling Mills hook that McPhail recommends plus a number of alternatives and have settled on a barbless scud hook from the Fly Shack, their Saber 7259. It’s easily obtained here and hooks very well. Further, the smallest size available of the Fulling Mills hook is a16. I’ve found the pattern also works well as an 18 and the Saber hook is available in both 16 and 18.. Finally, I greatly recommend barbless hooks or hooks with barbs bent on any small size fly since they frequently get imbedded deeply in a trout’s jaw and are removed easier with less damage to the trout than a barbed hook. As for colors, black is the most useful but I also carry a few in olive, brown and chartreuse. In his video McPhail recommended you carry a dozen of these flies in your box. That’s been a bit of overkill for local fishing but I’m glad I took his advice on my last trip to the Missouri.

My final comment is a personal one. I love McPhail but have great difficulty understanding him. Many others whom I’ve talked with have the same problem. So watch the referenced and other of his videos with the closed captions on and rewatch key segments several times until your brain gets properly tuned.

You can send comments, questions and suggestions to Bill at fotm@cjtu.org

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