CMTU Fall Calendar – Save the Dates!

Pint Night at Blue Duck Brewing Company https://blueduckbrewing.com/ Thursday  10/8 at 6:00PM

October Meeting:  Wednesday 10/21 at 6:30

Fall Trout Spawning Survey! We’ll conduct our annual fall survey of brown trout spawning on Saturday 10/31. Yes, that’s Halloween. You’re welcome to come in costume. Stay tuned for time and location.

November Meeting: Wednesday 11/18 at 6:30.

Holiday Event: We will hold our annual holiday gathering in early December. We’ll let you know when and where once we have details.

Pint Night at Westkill Brewing! 

The traditional fly fishing seaon in New York began on April 1. To celebrate, we’re holding a pint night at Westkill Supply in Kingston, NY https://www.westkillbrewing.com/

Join us for good cheer, good beer, and good times!

Esopus Creek Trout Spawning Survey – Spring Edition

We need your help!

Over the last two years, the Catskill Mountains chapter of TU has organized a trout spawning survey on Esopus Creek to help us better understand and protect spawning trout on Esopus creek and its tributaries. We are organizing a spring survey for April 4th.

Please see below for details, registration link, and online training.

Micro-streamer  Expert Brian Walencick from Trout Tornado to Speak

We have a special event for our March meeting, as we’re all gearing up for the spring season.

Many of you may know Brian from his Trout Tornado YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/TroutTornado). Over the past few years, as streamer fishing has gravitated towards gigantic streamers—some bigger than the trout I catch!—Brian has gone the other way, focusing on smaller streamers, many of them influenced by jig streamers. If you’ve watched Brian’s videos, you know that the results have been impressive!

In this presentation, he’ll cover streamer fishing on the Delaware River, including equipment, knots, fly patterns, and techniques for catching trout, bass, walleyes, stripers, and more. (Yes, you read that right: stripers in the Delaware.)

Whether you decide to adopt Brian’s full system or just add a few ideas to your streamer repertoire, this will be an exciting and valuable presentation.

Here’s Brian’s official bio:

Brian Walencick has been fishing since he could walk, and his passion has taken him across the world, where he has pursued tarpon, bonefish, snook, salmon, steelhead, striped bass, bluefish, walleye, and smallmouth bass, among many other species. His true passion, however, is teaching and helping others learn to fly fish for trout.

Brian has taught at fly fishing clubs from Indiana to New York, instructed at Trout Unlimited Kids Camp, and volunteered with Casting for Recovery. His YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/TroutTornado) has over 6,000 subscribers. This past fall, he was featured on the popular fly fishing podcast Wet Fly Swing (https://www.wetflyswing.com/fishing-micro-streamers-with-brian-at-trout-tornado-delaware-river/).

For the past five years, Brian has specialized in streamer fishing. While the trend in streamer fishing in recent years has been to go dig or go home, Brian has turned to micro streamers—streamers of less than 3 inches—and landed some very large trout.

No WebEx Link Available This Month

Unfortunately, due to technical issues, we are not able to offer a WebEx link this month. We hope to have a link available for next month.

To access the talk via WebEx

CMTU February Meeting
Hosted by Catskill Mountains Trout Unlimited

https://catskillmountainstu.my.webex.com/catskillmountainstu.my/j.php?MTID=m603c8c2e7adf9d21bb75a3abbb173507
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 6:30 PM | 2 hours | (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Meeting number: 2868 353 8674
Password: wildesopus (94533767 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Join by phone
+1-650-479-3208 United States Toll

Access code: 286 835 38674

Our guest speaker this month will be John Apgar to Demonstrate the Art of Bamboo Rob Making 

John Apgar, the Vice President of the Catskill Fly Tyer’s Guild and a regular presenter at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum will share his deep knowledge of bamboo fly rod building with us, offering insight into both the craft and the tradition behind these remarkable tools. Whether you’re a seasoned angler, a curious builder, or simply someone who appreciates the heritage of fly fishing, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn from an expert in the field.

Sarah  Coney from the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership to speak about  Invasive Species in the Esopus Watershed
 

Sarah Coney, Aquatic Invasive Species Manager at the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership in Arkville will give a presentation about invasive species in and around the Esopus Watershed. Learn what new invasive species to be on the lookout for, how to recognize invasive species currently found in the Esopus, and how you can help report them!

Sarah joined the Catskill Center staff in 2022 but has been working in the CRISP PRISM since 2017. Shortly before graduating from SUNY Oneonta in 2017, she began working with the CRISP Watershed Steward Program and has helped to oversee and grow the program in the following years.

Sarah is passionate about aquatic ecosystems, helping to preserve them, and spends much of her summers above and below our New York waters. She has participated in several studies involving invasive species and has worked with native pearly mussels. Sarah earned her Master’s from SUNY Oneonta working with American eel and Eastern elliptio (a freshwater mussel) in the Susquehanna Watershed.

Those wishing to access via WebEx can do so using the link below.

CMTU January Meeting

Hosted by Catskill Mountains Trout Unlimited

https://catskillmountainstu.my.webex.com/catskillmountainstu.my/j.php?MTID=md1dac847bb6188df3f8787fd19e0c9c7

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 6:30 PM

Meeting number: 2866 426 8711

Password: wildesopus (94533767 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Join by phone

+1-650-479-3208 United States Toll

Access code: 286 642 68711

2025 CMTU Conservation Sweepstakes

Congratulations to our Conservation Sweepstakes winners!

1st prize winner Mike Grundfast

Custom built, 9ft 5wt Fly Rod by BKD Custom Rod

2nd prize winner  Charlie Murphy

8′ 6″ 2pc 5wt Bamboo Rod  with (2 tips)

3rd prize winner Judy Van Put

Fly box filled with hand-tied flies crafted by local Catskill fly tiers

Join the 2025 Conservation Sweepstakes!

The Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited is excited to launch our annual Conservation Raffle — culminating in a grand prize drawing at our year-end celebration on December 13th, 2025.

Enter now for your chance to win premium fly fishing gear!

Secure your tickets today:

https://go.tulocalevents.org/cmtu2025conservationsweepstakes/

Support Local Watersheds & Wild Trout

Every ticket helps fund vital conservation efforts across the Catskills — from stream restoration to habitat protection — ensuring healthy fisheries for generations to come.

Whether you’re an avid angler or simply passionate about preserving our natural heritage, this is your chance to make a difference and reel in something extraordinary.

Prizes

1st Prize: Custom built, 9ft 5wt Fly Rod by BKD Custom Rods

2nd Prize: 8′ 6″ 2pc 5wt Bamboo Rod  with (2 tips)

3rd Prize: A fly box filled with hand-tied flies crafted by local Catskill fly tiers

Ticket Pricing:

• 10 entries for $10
• 30 entries for $25
• 50 entries for $40

Buy your tickets now at https://go.tulocalevents.org/cmtu2025conservationsweepstakes/  for your chance to win!

The winners will be drawn at our chapter event, but you don’t need to be present to win. Thank you for your support, and good luck!