Another year is fast coming to an end and it is time to reflect on fishing experiences and camaraderie. Our get together to celebrate the Holiday Season is again at the Fair Street Reformed Church in Kingston. Party begins at 6:15 PM Thursday and we look forward to you being there. As we always do, we ask you that you consider an item to the party in the form of a food item or desert. The chapter furnishes a cold cut platter, cheese, condiments and breads. We usually have some terrific baked beans and chili. Sodas and coffee are already committed to the party. If you have any thoughts, please contact me at: Ronsgonefishing@aol.com or 845-339-5938.

As we always have, there will be some bucket raffle items. Should you have anything to contribute toward the raffles, contact me for pick up prior to the meeting night or let me know in advance you will bring something that night. Remember that the raffle helps us make a donation to the CIA Scholarship Fund for up and coming chefs of the future which Fritz oversees.

Need I say more about the guest we are always fortunate to have? What would our party be without the demonstrations of culinary delights presented by Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt. He never fails to delight the audience of men and women. He’ll answer any questions you may have for the coming holidays about food recipes and items for your own get together with family and friends. His demonstration this year will consist of:

Trout Cordon Bleu (Trout stuffed with Boursin cheese and breaded, pan fried)
Sautéed Swedish Cucumbers and
Kaleidoscope fritters (zucchini, carrot, parsnips and potatoes).

Finally, I will be turning over the leadership to the newly elected officers which includes as the chapters next President Andrew Higgins taking office in January. He/they will need your support and participation as a new adventure begins in the history of the oldest running TU chapter in NY. I want to thank all of you for bearing with me in my second duration as your President. I will remain the chapter treasurer for the next year or so and be there to assist in the transition. It has been my privilege to be your president and for all that I have met and shared your camaraderie through the years since my joining in 1993. I wish for all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
Ron Urban, President

Meeting- This coming Wednesday our business meeting will begin at 6:45 PM. We will begin with a brief meeting followed by a presentation by chapter member Bert Darrow on fishing the Yellowstone Park in MT, ID and WY. It’s been some time and Bert and friends go every year to some of the best western waters and scenery anywhere. We will also have an election of officers that will take office in the New Year. Please come out and support these members to help bring back the chapter with fresh leaders and assist them in their efforts to gain more active participation by our members.

Here is a list of officers nominated for election:
President- Andrew Higgins
V. President- Ted Hoover
Secretary- (Ted Hoover and Ron Urban will fill until we find a willing member to step up)
Treasurer- Ron Urban
Directors:
Bert Darrow
Don Strauss
Bill Shaw
Ed Meyer
Russell Yess
Past President- Ron Urban

The Catskills Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be holding elections for officers and directors in its upcoming membership meeting on November 18th 2015. Nominations are needed for both officer and director leadership roles. All positions are open for nominations, including President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Directors. All members in good standing are eligible. This is a great opportunity to get more involved in the chapter, regardless of experience. If you are interested in running for one of these positions or would like to submit a nomination prior to the general member meeting please contact CMTU Secretary Ted Hoover thoover@hvc.rr.com.

Thank You,

Ted Hoover

Secretary, Conservation Committee Chair
Catskill Mountains Trout Unlimited

Dear Chapter Member and Friends:

The Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited invites you to our 51st Annual Conservation Banquet, 6:00 PM, Saturday, October 24th, at the Stonehedge Restaurant on Route 9w in West Park, NY. The evening begins with a cash bar cocktail hour at 6:00 PM and the opportunity to view the raffle buckets and silent auction items. Raffle tickets will be 25 for $20.00 or $1.00 each. There is always something for everyone. Dinner will begin being served at 7:15 PM. Wine and cheese will be available also.

Following the dinner, CMTU Chapter President Ron Urban will comment on our efforts to conserve, protect, and restore our fisheries and watersheds. This banquet currently does not have a guest speaker. It is about the celebration of another year of conservation and outreach by the chapter.

Please RSVP by sending in your banquet reservations or calling Ron Urban 845-339-5938 ASAP or email at: Ronsgonefishing@aol.com. Reservation payments in advance will earn five free raffle tickets each at the Banquet. Payment at the door is also accepted. Early reservations and confirmations in any form help the chef plan foods.

If you are unable to attend the banquet, you may want to consider making a donation to help fund the chapter’s conservation efforts. Please contact the banquet chairman to donate items for auction or raffle.

We look forward to seeing you at the banquet. This will probably be my last as Banquet Chairman.
Ron Urban, Banquet Chairmen

We are going to have a meeting of the chapter on October 21st at Courtyard by Marriott. This is, as you may know, by the Target store in Kingston and the meeting will begin at 6:30 PM with a tying presentation. Then a brief business meeting followed by an excellent program from a licensed guide on the Neversink River. Now, I have asked many of you to attend previously, but this time it is an invitation to see a personal friend (Art Saloman) come to our chapter. Art grew up fishing the Neversink River back when it was polluted by the Hotels and Bungalows that were scattered along the 65 miles of River Banks. Today the river has seen a turn for the better and today is a Gin Clear stream flowing from high in the Catskill Mountains and said to be the Sweetest Water in the Catskills. PLEASE, if you are a new member or an old member of the chapter make time for this very exciting presentation.

Meeting- As previously mentioned this month we will meet Wednesday September 23rd at the Courtyard by Marriott at 6:30 PM. Meeting agenda will consist of discussion and elections of new officers and leaders to help the chapter in the future. It’s been a long time for me and it’s time to step aside and let others take the reins.

The AWSMP in coop­er­a­tion with the New York State Depart­ment of Envi­ron­men­tal Con­ser­va­tion is host­ing “Fam­ily Fun & Fish Day” at Ken­neth Wil­son State Park located at 859 Wit­ten­berg Road in Mount Trem­per, NY. The event will be Sun­day, July 27 from 11:00am to 1:30pm.

http://ashokanstreams.org/family-fun-fish-day/

It  is a great opportunity to volunteer on behalf of Catskill Mountains TU.

Ted Hoover

Future of the Wallkill River

For Details:

http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/events/rvk-events/future-of-the-wallkill-river/

An opportunity to help one of our partners on the Black Creek project!

http://www.johnburroughsassociation.org/component/zoo/item/spring-trail-cleanup-april-25

Meeting- (Last day for Taxes) Wednesday night will be a brief business meeting beginning about 6:45 PM. Afterward we will have a b great presentation from another well-known fishery but one not many of us consider. Frank DeGrazio is a licensed New York State fishing guide and an avid fly angler. He hails from Carmel, New York, where he lives. For about last 20 years, he calls The Croton Watershed his home waters, especially the East and West Branches of the Croton River. He is a guide and fly tier for The Angler’s Den fly shop in Pawling, New York. He loves to fly fish for a huge variety of species and is often found chasing trout, salmon, steelhead, carp, stripers, and bass just to name a few. Frank enjoys traveling around New York and New England, fishing a great deal in fresh or saltwater from the shore or kayak. Frank is also known as Hendrickson Spinner, and is an active contributor to a variety of fly fishing social media outlets including his new venture on www.theflypatch.com. He has written fly fishing articles for Live The Wildlife TV Show’s online magazine. His website is www.hendricksonspinnerflyfishing.com. He is a high school special education teacher by trade, which provides him with lots of time to fish and pass on his knowledge to others.
Frank will be making a presentation on fly fishing The Croton Watershed, focusing on The East Branch of the Croton, and the West Branch below Croton Falls Reservoir. He will also touch upon a few of the other rivers that are all a short distance away. The abundance of various food sources, the wild and stocked brown and rainbow trout, and pressure, can at times can make these rivers technical for even for the experienced angler. His vast knowledge will shorten the learning curve for us newcomers, and sharpen the skills for the more experienced angler. He will be discussing, regulations, access points, safe wading, hatches, and equipment, including various rigging techniques that are successful on these little gems. Frank has developed and used many successful seasonal “go to flies” that he will share during the presentation. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn about one of Southeastern New York’s little unknown treasures.

Some fish are very adaptable and will live almost anywhere there is sufficient oxygen in the water and food to eat. Some, like the Death Valley pupfish, are extremely restricted, found only in small remnants, less than an acre in size, of their prehistoric domain. In our region, we enjoy plentiful habitat for selective fish species like trout who rely on cold, clean water to thrive.

FISH 2015, the fourth annual issue, focuses on fish, their environment and how we can work together to insure the exceptional water quality trout enjoy is also available for people to drink now and in the future.
Stef Kroll of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, in “If fish thrive in it, it’s good for you to drink,” introduces us to the science-based decision-making behind the Delaware River Watershed Initiative and how finding fish and other indicator species in our waters is a good thing!
In “The confluence of fishing, economy, and river protection,” Jeff Skelding discusses the role fish play in helping to organize people to protect their environment. Prized trout, though they’re unaware, attract people who care about the rivers. Peter Kolesar has persistently divined the numbers seeking common ground between the political, economic, and municipal interests of NYC water users and the multiple interests of river dwellers, animal, vegetable and human. “Of river flows, fish and interstate politics” dives into these waters explaining how decisions made in NYC and Trenton affect our river and our lives.
Getting back to fish as the object of our desire, Judd Weisberg in “Sharing my love of fly fishing” describes how he got hooked as a young boy and how he passes it along to new generations of fisherwomen and fishermen in his guiding and instruction. This year we on the entire Delaware River Main Stem and branches targeted by trout fisherman from the Cannonsville and Pepacton Dams down to Mill Rift. Useful information includes access points, parking areas and local merchants serving you as you enjoy the river. Get wet with FISH and see the world as fish do. From: The River Reporter