Stream Lines Winter/ Spring 2017

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Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Volume 4, Issue 1 Winter/Spring 2017

Stream Lines the Newsletter of the Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited

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President’s Message

President’s Message

Members:

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Featured Stream: The Little Juniata

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2016 was a great year for our Chapter. We hosted a second wildly successful showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, completed the removal of an obsolete dam, volunteered with the other Valley Chapters in numerous events, and had fantastic programming for our monthly meetings. We also had some wins on the regulatory front, including the passing by Congress of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. The Act creates a comprehensive and organized restoration plan for the Delaware River Watershed. Our Chapter Vice- President Mike Recine spent time in Washington this past Spring meeting with elected officials to discuss the importance of the Delaware River and it is great to see work done on a local level have such a profound impact. Of course there will still, and always be challenges to our home waters and our Nations natural resources, but the passion of our members both locally and across the Country will continue to be a guiding force in the conservation of our angling heritage.

Locally we face the steady and increasing march of development, and the impacts from siltation and storm- water runoff. Nationally there is uncertainty about the direction of environmental regulation and protections. In spite of this I have a great amount of hope for the future of our Coldwater resources, with the hope that my daughters will have better trout fishing then their Dad, and I wont have to regale them with stories of 'the good old days'. I can assure you they will be thankful for that.

As we close out 2016 it is my sincere hope that all of our members and their families had as good a year as our Chapter. Entering 2017, I would urge everyone to check out our top notch programming for this Spring, and try to find a way to get involved.

A heartfelt 'Thanks!' to all of our Chapter members who supported the conservation of our Trout fisheries in the Valley, and I hope to see you on the stream.

Techniques: Fly Patterns to Match Spercific Hatches Dr. Ted Burger 3-4

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Chapter Programs: The Fly Fishing Film Tour

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Conservation:

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Chapter Directors and Officers

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Officers Erik Broesicke - President Mike Recine - Vice Pres Dr. Ed Hart III - Treasurer Bob Signorello - Secretary

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2017 Board of Directors Dr. Theodore Burger M.D. Chris Byrnes Jim Coxe Steve Vanya Bob Signorello CQ Williamson Ken Young Dr. Ed Hart, III Ed Hart IV Vicky Bastidas Ron Horwath Phil Burtner Mike Recine Jose de Jesus Jack Schildt Ryan Shannon Norm Szymanski

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Erik Broesicke President Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Spring Event Change in Venue Due to scheduling conflicts at East Bath Rod & Gun Club, the Spring Event will move back to the Stockertown Rod & Gun Club. Date, time, speaker, and program will remain the same.

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The Little “J”

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Dates to Remember

Jan. 24 Chapter Meeting DAR House 7:00pm “Fishing Kodiak Island, Alaska”

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Jan 27-29 The Fly Fishing Show. Somerset NJ. Feb 28 Chapter Meeting Dr. Frank Kuserk of Moravian College - Monocacy Creek Conservation Study DAR House 7:00 PM

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March 4 - Combined Chapter event at East Bath Rod and Gun Club 9:00am15th annual “Spring Event” Featuring Erik Stroup, “Fishing the Little Juniata”

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March 28-29— Fly Fishing Film Festival - Banko Ale House Cinema, Arts Quest.

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March 18 - PA Pipeling Construction Monitoring Program-Palmerton, PA

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April 22 - Stream Cleanup Illicks Mill Parking Lot 9:00am

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April 25 Chapter Meeting “Bugs and Dogs” on the banks of the Monocacy at the pavilion in Illick’s Mill Park 6:00.

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April 28-29 “BioBlitz” Archibald Johnston Conservation Area

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May 23 Chapter Meeting “Fishing the Sulphur Hatch” on the Monocacy. Meet at Illicks Mill Parking lot. 6:30 pm

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June 3-4 “Step Outdoors 2017” Steel Stacks

Little Juniata River, located in the Southern region of Central Pennsylvania, is a river that's making a comeback with help from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and environmental awareness. Throughout the 1960s, raw sewage and pollutants from local mills ran into the Little Juniata from towns above.

Cleanup started in the early '70s and today, the Little Juniata is a large river with large deep pools, moderate water, and prolific hatches supporting the thousands of fingerlings stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission each year. This river is one of the finest in the State of Pennsylvania, running through two counties (Blair and Huntington).

Above Tyrone, the Little Juniata is a marginal stream that is supported by only a few water sources. Once the river passes through Tyrone, it runs through limestone cliffs, making it a true limestone river. It continues south and when it reaches the village of Spruce Creek it picks up numerous, different sized, limestone springs that help keep its water temperatures down during the hot summer months. The PFBC has designated 13.5 miles of the river as an All Tackle Catch and Release area. This area is from the railroad bridge at the east (downstream) border of Ironville downstream to the mouth.

In the village of Spruce Creek, you can gain access to the river via paved roads that run along it. For about a mile downstream from the R 45 Bridge at Spruce Creek, both sides of the Little Juniata are posted against trespassing. Just after this area, the Little Juniata flows through Rothrock State Forest (Barree Gorge) and only is accessible by walking trails.

This area of river has many deep pools, riffles and prolific hatches. Casting and wading in this area can be extremely difficult. Be careful, as some of these deep pools run right along the bank.

Below the Gorge to SR 305 near Petersburg, the river can be accessed from paved roads once again. Just below where SR 305 crosses, the Little Juniata merges with the Frankstown Branch to form the Juniata River.

This section of river has many deep pools and fastmoving water that can be very dangerous. In addition, you can easily trip on the boulders that lie beneath the water surface. Be sure to bring along a wading stick for additional safety.

Overall, the Little Juniata produces good hatches, and they are getting better each year. Water temperatures can reach the low to mid '70s during summer's peak heating. The majority of the fish are brown trout, and keep in mind that only fingerlings are stocked. The fish take on the similarities of wild trout very quickly, and you'll find many truly wild river-bred fish around, especially from Spruce Creek to the mouth. Visit a local fly shop to gain a better understanding of the hatches you'll find on the Little Juniata River at any particular time.

Since the Little Juniata is making a comeback, isn't it time you came back to fish this river in the Southern region of Central Pennsylvania?

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Copyright © 1999-2006 The Flyfishing Connection, All Rights Reserved

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Streamlines Fly Pattern to Match Specific Hatches Dr. Ted Burger

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Important Information

I am looking for input on the content of our chapter newsletter. We are trying to make it as informative and interesting as possible. At this point in time, we include chapter program information, fishing techniques, conservation, area TU activities, and a basic activity calendar. If you have any suggestions of comments, please email me at mrecine@aol.com. All comments both pro and con are greatly appreciated.

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Also, we are in the process of putting together our programming for next year. This includes both our local chapter programs as well as the programming for the combined chapter events such as the Spring and Fall events. We also welcome suggestions on ways to improve the programs ion ways other than programming, such as location, date and time, and quality and quantity of raffle items.

Mike

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In keeping with a previous article, “Choice of Fly Pattern Types”, several members again requested specific patterns based on insect type. As pointed out, this is nearly an impossible task to cover all the insects. I decided to just cover the specific hatches we see on the Tobyhanna and a choice of the pattern type, size and color. The size will vary as to the time of the year so they appear as ranges and usually get smaller as the season progresses.

I have also added some suggestions as to where on the stream a specific insect may be seen hatching or egg laying. I must admit, the selection is bias, but it has held the total number of flies I carry in color to a minimum.

Hatches Caddis Stages: Larvae, pupae, emerging adults and egg laying adults

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Pupae 1.

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and emerging adults ~ La Fontaine Caddis (4 basic colors) Brown and yellow Brown and bright green, gray and ginger

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Pupae 1. Partridge and green 2. Partridge and orange 3. Partridge and yellow

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and emerging adults ~ Soft-Hackle Gray adults come from green pupae.

Tan and brown adults come fro Green, cream or orange pupae.

Egg laying Adults ~ Divers – Seen in runs and tails of pools.

1. Rhyacophila – Gray Sedge – Gray wings with olive bodies; Partridge and green Soft-Hackle 2. Hydropsyche – Spotted Sedge Tan wings with cream or orange bodies Partridge and yellow or orange Soft Hackle

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Wet Fly (winged) Leadwing Coachman or Hare’s Ear Dry Fly ~ Henryville Special

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Mayflies Stages: Nymph, emerger, dun and spinner In general fish nymph as un-weighted or as a floating nymph; e.g. Pheasant Tail, Gray Nymph or Near Enough

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Specific Mayflies March Brown – March Brown Flymph or Soft-Hackle ~ 12 - 14, Clinger but emerge in calm water – emerge beneath the surface.

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Sulphur – Partridge and yellow Soft-Hackle, Pale Watery Dun Flymph or Light Cahill Winged Wet ~ 12 – 14, Clinger but emerge in calm water – emerges on the bottom and swims to the surface as an adult.

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Streamlines

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Slate Drake – Reddish Gray Flymph ~ 12 - 14, Hatch on and around rocks and in mid-current.

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Little Olive (Baetis) – Little Olive Flymph or Partridge and Green Soft-Hackle ~ 18 – 20, Pale Watery Dun Flymph or Partridge and Yellow Soft-Hackle ~ 16 – 18 Stone Flies

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Specific Stone Flies Early Brown Stone - Claret or Orange and Grouse Soft-Hackle or Little Brown Fuzzy Nymph ~ 14 – 16, 1-2 XL

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Yellow Sally – Partridge and Yellow Soft-Hackle or Light Cahill Wet ~ 10 – 12, 1-2 XL

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Little Green Stone – Partridge and Green Soft-Hackle ~ 16 – 18 The Yellow Sally and the Little Green Stone will often hatch mid-current.

This is the third in a series of 7 articles written by Dr. Burger. I would like to thank Dr. Burger for the articles he has made available to me for publication in our news letter. More of his informative articles to come in future editions.

Mike

Pennsylvania Pipeline Construction Monitoring Program Training

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Trout Unlimited (TU) has established a program to train volunteers to monitor water resources that may be impacted by natural gas pipeline development.

Focusing on potential erosion and sedimentation impacts, the goal of this workshop is to train volunteers to effectively monitor water quality on high priority streams along proposed pipeline routes before, during, and after pipeline construction. The Pennsylvania Pipeline Construction Monitoring Program is an objective data collection effort and does not engage in advocacy-related activities.

Date: Saturday March 18, 2017 Time: 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM Location: Palmerton, PA The primary goal of this training is to establish water monitoring efforts along the proposed Penn East Pipeline route in Luzerne, Carbon, Northampton and Bucks County.

Please register for the training by contacting Jake Lemon at 814-779-3965 or jlemon@tu.org. Please provide your name, email address, phone number and mailing address.

Registration will close on Wednesday March 15, 2017.

Directions to the training session and an agenda will be provided the week of the training.

Trout Unlimited’s (TU) Pennsylvania Construction Pipeline Monitoring Program is a partnership between TU and the Pennsylvania Council of TU. The program is made possible by funding from the Cedar Tree Foundation. .

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Stream Lines Two Nights of The Fly Fishing Film Tour

The Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited #419

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The Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited meets the fourth Tuesday of the month from September through June with the exception of December.

Chapter meetings are held at the DAR House located at 717 Eighth Ave. Bethlehem, PA 18017.

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Information about the chapter can be found on our web site located at http://www.monocacytu.org Information about Trout Unlimited National can be found at their web site at:

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www.tu.org/intro.

Membership information can be obtained from either of the above mentioned web sites or at a monthly chapter meeting.

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*You receive this publication as a benefit of membership in the Monocacy Chapter of Trout Unlimited. This newsletter is published three times a year, Winter, Spring, and Summer/Fall. You will receive the newsletter via email

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F3T Fly Fishing Film Tour Returns

Yes, thats right, the F3T returns for its 3rd go round. It has received tremendous support from the fishing community over all and because of demand a second night has been added. So tell your friends and neighbors. As was done last year we hope to have raffles on drift boat trips , door prizes, fly tying demos, and just an over all good night out to get you pumped up for the fishing season. ALL to benefit cold water conservation in the Lehigh Valley. Get your tickets in advance as this has sold out each year.

Tickets will go on sale at Arts Quest on Tuesday January 17, 2017

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Stream Lines

Page 6 Conservation

Monocacy Creek Assesment Kate Ebel of the Wildlands Conservancy is spearheading a project to assess the entire Monocacy Creek. The project started in the spring and will continue until assessment of the creek is completed. The objective is to identify areas in need of improvement, as as well as threats to the stream environment. This will hopefully lead to stream improvement projects designed to ensure the well being of the stream and the protection of the wild trout population.

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Sportsman Delaware River Watgershed Fly-In,Washington DC Good news on the Delaware River Basin Act(H.R.1772/S.921). As of last month, it looks like the bill has been passed by both houses of congress. Details on the funding still need to be worked out. While the bill is small as far as federal government spending goes at 5 million dollars, it will provide plenty of financing for the coordination of clean cold water projects within the Delaware River Basin. Combine this with the volunteer power of Trout Unlimited and other conservation organizations it will make a very positive impact on the area. As fly fishers, this bill will have the power to enhance the quality of some of the streams and rivers that we all enjoy fishing, from the branches of the Delaware to all of the feeder streams that flow through the basin including all of our Lehigh Valley favorites.

————Planned Public Workshop on Stream Classification Nate Pritchard, Watershed Specialist/Agricultural Technician for the Northampton County Conservation District has informed us the he is planning a public workshop on stream classification and fishing regulations. The talk is currently scheduled for Wednesday March 1st, 2017 from 6:30-9:00 pm. The venue has not yet been finalized, but the Bath Rod and Gun club is a possibility.

Presenters would include representatives from the PFBC and the DEP. A draft agenda is as follows:

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6:30-6:43 Welcoming remarks and introductions 6:45-7:30 PA Fish and Boat presentation 7:30-8:15 PADEP presentation 8:15-9:00 Moderated question/discussion period While the general public is invited the target audience is primarily fishing enthusiasts. The overall issue is the regulation, criteria/methodology, and decision making process both of your agencies use for stream classification. The PFBC has also been asked to touch on stocked vs. wild streams and the tradeoffs in the decision process.

More information will follow via email once the program details are set.

We Are Now On Social Media Check us out at the locations below.

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New Board of Directors Elected

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Our fall elections results are in. The chapter officers remain the same.

Erik Broesicke - President Mike Recine - Vice Pres Dr. Ed Hart III - Treasurer Bob Signorello - Secretary Due to personal obligations or residence change we have replaced the following out going directors: Todd Griffith Mike Bradley We wish you both the best of luck, and a big thank your for your to the chapter.

We welcome the newly elected directors for 2017.

Ed Hart IV Ryan Shannon Chris Byrnes We look forward to your contributions to the chapter. Thanks!