Have you ever asked yourself "Why did I join Trout Unlimited"? I'm sure if we polled all 800+ members of our Upper
Chattahoochee Chapter, we would receive 800+ different responses. But one underlying theme that I hope would resound throughout would be, "I joined TU for the opportunities that TU presents in helping to conserve, protect and restore Georgia's rivers, streams and watersheds, along with getting to meet 'like-minded' individuals who also enjoy the great sport of fly fishing."
We offer both.
As a member of UCCTU, you have a wide range of choices to help in the area of environmental conservation. You can help out testing our local streams for pollutants in our Adopt-a-Stream program; volunteer for a morning at the upcoming April 8th Sweep-the-Hooch river cleanup; join us for a day in North Georgia helping to reclaim a small tributary to the Chattahoochee River; or attend any of our chapter meetings where you'll hear about changing river conditions, monitoring activities and many other conservation efforts underway by UCCTU and our partner organizations. And I know you'll make some new friendships-friends who love to fish!
We have a full agenda planned for you this year. Don't sit on the sidelines. Come and join us. If you do, you'll know the answer to the question stated above.
See you at our February 28th meeting.
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President:
Upper Chattahoochee Chapter #436
Trout Unlimited
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Alpharetta Outfitters and Trout Unlimited!
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Please join me in congratulating everyone at Alpharetta Outfitters for beoming an official TU Business Memeber!
Trout Unlimited is America's Premier coldwater fisheries conservation organization.
Since 1959, we have worked to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries all over the US. With over 160,000 members, a 45,000 Facebook community, 400 chapters and 35 councils, we influence thousands of dedicated anglers. Guides, outfitters and business owners are an integral part of this conservation work. TU has a vested interest in supporting our partners, just as businesses have a vested interest in supporting fisheries and watershed conservation. Without businesses like Alpharetta Outfitters, Trout Unlimited would not have the impact that it does today!
Be sure to stop by and thank Jeff and Alpharetta Outfitters for their constant support of not only our chapter, but the entire Trout Unlimited organization!
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Blue Ridge Trout Fest April 28th & 29th
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Designated in 2016
by the state legisl
ature
as the Official Trout Festival of Georgia, the event brings together
fishermen, river sport enthusiasts and allied outdoors recreation fans and their families to Blue Ridge for outdoors fun, education, food, shopping and entertainment -- all aimed to increase the public's knowledge of trout, cold water fisheries and the conservation ethos in Fannin County and around the world.
Located just 90 minutes north of Atlanta, and 60 minutes from Chattanooga
, the Festival combines trout fishing and outdoor recreation amid the buildings of the historic district of
Blue Ridge and the downtown City Park. Event vendors include outdoor adventure outfitters, local fishing guides, lodging services, home/cabin decor, outdoor clothing, jewelry, gifts, galleries
.
Everything sta
rts April 28th with the High Country Boil
from
5:30 pm-9pm
. This is a seafood-and-fixin's-eat-with-your-hands dinner and auction hosted at
Mercier Or
chards
in beautiful Blue Ridge, Georgia. The event is available with pre-sale tickets only (available
HERE
).
"The High Country Boil brings you the food, drinks and a 360-degree view of the north Georgia mountains, but you'll remember the evening much mor
efor sharing a great evening
with your family, friends and neighbors and placing your winning bid at the silent auction, where there's something for everyone," says Jan Hackett, executive director of the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, co-presenter of the dinner and festival event along with the volunteers of Blue Ridge Mountain Trout Unlimited Chapter 696 (BRMTU). "It will be a perfect way to start your weekend in Blue Ridge and the Trout Capital of Georgia.
April 29th is the Breakout Market Place located at
Downtown City Park Blue Ridge, Georgia
. For $5 entry fee at the gate there will be over 90 vendors on site to make sure you find what you need to
make
the most of the outdoors. Complete with food trucks, a beer garden, and live music. Gates open at 10 am and event ends at 7 pm.
For More Info Click
Here!
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March Speaker -- Kelly Taylor
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Over a century ago, it was recognized that conservation measures were necessary to maintain good fishing in our public waters. Fishing has probably always been one of America's leading forms of outdoor recreation. The primary responsibility of Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery is to raise rainbow trout which will help preserve this tradition for present as well as future generations of Americans. Hatchery Manager, Kelly Taylor, will be speaking at our meeting on March 28th.
The Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery is located off Georgia Hwy 60 in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia just outside the small, rural town of Suches. The hatchery is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with other National Fish Hatcheries across the Southeast.
Constructed in 1937 by the U.S. Forest Service, the Chattahoochee Forest Hatchery remained under their authority for 23 years. On April 13, 1960, a cooperative agreement was signed which transferred ownership to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Station facilities are currently used to produce one million trout each year. These fish are stocked into tailwaters, streams and lakes of Northern Georgia in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Corps of Engineers, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the U.S. Forest Service.
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The Fish Hawk is Moving
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A long-time supporter, sponsor and friend of UCCTU, The Fish Hawk, is moving to a new location on March 5th 2017! Everyone is
invited
out to assist our
friends in the moving
process. During their last relocation many of our members assisted in the moving process. So come out for the day or even just an hour if you can.
T
he new location, also in Buckhead, is 764 Miami Circle, Atlanta, GA 30324, and T
he Fish Hawk can be reached:
by email at
[email protected]
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Sweep the Hooch
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The 2017 Sweep The Hooch project conducted by the Chattahoochee River Keeper, the National Park Service and UCCTU will be held Saturday, April 8th 9am-1 pm. Online Registrations for volunteers is available now. There will be over 40 clean up sites with groups of waders, paddlers and walkers all
participating
to clean up the Chattahoochee River.
UCCTU members will be leading wading teams at the following 5 sites:
Island Ford lead by Jeffrey Hammond
Jones Bridge lead by Bob Schmitt
Settles Bridge East lead by Charles Bennett
Whitewater Creek lead by Steve Westmoreland
Bowman Island lead by Bill Egeland
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Earthshare
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What is EarthShare?
Our Mission: EarthShare of Georgia connects people to trusted
nonprofit organizations dedicated to conserving and protecting our air, land and water.
Our Vision: Working for the day when our air, land and water are clean, abundant and healthy.
EarthShare of Georgia is a means to donate, through payroll deduction, to Trout Unlimited or over 60 participating environmental and conservation groups that are participants. Employee giving campaigns for EarthShare of Georgia have grown steadily each year, from 8 in 1993 to more than 50 in 2014 representing more than 400,000 employees in both public and private sector. EarthShare has raised more than $6 million to help support environmental causes.
Is your company a member of EarthShare?
EarthShare of Georgia has over 50 Company Partners, including 2016 Earth Day Award Winners, Cox Enterprises, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and Kaiser Permanente. Many EarthShare partners provide a matching contribution on behalf of employees who participate through payroll deduction. This is an excellent means to support Trout Unlimited on an on-going basis. To learn more, go to the website,
EarthShareGA.org and/or ask your employer if they are a Company Partner. If not, encourage them to do so. EarthShare of Georgia is part of a nationwide network of EarthShare affiliates dedicated to raising funds for environmental organizations through employee giving campaigns.
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Rizzio Clinic -- Open for Registration
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The Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited offers a comprehensive one-day fly fishing clinic for young men and women, ages 10 to 15. The clinic is designed for the beginning fly fisher and will provide basic instruction in all phases of fly fishing including fly casting, knot tying, insect identification, and conservation. Certified instructors and mentors work with students to provide individual instruction and answer questions. Each student is awarded a certificate upon completion and a drawing is held for a fly rod and reel.
Normally held in the spring, the clinic will be limited to 36 students and is offered at a nominal cost. Students are provided all necessary equipment, but should bring weather appropriate outdoor clothing, a brimmed hat, sunglasses or prescription glasses (mandatory safety item), insect repellent, and sunscreen. Students who prefer to use their own fly rod may do so. No hooks will be used on the line; this is an instructional day. All instructors bring a lot of enthusiasm to their classes. Each is passionate and eager to teach the art of fly fishing and pass along their interest in conservation.
Unfortunately, due to limited space, students who have previously attended this clinic are not eligible to attend again.
2017 Rizzio Clinic Information:
Saturday April 22, 2017 (8:30am-1:30pm)
Chattahoochee Nature Center
9135 Willeo Road
Roswell, Ga 30075
For more inforamtion, contact our Education Chair Tom Hayes at
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Save our Hemlocks
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Hemlock Trees are a keystone species and play a unique role in providing food and habitat for about 120 species of vertebrates and more than 90 species of birds, shade for native plants, cool temperatures for trout streams, and protection for watersheds and water quality. How many environmental "dominoes" might fall if the hemlocks fall?
Healthy mature trees such as hemlocks can add as much as 7-10% to property values, provide the net cooling effect of 10 room-sized air conditioners running 20 hours a day, perform millions of dollars worth of water purification per mature tree along our waterways, and save billions of dollars a year by filtering CO2 and other pollutants from the air as they produce oxygen for us to breathe. Can we afford to lose these valuable trees?
"
Save Georgia's Hemlocks" has scheduled it's first two 2017 hemlock training classes:
February 25 in Dahlonega from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
March 4 in Gainesville from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The class is designed to equip volunteers with the knowledge and skills they need not only to save their own hemlock trees but also to
help others in their community do the same. A flyer is attached.
Classes in other counties are also being planned and will be posted on the Schedule of Events page of our web site
savegeorgiashemlocks.org
.
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New members since our last Newsline went out are:
John Alford Adam Cardellino
Joseph Craig Martin Engelstad
Joshua Curran Lee Haverstock
Richard Henry Scott Johnson
Cam McCaa Corey McCallon
Duward Miller Zach Negin
Alex Park Jeff Ramsey
Paul Raulet Lewis Redd
Wayne Spiers Stephen Williams
Ahmad Faramarzi
New members, be sure to join us at our meeting Tuesday February 28 and you will receive a free raffle ticket!
Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month at
Ippolitos Roswell. Dinner/happy hour starts at 6pm and "business" starts at 7! Be sure to bring some cash if you want to buy additional raffle tickets. All proceeds go to UCCTU!
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Last week, I published an opinion piece in the New York Times asking President Trump to stand up for clean water, and veto Congress' bill to overturn restrictions on mountaintop removal mining. Unfortunately, that plea failed and the President signed that misguided law. Trout Unlimited, our members, and all hunters and anglers need to
make our voices heard.
Loosening restrictions on cutting off the tops of mountains, removing the coal, and dumping the waste into streams, makes clear that elected leaders are not listening to the voices of sportsmen and women. Together, we can change that.
We've built TU a new action center for our supporters to contact public officials and add their voice to the call to protect our nation's coldwater resources.
Stand up and support Trout Unlimited.
Make your voice heard today.
Thanks for all that you do to support the lands and waters that sustain us all.
Chris Wood
President and CEO, Trout Unlimited
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Select for Calendar view
Februrary
28 - Chapter Meeting
March
4 - GA Council Meeting
12 - Fishing Dayz: Smith Creek
28 - Chapter Meeting
31 - Fern Valley Fishing Dayz (through 4/2)
April
1 & 2
- Fishing Dayz: Fern Valley
8 - Sweep the Hooch
22 - Rizzio Youth Clinic
25 - Chapter Meeting
28 & 29
- Blue Ridge Fest and outdoor adventures
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Audio Video Coordinator needed!
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Do you want to get more involved with UCCTU? Do you know PowerPoint? You may be perfect fit as the chapter AV coordinator! Your duties would be to make updates to the monthly meeting PowerPoint slides, add some new photos here and there, gather up details from Board members and committee chairs, and run the slideshow during chapter meetings. Contact
President Ken Mock for more details.
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Fishing Dayz on Sunday, February 12 proved a tough outing for the half dozen souls who ventured out to Island Ford. The weather was perfectly cloudy with a sprinkle of rain, the water was receding and mostly clear, rods were set, the scene was perfect, BUT where were the fish?
We were 'skunked' except for Jay Rivers (aptly named) who managed to pull in a rainbow with a wooley bugger on his retrieve.
As my father always said and we all know too well "That's why it's called Fishing, and not Catching".
See below for next month's Fishing Dayz Details. March should prove to be much better fishing!
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When: March 12
Where: Smith Creek, Unicoi State Park
Details: Meet at the Waffle House below at 7 am for some breakfast and plan to leave at 8 and carpool up to the stream.
Waffle House
1470 Holcomb Bridge Rd,
Roswell, GA 30076
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Sold Out!
Our Fishing Dayz trip to fish Fern Valley on the Soque River, located just north of Cleveland, GA was SOLD OUT in 24 hours!
Marty and Glad Simmons, our hosts, remind everyone going to bring a BIG NET because you'll need one!
Remember... the cost for the 1/2 day is $70 and you can pay with cash, check or credit card
when you arrive. Please double up on driving since parking is very limited.
A list of all 36 participants will be sent out soon.
See you on the Soque!
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SOHO Summer Fishing Trip!
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UCCTU's Summer fishing Trip will be on the South Holston River! Join us Thursday, July 13 to Sunday, July 16 for w
ading, boat, canoe, kayak fishing. Stay tuned for more detials.
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Next meeting is February 28 and the Guest speaker is Pat Stone.
Pat has been fly fishing throughout Boone and Eastern Tennessee since 2003, averaging 200 days a year on the water. He has been guiding the area since 2004. His main focus is sight fishing to the large brown trout found on the South Holston. He has a passion for fly fishing and is eager to show people how to become better anglers.
This would be a good time to get started learning for our Summer Trip to the SoHo!
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Be a Trout Unlimited Ambassador
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Next time you are out on the river, in the parking lot at Jones Bridge, or in a business meeting and the subject of Trout Fishing comes up -- hand the interested party one of your new UCCTU Chapter Cards.
Pick up your cards at the Monthly meeting!
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Fly Tiers needed for RHS!
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| Roswell High Fly Fishing Club President Jackson Dalby is in the process of scheduling a fly tying instructional meeting hosted by Alpharetta Outfitters. Anyone interested in helping with this fly tying session should contact Jim Harvey at [email protected]. |
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Bring Equipment to the Meeting
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Finally clean out your garage or fishing closet, while helping support TU! UCCTU is always happy to help you dispose of new or gently used e
quipment. All items of value donated will go to
the PHWFF Veterans or put in for the bucket raffle at an upcoming m
onthly
meeting. Bring us any of the following items:
- fly fishing/tying books
- fishing tools
- reels, line and hooks (unused), fly boxes
- fly tying materials
- gently used waders, boots, wading staffs, vests, etc.
- other items like unopened liquor, bar items, etc.
THANK YOU!
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If you ordered a shirt and have not picked it up, you can do so at the Februar meeting. We also have shirts for sale in case you did not order one.
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Must Read Articles, Blogs.....
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When you buy a new car or renew your tags, consider getting a Georgia TU plate and help support this important wildlife effort. Go
here for more details.
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Don't forget to pay your 2017 UCCTU Voluntary Dues
Here.
President and CEO of Trout Unlimited, delivers the 2016
State of TU speech at the TU Annual Meeting in Bozeman, MT.
Contact Fulton County's DNR Officer Mark Puig if you see any poaching or violations while you are out fishing.
Hotline: 800-241-4113
Cell: 404-997-3214
Check out our Chapter Website at
UCCTU.org and leave comments in the Shout Out box.
Social Media:
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