So ---- what did you do last (this) summer? That's a great question to ask all of us now, but will you have a great answer come September? Think for a moment about the actions you can take today that will further advance our TU chapter in the Atlanta area and conservation actions you can participate in that will reflect positively on us all.
For example, the call has gone out for volunteers for several activities. Are you planning to participate in one of our upcoming North Georgia stream re-building projects in late July and early August? If you're interested, or would like more details, send Bill Lott an email to
[email protected]
. You'll work hard, sweat a lot and meet other TUers from across North Georgia who all have the same drive and passion for saving our small mountain brook trout streams.
You could also give Denny Desmond a hand. Denny is working both with our veteran programs and also is once again leading our annual Autumn on the River chapter fundraiser in October. The event takes a lot of dedicated individuals to gather donated gifts, arrange publicity, and help run the event. Can you spare some time this summer to help Denny and his team of volunteers? If so, send Denny a note
([email protected])
saying, "I'm in to help. Where do you need me?"
Let's all make an effort to volunteer when the call goes out. And, in September, you'll be able to say, "Here's what I did this summer."
Thanks to all our fantastic UCCTU volunteers!
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Tight Lines,
Ken Mock,
President
Upper Chattahoochee Chapter #436
Trout Unlimited
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| June Speakers: Madeline Reamy & James Serra |
Madeline Reamy:
This month we have the pleasure of being joined by Madeline Reamy, who has been the Executive Director of EarthShare of Georgia since 2006.
EarthShare of Georgia is a non-profit that connects people to trusted non-profit organizations dedicated to conserving and protecting our air, land and water. Since coming to EarthShare of Georgia, she has helped secure new employee-giving campaigns with many companies while developing strong partnerships with business leaders for EarthShare of Georgia's annual corporate Earth Day events and marketing initiatives.
Madeline is a 2011 graduate of the Institute for Georgia
Environmental Leadership, a 2004 graduate of Leadership Sandy Springs, serves on the board of EarthShare National based in Bethesda, MD, and is a mentor for the WomenLead program at Georgia State University. Madeline has served on the Board of Directors of Georgia's Environmental Education Alliance as Vice President, and was President of the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries in her previous museum career. She holds a Master's degree in museums/non-profit management. Madeline is the mother of two grown children and enjoys animals, hiking as well as painting.
James Serra:
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James Serra on the Frying Pan River
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Secondly, James Serra will be
giving a brief overview of a
recent trip he took to the Frying Pan River just north of Aspen, Colorado. James touts he has been "Learning to Fly fish and tie for over 20 years, and has been lucky enough to wet lines
in
AR, CO, GA, MT, NC, & NM".
Be sure to mark down Tuesday, June 27 and attend our meeting, and hear from both our guests!
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Trout Camp -- Another Success Story
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Notes from Trout Camp:
As we opened Trout Camp for the 14th time we realized that many of our campers weren't even born when we held our first camp at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School back in 2004. Nineteen boys and five girls came together from eleven of the twelve chapters in Georgia with mentors from almost all of the chapters to teach, encourage, and enjoy them as we worked to protect our precious cold, clean water and to learn how to catch a trout on a fly. After heavy rains pushed Betty Creek to flood level, the weather improved for the remainder of the week as we fished, tied flies, built stream structures and carried on the tradition of Trout Camp. There was nothing really new at camp except the faces of the 24 campers beginning on what we hope is a lifelong passion for trout and the environment.
Carson Chang, of the Cohutta Chapter and a member of the Five Rivers Program led by Rodney Tumlin, won the Julie Stalnaker award, the fly tying award, and fly casting competition as well. The Julie Stalnaker award is chosen by the dorm leaders and the other two contests are based solely on earned points in the competition. Carson was chosen for Julie's award the night before the other two competitions.
 A big thanks to more than 50 volunteers who gave of their time, energy, and talent to "pass it on." As always, our partners from the USFS and Georgia DNR did their part to enhance the camp experience. The Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a true blessing for our camp and the staff always goes the extra mile to meet our needs and to make us feel welcome. Thanks RGNS!!!
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TU Member in the News
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Long time TU member Ed Sullivan was featured in a picture
fishing his home water in Connecticut by the
Hartford Courant.
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| Ed Sullivan on the Farmington River |
To read the short article click the picture
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Stream Remediation Project Scheduled
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"Trout Unlimited in conjunction with the National Forest Service and the Department of Natural Resources will hold a stream remediation workday at Wilks Creek on Saturday, July 29, 2017. The Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited will lead this activity and work will start at the stream at 9 am and will end around noon with a BBQ
lunch provided. In stream structures will be built under the direction of the Forest Service to improve stream habitat for brook trout. Your participation would be greatly appreciated. The more volunteers, the more we can accomplish and the lighter the work will be for those participating. Last year we had over 50 volunteers and that is the goal for 2017 when we start work on a new stream Wilks Creek. Wilks Creek is about 20 minutes north of Helen and the easiest way to get there is to take Main Street through Helen and follow 17 & 75 signs North. Continue on this road till you get to mile marker 15. The mile markers are on the right side of the road and are small green signs. Just about 100 yards past mile marker 15 on the left is the entrance to the Chattahoochee National Forest of the WMA. A sign marks the entrance to an unpaved road on the left. Our project work will be approximately 2 miles down that road.
Parking will be limited along that road. However, just a little further north past mile marker 15 is where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road and their is a parking lot on the right. We can park and car pool into the work area. Please try to arrive at the parking lot around 8:30 am.
So we have enough BBQ for all our volunteers, please let me know that you plan to attend. Either give me a phone call or send me an email.
We look forward to working with you on this project and thank you.
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Sweetwater Brewery Features April Vokey
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Tickets include: Presentation by April Vokey, SweetWater beer, food, entry into casting competition, Quality Hooch film, one-year membership to CRK, one raffle ticket. Only $40.00 per ticket.
UCCTU will have a table set up at the event and we would like to see you all there! |
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Fundraisers on the Horizon
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There are plans in the works to partner with
Red Brick Brewery here in Atlanta to enjoy an evening of beer, food and festivities while raising money for UCCTU.
So, mark your calendar for the evening of Thursday,
July 20.
Tickets will go on sale early next month. Bring some friends to enjoy
some of
Red Brick's award winning beers and maybe win some raffle prizes.
This would be a great way to introduce some friends to Trout Unlimited and maybe to Fly Fishing!
Also, UCCTU will be raffling off an excellent pair of Patagonia Waders & Korkers Boots this summer - tickets will go on sale next month for the drawing at the August Meeting.
More details in the July issue of Newsline.
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The Big Event is Coming Soon
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Annual UCCTU Fundraiser Needs Your Help!
Our 'one and only' annual chapter fundraiser is coming up fast and we need your help. Volunteers are needed for many roles during the event, however, most importantly, and of greatest need today are volunteers to help solicit donations of gifts--gift cards, fishing gear, gift baskets, dinner coupons, sporting gear, etc., etc. This is your event and it can only be a success if everyone takes ownership. Even if you can solicit one gift that's a big big help. If you can spare some time to help, contact Denny Desmond at
[email protected].
Remember, that UCCTU supports many local conservation groups and youth activities through the money raised at the fundraiser. Please give us a hand and make our 2017 Autumn on the River event the biggest and best ever!
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| Online Form Gives New Veterans a Free Membership |
 The TU
Veterans Service Partnership (VSP) is an initiative to serve our nation's military family, all veterans, able and disabled, active military, spouses, and their families. Our goal is to involve them in TU chapter activities and ultimately in a meaningful, life-long, and sustaining way with the TU community locally and in TU conservation programs and initiatives.
In order to sustain that involvement with TU, we offer a free, one-year trial membership for veterans that have participated with a TU chapter or council. It is only for a new TU member not for a renewal, and we ask the sponsoring TU chapter to use its own good judgment when offering the membership. The veteran will receive all the benefits of a paid membership for a year and the satisfaction of knowing they're a part of a growing community of individuals who enjoy angling and want to keep America's rivers cold, clean and fishable now and in the future.
To get access to the online form where you can sign up veterans that participate with your chapter, please email TU Veterans Services Partnership Coordinator
Dave Kumlien. Dave can work with you to ensure that your veteran is signed up to the correct chapter based on their ZIP code assignment, and he's always excited to talk with TU volunteers about starting or growing a VSP program locally.
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Hunting and Fishing Bill Signed
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Governor Nathan Deal held a signing ceremony for
House Bill 208 at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Regional Headquarters in Brunswick in April.
House Bill 208 makes changes in Georgia law to simplify the hunting and fishing license structure while also adjusting fees for resident hunting and fishing licenses for the first time since 1992. More than 5,000 Georgia residents provided feedback about the content of House Bill 208 through a series of 8 public meetings held around the state. Over 85% supported the proposed changes.
With the additional revenue, DNR will improve wildlife and fish habitat and management on public and private lands and waters; create more shooting ranges; improve boating access in fresh and salt waters; add youth education opportunities; increase fish stocking; and add approximately 40 conservation rangers.
The legislation, which becomes effective July 1, 2017, will rank Georgia in the middle of its Southeastern neighbors for resident hunting and fishing license fees."
Article taken from a Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources press release. To read the bill itself click
HERE.
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| Riverkeeper Climate Conference Scheduled This Sept! |
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization has scheduled a two-day Climate Change Conference for September 27 - 28 from 8 am to 5 pm. The event is being hosted by Georgia Tech - Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Global Learning Center.
During the conference, leading scientist and experts will share knowledge of changing climate conditions, impacts to human and ecological interests, risk assessment and resiliency planning tools and innovative measures for mitigation and adaptation.
Conference programming includes dozens of speakers, exhibits and networking opportunities.
If your passion is our climate and you'd like to attend this important conference visit their site at
Chattahoochee.org/conference for the most current updates on conference programming and speakers.
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| SOHO Planning Meeting Held |
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Chapter members attended a special South Holston summer chapter trip planning meeting on Monday, June 19 at the Red Lobster Restaurant in Roswell. The meeting was held in advance of the summer trip (July 13 - 16) to go over cabin and bed assignments, food purchase and cooking, and of course what to expect when fishing on the South Holston. A short presentation on fishing tactics and flies was given by several members who have fished the SOHO in the past. Discussions also included using and selecting guide services, alternate streams (in case of high flow) and river safety. The SOHO trip is fast becoming a UCCTU favorite and plans are already underway for our 2018 trip that will be June. If you'd like to go on this year's trip,
ONE SPOT JUST OPENED UP THIS WEEK give chapter President Ken Mock a call at 404-725-3979 or send him a note at
[email protected].
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June
4 - Fishing Dayz and Lunch
10 - 11 Alpharetta Outfitters Euro Nymphing Clinic ($99)
27 - Chapter Meeting
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Be Safe and Check the FLOW Before You GO!
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Call
770-945-1466
, or toll free at
1-855-DAM-FLOW (1-855-326-3569)
, for the Buford Dam water release schedule. Or visit their
Hydropower Generating Schedule
website for release times and amounts for the current day.
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Useful Fly Patterns on the hooch
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New members since our last Newsline went out are:
| Steve |
Campbell |
| Rob |
Francour |
| Robert |
Goolsby |
| Andrew |
Kizer |
| Michael |
Mayville |
| Ilka |
Mendoza |
| Robert |
Moreno |
| Stephen |
Norton |
| Peter |
Protis |
New members, be sure to join us at our meeting Tuesday, June 27 and you will receive a raffle ticket for a great prize!
Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month at
Ippolitos Roswell. Dinner/happy hour starts at 6 pm and "business" starts at 7 pm! Be sure to bring some cash if you want to buy raffle tickets for great prizes. All proceeds go to UCCTU activities and conservation efforts!
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Fishing Dayz Jinx Continues!
We need a special weather guru to help turn around the bad weather plaguing our monthly Fishing Dayz event. Each month we schedule a day for all chapter members to fish together on a local river or stream. We call it Fishing Dayz.
So far this year, most of the dates have been cancelled due to inclement weather. Nasty weather with rain, thunder and lightning. Not perfect conditions for fishing to say the least.
Well, in lieu of a weather guru, we'll keep on trying. Our next Fishing Dayz will be held in early August. An announcement will be sent out in late July.
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Unfortunately, Dukes Creek fishing will be closed and no reservations for fishing will be taken from Jun 1, 2017 to October 1, 2017, however, the stream may be reopened sometime earlier during September depending on water flow and temperature conditions. Re-stocking plans are under development and will be initiated sometime before the stream is reopened. During this time, no fishing at all will be allowed on Dukes Creek except to cabin guests who may fish the cabin section only.
Fishing reservations will be taken starting for October 2017. To make a reservation in October or later call the reservation number 706-878-3087. |
Project Healing Waters/UCCTU guided 7 vets fishing at Frog Hollow on the Chestatee River recently. Larry Long took this picture of his vet, Alex, and Alex's dog, Annie. Annie, was not so good (in the water all the time), but very cute. One bass caught by Anita and another vet, Tyler, had a trout on for 30 seconds. Water was very tainted (couldn't see bottom).
Regardless, the vets had a great time in this tranquil and beautiful location up in the North GA mountains. Thanks to Cullen McClure for organizing the trip.
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Discount Code for UCCTU!!
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UCCTU has a new business partner,
Compass 360! And d
ue to this partnership we all benefit! Use the promo code in the picture below at checkout to receive our exclusive discount!
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Bring Equipment to the Meeting
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Don't forget to bring new or gently used fishing gear to our monthly meetings for our ongoing "Donate Gear to the Vets" program. So far we've received some great items including rods, reels, boots, fly tying materials, a rod building kit and much more.
Also, bring any unwanted magazines and books to share.
We have also been contacted by FlyVines which takes old fly line and creates useful and beautiful gear out of it (like the lanyard below!).
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If you have a new or gently used piece of fishing equipment or a boat, float tube, or other related item and would like to sell it to another chapter member, here's your opportunity. Just send a short description of the item(s) to:
President
with a photo (if possible).
Ads received before the 15
th
of the month will be placed in that month's issue of Newsline. Clean out your cave or garage and get some cash for items you no longer want.
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Embrace-A-Stream (EAS) is a matching grant program administered by TU that awards funds to TU chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, EAS has funded more than 1,000 individual projects for a total of $4.4 million in direct cash grants. Local TU chapters and councils contributed an additional $13 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $17 million.
To donate to the Embrace a Stream Program click
HERE
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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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Roswell High Fishing Club
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We are seeking volunteers to help with fly fishing. Anyone interested in helping the next generation of fly fishers should contact Jim Harvey at 404-933-5976.
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Click the Fish to See the Story
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Fly fishing during a Nor_easter (youtube)
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| Catching a Smallie on a fly rod (youtube) |
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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
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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
Check out our Chapter Website at
UCCTU.org and leave comments in the Shout Out box.
Social Media:
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