Since this is my first Newsline message as your newly elected President the first thing I'd like to say is "thank you" for being a valued member of our chapter. We have a long and proud history of serving the Atlanta region and North Georgia as the leading chapter in Georgia. We are 800 members strong and growing each and every month.
Membership in Trout Unlimited, I hope everyone will agree, involves a dual commitment of "participation" and "volunteerism". This is highly evident in the characteristics of those who serve on our chapter's Board of Directors. Each person is giving of their time and talents to make Upper Chattahoochee Chapter the best it can and should be. I personally want to thank all of our hard-working Board members for their past and future service. I hope you will thank them too.
Being a member of UCCTU involves not only coming to meetings, reading our NewsLine newsletter, and email messages we send out, it means sending up your hand to help out when the call goes out for helpers or workers. We do so much in the community from cleaning the Chattahoochee River during Sweep the Hooch, working with scouts, manning a booth at the Chattahoochee Nature Center's Education Day, holding our youth-focused Rizzio Fly-Fishing Clinic, working on stream re-building projects, and teaching veterans to fish, to name but a few. If you haven't volunteered in a while, or have never volunteered, please consider joining a committee or leading one of our conversation efforts. You'll enjoy the experience-I promise.
In the coming year, you'll be seeing plenty of activities focused on our conservation mission of conserving, protecting and restoring our country's cold water fisheries and their watersheds. Join us and lend a hand. But, all work and no play is just plain no fun...SO, we'll be holding more events to improve your fly fishing skills and trips to our favorite rivers and streams to practice what you've learned. Join a Fishing Dayz event or come to a chapter trip, you'll have a great time and meet some great people.
And don't forget to come to our annual Autumn on the River fundraiser being held on Tuesday, October 25 from 6-9 at Ippolito's. We have lots of live and silent auction items that you'll want to bid on. Come join us for dinner and an evening of great fishing films. See you there.
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Sincerely,
Ken
Ken Mock
President
Upper Chattahoochee Chapter #436 - Trout Unlimited
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Fall Trip 2016
Brevard, North Carolina
November 3-6
Brevard, NC is home one of Trout Unlimited's Top 100 trout streams in North America, the Davidson River located within the Pisgah National Forest. Rivers and streams within the Davidson River area support a variety of fishing opportunities including backcountry trout fishing on Cove, Avery and Looking Glass Creeks. Not too far from downtown Brevard is also the Delayed Harvest sections of the East Fork of the French Broad river, the North Mills river, and the Little River (in the DuPont Forest).
Kevin Howell, owner/guide of Davidson River Outfitters will be our September chapter meeting Guest Speaker. He will provide us with the knowledge on selecting flies, equipment, and an overview of the local trout waters in the Brevard area.
Don't miss out!
If you are going on the Fall trip you need to book your room accommodations now. Rooms are going fast due to strong bookings for October and November. This is because current water levels are low and anticipated better fishinglater in the year.
Stay tuned for more information on equipment, fly patterns, and hatch
charts in the next email update.
If you have any questions about the trip contact Ken Mock, Programs Chair at
[email protected]
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Extra Tent Space Available for Fall Trip
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Contact Rick Heneghan if interested
Rick Heneghan has an extra tent space at site #44 Thursday-Saturday and an opportunity for sharing a guide on the Davidson waters on Friday--all day. Get in touch with Rick at [email protected] or 770-713-8141 if interested for more info. Rick plans to host the Fourth Annual Bourbon and A Bonfire at this site on Saturday evening.
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Fundraising
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2016 Autumn on the River/Fly Fishing Tour
Please join us for our 2016 Autumn on The River fundraiser on Tuesday, October 25, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
We will be featuring select films from the Fly Fishing Film Tour, and offering a pizza and salad bar.
Special guest auctioneer, renowned guide Henry Cowen, will be offering rods, reels fishing trips, and other exciting items for your bidding. There will also be silent auction items to bid on.
Join us and support the educational and conservation programs of Upper Chattahoochee Trout Unlimited.
If you have any questions about our fundraising contact Fundraising Chairperson Denny Desmond at
[email protected]
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Project Healing Waters/Share Military
Initiative
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Seeking Volunteers
UCCTU is involved in Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) and provides a tremendous opportunity for our members to give back to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country. Right now we guide and teach vets how to fly fish, while others teach them how to tie flies and build rods. However, the SHARE Military Initiative at Shepherd Center https://www.shepherd.org/patient-programs/care-for-us-service-members , "a comprehensive rehabilitation program that focuses on assessment and treatment for service men and women who have sustained a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury and PTSD from combat in post-9/11 conflicts", will be doubling in size by offering its services to 20 vets at a time. Accordingly, PHWFF will need more volunteers for this effort, including members who would like to be involved in fly tying and rod building instruction.
Many times when you meet these vets you don't realize that they have already gone through quite a transformation and have improved so much, but weren't that way when they started the program - quite the opposite. And if you don't think we make a difference, I encourage you to read this testimonial from one of our vets, Gary Herber. On 9/11 (how ironic), he wrote me:
"Thanks for dinner, but most of all thank you for what you are doing in giving of your time every weekend in support of wounded veterans. (New vet) reminds me a lot of myself when I first started this program over 4 years ago. Through God's grace and the hard work of those He has put in my path, I have grown from that scared, distant shell-of-a-man that I once was. What you and your volunteers are doing is not just teaching men to fish; what you are really doing is teaching wounded men to get out of their comfort zone. You are also giving them a great opportunity to meet and talk to new people, which can be a scary thing. The great thing about that spot we've been going is that there is almost no chance of being around crowds or loud noises or anything that may trigger PTSD. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do. This fight is far from over for so many of us. It is going to take guys like you doing what you do to help to heal so many.
Keep up the good work."
When I asked Gary if I could use his name, he replied,
"Absolutely! Please do. I can't thank those guys enough for what they are doing for us. Anything I can do or say would never be enough to thank the people who have taught me what I consider to be a new way of life."
We have been taking them to a great new spot on the river where we have been the only people on the water the last 3 Saturdays (thank you Cullen McClure!). And they've been catching fish. Our newest vet, who held a fly rod in his hands for the first time in his life, caught 3 trout on Saturday evening.
So, if you want to get involved and truly make a difference in this world, please contact Denny Desmond at
[email protected] or 770-992-9242.
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| News Bites |
Don't forget to pay your UCCTU Voluntary Dues
Here
Contact Fulton County's Georgia DNR Officer Mark Puig if you see any poaching or violations while your fishing next time.
Check out the new Chapter Website at
ucctu.org and leave comments in the Shout Out box.
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Select for Calendar view
Oct. 25
- Chapter Mtg
Nov. 22 - No Chapter Mtg
Dec. 1 - Board Mtg
Dec. 27
- No Chapter Mtg
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if you ordered a shirt and have not picked it up, you can do so at Autumn on the River. 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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