Rocky River Trout Unlimited

WE CONSERVE, PROTECT, AND SUSTAIN OUR COLDWATER NATURAL RESOURCES

HAPPY 150th BIRTHDAY, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

President's Message

Hey folks,

March is suddenly here and temperatures are on the rise! What a beautiful week we have to start off the month and a reminder that Spring is just around the corner. 

First, the Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) is finally back in-person at the historic Visulite Theatre here in Charlotte NC. Thanks to Jesse Brown’s Outdoors for hosting this special event each year. Please purchase your tickets via FlyFilmTour.com and support our local vendors and clubs onsite at the event.

Next, we have numerous streamside day trips coming up so please stay tuned to our events calendar on the RRTU website (RockyRiverTU.org). Upcoming destinations include Stone Mountain, wild water, and the Green River. The ladies from Women on the Fly are starting things off right with a gathering this weekend at the Mitchell River.

Meanwhile, please SAVE THE DATE for our annual Friends of Rocky River Celebration on May 5th at Park Road Park! We plan to kick off virtual fundraising efforts over the next two months and we need your help. As you all know, FORR typically helps drive the necessary funds which allow us to give back to so many wonderful conservation projects, like-minded organizations, and programs throughout the year. 

Tight Lines,

Greg

Greg Record

President, Rocky River Chapter of Trout Unlimited



Upcoming Events

Conservation Updates

Destruction of Ramey Creek by Bottomley Properties!

Friends of Rocky River Celebration 2022

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!

It's been a difficult two years with few in-person meetings and gatherings. Even our annual celebration went virtual last year. BUT we'll be celebrating again with auctions, games, and a picnic(!!) on May 5th (yep, Cinco de Mayo). More details coming soon.

Trout in the Classroom

We are partnering with 15 schools in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Davidson area to provide and help maintain 22 tanks. The Rainbow eggs that we distributed to those tanks in early December have hatched, and the resulting fry average about 1 - 1.5 inches in length. 

We are currently working teacher resources on the RRTU website to provide educational videos for students about clean water and why it is so important, sources of pollution, how water treatment plants work. The theme of this endeavor is ”We All Live Downstream.” Our first focus group of students to evaluate individual water videos took place on February 28.

Virtual Fly Tying Class # 5 - March 19

2021-2022 Virtual Fly-Tying Classes

Coming to the End This Month

Our two levels of fly tying classes are near the end. The final class will be conducted via a ZOOM format on March 19th. The classes are free, so there are no excuses for not taking your tying to a new level !!! Click on one of the buttons to register.

If you can't attend this one, looks for us again the fall.

Fly of the Month

Smoky Mountain Candy was originated by Walter Babb who lives in Sweetwater, Tennessee. This Wulff-style fly pattern is appropriately named by the proof of its effectiveness on the many streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park both in Tennessee and North Carolina.

The fly has the buginess of the mixed brown and grizzly hackle of the Adams fly pattern. The floating power of the upright and divided hair-wing along with the tail of moose body hair. Such floating power is much needed in headwater cascades and the high gradient streams of our Southern Appalachian mountains. However, the real secret is the dirty yellow body which give the fly a hint of yellow rather than standing out unnaturally.

[The] time of preparation - assembling the rod, pulling on waders, lacing up boots, tying on flies - is one of my favorite parts of fishing. Angling is more than being on the water - it's the entire day, the anticipation, the fishing of course, the stories after, the remembering and then the misremembering.

David Coggins, The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life, 2021