| Outdoors
If you happened to be eavesdropping outside my office door Monday evening, you probably would have thought that it had to be a might-bit crowded in there. While hardly a cubbyhole, the dozen or so voices you were hearing inside the room would have been enough to create what you would think to be crowded conditions.
The ruckus was the result of the MidHudson Chapter of Trout Unlimited holding its final meeting of the year. COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of the chapter’s traditional combined final meeting/holiday party. Instead, the members decided to host an online flytyers roundtable. The noise was coming from my computer.
Virtual meetings and events have served us well during the pandemic. Computers and cameras have allowed many meetings to go as scheduled, and they have provided many of us with a much-needed pressure relief valve — especially those of us with “underlying conditions,” who have to be very cautious about how and where we travel.
Monday night’s event was just as informational as you would expect any Trout Unlimited meeting to be. Built around three presenters — all members of MidHudson branch — it was almost as if we were all huddled around someone’s dining room table sharing flytying secrets, although it would seem that something that’s been around 150 years or more wouldn’t have many secrets left to share. But still, every once in a while, one pops its head up out of the gopher hole.
Hunting or fishing in winter? Take extra precautions
Changes are coming to the state’s trout stream management plan
New state deer management plan seeks to address population control, disease, waste
For the first time ever, in that session I learned about the existence of Hans van Klinken. A retiree from the Royal Dutch Army, van Klinken has immersed himself in the world of flyfishing and flytying. And yes, he is still with us, still making contributions in the world of flyfishers.
One contribution is his “invention” of a line of flies called the Klinhammer. Jim Glowienka showed everyone how to tie a Klinhammer that performs exactly as designed, hanging down in the film — not sitting on top of it — imitating an insect that’s trying to emerge from the water. Sounds easy enough until you lash your thumbs to the hook with the tying thread while trying to tie one.
Two other presenters — Dan Swart and Art Port — tied a couple of flies using other techniques and materials that may not have been new news to everyone, but it was still interesting to watch someone with real tying skills applying them.
The virtual session worked very well. I would expect that Trout Unlimited and a lot of other organizations will be making use of them even after the constraints imposed by the pandemic are lifted. In the meantime, MidHudson Trout Unlimited has not let COVID hobble them. Most impressive is the work that continued on the organization’s core mission, conserving, and restoring coldwater fisheries.
Outgoing Chapter President Pat Crisci said in spite of the hurdles they had to overcome this year, Trout Unlimited members helped with tree planting on Wells Brook, a tributary of the Ten Mile River in Dover Plains, additional tree planting on the Ten Mile River, a stream cleanup project on Wappinger Creek. and completed a “Trees for Tribs” project on Fishkill Creek. The trees are provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Saratoga Tree Farm.
The pandemic has renewed interest in all things outdoors, including fishing. Fishing license sales are up about 10% and there are a lot of people using our lakes and streams that have no experience in that arena. Unfortunately, it is coming at a cost, litter.
The clean up project on Wappinger Creek is a good example of the need to educate people about the responsibility that they have to clean up after themselves when using property that is not theirs. They may not understand that most of the stream corridors are not public property. Landowners do not what to be cleaning up after the “guests” who use their property. Crisci said they pulled a lot of trash off the stream banks during this year’s cleanup effort. If the trash problem is left to the landowner to resolve, their solution may be to post their property against fishing and hunting. When they do everyone loses, not just the offenders.
Looking ahead to 2021, Dan Swart of LaGrange will be taking over the reins as president. He sees the chapter putting a lot of energy and focus on the DEC’s new Trout stream Management Plan. “The new plan is going to need education and enforcement if it is going to work.” He thinks Trout Unlimited can play a role in its success.
Hopefully, there will be a return to normal in the coming months. But even if it is slow to happen, or it doesn’t happen as nearly quickly as is hoped, Trout Unlimited will continue to hold virtual meetings and informational sessions and activities that are conducted outdoors, to keep the members connected and energized.
For more information about MidHudson Trout Unlimited and their programs visit their website at www.midhudsontu.org
Bill Conners of the Federation of Fish and Game Clubs writes on outdoors issues. Email: conners@billconners.net
Credit: Source link
