February Chapter Meeting

The February Chapter Meeting will be on Wednesday, 2/1 at 7:00pm. As usual we’ll be at the Montgomery County Government Center, 755 Roanoke Street in Christiansburg.  Join us at Due South BBQ at 6:00pm to share fish stories and discuss the upcoming Spring Thaw-Out banquet.

Wesley Hodges, a member of the Virginia Tech Student Veterans Association and a special events coordinator for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF), will give a presentation about Project Healing Waters – a national program dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education. He will also discuss his current efforts to develop a fly fishing education program aimed at Virginia Tech’s student veterans.

After serving three tours of active duty with the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, Wesley returned to the states and is currently pursuing a degree in International Studies at Virginia Tech. He has been fly fishing since a young age and shares his knowledge of the sport through numerous education and outreach programs. He was an assistant to Project Healing Waters founder Ed Nicholson and helped establish and run the Salem VA medical center Project Healing Waters program. Wes is a self-described big streamer addict; when not studying he can be found inside a midge hatch double-hauling meat whistles to monster browns on the Jackson River, or tying flies at the Roanoke Orvis retail shop.

Learn more at www.projecthealingwaters.org

Aquatic Invasive Species Survey

From troutunlimitedblog.com - The spreading of existing aquatic invasive species (AIS), along with new AIS invasions and climate change is expected to have significant negative impact on TU’s efforts to conserve and protect native species across the country.

AIS impacts can be devastating — invasive lake trout and whirling disease have combined to cause a 90 percent decline in Yellowstone Lake’s Yellowstone cutthroat trout population — the world’s largest refuge of native Yellowstone cutts.

TU’s AIS Program Director Dave Kumlien and researchers from Illinois State University have developed an aquatic invasive species survey. The survey will help TU identify priorities and develop AIS policy.

The survey asks a few questions about how AIS have affected your favorite places to fish, and some questions about your fishing habits. No personal information is collected, and your participation is very important. 

Know of a fellow TU member or trout angler who would be interested? Be sure to tell them about the survey.

Mossy Creek Report

I was craving some streamer action so I took a trip up to Mossy Creek after a big rain last week. I missed the big fish of the day (of course) but got a good look at him, and still managed to net a few nice little browns. Mossy got the best of me this time, but I spotted several large fish so I’ll definitely be back again soon to settle the score. Be sure to stop in at Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and pick up some Kreelex and local knowledge from the guys there.    -NS

Wilderness First Aid Certification Course

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports is sponsoring a Wilderness First Aid Certification Course in Blacksburg on February 25-26. The course is led by Instructor Matthew Rosefsky, Wilderness EMT. This is a great opportunity to better prepare yourself to deal with emergencies while out on the river (or anywhere else). Register and get all the details at www.solowfa.com.

Fly Fishing Film Tour 2012

The Fly Fishing Film Tour is back with a new batch of short films to get you pumped for spring and summer fishing. The tour will be coming through Charlotte on March 14th and Asheville on April 6th. You can get all the details at Flyfilmtour.com. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the films, Sipping Dry, by Sharptail Media.

“Sipping Dry” trailer – by Sharptail Media | Fly Fishing Movie from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Big Stony Creek Report

Temperatures in the lower 50s and sunshine made for unusually warm January fishing weather. Steam was still rising off the water when I arrived around 11am. Fast riffles and pocket water were unproductive, but Browns hanging in deep, slower runs were more than happy to eat a bead-headed prince nymph. One smaller brown was even willing to sample a foam stimulator.

-Ryan Coe

January Chapter Meeting

Our first NRVTU meeting for 2012 will be on Wednesday night the 4th at 7:00 at the Montgomery County Government Center.  On our agenda will be updates on Trout in the Classroom and Conservation Projects.  We will also discuss the new chapter website designed by Noah.  This will be a blog approach so several people can contribute easily!  Lastly, we will finish our meeting discussing the Chapter Banquet.  I encourage everyone to help with the banquet committee so we can ensure a successful evening!

As always, if your schedule allows, join us at 6:00 for BBQ at Due South.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday.

Happy New Year!

-Kevin

Big Stony Creek Report

Water levels on Big Stony have finally dropped enough to fish. This brown crushed a rubber-legged olive wooly bugger drifted by an undercut bank.

-NS

South Fork Holston River Report

Despite heavy rains on Thursday, my brother and I decided to make the most of the holiday break and hit the South Fork of the Holston on Friday. The water was high and cloudy when we got there in the morning, but we decided to give it a shot anyway and were rewarded with several nice fish.

Big, bright, heavy flies were the ticket in the high water.

-NS

Spring Thaw-Out Banquet

During last week’s meeting, our chapter agreed to host and support a fundraiser for 2012. Our goal is to gain working capital so that we can help fund our upcoming projects and initiate a long term conservation project to improve the headwaters of the Little River in
Floyd County.

When: Evening of Saturday, April 21
Where: Sinkland Farms, located on Route 8, just north of Riner
What: Refreshments/Dinner, silent and live auction, raffles, games

Please save the date on your calendars.

If you’d like to volunteer to help with planning the event, Pete Jackson is heading up the banquet committee. The first organizing meeting will be after the NRV TU general meeting on Wednesday Jan 4. All volunteers and interested guests are welcome to attend.

This fundraiser will be designed to hopefully become your sporting social event of the year! Spouses, significant others, kids and your fishing friends are encouraged to come.

More details coming soon.

My sincere thanks to you all for your kind attention to this exciting event and best wishes for a joyous Holiday Season.

-Pete