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UCCTU Newsline
June 2018 : Chapter #436
If You Can’t Go Fishing Now What Do You Do?

What’s happening with our weather? It’s been a wild and crazy Spring. And now we’re paying for all of the rain that descended on the metro area during March, April and May. If you’ve seen the Hooch you know that it’s basically unfishable – don’t go in it.

Reports are that releases from Buford Dam will continue 24/7 as long as the water level in Lake Lanier is above full pool. At last count it was about 1-1/2 feet above!

So, what can you do to while away the time until flows are back to normal?

Here’s what I’m doing:

1.   Cleaning out my fly boxes of old worn out flies and tying replacements so I’ll be ready.
2.   Checking over all of my rods and reels for any problems that could affect my next trip on the river. Also cleaning fly lines is a good job to undertake.
3.   Washing off my waders and especially muddy boots. Let’s make this a practice to follow after every trip to the river.
4.   Heading out to local lakes and up to North Georgia should permit some fishing now that the rain has let up. Be careful though…some streams are still running faster than normal.
5.   Dreaming about an upcoming late summer trip out West. I better get busy tying flies for that adventure.

You see, maybe we can’t hop in the car and be on the Hooch in 15 minutes today, but we can be prepared for the moment we can.

I hope you’ll join us at our June 26th chapter meeting where Don Kirk, publisher of Southern Trout Magazine will speak to us about his publication and covering the trout fishing scene across the southern states.
Ken Mock
Chapter President

" Take care of the fish, and the fishing will take care of itself."
~ Art Neuman
Here are the latest news items and updates to stories and events happening now or in the near future. Get out-get involved-get the most out of UCCTU.
June Guest Speaker: Don Kirk
Publisher, Southern Trout Magazine
On Tuesday, June 26 th , our special guest speaker will be Don Kirk, Publisher of Southern Trout Magazine.

Don will discuss the growth of his magazine and how he covers the trout fishing scene across the South.

Our start time is 6pm with the meeting beginning at 7pm.
Meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of every month (except Nov and Dec) at 6pm at I ppolitos Italian Restauran t , 2270 Holcomb Bridge Road, in Roswell (east of GA 400).
Upcoming Speakers Schedule
Here are the speakers we have scheduled for the remainder of this year:

July: Bob Wirtz, chapter member, Alaska Budget Float Trips
August: Bill Cox, Superintendent, National Parks Service, Facts and Future of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
September: Chris Scalley and Guides, River Through Atlanta Guide Service, Bugs on the Hooch and Special Fishing Tactics
We’re Headed Up to Wilkes Creek…Are You Coming?

If you have never been to a stream restoration project in North Georgia you’re missing out. It’s a lot of work and sweat, but also a lot of fun and very rewarding.

We have a project coming up on Saturday, July 28, at Wilkes Creek located in North Georgia. A caravan of cars will be leaving from the Waffle House located at the intersection of Holcomb Bridge and Old Alabama Road at 6:15am sharp. Mark Romzick, a veteran of many stream rebuilding projects will be leading the way. Please let Mark know that you are coming: treasurer@ucctu.org .

The event will run till about noon and will be followed by lunch provided by the Foothills Chapter – the lead chapter on this project.

If you’d like to drop a line after lunch, bring your equipment.
A Bamboo Rod for Only $10 – AND, Fish it With a Guide from River Through Atlanta
That’s correct. You could be the owner of a fabulous bamboo rod for the price a raffle ticket! This is not some run of the mill rod. It’s a $2,500 bamboo fly rod custom made by J.D. Wagner rods of Ohio. This beautifully flamed honey-colored rod can be yours for the price of a $10 raffle ticket. And, we’ve added a ½ day fishing trip on the Hooch with Chris Scalley's River Through Atlanta guide service to break in your new rod. Now that’s a prize package worth investing in. 

Click H ERE for more details and photos of the rod. Click HERE to purchase Raffle Tickets. Click HERE to read more.
Are You Chapter Leadership Material?
If you have interest in serving our chapter in a leadership role, please contact Ken Mock, chapter president. Board positions including Officer and Director roles will be voted on during the Annual Chapter Meeting to be held in September. At that meeting all positions will be presented along with those chapter members who have volunteered to serve those roles. Names will also be accepted from the floor during the meeting...before the vote.

You might be interested in one of these positions:

Treasurer – managing our books, cutting a few checks each month, making deposits of checks and cash, handling credit transactions, issuing P&Ls, and being onsite during each meeting to accept donations and conduct sales of items (hats, shirts, raffle tickets, etc.)

Secretary – at each of our four board meetings take comprehensive notes of our discussions and votes. Publish a summary soon after for all board members.

Programs – work with the President to secure up to 10 guest speakers (Jan-Sept) for our monthly chapter meetings.

Fundraising – coordinate the annual fundraiser and oversee the collection of live and silent auction prizes. Organize one or more special seasonal raffles of fishing and other gear.

Events – organize our chapter fishing trips to regional streams and rivers across the South.

Membership – oversee the growth of the chapter by way of leading membership activities at local events and manning the welcome table at all chapter meetings.

Education – work with our area youth and other groups including managing the annual Rizzio Clinic and Women’s Fly Fishing Clinic.

If you’d rather help out on a committee, just let committee chair know and jump right in. If you haven’t served – ask yourself why.
Take It With You When You Go

Check out this great article from our friends over at Gink and Gasoline. They're big supporters of clean rivers and our new CleanMyWater campaign. Check it out:
It's Time to fish! Don't Forget to Turn Trash into Prizes!
As described in last month’s President’s Message, we’re rapidly moving along with our new #cleanmywater @ucctu campaign and the trash-collecting all around the country is impressive (check out the interactive map on ucctu.tu.org and all of the great photographs that have been posted. You are encouraged to use your smartphone camera and enter photos of collected trash tagged with #cleanmywater found in the Instagram app. You can upload photos on either Instagram or Facebook since these sites are sharing the entries.
 
Remember to collect trash while out fishing and hiking back to your car. Take a photo or two and post them with the #cleanmywater hashtag. You’ll be joining fishers from all over our local area and some as far as Colorado and North Carolina. And what makes our campaign even better, after uploading pictures of collected trash, you’ll be in the running to win prizes such as a new Walter’s Fly Rod or other great gear donated by our growing list of partners including The Fish Pond. See below for full details.

First Winners of CleanMyWater Contest Announced

The first winners of CMW’s trash pick up contest were chosen and here they are:

Winner of the Best Net of Trash is Brian Odom of Ball Ground, GA. Brian picked the Redington Rod as his prize.

Winner of the Most Unique Item is Chris Jackson, who has a shop on the Guadalupe River in Texas. Chris selected an Alpen Reel.

Congratulations to our first winners!

Keep collecting trash on every fishing or hiking trip and submit your photos per the instructions. You might just be the next winner.
Winning net image submitted by Brian Odom.
Most unique item winning image from Chris Jackson.
Fishing Dayz Schedule Changed for This Year
Fishing Dayz Logo II
As a reminder, our Fishing Dayz events will now be scheduled on both Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate a wider range of participants. And, we’ll be holding the events every other month—not monthly.

Congrats to Mark Romzick!
Our chapter treasurer Mark Romzick has accepted the position of Treasurer on the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited and will be serving during the next term. Congrats to Mark!
Have You Made Your 2018 Voluntary Donation?
big-bills-money.jpg
If you have---THANKS!

If not, you can do it now via several avenues:
  • On our chapter website at www.ucctu.tu.org
  • On our Facebook page – just search for Upper Chattahoochee Chapter Trout Unlimited
  • At any of our monthly chapter meetings. See Mark Romzick, Chapter Treasurer at the treasurer’s table.
Nice St. Croix Rod For Sale
Past chapter president Jim Harvey is letting one of his heavyweight rods go for a fantastic price. This is a St. Croix 9 wt. and it’s only been fished a few times. He’s selling the rod for only $150. First-come first-served will get this great rod at the June chapter meeting. Find Jim and seal the deal.

NOTE: if you have fishing equipment for sale, let Ken Mock, chapter president know the details and price. Include a picture too. Send to President@ucctu.org .
TFO BVK 3/4 Wt. For Sale
Ken Mock has a brand new - in the box - TFO BVK 3/4 wt. reel up for sale. Retails for $240. On sale now for only $190. Email Ken at President@UCCTU.org or see him at the June chapter meeting.
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