President’s Corner
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)
2014 GSMNP Fisheries Volunteer Sampling Schedule
Well, I’m going a little crazy with this long winter like everyone else.But like all other optimistic men and women who fish, we know that when spring does come for good the fishing should be fantastic. Warmer weather and water bring happy bugs leading to happy fish.
Jan and I continue to travel quite a bit, so this will be a rather short President’s Corner. But that doesn’t mean activities are slow for the Chapter. This spring is going to be a very busy time for us. Planning continues for the 2014 Troutfest Banquet and Auction. Don’t forget to buy your tickets to support your Chapter and the Park. We need your support. Consider volunteering to help organize and implement Troutfest, solicit donations (and possibly make a donation), help spread the word and bring a family member and / or friend.
March will bring our first Chapter trip to Cataloochee. April brings our 2014 Troutfest Banquet and Auction. May brings our annual Little River Clean-up. The Acid Deposition teams are organized and will be out in force this spring as well. On top of all that, we have started the initial planning for multiple Trout-In-the-Classroom programs in our Chapter. And we are in the initial thoughts for a Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing 101 Program.
Need more? Check out the article on upcoming events in our region.
And don’t forget to buy your Troutfest tickets (troutfest.org) and bring a family member and / or friend!
Thanks,
Mike
March Meeting Features
Fishing East Tennessee Outside The Park
By Jim Habera
Biologist 2, TWRA Region IV
Coldwater Fisheries
The wild trout fisheries available in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are widely known as some of the best available in the eastern U.S. However, east Tennessee offers some other outstanding (and often overlooked) trout fishing opportunities in streams, tailwater rivers, and reservoirs. Jim will provide an overview of some of these “other” trout fisheries, as well as a summary of TWRA’s current brook trout conservation efforts.
Jim has B.S. (1984) and M.S. (1986) degrees from UT Knoxville and did his graduate work on brook and rainbow trout in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). He was the Research Associate for the TWRA-sponsored Wild Trout Project at UT Knoxville during the 1990s and came to TWRA in 1998 to continue that work.
Jim is currently responsible for managing Region IV’s wild trout streams and trout tailwaters. He represents TWRA on the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society’s Trout technical committee and on the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture. He cooperates closely with coldwater fisheries manager s from the National Park Service (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and the U.S. Forest Service (Cherokee National Forest), and also routinely communicates with stakeholder groups (e.g. Trout Unlimited).
Our Meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2014, will be at the Monte Vista Baptist Church in the Fellowship Hall. Address: 1735 Old Niles Ferry Rd, Maryville, TN 37803-5505
