Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

My first month as VP and I’ve been deserted while Bob and Sarah enjoy a very long and fabulous meandering trip. I hope we get great pictures when they return.

I had the choice of writing the President’s notes or not for this month. I decided it was a good time to kind of introduce myself in my new capacity and explain a little about how I got here. I have been on many boards and committees. Some I have enjoyed and some I have not, but never have I felt so privileged and excited to have been asked to take on this role.

Fly fishing began when my brother Roy asked if I wanted to share a day with him on fly fishing instruction in the fall of 2012. Being up for anything, I said yes. We arrived at Headwaters Outfitters when it was a quiet place. We did all the beginner stuff, then went to the river. Very much like today when I go to the river, I didn’t catch a thing.

The gentleman I was with informed me that fishermen never tell a lie, but they will tell a tall tale every now and then. It was then we hatched the plan to tell Roy I had caught a 14 inch rainbow. This made Roy a bit grumbly since we each had a bit of a competitive side. Didn’t tell him any different until I headed off to bed.

My brother started me on an adventure that would eventually change my entire life. That day, something inside of me came to life. I had always loved the river, but now I was in love with it. I realized standing in the middle of a river any time was a great day. Going out to fish would always make for adventure!

As with rivers, my life took many turns over the years, with a few rapids and riffles, pools and runs. I found new friends and connected them with my old friends. I began attending Little River Chapter meetings and added even more new friends. I have found the people I encounter are anxious to share knowledge, supportive of any learning process, and great to work with. I also learned that fishing was not the only thing I loved about water. There were bugs! Then there was fly tying, then…..well, you get the picture.

Now for current day! It’s time for Trout in the Classroom releases. If you have never volunteered for this, it takes only a couple of hours of your morning and I can guarantee you will be really glad you did. We could use your help this spring. You can contact Joyce Frey jmfrey55@icloud.com and let her know when you are available.

Here’s hoping your adventures are many!

Kim Emery
Rookie VP

April 2024 Newsletter

The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited has grown significantly from the original seventeen (17) members who founded the Chapter in 1992 to over 270 members today. During this time, the mission of the Chapter to conserve, protect, and restore the coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has remained constant. Accompanying this growth in membership has been an expansion in the diversity of our volunteer activities to include Trout in the Classroom, Pistol Creek Clean-up, and most recently Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) Barrier Surveys.

In order to better support our increasing number of volunteer projects, the LRCTU Board of Directors has expanded the responsibilities of the Vice President, currently Bernie Maloy, to include the role of Director of Volunteer Operations. In this role, the Vice President will work directly with each Chapter Volunteer Coordinator to ensure frequent and consistent communication with our membership and volunteer base, and to provide a single point-of-contact for our new members to learn about volunteer opportunities. If you have any questions or interest in our volunteer opportunities, feel free to contact Bernie Maloy (52bazzman@gmail.com) or any of the volunteer coordinators listed below.

Tennessee GSMNP Fisheries – Richard Barnes (canceleer1@gmail.com)
Trout in the Classroom – Kim Emery (kim@topshelfedu.com)
Pistol Creek Clean-Up – Ernie Frey (ernest.frey@comcast.net)
AOP Barrier Surveys – Bernie Maloy (52bazzman@gmail.com)
Norton Creek Projects – Daniel Spradlin (danielspradlin93@gmail.com)

The March Chapter Meeting is our annual business meeting and will include a feature presentation from Headwaters Outfitters on fishing small mountain streams. The business portion of the meeting will be brief and is limited to election of officers and board members and a financial summary. The point is, do not avoid the Chapter meeting because of the word “business.” Headwaters Outfitters, located on the banks of the North Fork of the French Broad River near Rosman, NC, was a significant contributor to our on-line auction and will give us the western North Carolina perspective on small stream fishing.

Bob Bishop
President

March 2024 Newsletter

The LRCTU Board of Directors approved a $10,000 donation to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) Fisheries Department.  Over $9,000 of this donation is proceeds from the LRCTU Auction and the remaining amount is from monetary contributions from members and the Chapter’s general fund.  Thanks to everyone for supporting the auction and generously volunteering for a variety of Chapter projects.  

The annual GSMNP Fisheries Department Volunteer’s meeting will be held at Twin Creeks Science Center on February 17 at 9:00 a.m.  Matt Kulp, GSMNP Supervisory Fisheries Biologist, will summarize the results of last year’s projects and discuss volunteer opportunities with the Fisheries Department in the coming year.  Volunteer opportunities will include water sampling in support of acid deposition studies, index of biotic integrity stream surveys, brook trout restoration and monitoring, and stream barrier surveys supporting aquatic organism passage studies.  At the conclusion of this meeting, the Chapter will present the $10,000 donation from the Little River Chapter to the GSMNP Fisheries Department.  

Bob Bishop
President

February 2024 Newsletter