Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The release dates have been scheduled.  All releases will take place at the KOA Campground in Townsend.  Two to four volunteers are needed at the KOA by 8:30 am to assist with the activities.  If you can join us, please call, text, or email Joyce Frey at jmfrey@comcast.net or 865-518-1975.  Thanks for helping out!!!

Wednesday May 1 – John Sevier Elementary 3^rd graders

Thursday May 2 – Porter Elementary 4^th graders

Tuesday May 7 – Townsend Elementary 3rd thru 5^th graders

Wednesday May 8 – Tates School 4^th graders and Lenoir City Middle 6^th graders

Wednesday May 15 – Lonsdale Elementary 5^th graders

Thursday May 16 – Episcopal School 3^rd graders

Thursday May 30 – Clayton Bradley 2^nd graders

From the Desk of the Prez

Ernie Frey  

ernest.frey@comcast.net

Newsletter

Spring is finally here! The Park and the Chapter had a successful clean-up on April 6th.  Stan Starkey did the lunch and the pulled pork shoulder was excellent. The Chapter has another clean-up on May 11th on our adopted stream Pistol Creek.

The chapter is sponsoring two participants in Trout Camp this year, one girl and one boy. If you are interested in volunteering to help at the camp or the outings contact Steve Young and he can help you find the right activity.

We had our first fishing outing yesterday. We met at Little River Outfitters and made our way up to Lynn Camp. The water was high so we went up high. The fishing was great but the catching was a little slow. Pat Tully will be leading the Saturday outing group. He will let us know what date he has chosen. The Wednesday group will meet again in mid-May.

The casting class we are doing with Parks and Rec had our first class on April 6. There are eight students in the class and the class so far seems successful. The next two classes will be on the water at the Duck Pond and on Pistol Creek.

Chapter meeting will be on Tuesday April 23rd at Barley’s in downtown
Maryville. Social hour starts at 6:00 and the business meeting will start at
7:00. We meet in the upstairs banquet room.

Have a good Spring and get out and fish!
-Ernie

At this month’s meeting our speaker will be Mike Kesselring from Bryson City.  His first fly fishing experiences were in 1966 at the age of 15. At the time, his father was stationed on the Pacific coast at a small Air Force Norad Station in Washington State on Cape Flattery inside the Makah Indian Reservation. Riding his bicycle to the nearby Wa’atch River, that emptied into the Pacific Ocean, Mike fished for steelhead and pacific salmon with some of the most beautiful salmon flies of the day. It was those flies that got him started collecting, but it would take a few years before it really took off.

Mike has been collecting flies for over 30 years now. He brags that he has “…never tied a single fly in his life, except to the end of a tippet.” He also likes to brag that he has more flies than many fly shops. He estimates he now has 12,000 flies. His collection keeps growing because he picks up flies everywhere he travels, always picking up a few extra to add to his collection. One thing that fascinates him is how fly tying materials has changed over the decades, moving from nearly all natural materials to more and more artificial/synthetic products. And, how the same fly can have a dozen different names.

Chapter meeting will be Tuesday March 26 at Barley’s in downtown
Maryville. Social hour starts at 6:00 and the business meeting will start at
7:00. We meet in the upstairs banquet room.

Hope to see you there.