Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

P r e s i d e n t ’ s C o r n e r
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

Newsletter

2015 GSMNP Fisheries Volunteer Sampling Schedule

Well, I guess spoke a little too soon in last month’s President’s Corner when I mentioned we were fortunate to have missed most of the bad weather that battered the east coast. Little did I know! By pure luck, Jan and I headed to Florida a day before the first winter storm hit home in east Tennessee. We spent a month in southern Florida / 10,000 Islands region. The weather was much kinder, though more variable (lots of wind) than in the past few years. Overall fishing was slower, even for the folks using live bait. But I did manage to catch some nice redfish and snook on a fly. My fish of the trip was a 24” snook who attacked a small top surface popper. What a rush to see, feel and hear that fish annihilate the fly from below. I lost an even bigger snook using that same popper. The tarpon showed up during the last week of our stay, so I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to cast to them. Fly fishing in saltwater is a different game, where wind, tides and water clarity play a big part in catching these gamefish. But it does get in your blood!

Anyway, we’re back home and gearing up for a lot of Chapter activities (including  Troutfest) and looking for happy trout in the Park.

Troutfest
Our 2015 Troutfest Banquet and Auction is right around the corner. I hope you have marked your calendars for Friday night, April 24 and have purchased your tickets. (Link) The Donations Committee led by Chuck James have been soliciting some great items for the auction. We have new trips, great gear and many non-fishing items, so there will be something for everyone at the auction. Recently we were informed that our Chapter was not awarded an Embrace-A-Stream grant this year, so the funds raised at this year’s Troutfest will be more important than ever. So remember this is your opportunity to help our Chapter mission to support the Park with our time, talents and funds. You can find more information and buy tickets on www.troutfest.org

Lynn Camp Opening
I’m sure by now just about everyone knows that Lynn Camp Prong is now open to fishing. There is going to be a tremendous amount of fishing pressure on this stream, so take extra care in handling these small brookies. Consider barbless hooks and try to remove the hook while the fish in the water. Eliminate or minimize the amount of time the fish is out of the water and make sure to resuscitate it before a release. Great work by the Park Service and our local TU Chapter volunteers!!

Monthly Meeting
I hope you will join us at the March 26 Chapter Meeting. Steve Thompson will be our guest speaker sharing with his experiences with the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Program and Trout Camp. Both programs are incredible outreach / educational programs that need our support. I’ve had the privilege of fishing with Steve, pulling old tires out of the Clinch into his boat and working together on this year’s Trout Camp. Steve is a great guy with a strong passion for helping others. Oh yea, he’s a great fly fisherman as well. So make plans to come the March 26 meeting at Calhoun’s in Maryville.

Spring is coming, time to get out and go fishing.
-Mike

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the reopening of Lynn Camp Prong to fishing effective March 6, 2015 following a seven-year native, brook trout restoration project. The reopening of the 8.5 mile-stream sections marks the first time, since the park’s establishment in 1934, that all streams in the park are open to fishing.

T.U. Member time to take action today to prevent damage to Tennessee streams from mechanized gold prospecting.

A permit has been requested from the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC) to allow  by both manual (non-mechanized) and mechanized methods. TDEC has determined that the mechanized prospecting with dredges will degrade water quality, while non-mechanized prospecting with pans and hand tools will result in minimal degradation.

Why We Care

Of particular concern is the potential for mechanized prospecting for gold in several tributaries in the Tellico watershed. As an organization, TU will comment on this application before March 12, meeting the 30-day deadline for written comments. Letters from individual TU members will significantly strengthen the effort to prevent stream damage from mechanized prospecting.

What You Can Do

• By March 12, write a letter commenting on the potential for water quality degradation if mechanized gold prospecting is allowed in Tennessee streams; send a second copy of your letter to the Tennessee Council TU.
• Be sure to include in the letter the name of the permit applicant, Gold Prospector’s Association of America, and the file number, NRS14.341.
• Mail your letter to: Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation; Division of Water Resources, Natural Resources Unit; William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower; 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., 11th Floor; Nashville, TN 37243.
• Mail a copy of your letter to: Dick Geiger, Tennessee Council Chair, 265 Andorra Lane, Clinton, TN 37716.

You can read the entire TDEC notice regarding the application at the link below (scroll down to “Water Resources”; under the date February 12, 2015, click on file number NRS14.341, Gold Prospector’s Association of America).

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/ppo/

Sincerely,

Dick Geiger
Chair
Tennessee Council 9TN
geiger3892@gmail.com
(865) 599-2604