Rocky River Chapter
Trout Unlimited   
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

WE CONSERVE, PROTECT, AND SUSTAIN OUR COLDWATER NATURAL RESOURCES

Fall is here - and so is Alarka !

Fall Alarka Weekend Trip -  October 10-13, 2024 
We are excited to join together once again in the beautiful Smokey Mountains to fish beautiful water, get reacquainted with old friends and meet new ones !  

RV site ( food only)  $60   Tent sites : $90     Cabin bed : $200

All accommodation options include a light breakfast and dinner during the trip

The kind folks at HopFly Brewing Co. will be hosting our presentation of the International Fly Fishing Festival. This year's raffle will give you three chances to win ! Each winner will have their choice of the remaining prizes that include :A Winston B3X 9' 5 Wt , A Matt Black Ross Cimarron 5/6  reel,  Or A  Pair of Bajio Polarized Sun Glasses.



​Fly of the Month

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F-C Sand Shrimp Sr.
Fly of the Month 09.24a F-C Sand Shrimp, Sr.

The Sand Shrimp came to the market thanks to Ed Story from Feather Craft in St. Louis, Missouri. Ed liked to fish at Port St. Joe, Florida and this was his favorite redfish fly. Ed, who passed away early this year was a very helpful guy and very nice. He knew I was a competitor and told me it was OK to have them tied but not to use the FC in front of the pattern because that stood for Feather Craft. Later I would have a company in Asia tie them for us. I called it the Sand Shrimp.

I started tying my own after talking to Ed. On one trip to Port St. Joe it was the only fly a redfish would take. The water is clear there and this fly works better in clear water. Paula and I were fishing at the point where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico and we had redfish follow our flies but they would shy away before eating them. I tied on a Sand Shrimp. When a redfish followed the fly I would speed up my retrieve. They would get more interested and move faster toward the fly. Just when they got close I would strip even faster. They slammed it then. We had a great day.

The Sand Shrimp has also worked on other saltwater species. In the photo above I am fighting a big Sheephead at Horseshoe Beach, Florida. Sheephead are hard to catch on a fly. This one saw the Sand Shrimp and swam three feet to eat it. I would not be on the water in the Gulf of Mexico without several of these. I probably have at least 50 tied up right now waiting for their day.

Choose the Learn More button for the rest of the story and the tying recipe with instructions :
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Conner's October Caddis
Fly of the Month 09.24b Conner’s October Caddis

The Conner’s October Caddis is an original Southern Appalachian dry fly pattern, originated by James R. Conner who lives in Whittier, North Carolina. He is a regional fly tyer that ties tens of dozens of flies everyday for the local fly shops and neighborig fly fishing friends. This fly pattern is a “go to” fly pattern for fly fishing in the fall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. James says he can not tie enough of these until the fall season is over each year.

Fly Tier Tips

Tip : When applying UV coating on wing cases, avoid building up the cover too much.  Use a fine bodkin to apply a tiny drop of  UV on the tip of the needle and transfer to the area needing coverage. Do not cure in between should you make two dabs of UV. It is better to make two coats than one that is too heavy.
Tom Adams

some patterns .......

Calendar of Events :

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RRTU Chapter Meetings: 

Thursday, September 19, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. Orvis - Charlotte Store located at 4215 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC - George Daniel will visit with us via Zoom. Topic: "Becoming a Better Nymph Angler: Tactics and Tips for Nymphing Challenging Conditions."  Gorge is a former competitor and coach for Fly Fishing Team USA. He was head coach for the US Youth Fly Fishing Team. He is also the director for the Joe Humphreys Fly Fishing Program at at Penn State. Read his article in Fly Fisherman Magazine (Aug/Sept 2024) entitled, "The Devil Fishes Mono."  If you have time, check out his many YouTube videos. His latest book from 2023 is, Fly Fishing Evolution is available on Amazon.. See also, Nymph Fishing: New Angles, Tactics, and Techniques. (Stackpole, 2018).  He is a Fly Fisherman contributing editor and owner of Livin' on the Fly, an educational/guide company in Pennsylvania.

To join the RRTU Chapter meeting with George Daniel via Zoom, please go to the following website:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83288429953?pwd=uzxt80VAcdzY69y585DwvALvLpnih9.1

Meeting ID: 832 8842 9953
Passcode: 622596


October 10-13, 2024: Save the dates for Fall Alarka Registration: 

We are excited to join together once again in the beautiful Smokey Mountains to fish beautiful water, get reacquainted with old friends and meet new ones! All accommodation options include a light breakfast and dinner during the trip. Come when you can, leave when you must, but don't miss this chance to reconnect with old friends as well as to make some new ones.

Register Here !

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 @ 6:30 P.M. Film Festival at Hopfly Brewing Company, 1327 S. Mint Street, Charlotte, NC

Thursday, November 21, 2024, @ Covenant Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall @ 6:30 P.M.: Jake Rash, NCWRC will discuss trout stocking issues facing our state and our community
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 Important Notice On Upcoming Events !!
In response to member suggestions, we are experimenting with rotating locations for upcoming chapter meetings. Please make note of the following locations on your calendar. These meetings will also be broadcasted through Zoom.
 Another Successful Appletree Outing 

Our thanks to Bill Thomas and Jim Mabry for their mighty efforts to coordinate all the fine food and logistics for our recent camping experience! Everyone chipped in on the chores to make for a memorable time. Hope all of you can join us next year!
Casting Carolinas is a fantastic organization which supports women who are challenged with all forms of cancer, at all stages of cancer. They are currently taking applications for their 2024 retreats so please follow and share the link below. Casting Carolinas is also seeking additional volunteers to assist at these retreats. Here is the link to the retreats.

https://castingcarolinas.com/retreats                                             or email: Pat Lautner - [email protected]

Conservation News Here :

HOT WEATHER AND TROUT 

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Many of our rivers and streams due to unseasonably high temperatures have warmed to a level where fishing stresses trout and may cause potential harm.   Do not fish if the water temperature is higher than 65 degrees.  Make sure to carry a thermometer and check periodically throughout the day.  

PLASTIC IN OUR RIVERS AND STREAMS

The photo is a ‘birds nest’ one of our members picked up recently while fishing.  It appears to be 20# mono line.  Interestingly, it was found on a ‘blue line’ in an area that is a bit off the beaten path.

Plastic pollution and in particular micro plastics are increasingly becoming a problem in many of our rivers in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. The Broad, French Broad, Green, Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, New and Watauga river basins have all been tested and shown to contain varying levels of microplastics. They are harmful to aquatic life and also a potential threat to human health. 
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Many of us, myself included have at some point been guilty. Maybe it’s the small tags we trim off or a small/large piece we leave in the trees. In any case it is time that each of us make a conscious effort to not contribute to the problem. If you are interested in learning more about plastic pollution in North Carolina check out this Link.

Rocky River Events

Join us in the activities that are of interest to you and become one with our cold-water resources.

Join Chapter 348 - Rocky River

The members of the Rocky River Chapter support a number of local area programs. Join Us Today!

Rocky River Programs

Rocky River Trout Unlimited members are heavily involved in a number of conservation projects and programs.
NOTICE: A quick overview of the calendar is now at the top of this page under Upcoming Events.
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We who trout fish together ...will work together to
Conserve,  Protect,  and Restore our Coldwater Streams
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Rocky River Chapter of Trout Unlimited (RRTU) 348