November Meeting
Tips, Tricks & Resources and Allagash Stream

When: Tuesday, November 9^th 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Where: Crickets Restaurant, Freeport, Maine

As always, the Public is Welcome!

And you thought MMB-TU was just a bunch of pretty faces.

Turns out a couple of these guys and gals know a thing or two about fly fishing! And at November's meeting you'll get a chance to learn some of the tricks and tips and resources that keep 'em on the water, or at the bench and in fine form. Wouldn't you like to hear how to keep your gear organized in the basement and through the winter? Or how to keep track of which fly line is which? Maybe, how to select an outfitter, fishing lodge, or destination? Come on down. This ought to be fun and informative.

And speaking about fun and informative...what could be better than learning about some of Maine's legendary waters? Gordon Smith will share his experience and knowledge about Allagash Lake and Allagash Stream. If you've never been there, you don't know what you're missing. Come find out! Bring a friend!

See you Tuesday, 11/9 !

Excerpts from Lines and Leaders - November, 1999

SET YOUR VCRs! TROUT UNLIMITED TELEVISION RETURNS TO ESPN2

Trout Unlimited Television (TUTV) returned to ESPN2 on Thursday, October 7 with 13 all-new adventures in angling and conservation. The 1999 season, which runs from October through December, spotlights world-class fly fishing in Alaska, California, Wisconsin, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Maine, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Arkansas.

TUTV features the best of TU's conservation work, presented in the context of great trout and salmon angling nationwide. Hosted by Tim Linehan-1995 Montana Guide of the Year, and 1998 Orvis Outfitter of the Year-TUTV is the first outdoor program to combine blue-ribbon angling with a focus on human-made threats to the fragile rivers that are home to America's wild trout and salmon. The series dramatically illustrates the vital connections between good fishing, clean rivers, and a healthy environment.

Season highlights include a float-plane, fly-out expedition to Alaska's wilderness steelhead rivers, a horse-back trip to the John Muir Wilderness to pursue the spectacularly colorful California Golden trout, and a two-part trek in which host Linehan attempts a "Cutt Slam"-catching and releasing Wyoming's four native cutthroat trout.

The program also takes viewers on outings to Black Earth Creek (WI) and Tulpehocken Creek (PA), two "suburban" trout streams that have been rescued by TU volunteers, and that now hold beautiful, hard-fighting trout. Another high point is a visit to the Kennebec River in Maine, where Trout Unlimited played a vital role in securing the removal of the Edwards dam, freeing 17 miles of habitat for salmon, sturgeon, striped bass, and other fish.

"It is a privilege to travel the country and meet the people who are fighting to protect our trout and salmon rivers," said Linehan, who personally founded a TU chapter in Montana. "If viewers take one message from these shows, it should be that every angler has a responsibility to take an active role in conservation."

In its debut season on ESPN2 last fall, TUTV recorded the largest audiences ever for a first year outdoor show on ESPN, drawing a total viewership of 3.7 million households over 13 weeks.

President's Notes

Sorta, kinda, maybe, perhaps, generally, inclined towards, probably unless otherwise……….. aw, hell - we did it! The Board of Directors met on October 19th and we voted to proceed with the Kids' Flyfishing Project. Based on input from you at the past two meetings, we felt that this would be a good project for the chapter and that the kids would get a lot out of it. Here's how we decided to do it:

February - Introduction to Fly Fishing
March - Fly Tying/Picking the Fly to use
April - Fly Casting Practice
May - Field Day - Catch a Fish on a Fly!

You know, we forgot to talk about whether to schedule this for Friday nights or Saturday mornings. What do you think? Would you like to be involved? I'm gonna be part of it. I'd like to help give some kid the chance I never had - to learn from people who know something about the sport of fly fishing.

This program will probably cost the chapter about $500. It'll be a part of the money we usually donate each year to promote the stuff to which TU is committed. Seems to us like getting kids started down the road to a conservative approach to fishing is a very positive contribution to the future of all kinds of fishing. And your kids get first shot! Look for the sign up sheet in this newsletter. If you've got a child between 12 and 15 who would like to get started fly fishing, sign 'em up. But do it quick. We'll open the enrollment through area schools in early December if we haven't filled our quota of 12 kids by then.

FLY OF THE MONTH

MUDDLER MINNOW

HOOK: Tiemco 5263 Mustad 9672
TAIL: Mottled turkey
THREAD: 3/0 Uni-thread
UNDERBODY: Lead-free wire .020
BODY: Gold tinsel or braid
UNDERWING: Squirrel tail--sparse
WING: Mottled turkey
HEAD: Spun deer-hair (trimmed to shape)
COLLAR: Spun deer hair from head

Isn't it strange that I've been writing this column for about 4 years, and I'm just now getting around to the Muddler Minnow? I really don't use Streamers all that much.

By the way; if you omit the weight--this is a terrific floating fly for both browns and smallmouths. And if you don't care for a wire underbody--you can tie this fly with a brass or tungsten cone-head--also very effective. You just cannot fish this fly wrong. Hope it works well for you. Try tying up a dozen in the next few weeks.

That brings up a great point. We're always looking for flies for the Banquet. Try this. The next time you sit down to tie flies--set up a separate container; and every time you tie 6 flies--tie 7 instead--then put the seventh into that special container--and consider donating all those "7th flies" that you've tied all winter to MMB-TU--isn't that a great idea?? Then you won't feel rushed to tie when we put out the call for donated flies in the March Newsletter. If ALL the MMB-TU tiers did that all winter, we'd have literally thousands of flies to put up as special packages for the Banquet. Let's all think about it!

TAIL OF THE POOL

"The flies began to fall, and the fish started to feed with just enough light left to see by. It was all strangely matter-of-fact, as things you wait for patiently are when they finally happen. We picked what we thought were the biggest trout, fished long, thin leaders to mimic the flaccid drift of the spinners, and caught fish until past closing at Andrea's Cafe.

It was as simple as that."

John Gierach, Sex, Death and Fly-Fishing. Page22. Simon and Schuster / Fireside, New York, NY.

MMBTU Officers and Directors

Meeting Schedule

Regular meetings are usually on the second Tuesday of the month. We are currently meeting at Crickets Restaurant at 175 Main Street, in Freeport, ME, just south of Bean's corporate offices. Phone #: 865-4005.

The Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of TU is located in south coastal Maine, including Freeport, Bath, Brunswick, Boothbay, the Harpswell Islands, Newcastle, Damariscotta and inland to Lewiston, Readfield and Augusta.