By Larry Forte
Spring is almost here. If you can ignore all of the white stuff, you can almost feel it. By the time you read this, the start of Spring will be only 3 weeks away. For me, Spring means 2 things:
#1. I can finally do some serious fly-fishing and #2. My life – family, work and the Club, becomes extremely busy. This is all good. I would not want it any other way. One plus is that it’s a perfect topic for my “Last Cast” Column.
The chance to get out on the water is just around the corner. Preseason Trout stocking has started. The days are getting longer. Now we just need for the rain and snow to stop! I have been dreaming of catching my first Trout in 2019. To help us get out on the water, we have put together a list of Spring Outings, including some cool new ones.
This includes: Town Creek (March 23rd), and the Upper Patuxent River (March 31st), in March. Fletchers Cove for shad (April – TBD), in April, a weekend trip to Big Run State Park (June or July) and a float trip on the Conococheague Creek (July 4th). At some point, I need to fit in our annual trip to the Gunpowder River as well. Plus, a couple of more to come including a float trip down the Monocacy River and of course – Dan Neuland’s annual trip to Western NY in the Fall to fish the Salmon River and surrounding Lake Ontario Tributaries. We will have sign-up sheets at the March Meeting for our Spring Outings. Also, if you have a favorite fishing spot that you would like to share, consider leading a Club Outing.
This is also a busy time of year for the Club which is a great way to talk volunteers. Our Club is a very active club and it would not be possible without all of our volunteers. A great example was the “Wet Fly Wonders” Saturday. Twenty-five members showed up and enjoyed the day. This great event would not have been possible without Don, Ruby and Jon. We are always looking for more help. Would you like to get more involved with PVFF? It is very rewarding and there are plenty of opportunities to help this Spring. First, Dave Wooster and the PHW – Frederick Program folks are getting ready for their first fly-fishing outing with our participants. They are also getting ready to start rod building. Every month, the attendance grows, which is incredible. To keep up the level of support that they deserve, we need more Club members to help.
We also have our Annual Stream Clean-up at our “Home Waters” at the Catoctin Creek Nature Center on Saturday, April 6th. What a great way to spend your Saturday. On Saturday, May 4th, we will participate with “Catoctin NatureFest”, an annual event at the Catoctin Creek Nature Center. This is a lot of fun and this will be led by Doc Leadbetter. Join him and help introduce kids to fly fishing. It’s a pretty cool event. We also have our Annual Picnic and “One Fly Challenge” on Tuesday, June 11th. This year, Dave Keane has assumed the job from Mr. Thames and I am sure he could use a helping hand.
There are other ways to get involved. Consider leading a Club Outing, help organize a Stream Clean-up project or perhaps you know someone who would make a great speaker for one of our Monthly Meetings. There are many funs ways to get involved with PVFF. I hope you will consider joining in on the fun!
In closing, if there is anything you would like to see improved with our Club or if you are interested in getting more involved with the PVFF, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Larry Forte
Club President