From the President: Happy New Year fellow Conservationists and Fishermen. We are pleased to present the latest Chapter Newsletter, and hope to add content throughout the year. You received an e-mail directing you to this Newsletter because you are a CCA Northern Virginia member, or a supporter of CCA NOVA. The blog format will save trees, allow us more flexibility with color and photos, (which you can download), and also gives us the ability to contact you with timely information immediately. We will be featuring stories and information of special interest to our Northern Virginia members, including local fishing reports, information on upcoming meetings, and follow up stories with pictures from these events.
The CCC State and Chapter websites (http://www.blogger.com/www.ccavirginia.org) continue to provide internet access to anyone surfing the web looking for CCA contact information for the first time. We hope you enjoy our first issue for 2010 and welcome your input. Rob Allen - President
Calendar of Events for 2010:
Monthly Meetings - Mark your calendars:
When: 2nd Wednesday of the month
Where: Grace Presbyterian Church, meeting hall, 2381 Cedar Lane, Vienna Virginia
Time: From 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
Directions from the Outer Beltway:
Exit 47 West onto Route 7 (Leesburg Pike)
Take second left onto Gallows Road .3 mi.
Go 1.2 miles, turn right onto Cedar Lane
Go .8 miles, cross the Bike Trail, 2381 is on your left.
Feb. 10 Meeting -Captain Sean Crawford - Tides & Currents, Light Tackle, fly fishing.
Feb. 10 Meeting moved to Feb 17 due to Snow.
Saturday March 6th - 10th Annual Dinner and Auction - Kena Temple - Y'all Come!
April 14th Meeting - John Page Williams - Chesapeake Bay Foundation - Lots of info on fishing and environmental issues.
May 12th Meeting - Speaker to be determined
June 19th Meeting - Speaker to be determined
Sept. 8th Meeting - Speaker to be determined
Oct. 13th Meeting - Speaker to be determined
Nov. 10th Meeting - Speaker to be determined
Our thanks to CCA member Mark Stempler, a member of the congregation, for providing the meeting place for our use during the year.
Last year we had speakers on subjects that included Light Tackle Fishing, Trolling for Rockfish on the Bay, Fishing the CBBT - Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - the impact of the Snakehead fish, an invasive alien in the Potomac, and fishing the Susquehanna flats. If you know someone who would make an interesting presentation, please contact Rob Allen. (rob.allen@princetoninformation.com or 703-626-2668)
February 10, 2010 Meeting:
Captain Sean Crawford - Sean Crawford will discuss Chesapeake Bay tides and currents and how to use both predicted and observed tides to locate fish. He will also discuss how they relate to fishing visible and off-shore structure.
Captain Crawford has been fishing the Bay for over 20 years and is a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Fly Casting Instructor and member of the Sage Pro Staff. Sean has a Masters Degree in Oceanography from the University of Maryland and he will gladly share his knowledge and expertise on fishing the bay, fly casting and the Chesapeake Bay's complex tides and ecosystem.
Sean is President of the Kent Island chapter of CCA, and a member of Trout Unlimited. The bottom line is that Sean lives to take people fishing, teach them new techniques with fly rods or spinning rods, and most of all HAVE FUN!
For more information on Captain Crawford, go to his website:
www.terrapinbayfishing.com/Captain.html
Annual Banquet March 6, 2010
This is our annual fund raiser, and a really fun event! Go to our March 2009 blog, it is full of stories and photos from last years' Banquet; see what I great time we all had.
The food, prizes, and comraderie have gotten better every year. Charter Captains attending as guests will be mixing with folks, it's a really festive party for fisherman conservationists. The prizes include vacation trips, fishing gear, jewelry for the ladies and a great selection of conslumer electronics. We will be sending you a flyer soon, with all the details....Mark your calendar!
Location: The Shriners Kena Temple on Route 50 in Fairfax, Virginia
Time: 6:00 Social Hour - Hors D'Oeuvres, Open Bar
7:00 Dinner -
8:00 Live Auction
Silent Auction and Bucket Raffles all evening.
Tickets: $50 per person, includes one year membership to CCA.
Contact Carl Onesty @703-407-8921 or Rob Allen @703-626-2668
Chapter Fishing Trips:
George Lenard has been coordinating our charter boat trips for the past few years, and will have the line-up of trips for 2010 very soon. For most of us it is impossible to put together a group of friends to charter a boat for a day of fishing. George has put together a variety of trips from light tackle and fly fishing to Cobia, and off-shore trips for chapter members.
Fishing Reports:
We are in the middle of the armchair fishing season, when we look at the latest equipment catalogs and stories of catching bonefish and baraccuda in the warm clear waters to the South. Anyone with mid-winter fishing reports from the power plants, the Atlantic Coast, or Florida, please contact the editor, Rich Redler (richredler@verizon.net) with your reports.
2010 "Save a Kid - Catch a Fish" Trip - (Date to be determined)
Every year our chapter sponsors a day of fishing for kids who may otherwise never have the opportunity to experience a day of fishing on the water. Last August the Chapter sponsored our 8th youth fising trip. Our guests for the day consisted of 24 children and adults from the Northern Virginia Council of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
Captain Frank Carver; of "Loosenup Charters" in Deale Maryland hosted the trip for a second year on his 48 ft charter boat the "Loosenup". You can visit his website for charter information (www.loosenupcharters.com) and a picture of his boat. Captain Carver was assisted by Captain Bryan Schmitt who performed the duties of Mate. The participants enjoyed a great day of bottom fishing for white perch, sppt and croaker. The weather was perfect, and Captain Frank made sure the antlers had plenty of action.
For many of the youth anglers and some of their adult chaperones, this was their first fising experience. All were fast learners, and before long most were comfortable with handling their catch and baiting their hooks. The young anglers were eager to demonstrate their interest in conservation as most of the fish were released.
The Chapter provided lunch, soft drinks, and snacks, and at the conclusion of the trip each youth angler eas presented with a new spinning rod and reel to keep as a memento of the trip. Chaptermembers helping on the trip included George Lenard, Carl Onesty, and Paul Smith. George said that this year's trip will be sometime in August, when we'll do a report on it.
Events of Interest:
TIEFEST!!! February 27th- Kent Island Yacht Club, 117 Yacht Club Dr, Chester, MD. An event that started with 10 anglers has become one of the premier fly-fishing events in the Mid-Atlantic region, drawing up to 500 participants and some of the biggest legends of fly fishing. This is sponsored by CCA Maryland, Kent Island Chapter.
The DC Metro chapter of MSSA meets the first Wednesday of each month at 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814, at 7:30 pm. This is one block from METRO and there is plenty of parking. mail me anytime for more details: President@DCMSSA.org, Check the website: http://www.dcmssa.org/, Tom Hughes will be presenting on the early season catch and release fishing on the Susquehanna Flats.
Conservation News:
1) Visit the CCA Virginia Website (www.ccavirginia.org) for legislative agenda items.
2) Menhaden Legislation - At the Virginia General Assembly, Companion bills in the senate and house (SB185, HB294) have been introduced, and we have assembled a large and powerful coalition to support the transfer of authority for monitoring the Menhaden fishery from the General Assembly to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), where it can receive much needed oversight.
