Sorry for the delay in getting this issue out. Summer travel got in the way. Here is all the information updated covering from the banquet to our October meeting.
Annual Fundraiser
60 yrs of conservation. Our annual fundraiser was a huge success. It was a fun-filled event with some of the best prizes we’ve had in years.
We had State Representative Michael Armanini who presented a certificate from the PA Legislature. Congressman Glen GT Thompson sent a citation from the Congressional Record outlining our many accomplishments over the past 60 years. Wildlife Leadership Academy executive director Sara Muller attended and spoke of the opportunity for the area youth to attend the Academies many schools. The Chapter donated $1000.00 to the Brookies school to
help with their efforts.
A special rod raffle was sponsored by Rodney Chiodo in memory of his cousin Mike Chiodo who was a long-time member of the chapter and supporter. Thank you to the family!
Our annual raffle was won by Larry Shepler and Dave London sold the winning ticket and received $100. 2nd prize was won by George Campbel who was present and 3rd prize went to Kegan McMonigle.
Next year’s event will be a the Bellamauro in Reynoldsville PA on April 10th, 2027.
Al Gretz Golden Reel Award 2026
This years recipient was shocked when announced, but was well deserved. Marty Hrin was selected for his years of support and recruiting many of the young people to help with our tree plantings and other projects.
Membership Meetings
Our February meeting was a great program that featured Mike Komara who spoke about spring trout fishing in Pennsylvania. All in attendance said that they learned something new to take with them.
March, we had Eric Null from PATU to talk about what Trout Unlimited is doing in PA. It was a very interesting meeting and hope to have him back at some point.
Our annual Chapter joint picnic with Iron Furnace at the Walter Dick Park in Brookville was on May 20th . A good time was had by all who attended and a fair number of fish were caught before and after dinner.
We held a beginners fly-tying class in Punxsutawney. We had 5 students. Thanks to all who made this a success.
Our weekly fly-tying roundtable was held at the Social Hall of Christ the King Manor. We had steady attendance with a lot of room for more to join us next year.
Our next membership meeting will be September 17th.
October’s meeting is one not to miss. In addition to our election of officers and directors, we will have Joe Clark who is a fly-fishing guide and instructor for Trout Youth Fly Fishing. He will be giving some timely information on fishing for steelhead. See below for more information about Joe.
All our meetings will be held at the Social Center of Christ the King Manor, 2 Cottage Lane in DuBois, 3rd Thursday of the month.
Environmental News
Our president set up a meeting with the Mayor of DuBois and some board members discussing cleaning up the Sandy Lick Creek. There have been many changes since we last visited this and it may be possible to go and clean up the mine drainage. As Dr Blakeslee use to say “let’s get the red out.”
Members of the chapter once again participated in the clean up at the Tannery Dam in DuBois in April. We had a good turnout of members and others helping and collected several bags of trash.
On May 4th we once again held the clean up of the Dr Blakeslee Memorial Forest in Medix Run. In addition to cleaning up the trash we removed many bags of invasive mustard weed.
Our Environmental Day with the DuBois Middle School was cancelled this year due to the Boy Scout Camp Mountain Run being sold. We worked on trying to find a different venue but ran into too many constraints. Hopefully we can find a way to hold this in the 26-27 school year.
Elections
As stated, earlier October is our election for Officers and Directors. All have said that they will serve another term, the slate is as follows:
President- Jimmy Lattmier Vice President- Dave London Secretary/Treasurer-George Kutskel
Directors terms expiring in 2029
Jon Altemus, JR Dwyer, Matt Marusiak, Rich Ferrara
We also have a vacancy that expires in 2028 if you’re interested, please come to the October meeting.
PA Fish and Boat News
By now many of you have heard the big change coming next year with the minimum size of trout being changed to 9”. This change should be good news for our native brook trout. It will have a positive impact on all our wild trout. The commission stated they and the co-ops do not stock many trout under the new size limit; it should not impact anyone who likes to keep a few for dinner.
Joe Clarks Bio:
Joe has guided for central PA trout and Lake Erie Steelhead for 9 years. He is presently the northeast coach for the United States Youth Fly Fishing team and has coached in the 2025 and 2026 Youth World Fly Fishing Championships. He is also a Fulling Mill signature tyer and inventor of the “Popsicle indicator dry fly.” With a background in competitive fly fishing, Joe specializes in modern and innovative techniques for trout. Joe has been “living the dream” traveling from stream to stream in a camper van truly immersing himself in the sport and lifestyle of fly fishing.
Mark your calendar as I’m sure this will be a great program on October 15th
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