Trout Unlimited Hosts A Different Kind Of Casting Call

By John Voket

Without conscientious environmental stewardship, Newtown’s pristine Class A trout breeding grounds would likely not exist. But without those prized trout, there might be little passion for ensuring that the Pootatuck River and other key waterways remain clean and healthy for all of the wildlife that thrive in its crystal depths.

That is part of the reason why the Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited hosts its annual Youth Day activities, combining some of the fundamentals of fly fishing with a few important lessons about protecting the river, its multitude of inhabitants, and the eco-structure that exists in proximity to its banks.

This year’s Youth Day was a great success, according to Ann Astarita, one of the 40-plus adult volunteers who helped introduce 30 youngsters to the Pootatuck and some of its most exciting inhabitants.

While the participating youngsters, including Shane Bowers and Nate Friesel, started off their day checking out a fly tying demonstration with Pete Peterson, others, like Chelsea Fowler and Cassidy Pena, joined experienced fly casters to learn how to make that bundle of string and feathers dance across the water like a tantalizing bug.

Still others headed directly to the banks of the Pootatuck to assist in collecting riffle-dwelling benthic macroinvertebrate samples.

“The sampling went really well, with each of the three groups of students enjoyed getting to sift through the samples to find case caddis, stoneflies larvae, mayfly larvae, net spinners, dragonfly larvae, midges, and a crayfish,” Ms Astarita said. “Everything found was released back into the river, except for one sample which we’ll send to DEEP [the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection].”

Ms Astarita and other adult volunteers talked about stream health, fishing spots, cold water conservation, and what all the budding environmentalists could do to conserve and preserve water resources.

“Todd Bobowick of Rowledge Pond Aquaculture came by and showed the students live trout,” Ms Astarita added. “This is always a big hit and several students said it was their favorite part of the day.”

Some attendees were so impressed with what they were learning that after lunch, they stayed on to tie more flies, and other families set up times to meet volunteers and test out their new fly casting skills.