Fall brings the annual pilgrimage up to Pulaski, New York, to the Salmon River for salmon fishing. For those who have never done it, imagine hooking a 20+ pound salmon on your line. The “wrestling” match is a great challenge: the fish will either try to run upstream, downstream, or just break off. I’ve seen fishers following their hooked fish a couple of hundred yards to bring them in, or get broken off. The river is swift and the rocks are slippery, which adds to the difficulty factor.
Dan Neuland is our maven of the North, he’s infected many of our PVFF trout fishers with Salmon Fever. The image in my mind of Dan on the river is him running up and down the water assisting and netting fish for everyone. From experience, I can tell you the importance of a good netter. His teaching expertise surely shines out there. If you’re interested in going up there, ask Dan and he will give you the full scoop. In addition to the salmon run in September and October, the steelhead come in through a lot of the winter and there are good size brown trout out there (ask Paul Gerlach).
The other Fall trip that is becoming an annual event is to the Savage River in Western Maryland. Troy Kitch and Dave Keane will be leading the outing. We set up our tents in the primitive campground below the Reservoir (there is a port-o-potty) and fellowship of hanging around the campfire helps make this a great trip. Many fishing options — from walking up to the “PhD pool” or going down to the swifter areas. There’s brook trout in the creeks that feed into the reservoir, and right down the road is the North Branch of the Potomac. If that’s not enough for you, the Casselman, Youghiogheny, Deep Creek Lake are nearby — and there’s even more on the way out via Route 68.
On the near horizon for the Fall is our annual banquet on October 23. You’ll see us pushing this, as it’s our big fundraiser for the year. Don’t tell anyone that you heard this from me, but we only break even on the actual dinner, once food costs, room rental, etc. add up. The money for the club is all in the rod and bucket raffles and the silent auctions. Hence our annual request for donations — it’s a good chance to recycle your equipment, any rods you don’t need, reels, flies, kayaks, bottles of scotch(!), gift certificates to local fly shops and restaurants, or a personal guided fly trip to some local stream. It doesn’t have to be fishing related. Members have donated art, wine, salon trips, pickup trucks (just kidding, but we’re open for it) — if it’s something you think someone would enjoy, let Dave Keane or me know.
I need to note the efforts of Troy, along with Dennis Allen, our Treasurer, to allow members to use Paypal to pay for their tickets (even raffle tickets) through our website. Dennis reports that we will have a credit card reader at the banquet, which should speed settling up at the end and make it easier for attendees to spend more money on the auctions and tickets for the benefit of the club.
Lastly, as the Fall unfurls, we are starting to plan to get back together, live, for our meetings. The November general meeting is scheduled to be held at Tuscarora High School, with Covid protocols in place. Beginner’s fly tying will be held at the Trinity Methodist Church starting in September. Hope to see you soon!
— Andy Mekelburg, Club President