The Leader -October 2008
TRI-COUNTY TROUT CLUB ®
“CONSERVATION THROUGH EDUCATION & COOPERATION”
P.O. BOX 2252 LOWER BURRELL, PA 15068
CLUB OFFICERS: BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
President: Don Stanko 724-337-1496 DonStanko@comcast.net Bryan Black 412-977-7614 black15@verizon.net
Vice President: Steve Hegedus 724-335-2679 pabrookie@gmail.com Max Fischer 412-371-6418 mfisc82502@aol.com
Secretary: Joe Mercurio 724-335-2980 songbird538@verizon.net Greg Murray 724-842-0306 gregstrains@hotmail.com
Treasurer: John Cobes 724-337-3842 John.Cobes@alcoa.com Mike Tutolo 724-335-1095 mjnbctutolo@comcast.net
Webmaster: Garry Wiles 724-216-3196 wiles01@comcast.net
Visit us on the web at http://home.comcast.net/~tctrout/
Monthly Programs:
Wednesday, October 8th Meeting: Heather Seitz – The Russian Adventure. Some of you may remember Heather as our guest last
September when she spoke about her experiences competing for the USA in the Youth Fly Fishing World Championships. Well, this
past summer Heather was invited to participate in the America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament as a team captain.
Unfortunately, she had to decline that invitation, because another opportunity
arose at the same time; an opportunity that was too good to pass up. Heather
was offered a job working for the Ponoi River Company in Russia. She was
hired as part of the guide team working out of their Ryabaga camp. Russia’s
Ponoi River has gained fame as one of the world's most productive Atlantic
salmon rivers. Flowing more than 250 miles through the Russian arctic, just
north of and parallel to the polar circle, the Ponoi is the largest river on the
Kola Peninsula. It is characterized by stable water flows and a gentle
gradient, and although its’ width stretches from 200 to 500 feet, it averages
only 2 to 12 feet in depth. It passes through the largest nature reserve on the
Kola Peninsula and is home to myriad birdlife, including songbirds,
waterfowl, falcons and eagles. It possesses remarkable numbers of aggressive
salmon that respond well to the two purest forms of salmon fishing: floating
line fishing and skated dry flies. There is usually productive dry fly fishing
throughout the entire season. The catch rates can be astounding as well, with
the season’s total reaching the thousands. A single week’s catch can exceed
the season’s total of some Canadian or Scottish rivers. A single angler’s catch
for the week is frequently over 30 fish. The Ponoi is also home to the largest
Atlantic salmon scientific project in the world, tagging more Atlantic salmon
each season than any other river. It is the result of a joint effort by Ponoi
River Co, PINRO and the Atlantic Salmon Federation. If you were present at
Heather’s last visit to TCTC you know that she is a wonderful speaker. We
invite you to come catch up with her and hear all about her latest adventure.
Non-member admission to this meeting is only $3. TCTC members and
children under 12 years old are admitted free.
Wednesday, November 12th Meeting: Fly Fishing the West. See next month’s Leader for more details…
Tri-County Trout Club Meeting General Info:
Meetings: TCTC general membership meetings are open to the public and held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month,
January - May & September - December, at Burrell Lake Community Park, Fisher Hall. Doors open at 7:00 PM; meetings
begin at 7:30 PM. In case of inclement weather, contact TCTC President Don Stanko to check for meeting cancellation.
Non-member admission is typically $3 (with some exceptions); children under 12 free.
Directions: From Rt 28 take the Tarentum Exit toward Tarentum. Cross the Tarentum Bridge. At the 3rd traffic light (by
Taco Bell) make a left turn onto Leechburg Rd. Continue straight until you cross Rt 56 onto Puckety Church Rd. Pass Burrell
Jr & Sr High Schools, then go downhill past a small cemetery; at fork go straight onto Delberta Rd. Follow signs to Burrell
Lake Park. Fisher Hall is the last park building. (See the next page for MapQuest directions)
For MapQuest directions to TCTC Meetings: Go to the City of Lower Burrell parks link,
http://www.cityoflowerburrell.com/parkmaps.htm and click on Burrell Lake Park. The park is marked by a red star and the
lake is labeled Holtzhauer Lake if you zoom in on the map.
Club News and Business:
♦ Looking for Vendors/Suggestions for Sporting Goods Flea Market
The last January Sporting Goods Flea Market was a success on some levels. The club made a modest profit on the
meeting, instead of paying out money for a speaker. We also attracted some new vendors, several of whom made a good
return on their minimal investment. On the down side, very few TCTC members brought items to sell. So, it really
wasn’t much of a flea market. If we want to keep this event going, we need to spark a little more member participation.
We may also just want to organize this as a winter sport show and try to attract more sporting goods vendors. We could
still keep the flea market as a portion of the show, but perhaps limit it to a table or two of items that TCTC members
could bring in to sell. All of the items would have to have an asking price attached. A few TCTC members could
operate the table and a portion of the proceeds from each item sold would go to the club. I am open to suggestions, so if
you have any ideas, or know of some vendors who might want to attend, I would love to hear from you. Call Steve
Hegedus at 724-335-2679 (leave a message with your phone number) or email at pabrookie@gmail.com.
♦ Fishing Trip Organizer Wanted
Last year we didn’t have any TCTC fishing trips. Perhaps we could improve that if we had someone in charge of
organizing some club excursions. Right now we have some ideas and possible destinations for club trips: an Erie
steelhead trip, Penn’s Creek, Neshannock Creek. Maybe you have some ideas or would like to help form these ideas into
an actual event. Either way, if you are interested in becoming the TCTC Fishing Trip Chairman, please contact club
president Don Stanko at 724-337-1496; email at DonStanko@comcast.net.
♦ TCTC Now Accepting Nominations for New Board Members
It is an election year, and it seems that wherever you turn, you can’t escape it. Well, unfortunately it’s no different here,
either! We would like to add a few more dedicated people to the TCTC Board of Directors. A nomination sheet will be
available at the next few meetings. You may nominate yourself or another person that you feel would be a good
representative of TCTC. All nominees will be asked if they accept the nomination (we can’t force people to join the
board). An election will be held at an upcoming board meeting to fill vacant spots on the Board of Directors. In
addition, President Don Stanko is getting burned out and is hoping someone else will be willing to take the helm for a
while. So, if you would like to have some say in how the club is run, now is your chance.
♦ Become a Member of the Tri-County Trout Club
If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the club, you can join at one of our meetings at Burrell Lake Park, or
you can mail in your membership fee. TCTC membership not only entitles you to free admission to all of our meetings,
but you also get our newsletter mailed/emailed to you every month. Adult membership is only $15 per year and a Junior
membership, for ages 15 years or younger, is $5 per year (kids under 12 are admitted to TCTC meetings free). If you
would like to mail in your membership, make your check payable to “Tri-County Trout Club” and send it to: Tri-County
Trout Club, P.O. Box 2252, Lower Burrell, PA 15068. Include your name, address, phone number and/or email address.
♦ TCTC KARE Program
We would like to revive our TCTC KARE program. In the past few years, TCTC has had very limited KARE activity,
but our goal over the next year or so is to remedy that. In order to do that, we will need some volunteers who want to
teach kids fishing skills. Don’t worry if you haven’t done anything like this before, training is available. If you are
interested in becoming a KARE instructor, or have any comments or questions about the program, please contact Don
Stanko at 724-337-1496; email at DonStanko@comcast.net.
♦ Don Bastian Fly Raffle
We will be starting a new raffle to benefit TCTC. Don Bastian gave the club a half-dozen of his famous classic wet flies,
immaculately tied and beautifully mounted and framed. When you attend one of our upcoming meetings, make sure you
stop by the admission table to check out the framed flies. The flies will look great on someone’s wall, and that lucky
person could be you. Raffle tickets are only $1 each. The raffle is ongoing and the winner need not be present to win.
♦ TCTC Sportsman of the Year Nominations to Begin
Each year a Sportsman of the Year (SOY) award is given to honor a TCTC member’s volunteer work with the club. In
order to be nominated, the individual must be a current member of TCTC and selection is considered based upon the
individual’s outstanding performance throughout the past year. The TCTC SOY will receive a plaque commemorating
their achievement. If you would like to nominate someone for 2007 TCTC SOY, please see Don Stanko at the
admission table during one of our upcoming meetings or give him a call at 724-337-1496.
♦ Burrell Lake Park Kids Fishing Derby Winners
Last month I neglected to include a list of the prize winners from this summer’s Kids’ Fishing Derby. So here they are:
Grand Prize (catfish) - 23 in. Cara Lagattuta Perch – 7in. Jordan Wojtczak
Bass – 14in. Andrew Tallarico Other (Drum) – 19in. Gavin Bowser
Bluegill – 8in. Antonio Regoli Crappie – 8 ½ in. (tie) Steven Pawloski
& Michael Saliba
Get your steelhead in the Lake Erie surf zone Article by Karl Weixlmann
Erie-based guide Karl Weixlmann recently had an article about catching Lake Erie steelhead off the beach published in the Erie
Times-News and on the NWPA Outdoors web page. When I spoke with him recently he suggested I mention it in the newsletter. I
have included a brief synopsis here, plus a web link to the full article.
When the tributaries are low and clear and the holes are crowded with other fishermen, Karl says he heads for the beach. He would
rather hook up with one or two fish off the shore rather than a dozen in a cramped pool. Since steelhead in the lake are still actively
feeding and in good condition the strikes can be hard and runs long. There is no issue with limited space, so the fish can take you into
your backing in a hurry. Karl states that you need to make long casts and use flies with lots of flash and movement. He suggests a 9
foot, fast-action 7 or 8 weight fly rod to help you get the flies to the fish. Match it up with an intermediate sinking tip line (he uses the
Rio Outbound clear tip intermediate line) and learn to double-haul. Karl likes to start fishing the shoreline when the lake temperature
drops between 66 and 68 degrees. Fish the areas near the tribs, but away from other anglers, and try to read the shoreline like a
stream. Look for troughs, drop offs and other structure that act as travel corridors for steelhead. Early morning, before the sun starts
to warm the water, is typically better in the early season. However, as water temperatures drop, steelhead can be caught from shore
throughout the day.
You can read Karl’s full article at the NWPA Outdoors web page through this link:
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NWPAOUT02/809210514/-1/SPORTS .
If you view the article at the NWPA Outdoors site, check out the links to two videos related to the article, one on tackle and one on
casting (perfecting the double-haul).
KARL WEIXLMANN is an Erie-based fishing guide and author. Contact him at: http://www.fisherie.com/flyfisherie.
Allegheny National Forest Oil Spill
Our northern tier trout streams have suffered another unfortunate setback. This time Chappel Fork and Indian Run in McKean County
were the unlucky victims. Both streams are located in McKean County, in the Allegheny National Forest and drain into Kinzua
Reservoir. On August 17th, a father and son who were presumably disgruntled employees opened the valves on seven crude oil
storage tank batteries owned by Snyder Brothers Inc. of Kittanning. Approximately 36,000 gallons of crude oil emptied from the
tanks and about half of it made it into the streams. The rest of the oil was caught in containment dikes and other diversions. The
Forest Service said the spill polluted four miles of Chappel Fork and nearly two miles of Indian Run, killing fish -trout and shiners - as
well as reptiles and amphibians. An environmental clean-up company hired by Snyder Brothers installed a containment dam on
Chappel Fork to separate the crude oil from the water so the oil could be siphoned off. A two-mile stretch of Chappel Fork above the
containment dam was heavily polluted while the remaining four miles of stream were moderately damaged. Chappel Fork is a stream
where wild trout reproduction occurs. A small amount of oil reached Kinzua Reservoir, producing a light sheen on the water in the
Chappel Fork Bay area. Unfortunately, PA environmental regulations only require oil storage tank containment dikes to hold the
volume of the largest single tank in any storage battery. If multiple tanks at a site are emptied, such containment dikes are quickly
breached. A coalition of Environmental groups claim the U.S. Forest Service and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection also bear some of the responsibility for the damage caused by the spill. "These storage tank batteries never should have
been located so close to these streams or their tributaries," said Ryan Talbott, forest watch coordinator for the Allegheny Defense
Project. "Obviously, the individuals who recklessly opened the valves on these storage tanks were responsible for the final step of this
disaster, but if the Forest Service and DEP exercised greater concern for our streams before an environmental disaster, maybe they
would have realized that permitting so many storage tanks full of oil near a wild trout stream was not in the best interest of protecting
this unique habitat."
To see a web site with lots of photos of the spill site and the cleanup process go to:
http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/STONEMANGUITARS/oilspill.html
Upcoming Dates and Events to Remember:
TCTC November Meeting – Wed November 12th. Fly Fishing the West. See next month’s Leader for more details.
TCTC December Meeting – Wed December 10th. Fly Tying Demonstrations. Tyers to be announced.
The Leader is sponsored by these friends of Tri-County Trout Club.
Please support them and mention that you saw their ad in The Leader.
Tri-County Trout Club
P.O. Box 2252
Lower Burrell, PA 15068
Return Service Requested
Join Tri-County Trout Club: Membership is yearly, from January through December and includes a subscription to this
newsletter. Adult membership dues are $15 and a Junior Membership for anyone 15yrs old or younger is available for $5.
Membership checks can be made payable to “Tri-County Trout Club” and mailed to: Tri-County Trout Club, P.O. Box
2252, Lower Burrell, PA 15068-0744. Please include your name, address, phone number and/or email address.