NW Connecticut Trout Unlimited

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Affordable Fly Fishing Classes (Six-week Course, Taught in April & May) Click Here.

Super Affordable Fly Tying Classes (10-week course taught in Jan-April) Click Here

Next Chapter Event: March 5th General Membership meeting.

Interested in your child’s school having a “Trout In The Classroom” program? Click here.

NWCTU is a non-profit organization concerned with three basic areas of focus, which are:

  • Conservation
  • Education
  • Recreation

Conservation – We normally execute river cleanups annually, on the Housatonic River, in the Cornwall TMA, on the Blackberry River, Whiting River, and on the Upper Naugatuck River. Sometimes we’re able to do more, like remove large debris or stock fish. Join us to get some volunteer hours in, eat whatever we get for lunch, and bond with others who share the same values as you.

Education – Every year, we offer a six-session beginner’s Fly Fishing Class for adults and teens, held on six consecutive weekday evenings. Our 2024, classes will be held on Wednesday Evenings. Students in each class are limited to fifteen and student to Instructor ratio is 3-1. (Click Here for more info)

On Saturday afternoons during the winter months (January-March) we hold a fly-tying class for beginners. This is a 10-week class, that costs $50 for the entire course. Click here for more info.

We’re also an active actor in Trout Unlimited’s Trout In The Classroom (TIC) program. With TIC we’re able to have school teachers set up tanks in their schools, and instead of heaters for tropical fish, we install ‘Chillers’, which bring the water temperature down to something comfortable for trout eggs to hatch, and trout fry to grow. The State of Connecticut DEEP supplies healthy eggs and our volunteers take them to schools. The FRY(juvenile trout) grow for a few months before the students are allowed to release them into the wild, in a State of Connecticut, approved trout river or stream, near the school.

Trout In The Classroom program

Participating TIC schools also have access to suggested lesson plans, class materials, and more. For more information on the TIC program, visit TIC. If you’d like to have a TIC program in your children’s school, click here. The cost is minimal, the kids can do a fundraiser, or your PTA could raise the money. Our TIC volunteers will help you set up, at your convenience.

55 gal tank with staff
Casting Class

Schools that participate in a TIC program can invite us to their schools, and we will teach the basics of fly fishing to students, participating parents, and teachers.

Trout In The Classroom Schools

Releasing Fish into a nearby State Approved Trout Stream.

Schools that participate in the “Trout In The Classroom” program may request our chapter volunteers to visit their school for teacher-supervised fly-fishing classes, fly-tying classes, or other activities.

Recreation – During April, May, June, and September, every year we have local fishing excursions for our members and their guests, and members of the public. These are held at public parks, usually on the Housatonic River, or the Naugatuck River (a tributary of the Housatonic River), and sometimes on the Farmington River. We also every year host one or two fly-fishing trips to famous or highly acclaimed rivers. for 3-4 days. Members receive subsidies for the trip which are usually south of $500.00 per person. Last year, for example, the all-inclusive four-day/three-night trip cost was $500 per angler and each of our members received $50 off the cost, bringing it down to $450 per angler. This fee, collected in advance pays for clean, comfortable, and safe lodgings near the fishery, and (two meals a day). Again, anyone may come on these trips. Click here to view our Mission Statement.

Click here to donate!

Website Membership

Our Website membership is not included in your TU membership. You can visit and sign-in at www.tu.org for your membership with Trout Unlimited. Membership to the three tabs on the right helps to pay the costs to operate this website.

All TU events and information are located in the first two tabs. This website uses drop-down menus and contains hundreds of pages including hatch charts, maps, fly shops, and lists of places to stay while visiting fishing locations in CT and neighboring states (and Canada). If on a computer or tablet, hover over a menu tab to choose a dropdown. If visiting from a phone, click on the arrows at the end of the line to view drop-down menus.

Everything under the first two tabs (Home) and (Events) is free to all visitors and includes information on everything our chapter does to enhance membership experiences. The two central tabs have large dropdown menus, containing information to make your fishing experiences in the Northeast (and New York) better. We have current hatch charts, river maps, lists, and reviews of restaurants, lodging, and directions for many of the trout streams and rivers on the East Coast of the United States, and we’ve also covered NJ, PA, and NY. We’ve even got some hatch charts for Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania (Great Lakes Tributaries); and northern Ontario, as one of our members visits those regions every year. All our videos, no matter where on the website you find them are available to watch in 4K, 2K (1080p), 1K (720k), and down to 640×480. Our software will allow you to watch on any device, large or small.

When making sure that the website commands can be used from a cellphone, I use my Galaxy S23 Ultra with a “Lilliput Q10 10.1-inch Ultra-Bright that allows me to see every area of the screen that someone using a device like an Android, and iPhone, or a tablet. If you’re using a cellphone to experience the internet, I highly recommend one of these for desktop viewing.

Cost

We’ve been very lucky to have a few volunteers who don’t mind writing this website for us. Personally, since retiring from my former career, I’ve spent a lot of time re-learning some computer languages that helped to make this website what it is.

All websites use additional software, called “Plugins” that allow for special enhancements on a website. A photo gallery or making a PDF viewable or downloadable on a website are a couple of examples. Even a shopping cart, isn’t normally part of a website without adding a “plugin”, and most plug-in authors expect to get paid, just like the author of an app for your cellphone. So, with the cost of the hosting package, the bandwidth, and all those Plugins, the bill for the website can easily exceed a couple of thousand dollars in a single year. So, we’ve gone to a tiered membership program to help cover expenses.

FREE Membership (Home & Events Tabs)

  • Chapter Information
  • Event Information
  • Trout Unlimited Information

If you’re a TU member or a guest you’ve got access to the free areas on this website. Only premium areas cost $ and all website areas except for the fly fishing school are available for as little as $5 a month. If you’re just browsing our site, stay in the first two tabs. If you’re a fly angler looking to catch fish and would like to broaden the waters in which you fish, sign up for Premium Access – you can try it for only $5!

PREMIUM Membership (as low as $5 per month)

All of the above in Free Membership, plus:

  • Hatch Charts
  • River Maps
  • Gauge Information
  • Recommended stretches of rivers and streams.
  • Favorite nearby waters
  • Public Access Maps
  • Stocking Maps
  • Parking Areas
  • Tactics for different seasons
  • How-to’s for experienced anglers
  • Lodge, Hotel, and Restaurant info
  • Recommended packing lists for enjoyable trips.

PREMIUM+

All of the above in Free and Premium Membership, plus:

  • Fly Fishing School (Tab)

Free For ALL!

Whenever a new section is added to the site, we leave it open to all Membership Tiers, for a period of 30-60 days. After the trial period ends, it will be tiered according to where it’s located on the main menu.

  • Free Membership (Home and Events Tabs) Free (at times of the year, some premium pages are accessible)
  • Premium Membership (Hatch Charts & Maps, and Resources Tabs) First year $36, renewal $12, or $5.00 per month
  • Premium + Membership (Entire Website) First year, $50, renewal $36.
Level Price  
FREE (Access to Home & Events Tabs) Free. Select
Monthly Premium Content Member $5.00 per Month. Select
Premium Content Member $36.00 now and then $12.00 per Year. Select
Premium Plus $50.00 now and then $36.00 per Year. Select

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