Our May membership meeting is going to be combined with the following event. There will not be a Wednesday night meeting.
Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association - Tribute to Gary Lafontaine.
Saturday May 9, 2025 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Salmon River, Gulf Road, Picnic Area
Join us for the 4th Annual Tribute to Gary Lafontaine
This event is in honor of Connecticut's most famous fly tier, past CFFA member, Gary Lafontaine. Born in 1945, Gary started fly fishing at age 8, and published his first article at age 15. Winner of the Arnold Gingrich Memorial Award for Lifetime Writing Achievement, he published several books, with his “Caddisflies”, gaining national atten- tion. As a dedicated member of CFFA he inspired many members to try innovative approaches to tying and fishing for Trout and other species. In1996, he was awarded Angler of the Year by Fly Rod and Reel Magazine. Gary left this world at the age of 56 due to Lou Gehrig’s Disease. We celebrate his legacy.
Schedule for Day
9:00am Fly Tying - This is an informal gathering of fly tyers. Everyone is responsible for their own table and materi- als. Fly tiers are welcome to bring a chair, folding table, vice and materials to tie flies. The theme of the day is Caddis patterns but any and all flies can be tied.
11:00am Tribute to Gary Lafontaine – Come and share a few words of your memories of Gary and his influence on fly fishing.
Fishing and conversation available all day. Bring your own food and beverages (no alcohol allowed in state parks). Grills are available. All trash must be taken home.
Participants responsible for their own food and beverages.
***If raining we will not tie flies, but will still gather and fish.
Steve Babbit will be our speaker for the March meeting.
His program will be; “The Guides Guide to Hatches”
This April will be Steve's 50th year fly fishing and it has been a life long journey of learning and adventures to beautiful places.
I have used my many years on the water, 25 years as a guide throughout Connecticut, and time working in shops to hone my approach to the sport. My junior year of college I took an aquatic entomology class that began my love of bugs. I have used my 25 years of guiding to refine a complete approach to fishing hatches bottom to top. It has helped me to adapt to the seasonal changes as well as the current environmental situation changes we are seeing now. Welcome to a “guides guide to hatches”
Steve Babbit
Meeting December 15, 2025
Pitkin Community Center 6:30-9pm
30 Greenfield Street
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Christian Parisi
Owner/ President- The Local Fly Co.
www.localflyco.com
203-640-0901
Program- East meets West- East coast tactics and flies that work across the western Rockies and how to do a DIY trip on a budget. Chris has logged dozens of weeks logged in MT and CO and will share what he's done to do it all on a friendly budget and why east coast fishermen, like skiers, can have tremendous success out west.
Chris will be giving out 15% coupons to everyone who attends the program which can be used in store or online at www.localflyco.com.
Chris Parisi has been in the fishing industry for the last 23 years. A former shop manager, shop owner, and guide, Chris cut his teeth on the small streams of Connecticut and in Long Island Sound before opening his first tackle shop in Cape Cod, MA. Chris' new store, The Local Fly Company is finishing up its first year and has surprised many with how well stocked this small store is. Chris is guiding by foot and in his Upriver Boatworks Raft in 2026 in Connecticut and Massachusetts primarily on the Farmington, Naugatuck, and Salmon River in CT as well as the Swift and Green River in Massachusetts.
October 20,Meeting
Pitkin Community Center 6:30-9pm
30 Greenfield Street
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Matt Devine will be our speaker for the October meeting.
His program will feature our CT Broodstock Atlantic Salmon
Each fall the Fisheries Division (FD) stocks hatchery-raised adult Atlantic Salmon into the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers for recreational fishing opportunities. This program is unique, and the fish are highly sought-after, making this a popular fishery, and one that will test even the most seasoned anglers. The FD aims to maximize the return-to-creel and angler satisfaction, however, data about where these salmon go after being stocked and how often, where, and when they are caught by anglers is lacking. Without this information, optimizing the timing, frequency, and location of salmon stocking remains a challenge. In this talk, Matt will discuss results from an angler tag-return study conducted in 2024 that investigated post-stocking movement patterns, variables influencing movement, tag return rates, and angler participation. He will discuss the management implications, next steps for the study, and would like to hear from you!
Matt has over 14 years of experience sampling, studying, and enhancing cold and warmwater fisheries. He has worked for state and federal agencies as well as non-governmental organizations specializing in fisheries conservation. After receiving his BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Redlands (CA), Matt’s fisheries career began in Litchfield,Connecticut as a Seasonal Resource Assistant for the CTDEEP Fisheries Division crew. In 2009 Matt scratched his itch to move to the Northern Rockies. Matt held positions with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, USGS (Wyoming), and Friends of the Teton River (Idaho), and spent the off seasons on the Snake River raft guiding and winters working at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Matt returned to the Northeast and worked with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife before returning to school. He completed an MS in Fish and Wildlife Conservation Biology at UMass Amherst in 2015 and is currently wrapping up his PhD, also at UMass, where he is part of the Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Matt, originally from West Hartford, has seen the light and come full circle back to CTDEEP as a Coldwater Fisheries Biologist, and is working out of the Eastern District Headquarters in Marlborough. His primary duties are coordinating statewide trout and salmon stocking, implementing the Division’s Wild Trout Management Plan, designing and conducting stream angler surveys, developing new angling access, and community outreach.
Matt is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, snowboarding, searching for antlers, and spending time on and around rivers and streams with his wife Vanessa and now threeyoung boys Wyatt (8), Jamie (5), and Jesse (4 months). He currently lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.
