Will new license fees keep worthy vets from fishing?By Martin Armstrong
Correspondent
Posted: 09/18/2009 10:37:00 PM EDT
Jeffrey Buggee is a man with a mission. He and his hard working crew of volunteers from the Veterans' Outreach Committee had great day fishing at Killams Point a couple of weeks ago. They hosted 31 veterans and five staff from the VA CT West Haven Healthcare System who attended the "Take a Vet Fishing" program sponsored by the First Congregational Church Branford.
The vets covered Vietnam, Korea and WWII eras and included two females. Twenty one of the vets were from the EBRC (Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center) and have some degree of visual handicap and assistance for them is critical. The group tries to provide these vets with a one on one mentor to insure their safety as well as fishing success
In addition to the church volunteers, Trout Unlimited Hammonasset Chapter, and C.A.R.E. headed by Stamford's Dick Emmons, a new group of volunteers are donating their time and talent. Explorers from Branford Fire Station 5 and Station 9 are now on board.
The Explorers were led by Joe Petrisino and Bill Massey. Bill's son BJ has been involved in the program since the beginning. And BJ is now also involved with the Explorers. When BJ's dad asked if the Explorers could get involved, Buggee welcomed them with open arms. The Explorers had nine members helping out.
The Explorers jumped right in arriving early to help with set up (putting flags out, setting up chairs around the seawall for the vets to fish from).
As the vets arrived the Explorers helped greet and escort them down to the Point. They served the vets coffee and bagels donated by Cohen's Bagel's in Branford. And, once the fishing began, the Explorers helped out by baiting hooks and landing the fish.
After a busy morning of fishing lunchtime rolled around and the Explorers helped serve the vets a barbecue lunch. The menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, salads and enough desserts so the vets would have something to bring home.
While Jeff is on a mission, he also has a problem. The cost of fishing licenses is the problem. In the past, his vets did not need a fishing license as there was no license required to fish the Sound.
Then in August, a $10 fishing license was created. As a group they were still allowed to fish once without a license. Now, after the new budget was released, saltwater anglers face a $30 license fee for residents or $60 for non-residents.
State Representative Lonnie Reed, Democrat from Branford's 102nd District, attended the fishing event as she often does. She spent several hours getting to know the vets.
She also discussed the saltwater license issues with the organization. Due to the licensing costs, especially with the dramatic increase coming Oct.1, the added expense could hurt this valuable program.
"She pledged to work with us to arrive at a solution and she has contacted us to put in writing what we would like. She has already spoken with the head of Veteran's Affairs in the State Legislature about our program," said about Rep. Reed. "She has pledged to return."
Jeff Buggee was overwhelmed by the volunteers.
"What an incredible group of young people they are. Bill Massey, one of the leaders, said that the group had exceeded both his and Joe's expectations. It was a win win situation as the vets had an incredible time as well. It certainly made me proud of our youth."
Buggee also noted that Chief Jack Ahern of the Branford Fire Department has a group that he can be very proud of and they represent the department very well and professionally.
The Orchard House of Branford helped with some of the transportation providing a bus and driver.
q
One of the Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited most rewarding events is the annual Special Olympics Fishing Derby. The Derby is an "all hands on deck" day of fun. This year the Derby will be held on Oct. 3 at Merwin Meadows in Wilton.
Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to noon to help more than 50 athletes competing in the Connecticut Special Olympics. The athletes will be fishing for fun as well as the chance to win one of many awards to help pay for training throughout the year.
The Mianus Chapter provides all fishing rods, reels, hooks and bait, along with expert fishing guidance. The Merwin Meadows Pond will be stocked with largemouth bass, sunfish and trout for the event. The Chapter also sponsors a $1,000 prize for the Special Olympics team of the athlete who catches the Ugliest Fish!
Merwin Meadows Park is located on Lovers Lane in Wilton. Take Route 7 to Route 33. Lovers Lane will be on your right.
To volunteer, contact Dick O'Neill at doneill@mianustu.org or Jeff Yates at jyates@mianustu.org .
q
Fishing is pretty good throughout the area. Norwalk is already boasting some good albacore and bonito catches. There are lots of striped bass around and bluefish action is steady.
Ricky Mola at Fisherman's World says that the bonito and albacore just moved into the area. His customers are catching them from Westport down to Darien. Good spots for these fast moving fish include Cockenoe Reef and Copps Island. Rick suggests using Deady Dick and Marie lures. Among those catching the bonito and albacore was Matt Merluzzi and Ian Devlin.
Annaliese Ottinger, 7, and her father, Chris Ottinger hosted Jared Chase, 9 and his brother Steven 5, on the MaryJane. Under the direction of Chris Ottinger, the kids caught more than 20 keeper porgies while drifting sandworms off Tod's Point.
The folks at Rudy's Tackle Barn reported that their customers are doing well at Tod's Point. Christina Mazzei scored with a couple of schoolie striped bass at Tod's. She was chunking.
Mike Noyes and Jon Windus braved a choppy Sound on Wednesday to fish in Greenwich Harbor. Using diamond jigs they managed to catch some bluefish weighing up to 9-pounds. They also caught and released some schoolie bass.
The best striped bass action last week was at the channel between West and Cummings Beaches. Gary Feighery caught a pair of linesiders measuring 35 and 37-inches while fishing from West Beach. He was using fresh bunker for bait.
Also doing well from West Beach was Raymond Dang. He caught a 34-inch linesider using fresh bunker.
Paul McFarland reeled in a 33-inch bass from West Beach. He was also drifting fresh bunker. On another outing, he went bottom fishing at Sound Reef where he caught lots of porgies and a couple of black sea bass. He was using clams on that trip.
Freddie Leno caught two nice bass from the Cummings Beach side of the channel. He landed a 35 and a 37-inch bass using fresh bunker.
Pete Novello caught and released five stripers measuring up to 30-inches while fishing off Burying Hill Beach. He was using a black Sluggo lure.
Anna Fabian caught a nice bluefish while working the waters from the shore in Norwalk. She reeled in an 8.5-pound chopper using a bunker chunk.
D.J. Greco, age 4, caught his limit of snapper blues while fishing with his uncle Pete at Cummings Park. The snappers were taken on a snapper popper.
I received this message from Capt. Phil Caruso on Wednesday. "Was out fishing with the Blake family for non-stop blue fish action. They had over 20 fish. Also had the Williams family out for a porgy trip we got some nice jumbos to fill their freezer."
Tom Flynn has been busy fishing the Mianus and Rippowam Rivers. Using stick baits, he has been catching and releasing trout measuring up to 19-inches.
The catch of the week was reported by Dave Krom at Pete's Place Bait and Tackle. Leon Shawn Collington came in to tell about a 39-pound snapping turtle he caught while fishing at a local pond. The turtle grabbed a drifted bluegill.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a lifetime member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoors Writers Association.
Correspondent
Posted: 09/18/2009 10:37:00 PM EDT
Jeffrey Buggee is a man with a mission. He and his hard working crew of volunteers from the Veterans' Outreach Committee had great day fishing at Killams Point a couple of weeks ago. They hosted 31 veterans and five staff from the VA CT West Haven Healthcare System who attended the "Take a Vet Fishing" program sponsored by the First Congregational Church Branford.
The vets covered Vietnam, Korea and WWII eras and included two females. Twenty one of the vets were from the EBRC (Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center) and have some degree of visual handicap and assistance for them is critical. The group tries to provide these vets with a one on one mentor to insure their safety as well as fishing success
In addition to the church volunteers, Trout Unlimited Hammonasset Chapter, and C.A.R.E. headed by Stamford's Dick Emmons, a new group of volunteers are donating their time and talent. Explorers from Branford Fire Station 5 and Station 9 are now on board.
The Explorers were led by Joe Petrisino and Bill Massey. Bill's son BJ has been involved in the program since the beginning. And BJ is now also involved with the Explorers. When BJ's dad asked if the Explorers could get involved, Buggee welcomed them with open arms. The Explorers had nine members helping out.
The Explorers jumped right in arriving early to help with set up (putting flags out, setting up chairs around the seawall for the vets to fish from).
As the vets arrived the Explorers helped greet and escort them down to the Point. They served the vets coffee and bagels donated by Cohen's Bagel's in Branford. And, once the fishing began, the Explorers helped out by baiting hooks and landing the fish.
After a busy morning of fishing lunchtime rolled around and the Explorers helped serve the vets a barbecue lunch. The menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, salads and enough desserts so the vets would have something to bring home.
While Jeff is on a mission, he also has a problem. The cost of fishing licenses is the problem. In the past, his vets did not need a fishing license as there was no license required to fish the Sound.
Then in August, a $10 fishing license was created. As a group they were still allowed to fish once without a license. Now, after the new budget was released, saltwater anglers face a $30 license fee for residents or $60 for non-residents.
State Representative Lonnie Reed, Democrat from Branford's 102nd District, attended the fishing event as she often does. She spent several hours getting to know the vets.
She also discussed the saltwater license issues with the organization. Due to the licensing costs, especially with the dramatic increase coming Oct.1, the added expense could hurt this valuable program.
"She pledged to work with us to arrive at a solution and she has contacted us to put in writing what we would like. She has already spoken with the head of Veteran's Affairs in the State Legislature about our program," said about Rep. Reed. "She has pledged to return."
Jeff Buggee was overwhelmed by the volunteers.
"What an incredible group of young people they are. Bill Massey, one of the leaders, said that the group had exceeded both his and Joe's expectations. It was a win win situation as the vets had an incredible time as well. It certainly made me proud of our youth."
Buggee also noted that Chief Jack Ahern of the Branford Fire Department has a group that he can be very proud of and they represent the department very well and professionally.
The Orchard House of Branford helped with some of the transportation providing a bus and driver.
q
One of the Mianus Chapter of Trout Unlimited most rewarding events is the annual Special Olympics Fishing Derby. The Derby is an "all hands on deck" day of fun. This year the Derby will be held on Oct. 3 at Merwin Meadows in Wilton.
Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to noon to help more than 50 athletes competing in the Connecticut Special Olympics. The athletes will be fishing for fun as well as the chance to win one of many awards to help pay for training throughout the year.
The Mianus Chapter provides all fishing rods, reels, hooks and bait, along with expert fishing guidance. The Merwin Meadows Pond will be stocked with largemouth bass, sunfish and trout for the event. The Chapter also sponsors a $1,000 prize for the Special Olympics team of the athlete who catches the Ugliest Fish!
Merwin Meadows Park is located on Lovers Lane in Wilton. Take Route 7 to Route 33. Lovers Lane will be on your right.
To volunteer, contact Dick O'Neill at doneill@mianustu.org or Jeff Yates at jyates@mianustu.org .
q
Fishing is pretty good throughout the area. Norwalk is already boasting some good albacore and bonito catches. There are lots of striped bass around and bluefish action is steady.
Ricky Mola at Fisherman's World says that the bonito and albacore just moved into the area. His customers are catching them from Westport down to Darien. Good spots for these fast moving fish include Cockenoe Reef and Copps Island. Rick suggests using Deady Dick and Marie lures. Among those catching the bonito and albacore was Matt Merluzzi and Ian Devlin.
Annaliese Ottinger, 7, and her father, Chris Ottinger hosted Jared Chase, 9 and his brother Steven 5, on the MaryJane. Under the direction of Chris Ottinger, the kids caught more than 20 keeper porgies while drifting sandworms off Tod's Point.
The folks at Rudy's Tackle Barn reported that their customers are doing well at Tod's Point. Christina Mazzei scored with a couple of schoolie striped bass at Tod's. She was chunking.
Mike Noyes and Jon Windus braved a choppy Sound on Wednesday to fish in Greenwich Harbor. Using diamond jigs they managed to catch some bluefish weighing up to 9-pounds. They also caught and released some schoolie bass.
The best striped bass action last week was at the channel between West and Cummings Beaches. Gary Feighery caught a pair of linesiders measuring 35 and 37-inches while fishing from West Beach. He was using fresh bunker for bait.
Also doing well from West Beach was Raymond Dang. He caught a 34-inch linesider using fresh bunker.
Paul McFarland reeled in a 33-inch bass from West Beach. He was also drifting fresh bunker. On another outing, he went bottom fishing at Sound Reef where he caught lots of porgies and a couple of black sea bass. He was using clams on that trip.
Freddie Leno caught two nice bass from the Cummings Beach side of the channel. He landed a 35 and a 37-inch bass using fresh bunker.
Pete Novello caught and released five stripers measuring up to 30-inches while fishing off Burying Hill Beach. He was using a black Sluggo lure.
Anna Fabian caught a nice bluefish while working the waters from the shore in Norwalk. She reeled in an 8.5-pound chopper using a bunker chunk.
D.J. Greco, age 4, caught his limit of snapper blues while fishing with his uncle Pete at Cummings Park. The snappers were taken on a snapper popper.
I received this message from Capt. Phil Caruso on Wednesday. "Was out fishing with the Blake family for non-stop blue fish action. They had over 20 fish. Also had the Williams family out for a porgy trip we got some nice jumbos to fill their freezer."
Tom Flynn has been busy fishing the Mianus and Rippowam Rivers. Using stick baits, he has been catching and releasing trout measuring up to 19-inches.
The catch of the week was reported by Dave Krom at Pete's Place Bait and Tackle. Leon Shawn Collington came in to tell about a 39-pound snapping turtle he caught while fishing at a local pond. The turtle grabbed a drifted bluegill.
Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a lifetime member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoors Writers Association.