Shelley and I have just returned from Waterbury, VT, where we put on a presentation for the MadDog Chapter of Trout Unlimited (so named because of two premier rivers of the region– the Mad, and the Dog). The night before we arrived, it had snowed in certain locations around the Northeast Kingdom. The afternoon we left, forsythia was in bloom and maples buds were bursting. Spring’s miracle opened its petals before our eyes.
Thanks to director, Clark Amadon, the chapter organized a trout fishing expedition for me through Judd Levine, an educator and coach in the Montpelier school system. Judd has every attribute of the best guides I’ve known, though he does not ply this trade. We probed and spot fished The Dog River, The Winooski River, as well as various branches and tributaries of each. An inveterate fly fisherman himself, Judd regaled me with the local flora and fauna, making entomological observations along the way, as well as giving timely tips and suggestions on fly selection and presentation.
Judd fishes the way the best bird dogs hunt. He is on point, every sense enlivened to a pitch of intensity. If a trout dimples the surface inhaling an Ephemerella subvaria (Hendrickson mayfly), Judd isn’t going to miss it. Judd has secret haunts, permission to park where others can’t, and knowledge of sections of the rivers that are routinely passed over by incidental fishermen. I wish I could recommend him as a guide, but then Judd’s freedom to give chase on a moment’s whim or presentiment might be curtailed. Conjure up the Brad Pitt character in A River Runs Through It, and you’re looking at a sport cut from the same bolt of cloth.
We’ve heard, since returning to Maine, that the TU annual banquet was a “very big success,” according to Clark Amadon. He went on to write, “It was the second largest in terms of money raised and the largest given the per/person contribution.”
No better news could have crowned the experience of having been in this region of Vermont. The snow-capped mountains, the lush valleys, most of the roads paralleling streams that beckon you at every turn to stop and make a cast–it was another trip we hated to see come to an end.
The stream restoration work, the conservation efforts, the camaraderie and fellowship of your local chapter of Trout Unlimited are more than enough reasons to join and contribute. You can find your nearest chapter at http://www.tu.org
Here’s Shelley at the book and CD table at the Country Club of Vermont:
