February 28th Chapter meeting

Please join us as we welcome chapter member Bob Signorello as he presents:


Great Lakes Fishery - Bob will discuss his vast experiences on the rivers and orient the members to the different seasons (salmon in early fall, steelhead in Winter & Spring).

As always chapter programs are free and open to the public.  Meeting starts at 7pm at the DAR Log cabin in the Bethlehem Rose Garden Park.  A map of the location can be found on the right sidebar of the main page. 

New Reports page

Check out the new "Reports" page to find links to studies done on our home water.

Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners Meeting

The BTBC will meet Monday, February 6th  @ 7pm in the township building to discuss a 400+ unit apartment complex that is proposed along Christian Springs Rd.  This project will require a change to the current zoning ordinance for that property.  The Monocacy creek flows along the northern part of the property.  This is one of the most important parts of the creek, as a majority of the spring fed water enters the stream in this area.  At one time 70+ springs were counted by chapter members in that location.  Any high density development in that area could have major negative impacts.  Please consider attending the meeting if possible.  The meeting is held @ 4225 Easton Avenue, Bethlehem, PA. 18020.

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Water Quality Data

Check out the "Projects" page for a link to water quality data that has been collected by some local institutions.  A big thank you to new chapter member Vio Dragan for collecting and compiling the data.

January 24th Meeting and Presentation

Join the Monocacy Chapter of TU on January 24th as we welcome Don Baylor.  Don will be presenting:  The Poconos: The Cradle of American Fly Fishing.  Don will discuss some of the destinations and influential fly fishers who helped mold the American fly fishing tradition in the Poconos in the late 1800's and first half of the 1900's.  Meeting time is 7pm at the DAR Log Cabin, located in Rosegarden Park, Bethlehem, PA.  Admission is free and open to the public.


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PA Fly Fishing Heritage

On January 30th, 2012, the PFBC will be hosting a day dedicated to the storied history of fly fishing in PA.  Registration is required but free, and can be done on the PFBC website.  The official flyer is located after the break....

There's an App for that....

Do you find yourself wondering about the USGS data for your favorite stream when you are away from your computer?  Check out the "Stream Flow" app for the iPod Touch/iPhone.  It gives you an on the go link to USGS data , right on your phone or iPod, and best of all it's free!

2012 Program Guide

Check the Articles page for the 2012 Program Schedule.  All programs are free and open to the public.  Meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of the month.  Watch future posts for more details.

Fly Fishing is a Joke

Check out the Articles page for a great new video, "Fly Fishing is a Joke", that seeks to answer the question of why we fish.

NO Monocacy TU meeting in December

Enjoy the Holiday's, we'll resume the meeting schedule in January.

Hokendaqua TU Meeting 12/21/11

The Hokendaqua TU Chapter will have Phil Hublitz presenting  the years review of Project Healing Waters events conducted by our chapter.  The presentation will on 12/21/11 at the Catasauqua High Schoo, room C219.  The time is 6:30pm.


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New Euro Nymphing Article Link

With all the high water this year, its hard to find a time when the fish are "looking up".   "Euro" nymphing may be a technique to try when the fish are stuck to the bottom.  Check the articles page for a link to a publication outlining the gear, flies and techniques for four of the popular forms of this style.

Underwater observations

Check the Articles page for a link to a Field and Stream article about how trout react to different nymph presentations.

Archibald Johnson Stream Clean up

The following clean up was not TU sponsored event, but we appreciate the efforts of anyone willing to improve our watershed.
On November 19th, a group of about 12 people gathered to try and clean up an area of the Monocacy creek that runs through Archibald Johnson Conservation Area.  The focus was on an area downstream, (west) of Christian Springs Rd.  (Click read more link below map for the full article).

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Summer 2011 USGS gauge readings

The USGS graph below show 120 days of gauge readings at Illick's Mill park.  The yellow triangles at the bottom of the graph shows what the average flow should be, and as you can see we haven't been close to that all summer.