To all members: The firehouse has canceled our next meeting. As you know, concerns about the coronavirus have resulted in cancellations and closures all over. We’re no different.
 The situation is very fluid. Let’s see how the next couple weeks play out, and hope that we can meet next month.

Our featured speaker in January will be Captain Jon Griffiths of Potomac River Trophies.    He will speak to us about fishing for multi-species in the Potomac River.

Where: Vienna Fire Station, 400 Center St South, Vienna, VA 22180
When: Wednesday, January 29th, 2020 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00 for socializing)

Captain Griffiths fishes nearly every other day whether it be a pond or small trout stream during lunch or drive an hour after a full day of work to fish for just a couple hours.  He specializes in fly and light tackle fishing for the big 8 (this number keeps growing), monster blue catfish, striped bass, snakehead, musky, walleye, carp, trout and bass in and around the Nation’s Capital.

On a typical day on the water, I like to show my clients/friends as many different species of fish and techniques as possible. We won’t be limited to only fly and light tackle as sometimes bait, trolling and or sight fishing gets the job done too. As an old timer, a true Potomac river rat once told me, “If it takes a hot dog and a hook, then use a hot dog and a hook.”   There’s something for everyone whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran. I promise I will do my best to show you something you’ve never seen before in this incredibly diverse fishery we have right here in Washington, D.C.

I also specialize in walk/ wade fishing trips from everything from trout to walleye/musky fishing trips in areas close to DC to as far as Western Maryland. Or how about an after work special of an evening smallmouth trip close to home in the summer? Or a night time private pond hopping event where we fish two or three different private ponds I have permission to fish under the cover of darkness? Bass over 5 pounds on top water is a reality as they like to look up at night, particularly in the hot summer months. Or have you ever caught a 10 pound carp on a dry fly with a fly rod? Yes that’s a possibility too, particularly when the mulberries start to fall from the trees. Or we can tease them up with damsel fly nymphs as we sight cast to mudding and tailing carp like you might expect from a bonefish or a redfish.

You’ll be surprised of all the opportunities so close to home. Let me take care of the thinking, the planning, the driving, the weather reports and the water levels to provide you with the best opportunity at a trophy fish…. or three.

You can find additional information on Potomac River Trophies at https://www.potomacrivertrophies.com/ and his Facebook blog at www.opportunisticfisherman.blogspot.com.  

Where: Vienna Fire Station, 400 Center St South, Vienna, VA 22180
When: Wednesday, October 30th, 2019 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00 for socializing)

Our featured speaker for the October 30th meeting is Scott Barrett who will speak to us about the Nikko Fishing Company “Next Generation Soft Baits”.  He will give an introduction to Nikko and what the company is doing to make the world better through fishing.  He will discuss their product line, especially their hellgrammite (which is currently the #1 hellgrammite in the U.S. at the moment), and a variety of related topics.  You can find their website at nikko-fishing.com.

Nikko Kasei Co., Ltd. (“Nikko”), founded on 1 Feb 1964, is headquartered in Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan. In 2010, Nikko began production of bio-disintegrable soft baits after several years of research and development. The soft bait business is now one of Nikko Kasei’s most strategic lines of business, and in Japan, it has grown rapidly mainly as a private label manufacturer (OEM) to large fishing supply companies as well as marketing under its own brand.

With over 50 years of manufacturing plastics, Nikko has built a reputation of innovation, trust and uncompromising quality. All Nikko baits are manufactured in Nikko’s own factories in Japan with a level of detail and quality Japan is famous for.

Nikko’s super soft material enables the bait to look and feel real and to naturally move even with the slightest of currents or action. Add in naturally proportioned designs with minute detail and natural scent, you get baits which really bring in the fish.

You will be amazed at how many fish you can catch on just one bait! With durability of 10-100 times more than ordinary plastic baits, Nikko’s baits will save you money.

Nikko uses a unique, proprietary nanotechnology to render these baits bio-disintegratable in real life conditions. In addition, don’t worry about the baits breaking down in your tackle box after use, they won’t. If stored in their packs, they will remain super soft and stretchy, just like new, for years. Unlike other baits, Nikko’s will not harden or dry out if left in the sun nor swell if left in water.

Did you know that most ordinary plastic baits swell and stiffen when ingested or left in an aquatic environment? Many fish and other creatures often ingest these discarded or lost plastic baits. Unable to disgorge or pass the swollen stiff baits, the fish can no longer effectively hunt prey or escape predators, usually leading to their death. Nikko’s baits will never swell or harden if left in an aquatic environment or ingested by an animal. Nikko’s super soft baits will be passed or disgorged, or remain super soft inside the animal without inhibiting its motions.