Tactics – Limestone Trout Club

LTC Opening Day 2026

Welcome to Limestone 2026!

Opening day was Saturday, April 4th and LTC hosted 18 anglers who cast their favorite flies in Cedar, Pine, Birch and Spruce ponds during the day. As a result of the completed census forms, we have an good picture of what our fisheries look like after what most would say was a very hard winter in New England.

In total 40 trout were landed and recorded on Census forms. All trout were returned to the ponds and none were harvested! As a reminder, please be sure you complete Census forms at the end of your fishing day. This gives our Fisheries committee valuable information and helps us manage our stock better.

In Cedar, a total of 15 trout were caught and released. The largest one was a 22″ Tiger! Sweet, that will make you smile both inside and out. In total there were six Tigers(spanning 15-22″), five Rainbows(15-19″), and seven Browns(15-21″).

In Birch, a the total was also 15 trout. Of note, Golden Rainbows lead the pack there with seven caught and released(15-17″). Rainbows were a close 2nd place with six trout(15″). Browns were the remainder at two(17-19″).

In Pine, the total was 11 trout. Heavily tilted to lead the catch were nine Rainbows(14-18″) . The rest were all Browns(18-22″).

Finally, a single Brooke was caught in Spruce pond. Hint: caught on a minnow pattern.

As evident from the recorded Census forms, we have plenty of healthy trout for you to try to outsmart(and more on the way)!

Our trout are our most valuable resource so handling them properly is very important for their survival. We publish handling tips in the 2026 Members Handbook (website registration req’d to access). Here are some blog posts regarding trout handling and getting a photo of your prized catch. Also review the Tips and Tactics link.

A big Thank You goes out to the Fisheries Committee and the attention to detail from our caretaker over the harsh winter.

Wishing everyone Tight Lines this season.

LTC Spring Stocking 2026

Date: Saturday, April 18th

Time: 2 P.M. NOTE: After the Annual One Fly Contest

The annual Spring stocking will take place after 2 P.M. You can help with this effort to keep our club well stocked for the remainder of the season. The hatchery truck dumps the trout into buckets which require delivery to the ponds. We need volunteers to form bucket lines to make this happen.

Spring One Fly 2026

The Annual LTC “One Fly” Challenge is back. It is your chance to claim bragging rights as the One Fly winner and have your name entered on the plaque displayed in the clubhouse.

Date: Saturday, April 18th

Entry Fee: $25/angler.

Registration for all members, family and guest anglers is 8:00- 8:45 A.M.

During registration, you will declare a single fly that you will fish with for the entire contest. NOTE: The single fly you pick must be used during the entire time that the challenge is active. If you loose your fly, it must be replaced by an identical fly – both size and pattern – so make sure you have at least one in reserve.

Fishing will start at the sound of the air horn at 8:45 and will end with the second air horn signal at 11:45 A.M. If you are playing a fish and the horn sounds, you may continue to land the fish and it will count towards your single fish entry.

Each pond will be staffed by a judge who will measure and weigh your catch. Scoring is 1 point for each inch or fractional points for fractions of inches, plus 1 point for each ounce of weight. The winner will be the largest combination of length and weight.

After the fishing, join with other anglers and guests for a picnic luncheon at the Pole Barn Pavilion starting at 12:15 P.M. There will be burgers/hot dogs/chips/salad and cookies served. Beverages are included.

NOTE: At 2 P.M., the annual Spring stocking will take place. You can help with this effort to keep our club well stocked for the remainder of the season. The hatchery truck dumps the trout into buckets which require delivery to the ponds. We need volunteers to form bucket lines to make this happen.

LTC Mourns George David Clee, Jr.

George David Clee, Jr., 96, passed away peacefully on August 10, 2025.

George, husband to Ingrid Clee and father to Christopher Wayne Clee and Jennifer Clee Engel, was an avid fisherman and hunter; he belonged to Limestone Trout Club, Kingdom Game Club and Suffield Sportsman’s Association. He loved the outdoors. George travelled the world as part of the US Government Foreign Service and was an avid reader. We will miss his fun nature, knowledge and larger than life presence.

CT Wild Trout Management

The CT DEEP is currently scheduling Virtual Public discussions that will lead to an official Wild Trout Management Plan for the state. Connecticut does recognize that wild trout are a vital asset and already takes steps to protect this resource – like this webpage on Classifications of Wild trout habitats within the state. The local Blackberry river is considered a Class III habitat.

To fully develop a plan, based on this draft, the CT DEEP needs angler feedback in addition to the input of staff and other researchers.

As a start, the CT DEEP is asking anglers to complete a Wild Trout Fishing Survey. The survey asked about Class I, II and III areas, so it may be best to review the background link, above.

These meetings require registration so that the virtual link can be provided to those who wish to participate. Registration links are individually available on the CT DEEP website, here.

The schedule for these meetings is:

Monday, November 29th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 7th from 7-9 p.m.
Thursday, December 9th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 11th from 2-4 p.m.

Annual Stockholder’s Meeting 2021

The September 25th, 2021 annual meeting was called to order by President Glenn Ratcliffe after 10 A.M. Glenn welcomed those members in attendance. He recognized those Board of Directors members in attendance and cited the extraordinary efforts of all Board members who worked hard to make this a successful year, in spite of Covid-19 restrictions.

In the great news department, he commented that Scott Simko, our long time property manager, has been making an amazing recovery from his surgery earlier in the year. If physical activity heals, Scott is a great example. He has been involved in activities of the club and back on the job much sooner than expected. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. We are indebted to Joe Cieslowski, Gerry Wendrovsky, Scott’s Dad and others for pitching in to help keep the club going while Scott was in recovery.

In particular Glenn cited the great job that Owen Mitchell has done as Chairman of the Fisheries Committee. Noteworthy also was the growth in new members during the year reflecting the tireless efforts of Dean Keister as Chairman of the membership committee. Membership now totals 102 with more in the pipeline.

Our Grounds and Building chairman, Jeff Shippee, was cited for the work and organizing he did on the recent, long needed repairs to the pole barn. With Jeff’s and Eric Hutchison’s organization, the work was accomplished below our projected budget for the job. Glenn thanked the crew from Juniors Landscaping and Construction of Canaan, led by owner Jason Lemon, who leveled and braced the structure.

Members recognized outgoing President Glenn Ratcliffe for his many contributions to the growth and success of the club and its strong financial condition. During his tenure many new projects have been completed along with a number of improvements in our facility. He has led our efforts to improve our financial accounting helping us to better understand and manage our financial condition.

The issue of the property gate, keeping it open when members are on the property, was brought up for discussion with several different opinions expressed. It was decided that the Board would look into this issue further by exploring an automated gate option. Until that issue is developed further, the board’s position is that the existing gate will be closed as members arrive and leave the property.

The shareholders voted to approve the slate of nominees for seats on the corporation Board of Directors. The approved members and status are as follows:

            Steve Lefebvre (1st year of his 3rd term)
            Jim Oravetz       (1st year of his 3rd term)
            Eric Hutchison   (1st year of his 1st term)

The Board will be voting for a proposed slate of corporate officers at its next Board meeting on October 16th.

Glenn reviewed details for Board recommended changes in the corporation by-laws, as was proposed and mailed to every voting stockholder. The proposed changes included eliminating the preferred share purchase requirement for any new member while honoring existing shareholder preferred share rights. The other by-law proposal was putting in place a one year timeline for share redemption after a shareholder’s membership ends. However, because of a technical issue over specific language regarding the required number of common shares for new members, it was decided to send out a request for a re-vote on that proposal with corrected text. The new proposal will be mailed to voting shareholders shortly and a re-vote will be requested. The Board recommends members vote for the proposed changes.

The meeting was adjourned at noon and was followed by a barbeque lunch enjoyed by all. Our thanks to Dean and Liz Keister for organizing and preparing a great menu. Our newest member Max Maisano sitting in for Mark Boardman did an awesome job on the grill.

Thank you all for your support!
Jim Oravetz, Secretary

Pole Barn Rehab 2021

The club Pole barn near Cedar and Home ponds was rehabbed over a few weekends in early September. After many years on our property there were several poles that had rotted away making the barn potentially unsafe and unstable. Thanks to the leadership and organization of Grounds Committee chairman Jeff Shippee and member Eric Hutchison, the hard work of stabilizing the structure was completed. Thanks to such dedicated members the repairs came in under budget.

Jeff got help from his friend Jason Lemon and his crew at Juniors Landscaping and Construction in Canaan. That included shoring and leveling work before the poles were cut and holes dug for the Sonotubes, bracing and concrete. The work took place over the first two weekends in September finishing up with a crew of LTC volunteers working on Sept 11th.

Members joining Jeff and Eric where Glen Ratcliff, Jim Oravetz, Steve van Fleet, William Keith, Scott Simko, Owen Mitchell, Niels Jensen and his son, Chris.

One Fly Day 2021

Limestone held the annual One Fly contest on Saturday, May 15th, after a year hiatus. The event was organized by members Bob Hoffman and Eric Hutchison. Eric also helped with the trout measuring and weighing along with Scott Simko and Fred Jeans.

The beautiful day unfolded with 21 contestants vying for the chance to claim the “title”. All contestants signed in at the clubhouse with their favorite fly selection before the 10 a.m. start. Rules required the contestants to use the same fly or an exact copy during the allocated two hours of fishing. The winning fish was based on both length and weight. Taking home the phantom crown was member Joe Czielowski with a 26 inch, 6 lb. brown from Cedar pond. Congratulations Joe!

After the event, a picnic lunch was prepared by members John Mitman and Richard Marone.

2026 LTC Calendar of Events

The LTC Member Handbook has a list of “Important Dates”. This page will duplicate that Handbook list and will be updated as the other To Be Determined(TBD) dates are known. The LTC often hosts events for outside clubs like Project Healing Waters and several TU chapters.

All Board of Directors meeting are held at the clubhouse, unless otherwise noted.

Club Activities:

Sat April 4th, 2026 – Opening Day at LTC

Sat April 18th – One Fly Challenge(a.m)/Spring Stocking of Ponds(p.m.)

Sat May 30th – Annual Spring Banquet @LTC Pole Barn

Sat Oct 3rd – Annual Stockholders meeting held at Limestone

Sat Nov 7st – BoD meeting. Preliminary Budget discussion

Sat Dec 5th – BoD meeting. Finalize Budget for 2027

Wed Dec 31st – Closing Day 2025

Key Outreach Activities:

TBD – Farmington Valley TU membership day

Sat May 16th – May Fly Project sponsored by Jim Berklas

Thu Sept 10th – Vets Healing on the Fly Visit

TBD – Casting for Recovery day

TBD – Bamboo “One Fly” Challenge

TBD -Connecticut River Salmon day

Fly Fishing Films online

Spring is coming so it’s time for a bit of streaming, the video kind, not something with a streamer fly or water flowing. The 15th Annual Fly Fishing Film Tour comes around again in virtual form in 2021. Another series of short films spanning the globe from Eastern Russia to French Polynesia and more.

Limited time viewing, see flyfilmtour.com and buy your tickets.

+ Mar 10, 2021 at 4:00 PM – Apr 04, 2021 at 11:55 PM

You can watch the film at your convenience, any time within this window. As long as you are accessing from the 1 linked device that you initially logged in from (go live is at 7pm EST on March 10th), you may start/pause/restart/rewatch at any time until April 4th at 11:55pm MST.

For a sneak peak at the film, see the “Trailers” menu and for this year, here is the direct link to the 2021 F3T Stoke Reel. Multiple view packages are available for purchase including a single ticket ($20), family ($40) and more.

The American Museum of Fly Fishing, Manchester, VT, is looking for help as well. If you use this link, $2.00 of every ticket purchase will go directly to the AMFF.