General Chapter Meeting Information
A featured part of almost every month's membership meeting is the guest speaker program. The Board of Directors spends a lot of time planning and arranging for the featured speakers. We begin by designing a general theme for each month's program and then follow up by identifying and booking potential speakers. Some of our virtual meetings have been recorded and are available for viewing on YouTube by clicking on the Theme title.
Our Meetings are currently hybrid (in person and virtual).
Virtual Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87319488970?pwd=950gBbNNCeLMbHoCrD68BAdAVypbSC.1
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Theme
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Speaker
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Meeting Date
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| “Maryland Fly Fishing Trail” | Speaker: Rich Batiuk | March 19, 2025 |
| “Fishing The Gunpowder River” | Speaker: Rich Dennison | February 19, 2025 |
| “Fly Tying Extravaganza 2025” (IN PERSON ONLY) | PPTU Members and Guests | January 15, 2025 |
| “Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon” Passcode: R2jG4EX* | Speaker: Monte Burke | November 20, 2024 |
| “Fishing Western Maryland’s Savage River” PDF Presentation | Speaker: Matt O'Neal | October 16, 2024 |
| “On the Water Vacation Stories” | Speaker: PPTU Members | September 18, 2024 |
| “TU Western Maryland Initiative” | Speaker: Ben Harris | May 15, 2024 |
| “In Search of Good Water” (IN PERSON ONLY) | Speaker: Author John N. Maclean | April 17, 2024 |
| “Success Not Stress on Spring Creeks” | Speaker: Mike Heck | March 20, 2024 |
| “Climate Change Impacts and Threats to Cold Water Fisheries” | Speaker: Jim Irons | February 21, 2024 |
| “Fly Tying Extravaganza 2024” | In Person PPTU Members and Guests | January 17, 2024 |
Time: Meeting 7:00 - 9:00 PM, Third Wednesday except December, June, July and August
New Meeting Place (starting September 18, 2024):
Laurel VFD meeting hall
7588 Van Dusen Rd.
Laurel, MD 20707
- Details
“Maryland Fly Fishing Trail"
Guest Speaker: Rich Batiuk
March 19, 2025
For our March meeting, we are happy to host the Maryland Fly Fishing Trail Team Leader and PPTU member Rich Batiuk to tell us all about the nation’s first statewide fly fishing trail, which launched in 2022.
Rich has been fly fishing for over close to 50 years, enjoying all aspects including tying flies, building fly rods, owning many fly rods from 3 weight to 10 weight (including multiples of the same weight rods!), fly fishing from kayaks and canoes and accumulating enough fly fishing gear and fly tying materials to last several life times. He has been a member of Free State Fly Fishers for coming up on 40 years, holding an array of positions within the club including two separate terms as President, outings coordinator, conservation programs coordinator, Swap Meet coordinator, and newsletter editor. Seven years ago he retired from a 34 year career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working for the Chesapeake Bay Program, a unique partnership of state, federal, local agencies along, the scientific, farming, business and environmental advocacy communities charged with restoring Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding 64,000 square mile watershed.
– Scott Cernich