The month of April and May is turning into a flurry of events and happenings in our TU world and that is a good thing after the blast of weather for February we experienced. I am going to jump straight to it by first announcing our next chapter meeting will be, after receiving positive response from the members at the last meeting and email responses a Day on the Water! We are going to combine the April-May chapter meeting to Saturday, May 9th 2015 on the Clinch River at Millers Island. This is the second weekend of the recreational release and will give us a set time of water release which will help with planning exact hours as we get closer to the May 9th date.

Here is the web link to the TVA release schedule: http://www.tva.com/river/recreation/sched_norris.htm This link is also available under the about tab on a our Great Smoky Mountain webpage: http://greatsmokymountain.tu.org/ on that link just scroll to river you want for flow information and recreational release schedules.

Millers Island has been revamped and redone as I have mentioned before and if you have not seen it yet, access for waders, kayaks and boats is easier than it has ever been, thanks to TVA and our utility dollars for that! I want to have some pop-up canopies on the grass to sit under, maybe some fly tying demos from members or guests and a place to grill some dogs and other picnic style food. It will also give us a place if it's sunny or a light rain. The only thing that would change that is lightning, if you are a fishing fanatic you know  if your bottom is in the water, and it's a light rain, put on a hat and a rain jacket, it will probably pass in a minute. We will have a rain date planned if it was a major storm in our area that day.

I also would like to have anybody that has a boat, drift boat or similar watercraft to volunteer and bring them,  and if we have anyone who does not feel comfortable wading even in the very shallow water;  they could still get a chance to wet a line. During a lot of on the water events we put in at Millers with boats and either paddle or use the motor/trolling motor and  just go upstream towards the Weir dam and work those areas and work back down to Millers Island. I also plan to open the day to other TU chapter members like the Clinch and Little River chapters  for anyone who wants to bring family or friends and enjoy the day!

So save the date; Saturday, May 9th, 2015 for the Great Smoky Mountain TU chapter Day-on-the-Water! More details to follow.

Now on to the other great things happening in our area below.