The ice has long been melted, and the cadets are finally emerging from their winter slumber here at West Point.  The Fly Fishing Club has spent the winter refining their fly tying skills and casting techniques.  A few cadets and faculty have built their own rods from scratch with the help of Mr. Bill Lennon, a staff member here at USMA.  Their first spring trip is under their belt and many fish were caught and landed.  One fish that didn't get away from the Cadet-in-Charge is shown below. 

   Our schedule for the remainder of the semester is packed.  We have been extremely fortunate to befriend some wonderful folks from the local Ashokan-Pepacton Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the kind ladies and gentlemen in East Haddam, CT at the East Haddam Fishing and Game Club.    The local A-P Trout Unlimited chapter has been here this semester for some fly tying instruction and will be here this upcoming weekend for some casting and knot tying instruction along with some fishing on the freshly stocked streams of West Point.  The East Haddam Fishing and Game Club has graciously extended an invitation for us to spend a weekend with them on their private waters.  Skip Storch at Shu-Fly continues to help the club at every opportunity, as does Mr. Leigh Oliva with the Orvis company.  This year, we have been fortunate enough to receive sponsorship from the Adams Fund to attend the annual Project Healing Waters 2-Fly tournament in Virginia on 3 May.  We will send a team to fish in the tournament and one additional cadet to fish with an AUSA team.  During our Spring Banquet on 29 April, we have the pleasure of hosting Mr. Eric Stroup from Spruce Creek, PA.  He will serve as our honored guest and speaker at our annual banquet.