FUDR "One Bug" Event, Dinner & Auction


FUDR’s One Bug Fundraising Dinner & Auction 04/24/09

Hancock’s Capital Theatre was dressed up in its outdoorsy best for the annual One Bug Event’s kickoff dinner and auction. Obviously, hours of preparation had gone into making the theatre feel like a fishing lodge. Log panels had been installed along each of the side walls to serve as a gallery for some of the artwork set to be auctioned. Large banners had been hung from the rafters all the way around the dining area. Of particular note was the flag hanging in the rear of the room, styled much like the American flag, the field of blue contained a jumping trout and the outline of a Catskill dry fly. The striped area was done in the traditional manner with an inscription near the bottom, “Give me water, or give me death.” Hanging just above head level were seemingly hundreds of wooden trout cutouts and round paper lanterns all sporting a fall leaf color scheme.

My lovely wife and I arrived close to 7:00 pm and immediately noticed the high level of testosterone in the room. These guys had their game faces on! After sampling the fine hors d’oeuvres catered by the Bluestone Grill we sauntered over to the bar sponsored by the Hancock Liquor Store. They had a particularly nice cabernet from Chile that was enjoyed by many in attendance.

Opening remarks were made by “Coz” Costolnick and Dan Plummer, event organizers and prominent members of FUDR. The honorable Assemblyman Clifford Crouch was the featured speaker. He talked about his history of addressing the needs and concerns of residents and visitors to the Delaware River watershed. He emphasized the work being done to mitigate flood events, to enhance the fishery and to restore several creeks in the Hancock area to their pre-flood productivity.

Following the speakers, the auction started in earnest. About half of the items available for the fundraising auction were offered by silent auction and the remaining items went via live auction presided over by Coz. Three particularly nice watercolors of Delaware River fly fishing scenes passed the $1,000 dollar mark very quickly. Unfortunately well beyond the bidding limits we had set for ourselves. Other auction items included; shadowboxed flies, handmade primitive fishing tools, fly rods, reels, matted and framed prints, and various other pieces of gear.

The dinner and auction served as a very enjoyable opener to the One Bug competition set for Saturday and Sunday. During the competition, 13 teams of two anglers and a guide are assigned beats on the Delaware’s main stem. Each angler must select one fly to be used during the day. If that fly is lost or destroyed, the competitive fishing ends for that angler for the remaining portion of the day. Flies may only be repaired through use of adhesive or sharpening of the hook. During each day only six fish can be selected by each angler for measurement. Points are awarded based upon the total length of each fish. A bonus of 100 points is awarded for retaining the original fly until the day’s end.

Good luck anglers and enjoy the finest trout fishery in the East, the great Delaware River.

Story by: Coach
Gourmand and International Man of Leisure

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