About Our Chapter

Our President's Message

Welcome to the Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited (UCCTU) website. Centered in Roswell, GA, UCCTU attracts members from throughout the Atlanta metro area. Our 900+ members predominately reside in the areas from Sandy Springs to Alpharetta and East Cobb to Dunwoody.

UCCTU members enjoy fishing and the environs where trout are found. We are concerned about the preservation of these precious resources, and for this reason, our organization is committed to conserving, protecting and restoring coldwater fisheries. Some of our activities focus on the Chattahoochee River Tailwater which has been named by TU as one of America’s 100 Best Trout Streams. It is on this river where we monitor the quality of water from its tributaries and we partner with other organizations on cleanup projects. Every year we also devote considerable volunteer time to enhancing the habitat of native brook trout in North Georgia streams. The Chapter also serves as an advocate with elected representatives and government officials in support of coldwater conservation.

Many of our activities require dedicated effort and hard work, but we always manage to have a lot of fun along the way. Some of that fun includes monthly fishing trips to local waters where beginners and newcomers to the area are mentored by more experienced members. We also coordinate weekend fishing trips for members to destinations throughout the Southeast.

We recognize the need to pass along our passion for fishing and love of the environment to the next generation. To this end, we support educational activities for youth such as the Georgia TU Council’s Trout Camp, UCCTU’s Rizzio Clinic for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 15, and instruction for Boy Scouts to earn the Fly Fishing Merit Badge. Several local schools benefit from our Trout in the Classroom Program, which enables students to learn math, biology, chemistry and environmental science topics while watching trout grow from eggs to fingerlings. Seeing the expressions on students’ faces as they release these fingerlings into local waters is a truly memorable experience.

UCCTU offers a wide variety of ways for individuals to make a lasting contribution to protecting and preserving coldwater fisheries. If you have an interest in helping with these efforts, or if you would like to learn more about fly fishing local waters, I would encourage you to join us at our monthly meetings and participate in our activities.

Hope to see you soon.

Mark Romzick, President
Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited
president@ucctu.org

Important Chapter Documents

Click on the links below to download UCCTU's foundational documents.

TU IRS Letter:

Trout Unlimited IRS Letter

UCCTU Bylaws:

UCCTU-Bylaws-9-24-2019 PDF

UCCTU Strategic Plan 2018 - 2022 Final-Approved11-30-17_0 PDF


New Member Welcome PDF

Chapter Brochure PDF

Chartered in 1959, Trout Unlimited (https://tu.org) is a national conservation organization with more than 400 chapters in 35 states throughout the US. The mission of TU is the conservation, protection, and restoration of North America's cold water fisheries and their watersheds. This mission is carried out by more than 10,000 volunteers who make up the active chapters and through a paid staff at the national office in Arlington, Virginia.

Georgia has 12 active chapters, five of which are located in the Atlanta metro area. Chartered in 1983, Upper Chattahoochee Chapter (UCCTU) is one of the largest and most active chapters in the country. To our credit, we have received three national awards: the "Gold Trout" award for the best chapter in the country (2019); the "Silver Trout" award for overall chapter performance; and the Bollinger Award for the best chapter newsletter. Additionally, several of our members serve in leadership positions at the TU state and national levels.

Our chapter's "home water" is the Chattahoochee River. The 540 mile Chattahoochee flows southwesterly from the north Georgia Mountains to its Flint River confluence at Lake Seminole. Beginning at Lake Lanier behind the Buford Dam, approximately 48 miles of the 'Hooch' flows through Atlanta. This is a tailwater fishery populated mostly with brown and rainbow trout. Rainbows are stocked on a periodic basis and in recent years browns have begun reproducing naturally in the upper sections of the tailwater. Excellent hatches of caddis, mayflies, and midges keep fly fishers entertained and our chapter is a strong proponent of "catch and release." Below Morgan Falls Dam, there is a Delayed Harvest (DH) section that provides additional trout fishing opportunities.

The Chattahoochee River is a unique resource. While the proximity of the Chattahoochee tailwater to a major metropolitan area presents some challenges to the fishery, Atlanta is the only major city in the United States with a trout stream flowing around and within its borders. Additionally, the Chattahoochee tailwater is the second most southern trout stream in North America.

Though the Chattahoochee is an integral part of our heritage, our sphere of influence goes beyond our home waters. UCCTU is actively involved in conserving and restoring several streams in North Georgia. As an example, in the 1990s, our chapter "adopted" Cooper Creek and over a number of years in partnership with the US Forest Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other chapters made significant improvements to this stream. More recently our chapter has worked actively with others to make improvements to Pretty Branch Creek which has resulted in the natural reproduction of brook trout, the native trout species in the eastern United States.

The Upper Chattahoochee Chapter has a rich tradition of working with other organizations including the US Forest Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Earth Share of Georgia and other organizations. In addition to our conservation mission, we have a special interest in education and encouraging today's youth to become tomorrow's TU leaders.

We welcome you to join our chapter, to actively participate, and to enjoy the fishing, conservation, and other activities that further our mission and make us a "flagship" organization.

Officers, Directors, and Advisors

TitleName
PresidentMark Romzick
Executive VPJim Harvey
Vice President and Conservation ChairmanBruce Payne
TreasurerSean Muscio
SecretaryCharlie Bennett
Trout in the Classroom ChairmanJames Byrd
Communications ChairmanTom Woods
Membership ChairmanJack Killorin
Fundraising Chairman
Events and ProgramingPete Dvornek
Social Ryan Hartley
DirectorKen Mock
DirectorDenny Desmond