VOLUME 30, ISSUE 4. October 2023
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This photo was from our Photo Competition where the winners were announced at our September Members Monthly Meeting. This photo won 1st Prize in the category "Where we Fish", and was taken by John Vaccaro. "Taking a break on the shores of Penstock Lagoon enjoying the cloud buildup late one afternoon". |
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Featured content
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"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope". ~ by John Buchan ~ |
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Next Members Monthly Meeting
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Our next Members Monthly Meeting will be held at The Freeway Hotel in Artarmon, on the corner of Reserve Road and The Gore Hill Freeway. The meeting will kick off at 7:00pm on Monday, 9th October 2023.
Our guest speaker will be our Events Committee Member Jared Klein, and his topic will be "River Craft", which promises to be a very informative presentation covering the many aspects of fishing the various types of streams.
Please view further down the Flyrodder for the details. |
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Next Members Monthly Fly Tying
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The Next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting will held on Monday, 16th October 2023 at our usual venue in the Green Room of the Henley Community Centre, kicking off at 7:00pm.
See further details below under the Monthly Fly Tying segment. |
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Denis Hill with a gorgeous Mataura River brown from the February 2023 NZ Trip.
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Dear {Contact_First_Name},
My apologies for missing the September Fly Rodder, as our editor explained I was away in Spain. But I am back safe and sound and looking forward to this season, the membership renewal period is over, and we have 214 members and I look forward to catching up with you all over the coming months.
My trip to Spain was a holiday with my wife and another couple and my only requests of the travel itinerary was a visit to a special winery and a couple of days fishing in the Pyrenees, I was lucky enough to get both my requests and they were spectacular. I contacted Adrain Satue of Pyrenees Fly Fishing to organize my fishing and Adrain advised me to stay in Graus at the foothills of the Pyrenees, it’s a beautiful little village that has existed since Paleolithic times and in roughly its current format since the 10th century.
From Graus, Adrian was able to offer me a number of fishing options, including fishing for trophy browns in one of the lower rivers, but I opted to fish for Zebra trout in the high mountains. The streams we fished at elevation were crystal clear and surrounded by stunning mountains, just to be there was worth the trip, but the fish were there too. For my two days I only fished dry flies and of those a little custom tied CDC fly of Adrain’s was the standout, the fly required drying every second cast, but when I tried anything else on, the fishing immediately slowed, tie the CDC back on a bang another fish.
The Zebra trout are a unique variant of the brown trout, small but a jewel of a fish with four dark bands running vertically down their sides. Fishing high up in the mountains the Zebras were very willing and lighting fast, but by lunch time on the first day I had so many to hand we decided to try a slightly lower river that held a both Zebras and browns and for all I know maybe some hybridized fish (I couldn’t tell), again crystal clear, but slower water and again great fishing with the browns running up to a pound and a half. The next day we were high in the mountains again, stunning scenery and willing fish in a number of environments including a meandering stream on the valley floor that reminded me very much of Ogilvies, minus the tussock grass and the wombat holes (I didn’t miss the wombat holes).
A wonderful two days fishing which Adrian made very easy. The thing that surprised me the most was the complexity associated with access. Adrain wanted the flexibility to move locations if the water levels in one location weren’t optimal, but, in order to have those options on the first day, Adrian had three separate licenses to cover the three districts we might fish in then 5 additional access permits. If you were traveling with your own gear I am sure you could find and catch fish, but it would be a real battle to make sure you were doing it legally with licenses and permits. Check out the photos below you can see it was worth my missing the September meeting – that’s Adrian in my club cap.
Oh and a little non fishing aspect of the trip that surprised me was the cost of food and drink, about a third of Australia, I wasn’t expecting that. A cup of coffee and a croissant the equivalent of 4 dollars Aussie, salmon was $16 Kg and Kiwi fruit imported from New Zealand was cheaper than I can buy in Coles or Woolies – somethings not right, the Coles and Woolies duopoly ?
Tight Lines,
President
Denis Hill
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Gavin with a Mitta Mitta brown on our April 2023 trip.
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Well, that didn't take long and the trout season is now open, and looking like a great season ahead but the predicted heat looks a bit worry some.
We have many trips and events scheduled on our calendar over the coming spring, summer and autumn. Kicking off is the tuition Weekend at the end of October in Wallerawang. We still have 9 spots available, and this trip is a steal with accommodation costs of $167 for the 2 nights of the weekend; plus each attendee has their own room. This event is closely followed by the camping trip to Geehi and Long Plain. Then we have a Tassie trip in December and another in February. If that isn't enough we have Big River in March and Mitta Mitta in May; with many other get togethers planned in between; and regular as clockwork we have the Monthly Members Meeting, Monthly Casting Practice and Monthly Fly Tying; all of which we have details in this edition of the Flyrodder.
With regards to the Big River trip in March we again have Tom Jarman available to trip attendees for his guiding expertise over the week. For those who aren't aware, Tom is the current Captain of The Australian Fly Fishing team. They have just last month competed in the World Fly Fishing Championships, in Slovakia, and Tom finished 4th in the World and the team finished 7th overall. Making the achievement even more remarkable is that they fished for grayling, a fish that is more familiar to European countries than Australia; an incredible achievement. Tom is a wonderful fly fisherman and an equally good teacher. He will be staying with us at The Blue Duck Inn and he has kept his rates the same for The Sydney Fly Rodders; which are $700 per day for a single angler or $900 per day for 2 anglers sharing ($450 per day each sharing). This is wonderful value for money. I'll be organising this for attendees once we are fully booked. Having Tom staying with us is also a bonus as he willingly shares information over dinner and drinks.
We've just held last month our Annual Fly Tie-In event where Dave Wilson stepped us through tying 9 different patterns that will come in very handy this summer. A full report appears later in this Flyrodder.
We've also had wonderful guest speakers at our Monthly Members Meetings, and attendance has literally been through the roof and thus providing a wonderful atmosphere and vibe. This is set to continue with the great list of speakers that Steve Peach is putting together from his wonderful contact base.
I certainly recommend new members attending some of our trips and events as apart from the social aspects and meeting fellow members, you'll have the opportunity to learn so much and therefore improve your skill level. If you would like to discuss any of these trips and find out more about them, then please feel free to make contact and chat about them.
So will look forward to catching up at these upcoming events. Gavin van der Wagen Editor. gavin@vit.com.au |
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Last Monthly Meeting and Guest Speaker Report |
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Our long time member Bob Stevenson provided a wonderfully entertaining and interesting presentation and talk. We learnt so much about Bobby the comedian; we all knew that he had the gift of the gab!!!. And this wasn't his First Rodeo either.
Well, where does one start? Watch the video on our Members Private Library on YouTube, and you certainly won't be disappointed!!!! That's a great start. Over the past couple of years Bob must have travelled to over 20 countries on various fishing trips, and Bob covered many of them in his presentation. I guess his trips were now and then interrupted by his work; a very sound approach and strategy. He certainly has got the work/life balance thing licked!
We had yet another wonderful turn out of 60 members and there was a wonderful atmosphere and buzz about the place.
The photos below tell a story, I can't think of any more suitable words, phrases to describe how great the presentation was; so just log into our website and watch the video; Simple!!
You can view this meeting video and indeed all the previous presentations on our Members Private Video Library on YouTube. To view them please Login to our Sydney Fly Rodders Website; click on Members and select YOUTUBE CHANNEL, as per the picture below.
We have many wonderful videos in our Private Members Video Library, in fact they're all wonderful and informative, plus you can view them at your leisure!
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Following are some pictures of the meeting. |
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Steve Peach runs this meeting whilst President Denis Hill is sunning himself on the Spanish Iberian Peninsula! |
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We had a great turnout on the night. |
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Steve Peach and Treasurer James Webber |
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David Blackwell instigated the Photo Competition and here he kicks off the announcement of the winners; David, Mark Bransgrove at left and Murray Kelso at right were the photo competition judges. |
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And 1st Prize in the category "Where we Fish" goes to..... |
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He's in this photo; John Vaccaro, back right hand side |
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David announcing the winners in the "Where we Fish" category. |
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John Vaccaro's winning entry |
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Fred Bryson wins 2nd spot in the "Where we Fish" category. |
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Rob Cummins wins 3rd prize in the category "Where we Fish". |
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David Caddies wins 1st Prize in the category "Fish On". |
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Bob Hart wins 2nd prize in the category "Fish On" |
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Third prize in the "Fish On" category goes to Peter Levy |
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Murray Kelso about to announce the winners of the "Fish" category. |
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First prize in the "Fish" category goes to Jason Hemens |
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Steve Peach takes out 2nd prize in the "Fish" category |
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And 3rd prize in the "Fish" category goes to Nick Careless. Please see the section later in the Flyrodder for more details and a report on the competition. |
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We also had the draw for a fantastic raffle prize which was a $1,200 custom built fly rod by John Baricevic, our wonderful club member and owner of Barick Custom Rods. John has also run our rod building classes for around 7 years. John is in the centre, foreground of this pic. In the blue shirt. |
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Drum Roll as James Webber, Treasurer and raffle drawer extraordinaire, runs the draw; and the lucky winner is Nick O'Reilly, who became a club member very recently. |
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And now for the main course, Bob Stevenson kicks off his wonderful presentation. |
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An incredible list of fishing trips! |
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Bob's Top Tips, summarised from an extensive sample base! |
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Tumut is a wonderful local destination. There was also a segment on Tumut in the August Meeting presentation. |
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This is what you will encounter in Tumut |
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Bob covered a lot on the rigs that he employs |
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We currently have a number of Tassie trips each year, so this was valuable input. |
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A very interesting story on Alaska and lessons learned!!! |
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Fantastic scenery, fishing and wildlife experiences! |
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New Zealand and wonderful waters over the ditch |
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New Zealand in Southland based at Lumsden |
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This is where I want to visit!! |
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Montana, Yellowstone and various other great locations; I also want to visit here!! |
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Bob covered a wonderfully entertaining segment on his stand up comedy gigs that he runs, and there are some coming up soon in Sydney. He recently was in Edinburgh, Scotland with his "Not my First Rodeo" show; so his video is not to be missed!!! Bobby gave us a "snippet" of his comedian talents to close out the wonderful presentation. |
To view additional photos of our Meeting please click on this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/n47jr5zsX1yxifXo7 |
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Next Monthly Meeting and Guest Speaker |
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Our October Members Monthly Meeting is at our usual venue, The Freeway Hotel in Artarmon, on Monday the 9th October 2023, kicking off at 7:00pm.
Our Guest Speaker will be Jared Klein, our Events Manager on the Committee. Jared will be presenting on "River Craft" and sharing his extensive knowledge and experience fishing both socially and in competition For those unable to attend the meeting we will be recording the presentation and then uploading it to our Club Members Private Video Library on YouTube.
You will also be able to view all the previous meeting presentations that we have recorded, and view at your leisure.
Many of our attendees arrive a bit earlier and have dinner either before, else the bar staff will deliver your meal order to our meeting room and you can enjoy your meal, and or drink, whilst the meeting is underway. The food is good value for money and the company is priceless!! So come along and have a relaxing and entertaining meeting where you can meet other members and pick up on useful snippets information that is shared amongst the group.
Our Meeting is normally held on the 2nd Monday of each month, unless it is a public holiday; in which case it will be delayed a week.
There is ample parking in the parking garage under the Freeway Hotel, which is accessed from Dickson Avenue (at the back), just off Reserve Road, in Artarmon.
The address is 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon 2064 (for for GPS).
Looking forward to catching up at the meeting.
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We had three new members join our club in September.
We extend a warm welcome to George Kopsiaftis, Karen Quattrone and Rebecca Whittle to our Club.
We encourage new members to join in on the many activities that we run as this is a good way to meet other club members and also to improve your fly fishing skills and most importantly to have a great time.
Looking forward to meeting you at our Monthly Members Meetings and at events throughout the coming year. |
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Last Months Casting Practice Report |
CASTING REPORT FOR 10th SEPTEMBER 2023
In September we again laid out some markers to practice in more depth the reach mending drills we started in August. Avid readers (nb. plural in case there is more than just the Editor who read it) will recall a discussion of dragging and mending which I rambled on with in the September Flyrodder. In the field, we brought this to life (sort of) with flow-direction markers and marked out river bank boundaries. A wavy line of straggly, scrubby casuarinas made up one of the boundaries.
Given the features of the ‘river’ we created, we had a short discussion about exactly where a feeding fish would be likely to lie in such a stream. With a high degree of consensus among the group about just where that would be, all that remained was to decide how to approach, where to stand and how to cast to that fish. In a moment of contrariness, I invited members present to demonstrate the worst possible approach and cast they could make to the imaginary fish. This proved to be a more difficult task than I had imagined, given that the knowledge of fish behaviour, stream dynamics and stalking skills are so ingrained, we hardly know how to fail, at least theoretically. That’s our story anyway. Nevertheless, for our benefit Rob C pulled off a spectacularly competent demo of a poor presentation first go, illustrating a whole raft of sins and omissions for group discussion. You have to be very good to show such contrived failure – so bad, but so good, Rob!
The reach mend cast starts with (1) false-casting a controlled loop much higher above the target than usual, followed by a (2) presentation cast with a (3) well-timed follow down with the rod, simultaneously (4) moving the rod out to the right or left. It’s one of those complex skills where you might understand the sequence of moves, or even know how to do each element, but not get even close in first attempting all four together. Think back to your 4 or 5 year-old self learning to tie your shoelaces. Too many novel steps, too little dexterity. But, you eventually did it; not by thinking only, but by doing over and again, in sequence. Do the overhand knot first, right, then advance to loop formation. What helps? Hear it, see it, do it, part by part, mastering each step and then putting them together, one after the other.
What was apparent to me on the day was that the more time you spend mastering the initial skills, the easier and sooner the actual reach succeeds when it is all put together. That is, attempting for the first time the whole of a new sequence of actions all together in one go might be counterproductive because you might end up practising your mistakes. If the reaching part fails, query was it because of the way the reach was done (step 4), or the follow down (step 3), or the presentation move (step 2) or the lack of control over the loop in the first place (step 1)? Lesson: if workable, try to master each part of a complex skill in its component parts, not all at once. Maybe there’s something like this going on which prevents you from achieving the massive distance cast you dream of? There’s probably a foundational technique to that which you haven’t got sorted yet, which even the latest you-beaut new rod won’t help with.
This sequence-mastery approach might be a good mindset to develop for every cast (or any physical skill). Which leads to knowing how to recognize the parts themselves in sequence. Jason Borger wrote a book on flycasting that does this in exhaustive, almost algorithmic detail, with hundreds of fine drawings. Jason is the person who did all the casting for Brad Pitt’s character in the movie “A River Runs Through It”, so you may have seen his amazing skills in action. As to Jason’s book, Mel Kreiger (casting legend) might say, it’s one for the “engineers”, not the “poets”. Nevertheless, Jason is one of those annoying people who is brilliant in both ways. If you have seen the movie, you have seen the poetry.
If there is another cast you really need which has a necessary sequence of parts to do it well, it would be the roll cast. We’ll practise that on Sunday 8 October, not just to practice that cast and extend it in new directions, but to get to grips with the idea of practising a casting skill by identifying and mastering its sequences. The roll cast is a must for the beginner by the way and ideally would be the very first cast you ever learn.
For the ‘never held a flyrod in my life’ beginners, we’ll also have a look at some foundation level rod and line skills. If it’s not fun, we are not doing it! If you’ve got some such folk at home who wonder why you like flyfishing, or what it’s all about, these are some fun ways to get the message across.
Bronze level casting skills development will also get some time, so come along and watch a demo or give it a try yourself.
See you in the park
David Caddies
Our next Casting Practice will be held on Sunday, the 8th October. See the following section for further information.
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Some September Casting Practice Photos: |
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Looks like a real mend on an imaginary river, whilst on the left bank! |
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A river runs somewhere; downstream. |
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Getting set for a right bank roll cast in tricky conditions? |
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Fred Bryson taking instruction from David before giving a demo |
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Fred demonstrates his version |
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Rob Cummins demonstrating how it's not to be done; deliberately, which means he can do it!!!! Was he drawing on his past experiences?? |
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David sharing the finer points |
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James Webber seems to know what's going on by pointing out the "problem". |
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David wrapping up another wonderful session, that's raising the clubs overall and members individual casting skills to another level each month. |
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Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule. |
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SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 8 October 2023
Reminder: Leave your 9 – 10’ trout leader with the 5X tippet at home. Bring one which is 8’ – 8’6” and terminating in 8 or 10 lb tippet. This session will suit DT or WF floating lines, for the single-handers. Two-handers, bring what you got.
Start time is 9am: HOWEVER: If you wish to have a go at being evaluated for any one or more of the casts in the Bronze Skills Development Program and you would like to come earlier than 9, send me a text message to that effect on 0434 671 085 and I’ll be there to set it up, from 8am. Coaching and demonstrations will be going on after 9, but with not much opportunity for individual evaluations. Early notice would be appreciated, but don’t let that stop you from a late practice on Saturday to see if you’re ready!
All members are welcome to join in the club’s usual monthly practice session. If you want to know everything about the club’s casting practice sessions, read the whole blurb in the Flyrodder magazine.
WHERE: Timbrell Park, Henley Marine Drive, Five Dock. Go to the western end of Henley Marine Drive, past the cricket pitches, baseball nets and just past LIvvi’s coffee kiosk and kids’ playground area. There is an open area opposite where Ingham Avenue intersects with Henley Marine Drive which we usually use. It is not part of the sports fields. If conditions there are not suitable on the day, we will be just opposite, across the canal, or anywhere within sight that I can find.
If you can’t make it this time and want some good practical instruction to guide you, check out this site: https://www.flyfishersinternational.org/Learn/Learning-Center-Resources/Fly-Casting/Casting-Instruction
I don’t know if that link works for you. Google FFI flyfishing and delve around. Most stuff is open to non-members.
David Caddies
So come and give it a try, as there is so much to be gained by attending these sessions. And they are Free!!! The following are the remaining dates for Casting Practice in 2023: 8th October 5th November and 3rd December.
Put these dates in your diary. |
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Last Months Fly Tying Meeting Report |
Fly tying on 18th September with Dave Wilson
In this months tying we tied the Wooley Bugger, Shrek and Magoo; which are all forms of the famous Wooley Bugger fly pattern.
We had another good turnout on the night.
These are wonderful sessions with our fly tying guru Dave, so even if you are thinking about tying, and wondering about the benefits, please come along and give it a try as we have plenty of fly tying equipment, and you don't have to bring a thing; apart from yourself that is. Or you can just come and watch. Give it a go as we all commenced our fly tying in this manner and Dave will teach you the correct techniques and various tricks to make it a straight forward process. Then you'll kick off the best way and buy the appropriate equipment that suites your needs.
As Dave says "Learn the core skills and tie any pattern you like!"
Some photos from the session:
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The wooley bugger to get things started |
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Great to see some new members involved; plus the stalwarts |
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Ed's version of the woolley bugger |
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That seems to be the "problem" |
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Dave providing hands on tuition to David Blackwell |
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This is the fly tying bible |
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John Vaccaro is all concentration |
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My woolly bugger; it's not too shabby: Ed |
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Next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting |
Our next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting will be held on Monday, 16th October 2023, from 7:00pm to 9:30pm. The doors will open at 6:30pm to give you time to set up for a 7:00pm start.
Dave Wilson will again be leading the group, and this month on how to tie the Bullet Head Hopper, to be ready for summer and hopper season.
We normally have experienced tiers to help and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
For those who don't have a vise, we have ample spare one's available.
We particularly welcome first timers and all levels of fly tiers as you will all learn something from these wonderful sessions.
If you would like to just come and observe, then please do so to see if this is for you. You'll be surprised at how "easily" you can get into tying your own flies.
The venue is the Henley Community Centre in Hunters Hill, and we meet in the Green Room on the right as you enter.
The venue address is: Crown Street, Henley, NSW 2111. As you turn into Crown Street, from Victoria Road, take the first left and drive down a bit of a bumpy road, and it's the last building about a 100 yards down the drag. There's parking off the track and walk through a small road, but it's a short walk to the front door.
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Sydney Fly Rodders Photo Competition Winners |
At the last September Club Meeting we announced the prize winners for this year’s photo competition. Congratulations to the successful entrants and special thanks to all those who took the time and trouble to submit an entry.
The entries were able to capture the adventure we share and the beauty of the locations we fish.
We had 150 entries with the photos showing how far and wide our club member’s roam. Photo locations included New Zealand, Iceland, Mahakali River India, Fort Klamath Oregon and Montana USA, Kiribati, Broome Western Australia, Tasmania, as well as our favourite locations in NSW and Victoria.
Trout catches featured but there were also some great shots of Bass and saltwater monsters.
Special thanks to our webmaster, Alan Baldry who contributed his skills in receiving and compiling entries. Also, thanks to the judges, Mark Bransgrove, Murray Kelso and Dave Blackwell for the time and effort in co-ordination of the competition, careful consideration of entries and presentation of the results.
BWC Flies again showed their support for the Club and provided very valuable prizes. A big thank you goes to BWC.
The Committee is considering running the competition again in 2024 but this time they are likely to limit entries to photos taken between July 2023 and June 2024. So, take your camera or iphone with you whenever you fish and start collecting those magic moments for next year’s competition.
And the Winners are: |
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1st Prize: "Where we Fish" Category
John Vaccaro
Taking a break on the shores of Penstock Lagoon, Tasmania enjoying the cloud buildup late afternoon. |
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2nd prize: "Where we Fish" Category
Fred Bryson As part of the first ever Flyrodders trip to Tasmania, a few of us ventured west of Launceston for a day and were lucky enough to fish some beautiful stretches of water, including Beckett Creek near South Esk. |
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3rd Prize: "Where we Fish" Category
Rob Cummins
Simon Skerman loving the weather. The club’s annual trip to Long Plain was interrupted by some white rain. Fly Rodders are a tough lot! Snowing at Long Plain Camping Ground, NSW. |
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1st Prize: "Fish On" Category
David Caddies
Guide John (“Moose”) Gordon doing the honours for club member Peter Kelly during the club’s then annual trip to Taihape. The fish was a hefty brown trout, taken on a large dry pattern to suit the hatch - it being high summer’s cicada season. That fish showed enormous reluctance to finally come to the net; it really was a 2-man job in the end! Trout, Hautapu River, North Island, NZ. |
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2nd Prize: "Fish On" Category
Bob Hart
Bob’s wife, Patricia battles trout as guide, Ian Cole, watches. Ahuriri River, South Island, NZ. |
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3rd Prize: "Fish On" Category
Peter Levy
Fun in the sun in Kirabati, Christmas Island. |
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1st Prize: "Fish" Category
Jason Hemens
It was my best ever day fishing for bass out of my canoe - the fish were nailing black surface flies in amongst the snags. I love fishing out of my canoe because of the stealth and simplicity of it - plus you can get to some magical places the boats can't. Upper reaches of the Myall River NSW. |
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2nd Prize: "Fish" Category
Steve Peach
On Broughton Creek outside Berry on the South Coast, Doug Chang and I were chasing bream and estuary perch well down in the tidal stretches, but we found a school of sizeable bass, the best going 41cm to the fork. I had a bream rig on and the fish were eating my bream shrimp patterns on the bottom in 3-4m of water. |
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3rd Prize: "Fish" Category
Nick Careless
Photo is from a guided day drift boat on the Tumut River. |
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Annual Fly Tie-In in September |
The Club held it's Annual Fly Tie-In on Saturday 23rd September at the Henley Community Centre, which is also our venue for our Monthly Fly Tying event. Once again our Life Member and Fly Tying Maestro Dave Wilson was at the helm and ran a fantastic fly tying skills session, plus preparing all the materials to tie 9 patterns for the 25 attending members, who greatly benefited from Dave's practical fly tying expertise. Dave was ably assisted by Mark Bransgrove, Kevin Kai and fellow Life Members Alan Rogers and John Vaccaro. It really was a fantastic day and if that wasn't enough Life Member Andrew Corkish provided scones with jam and cream, for which he is famous within the club, plus he provided finger food for lunch. It was truly a most enjoyable day. Following are some photos of the day: |
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Dave Wilson with final setup prior to the 9am kickoff |
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We're off and running with the willow grub |
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We had a great setup for all the attendees |
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Everyone focussed on tying as per instruction |
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The finer point of tying the willow grub |
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Dave demonstrating how to tie off a fly with a half hitch. It can be done by hand or with this tool. |
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Two half hitches achieves the same as a whip finish |
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Using the whip finish tool |
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A useful tool for cutting foam and other such materials |
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My Willow Grub fly creation |
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Dave enjoying Andrew Corkish's home made scones |
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You can use this instead of "silly Legs"!! |
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A Gurgler tied by yours truly |
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Helicopter view of Gurgler |
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This was the gurgler pattern to be copied |
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For more photos of this event please click on the following link to our Google Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eZDQUrxYsswFSBxN7 |
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Interclub Meeting in April 2024 |
Our club is hosting this Interclub Meeting, scheduled for April 2024, with the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers. This is a heads up to save the date in your calendar, as we would like to have as many members participate as possible. It's a team event but more sociable and about having a good time. As we have more information to hand we will provide members with updates until all details are finalised. It's always an enjoyable event. |
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Tuition Weekend in Wallerawang - October 2023 |
On the River Tuition by Phil Burton This popular event, which is normally held at the end of July each year, has been moved to a later time slot, to enable on the river casting tuition. Being on moving water will allow us to cover, how to approach the river, read where fish might lie, practice achieving a dead drift by the use of high sticking, casting position and line mending. During the weekend will cover off the use of dry fly, nymph, dry dropper and streamers. We will also, where required, help with rod set up knots, fly selection etc. Phil Burton will be leading this tuition and will be ably assisted by other "volunteers" as required. Additionally, Steve Peach and Jared Klein have offered to run “Introduction to euro nymphing” sessions.
During previous skills weekend David Caddies has run casting lessons on the grass at Black Gold Motel & Cabins, this year there won’t be lessons on the grass and David will run “on water” roll casting and mending sessions. This weekend is a great opportunity for attendees to learn and practice on water so please, please, attend our Sunday morning casting practice and get your casting under control so you can make the most of this “on water” tuition. It will be very hard to practice the above “on water” techniques if you can’t make the basic casts, so get the casting practice.
The prime objective of this weekend is to share and impart fly fishing knowledge and skills to all levels of fly-fishing ability, with particular attention to beginners, new members and indeed any member who wishes to improve their skills. It has always included a good mixture of members with varying levels of fly-fishing experience, and who are always willing to share their knowledge and experience.
It's also a great way for new members to meet existing members and experience an enjoyable weekend away. We will be staying at the Black Gold Motel & Cabins at Wallerawang, arriving Friday, 27th October and departing Sunday, 29th October 2023.
The accommodation cost will be very reasonable, $167 per person for the two nights. Each attendee will have their own bedroom, to protect the non-snorers from the snorers. The Club has reserved the rooms and you can secure your spot on this Skills weekend via the “Events” section on our website and your booking covers your accommodation cost. Any extras such as drinks and food are to be paid individually, at the venue. Each attendee can open up their own tab to be settled prior to departure or pay as they go. If you do open a tab, please make sure you do settle prior to departure, the venue trusts the Fly Rodders and we don't want to lose that trust. These cabins are self-contained so you can self-cater and may wish to for breakfast and your packed lunch for the day, even for your dinner, but they do have a great restaurant where the majority of the group will be dining together.
Their website is: www.blackgoldcabins.com.au
At this time we have just 9 spots remaining, so please book as soon as practicable to avoid being disapointed. So, to book for this event you must book through the "Event" Section of our website, that secures your place and pays for your room.
Some photos from last years event:
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The accommodation is great value, plus they have a wonderful restaurant and bar/lounge area. |
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On the Friday night we all meet for dinner, and Phil Burton will chat to us briefly about the proceedings for the weekend. Then we'll probably all meet on Saturday night again as the meals are well priced and it beats cooking. |
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Last year we had presentations, but this year the tuition will be on the water and practical. |
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Steve Peach (in this photo) and Jared Klein will be running sessions on an "Introduction to Euro Nymphing" |
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David Caddies, on the left, will also be running on the water practical sessions covering roll casting and mending |
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David Caddies did run sessions last year on the water at the Millpond in Portland |
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Phil Burton will this year be leading on the water sessions covering all the skills that you will need to fish rivers effectively. |
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Big River Trip - March 2024 |
This will be our fourth annual trip to Big River. It will be during "hopper season"!!
Once again we will be accommodated at The Blue Duck Inn, where Dinner is also available, plus at "The Willows", which is just up the road from the Blue Duck Inn in Anglers Rest.
Big River, is the Mitta Mitta River above Lake Dartmouth and above Anglers Rest.
The trip commences on Saturday, 16th March 2024 and we are out on the following Saturday, 23rd March 2024, so 7 nights all up. Accommodation cost is $525 per person for the week. As per the trip this year Tom Jarman is available to trip attendees for his guiding expertise over the week. For those who aren't aware, Tom is the current Captain of The Australian Fly Fishing team. They have just last month competed in the World Fly Fishing Championships, in Slovakia, and Tom finished 4th in the World and the team finished 7th overall. Making the achievement even more remarkable is that they fished for grayling, a fish that is more familiar to European countries than Australia; an incredible achievement. Tom is a wonderful fly fisherman and an equally good teacher. He will be staying with us at The Blue Duck Inn and he has kept his rates the same for The Sydney Fly Rodders; which are $700 per day for a single angler or $900 per day for 2 anglers sharing ($450 per day each sharing). This is wonderful value for money. I'll be organising this for attendees once we are fully booked.
Every attendee has their own bedroom.
The Willows is located about 8 minutes from the Blue Duck Inn, and is fully self-contained. They do breakfast and this can be pre-arranged. Else you can either take all your provisions or you can have dinner at The Blue Duck Inn, which has a good restaurant; but they don't do breakfast or lunch.
Anglers Rest is some 726Kms and an 8.5 hour drive from Sydney, Forestville exactly.
It is also 30 Kms from Omeo, should you need to buy some supplies.
Should you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to call or email me. Else Login to the website, select Events and go to the March 2024 calendar and select the Big River trip and make your booking to secure your spot.
Regards,
Gavin van der Wagen gavin@vit.com.au
0411877546 |
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The Blue Duck Inn, with cabins in the background |
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The restaurant at The Blue Duck Inn - great food and venue |
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The upper reaches of the beautiful Cobungra River |
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Big River - upper reaches |
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The Cobungra River higher up |
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The Big River looking very clear |
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An early morning view from The Willows accommodation. |
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Mitta Mitta Trip - May 2024 |
This will be our 11th annual pilgrimage to Mitta Mitta. It will be in on the Saturday, 18th May 2024 and out on the following Saturday, the 25th May 2024; so 7 nights all up at $525.
We will be staying at the “Pink House”, the Caravan Park and a Unit behind the General Store, all a close walk to the Mitta Mitta Pub and Bistro; plus Murphy's House a 2 minute drive from the pub. So just a short trip to quench your thirst or dine at their fabulous and reasonable Bistro. Every attendee has their own bedroom.
You can take your own food and drinks, or you can eat at the Mitta Mitta Pub or a combination. Many members eat only at the pub.
Further up the road, about 30 K’s, there is also a good pub at Eskdale (which you pass through) and also an IGA and fuel. Mitta Mitta has a very small and limited general store and fuel.
The local dairy farmers allow us to fish on their properties, so we have access to many spots without competition!
There are many river options to fish, including the Mitta Mitta, Snowy Creek (runs right past the pub and caravan park), Lightning Creek, Wills Creek, Little Snowy Creek (near Eskdale) etc.
It’s about a 7 hour drive and 646 kilometres away.
I will provide more information to the attendees as required and then prior to the trip.
Should you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to call or email me. Else Login to the website, select Events and go to the May 2024 calendar and select the Mitta Mitta trip and make your booking to secure your spot.
Regards,
Gavin van der Wagen gavin@vit.com.au
0411877546 |
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The Mitta Mitta Pub and Bistro, with the General Store Accom just to the left out of picture |
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The Pink House across the road from the Pub |
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The Mitta Mitta River from a farmer's property |
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The stunning Snowy Creek upstream |
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Some of the friendly locals who always come to greet us |
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Snowy Creek near the confluence with Lightning Creek |
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A magical evening on the Mitta Mitta River |
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Autumn colours on Little Snowy Creek at Eskdale |
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This is what we find there |
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Sydney Fly Rodders Facebook Pages |
We run two SFRC pages, one is our public page and it posts events and activities of the club. It also shares posts from other pages like CAS, DPI on things relevant to the places and areas that we fish.
I post some fly tying every now and then and share links to events I find that might be of interest to followers. This page is a little like our Web page, it showcases the club to attract members and provides details of club events. It has about 450 people following the page and any post will be seen by between 180 and 240 people.
We added another page. This is reserved for members only and cannot be seen by anyone outside of the group. You will need to send a request to join. Any member can post on this page and it is a great opportunity for members to put up a post or two about anything fly fishing. I would like to encourage members to use this page to post fishing reports or photos of flies that you tied. Being connected to other members you can ask for some casting or gear advice, or organise a short trip when you suddenly have some spare time.
There are also hundreds of other groups; bream on fly, carp on fly, bass, trout....areas like alpine trout, Sydney Kayak Fishing....fly tying groups, buy sell swap fly gear pages and individuals like Aussie Flyfisher, Sydney Flyfishing to check out.
Phil Burton
philipburton@bigpond.com |
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Sydney Flyrodders Instagram Page |
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The Sydney Fly Rodders are now on Instagram. Many thanks to our Member Maddie Chew Lee, who offered to set us up and apply her significant experience with marketing and communications in particular within the social media space.
Please follow the site and add your comments, and lets grow this platform for the club. It will also attract new members to the club.
Below is a snapshot of the site. We aim to sync (in particular look and feel) the Instagram account with our Facebook account and also our new Website, which I talk more about in the preceding section. |
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Sydney Fly Rodders WhatsApp Group |
We have an Exclusive Group on WhatsApp for our Members, which is a great way to communicate informally and to share ideas, seek advice and also to plan and seek interest for impromptu/planned fishing trips.
I can highly recommend this to members. We have arranged a number of trips now from a weekends bass fishing through to a casual and social Sunday morning or afternoons fishing at Narrabeen Lake or Hen & Chickens Bay etc. And there could even be a BBQ thrown in for a social get together afterwards. This will happen on most if not all occasions.
Should you wish to be included in this group, then please email me to request your inclusion, quoting your mobile number which is required to link you into the Group. You will need to download the WhatsApp first if you haven't already done so.
Please contact me for inclusion.
Gavin van der Wagen Editor, Flyrodder gavin@vit.com.au |
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