VOLUME 31, ISSUE 2. August 2024

The subject of how to increase the participation of our members in the club’s activities continues to worry the Committee. Previous requests for input from the members regarding what they would like to see more or /less of, changes or additions to our activities have not resulted in a lot of feedback. Alan Baldry has now taken up the challenge and is creating an online poll to facilitate members being able to easily provide their thoughts and preferences on club activities. Please take part in the poll when you receive the flyer, it’s your chance to shape the Club’s future direction.

At our July Club Meeting we held a discussion session where we ran through a series of subjects, hopefully of interest to both our less and more experienced anglers. The answers and opinions on the issues raised came from our attendees in general and from Steve Peach in particular who brought his competition fishing experience to bear.

As we didn’t record the discussions, I was asked on the evening to provide the details of some of the relevant points, so here you go:

Discussing waders the benefits of waders with a zip down the front for our male Flyrodders I lamented the cost of the top end zippered waders (Simms, Orvis and the like) at nearly 2K). This bought to light a number of solid brands with zippers around the $600 mark, being, Hurley Stalker, Redington Escape and Snowbee – there are a couple of other lesser-known brands of zip waders on the market but they weren’t mentioned by our members.
Repairing waders – Steve recommended Aquaseal FD to seal off leaks when you find them. And to find leaks you can try using spray bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol ( both the Isopropyl and the spray bottle are available at Bunnings). Spray the area where you suspect the leak is and any holes will come up as a dark spot. Rub the Aquaseal into the identified hole.
Re-water proofing your waders or jackets – Simms recommend product called Revivex, Orvis recommend Nikwax® TX-Direct or Revivex® Spray-On Water Repellent
Affordable Australian branded rods – A1 Fly Fishing nice casting rods for the money, and replacement sections available quickly and affordably:
Wading sticks – I was asked what brand my stick is – Leki – wanderfreund.
Large zingers for nets or wading sticks – Gear Keeper.

Hope I covered everything.

Tight lines

Denis

From the Editor

Jason with a bass from his canoe taken on a surface fly

Fellow Flyrodders,

As I write this, I’m stuck slap bang in the middle of the closed season, flopping about helplessly like a fish in a net.

I’ve been splitting my time between planning adventures for next season and reliving memories of the last.

What I’ve come to realise is how vividly the places I’ve been to stay with me, along with the people I’ve enjoyed fishing with and getting to know. There’s a few flashbacks of trout I’ve managed to fool here and there, but they feel more like the dessert than the main meal.

It's the rivers and lakes and landscapes and people I remember most fondly. Perhaps the true appeal of fly fishing is where it takes you and who you share those experiences with.

Cheers,

Jason Hemens - Editor

Trip Report: Lake Macquarie Luderick

Dave Robinson hooked up to a hard fighting luderick

By Jason Hemens

A small group of Flyrodders met up at BWC Flies one Saturday morning in July for a customary chat with the lovely Brett and Cherie and a few justifiable purchases. Afterwards, we decided to try our luck for a few hours fly fishing for luderick in Lake Macquarie. Dave Robinson knew a couple of likely spots, so we followed him with high hopes of a few fish.

Dave was already out of his car by the time the rest of us pulled into the car park. I watched him put on his beanie with a grim expression. “Wind’s going to be a big problem for me today.”

Greg Wordsworth and I exchanged a glance, unsure of the wind he was referring to. Sensing our schoolboy humour, Dave shook his head and pointed up at a palm tree. “That wind, up there.”

Dave was right. The palm tree was swaying dangerously in the face of a localised hurricane. Gavin Van Der Wagen, a local pensioner we’d kindly taken out for a day trip as part of a community service initiative, muttered something about the comfort of his slippers and rocking chair back home.

We rigged up, complaining about how tough the conditions were going to be. Surely we were mad to even attempt something like this? We nodded our heads in solemn agreement, signing off our excuses by mutual consent in a time honoured flyfishing tradition.

And so we strode purposefully towards the breakwall with chins down, beanies on and our fly rods bending in the wind. As it turned out, the breakwall provided an excellent wind break, which was a plus, while simultaneously stripping us of any excuses, which was a minus.

The channel looked very promising with deep water and a run out tide that offered a decent drift. We fished with weed flies under indicators, each of us at differing depths to start with.

Greg was the first to hook up. I was really happy to see his 6 weight bend under the spirited run of a fish, knowing a luderick had been on his hit list for a while.

High fives all round. Well done Greg.

Greg steers his fish away from the rocks

A well deserved first

And then, on his next cast, Greg was on again. And again, moments later.

“What depth are you fishing Greg?”

“About nine feet under the indicator. You?”

“About the same.”

“What weed fly are you using Jason?”

“The one I stole from your fly box five minutes ago.”

Our conversation was rudely interrupted by Greg’s fourth fish. Then his fifth. The young lad who had turned up a virgin luderick angler was quickly becoming a man of dubious morals.

By the time he had half a dozen in the net, my initial joy at a fishing buddy’s success was fading. There's a fine line between fishing well and making your fishing friends doubt their ability, and I reckoned Greg was tiptoeing his way right down the middle of that line without a care in the world. So I did what any self-respecting flyfisher would do in the circumstances. I waited until he left for a toilet break and stole his spot. It was a master stroke.

Ka-ching!

By our lunchtime break, we had all caught a few and thoroughly enjoyed tussling with the hard fighting luderick. As a rockfisher from way back, there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching a float and anticipating its disappearance below the surface. It was the same thrill fly fishing for luderick with indicators.

Dave getting in on the act

When the tide went slack at dead low the hot bite ran cold. Thankfully, there was a pie shop within walking distance so we waited it out with steaming pepper pies and chips overdosed with chicken salt. A very different experience to walking TCD in the cold for no fish on a club trip just a few weeks prior.

After finishing our two course meal, we tried our luck again. It wasn’t long before Gavin hooked up to a decent fish that put a bend in his 8 weight.

Gav plays a solid luderick to the net

We all managed a couple of luderick on the incoming tide, but the fishing didn’t compare with the last few hours of the run out. So we pulled up stumps by mid-afternoon.

It had been a great day all round with willing fish, hot pies and a first for Greg. It was also a reminder of the many day trips members do together throughout the year with friends they’ve made through the club. I think this is a great benefit for younger members still trying to balance work, young children and their passion for fishing.

The Unemployed Angler’s Podcast Review

By Andrew Worotniuk

Recently I’ve been, “between jobs”. While this is great for mid-week fishing trips and getting on the vice, there’s only so much “quiet time” I can handle. And if you’re anything like me, and I imagine a few of you are, I love to fill my non-fishing time with all matter of fishy things. Enter the podcast. Less work than reading a book, podcasts are an easy way to get your fishing fix. Found online and usually free, they can fill time getting to and from the river, distract you while doing your chores or shut out the whatever background noise you might be looking to avoid. Below are a few that I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of months.

The Big Ones

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast: “With your host Tom Rosenbauer”. Probably the most well known fly fishing podcast, with the most well known host. Each week Tom interviews a guest about anything related to a particular style of fishing, type of fish, body of water or conservation issue. With his laid back and unassuming style, Tom’s guests are always given the space to talk openly and share their in-depth knowledge. Another neat inclusion is “the flybox” segment. Starting each episode the fly box sees listeners call or email questions that Tom answers on the air.

Trout Bitten: On this popular podcast, Domenick Swentosky, guide and author of the Trout Bitten blog (another great online resource), is joined weekly by a regular group of hosts as they share their thoughts, tips and reflections on different weekly topics. A great learning resource, the knowledgeable hosts often outline their dos and don’ts getting into the minute details and technicalities of any number of fly fishing related matters.

Wet Fly Swing Podcast: Hosted by Dave Stewart, this podcast claims to be one of the largest fly fishing podcasts in the USA. I’m not sure about this, but Dave does a good job interviewing a huge number of guests from across the world, talking to them about their different fishing experiences and local fishing opportunities. This podcast has been running for many years and is updated on a semiweekly basis with more than enough back episodes to keep you occupied.

The Little Ones

So Fly: So Fly is produced by a couple of self-defined “aging hipsters” from Southern Ontario, Canada. A relaxed and casual affair, So Fly produce a couple of podcasts a month and interview an assortment of guests that include well known guides, authors and fly-fishing entrepreneurs. So Fly also produces videos on You Tube and hosts many local events, making them much loved figures in the Southern Ontario fly fishing scene.

Anchored: This podcast features Anchored Outdoors coordinator April Vokey. Interviewing an array of interesting guests, April does a good job of delving into the lives of her guests and the experiences that led them down the fly fishing path. One of the few podcasts that includes a female host, this show brings some diversity to the usually male dominated fly fishing world.

Fly Fishing Journeys: This podcasts, as the name suggests, has a focus on the journeys of individuals who have pursued some sort of career in fly fishing. A real mix of guests get right into their area of work and the journeys that brought them to there. A somewhat shorter podcast, this one is an easy listen and has enough variety that you’re sure to find an episode of interest.

The Aussie Ones

The Australian Fly Fishing Podcast: In my mind the best Aussie Fly Fishing podcast out there. Josh Power hosts this one and while guests are often international, there is enough local content to give it an Australian flavour. A mix of guides, writers, company folks and more, this podcast covers a lot from a host who has a keen interest in a variety of fresh and salt water topics.

The Fly Fisher’s Podcast: Run by The Flyfisher shop in Victoria, this podcast has a big focus on Australian content and guests. With slightly shorter episodes, this is a great one to scroll through to try find some educational content that will no doubt transfer over to the fishing that some of us do.

The Intermediate Line: This one is not for me but worth a mention as there are not many Australian fly fishing podcasts. A pretty casual and sometimes chaotic affair, this podcast has a big back catalogue and long episodes. Sometimes with guests, sometimes not, this podcast seems to have a big focus on salt water with plenty of local content.

This is of course just a small selection of available podcasts. Over recent years the podcast space has continued to grow and I know there are many great productions not listed here. A simple internet search, or search on your favourite podcasting platform (Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc) will uncover many options. While quality may vary, the number of shows available means we should all be able to find something that meets our individuals likes and needs.

Last Monthly Meeting and Guest Speakers Report

For our July Monthly Meeting we had a night of open discussion where some of more experienced members answered questions from the floor.

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!

Denis kicks off the Q&A format of last month's meeting

Next Monthly Meeting and Guest Speaker

Our August Members Meeting is at our usual venue, The Freeway Hotel in Artarmon, on Monday the 12th August 2024.

The meeting will kick off at 7:00pm, but come along earlier and enjoy a pre meeting drink with fellow attendees. The doors will be open from 6:00pm.

Our guest speaker is long time member Gordon Dunlop. Gordon will be sharing his knowledge and experience on land based fishing options in the Sydney area.

So come along and enjoy another great night out with fellow members.

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 GPS).

Looking forward to catching up at the meeting.

Last Month's Casting Practice Report

By David Caddies

There was a good rollup for the continuation of our Fly Casting Skills Development efforts. Twenty members bent to the task at hand, regardless of the significance of it being Bastille Day. Apparently, that’s not too significant for us, as befits a nation thankfully short of autocrats and aristocrats (of the more obvious kind). Well, that’s the policy content done with, now on with the report.

I usually start the proceedings trying to provide some motivation and explanation or demonstration around some relevant aspect of casting, but this time we went straight into what the skills program had in store for us. Members generally sorted themselves into the right pathways with Gavin and George being all over the place to help out. The club now has its own equipment for these days, being tape measures, targets, all relevant FFI literature and signage as well as the rods, reels and lines we have courtesy of DPI.

I did manage to hive off a group of new members, first time attendees and others who had not been exposed to the FFI skills program before and introduce them to the old favourites – yes; the pick up and lay down cast and the roll cast. Two things always stand out for me in helping people to roll cast. One is the intensity which most bring to it as they try to get it right. They will go on and on, usually with more patience than they would devote to other casts. I think every caster initially only ever wants to master the roll cast because everybody says they should. Until they can do it and use it, it’s not really possible for someone to appreciate how much it can expand their fishing skills and general casting competence. Good overhead casting is a great pleasure in itself and for some, that’s sufficient, sometimes for many years into their fishing life. So, it’s only after they can do the roll cast well that the benefits reveal themselves. The second thing I notice is the pleasure and confidence the caster feels by being able just to master the cast which, for various reasons, is supposed to be difficult. I suppose some might decide to grapple with the roll cast just to save flies finding the trees behind them quite so often, but it’s vastly more than that. Anyway, there were a couple of members flashing very big smiles as their roll casts rolled out properly for the first time. The “Aha!” moment. And of course, they get the tick for that cast in the Bronze level of skills development.

Speaking of which, two more members finished qualifying for the Bronze. One of them took a lazy 4 years to do so, notably due to lack of opportunity rather than dilatoriness (or maybe some of each?). He waltzed through all 7 casting tasks in one attempt! Talk about hiding your light under a bushel. The other Bronze qualifier took a few months but persistence paid off – a very broad smile capped off a fine final effort of 3 separate tasks in one go. That second story tells me something about the levels being ordered as they are. I can safely say that a person who is unable, at first attempts, to cast the Bronze distance cast, which is the final in the series, can often do so once they have worked through the previous 6 tasks, none of which are distance casts. Which is of course, the whole theory of the program – master the basics and the more difficult casts are easier because they build on the basics.

See you next time,

David

Is that a fly rod or a lightsaber Peachy?

Members work on their skills development with help from David, Gavin and George

Poetry in motion...

Straight down the line...

Following club tradition, differences of opinion were resolved by duel

Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule.

SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 11 August 2024

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.

So come and give it a try, as there is so much to be gained by attending these sessions. And they are Free!!!

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.

For 2024, we have moved to the second Sunday of the month, except for May as it's Mother's Day.

So put these dates in your diary for 2024:

11th August 2024

8th September 2024

13th October 2024

10th November 2024

8th December 2024.

Last Month's Fly Tying Meeting

Peachy took the helm of our fly tying meeting last month

Steve Peach led the session and showed members how to tie a selection of quick and easy flies to fill a euro-nymphing box.

Thanks for your time and expert guidance Steve, and thanks also to David Major for the photos.

All materials are provided at fly tying meetings - including loan kits for beginners

Alan Baldry in deep concentration

The proof is in the pudding...

Next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting

Our next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting will be held on Monday, 19 August 2024, from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. The doors will open at 6:30 pm to give you time to set up for a 7:00 pm start.

Beginners are very welcome with experienced tiers giving help.

We provide all materials. If you don’t have your own tools, we have loan kits.

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.

The Flyfisher's Friend

Mind your weight

How, and how hard, do you strike with the rod to hook a fish? The following article discusses that topic based on freshwater tactics for trout. Saltwater fishing hook-setting techniques are almost the opposite of what you read here and that needs its own story. For now, adjust your vision to a lovely trout stream and consider the following.

Are you failing to set the hook on a take? Busting off fish by breaking the tippet at the hookset or immediately after? Hook thrown seconds after the strike? Your movement to strike may be well-timed, but you’re still missing – regularly? What’s going on? Weight of rod, line, tippet all contribute to balanced gear – getting that right is a start. However, size of fly, size and strength of quarry, water and weather conditions all vary, testing that balance often enough as you fish through a day, even if you often change rigs to suit the moment. What can you do to help set the hook and avoid break offs at the hookset?

Consider what happens when we correctly strike at the take by a trout. Since your rod hand has the line firmly gripped to the cork at all times, thus giving you immediate tension to the line on the water, you lift the rod to a point somewhere short of vertical and the line comes tight to the fly which, we assume, is then in the fish’s closed mouth. Voila – correct line length to do the job and the rod’s tip bends readily to take the tension. As a consequence, all of the line and most of the leader is off the water by the time of hookup, giving the fish very little leverage against which to put pressure on the line. With balanced gear, all should be well as the rod flexes to take pressure off the tippet.

If you fish by holding the line only in your line hand (and not clamped to the rod grip with the rod hand as well), be sure to not allow slack line between line hand and stripper guide. Any such slack just contributes to the problem in scenario 1 below and even just by itself accounts for many missed hook ups if you are not conscious of it.

Aside from that ‘ideal’ just described, things might not be so straightforward and that’s where the failures can occur. Two scenarios:

1. Too much slack line out? (Assuming you wanted all that slack out there? So - you lift into the strike but there’s still slack left over and no certain hook up).

STRIP and LIFT: You’ll need to not only lift the rod as high as you can (without taking the rod tip past your shoulder if possible) but strip the line in with your line hand simultaneously. If this doesn’t do it, you keep stripping like mad, with the object of finding tension and keeping it, hoping always that the fly is still in the fish’s mouth. Even if it is, this caper will usually give it time to throw the hook even if it penetrated at all. If your post-mortem guides you to considering how better to manage your drifting fly line in the first place, also spare a thought to the necessity when stripping like this to always, after each strip, place the stripped line back under the first finger holding onto the rod grip. I find great joy in watching anglers in this situation flailing for the line with the line hand and having little chance of grabbing it cleanly because it’s flapping around in fresh air, only constrained by the stripper guide, the rod hand doing nothing to fix it where it can be found without looking. However, I don’t get anywhere near such joy when I do it myself.

2. A straight line to the fly?Ie no slack at all. (Maybe lucky to even get the take?).

SLIP and LIFT: A tight line would be much easier you would think because you don’t have to move the rod far to set the hook. However, if you raise the rod and it comes tight not much above horizontal, there’s probably still a fair bit of line and leader on the water, giving the fish leverage after the hookset to break the tippet (or worse, part of its jaw), especially in strong current. More importantly, such a low rod angle at hookset exerts heavy pressure on the tippet because the load is being taken by the less flexible middle or butt section of the rod. This is much less forgiving than the tip, which came into play in the first ideal case above with rod almost vertical when hookset happened. So, especially to protect your 6X or 7X tippet, you need the rod’s bendy tip taking the load, not the stiffer butt.

How to get the tip up and into action when the line is already going to be tight when the rod is horizontal? As you lift the rod, let some line slip from your line hand, under your rod finger and up through the guides. With good timing, when enough line has slipped out, grip the line to the cork and keep lifting till the hookset occurs near rod vertical. So, you see the take (or the indication), then begin lifting and slipping. After say 3’ of line has slipped stop slipping, grab the line tight to the cork but keep lifting to reach the set point to effect the strike. It’s really more like the line stays out while the rod is slipping up the line. This sounds more complicated than it is and it’s quite easy to practice on water even without a fish to try it on. Let your fly drift until the line comes tight, let the line slip through your fingers as you lift the rod a few feet (the fly shouldn’t move) and you’ll quickly get the idea. Yes, it’s all about timing and if the take is to something floating, there’s a discipline in waiting for the moment – use that time to slip some line if you don’t have any slack to play with.

As a bonus, the same technique can give you slack line to throw out as a mend as your fly drifts, or to roll cast out. It’s not limited to a few feet either; you can readily move the rod back easily one and a half rod lengths without pulling in any line at all, as long as you have that length already off the reel so it can go up the guides freely. Then you have a ready-made D-loop for that roll cast.

End note: There’s nothing really new in traditional flyfishing and I credit the inspiration for this piece from Gary Borger’s book “Presentation”, a now very expensive “modern” (1995) classic on all things trout fishing. When I say there’s nothing new, it’s partly because Gary discovered, developed, taught, filmed and wrote about much of what modern technique now is. You’ll see Gary’s old videos on YouTube, grainy and washed- out looking but so brilliant on technique and depth of knowledge. He’s also very current on FFI sponsored fly-tying videos where he is an undoubted master of all aspects.

David Caddies

An update on the CFA and WCAS

By Phil Burton

Flyrodders,

I hope you are all fishing well. I would like to give you all an update on affairs from the CFA and WCAS.

Firstly, the CFA. This year SFRC hosted the Interclub event. Rain impacted the event, and many attendees were unable to attend. Many years ago, this event was started by members of the Flyrodders to raise money to support the Council of Freshwater Anglers and as a means of regional clubs and associations meeting up for some friendly competition. This year we used an online raffle system to get a greater range of participants and raised over $2k. We are investigating ways to improve the format of the event and attract more attendees.

The CFA continues to lobby for Angler recognition in reviews of the Crown lands management act. Traveling Stock routes and road closures can impact angler access and the CFA continues to represent anglers to maintain access to rivers and streams.

We continue to lobby DPI on both the Trout and Murry Cod strategies but there has been no communication since we responded to the Draft.

Representation to the DPI on allocation of stocked trout is currently done by two committees, one for the Snowy lakes and one for the rest of NSW. On top of that anglers also are represented on the Gaden Hatchery Management committees. It is hoped that incorporating committees will streamline the process.

We continue to make representations to both State and Federal Ministers regarding regulations on pest species and the different regulations amongst states on pest species. The National Carp Plan seems to be stalled.

An election promise made by the current state government was that anglers would have a peak body for representing anglers around the state. A working group is preparing draft constitutions and terms of reference. Restructure underway at DPI.

Other news

Issues with plastic and digital fishing licenses from Dpi have shown up due to DPI terms and conditions not being aligned.

Snowy 2 have reported that Tantangra dam levels are likely to exceed water levels of original Impact statement.

Letter to federal minister regarding recent Threatened species findings impacting stockings in the Monaro.

Ongoing work to declutter and improve the Angler Access website.

If you are interested in joining the CFA to represent anglers, you can contact me and I am sure we can find you a spot.

Ray Tang and the team at WCAS continue their work to improve fishing in the Central Tablelands. We are working to open up more waterways to fishing in the region. Dargen Dam at Clarance has recently been approved for stocking. This involves a lot of work with the Landholder and DPI to get such places approved. Interestingly, this dam, used as water supply in the age of steam trains was one of the first Bass stockings in NSW. This year we have secured trout for stocking the dam. We are working with Council, Energy Australia and DPI to secure access at Lake Lylle during proposed construction of pumped hydro at the lake. We are investigating boat access to lake Wallace and continued access to parts of the lake as the site evolves from its previous life of power production. A recent housing development and heavy rain has put continued sediment into the Coxs river and hours of contact between council, EPA and Dpi will hopefully see fish enjoy clean gravel during this year’s spawning. Trout allocations this year will see some new sites added and some minor reductions in TCD stockings as we hope to see some bigger fish emerge in the next few years. Tiger trout stockings from previous years are showing some good results with fish in the 50cm range reported.

SeaBees fishing club holds an annual event at Lake Lylle and apparently, it’s a great family event for those that might be interested. Here are their catch results. As per the report Redfin catches are down. This could have something to do with the EHN virus that went through the region a few months ago.

WCAS have given $300 to each of our neighbors in Sofala and Bathurst for the Dollar-for-Dollar native fish stockings in the region. We felt that this amount is sustainable for us on a yearly basis rather than giving a larger amount as a one off. Great to Aussie Flyfisher and Dudley Hotel FC also supporting this native fishing program. Murry cod reports from around the Bathurst town areas have been in recent fishing reports.

The Macquarie Perch recovery program continues this year with the instillation of barriers to prevent trout migrating to spawn. The catchment was once stocked, and trout survive in the system that is now part of Bathurst water supply and access is restricted. Members of CAS, with DPI, each year block off the stream to prevent a spawn run and improve the chances of the Macquarie Perch in the system. They also fish and relocate Trout to the Millpond in Portland. DPI electro fishing samples Mac Perch and removes some Trout. You can catch more on this project on the Big Fish radio ABC, go online and you can stream a replay from Sat 22 June.

Thompsons creek dam has been very slow and strangely there is no sign of spawning activity so far this year. I really don’t know what has happened, we did have a warm early winter period, but fish have been absent from the edges for some time. Last month saw the start of dam stocking and Wallace and TCD received their first grown out fish of the season.

Ray and I attended a community forum for Energy Australia’s plan to construct pumped hydro at lake Lyell. This resulted in recognition of the value of fishing in the region and the importance of the waterways. We also learned that TCD would be used to keep lake Lyell at an operating level during dry periods, but little detail is available.

I went out to Sofala recently as the river there is now open all year, and it looked great. There is some good access right in town and we thought there might be a few redfin about…. Instead…Dave caught a brown. The water looked great, definitely worth another visit.

This year we are holding Gone Fishing Day on the 20^th Oct at Lake Wallace if you want to be part of the event it is particularly good for kids and we also have some great raffles and prizes. SFRC also did casting instruction for people wanting to give fly a go, if you would like to help out.

Thanks

Phil

New Members

We extend a warm welcome to new members A.J. Culp, Jonathan Higgs, Trevor Keyes, Wayne Laughton, Russel McCool, Kevin Needham, Rod Nurthen and Paul Wodrow.

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.

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. At last count it has more than one thousand followers.

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

Sydney Flyrodders Instagram Page

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.

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.

Jason Hemens

Editor, Flyrodder

jasondh1972@gmail.com

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