VOLUME 31, ISSUE 4. October 2024

The 2024/25 club membership renewals are complete, and we only had 12 members who didn’t renew their membership. With a steady stream of new members joining we are back up to a membership of 247 as of this week and hopefully we will see the majority of you at the various events over the coming months.

As you know ensuring that we are catering to the needs and desires of the Club’s growing membership is a constant concern for the Committee and the membership survey I previously spoke of is very timely. We recently had the rare situation of having to cancel an event due to lack of interest. We cancelled the Saltwater Introduction weekend – this event has previously been very well supported often with a waiting list of members hoping for a cancellation, but this time we missed the mark with only 3 registered attendees. I am also somewhat surprised with the slow uptake for the Tom Jarman dry fly-fishing seminars, I was expecting these two seminars to book out in a flash, but the uptake has been fairly slow, and we still have 3 spots open for the Saturday and 7 for the Sunday. So, I am looking forward to the membership survey and the guidance the members provide.

As you all know for the lack of a report from me last month I was away on holidays – I was in Europe with my wife and two friends and I didn’t take any fishing gear to avoid the temptation of abandoning the group to go fishing, which was a mistake. One of the places we stayed was a village in the Rhone Valley in France – Ilse-sur-la -Sorgue. Upon arrival I found that Ilse-sur-la-Sorgue is on the Sorgue River which has its source 7km above the village where it wells up from the base of a mountain in France’s largest spring and the fifth largest spring in the world.

The Sorgeu River braids above Isle-sur-la Sorgue and branches completely circumnavigate the village as well as having several branches that run through the village and all these branches run crystal clear – read a newspaper on the bottom clear. The water is nutrient rich and runs at 13-14C all year round. With conditions like that you would think it would have to support trout and it does, brown trout and grayling and you can sit in front of a café in the centre of the town and watch trout nymphing and rising to take dries. Most of the fish in town were relatively small maybe about 20cm. But the house we stayed in opened onto the river at the back and had another branch across the road at the front and at night under a streetlight at the front was a 3 lb brown actively feeding all night. This fish started feeding when the streetlights came on and stayed in the pool of light from the streetlight until the street lights went off in the morning – I was up early to get croissants and watching this fish feed and the streetlight went off and the fish immediately dropped back under some trees and disappeared.

This fish really got my heart rate up, I only saw him nymphing, but he would swing up to a meter either side to take nymphs and was constantly feeding, bang, bang, bang one after another, he looked sooo happy, at one stage I thought I heard him squealing with delight as he nailed nymph after nymph.

There is a fly shop in Ilse -sur-la- Sorgue, (Le Sorguett) but they don’t rent gear, there are guides and they even offer a 2 hour sunrise session or 2 evening session so you could fit is a session without too much social discord, but you have to book well in advance – obviously I didn’t. The village is stunning and worth the visit even if you don’t fish, my wife loved the market days, Thursday and Sunday, I preferred the quieter days and soaking up the atmosphere watching the water with a coffee in the morning and a beer in the evening.

Tight lines for the new season

Denis

From the Editor

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

Fellow Flyrodders,

With trout season now open I'm looking forward to trip reports from members to fill the pages of the Flyrodder over coming months.

Please consider contributing so we can enjoy the trials, tribulations and successes of Flyrodders in their quest for piscatorial salvation.

I'm not asking for a Shakesperean sonnet, just a write up in your own words with some photos to go with it. So whether it is an official club event, a getaway with a few friends or even a spontaneous trip by yourself, I'd love to hear from you.

In the spirit of sharing, I recently went on an overnight hike, chasing bass. I wasn't able to tempt any during the middle of the day, and after a few hours toiling away in the heat, I retreated to the shade of an overhanging tree.

When things aren't going your way, it pays to sit back and observe. I started to see fish rising. They weren't big, but they were definitely taking insects off the surface.

Trout! I couldn't believe my luck. They must have been washed over a dam wall somewhere with the recent rains. Thankfully, I had a couple of small dry flies with me, and I hastily tied on a #14 Parachute Adams.

On my first cast, a fish rose and slashed at the fly. The same thing happened on subsequent casts. Hooking up proved difficult though, so I dedcided to tie on a nymph as a dropper.

A masterstroke!

My dry fly was pulled under in the bubble line. Text book stuff. I struck and came up tight. What a story this was going to be!

The trout was small but fiesty, as little rainbows often are. After a brief tussle, the fish slid sulkily into the shallows.

"Nice herring there mate," came the call from an angler on the opposite bank as I landed the fish. "They're too small to catch on spin gear but. Fly fishing is the way to go."

Cheers,

Jason Hemens - Editor

jasondh1972@gmail.com

Trip Report: Uncle Billy's Retreat

By Dave Robinson

Finding trout this winter has been tough, with the rivers closed and our go-to dam not really firing, it was time to explore further afield, and so began our plan to revisit a relatively popular farm stay in Ben Lomond, namely Uncle Billy’s Retreat.

Last year, Jason, Greg and I had our first trip to Uncle Billy’s, where we experienced some great dam/lake fishing with plenty of good-sized trout caught, so expectations were high. We managed to convince three other fellow club members to join us this trip and the motley crew consisted of, Jason, Greg, Leigh, Chris, new member Andrew and myself.

Uncle Billy’s Retreat is located on a working farm in Ben Lomond which is approximately 20 minutes’ drive from Guyra in the New England high country. Fun fact is that Guyra is the highest town in New England, so mid-winter can be chilly with pretty snowfalls.

This trip was early September with milder conditions, which made our lengthy chats and hops or grape extract sessions around the fire very enjoyable indeed. Accommodation is basic but comfortable with 2 cabins at the main dam sleeping 3 to a room, (ear plugs recommended or suffer the fate of listening to snoring in stereo).

Neatly maintained accomodation with a fire place and BBQ outside

The lake is just a few steps away from the main cabin

We arrived on the Friday around midday with high hopes, unpacked the cars and got rigged up for our first fishing session of the trip. Some of us made a beeline for the little jetty which was the most productive area on our last trip, it can fish 2 people comfortably but trying to fit 3 fly fishers on this jetty is just asking for trouble and unwelcome piercings, so I gave way and left the other two to flog the prime water.

Flogging the water is pretty much all we did that arvo, with only 1 fish being landed between the 6 of us over 5 hours. We even experienced an evening midge and caddis hatch with fish rising constantly but all our offerings were refused. Andrew reckoned he had a dry fly eat, but had no proof as he didn’t manage to convert, so it was probably just some weed he snagged.

That evening we reminisced with a fireside drink over the lack of fish seen and hook ups, but still full of hope as we had all day Saturday to redeem ourselves and the weather conditions were looking perfect.

The next morning a few of us made our way over to the bay where most of the rising fish were seen the evening before. On the way I had a few casts in the deepest part of the dam and managed to land a beautifully coloured up male rainbow of approx. 2 ½lbs, which took a size 16 mayfly nymph fished washing line style with a fab on the point.

A colourful specimen (the trout isn't bad either)

Over in the “bay of risers” I had a couple of hits before successfully landing a few good fish in the 3-4lb mark with most of them taking the fab this time. Things were looking up! Enquiries from the others on what flies and technique I was using resulted in some leaving in disgust to try the other smaller dams a short drive away. Perhaps they thought the smaller water would stack the odds in their favour, either way I was staying put as there were plenty of fish to be had in this spot and for a moment I did feel bad for them, but this feeling passed as soon as I hooked and landed another fish! This “purple patch” did not last long however and soon enough I was flogging the water once again with no sign of fish anywhere.

Dave with another in the net

Back at the cabin for a break and some lunch it became apparent that only Andrew and I had caught fish so far, which was disappointing for the others as it’s a long way to travel from Sydney and not catch a fish. However, there is also something special about being in the country, away from the rat race. To experience beautiful sunsets along with the sounds of wildlife and star gazing with zero light pollution helps remind us why we keep doing this time and time again.

Andrew with a respectable trout from one of the smaller dams on the property

That afternoon was pretty much a repeat of Friday arvo, no fish caught and an evening rise (although not as prolific as Friday) with none of us managing to tempt a fish on dry. Back at the cabin and not to be beaten, Andrew did manage to get another fish on a woolly bugger off the jetty in the dark, whilst the rest of us looked over from the fire and muttered something like “good on ya mate” but were not tempted in the least to have another go. I reckon the glow of the fire, liquid refreshment in hand and the comfort of sitting down was more appealing at that moment.

Sunday morning a couple of us got up bright and early and were on the water by 6.30am, with the hope that an earlier start might produce a few fish and a last-ditch effort for some to catch a fish! No such luck unfortunately, no morning rise and no hits at all. After giving it a good go for a couple of hours it was time to pack up and start the 6-hour journey back to reality.

Compared to our last trip where we saw fish in the shallows and each caught double digit numbers of trout over the weekend, this trip was the polar opposite and a stark reminder that no matter the body of water or location, no two trips are the same and there are no guarantees that fish will be caught, which in reflection is another reason why we keep trying and going back to these same places. It could also be stubbornness or sheer determination of not being beaten, but I reckon it's most probably the time together with mates who share a common interest that keep us coming back time and time again.

Until next time Uncle Billy’s, we will be back with a vengeance.

Club Saltwater Event - Hen and Chicken Bay

Mark Bransgrove celebrated his birthday under blue skies

The Club’s saltwater event at Hen and Chicken Bay was well attended with 15 members coming along. A few fish kindly put in an appearance as well. A couple of flathead were caught and the trusty old bread fly proved effective on the mullet and bream.

James excelled with his BBQ skills and to top it off, Mark’s wife Liz made a Lemon Cake and brought along some cupcakes, much to the appreciation of the attendees.

On behalf of the club Mark, we hope you had an enjoyable birthday on the water.

2024 Annual Tie-In

Brett and Cherie ran an excellent fly tying session for members

By Dave Wilson

On Sunday 29th September, our 2024 Tie-In was led by Brett and Cherie from BWC Flies.

They coached eighteen keen tiers across five saltwater estuary patterns found to be successful around Brett and Cherie’s stomping ground on the Central Coast.

Brett gave excellent explanations of each step as he demonstrated each fly. The kits prepared by Cherie were excellent and indicated the hard work both Brett and Cherie had put into their preparation.

A big thank you to the day helpers Phil Burton, Alan Rogers and Mark Bransgrove who were kept busy.

Here are some photos from the day:

And the fly tying recipes:

Peter Morse Casting Day

By Gavin van der Wagen

On Saturday, 28^th September 2024, Peter Morse ran a casting skills program based on the Fly Fishers International (FFI) Fly Casting Skills Development program.

Peter invited representatives from fly fishing clubs around the greater Sydney area to assist with the casting tuition and to take advantage of tuition from the casting instructors attending.

David Caddies was invited to play a lead role in explaining the program, with George Nolevski and Gavin van der Wagen assisting him on the day.

The event was held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre out at Penrith.

Peter Morse kicked of the session with an outline of the plan for the day’s tuition proceedings.

Peter then invited David to provide a more detailed outline of the FFI Casting Skills Program and its 4 levels; the Foundation Level for beginners as well as the Bronze, Silver and Gold Levels.

The following clubs were represented on the day; Illawarra Fly Fishing Club, the Sydney Fly Rodders Club, Central Coast Fly Rodders, Lakeside Fly Fishing Club and The NSW Rod Fishers Society and we had a good turnout of around 17 members.

The plan was to utilise the experience of those club members who have been leading the program with their various clubs to introduce it to those clubs who are keen to learn more about the program and how to conduct it in their clubs.

It turned out to be an excellent day with every attendee keen to further the program and get together at least once a year, for a number of reasons; in the main to promote the FFI Fly Casting Skills Development Program around the various clubs, to understand and share where other clubs are at with the program and to see how they run the program; plus to provide some consistency across all clubs.

The camaraderie in this group was excellent and all the attendees were in agreement to make this an event on at least an annual basis, plus the need for more interclub events as a means of sharing information and getting together socially.

It was agreed to report back to our clubs the success of the day and to promote the benefits in attending future such meetings, such as taking advantage of the wonderful pool of skills, knowledge and resources that were available on the day.

Last Monthly Meeting and Guest Speaker Report

At our September Members Meeting, our guest speaker was Sydney based angler, Robert Louis.

Robert gave a detailed account of his trout fishing ventures out of Sydney, in a radius within 150kms (Blue Mountains) then 300kms (Pejar Dam, Gloucester Tops, Barrington Tops) and finally 600kms (Snowys, Tumut, Lochlorian, Uncle Billys).

The presentation was very instructive for anglers looking for fly fishing options as the trout season opens. Thanks Rob for taking the time to put the presentation together and for your generosity in sharing some of your hard earned knowledge.

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!

Here are some photos from the meeting:

David Major ran the Monthly Meeting with military precision

Brian Willett receives his Bronze FFI Level Certificate

And another Bronze goes to...Peter Wyborn

Robert gave an informative presentation on trout fishing locations

Next Monthly Meeting and Guest Speaker

Our October Members Meeting is at our usual venue, The Freeway Hotel in Artarmon, on Monday the 14th October 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.

This month's guest speaker will be Neil Nelson. Neil will be talking about his recent fly fishing trip to Slovenia.

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

Rob Cummins receiving his Bronze FFI Level Certificate

By David Caddies

In the last casting practice report I mentioned that we had a “dry run” of some spey casts, just as a demo, not teaching it. I meant to also mention that the Flyrodders’ YouTube archive contains two lengthy interviews Justin did with Simon Gawesworth a couple of years ago. The second of those is about spey casting. That interview covered a lot of basic ideas pertaining to casting mechanics, spey casting and spey equipment, lines in particular. Even if you are not interested in spey casts, Simon’s information is valuable in helping to understand fly lines and their behaviour.

That interview does a lot to demystify what spey casting is. It is too often seen as irrelevant in Australian conditions because of the view that it is about double-hand rods, or salmon fishing. It is true though, that the application which most of us could make of these techniques is with single hand rods, although more and more flyfishers are finding out that double hand rods (even if only talking about trout spey) are great in certain situations, but hardly anyone talks about single hand spey.

Except, that is, the growing number of flyfishers who are finding out that lines for single hand casting identified by the word ‘spey’ on the package are adding a bit to their distance casting ability without having to change anything else. Why would you buy a ‘spey’ single hand line? To get maybe another 10’ on your current cast, or cast better in the wind or be able to load your rod better for short casts. Salt water applications are an obvious area of benefit. These amazing feats can be accomplished with any other line, of course, but single spey lines will get you closer without necessarily having to expend precious energy learning and practising those things. Any disadvantages? Yes, they are hellishly expensive and can be a bit clunky in the air and land harshly. You won’t enjoy fishing small streams with them as much, especially if you get one which is too heavy for your rod. If you can only cast overhead (ie not roll cast or spey cast as these lines are intended for), you will waste more time and energy stripping in line to recast overhead (if back cast room exists) because the heavier ‘heads’ are not easy to pick up into a back cast at the distance you’ll now be able to throw them. (That, friends, is why some of us still use double taper lines.) It also may not be straightforward to match a single spey line to your current rod. This is mostly because your rod will not normally be rated to cast a particular grain weight, even if you can read on the box the grain weight of the line you are looking at – and that is rare too.

Let’s talk about what ‘spey casting’ means then. It means making a cast where, in one or two separate but continuous movements, the fly line is moved from one position on the water to another, in order to make a large directional change, often 90 degrees, without at any time making an overhead, aerialised back cast – the line mostly staying in contact with the water, or lifted to momentarily touch the water, before being cast forward. Like a roll cast, spey casts originated in areas where overhead casting was not possible due to obstructions behind the caster. Unlike a roll cast (which is not a spey cast), spey casts allow a change of direction without the time-consuming process of stripping in and restarting in the new direction with overheads, or picking up and casting repeatedly as you change direction in manageable steps: both ways require you to have back cast room as well.

The ability to roll cast is fundamental to being able to spey cast – it is the underlying skill in all spey delivery strokes. So, your roll cast is a big step towards spey.

Almost forgot. We had casting practice too. Three members completed their Bronze level certifications and the Silver level casts are teasing many more. It’s very rewarding for members to accomplish what seemed, for them, impossible a few months ago.

See you in the park.

David

Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule.

SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 13 October 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:

13th October 2024

10th November 2024

8th December 2024.

Next Month's Fly Tying Meeting

Our next Monthly Fly Tying Meeting will be held on Monday, 21 October 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 also have some experienced fly tyers to assist and we look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

We particularly welcome first timers and all levels of fly tiers as you will all learn something from these wonderful sessions. These sessions are for all levels of fly tying abilities.

We have all the necessary fly-tying materials for the flies being tied in the session. For those who don't have a vice, don't worry, we have many spare vices you can use.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 ample parking off the track, but it's a short walk to the front door.

Gone Fishing Day

New Members

We extend a warm welcome to new members Adam Aplin, Marius Burman, Fergal Collery, Richard Green, Michael Laird, Bruce Mansfield, Tony Stills, Mark Virgona and Tom Wise.

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