VOLUME 33, ISSUE 4. October 2026
|
|
|
|
|
Flyrodders Dave, Leigh and Chris fish the Thredbo on opening weekend |
|
|
Casting Practice
11 October 2026 l 9:00 AM l Timbrell Park, Henley Marine Drive, Five Dock
Monthly Meeting
12 October 2026 l 7:00 PM l Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon
Fly Tying
19 October 2026 l 7:00 PM l Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” Norman Maclean
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear {Contact_First_Name},
Last weekend was the opening of the trout season – I hope some club members were able to get out and onto the water and open their season.
This month’s club meeting will be a buy, swap and sell night augmented by a talk from John Brassil on his recent trip to the Tanjil River.
We have a few activities coming up over the next couple of months. In addition to our regular monthly fly tying and casting practice we have:
18 October Gone Fishing Day at Wallerawang
19 – 24 October Alexandra trip
14 – 28 November Geehi and Long Plain camping trip
29 November Saltwater activity (details TBA)
14 December Christmas Party and AGM
Details are on the events calendar on the club’s website
Over the last couple of months I have asked members to share photos through the website so that we can keep our Facebook and Instagram pages up to date and current. |
|
|
To be honest we haven’t been inundated so we are proposing to utilise the photos that members post on the club’s WhatsApp page. If you have any objections to this please let me know.
In addition we will be conducting a photo contest early next year so that we can build up a library of good quality photos to utilis eon our social media pages.
Looking forward to hearing your fishing stories at the next club meeting.
All the best
David
President |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fellow Flyrodders,
I spent the October long weekend in Jindabyne with a group of fishing buddies from the club (Dave, Leigh and Chris).
Expectations were high in the lead up. I calmed my nerves by tying a swarm of flies I didn't need, with occasional breaks to watch Youtube videos of flyfishers doing very well for themselves in the Snowies over recent seasons.
Inspired, I messaged the Flyrodders WhatsApp group asking for some small stream options in the region, and received a number of tips from some of our more experienced members.
For those not on our WhatsApp group, it is a tremendous source of knowledge and I do encourage you to join (instructions on how to do that are at the end of this newsletter).
Anyhow, our best laid plans were thwarted with an event of biblical proportions on the day before our departure. And I'm not talking about the Bogong moths. The heavens opened up and dumped what meteorologists have assessed to be half the annual flow of the Amazon River onto Jindabyne and surrounds within a 24 hour period.
Text messages between our group, previously devoted to fishing locations and photos of massive trout, descended into depressing screenshots of rainfall recordings and weather forecasts.
Still, blind optimism is a compulsory trait of a serious angler, and we remained an enthusiastic bunch when we checked into our accommodation in Jindabyne. It was up to the Thredbo River to give us a sharp slap of reality on our first afternoon. We were met by a river that ran high, hard and chocolate. Straight out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Despite our best efforts, we left the Thredbo that evening without success. It is a lovely river, framed by beautiful mountains, and seemingly undisturbed by fish. Leigh caught a small brown on the final day, but aside from that we hardly saw a fish. In fact, we spotted more red bellied black snakes than trout.
The Moonbah, our second bet, was little better. Only one brown trout found its way into the net after hours on the water. Fish numbers were down on previous years, although I am happy to report the number of five foot deep wombat holes along the river bank are breeding well. I became personally acquainted with many of them.
In the end, it was small stream fishing that paid dividends, with a handful of rainbows and browns happy to smash our dry flies despite the early season. They were small fish, but beautifully coloured.
In summary, the fishing was uninspiring, but the scenery impressed and the cold beers at the end of the day were a sure bet. As for the company, I’ve certainly had worse. With the trout season now open, I look foward to receiving trips reports from members, big or small (the trips, not members), so I can share the content in upcoming editions of the Fly Rodder.
Cheers
Jason |
|
|
The Thredbo proved a challenge - where were the fish?? |
|
|
Leigh with the only Thredbo fish of the trip - I'll count that as a smile |
|
|
|
|
The Moonbah - one of my favourite and usually reliable rivers |
|
|
Moonbah brown - plump and full of energy |
|
|
Watch your step along the riverbank |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The little ones jumped all over dry flies |
|
|
|
|
The next Monthly Meeting will be held on Monday 12 October at our regular venue, The Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon, commencing at 7:00pm. People will arrive from around 6pm so feel free to come early and enjoy a drink and some dinner with fellow members.
This meeting will follow our usual format initially, with important information shared with the members and after that members are encouraged to mingle and learn from each other. This meeting will also be an opportunity for members to bring in items that they may wish to Buy, Swap or Sell. This has been popular in the past. John Brassil will also give a talk about his recent trip to the Tanjil River.
So come along and enjoy another great night out with fellow members.
For those that cannot attend we will upload a video recording of the meeting to our YouTube channel, which members can access via the menu option below: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By David Caddies
September casting day saw 25 members getting on with the conclusion to our accuracy casting practice sessions. Over August and September the thrust of the instruction and practice drills was:
- The importance of tracking the backcast and forward cast in as straight a line to the target as possible to avoid being off target too far left or too far right. Some considerations were grip, stance and body movement without too much rotation of arm and body (ie ‘outswinging’). Some members tried things like changing from left foot forward to right foot forward and casting more vertically with elbow tucked in more closely. A lot of these ‘experiments’ met with positive opinions even after only a few minutes.
- Coming to accuracy as to finding correct length, the idea was to find a way to use the target itself against which to ‘sight’ the line or the fly as the loop travelled towards the target. In other words, when false casting above the target, (ready for a nice gentle presentation) learn to judge how far past the target does the fly look at its furthest point of travel away from you. Or, judge whether the top (or bottom) part of the loop looks in relation to a correct flight to the target. By repeatedly making that judgement at a constant length of line (ie caster to target), eventually the brain locks in the right mental measurement which has been created by the eye and the hand working together. What you have done is learnt ‘how things look’ when the loop travels to the correct distance. Now all you have to do is apply the process to differing target lengths. Yes, there are as many possibilities any as line length can provide, but we are really only stressing 40-45 feet at the outside. After that, any sighting method becomes harder to apply. For example, if you can’t even see the fly, any method based on judging the fly’s position in relation to the target is going to be weak.
Consider the above points as an approach to refining your accuracy or at least paying attention to something specific rather than it being a recipe for complete accuracy. After all, you must look at something as you cast. Next time you go fishing, try to answer the question: “What specific thing/s am I actually looking at when I cast for accuracy?”
If I had to explain what I do, it would probably be something like: Cast as tight a loop as possible to an estimated height directly above the target, then judge the likely outcome by visual reference to the bottom leg of the loop (hopefully very straight) as the loop is nearly fully unrolled. That helps me decide whether the leader and fly will unroll short of the target or past it. If I could always see the fly and even ‘hover’ the fly over the target, I’d build that into the process as well. Obviously we are also taking account of the leader, which is probably invisible to us in any event. It just adds to the imponderability of the exercise. If you said you look at the top leg of the loop to make your judgment, that’s fine too. Whatever works best for you.
Like any skill with a lot of moving parts, it is necessary to practice a lot. To start, delete as many moving parts as possible. In our drills in August and September, we stuck to fixed casting lengths (25’, then 35’) with the exact amount of line needed to reach the target. Lines were laid out to make sure we could just reach the target from a set standing position, drags were locked and then made dozens if not hundreds of casts in order to ‘get the eye in’ for that length. Then what you hope for is a high degree of transferability of the ‘muscle memory’ from one practised length to the next.
Yes it takes a crazy amount of concentrated practice.
Aside from the ‘rod, line and body mechanics’ side of casting for accuracy as outlined above, there are many techniques which can be applied in the field to gain the advantage. These things we did not cover much, concentrating instead on the casting fundamentals, as usual.
Aside from specifically practising the drills for training body and eye for accuracy, these skills fall straight into the Casting Skills Development Program and the various casts in each level represent a good, standardised test of technique; accuracy in some form or another being a requirement of every cast in every level.
Oh, and while you are pounding away at accuracy, your loops will somehow become tighter.
See you in the park
David |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule. |
|
|
SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 11 October 2026
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.
2026 dates for fly casting practice
11 October I 8 November I 13 December |
|
|
|
|
MAGOOS, SHREKS, AND OTHER WOOLLY BUGGERS!!
|
|
|
By Dave Wilson
Club members hold a special place for this book and its predecessor. The dustcovers of both editions are covered with flies tied by Club members. While members flies were not on the inside, they were certainly on the outside! (Original Edition = 100% Sydney Fly Rodder flies, Revisited Edition = shared with the Tasmanian Fly Tiers Club)
The above version contains 102 flies, 33 of which are Woolly Buggers and variants indicating the popularity of Woolly Bugger style flies.
Two variants - the Shrek and Magoo are quintessentially Australian and compulsory fly box additions.
At our October tying night on 19 October, we will be tying Wooley Buggers in the guise of Magoos and Shreks. Once you can tie a Woolly Bugger style fly, you will be able to tie all 33 contained in the above book - while admiring the flies tied by Club Members on the dust cover.
FlyLife Magazine #86 contains an article dedicated to the above edition. |
|
|
|
|
New Members
We extend a warm welcome to new members Kevin Brown, Shane Catford, Ricky Dyson, Dan Garland, Warren Murphy, Richard Potter and Thomas Twiby.
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 |
|
|
Piste Haus Ski Lodge - Jindabyne |
|
|
The Fly Rodders have access to the Piste Haus Ski lodge in Jindabyne during the off season at an affordable rate:
- Positioned in Jindabyne village walking distance to Banjo Patterson Pub and short drive to shops/restaurants/etc.
- 8 bedrooms, mix of doubles, twins, triples and bunks
- Sleeps 14 all up and 10 comfortably
- $75/room/night
- SFRC get access from October to end May (off-season for skiing)
- Large open plan and well-appointed shared kitchen, dining and relaxation area with log stove
- Bring your own linen, towels, pillow, sleeping bag, blanket
- Parking for up to 4 or 5 cars on site and others on the street
The syndicate that owns Piste Haus has been very generous in allowing the Sydney Flyrodders access to this excellent facility at such a low price. Therefore, we encourage members to feel free to make use of this offer (either in groups or as individuals – it does not have to be an official club trip), as long as we always remember to follow the house rules and leave the place clean and tidy.
If you are interested in booking please reach out to James Webber (treasurer@sydneyflyrodders.com.au
https://pistehaus.com.au
|
|
|
|
