VOLUME 31, ISSUE 10. May 2025

Murray Kelso lays out a cast on the recent club trip to Big River
 

Dates for the Diary

Monthly Meeting
12 May 2025: 7:00 PM: Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon

Casting Practice 
18 May  2025: 9:00 AM: Timbrell Park, Henley Marine Drive, Five Dock

Fly Tying
19 May 2025: 6:30PM: Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon

Sunday Salwater Session
1 June 2025 9:00 AM: Henry Lawson Park, 23A Abbotsford Parade, Abbotsford 

President's Report

Mitta

Dear {Contact_First_Name},

It’s been a relatively quiet month, but there are still a few important updates to share.

Firstly, a big thank you to Gavin van der Wagen for stepping into the role of Saltwater Activity Coordinator. It’s fantastic to see that we already have a saltwater activity scheduled for 1 June and that several members have already registered to participate. A great start!

This month, we’ll be asking members to complete a comprehensive survey. This will help the committee gain a clearer understanding of our membership makeup, what we’re doing well, and—most importantly—where we can improve to better meet your needs and expectations. Your feedback will be very much appreciated and invaluable.

It’s also great to see strong interest in our upcoming inaugural Tumut trip. We have 10 members who have booked accommodation through the club and another 7 attending with their own arrangements. It’s shaping up to be a fantastic trip and one that I personally am very much looking forward to.

Lastly, you would have received an email from me regarding the consultation paper from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service titled Improving Camping in NSW National Parks. The committee discussed this paper at our last meeting and will be submitting a response recommending a return to the pre-COVID system—no bookings or fees for many of the campgrounds our members use, and a removal of the reduced capacities that were introduced for social distancing.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next meeting.

Tight lines,

David

President

From the Editor

Jason with an Estuary Perch

Fellow Flyrodders,

In this month's edition, Glenn Short reports on the recent club trip to Big River, Craig Somerville gives an account of the inaugural Harrington Fly Fest and Gavin van der Wagen provides a welcome update on the first in a series of club saltwater fishing events.

And if that's not enough to pique your interest, Dave Wilson reveals his 'Wonder Wings' theme for the May fly tying event. 

Intrigued? Read on to find out more.

Cheers,

Jason Hemens - Editor

Trip Report: Big River - Little Fish

By Glenn Short

The cast: Steve Peach, Paul Gordon, Graham Partington, Glenn Short, Chris Whittle, Greg McElroy, Chris Abouhamad, Michael Durkin, Murray Kelso.

Cormorants, drought, flood, pestilence, plague and Trump. We blamed them all. The fishing has been tough in NSW for a while now so an optimistic band of SFR members headed south in search of better water. Steve Peach abandoned his career in cinema to round up some of the most unappreciated anglers known to flydom and booked us into the legendary Blue Duck Inn on the banks of the mythical Cobungra River. It must be the last pub left in Australia not connected to the power grid, internet or mobile phone network. What a top spot for a flyfisher to escape to.

Blue Duck front view

Overlooking the Cobungra River

Saturday afternoon we gathered for drinks and introductions on the deck above the river but the lure of the Cobungra beckoned and we all wandered across the lawn for a quick flick. Dry flies were thick and fast through the air and Graham lapsed back into a broad Lancashire accent as his voice rose with each hit by a fish. With the manicured lawn we could almost have been on a chalk stream. Chris A. immediately fell in love with the creek from A River Somewhere and set about building a deep relationship with its resident browns. I think I heard poetry being recited in Arabic drifting up from his end of the pool.

For my part, I managed a pair of typically sized mountain fish, one brown and one rainbow. I unhooked the bow from my hopper and dropped it and the nymph into the water while I took a photo. As I released the bow it made a bee-line for my nymph, engulfed it and I caught it for the second time, without even making a cast. Did somebody say rainbows are stupid? I wonder how often normal passers-by see flyfishers laughing out loud to ourselves?

So, we kicked off the trip with beaut little mountain trout and lots of laughter, all without even leaving camp. And to top it off, we then walked over to the pub for beers and dinner. Did I mention what a top spot Anglers Rest is?

A nice brown for the author

A feisty little rainbow

The Blue Duck is under new owners and there have been a few teething problems but Tegan and the crew made us very welcome and we were all well fed and watered, even if the offerings were a bit limited. If you don't like chicken schnitty or flathead fillets best to pack some grub. Likewise, the bar offerings are cold and cheerily served but don't offer a great selection. Still, hot showers, a solid meal and cold beer after a day fishing in the mountains is all most of us need and our laughter and banter each night showed what a great venue the Duck really is. If you are planning on a visit you might want to throw in some cooking gear and your favourite beverages, but it is still definitely worth a visit to their bar after yet another great day on the river.

Dinner at the rustic Duck

The rivers in the area are really something. They never seem as short of water as our northern haunts and it was a bit bewildering to find that Victorian rivers, too, are suffering from a lack of decent fish.

A beautiful little specimen for Paul

Chris A. and Graham fished various spots on all three rivers and turned up a few nice mountain trout in the 20-30cm range along with some smaller tiddlers. Graham eventually abandoned his beloved dry fly and resorted to the desperation of euro nymphing, under Steve's expert tutelage. He'll be using worms next. For Steve's part, he was just relieved to see Graham did not fish in his risqué mancoat and slippers.

Graham fishing Middle Creek

Steve prospecting a likely section

Chris A. was so taken with wandering Victorian creeks and catching small mountain browns that he has taken up a love of poetry, abandoned his city upbringing and sworn to dedicate himself to fly fishing and the mountain life. The upper Turon may never be the same again. I see a cane rod, tweed jacket and a trilby in his future.

Chris was in his element

Evenings were civilised and not a little educational. Greg, the nicest plumber in the world, enlightened me over several beers as to the plumber's pivotal role in not only establishing civilisation but in advancing it throughout the modern age. Apparently the best fly fishers and lovers are all plumbers, too. I was a bit worried though, when he suggested building a pumped hydro plant just out the back of the Blue Duck. His mate, Chris W, took all this in his stride and seemed quite at home offering frank and fearless opinions on most of Greg's ideas, even the ones he hadn't yet thought of.

All the best fishers are plumbers, according to Greg

Chris listening to another of Greg's theories

Accomplices in mischief since childhood, they terrorised the local trout by day and the local bar by night. Chris finally drew the line when Greg introduced him to synchronised swimming, in waders and with fly rod in hand, in the mighty Cobungra. Another highlight for the duo was a much appreciated trout landed back in front of their car on Middle Creek, after having fished near and far looking for it! Michael arrived mid week and joined the boyz in their exploits. I was extremely disappointed when he told me the long brushes on his truck were not for cleaning chimneys and my visions of him singing and dancing on rooftops fizzled. With only a few days escape from home, he soon got to work harassing trout. A real hit and run mission but he left like the rest of us, wanting more.

Our fearless leader, Steve "Peachy" Peach (you may have heard of him from YouTube fame), herded cats each day and valiantly made sure that everyone at least had a chance at a good spot and a fish. This seemed to work and we all managed a few fish here and there, although times are tough. Steve, of course, led the count most days and, upon seeing the size of fish in the area, quickly pivoted to small fish specialist. He even dazzled us with his skill with dry dropper on a micro euro nymphing set up, not an easy feat - try it sometime! Keep an eye out in a cinema near you for his upcoming video targettng pocket water on mountain streams.

Peachy in production mode

Speckled gold

Of course, no SFR trip would be complete without Muzza and Paul, the official SFR cameramen. They soon put us all to shame with their stunning cinematography, mocking our feeble attempts at death grip photos of fish. Well, mostly they just mocked me. Keep an eye out on Steve's YouTube channel to see their stuff, they really do great work.

I think Murray was the only one amongst us to pull a fish from the Bundarra and a respectable specimen it was, too. Paul, having just returned from his native NZ, regaled us with stories of 50 fish in two days and was somewhat bemused by the mountain browns on offer on this trip. Apparently they throw bigger streamers on the North Island. Luckily one of his Kiwi death marches boldly took him where no man had gone before and he scored a few decent fish in the 50cm range, probably the best of the trip. Like many of the ones we caught, their tails seemed larger than their bodies and we mused on whether they were malnourished, a theory supported by the fact none of us witnessed a decent hatch during the whole trip.

Paul with a beautiful brown

A big thanks to Steve Peach for organising the trip and taking time out of his own fishing to give lessons, advice, pore over maps and help put people onto fish. Despite the tough times we all caught fish, in no small part thanks to Steve's generosity. And he never pointed and laughed once, a true flyfishing gentleman.

Peachy exploring pocket water

A nice brown

The stretch of mountains between Mitta Mitta and Omeo holds some of the most beautiful scenery in Australia and some of the best, most pristine trout water to be found in the country. The area would require a lifetime of trips to fish it all. Now, there's a challenge.

Harrington Fly Fest Weekend Review

By Craig Somerville (aka Capt Baldy)

The inaugural Harrington Fly Fest, organized by the Coffs Harbour and Hastings Fly Fishing Clubs, was a resounding success. For a first-time event, it ran as smoothly as could be hoped, offering a fantastic weekend for all attendees.

Friday Afternoon

I arrived in Harrington Beach Caravan Park on Friday, March 28, just after lunch, to find a small group of about 12 attendees already practicing their casting under the guidance of Brian Henderson. Together with a team of FFI-certified casting instructors, we worked through several drills aimed at fine-tuning everyone’s cast. The focus was on technique, with plenty of individual attention to ensure everyone was improving.

By mid-afternoon, the rest of the group arrived, bringing the total to around 30 participants. With the group now complete, we had the run of the camp kitchen, where we enjoyed pizzas and dessert, all included in the modest $25 attendance fee. Most of us, including myself, opted for non-alcoholic drinks, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and good conversation.

The evening’s activities included a fly-tying demonstration by one of the attendees, followed by a screening of some insightful fly fishing videos. Afterward, most people headed to their cabins for an early night. I, however, opted for a free camping spot at a local pub I knew.

Saturday

The following morning, I returned to the venue, but the weather had taken a turn. Rain and wind had settled in, but that didn’t stop the fun. There were plenty of indoor activities to keep us busy, including more fly tying, discussions on fly fishing techniques, and gear selection.

Between rain showers, participants snuck outside for casting practice with Brian and his team. A few took the opportunity to sit for their FFI casting levels, which were split into categories for distance casting—novices and experienced casters alike. Others attended the fly-tying skills workshops, further enhancing their craft.

The highlight of the evening was the BBQ dinner, expertly cooked by the Hastings Fly Fishers. As the food was served, more fly fishing discussions and fly tying took place. I joined a small group and shared how to tie fish patterns, which was a great opportunity to exchange knowledge with fellow enthusiasts.

During the fly-tying session, the fly-tier Paul Fedeles generously gave each person with a vice 20 flies from his personal stock. When asked about his journey into fly tying, he shared that Dave, our resident fly-tying guru, had been the one to teach him the ropes. It was a wonderful example of how the community truly helps each other grow.

Sunday Morning

Sunday brought more casting practice, including an introduction to Spey casting, which was a fantastic challenge and a perfect way to round out the weekend. By midday, the event came to a close, but it was clear that everyone had enjoyed themselves and left with new skills and lasting memories.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the weekend, the spirit of camaraderie and community was palpable. Everyone from the organising fly clubs went out of their way to ensure that attendees felt welcome and had a great time. The event was a resounding success, and with plans already in the works for next year, I’m looking forward to returning.

Sunday Social Fishing Event

By Gavin van der Wagen

Our Sunday Social Fly Fishing Events are back on again!

Where

Henry Lawson Park & Playground

23A Abbotsford Parade, Abbotsford

Bound by Abbotsford Parade in the North and St Albans Street in the East.

When

Sunday, 1st June 2025

9:00am to 1:00pm – Fishing

1:00pm – BBQ by SFR

Cost

Free

Register

Please register against the Event on our Website. We need to know numbers for catering purposes. If you register, then can’t attend; please deregister or let me know.

Bring     

Your own drinks.

Wet wade or bring waders.

A 6# rod, or whatever you fancy, bream flies, whiting flies, poppers, gotcha’s, whiting mesmeriser, bread flies. A member will bring his special mix of berley, but “just” in case bring some bread, or fish near someone who has bread.  

On the day a high tide of 1.32m will be at 12:56pm, so we will fish the incoming tide.

Our club casting instructor, David Caddies, will be present to demonstrate and provide tuition for single handed and double handed rods. On the water tuition is great as you can load the rod perfectly to learn the skill. “On the Job Training”. Then go off and catch a fish or at least improve your casting!!

This is a very flexible event; you don’t have to be there sharp at 9:00am, and can leave at any time, but the BBQ will be worth the stay and a great opportunity to chat with fellow members and to exchange ideas. We will have experienced fly anglers who are always willing to share their knowledge and take you under their wing; so the event is for fly fishers of all abilities.

Please register on the website and come along.

If you have any questions, then please contact Gavin van der Wagen on gavin@vit.com.au or 0411877546.

Entrance St Albans Street

BBQ Area

Flats looking north

Flats looking south

Last Month's Club Meeting

Our last monthly meeting featured Pete Gouw of Nervous Waters as our guest speaker.

For those members unable to attend our meetings, we take videos of presentations and uploading them to our Club Members Private Video Library on YouTube. Below is a graphic showing where you can access them from the members section of our website:
 

Here's a few pics from last month's meeting:
 
 
 
 

Next Monthly Meeting

The next Monthly Meeting will be held on the 12 May at our regular venue, The Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon, 2064 (Google maps) commencing at 7:00pm. Members will arrive from around 6pm so feel free to come early and enjoy a drink and some dinner with fellow members.

April Vokey will be our guest presenter for the evening. April will be sharing a presentation with the club on Chironomids.  

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

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.

Looking forward to catching up at the meeting.

Last Month's Casting Practice Report

George stepped up in David's absence

By Gavin Van Der Wagen 

Whilst our casting maestro, David Caddies, was fishing and providing the gospel on the FFI Casting Skills Development Program to interested fly casting students in Chile, George Nolevski ably took up the reins, with Gavin van der Wagen riding shotgun, at the April Monthly Club Fly Casting Event.

The Belgian cast was the featured skill on display. It’s a continuous motion cast. There is no stop between the back cast motion and the forward cast. Because it keeps the fly well away from the caster it is a safer cast to use when casting large flies or weighted flies such as streamers. It can also be used to cast safely in the wind. 

It's a “constant tension” cast also known as the Oval cast.
A great cast to understand what tension is and what occurs when you lose tension.

Tension is a critical component of your normal overhead casting; well, every cast for that matter as loss of tension will cause the velocity of your line speed to reduce and thereby widen the casting loop, which will lead to other issues.

A foundation cast is a constant tension cast called “pancakes” which is a clockwise (for right handers) circle cast to give you the feel of tension; followed by the “eggs” which is a clockwise oval cast and the  “bacon” is a narrower oval cast, which is oval in shape and are all constant tension casts. You can see where this is all leading? First the round “pancakes” cast; then the oval “eggs and bacon” casts which starts to flatten the cast to eventually become your standard overhead cast with nice, consistent tight loops. Which is what we all aspire to!

Anyhow we had a good turnout of 12 members, even though the weather looked threatening but turned out well. We had 2 new members attend which is always very pleasing.

I’m sure that by now the attendees can all cast the Belgian! Another arrow in the quiver.

We also touched on other aspects and skills that attendees wanted to improve on.

These sessions will always have a “theme”, but also an opportunity to address issues or problems where each individual would like assistance to solve in order to move forward with their skills development.

David Caddies will be present at the May Casting Practice, so “normality” will resume.   

Some photos from casting practice:


 
 

Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule.


SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE  9am Sunday 18 May 2025 

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. 

2025 dates for fly casting practice

18 May / 8 June / 13 July /10 August /
14 September / 12 October / 9 November / 14 December

Last Month's Fly Tying Meeting

At our April Fly Tying Meeting, members were taught how to tie a caddis larva and adult.
 

Next Fly Tying Meeting

The next Fly Tying Meeting will be held on 19 May at the Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon. The doors will open at 6:30 pm to give you time to set up for a 7:00 pm start in the room we use for our Monthly Meeting.

We ask that you eat downstairs beforehand or on the mezzanine level in the meeting room to avoid mixing hooks, fur, feather and occasionally lead with your food!

The theme for the night is Wonder Wings. 

In the words of our fly tying maestro Dave Wilson:

Wow it hurts! If you have fished Snowy Mountain streams where there are Brumbies, you will most likely have been bitten by a Horse Fly. The female drives her sword-like proboscis into your flesh and laps up the spilling blood! 

Horse flies are aquatic with their maggots inhabiting the damp mush around the edge of streams caused by Brumbies. Where there are Brumbies there will be Horse Flies.

Unlike the “bluebottles” of NZ (which do appear in OZ) most Snowy Mountains Horse flies are faun brown underneath with a green head. Curiously their genus is “Tabanus” yet the name given to a parachute elk hair caddis with no relation to Horse Flies is “Tabanas”. Beats me!  

My experience during Summer months is that the Horse Fly will out fish grasshoppers.

The theme for our May tying night is Wonder Wings, and the Horse Fly is a perfect candidate for practicing this skill. Wonder Wings are wonderful as practically any junk feather can be converted into a robust wing. As an innovation we will be tying trimmed Wonder Wings to create Wonder Legs! I’ve not seen Wonder Wings trimmed to length anywhere on YouTube. This pattern has evolved over the years. Trimming Wonder Wings to length to form Wonder Legs was a discovery accident! 
 

Beginners are very welcome with experienced tiers giving help.

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.

New Members

We extend a warm welcome to new members Michael Ball, Stephen Fitts, Piet Gouws, Klaus Hartmann, Daniel McAloon, Stephen McGeorge, Eoghan Purser, Blake Savins, Peter Staddon and Adam Van Klooster.

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