VOLUME 31, ISSUE 11. June 2025

The inaugural trip to Tumut was a remarkable success, with all attendees eager to see it added to next year’s calendar. Although the fishing proved challenging—a recurring theme for club trips—everyone had a great time and managed to catch fish. It was particularly gratifying to see a mix of new members alongside some of the more seasoned veterans of the club.

To date, 153 club members have completed the survey that was circulated a few weeks ago. This is an exceptional response rate, but if you haven’t had the chance to fill it out yet (https://forms.office.com/r/0U4fide32S), I encourage you to do so. The feedback, data, and insights collected will be instrumental for the committee in enhancing the club’s activities and operations.

In the previous issue and during the May meeting, I mentioned that the committee submitted a response to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service regarding the Improving Camping in NSW National Parks consultation paper. A copy of this submission has been sent to all members for their reference and also to provide details should they wish to bring the matter to the attention of their local State Member of Parliament.

You’ll soon receive an email reminding you that membership renewals are due on 1 July. If financial difficulties prevent you from renewing, please reach out to me directly—I am more than happy to make individual arrangements. Achieving a 100% renewal rate would be fantastic.

This weekend (writing on Friday, 30 May), we’ll be hosting the first of Gavin’s saltwater activities. With 25 participants registered, I’m excited to hear all the stories about fish caught and boerewors enjoyed.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the next meeting, where we’ll be covering essential streamside first aid and safety practices.

Tight lines,

David

President

From the Editor

Jason with an Estuary Perch

Fellow Flyrodders,

I had the pleasure of attending the recent saltwater fishing day at Hen and Chicken Bay (Henry Lawson Park), kindly organised by Gavin van der Wagen.

There was a pleasing turnout on the crisp winter's morning, where we were greeted with blue skies, light winds and an incoming tide. After some initial small talk, which included Gav claiming divine intervention for the beautiful weather, it was time to rig up, put on with the waders and get down to business.

With fly rods at the ready and waders pulled up to their armpits, a proud procession of Fly Rodders marched confidently down the suburban footpath that ran along the water's edge. The morning joggers and dog walkers stepped aside with looks of bewilderment at the invasion of their suburban domain.

The Fly Rodders march out to battle

As the tide rolled in the fishing improved. It wasn't long before I saw Peachy hook a feisty flathead, followed by a decent bream a little while later.

Peachy with a good flathead on the incoming tide

The most inspiring story of the day involved David Caddies, who came along to share his knowledge of casting single and double-handed rods. I didn’t witness it first hand, but as I heard the story recounted, David was laying out an expert cast along the grass near the water’s edge, when a sudden gust of wind blew his fly into the shallows. This was unchartered waters, and not knowing what to do, he gave two panicked strips of line when a large bream, clearly approving of his action, promptly ate the fly.

Eyewitness accounts of what the fly was vary – some were certain it was a shrimp imitation, while others swore blind it was nothing more than the strand of wool David uses for fly casting demonstrations.

A beautiful bream - well done Mr Caddies

Mike Leung in action with the two-hander

After a couple hours of water thrashing for no result, I noticed our resident photographer Greg Wordsworth wading out to me.

“Any luck?” he asked.

“Nothing yet.”

“Time to up your game then. You have an audience behind you.”

I turned around to see two dozen residents of a waterfront nursing home, seated on chairs spread out along their front lawn, enjoying the sun and looking right at me. What if this was their only outdoors excursion of the day? I was failing them miserably. In desperation, I opened my bag of bread.

Thanks Greg for coming along to take photos

Meanwhile, I noticed Gav heading back to shore to get the braai (a superior version of the BBQ) ready. As a fellow South African, the promise of boerewors with onion and sauce on a fresh bun was impossible to resist.

Not a bad spot for lunch

So it wasn’t long before I reeled in and exited the watery stage. By this time the nursing home residents had turned away and were playing board games. I couldn’t blame them. I waded purposely through my oil slick of uneaten bread berley and made it back to shore.

Over the next hour or two, members caught up and chatted while enjoying a tasty lunch in a peaceful setting. It was lovely to be a part of it, and a credit to Gav for organising such a successful event. Pleasingly, it transpired a number of fish were caught that day – a mixed bag of bream, flathead and whiting.

While we were packing up, a couple of Fly Rodders told me they struggled to find time for the club’s longer trips because of work and family commitments, but something like this close to Sydney gave them the opportunity to attend and learn new skills from more experienced members.

Like me, they can’t wait for the next one.

Cheers,

Jason Hemens - Editor

Trip Report: Social Weekend Jindabyne

By Joseph Michaels (aka Michael Haagensen)

The last club trip to Jindabyne in March this year ended with a hyper windy day that made fishing virtually impossible, so it was heartening to see the weather forecast for this second trip in May predicting lovely sunny days with almost no wind at all. Perfect!

The weekend included Benedict Chua, James Weber, Fred Byson, Kevin Rue, Michael Haagensen, David Blackwell, Graham Kenny and Dario Ferlin and started as people arrived on Friday 9th May (Dom Wood also stayed Wednesday and Thursday before we arrived).

For me it started at 5am when I rose, breakfasted and drove down to Strathfield, where Benedict Chua was waiting for me outside his home. After parking my car, we set out at 6am in Ben’s car and arrived in Jindabyne before midday. James and Fred arrived minutes after us, and after lunch we all went out to the Thredbo River optimistically for the afternoon rise – James and Fred to Ngarigo campsite, and Ben and I, to SkiTube. Meanwhile, David Blackwell and Graham Kenny were enjoying Tom Groggins as their first session, and Dario was walking the main range in the Kosciusko National Park with his former colleagues. Kevin would arrive in Jindabyne later in the afternoon.

The first session proceeded as expected with only a few fish to the net. Ben and I blanked at the SkiTube, although fish of various sizes were sighted and a number were rising in the last hour or so of the session. James landed 2 and Fred 3 rainbows at Ngarigo. Graham had a near miss with one decent fish, while David got 3 at Tom Groggins. The grand total to the net for Friday afternoon being 8 fish – all rainbows, all under a pound.

We were all back at the excellent facilities at Piste Haus by about 6pm, and decided, after a debriefing beverage and a welcome hot shower, to head to the pub for dinner.

The next day we were greeted by beautiful views across the lake (albeit woefully low) with mist hanging a few metres above the lake surface. David and Graham headed to Paddy’s corner below the Gaden Hatchery, where David managed 1 fish. Dario took his chances in the lake near Hatchery Cove where he successfully hooked one very decent fish on a streamer, although it came off among some boulders near the shore. Ben and I also went to the Thredbo but downstream from the picnic area next to the bridge on the Perisher road. We sight fished to a pair of good fish that unfortunately turned out to be in early spawning mode and so not interested in our offering of wet flies drifted down to them (the only way to approach where they were holding). After 2 hours or so working the pools downstream, we returned to the car, but not before I discovered that the pool immediately above where we crossed the river below the bridge was stacked with two generations of small rainbows – the older being about half a pound, the younger 7-inch juveniles. Both had a go at my dry fly, and I ultimately landed one of the juveniles on the flash-back pheasant tail suspended beneath it. This would have been blank session number 25 for me since arriving back in Australia last August, so I spent some time explaining to this little creature how important he or she was to me. Oblivious to my lecture, of course!

Lecturing a juvenile brownie on its importance in the cosmos

Meanwhile, James, Kevin and Fred spent the morning on the upper reaches of the Moonbah, upstream of Rendezvous Creek, and they all blanked. In the afternoon they all went down to SkiTube where James hooked up with Dario, who had come up from the lake, to fish downstream, while Kevin and Fred worked upstream for one fish to Fred’s net.

James Weber on the Thredbo

While there were quite a few fish rising, they were very difficult to catch – mostly rising in the long still pools so that anything less than the most delicate presentation immediately put the fish down.

Deep corner pool below the SkiTube

Ben and I went back to the chalet for lunch and to prepare the curry sauce for our planned communal cook up that evening. Curry base established, we returned to the Thredbo, this time above SkiTube where Ben had spotted some good fish the previous evening. This was an enjoyable couple of hours in the last light of the evening, and while Fred was landing his single fish of the day somewhere above the bridge, I also managed a three-quarter pound brownie about 500 metres further upstream. Once again on my unweighted flash-back pheasant tail nymph. From all accounts it seemed that all the fish in the Thredbo were being caught in faster shallower water up to 2 feet deep and not in those long slow pools, where the fish were rising, it seems, just to annoy the hell out of us!

Our curry night was a hit. The sauce was divided between two pots with chicken added to one and fish to the other so although the flavour was more or less the same, we had a choice of protein. Each member made their own contribution – chicken and fish to add to the sauce, rice, poppadums, naan, salad etc. All washed down with either a cleansing ale or one of a few reds on offer. Piste Haus has a great kitchen with two stove tops, two microwaves, and any number of pots, pans and other equipment – ideal for this kind of group effort. We will definitely be doing this again.

Sunday was the last chance for everyone to try something different. David and Graham decided to not really fish at all and instead went for a scenic drive to Island Bend, Guthega. Fred and James went back to the Thredbo and this time fished upstream from the bridge at SkiTube where they managed the best catch of the weekend (Fred: 8 netted, 2 lost; James 2 netted, 1 lost). While Kevin did not land anything this weekend, as a relatively new flyfisher, his skills in casting and reading the water improved in leaps and bounds so it is only a matter of time before there will be fish in his net (says the guy who blanked 24 consecutive trips!). Dario had to return to Sydney on Sunday.

Ben and I spent a lovely long morning on the Moonbah downstream of Rendezvous Creek, where we saw a lot of good fish in low gin-clear water. Most of these fish were clearly in early spawning mode and not interested in our offerings but it was a delight to fish a different style of water, and for me it was a good reminder that I need to practise my short casting.

Poetry in motion as Benedict Chua deftly casts to a rising fish on the Moonbah

These waters required a stealthy approach with delicate precision, and my casting was all over the place. I told Ben it was because I chose to use an out-of-the-packet Rio leader instead of the DIY leaders I normally tie in Maxima mono, but I was only making excuses. An evening session at Paddy’s corner also produced nothing for either of us, although while Ben was extracting a dry fly from a tree on the far bank, he witnessed a young girl (10 or 12 years) land a 5 lb brownie on a spinning lure.

Sunday evening involved once again dining at the pub, and since David and Fred were both leaving before dawn, we all went to bed early.

Why not stay at Piste Haus?

Available for SFRC members October to the end of May

Piste Haus (www.pistehause.com.au) main features:

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 stoveBring 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.

To make a booking contact James Webber at treasurer@sydneyflyrodders.com.au

Trip Report: The Monaro Mission

Kev displaying his casting skills in Cochrane dam

Mission Force – John Brassil and Kevin Sawyer

Article by John Brassil

My motivation for wanting to explore the Monaro Region fishery was simple, I had never been there but had heard stories and seen photos from other members. The Monaro is a vast region extending west to Thredbo, north to the ACT, south to the Victorian Border and the east is bordered by the eastern most range of the Great Dividing Range. However, I wanted to focus on the area to the south-east of Cooma. Given we had only 3 full days on the water to explore, we settled on limiting our reach to a 30km radius around Nimmitabel. Nimmitabel is about 35kms south-east of Comma on the Monaro Hwy and at 1000m.

I was joined on the trip by Kev Sawyer, and we headed out on 28 April to see what we could find. We found a little rustic self-catering cottage just south of Nimmitabel that was adequate as Mission HQ. Nimmitabel to be fair has seen better times but still has a pub, servo/grocery store, great bakery and an unusual motor bike leather store where I was able to get a plastic rain jacket after leaving mine at home. As you’ll see from the photos, I’ve started a new trend in Angling wear – albeit I think it will be short lived. Yes, I did need the rain jacket but not often – more so for the cold.

Our rustic mission HQ

John modelling the latest in angling motor biking wear

Editor's Note: If we ever decide to produce a Fly Rodder's Calendar, we've got Mr January covered

So, our target rivers/creeks within our 30km radius were, MacLaughlin, Kybean, Numeralla, Bobundara, Tom Groggin and Bemboka and we had our eyes on a little dam near the headwaters of the Bemboka called Cochrane dam. The Kybean, Tom Groggin and Numerella flow north from the Nimmitabel and find their way to the Murrumbidgee. The MacLaughlin and Bobundara flow south from Nimmitabel and find their way to the Snowy which amazingly finds its way to the Victorian coast near Orbost. The Bemboka is on the eastern side of the range and flows into the Pacific at Tathra via the Bega river. There are other rivers in the Monaro region including the Bombala and Delegate rivers which also join the Snowy, but they were outside our exploring radius.

Before I head out on this type of exploratory mission, I try to do my homework. Firstly, given the poor fishing conditions that others had reported in the Snowy Region, I was keeping an eye on the rainfall in the 4 months leading up to the trip. Fortunately, while it had been a dry summer, at least Jan, Feb, March rainfall was only slightly below average and as it turned out there had been good rainfall days in the 2 weeks leading up to our trip. I then look on Google Maps/Earth to find public access to the rivers and the general nature of the river (flat pools, running riffles/cascades etc). I overlay that with TSR maps and the DPI stocking points and eventually end up with at least a dozen potential fishing spots. I then use Google Maps Street View and posted photos to check for locked gates/fences to be leapt, the look of the river at the access spots and then absorb what information I can glean from members, fishing forums and regional tourist information etc. For instance, I found the correct way to Cochrane Dam by checking which bush tracks had locked gates off the Snowy Mtns Hwy on Google Street View. The local tourist information also semi-assured me that the dam had a supply of rainbows. Which fortunately proved to be correct. Of course, we knew what weather to expect by using my trusty Windy app.

So, the long and short of all that was, before we left Sydney, we had a good idea of where we wanted to access our target rivers. The weather forecast was for overcast conditions, some annoying light rain occasionally with max temps in the mid-teens. I measured water temps around mid/low teens and often it was warmer than the air temp. Suffice to say we stoked the pot belly in our cottage each night.

Arriving at our cottage around 3pm, we quickly jumped into our fishing kit and headed to the McLaughlin on the Old Bombala Rd. We had at best 1.5 hours before dark but after 6 hours driving, we were keen to get amongst it. This location we knew from our research was a shallow fast-moving section and the recent rain helped freshen it up. Using small #16 dries on longish leaders and 3 weight rods, the first 2 casts landed two small browns. Don’t get too excited, because the rest of the 100m section we had time for that afternoon/evening yielded nothing despite being stunning looking water. We had caught glimpses of other sections of the MacLaughlin on the drive in and dismissed them as they were large flat very slow-moving pools. If you were a spinner you might get some jollys from fishing these sections, but it is definitely not my favourite water and to be honest I don’t fish it well. Someone should do a video on this – “hint to Peachy”

Some of the skinny water in the MacLaughlin

The next day saw us head north from Nimmitabel up the Kybean Road to fish two TSRs, the first on the Numeralla about 6kms below the headwaters. We were greeted with cold and light rain and the river running fast from overnight rain. But it looked good, and careful wading was still possible. I fished as far upstream as I could before running into gorge country interspersed by flat pools. Kev fished downstream in largely faster moving pools. A lovely looking bit of water but unfortunately, we didn’t see any fish. The weather improved and we were keen for the second TSR on the Kybean River about 10km below the headwaters. Again, we were greeted by what looked like very fishy water but very windy conditions. There was large flat water upstream before it blended into a typical medium slow moving Aussie creek, before again ending in wild gorge country. It was one of those places where you would swear there had to be fish but again, despite our best efforts and throwing many different rigs in lovely sections, we came away empty handed. Beer o’clock at the Federal Hotel in Nimmitabel was calling us. Although I wish it hadn’t also called us for dinner!

What the Numerella looks like in parts near the headwaters

Some lovely water on the Kybean river

Undeterred, from our donut day, the next morning we decided to explore our marked spots on the Bobundara. The Bobundara creek has its headwaters right in Nimmitabel, meandering through the town lake (Lake Williams) and the overflow heading 50km south-west through grazing country to join the Snowy River below Dalgety. It had been regularly stocked with browns over the last 6 seasons in 3 locations. Our first marked spot ended up being a bonus because the sign on the gate had a telephone number which we called and because we were fly anglers and with my natural charm, we scored private access down a farm road in a much better section of the creek. We pulled the car up right next to a big flat pool with water running in from a small riffle. As we were rigging up, we both were looking for rises in the pool and got the shock of our lives when a very large coloured up brown leapt out of the water in front of us. Why we don’t know, but OK, we were happy that at least there was evidence of fish, albeit displaying signs of spawning behaviour.

Because we are disciplined anglers, we decided to forego the obvious and walked down stream for 2 kms with the view to fishing upstream ending at the afore mentioned “leaping fish laden pool”. We passed meandering narrower sections with flow, rocky bottom cascade sections and further large pools. Large fish were sighted in the larger pools along the edges. No small fish were sighted in the narrower shallow moving sections. Both Kev and I had shots at the large, sighted fish (50cm+) but were continually rejected despite offering different options. But what fun it was trying. We had the joy of watching a large fish belt its way up a riffle into one of the larger pools. Yep, I think we were trying to entice spawning fish. It was disappointing that no small fish (from stocking) were seen, and we suspected that the few large fish in the deeper pools probably had them for breakfast. The tough summer conditions and lack of rain also likely reduced the survival rate of the smaller fish not to mention the cormorants (none seen). It puts a question on the viability of the stocking program – but I am not complaining about the efforts of a few well-meaning individuals trying to develop a sustainable trout population in the region. Our friendly farmer, was thanked profusely and we reported our findings and pleaded with him not to allow any angler who does not catch and release onto the property. We feared that the few large fish remaining in the deeper pools would not survive the massacre. Oh, by the way, when we got back to our starting pool, 3 hours later, unfortunately we weren’t able to entice our leaping brown either. I was reminded about the old adage of striking while the iron is hot!!

Some of the skinny water riffles connecting large pools on the Bobundara creek

Typical Monaro large pool. This one on the Bobundara, home of the leaping brown

That afternoon we fished the Tom Groggin creek at a TSR and stocking point. Lovely river with small slow-moving pools and large fish were seen but not interested in what we had to offer. The local farmer obligingly stopped to let us know that fish had been caught in all the pools during the season – grrrrhhhh!! It was a tough but enjoyable day on the rivers, and we finished it with one of Kev’s pre-prepared curries and a couple of beers back at the cottage. A couple of single malts followed. We thought we deserved them even though another donut day had been achieved.

Tom Groggin creek

I guess by now you will be getting the general trend in fish netted. But undeterred from our mission, your hardy adventurers decided, on the third day we would head to the Bemboka and then back to our starting point 3 days earlier on the MacLaughlin. A side trip to Cochrane Dam was on the first item on the agenda though. The 30 min forest drive was stunning only to be met by a well signed “no entry gate” 200m from the dam. We of course read that to mean “vehicle no entry” and quickly donned our kit and hoofed it to the dam. We were met by absolute solitude, still water and pristine beauty. The water levels were higher than showing on Google maps – a testament to the recent rains. It didn’t take long while wandering the edges to see small rises and we spent some time trying to entice some eats with small dry flies. Eventually, I managed to get one to eat and landed a 30cm rainbow. But I had an uncanny feeling there was plenty more where it came from, and with more time and lower water levels allowing more edge access, I reckon it would be a productive fishery. We were conscious that perhaps we were trespassing, and our mission required us to go and test the Bemboka river near the village of Bemboka, so we exited hoping to find the car still there.

What greeted us at the end of a 30min bush track on the way to Cochrane dam

One of the few from Cochrane dam

The Bemboka is a lovely river with a few access options. I liked the water, but Kev was not so enamoured, so we didn’t persist for too long. No fish were harmed. I had heard reports that the Bemboka hadn’t been good for a while, and it isn’t a stocking point. It’s a pity that, despite its headwaters flowing through Cochrane Dam, no fish seem to find their way downstream.

Back to the MacLaughlin for the last afternoon, starting at the same point as the first afternoon, but quickly pushing up past where we had already been. This section is a lovely bit of river with easy bank access before heading into another wild gorge section. But….no fish were harmed.

So, in summary, a small number of fish were caught on the mission. We felt that May was too late in the season and spawning behaviour complicated the situation. There was little evidence of stocked fish surviving but given the hot dry conditions over Summer, and possibly cormorants, then this understandable. It was pleasing to see some larger fish in the deeper flat pools and earlier in the season, and for better anglers, they would have provided some sport.

The area is mostly above 1000m and so it should be a good fish habitat. The geography is rolling grazing land with some remnant forest – it had a high plateau feel. The headwaters are less grazed and the presence of a Monaro Guiding business/lodge (not sure if it is still operating) near the headwaters of the Numeralla with two small stocked man-made lakes, suggests that the region was once a prized fishing destination. The rivers typically have a low gradient and hence lots of deeper pools with small connecting riffle sections. I would like to have been there, early season, to see if the fish behaviour/numbers were any different, and I would like to see what the area is like in a good season. Of course, there is the southern half of the Monaro yet to be explored. I know there is some members who have fished that area with success. So, I haven’t written the Monaro off, but conditions were not optimal during this mission. I’ll add all the spots where we accessed the rivers on the Club website Fishing Locations in case another mission is mounted by (fool)hardy Flyrodders.

Typical Monaro vistas

Last Month's Club Meeting

By Greg Wordsworth

Club President David Major reminded members of the upcoming events to look forward to. Special mention was made of the Tumut Trip because it is the first time the club is hosting an event in that area. David also extended his thanks to club member Gavin van der Wagen for stepping up to fill the role of Saltwater Event Coordinator. Gavin has already organised an event for June and has some interesting ideas for future outings.

David Caddies congratulated members of the club who had achieved their Bronze Level Casting at the midweek casting sessions run by George Nolevski. Most of the members who had enrolled for the midweek sessions had completed their certification and the casting team is considering perhaps offering a Silver Level option.

Paul Cooper and Dave Wilson were presented with their Bronze Certificates. Radge Diakiw was presented his Silver Certificate.

Paul Cooper with his Bronze certificate

Dave Wilson's Bronze - proving he can tie 'em and fly 'em

Radge Diakiw takes Silver!

The guest speaker for the evening was April Vokey (supported ably by her young daughter). April shared a presentation with the club about chironomids. The talk focused on the life stages of chironomids and how to fish to them. This was specific to her native waters, but the parallels with our local aquatic critters was discussed avidly by those present.

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:

Next Monthly Meeting

The next Monthly Meeting will be held on the 16 June 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.

This club meeting will be focussing on safety in the field.

How should we prepare ourselves to deal with an emergency should one arise when we are out enjoying fishing? What should we be carrying with us a minimum to deal with small emergencies, and how to deal with close encounters with our scaly friends?

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

Rugged up for nasty weather which cleared (as uaual) for casting practice

By David Caddies

The weather looked a bit forbidding but no rain came. Perhaps the only half-day in the past weeks where you could say that. Things are looking better now, but lots of flooded Aussies are doing it tough as a result. Spare a thought for those who’d love a morning off to fish or flycast, but who have serious other matters to attend to instead.

Numbers were down, but we (magnificent 7 of us – if I may say that), pushed on. Casting principles were discussed, examined, demonstrated and practised. If the word “principles” turns you off, think of ‘techniques’ instead. Nobody fainted or went to sleep during the theory chat, so the following demonstrations of how to stuff up a cast by breaching correct principles went OK. I mean, it was not too difficult to pick up what is wrong with a particular cast, provided you know what the caster intended to do. A bit more challenging is to figure out why the fault occurred; tough to get to the stage of thinking of the correct specific fix (or fixes) and really difficult to know how to apply the fix. Even if you get all that, applying these techniques to your own casting can feel like entering a maze.

Let’s nutshell the basics of the basics: The loop. Good casting means being able to form a loop of line in the air. An effective and efficient loop is the foundation for all casts, whether intended to be plain vanilla, distance, over the rainbow, bent, fancy, sideways, backwards, rolling, so fast it sizzles, or just falling slack in whatever shape you dictate.

Here is the fundamental bit (Well, two bits): A good controlled loop can be formed if there is no slack line in the cast – and - if the path of the rod tip travelled in a straight line.

So, that’s your objective in improving your casting: keep the line under tension and move the rod tip in a straight- line path.

To achieve these 2 ideas/objectives you need to perform 3 specific actions. That is, you need to do specific things with the rod to keep the line under tension and move the rod tip in a straight line.

I won’t go on about this much further – I consider that understanding happens with a rod handy, not just more words. I will say that the 3 action things are interdependent: change one and the other two must change as well. Why? Every cast, every rod, every line, every caster, every set of physical conditions has its own particular characteristics requirements. If you had first learned to cast a 5 weight rod fairly well, you will adjust to casting a 9 weight rod more easily than your first learning on the 5 weight. Reason: you have developed some ability to perform, and change, the 3 actions, even if you have no specific knowledge of them. A level of skill is transferable to new circumstances. I do think, however, that getting to grips with knowing the mechanics does no harm and usually does some good, even if it only creates a common terminology for the learner to use. When I say learner, I mean every caster, regardless of ability, who wants to be better.

As part of our practice session in May, we discussed and tested the 3 variable actions, including by casting several identical rods, each with exactly the same reel and line/leader/fly but with very different fixed lengths of line out. This was an exercise in practically figuring out how the 3 actions are affected and what we should do differently (to get full tension and straight-line path) as line length varies. A bit of theory; a bit of practice: it’s a journey.

Some photos from casting practice courtesy of Gavin van der Wagen:

Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule.

SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 8 June 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

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

Last Month's Fly Tying Meeting

At our May Fly Tying Meeting, the theme was Wonder Wings, and the and the Horse Fly was a perfect candidate for practising this skill.

Next Fly Tying Meeting

The next Fly Tying Meeting will be held on 23 June 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 Midges.

In the words of our fly tying maestro Dave Wilson:

At our last Club meeting, we were treated to a wonderful presentation by April Vokey on Chironomids (“Midges”). By coincidence we are tying midges at our next fly- tying night.

Midges are very small. It takes a lot of them to make up the same food value of a Mudeye or Yabby. Yet when trout focus on midges their stomach contents resemble pate from eating hundreds of them.

While we will be tying on size 14s, the naturals are more size 16 to 20 … which we will avoid!

On a Club trip to Buckenderra a few years ago, at Wainui bay there were thousands of Midges hatching from the very muddy / boggy bottom. Because random rises were everywhere and haphazard, the only fly that was most predictable and easy to see was a Midge Ball (cluster). The pattern that best imitates a midge ball is a Griffiths Gnat which we will be tying.

As usual our focus will be on the skills needed to tie the flies.

Griffiths Gnat

Midge Emerger

Midge Pupa

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.

Fly Rodders submission on parks booking system

To NSW National Parks

Response to the request for input on the proposal to improve the parks booking system.

I write on behalf of the Sydney Fly Rodders, a Sydney based fly fishing club with a current membership of 297, many of whom camp and fish in our National Parks particularly in the Snowy mountains.

We recognize that a fair and effective booking system is required for heavily used national parks camping sites; sites that are located in highly desired locations such coastal areas with beach access or near towns that provide facilities and a variety of sporting options such as Jindabyne. Whist we accept the need for a booking system in these “civilised” sites, we believe the fairest and most sensible management for remote camping grounds, even ones with a drop toilet and firepits with a BBQ plate is to have these campgrounds revert to free camping, as they were prior to the introduction of the current booking system.

Our views are a result of a long history of our members using the remote campgrounds in the Kosciuszko National Park. We have had an annual weeklong trip to the Long Plain Hut Camp- Ground in November for the last 25 years, ( Covid years excepted). Prior to the introduction of the current booking system, we had between 15 and 25 members camping at the Hut campground and most nights we would be joined by up to another six or seven campers who we happily welcomed to our fires at night. Throughout the rest of the warmer months smaller groups of our members used the Long Plain campgrounds and other high-country campgrounds such as Three Mile Dam, Yarrangobilly, Ghost Gully and the like.

The introduction of the booking system threw our annual trip into chaos as the Long Plain Hut camp was reduced to a mere eight camp sites. Our experience of that first year of the booking system is emblematic of the problems with the existing booking system. We went to book some six weeks ahead and found that there were only three sites available. We booked these sites, secured some sites at the Long Plain horse camp and we tried Yarrangobilly, but all 28 sites were booked. We finally ended up with a few members booking at 3 Mile Dam and other members deciding not to attend as getting together is a major attraction of the week and that wasn’t going to happen as we were spread over a number of locations. When our booked week arrived, there was rain on and off for the week and we were the only campers at both Long Plain Hut and Horse camp. We also observed that there was no one at Yarrangobilly Campground during the week despite it being booked out for the week.

Since then, we book both Long Plain Hut and Horse Camp on the day bookings open, but it’s not the same atmosphere as the previous 20 years when we could all camp together. Most nights, despite the fact that we have all the sites booked, we have other campers arrive and join us, a situation we have no problem with. Prior to COVID and the introduction of bookings (and the restriction on the number of campers) this camp has easily handled 30 campers. But it does make us wonder if we should not also just ignore the broken booking system.

So, after 20 years of no problems with our annual trip the new booking system has bought us no additional benefits and plenty of grief. The new proposed booking system keeps all the disruption plus an additional cost of $252 for the week with zero additional benefits that we can see. In the consultation paper the arguments for not having theses remote sites free of a booking system are:

First come, first served – results in campers setting up equipment sometimes days before their intended stay to hold a spot, which prevents other campers from using these sites. It is hard to conceive someone making the drive to these remote camps to set up camp and then drive back home and came back days later - we have never encountered it.
Bookings with no or low fees – results in campers booking sites they don’t use or failing to cancel, which prevents other campers booking and using sites. The current system has introduced the problem of campers booking sites they don’t use, and the proposed system doesn’t solve it. Even if campers cancel three days before their booking date it is very difficult for anyone in Sydney (the biggest population centre in the state) to organize their personal life and work to get away for a week.
Free camping – results in reduced levels of service and means campers do not contribute to the extra cost of the services they enjoy. For the previous 20 years of camping without the booking system at Long Plain Hut we had a long drop toilet and a number of fire pits with BBQ plates (the picnic table is located well into a day visitor only area and unavailable to campers). The only maintenance/ service we even saw was the parks staff mowing the lawns, a service we much appreciated – we saw our National Park fees as our contribution to this camp maintenance. The current booking proposal would see us paying up to an additional $ 252 a week for exactly the same facilities we have always had at Long Plain but receiving weekly service – to do what? mow the grass every week ? . We believe our National Park fees are our contribution to maintaining remote sites and these remote sites will not be receiving any extra services even if we are paying $252 a week.

The point is made that campers have mentioned they would like National parks to be available to help with disputes on things such as noise. While higher booking fees may allow National parks to hire more staff it will still not be practical for park rangers to police or support campers in the remote camps like Long Plain. There is no mobile reception at either of the Long Plain campgrounds, and the only times the camps are occupied is of an evening and night – the rest of the time campers at these remote camps are off on their various activities. So even if a camper at say Long Plain got in their car and drove back to the main road and then a further 10 km to get a mobile signal, would a National park ranger get in a car and drive the 1hour 50 minutes from Jindabyne or the hour from Tumut at 8 o’clock at night on animal infested, tight twisting roads to sort out a noise dispute – I believe not.

In summary the introduction of the booking system has created significant problems with “no shows” and provided no additional benefits to campers in remote camp sites. Please don’t try to solve the problems the current booking system created by making it more complicated and expensive with again no additional benefits to campers in remote camps – just put these remote camps back to free camping with the minimal maintenance of these grounds paid for by our park fees.

While we ask that the booking system be removed for remote sites, it would be remiss if we didn’t comment on the proposed fee structure in the consultation paper. For a site with a single drop toilet, a steel plate over a fire pit and a picnic table in the Kosciuszko Park, the proposed fees in October would be of our national parks entrance fee of $29 a day plus a booking charge of $36 a night, a total of $$65 a night, significantly more than the commercial parks in the area. While cheaper in November at $20 a day park entrance fee, plus $17 a night booking, it is still dearer than the commercial parks in the area which offer notably more facilities.. Talbingo Caravan Park charges $30 per night and the Alpine tourist park charges $36. For that cheaper fee those commercial parks offer multiple flushing toilets, multiple hot showers, a covered camp kitchen, covered BBQ area and laundry facilities, all serviced daily.

What justification is there for charging the public this disproportionate fee for just a single drop toilet, a firepit and a steel plate in the public’s own park! Also, many of our members are retirees on fixed incomes; the proposed new fees may well preclude them from enjoying the use of their parks.

If you would like to discuss our response please don’t hesitate to contact:

David Major (Club President) – davidrmajor@outlook.com

Denis Hill (Club Vice President) – denisjhill47@gmail.com

Yours sincerely

Denis Hill

Vice President

New Members

We extend a warm welcome to new members Joshua Coyte, Elijah Culp, John De Martin, Henry Han and Shaun Merry.

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