VOLUME 33, ISSUE 2. August 2026

One of the great things about this club is the depth of knowledge in the membership and the willingness of members to step up and help out. This comment is prompted by our fly-tying guru, Dave Wilson who at very short notice (less than a day) was able to step up and be the speaker at last month’s meeting and deliver a very interesting presentation. Thanks Dave!

At the last committee meeting it was decided that the club would purchase a ‘pocket size’ AED (defibrillator) that we would take to events and activities. Within the next couple of months we again will conduct some basic first aid training at a club meeting and will incorporate the AED in that presentation. This is one piece of equipment that I hope we never have to use; but if we need one, I want to make sure we have one.

At that meeting it was also agreed to conduct this year’s Christmas Party at the Freeway Hotel (on Monday 14th December). More details to come as we finalise arrangements.

As you should all be aware, club members Steve Peach has been competing in Norway as a member of the Australian team competing in the World Masters competition. I have no doubt that he will have some great stories and information to share with us in the near future.

If you haven’t renewed your membership for the current financial year please do so – and if you have decided that you won’t please let me know.

The NSW Council of Fresh Water Anglers (the CFA) has recently changed their membership structure. Our club is an affiliate of the CFA and due to our size we are entitled to ten delegates. We currently have three; Gary Bickford, Radge Diakiw and Phil Burton so we have capacity for seven more delegates. I have sent out an email with details and if you want any more information please reach out to either Radge or Phil. For more information about the CFA https://www.freshwateranglers.com.au.

As always there is a lot going on during the count down to the season opening in October.

Tight lines and stay safe.

David

President

Looking forward to November - Geehi

President's Report

Fellow Flyrodders,

Just a quick note for the fur and feather tying brigade. The popular monthly fly tying evenings will resume again in September.

This month, Dave Wilson is hosting the Skills Improvement Workshop which is full subscribed.

Thanks,

Jason - Editor

Thompson Creek Dam

Club Event: Sunday Saltwater Social

By Gavin van der Wagen

On Sunday 19 July 2026 we had 21 members drive all the way down to Gray’s Point on Port Hacking.

We fished at two locations there; Gray’s Point Reserve and Swallow Rock Reserve, where we convened at the end for our BBQ and well-earned refreshments.

Swallow Rock Reserve Flats

I picked a good, weather wise, day and an incoming tide which we fished to the full high tide. But the barometric pressure was 1,031 hPa, and beyond my control. Though it ensured that the rain kept away. Apparently, the fish slow down under such high barometric pressure. What happened to 1020 cods aplenty?

There are wonderful sand flats there to accommodate many people; the flats went into some nice drop-offs so things were hopeful, and full of anticipation; but that is a normal condition whenever we go fishing.

Sam Oxford in the foreground

Most anglers started off with conventional flies like your clousers, surf candy’s and minnow patterns. But on this occasion they weren’t working that well.

Though James Webber caught a nice flathead on one such fly, very early on, but I think that was the only one on a “real” fly!

James Webber and David Caddies

Then the clever, or better prepared, anglers pulled out their loaves of bread, and bread flies. Then the fortunes began to swing in favour of the person wielding the wand.

Naturally Dave Webster caught his obligatory 6 mullet on bread fly, as did Denis Hill, Anthony Mercer and others.

Dave Webster the mullet whisperer

And the resulting mullet

Anthony Mercer hooked up!

In a sighting as rare as the Loch Ness monster, David Caddies was spotted casting for fish

It’s interesting how fishing activity changes, as about a month prior to this day some members performed exploratory trips and caught salmon, trevally, whiting, flathead and bream. This was the prime reason for holding the event here, plus it’s a lovely venue and there’s a great pie shop on the way home; but this wasn’t necessary on this occasion as our belly’s were full of boerewors and pork sausages. I did offer my passenger the option of making a little detour to the pie shop; but he declined even though he had TWO on the aforementioned reconnaissance trip.

Recently Richard Els has been slaying the salmon on his kayak, but further downstream near the mouth of Port Hacking. Perhaps we need a kayak and flats fishing trip further downstream sometime.

However, there is always a great BBQ to look forward to, with snags on a roll, beers, and soft drinks; but at the end of the day the prime reason is a social get together and this was the perfect venue to hold such a get together; as the photos will attest.

As the event organiser it would be improper if I extolled the benefits & wonderfulness of these events. They are a great time to catch up with other members, catch some fish and then share intel and snippets of the arts and craft of fly fishing.

This event caters for all members, beginners through to the wise, wily (names already mentioned) and experienced!! We are all willing to share our knowledge and to assist those setting out on this journey.

Anyway, enough from me, lets’ catch up at the next one; I need to start some creative thinking about the next event.

If anyone has any ideas on venues that can accommodate around 20+ members, good picnic/bbq area, toilets, parking etc. then please let me know. My email address is gavin@vit.com.au and mobile is 0411877546.

Where'd you leave the car keys?

Trip Report: Weipa

By Nick Careless

Having been forced to cancel our father and son trip to Weipa in April due to a cyclone, Matthew and I made the trip in the July school holidays.

We were staying at the Weipa campsite in the lodge, with fishing organised through Flux Fly Fishing (renamed from Fish's Fly and Sport Fishing). Having arrived on the early flight, we learned our fellow guests were also flying in from Sydney for the week – and on their arrival it turned out they were fellow Sydney Flyrodders: Bert, John, Russell and Peter.

Unlike us newbies, they were experienced hands on what Weipa had to offer and happily gave us an overview of the fishing locations in the area.

John, Peter, Bert, Russell and Matthew

The arrangements through Kurt at Flux saw three of his guides – Scotty, Drew and Liam – allocated to take us out, picking us up early each morning before launching their boats at the Weipa boat ramp. Matthew and I were paired up with Scotty for day 1 and we were soon out, pedal to the metal, heading for a river about an hour's boat ride south of Weipa.

We sped past Rio Tinto's shiploaders and took in the view as we got closer to our destination, Norman Creek. On arrival we were greeted by the sight of a bust-up of assorted trevally species feeding at the creek's outflow. We were soon onto our first fish and drew the interest of a large croc that headed our way for a sticky beak, before we headed up river.

The dropping tide that day didn't allow us to explore Norman Creek for long, but we did get a chance to cast deep into the mangroves for barra and mangrove jacks, with the deeper parts of the creek a happy hunting ground for large queenfish. Success was had on the clousers and balsa wood NYAP poppers I had made for the trip – the challenge was to strip the poppers back fast enough for the Queenies to commit to the bite, as they battled each other to hit the fly.

Queenies always put on a show

On the second day, our allocated guide was Liam, a young South African who was alternating Weipa seasons with guiding at the Seychelles, he brought some of the methods he used there including his light furled leaders that had inbuilt shock absorption. We combined the creek with flats fishing for Blue Bastards and GT action on the offshore reefs.

There was added excitement when large bull sharks surrounded the boat, though we decided enough was enough when a 4-metre salty took an interest in proceedings and we headed back to the flats for lunch.

Blue Bastard (the fish, not the author)

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern for Matthew and I, with the tides and the winds dictating which direction we took the boat. Bert, John, Russell and Peter had arranged to explore a river system further north that involved a longer drive to get there. It was even further off the beaten track, and they were able to fill us in on their exploits over dinner each evening.

As a bucket-list trip, we had a great time, the opportunity to apply the skills gained from SFR casting and fly-tying sessions, as well as see what this far-flung corner of Australia has to offer. Unsurprisingly Matthew’s fish count on his spin gear left his dad well behind. “There is a reason why they call fly rods starvation sticks” quipped Scotty our guide.

Peter and John casting

Mangrove Jack

Tuskfish

Last Monthly Club Meeting

At our last club meeting, Dave Wilson kindly stepped in at short notice and gave a great presentation. Thank you Dave, for all you do for our club. We're very lucky to have you.

There were also a number of casting certificates presented at the meeting, courtesy of the FFI skills development program delivered by another David and his helpers George and Gavin.

Congratulations to all recipients on your ahcievements!

FFI Bronze Certification Level Awards

Bob Hart and George Nolevski

Greg Burrow and George Nolevski

Rick Jones and George Nolevski

The Bronze Boys

FFI Silver Certification Level Awards

David Blackwell & George Nolevski

Peter Wyborn & George Nolevski

Michael Haagensen & George Nolevski

Bruce Auty & George Nolevski

James Mackie & George Nolevski

The Silver Foxes

Next Club Meeting

The next Monthly Meeting will be held on Monday 10 August 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.

Scott Levi, host of "The Big Fish" on the ABC radio and podcast platforms will be the guest speaker. This will definitely be a presentation worth seeing.

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:

Casting Practice Report

You 'cast' a nice shadow Gavin. Thanks as always for the photos.

By David Caddies

The emphasis this day on the FFI skills development program certainly kept everybody busy. The process is to watch and listen to a demonstration of the particular casting task, then practise it under supervision then, by yourself. If you are pretty sure you’ve got it worked out, then you step up and try to complete it successfully while an instructor watches and checks the result.* On the day you get 3 attempts at each cast only, so it pays to be fairly sure you can do it, otherwise you have to wait till the next casting occasion. (*At Bronze level, it can be checked by another member of the club at any time, possibly even your mother or best friend if they are a member.)

I think one of the most beneficial things about doing it with others going through the same cast at the same time is that you get to watch how others learn and succeed. That is, you get lots of feedback about what hits and what misses.

The Basics:

This particular practice day had a good turnout of members, about a third of whom spent their time learning basic casting routines. That is, learning about loops and getting line out by doing the foundation casts we call pick up and lay down and the roll cast. This particular group contained a couple of new members who had never cast before and at least one who had been casting for a long time. I had asked him to join in this group so he could learn a few moves to help another beginner. Not only did he learn good moves to teach others, but he said he learnt a lot about casting mechanics and techniques for his own good. Ie basic ideas he had never thought about before. This is no surprise – if your own casting goes a bit sloppy or just needs a tune-up, (ie not accurate, not far enough, splashy) work on the pick up and lay down cast. It’s the first cast in the Bronze level and doing it well shows good casting knowledge and technique. It is an essential cast to master.

The Program successes:

Everybody else divided into groups doing the either the Bronze or Silver casts. Three members did the whole of the Bronze casts successfully on that day and if you attended the June club meeting you would have seen them being presented with their FFI certificates. Nice, I think, to knock off a whole level in one go and be presented with your certification the next day.

More info:

If you are interested in trying out for these levels but can’t get to casting practice you can read up on it through the link in the casting practice notices in the Flyrodder magazine or by getting in touch with me, as there are other ways of proceeding with the program at least at Bronze level.

Practice can be tedious (no use denying it!):

I’ve mentioned here before that motivation to seriously improve your casting doesn’t come readily to most people. Sure, there’s a desire to be better in most of us but it doesn’t easily translate into positive action, because the action required is time consuming and often, not even enjoyable enough to push you onwards. In fact, it is often just frustrating and unrewarding. That is all too likely if you are trying to do it without any direction or any structured idea of what to do.

I don’t wish to become a casting Geek:

Unlikely. You just have to get off your arse and try it for long enough until the urge takes a firmer hold. The FFI Skills Program just seems to edge you past the inertia stage because it’s geared to a specific structure and there’s help at hand. And that’s not because it’s done in a group setting (although it is): it’s because you actually see your own level of attainment against understandable, reachable goals (directed at fishing, thankfully**). It might take you till you succeed in doing three or four casting tasks successfully, but after that, a noticeable motivation factor sets in. You see the ‘win’. You will recognize it when one day you, unaccountably, just feel like getting out for a cast in the park and when you get there, you know exactly what you need to do. Watch out for that feeling.

(**If you just cast and never, or rarely, fish then yes, you are likely a casting Geek. Not that that’s a bad thing.)

See you in the park

David

Paul Cooper presented with the FFI Silver Certification Level by George Nolevski

Peter Wyborn, Michael Haagensen, Bob Hart and George Nolevski

Club Monthly Casting Practice - Details and Event Schedule.

SFRC MONTHLY CASTING PRACTICE 9am Sunday 9 August 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

9 August I 13 September I 11 October I 8 November I 13 December

New Members

We extend a warm welcome to new members Paul Wenck and Rob Worner.

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