1. sports
2. fishing

Claret &
Mallard Journal
Ballarat Fly Fishers' Club
May 2015
Incorporation Number A2007
Contacts 2015
President:
Alan Townsend 0408615185
Secretary:
Gerry Watt 0419103836
Senior Vice President:
Greg Armstrong 53341251 / 0417383216
Junior Vice President:
Vacant
Immediate Past President
Chris Doody 0428304004
Minute Secretary:
Barry Kentish 0408369882/ 53301207
Treasurer:
Bruce Pipkorn 0409954643
Committee:
Dale Flenley 0400072769
Andrew Borg 03 53689062
Shane Stevens 0408179927
Andrew Gardner 0409705404
Alistair Lowne 0419153526
Mick McKay 53458124
Gary McKay 0353315927
Anna Taylor 0458385410
Terry Simmons 03 5335848
Newsletter Editor
Barry Kentish 0408369882
Website Manager
Brett Cirulis 042044668
Ian Hare 0428217909
Kitchen Manager
Andrew Borg 03 53689062
Bar Manager
Robert Haines 53388175/0407670207
Delegate - Aquatic Association:
Royce Baxter 53359353
Fly tying Instructors
Sean Purcell 0408501133
Delegates - BDAA
Chris Doody 0428304004
VrFish
Anthony McGrath 0408542694
Delegate - VCF:
Mark Cuthbert 0425739443
Club Librarian:
Steve Lock 53323835
Clubrooms - Keymen
Alistair Lowne 0419153526
Shane Stevens 0408179927
Casting Instructors
Barry Whelan 0408677745
John Close 03 53321688
Clubrooms - Maintenance
Dale Flenley 0400072769
Russell Eldridge 53451127
Peter Voterakis 53333842
Clubrooms - Cleaning
Roger McNeight 53324321
Club Historians
Barry Kentish 0408369882
Keith Ridsdale 0409327113
Steve Lock 53323835
All correspondence should be
addressed to:
The Secretary
Ballarat Fly Fishers’ Club
PO Box 1138
Ballarat Mail Centre
BALLARAT. VICTORIA 3354
Cover Photo - Jim Bambridge showing his commitment to a unique auctioning
style!!
Reminders…………..
May 14th to 30th New
Zealand trip 2015
What’s
happening in
Len Walker trophy—
every Sunday from 5th
April to 27th September. Lake Wendouree—
midday to 4.00pm.
May?
May 2nd Annual Dinner
Wanted
April 9th —6.30 pm
This journal needs
May 3rd—Brunn Shield
ed Round 1—Lake Wen- your fishing story. If
you’ve been fishing
douree—9.30 am
May 4th—Committee
meeting—7.30 pm
May 14th—Monthly
meeting 8.00pm—
speaker Taylor Hunt—
Wild Trout Fisheries
Program
Casting Practise—every
Sunday—9.30am at
casting jetty
recently and have a
tale to be told contact
Barry Kentish
[barrykentish@gmail.
com]. Your fishing
photos are always
welcome.
Minutes of the Ballarat Flyfishers’ Club Inc
Members’ Monthly Meeting, Thursday
9th April 2015
Opening
President Allan Townsend opened the meeting at 8:10 PM welcomed members and guests.
Attendees
T Adams, G Armstrong, D Bandy, R Baxter, F Bluch, A Borg, G
Cook, I Crook, V Denham, C Doody, D Eason, D Faulkner, R Fisher,
D Flenley, D Forde, A Gardner, R Haines, I Hare, K Howard, B Johnson, B Kentish, D Kimberley, J Laverty, S Lock, A Lowne, A
McGrath, G McKay, A McKinley, B Muller, Brian Nygaard, I Penberthy, N Phillips, B Pipkorn, J Porteous, O Porteous, K Ridsdale, B
Rivett, T Simmonds, A Taylor, A Townsend, G Watt, B Whelan, R
Wilson, S Xanhoulakis, P. Jasek
Apologies
J Bambridge, B Bennetts, J Cowen, J Cuscadden, H Landman, C
McKay, M McKay, C McKnight, R McKnight, Barry Nygaard, G Richmond, J Roath, G Sandman, S Stevens, J Stewart, G Watts.
Visitors
David Werda, Trevor Crawford
Minutes
Minutes (as circulated in the April journal) of the meeting held on
Thursday 12th March 2015 were tabled .
A motion to approve the minutes was moved by K Ridsdale and seconded by D Flenley
Carried
Business Arising from Minutes
mayfly09.blogspot.com
Correspondence
Inward
Invitation to the President or his representative to the Annual
Dinner of the Sunshine Casters Club on 23rd May.
Copy of the book “Trout Waters of Tasmania” by Greg French was
received from our member Loch Forsyth.
Outward
Note thanking Loch Forsyth for the donation of the book “Trout
Waters of Tasmania” by Greg French.
Journals Received
Various paper and electronic journals had been received.
Inward correspondence was received and outward correspondence approved, on the motion from D Bandy and seconded by B
Rivett.
Carried
Business Arising from Correspondence.
None
Reports
Fishing reports - Royce Baxter and Steve lock have been fishing
lake Eucumbene. This fishing trip was dominated by few larger
fish. Fish were over 5 pound. The best flies during the fishing trip
were Woolly Bugger patterns, Bitch, and Magoo. Royce’s mudeye
pattern was particularly successful. Fish were seen up to 10lb. Steve reported that there were a number of Rainbow trout to about 2
pound. The lake was dropping and conditions were good.
Gary McKay and friends have been fishing both Wartook and Fyans
but not seen any fish.
Bruce Pipkorn and Ian Penberthy reported that there were a number of duns hatching on lake Wendouree.
Keith Ridsdale has been fishing at Yambuck with bream to 36 cm.
VRfish – Anthony McGrath reported on the successful state conference held at the Ballarat Flyfishers club. The conference discussions were dominated by the future of trout in Victoria. The proposal not to close some of the rivers in Southwest Victoria, as has
put forward by Scott Grey, was not supported by VR fish. This matter requires further research. Anthony promoted the wild trout
study in North East Victoria. Further information is available on the
government webpage.
Aquatic Association - No meeting. There was concern about the
quantity of weed around the margins of the lake.
Eucumbene Trip - Gary McKay reported on a trip to lake Eucumbene with Gerry Watt and Brian Sainty. Weather was bright and
sunny and windy which made fishing difficult. Fishing in evenings
was quite successful. It was a great social occasion and Brian
Sainty took a 4 pound Brown and successfully landed the fish after
a great fight. President Allan Townsend asked members to plan for
both the November 2015 and March 2016 trips to lake Eucumbene.
Stan Burt Winner - it was with great pleasure that President Allan Townsend congratulated Greg Armstrong on winning the Stan
Burt 2014 - 2015 competition. Greg’s winning fish was 64 cm
Brown taken from the shore of lake Wendouree with a mudeye pattern fly. Club members congratulated Greg on a tremendous effort
for someone who regularly fished the Stan Burt on Monday night.
Master Classes - President Allan Townsend thanked Royce for
running the three masterclass sessions which were well attended
by members of the club.
Fly tying - Dale Flenley informed members that fly tying will be
held on every Tuesday from 7 PM
A motion to receive the reports was moved by G Armstrong and
seconded R Baxter.
www.news.com.au
Membership.
Trevor Crawford of Hopetoun Park was voted in as a full member of the Ballarat flyfishing club. President Allan Townsend welcomed Trevor to the club and wished him well for the future.
Upcoming events
New Zealand trip
Robert Haines reported briefly on the progress of the New Zealand
trip. Robert reported that all members had paid for the trip. He had
emailed O’Keefe’s to inform them of the number of flyfishers coming to Rotorua and a request for an update on current fishing conditions. BFFC members thanked Robert for his efforts in organising
this trip.
Nelson trip 25th – 27th April - a list is circulating of members
who are likely to go fishing at Nelson. Gary McKay is organising
this trip.
Annual Dinner 2nd May Tickets are now available at $40/hd.
Tickets are being organised by Greg Armstrong.
Oceania Fly Fishing Competition. - Royce Baxter is organising
the competition and gave a brief update to members about what is
required from Ballarat flyfishing club.
Clubrooms - Cleanup Working Bee. 26th April -Dale Flenley
promoted the importance of this pre-dinner cleanup for the
clubrooms.
Goldfields Trophy- this Ballarat versus Bendigo competition has
been moved to 27th -28th June and will be fished at Lake Fyans.
General Business.
BFFC Risk Management- Alistair Lowne will purchase first aid
kits for the club trailer, the Wacca McKay Lodge and Eucumbene
Lodge. Alistair will also purchase a mask for the defrib. machine.
Fly Fishing vending machine
Anna Taylor spoke to members of the possibility of a flyfishing
vending machine being established adjacent to lake Wendouree.
Web cam installation proposal - Anna Taylor spoke of the idea
of establishing a web cam/weather station at lake Wendouree.
There was extensive discussion from members in relation to this
issue.
Proposed Education Bursary/Scholarship - Barry Whelan
asked that discussion of this matter to be postponed until the May
meeting when he will invite a speaker.
Donation of cane Rod - Greg Cook donated a cane rod from Tom
Kennedy to the Ballarat flyfishing club museum.
Reminders
Fly Tying – Tuesdays….
Fly Casting – 10.00 am Sundays – Brunn Shield starts 1st May
Fines Session - there was a number of donations to the flyfishing
club library from members who had some inaccuracies when measuring, there was something about mudguards, and catching black
socks and members were entertained with a few Irish jokes from
Danny. Some members also have problems with early morning
fishing and late-night socialisation.
Close
The President declared the meeting closed at 9.05 p.m
Social item
The social item for the April meeting was a review of the lake Wendouree Two Fly by Chris Doody. Chris gave an excellent overview
of the competition in 2015 and thanked those members who assisted with the organisation and management of this competition.
Thanks was also given to Gavin Hurley for continued sponsorship.
Chris noted that it is important for members to support these competitions and if they are not able to fish during the competition
then members should support the activity by assisting with management of the competition. The future success of this competition relies on members embracing all club activities.
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www.mdfrc.org.au
History of BFFC [part 2] —By Rod Stapleton
Well known and respected Life Member of BFFC wrote a history of your
Club in 1994. It is with great respect and honour that this history is published in the BFFC Claret and Mallard Journal. This is a continuation
of article as published in the April 2015 journal. The editor wishes to
thank Terry Simmons for his assistance with digitally copying and editing Rod’s original transcript.
An essay of the club’s history 1919 to 1994
He welded together a team which, during the 1960s and 1970s
could well claim to have been the premier casting team in the
State, if not nationally. During this period the team won many
State and National casting titles and it all resulted in John Close,
with the Club’s assistance, going to compete in the International
Casting competition in Switzerland in 1968. But prior to this, of
course Artie led, also, a team to New Zealand in both 1965 and
1966 where they competed with significant success.
At the passing of time some members of the team went on to other
things, some just went fishing. Artie retired as coach but Fred Eva,
John McKay and several others members carried on enthusiastically.
However, the club was not able to emulate the achievements of the
early years. Now the banner had been passed a new coach Roger
McKnight (if one may call him new-he has been a coach since
1986) under whose stewardship the Club has continued to be well
represented with varying degrees of success in this competitive
branch of our activities. With the institution of the Ballarat Championship Tournament in 1988 at Roger’s instigation, and its continuance as a lead-up to the Bruhn Shield series, our future, as a participant in this sport, seems assured although it is a facet of our
activities, support for which does fluctuate considerably. At times
members appear more interested in ‘goin’ fishing ‘.
Towards the end of the 1960s decade the site of Artie’s casting
‘University’ -the original McArthur Street Jetty -was condemned by
the City Council and, because of budgetary problems, the Council
did not look likely to replace it. As this would have caused a serious
problem for the casting aspect of our activities the Club decided, in
negotiations with the Council, to provide the labour and build a
new jetty-to our design requirements-with the Council providing
the materials.
Jim Jones was our successful negotiator and also oversaw the resulting construction project which, on 30 March 1974, saw the
commissioning of a ‘valuable casting facility for the club and a major asset to the city at the same time.’ (quote from the Mayor of
the City at that time).
The rise of prominence of the casting team, under Artie’s influence, led, also, to an influx of new-the younger-members who, unlike their predecessors, having little to do with fisheries management activities of former years-other than to maintain a watching
brief because of the Fisheries Department taking over the responsibility altogether,-turned their attention to other activities, in addition a competitive casting.
Whereas, in the period prior to World War II, Club fishing trips
were a rarity-the members of that time period prefer fishing individually or in small groups-they now became a prominent feature
of Club life and there have been many minor weekend trips to
places such as the Camperdown lakes, Teddington, Fyans, Konong
Wootong, Wartook, Toolondo, Rocklands and others. In addition
there have been several major trips to Tasmania and New Zealand.
Space here does not permit a detailed account of each. Suffice it
to say that they all been successful, even though on occasion, the
fishing results have not reflected that success. They are now a
continuing feature of the Club curriculum.
One regular trip stands out however. In 1967 a group of 20 members undertook a weekend trip to Lake Eucumbene. From this developed a well-looked-forward-to annual event which is a feature
of the Club calendar. Even though fishing has been like the water
level over the years-up and down-the patronage of the trip, by
members has been consistently good and, after 27 years there appears no sign of that interest abating.
Out of all this fishing activity arose on three projects. First, we established a small fleet of three fishing boats, on Lake Wendouree,
housed in a shed, rented from the City Council. This project was
initiated by Jim Jones in 1974 and later, led to us obtaining a more
permanent shed-‘the George Davenport shed’-through the generosity of our popular former member George Davenport who donated his share of a jointly owned shed. This, however, was only a
progression towards better things to come; more of which later.
Next the club equipped itself with a well set up camping outfit and,
thirdly in a tremendous effort, the club established a well-founded
fishing lodge at the camp of Arnie and Josie Crowe at Cobrabald
Bay, Eucumbene. The lodge was named ‘the Fred Eva Lodge’ in
tribute to our former popular and enthusiastic member Fred, and
although the future of the Lodge, at its present location, is somewhat uncertain, the members of the Club are well-placed and
equipped to pursue their fishing in considerable style and comfort.
This club does not, by choice of its members, take part in competitive angling nor does it compete, internally, for trophies except for
three competitions each year which are memorials to past prominent members. Of these the most important is the Wastell trophy
competition.
Back in 1936, Victor Wastell saw and felt there was a need to have
a fly fishermen get together for their mutual benefit. Accordingly,
he was responsible for the inauguration of a fishing competition
aimed not so much at the catching of fish, but at the fulfilment of
that need.
The inaugural contest took place, on Lake Wendouree, in 1937 between the Victorian Flyfishers, the Red Tag Flyfishers, the Ballarat
Anglers’ Club and this club-as host. The host Club won the fishing
but all the participants in the event were winners at the social tea
which followed was held at the Lake View hotel. The competition
then became an Annual event known as the ‘Wastell trophy Competition’ . The actual trophy which was designed by another of the
early Ballarat members, Mr. V Greenhalgh, and cast in bronze in Italy.
This competition was much looked forward to by flyfishermen, and,
at first Lake Wendouree and Newlyn Reservoir were the venues at
which the competition was fished; Newlyn being particularly popularr, mainly it seems because of the hospitality dispensed by Mr.
Haintz, licensee of the Newlyn Hotel, at the conclusion of each
competition ensued the get together Mr. Wastell intended.
The competition still is fished each year with the same ideal in
mind,-Ballarat always being the host club. This is the festive 57 th
year of the competition and, over the years it has been fished at a
number of locations, but, of the latter years, because the competition has expanded into a weekend get together, it is being conducted at Cairn Curran, where good camping facilities exist to allow for
such an event.
Right from its exception inception this event has been popular
among fly fishermen, and, for many years was unique in that it
was the only interclub competition in the State fished with fly only.
From our point of view, it is the premier event of the year, in angling
Another important facet of the club’s educational activities, which
always has engaged actively the involvement of members, is fly
tying. While this subject has been a prominent activity of the
club’s agenda, it has, in recent years, been afforded increased emphasis, due to the club, at the instigation of David Martin, during
his Presidency, commencing the conduct of a series classes each
winter, with the evenings been devoted solely to fly tying methods
and instruction.
Although the fly tying school has been conducted for about 22
years, and has had its ups and downs as regards patronage, it still
is seen to be a necessary part of the club’s curriculum. There have
been many members during those years who have gained the ability to tie their own flies; to participate in a craft which is a totally
enjoyable pastime in its own right, and also adds to the satisfaction members obtain from their fishing by actually catching fish on
flies of their own making, or, if they like to experiment, creation.
During the latter part of the 1960s, the club also expanded its activities by creating a more family orientated atmosphere within the
club, and, as a result, there are been many family days events
conducted over the ensuing years-including the popular Christmas
picnic, held mainly at Learmonth and Waubra, and the long running Cricket Test, held annually against Red Tag. There are been
many social evenings held at various venues around the city, and
at various members homes.
While most of these outings was simply days or evenings of getting together by the members and their families, some were held
with an eye to making profit as we had, by then, the need to accumulate funds. But more of this later.
Perhaps some of the most successful of our social ventures were
evenings held at the Rowing club, for which we self-catered. A
great deal of success of those evenings was due, in very large
measure, to the manner in which the wives of members bucked in
and helped with the arrangements. Actually, they did all the supper arrangements with us as the message boys. They not only
worked in the Rowing Club events, but others as well, and their
contribution to our social efforts was great and well appreciated.
Out of all the social activity was spawned the idea which grew into
a very successful family touring-fishing trip to New Zealand in 1977
-a trip, those of us who took part, still have fond memories of.
The frequency of our social outings has listened in recent years but
we still get together in that manner occasion, keeping alive the activity
During the long history of the Club, there have been very many
members who have distinguished service to the club, and to angling. The pride of place must belong to Victor Wastell, at whose instigation the club was founded. He was a driving force through its
early years and remained a participating member to the end of his
life.
Others who have given outstanding service to the club and angling,
are Mr. Jim Thomas, was an active and interested member of the
club for almost 70 years-surely a remarkable feat in itself, when it
is considered that the total life of the club has been 75 years (what
a storehouse of angling knowledge he must have accumulated in
this time-he certainly had done so about Lake Wendouree). Mr.
Geoff Gilbert, who during a membership 57 years, worked tirelessly
to the club, and for angling-as long-term secretary of the Acclimatisation society-retaining a lively interest right up to the time of his
death; Mr. Bill Sorrell gave 44 years of continuous service to, and
participation in the club and was ready always with the cheery
word; sometimes a ribald greeting or, when the fishing was not going well, a word of advice-mainly centred around the use of the Red
Tag; Mr. Artie McAdam who served the club well during a membership of 36 years and to whom, through his efforts in the field of
flycasting particular, must be it attributed the beginning of the
modern era of the club. An era which has seen the club becomes
strong, numerically, the yearly average membership of about 115and growing-financially sound and actively pursuing the objectives
set down by its founders so many years ago.
With all this history of effort in mind; with all the activity going on
together with continuing growth in membership it did appear that,
if our continued progress, as the club, was to be forward then there
would be a need, in the future, for us to have a home of our own.
Consequently, taking into consideration all these things, an idea,
hatched between the then President David Martin, and the secretary, whilst one Tuesday night in 1972, they were preparing the
Journal for posting, resulted in a Building Fund being launched with
a goal in mind of satisfying eventually that perceived need.
In the years which have followed that decision a great deal of
fundraising work has been undertaken by many members, which
has seen the Building Fund progress the extent that, in late 1993,
a start was able to be made on our Club Building. I suppose the
‘fishing lodge’ would be a more apt term especially if we lean to
the traditional.
During the period, since the inception of the Building Fund, a great
many members contributed to the fund raising efforts but the
greatest at fillip to the fund came with the formation of the Unified Funding Organisation-a community fund raising organisation
set up between several sporting organisations in the area, of which
we were one, in which both Robert Haines and Brian Bennets
played a considerable role on our behalf, resulting in some quite
substantial dividends being added to the Building Fund.
The consequence for all this effort is that we are now-after some
quite protracted negotiations with the Ballarat City Council-in the
course of building a very attractive fishing lodge-design by Glenn
Hewitt’s father-using our own labour under the executive supervision of current President Steve lock, and under the practical supervision and expertise of Russell Eldridge
The fruits of all our efforts on labours will be that, during our 75 th
year, we will come to a permanent home, attractively set on the
shores of our ‘spiritual home’ -Lake Wendouree-a well-equipped,
asset rich club with an enthusiastic membership.
The end of an Odyssey?-The basis for better things to come?
Epilogue
I completed this essay with a question and, I suppose, for those
who have preceded us for those the more senior of us today, the
answer can be ‘yes’ to the first part of the question for we have
earned the right to just ‘wet a line ‘ if we wish without that nagging suspicion present that, perhaps, we should be doing more.
We have, one might say, establish the basis and it is now perfectly
reasonable for us to enjoy the fruits of our labours; to relive the
past as we wish, not as we must.
For the younger generation, and for those to come, I guess the
emphasis has to be towards second part of the question for to
them belongs the future; in this case the future of the Club.
No club can survive by relying on tradition alone; by just standing
still.
Clubs, which do so, do not survive long. Time, alone, quickly passes them by so there will be much work to be done, by the oncoming members, to keep pace with the progress of time and its
changing emphases. To them belongs the responsibility for better
things to come.
In bringing this essay to a close I would offer the following observation.
Participation, in the activities of an organisation, by its members,
is the lifeblood of that organisation. Without that participation, by
its members, there is no organisation.
It will not survive.
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Wild Trout Fisheries Management Plan
–source http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/fishing-and-hunting/recreationalfishing/wild-trout-population-survey/wild-trout-fisheries-management-
continued from Claret & Mallard April 2015
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program-
Project 5. How can we reliably track changes in the angling
performance of our trout fisheries?
There are many angling clubs that record their catches with great
diligence. If this information can be cost effectively captured for
use in fisheries management, it may help Fisheries Victoria measure how each trout fishery is performing.
Action: Establish a cost effective trout fisher feedback program
e.g. angling club data to include catch, effort and reporting.

How will this help?: A lack of standardised measures of fishery performance currently hampers fisheries managers' ability to
gauge the performance of recreational fisheries in Victoria. Rather than relying on individual reports from anglers on their perceptions of the fishery, it would be more useful to garner a
broader indication of performance. Anglers will benefit from this
by understanding how other anglers are finding a fishery and by
providing metrics on their performance compared with other anglers, groups and fisheries. Importantly, this will provide a
mechanism to robustly measure changes in the performance of
the fishery over time and following interventions.
Project 6. Is reduced Lake Eildon trout stocking impacting
river trout fisheries?
The trout population relationship between Lake Eildon and the inflowing rivers is not well understood.
Action: Subject to stock differentiation, assess the contribution of
Lake Eildon stocked fish in river populations.

How will this help?: Understanding the contribution of lake
fish to the river fishery and river fish to the lake fishery will inform fisheries management practices such as the effectiveness
of fish stocking in Lake Eildon and closed seasons in rivers. If we
can distinguish between hatchery and wild stock fish, this will
have broad implications for the future assessment and improved
management of Victorian trout stocking program.
Project 7. Have there been changes to bankside vegetation
along our rivers? If so, and how have they affected water
temperatures?
River water temperature is strongly influenced by air temperature
and shading. Improving shading through stream side vegetation
may assist in maintaining the cooler water temperatures preferred
by trout.
Action: Work with CMAs to review the impact of changes in riparian shading on water temperature over time including changes to
riparian vegetation e.g. bushfires and flooding, clearing and replanting. Assess the case for improving riparian habitat.

How will this help?: This will assess whether changes in riparian habitat have occurred, whether they are a significant issue for wild trout fisheries and where there is scope to rehabilitate stream side vegetation.
Project 8. Does trout stocking help the wild brown trout river fisheries recover?
Some recreational fishers see stocking as a logical solution to improve numbers of fish in streams where there may be low numbers. However placing fish into streams where existing populations
of trout are present may not be the most appropriate action, nor
achieve the desired result.
Action: Undertake brown trout stocking trial and evaluate
(differentiate trout by fin-clipping, marking or tagging).

How will this help?: Past fisheries research in Victoria on wild
trout fisheries and on fisheries worldwide suggest that stocking
on top of existing self-sustaining populations is an ineffective
long-term strategy to enhance wild stocks as it provides a very
low-return to anglers at considerable expense. However, anglers
have a strong affinity with fish stocking and it can be seen as a
fisheries management panacea (cure all). There is a case to reassess the effectiveness of fish stocking to enhance the wild
trout fisheries in Victoria and to better communicate findings,
educate stakeholders and re-examine the cost-effectiveness of
this management option.
Bream Fishing on "The Hopkins"
- by Bill Reddick
For a water close to a coastal City of around 30,000, The Hopkins River estuary continues to be a considerably productive waterway.
For Fly fishers, the main target species would tend to be Bream and Estuary
Perch. Australian Salmon are prevalent, often in large schools, but tend to be
on the small side (up to 20cms). Mullet can be targeted, but have not been in
my sights. Through the summer of 2014/2015 constant reports of juvenile
Mulloway caught by bait fishermen, particularly around the University, has
seen me fishing deeper without success to date. However the average size
of Bream and particularly EP's has increased.
The Equipment
Rods
Early advice was to fish 8 weight to control the heavier, hammerhead flies,
particularly in the stronger winds that can prevail along the West Coast.
Modern rods, with faster actions have the power to turn over quite large
flies using lighter rods. I fish no heavier than 6 weight and could even be
tempted to go 5 weight if one was in my kit. The advantage of lighter rods
is obviously the ability to work harder for longer as much of the fishing is
searching.
The GoTo rod would be my 9 foot 6 Loop Opti 6 weight. It is a little heavier
than other brands, but has some grunt to throw dense lines, heavier flies
even when wind is so strong that stripped line can't land inside the boat.
Lines
It may seem bleeding obvious but matching line weight to rod weight is the
general rule, but often this is not practical when purchasing heavier grained
lines with low stretch cores. You may find you are running 7 weight over 6
weight simply because they are not available in lighter weights. It will mean
you can relax a little, cast slower and more deliberately with less false
casts. This is appreciated on long days.
I've come to enjoy the low stretch cores of the Airflo brand,particularly on
Bream as they can approach flies timidly. Feeling these soft touches allows
one to apply a number of tactics attempting to convert interest to hookups.
Wading on flats, floating lines can be utilised, but in general I'd begin with
an intermediate, or sink tip. You can work the fly a little faster through the
water and impart more action into retrieves allowing hangs and drops during pauses. These tend to be the times Bream can be tempted to to strike.
Fishing from a boat I'd use a minimum of an intermediate line, although a
di3 is most commonly used. This summer I have been fishing deeper aiming for depths around 4 to 5m chasing the larger resident fish with success.
For these times I'd use Di5 or Di7 and count down to achieve desired fishing depths.
Leaders and Tippets
Generally with weighted flies, I don't find it necessary to utilise expensive
leaders. Casting with sufficient momentum to have controlled loops will turn
over the leader enough to cast accurately.
The preference is to use fluorocarbon, maintaining the low stretch approach. To date I've not felt it necessary for shock tippets because most
hookups are subtle and fish size rarely warrant extra elasticity. It is more
important to keep close contact with the fly. You'll find flouro is a little more
resistant to abrasions around rocky reefs etc. my preferred brand is Riverge
(gold label).
This summer (2014/2015) rain and wind kept water visibility a little low so I
used 12.5lb all season. When clarity improves I may swap to 9.5lb, or ultimately to 6lb if refusal or follows suggest lines are visible to fish. I've only
ever used 6 lb twice in the last 3 years when doing my version of shark
fishing.
Up until 3 years ago all I ever fished was a single fly. Today it is almost always two flies. The first fly, or dropper, is on straight flouro from the fly line
about a rod length, never longer. The point fly will be about a metre (3 ft)
from the dropper. I've started catching more fish using two fly setups with
somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of catches on the dropper. The heavier fly is always on the point, meaning you are fishing at two levels.
Bill’s article will continue in the May Claret and
Mallard—more details on flies, locations and
where to fish—stay tuned!
Welcome to the Shannon Rise
Lodge
Located in the heart of Tasmania's World Class Trout Fishery.
The Shannon Rise Lodge is a fully self contained lodge. Accommodation for up to 8 people in comfortable surroundings.
Great rates. Overlooking the shores of Great Lake, at the
township of Miena in the Central Highlands of Tasmania.
Have a look at http://www.shannonriselodge.com.au/
more information
Spectacular local fishing.
If interested please contact Shane Stevens 0408179927
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