Next Meeting
9 Apr – Normal time of 7:30 at Raiders Club Weston. Speaker will be advised.
Next Activities
11–13 Apr our perennial favourite up in the Brindabellas led by Ryan. Email with details soon.
23 Apr Fly tying via Zoom 7:30 – the sunken ant and the corn fed caddis led by Lachy.
Claude is leading the May tie for Kelly Galloup’s Sex Dungeon fly. There are a number of YouTube videos showing the tie, including by Galloup, but warning you they are very long.
Claude is assembling a materials kit of the more esoteric items. Contact him to place an order.
Claude’s notes below.
The sex dungeon is the pinnacle of what many articulated flies strive to be. Meaty enough to drive fish crazy, yet simple enough to exhibit a natural, unencumbered swim, the sex dungeon capitalizes on its versatility, and ability to elicit reactionary, as well as predatory strikes from stubborn underwater monsters.
Something great about large streamers such as the sex dungeon is the fact that it’s in no way limited to a single colour. While fishing white and tan versions of the fly can be a great way to bring in fish on a sunny day, darker patterns such as black, purple, and brown are also highly effective. In deeper water, feel free to get creative and throw some bright green or yellow patterns in order to spark the curiosity of hunkered down fish. For small creeks and rivers, feel free to tie on an olive, or earthy toned sex dungeon in order to imitate sculpin, crayfish, or even larger baitfish. For tiers, this can be a tricky project, however, once you get the hang of it, it becomes one of the most fun flies one can tie.
An articulated, double hooked, dumbbell eyed, marabou, flash, silicone legged, schlappen and spun deer hair creation that not only moves like crazy when trout can see it in clear water but it also “pushes” water (thanks to that deer hair head/collar) so that in dirty water the trout can also “feel’ it. This fly casts a very sculpin-like profile and is most commonly fished on a sinking tip line and fished around river structure and pulled off the banks/drop offs when looking for a meat eating trout.
It would be a fly that could be swung or stripped like a bugger – good for trout and natives – probably saltwater if you used stainless hooks. I’ve seen some great videos of large trout being caught in NZ and Nathan believes they would be great during spawn run.
Ingredients:
Rear Hook: Daiichi 2460 #2
Tail: Natural colour
Flash in Tail: Silver Flashabou
Body: Pearl Ice Dub or UV Minnow Belly
Hackle: Natural Schlappen
Rib: UTC Ultra Wire (Brassie Silver)
Legs: White/Pearl Flake Barred Crazy Legs
Optional Wing: Natural Marabou
Connection: AFW Surflon Micro Ultra Wire-19 Strand w/ 1 red bead
Front Hook: Daiichi 2460 #1/0
Skirt: Natural Marabou and Silver Flashabou
Body: Pearl Ice Dub or UV Minnow Belly
Hackle: Schlappen
Rib: UTC Ultra Wire (Brassie Silver)
Legs: White/Pearl Flake Barred Crazy Legs Optional
Wing: Marabou
Eyes: Large Double Pupil Lead Eyes (Red/White/Black)
Head/Collar: Deer Belly Hair
Keywords streamerfly
Available here https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=8ee287affb9dbb289b12fbd77&id=9d9658f522
Key Points
Stefan has had to postpone to be 23-25 May. Always a great trip.
NCA has engaged ACT team to do a fish survey of Lake Burley Griffin. Makes for interesting reading and might change your favourite fishing location. Some very familiar names in the list of authors.
https://www.nca.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-02/2023-24%20Fisheries%20Survey%20for%20Lake%20Burley%20Griffin.pdf
When Greg W was posted to UK he organised two group fishing trips to the far North of Scotland. He has previously provided a brief for the 2019 trip for our ‘Places to Go’ blog
https://canberra-anglers.asn.au/blog/an-angling-opportunity-in-scotland/
Greg spoke at our 12 Mar 2025 meeting and provided additional detail including the 2021 return trip. An infrequently caught Arctic Charr was a reward for him.
The Rusty Dun is your classic parachute mayfly profile in the colour of our darker Australian mayfly and terrestrial insects. This is a perfect generalist fly for searching up a river. The slim profile and natural colour of the fly can represent a wide range of insects on our rivers. It has the added benefit of a hi-vis orange post to help you see your fly in even the most turbulent water. This fly is particularly successful late afternoon before and during an evening rise to mayfly. It can even double as an orange spinner pattern if needed and is also an option for lakes.
We tied the CDC version mainly but also the parachute version.
size 14 Dry Fly hook
Black (any colour) thread
Coq de Leon tail (substitute – any hackle)
Any sort of Rusty Dubbing
Glow bright for indicator
CDC – Natural or Brown (or any other colour)
From Tom Jarman’s excellent new series of “Tying and Fishing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g48v_RDAau8&t=7s
Some examples from the night.
Keywords dryfly
There’s been a post on the Canberra Fishing Network Facebook page that this has been cancelled and has been confirmed. Circumstances beyond OzFish control has resulted in the event being cancelled.
OzFish Unlimited, in partnership with Reflections Holidays, is hosting their Reflections Sustainable Fishing Series event at Burrinjuck Waters from March 21 @ 3:00 pm to March 23 @ 1:30 pm AEDT.
More information:
https://ozfish.org.au/event/reflections-sustainable-fishing-series-burrinjuck-waters/
Amongst a lot of other interesting stuff at https://www.nca.gov.au/environment/lake-burley-griffin there is the latest report on fish management.
The native fish population in Lake Burley Griffin is enhanced through the regular seeding of fingerlings. Species such as Murray Cod and Golden Perch are released on an alternate basis to maintain a mixed recreational fishery. Read all about it in The Lake Burley Griffin Fish Survey 2023-24. https://www.nca.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-02/2023-24%20Fisheries%20Survey%20for%20Lake%20Burley%20Griffin.pdf
Come along and join fellow club members for a great weekend fishing at Lake Eucumbene on 21-23 March. We will be basing ourselves out of Buckenderra Village which has a number of accommodation options from cabins to camping out.. All types of fishing are available – bait, lure and fly.
With the tough summer and small amount of rain, the rivers have been particularly tough, so a number of us have taken the opportunity to focus on lake fishing……and it’s been pretty productive if you happen to there at the right time and employing the right techniques, even for the shore-based angler.
One location which boasts terrific opportunities for the shore based angler is Buckenderra Holiday Village. Buckenderra is roughly 30 minutes’ drive from Cooma NSW. The shoreline at Buckenderra has all the right stuff to attract feeding trout: If you are not into fly fishing, you can certainly do bait or lure fishing in the lakes and rivers. Kayak and boating are also available on the lake.
Please join us for a weekend of socialising. It’s up to you if you come for two or one night or a day trip. Claude is organising and the CAA trip registration address will be emailed to members.
Cancellation considerations: If the weather is crappy Claude said he won’t be going. He will make the call for himself on Wednesday prior to the trip. As this is largely an independent activity, you are most welcome to continue your trip!