Author Archives: bill

Coming Events

Next Meeting

9 Apr Normal time of 7:30 at Raiders Club Weston. Speaker will be advised.

Next Activities

1113 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.

Fly Tying 23 Apr 2025 – Sunken Ant, Corn Fed Caddis

Lachy is leading and suggested two flies as he feels they are pretty quick.

His notes:

Sunken Ant
Hook: Dohiku 644 / Hanak 300 series / or Hanak 450 in size 14 and 16
Bead: Black nickel tungsten 2.5mm (for sz 14 hook) and 2.0mm (for sz 16)
Thread: Black 70 Denier 8/0 and Rusty Brown Uni-thread (for the brown ant version)
CDC: Brown or natural
UV Resin – thin

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Lhjg_Lw9U

Keyword wetfly

Corn Fed Caddis
Hook: Tiemco TMC 100/103 BL or Hanak H130 in size 12 or 14
Thread: Brown or olive 70 Denier 8/0
Shuck: Antron yarn/thread in olive or brown
Body: Tan dubbing – preferably dry fly / fine synthetic type dubbing
Wing: CDC in natural or slate dun
Post: Antron in white or preferred hi-viz colour

See https://www.flyfishfood.com/blogs/dry-fly-tutorials/corn-fed-caddis

Keyword dryfly

Folks will probably have most materials, apart from maybe the Olive Antron yarn. I have plenty and am happy to bring it along to the next meeting if folks need some, just ask them to drop me a line via the tying WhatsApp group if anyone needs any of the materials.

April 2025 Burley Line (Issue 210)

Fair bit of news here.  Stefan’s Tumut trip postponed by a week, our trip to Buckenderra had limited success – maybe better success beckons with our next two trout trips, those tieflyers have been at it again this time with a dry fly – whoohoo, more Internet items of interest from Greg S and finally some images from two of our members jetting about and a full report from Greg W from when he was living in UK.  The last item is in our ‘Places to Visit’ blog.  If you haven’t already explored the full extent of our blog please do.  Contributions are always welcome, and it has been a while since our fishing trip chefs provided a new recipe for our cookbook segment.

Lachy and Neil, who recently volunteered as Delegates to NSWCFA, are showing their energy with a report on the recent NSWCFA mini-conference on ‘the Future of Fishing’.  Lots to think about here.  Any thoughts can be passed to those two for carriage to the next General Meeting in May.

We’ve had a counter on our website for just short over 25 years – how time flies – and we’ve just passed 30,000 clicks … I think a pretty impressive milestone.

Fly Tying 28 May 2025 – Sex Dungeon

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

NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers Mar 2025 Newsletter

Alistair McBurnie

Available here https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=8ee287affb9dbb289b12fbd77&id=9d9658f522

Key Points

  • Notes from the recent mini-conference
  • New council to oversee the Recreational Fishing Trust Fund … where our ‘licence’ fee goes
  • Trout Cod Action Plan
  • Pirtek Fishing Challenge comp plus the Snowy Trout Challenge
  • Questions sent by NSWCFA to Minister regarding delays to important plans

Scourie in Scotland

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.

Fly Tying 26 Mar 2025 – Rusty Dun (CDC variant)

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.

Lachy
Neil
Claude
Claude

Keywords dryfly

Breaking News (has been confirmed by OzFish) …. OzFish Unlimited: Inaugural Fishing Comp – Burrinjuck Waters – March 21 to 23

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/