The Editor, Peter Gibson, does this to me so often 🙂 publishes the Freshwater Fisher immediately after I publish Burley Line.

A very full edition. Top items:

• The annual trout fishing closure no longer applies in the Macquarie River or Lower Turon Rivers
• Advanced size Murray cod stocking
• Positive signs for native fish in the Murray-Darling Basin
• Opposition to proposed Yetholme hydro project on Macquarie watershed. A comprehensive letter of concern. (NSWCFA have previously prepared an issues paper for Affiliated Clubs on pumped hydro for local engagement on the issue)
• Carp functionally eradicated from Tasmania
• Gone Fishing Day grant applications open. Put 8 October 2023 in your calendar, as Gone Fishing Day is on again.
• 10th World Recreational Fishing Conference presentations
• Have your say on freshwater fish stocking
• River ecologist confident Murray cod ‘will bounce back’ amid fears of another fish kill
• Draft amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan – submissions close 11 Sep
• 2023-24 Survey of Recreational Fishing – you might receive a phone call
• Fisheries collaboration to crack code on Macquarie perch
• Website for Australian bamboo (aka ‘cane’) rods looking at their history

available here

Our entomologist member Jaime brought this new book to our attention.

“An essential reference on Tasmania’s diverse mayflies, ideal for aquatic biologists and flyfishers.”

Jaime tells me:

A new book about Tasmanian Mayflies with biologist and fly-fishing orientation has been just published. I have been waiting for it for about 2 years. I was one of the reviewers when it was in the process of publication so I can testify that it’s a great book. It has very good biology/ecology/behavioural information. On top of that – because the scientist who wrote it has been a fly fisherman for more than 20 years – it includes a good chunk of fishing suggestions, eg. flies to mimic the natural patterns, when and where they occur, regional colour variations, etc. I haven’t seen a book that combines the 2 approaches (taxonomy/ biology and fly-fishing) together so well. Several of the species in the book occur also in VIC and NSW, so the information can be useful for us here.

$59.99. Order it here.

https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8073/

The proposed changes have come about. Admittedly it only effects a small number of rivers and small sections at that, but the changes are significant. The latest Fish and Game Newsletter had a snippet:

A heap of Designated Waters Licences have also been sold.
The Designated Waters system has replaced the Backcountry system and is designed to see Kiwi anglers get a fairer share on some of the waterways that Fish & Game’s research has shown are subject to too much pressure – around two per cent of the country’s rivers.
The new licence category will help us manage angling pressure by spreading angling effort around so that it isn’t concentrated in certain areas, which detracts from the angling experience and also has the potential to negatively impact the fisheries.
Over the past ten years, Fish & Game has received increasing complaints from resident and non-resident anglers regarding overcrowding in a small number of fisheries that will now be managed through the Designated Waters Licence.
Our research and monitoring show that a small percentage of non-resident anglers will intensely fish in a local area, putting pressure on the fishery and displacing other anglers. We’ve implemented this new fisheries management tool to help address that imbalance.
In some fisheries, angler use has gone from a roughly 50:50 resident-to-non-resident split (in the early 2000s) to an 80:20 split favouring non-resident anglers. In most cases, pressure-sensitive fisheries, now managed through the Designated Waters Licence, share common features. The rivers have very clear water, offer excellent sight fishing, hold large average-size trout, have high scenic value, and are often located in a wilderness or backcountry setting.

These Designated Water Licences are only available for those with a Season Licence. I’ve not been able to see the authoritative cost/conditions but this article by South FlyFisher may be correct.

For those who frequent Southland the only Designated Water is the Upper Oreti. More information here.

Danny Spelic is a local fishing notable and has given talks at our club in the past. He also runs recreational fishing courses at the CIT. The next four are running soon. Cost per course is $320 (4 x 3 hour sessions over 4 weeks) and is payable to the CIT. Details online at:

https://citsolutions.edu.au/courses/at_home/lifestyle_and_fitness

The four courses are:

The AGM will be fully reported in the next Burley Line including our new (slightly changed – congratulations Ryan!) Committee, however there were some other important outcomes.

The 2023-24 program on the member’s card has a few errors so our Secretary will be emailing out a corrected program. I think the 2023-24 program on our website is correct, but I’ll amend it if Secretary’s email has any differences. The website program has incorporated the planned flytying schedule. Both are always subject to change, but any changes will be promulgated.

With the start of a new ‘trophy season’, the ‘rate my catch’ calculator has been reviewed. The calculator is the basis for comparing our different natives species for the Keith Shield trophy. It is based on DPI Fisheries legal minimum lengths and ANSA length records for line caught fish. Each are subject to possible change. As it happens there’s been none since we established the calculator in 2017.

Fascinating read has just come in. For those who have been asking about Tiger Trout there is some info.

In these days of ChatGPT and ever more powerful search engines, ‘Useful Links’ pages have become a bit passe but good practice still behoves us to keep ours up to date.

I saw someone had followed the link to a NSW Government link, but when investigated I found the link was broken. This has prompted me to reconfirm and fix all the links.

Our ‘Useful Links’ page could do with an entire revamp, but I’ll leave it to another day. Meantime, if you identify something that would be an ongoing resource to members, please send them to the Burley Line address on our home page.

Available here. Key points:

• RFA’s meeting with Minister Moriarty
• NSW Trout Strategy – some notes from a brief on the current draft
• 2023 Winburndale Trout Muster – relocate several hundred brown and rainbow rrout from the Winburndale Dam and the stream above, to the Mill Pond at Portland

BJ has confirmation that we are booked in at Bondi Forest Lodge 4-6 Aug. He has a placeholder for 10 people but could go higher if greater interest arises.

Check out  http://www.bondiforestlodge.com.au/contactus.html
Single and double rooms avail, depending on numbers. Full facility kitchen and fridges. Fireplace and stocked pond. Two person boat will be available for rotational use

We are hoping to run the 120 minute challenge (tie a fly with supplied material then go catch a fish).

Contact BJ …. details will come in email from Lyall

If the link doesn’t work, download these files

Report due 29 Sep

MAS has made a submission to the Federal Senate committee study into feral horses. Background to the study and access to the submissions including MAS’ are accessible via

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/FeralHorses47

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/FeralHorses47/Submissions