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!
Despite the rivers fishing pretty poorly, seems that folk are catching fish. I even managed one on the Snowy but since he had his nose buried in the side of my net, my photo isn’t sufficient standard and doesn’t make the cut for this edition.
Many thanks to my regular contributors – and now a new one in the form of Mark (mate of Claude and Gary) on his first trip to New Zealand.
Reports on our Jindabyne trip and one photo from Pat in New Zealand (again!).
I’m always looking for contributions – for the April edition I’ll need them a little earlier than usual – let’s say 28 March?
NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers has been seeking Minister Moriarty to expedite release of several Fisheries Action Plans. Whether this is just coincidence who is to say but the Minister has just announced the release of the Trout Cod Action Plan https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/releases/2025/ministerial/threatened-native-trout-cod-recovery-underway-with-innovative-fish-breeding-and-stocking
Of interest, the Minister said “There was a lot of interest from recreational anglers who are supporting the recovery of Trout Cod and I am pleased to say that those hoping to go fishing for Trout Cod can do so at Talbingo Dam where a catch and release fishery has been developed.” … I’d hold off on that till we see Regulation changes.
The Action Plan itself is https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/1602216/Trout-Cod-Action-Plan.pdf
As a recognised stakeholder, NSWCFA will need to remain engaged, especially in respect to:
*mid term identification of two new riverine and one impoundment location
*minimise impact of non-native fish
We await release of the other Action Plans
By Ryan
First lay down a thread base then tie in a clump of marabou for the tail and some wire rib.
Tie in the latex back material and create a dubbing loop. Add dubbing.
Wrap the dubbing forward and tie in some mono eyes.
Fold the latex over the body and tie off behind eyes. (Leave material long for the actual tie)
Wrap the wire over in open spirals and tie off behind the eyes.
Tie in sili legs.
Add some dubbing and form a head, then fold remaining latex over and whip finish behind the eye.
The product
keyword wetfly
Breaking News: the slot titled ‘guest speaker’ has been confirmed as Luke Pearce from NSW Fisheries Threatened Species Unit.
You are invited to a NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers ‘Fishing for the Future’ mini- conference
The NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers is conducting a one-day conference, ‘Fishing for the Future’, to be held at Gaden Trout Hatchery, Jindabyne, on Saturday 8 March 2025.
The conference will start at 9.00 am and finish mid-afternoon, leaving a few hours for socialising or fishing.
What’s it about?
The conference is about fishery and habitat management to sustain our recreational freshwater fishery.
Speakers will include people from the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers, the Monaro Acclimatisation Society, Gaden Trout Hatchery, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (the Federal government’s fishery body), NSW Local Land Services, Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach. We’ve had one last-minute speaker withdraw so that slot is now ‘to be advised’.
Speakers will present, discuss and answer questions on their roles and work.
The venue
Gaden Trout Hatchery is hosting the event in their new Visitor Information Centre, and the conference will conclude with a tour of the new facilities at the hatchery, personally guided by Mitchell Elkins, manager of the hatchery. Gaden Trout Hatchery is a few minutes out of Jindabyne on the Kosciuszko Road.
Cost
The cost is just $30 per person. That covers coffees, morning teas and a sandwich lunch. This small charge is just to confirm that you are genuinely interested and does not cover the actual cost of the event—the NSWCFA is footing the bill for the balance.
You must register
You must register by responding to info@freshwateranglers.com.au. The venue is only able to accommodate 50 people, so please register ASAP to ensure a seat.
Walk-in registration is NOT available on the day, as we have limited seating and pre-arranged catering for 50 people. Don’t turn up with your fishing mates or partner expecting to get a place. It just won’t happen!
To register and pay
Simply reply to this email to register and also make a payment to the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers Westpac account, BSB 032040, Account No 259507. Put the word “GADEN” and your name in your payment details. We will email you to confirm your registration.
Coming for the fishing?
Both Jindabyne and Eucumbene are fishing well this summer, so bring your gear.
Questions
Email us at info@freshwateranglers.com.au or call NSWCFA Past President Peter Gibson on 0425 211 313.
Apologies, I should have uploaded this stuff to the fly tying blog as well as the newsletter for future reference.
Was led by BJ – working hard through the technical difficulties. The tie was Wulff variants. As BJ mentioned, it seems Lachy’s champagne cork is being the de rigeur fly mount.
BJ’s pre-night demo
Lachy’s: “Pretty average attempts me thinks… The calf hair was a pain so tried pink antron for the second wing. As you said BJ, keep practicing! I definitely think I need to”
Jayden
Keywords dryfly