Claret & Mallard Journal. Ballarat Fly Fishers' Club. October 2016

Transcription

1 Claret & Mallard Journal Ballarat Fly Fishers' Club October 2016 Incorporation Number A2007

2 Contacts President: Greg Armstrong / Secretary: Gerard Richmond Senior Vice President: Shane Stevens Junior Vice President: Vacant Immediate Past President Allan Townsend Treasurer: Mike Sorrell Committee: Alistair Lowne Kevin Drew Doug Kimberley Brian Rivett Russell Wilson Trevor Adams Newsletter Editor Allan Townsend Website Manager Ian Hare Kitchen Manager Andrew Borg Bar Manager Robert Haines / Delegate - Aquatic Association: Royce Baxter Delegates CVFF Chris Doody Anthony McGrath Delegates - BDAA Chris Doody Clubrooms - Keymen Alistair Lowne Shane Stevens Fly tying Instructor Dale Flenley Mick Hall Casting Instructors Barry Whelan John Close Clubrooms - Maintenance Dale Flenley Russell Eldridge Peter Voterakis Clubrooms - Cleaning Roger McNeight Club Historians Barry Kentish Keith Ridsdale Steve Lock All correspondence should be addressed to: The Secretary Ballarat Fly Fishers Club PO Box 1138 Ballarat Mail Centre BALLARAT. VICTORIA 3354 Webpage Cover Photo - Dale Flenley BFFC winner of the 2016 McAdam Trophy with Craig Hon President Ballarat Anglers VrFish Anthony McGrath Delegate - VCF: Phil Smith Club Librarian: Steve Lock

3 Reminders.. Len Walker This competition is now closed as Daylight savings commences on Sunday 2nd October. Winner to be announced at next meeting What s happening in October? Committee Meeting 7.30pm 6th October Monthly meeting 8pm 13th October Fly tying 7.30 pm Tuesday OCTOBER 4th and 18th NOVEMBER 15th and 29th Casting casual & competition casting tuition Sunday 9.30 am at casting jetty. Contact John Close Stan Burt Commences Monday evening 3rd October 6pm until 11pm Lake Wendouree. Closes on the Monday before daylight savings closes Wastell Trophy 15&16 October Book Accommodation now Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park 12 Cushing Avenue, Creswick, 3363, Ph creswickcaravanpark.com.au Registration open from 5pm Friday 14 Oct at Creswick. Registration is required prior to fishing. Membership Fees now due Fees can be paid on-line or at the monthly meeting

4 Ballarat Fly Fishers Club Incorporation Number A2007 P.O.Box 1138, Ballarat mail Centre, Victoria, Victor H. Wastell Trophy 2016 Dates- 15th & 16th October 2016 Venues- Cairn Curran, Moorabool, Tullaroop, Andersons, Newlyn, Dean & Wendouree Accommodation- Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park 12 Cushing Avenue, Creswick, 3363, Ph creswickcaravanpark.com.au Competitor Registration- Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park BFFC site Major Prizes for the winning Trout:- Replica of the V. H.Wastell trophy Innovator HLS2 Fly Rod, Ross Fly Reel, Scientific Anglers Fly line (Approx $1000 value) Roast Dinner and raffle provided on Saturday night Event Sponsor -Mayfly Tackle

5 Notice of Event & Rules Victor H. Wastell Trophy 2016 Event Coordinator: Greg Armstrong Ph: Event date: Saturday 15th to Sunday 16th October, 2016 Venues: Cairn Curran Reservoir- large lake, easy access to shorelines. Boating allowed Tullaroop Reservoir-medium lake, easy access to shorelines. No boating allowed Moorabool Reservoir-medium lake, easy access to shorelines. No boating allowed Dean, Newlyn & Andersons Reservoirs- small lakes, easy access to shorelines. No boating allowed Lake Wendouree, large lake, easy access to shorelines, Boating allowed Travel Directions: Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park. 12 Cushing Avenue, Creswick Travel Requirements: Suitable for vehicles with reasonable ground clearance. Mixture of both bitumen and made gravel roads to/around lakes Accommodation: Onsite vans and camping sites(powered/unpowered) available at Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park, 12 Cushing Avenue, Creswick. Ph creswickcaravanpark.com.au Catering: Dinner on Saturday evening (8pm) included in cost. Breakfast available on Saturday & Sunday ($5 per day for egg & bacon brekky. Pay on registration) Self cater for all other meals. Cost: $25 per competitor: Non competitor Dinner cost: $20 per person: $5/day for breakfast on Sat and Sun Recommended items: Strongly recommended personal equipment: waders/wading boots, gaiters if wet wading, brimmed hat, glasses/sunglasses, sunscreen, staff, PLB especially in Remote Locations. Essential equipment when fishing out of sight of other participants: UHF radio. Essential equipment for Remote Locations: Compression bandage, UHF radio, any necessary prescribed medicines. Date of Issue of Event Registration: March 1st, 2016

6 Weather: Normally mild with normal spring variations in temperature. Competitor Registration: Creswick Calembeen Lake Caravan Park, BFFC site (ask for directions at reception), from 5pm on Friday 14th Oct Competition Rules: 1. Fly Caught trout shall be the only species to be eligible with the minimum size weighed in been 25 cm. 2. All fish to be eligible for the trophy must have been caught during the competition hours and presented for weigh in, by the stated closing time on each day of the competition. 3. The Trophy shall be awarded to the club, whose member has caught the heaviest fish during the competition hours. 4. All competing fishers must sign on personally at the sign-on point at the Creswick Caravan Park, PRIOR to commencing fishing. 5. Competitors must comply with all state fishing and boating regulations Hours of Competition: Saturday: 6:00am- 8:00pm; Sunday: 12:00midnight- 12:00 noon Contact:- Greg Armstrong on or

7 The Wastell Every year, on the third weekend of October, the Ballarat flyfishing club hosts the Wastell flyfishing competition. This is a club based competition and open to all fly fishing clubs. Members of a range of clubs fish for the heaviest trout taken on fly. The competition and trophy honour Victor Wastell the first President of the Ballarat Flyfishers club. This year, 2016, Ballarat flyfishing club will host the competition from the Calembeen caravan park in Creswick. The weekend often commences on the Friday evening with Ballarat members putting up tents and having a few social drinks. Some of the more enthusiastic members also go for an evening fish. The real fishing starts on the Saturday morning. Creswick is an ideal location because it is central to a number of local waters inclusive of Lake Wendouree, Dean, Newlyn, Tullaroop and Hepburn and the facilities at the caravan park are excellent should be a sensational year as there has been reports of reasonable fish been taken from these waters recently. This competition has a long history. From the club minutes, which Steve Lock has so carefully archived, it was found that on April 1937 the final arrangements were made in regard to this fly fishing competition and the Secretary was instructed to advise the competing Clubs of the competition. Ballarat s Club team was to be selected from the following Mr. J. C. Rowe, V. H.Wastell, G. Hay, D. B. Tunbridge, H. B. Adair, T. P. Wilson, V. E. Greenhalgh, Dr, S. Pern & S. Burford. Captain Mr. V. H. Wastell Vice Captain Mr. G. Hay

8 In the same month The President Mr. J. C. Rowe reported that the competition for this shield was held on the 10th April and that it was won by the Ballarat Fly Fishers Club. Fly fishing in those days must have been quite a genteel affair because Those competing gathered for tea at the Lake View Hotel where Mr. V. H. Wastell handed the shield to Mr. T. P. Wilson, Captain of the winning team. Mr. G. Hay reported on the social side of the competition and stated that all seemed to enjoy the event, despite the fact that not many fish seemed to be attracted to various flies. The trophy, which is so coveted by fly fishing clubs, was first noted in the minutes from June 1938 when Mr. V. H. Wastell exhibited the Wastell Trophy for the first time which was finally completed and handed over by the designer, Mr. V. E. Greenhalgh. The theme for the weekend has always been socialisation amongst flyfishers from different clubs. Although the winning of the trophy is important there is no doubt that Victor Wastell, after whom the competition and trophy are named, wanted to ensure that this weekend was one of fellowship and exchange of ideas. As can be read from the minutes in November 1938 The syllabus item was reminiscences of the Wastell Trophy Competition at Newlyn. All those who had been present added their quotes & stories were many and amusing. It was unanimously decided that the day had been a great success. Red Tag Club won with a nice Brown Trout of 3 lbs. caught by Mr. K. Meiers on a Green Demon Nymph. Mr. T. P. Wilson of our Club caught the only other trout, but it was not quite large enough to annex the trophy. The Victorian Fly Fishers Assoc. & the Ballarat Anglers were unsuccessful. To maintain this socialisation theme Ballarat flyfishing club puts on an excellent roast dinner on the Saturday evening thanks to many helpers. If you have some time this year to spare to assist with the cooks please contact the committee as all help will be gratefully received.

9 Victor Wastell The weekend closes on the Sunday at mid-day with the final weighin. Ballarat Flyfishing Club owes a great deal to the inspiration, enthusiasm and dedication of Victor Wastell. The Wastell competition, will be held this year on October 15 th and 16 th, and is not only a time to catch up with a few friends, wet the line somewhere and chase a few fish, but also a time to give thanks to a man who gave so much to Ballarat. This photo above is from 2015 with President Allan Townsend [left] congratulating Ballarat Fly Fisher, Russell Wilson, taking out the 2015 Wastell trophy for Ballarat fly fishing club a happy man. #########################################

10 McAdam Trophy 2016 Thanks to reporters David Bandy and Russell Fisher we have news of the McAdam 2016 that was held last Sunday. This year the McAdam Trophy has been won by Dale Flenley with a Brown trout of 48 cm and 1458 g, Great effort by Dale with a well deserved win. Dale, proves that fly fishing is not only more elegant, sophisticated and generally more fun but the technique also catches better fish. Well done Dale.

11 GET TO KNOW OUR CLUB OFFICIALS and COMMITTEE President Greg Armstrong - Joined BFFC 1995 and was willing to get involved from the start, This was recognised by long term member Royce Baxter who took me under his wing and showed me the finer points of fly fishing, especially on Lake Wendouree, this was a very valuable experience. Initially to get involved I did as many club trips as I could, these included going to Crowe's at Lake Eucumbene, for many years, I was lucky enough to win the 'The Acky Wallace - Eucumbene Trophy' on the trip in I also did many trips to Tasmania, based at Miena and the Great Lake in the Tasmanian Central Highlands. I think the highlight of my fishing trips would have to be going to the North Island of New Zealand and Rotorua, after doing several trips, each one is different, especially the day and night fishing, One of these trips included the World Championships in Rotorua in 2008, there were a number of us supporting the Australian team that had a couple of our club members involved in it. I have also had one trip to the South Island with late member Len Walker, which was a great privilege. Another fishing highlight includes fishing on a Monday night during daylight savings, in the 'Stan Burt', I've been lucky enough to win this trophy a couple of times in recent years. I also got involved in the running of the club, initially joining the committee, then being promoted to Treasurer 2008/2014, a job I thoroughly enjoyed, I stepped down as treasurer to become Vice President and at the August AGM (2016) was inducted as President. I have lived in Ballarat for the past 35 years with wife Liz (a very supportive fisherman s wife), we have 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren who all keep us very busy.

12 Secretary Gerard Richmond, became interested when Noel Phillips took him along to a Fishing and Camping Expo in Melbourne in the early 90 s. Noel was seeking out a guy he had read about and wanted to talk to him about what he needed to get started in fly fishing. I think the guy was Jim Allen. Anyway, Noel secured a Penn 9ft 2 piece 6 weight rod. In the not too distant future, I also did similar and then we were off. Mostly Tasmania, Eucumbeme and Toolondo in the early days, then regularly to NZ as I got to go over there with work frequently This one is from Zig Zag Lake Tasmania, when we walked into the wilds of the western lake area to camp, got lost (we did have a guide - he got lost too) only one fish landed. Thredbo River, NSW Whakaapa River NZ.

13 Committee Member Doug Kimberley Doug Kimberley has been fly fishing since his early 20 s. He took up fly fishing in response to invasion of carp in the streams of the Latrobe Valley. Bait fishing for trout became impossible. Doug was a member of the Latrobe Valley Fly Fishers until he came to Ballarat to take up a work appointment. Doug has been an active member of BFF s since joining in He was President He also spent 3 2 years on the Board of VR Fish. His fishing exploits include Tasmania, New Zealand and all local waters. He is still endeavouring to catch the elusive 10lb trout. He has also fished a number of salt water locations including Victorian estuaries for Bream, Cairns and Darwin for Barramundi and Saratoga and Christmas Island for Bone Fish and Giant Trevally. His most memorable sea catch on fly was a 28lb Spanish Mackerel.

14 Australian Fly Fishing Team at the World Championships 2016 Team Australia signing Australia's Best Trout Flies Revisited as a gift from Malcolm Crosse to John Knight.

15 Group photo of competitors at the 2016 World Championships USA

16 Casting at the World Championships 2016

17 Purrumbete Report Trout 5KG plus are being taken at Lake Purrumbete. The soon to be new owner John Clements took a 13 pounder last week. Allan Townsend watched 3 young men weigh in a 5kg, 4.3kg & 3.6kg last Thursday evening. Dave a fellow camper is pictured below with a 4.4kg brown taken Sunday evening.

18 Lake Purrumbete looking out from the front of the BFFC Wakka McKay

19 Brook trout to be stocked in Victoria 8 August 2016 Brook trout are being released into Lake Purrumbete near Camperdown this week, the first official release of the fish in Victoria. Executive Director of Fisheries Victoria, Travis Dowling said anglers have often expressed a desire to have the species stocked into Lake Purrumbete. "The brook trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family and although it is called a trout, it is actually a char," Mr Dowling said. "The fish are not expected to grow large (a kilo fish would be big), but what they lack in size, they make up for in appearance. "They are native to eastern North America, in the United States and Canada, but have been introduced into other countries around the world." Mr Dowling said it's a striking looking fish, with a dark green to brown colour, with a distinctive marbled pattern and a sprinkling of red dots on its back, surrounded by blue halos along the flanks. The lower fins are often reddish in colour with white leading edges. "The stocking is the first of a two year trial stocking the fish into the lake," Mr Dowling said. "Lake Purrumbete supports a popular redfin fishery and is already stocked with Chinook salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout. If successful, the stocking will create a unique lake based brook trout fishery and thus adding to the range of fishing experiences available at Lake Purrumbete," he said. "This complements the State Government's Target One Million plan to get more people fishing more often." Source: mediareleases/ brooktrouttobestockedinvictoria

20 Jamie Penny BFFC member is doing frames from a choice of locations which have flies mounted in their natural environment. Looks realistic. This picture is Lake Toolondo, any location can be done. Contact Jamie Penney jamie.l.penney@gmail.com

21 Australian Mudeye Patterns A short history from their origins to modern day by Mick Hall Would you believe there was a time when it was generally thought that Trout would not take an artificial Mudeye pattern. Well, so stated the late author Lance Wedlick. In his book, Fishing in Australia, 1962, Lance Counta mudeye writes of the larva of the Dragon and I quote: "The dragon-fly nymph, known in Australia as a mud-eye, is the most important of all natural baits fished beneath the surface. Unfortunately this nymph has never been successfully imitated in an artificial fly. Most anglers believe that, since the mud-eye propels itself by anally ejected streams of water, the trout can quickly detect the fraudulent artificial where no such stream is present." This was written way back in 1950s- 1960s. Lance Wedlick was a real fishing guru and if Lance said it was so, Bug mudeye who was going to argue with him? Nobody. Like Bug Mudeye most I started my fishing life as a bait/spinner angler and again, according to Wedlick, mudeyes were without question the best bait you could get. We even had plastic mudeyes and for me they didn't work. Just the same, they looked good in the tackle box, but others swore by them.

22 At this time in my fly fishing life I was like a sponge, sucking in any bit of information I could find and in Lance Wedlick I was a believer. How wrong I was. My search for information led me to the Red Tag Fly-casting Club; I was rapt. The good information was swamping my brain and as my old Mum would say, "my cup runneth over." It was here that I met up with Lindsay Haslem and a friendship that was to last a lifetime soon developed. We fished, we tied flies and spent a lot of time experimenting with new materials and methods. John Lanchester, another close associate, showed us a Mudeye pattern that worked and worked very well in and around Ballarat. As you can imagine this threw a spanner in the works as I previously stated, we did believed the "Guru", that it could not be done. "Joe's Mudeye" designed by Bryce Butler, tied by David Martin, alternatively known as Butler's Chook.

23 Long term member of Ballarat Fly Fishers, Barry Whelan, arranged for the tying of the above pattern and the following snippet on Bryce. "Bryce (Joe) joined the BFFC in 1960, became President of the Ballarat Fly Fishers from 1965 to A life member, his mud eye pattern, Butler's Chook, was most successful on Lake Wendouree and local waters during the Mudeye hatch throughout that period. Bryce passed away in 2012." The pattern was unique for its time and the colours of the snipe feathers used in this sample do represent a close call for the lighter, natural Bug Mudeye. Darker versions were made using black duck feathers off the fore-edge of the wings and occasionally Black Swan neck feathers if available, now highly illegal, but back in those days the laws were a lot more liberal than they are today and the odd bird that was either taken or the result of a road kill, was fair game. The pattern is as follows: Joe's Mudeye as designed by Bryce Butler Hook: Size 8 Mustad R50 Thread: Black or dark brown Body: Two layers of feathers tied under and over the top of the hook shank to form the body. The more feathers used the more compact the body becomes. Head: Turkey tail fibres tied across the hook shank and trimmed to shape ########################################

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26 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 more information for Spectacular local fishing. Enjoy If interested please contact Shane Stevens

27 Ballarat Fly Fishers thank the following sponsors for their continued support in 2016 Shannon Rise Lodge (see advert in journal) The Flyfisher Aussie Angler H. Rehfisch & Co Reece Ballarat West Eason s Car Centre Telstra Countrywide Midvale, News, Post & Lotto Grant s Auto Electrics Campana s Stockade Cellars Travelscene Creative Framing Gallery Hurleys Fly World Geelong (03) Ballarat Plumbing Centre (03) Mayfly Tackle (see advert in journal)

28 Ballarat Fly Fishers thank the following sponsors for their continued support in 2016 E.E. Day & Sons (03) Cortland Lines Jarvis Wallker Fly Life Freshwater Fishing Victorian Fisher Monthly Arnie and Josie Crowe EE Day & Sons (03) Neil Goad Automotive (03) Torquepower (03) PRD Nationwide (03)

29 MAYFLY TACKLE Mayfly Tackle imports and distributes a wide range of fly fishing related products including the full Scientific Anglers fly line range for both fresh and salt water, Korkers, RL Winston fly rods, C&F Design fly boxes, Scott rods, Ross reels and Innovator rods. Web: Emal: mayfly@bigpond.net.au BFFC President Allan Townsend [left] congratulating Russell Wilson [BFFC] winner of the Wastell Trophy 2015 Mayfly Tackle Address: PO Box 1176, Box Hill, VIC 3128 Phone: Fax: