HASTINGS FLY FISHERS NEWSLETTER April 2016 Vol. 7 Num. 10

Good Friday dusk on the Hastings River

Contents Tag line – the President’s report Club Captain’s report Club calendar 2016 Outing report – Ebor 25th–27th Mar Hauled in for 2015/6 Social Welfare Report Wanted poster and star performer Club supporters General meeting – 9th Mar Biodiversity Quill body fly tying instructions Fly tie night – 15th Mar Overflow items

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The Secretary Hastings Fly Fishers Inc. 58 Rollands Plains Rd Telegraph Point NSW 2441 (02) 6585 0501 [email protected]

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Tag Line – The President’s Report Clearing out 2 

After reading my article from last month, the “nice sheriff”, who wasn’t able to proof read it before it went to be published as he was away earning $$$ so I could buy some new fly rods, asked why I hadn’t mentioned the time he found his “fave” jumper in the recycling bin!!

Now, to fill you in on this “fave” jumper story, I knitted it for him 42 years ago, not long after we started going steady. It used most of my pocket money, $5 a week, and a lot of time then he grew out of it 32 years ago. Ooops, my apologies, I washed it in HOT water and it shrunk … and it continued to shrink for the next 10 years!! It also became tangled in a barbed wire fenced approximately 40 years ago and ripped half the bottom band off which used to hang 6” below the rest of it … but he didn’t want it stitched or put back together as he loved it that way. And yes, I’ll put my hand up … it was me who “accidently” put it in the wrong pile to recycle!! Now, due to this small indiscretion, each time I get “hormonal” and start cleaning the cupboards, he goes through all the throw-out stuff to check I’m not getting rid of any of his treasures. AS IF!! and I’m sure some treasures find their way back inside … mind you, not immediately but a few months later they seem to just reappear.  A bit like my Dad who used to love going to the tip, dump, waste management area, call it what you’d like, on a Sunday morning and spend hours there before coming home with more than what he took!! I was talking about this to some friends at a BBQ recently and it seems that back in the “good old days” quite a few Dad’s used to enjoy their Sunday morning looking for “treasures”. In my four years of writing the President’s Report, last month’s article on clearing out has received the most emails and phone calls, thanking me for touching on a subject that few of us find sensitive to talk about. I’ve been invited to talk to two local groups to touch lightly on this subject. I’m no expert in this field and I can only talk about my experiences with people I’ve come in contact with and listened to but from the conversations with both representatives, it’s something that’s often put in the too hard basket. Cheers 

Dawn, Proud President of the Hastings Fly Fishers

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Club Captain’s report

A few lines and photos for the newsletter! Some would be aware that Nundle holds an annual Easter “Go for Gold Festival” each year at Easter & this year was no exception. The weather was perfect, all accommodation in the area was booked out, & the masses came in. The 15-16 thousand had a great time – see photos. They close off the main streets for market stalls, entertainment &, of course, pedestrian use. I’ve never seen so many people in Nundle before & this must have been our “umpteenth” year of attendance – we look after the grandsons whilst daughter Megan & son-in-law Duncan run their shop.

Good Friday was a fishing day & what a GOOD FRIDAY it was, I fished the same stretch of Peel River as we did when the “fly fishers” hit town a few weeks ago & got amongst the carp again. I landed 4 carp (photos next page) got busted of by one other & pulled the hook on one more, BUT you never know what is lurking below. Page 3 of 18

I scored another MURRAY COD whilst stripping my corn fly in what was only about 600-700mm of water. That makes 3 Murray Cod I have caught & released in the Peel between Nundle & Chaffey Dam – see photo below. Easter Sunday afternoon I went out to look for more wild quinces & got a bag full for more jam, but as one does, just happened to take my fly rod just in case I had some spare time. Well, I hooked a Grand Daddy of a carp, must have been around 8kg, got it all the way to the bank after about 10 mins of playing it only to find I didn’t have my landing net & lost (released) it for next time (must be a fine there somewhere Sheriff) & found the big carp had split the top ring on my rod (see photo).

Just goes to show you should examine your gear often – my Gillies rod is some 6 years old & I use it 99% of the time in both fresh & salt water & must have caught several hundred carp & other fish so now it is up for refurbishment with new guides-I have added them to my “l o n g ” shopping list for MoTackle. There will be other reports on club outings that I was not able to attend as part of this newsletter. Oh Sheriff, I have something for you if you are susceptible to bribes! Don Dixon Club Captain

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Club Calendar 2016-17 Apr May

Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Nov

Dec

13 19 23-24 9-13 11 17 22-27 8 21 26 19 23 31 10 16 28 14 20 25 12 14-16 18 30 9 15 27 14 20

Jan Feb Mar Apr

11 17 29 8 21 26 8 21 26 12 18 30

Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Hat Head OUTING – Providence Lodge Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Dunmore Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Lake Cathie Fly tie night, Senior Citizens AGM and club meeting, Telegraph Point OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC OUTING – CARP CLASSIC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – NEW ZEALAND OUTING – CHRISTMAS PARTY Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING – Club meeting, Port City BC Fly tie night, Senior Citizens OUTING –

SW FW

canoe waders

FW

waders

SW

waders

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Outings Report – Ebor Mar 25th-27th

Four intrepid fly fishers and one non fisher ventured to Ebor, these being Al Wallis (with

Maralyn), Pete Glasson, Ken Holley and Rod Adams. (Why am I writing this? I didn’t win the attendance prize.) We all arrived on Friday, Pete and myself were first. We went for a tour to Little Styx River (Hardwood Road) not really a road but rough forest track, we set up our rods then all hell broke loose … lightning, thunder and torrential rain. After a short time waiting we decided to exit while we could. Back at Ebor we found Al and Maralyn, Ken turned up a bit later and said he was going to camp at Coutts Water. Next morning Pete and I set off to find Ken in the dark of the morning but didn’t find him. We decided to fish in the area without success, I did manage my first fall off the fence into the grass. Back to Ebor, a call from Ken informed us that we looked on the wrong side of the road, silly us. So the three amigos (Al, Pete and Rod) set off for Coutts to find Ken, we found his camp but he had gone downstream fishing. So we decided to fish as well, only myself managed a fish here (sorry no photo, it self-released it at my feet before one was taken). After lunch, Ken took us to the Common. We walked and walked and a few small fish were Al Wallis with an underage delinquent caught (not by me). In the late afternoon we fished the river less than 100m from the motel … everyone caught some small fish. Sunday morning it was back to the Common with mixed success. I did manage my second flop … into a blackberry bush this time. After lunch, Pete headed home. Al stayed at the river near the motel while Ken conned me into a long walk at Coutts until the fog and misty rain rolled in. Ken did manage a fish but alas not me. I went back to the pub to replenish the energy sources. Ken and Al decided on a last fish at the river nearby, I watched. Final tally was Ken 16, Al 14, Pete 12 and Rodney 3.

Tall tales and true by Rod (I’ll fall over anywhere if I want) Adams

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Ebor waterways – that’s Peter Glasson and Ken Holley in action at the foot of the page

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Another tiddler with Ken Holley and Al Wallis below

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Hauled In for 2015/6 Management committee

Patron General officers

President Vice-president Secretary Treasurer Club captain Committee Outings co-ordinator Legal officer / public officer Sheriff and gear steward Deputy sheriff Social welfare secretary Newsletter editor Webmaster Fly tie coordinators Community radio liaison Catering officers Grants and funding officers Casting coaches

Sub-committees

Club room attendance / raffles Outings

Dawn Hopkins Iain Morrison Bob Dove Brian Tolagson Don Dixon Imogen Archer Ben Hicks Brian Henderson Iain Morrison Brian Walker Ron Hopkins Julie Eccles Gwelma Broadbent Brian Tolagson Julian Tapping Don Dixon John O’Shaughnessy Dave Wiggins Robin and Sue Shenton Phil and Narelle Bush Brian Henderson Peter Glasson Ben Hicks John O’Shaughnessy John Rothwell Iain Morrison Don Dixon Dave Wiggins Dawn Hopkins

Web www.hastingsflyfishers.org.au Newsletter contributions to [email protected]

Social Secretary’s Report for April 2016

Get well wishes are extended to Wilma Boyd, Bonnie Morrison and Frank White.

We hope you are all feeling a lot better. Also our heartiest commiserations are extended to Una Blair on the passing of her brother. The birthdays for April are: 4/4 Frank White he turns 70- have a great day Frank, 25/4 Iain Morrison, 26/4 Steve Batchelor and 27/4 Cheryl Pearton, we hope you all have a wonderful birthday. Regards, Gwelma, Social Secretary (6559-6188)

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For theft of woolly garments

◊◊◊◊ Star of Facebook and ABC Open – Perhaps he really is thinking, Lexie!

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Club Supporters We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of these businesses and organisations. Their ongoing material support is gratefully received. Whenever possible, we urge our members to support these entities.

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General meeting – 9th March The meeting was quieter than recent ones, perhaps because we had three guests to make everyone behave properly. Nonetheless raffles raised mucho dollari for the club coffers and we discussed options for fishing the Ebor sites over Easter even though many of us we too busy to attend. There are even fewer photos than usual. Brian Tolagson

Waiting for the meeting to begin: Julian Tapping, David Curry, Lexie Curry (obscured), Gwelma Broadbent and Rod Adams; Robin Shenton, Jim Eccles, Julie Eccles, Ron the jumper-less sheriff and Bonnie Morrison; President Dawn Hopkins … going a little hippie perhaps?

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Biodiversity

When I worked at Sea Acres Rainforest Centre I was amazed at how many plant and animal species we discovered that were unique, rare or thought extinct. A National Parks study produced in 1996 suggested that that 85% of the world’s biodiversity was yet to be discovered. OK, I thought, this will be in thermal pools, frigid areas, deep sea trenches and remote rainforests like the Amazon … anywhere else but not in Australia. In Sea Acres we found a rare grass – not telling you where exactly – but so what? We had a tree snail thought extinct that once lived in the lower Manning wetlands but not seen since they were drained for farming in the 19th century. They found another snail, a freshwater one, also thought extinct but known only in wetlands of Brisbane drained for development. My favourite was the regent skipper butterfly, a much studied little insect that breeds on only 4 rainforest plant species that are common on our coast from Tacking Point to Flynn’s Beach. The interesting thing about the regent skipper is that the male has an alternate wing flutter like a moth (or a freestyle swimmer) whilst the female has synchronised flight like a butterfly swimmer. In other words, only the female has the advanced wing flapping technology capable of the elegant flight of a butterfly or bird. This suggests it may be the evolutionary link of moth into butterfly. I was interested to note in Newstreams, an NSW Fisheries publication, that “twenty new freshwater fish species were found when researchers sampled 17 rivers in the remote, arid Kimberley region of north-western Australia. 16 news species of grunters, one of which was 25cm long, as well as three new gudgeons and one new hardyhead were found”. So, folks they’re still out there in the wild waiting to be discovered. Keep your peepers open! This is your chance for immortality. Imagine a species named after you, the discoverer … like Hypseleotris doveii or Cyprinus dixonii or even Arothron sheriffii. Mindbending, isn’t it? Brian Tolagson

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Quill Body fly

One of the hallmarks of these simple flies is that there’s not a lot of junk on them to

keep the fly from cutting through the water on its descent to the bottom. All that extra junk on flies can also spook fish hooked too many times for their own comfort. Fly tying materials Bleach your own peacock quills or buy equivalent from your fly supply shop. Hook: Here used is a #10 wide gap Orvis tactical hook, but you could use a wide variety of hooks and sizes to keep the pattern evolving in your box. Bead: Olive – but try any variety of beads in appropriate sizes; match colours to the quill colour you’re using. Thread: Coffee coloured Veevus in 8/0 here, but any thread to match. Body: Polish Quills – or a quill that is able to be wrapped easily. Collar: Whitlock’s SLF in Damsel Tan – but experiment! Fly tying instructions Step 1

Load and cement the bead with a thread base and a drop of Zap-A-Gap. Step 2

Wrap rearward to the bend and tie in the tailing material. Page 14 of 18

Step 3

Spend some time working on your taper. If you don't, you’ll know it after you’ve started to wrap the quill. Step 4

Tie in the quill and advance the thread to the top of the hook. Step 5

Add a drop of varnish or super glue to add durability and then bring the quill forward with touching wraps. Tie off quill. Step 6

Dub a collar and whip finish. This info from “Riverbum” Page 15 of 18

Pictures from fly-tie Night – March 15th

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Phil Bush (back to camera and Don Dixon talking together; Club Captain Don Dixon demonstrating; the group is all ears; the level of attention was unprecedented; Ben Hicks demonstrating technique to Rob Greenwood and Bob Dove found an appropriately-sized table

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Don to draw trhe

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ernie Baldwin at work; Jim Eccles concentrating; Ron approached Don to draw the Lucky Attendance; “That’s a bit high, Ron!”; “Ah, that’s better!”; and the winner is … Phil Bush

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Overflow items

5 tips for better trout fishing (from The Fly Fishing Shop, Oregon) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Observing everything around you will make any angler more successful; Don’t run straight down and begin fishing … take your time, be quiet; The proper rigging is a key to success. There is no do all, end all trout rig; Don't be afraid of off-colour or high water; Organisation is key to trout fishing success.

The

wading staff: The OPST Wading Staff is a 4-sectioned aluminium staff with a hardened tip. It self-assembles thanks to an internal bungee cord. Just throw it out into the air and it will come together without any awkwardness.

One of the problems associated with damming of rivers is the lowering of temperatures in

the system downstream by the release of waters up to 10ºC lower than normal. This disturbs the narrow temperature range species like Murray cod have for breeding and is believed to have produced a decline in their numbers. A “thermal curtain” in Burrendong Dam on the Macquarie River in NSW appears to be reducing the cold water pollution associated with water releases. The thermal curtain is a cylinder that gets raised and lowered in order to divert warm water into the dam outlet below. Researchers monitoring the impact of the thermal curtain have measured improvements in temperature averaging about 2.5 ºC. This is sufficient to influence native fish spawning opportunities downstream.

Another

water pollution problem is increased algal bloom production enhanced by increased nutrient run-off from fertilisers used on farmland. This produces hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, in water systems and is a problem for fish. Hypoxic conditions contribute to the fish kills seen in both freshwater and estuarine environments. Researchers are now looking at how barramundi cope with low oxygen environments and whether they can adapt to them. This understanding may lead to better ecosystem management.

A

group of 40 international scientists has summarised the negative impacts of hydroelectric development on fish diversity and ecosystems of the Amazon, Congo and Mekong Rivers. These three rivers hold roughly one-third of the world’s freshwater fish species, and the Amazon alone is home to 2300 known species. Until recently, the dams on these rivers were relatively small and on upland tributaries. However, the scientists are concerned that the additional 450 dams planned or under construction are likely to have dramatic impacts on fish and on fisheries. A core element of their concern relates to the fact that dams block fish migrations and all three rivers boast economically important species that are strongly migratory.

Canals are not often thought of in terms of fish habitat. Yet, the vegetation associated with canals can provide opportunities for different species of fish at different life stages in what is otherwise a habitat-poor environment. While not diverse, canal vegetation can range from fully-submerged plant species to those with floating leaves, such as lilies, stands of reeds and rushes and underwater tree roots as well as boughs dipping into the water. Page 18 of 18