Greenwells Fly Fishing Club

Happy New Year to all!

It is with delight that I welcome Rob Bailey to our committee. Rob will bring a new level of expertise in the form of casting assistance and event ideas for club activities.

Albury Council has replied to our proposal for a casting, catch & release pond. The committee has formulated a response to their requests for further information and clarity on a couple of issues and now we wait for council to consider.

The heat has been taxing and river temperatures & flows have altered which means catches have been difficult. We can all hopefully look forward to a better year in 2018.

By the time you read this, you should have received a copy of a draft calendar of events for 2018. Please study and submit any ideas or improvements that you would like to include and consider being a trip organiser for any of the many fishing trips on offer. A template of information is available to be filled-in for any of the trips indicated.

February will be a busy month with the “Introduction to Fly Fishing Course” beginning Tuesday 20th, and Thursday 22nd. The weekend of 24th & 25th will be at Bowler Lane, camping at the Mitta Mitta River. Volunteer helpers are required to make this event a success. We have about 8 applicants so far which makes for a positive outcome for our club.

It has been proposed to hold casting skill and competition events on the oval during daylight saving times, before the general meeting nights. This is to help in-crease accuracy and precise landing of the fly. Come along and enjoy the activity.

Russell Hook

I am pleased to announce that my spine has mended well, and the brace comes off on Sunday 3^rd  of September.

My thanks to the committee for their wonderful assistance to make the Annual Dinner the success it became.

I remind those members who won gifts at the dinner raffle, to please personally acknowledge the donors, so they will continue their support of our club.

I will endeavour to list agenda items each month from here on.

Agenda for September 6^th

• Open: 7:30pm
• Introduce guest speaker: Will Spry of Spry Fly New Zealand.
• (See photo, & article below)
• Attendance & Apologies: Recorded on circulated sheet.
• Previous minutes/business arising:
• Correspondence In/Out:
• Financials: in Tippet Topics
• General business:
  • Discussion re “Gone Fishing” activity at Noreuil Park Sunday 15th October 2017 9am – 3pm. Volunteers required for tent-cover erection, casting, fly tying, general display material etc.
  • Introduction to Fly Fishing course Oct 24th, 26th & 28-29 weekend.
• Fishing reports:
• Close:

 

Kelvin is delighted to report that he has been able to secure Will Spry of Spry Fly New Zealand to speak at our September meeting. Many will remember his late father, Mike, who is justifiably recognised as a pioneer in teaching and guiding fly fishing from a base in Khancoban and Will has carried on the tradition in NZ.

Will developed an interest in fishing by spin fishing the channels around Deniliquin and later his summer school holidays were spent assisting Mike with guided float fishing down the Swampy Plains River.

In 1993 Will moved to NZ and established a guiding business there which is now rightly recognised as one of the best in the country and it is obvious when you talk to him that his passion has not waned.

I thank our new committee member Kelvin Gilder for his comprehensive work in securing interesting guest speakers for our forthcoming general meetings.

Russell Hook

Firstly, I would sincerely like to thank the committee for their assistance to me over this last year.

This month’s meeting is the Annual General Meeting. This gives all members the opportunity to elect or be elected to the committee for the coming year. All votes are important, and I urge everyone to attend and support the election process. Please consider being on the committee and give your experience towards supporting the club.

Friday night’s Fly Tying is being conducted during the off-season with materials and instructions available to produce the outstanding pattern you desire, and an opportunity to practice casting with assistance from other members. It is good to see quite a few members attending. Remember, these nights are occasions to have a social get together.

Our Annual dinner is again at the Siesta Resort, with a delicious menu and of course the traditional serving of smoked trout beginning at 6:30pm. This is our premier social event of the year. Please add your names to the white board and pre-pay Des Walters, so Des doesn’t need to be at the door collecting money on the night. You can also pay by direct deposit to the Hume bank. Details are in the Tippet Topics. Our guest speaker this year is a representative of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which was instrumental in my transfer to Melbourne after my accident. The annual raffle will be running again with an exciting and comprehensive array of donated prizes.

During the year we had a small field attend our introduction to Fly Fishing. 

Des Walters introduced our members to European Nymphing techniques with a successful trip to the Mitta Mitta river.

Our Beef & Reef night was a great success with a wonderful roast beef & prawns.
Thanks to Russ Davies, a trip to Talbingo to compete with Wangaratta Fly Fishing Club was well attended.

We also had a visit from Jim Baumgurtel with his latest supply of gear.
The Face Book page is being well received with some great photos and articles supplied by members.

It has been very pleasing to have an increase in membership again his year.
Our submission to Albury Council to make the “Gravel Pit” trout water with casting facilities is with the Council for evaluation. We are waiting for their decision.
Russell Hook

I wish it was under better circumstances that I am writing this report, unfortunately our President elect Russel has injured himself and will be out of action for a little while. On behalf of all the Greenwell’s members and all the local fly fishing clubs wish him a speedy recovery.

A group of members venture up to Talbingo on the 19th to the 22nd of May, Friday was fine and the trip to Denison found 30 cars in the carpark however the water was low and slow. Some fish had pushed up into the River but Friday night is when we saw a big drop of rain and the river became dirty but the fish started their annual run. By all reports there were 60 cars in the park on Saturday and 4 out of 5 fishermen where spin fishermen (interesting) bring back Fly Fishing Only that will take the pressure off the river?

Fly tying will start on the first Friday night after the closing weekend, now is the time to dust off your fly tying equipment so you are ready for another interesting session of tying with Les Hawkins. At the June meeting we will see what interest there is from all our new members and as in previous years the club will buy the materials to get you started.

The club is planning a trip to Khancoban on the 10th and 11th June, more information and names will be taken at the June meeting, this will be the Broken SAGE trophy week-end for teams.

Looking forward to seeing you in front of the log fire.

John Hawkins
Vice President

Thanks to John Hawkins and the committee, for putting together a calendar of events for the next 6 months. A copy is available for all, and the white board will have provision for names to placed on it.

Our Pit proposal has been adjusted to reflect the information given by Alistair McBernie at last month’s meeting. We are waiting on letters of support from various persons and businesses to assist our submission to council. It looks promising from an interview with a council representative.

This month is the beginning of the spawning run for trout in the Eucumbene River and should be exciting, as the recent rains have helped to increase activity of the trout. Trout season closes on the June long weekend.

Russell Hook

The “Pit” proposal is progressing slowly, due to other projects.

The recent Czech Nymphing course has concluded very successfully. The week-end on the Snowy creek was well attended with nearly all catching (or just missing) at least one fish. The educational value was profound, with the prepared information sheets a great reference source. Sincere appreciation to Des Walters for his enthusiastic presentation, knowledge and assistance. Thanks Des.

Another reminder of our combined competition trip against Wang Fly Fishing Club to be held in May 19th to 21st at Talbingo.

Russell Hook

Welcome to 2017.
Hope all members and family had a great Christmas celebration and I wish everyone a safe and happy new year.

Our meeting this month will have a presentation on a proposal for consideration. I look forward to a large attendance on 1st February. Remember that as daylight saving is still with us, we will have a BBQ and casting practice as usual before the meeting. This will begin about 6:15 to 6:30pm.

Whilst the weather has been rather hot, the northeast streams have been fishing quite well, particularly the Snowy and Lightning creeks. The Mitta has been OK but rather cloudy.

I would like to remind members of our Fly course beginning Fri-day, February 17th at 7:00pm, continuing Wednesday 22nd at 6:00pm and the weekend on Feb. 25th & 26th on the Mitta Mitta river at Boulder Lane. Please indicate your intention to assist at this month’s meeting when asked.

Russell Hook

Initially I would like to thank Des and John for presiding over the July meetings and keeping the wheels turning during my absence. I would also like to acknowledge Stafford’s efforts in doing most of the organisation for our Annual Dinner.

In July we have been continuing with our usual win-ter Friday night fly tying sessions. It is great to see the numbers attending the beginners fly tying course being run by Les Hawkins and Steve McGrath. They all seem to be very keen and having an enjoyable time, thanks to the excellent guidance from our tutors. It is also great to see other members taking advantage of this time to catch up and chat, even though they are not participating in the fly tying.

We have our AGM coming up on the 3rd August, so I encourage all members to attend to ensure that we have a quorum and to enjoy the spread being prepared by Chicky.

Our Annual Dinner for this year is to be held on Sat-urday 20th August at the Cactus Cantina, Siesta Quality Resort, Wagga Road, Lavington. This is the Club’s prem-ier social event of the year with the presentation of awards, great food and a raffle that is one of the Club’s major fund raisers. As previously advised our guest speaker should be Ross Brown from Brown Brothers Win-ery, who will give a presentation on his fly fishing experiences around the world. I encourage all members and partners to attend to make this a fantastic and successful night.

Coming up in September we look forward to the beginning of another fishing season with the opening of the Victorian Trout Season on the 3rd.

Firm Strikes
Jeff Baldock

Firstly, I apologise for my absence at the July meetings as I will be away enjoying my grand-parent duties. I have two granddaughters’ first birthdays, one in late June and the other in early July and another granddaughter’s third birthday in mid July. I have left Des in charge to chair the meetings in my absence, as John will also be away.

We have been having a good roll-up at our Friday night fly tying sessions with some new members participating in the beginning fly tying course conducted by Les Hawking, some -replenishing their fly boxes, whilst others are enjoying the cosy atmosphere and catching up on the latest gossip. The starting time for these fly tying sessions is 7:00pm and they will continue throughout July and into early August.

We had a very successful Casserole Night on Saturday 18 June with 24 members and partners attending. My thanks go to all the cooks for supplying the very tasty casseroles, Bryan and Des for the bread and sweets, Hooky for the brain teaser, Hawky for his Christmas Island presentation and all who attended to help make it a most enjoyable night.

At the July meeting there will be a presentation by Bob Norris on his and John’s recent exciting trip to fish for bonefish at Christ-mas Island in the Pacific Ocean. Although their days were long the fishing was very rewarding with many bonefish and other various species being caught.

Coming up in August we have our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 3 August at the Clubrooms commencing at 7.30pm. Please consider submit-ting nominations for executive and committee positions so the Club continues to progress suc-cessfully.

Also in August, we have our Annual Din-ner on Saturday 20th. The venue is the same as last year, the Cactus Cantina at the Fiesta Resort in Lavington. Our guest speaker is Ross Brown from Brown Brothers Winery. Ross’s wife Judy will also be attending the dinner with Ross, as both are keen fly fishers.

I hope you all are enjoying the winter season and I look forward to hearing of all your fish-ing exploits at the July meeting.

Firm Strikes
Jeff Baldock

At the end of April we had our Broken Sage competition at Khancoban. Nine members made up the three teams that contested for the Broken Sage Trophy.

Congratulations to the Hearts team made up by Des Walters, Jeremy Conlan and Nick Maguire for their winning catch of two trout, both caught by Des at Geehi. The two other teams were equal runners up with one trout each, thanks to Alan Bond and John “Stormy” Tempest. Although not many fish were caught, a great social weekend was had by all with Fri-day night’s dinner at the Golf Club and a BBQ at the house on the Saturday night.

On 28th and 29th May we have our annual combined trip with the Wangaratta Flyfishers to Talbingo. There will be four representatives from Greenwells and 10 from Wangaratta, thus the odds will be against us for bragging rights at the Saturday night BBQ. We expect a full re-port at the June meeting.

On Friday 3 June we have Jim Baumgurtel visiting our club with his fly fishing and fly tying gear. The Flyfinz catalogue and a list of “What’s New” from Jim, has been distributed by Bryan so you can check out what you need before the night. The night will commence at 6.30pm.

Please note that the NSW and VIC Trout Seasons close on 13 June for trout streams although most pondages remain open so it is time to hone your lake fishing skills. It is also a good time to do some fly tying and replenish your fly boxes. Thus Friday night fly tying sessions will com-mence on 17th June.

Coming up on Saturday 18 June we have our annual Casserole Night. This is a family social event, so please invite your wives and partners. The night will commence at 6.30pm and for a cost of $15 per person you get to sample a variety of casseroles and finish off with some special sweets. Make sure you put this date down in your diaries so you don’t miss out on a special night.

I look forward to catch-ing up and hearing all of your fishing exploits at the June GM.

Firm Strikes
Jeff Baldock