Tight Lines: December 2022

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EDITORIAL

ANDREW RODDA

Back in the saddle again…

Within 6 months of first joining the Red Tag Fly Fishers Club, (Circa 4 B.C.*) I found myself co editing the newsletter, Back then the club met in a small hut with a capacity for about 18 people. No toilets, no outside lighting, the occasional screech of a possum, or crack on the roof from an errant golf ball; ahh such happy memories. Membership then was about 60 people. Since that time, numbers have doubled and the available facilities have vastly improved.

But what makes the club successful is the enthusiasm and contribution from its members.

It is an important time for the club as we celebrate the 90th and move ahead towards a centenary milestone. We all need to ensure that we capture the stories, (tall tales and true) of the history of this club and its members.

So please put ‘pen to paper’, and send in your anecdotes, chats, yarns and brags about your time in this club, whether many years or newly joined; it’s valuable and important.

Also a big thank you to Ralph Leslie for your previous editorship, and everyone who contributes to make this newsletter what it is.

And r ew R .

(*B.C. = Before Covid)

Red Tag acknowledges the woi wurrung and boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin nations on whose unceded land we walk and fish. We pay our respect to the ancestors and elders, past, present and emerging. We recognize their continuing connection to land, water and culture.

Cover Photo Yarra River Warburton October 23rd 2022

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STATEMENT

DAVID HONEYBONE

Has it stopped raining?

According to the Bureau of Meteorology (if it’s called that still) large parts of central and northern Victoria had their wettest October on record. In fact, for the state as a whole, rainfall was more than double the 1961 1990 October average of 64.6 mm. You probably didn’t need me to tell you that as any trip to your favourite river would have made it obvious. However, this has not stopped many Red Taggers getting out and about and returning good results especially from the lakes. Congratulations to Craig Bolch for winning the Gerri Bolt Trophy for Red Tag with a brown trout of epic proportions at Moorabool. Many of you have gone further afield to New Zealand, Tasmania and Queensland with generally positive results as a scroll through TeamApp will attest.

“Our commitment is to make fly fishing and our club accessible and welcoming to all.”

I think this line from the club’s website best sums up Red Tag’s approach to inclusion. Zak Warden has been the driving force behind this project and he together with Bill Jackson and Barney Stephens are participating in an inclusivity and diversity program being jointly co ordinated by Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) and Leisure Networks. Suffice to say all new ideas as a result of this training will be very welcome. One possible initiative is the installation of lights and wheelchair access at the casting pool. A lot of work is going into submitting this proposal to Parks and we remain hopeful of its success.

Whilst researching the Red Tag Brief History I came across numerous references to and photographs of, founding member Frank Park. It was a very nice surprise, therefore, to receive news that Frank’s grandson, Ian Wall, has recently joined the club. Another find was an archive of material about Reg Lyne. You can read all about it in this issue.

Mending Casts was founded in the USA in 1996 by Dr. Benita Walton (reconstructive surgeon) and Gwenn Perkins Bogart (professional fly fisher). Casting for Recovery activities in Victoria is run by a sub committee of Mending Casts, which offers programs for women recovering from breast cancer. Red Tag makes regular donations in return for the expert casting tutelage of Jo Dobson (Aussie Angler). Thanks to Neil Vincett we are now donating flies for Casting for Recovery fundraising events. There will be a club ‘tie in’ on Tuesday, December 6. More details in this issue.

Unfortunately, COVID, which never really left us, has raised its ugly head again with a new wave of variants nationwide. Whilst the rules governing control of the virus have relaxed the Committee feels that, given the general demographic of the club, we would like to encourage the wearing of masks at future indoor events. As someone who is still recovering from COVID six weeks after catching it I can only encourage this practice.

Finally, if I don’t see you before, I’d like to wish you and your families, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.

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President: David Honeybone

Vice President: Vin McCaughey

Secretary & Public Officer: Bill Jackson

Assistant Secretary/ Newsletter Editor: Andrew Rodda

Treasurer: Don Amour

Committee Members

Paul Burgess

David Fulton

Frank Groenveld

Owen Macdonald

Stuart Murphy

Marshall Pardee

Tony Ryan

Barney Stephens

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Michael Alderman, Faye Margarson, Richard Allum, Donald Amour, Keith Anderson, Stewart Anderson, Leff Andropof, Jamie Bailey, Michael Balfour, Les Bannister, Peter Blackmore, Craig Bolch, Geoff Bond, Steve Brown, Paul Burgess, Jeanette Butler, Malcolm Caldwell, Charles Carabott, Donna Cardwell, John Carrington, Tony Casey, Grant Chisnall, Allan Choat, Cameron Clarke, Brian Cocks, Peter Coles, Dean Constable, Adam Corey, Sam Cox, Malcolm Cunningham, Neil Cunningham, Michael Daffern, Blake Davis, Sam Dempster, Adriaan Den dulk, Russell Dodds, Barry Dovey, Ezra Dowling, Niki Duckstein, Sean Ehlert, Andy Elam, Giovanni Finazzi, John Foy, Peter Fraser, David Fulton, John Gibbins, Ian Gould, Robert Gocentas, Garry Greene, Phil Grimwood, Frank Groeneveld, Peter Hanfeld, James Hanover, Colin Harris, Justin Hayden, Robert Hodder, Stephen Hodder, David Honeybone, Geoff Hughes, Sam Humffray, Bill Jackson, Graeme Jonson, Janie Joseph, James Kane, Sanjiv Karunajeewa, Bernie Keegan, Brian Kent Hughes, Adam Kidd, Colin Kirpatrick, Michael Kretschmer, Ralph Leslie, Stephen Lohning, Colin Low, Ken Lucas, Owen Macdonald, Daniel Mamrot, Ed Mamrot, Vince Mccaughey, Stephen Mccormick, Allen Mcmillan, Roger McNeight, Peter Megens, Carl, Sarah & family Michael, David Miller, Ian Mitchell, Grant Mockunas, Tony Mockunas, Moisis Moisis, Ian Morgan, Mark & Sarah Morris, Stuart Murphy, Len Murray, Geoff Newman, Michael Nolan, Todd O'brien, Eammon O'leary, Marshall Pardee, Nigel Parker, Chris Petersen, Ron Reeves, Andrew Rodda, Peter Roselt, Tony Ryan, Leon Salisbury, Suveshan Sathurayar, Henry Schreier, Declam Schultz, Timothy Shannon, Neil Sharkey, Kevin Sharp, Rupert Sherwood, Dennis Smart, Tony Smith, Tim Spearman, Barney Stephens, Roger Summers, Bob Symons, Bert Torresi, John Trengove, John Trioli, Anthony Urban, Piers Van den berg, Zoran Vasic, Neil Vincett, Colin Waddell, Marianne & Steve Wallace, Hamish Webb, Zak Warden, Hamish Webb, Barry Whelan, David Williamson, Matthew Woliansky, Mark Woolley, Alex Xuereb, Chris Zimmermann

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ZAK WARDEN

Red Tag Fly Fishers have accepted a kind offer from the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) to take part in a free, pilot program organised by the VFA’s Engagement teams as part of their Fishing For All initiative.

The Inclusive Clubs Program is being coordinated in partnership with Leisure Networks, an organisation that offers a range of NDIS services, along with sport and community focused programs. In their words, “Working with both people and places, Leisure Networks enable individuals to live healthy, connected lives, and to influence, promote and enable health promoting environments and systems.”

VFA reached out all Victorian angling clubs seeking expressions of interest in the program, stating that the purpose of the program is to equip clubs with the skills and resources to develop an action plan to make their club more inclusive and diverse to help grow and ensure the future of the clubs.

Belinda Yim, Manager Events and Engagement at VFA explained, “To ensure the future of angling clubs and fishing, there needs to be more younger people joining the clubs. The initiatives that the VFA runs focus on kids (Vic Fish Kids), allabilities (Fishing For All), Women In Recreational Fishing (WIRF) and the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community. There currently is no continuation and support for these groups after these events, so by offering an inclusive program to clubs they will be better equipped to deliver ongoing programs/sessions for these groups.”

Belinda and Jesse Drever, Coordinator –Community Program at Leisure Networks, agreed that the program is a great opportunity for clubs to learn how to grow their membership and support a culture that is welcoming to everyone.

As this newsletter comes to print the program will be approaching the end of its facilitated stages.

With representatives from 31 clubs commencing in early October, the program consists of five workshops, through which education and extremely informative discussion has taken place. The aim of the workshops is to build the knowledge of club officials on how to make your club more inclusive by creating safe, equal and respectful environments for all members, particularly women and girls.

The topics for each of the five workshops are:

• Managing Change – how to sensitively and successfully introduce new ideas and processes.

• Leadership – inclusive leadership and governance plus challenges to sustainable governance.

• Understanding Your Club Culture – gender equity, LGBTQI+, disability and cultural inclusion.

• Growing Your Club – social media and inclusive marketing, engaging underrepresented groups.

• Sustainable Inclusiveness – coming soon! In addition to the workshops we have been able to access the knowledge and resources of the Leisure Networks experts and are using their guidance as we work towards finalising our Inclusivity Action Plan.

Red Tag have invested in program involvement for continuous improvement, and see great value in the benefits that taking part will hopefully bring.

Some potential short term program benefits include:

• Creating a safe, equal and respectful environment for all, especially women and girls, to increase their involvement in fishing.

• A means to review and update club policies, governance, website and social media where/if needed.

• Ideas for creating community based initiatives. In the long term, the program may help Red Tag:

• Provide value and service to the local community and broader fishing community.

• Build evidence of need for infrastructure development.

• Establish diverse membership options.

• Generate diverse income streams.

We have appreciated the opportunity to be part of such a great initiative, and through the program are expanding our networks amongst the Victorian fishing community. As a group, and with the support of VFA and Leisure Networks we are excited about what lies ahead.

I’m proud to say I am a member of a club taking steps in this area. Through the course of the program it has been mentioned on numerous occasions that Red Tag Fly Fishers Club is in rude health and in a strong position to build upon what we already have. Shout out to the fantastic committee and membership for being a huge bunch of legends.

Jesse sums it up well, “In terms of what you can do next, and some parting words of wisdom, it will be great to see what the club comes up with in terms of its final plan! Primarily though, successful initiatives come from a whole of club approach where there is a strong commitment to connecting with the community and providing opportunities for all to be their true selves.”

Resources from the program and recordings of all the workshops are available.

If you think you might like to be involved in championing inclusion and diversity at Red Tag, or are interested to learn more, reach out to Bill, Barney or myself.

Red Tag has an Inclusion Statement on the website and in this issue.

Feedback welcomed.

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STATEMENT

Members at Red Tag Fly Fishers embrace all things fly fishing and want to share their passion of fly fishing with everyone. Whether it’s the enjoyment of being surrounded by nature, sharing amazing experiences with friends, or the thrill of catching and releasing a beautiful wild trout, there are a broad range of activities associated with fly fishing. This could include casting, fly tying, competitive fishing or competition casting.

Red Tag understands that there may be barriers preventing you from giving it a try. Our commitment is to make fly fishing and our club accessible and welcoming to all.

Red Tag values diversity and inclusivity and through our committee and membership aims to represent the demographics of the broader community. We clearly understand the benefits for all Red Taggers to be exposed to and influenced by a range of backgrounds, experiences and opinions.

Our club is open to all people, regardless of gender identity, age, race, culture, religion, sexual orientation or ability. We would like people from minority and marginalised groups to know and feel that Red Tag is a safe place where everyone is treated equally and with respect. Whilst our clubrooms already have wheelchair access, we are currently exploring options for wheelchair access to the casting pool.

Red Tag will endeavour to offer activities that are suitable for or can be modified to suit diverse needs. Through programs designed to engage new members, we emphasise the importance of welcoming diversity.

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THE REG LYNE ARCHIVE DAVID HONEYBONE

didn’t expect to email the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club whilst undertaking research for the club history earlier this year. It was an idle moment of curiosity, procrastination really that led me down a digital rabbit hole. Was Reg Lyne’s son, Charles, mentioned in the foreword of Tom Edwards book Rod, Gun and Lyne (2009), still around? And if he was would he have any information about his father? Unfortunately, he had died in 2020, but had been a stalwart of the Torquay club and something of an innovator within the Surf Life Saving community. So, I emailed the club and much to my surprise received an email back with contact details for Robyn, Charles widow. Which led me to the suburb of Hampton on a wet Monday afternoon in July.

Charles Reginald (Reg) Lyne was born in Kerang in 1902. Raised on his father’s rural property he fished and hunted from an early age and developed a fascination with wildlife and insects. He left school at the age of 14 and eventually began work at Hartley’s Sports Store in the fishing tackle department in 1932 where he was to remain for the next twenty five years. His willingness to share knowledge and personable nature made him very popular and his first articles on dry fly fishing and big game

Ifishing, complete with a photograph of Reg with a 320 lb black marlin, were published in Hartleys Angler’s Guide, 1934 35, Centenary Issue.

Reg came to love fly fishing through the tuition of Mick Martin, himself something of a character and who later became a founding member and President of the VFFA. According to Tom Edwards book Reg’s rod and reel together with his commercial flies were, at time of publication at least, on display in the VFFA club rooms.

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THE REG LYNE ARCHIVE

DAVID HONEYBONE

An article in the June 1940 issue of Angling & Gun Sport, written by then Red Tag Secretary, Leon Maddison, claims it was the chance meeting of Reg Lyne and Wilfred Crouch that resulted in the formation of Red Tag in 1932. Both were fishing at Toorourrong Reservoir and whilst Wilf was a bait angler, he saw Reg catching ‘difficult’ trout on a dry fly. Reg’s enthusiasm, knowledge and willingness to teach was instrumental in the formation of the nucleus of the new club and he became a regular competitor in the casting competitions held at Ringwood and Albert Park Lake. Reg was also responsible for numerous fly patterns and wrote extensively including a stint as Angling editor of The Australian Shooters and Anglers News.

Robyn Lyne, Charles’ widow, has a number of boxes ready for my arrival. For some reason I had taken the train to Hampton so we arrange another visit for collection. It’s an extensive array albeit in not the best condition. Four personalised photograph albums each one printed with a subject: Hunting, Freshwater Fishing, Saltwater Fishing and Game Fishing. There is also a folder of copies of correspondence between Reg and Zane Grey the originals presumably with the Swordfish &

Tunny Club plus correspondence between Charles Lyne and Tom Edwards in relation to the published biography.

Robyn also gives me a USB which contains the unpublished manuscript of Charles Lyne’s family history/autobiography “Straight Down the Lyne”. A comprehensive account of the Lyne family lineage it also includes, sometimes in unblinking detail Reg Lyne’s problems with drink as like his father before him Reg was an alcoholic. It cost him his first marriage, his job at Hartleys and contributed to his death at just 59.

“Whilst living in Meek Street, quite often we would have to call Dr. Kenny as a result of my Father’s drinking. He would arrive with a needle on the ready. Dr. Kenny was only a little fellow, and on confronting a huge drunken man who would try to knock his head off, Dr. Kenny ducked and as he did, usually managed to get the needle in, try and get a chair or some cushions on the spot where Dad would collapse and wait for the Ambulance to arrive. He was usually taken to Either Ward 1 North at the Royal Melbourne Hospital or to Mont Park, a mental institution [based in Macleod].” (Straight Down the Lyne, p 146.)

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THE REG LYNE ARCHIVE DAVID HONEYBONE

Over the course of the afternoon Robyn describes how Charles family are not interested in any of the material and she is keen for it to go to someone who appreciates the real value. In a later email she puts me in touch with John McIntyre, Australia’s pre eminent game fishing historian, with strong links to the Victoria based Swordfish & Tunny Club. John has written extensively about Lyne as a founder of the club and pioneer of game fishing in Australia and his relationship with Zane Grey. The albums on Saltwater and Game fishing have been forwarded to Sydney for John to collect. Searching through the remaining material reveals a VHS recording of Charles Lyne addressing Red Tag in 2001 about his father. There are also audio cassette tapes of Charles in conversation with the late Bob Dunn. I have not been able to watch or listen to any of these as yet due to the format.

I am still sifting through the boxes and will update the club as I go on the contents. Given the understated yet vital role that Reg Lyne played in the early years of Red Tag the collection should take pride of place in the club archives that are currently under construction. Red Tag owes a huge vote of thanks to Robyn Lyne, for her generosity, and to John McIntyre for his advice. Acknowledgement should also be made to the work of former Red Tag member, the late Tom Edwards, whose book Rod, Gun and Lyne is a vital piece of work and without which none of this information would be possible. As is so often the case the recording of the history of our sport is left to the efforts of passionate, self funded amateurs.

Long may it continue.

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RED TAG MEMBER : BARRY DOVEY

NEIL VINCETT

Besides catching a few fish the best thing for me in this flyfishing caper is you get to meet all sorts interesting people from all walks of life who have contributed to our community in many ways, helped each other along the way and generally enjoyed their life.

It’s a bit of a sad day today as I write this, its Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the supposed War to End all wars. Unfortunately our world hasn’t learnt much we are still killing each other with abandon we will never learn. The other significant point about the day is that it was the end of a war that first saw Australia come together with New Zealand as the Anzacs.

It seems appropriate this month for me therefore to introduce you to a Red Tagger who hails from the Land of the Long White Cloud Barry Dovey.

Barry started life on his Dad’s Chicken farm about 70 ks north of Wellington. From about 9 or 10 the family moved to Wellington and Barry discovered that sailing was were going to be one of his life’s passions.

After he finished school, he tried butchery but quickly decided it was not for him. And he followed the rest of the family into the building industry, starting with his grandfather, a builder, learning the many skills that have held him in good stead in his later business pursuits.

He moved to Christchurch and married and he and his then wife had two daughters. He has worked in some very interesting fields primarily involved in production engineering to do with aluminium and timber windows and frames.

A building recession gave him the opportunity to take up a licence to manufacture these products in New Guinea, then later in Wellington. I would imagine the stories he would have to tell about his time there would pretty interesting. When not working he spent most of his spare time sailing and fishing. The sailing started when he managed to save some money from a paper route and he and his dad bought a small single handed yacht, a P class called Idaho, it was number P 7. As the years flew by the sail boats got bigger, the competition became more intense, the boats got bigger and the love for off shore sailing, competing in many off shore races to the Pacific and Australia, navigation in the days before GPS and electronics is very different from today’s world. Veto was the last boat he

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NEIL VINCETT RED TAG MEMBER : BARRY DOVEY

had , a 43” Cavalier, Barry has sailed through most of the coastal waters of New Zealand and throughout the pacific, arriving in Australia in October 1988.

In Queensland, he was bitten by the saltwater flyfishing bug. He became a member of the Saltwater Flyfishers club up on the Sunshine Coast living in Noosaville for a time and had great fun participating in a competition they called the Tuna Chase. Looking at the pictures one would have thought that the Mac Tuna would give you a heck of a fight but Barry tells me that once the Mac Tuna realised they were caught they basically gave up and he simply had to reel them in . He could be pulling my leg of course, but he said it was great fun. Apparently the Long tooth tuna are a different story and fight like hell. He became a fair hand at tying salt water flies but he didn’t enjoy getting up at 4.30 to coat them with resin so they could dry before the competition commenced. The resin in those days turned yellow in a few hours and the tuna would go near them.

Saltwater flyfishing offers some really exciting fishing, the choices and venues are just endless, but it is a young man’s game, now Barry enjoys a quiet river with Bobby , his lovely old pooch and Barry can be seen wondering along a stream or lake somewhere just enjoying the peace and prospects of a nice trout.

I asked him about some of the other places he liked to fish and he talked about Weipa and Middle Creek which is up past Seventeen Seventy north of Bundaberg. He also really liked his times spent fishing in Tassie.

Early this year Barry was a controller at the Australian FlyFishing Championships up at the Mitta Mitta. He was fascinated watching some incredible competitors catching countless fish using tight line nymphing techniques. He was talking to Barney Stephens who said something like 80 percent of the fish caught were caught using this method.

As a result he acquired for himself some Tight Line nymphing gear managed to get himself on to one of Scotty X’s course which he said was brilliant in giving him the basics of the art and well worth the time and money.

Barry enjoys all aspects of flyfishing, the companionship and the fact that you never stop learning and says that everyday on the water is a challenge. He also likes to pass on his extensive knowledge and experience to others when he can and has been asked by the club from time to time to help newer members get a good grounding in the sport.

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BILL JACKSON

This year the Gerry Bolt Trophy was competed for as a part of what has been deemed the Tri Clubs Challenge.

The event was held at Moorabool Reservoir on Sunday 23 rd October with Red Tag, Southern and Yarra Valley competing for the trophies.

I decided to get a ride to Moorabool with Craig Bolch and we departed at 7.30am for a 9am start. The weather was overcast and fine rain as we headed up the Western Highway. Once every one arrived we had 13 Red Taggers, 12 Southern Fly Fishers and 1 from Yarra Valley Fly Fishers.

Southern were hosting the day and the president Dean Gordon gave the group an overview of the basic rules and categories as well as the prizes. The competition was declared catch and release and members were asked to measure and take a photo of the fish.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; And gentlemen … now a bed. Shall think themselves accursed they were not here.

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BILL JACKSON

The fishing started around 9.30am and we all headed out in different directions and buddied up with other members. The morning had a little bit of misty rain and Craig Bolch, Ralph Leslie and I headed out to the northern point of the reservoir. The water was dirty and the height of the reservoir meant there were a number of obstacles in the water which made wading out too far very challenging. We soon released that there was a nearby creek running into the reservoir and this was the reason for the dirty water. We then made a decision to go around to the opposite side of the reservoir.

We saw a couple of other Red Tag members and decided this is where we need to fish. After all Vin McCaughey and Roger McNeight are no slouches when it comes to knowing Moorabool. The water was clear and we were able to wade out so we could get a back cast. Well it wasn’t too long before Ralph picked up a fish on a woolly bugger but alias it was a redfin. Then Craig started catching fish one after the other but still no result on the board as they were all redfin. I also joined in on the action and yes you guessed it, a redfin.

We all stopped for lunch around 1pm with Southern hosting the day they provided a fabulous BBQ of sausages, chops, chicken kebabs and salad. We all reported back and only a few Red Taggers had caught trout and almost everyone caught redfin. Roy Pollard, Southern FF (ex Red Tagger) seemed to be leading the field with a 3lb trout. Red Taggers had caught some trout but we really needed to get our act together if we wanted to win the Gerry Bolt trophy.

After lunch we returned to the same area as before lunch but the action had stooped. We then decided to go to the east side of the reservoir. More redfin caught and there were other Red Taggers nearby and they were shouting and yelling as they caught trout. Bernie Keegan hooking a large trout but unable to land it.

The time was getting on and it looked like we were going to lose the trophy. Then the fish god answered our prayers.

Craig Bolch was fishing a red buzzer and a stick caddis underneath an indicator. He had a take and he could see it was a large fish by the swell and tail coming out of the water. Then he remembered he had a 5X tippet and then thought he had to play this fish. He kept in contact with the fish knowing that he would exhaust it before attempting to bring it in. As he got it closer to the net it took off once again and once more he careful applied pressure. Eventually he had it near the net and thought if this fish has a final run it may break the tippet. An early one from Corey McNeight

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BILL JACKSON

He carefully placed the net just behind the fish and as it started to take off it went straight into the net. A large male brown trout in fantastic condition and Craig was shaking at that stage.

We all gathered round and took some photos and carefully measured and weighed the fish. It was 8.5lb and was 68cm in length. We looked at the time and it was 4.40pm with the competition closing at 5pm.

We packed up and returned to the car park area where Craig Bolch was declared the winner of the Gerry Bolt. Most fish caught by an individual was won by Roy Pollard from Southern Fly Fishers. Total fish caught by a club went to Southern Fly Fishers with 14 just pipping Red Tag who totalled 13.

of the Red Tag Flyfishers Club

Craig’s Personal Best 3.8kg 68cm (Given the close final score this should have counted as 3 fish for the win).

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GARIWERD NATIONAL PARK (GRAMPIANS) ZAK WARDEN

“Hey babe, do you want to go to the Grampians and check out the wildflowers?” my horticulturally-inclined partner asked me midweek, late in September…

I’m a longstanding fan of Gariwerd, having walked and climbed and camped in many parts of it since a while back. But I’d never been there since fly fishing had become a key motivator for my outdoor pursuits, and was wary of missing some great weather on my usual, local streams.

I stalled with my response:

“Grampians eh?” (reaches for phone).

“That” (Googles ‘fly fishing Grampians’).

“Might” (results pending).

“ Be… ” (scans results, establishes fishing potential).

“NICE YES LET’S GO THERE I LIKE THE GRAMPIANS YES LOCK IT IN”.

By this time the season had kicked off good and proper, but due to a solid calendar (a downside of being so popular) I was yet to hit the water and get a fish on the board. Here lay my chance to get some quality time at the river and hopefully bag a fish or two.

The internet search produced a couple of Tom Jarman videos of him fishing in the area, and by means of deduction (he mentioned the location in one video and not the other) I started to think that maybe he was in Fyans Creek where it flows into Lake Bellfield.

Our last four visits (over the last five years or so) have had us camping at Borough Huts, just 10km south of Halls Gap. It’s a big, sprawling campsite flanked by the Halls Gap Dunkeld Rd on one side and Fyans Creek on the other. Fyans Creek has in the past been for us a beautiful view, a lovely sound and a great place to sit and soak when the weather’s hot. If it turned out to be a little trout hotspot it would be a delightful coincidence.

This time around the level was 0.20m at Fyans Creek Gauge, but I had nothing to compare that to. All visits previously had seen the river level quite low, and I’d never had a need to check the gauge.

First look at Fyans Creek Oooh baby!

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GARIWERD NATIONAL PARK (GRAMPIANS)

ZAK WARDEN

I did, however, know that everywhere else was a bit higher than normal at this time of year and was holding out hope that “a little bit higher than normal” was what I’d find at Fyans Creek, which would be just about perfect.

Having arrived late at night and going straight to bed, we didn’t eyeball the river until first light, but upon unzipping the tent, seeing a fog filled campsite and silhouettes of kangaroos I walked down to the creek.

One of the things I love about Gariwerd is the way all the rocky outcrops see sun before us in the valley. This first morning was no different, and for the first time I looked at a very familiar creek through the eyes of a keen fisherperson.

Fair to say it was brilliant.

This little section along the campsite had a few long pools up to knee deep. Note the glorious bush and rocky backdrop.

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GARIWERD NATIONAL PARK (GRAMPIANS) ZAK WARDEN

Nothing like a destination fishing trip, and for the weekend we were 50m from the water. I started with the 3wt glass rod and got a fish in the first few casts.

There were a couple of very deep and slow pools in the section, with a little bubble highway indicating current. Despite the bright sunshine and warm temperatures I saw no fish rising across the weekend.

I had four 90 minute sessions along the creek right by camp. The water was lovely and clear and loaded with little rainbows

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GARIWERD NATIONAL PARK (GRAMPIANS)

ZAK WARDEN

TJ caught some bigger fish in his video, so I ditched the 3wt and grabbed the 6wt for accuracy’s sake. I also changed tactics to fish deeper and tick bottom. That’s when I caught this bad boy! Love it when a plan comes together.

Brambuk, the National Park & Cultural Centre. I kept catching fish in here even after my kid and I had been lobbing rocks all morning

The little weekend mission to Gariwerd turned out to be a huge success for all. The weather was stunning, and the wildflowers were out in droves. Nearby Pomonal was hosting the annual Grampians Native Wildflower Show which had a great range of really interesting plants on sale and the associated sausage sizzle offered all of the desired condiments.

The campsite was sparsely populated with kind and considerate neighbours, and to top it all off, the fly fishing was a dream. When the stars align with such great conditions in such a lovely part of the world, it’s hard to think of why we all shouldn’t go and see the wildflowers next year; (if you know what I mean!)

Zak was at Gariwerd as an unofficial ambassador of the Red Tag Fly Fishing Club and is still seeking reimbursement!

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MITTA MITTA / BIG RIVER [+ BEYOND]

PAUL BURGESS

“Some clear water in Victoria!”

Given the weather Victoria has been having and the copious amounts of rain being thrown at us by “Hughy” I was beginning to wonder about my decision to take a weeks annual leave. Day one was a Tuesday and travel day. Andy Elam and I made it as far as the North East and Happy Valley. The BOM website was showing Big River was running at around 2.2 metres, the Ovens was reading much the same. The decision was made to spend the night on the Myrtleford side of Falls Creek and see what tomorrow would bring.

Fly fisherman are odd creatures, they live on hope, so with this in mind a drive up the Ovens valley was planned for the afternoon. Crossing the Ovens as we headed into Bright was a bit of shock. The water was coloured up like a strong ice coffee. My heart sank, as the height and colour at this point in the Ovens are a pretty good indicator of what was likely to be seen above. Visiting all my favourite spots for a look at the water revealed the same colouration and the river was pumping. Surely it couldn’t hurt to go all the way to Harrietville…. Wednesday morning came around and the decision was made to head off to the Mitta, despite rain all afternoon on the Harrietville trip and the insanely high rivers. The next hiccup to a well planned trip, was the landslide blocking off the road to Falls Creek from Mt Beauty. This meant a detour via Mitta Mitta itself. The drive across was pleasant enough until we hit the Kiewa. Boyd road is where I usually cross it. Signs were up indicating it was closed. At this point I am thinking this is getting ridiculous. …around the signs we went.

The Kiewa had broken its banks and the road had water across it. Not enough to be a problem, onward bound.

On to Mitta Mitta. The Mitta looks impressive in flood and the valley floor had plenty of water covering it. Passing through Mitta Mitta the first view of Snowy Creek was heart breaking, raging was the only way to describe it. This is going to be a fun trip!

I had not driven the road between Mitta Mitta and Big River before. It is a hell of a windy drive. Further up the Snowy Creek valley, on to Lightning Creek, also extremely high and dirty. The first look at Big River however was a revelation, woo hoo, clear water in Vic, its a miracle!

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PAUL BURGESS MITTA MITTA / BIG RIVER [+ BEYOND]

Spirits lifted as the Prado wound its way on to Jokers, and a river running high but quite clear. At least clear in comparison to every other piece of water that had been crossed so far.

Jokers camp ground had plenty of free campsites, setting up the tent and site was performed in record time.

Rods assembled and waders donned, a short afternoon nymphing session, out in front of the camp ground ensued. Within no time both Andy and I were on the board with some very fit looking browns. Not huge fish, the largest around half a pound and nothing but my favourite variety, beautiful browns. That was until we moved further upstream beyond the campsites. Andy landed a ripper at over 1.5

pound, with the top campsite full of onlookers that must have thought these two blokes are mad pushing their way up that torrent. Day two at Jokers saw us travel downstream of the campsite. The river had likely just dropped 20 centimetres since we had arrived. After a 20 minute walk the nymphs were splashing down in the water once more. I was graciously offered up the first of what looked like a premium nymphing run of slacks water close to the bank. The nymph chosen for task was my version of a stick caddis. A luminous yellow 3.5mm tungsten bead sitting atop a synthetic dubbing blend of my own. Within half a dozen casts I was on. A minute or so later after a terrific fight a 1.5 pound brown (slightly smaller than Andys from the day before) was in the net. Bloody awesome was the only way I could describe it. Thanks Andy for handing me this run! Testing the knots and tippet after the fight, I decided to re tie. Just as well, as within another two casts I was on again. Another brown slightly larger than before. I was loving this river and developing further respect for tight line nymphing. Moving up the river about two runs and Andy landed another magic brown of around 1.5lb. Day two was going brilliantly to say the least. We ended the day with around 15 or so fish between us, all fighting fit Mitta browns.

The Alpine National Park and

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MITTA MITTA / BIG RIVER [+ BEYOND]

PAUL BURGESS

this area has plenty of water to explore. Off to Middle Creek to start day 3. I had only ever fished this creek once and it was from the junction of Middle Creek and Big River. This time we fished higher up. Middle Creek upstream, winds its way through some beautiful farm land. Given the way the water looked I decided to try out a dry fly rig for the first time of the 2022 season.

After tying on a trusty CDC mayfly, it was time for a few practice casts at the bridge, as the casting action was bound to be rusty. Practice progressed and out of the corner of my eye, in a nice looking bubble line, an unusual ripple appeared. Surely that wasn’t a rise! It was a difficult spot, right under the centre of a low bridge and in a current that would pose problems for a natural drift. Within 3 or so casts I managed to get the mayfly to land perfectly. Just above where the suspected rise had

appeared and with a suitable amount of slack. The take was immediate and my first dry fly hookup for the season. It ended with a chunky brown in the net.

Unfortunately this is where it ended, the next half a dozen or so decent runs did not produce a fish despite looking like awesome water. Putting it down to the wrong nymphs, wrong dries, incorrect rods and line weight, too much sun….and possibly a complete lack of angling ability, Middle Creek was abandoned for the day.

The afternoon was spent back on the Mitta, this time upstream of Jokers. A quickish drive down a rutted 4WD only track to park, a walk back up the same hill and down the other side saw Andy and I arrive at a large slow moving but turbulent pool. I fished it for about 10 minutes using a 3.5mm beaded stick caddis from the nymphing setup. As I was slowly lifting the

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MITTA MITTA / BIG RIVER [+ BEYOND]

PAUL BURGESS

nymph up from the depths I was shocked to see a big brown rising slowly, following the nymph. A big white mouth opened and the yellow bead disappeared. With a lift of the rod I set the hook and the battle began. The brown turned its head and started for the bottom. An epic fight ensued. Lets just say the fish touched the net and leave it at that. The absence of a picture, a thousand expletives. This however, was a first for me, nymphing, and a fish picking up the nymph on the lift.

The lack of interest from the trout of Middle Creek the day before had spurred us on to look further into the creeks in the area. Back to Middle Creek early in the morning we headed. Andy managed the mandatory bridge fish to kick off the day. The next set of holes produced nothing as they did the day before. Determined to find more fish we soldiered on. Further upstream Andy started hooking into some lovely brown trout up to a pound and a half in size. I managed to land a couple of fish as well, however was well bested all trip on the size front by Andy’s nymphing know how.

I did manage to land my first rainbow for the trip, around 3/4 of a pound and a beauty to boot.

The Bundara heads off up into the hills behind Falls Creek and was decimated by the bushfires that tore through the area just prior to COVID. The bush still bares the scars of the fires. We arrived there at a

round 3:00PM in the afternoon.

I took one look at the water and decided it was time to “dry or die”. The first run produced three fish between us. One on nymph under dry for me and a nymph for Andy. I decided to remove the nymph as it was preventing me from getting close into the edges and calmer water. The effect was immediate, with one of the most action packed dry fly eats I have experienced. The brown launched at the CDC mayfly with a gusto that shocked. The entire fish was out of the water as it launched and rolled on the fly as it swept past her feeding lane.

The next few hours dry fly action was absolutely fantastic with what was possibly 15 or more fish to the net and a similar number lost. Those who have fished with me know I have a knack of losing all “the big ones”. All I’ll say is at one point my seven foot six, four weight had a bend

1 bootyful bow

MITTA MITTA / BIG RIVER [+ BEYOND]

PAUL BURGESS

in it I did not think was possible….before the line went slack.

I’ll be heading back to the Bundara; what a valley and stream!

The final day of the trip was packing day. This was all done and dusted by around 10:00AM. A quick trip back down below the Jokers campground was the order for the remainder of the morning. The water was very different with Big River having dropped considerably over the days we had camped at Jokers. I managed to land one trout and lost (yes Giovanni), lost the fish of the trip, broken off at the knot to the nymph.

As Andy had a lengthy drive back home we decided to part ways at around 1:00PM.

I wanted to have a go at fishing the confluence of Middle Creek and Big River. Those who have fished the area will know it. It’s a very large pool, and larger than normal given the volumes of water about this season. The day was warm, humid and overcast. Perfect for the insects trout love to feed on to come to life. There were a few rises as Andy and I said our farewells. I walked the bank and spied what looked like a sizeable trout holding and feeding about 10 metres from the bank. A size 14 CDC mayfly pattern proved irresistible to the big brown. A slow rise closely

watching the dry, falling back with the current before that big white mouth opened. The fly disappeared. In my excitement I struck before the fish had turned back down and the fly was seen passing over my head and the brown disappeared Aaaaargggh!!!!!

Looking about me I decided to keep trying. There were prolific mix of black mayflies and this other large light green/brown insect that were landing on the surface of the river. The trout were gobbling them up with gusto.

I changed my dry to a CDC blue winged olive pattern in size 14. What ensued was the most amazing session of dry fly fishing I have experienced in my 4 years of fly fishing. The browns were launching themselves at the insect life and clearly my flies were looking just like the insects they were after. Within an hour and a half and 3 CDC mayfly rotations 8 fish were netted, just as many, if not more were missed. What an awesome finish to an amazing trip. This area is quickly becoming one of my favourite fishing destinations in Victoria. The plan is to make it an annual event. A special thank you has to be made to Andy for sharing his knowledge of the amazing river system in this part of the Alpine National Park.

iáÄê~êó REVIEW

DAVID HONEYBONE

“In Flies that Catch Trout Terry Lawton has sought to publish the true story behind a range of fly patterns as well as the correct dressings. Every fly fisherman has personal 'must-have' flies - flies that inspire confidence and work for them. Many of these flies will be appreciated already by other anglers but some will be less well known. This book may help you to discover an old pattern that is nearly forgotten or one that has come from the other side of the world. Certainly, the author hopes that this selection of flies for catching trout in rivers and streams will meet with your approval and that some of the less well known patterns will find a place in the fly boxes of progressive, thinking anglers.” (Amazon.com)

Includes patterns from Australia, Finland, England, USA, Sweden, South Africa, Holland, Denmark, Slovenia, New Zealand and Argentina.

Robert Hale, 2009

“The bulk of fly fishing literature is centred on matching the hatch, when in reality, on most waters, most of the time, there is no hatch to match. This eye opening book provides a wide range of strategies for fishing resourcefully between the hatches. These include subtle techniques of presentation, such as micro-nymphing for inactive trout; aggressive strategies such as long line nymphing with precision for active trout; using prospecting dry flies and streamers effectively; and a wealth of practical advice on reading the water. It includes chapters on seasonal movements of trout, temperature induced feeding binges, beating the heat, dealing with dirty water, and targeting big, carnivorous trout. It will expand your repertoire and make you a more successful fly fisher.” -(Amazon.com)

Rich Osthoff

Stackpole Books, 2001

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ALL LEVELS

6TH DECEMBER

This month’s tying sessions are going to be slightly different. The club is combining the beginner and advanced classes and will be tying a range of flies which will then be donated to the Mending Casts organisation. Mending Casts has been operating in Australia since January 2019, with a main focus on running free, live in weekend fly fishing retreats, for people dealing with cancer through the Casting for Recovery and Reel Recovery programs. Feel free to come along and tie for a good cause or tie some in advance to drop in the buckets. The dozen patterns in size 12 & 14 are…

• Beetles

• Buzzers

• Carrots

• Nymphs

• Hoppers

• Humpies

• Magoos

• Stick Caddis (Green & Brown)

• Stimulators

• Shaving Brush

• Wooly Bugger

Something for everyone.

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A SNAPSHOT OF EVENTS SINCE THE LAST EDITION

of the Red Tag Flyfishers Club

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RED TAG THANKS ALL THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS FOR THEIR ONGOING SUPPORT