Sydney Fly Rodders' Club Incorporated

10/09/2026

10/09/2026

Dates for the Diary
Casting Practice
13 September 2026 l 9:00 AM l Timbrell Park, Henley Marine Drive, Five Dock

Monthly Meeting
14 September 2026 l 7:00 PM l Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon

Fly Tying
21 September 2026 l 7:00 PM l Freeway Hotel, 115 Reserve Road, Artarmon

03/09/2026

Are you passionate about the conservation, development and sharing of fisheries resources in NSW? This is your chance to make a real impact.

03/09/2026

While conservationists and fishers have formed an action group calling for more management of the pest fish now, Teal Flat provides a glimpse of what could be possible, even without a carp herpes virus.

17/08/2026

MIDGE NIGHT
At the Sydney Fly Rodders' Club Incorporated July fly tying night, in keeping with mid-winter midging, we focussed on Midge life cycle flies ( Chironomids). Pupa from the stomachs of Wainui Bay (Lake Eucumbene) trout came in various colours from reddish / olive to brown/black, 6 to7 mm in length (about a size 18 hook). Occasionally adult midges ball up forming dense colonies that roll along the water surface - best imitated by a Griffiths Gnat (Midge Ball). A good standard rig is a Griffiths Gnat suspending a pupa imitation. As midge rises are usually haphazard all over the place, the Gnat is seen more easily by both fish and fisher.
A member has since found that the blood worm we tied on the night is an excellent Whiting fly.

17/08/2026

2026 Tie-In
Last weekend we conducted our 2026 Tie-In. Morning tea included scones jam and cream, maintaining a Tie-In tradition. Four of the attendees identified as “Beginners” and we provided them with dedicated experienced tiers to help. Great to see members tying flies for the first time getting up to speed on the basics.
While we emphasised the fundamental core skills needed to tie any fly, we focussed on the Mayfly life cycle from Nymph to Spinner.
In case you are a saltwater tier - clouding over at the thought of a freshwater brown nymph - did you know that the 10 core skills needed to tie a Hare & Copper are identical to those needed to tie a Gotcha! (Provided you dub and rib the body)
We apply the Skill Lesson instructional approach of Tell-Show-Do where we break each pattern into tying steps leaving no one behind.
A great day was had by all.

11/08/2026

WOMENS RECREATIONAL FISHING LEAGUE

The Sydney Fly Rodders Club supports the Women’s Recreational Fishing League. https://www.womensrecfishingleague.org/ Both the League and our Club encourage more women to fly fish. The League particularly encourages every Australian woman to realise their full potential and recognise that recreational fishing is a catalyst for empowerment, wellbeing, and positive mental health.

On the weekend of 8 August the League conducted a conclave at Dunmore Trout Waters https://www.dunmoretroutwaters.com.au/ (just North of Guyra) - a perfect location for the task of teaching casting, fishing and fly-tying to twelve League members. Most had never held a fly rod or tied a fly.
Gavin Van Der Wagen and I (Dave Wilson) were the two Club volunteer helpers.

The pattern we tied was a Hare & Copper Nymph containing just 3 materials but rich in 10 core skills applicable to any pattern. It certainly worked on the local trout.
It was gratifying to see people who have never held a fly rod catch fish the next day using a fly of their own tying. If there was any gap in our instruction it would have been managing panic when “striking” and playing fish. (Dunmore’s main lake is filled with big brood stock trout from the nearby Ebor hatchery and consequently break-offs were too frequent!)

Scott Levi from the ABC radio program Big Fish, interviews Jo Starling about the WRFL weekend. If you missed the program at 5am on Saturdays you can always hear the program at https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/thebigfish

We have a number of female members and encourage more women to join. It was a great weekend (with -6C mornings) however, I’m glad the Sydney Fly Rodders Club volunteered again to help.