The Prince of Pejar - October 2013

October 2013

A sight to behold was the Prince of Pejar. Clad in the ceremonial finery of his ancient religion he strode triumphantly into the room of his most cherished peers and declared:

"the day is mine, and you's can all go get ######!"

Well, so much for a dignified and humble end to the day's fishing. Although the rest of us were certainly humbled after our first evening at Pejar. With widespread caddis fly activity and fish clearly rising we at first thought it would be simply a matter of time before we all landed fish. How wrong we were. Even our Pommy trout experts were left fishless and wondering what was going on.

Only one stood out. The Prince of Pejar. With a silvering mane and copper whiskers The Prince cast out his chosen fly only to tuck his rod under his arm, remove a fly box from his pocket and casually peruse its contents. Selecting a fly and placing it between his teeth he then proceeded to strip his line in. One, two, three strips and the electric shock of a big angry fish on the end of his line startled The Prince, almost causing him to swallow the fly in his mouth. The fish tried every trick in the book to rid itself of the unwanted meal, but The Prince had his measure and a 3lb silver torpedo was soon laying on the grassy bank beside him. With a religious zeal not seen since the Inquisition the fish was dispatched and The Prince returned from the hunt victoriously displaying his vanquished quarry.

Well that's the romanticised version of the story. The version told was quite simply unrepeatable and certainly unprintable.

Most of us arrived at Gundowringa homestead late on Friday afternoon. I had hitched a ride with Col Breese and after picking up John Robb at Tascott we dodged the bushfires and road closures on the Hume Motorway (now memorably rebadged the M31), made our way up the Crookwell Road and onto the property of Jeff Prell – 5000 acres of rolling green hills with the Wollondilly running through it. The Prells have been in this area since 1901, running Corriedale sheep for over 100 years with their skills in sheep farming proudly displayed on the walls of the shearers’ quarters – our new home for the next few days. Jeff came down to meet us soon after we arrived. A quietly spoken chap he was keen for us to fish his dams and shared his many years of fly fishing experience and extensive historical knowledge of the local area.

Steve Tizard and I decided to head over to Pejar Dam to take a closer look at the inviting view we had passed on the way up to Gundowringa. There were plenty of tracks around the western lake shore so we explored the small bays and rocky points at the top end where the Wollondilly flowed in, finally deciding to fish a small bay around 6pm.

The conditions were perfect. The wind dropped and a caddis fly hatch was in full swing so we rigged up and waited for the rises to start. After half an hour of no surface fish activity at all and the sun setting I changed to a Bushy’s Horror to see if I could elicit a response, but by 8pm we had seen no fish whatsoever and decided to head back for a late dinner.

Back at the shearer’s quarters most of us had assembled for dinner. Stories of no fish abounded, the only difference being that at Jeff’s two farm dams there were plenty of rises to the same caddis fly hatch we had experienced. Then Sticker strode in. It was obvious that he had caught a fish and proudly presented a solid rainbow of around 2lb. No doubt we would soon hear of his experience and sure enough we were given a blow by blow account of the fish he caught AND the one he dropped while trying to send everyone a photo of the specimen he had just landed..

We had an enjoyable evening around the fire swapping stories and having a laugh before retiring to bed around midnight.

Those of us keen were up at 5am the next morning, and after a quick cuppa headed down to the farm dams to even up our tallies with Sticker’s. A cold calm morning looked perfect and we tried a range of flies on both lakes. A few fish were spotted rising, I even watched a large snout stick a couple of inches out of the water to take something on the surface. Changing to a beetle pattern I spent the next hour drifting my fly across the smaller dam without any response but by about 9 the breeze had picked up and we headed back for a coffee and morning tea.

Regrouping back at the shearer's quarters I teamed up with Dave, Sticker and Bunney and we headed down to Goulburn in search of redfin, a species many of us hadn't yet caught. We found Scott Chaney at Marsden Weir casting to some Koi Carp below the weir wall but conditions looked pretty average and while Sticker, Bunney and Scott tried further downstream on the Wollondilly, Dave and I headed into town for lunch before catching up with them on the river west of Goulburn. We then followed the Wollondilly westward up through Pomeroy. At every river crossing the water looked very poor with little or no flow. Eventually we headed back via Gouldburn to Gundowringa to prepare for the evening rise.

Reports back at the shearer's quarters were still of no fish caught and widespread poor conditions on the Wollondilly. Our only hope seemed to be this evening's rise on the farm dams. So we all headed down around 5pm and lined up around the dam's margins. Initially I tried a streamer on an intermediate line, hoping to get down to the bottom of the dam and emulate Sticker's success, but as the sun sank in the west and a few rises began to appear I changed to a midge pupa below a midge ball indicator in the hope that one of the two would induce a take. Still nothing and worse still the rises had ceased. Only David had any success with a take on his nymph but he failed to hook up and we heard his disappointment across the water. 

Time for another fly change as we were treated to a magnificent red sunset. In the dark I could see a few rises in the dam just near the cars, so I tied on a Craig's Nighttime and prospected around the bay. Surely a fish would at least have a go at my fly and sure enough the line went tight. I gave it a couple of seconds and lifted but there was no weight on the end of my line and the fly shot out of the water. It was looking like I had blown my one and only chance.

By now it was dark and everyone else looked like they were heading back to the cars. I reeled in my line and headed back to David's car and recounted my recent experience. David was happy to continue fishing and he, Richard and I fished the bay for a while longer. David too was met with frustration as a fish took his Craigs and he failed to hook up, and as the time was heading towards 8.30 we decided to call it a night and head back for a BBQ.

Another enjoyable evening around the fire, but this time there was no talk of an early rise. Most of us considered ourselves beaten and headed to bed with thoughts of a bit of a sleep in.

As it turned out, only Richard was keen enough to try again in the morning. Steve Tizard and I took a look at the hundred year old homestead and shearing shed before partaking of the club BBQ breakfast generously cooked by The Prince. 

Richard returned fishless and soon everyone was packed, ready to head back to civilsation. There wasn't even much talk of some exploratory fishing on the way home, though Col, Rob and I took an enjoyable detour up through Canyonleigh to inspect the Wollondilly further upstream. We saw some nice stretches of water, but every crossing of the river showed little or no flow and we soon rejoined the motorway and made our way home.

Despite the conditions everyone had a very enjoyable trip. The accommodation was very comfortable and company great as always. Whether we head back next year will probably depend on rain and river levels. Even considering that, I'm sure it won't be the last time the club stays at Gundowringa. Our thanks fro Murray for organising the trip - a great job as always. And to Jeff Prell for a great base camp and generous advice.

Lake St Clare 17 - 18 August 2013

Lake St Clare

By Len Verrenkamp

Why oh why do I do this to myself!!

Lake St Claire or Glennie's Creek Dam has to be one of the most inviting fresh water fisheries within two hrs drive of the Central Coast. The undulating countryside and clear country air always refreshes the mind and in August the westerlies and brisk temperatures remind you that Winter has not quite finished for the year. I probably should mention the fact that the lake holds some stonking bass as well, which is also another slight attraction for the traveling fisherperson.

Heading up there on the Saturday afternoon with the boat in tow a plan needed to be hatched to break my duck on bass on fly and to erase the memory of the blank I drew on a quick trip a couple of weeks previously. This time I had the goto fly which is Singleton Greg's buzzer, my casting has improved drastically since last years trip and the westerly wind, although ever present was not endangering any brown dogs on chains. With Murray and Richard both catching good fish a couple of weeks earlier confidence was high.

The Plan

The plan at hand was pretty simple, sound up some fish in a fly fishable depth of water, use a sinking line to get the fly down deep and strip back through the fish and wait for the hits. Probably not the most eloquent method, however this was my third trip and the thoughts of 50cm bass smashing my surface fly were a distant memory, I just needed to catch a bloody fish!

Saturday Afternoon

Arriving at around 3.00pm I found Col Breeze who had just returned from a long session and had had no success using a variety of methods. After a quick chat I headed to the ramp thinking, I have a plan, I have a plan! First point of call was straight across and slightly down the lake from the ramp to an area that has a shallow entry and then opens up nicely to some deeper water, sounding around there was evidence of fish in a couple of areas so out with the fly rod and into the fish. Two hours later and numerous moves around the lake and that bloody duck was still quacking!

Heading out to the camp with the boat back on the trailer Murray, Richard, Mick and Terry are already set up and off fishing. About 30min later Malcolm turned up and with it quite dark now we lit the camp fire and settled in with some refreshments to wait for the others to return and to discuss tactics for tomorrow's club fish. The boys returned with some success stories of better than a fish each which was welcome news for tomorrow's session.

Sunday - Club Outing Day

John Roberts and Col "Bags" Hession arrived early and we departed camp at 7.00am with our return and lunch booked in for 12.30pm. Most of the guys headed out to fish the shore whilst I drove back to the ramp and launched the boat again (I have a plan you know)! Heading up into the Carrowbrook arm this time I headed for some deep timber looking for fish on the sounder, again the fish are there, again I deploy my deep fishing tactics, again not a touch or tap, flies changed numerous times, down sized to a 6lb leader, varied retrieves and even harled under electric power and all to no avail! Cruised up into a couple of protected bays with natural, albeit dry water courses leading into them with rock walls and good structure and still not a sign of a fish to be seen.

With time marching on and lunch looking like being the highlight of the day for me I headed back to camp to find a few of the guys back and Malcolm Holden grinning like a Cheshire Cat after nailing his first bass on fly, and a 45 cm version at that. You might as well give up now Mal as anything else you catch bass wise will be a disappointment, LOL. John "the mini bus" Roberts arrived shortly after with a few anglers loaded in his ute and Richard and Murray looking quite comfortable in the back, although maybe for short distances only!

With the new club barby hot and ready to be christened we were instructed by Murray not to help as he's a little possessive when he has a bar-b-mate in his hand so we resorted to just offering verbal assistance until he relented and generously allowed us to slice the onions! Lunch was a winner and with Mal's Bass being the only fish for the day and now 54cm and growing we packed up and headed for home.

The Wrap Up

No fish for me
It's a great place but a tough fishery
The company was terrific as always
Will I go back, you betcha! I'm going to pluck that duck eventually..

Swansea January 2013

Trip Reports

Swansea Pelagics by Chris Bannerman

Date: 20 January 2013

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. That pretty much sums up the January outing. Saturday morning I'd decided to replace the hubs and bearings on my boat trailer (after our President's recent side-of-freeway repair) and by early afternoon it had started to rain. I knew if it continued, I'd be unable to get the boat off our front lawn as the slope is so steep even my 4WD would struggle on the wet grass and the boss wouldn't be happy with the front lawn torn up, no matter how much fun I had in the process. In the end an executive decision was made and I arranged to get a ride with Richard. By the morning it had rained continuously all night and as I packed the club BBQ and food into the car along with my gear I briefly toyed with the idea of pulling the pin. But I had the BBQ and people were relying on me - how could I let them down. So up the freeway I trundled, the rain eased up and I thought for a moment that it might be okay. Then, as I descended into Swansea, the clouds closed in and it resorted to heavy drizzle. At the boat ramp I found Bob and Dave De Luca, who were debating on whether it was actually worth even launching. When Bob considers not launching you know it's not good. But as Garry and Steve turned up we decided it would be still worth a go so we donned the wet weather gear and off we went into the wild grey yonder. Once away from the boat ramp and down the channel towards Moon Island the weather actually improved a little, even though the ramp, Swansea and the hills behind were still covered in grey cotton wool. We spotted some splashes on the surface and were quickly casting but to no avail. Casting in and around the surf of Moon Island didn't offer anything either and we briefly followed some birds feeding on the surface. In the end we finished up back at Moon Island casting at a school of yakkas porpoising on the surface but they weren't interested in anything we threw at them. Some jiggers were pulling up small kingies from below these yakkas but the only way we could get them was to harl. By lunch time Steven and Garry had had enough and departed, and the rest of us returned to the ramp where it was still raining. It was too wet to have the BBQ so we repaired to the golden arches for something that resembled food before heading home to dry out.

Terrigal Lagoon - June 2013

Terrigal Lagoon

by Len Verrenkamp

Date: 16 June 2013

LE GOONS ! YEP, THAT'S US! Back at Terrigal lagoon by default - swell and wind prevented the planned rock hopping trip to chase Drummer. 6.30 am start, nice sou'wester to keep us company, waders and wetsuits donned, kayaks launched, banks waded.

A Flathead for Stickerman, Sole for Mal (fish, not personal attributes), bastards had the BBQ early (obviously because I had to duck off for a couple of hours), and bugger all else caught.

I reckon the blackfish were lining up to be caught at The Entrance!!!

NOTE: Rumours that a huge kingfish was caught in the lagoon by Mal are completely unfounded!

Farquar Park - May 2013

Farquar Park by Len Verrenkamp

Date: 18-19 May 2013

Ahh the Serenity! In my opinion that famous Aussie phrase describes Farquar Park to a tee. With access only by boat or 4wd it takes a bit of organisation and effort to get there, however the rewards are worth it. It's rarely crowded (provided you avoid holiday times), you camp on the waters edge and the sunsets across the sand flats and Charleys Island will keep you coming back for more. Unfortunately with quite a few members pulling out at the last minute we were in no danger of crowding the place out and it was up to Col Breeze, Jim Hollett and myself to represent the club for the weekend. Along with us were Jim 's wife Suzanne and a mate of mine Brett from Newcastle who has taken up fly fishing with gusto. Jim and Suzanne travelled down from Bohnock by boat while Col had an eventful trip towing his tinny down the beach with few issues in the soft sand on the Friday - he was helped out by some fellow campers from Raymond Terrace. Brett and myself arrived about lunch time on Saturday and did our usual shuttles to get both the boats and vehicles down to the camp site after a wait on the beach for the tide to recede enough to get through a narrow section. With camp set up and the sun setting it was time to light the fire and settle in for a chat and a drink to discuss tomorrows fishing tactics. After a good night’s sleep in the Taj Ma-ute we awoke to a brisk westerly blowing straight of the Barringtons collecting razor blades on it's way to the coast making 7°C feel like about 2°C. A cuppa to warm up and a quick brekky then onto the water we went. With a run out tide and the wind pushing down river it made for a quick drift and I think I spent more time steering the electric than fishing so we headed up river into Oyster creek to find virtually no wind and smooth conditions. After a few more casts with the Crazy Charlie I started the day with, I changed to an orange and white Clouser and using a cast and wait, strip and wait technique it was snaffled off the bottom by a nice bream in between strips. My first bream on fly went 28cm and to say I was happy was an understatement. A few photos for the record books and it was released to fight another day. With Col deciding to drive out at low tide without the boat on the trailer we took a slight detour and picked him up from the ramp and delivered him back to his boat at the camp ground so he could continue fishing. With the tide now on the make it was time to hit the oyster racks in search of some more bream. Scott's creek is lined with racks of all descriptions and has some of the fishiest looking water in the river, not to mention protection from the wind as well. I also find casting at racks does wonders for your accuracy as the results of a poor cast will mean you are nowhere near the fish or your fly and leader is now wrapped around a nice piece of timber or PVC pipe. Not that it seemed to make any difference today, an hour of prowling the racks resulted in no fish, however there were plenty of signs that fish were there. With time getting away we headed back to camp for some well earned egg and bacon rolls cooked on the camp fire for lunch and a lengthy chat about the ones that got away. Jim and Col both had hits, however no hook ups were forthcoming. Although it was probably one of the smallest club outings ever, the great company and location made up for the lack of numbers. My first bream on fly made my weekend a winner and will be back up there as soon as the weather and water warms up again.

Fly Fishing Expo - Thredbo April 2013

Fly Fishing Expo, Thredbo by Chris Bannerman

Date: 12 - 14 April 2013

While not an official club trip I though I'd share our visit to the first annual Fly Fishing Expo in Thredbo. Malcolm Holden and myself decided to head down for a 3-day weekend to check out the Expo. My main reason for visiting were the words "Spey Casting demonstration" in the brochure and considering my failing attempts to spey cast I figured any help I could get would be most useful. I don't really need a reason to visit the Snowies but I had one anyway. Departing the coast mid morning we headed south, arriving at Thredbo around 5pm. We hadn't stopped on the way at the traditional homes of fly fishing (Alpine Angler and High Country Outfitters) as there was a pre-expo drink at 6 and we didn't want to miss it (and posibbly a free beer). Besides, we wanted to see how many would turn up - maybe we'd be the only ones. To our relief we weren't the only ones - about 20 people turned up in the bar at the Alpine Hotel for a meet-and-greet - and we enjoyed a beer (yes it was free) and a yarn with the hotel manager and Craig Daly the local guide who organised the event. The next morning we were up early to check out the river above the resort. There's a handy little walking trail along the river for a kilometre or two and we followed it's path checking the river for fish as we went. The water was low and clear and we didn't spot or spook many fish so headed back for a cooked brekky (part of the accommodation deal at the hotel) before checking out the morning casting demonstrations in the park in front of the hotel. There were about 40 people out there listening to Craig give an intro to fly casting. It was pretty basic stuff but many were obviously new to fly fishing and were taking it all in. We decided to head down to Jindabyne to do some fly shop shopping and grab a coffee before checking out the river to pick a likely location for a fish in the afternoon. Then it was back to the Expo for a streamcraft talk around noon. The auditorium had some product stands and a fly tying demo was going on so we perused the products spending some coin on a leather fly wallet and a 27 foot leader (you can never have too many of those) and heckled (or hackled) the fly tyer before sitting down to an informative talk on streamcraft. I think it's always good to hear how experts fish their streams, if only to confirm I'm doing the right thing. After the talk we were off to put into practice the streamcraft ideas. Down on the river the wind was gusting to strong winds making casting a challenge. The water was gorgeous and there HAD to be fish there, but we didn't see or spook a single specimen. By the time the sun went down we had fished for a couple of hours and decided to call it a day. Up again early the next morning we decided to try the river above the resort, fishing the little plunge pools and glides out of them. Malcolm spotted a couple of fish in a larger pool but we couldn't entice them take a nymph but later on I managed to trick a small rainbow into taking a midge pupa pattern I'd tied the week before. At least we weren't going home empty handed. Back at the hotel we headed out to the spey casting demonstration. Craig gave us a quick talk on spey before were able to get our hands dirty and have a go at casting. Immediately Craig was able to pick what I was doing wrong and had it corrected. I was a happy camper and wiled away the next couple of hours hogging Craig's 11 foot switch rod. The Expo ended with a fly casting competition (in which I came second and won a 2 hour casting session with Craig) and a BBQ lunch put on by the hotel. In all we had a great time and met some great people. The Expo itself was free and the accommodation was pretty good value. This was the first year and as such it was a bit of a trial to see if there was enough of a response. I believe the organisers considered it a success so it looks like it'll be on again next year. I'm already looking forward to heading down in 2014 for a bigger and improved version. You'd do well to come along.

Swansea - April 2013

Swansea by Len Verrenkamp

Date: 21 April 2013

The pre dawn light, the stiff sou west breeze, the pounding of the surf, the grey skies, the 10 blokes standing around shivering with hands in pockets kicking the loose gravel around the car park; yep sounds like CCFR has an outing on today! Departing Bateau Bay with Scott Chaney at 5.00 am for a 6.00am tee time at Swansea we headed up the Old Pacific Hwy anxiously watching the sky as dawn ever so slowly bought the day to life. To our surprise we were heading towards clear skies and a somewhat calmer day than the rubbish that Huey had dished us up the day before with some 90mm of rain at home and 30 knot winds. Arriving earlier than expected at 5.40am we found Bob and Dave already there which from what I have heard was a little unusual to say the least. Mick from Cessnock was the next to arrive along with Mac which completed the flotilla for the day. After much discussion and the wind abating as the sun rose we launched at about 6.30am and headed west, no one was going east today! Scotty and I headed straight to Wangi and working on the theory there should be some shelter in the lee of the hill and the rain from the Saturday should have muddied the water a little, we should be hooked up in no time. Ha, so much for that idea, although we had protection, the water was crystal clear and all we could see were razor clams and an occie! We spent about an hour flogging a dead horse and high tailed it back into the channel to do a few drifts over the sand flats. This time we sighted fish in a couple of deep holes hard in against a grassy bank and proceeded to throw everything we had at them and all to no avail. It was shaping up as a day that was not going to provide much in the line of fish and after a couple of hours drifting and casting the sand banks and drop offs for only a couple of half hearted taps and a few silver flashes as fish sped across the sand bars, we headed back under the bridge and into Half Moon Bay to find both Bob and Dave, Cessnock Mick and Steve Bunney also trying their luck around the moored boats. After half an hour or so getting in each other’s way we called it quits and headed for the ramp and the lunch time BBQ to find a few others had arrived over the course of the morning and had about as much success as Scott and I! So the only fish caught for the day was a tailor by Bob, at least is was of legal size, the rest of us just ended up being cold and hungry. Thankfully the BBQ and post mortem chat is always a highlight and makes the early morning start worth it. I just keep telling myself it’s good for the character and catching fish is a bonus! No photos sorry, it was one of those days!!!