Northern Flyline December 2017 The edition of the NSFFC Newsletter has a little bit of everything: a report from the field; article with a festive NSFFC season flavour, so onwards and upwards. Victoria is a state that can deliver extremes, and in the last Committee few weeks we have seen it all. Hot and humid conditions Domenic Bono, interspersed with some serious rain that drenched the state at President and caretaker the start of the month. Treasurer 0438 110 862 The downpour, which commenced on a Friday and continued into Saturday and Sunday, led to the cancelling of Nick Pavlovski, sporting and social events at a number of locations. The rain Secretary 0413 500 211 eased and swollen rivers subsided sufficiently for club members to attack the Steavenson River on Sunday 10th John Smith, December. Trip Coordinator As a newer member of the club I have been able to gain 0400 883 022 insight and develop skills while participating in these club Pat Sheridan, trips, and begin to catch fish more regularly. No doubt this Webmaster result is shared by others, and is due in no small measure to 0419 515 950 the efforts of more seasoned members we have fished with Philip Matthews since season opening. Casting Coach I can give examples of the likes of Smudger, Phil and Dom Anne Hern, in recent weeks giving up prime stretches of water and then Social Secretary spending time instructing on how to target fish. When 0418 865 419 fishing under these conditions it really becomes a team sport Chris Bence and a reflection on the camaraderie that exists within the Editor club. 0404 813 788 Finally for those of you out and about over the Christmas- Committee Members: New Year period or travelling to holiday destinations take Chris Dabal care on the roads, enjoy the company of family and friends, 0447513025 and have a great break. The Editor In this edition Trip Reports: Noogee & Steavenson R. 5-7 President’s page 2 Feature Article - Crafty Crawls: Notice Board - includes request for Far North Queensland 8-14 Assistance by the Australian General Meeting Minutes 15-16 Museum 3-4 Northern Suburbs Fly Fishing Club, PO Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 1! Northern Flyline December 2017 President’s page The festive season is upon us and I What’s On would like to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and great New Year. And keep safe in your December 2017 travels and above all have enjoy yourself. 7 Dec Gen Meeting / Cox- Connell Casting Christmas seems to arrive early every Trophy / Xmas year and we are all busy preparing party for the Christmas break and getting 9 Dec Stevenson river ready for the family gatherings and fishing trip the annual trip to your favourite 14 Dec Fly tying destination. 21 Dec Committee meeting The 7th of December was our last January 2018 General meeting and Christmas barbecue as well as the CoxConnell 11 Jan Fly Tying Trophy casting competition. Although 18 Jan Committee Meeting the casting competition was washed 26,27,28 Jan Gippsland Lakes trip out there was a very good turnout of members who enjoyed the bar-be-cue. The club rooms are available to members on Thursday nights throughout December and January. And you are bound to meet others members so head up to the club have a cast or maybe tie a fly. Our last club trip for this year was to the Steavenson River Sunday 10th of December and the trip report is covered in this edition. The new year as always looks promising several great trips planned including the 2018 Australia Day trip Friday 26th of January to Dargo, but this may change to the Gippsland area for some saltwater fly chasing Bream and Australian Salmon in the estuary and lake systems. Keep an eye on the web site and facebook group site for updates. 1st Feb 2018 is the first General Meeting/Life Member's Cup casting comp/BBQ so get along. On the 10th and 11th Feb 2018 The club heads to the west coast Otways Fishing Trip weekend. All the best for the Festive season and New Year. Northern Suburbs Fly Fishing Club, PO Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 2! Northern Flyline December 2017 Notice Board NSFFC FLY DISPLAY For anyone that enjoys a good display or is just fascinated by flies, its time to update the fly display cabinet housed at the NSFFC club rooms. The club is looking for assistance from fly tying supremos to supply up to 4-5 flies each to update the fly display cabinet. Please speak to a committee member if are An early heads up….Some good work from past Secretary Patrick Parisienne has led to NSFFC being allocated the following fundraising sausage sizzle day at Mill Park Saturday 17th February 2018 The club will be looking for volunteers to work the bar-be. The day will require two x four person shifts as a minimum. Northern Suburbs Fly Fishing Club, PO Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 3! Northern Flyline December 2017 Notice Board AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE I am contacting your club to request assistance in a citizen science project of the Australian Museum. I am working with the Museum’s Curator of Fish, Mark McGrouther, who is creating a database of photos of finned fish of Australia and New Zealand, to be used for research and education. Already the project has made several discoveries, all from individuals submitting photos of fish they have encountered. Several of the most significant discoveries were made by sport fishermen, who submitted their photos to the project. You may want to go to the Australian Museum’s Citizen Science website for more information and direction to the current project website. This month we have celebrated our first anniversary of the project, which thanks to citizen volunteers, has grown very rapidly. As I write, we have received over 19,000 images, submitted by over 630 people, covering 1,656 species. We even have five people who have submitted over a 1,000 photos each to the project. We are seeking many more photos and contributors, as the larger the data base becomes, the more valuable it is to scientists. For the past year the majority of photos have come from sport divers, but we have received many from fishermen.The contributions of the fishermen has been very impressive, as they are seeking fish outside the range of sport divers. The Museum would certainly like more photos of fish caught by sport fishermen, which is why I am contacting your club. Recently the Museum produced postcards about the project, which directs interested people to the Museum website and provides information about how to enrol and contribute. We will accept just about any photo of a fish with fins, and if you visit our website, you can see the variety we have collected. Contributors who sign up to the project, must upload their images, show the location of the photo on a map, and submit a suggested identification. We will check the identification, to ensure it’s correct. Could I ask that include the text of this email in your next newsletter or club mailing? I can also send information postcards to your club, if you’d like and provide the best postal address. We would welcome contributions from your members, and offer our database as a useful guide for fish identification. Your assistance would be appreciated and we look forward to seeing a growth in contributions from your club. Regards, Harry Rosenthal [email protected] Northern Suburbs Fly Fishing Club, PO Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 4! Northern Flyline 2017 Trip Reports Noojee Day Trip The annual club trip to the Noojee area took place in November. Five members made their way to Noojee to be pleasantly surprised to find the General Store is under new management. Gone is the burnt bitter beverage that once past as coffee, replace by brew that is very palatable indeed! The Toorongo River rises below Cone Hill within the Mount Toorongo Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, in remote country east northeast of Powelltown. The river flows generally south, joined by one minor tributary and is fed by drainage spilling over the Toorongo Falls, before reaching its confluence with the Latrobe River, near the Mount Baw Baw Road. The river descends 490 metres (1,610ft) over its 12-kilometre course. The river is looking good at this early stage of the season. Water temperature was around 12 deg C, height was very wadeable and the clarity Ok on the day we fished it. There were plenty of small Rainbows in the riffle and close in to the bank side cover. The deeper pools held browns to 30cm, with the odd surprise thrown in…if you can stay connected to them!!! The traditional lunch at the Noojee Pub had to be cut short this year due to a wedding reception having priority over our humble fishing club. Thunder storms cut the afternoon session short as well, but all up Sheldon Litschitz, Chris Commons, Phill Matthews, Chris Bence and I enjoyed the day immensely. It will be on the calendar again next year for sure. Northern Suburbs Fly Fishing Club, PO Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 5! Northern Flyline 2017 Trip Reports Steavenson River The December day trip date was changed to a Sunday at request of members to schedule more Sunday day trips. Eight members were able to make the Sunday event and converged on the Steavenson River after enjoying a breakfast of pies, sausage rolls and coffee at Marysville bakery.