Whilst my movements have been severely restricted by a twisted knee other Club members have been gallivanting around the countryside chasing fish despite the high rainfall causing adverse conditions in our rivers for most of last month. See Rodney’s, Phil’s and David’s reports in the following pages.

To avoid a severe case of “cabin fever” I’ve used the time to catch up on reading and re-reading various fishing books. One of the most interesting and informative is now almost 50 years old and I had forgotten how great it was. If anyone has a copy of Rodger Hungerford’s Freshwater Fishing in Australia and New Zealand, I suggest they pry open those 520 discoloured pages and check the contents again. To those who do not possess a copy I suggest they borrow one or keep checking ebay for the occasional one that may crop up for sale.

I have just received the 99th Edition of Flylife Magazine. The next Centennial Edition means that this iconic magazine will be twenty five years old. Flylife has probably been more responsible for the increased popularity of flyfishing in Australia than any other periodical. I started indexing the regular fly tying articles a couple of years ago intending to make that index available to members on the google group site. My attention strayed to other interests and projects and the index was neglected until recently. I hope to have that index completed shortly after I receive the 100th Edition arrives and hopefully it will assist members to locate a particular fly without having to search through all their back copies. Murphy’s Law always decrees that the article you seek will be in the last magazine you check.

Ken Holley finally succeeded in convincing Dawn and Ron to attend the Bronte Fly Fishing School held in Tasmania early this January and their story and pictures might influence a few more of our members to attend.

Should any members wish to check out the areas where our Club has released fingerlings during the last three years or, even better, tempted to explore some of the areas mentioned in “The Way It Was”, please contact me if they require assistance by way of 1:25000 maps of those areas. Google Earth and Google Maps are wonderful resources on your home computer but I find them difficult to use on the small screen of an iphone or Navman when “on the ground” in an unfamiliar and fairly remote area. I have found that the use of these apps or a GPS is often greatly enhanced if supplemented by detailed topographic maps. Also, if not accompanied by another vehicle, the Club has Personal Locator Beacons for member’s use and safety. See our helpful gear steward.

Good fishing (is there any other kind?)

Iain

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