Editorial Committee Members - fly fishing · 2017. 4. 7. · later the sound of a fly reel being stripped of all its line. Damn, this is fun. Yes, if you haven‟t already guessed,

Northern Suburbs Flyfishing Club, P.O. Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au

Northern Flyline February 2012

Committee Members John Smith, President

0437713419

Bill Ogilvie, Vice President

0415327307

Pat Sheridan, Secretary

0419515950

Peter Young, Treasurer

0417116192

Cain Polidano, Editor

0409703296

[email protected] AJ, New Member Contact

0412756992

Brian Aherne, Flytying Coach

0400964169

Paul Milcev, Webmaster

0404818648

Daryl Wallis, Casting Coach

0407822258

John Kruska, Casting Coach

0428531811

Alex Gavric, Trip Co-ordinator

0402830022

Dave Davies, Committee

Editorial If you‟ve read any recent report on environmental threats to our

waterways, you‟d know all about cold water pollution. Cold water

pollution is when water released from deep sections of a reservoir

is colder than the water entering the reservoir, which tips the bal-

ance in favor of cold-water species like trout to the detriment of

native fish. However, you may not have heard about the oppo-

site, „warm water pollution‟. This is what I found on a recent trip

to the King River, below the Willam Hovell dam near Cheshunt,

where despite high water levels, the water temperature was 20

degrees. Sounds odd doesn‟t it?

The answer became clear when talking to Kayakers. The dam was

full and warm surface water was coming down the spillway. This

doesn‟t happen in a normal summer when low inflows keep the

dam below capacity. This is understandable, but a simple solution

would be to release more water from the outlet to prevent warm

surface water spilling over the top. So why not do it? Capacity is

not the issue. According to the Co-operative Research Centre for

Freshwater Ecology, the average summer flow of the King at

Cheshunt is around 40ML/day, which is peanuts compared to

the maximum discharge of the dam outlet, 520ML/day. Electric-

ity generation isn‟t an excuse because the dam doesn‟t have to be

full to turn the turbine, it only has to be within 8 cm of capacity.

The skeptics among us may view this as evidence of efforts to

expand the up-stream range of the endangered Trout Cod. So

much for Inland Waters Recreational Fishing Classification. Cain

In this Edition President‟s page 2 Mudeye who? 10

A Whitewash on Tasmanian lakes 3 Wader Repair 11

Shallow Water Swamp Trout 4 Minutes 13

Currawong Lakes 7

mailto:[email protected]

Northern Suburbs Flyfishing Club, P.O. Box 54, Yarrambat 3091, www.flyfishing.org.au 2


President’s Page

John Smith

I trust everybody had an enjoyable time over the festive period, for those of you who spent time away

welcome back, for those of us who had a "stay-cation" at home hopefully you had good time too.

February guest speaker

The guest speaker for this month is Tony Liparota and Peter Emilan from Hard Core Element rods,

(http:// www.hardcoreelement.com.au). The guys will have some rods on hand to cast and will dis-

cuss among things rod design, building & casting performance.

The year ahead

2012 is shaping up to be a great year for NSFFC. During February we have the Life Members Trophy

and Northern Lights Casting events to contest and a great 4x4 trip to the Upper King River. YOU

DON'T NEED a 4WD, just see the sheet on the notice board and talk to one of the guys driving

up to arrange a lift. If you're short on camping gear, we can find someone to lend you what you need.

In March there is a trip to the Upper Goulburn River staying at Skipworth reserve near Kevington.

Rick Dobson will be a special guest speaker. We should be advised soon if we have been successful in

our bid to host the 2012 Australian Casting Championships, if unsuccessful in that bid the club may

well host the Victorian Titles. The other exciting development has been our endeavors to secure fund-

ing and approval for lights over the casting pool has been successful. All that remains now is the ad-

ministrative issues to get the work under way. Hopefully that won't take too long. Recognition must

go Leff Andropov for his tireless work in making this project a reality, thanks Leff fantastic effort.

Friends moving on

As you may be aware a couple of members have decided to move away from the area. Bill and Marga-

ret Ogilvie have sold their home in Hurstbridge and moved to a new home in Clifton Springs. There

must be something about the Bellarine Peninsular as long time member Dave Davies has also moved

down that way as well. To Bill & Margaret and Dave I wish you all the best and hope you'll stay in

touch by becoming 'country' members.

The fish are on

Over the break I had the chance to put a fly over some distant and local waters. Just before Xmas Pat

Sheridan and I fished a stream in the Licola area. The weather wasn't kind but the fish were certainly

co-operative, at one point I had 4 fish in 6 cast without even taking a step forward! All up we caught

and released about 60 fish in a couple of days fishing.

Daryl kindly invited me along to fish a large dam on one of his relative's farms. We had an insane ses-

sion on the reddies. Double hook ups were the norm, at the end of the day we conservatively esti-

mated we'd caught and released over 200 fish varying in size from tiddlers to 2 pounders!!! Closer to

home I managed to visit a few of the day trip streams in the local area. All are in great condition and

fishing really well, as are the close by lakes, so grab your gear and get into them. Tight Lines!

“ I continually read of men who said they would be just as happy not catching trout as catching them. To me, that even

then sounded like pious nonsense, and rather more of an excuse than a statement of fact. No I want to catch them, and

every time I slip on my waders and put up a fly it is with this in mind”.

Brian Clarke



A Whitewash on Tasmanian Lakes

Frank Boadle

Peter, Norm and I caught the 8.15 am flight, Jetexpress to Hobart. We were met by professional fly

fisher Bob McKinley with his Mitsubishi Pajeero and 16ft plastic boat with 90 HP Suzuki outboard

and electric propulsion system. We journeyed for two hours to Miena on the Great Lake where we

were billeted at the motel/restaurtant.

On the first day we were given some basic fly casting instruction and insect entomology. We were im-

pressed by how quickly he could unload his boat in the water and get moving averaging 10 minutes.

The law on wearing life jackets was strictly enforced and we had two close shaves with hitting under-

water stumps at speed.

The adult Fishing Licence was $34 for seven

days (less for seniors and pensioners) and the

Open Season for Brown Trout waters is from

7th August to 1st May. Bag limits vary for dif-

ferent lakes but generally 12 fish per day and the

minimum length is 220mm. Later that day we

fished Pentlock Lagoon, Little Pine Lagoon and

Woods Lake but the weather was deteriorating

with extreme cold and 30k winds. The brown

trout were finicky with no insect hatches. We

were all fishing with nymphs and indicators. Pe-

ter had seven fish on but lost them all.

On the second day it snowed. Again very little in

the way of insect hatches and no luck. We boated on Bronte lagoon, Woods Lake and Arthurs Lake.

On the third day (still snowing) we fished wet flies at Four Springs Lake and Arthurs Lake. Finally, I

caught a brown trout which fought ferociously. Our restaurant kindly cleaned this fish and cooked it

with a great array of vegetables as an entree.

On the fourth day our Guide Bob was desperate to improve our daily catch and we spent two hours at

Arthurs Lake but to no avail. We found his tuition over the four days excellent and would thoroughly

recommend his services. I am sure our success rate would have been a lot better in normal weather

conditions.

When we returned with Bob and his boat to Hobart on the Thursday morning we took the opportu-

nity to hire a car. We visited the Mona Museum, The Wall and the oldest golf course in Australia-

Ratho at Bothwell. Summing up, a wonderful experience for us all. (Wild Fish Tasmania Bob Mckinley

0418348223).



Shallow Water Swamp Trout

Brian Aherne

Looking along the shallow edge of the lake it was great to see the golden backs and bronze tails of the

fish sticking high into the air. A school of at least twenty fish between five and twelve pounds were

mooching along, busily feeding in the silty shallows. Picking out the biggest fish I quickly cast out my

fly. It landed a couple of feet ahead and slightly past the path that I hoped the fish would take. Letting

the fly sink just enough so that it would be at the fish‟s

level, I gave the line a long steady strip, the fly swam

forward and paused just inches from the fish that was

now speeding up to intercept the fly. That big rubbery

mouth opened up and the fly disappeared. Another strip

of the fly line as I raised the rod and there was an in-

stant explosion of water and mud, then a split second

later the sound of a fly reel being stripped of all its line.

Damn, this is fun.

Yes, if you haven‟t already guessed, or have never given

it a try before, I am talking about carp. Some Americans

have given them the nickname of the “Poor Man‟s Bonefish” for good reason. No other freshwater

fish in Victorian waters has taken me down to the backing except carp. They run hard when hooked

in shallow water and they will even jump at times if you can pull them hard enough in a direction op-

posite to the one they are heading. If there are snags close by watch out because they will fight dirty if

given half a chance.

When and where

Hot, hot and hotter seems to be the way the carp like it. Starting in October right through to when the

weather starts to cool again in April is the best time to be chasing carp. They definitely prefer gentle-

man‟s hours so there is no need to be on the water before 10am and finishing time is usually around

4pm. The hottest part of the day suits them just fine. Outside of these times they will still feed, but I

have found that unless burleyed-up, they can be frustratingly difficult. The more northerly and warmer

the water is, the longer the season lasts, up to a point where they feed well nearly all year long.

Carp have made themselves home in so many waterways that no matter where you head they are

usually nearby. My favourite carp sight fishing destinations are lakes that have lots of arms and

Poor Man‟s Bonefish will test your backing knots



and bays with shallow water in them. Carp are very

fond of warm shallow arms and can be seen feeding

in these areas even when the water seems way too

shallow. A flash of golden scales and the swirl of a

big tail are giveaways. The backwaters that form on

many rivers can also be fished in much the same way.

The Victorian lakes of Eildon, Eppalock, Hume and

Cairn Curran all have massive numbers of carp that

can be targeted by anyone with a bit of time, a fly rod

and some polarized glasses. Many smaller lakes and

housing estate ponds also have large numbers of

carp. The easiest way to find these fish is to have a

look in areas where locals feed bread to the ducks. I

have often seen those bright orange lips suck down a

piece of bread from between a flock of ducks on a pond.

What you need

First thing most need to remember is that you will be fishing in the hottest parts of the day. Take

plenty of water with you and remember your sunscreen, or do as I do, and wear a buff and long sleeve

shirt. I never remember to re-apply sunscreen so a buff suits me and also has the advantage of helping

to keep most of those annoying bush

flies away.

There is no need for any specialty gear

when fishing for carp. The fly gear that

you already have will more than likely

suit just fine. Fly rods rated between a

5wt to 8wt will handle almost any carp

you are likely to hook. When a XOS

fish is hooked a little patience will have

them on the bank even on light gear.

My standard set-up is a 6wt rod with a

weight forward floating line. A heavy

butt 9ft leader that tapers down to

about 10lb will help to turn over flies

that can be cast at fish which are at times very close. I would then add about a foot of tippet to suit

the amount of cover in the water that I am fishing. For a little more excitement you can try chasing

these big fish down with a light 3 weight rod.

What and how they eat

Well there is not really all that much carp will not eat. If there is enough of a food item around carp

will eat it. Seeds, fruit, insects, crustaceans and other small fish are all on the carp‟s menu when they

are available. On one memorable session cows leaving a “deposit” in the water was quickly vacuumed

off the surface by hungry carp. I really did not have the match the hatch fly for that!

Carp are very opportunistic feeders and will take food whatever way they can find it. Most often when

fishing the shallows carp will be seen cruising very slowly in a slight zigzag pattern as they suck up fine

silt in search of food items. Learning to see the plumes of silt left behind as the fish feed will allow

Look for carp where you see kids feeding ducks



you to follow the movement of the fish even when you cannot see them. It makes a big difference

when you can place your fly in the area where the fish is headed. In windy conditions the fish can be

more difficult to spot. Carp will most commonly feed into the wind so the plume of silt trails behind.

This means they are feeding into the

clearer water and gives their lunch less

chance of escaping into murky water. Use

this to your advantage and you will have

your fly end up right in the carp‟s face and

not end up casting the fly at their tails.

In deeper water carp can often be seen

traveling along, but not actively feeding.

These fish can still be persuaded to eat a

fly if it is presented the right way. Getting

the fly close enough without spooking the

fish is the hardest part but if you can man-

age that half the battle is won. The other

half is getting the fly in the path, but

swimming away from a fish that might be changing direction every few feet. When you get the presen-

tation right the carp will come up on the fly already trying to swim away. All they need to do is open

their mouths and all you need to do is wait for them to close it again.

The flies

Because I normally target carp by

sight fishing in very shallow water,

the flies I fish with are very rarely

weighted. A weighted fly will usually

either disappear in the bottom trash

or hook up weed as soon as it

moves. For that reason my favorite

flies have a full palmered body

hackle like a woolly bugger or woolly

worm. The black woolly bugger has

taken hundreds of carp for me over

the last few years. It sinks quite

slowly and even when it does settle

on the bottom the hackle will usually

prevent the hook from catching rub-

bish.

Plenty of other flies will work on

carp, they are generally not fussy and

as long as the fly is presented cor-

rectly they will eat it. Most of the wet

flies in your boxes that you would

normally use on trout will work on

carp although some variations can

help you become more successful. One thing I always try to do is tie my flies using heavy hooks as

What’s on…

February

Thurs 2 General meeting

Thurs 9 Fly tying

Thurs 16 Committee meeting

Sat-Sun 18-19 Pineapple Flat 4WD trip (upper King River)

Thurs 23 Fly tying

Sat 25 Northern Lights Casting Competition

March

Thurs 1 General meeting

Thurs 8 Fly tying

Sat-Mon 10-12 Skipworth Reserve, Upper Goulburn

Thurs 15 Committee meeting

Sat-Sun 18-19 Upper King river 4WD trip

Thurs 22 Fly tying

Sat 25 President‟s Shield

Thurs 29 Film night at the clubrooms

Carp actively feed in warm shallow water



carp will straighten light wire hooks. The flies I most often have on the end of my leader are woolly

buggers in black, olive or brown. Woolly worms in the same colours with red wool tails, damsel fly

nymphs and a variety of chironomid patterns. As I said earlier, these patterns are all tied un-weighted.

If heavier flies are needed for fish in deeper water the above patterns weighted will all work as well as

Clouser swimming nymphs, Egan‟s headstands and Carp

crack. The patterns for all these flies can be found on the

web.

There are not many places I can go where I can sight cast

to fish that average six pounds or more, that are in great

numbers and will readily take a fly. The fact that I can

find fishing like this within 15 minutes of home in Mel-

bourne, just makes it even better. With all the water we

have had in the last 18 months, the carp population has

exploded. Get out there and have some fun chasing these

fish. Even better, getting kids started in fly fishing by tar-

geting carp is a great idea. Casting at fish they can see

makes a huge difference to the amount of time they stay interested.

No matter what you think of carp anyone who has given them a go on fly gear cannot deny that they

are fantastic challenge and a great way of learning to target and handle a host of more exotic species,

maybe for when the chance to do that trip of a lifetime to far away destinations eventually comes

around. Now is the right time to be chasing carp. Get out there and have some fun.

Currawong Lakes

Leon Wilson

Early December last year, myself and my two eldest sons Brett and Paul made a weekend trip to a pri-

vate fishery called Currawong lakes in north eastern Tasmania. At the Tulla airport I bumped into an

old acquaintance and fellow club member Trif Tzaros. Trif was on the same flight and heading for the

central plateau of Tassie for a weeks fishing with a mate of his from Adelaide.

I first met Trif on a trip to New Zealand along with Ray Toohey and Glen Cox (who I work with)

back in 2000, so it was good to catch up.

About Currawong Lakes

Currawong Lakes is managed as an exclusive private estate of 3000 acres nestled amongst the State

Forest of Tasmania's East Coast Highlands. This, combined with their policy of limiting guest num-

bers at any one time ensures that guests have complete privacy and a quite exclusive experience.

Spring and Summer are the ideal times for fly fishing on their three lakes, Currawong Lake (top lake),

Long Marsh Lake (middle lake) and Lake Macquarie (bottom lake), which are home to a carefully

managed rainbow and brown trout fishery.

The fishery is managed to provide their clients with a premium fly fishing experience. Currawong

Lakes boasts exceptional hatches of aquatic and terrestrial insect life. Dry fly fishing is available on

most days on at least one of their three lakes, whatever the wind direction or weather conditions.

Beats feeding ducks bread



The hatches of Red Spinners start in late October and continue on until the end of the Tasmanian

trout season in late March. The fish population is carefully managed to provide a healthy head of fish

in a range of weight classes from an average of two and a half to three pounds right up to trophy class

specimens.

We arrived at Currawong Lakes at about 4:30pm

Friday after the 1 ½ hr drive from Launceston

Airport. On arrival, Fiona (one of the managers)

told us they had been having bleak weather, in-

cluding a big hail storm and minus 3 degrees the

day before.

The weather was not too bad on our arrival but

still cold. Our accommodation looked good, but

we were all keen to hit the Lakes.

We headed down to the main lake directly below

the cabin and it wasn‟t long before Paul was into

a good fish. A couple of hours fishing saw us

catch and release 4 fish all above 2 ½ lb, with us

all missing a few others.

Saturday and Sunday saw similar weather with balaclavas being the order of the day, and unfortunately

it was far to cold for a hatch. We caught a couple of fish on dries near the evening on Saturday, but

apart from that, the rest were caught on wets,

mainly on Montanas, brown nymphs and Wool-

ley Buggers.

The tally landed was 53 fish between the three of

us over the two days fishing, with the majority

being around the 2 ½ to 3lb mark. A handful

came in over four pound, with the best fish by

Paul just tipping the scale over 5lb. Paul also lost

one well above the 5lb mark. Only about ½

dozen fish were below the 2lb mark so it is a lot

of fun.

All three lakes have their own different qualities

with excellent weed beds and easy wading.

For a couple of bucks extra they put on a sensational BBQ for us on Sunday afternoon, which topped

off the weekend perfectly.

The fish we caught were fairly evenly split between brown and rainbows with the majority in good

knick, and were great fighting fish. If you could time it right and get a mayfly hatch, I would imagine it

would be sensational fishing.

It was a good weekend albeit expensive (two days fish & accommodation at $465 per head), which is a

lot, but considering the standard of fishing is worth it. My sons think it is the best, they reckon it is

better than a week in NZ for about the same cost. I just need another quaddie to be able to afford

another trip there!

Paul and Brett with a couple of nice fish from Lake Macquiarie

Leon with a Long Marsh fish



4x4 Trip to Pineapple Flat on the Upper King River, Sat. 18-Sun. 19 (or

Mon. 20) of February BYO camping gear, food, water and toilet paper. There is a long drop toilet at the camp ground. There are

various 4WD tracks in the area, Visit Craigs Hut at Clear Hills or just go fishing. Trip Captain is Peter Cog-don 0418 360 757

Getting there:

Meet at the Clubrooms car park at 6.45am on Saturday 18th. We will be departing at 7am sharp, so

don‟t be late. We will travel in convoy to Mansfield for a morning coffee break, from there we will

take the Mount Buller Road to Mirimbah, then turn left onto Mt Sterling Road and drive to Tele-

phone Box Junction. After which we will turn onto Circuit Road to King Basin Road on the left, drop

down into the valley and cross the King River to Pineapple Flat. Maps will be provided

Don’t have a 4WD:

If you would like to come on this trip but don‟t have a 4WD, put your name on the white board in the

Clubrooms and we will find a seat in one of the vehicles for you.

Fishing:

Because of the isolation of the River in this area, the fishing should be good, (but not guaranteed). The usual flies such as Red Tags, Humpy‟s, Royal Wullf‟s, Stimulators Para Duns and Nymphs should all work well.

Upper Goulburn Trip Streamcraft Trip, Skipworth Reserve Camping

Ground, March 10-12 This was an annual Club trip for many years on the Australia Day Holiday long weekend. Many of the

long term Club members have cut their fly fishing teeth on this trip over the years. Skipworth Reserve

approx. 5km‟s out of Jamieson on the Wood‟s Point Road. The preferred route is via Mansfield, then

head south to Jamieson. Camping with no facilities other than pit toilets. Beginners are encouraged to

attend this trip, as there are usually plenty of fish in the River. We will endeavour to buddy you up

with a more experienced member to fish with, for at least part of the weekend if possible.

BYO everything. Meals and Ice can be obtained at the Kevington Pub approx. 4kms upstream from

Skipworth Reserve. Trip Captain is Glen Cox, 0438 807 296.

Fishing:

Access is excellent as the Woods Point Road follows the river for approx. 20 kms upstream of Skip-worth Reserve. However, this is both a blessing and a curse as the river can dirty up quickly from run-off from the road if it rains. Access to the Jamieson River and the eastern shores of Lake Eildon and even the Howqua River are also within easy reach of the camp ground.

Your usual arsenal of summer dry flies such as Red Tags, Geehi Beetles, Royal Wulffs, Humpys, Stimulators and Para Duns are the go at this time of year on the Upper Goulburn along with a few bead head nymphs if the fish are not looking up.



Mudeye who?

AJ

Having turned my fly fishing focus to lakes recently, I have enjoyed one of the best night time fishing

for mudeye feeders. I find that lake fishing is extremely hard compared to river fishing and you really

need to have a very good knowledge about the lake and its behaviour to be successful. Direction of

the wind is one important factor as you would always want

the wind blowing from behind for easy casting (there are

some exceptions) and the quality of fishing can be dictated

by it. So far, a warm northerly has been good to me, cold

southerly winds are the days when I went home empty

handed. It has taken me quite a few trips up and down the

Western freeway to Melbourne‟s west to finally catch one of

these mudeye feeding trout. So, one might question how to

gather this “knowledge” that helps you succeed. Well, my

answer to that question is to keep fishing one particular lake

that interests you the most over and over again to build it

up. Or you can cheat it and go along with someone who knows the lake better! In this case I took a

good mixture of the two.

I knew nothing about mudeyes and thought I would bore everyone and dig out some information

about these amazing creatures. There are two main types of mud-

eyes. The more common spider or bug mudeye and the less com-

mon and larger version called couta mudeyes. Their lifecycle be-

gins after the adult dragonfly drops its fertilized eggs onto the

water. A few weeks later the mudeye nymphs emerge, which may

be only a few millimetres long, but within a few months they can

grow to about 30 – 50mm.

The most common time for this activity is the spring and sum-

mer months. Mudeye migrations occur when the matured

nymphs begin their journey to lake shores, so that they can com-

plete the metamorphosis and moult into the large dual-winged

dragonflies. Depending on the weather conditions and moon

phases, they can migrate in huge numbers. When conditions are

right they crawl about looking for high ground, sticks, rocks and

other structure. In most lakes, rocky banks or bays that have

plenty of structures protruding out of the water surface are all

ideal place to set you up for the night. If you see dead trees with

mudeye shucks like the one below, then you are in business.

Trout will gorge themselves on these clumsy bugs and it is this

time all the fly fishos can get excited about.

The best time to fish is well after dark on warm barmy nights and

very early the following morning before first light. Mudeye move-

ment is in a short, jerky motion as they eject jets of water from

the anus to propel along, hence small jerky retrieves or very slow

continuous retrieves are adopted by most fly fishermen. One can



just leave the fly pattern in the water and not re-

trieve it at all. Try mixing things up as you go along

if one method is not working.

This activity brings all the big fish out and a great

time can be had on the water. Now to the most

important question; what flies did I use? I tied

some of my mudeye patterns using 2mm foam

sheets and cut them in to a shape of a mudeye,

added some rubber legs and finished with a bit of

dubbing. Other common types are muddler-type

flies I tied using deer hair. I have caught trout on

both floating foam flies and the muddlers that sit

just under the water column. Don‟t forget to tie

them on wet fly hooks which are much stronger. I had a few incidents where my dry fly hooks didn‟t

cut it. I ended up with straightened hooks and disappointment. A good lesson was learned the hard

way, so „never again‟ I said to myself and tied more flies using Blackmagic B10‟s. Trout can be big so I

opted for a 7lb tippet on a 9 foot fluorocarbon leader. I was fishing with a 5WT, 9 foot rod, which is

an all-round rod in my opinion.

The fish pictured above was about 3 pounds and caught on the foam mudeye fly. She put up a good

fight and released unharmed to catch on another day. I have seen some fish caught by other anglers

that had fresh mudeyes, in excess of 50, in their guts! So when you get a chance go and get one of

these mudeye feeding trout, something I have pencilled in my diary for every year from now on!

Now back to streams and fishing with hoppers. Tight lines.

Wader repair

John Smith

After saving the required amount of money I finally purchased my first pair of "Breathable" waders, a

pair of Simms Freestone stocking foots. Not the top of the Simms range but the best I could afford.

The first trip to try them out was the club 4 Wheel Drive Trip to Sheep Yard Flat in June a few years

ago. It was great to be warm and dry in the near freezing water. However on the second session of the

trip I slipped backwards on a rock and fell into some bank side snags, not long after I felt that de-

pressing cold dampness on my back side, yep I'd put a bloody hole in my brand new waders. Oh well

off to Ricks when I got back and he happily fixed them up for a couple of bucks...no problem.

Some time later Pat Sheridan and I did a three day walk in back pack trip to the Big River, no worries

getting in but on the way out we had to bush bash through some very tall, very, very thick stands of

Scotch Thistle. You could feel the sharp prickles even through the reinforced knees of the waders.

The next fishing trip confirmed the worst; my waders were now about as water proof as a kitchen col-

ander!

Some advice from John Kruska, a quick down load of a you tube video and I was in business to fix

my waders myself. $50 bucks and two large tubes of aquaseal later, the waders were water proof once

more, but probably not as "breathable" as they used to be! I tend to fish in some out of the way

3 pound rainbow caught on a foam mudeye



places, black berry, thistle and all manner of other thorny shrubbery guarding the honey hole fishing

spots.

Breathable waders are great, light weight, cooler to

work in during the summer, but they are not as ro-

bust as neoprenes or poly vinyls when it comes to

charging head long through bank side noxious vege-

tation. Clearly I had to come up with a better

method of fixing my waders... a large tube of aq-

uaseal every few trips was good for the makers of

the stuff, but not much good for me!

This article will focus on repairing breathable waders

(namely Simms) but the method can be used on any

type of waders.

First off you need the following items of equipment

and products:

a. a bottle of Isocol (or any iso-propyl alcohol);

b. a small spray bottle;

c. a soft pencil or fine permanent marker;

d. a small clean glass jar or tin;

e. an old table fork;

f. a clean paddle pop stick or skewer;

g. a tube of copolymer sealant (I use Selleys All Clear);

h. a small tin of automotive thinners; and

i. some rubber gloves.

Finding the hole... er holes

As I mentioned before this article will focus on fixing

your breathable (Simms) waders, the best way to find a

hole in these is turn them inside out & lay them out flat

on a table. Using the spray bottle and iso-propyl alco-

hol, liberally spray them with an even coat of alcohol and

leave them for a minute or so. The holes will show up as

small black dots against the light coloured inner layer of

material, larger holes may appear like an ink blot (see the

pictures over page).

Using the pencil or fine marker, draw a circle or other

distinguishing shape around the black dot to mark its

location (see picture over page). Once the iso-propyl al-

cohol dries, the black dots disappear. Turn your waders

over and repeat the process on the other side. You'll be surprised how many holes you find on the

backs of the legs!

What you need.



If you use neoprenes or polyvinal waders you may have to fill the legs with water to locate the holes.

Once you've found them, mark the holes and allow the waders to dry thoroughly before proceeding to

repair the holes.

Mixing the sealant

Thinners has a strong smell and is highly flammable, make sure you work in a well ventilated area,

away from any sources of ignition, eg naked flame, sparks etc and certainly don't "durry up" when re-

pairing your waders using this method!

Squeeze approximately 20ml (table spoon) of the co-polymer sealant into the jar or tin, do not use Sili-

cone based or other types of sealant or adhesives. Next add about 10ml of thinners. Using the fork

break up the sealant and continue to mix it into the thinners. You'll find it may go into lumpy balls at

first...this is ok, use the fork tines to break down the balls and continue to mix the two together.

Continue to vigorously stir the mix until it turns cloudy and becomes the consistency of cold honey.

You may have to add small amounts of thinners or sealant to the mix to achieve the right consistency.

Don‟t worry about the cloudy appearance it will dry clear. It may take a few minutes or so to achieve

the correct consistency, be patient and ensure the sealant is thoroughly mixed into the thinners.

Applying the sealant mix

Using the skewer, paddle pop stick or even your gloved finger, take a small amount of sealant, (say a

blob about the size of a pea) and rub it well into the fabric, spreading it out to cover an area of a 10

cent piece for small "pin prick" holes. If the hole showed up as an "ink blot" apply enough sealant to

extend well past the edges of the indicated stain.

Larger holes look like ink blots

Holes show-up as black dots

Use A Soft (5B) Pencil To Mark "Holes"

Waders laid flat, ready to be sprayed



Continue to apply sealant to all the holes you marked. The sealant in the jar or tin will stay workable

for about 15 minutes, but it "tacks off" on the wader material fairly quickly. Once the sealant on the

wader has become tacky, apply another thin coat over the top of

the first, this will ensure the hole is completely sealed. Remember

this stuff is cheap as chips to make so you can afford to be more

liberal than you would if using Aqua Seal!

Note; if you're repairing a pair of poly vinyl waders it will be nec-

essary to roughen the area to be repaired so the sealant sticks to

the wader material. Use fine sand paper (400grit) or steel wool to

scuff the repair area.

Leave the waders lying flat until the sealant dries fully. This usu-

ally takes a few hours depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, but I generally leave mine

over night. Once one side is dry, mix up a new batch of sealant, and fix the other side if need be.

Cleaning Up

Clean up is pretty straight forward, scrap any unused sealant out of the mixing jar or tin and drop it in

a bin. Use a small amount of thinners to rinse out the jar and clean your mixing fork. Make sure you

dispose of any thinners used for cleaning in a safe manner.

Conclusion

So there you have it, wader repair made easy. While the initial expense of a small tin of thinners (about

$15) and a tube of sealant (about $10) may be a little more than a big tube of aqua seal, you'll now

have enough material to make sealant until you wear the stocking feet off your Simms, or the boots

off your other waders!! Plus knock over some of those brownie point jobs around the house! Keep an

eye out for a follow up article on how to repair bigger tears in waders. Tight Lines.

Minutes of the General Meeting, 1st December 2011 8:00pm –8:45pm

Apologies: -

Visitors:

Geoff Hall

Nominations:

Sean O‟Callaghan, Chris Swadling, Michael Dean, Lewis Chapman

General Meeting Minutes:

The Minutes of the last General Meeting were accepted as read, on a motion from the Secretary and

seconded by AJ.

Business Arising: -

Treasurers Report:



Balance of $7538.00 in the cheque account.

Rolled over a term deposit in addition to another $2000.00

The Treasurers Report was accepted as read, on a motion from the Treasurer and seconded by Glen

Cox.

Correspondence In and Out

As per the Correspondence Register

Fishing reports:

Eucumbene – 285 fish between 2 from Glen Cox‟s

work.

Brook trout in Rubicon caught by Patrick Thomson‟s

mate.

Ted Smith, Kiewa – late evening, Kossy duns every

night 3 - 4 fish. 2lb trout on two consecutive nights.

Very hard fishing during the day. Fish from pondage

were full of green caddis grubs.

Greg Roberts – Was on the King Parrott for a few

hours and landed a couple, lost a couple and missed a

couple, all on dry. A visit to Anglers Rest resulted in

6caught and missed the same.

Dave – got a couple on Thredbo and on Swampy all on

nymph.

Liam Fish – good termite hatches on King Parrott, best a 42 cm brown.

John Smith – King Parrott up to 34 cm

Chris Swadling – Visited the Rubicon and got a 36cm around the dams. Fish in every pool around

30cm.

General business:

GC nominated for position on Committee, Seconded – Ted Smith – All in favour – Carried

Norm King passed on his thanks to all involved with the 40th Anniversary celebration

Resignation of Bill Ogilvie as Vice President.

Cox-Connell Casting Competition – Chris Swadling

Proposal – J. Smith – To amend the By-Laws and Protocols paragraph 12, sub-paragraph 12.1(k) to

abolish the collection of $2.00 Rod Fees with the cost of trophies to be borne by General Club Funds.

Seconded – W. Ogilvie

27 for, 1 against - Carried

Ted – propose have Annual dinner at club rooms, under consideration by committee.

WARM WADERS

NeoS Waders made to measure

Wetsuit boots, gloves, and

Jett heated-vests

Repair and service of all brands

Pressurised leak detection

OCEANSUITS

3/101 Wedgewood Rd, Hallam

Phone: 9702 4993

Documents

Editorial Committee Members - fly fishing · 2017. 4. 7. · later the sound of a fly reel being stripped of all its line. Damn, this is fun. Yes, if you haven‟t already guessed,