Eildon - The Good, The Bad & The Elderly...

Eildon Region Club Trip

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The weather was great as five intrepid MPFF’rs headed up to the Eildon Pondage all arriving about midday on Friday 14th. There was much cursing as our group of campers tried to drive pegs into soil the consistency of dried concrete. After setting up camp everyone headed off in all directions to find some fishy water. What a”bummer” – the pondage at its peak and the Goulburn running a banker – never been seen that high before, by any of the team! We made a few attempts to fish the pondage and then retired to camp to formulate a battle plan for Saturday accompanied by a cold beverage.

Eildon pondage close to full. March 2014.

Eildon pondage close to full. March 2014.

Saturday dawned another beautiful day and it was off to Big River. Sam, Terry, Frank and Pete were first to arrive - Steve and Russ “tail end charlies” so they moved on down river and the battle began. Terry caught 3 on the Taponga, Steve caught 3 on Big River whilst Russ caught one and dropped one - all before lunch. After lunch not a fish was sighted anywhere!

Peter casting at Eildon Pondage.

Peter casting at Eildon Pondage.

Saturday night “huey” turned on a thunder and lightning show to be believed and to finish it off torrents of rain and a huge water run-off through the campsite. As luck would have it our small group had gathered in the camp kitchen undercover with ample provisions to wait out the flood.

Sunday saw most rivers on the rise and dirty water was abundant. Steve and Russ fished the Steavenson after looking at a number of spots on the return home—but in the end coffee and a pie at Marysville seemed the best option.

Eildon - The Good, The Bad & The Elderly...

Eildon – The Good, The Bad & The Elderly…

Devilbend Casting Day

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In windy but otherwise pleasant conditions fourteen members attended our first casting day at Devilbend Reserve.

Some of the team in our new Event Shelter

Some of the team in our new Event Shelter

All members assisted in providing tuition to approximately 15 people including a number of juniors. Sam set up a casting area with hoops to cast at and was particularly patient with a number of juniors who were present at family BBQ’s and found their way to our display. Bob tied a number of indicators for use on members rods and we were glad he brought fly tying equipment to make some more after we had exhausted his initial supply of a dozen. There was great interest from a select group of people who had been specifically invited as a result of website enquiries and it looks as though we will pick up between 4 – 6 new members for our efforts today.

Casting Area at Devilbend

Casting Area at Devilbend

The day concluded around 1.00 pm with everybody partaking of a BBQ sausage sizzle and  cool drink.

Overall, members unanimously rated the day as successful both from a club promotion perspective as well as the enjoyment and camaraderie of getting together for the first club event for the year.

Looking forward to the next one in May!

More photos from the day on the Gallery page.

Tasmania 2014

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An enthusiastic team of nine members assembled on the “Spirit of Tasmania” for the annual club trip to the Central Highlands Lakes in Tasmania. Spirits were as usual high in anticipation of the week ahead and after a smooth crossing the team rendezvoused in Deloraine for the purchase of fresh supplies. Weather was warm, sunny and windy and this was unfortunately indicative of the conditions for the entire week - great if you were touring but certainly not ideal for fishing!

After arrival at Tiger Hut and settling into the familiar surroundings teams went off to try their luck.

The first fish of the trip was caught by Alf at Lake Botsworth and others had success in the hard wading Lake Kay.

An intrepid team of Andrew, George and Sandy had resolved before the trip to walk into Lake Fergus, overnight camp and fish, and return the next day. The weather conditions seemed best on the Sunday/Monday as overnight temperatures were to remain warm and ideal for camping out. Unfortunately this meant the daytime temperatures were warm and hence the walk in and out proved somewhat hot and tiring. Nevertheless within minutes of arriving George caught the first fish and anticipation was high for a great catch. This did not turn out to be the case but all three participants in the “Broke-back” experience rated Lake Fergus a great prospect.

The remainder of the week saw a variety of lakes fished - wading, off the bank, float tubing and boating - with varying success.

Overall, the week on the lakes resulted in a total of 26 fish (most caught at Lake Kay) and only three members of the team fishless.

Next year’s trip has been booked - this time a month later - trying for some cooler weather and possibly better fishing.

Refer to the Gallery page for photos from the trip.

Merrijig Team 2013

Merrijig 2013

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Eleven members attended the annual Merrijig weekend fishing the Delatite and Howqua Rivers – with some venturing further afield.

Wading Howqua

Howqua River

Friday night saw some venture down to the Delatite around the vicinity of the bridge where a couple landed fish, before returning to the accommodation at Victoria Police Ski Club. After dinner members engaged in the usual fishing banter and as usual the stories got taller with the consumption of a few convivial drinks.

Saturday morning members moved off in groups to fish their selected spots full of anticipation for a great day’s fishing ahead. There were lots of campers by the rivers but very few fishers – an ominous sign for the day ahead! Despite a hard day’s wading and trying a number of presentations nobody managed to even see a fish – let alone land one.

Merrijig Team 2013

Merrijig Team 2013 on the terrace

Saturday evening was spent in pleasant company around the lounge exchanging fishing tales before heading to bed for an early night.

Sunday, after the clean-up was done members moved in various directions to fish other rivers on the way home.

Another great Club Weekend – despite the disappointing lack of fish.

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Pro-Angler Movie nights

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Gavin is hosting movie nights at his Bentleigh Shop. These are great nights with lots of food, drink and gifts.

See the attached flyer -  Pro-Angler_2013_Movie_nights

2013 One Fly

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One Fly

Seventeen members took up the competition challenge and headed to the Alpine Trout Farm at Noojee on Saturday, September 21st for the annual club One Fly. The competition took place in two sessions with half the group fishing whilst the other half acted as stewards to measure the catch. There were plenty of fish in the pond and members were soon practising their “take” technique and landing all varieties of fish (including browns, rainbows and brook trout) to be measured by the stewards. The recorder was kept busy with some members taking over 15 fish in the 90 min session.

After the morning session the group gathered for a delicious BBQ lunch and a few convivial drinks.

President Russell shows us how.

President Russell shows us how.

The afternoon session was just as action packed - especially when some of the anglers discovered the outlet drain from the shop where a large number of fish were pooling to feed.

The eventual winner after a “gentleman’s agreement” was declared to be Peter Cattermole who landed a 48cm fish, runner-up was Mark Scheimer also with a 48 cm fish and Jon Klarenbeek came in third place with a 47 cm fish.

The placegetters were presented with prizes sponsored and supplied by Gavin and the ProAngler team. These were a 1-2 wt rod, 4 wt reel, and a roll of fly line.

All present commented on what a great fun day it was - blessed with warm sunny weather, fantastic fellowship, a picturesque venue and scrumptious food. All present are looking forward to a return bout next year albeit with some modified rules.

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September meeting at Pro Angler

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Our next meeting on Thursday September 26th is the annual Trade night at Pro Angler shop 489 South Rd (Cnr South & Jasper Roads)
Bentleigh.

Gavin and his team will be promoting their latest range and showing some videos of his latest trip.

Club discounts will be offered across the range so now is the time to set yourself up for the new trout season at reduced prices.

Food and drink provided.