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T H E F L Y D R E S S E R S ’ G U I L D
T H E F L Y D R E S S E R S ’ G U I L D
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING A reminder that the AGM is on 4th January 2018, followed by a quiz
This is your chance to let us know what you want from the Branch.
With the AGM coming up, the following might be relevant:
The Branch by John Hyde
When you join an association society or guild, Just pause for a while as your form’s being filled And think what becoming a Member entails - Don’t turn out to be one more Member who fails.
It’s not just the cost of your annual fee, But attending the Branch Instead of TV, Of actively helping to arrange Club “do’s” And not opting out whenever you choose.
Don’t say all decisions are made by the few Get on the committee and state your own view; Don’t slate Club officials from behind their backs Be honest and face them when grinding the axe.
Drum up fellow members when interests lag Don’t say “not tonight, it’s too much of drag”, Or “there’s gardening and painting and lots more
to do” A Branch is made up of such Members as you.
Remember the comradeship found when abroad That - and hard work - then the future’s assured, So please do your bit, be it large, be It small Without you, my friend, there’d be no Branch at
all.
CONGRATULATIONS! The Chairman presented Guild award badges and certificates for fly-tying at the meeting on 16
th November as follows:-
Silver Nathan Winter, Simon Rickard & Tony Kaatze Bronze Susannah Pattinson, Andy Wood and David Worsfold (in absentia)
JONATHON GLOVER TROPHY
It’s that time of year again when we ask you to consider which person has done the most in terms of Branch activities and left an impression on you during the last year. The last three winners are excluded – Chris Nunn, Ray Love and Nathan Winter. Send your vote to the Secretary by email to [email protected] or on a piece of paper folded / sealed with your vote. This can be collected by anyone on the committee who will get them to him in time to get the Trophy ready for presentation at the AGM.
FLY-TYING COMPETITION This year we have not followed the Main Guild patterns as they are slightly esoteric and not readily allied to our tying classes. Nevertheless we would encourage all to have a go at them (or at least one of them) as there is undoubtedly talent enough in the Branch to get among the winners! Our Rules are: a. Novice – for those having no more than one
year’s experience b. Intermediate – for those having no more
than three year’s experience c. Open – for any Branch member d. Salmon – for any Branch member e. Saltwater/Pike – for any Branch Member Members may enter for any class above their lowest qualifying standard. The patterns for this year are: Novice Gold-head Gold Ribbed
Hare’s Ear #10 Intermediate Teeny Nymph #12 Open Copper John #16 Saltwater Clouser Minnow #6 Salmon Ally’s Shrimp #8 PATTERNS ARE SHOWN ON PAGE 4 (and attached to members’ newsletters). Contact Roy Gurney for hard copies of pattern guides. Three identical samples of each fly should be submitted by Thursday 15
th March 2018 to
Paul Bond or Alan Middleton
Sussex Branch
Newsletter
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7
TARPON FISHING and flyfishing in tropical climes
Members enjoyed one of the most entertaining speaker evenings on 2
nd November when Simon
Young and Gary Poole from Crawley Fly Fishers showed a side of our hobby that very few of us will experience, but by the end of the evening most of us were wishing we had the chance! Their enthusiasm and commitment to their venture gave us a truly entertaining talk that came in three distinct phases flowing well into each other. Simon’s briefing on suitable clothing and protection gave an insight into how harsh the marine environment can be and led on to them showing us the appropriate tackle, including large reels holding 4-500 metres of braided backing which gave them a chance of landing the sizeable tarpon they were targeting. Gary then stressed the need for long and accurate casting and demonstrated the techniques demanded by the boats they use; he also emphasised the need to strike horizontally two or three times to stand a chance of a good hook hold. The talk was completed by Simon tying a superb pattern of the bait fish they use and included the forming of Mylar cones to create a larger profile, a method I have never seen before (you are never too old to learn!). The evening was a great success and hopefully will be repeated as their adventures continue.
Brian Hendry
Hurst Festival 2017 We were invited to demonstrate fly tying and fly casting at the Hurstpierpoint Festival. Branch members including Bill Smith, Tony Woolnough, Brian Smart, Tony Kaatze, Andy Wood and Brian Hendry set up the tent on Sunday 17
th September.
Brian Smart set out the course with some target rings at various optimistic distances, whilst our demonstrators got to work in the tent. The weather was fine and dry with a slight breeze, ideal for casting. Brian Smart coached a mixture of young and old who took up the challenge to cast to the targets with varying degrees of success. Considerable interest was shown in the fly tying with the usual list of questions. Some of the demonstrators also had a go at the casting with Brian, identifying their many faults! At the end of the day a good time was had by all including first class catering by Tony Kaatze’s wife. Subsequently we received a letter of thanks from the Organisers, so we must have done something right!
Tony W
CHARITY PAIRS 2017 Several of our usual reservoir anglers were unavailable to compete this year so we were down to just three pairs, plus four boats from the North Kent Branch. Together we launched into Bewl Water in friendly weather conditions; no rain, gentle breeze and light cloud. The fishing reports from the Bewl staff told us that the fishing had been difficult with most fish taken deep down in the main bowl. After several hours trying all depths and flies varying from small buzzers to large minkies, my boat partner Andy Wood had nothing and my contribution was one fish on for five seconds then lost! Eventually we cut our losses and motored to the far end of Hook Straight. The water level was low with large areas of exposed banks which offered opportunities to ground the propeller but there were some signs of piscatorial activity. Me first and then Andy were soon into a fish each; both full finned roach! This was to be our only success of the day. The trout were clearly chasing fry but none of our imitations were successful. Finally we went back to the fishing lodge only to find that most of the other anglers had done as well as us. If at the start of any competition at Bewl somebody had told me that I would catch one fish less than Ray Burt I would be very happy indeed. Ray, however, netted just one! As it may be guessed, Ray and partner Martyn Gray won the branch Charity Shield, but Stephen Hardy and his partner John Dunmall were winners overall with five fish for 13 lb 3 oz. Some of the best boat anglers that regularly fish Bewl had only managed 13 fish between 14 anglers. Most of these were caught by Stephen Hardy fishing pheasant tail nymphs amongst the fry-feeding trout at the Rosemary Lane end of Hook Straight. The good news was that the trout were of a good size and that, together with a donation from the Sussex FDG, £100 was raised for Stephen's chosen charity - St.Christopher's Hospice. John Plowman
SUBSCRIPTION REMINDER
YET ANOTHER GENTLE PROD TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE YET TO FORK OUT YOUR SUBS FOR THE NEW SEASON.
Please let Roy Gurney have your subscriptions for the Branch (and main Guild if you renew through the Branch) as soon as possible. Don’t forget - if you don’t renew now, you will not receive further copies of the “Flydresser”, be able to enter Guild competitions or be eligible for insurance cover provided by the Guild, If you can’t get down on Thursdays, his address is:
29 Capel Avenue, Peacehaven, BN10 8NB
Chairman’s Chat You may recall that I chatted about a lake we were engaged to design, when I ran through the various requirements to be met - Planning Approval, Environment Agency Approval and extraction licence to name but a few. I must have been tempting fate; a more difficult problem has arisen. The farm is in the joint ownership of a father and his son. Which is OK but they have different ideas about the new lake design. We produced a design following consultation with the son, had the site surveyed, drew up a draft plan including islands, planting, bills of quantities and contract documents. The difficulty was balancing the cut and fill quantities, which we managed to achieve, with difficulty. Now the father is requesting a re-design consisting of a small plain square with surrounding embankment, pointing out that “farmland is worth £10,000 per acre and should not be wasted”. We think this design will be unacceptable to the Planning Authority, reduce the number of pegs at the corners and be an unattractive venue for anglers. We have now thrown all our toys out of the cot so to speak and will not carry a third design without written instructions agreed by both owners and we reserve the right to charge additional fees. That should put the cat among the pigeons! I know you cannot wait, so I will keep you posted.
Tony W
iFISH 2017 No doubt a fuller report will be forthcoming for the January newsletter, but I would like to give my own personal reflections on the event. The new location in the Norfolk Pavilion was a great improvement, being favourably remarked upon by several exhibitors and visitors alike. There was a lively atmosphere in pleasant surroundings with plenty of varied attractions. Maybe it was the unseasonable sunny weather (with possibly the last chance to do the garden before the winter, or the wife wanting to make the most of it for a day out) but the numbers of visitors seemed to satisfy the exhibitors who all said they would be back. The most heartening news was from the tying demonstration room on the upper floor (from which one could look out on the casting clinic and demonstration), where the tyers were busy all day talking to visitors and explaining their techniques. The “tie your first fly” bench was also popular – one delighted youngster of about eight years old proudly showing us his very well tied PTN on his way out. John Plowman should be proud of his protégé! Apart from being sat in the coldest, draughtiest seat in the building (how I envied the lovely
warm tying room) for most of the day collecting the entrance fees, I thoroughly enjoyed my brief sortie around the show and was very impressed by the quality of the stands. It was a great pleasure to welcome old friends and in particular our friends from Italy who have supported our demonstration benches for all five iFISH shows. If you didn’t come this year make a note for next year – it really is worth coming! Air Ambulance was presented with a cheque for £500 from the Branch as sponsors of iFISH .
Roy Gurney
DON’T FORGET YOUR ENTRIES FOR THE “BIG
FISH TROPHIES”
The categories are: Best fish from Sussex water Best fish from Sussex reservoir (inci. Bewl) Best brown from Sussex water Best brown from Sussex reservoir or river. Final date of catching is 31
st December 2017.
Trophies will be presented at the End of Season Gathering on 12
th April 2018.
Enter via e-mail [email protected] or phone 01273 581519 or mail details to: Roy Gurney, 29 Capel Avenue, Peacehaven, BN10 8NB.
Harry Atkins
How pleased I was to receive this e-mail: “Just to note my 2lb 15oz Brown Trout from Brick Farm lake duly witnessed and photographed. by the owner. Date of catch 18th November. It was my first session after a long lay off because of my injury. My regards and best wishes, Harry Atkins” Several months ago Harry had a horrendous accident and completely severed his right thumb – if you are right-handed, try doing any normal activity without it! .So it is with great pleasure we can welcome him back to fishing, though I guess fly-tying might be a greater hurdle to overcome. Harry is a great supporter of the Branch and is always one of the first to renew his membership, and so it was this year; maybe we can look forward to seeing him one Thursday soon.
BRANCH TROPHY DAY Duncton Mill - 29th October
The weather was superb – very warm for the time of year and we were able to sit outside for lunch.. The fish also cooperated and in day of good fishing nobody blanked and most caught their four fish limit. After two years of no-one achieving the four lake challenge, Peter Winder managed the feat to take his daughter’s trophy, the Gemma Winder Shield (by superb angling he says modestly!!). His bag of 9 lb 9 oz also took the Jimmy James Trophy for best bag, with Andy Wood runner-up with 8 lb 14 oz. Best fish (the John Plowman Trophy) went to Tony Harrison with a 3 lb 10 oz rainbow with Simon Rickard netting one of 3 lb 1 oz close behind. Ian Dunk took a 2 lb brown for that trophy, but no char were caught again this year. Most successful flies on the day were Cat’s Whisker, buzzers, damsels, Montana – fished deep and slow. Martin has put lots of browns in recently but only one was caught – they must be cannier than the rainbows! Many thanks to Martin for hosting this event which is always a great day. This year we had only eighteen fishing (sadly John Cooper could not make it due to ill health) and those members who did not come missed a great day – good fishing and good company. Let’s get a few more next year.
iFISH 2017 – Fly-tyers’ Row
iFISH 2017- Busy Cookshill stand
Tying patterns for competition The Copper John, Teeny Nymph and
Clouser Minnow are on separate sheets attached to members’ copies of the
newsletter
Gold Head GRHE
Head Gold bead Hook #10 Thread Black or red Tail Bunch of hare’s guard hairs Rib Medium flat gold tinsel (Optional underbody Lead wire) Body Dubbed hare’s ear fur Collar Tying thread
Ally’s Shrimp
Hook #8 Thread Red Tail Hot orange bucktail Body: Rear Red floss
Front Black floss Rib Fine oval tinsel Hackle Grey squirrel tail Wing Grey squirrel tail under golden
pheasant tippets Collar hackle Orange
Published by the Sussex Branch of the Flydressers’ Guild
Chairman: Tony Woolnough 01273 483833 Secretary: Paul Bond 01273 420410 Treasurer: Bill Black 01323 763807 Membership: Roy Gurney 01273 581519
Editor: ROY GURNEY
29 Capel Avenue, PEACEHAVEN, BN10 8NB
E-MAIL: [email protected]
Visit our web site
Sussexflydressers.org.uk
