Past President and Life Member of Canberra Anglers Association Gordon Winter died on 15 May aged 72. Gordon made a significant contribution to our club and to angling over a period starting from the 1950’s.

Gordon was passionate about angling and the angling environment. He was expert in all forms of fishing but especially loved lure fishing for native fish. Gordon’s smiling face was often seen in angling books in the sixties and seventies next to photos of large fish, especially Murray cod. For many years his favourite pastime was to spin for perch and cod in a deep hole in the Murrumbidgee near Hall. His grandfather had travelled on horseback to fish the same hole many years earlier. The hours with Gordon in his small plywood boat always passed quickly.

In the early days of ABU baitcasters in Australia only right hand retrieve models were available. He found changing from right to left hand for casting and retrieving was frustrating when he might make hundreds of casts in a day on the Murrumbidgee. His solution was to teach himself to cast left handed. The mail box at his house was somewhat the worse for wear after countless hours as a target.

The same determination was evident in many matters pursued by Gordon. He was a key player in setting up Native Fish Australia and Recfish (initially called the Australian Recreational and Sport Fishing Confederation). He was a frequent delegate from CAA to the NSW Institute of Freshwater Fishermen (now called the Council of Freshwater Anglers) and served as its President for a short period. His efforts through CAA led to a 1981 Senate Inquiry into water quality and flows in the Murrumbidgee.

Gordon was an avid reader of Government notices. The club boat and some of the fly fishing outfits used in our lessons were bought from grants after Gordon alerted us to funding available through Government agencies.

Gordon moved to Tuross in the late nineties after the death of his wife Chris. He remained active in coastal fishing issues and was especially pleased to see the recovery of the Tuross River after its closure to commercial fishing.

His funeral service at Norwood Park Crematorium on 18 May was attended by current and past members of CAA.

Make sure you have your diary clear for the next CAA meeting (Wed 8 Jun). We have Scott Mitchell (of Alpine Angler Cooma) giving a talk.

It will be based on his recent family trip to Weipa and will cover preparations i.e.:boat trailer, boat , car etc as well as the quality of fishing which can be expected in Weipa. He will have a DVD presentation as well as slides if needed.

Attended by Max, Bruce and Scott with some attendance by Geoff and Bill reported next. Only three fish were caught by the lake crowd, a small one by Scott and two by Bruce.

None of those who braved the cold/windy night on the shores of Lake Eucumbene (Scott, Geoff and Bill) had any luck with the night fishing - big full moon and lack of reconnaissance in the day time did not help.

The Max, Bruce and Scott departed Sun morning and were home for lunch. Poor Bruce missed out on his morning cuppa. Max admits to being a bit dense and misinterpreted Bruce's suggestions about stopping on the way. He reckons that as a retiree he no longer needs his morning cuppa.

hi Bill . Went down to the Murrumbidgee yesterday and had a good day although I only caught the one decent fish .. a 31 cm rainbow in real good nick.

Saw some nice trout but they were very spooky in shallowish water with one sighted brown up around the 6-7 lb mark. I might have to have another go at them next week although going by the damage around the edges of the river it is a well fished spot so I guess stealth is the key. BTW the stimulator was the fly for the fish in the photo although I missed a couple of similar ilk on the iron blue dun. The other sighted fish just ignored what was thrown at them if they weren't spooked first.

As our part of participating in the club's Eucumbene trip - Friday and Saturday only - Geoff and Bill took advantage of the opportunity for a late season fish on the rivers. Two sessions on the Thredbo led to several large fish being spotted but with no success.

Bill had one interesting experience on the Saturday. He was wading out of the Thredbo when, close to shore but with the water about 4 foot deep, he almost stepped on one fish of around 40cm lying doggo on the bottom. Even when he pushed its tail, it barely reacted and was definitely not spooked by him standing there - oh for an accessible waterproof camera! More disappointing was to see a larger fish on the bottom and clearly dead further upstream.

With such lack of success on the Thredbo, the intrepid pair set off for "guaranteed action" on the Moamba. A few little fish were hooked, fewer landed by Geoff. Right on dusk Bill managed to hook and land the only fish for him over the weekend. It was a lot of fun dry fly casting to the rising fish, though the photo makes the fish look more impressive than it turned out.

Ian Keightley attended the NSWCFA meeting held at Buckenderra on 21 May. CAA’s affiliation lapsed about 10 years ago and the purpose of Ian’s attendance was to report back to the next CAA meeting on whether we should rejoin.

NSW CFA provides a forum for members to raise their local issues and achievements and also to address wider policy and management issues. Some of the matters covered at Buckenderra were:

• Access to Lake Crackenback – the MAS delegate, after an initial refusal of access by the hotel, has negotiated access to this public waterway;
• public liability insurance – request to RecFish;
• NSWCFA submission to DPIF on Recommended Freshwater Fishing Priorities 2005-2015;
• lack of research staff in DPIF;
• report on annual interclub fishing event held at Wallerawang from 29 April to 1 May;
• Tumut River habitat restoration;
• maintenance of river access via Travelling Stock Reserves and other reserves;
• effect of town water proposals for Nimmitabel and Canberra;
• Snowy Hydro maintenance of access tracks to Eucumbene waters;
• research on nodavirus infection in bass;
• allocation of fishing licence proceeds for 2005-06;
• Review of the impacts of introduced salmonids in Australia by the Department of the Environment and Heritage;
• boating safety on coldwater impoundments;
• proliferation of protected trout cod is affecting anglers’ ability to catch other species along the Murray.

The meeting also featured a presentation by a Waterways officer on boating safety in alpine lakes. Last year two NSWCFA members, Eddie Collett and Robert Moss, died in a boating accident on Eucumbene. A commemorative memorial was unveiled at Rushy Plain Bay on the Sunday after the meeting.

Copies of the latest NSWCFA Newsletter will be available at our June meeting or can be viewed at www.freshwateranglers.com.au.

Members present: Ian, Stefan, Bill, Max, Scott, Peter, Norm, Robert, Fred and Geoff.

Apologies: Stuart and John.

Ian declared the meeting opened.

Minutes of the meeting of 13 Apr 2005 had been disseminated via email. Highlights were read out and minutes were accepted.

Ian advised that Gordon Winter was ill in Calvary Hospital. He believed Gordon had been transferred to intensive care so any visitors would need to confirm location. We have since learnt that Gordon passed away on 15 May aged 72.

The estimate for value of the Hardy rod obtained by Stuart has been passed to Geoff. He has not yet been able to confirm whether this is appropriate for our accounts.

Stuart and Scott still to arrange engraving of their trophies and claiming costs from the club. This needs to be done before the AGM. They are asked to return the trophies at the July meeting if they can't arrange engraving.

Ian spoke on the NSW Freshwater Fishing Council. Ian will attend their next meeting at Buckenderra on the same weekend as the next club outing.

Ian has explored venues for the 60th birthday celebrations on 21^st October. It was decided by the meeting to pursue the option for holding at the Weston Club noting our association with them. The room costs were quoted at $130 including barman. 3 course or buffet meal in mid $30s - a preference was indicated for a buffet.

Trailer rego papers have been signed by Max. We will need to obtain a letter of incorporation (lost through the passage of time?). Ian will pursue.

Max has completed an impressive job on making a weatherproof cover for the club boat - photos were shown (and are available here).

Mark F is continuing to explore, with Bill's help, the idea of work for the dole preparing a club web page.

Stefan has paid Max for the trailer. Prior to that $800 debit appearing in the account, club bank account stood at $1691. $59 is on hand in cash.

Stefan sought and received approval for reimbursement for $102 for Post Office box charges, also for replacement of the club boat's anchor rope at $15. No reimbursement was sought for the lost anchor.

Various arrangements were made for the 21-22 May Braemar Bay.

Stuart explored the moving forward the date of the coast charter from August. The best dates available were 4/5 Jun but limited numbers were available at such short notice. Stuart has since cancelled the tentative booking. Discussions after the meeting suggested that early autumn next year should be planned. Early commitment through a deposit will be required. Bruce and Stuart are considering a way ahead.

Next meeting 8 Jun 2005.

Ian declared the meeting closed. Geoff gave a talk on 'exotic fishing locations' to contribute to our discussion on a major club outing in 2007.