Fly Casting Training Days 10, 17 Sep with outing day (maximum attendance needed) 24 Sep at Eucumbene Trout Farm.

Tim, who spoke on GPS, was asked a number of questions related to map backgrounds. He has since sent the following email:

Info for your fishing group. There were some questions regarding digital maps suitable for incorporation into GPS equipment - at the time only 1:250,000 maps were in a digital format, which isn't really useful for fishing. Now that the 1:250,000 series is complete Geoscience Australia have begun releasing the 1:100,000 scale maps. The first cab off the rank the ACT region 1:100,000 scale map! It is currently available to download for free from:
http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/digidat/100k.htm#ACT

It is available to download in four formats (more are available if you ask) -
The first three are vector formats - primarily for use within a GIS:
ESRI Personal Geodatabase (~201Mb)
ESRI Shapefile (~100Mb)
MapInfo data interchange format (mid/mif) (~100Mb)

The final format is a raster version of the vector data above:
ECW (not sure of the size of this)

You can also fork out $99 for a CD that contains all the above information.

Apparently Oziexplorer (www.oziexplorer.com) has scanned and georeferenced paper maps down to the 1:25,000 scale across NSW - haven't checked it out myself.

I'm not sure what software the guys are using, so I can't really comment on how/if they can incorporate the data into their existing systems. That being said the formats provided are the two major GIS formats, and I would expect that most cheaper software should be able to read at least a shapefile format. If anyone needs assistance I would be keen to help.

Actually getting the data onto a GPS system would be the next step - obviously you would need to subset the data because most normal GPS systems don't have 100Mb storage capacity.

Cheers,

Tim

Peter and I haven't been up to the mountains for a while. I managed to get some night fishing in by myself and with another mate. Latest was a nice 52cm brown jack from Lake Jindabyne - note the new Pfleuger reel (no more clackety-racket).

Members present: Ian, Geoff, Bill, Stefan, Scott, Peter. Charles, Mark F and Stuart.

Apologies: John, Damien H, Anna and Steve.

President, Ian declared the AGM opened.

Ian presented his report, enclosed.

Stefan presented his report, enclosed. The finances have not yet been audited.

Treasurer recommended that current membership fees be retained. He further noted the importance of the raffles in fundraising and that the cost of running the boat is currently not being covered by charges.

Minutes of the AGM of 10 Aug 2005 were read out and minutes were accepted.

Recording of assets remains an outstanding issue.

A discussion ensued over whether the club should acquire books and formalise a library. Concerns were raised over control and instead it was suggested that funds would be better expended on more fly rods for the lessons day noting some people were turned away last year due to lack of rods.

Bill moved a motion, seconded by Stuart and carried by the meeting, that 2 rods for about $300 total be acquired in time for the fly casting days.

The following committee was elected:

Ian registered thanks to all committee members.

Geoff was to pursue donation of a major raffle prize at the same time as acquiring the rods.

Stuart is available for the first week only. Ian will contact Mark S to enquire if he was available.

Geoff emphasised that the Eucumbene Trout Farm trip (24 Sep) requires maximum club attendance to assist with instruction. New water has been set aside and will be reserved for this trip so there should be plenty of eager fish. Much more like the first outing than last year.

Earlier indications had been given that New Zealand should be the destination. Geoff briefed options for around February 2007 with prices ranging from $1500-$3000 depending on style. The meeting indicated that at least 7 days were required with some days guided. Geoff will produce a final proposal before next meeting.

The following trophies were acknowledged (will be presented after engraving):

Next meeting is 13 Sep 2006.

The President declared the meeting closed.

Ian Bill

President Secretary

PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2005-06

The stream and lake conditions over the last twelve months have been challenging, with snow in October and a continuation of drought and its effects for much of the year. Nevertheless there were some excellent fish caught, and in many cases released, by members.

We celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of our club's formation with a dinner which was an occasion for reflections by past and present members of the events and people that have contributed to the club's history. A highlight was the attendance and speech by foundation member George Barlin. The dinner was a good opportunity for past members to swap stories with current members and it is especially pleasing to note that at least one former member has become active again.

The anniversary dinner also provided a focus to bring together all the existing club records. The sorting and documentation remains to be done, but we now have council or general meeting records for most of the period since 1945 as well as correspondence, photographs and newsletters. I believe the best eventual repository is likely to be the National Library, which already has many of our newsletters from the 1950's to the 1970's.

The annual fly casting sessions in September, including the trip to the Eucumbene Trout Farm, were enjoyed by the many participants. Our thanks go to all members who assisted with tuition and tying flies for raffle prizes and especially to Stuart Fagan for leading the tuition, Geoff for organising the Trout Farm visit, Chris at the Trout Farm for his assistance and Bryan Pratt for the excellent raffle prize. We welcomed several new members as a result of the lessons.

Club meetings again featured a good range of presentations by members and invited speakers. Subjects covered included the making of cane fly rods, GPS systems, fly tying, gear and techniques, fishing knots, water access and fishing laws, as well as destinations such as New Zealand and the USA. Many thanks to Stuart for conducting the separate fly tying group during winter.

Club outings were similar to recent years, with varying attendance and results. The most disappointing aspect was the deterioration in the Cotter River for the Lyle Knowles outing. The restricted fishing area, the declining water quality and the carp invasion have created conditions which are a far cry from those in the 1940's which saw the rules set a limit of up to five trout per angler. We look forward to happier angling as the event moves to the Eucumbene River this year.

The conditions and fees for the use of the club's aluminium boat and motor were finalised and a booking system implemented.

Our affiliation with the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers was formalised and Bill attended the August quarterly meeting in Penrith. I would like to draw members' attention to the excellent newsletters produced by CFA and encourage people to bring forward their views on any issues raised in those newsletters or on the CFA web site.

Our own newsletter has again featured many interesting items. Regular input by Peter and Mark F has entertained us but I know Bill will welcome any additional contributors.

I would like to record my thanks for the excellent efforts of Secretary Bill, Treasurer Stefan, Vice-President Geoff and all other members who have contributed to the club's activities during the past year.

Ian

The financial position of the club continues to be good.

Membership of the club has increased this year, which has been reflected with greater attendance at meetings has been the case for some years now. The fly casting event continues to bring in new members to the club. The current membership stands at 31.

Incoming funds for the club were composed of 25% (50%) through membership subs and 22% (43%) through raffles, with the balance being bank interest, boat use fee, badge sales and the holding of a major function. Membership fees this year were increased from $10 to $20, which was reflected in the larger amount collected. It should be noted that incomings from the 60th Year Function inflated this year's revenue and the figure in brackets reflects a truer picture with this amount excluded. Raffles held at the fly-casting days again proved a good income source, helped in no small measure of course through the kind donation of a fly rod kit from Bryan Pratt and the donation of a book by Geoff.

On the books, expenditure matched income, with the exception that the boat required more funds to operate and maintain than was generated by the use fees. More members making use of the boat on a regular basis would correct this, The 60th Function required some funds input from the club, but this was foreseen and not excessive as most costs were covered by ticket sales. Other costs over the year of venue hire, printing/engraving and postal box rental were within accepted bounds.

No major changes need to be made to how the club operates.

I therefore recommend that:

Stefan

Honorary Treasurer

9 August 2006