The Illawarra Fly Fishers Club was formed on the 5th of July 1989 and was incorporated on the 6th of January 1993.
Club Objectives
The
objectives of I.F.F. are: To enhance the members enjoyment of
the sport of fly fishing by providing opportunities for members to
increase
their knowledge and skills; and To assist with maintaining the
environment associated with fly fishing.
Membership Details
The club is active in an increasing range of activities related to fly fishing and fly tying. There is a one only $2 administration fee payable on joining and the annual membership fee is $10 per annum for pensioners, holders of disability cards, children under 16 years of age and non resident members, where a non-resident member is a person residing more than 50 kilometres from Wollongong. For all other members the cost of membership is $25 per annum. Membership year shall run from midnight on the first Tuesday in August each year for one year. Half fees may be charged if members join after the first Tuesday in February.
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Monthly Meetings
Monthly
meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month except for
December and January. Meetings are held at CollegiansRLFC,
96 Flinders St, Wollongong. Meetings commence at 7:30 pm and generally
consist of a short business session followed by a range of speakers on
topics such as tackle, stream craft, techniques and fishing adventures.
A fly of the month competition and raffle is held each meeting. There
is no cost to members or visitors to attend monthly meetings. Visitors
are very welcome. There is also a biggest fish
competition open to members, which runs from the Annual General Meeting
in August to the following August. Fish are measured from the nose to
the tip of the tail. Only fish caught on fly in public waters within
NSW are eligible.
Monthly Fly Casting Workshops
Monthly
fly casting workshops are held on the Sunday following the Club Meeting
every month except for December and January at the duck pond
at the 
University of
Wollongong opposite the Wollongong Botanical
gardens) on the Sunday following the monthly meeting. These workshops
start at 10:00 am and finish around noon. They represent a great
opportunity for members and visitors to improve their casting skills,
to meet with others with similar interests and to try out a range of
rods, reels and lines. A casting competition is held each
month in conjunction with the casting workshop. There is no cost and
visitors are very welcome. The guidelines for the
competition are listed below:
Illawarra Flyfisher's Club Casting Competition
Rod: Ordinary fly fishing rod of maximum length 3.00metres. Standard fly rod rings and guides.
Reel: Standard fly fishing reel. Reel fastened to the rod, line fastened to the reel.
Line:
Standard
fly fishing line, minimum length 15 metres.Backing unrestricted. Metal
inlays prohibited.
Leader: Minimum length 1.80 metres. Diameter optional, butthe tippet must be minimum length of 20cm with a maximum diameter of 0.25mm.
Fly: Standard tournament flies, size 10 hook with the bend, point and barb removed, palmer tied pattern, any colour, hackle diameter 16-20 mm.
Rings:
5 rings 0.76 metres in diameter, 1.5
metres of free water surface between each target. The ring on the left
placed 8 metres and the ring on the right placed 13 metres
from a peg placed in the ground. The caster must stand directly behind
this peg.
Casting: The caster must start with the fly in hand and one (1) rod length of fly line (leader not included). Dry fly casting one try at a time on each target in the following order: 3 - 1 - 4 - 2 - 5
*
The target on the left being No.1 the one on the right No. 5. * At
least one false cast shall be made between each score or lay of the
fly.
* The fly line may only be shortened
or lengthened
during false casting, with the rod in motion. No shortening or
stripping of the line from the reel when the rod is not in
motion casting. Improper shortening or stripping of the line shall make
the next cast non-scoring.
Scoring: Each competitor will receive 1 point for competing. Each hit in or on the target scores 1 point. The fly must rest until the judge calls the score. "Ticks" (touching the water with the fly when false casting) count as casts but are non-scoring. The maximum score for the dry fly round is 6 points.
Practice: Each caster may have unofficial practice casts but only one official casting session to the rings. Before casting his official casting session, the caster must clearly state to the judge that this is to be his attempt for the recording.
Prize: A prize for the year's winner will be presented at the year annual Christmas dinner.
Duration: The casting competition year will be from the year of the Annual general Meeting till the following Annual General Meeting, with one casting day per month except for December and January. However in the event of inclement weather, other special circumstances or less than 4 participants, a lesser number of events will constitute the competition.
The decision to cancel a casting competition will be the responsibility of the committee member in charge of fly casting or his representative for the day. Any problems arising will be resolved by the committee member in charge of fly-casting, his representative, or failing that by the club committee.
return to topClub Library
Members can borrow a wide range of book, magazines and videos from the club library which operates at each monthly meeting. The club subscribes to Fly Life, Fly Fisherman, Trout, and has a variety of commercial fly fishing and fly tying videos.
return to topFly Tying Competitions
A
fly tying
competition is held at each meeting and members are asked to
tie the
nominated fly for the 
month
for assessment at the meeting by their
peers. The flies for the 2006/2007 "fly of the month" competition are
set out in the attached schedule.
Monthly Fly Tying Workshops
Monthly Fly Tying Workshops are held at Collegians RLFC on the Wednesday following the Fly Casting Workshop each month except for December and January. Fly Tying Workshops commence at 7:30 pm and generally finish around 9:30 pm. There is no cost to members or visitors to attend monthly Fly Tying Workshops. Bring your own tools, thread and hooks. Visitors are very welcome.
Contact Gordon McCombe for more information.
Annual Fly Tying School
Each year during the off season (i.e. over winter when the trout streams are closed) the club runs a comprehensive Fly Tying School.
Annual Christmas Party and Presentation Night
Details of the annual Christmas Party will be posted here and also in the club's newsletter when the
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Current Committee
| POSITION | NAME | PHONE | |
| President | Neil Nelson | 95481537 | president@illawarraflyfishers.com |
| Vice President | Chris Harding | 42851934 | |
| Secretary | Leo Harding | 42834056 | secretary@illawarraflyfishers.com.au |
| Treasurer | Barry Gentle | 42377452 | |
| Newsletter Editor | David Vale | 46256926 | editor@illawarraflyfishers.com.au |
| Webmaster | Gary Hickson | 42711544 | webmaster@illawarraflyfishers.com.au |
| Book, Video and Magazine Coordinator | Bill Berry | 42618424 | |
| Fly casting Coordinator | Steve Maber | 0413015656 | |
| Fly tying Coordinator | Gordon McCombe | 42845164 | |
| Club Shirt Coordinator | Kerry Nichol | 99775453 | |
| Guest Speaker Coordinator | Chris Harding | 42851934 | |
| Fly tying Workshop Coordinator | Gordon McCombe | 42845164 | |
| Interclub Liason Officer | Neil Nelson | 95481537 | |
| Meet & Greet Officer | Mike Parkinson | 42292087 | |
| Largest Fish Competition Coordinator | Phil O'Brien | 0408224154 | |
| Name Badge Officer | Ray Ellis | 42675007 | |
| Raffle Coordinator | Kim Prehn | 42682493 | |
| Public Officer | Gary Hickson | 42711544 | |
| Publicity Officer | Gary Wade | 42969529 | |
| Outing Coordinator | Jeff Randal | 0421645229 | |
| Social Function Coordinator |
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