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The club’s history goes back all the way to 1932 and the club has a great reputation in the fly fishing and casting community in Victoria and beyond. Almost ninety years ago, at the small Toorourrong Reservoir near Whittlesea, a lone bait angler was attracted by the method of a fellow angler casting a dry fly. The fly-fisher was able to cast an incredible distance and had caught trout when bait anglers found it difficult.
The bait angler was immediately determined to study this very method of catching trout. The "dry-fly" fisher was Reg Lyne, the fishing department manager at Hartley’s Sports Store, Flinders Street, Melbourne — the observer, Wilfred Crouch a Doncaster orchardist. The chance meeting of these two enthusiasts was destined in later years to improve the technique of fly-casting beyond belief. Another Toorourrong devotee, J M (Malcolm) Gillies, a well-known angler, golfer and tackle maker from Carlton, observed Crouch providing fly-casting instruction to a number of protégés at the reservoir. Before long, Gillies suggested that a dedicated fly-fishers group be formed for casting practice on Tom Tully’s orchard dam on the Ruffey Creek at Doncaster. |
The rapid and permanent conversion of numerous Box Hill Angling Club members followed, and in 1932, some fifty men under the energetic guidance of the inaugural president Wilf Crouch, and secretary Frank Park of Box Hill, banded themselves together under the appropriate title of the "Red Tag" club.
Since then the club has evolved to what it is today with a rich history of being committed to the sport of fly fishing and the environment in which we fish. The club has bred a culture of being inclusive of individuals and families with activities. We are proud of encouraging all members of the community to join the club and take up the activities which it offers. If you would like to become a member of the club in order to contribute to the ongoing activities, culture and history of the club we encourage you to get in contact via this web site for you will not regret taking the initiative. |
