Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre
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Utilise our corporate services - the only facility of its type in Australia
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The Guides/Owners @ GVFFC


David Pickering (12/07/1944)David Pickering

With over forty years fly fishing experience and nearly twenty of those living in the Goulburn Valley, David is a streamcraft expert with an intimate understanding of the rivers around Thornton.

In his earlier year's, day and weekend trips to waters within driving distance of Melbourne helped him to hone his skills and get a real appreciation of what fly fishing in Victoria had to offer. The culmination of all this experience was a walk out on the corporate world and a new life as a full time fly fishing guide in Thornton.

His move to the country came in 1989 and he has been a local fixture on the rivers around his home town ever since. David is 'fish-mad' and every spare moment, dollar and thought is devoted to fly fishing for trout. A passion that has never waned and frequently annoys his business partners!

Starting Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre in 1994 with Geoff Hall was the beginning of a new life. Since then David has taught thousands of people to fish with a fly rod or simply guided them down the Goulburn or Swampy Plain Rivers on a raft trip. More recently he has been leading week long trips in search of trout on New Zealand's South Island as well as producing several instructional/feature DVDs on the sport.

David is a patient and knowledgeable guide who is always out there on the rivers that he loves so much. He is a talented and experienced fly fisher but more importantly he has that special quality of being able to impart his knowledge to others with ease and dexterity.

Member of the PFIGA
Remote Area First Aid
Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1


Geoff Hall (21/08/1943)Geoff Hall

Geoff has been a fly fisher all of his life. He has extensive experience across Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and New Zealand and has been a full time trout guide for the past eleven years.

He is a highly trained rafting guide with experience on the Goulburn and Swampy Plains rivers. He and David Pickering were the first to run a fly fishing drift boat down the Goulburn river and are responsible for developing and refining many techniques which are now considered mandatory for fishing this river.

Geoff is an experienced fly tier and innovator and his background in education makes him a first class instructor and patient, understanding teacher. He has taught many generations of fly fishers over the course of his life, starting over 40 years ago.

He jointly owns Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre, Victoria's only destination Fly Shop and guiding service, with David Pickering and Antony Boliancu.

Geoff contributes widely to the fishing industry's social, economic and political agenda.

Above all, Geoff is a fanatical fly fisher, whose dedication and love affair with the sport has not waned since first picking up a fly rod in his early teenage years.

Member of the PFIGA
Remote Area First Aid
Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1


Antony Boliancu (19/07/1972)Antony Boliancu


Antony has lived in Thornton since 1996 and has been guiding since the day he made the move from Melbourne. Having fished and been involved in competitive sport his whole life he has flourished in his role at GVFFC. He is responsible for the IT side of the business and regularly organises trips and film shoots to New Zealand's South Island.

Antony is a qualified drift boat guide with many thousands of hours on the oars to his name. His specialties are fly tying, Goulburn River hatches and backwater sight fishing as well as fly fishing in NZ. Locally his favourite river is the Goulburn and it is here that he spends much of his free time getting to know it more and more on each visit.

His other interests include surfing, soccer and running.


James Galloway (19/07/1972)Antony Boliancu


James started kicking around the shop in the summer of 2001 and we have been grooming him as a guide ever since. At that time he was a university student and fishing local rivers about four days a week. Now, with no further study obligations he has made the commitment to full time guiding.

James is extremely enthusiastic and patient with a demeanour that belies his youth. He is personable and easy going, traits that are needed to be a good instructor /guide.

His talents as an angler are many and varied and when he is not trout fishing he is just as likely to be chasing bream around an oyster lease or hitting the yellowbelly or cod. While a good all round fisherman, it is fishing for trout with a fly that he loves most.

After just two seasons in New Zealand with us, has become one of our most sought after guides. He has also notched up quite a few hours on the oars on the rafts and works extremely well with groups.


Michael McBrien (19/07/1972)Antony Boliancu


James started kicking around the shop in the summer of 2001 and we have been grooming him as a guide ever since. At that time he


Cameron Parker 9/07


James started kick

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Media Releases

Here we have a selection of articles written on our operation since 1995. While we only have a few of the many that have appeared in a multitude of publications it will give you some idea of where we started and where we are going.

More will be added by Christmas 2003 with several well known publications in the process of doing editorials and reviews as well as TV productions that will air in the near future. Click an Image for a larger version or follow the links for additional info.

The who/what/where of Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre?

Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre is situated in the 'heart of trout country' with a lodge and cottage set on 16 acres of private lakes and waterways on the outskirts of the rural hamlet of Thornton 1 3/4 hours NE of Melbourne. The picturesque drive up through the towering Mountain Ash forests of the ominously named "Black Spur" section of the Maroondah HWY, is aptly referred to as the "gateway to the Magic Mountains". No small part of that magic is to be found in the regions myriad of rivers and streams that include some of Victoria's premier fly fishing waters. From the stately majesty of the Goulburn River, to the bubbling exuberance of countless backcountry streams and rivulets, the region abounds with opportunities for an angler to test their skills with a fly.

What we do and the services we offer.

  • Three full time professional guides available seven days a week, all year round.
  • A central lodge with adjoining self contained cottage accommodation for four people.
  • Teaching/tuition for beginners through to advanced fly fishers.
  • Fly fishing and fly tying weekend 'schools'.
  • Victoria's only drift boat operators. Conducting drift boat fly fishing on the Goulburn, Mitta-Mitta and Swampy Plains Rivers.
  • Streamside guiding services on the regions rivers and streams.
  • Australia's largest fly fishing website and information service with regular reports and information on all aspects of fly fishing.
  • Corporate services. Client/customer reward packages and team building days.
  • Destination fly shop and outfitters with everything a fly fisher needs.
  • Guided fishing excursions to New Zealand, Tasmania, the Snowy Mountains and the NE of Victoria.
  • Membership packages (private & corporate) available.

The lodge and cottage were purpose designed and built by fly fishers for fly fishers. The complex is owned and operated by the guides at GVFFC who between them have over 100 years fly fishing experience.

The new centre was opened to the public in September of 2002. Before this GVFFC operated from smaller premises at the Four Way's Cafe in Thornton starting in 1994. The complex contains a fly shop, lounge, reference library, entomology and a fly tying area all presented in a laid back informal fishing lodge style. The mezzanine area upstairs is for private functions, corporate groups and special events.

The lodge is the culmination of the dream held by David Pickering and Geoff Hall ever since they set up a small fly fishing guiding service out of a shoe box sized storefront in 1994. Their dream was to establish and operate a centre offering the highest standard of service, comparable to the best destination fly fishing centers and lodges anywhere in the world.

WHAT'S ON VICTORIA MAGAZINE : MASTER CASTERS
   
Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre on Channel 7's Discover Program with Eilse May

What's on Victoria Magazine writer Brett Foster visited us for a couple of days in 2005 to get the low down on fly fishing. Read his article on the experience by clicking on the article on the left.

 

   
Discover Channel 7 August 2003
   
Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre on Channel 7's Discover Program with Eilse May

The Discover Team came up and had a ball. We introduced Elise to fly fishing and she actually enjoyed it. At the end of the shoot they could not get her to leave and persisted for a good two hours after wrapping! She got her first fish on the fly to boot.

Click here to download & watch the feature


   
The Great Outdoors Channel 7 August 2003
   
Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre on Channel 7's The Great Outdoors Program with Sophie Falkiner Sophie and the crew came up for a relaxing couple of days in February and shot some great action on the river. Not only did we find fish but we did a beautiful raft trip down the Goulburn.

Click here to download & watch the feature
 
FlyLife Magazine Autumn 2003
Click for full size A4 Printable version This review was published in the Autumn Edition of FlyLife Magazine www.flylife.com.au and was written by prominent Australian fly fisherman and artist Trevor Hawkins.
 
Murrindindi Magic Summer 2003
Click for full size A4 Printable version The Murrindindi Magic is a local publication that focuses on Tourism in the region. This article appeared in their Summer 2003 edition and was the basis for at least twenty similar articles printed in local newspapers right across Victoria.
 
Freshwater Fishing Summer 1996
Click for full size A4 Printable version Click for full size A4 Printable version Click for full size A4 Printable version
This was one of the very first articles on the Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre and was published 18 months after we got started. It appeared in the 1996 Summer Edition of Freshwater Fishing.
 
Freshwater Fishing Autumn 1995
Click for full size A4 Printable version The first of many pieces to appear in Freshwater Fishing was this small byte in the Autumn 1995 edition. From humble beginnings!
 

We will continue to add more info as it becomes available. We are still trying to chase down other articles on us so if you have something please drop us an email so that we can arrange to scan it and list it here.

As well as the above we have also featured on the Rex Hunt Show with Geoff and Rex having a great day on the raft, catching and releasing some great fish in the process. More recently we did features for The Great Outdoors and The Postcard programs. We have also produced our own video on fly fishing the Goulburn River and the South Island of NZ and have several more in production.

If you need any more info about us or our operation please email us at info@goulburnvlyflyfishing.com.au