11 minute read
Members’ Achievements
Gone Fishing
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I over-heard this startling conversation between two, apparently very respectable gentlemen, in a country Pub once. I leaned in over my half pint of cider to hear more of the scandalous exchange, but when they moved on to Woolly Buggers, Amber Snatchers and Mini Muddlers, I realised they were not sex fiends, after all, but ardent fly-fishermen discussing the merits of their various flies.
Fly-tying is a highly skillful hand-craft and has its own fanciful and wildly imaginative language, which matches the exquisite works of art fashioned, minutely out of sparkle, fluff, spangles and feathers, into whimsical, often fairylike and always exotic creations, which end up flashing across rivers and streams, oceans and lakes all over the world. There are thousands of different styles of fly designed by individual fly-fishers who create them to their specific requirements – hence the fantastical names. Some are designed for certain waters – calm or fast flowing, deep or shallow, salt or fresh – and some are designed for the particular fish, which inhabit these waters.
Passionate fly-fisherman MCC Member Johnny Onslow stumbled into fly-tying when he was approached by a local man in Rongai several years ago and asked if he would like to buy some flies. Mildly perplexed by the question, the man then showed Johnny a selection of exquisitely hand-tied fishing flies. Johnny was intrigued where the man had learned his skill and later discovered that fly-tying had been a dynamic and flourishing industry in Western Kenya for over 60 years.
The late Denis Whetham is recognised as the ‘Father of the Kenya fly-tying industry.’ His parents brought him to Western Kenya as a boy in the 1930s, after he was crippled in a rugby accident. To pass the hours he spent prone in his bed, he taught himself to tie flies with the aid of a mirror over his head. He sold his first dozen flies to the local bank manager in Kericho for 5/- and so began the pupal fly-tying industry in Kenya. As Denis learned to walk again he taught two Kenyans to tie flies and over the years, despite the interruptions of WWII, the Mau Mau uprising and marriage, Denis’s business flourished, his team of tyers grew, and he was exporting flies to twenty countries by the 1960s.
When Johnny retired from teaching, looking for a new challenge, and remembering the man he met in Rongai, he made some enquiries on a trip to UK and found he had an order for 300-dozen flies by the time he returned to Kenya.
He then set about establishing a fly-tying business in Rongai, recruiting local tyers, which he called ‘Gone Fishing’.
Today, in a good month, Gone Fishing, produces over 10,000-dozen flies and exports them to 15 different countries worldwide. COVID unsettled the market initially and Johnny had to lay-off most of his workforce, but during the summer months of 2020, fly-fishing
in the UK and US became the perfect post-lockdown pursuit - natural socialdistancing, escape from the stifling confinement of working from home into the fresh outdoors, and peace from the clamour of endless bad news – and the orders slowly began to bite again.
Johnny’s factory in Rongai is like walking into a fairy workshop. The stock room is stacked with fabulously exotic feathers, beads, ruffles and fur and gloriously extravagant bling and sparkle, and his workshop resembles the elves’ workshop preparing for Christmas. His tyers, several of them physically challenged, work quietly at their benches, each has a specific design to follow and each fly is rigorously checked to ensure it meets the exacting specifications of the design. Johnny Onslow pictured pre-Covid in his fly-tying workshop at Gone Fishing
In the last couple of decades the fly-tying industry has suffered the vagaries of overzealous conservationists, market forces and, most recently COVID-19, but today Kenya still produces an astonishing 60 per cent of the world’s supply of fishing flies, and Gone Fishing is a substantial contributor to Kenya’s extraordinary role in the fly fishing business, creating over 1000 different flies to meet the needs of their global clientele.
If the orders are anything to go by, the sportsman’s post-lockdown, must-have accessory, is a fly rod and a pouchful of jewellike flies from Gone Fishing – some Girdle Bugs, perhaps, or some Flashy Woolly Buggers, a Hippy Stomper or two – guaranteed to give you a lively afternoon fishing and provide sparkling conversation after.
And they all come from a dynamic little workshop in Rongai, Kenya.
Chicken and pheasant feathers dyed and drying under the African sun, ready to be fashioned into flies, to catch fish in waters all over the world.
Chemususu Fly Fishers’ Organisation
To this day many rivers and dams are regularly re-stocked by keen fly-fishermen and Chemususu Dam, recently built to provide drinking water to Baringo County, has become the newest and arguably one of the best, stillwater trout fishing locations in the country, thanks to the efforts of MCC Members Tony & Colin Church.
It all started back in 2015, in the Golf Club bar at Green Park, when MCC Member, the late Tommy Fjastad, fell into conversation with two Kenyans who were part of the contracting team building a dam in the Lembus Forest above Eldama Ravine. His curiosity piqued, Tommy drove up to the site and was delighted with what he found. The dam had a rock and earth wall 150 feet high holding back 180 acres of clear water that reached a depth of 130 feet in places. Tommy had an idea that he quickly shared with fellow MCC Members Tony and Colin Church.
The dam had been built to supply drinking water to the communities of Eldama Ravine, Marigat and Kampi ya Samaki in Baringo County, and it occurred to Tommy that it might be good for trout. Tommy suggested that Tony and Colin go up to the dam and check the water temperature (20°c), clarity (clear), oxygen level (aerated by the Chebirara and Tenet rivers that feed the dam from Mau Summit) and found the mix ideal for Rainbow trout.
After discussions with the Baringo County Governor and various other authorities, they bought 1,000 three-inch trout fingerlings and released them into the dam to see if they would survive. To their delight, the fingerlings not only survived, they thrived, and plans to establish the Chemususu Fly Fishers’ Organisation (CFFO) quickly developed. In the five years it has taken to build up membership, fish stocks and community support, Chemususu Dam has had time to mellow. Ancient indigenous forest creeps down the steep valley sides to the shoreline, softening its recently-flooded raw edges. At 7,500 feet, it has an Alpine feel about it, the crisp rarefied air and cool clear waters offer a profound sense of tranquilty and peace.
It is a beautiful wide lake, surprisingly well hidden in a deep, forested valley. The shallows are covered with lily pads festooned with their lilac blooms.
The skeletal ghosts of trees that were flooded by the dam shimmer over the calm waters in spectral stands offering perches for cormorants, fish eagles and kingfishers, while below the surface they offer perfect shelter for the trout fingerlings that are released twice a year. Recently flocks of yellow bill and fulvous tree ducks have taken up residence.
At daybreak, skeins of mist hang over the quiet waters and, occasionally, an angler drifts silently across the scene in his boat, ethereal in the magical dawn light, totally removed from the world (which is spinning, apparently out of control, not very far away).
In 2017 CFFO were allowed to clear some forest undergrowth on the northern bank of the dam. Then a track with murram surface was hand built to access Colobus Campsite, named after the four troops of pied monkeys that live in the forest around the site. It has seven leveled areas to pitch tents. This is wild camping.
CFFO has the full backing of the Baringo County Governor (BCG). The Deputy Governor attended the opening baraza and helped to release the first fingerlings into the dam. Since then Tony and Colin with enthusiastic members of CFFO have stocked the waters with a total of 47,000 trout fingerlings.
Passionate conservationists, Tony and Colin, are keen that Chemususu Dam is both valued and protected, not only by keen anglers, so they, with the committee, work hard to involve and support the local communities and, in particular, the local Chemususu Primary School.
Recently, using funds from fishing and camping fees, CFFO has installed rainwater harvesting and water storage tanks at the school giving the 150 children drinking water on site for the first time. They have
With the subscriptions from members and campsite fees, Tony and Colin are able to stock the dam with trout fingerlings twice a year. To date, with the help of members, they have released 47,000 fingerlings.
Chemususu Fly Fishers’ Organisation
To this day many rivers and dams are regularly re-stocked by keen fly-fishermen and Chemususu Dam, recently built to provide drinking water to Baringo County, has become the newest and arguably one of the best, stillwater trout fishing locations in the country, thanks to the efforts of MCC Members Tony & Colin Church.
With the subscriptions from members and campsite fees, Tony and Colin are able to stock the dam with trout fingerlings twice a year. To date, with the help of members, they have released 47,000
waters with a total of 47,000 trout fingerlings.
Passionate conservationists, Tony and Colin, are keen that Chemususu Dam is both valued and protected, not only by keen anglers, so they, with the committee, work hard to involve and support the local communities and, in particular, the local Chemususu
Recently, using funds from fishing and camping fees, CFFO has installed rainwater harvesting and water storage tanks at the school giving the 150 children drinking water on site for the first time. They have also laid 1,450m of piping to get running water to the school for washbasins and loos. Junctions to the Dispensary and cattle dip are included. This project has been a priority for CFFO in view of the recent pandemic.
It is fitting that, Dismas Arwaya, the Fish Warden hired to manage the campsite and fish record book, is an ex-pupil of Chemususu Primary School, pictured below between Colin (left) and Tony.
Fishing at Chemususu is best done from a boat and records for 2020 show that a total of 337 trout were caught over 157 rod days - 2.1 fish per rod per day. Currently, the average size of fish caught this year is approximately 2lbs and those that were kept weighed 1.25lbs on average. The biggest fish caught this year weighed 3lb 14oz.
Chemususu Dam and Campsite is a glorious natural haven in which to relax and unwind. Members can enjoy nature and savour the tranquility in the crisp highland air. Over 74 species of birds have been spotted around the dam and in camp and a butterfly list is on-going. It is a wonderful escape for both serious fly fishermen and for those who just enjoy escaping into nature at its most unspoilt.
For further information – contact CFFO Chairman Tony Church tony@samawati.co.ke.
All trout brought to the net are in excellent condition.
CHEMUSUSU DAM FACT FILE
CFFO Members: 112
Location: Lembus Forest, Eldama Ravine, Baringo County
Distance from Nakuru: one and a half hours on tarmac
Surface area of Dam: 180 acres of still water
Stocking rate: 5,000 fingerlings per year. Total released to date 47,000 Rainbow Trout.
Altitude: 7,500 feet
Bird Species:
Facilities: 74 and counting
Colobus Campsite has space for seven tents.
Activities: Fly Fishing, Boating (only oars or electric engines), Kayaking, Birding, Camping & Nature. Founding Members: Tommy Fjastad, Tony Church, Colin Church, Colin Gunson and Peter Low.
