World Masters Fly Fishing Championship, Dullstroom A report from Linda Gorlei
A few issues back in this publication , Cheryl Heyns, President of the South African Fly Fishing Association (SAFFA) at the time, announced the exciting news that SA would be hosting the 5th Fips-Mouche World Masters Fly Fishing Championship in Dullstroom. This first for South Africa and Africa was extra special because the event was also included as part of the World Angling Games. So it was in early February, that a good number of the world’s best competitive flyfishers in the 50’s plus age group, gathered in Dullstroom to compete in the Fips-Mouche World Masters Fly Fishing Championship. This is a relatively new category in the world flyfishing calendar, however, the fairly small number of teams entered, (seven in all from countries such as Australia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the USA, and of course South Africa) underrepresented the skill levels which were outstanding. With the draw overseen by Fips representative Stefan Allacker, Competitors were drawn into one of four fishing groups. Each group only fished four sessions as opposed to the usual five. www.saflyfishingmag.co.za
These sessions took place at the Dullstroom Town Dam, the Lochs, Nooitgedacht Trout Lodge Dam and Rivendell on the Spekboom river. A colourful parade through the town kicked off the event. A pipe band led the parade which helped spectators and competitors get into the groove of what was an amazing few days of competition, fishing fellowship and fun. The ceremonial procession was followed by the business of the captains’ meeting and draw. The draw is very important as it is only then that anglers learn who they will be fishing against This is when the competition starts in earnest. A team’s overall placing points determine its position on the competition scoreboard. However, teams only compete one on one with other teams fishing in the same group. Sessions last three hours and fish are scored by length as well as points per fish. Anglers fish two sessions a day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. o, the first step in doing well overall is to ensure that your team does well in each session. It’s a case of do your best and help each other – work as a 8
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