TRANSVAAL FLY TYERS GUILD HENNIE VILJOEN The Transvaal Fly Tyers Guild was formed in 1991 by a group of flyfishers who wanted to further their own knowledge and to pass on to others information on the art of fly dressing. The Guild meets on the second Monday of each month from January to November. The venue for meetings is the Tennis Club building at the Bryanston Sports Club in Payne Road, Bryanston. Meeting time is 19:00 for 19:30 and meetings normally finish at around 9:30pm. Evenings begin with an Introduction by Chairperson with news items followed by a guest tyer who demonstrates the evening’s fly and how to fish it. The fly is generally seasonal, i.e. Yellowfish, Trout, Barbel, Bass, Saltwater etc. All that you have to bring along for the evening is your vice, fly tying tools and thread. The required hooks and material are provided by our generous sponsors. The guild relies heavily on these sponsors who generously provide materials and prizes for each gathering. Our current sponsors are Grip Hooks, Fish Fluff and Dr. Slick Co. A big thank you goes out to each of these companies. We are truly appreciative of your goodwill and association. After the demonstration of the tying technique, the materials for the fly are put out on a table and made available to members to sit down and tie the fly for themselves. This gives the member the opportunity to practice the technique in tying the fly and to ask for help with any problems that he may have. Flies tied on the evening are entered into a competition to pick the evening’s winner. Participants who did not win have the opportunity to ask the demonstrator the points on which their fly let them down. Each month’s winner goes forward to an annual competition for the best-dressed flies of that www.saflyfishingmag.co.za
year. Many well known South African fly fishers and fly tyers have been guest tyers on a regular basis, including Murray Pedder, Herman Botes, Ian Courier, Daniel Factor, Gary Glen-Young and Pieter Taljaard. Guild members also arrange ad hoc fly fishing outings and clinics with the aim of improving the skills of members and, if they would like to fish competitively, to try out for the Northern Gauteng Fly Fishing team. Individuals in the Guild have gone forward to represent the Province as well as the Proteas in international fly fishing competitions. The Guild has a Facebook page and has more recently set up a YouTube account to share with any fly fishers interested the patterns tied at each meeting. Please visit the guild’s website at www.flytyersguild.co.za The TFTG is always looking for new members to join in on the fun and to be a part of our fly tying community. All ages are welcome. One of our youngest members is only eleven years old and she is already a force to be reckoned with! Should you be interested in joining the TFTG, please contact us through our website. Membership fees for 2019 Single Membership: R350.00 Family Membership: R400.00 Student Membership: R150.00
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