Chum

BUSH BREAKS & BOOMS, SKATERS & SAPMOK, HYBRIDS & HOROSCOPES

TREAT…

… yo’self at Tintswalo Lapalala. How does a bit of bush and barbs sound? With coastal properties (Tintswalo Atlantic and Tintswalo at Boulders), plus bush lodges and camps in the Waterberg and Lowveld, Tintswalo know exactly how to hit those R&R bliss points with a combo of nature and luxury. Now at their Tintswalo Lapalala luxury tented camp in the Waterberg, they have added catch-and-release fishing for smallscale yellows and other species to the activity options. We’ll be sending Justin Rollinson and Milan Germishuizen to fish it stukkend and review the setup for an upcoming issue, but on paper - a luxury Big-5 bush experience WITH fly fishing AND a spa (for non-fishing partners), only + - 3 hours from Pretoria/ Johannesburg – it sounds perfectly peachy. tintswalo.com

VOLCOM X DOOBIE – LOOSE TRUCKS AND TIGHT LINES

Over the last couple of years, for some reason, fly fishing has been adopted as a fashion trend by several major nonfishing brands. Bentley introduced a $100,000 fly-fishing kit upgrade by their in-house custom crew Mulliner for those customers keen on upgrading their Bentayga SUVs. Small change right? Then Gucci made some fly fishing vests for a mere $2000 (AKA, a week’s tigerfishing on the Zambezi). Stüssy, Asos, Urban Outfitters, Japanese hipsters South 2 West 8 and others have all brought out fishing-influenced ranges. Now, boardsports-titans Volcom have added their own range, ‘Loose Trucks and Tight Lines’. This feels like a decent fit, because we know a lot of skateboarders who fly fish. Hell, our art director Brendan Body was the man behind Session skateboarding magazine back in the day. Designed in collaboration with Victor Pellegrin, aka Doobie (IG: @doobieornotdoobieee) with artwork by Pentagram Pizza (IG: @pentagram_pizza), the Volcom range features Ts, hoodies, pants and a vest that looks like it might just be useable on the water. volcom.eu

SHOUT OUT…

… to the talented merch machines at Rep Your Water who have brought out a new Hybrid shirt that looks like the lovechild of a three-way between a lumberjack, a sun hoodie and a collared shirt. We have not got our hands on one to test just yet, but we like how Norway-based South African Mark Taylor of Fly Fishing Travel (flyfishingtravel.no) managed to look like a missing member of Cypress Hill in this shot from Cosmoledo. repyourwater.com

CHECK OUT…

… Safari Outdoor Fishing in Rivonia. Thanks to the pandemic which has seen more people venture outside for entertainment, fly fishing is having a moment globally, comparable (but even bigger) than the ‘A River Runs Through It’ phenomenon which saw it boom in the ‘90s. While fly fishing’s global growth waves do not always make it to South African shores, the folks at Safari Outdoor are certainly on the up with a new fishing section added to their Rivonia store to complement the one they already have in Pretoria. They also have another store opening in Krugersdorp this May. With a wide range of tackle and gear for fly anglers (and heathens), if you are based in Gauteng you now have even more choice. safarioutdoor.co.za

WIN GREAT CLOBBER WITH SAPMOK…

… who doesn’t love a giveaway comp? We have partnered with veldskoen gurus Sapmok (sapmok. com) to give away not one, not two, but three of their products. The winner will receive a pair of Sapmok’s ridiculously good-looking and comfortable High-Top vellies (a piece of hardwearing South African sartorial heritage if ever there was one), a pair of Sapmok flip-flops (made with 30% recycled rubber and featuring a cork finish), plus one of their versatile Ripcote canvas Nepal duffels. Big enough to carry all your stuff but also small enough to qualify as hand luggage, these bags can be worn as a backpack or carried in hand. You also win one of The Mission’s Yella Fella Truckers to cap off the look. To win, simply ensure you follow both @Sapmok and @themissionflymag on Instagram for one entry and share this competition on your story for an extra entry. You’ve got to be in it to win it.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A GIVEAWAY COMP? THE BABER SCOPE

YOUR FISHING FUTURE ACCORDING TO YOUR STAR SIGN AS READ BY BABERMAN, THE LEGENDARY GRUMPY CATFISH

Taurus (The Bull): April 20 – May 20

The most sensual of the star signs, you Taureans are all about the good life, luxury, consistency, reliability and ROI (after all you are also the symbol of Wall Street). That means glamping over camping, stockies over reccies, a three-course lunch over a 30km trek. As for wading tranquil waters with you… well it’s like a bull in a china shop.

Gemini (Twins): May 21 – June 20

Indecisive as all hell and vocal about it, (“6x or 7x bud?” “RAB or Pineapple emerger?” “Left fork or right?”), it’s almost as if your inner twins are battling for control of your ADHD melon. You’re also the chattiest chommie to ever don a pair of waders, which means you bring valuable gees when the fishing is average, but for the love of Cthulu try STFU from time to time too.

CRASH TEST DUMMIES – KALK AP BIKE

WELCOME TO A NEW SECTION ON ANYTHING VEHICULAR THAT COULD POSSIBLY PERTAIN TO FLY FISHING, MARSHALLED BY OUR TAME DUMMIES NIC SCHWERDTFEGER AND WARWICK LESLIE . FIRST UP THEY DISCUSS THE KALK AP (ANTI-POACHING), AN ELECTRIC BUSH BIKE DEVELOPED BY SWEDISH COMPANY CAKE (RIDECAKE.COM).

Nic Schwerdtfeger: Salmon guide, cannabis enthusiast, MD of Rezlo Racing (rezlo.com). Can braai better than you. Warwick Leslie: Camping Engineer at Alu-Cab (alu-cab.com), fisherman, man of many toys. In it for the shiny stuff. Nic: So, the e-bike crew at CAKE have built 50 of these bikes and they have a “buy one, donate one” scheme where for each bike bought by a customer they will donate one (plus a solar power station and solar panels) to South African anti-poaching rangers at the Southern African Wildlife College. Except for the sound of the wheels on the ground and the wind as they cruise past, they are silent. Good for silently sneaking up on poachers. Warrels: Poachers aside, I like a bit of a BRAAAP! from a bike. Funnily enough, just not on my own land. How much does it cost? If it is anything more than 150k then I’d recommend getting your fat arse (speaking for myself) on a fat bike and getting sweaty... Nic: It costs many kroner bröther. $26 500 to be precise, but Cake’s other non-sponsor ones are less ranging from $9-13k. The Kalk AP has three ride modes. ‘Explore’ which they call the ultimate mode during exploration, which is limited to 45km/h with 3-4 hours battery range. ‘Excite’ which is endure or active trail riding with 1-2 hours riding time and ‘Excel’ which is track and race mode with maximal torque and speed and a riding time of up to 1 hour.

Warrels: Must be nice to have if you own tracts of land fronting on to Sterkies or Vanderkloof. Still, while the rangers will have access to charging stations in the bush, for your average Joe, the fly fishing applications would be relatively limited with that range. I have said before, and I will maintain, that e-anything’s from an environmental perspective are somewhat misleading, and the range, along with charge time will only end up in frustration and disappointment.

Nic: I was on this train of thought before, but then I drove a Tesla for two weeks. Have you felt the instant torque of an electric motor on a bike or car? It’s actually frightening. Trust me, new E-technology is amazing. Warrels: I’m not arguing anything from a performance perspective, just practicality and the false eco bullshit that goes with them.

Nic: 100%, but let’s get past that and look at the product for what it is, not how many trees had to fall in order to power it. I may be slightly biased because in Norway, where I spend a large portion of my time, electricity is all very clean. Warrels: Well, I like the pastel colors. It does looking fucking cool, and for sneaky applications it has its place. Perfect for Constantia conservationists.

Warrels: The thing is, to use the Kalk AP as an exploring machine with its available range, at 60kg you are going to have to trailer it, whereas if you bought a Specialized E-bike you can stick it on a bike rack, which is a significant difference. So in short, the Kalk AP is great for anti-poaching or to have on a wilderness property, but not really for fishos. Or at least not yet. Nic: Agreed there, but if hypothetically I put 2 x Kalks in a container on your hypothetical farm and they just lived there, you would not (hypothetically) complain. There are definitely some people with Franschhoek money who would buy them just because. Personally, I would love to have one and 100kms of the Orange river to dick around on. It’s still not going to beat a Yamaha Xt500 on a dirt road in any aspect any time soon, but seeing as this tech is in its infancy, the future looks very promising.