MAKE THE CIRCLE BIGGER

While my wife and I were on honeymoon in Italy in 2016, I snuck away for a day’s fishing with venerable Italian guide Moreno Borriero. He took me on some skinny sections of the Tiber River and we spent a fantastic day fishing for brown trout and grayling.

Over the course of the day, whether driving, fishing, or stopping for a brilliant lunch of porchetta and wine and, as I enthused about how much I was enjoying what Moreno had at his disposal, we compared notes about our respective fly fishing scenes, his in Italy, mine back in South Africa. I was surprised to hear that things were very different in terms of the fly fishing community. In Italy, Moreno explained, the club scene simply wasn’t thriving whether through a lack of interest from the youth, a failure to facilitate exposure to fly fishing from the older guard, prohibitive costs, etc.

Admittedly, that was seven years ago, so things might have improved since I was there, but I remember two massive takeaways at the time. The first was wishing for the Italian scene to get an injection of energy and a transfer of knowledge, and the second being incredibly grateful for what we have in South Africa.

For many people, clubs are how you get into fly fishing. Sure, your dad or mum may teach you how to fish but joining a club takes it further. Not only do clubs give you access to water, they also facilitate the teaching of new skills and, if you make the right friends and know how to keep a secret, informationsharing. This opening up of the fly fishing world goes beyond just the formal clubs though. There are festivals held all over the country, some old, some new, that bring people together, usually over a pint or three. And there are community fly tying evenings too, both informal and organised through decadesold assortments of clubs, shops, random gurus, and generous know-it-alls. You’ll find the ones that suit you soon enough.

It’s easy to get a little too insular in this sport/hobby/ obsession, to rely on learning everything either online or the hard way, on your feet. But there’s a middle way too that entails getting involved in your own fly fishing community. And if that community aspect doesn’t exist in your town or region, or exists in a way that you don’t like? Make your own scene happen. It’s really as easy as getting a regular group of like-minded anglers together for a braai and a dop, having one or two people demo a fly-tying technique or perhaps a casting demo. A plan is made to fish the following weekend and dates are booked for a follow-up session the next month. From there, new waters are secured, secret handshakes agreed upon, a code of omerta installed and the snowball gathers momentum. You’ll be surprised by how quickly your world expands and your fishing improves. Before you know it, decades will pass, and you’ll be living in a shed in Kamchatka with bears for pets. Thank us later.

For all the info you need on the clubs, festivals, and other events happening in your neck of the woods, check out our COMMUNITY story on page 42. To our readers from other parts of the world, much of this article might seem irrelevant to you but, who knows? It might also inspire you to get a country membership for next to nothing (our currency is weaker than a 0-weight in a typhoon), visit Southern Africa, meet some great people and experience some of the incredible fishing we have in this neck of the woods.

Contact The Mission

The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine for Soutie Press (Pty) Ltd 25 Firth Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa info@themissionflymag.com www.themissionflymag.com

EDITOR

Tudor Caradoc-Davies

ART DIRECTOR

Brendan Body

EDITOR AT LARGE

Conrad Botes

CONTENT COORDINATOR

Matt Kennedy

COPY EDITOR

Gillian Caradoc-Davies

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Ingrid Sinclair

ADVERTISING SALES tudor@themissionflymag.com

CONTRIBUTORS #40

Rob Kyle, Conrad Botes, Alex Quatre, Brent Flack-Davison, Johann Rademeyer, Jazz Kuschke, Jimmy Eagleton, Roald Paul, Platon Trakoshis, Yuri Janssen, and the South African fly fishing community.

PHOTOGRAPHERS #40

James Kirsten, Brian Chakanyuka, Alphonse Fishing Co., Jan Verboom, Matt Kennedy, Brent Flack-Davison, Johann Rademeyer, Ryan Janssens, Joe Goertzen, Travis Craft, Patrick Tillard, Markus Janssen, David Pienaar