THE BABER SCOPE

from The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine Issue#40

W ELCOME TO OUR WORLD OF F LY FISHIN G

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

Cancer (The Crab) June 21 – July 22

LISTEN TO…

…MY KIND OF RIVER. What if you could design your perfect river? One where anything goes - dorado in the headwaters, nubile nymphs in the middle sections, tailing tarpon below, etc etc?

On Patrick Tillard’s excellent podcast, My Kind of River, guests get to do just that and in the process tell the stories behind each choice they make. From Yuri Janssen (our Lifer in this issue) to author David Profumo and travel specialist Pete McLeod, his guests design rivers we’d all want to fish. Think of it as Desert Island Discs, but for fly fishing. patricktillard.com/podcast

GET YOUR MITTS ON...

...SOME NIFTY RECYCLED GEAR. Instead of seeing them disappear and get sent to a landfill site, Xplorer’s new RE-XPLORE initiative re-purposes old or unwanted waders, bags, and fishing gear. Then, like magic, your old waders re-emerge as anything from neoprene beer coolies to rod straps, cooler boxes, laptop sleeves, and reel pouches. xplorerflyfishing.co.za

Housekeeping! Not the hotel type but the kind you need to do yourself. With deep winter having set in in the Southern Hemisphere and the Sun in Geminaai, it’s a good time to get your shit sorted for the fishing to come when the sun reappears. Clean your lines, tie flies, service reels, and take a good hard look at the tides, the moon phases, and the calendar, so you can scuttle sideways from Cousin Brad’s wedding if needs be. But beware. Now is not the time to overcommit to future kak trips with average peeps. That trip of a lifetime could be bubbling under like a crab curry. Give it time to emerge then nab it with both claws.

Leo (The Lion) July 23 – August 22

You’re a regal kind of cat and a bit of a twat, but we won’t hold that against you. It’s just who you are. Thing is, you need to decide if you’re going to keep playing it safe, Leo. Are you the fat tabby molesting over-fed goldfish in a bowl, or are you the jaguar leaping into the Amazon and moer-ing caiman for shits and giggles? Instead of embodying the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, this year for your birthday, we suggest taking on the fly fishing adventure of your lifetime. You know, the kind of adventure you dine out on for decades to come. With nine lives, what’s the worst thing that could happen?

The Largest Fly Tying Selection In South Africa

Shop online at www.xplorerflyfishing.co.za

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