The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine Issue #44

3 years in development

16 Iterations of material packages

8 different variations of slickness formulas

And over 2500 hours of field testing

ALL TO GET TO THIS POINT

“ “ The new Magnitude clear floating line comes out of the bucket clean. No tangles. And, for my clients, that’s the difference between a heart attack and a high five.

-Dustin Huff

Introducing The New Magnitude Clear Floating Fly Line

Duracoat

Specialized dual-polymer design optimizes line stiffness, slickness, and abrasion resistance while significantly reducing line memory and tangles.

Clear Floating Technology

Clear Floating Technology uses naturally buoyant polymers for the ultimate in stealthy presentation and best-in-class durability.

EST +

EST+ - proprietary slickness additive that provides unmatched durability, smoother shooting, and eco-friendly performance.

Pull together for what we love.

Left Photo: Bryan Gregson Right Photo: David Herasimtschuk / Freshwaters Illustrated © 2024 Patagonia, Inc.

Fly fishing offers us the best of this planet. In turn, it demands our best. That’s why we support the people working to protect the wild fish and clean water we love.

32. FILMMAKER: GABRIEL BOTHA

Making a name for himself both with his film work and photography, Gabriel Botha has been rolling out some bangers. He talks to us about his latest film, Sette Cama, which showcases the premier African Waters Gabon destination.

40. MEET THE FARQUHARS

By going to a destination that lends itself to months of prep beforehand and that results in tons of hero shots, Ewan Naude was not only blessed with great fish, but great company too.

52. THE HALO HATCH

Herman “Harry” Botes breaks down the how, when, and why of the Vaal River’s legendary caddis hatches – from understanding fly choice, timing and seasonality, to generally just trusting that the hatch will arrive.

62. HUGGING THE BEAR

On a mission up a remote Drakensberg tributary, Nick van Rensburg and Matt Gorlei of FlyBru, and Shaun Dickson of Xplorer Fly Fishing, had their fair share of knee-trembling hardship, heavenly fishing, blissed-out nature vibes and a few surprises. This is the story behind the new FlyBru film.

74. THE HAVEN

After moving to the Grand Cayman for work, Richard Langford discovered there was more to the tax-neutral island than meets the eye. Fishing in what looks like a fly angler’s aquarium, Rich’s species count is only going up.

Cover: Herman Botes experiences the ecstasy of a halo hatch of caddis flies on the Vaal River, South Africa (page 52). Photo Paul Botes.

Cranefly brew with FlyBru in the Drakensberg. Waste not, want not, right?

“Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all endurance.” – James Baldwin

When you read these words, do you hear them too? Is there an internal voice that narrates what you see and talks you through an emotional (or unemotional, if you’re into euro nymphing) response?

If you have that internal voice, you’re in the majority. Most people have some element of it, some of the time. The thing is it varies widely from people who have their internal voice working 100% of the time to others who report never having it.

Mine makes an appearance when I fish and it (he/I) has a familiar peanut gallery sledging contempt for me.

“Hey fuckwit, slow down.”

“I told you to re-tie that leader.”

“Hallelujah! You see that wasn’t that hard.”

“No droëwors and not a Woolly Bugger in sight, what kind of moron packed your bag?”

TUDOR CARADOC-DAVIES

THE INNER VOICE

That first one, “Fuckwit”, makes regular cameos. What exactly does it mean? A witless fuck. A fuck sans wits? A small randy migratory wader bird like the godwit? Urban Dictionary describes it as such, “A person who is not only lacking in clue but is apparently unable or unwilling to acquire clue even when handed it on a plate in generous portions.”

To be blaringly honest about my plentiful shortcomings, this does sum me and my clumsy The Three Stooges rivercraft up pretty well. Most of the blunders I make –the things that provoke that inner voice into tuning me – are things I should know better. However, if I attempt something out of my skillset and don’t quite pull it off, the voice stays quiet. As if to say, in silence, you were never going to pull that off. But if I balls up something within my wheelhouse the abuse flows.

It follows then that the more I fish, the less I hear from the inner voice. It’s like I’m in a glacial arms race to be a better angler while my body gets more decrepit and my free time gets shorter. My mending has improved, I read water better, I get the Hail Mary cast more often than I used to, but these wins are tempered by some losses. My ability to tie knots fast is hamstrung by worsening eyesight, my balance on river rocks is not what it was (and hasn’t been for two decades), and there are early-morning starts where I do not leap out of bed, but groan and schlumph like a lumpen hagfish inching towards the nearest coffee.

While I have considered getting specs for fishing and I stretch every morning while waiting for coffee to brew (two baby bottles shaking in my hands like one of those dumb-ass conceptual barmen flaring for no one), I am coming to terms with this abuse from him. Me.

As it is, of all the insults my inner voice could come up with, “Fuckwit”, while not particularly complimentary, is mid-tier at best. In fact, it’s so bland that I’m convinced it reveals a level of both affection (oh, old fuckwit at it again) and resignation (sigh… fuckwit). As if my inner voice knows me well enough to not get angrier when I duff things up. He’s not mad, he’s just disappointed.

Try again, fuckwit. Knock yourself out.

This magazine is home-grown, hand-rolled and smoked into being by a bunch of real humans, completely AI-free. If you enjoy what we do and feel you would like to support us in some way, get some The Mission merch from our website, buy us a beer/coffee on Patreon (patreon.com/themissionflymag), or just send us an email telling us how amazing our jaw lines are at info@themissionflymag.com.

EDITOR

Tudor Caradoc-Davies

ART DIRECTOR

Brendan Body

EDITOR AT LARGE

Conrad Botes

CONTENT COORDINATOR

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

Matt Kennedy

COPY EDITOR

Gillian Caradoc-Davies

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Ingrid Sinclair

ADVERTISING SALES

tudor@themissionflymag.com

CONTRIBUTORS #44

Nick Marzano, Ronald Jessop, Roelof Botha, Nick van Rensburg, Ewan Naude, Herman “Harry” Botes, Gabriel Botha, Richard Langford, Brendan Body, Andre van Wyk, Jeff Pierce.

PHOTOGRAPHERS #44

Paul Botes, Nick Marzano, Roelof Botha, Nick van Rensburg, Matt Gorlei, Shaun Dickson, Ewan Naude, Paul Robinson, Herman Botes, Matt Kennedy, Gabriel Botha, Richard Langford, Riley Meyer, Jeff Pierce, Christian Fry.

Gabriel Botha managed to capture LeRoy ‘The GOAT’ Botha’s family while in the Tankwa Karoo. Mum says call home bro.

CHUM

HOLY GRAIL CLEAR LINES FROM SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS, THE LAUNCH ISSUE OF FISHO MAGAZINE, BOLAND GETS A SHOP, SCOTT HAS A SESSION, ORVIS DROPS AN H-BOMB, A KLINK BOOK IN THE OFFING, A WHATSAPP GROUP YOU WANT TO JOIN, PLUS THAT BLOODY CATFISH.

GAZE UPON...

…THE NEAR-INVISIBLE MAGNIFICENCE of Scientific Anglers’ new Magnitude clear lines. Kind of like a cure for male balding in the cosmetics industry, developing a highquality clear line is the Holy Grail of fly line development. Scientific Anglers have just dropped a whole new range of saltwater lines that should provide the solution to those extra-

finicky fish (hi, permit) that spook at the mere suggestion of a line on the water. We have a permit nerd hard at work testing them and will revert with a long-term review in due course, but for now, know this: We’re suitably aroused. Available in Scientific Anglers’ Infinity and Grand Slam tapers in both smooth and textured finishes. scientificanglers.com

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE KLINK...

...HANS VAN KLINKEN’S NEW BOOK. Arguably the most effective and widely copied emerger pattern of all time (see Herman Botes’s version in “The Halo Hatch” later in this issue), the Klinkhamer is a must in every freshwater fly box. Forty years after Hans van Klinken created the fly, this June he’s releasing a large-format jacketed hardcover book about it. Expect 352 pages illustrated with 675 colour photos of pure Klink goodness. merlinunwin.co.uk

“352 PAGES ILLUSTRATED WITH 675 COLOUR PHOTOS OF PURE KLINK GOODNESS.”

NEW…

…FRESHWATER ROD FROM SCOTT. It’s hard not to get excited when Colorado’s finest drops a fresh rod, and with the release of the Scott Session we doth froth. Built to hit that combo “fast with feel” action that Scott rods have established a reputation for, the Session pulls on the design approach and material DNA of some of Scott’s most iconic rods, while bringing some of the marque’s newest tech into

play. Detail nerds can expect Scott’s Carbon Link epoxy resin system, Multi-Modulus lay ups, ARC2 reinforcement, ReAct, and Natural Finish blanks, while the components include milled aluminium reel seats with type 2 anodize and wood inserts, silicon nitride stripping guides, and Super-grade cork handles. Available from 8 to 10 feet, in four-piece configuration for 3- to 8-weight lines. scottflyrod.com

…BRICK AND MORTAR FLY SHOP FOR STREAM & SEA

. The Boland has been missing a fly shop, and Pierre Joubert of Stream & Sea has filled that gaping hole by opening a small Stream & Sea shop in Wellington. Perfect for if you snap your rod while setting up for a day on the Cape streams and need to make a plan fast. streamandsea.com

JOZIFLY’S…

…FLYTYER’S DEN

One of our favourite homegrown flytyers, Yaqoob Tarmohammed (aka @Jozifly), has launched a WhatsApp group with tips, tutorials and more. Hit him up on Instagram for access or click on the link in our digital mag.

is four times more accurate than “the previous industry benchmark” (the H3). We say we’ll be the judge of that as the editor’s brother-in-law cannot hit a barn door with a sjambok from 2m. Giles, if you’re reading this, get the new Helios and you may yet catch a fish on fly. Available from orvis.com or flyfishing.co.za.

Ahrex Beast Fleye Hook by Bob Popovics

Big flies equal big fish, right? Really big flies equal really big fish! However, those flies can be difficult, if not nearly impossible to cast.

Salt water legend, Bob Popovics has solved that with his Beast Fleye design. We’re pleased and proud to announce the SA290 Beast Fleye and SA292 Beast Fleye Long, both made to Bob Popovics’ specifications.

• Extra strong hook for big fish

• Micro barb for easy penetration and easy release

• Quick drop bend to minimize fouling and keel the fly

• Long shank for multiple tie in points

• Oversized eye to accept heavy shock tippets

• A-Steel coating prevents rust in harsh saltwater environments

Ahrex Hooks are made without compromise

– designed by Scandinavian fly fishermen (and Bob Popovics) for fishing all over the world.

We use innovative technology and the best materials available for each specific hook.

Happy fly tying –The Ahrex Team

SA290 BEAST FLEYE

Available in size: 8/0, 6/0 & 4/0

SA292 BEAST FLEYE, LONG

Available in size: 8/0, 6/0 & 4/0

“ This fly’s popularity has taken me a bit by surprise, but now, the Beast, and other large patterns tied with the Hollow style, have become important not only for saltwater anglers but also for muskie and northern pike fishermen, for whom large, easy-to-cast flies are sort of Holy Grail “

CHECK OUT...

...FISHO MAGAZINE. When this visual feast of fishing subcultures put together by Nick Marzano landed in our post box we were intrigued. The mag itself with its stunning layouts and layered (ad-free) visual storytelling is like nothing we have seen before. Hell, even the courier packaging with its disco ball/fish scale finish was different. Wanting more, we got in touch with Nick who fielded our questions and served up this issue’s playlist, “an art-slashfishing-slash-fashion experiment heavily inspired by disco, Africa, and the 70s.” fishomagazine.com

When you’re not putting together FISHO, how do you pay the bills?

I’m a freelance creative director, writer, and photographer.

What are your local waters?

Primarily the Puget Sound here in Seattle, Washington for coho and king salmon, coastal cutthroat, ling cod and flounder (the last being the equivalent of catching a wet doormat). As often as possible I head inland to fly fish the Skykomish and Snoqualmie river systems for rainbow trout and whatever salmon are running. The scenery here is epic.

What’s the story with this FISHO’s being “Issue:00 Street Gumbo”? Is it a precursor to your first issue? What’s the plan?

Yes, I imagined it as a precursor to a “proper” launch issue that’s more magazine-like in editorial form, with essays and more professional design. The irony is, the feedback on the photo-zine-puzzled-together vibe has been so positive, I intend to keep that format for the next issue. I’ll let it evolve and feel out the format as it comes together. I like the idea of an opening essay to provide context, and then a purely visual body that invites the viewer’s imagination to create its own connections between the juxtaposed images – some abstract, others literal.

THE BABER SCOPE

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

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

So what can we expect from the next issue?

The upcoming Issue:001 will focus on my home city of Seattle and the surrounding waters. It’ll have a similar format to “Street Gumbo” with a clam chowder flavour that captures the characters, geography, and fishing styles unique to this part of the world. I’m working on the final designs now, which includes a unicorn fishmonger holding a king salmon, a tropical twist on winter fly fishing, and some stunning Skykomish River bridge graffiti.

How do people get their hands on FISHO? Subscription? Carrier pigeon? The north wind?

Currently FISHO is only available as a limited-edition print which I gift to folks whose fishing work (photography, curation, fly designs, etc.) inspires me for whatever reason. I send a copy, and in return I get gratitude – often in the form of a great story, an invitation to fish, a T-shirt, cool sticker, a box of flies, all stuff I can feature on Instagram, add to my basement gallery, and grow the community organically as a kind of fishing exchange programme.

Featuring William Onyeabor, Letta Mbulu, The Maytals, Talking Heads, Francis Bebey and more, listen to the FISHO playlist.

He-hey black betty rambalam! Greetings and mutton chops upon you, you randy old ram. Speaking of old, did you know that the average person has only 4 000 weeks? That’s weeks of life. Not working weeks. If you give some thought to that (your life flashing before your eyes no doubt in cinematic wonder), perhaps it leaves you wondering why you have spent so much time sitting down? And why the hell you have not fished more? Perhaps it is time to take life by the horns and make sure your remaining weeks are well spent, on the water in beautiful places as much as possible, with friends perhaps, chasing fish that leave you feverish. Or you could just go back to being a sheep.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

Taurans are known for enjoying the finer things in life. You like to fish as much as the next angler, but the idea of living off flavoured sawdust and camp vermin while sleeping rough leaves you cold. That’s OK. Whether it’s Orange River lodges with great fish and gourmet fare or Patagonian outfitters who dish up epic asado and wine after long days klapping big fish, you don’t need to fight your sensibilities. The planet abounds with places that dish up both great fishing and aprèsfish options. You just need to make enough to afford space for yourself and your old mate Baberman.

DRAIN. DRIP. GO.

DRAINMAKER XTR

MEN’S DRAINMAKER™ XTR SHOE

From riverside trails to creek crossings, this ultra-grippy slip-on shoe is built with a quick-dry upper and cushioning for adventures in and around water.

THE RAD BAG

AT SIX FOOT FOUR INCHES, RONALD JESSOP

, THE OWNER OF RADBAG , STRETCHES THE TERM “LITTLE GUY” BUT HIS SURVIVAL BAGS FOR SLEEPING IN THE WILD ARE SUITED TO ALL HUMANS, FROM LITTLE TO LONG.

Who are you?

I’m Ronald Jessop and I grew up alongside the Sugarbush River where it flows into the Vaal in Vereeniging. We spent carefree afternoons exploring, swimming, and fly fishing for black bass, barbel and yellowfish. I loved collecting lures, rods, flies and other outdoor equipment even more than actually catching fish. Then I became a mechanical engineer. As a form of escapism, I got into adventure racing (AR) and eventually its purest form: expedition racing. This is where you navigate using a map and compass as you propel yourself for days and nights on end through wild places on foot, by bike and in a kayak, with occasional abseiling. It was here that RADBAG was born: Sleeping trailside for an hour or two at a time demanded a lightweight form of protection that could be deployed in seconds.

What do you specialise in?

The RADBAG is a bivy (bivouac) bag for people who like to sleep under the stars. It has no lining, just a single layer of carefully engineered weatherproof material. It’s very lightweight but more durable than a space blanket. It’s breathable so you don’t sweat in it and, while not as warm as a sleeping bag, it punches above its weight in retaining body heat. It blends in with the scenery so that your inconspicuous sleeping spot won’t draw unwanted attention.

Then there’s the RADBAG Zip, which opens fully to become a tarp or groundsheet when not being a bivvy bag. It’s ideal for laying out your reels for an impromptu service without losing delicate parts in the grass and soil. The RADBAG Race weighs as much as a cellphone. We’re also introducing a minimalist, down-filled, very light full-length sleeping bag soon.

RADBAG is made in South Africa. Available at radbag.co.za and at specialist online retailers.

Herman Botes uses the RADBAG amid strange weather.

I went to the Tankwa Karoo with my brother, Conrad, and Paul Botes (no relation but a brother from another mother). I had no time to prep so I just bliksemmed my stuff into my bag. On arrival in Tankwa, when we loaded up to hike in, I realised that in my haste I’d packed the wrong sleeping bag and instead of a high-end bag I ended up with my daughter’s flimsy sleeping bag with half-broken zips. I was not too worried because Tankwa is usually hot and you tend to sleep on top of your bags. Unfortunately, a cold front moved in. I spent a lot of time on the first night with sand in my sleeping bag. On the second I discovered that Conrad had brought the RADBAG. I stuck my sleeping bag in the RADBAG and that worked out damn well. One evening we got hit with light showers – the other dudes got wet while I was snug as a bug and bone dry.

Photo. Paul Botes

“THE FINEST SHITHOLE SPECIES IN THE BEST SHITHOLE DESTINATIONS.”

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ROELOF BOTHA

WHETHER CATCHING AN INTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION WORLD RECORD CARP ON FLY (AT HARTBEESPOORT DAM, NO LESS) OR GUIDING IN GABON, TANZANIA, AND ON THE VAAL, ROELOF BOTHA QUIETLY GETS ON WITH THE JOB, NO MATTER THE SPECIES OR LOCATION.

Photos. Roelof Botha

5 best things about where you guide?

1. Gabon. There are not a lot of places in the world where 200lb-plus tarpon aggressively eat your fly next to the boat. Adrenaline rush of note.

2. Tanzania. You realise just how wild the Selous (now Nyerere National Park) is. It really feels like you’re fishing in Jurassic Park.

3. Lower Vaal River. The banter with my fellow guides at Diamond River Outfitters. They’re a great bunch of likeminded guys.

4. Gabon. It’s a massive privilege to see the wildlife there on a regular basis. Species you don’t get to see elsewhere, like African manatees, slender-snouted crocodiles, African dwarf crocodiles, etc.

5. Lower Vaal River. Casting big streamers to a healthy population of largemouth yellowfish for a morning session and then some epic smallmouth yellowfish dry fly action in the afternoon really makes this section of the river special.

5 fishing-connected items you don’t leave home without before making a mission?

1. Canon 250D. Nice and compact for capturing memories.

2. Leatherman knife my wife got me. It has so many uses as well as being a great minor-surgery tool when in the middle of nowhere.

3. White gold, aka toilet paper (preferably two-ply). It’s great for cleaning sunnies as well as other uses when far from civilisation. It can make you a hero when a boskak whispers someone’s name.

4. Backup lighter. Dropping your only lighter in the Atlantic at the start of a long day only happens once.

5. Sunscreen. The African sun is not your friend.

5 bands to listen to while on a road trip?

1. Pearl Jam.

2. Fokofpolisiekar.

3. Creedence Clearwater Revival.

4. AC/DC.

5. Queen.

5 things you’re loving right now?

1. Being a new dad to a beautiful baby daughter.

2. Watching my stepson compete in school sport. He is an insanely talented youngster.

3. My two lever action rifles, a 45-70 Gov’t and a 44 Mag. There’s just something addictive about running a lever gun.

4. The Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup for a fourth time. I’m proud to be South African.

5. YouTube. I can go down some serious rabbit holes.

5 of the most difficult guiding experiences so far?

1. Going out alone in Gabon on the skiff for the first time, after just getting my skipper’s licence, then getting hammered by the biggest storm of the season 20 miles from the marina. I was very glad to have done surf launches for the licence.

2. Having the responsibility to oversee the building of a camp in Tanzania, locating fishing spots and not understanding a word of Swahili as my first guiding job and experience.

3. Being away from my family for extended periods.

4. Keeping up with Arno Matthee. The guy is a machine.

5. Sleep deprivation is a young man’s game.

5 of the best things you have picked up from guiding?

1. Humility and a willingness to learn make life much easier.

2. Managing expectations. It’s an art form.

3. Having a plan, A, B and C.

4. Adaptability. Conditions and people are ever-changing. Adapt or die.

5. Confidence. Making decisions and trusting what you have learned takes time, but very rewarding when it all works out.

“ONE OF THE WORST THINGS I HAVE PICKED UP FROM GUIDING IS STRIP-SETTING MY GARDEN HOSE AS SOON AS I FEEL RESISTANCE.”

“ONE OF THE LAST FISH I CAST TO WAS SKINNY WATER TAILING PERMIT IN OMAN.”

“MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE THE FISH’S HEAD IS BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR CAST.

FISH AREN’T KNOWN FOR INHALING FLIES BY REVERSE FARTING.”

5 of the worst things you have picked up from guiding?

1. Strip-setting my garden hose as soon as I feel resistance. It takes a while to break the habit.

2. A deep passion for wearing flip-flops everywhere.

3. Answering with “Three o’ clock, twenty yards” when my wife asks if I know where our dog is.

4. Bug-bitten feet out of a horror movie.

5. I can be a bit grumpy when I’m away from water for a while.

5 flies to pack (in the smuggler kit under your driver’s seat) to cover most species?

1. Woolly Bugger.

2. GRHE.

3. Clouser minnow.

4. Alphlexo crab.

5. Muishond variation.

5 people you would like to guide or fish with?

1. My dad. It would be a massive privilege to take him to Gabon to fish from the beach for tarpon and Jack crevalle.

2. Arno Matthee, a fly fishing legend and pioneer. Although we guided together in Gabon, I would love to fish with him for milkfish and permit.

3. Rassie Erasmus. Maybe, if I fish with him, he could come up with some innovative ideas on targeting largemouth yellowfish.

4. Eddie Rall. Every day guiding with my good friend Eddie is a blast, what a character.

5. CJ Cronje. He and his dad were my first clients in Gabon. CJ recently started guiding for FlyCastaway and it would be great to fish with him and be guided by him.

5 shower thoughts that have occurred to you while fly fishing?

1. If fishing is addictive and the tug is the drug, does that make guides drug dealers, and outfitters the Mob?

2. If there is a sudden gust of wind, will I be able to dodge this guy’s heavily weighted Clouser?

3. Imagine what the ocean would sound like if mullet could scream.

4. Is my casting getting better or is my eyesight is getting worse?

5. If you are working as a guide, is a bad day’s fishing still better than a good day in the office?

5 of the most underrated species in your book?

1. Carp. It’s a predictable answer, but what’s not to like

about sight-fishing and stalking tailing fish that also pull some drag.

2. Jack crevalle. Strong, aggressive topwater smashing beasts.

3. All Labeobarbus species. They’re loved by South Africans, but the rest of the world is missing out on some great dry fly, nymphing and streamer action.

4. Grass carp. They’re not much to look at and invasive, but the level of difficulty in fooling one on fly as well as their size, makes them a great challenge.

5. Sharks. Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I spot one, I want to have a cast at it.

5 things (outside of the fishing) that make where you fish so special?

1. The wildlife in Gabon and the jungle scenery are unreal. There are not a lot of places where lowland gorillas, forest elephants and flocks of African grey parrots still thrive.

2. The Selous in Tanzania, and the location of the camp, is really one of the wildest places in Africa. Just being there is an experience you won’t get anywhere else.

3. Guiding with Rob and Eddie at Diamond River Outfitters on the lower Vaal River is a joy. They’re a great bunch of guys and the banter and laughs are legendary.

4. Being able to guide with Arno Matthee. Growing up, when I’d just started fly fishing, I used to read in magazines about his guiding exploits and I dreamed of one day doing the same. Being taught by him and then guiding with him in Gabon was a privilege (as long as you have a thick skin).

5. The hyena in the Tanzania camp that came every night to see if we left our shoes outside or anything else it could put in its mouth. That was a great experience. I had to track it a couple of times to retrieve fly tying kits, stripping baskets, shoes and some kitchen utensils.

5 things about fly fishing that you may never understand?

1. We don’t tie flies anymore. We tie lures that we can cast with a fly rod and line, yet some fly fishers look down on lure fishing.

2. Why we find enjoyment in choosing the hardest method to catch fish.

3. Why does it “only count on fly”? Who is keeping count?

4. Why more fly fishers don’t use and learn from other facets of fishing. There is so much we, as fishers, can learn from each other and our different methods of fishing.

5. Why fly reels are so expensive with fewer parts and technology than conventional gear.

5 flies that, to look at, make no sense but that catch fish all the time?

1. Buzzers, basically just thread but they work.

2. Purple baitfish patterns. I have never seen a purple baitfish in my life.

3. Any fly tied on a size 18 hook and smaller. I struggle to see them, but apparently fish do.

4. Blob fly.

5. White Death

5 common mistakes that most clients make?

1. A six-day fishing trip isn’t a race. Don’t burn yourself out the first night.

2. The fish aren’t active 24/7. Fish hard and stay focused while they are on, but take a break when your guide says it’s time for lunch. You’ll find you will land more fish throughout the trip if you pace yourself and have energy left for the last day or two when the fish are on the bite or

when that once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself.

3. If you are not used to casting 12-weight rods for extended periods, take the time to practise before your trip. It’s one thing being able to cast a line out on the lawn once, a totally different animal doing it accurately and consistently for six days.

4. Be patient and listen to your guide before you cast. You usually only get one shot so make it count.

5. Make sure you know where the fish’s head is before you make your cast. Fish aren’t known for inhaling flies by reverse farting.

Your last five casts were to….

1. Kob near Gansbaai from my Ark.

2. Largemouth yellowfish on the Middle Vaal.

3. Tailing carp in the clearest farm dam on the Highveld.

4. A blacktip reef shark in Oman with no success.

5. Skinny water tailing permit in Oman.

Roelof’s 16.95kg IGFA world record common carp caught on fly at Hartbeespoort Dam.

GABRIEL BOTHA

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF BOTH WITH HIS FILM WORK AND PHOTOGRAPHY, GABRIEL BOTHA HAS BEEN ROLLING OUT SOME BANGERS. HE TALKS TO US ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM, SETTE CAMA , WHICH SHOWCASES THE PREMIER AFRICAN WATERS GABON DESTINATION.

Photos. Gabriel Botha

The Mission (TM): What’s your day job?

Gabriel Botha (GB): I’m a full-time film editor. I mainly work on local and global TV commercials. Every now and then I get the opportunity to work on short films and series.

TM: How long did you spend in Gabon making Sette Cama?

GB: About two and a half weeks – one week with a fly fishing group, one week with a conventional fishing group, and a few extra days spent searching the jungle for gorillas and other animals.

TM: How did your expectations of Sette Cama differ from what you found?

GB: In the weeks leading up to my departure I allowed my expectations to fly high. Having had more than a few fishing trips under my belt you’d think I’ve learned to control my imagination but, as I was sitting on the plane blindly watching the flight attendant give the safety briefing, all I could think about was massive fish and epic shots. Luckily for me, this trip turned out to be one of those rare times when even my expectations failed to match what I was about to witness. I found a piece of the planet that has somehow managed to continue to flourish despite the natural world shrinking around it.

TM: Gabon has a sterling reputation in Africa when it comes to protecting their wild spaces. Did you see Gabon Parks’ conservation efforts in action in terms of anti-poaching patrols etc., or was it more a case of by not seeing them it proved that they were doing the work in the background?

GB: I didn’t notice any patrols while at the African Waters camp, but their presence and effectiveness are evident in the sheer volume of life of all kinds. From elephants roaming the beaches to more fish than I’ve ever seen. You realise quickly that this part of the world hasn’t changed much due to human pressure. Once I moved on in search of a family of gorillas, I met numerous rangers involved in anti-poaching. For such a small country they really set an amazing example.

TM: Was it possible to get a proper sense of the size of the lagoon (Africa’s second largest), or is it so big it just feels like you’re not really on a lagoon at all?

GB: Unless you’ve spent your whole life on that system, I don’t think you can get a sense of it. It’s not one massive piece of water. It feels like you’re just on a big river, but that river is connected to endless channels that bend out of sight and go on forever.

TM: What were the biggest challenges you found making this film?

GB: Trying to stick to a plan or storyline was the most difficult part by far. On most film projects that I work on, there’s a script or shot list that guides the story that you are trying to tell. But when you’re filming in a place you’ve never been to, that’s so far from what you thought it would be, none of your previous plans make sense or would work with what you discover. The best thing I found was to be ready always. Don’t plan for shots but rather plan to be ready in the best possible way when the unpredictable happens. Capture it and then get one of the exhausted guides to explain it in an interview when they’d rather be sleeping.

“YOU REALISE QUICKLY THAT THIS PART OF THE WORLD HASN’T CHANGED MUCH DUE TO HUMAN PRESSURE.”

“THIS PART OF THE WORLD HASN’T CHANGED MUCH DUE TO HUMAN PRESSURE. FOR SUCH A SMALL COUNTRY GABON REALLY SETS AN AMAZING EXAMPLE.”

TM: On that note, guide Teddy Coulter narrates most of the film with that unique Irish-Seffrican accent of his. Among the guides, was he the natural choice for that role? Do you have several hours of his fellow guides, Oliver Santoro and Mike Dames, mumbling that you could not use?

GB: Most guides won’t blink an eye when asked to run after a 150lb tarpon in the pitch-black bull shark-infested surf. But, put them in front of a camera and watch them start sweating. Teddy was at ease from the get-go and, with the most experience in Gabon, he was the obvious choice to be the lead narrator. Oli couldn’t get through a single sentence without saying “fuck” and Mike would disappear every time I mentioned the word “interview”. It’s understandable given how hard they were grafting. Once I managed to sit them down, they did an awesome job.

TM: Were there any shots you just couldn’t pull off?

GB: There were many. I still think about them and if I

were to go back with the goal, I would probably do things very differently. During the day things are pretty straightforward. When the jacks are churning up the lagoon, in just about every direction you point the camera there’s a mullet getting dusted. After dark was a different story. It’s impossible to predict which of the clients is going to hook a tarpon next, and those first few moments are when the beautiful chaos erupts. After that, it’s just a long slog to get them in. I wasn’t lucky enough to truly capture those first moments.

TM: What were you shooting on/with?

GB: I was shooting stills and video by myself, so I went with a Sony hybrid – the A7 IV with an a6500 as a backup/timelapse camera, a DJI Mavic Mini 2 drone, and a GoPro. Plus a couple of different lenses, gimbals, monitors, etc. The key was being versatile and light. I had to walk 20km through thick, humid jungle with all my gear in search of gorillas. I wouldn’t have been able to do that with heavier kit.

“WHEN THE JACKS ARE CHURNING UP THE LAGOON, IN JUST ABOUT EVERY DIRECTION YOU POINT THE CAMERA THERE’S A MULLET GETTING DUSTED.”

TM: Normally, when a filmmaker is roped in to put together something like this, personal fishing is not really on the cards. Did you get to fish much yourself? What did you get?

GB: African Waters put a lot of trust in me to get the job done while also encouraging me to have the best time I possibly could. I caught just about everything other than a tarpon. I feel like that was Gabon’s way of ensuring that I’d come back one day.

TM: What do you find yourself fishing and shooting the most when at home in the Western Cape?

GB: I have an affinity for the Cederberg and Tankwa regions. Most of the time I’m searching out smallmouth bass and Clanwilliam yellowfish. Incredible fishing tied in with striking landscapes.

TM: What next? Are you working on any other film and photography projects? Any specific fly fishing film ambitions you want to tick off in the next year or two?

GB: There are always plans and ideas but finding the time and actually putting the rod down to pick up the camera, can be a challenge. I would love to be making at least one film a year but what the next one will be and when is unknown at this point. All I know is that I’d love to create something about one of our local Western Cape missions. So, let’s see what happens. WATCH

Photo. Marc Dukes

MEET THE FARQUHARS

WHAT DISTINGUISHES A GOOD TRIP FROM A GREAT TRIP USUALLY COMES DOWN TO THE COMPANY. WHEN EWAN NAUDE HIT FARQUHAR RECENTLY, HE HIT THE JACKPOT WITH A CREW THAT WAS AS STRONG AS THE FISHING.

Photos. Ewan Naude, Paul Robinson, Alphonse Fishing Co.

It all started with a tube of “Ass Magic”. When an opportunity to fish Farquhar came about fairly suddenly, I spoke to a friend, Paul Robinson, about joining me and, in an attempt perhaps to show his appreciation or strongly hint that he would like to room with me, he gave me a tube of very ambiguously named anti-chafe cream. Once I was comfortable that the gift was completely platonic, we started planning in earnest.

When it comes to exotic fishing trips, it had been a particularly dry spell for both Paul and me thanks to a few years of raising children, or what’s commonly described in parenting circles as “being in the trenches”. Double-hauling and Bimini Twists had been replaced by crawling infants and runny shits, and it was finally time to tentatively stick our heads above the trenches during a brief ceasefire. Our wives (being good friends), had enjoyed a girls’ trip away together while we, as extremely diligent fathers and husbands, had tended to our children’s every need in their absence. It was time to slap on some Ass Magic and cash in that pink slip.

As is the nature of these trips, you meet all the fellow fishers along the road to the destination. Generally, the twit wearing wading boots and an overpriced backpack at the check-in counter is your man and, before too long, there were six of us twits waiting at the IDC (Islands Development Company) hangar on Mahe to board our final flight to Farquhar. Joining me and Paul were Bruce Stewart, whom I’d met on a previous trip to Alphonse; the American father and son combo Tripp and Braden Hopkins; Anthony Thunstrom from South Africa; and Alan Milligan, a Zimbo living in the UK. Chris Cox met us on Farquhar having already spent a wet week on Providence. It took a little less than one drink that evening to establish that this was a well-travelled, easy-going and interesting crew and it was with much excitement that together with the guides of the Alphonse Fishing Company we plotted our plan of attack for our first guided day on the water.

“YOU SHOULD HAVE A THROW AT EVERYTHING. AS I FOUND OUT, IT CAN MAKE YOUR TRIP.”

Ewan with Bruce Stewart and his 103cm bumpie.

THE FISHING

By the time we arrived, at the end of November, the sooty tern buffet was well and truly over. This is a phenomenon that typically happens in September/ October and, other than an ill-timed back cast, no terns were harmed during our stay. It’s been said many times, but the beauty of Farquhar is the diversity of species and habitat. The huge coral gardens and reef structures in and outside the atoll mean an abundance of reef dwellers that are adept at swiftly destroying fly lines. A mistake that many people make when fishing the tropics is to ignore the diversity on offer and to be hell-bent on catching, for example, a GT over 100cm or a triggerfish over a sight-caught, blue-spangled emperor. Of course, we all want to catch the trophy or one of the “Big 5” flats species, but you should have a throw at everything. As I found out, it can make your trip.

KICK-OFF

We joked around the breakfast table on the first morning that this was what Eben Etzebeth must have felt like before the Rugby World Cup final. The wait was over, it was time to break a few bones. The Americans, still severely jetlagged, politely declined Paul’s (aka The Ginger Heisenberg) offer of caffeine pills as a near-drowning in their corn flakes woke them from their slumber. Team America had some objectives for the week and top of the list was for Tripp to get his first GT.

“WE STARTED SEEING ‘RAT PACKS’ OF SMALLER GTS AND NICE BLUEFIN ON THE FLATS.”

Sooty tern buffet

As seen in the most incredible footage in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, the GTs of Farquhar are adept at hunting sooty terns, nailing them while sitting on the water or even mid-flight.

Above and opposite page, Farquhar is famous for its bird-eating giant trevally.

“PAUL AND I WERE FROTHING TO CAST AT ANYTHING THAT SWAM.”

Paul and I fished the first day together and we were feeling pretty good as we left the slipway. We had each landed a nice GT on our 9-weights the afternoon before during the arrival walkabout. It was good to have Yousef as our guide that day. He’s a great guy who has a wonderful story of starting as a bartender on Alphonse and going on to become a well-respected guide for the Alphonse Fishing Company. Fishing a falling tide on the day after a spring high was an ideal scenario and very soon, we started seeing “rat packs” of smaller GTs and nice bluefin on the flats.

Paul and I both managed to open the account with a big bluefin. As the tide receded, we drifted off a sand flat into an area littered with coral bommies and with the coral came some very large African marble grouper (AMG) and bohar snapper. Some guys don’t enjoy casting at these fish as the effect on fly lines can be brutal, but Paul and I were frothing to cast at anything that swam so I shot a long cast over a particularly nasty bommie and saw a shadow emerge from under an overhang. The super-size AMG missed on the first go and then ate the fly right next to the boat and almost immediately found a crevice to hide in. I don’t think Yousef was used to his clients jumping off the boat but, without thinking too much, I handed him my rod and wrangled the fish out. I wasn’t going to lose a round this early and a trophy AMG was the prize after a brief hand-to-hand tussle.

Not long after this Paul managed to tame a hog of a bohar and we were both ecstatic with how our trip had started. With my eyes making the adjustment from staring at a laptop to scanning the flats, I did a double take on a large black object sitting motionless on a bommie and then quickly registered, GT! A quick cast and the fish annihilated the fly and was joined by its buddy as they sort of just chilled around the boat. The hooked fish then realised that something wasn’t so lekker and took off through the bommies. I got unlucky as the fly line caught the very last bommie before clear water and the line was severed. It all happens very quickly with GTs and I had blown a trophy opportunity.

African marble grouper

Bohar snapper

IT’S RAINING CATS AND SHARKS

Most boats had a good start to the trip and the customary bell ringing celebrating notable catches on the first evening was a solid one. Chris and Bruce, leveraging their experience from prior trips, hit the ground running with a brace of GTs each and Tripp caught a magnificent saddleback grouper on the sand, which was special. Everyone was in high spirits on day two, but the weather could not have been much worse. After the heavy rain had subsided, we finally managed to get out around 11am and Bruce and I shared the boat with Evan as our guide. After an initial scout for permit in a high-water area, Evan was keen to move on to an area of coral ridges where the GTs cruise the surface and could be seen in the foul weather.

I was on the bow scanning and Evan alerted me to a good fish about to come into range. The cast, eat and set all went according to plan and a nice fish in the 90s was on. We were only about 20m from some very foul coral so Evan started the motor to get on top of the fish. Bruce had me by the belt so I didn’t go overboard… although I’m nearly twice his size so not even his caffeine-induced, Samson-like strength would have saved me. The fish was nearly spent but managed to find a small bommie and wrap me again and, within a flash, Evan had his shirt off and was in the water. A few seconds later he surfaced looking like he needed a new pair of underwear. “There’s a huge shark down there!” he shouted as he did the Phelps dash back to the boat but, instead of erring on the side of caution, he grabbed his mask and jumped straight back in again! By then the fish and the shark had gone, the fish probably eaten as it was pinned to the coral, and I was beaten by another good GT.

Later in the day we were fishing an area known as Trigger Happy and Evan mentioned that there was a resident tiger shark that loved hunting turtles and bumphead parrotfish on the turtle grass. Just a few minutes later we saw a tiger thrashing around in thigh-deep water predating on what looked like a turtle. All of a sudden my swim for the AMG on day one didn’t look so clever, and I made a mental note to avoid any wading deeper than scrotum depth for the remainder of the trip.

Blue spangled emperor

Above: Jobfish. Below: Napoleon wrasse

THE EMPERORS OF THE ATOLL

The first time I saw Anthony, something about him just screamed IQ of 180 and someone I wouldn’t want to take on in a Sudoku challenge. Spending a day on the boat with him, he also showed that he was no slouch casting a 12-weight. We fished together on a day that was completely glassed over with a blue cloudless sky. It sounds idyllic but these are tough conditions that result in spooky fish and affect water movement and temperature. Drifting the coral ridges was breathtaking and we were seeing fish many metres down in the total calm but, in all honesty, it was a difficult day out and the fish were lethargic. As we neared the surf zone, there was a cut in the reef with some white water that looked like the perfect GT ambush spot but the only thing missing was the GT. I put out a speculative cast and a pack of five or six very big blue-spangled emperors followed the fly close to the boat. Anthony had the 9-weight in his hand and I shouted for him to quickly make a cast and let the Alphlexo crab slowly sink into the zone. The largest fish slowly sidled up the fly and gently inhaled it. It was a proper 5kg-plus spango and Ant did really well keeping it out of the bricks. To me this is special fishing and making the most of a day that could have been tough. I needed to get in on the action and a few minutes later I also managed to pin a good one on my Carlos the Jackal shrimp

Despite the calm conditions, everyone had a good day and we were in high spirits for evening drinks. Bruce and the Ginger Heisenberg were particularly energised as Paul had finally found a willing taker for one of his caffeine pills for a lift during the late afternoon lull. Bruce reminded me of my six-year-old son crossed with a border collie, such were his energy levels. It seemed a good night to crack the bottle of Bacardi (Klipdrift for Alan) and cut a few limes as we eased into another extremely pleasant Farquhar evening of banter and a superb dinner.

BRUCIE’S BUMPIE

By day four, Bruce’s caffeine pill had worn off and his impersonation of the squirrel from Ice Age wasn’t quite as convincing anymore. We were keen to make the most of a good weather day and off the bat we started seeing GTs on the sand and had a few shots on some average-size fish. I managed to put one in the boat to start the day but, not due to any fault of his own, Bruce couldn’t convert his shots. Towards the back end of the day, we walked a lovely surf stretch in the west on a perfect pushing tide and again Bruce did everything right on a good fish that then popped him after the line wrapped on the reel handle. Bruce stared into the distance; eyes glazed over as if his beloved cat has just been fed to the trigger-happy resident tiger shark. We all have those days but, as they say, it only takes one cast, and Bruce was soon to make up for the day’s lost opportunities. I was lucky to get the “beginners GT”, a very-hard-to-cock-up shot at six fish on a ray and landed my best geet of the trip in the surf.

Gerry was our guide that day and his chill is something to behold. He could see a school of 150cm GTs and I reckon his heart rate wouldn’t break 50bpm. In his very calm way, he tapped Bruce on the shoulder and told him to get his bumpie (bumphead parrotfish) rod ready as we drifted over a large turtle-grass flat. As we approached to within casting distance, there was a large school of very happy bumpies with their tails in the air, waving them around like they just didn’t care. Gerry’s instructions were very clear: Cast into the middle of the school, don’t strip the fly, and just maintain contact. Bruce made the perfect cast and within a few seconds we were off to the races. After 150m of backing had been liberated from Bruce’s reel, he was looking a bit tense again but Gerry, in his reassuring tone, urged him to maintain pressure and assured him that the fish would stop. At 200m the fish stopped, and his buddies disappeared over the horizon. Once they are separated from the herd it’s pretty much game over.

“GERRY WAS OUR GUIDE THAT DAY AND HIS CHILL IS SOMETHING TO BEHOLD.”

Carlos the Jackal Check out Ewan’s step-by-step at themissionflymag.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

As Gerry netted the fish, he looked back at us and put a hooked finger into his mouth indicating that the fish was fairly hooked in the mouth and only then did Bruce let out a cathartic scream. A bumphead parrotfish of 103cm perfectly guided, fished, hooked, and landed. It only takes one cast.

ALWAYS CARRY CLOUSERS

One of the many reasons that the outer atolls are so special is that they are primarily sight-fishing venues, but I am not one to miss a fishing opportunity, so I was keen to maximise my time while I was there. Each afternoon after the day’s guided fishing Paul and I would take a walk near the lodge and do some blind fishing with our 9-weights on some deeper drop-offs while scanning for fish coming past. Very soon we worked out that the old faithful tan Clouser was a banker. I had learnt a lesson on my second evening when fishing my same Carlos the Jackal fly that had already accounted for plenty fish. Something unstoppable ate the fly and took off. I had to apply more pressure after the fish had run more than 200m of backing and the 20lb parted. In hindsight, it was silly not to fish 30lb from the start, so I certainly wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Super-sparse, 5mm tungsten tan Clousers operated every evening going forward and we caught many smaller trevally and some very chunky bonefish this way. The highlight for me was a crazy session on the third evening that included a jobfish and what I thought initially was a golden kingfish that turned out to be a very big Ferdy kingfish Always carry Clousers!

Tan Clouser

Check out Chris Bladen’s video step-by-step for this essential saltwater pattern at themissionflymag.com

Ferdy kingfish

Aka, blue trevally. Not to be confused with bluefin trevally.

Ewan with a Ferdy kingfish.

TRIPP AND ANT SMASH THE BELL

Although I didn’t get to fish with Tripp and Braden we all got to know each other well after the day’s fishing. I really enjoyed their company and the stories from where they fish and hunt. It seems that Tripp was lucky to make this fishing trip with his father as it was clear from dinner conversation that Braden’s favourite child was Maddie, his hunting dog. On day five I shared a boat with Chris and although the flats were quiet, the usual suspects came out to play when drifting over several likely-looking bommies. I managed a decent GT on a morning surf walk, getting them in the surf zone is always nice, but the day belonged to Tripp and Ant. By day three I’d seen that Tripp was getting agitated at not having ticked off his GT. It was either that or he had found out that his father had written him out of the will in favour of Maddie. At dinner on the fourth evening, he had the thousand-yard stare and he clearly had GTs on his mind.

As we were all getting ready to go out on the boats the next day, I gave Tripp a few flies that had been working for me and thought maybe they could do the trick. Returning from my usual after-hours Clouser chucking that evening I could see that both Tripp and Ant were looking decidedly chuffed. Tripp had achieved his goal of two GTs for the day, one of which was on a popper I had given him. As is tradition for the Hopkinses, when they catch a special fish they retire the fly they caught it on to the dashboard of their pick-up which reminds them regularly of a special fishing moment. It’s pretty cool knowing that a fly I tied in Cape Town, South Africa caught a GT in the Seychelles and now lives the life cruising around Utah.

“AT DINNER ON THE FOURTH EVENING, HE HAD THE THOUSANDYARD STARE AND HE CLEARLY HAD GTS ON HIS MIND.”

Maddie

The chosen one

A selection of GT slabs.

“WE ALL HAVE STORIES THAT STILL NEED A FAIRYTALE ENDING.”

At this stage it seemed that having Bruce on your boat was the opposite of having bananas. Either there was some red-hot action or a caffeine overdose and on that day Ant was the beneficiary of the Stewart lucky charm. Legend goes that Ant made a textbook presentation and hookset and the result was a 117cm GT, the third biggest of the season and caught on the sand. Angus, the guide for the day, looked like a proud parent as this was undoubtedly the fish of the trip.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s hard to put into one story the true majesty of a place like Farquhar. The Alphonse Fishing Company runs a proper operation here as well as on the other atolls they manage. What struck me is how lucky we are to be able to experience these wild places and how it’s incumbent on each one of us to contribute something, however big or small, to ensure they remain protected.

Bananas Supposedly a cursed fruit when taken aboard a fishing boat.

We should ensure that we continue to support operators that are good and responsible custodians of these areas, and this extends to any service/tackle provider in the industry. The fishing was exceptional, but nothing is a gimme. You get shots at big fish, but you must convert them. My personal goal for the trip was to catch a 100cm plus GT sight-caught on the flats, which would be my first having only managed an agonizingly close 99cm fish before. I got busted up by two fish in the 100cm class on this trip. I’ve caught 100cm plus GTs popping blind, but the sight-caught fish still eludes me. Many of us on the trip lost our dream fish during that week: Paul, a trophy GT on the last day as Dean did the guide’s swim not far from where Evan left his underwear; Alan, a permit guided by Angus that only ate after numerous attempts and parted the leader. We all have stories that still need a fairytale ending. Above all, what stood out for me is how a group of like-minded people can add so much to the experience. Here’s to meeting the Farquhars.

FARQUHAR SHOP THE MISSION

Instead of talking, lines, rods and reels I’ve focused on five lessthought-about items that I found essential on this trip.

Shilton 150lb mono leader

This knots really well for such a heavy leader and is great for GTs on Farquhar. As it happens, I didn’t take any of this along with me, but became a convert while I was there. shiltonreels.com

Rehidrat sachets

The water on the island goes through a reverse osmosis plant which removes many of the minerals we need to aid with dehydration. Our guide Gerry was also kind enough to get us a big batch of coconut water which is great for hydration

Simms FreeSalt boots

This is a great wading boot and I travelled wearing them (in case of luggage loss) and wore them throughout the trip. The only problem is that there are more comfortable options to wear on the boat, especially during long periods of poling on the flats. I don’t own “boat shoes” but I will definitely take some next time. simmsfishing.com, frontierflyfishing.com

Ass Magic and good sports tights

When you are on the trip of a lifetime, you do not want to be walking like John Wayne. Chafe is real. Pain is avoidable. Get chafe cream like Ass Magic and some sports tights. assmagic.co.za

Hand protection

Various item to protect and heal your hands and fingers. I used Glacier Gloves, plaster tape and disinfectant. glacierglove.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

VAAL RIVER

THE HALO HATCH

FROM WANTING “PLIPS” NOT “BLOPS” TO MATING FLIGHTS AND EMBRACING DARKNESS, VAAL RIVER HATCH JUNKIE HERMAN “HARRY” BOTES BREAKS DOWN THE HOW, WHEN, AND WHY OF THE VAAL RIVER’S LEGENDARY CADDIS HATCHES.

Photos. Paul Botes, Christian Fry (insects)

For more on this deadly pattern, check out Herman’s blog post, “Thing 1 and Thing 2 – The History of the Plaza Pupa” at themissionflymag.com

The Mission (TM): Describe your first experience of a major caddis-fly hatch on the Vaal.

Herman Botes (HB): I probably didn’t even notice my first experience of that hatch because I wasn’t too familiar with insects then. But trust me, if you’re standing on the Vaal River in summer, spring, or early autumn, at dusk, and you’re choking on bugs that have created a halo around your head, they’re caddis. The first time you see it, you’ll point out to your buddy next to you that he’s got a halo, and he’ll point right back at you and say, “You’ve also got a caddis halo.”

It starts at what I call “happy hour”, which is at about 4pm when the sun comes in and casts that golden glow on things. The flight starts, and once you notice bugs, they’re caddis. They are way more prolific than any other insect hatch.

TM: Is it one kind of caddis or..?

Check out the step-by-step instructions and drawings by Tom Sutcliffe on tying a GHRE from his book, The Elements of Fly Tying, free as a download at themissionflymag.com. Yes, that’s right. The whole book for free. Thanks Tom.

HB: The main family are Hydropsychidae, aka net-spinners. These caddis build webs under rocks which they catch stuff in, and they live in cases they built themselves. They are free-living and are not tied to the casing until they pupate. There are three species of Hydropsychidae on the Vaal. Two of them are very similar in size and appearance. The only way to tell them apart is if you catch one and look at its abdomen. One’s is a bright apple green and the other’s is more tan-yellow.

TM: So, the apple-green caddis colour is what your Plaza Pupa fly resembles?

HB: Correct. The Plaza Pupa is slightly bigger than the tan one. It performs very well in certain sections of the Vaal and in the tributaries. For the tan one, a Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (GRHE) just about does it. I haven’t found a pattern that out-fishes a GRHE.

Those are the two smaller species. The big boy is what the locals refer to as the green rock worm – the Macrostemum capense It’s a big, fat, caterpillar-like worm that hatches in spring and autumn. It normally joins the hatches in the evenings and stands out because of its size. In spring, the M. capense might be sparse, trickling off during the day. But I have seen fish come up out of nowhere for a big caddis. They are very aware of these bigger insects and will launch themselves at a big M. capense adult fluttering on the water.

TM: It’s like the steak of the meal and everything else is a bar snack?

HB: Ja. I think it’s because of the numbers and timing of the hatch. The small ones hatch at dusk, the “evening rise”. On the Vaal and its tributaries, an evening rise from spring to autumn is always caddis. If the mayflies interfered before the caddis, then the yellows would be on mayflies. However, the big species, M. capense, can happen throughout the day. It’s mating flight happens after dark, when it can join the hatch of the small caddis. Sometimes you are stumped by a caddis hatch because there’s a mating flight of M. capense and you haven’t seen that the yellows are feeding on spent adults. They are seldom particular about the pattern, even if on spent caddis. If you’re in the ballpark, you’re going to stand a good chance. I have my go-to patterns and they work.

TM: The best months to experience a Vaal caddis hatch?

HB: Early spring starts with the two small species hatching from midday onwards, and much earlier in summer. M. capense hatches from mid-morning and trickles off throughout the day. In summer, everything moves later –closer to dusk and darkness. As it goes back to autumn, the hatch moves to earlier in the day, around 5pm.

TM: Is it daily, like clockwork, or are there specific conditions?

HB: If you’re a Vaal regular, you can expect a hatch every day. I cannot tell when there isn’t going to be a hatch. Sometimes, if it’s miserable, like a cold front or a weird weather thing, the hatch doesn’t happen. Sometimes, you stand on that river, and you walk off thinking there won’t be a hatch, but if you stay longer and wait it out until after dark, when you can hardly see anymore... Boom, the action’s on!

TM: Have you seen a decline in insect numbers, hatch intensity, etc. over the years?

HB: I’ve been fishing the Vaal since 1996, almost 30 years. Obviously there’s the sewage problem now and that puts me off, so I’m not on the Vaal as much. I fish further downstream. In the tributaries and the Vaal, the first insects to disappear were the stoneflies because of their sensitivity. You may find some golden stoneflies above Grootdraai Dam. Further down below the Vaal Dam there are brown stoneflies. They were the first to go.

Plaza Pupa

Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear

Cheumatopsyche sp.

Hydropsyche sp.

“YOU WANT A ‘PLIP’, NOT A ‘BLOP’.”

That said, species like mayfly and caddis are very tolerant. Most of the pollution is organic – farm runoff with nutrients that boost insect populations. If you roll over a rock on the Vaal, it looks alive. Everything starts crawling. There are two mayfly species, blue-winged olive and a trico, the three caddis, leeches and all sorts of insects and molluscs. We also used to have a lot of freshwater shrimp, and they seem to have taken punishment. It could be the flooding or the pollution.

TM: When there is surface action, do you fish dry fly only, or do you use combinations of dry droppers and nymphs?

HB: If there’s surface action, because of the intensity of the hatch, the number of insects on the water, and if the river has good flow, the riffles are the food factories. Fish are under pool heads and riffles. The nice thing is that the fish are stationary in a pocket. A fish can be targeted, as they behave and rise rhythmically. It makes dry fly fishing so inviting.

There may be a hatch without dry fly action, but a fish breaks the surface every now and again. It doesn’t mean that the fish aren’t eating pupae just under the surface. You can hedge your bets with a 2mm tungsten bead head pupa in a dry dropper. Early in the hatch, I’d put a nymph two feet below a dry. Then maybe a foot and a half a bit later. Then as short as half a foot just as the fish are breaking the surface.

The nymph does two things for you. It anchors the target. If you aren’t that accurate when dry fly casting, then the nymph can assist with precision. You must land the fly on target and drift the fly directly over the fish. The fish will not move out of the zone to fetch an off-target

fly because he’s got a buffet in front of him. You can get away with fishing a bead head because yellows are so attuned to the “plip” – the sound of a tungsten bead head caddis hitting the water. It has to be a 2mm/2.5mm tungsten bead. Any bigger and you’ll get a “blop”. You want a “plip”, not a “blop”. It just grabs their attention. Also, being above and below the surface spreads your catch rate.

The other thing about a nymph dropper is that if you fish through a school of fish, they are feeding at different levels. As you drift the line, your nymph will swing and drag. The minute this happens, the nymph swings and you’ve got a rising pupa. It’s like a Leisenring Lift – they are very attuned to it.

TM: In South Africa, size 10 is often considered a big dry fly pattern. What sizes are we talking for these caddis flies?

HB: The small species start off big in spring. They actually drop in size over the season, just as blue-winged olive mayflies do. They may end up on a size 18 or size 20, but they normally start at a size 16 – my go-to size. At a push you can get away with a size 14. On the M. capense, the larvae are 14s or 12s but you can push a 12 for the pupae. The adults sit in that same range, but their wingspans push them to a size 10. It’s a much bigger fly.

TM: Is your favoured Air-head Caddis pattern basically imitating that?

HB: Ja, the Air-head Caddis is on a size 10 hook. The body only covers about two thirds of the hook shank, so I start short. The wings cover the body anyway. The wing length and whole fly is longer than a size 10 dry fly. I would use a standard-length hook for dry fly. Like a Tiemco 101.

The Leisenring Lift was developed by Jim Leisenring. When fishing nymphs and wet flies across and downstream, it’s the action of stopping your rod which forces a sinking fly to “swim” towards the surface, imitating the movement of an emerger. This is often a trigger for fish.

Check Herman’s step-by-step video on tying this deadly pattern at themissionflymag. com and get stuck into the detail on how he fishes it.

Leisenring Lift

Aethaloptera sp.

Hydropsyche sp.

Air-head Caddis

“BEING

TM: What are your other go-to patterns?

HB: If you want a go-to fly, use the Herman-hamer. That thing catches fish. It’s my version of a Klinkhamer and just looks like a scruffy Klink. Charlie Craven said a caddis pupa is a cross between something that flew into your windscreen and a ball of snot, and this thing tries to emulate that. But it is so effective, it’s like a silver bullet.

The Airhead, for what it is, and what I’ve seen it do, is unbelievable. If you fish a headwater that’s packed with fish and you dead drift it through there, you won’t catch anything. The minute that Airhead moves and the nymph below it activates, the fish are on it. Even in pocket water I’d splat it down and with one pull it will dive under and boom. But if you throw it normally, they won’t react. That’s the beauty of it. With those two patterns you’re covered for the Vaal. If you need a nymph, just go for a small GRHE with a 2mm bead head.

TM: How do you approach the hatch when it starts?

HB: When you sense a hatch coming, don’t go shallow immediately, even if the odd fish shows. Stay deeper because most fish are still deeper. Like the trout in English lakes, they’ll follow the pupae as they move up in the water column. At first they’re eating the pupae at their deepest, then more and more pupae come off and move higher in the water column. The fish will start eating closer and closer to the surface until they are subsurface or in the surface film. You can also go double dropper, one at three feet and the other at a foot and a half. If you see they’re taking the top dropper, then you know they’re taking it shallower.

With caddis hatches, you can get much closer to the fish when it’s dark. Always remember: The rapids are the food factories. The fish might be rising in the rapids but are much more likely to take your dropper when they’re feeding there. The ones feeding off the top are going to be just below the rapids where the biggest concentration of food is coming through. They are going to be in the current tongues, and they’ll be lining up. There’s going to be multiple targets. On one cast you’ll drift over three fish and one of them will eat. Or you can pick them all up one by one, fishing bottom to top.

TM: You’re a numbers guy. What do you expect on a day with a caddis hatch?

HB: It’s amazing how it always starts slow, and then it always picks up. Caddis bring the fish on the feed. If I’m on 20 fish by 5pm I know I can almost double that score if there’s a good caddis hatch going on. I’ll probably get another 20 fish of which 10 will be on dry. Sometimes it goes nuts, with up to 25 fish on a caddis hatch. That’s from just before dusk until just after dark.

TM: What’s your tackle and gear setup for facing this hatch?

HB: My rods are 3-weight, 9-foot rods for accuracy, if you’re picking specifically for the hatch. Ten-foot rods help in tricky currents, but your drifts are so short because you’re fishing to a specific target. You don’t need to lift the line off the water and have long drifts. Accuracy is the name of the game; you must put it in front of the fish. Sometimes fish move around, and I just watch a fish. I look at its rhythm and sometimes it moves upstream. You have to anticipate its next rise and just put it there. Those are the best fish to catch, you really feel, “Wow man, I’m good! Did anyone see that?”

If you’re new to it, stick with a 9-foot leader with a foot of tippet or an 8-foot leader with two feet of tippet. At dusk you can go thick, 5x will be fine. You don’t want to go to 6x and risk being broken off. I carry two reels if I fish a 10-foot setup. I have a reel for euro nymphing and a reel with a long leader setup – between 12 and 15 foot. I like to fish long leaders and I’m used to it. If it’s windy, the longer the tippet the less drag you have, and you don’t want drag when fishing the pupae that are hatching. That’s my ideal setup. For someone starting out, rather go to 9 to 12-foot leader just for accuracy. You may lose accuracy on 15ft.

Use a headtorch but turn it away when rigging or use the red light. On the river barbel don’t see the light and don’t give a hoot, but if you shine a light over yellowfish they will spook.

At that time of the evening the last thing you want to do is malfunction: having breakoffs, losing flies, building leaders. You’re racing against time. You have this fantastic opportunity, so you have to make the most of it. If something goes wrong, just stay calm because otherwise you will get viskoors (fish fever).

Herman-hamer This is both Herman Botes’ luchador wrestling name and his version of a Klinkhamer. Find the recipe at themissionflymag.com

Cheumatopsyche

Leptonema natalense

For more entomological goodness, grab a copy of Christian Fry’s excellent Field Guide to Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Southern Africa freshwaterinvertebrates.co.za

“AT THAT TIME OF THE EVENING THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS MALFUNCTION.”

HUGGING THE BEAR

FOR NICK VAN RENSBURG AND MATT GORLEI OF FLYBRU, AND SHAUN DICKSON OF XPLORER FLY FISHING, A MISSION UP A REMOTE DRAKENSBERG TRIBUTARY DISHED UP EQUAL PORTIONS OF KNEE-TREMBLING HARDSHIP, HEAVENLY FISHING, BLISSED-OUT NATURE VIBES AND A FEW SURPRISES.THIS IS THE STORY BEHIND THE NEW FLYBRU FILM ABOUT THAT JOURNEY.

Story. Nick van Rensburg. Photos. Nick van Rensburg, Matt Gorlei, Shaun Dickson

This is the second part of a two-part story. The first part happened without me when my mates, Shaun Dickson and Matt Gorlei, went up this hidden stream deep in the Drakensberg mountains to see what they could find. I only got involved when they resolved to go back again, to go further and to find what they might have missed the first time.

Fly fishing is such a driving force in my life that I like to think of it as a script where the fish and the places you go to are the stars of the story. For any good story your stars need supporting actors and in these two friends I have a couple of gems.

Shaun is a Bergie (Drakensberg native) and overall bush rat with an incredible sense for the wild. Having grown up exploring the many rivers and lakes in the greater KwaZuluNatal area, he has these “disappear-into-the-bundu” missions down to a fine art. He is also a Protea fly angler and he works in the industry for Xplorer Fly Fishing. As someone who represents the country and supports the community, you could say that he has a deeper devotion to the sport than most. It’s not just a hobby or part of his job. For him, spending time on the water with friends and family is how he

makes sense of life. Having dug up a bunch of information, Shaun was also the mastermind behind this saga. I think it’s important to note that this was all done solo. His presence in the deeper Berg communities and his connections put much of this mission into perspective prior to exploration.

Matt, the other half of Flybru, the little video team we put together over 10 years ago, is also a bit of a Bergie. Matt used to guide in some of the world’s most pristine destinations and, even today, his hunger for the wild keeps him motivated while forging his own way in a career that has little time for those who need peace and stillness on a regular basis. He is the coach of the South African Youth Fly Fishing team, and has represented South Africa at numerous world championships, all while running his business and prepping to marry the love of his life. When I think my life is busy, I just look at him for perspective. For Matt, these trips into the middle of nowhere are everything. On their initial trip, Matt and Shaun got a proper taste of the beauty and uniqueness of this special valley. They also found what Shaun refers to as “funny” fish with eccentric colours, dirty attitudes and a lust for big fluffy dries. Getting a lie of the land and scouting a few campsites made their initial effort key to the second attempt being more successful.

“FOR ANY GOOD STORY YOUR STARS NEED SUPPORTING ACTORS AND IN THESE TWO FRIENDS I HAVE A COUPLE OF GEMS.”

“WHEN A TRIP LIKE THIS COMES ALONG, YOU GRAB THE CHANCE, SUMMON THE BOYS AND ACTIVATE ADVENTURE MODE TO ITS FULLEST.”

As cool as these experiences are, it’s worth noting the effort required to get in to a place like this. This valley is not one of those places you can just park your car and hike into. With thick bush, no trail, volatile Berg weather and a gradient that would put even the most experienced ultra-runner’s legs to the test, hiking into the upper reaches of this river is very much like hugging a bear. It looks kind of friendly and approachable, but in reality it is big, gnarly and heavy, and it will properly fuck you up if the approach is wrong. Matt and Shaun felt the bear on that first trip. It sat on their backs on the uphills and weighed down their chests on the few downhills. After days of clambering up through Mordor-like terrain, they got to a point where the fishing trickled out. Then, some heavy weather came in, pushing the boys out of the valley. Having sampled some of what this gorgeous valley had to offer, they vowed to return.

Right then, round two. This time, more clued up, and with a somewhat structured plan in place, Matt invited me to join them. As we’ve grown older, and supposedly wiser, time for these sorts of trips has become rare. Balancing jobs, families and relationships tends to squeeze the little freedom that we do have into a highly selective approach.

We’re no longer university students able to skip class after a wild night out. We have work on Monday, and careers to focus on. So, when a trip like this comes along, you grab the chance, summon the boys and activate adventure mode to its fullest.

The plan was to push even further up to see if the natural fish barriers hindered anything getting upstream from where the boys had stopped on the previous mission. What lay ahead was simply breathtaking. As we started breaching into the mid-section of the valley, after navigating some immense boulder fields, and threading our way in and around the river bank, we stopped at our first camp site and dumped our non-fishing clobber.

As I looked around me it felt like I was tripping balls. Everything was lush, untouched, perfect. The water was so clear it glowed blue and the flora and fauna were brilliantly psychedelic and all of it was surrounded by the iconic overarching cliff faces of the Drakensberg. This was my first experience up there and, as someone who lives for being isolated in places like this, casting a fly and meandering up this valley was truly a privilege.

“WHEN YOU GET WHERE YOU’RE GOING, BE PRESENT, ABSORB THE MOMENT AND IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE.”

“COUNTLESS FISH CAME TO HAND ON THE DRY, EVEN A SCALY!”

While Matt and Shaun pushed further up, I sat on a rock, rolled a cigarette and took a moment to bliss out to and absorb the experience. I try to do this whenever I fish, because something fascinating happens in my mind when I do. Knocking back for an afternoon nap, I was soothed by the sounds of a wild river, the wind through the trees, and the birds. It felt like the opposite of a sensory deprivation chamber. I felt at once isolated and small, in tune with everything, happy and truly at peace.

That evening, we returned to camp and cooked up our meals while a classic berg thunderstorm pillaged our tarp. After the usual banter and light-painting dicks onto Shaun’s head, the three of us sat quietly for ages, immersed in gratitude for the adventure we were living.

4am. Eina! Aching backs, busted knees and heavy eyes. Coffee, oats and chill. As the sun filled the valley, we made the executive decision to head back downstream.

As beautiful and wonderful as the previous day had been, we hadn’t seen a single fish. We started navigating back to where the boys had come right on the first trip.

After traversing some sketchy terrain and dusting off a fall or two, we set our kit down at the second camp. After the previous night’s storm, the river came alive. Caddis and mayflies started the buffet, and the trout… Well, let’s just say they weren’t fussy. Countless fish came to hand on the dry, even a scaly! To find one of these hard-fighting indigenous fish so high up in the system was a unique occurrence.

The more fish we caught, the more Shaun’s obsession with “the funny ones” became apparent. For every 20 or so fish to the net, we would get one of these fish that had noticeable differences. Sharp, extended jaw lines, orange touches and classic white tips – far from the standard rainbow trout. Rumours exist about a strain of cutthroat

supposedly appearing somewhere in this watershed. In South Africa, claiming the trout you caught is another species is a big call and perhaps a bit far-fetched, so we’ll let you decide. For us, there was certainly a bit of spice thrown into these variations.

Wacky fish, isolated rivers and immaculate vibes. What more could you ask for? As we packed up and navigated out of the valley, the three of us were on a high. This journey into places unknown gave us so much more than fish. It enriched our souls, gave us a grateful reminder of our physical capabilities and allowed us to lose ourselves doing what we love. So, as you sit on the couch at home or behind your desk at work, if anything from this story resonates with you, I hope it is to get out there and go and experience places like these as much as you can. But most of all, when you get where you’re going, be present, absorb the moment and immerse yourself in the things that you love.

DRAKENSBERG

First Ascent Jupiter 75L Backpack firstascent.co.za

Fujifilm XT3 (Video). fujifilm.co.za

Canon EOS R (Stills). canon.co.za

Watch Hugging the Bear at themissionflymag.com

Xplorer Technical Chest Pack. xplorerflyfishing.co.za

Patagonia Yulex Wading Socks. patagonia.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

Garmin Instinct. garmin.com

Xplorer Guide II 794-1-weight. xplorerflyfishing.co.za

Xplorer T50 Tech 10ft 3-weight. xplorerflyfishing.co.za

THE HAVEN

WHEN RICHARD LANGFORD AND HIS WIFE MOVED TO GRAND CAYMAN, IT WAS FOR WORK. BUT WITH DIY FLY FISHING OPTIONS ALL OVER THE SHOW HE SOON DISCOVERED THERE IS MORE TO THIS TINY TAX-NEUTRAL CARIBBEAN ISLAND THAN MEETS THE EYE.

Photos. Richard Langford

We first learned that Richard Langford was a fishy character when he entered the 2022 Feathers Award with a colossal largemouth yellowfish from the Orange River that only just lost to an equally big Clanwilliam yellow. Since then, we’ve seen a ton of different fish appear on his Instagram feed, but these days they all seem to originate from a very different area code. Grand Cayman.

in Grand Cayman.

Covid-19 changed a lot of things for a lot of people. For Richard and his wife Candice an opportunity came up to move to Grand Cayman in the Caribbean when Candice, who has a specialised field in physiotherapy, got a job offer. Richard, who comes from a pharmaceutical/biotech background, tagged along as her plus-one. At first, due to Covid restrictions, things were tough as they had to sit in quarantine looking at the ocean, unable to leave their apartment. But once restrictions lifted and Candice left for work each day, Richard had plenty of time to fish. In fact, for the first few months until he landed a job, he fished at least every second day. We’ve been watching with big eyes as he’s caught a ton and racked up everything from tarpon, bonefish and jacks to triggers, kingfish and more. Both mildly jealous and deeply curious, we caught up with him to find out more about this low-key fishery.

I’ve never been to Seychelles, but I can imagine if you go there, or perhaps one of the other islands here in the Caribbean, it’s very secluded and there’s lots of fish. These are the kinds of places where you’re going to see a school of a hundred bonefish, but you have to make a special trip and go for at least a week. The fishing in Grand Cayman is really different. Firstly, the place itself does not have that clichéd relaxed, rum-soaked Caribbean island pace. It’s a British Overseas Territory and is a tax-neutral country that attracts a lot of finance and related business, so it has some elements of a London-like 12-hour work culture. It is also very expensive to live here and so drives a high-level work culture. However, I go to work in town and then, on my way home, I can go and check a flat, bump into a little school of five or six decent bonefish, or find a tarpon, have an amazing time, then go home. I don’t know if that kind of work/flats fishing balance is a thing in many other parts of the world.

How big is Grand Cayman?

It’s quite a weird shape, like the letter L in reverse and on its side. On the top of that L is a big bay, which we call a sound. The one side of the island is about 8km long and the long part at the bottom is about 30km. So it’s pretty small.

“THE BONES PLAY DIRTY HERE.”

Has it been DIY all the way? Is there a local club?

There’s no fly fishing club. There are a couple of guides on the island. I didn’t go the guide route because, when Candice started work, I had a lot of time to fish and make the most of this new place. It was just so different to what I was used to. I have travelled quite a bit and I’ve lived in a few different places like Australia and the UK, but I’d never even seen what a flat looked like and now suddenly I had all these beautiful flats to explore. Fly Tying Smith put me in contact with John McDow who shared some great info ahead of my move. I also reached out to a local fly angler, Dom Jackson, a really nice guy who took me fishing. So, in the beginning, I was using their information as well as just figuring out some spots myself with Google Maps and a vehicle. It’s mainly sight fishing here so at least that’s less time-consuming in terms of scouting, because if you’re scouting and blind casting you really need to work an area to understand if there’s fish there or not.

Can you describe the terrain and conditions there? You get a lot of flats with turtle grass where you can walk out quite far and explore. A couple of the sounds get a bit deep towards the middle but, closer in towards the

shore, it’s usually a bit of turtle grass and then a span of 5-6m of sand before the turtle grass. Depending on the tide, you can walk the beach and spot the fish coming in onto the sand off the turtle grass. That’s actually been my most successful strategy – walking those sounds on a fuller tide and looking for fish over the sand. They don’t call bonefish “grey ghosts” for nothing, so even over sand it can be tricky to the untrained eye.

Then there’s the sargassum, a kind of seaweed. Depending on the wind and season, the sargassum can blow in and really change things. It’s got all these little hooks so it hooks onto itself and forms big islands out at sea. If it’s blowing towards the shore at any point, it packs up against the side of the shore. That means your closequarters bonefishing from the side goes out the window. But the tarpon love it because it drops the oxygen levels. Tarpon can survive in low-oxygen water by breathing a bit of air. You’ll see them gulp at the surface and this often gives away their presence. They’re hunting things that are trying to get away from that low-oxygen water. I walk along the sargassum and see where a tarpon comes up. Then I slowly approach them through the sargassum and start casting along the edge.

“FLY FISHING OFF IRON SHORE IS LIKE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A BRAMBLE BUSH.”

The other main type of terrain is the iron shore. It’s a very sharp, jagged limestone rock formed from being battered by the ocean for so long. Fly fishing off that is like standing in the middle of a bramble bush and trying to cast 25m into a trout dam, an exercise in frustration. It feels as if it comes up and tries to grab your line but, because it’s a rock, it literally tears everything apart. It eats lines, it eats shoes. A stripping basket is essential. If your line falls onto this rock it will get stuck, so you have to try to avoid this because the fishing can be amazing. I catch a lot of tarpon, jacks and triggers off the iron shore. Triggers love to come right into the shallows where you’ll see them tailing. If it drops off deeper, you’ll find tarpon going in and out.

There is another spot on the island with little lagoons, which is completely different to anything else. The lagoons are very productive in terms of fish with loads of small, aggressive tarpon that you can target with poppers or any sort of baitfish patterns.

Tell us more about the tarpon fishing. To put things into perspective, in the main town, Georgetown, where the restaurants are, there are tarpon

cruising around every day. You can see them because the restaurants feed them at certain hours. When we first drove past and saw them I was like, “Shit! There are tarpon right here, they must be so easy to catch.” And then you find that those things know exactly what your intentions are. You’d do well with a fly that looks like a French fry, though. We don’t get massive tarpon. Those fish in town are the biggest I’ve seen. Probably about 100lb. Outside of town in the completely wild stretches where you see them hitting bait balls, I’d say they are topping out around 60-70lb. I go for those wilder, free-swimming tarpon more often because they are more likely to take a fly.

Up and down the beaches, you’ll find tarpon free swimming whether the water is dirty or clean, but the best time is when the sargassum packs up on the beach. More often than not they’ll show themselves when a tail comes up or they gulp a bit of air. They are quite spooky fish. We get a baitfish here called a sprat, which has a bit of yellow in it and is almost like a sardine. It’s really shiny. They school in bait balls and get blown onto the flats by the wind. Often you’ll find tarpon and jacks hitting the sprats. So it’s about driving around and seeing where they are.

Bar jack

There are a few spots around the island where you regularly find tarpon. They love docks because the guys clean fish there, and they love dock lights. At one stage I thought, why don’t I go and start looking for these fish at night, because tarpon are mainly nocturnal. I don’t know too much about bonefish, but I can imagine they’re quite similar. I went out on an evening with a full moon, no wind and clear water, which luckily turned out to be the perfect conditions. You need a clear sky to see fish over the turtle grass and no wind because the surface needs to be flat.

Fly fishing for tarpon on the flats at night is such a different sensory experience because during the day you can see everything. You can often see your fly and watch a fish, say a bone, nuzzle into the sand and you feel that connection at the same time as seeing it. At night it’s more like making out little shapes and then it’s all about feel. You still have to lead the tarpon. If you land the fly too close to them, even at night, they’re gone. Then you slowly just bring the fly away from them and you’ll see they don’t attack it fast. It’s so weird. It’s such a slow sort of retrieve and they come in on it slowly, as if checking it out. You’ve got to be ready because suddenly they’ll just gulp the fly and turn.

You’ll feel a sudden, hard knock and if you don’t set at that exact time, they just drop it. I hit hard, run backwards, do anything just to keep the tension. For bonefish it’s much the same, you can kind of make out the shadow but you’re feeling for a slight resistance against a slow retrieve.

What have you learned about bonefish and triggers?

You’ll get bonefish all year round all over the island and in almost all conditions. But whatever direction the wind’s blowing, I’ll try and find the opposite side of the island. In terms of tide, I find a pushing tide and specifically the second half of the push to be best. In areas where there’s turtle grass and then a stretch of sand before the beach they can get really brave and start coming right into the shallows to the point where half the fish is out of the water – this is called crawling. They’ll come onto the line where the water meets the sand and feed right there and then turn back. As soon as it hits full tide and starts sucking back water, you start losing visibility again. The bones play dirty here. They take you around any structure they can find and they’re quite big. I’ve seen one or two around 10-12lb. My biggest is 8-9lb, but the average size is around 5lb. We don’t get a lot of small ones.

Richard Langford (centre) with colleague Roger Askew and a tarpon caught in the sargassum.

“THOSE THINGS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUR INTENTIONS ARE. YOU’D DO WELL WITH A FLY THAT LOOKS LIKE A FRENCH FRY.”

The ocean triggerfish here vary in colour and can go from almost black all the way through grey to almost white. I don’t know why, but they are a middle-of-the-day fish. You’ll see them in the morning and evening but they feed aggressively between 10am and 2pm. There are quite a few spots around the island where you can consistently find triggers. Either you’re going to spook them by landing the fly 10 feet away or you’re going to land it half a foot from the fish and it’s just going to come in on that fly and attack it. I’ve found it’s best just to go for it. If the trigger’s hungry, he’s going to come for it. And if he’s not, he’s going to spook. So just try it, and if it fails move onto the next one.

Tides are important for triggers. I’ve caught them at all tides, but a dropping tide is the most productive because the water is moving, and they like to sit in moving water’s channels. Then they come in on the dropping tide and feed. I think the tide is pulling a lot of their food off the rocks and sucking it across. The triggers are using that momentum to pick things up. You can watch them doing it in the shallows. If you throw your fly half a metre in front and the tide movement sucks it across and you just start stripping, you’ll see the fish take it. He’s probably just waiting for his prey to start trying to swim away from him as they start drifting off the reef.

On the subject of flies, what have you learned?

For triggers and bonefish, I’ve used quite a few different variations of the classics like Crazy Charlies and little spawning shrimps, but not too many crabs. I’ve thrown a few like Alphlexos, but I haven’t caught anything except for jacks on those. I also hooked a big rainbow parrotfish on one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone actually landing one of those parrots on a flat here because it’s very difficult to get them to take and even harder to land. They just break off hooks.

I learned something about flies while fishing for bonefish at night. I started fishing a much bigger, darker shrimp fly, almost like a mix between a spawning shrimp and a crab, because I thought A) It’s dark so they’re probably going to be more aggressive; and B) They need to see this thing and feel the movement from far enough away that I don’t spook them. That worked really well. So well in fact that one day when fishing I lost the small little intricate fly that I was using to try and not spook these bonefish. So I tied on my big night-time bonefish fly and it started working well during the day for both bonefish and a few triggers. I think they may be feeding on bigger things than we realise.

“I WENT OUT ON AN EVENING WITH A FULL MOON, NO WIND AND CLEAR WATER, WHICH LUCKILY TURNED OUT TO BE THE PERFECT CONDITIONS.”

For tarpon I started playing around and I found that it was the density of the fly and where it sat in the water column that made the most impact, rather than colour or size. If it’s on the surface they won’t take it and if it’s sinking too fast and bouncing off the bottom, they also won’t take it. You’ve really got to get it weighted so it sits at about half a metre deep or 20cm for the really shallow spots. I actually got the step-by-step for the Foam Dungeon, which is the “tarpon fly” I tie, from you guys at The Mission. Tim Leppan, aka Life On Fly, started making them for the Orange River. I tried one of the ones I had for the Orange River on those small tarpon, stripping it quite fast. It worked, but when I saw that the big tarpon were just not interested I started playing around with the foam densities and removing weight. I don’t tie the articulated version anymore because it’s just a bit long and I don’t find it necessary. The version I tie has quite a long marabou tail to give it movement even when the fly is static. I’m not really worried about a fish going for the back of the fly and not getting hooked. Those tarpon are gulping the whole thing down so one hook is fine. I overtop the foam so that when I’m fishing it I can always give the fly a little haircut to hit the right level in the water column.

On the tackle front, what are you fishing?

I tend to go as light as possible. I fish my 7-weight Echo Ion for bones, triggers, and a lot of the jacks. I think it has benefited me because the line’s a bit thinner, you’re landing it lighter, so you’re probably less likely to spook them. Then I use a 9-weight Echo Boost Blue on the tarpon. The Boost is really solid, has a nice, fast action, and throws a big fly.

For reels, I went over to the Shilton SL6. Shit, those things are good. I’ve had a couple of other brands and they just didn’t last with the saltwater. I buy my fishing gear to use, not to resell at the end of the day. Those first six months my fly rods basically lived in my car in

45-degree heat. Between that, fishing off iron shore and the saltwater, the lines and reels take a hammering, but those Shiltons are bulletproof.

For floating lines I use the Rio DirectCore Bonefish for the 7-weight and the Rio Elite Tropical Outbound Short on the 9-weight. You’ve got to lead these tarpon by a certain amount and, as they’re turning all the time, you’ve got to be fast. It’s quick, short, close-quarters stuff, not huge casts. Especially when fishing from the beach, I beef up on my leader so that I can straight-stick tarpon if I have to. Otherwise you do struggle to land them. Sometimes I’ll tie my own leader with three different thicknesses of fluorocarbon. It works, but the problem with that is that the knots pick up little bits of sargassum or turtle grass. So I prefer to go with a tapered leader.

Probably the most important part of fishing around here is your eyesight. There are some big turtle grass flats where fish will be tailing far away, so you really need to be able to spot fish. I’m wearing blue mirror Costa 580 glass lenses at the moment and another pair of Costas with grey lenses for lower-light conditions.

Any last words for people considering a visit to Grand Cayman?

The DIY fly fishing options here are really good because you’ve got bonefish on the flats and tarpon all around the island. It’s diverse, accessible fishing. There are quite a few of the more elusive species that I still want to tick off on fly, like the parrots, permit and snook. There are times when it’s a bit more difficult, but there’s almost no time when you absolutely can’t fish (albeit hurricanes), which is cool. If I were you I probably wouldn’t plan a big fiveday fly fishing destination trip to Cayman, because there are probably some places that will have more fish and are more secluded. But if you’re planning an island family holiday, coming for work or visiting friends, definitely bring rods, because you’re going to get some fish.

YETI - LOGO FULL CAMO TRUCKER

Do you like to blend in without going as far as wearing a ghillie suit? Made from 60% cotton and 40% polyester with a Bureo brim derived from NetPlus (a material made from 100% recycled fishing nets), the new Full Camo Trucker from Yeti features a classic five-panel design and subtle green camo pattern great for staying hidden on the bank or even melting back into the clivias at a socially awkward braai. yeti.com, upstreamflyfishing.co.za

THE MISSION - MR FLOPPY

LATEST RELEASES SALAD BAR

HOWLER BROTHERS - CROSSCUT DELUXE SNAPSHIRT

When Howler Brothers first hit the fly fish/surf/urban cowboy scene, it wasn’t their caps or their tech hoodies that made them stand out, but their Western-style snapshirts. The Crosscut Deluxe is one of their most sought-after items: embroidered vintage-inspired motif, pearl snaps, western yokes, robust stretch chambray, and a sunglass-cleaning microfibre hem… This is a statement shirt. howlerbros.com, upstreamflyfishing.co.za

YETI - COOL ICE T-SHIRT

YETI - HUNT MID PRO TRUCKER

Not quite the Foreigner song lyrics, but Yeti’s classic fit, cotton-recycled poly-blend T is a beaut worthy of your après-fish wardrobe for when you need to stay frosty. yeti.com, upstreamflyfishing.co.za

We’ve been peddling caps – truckers, Dad Caps, 5-panels, Flavour Savers – since we launched a good seven/eight years ago, but until now we haven’t had something that provides more comprehensive sun coverage. Introducing Mr Floppy, a medium-wide brim, boonie-style hat in a washed mustard colour with our Flavour Saver patch and an adjustable drawstring. Just as at home bundu-bashing along rivers and across flats as it is as the beach or a braai. themissionflymag.com

“AT HOME BUNDU-BASHING ALONG RIVERS AND ACROSS FLATS.”

When you want to stand out (while hunting, fishing, or as a Dutch soccer fan), orange is your best friend. Made with the same materials as the Camo Trucker, the Hunt Mid Pro Trucker’s five-panel bow fit has a snapback closure. yeti.com, upstreamflyfishing.co.za

If

COLUMBIA - DRAINMAKER XTR

There are times when you need an in-between shoe. Like Ewan Naude in “Meet the Farquhars” earlier in this issue, who needed footwear for fishing off the skiff because wearing heavy wading boots was clunky. Similarly, there are times when you want something light to quickly cover distance up a kloof before whacking your wading boots on for the actual fishing. Columbia’s new Drainmaker XTR covers that Goldilocks zone between trail shoe and water shoe. Featuring lightweight, stepin comfort with Columbia’s Omni-Grip LT outsole they sport midsole ports for air ventilation and draining and are made with a mix of synthetics and mesh to provide a breathable and drainable upper for all your water activities. columbiasportswear.co.za

SIMMS - CHALLENGER INSULATE HAT

We grew up watching Elmer Fudd trying to massacre Bugs Bunny, so the Simms Challenger Insulated Hat hits us in the cartoon-nostalgia zone. Throw in the fact that it is a versatile, fully waterproof and insulated hat for the coldest days on the water, and we insist you take our money. It’s made with two-layer Toray shell fabric and insulated with 100gsm synthetic insulation, plus its interior is lined with high-pile sherpa fleece, but above all it has those spiffy flip-down earflaps with hook and loop closure. The black underbrim is for glare reduction on those days when you’re fishing, in freezing conditions, into the mesmerising glare of the winter sun. simmsfishing.com, frontierflyfishing.com

“THE XTR COVERS THAT GOLDILOCKS ZONE BETWEEN TRAIL SHOE AND WATER SHOE.”

GNARLY HEADZ - POPPER HEADS

Five years of time and effort – that’s what Arno Laubscher of ScientificFly put into developing his new Gnarly Headz poppers heads and from what we have seen, it’s going to be worth it. With a revolutionary concave body shape that maximises your hook-up ratio, they are made from soft elastic foam and are feature-packed with cut-out eyes, moulded channels to create better popping, a lipless cup face to move more water, and tie-in markers to make it easy to add materials in when tying. Available in small, medium, large and extra-large to cover everything from bass to GTs. scientificfly.com

“TO COVER EVERYTHING FROM BASS TO GTS.”

A VERSATILE, FULLY WATERPROOF AND INSULATED HAT FOR THE COLDEST DAYS ON THE WATER.”

CORTLAND - ALL PURPOSE XP

We love a bit of versatility in a product and Cortland’s All Purpose XP ticks that box and then some. Designed for the salt (but would be great for larger freshwater species like largemouth yellows), it’s designed to load quickly, punch air resistant flies, and battle heavy winds. Built with a compact, overweight head to load fast action rods with minimal false casts, limited back casting room, while achieving maximum shooting distance. cortlandline.com

“DESIGNED TO LOAD QUICKLY, PUNCH AIR RESISTANT FLIES, AND BATTLE HEAVY WINDS.”

LOON - SILICONE DOUBLE BARREL CADDY

Shake, squeeze, cast, shake, squeeze, cast. It’s funny how something as simple as the placement of your floatant can make your fishing more pleasurable, but if you have spent any time fruitlessly frisking yourself searching for your dry fly floatant or shake, you’ll understand that it just grates if it’s not where it should be. Designed to carry two bottles of floatant (shaker up, squeezer down), Loon’s Silicone Double Barrel Caddy is heavy-duty yet lightweight and fastens securely to your pack, bag, or vest. loonoutdoors.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS - REGULATOR SPOOL

Musical earworms are a bastard and while we doubt Warren G ever imagined a South African fly fishing magazine office would break out into the lyrics of “Regulate” every time the Scientific Anglers Regulator Spool gets mentioned, here we are. Taking the hassle out of switching out fly lines, the Regulator (“Regulatooors!”) creates and dispenses coils of line with ease. Perfect for travelling anglers and if you simply want to change up reels or get organised at home on a clear black night under a clear white moon. scientificanglers.com, frontierflyfishing.com

TIEMCO - SHIMAZAKI SLIT STAGE

CDC, aka Cul de Canard, aka duck’s arse feathers, are one of those magic natural materials that takes a fly from average to lethal. They can however be somewhat finickity things to handle in your man paws. The Shimazaki Slit Stage is not a ninja move, but rather a nifty tool from Tiemco that makes it easy to get those prime CDC fibres out from feathers. tiemco.co.jp, frontierflyfishing.com

50+ GIANT TREVALLY

The 50+ Series Giant Trevally fly line is built for the most demanding, hardest fighting saltwater species.

TARPON

Features our slick-hard Tropic Plus coating paired with a strong monofilament core.

50+ CANNON

Designed to effortlessly cast large flies, battle windy conditions and load fast-action fly rods.

ALL PURPOSE TAPER

Cortland’s best all-around hot weather floating line for multi-species saltwater fly fishing.

50+ HEAVY SINK

Built for taming the most demanding saltwater offshore and freshwater jungle species.

GHOST TIP

Designed for presenting flies just below the surface without spooking wary fish.

SALTWATER SERIES

50+ INTERMEDIATE

Built for taming the most demanding, hardest fighting freshwater and saltwater species.

BONEFISH

An aggressive taper that loads rods easily for close shots.

FULLING MILL - STREAMER SELECTION

Stillwater trout season is almost upon us so if you’re in search of hefty weedbed bullies, that means it’s time to fill your own boxes through some hard hours at the vice. Or... if you can’t tie/lack time/understand your limitations,

simply get some quality Fulling Mills flies from Mavungana Flyfishing, who are the exclusive stockist in South Africa. Then tell your mates you tied them yourself. No judgies. fullingmill.co.uk, flyfishing.co.za

SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS - LAUNCH PAD

Fly lines have an uncanny ability to get stuck on literally anything just as you are making a crucial cast or trying to get a fish on the reel. This is especially true on a boat. With silicone spikes and cones that keep the line coils separated, Scientific Anglers’ Launch Pad casting mat is designed to take the hassle out of managing fly line so you’re always ready for that next big shot. scientificanglers.com, frontierflyfishing.com

RIVERMAN - LAINOS SLING BAG (SMALL)

Mavungana Flyfishing’s Dullstroom side hustle, Riverman Leather, produces a range of high-end leather goods like reel pouches, rod tubes and fishing bags, but there are some gems from outside the fishing zone too, like the Lainos Sling Bag. At 15cm long, 19cm high and 6cm wide, this compact crossbody bag with a removable shoulder sling is perfect for travel or just your everyday carry of a cellphone, wallet and keys. flyfishing.co.za

FULLING MILL - FLY PATCH

Where to store your flies while fishing deserves a little thought. For some, keeping them in a fly box in your pack, vest or sling is a cumbersome solve. Others like the old stash in the cap technique, but you can lose flies this way. Fulling Mill’s Fly Patch might be the solution. You can pin it on your chest pack, wader strap or shirt, or use it with a lanyard. Whatever you choose, it’s right there, ready for you to Clark Kent up a storm changing PTNs for Squirmies. Made using high-performance closed-cell foam, the box has twin slotted internal foam pads with room for 180 flies, while the outside has three magnetic staging areas and a flat foam-top pad. fullingmill.co.uk, flyfishing.co.za

“TAKE THE HASSLE OUT OF MANAGING FLY LINE.”

Xplorer Hosted Trips – Local and International Destinations

DIAMONDBACK - AEROFLEX FRESHWATER

The second Diamondback range brought into South Africa by Xplorer Fly Fishing, as tactical nymphing rods that can also cover a range of casting styles and line choices, the Aeroflex 5-weight 9’0” 5wt and 6-weight 10’0” are well suited to both fishing South African trout stillwaters and for smallmouth yellowfish on the Vaal-Orange systems. Diamondback says, “They are dynamic fishing tools that will achieve smooth and accurate casts at common fishing

distance but have a hidden reserve power revealed when pushing a long cast into the wind or fighting a bigger fish.” Expect oversize Sea-Guide titanium frame stripper guides, uplocking semi-matte black dual-nut hardware with stabilised curly koa wood spacers, Flor-grade cork grips, blue-green blanks, with matching colour thread wraps and silver accents and a Cordura covered lightweight sealed PVC rod tube. diamondbackflyrods.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

SEMPERFLI - NANO SILK STREAMER 200D

Semperfli developed a reputation for their incredibly strong Nano Silk, but they wanted to develop a version with deeper, dope-dyed GSP (gel-spun polyethylene). That meant introducing coloured plastic into the raw GSP as it was being dyed and extruded. The result is Nano Silk Streamer 200D, which is extremely strong, comes in a range of colours and is perfect for tying streamer and predator patterns, while its flat profile is ideal for chironomids, traditional flies, and ribbing. semperfli.net, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

LOON - HITCH PIN SCISSOR FORCEPS

For the angler who prefers a money clip to a wallet, the Loon Hitch Pin Scissor Forceps give you options beyond clipping them to a vest or waders. Slide the 5’5” long forceps with their hitch pin handle into a pocket, onto your wading belt loop, or into the waist of your boardies. Bonus: The handle offers an ergonomic resting place for your fingers while in use.

loonoutdoors.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

PAYDAY

DR SLICK - CYCLONE NIPPERS

Nippers for a Pay Day item seems a bit odd, but these are no ordinary nippers. Having won Best New Accessory at the 2023 International Fly Tackle Dealer (IFTD) show, we had to take a closer look, so we got hold of Sensation Tackle who bring them into South Africa. Available in offset or straight cutters, they are machined out of 6061T6 anodised bar stock aluminium and have tungsten carbide cutting blades (plus an additional set of blades, and a hex key and carabiner). Putting nippers that cost up to $200 to shame, Dr Slick’s Cyclone Nippers cut through everything from your everyday fluoro and mono to braid, backing and even 20-50lb wire tiger trace with ease. For some unknown reason, local fly shops have not yet picked up on these, but based off the performance and price, we expect that to change. drslick.com, sensationtackle.co.za

ON A DIME

ON A TRIP TO DRY FLY HEAVEN (LESOTHO’S BOKONG RIVER), THE MISSION ART DIRECTOR BRENDAN “BOD” BODY PUT THE THOMAS & THOMAS PARADIGM 8’4” 4-WEIGHT TO THE TEST.

Photos.

Riley Meyer (African Waters)

Last November I had a lucky break when a chance to fish the Bokong River in Lesotho, one of the premier draaa flaaa destinations in the world, came up. With a heavy heart, Tudor (The Mission editor) insisted that, because he could not go with me on the trip (one-year-old twins had the man more tied up than usual), his T&T 4-weight Paradigm should go with me in his stead.

It’s always a big risk being lent a rod for a trip, especially if you don’t really need to borrow one. You see, I have a quiver of old trusty broomsticks for freshwater: a battle-hardened hand-me-down 7-weight, one ancient bulletproof 4-5-weight that I bought for R1 000 15 years ago, and a 3-weight with one eye missing which can

still throw a semi-tight loop. I’ve fished with them for years, I’m used to their out-of-date fast actions and, until one snaps or crumbles, I’m happy to keep fishing with them in most circumstances. By taking on the responsibility of borrowing the Paradigm, there was an implicit promise to look after it like it was my only child and to make sure it arrives back safely in perfect condition. The underlying subtext was clear: DO NOT FUCK IT UP.

Until this point, Tudor had only tested the Paradigm on our local Cape streams. It had performed with aplomb, but a 4-weight is a bit heavy for those skinny rivers. The Bokong however is comparable to the sort of smallish US rivers the Paradigm was probably designed for. So how could I say no?

Setting the rod up upon arrival, and being the seasoned rod expert that I am, I was very impressed to see the Paradigm had all the features I look for in a borrowed rod. To quote Thomas & Thomas, “Lightweight titanium-alloy single foot REC snake guides, titanium frame stripping guides, matte titanium finish roll-stamped hardware, USA-sourced figured maple spacers, and a beautiful new semi-gloss blue surface finish.” Sure, the sum of those premium components was very pretty to look at, but what I really wanted to feel was... the feel, specifically, its mid-flex action. I had a feeling that, in theory, this elegant bad boy was going to be the perfect weapon for throwing dries and pounding yellows on the Bokong. So, for the next five days I tried to put this US gold standard of a rod through its paces. We happened to be there at a time when the dry fly fishing was ridiculously good. With vast numbers of fish smashing dries, I threw Balbyter ant patterns and LeRoy Botha’s hoppers at anything that swam, and the Paradigm did not disappoint.

I loved the medium action instantly. It forced me to leave the over-powering casting style used on my fast action broomsticks behind and slow down to let the rod do the work. I could see the results as, with each cast, I appeared to present flies better and better and it was particularly good in the 10-20m range. I found the soft tip extremely forgiving* and perfect for protecting the light tippet both from the aggressive dry fly eats and heavy runs these Bokong fish give you. Being a 4-weight, it also had a decent amount of backbone for when some harder pulling was required.

That gave me a little more confidence with some of the harder-fighting yellows. At 8’4” while it could handle some nymphing if you really asked it (I didn’t), the Paradigm doesn’t pretend to exist for anything other than dry fly fishing.

In fact, other than it not being mine, I found it very difficult to fault this rod at all. There’s a reason the Paradigm of old is always mentioned among the top dry fly rods of all time and, while I never got to cast one of those, I can assure you the modern iteration maintains that reputation. I’m not a dry fly purist, but I’ll admit that after a week spent with this as an extension of my arm, picking up my old reliable broomsticks again just felt wrong.

Available at upstreamflyfishing.co.za in South Africa or thomasandthomas.com

“THE PARADIGM DOESN’T PRETEND TO EXIST FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN DRY FLY FISHING.”

*Ed: Due to his renowned aggressive fish fighting style, Bod once broke a 10-weight fly rod hooked up to a fishfighting machine at The Mission’s first birthday party. He then spilled a drink on an advertiser’s head, lost his wallet and phone, and did some other silly shit. Point? He needs forgiving tips.

STERKFONTEIN DAM, ORANGE YELLOWFISH, TANKWA KAROO, RIVER, VAN DER KLOOF, MOOI RIVER, TROUT, TUNGELA RIVER, WHEREVER

RHODES, MOGGEL, LAKENVLEI, YELLOWS, ELANDSPAD RIVER, RIVER, LARGESCALE YELLOWFISH, RAINBOW TROUT, VAAL RIVER,

From headwaters to court rooms, fighting pollution FOSAF fights to protect your fly fishing future. Become a member today at fosaf.or.za

ORANGE RIVER, SMALLMOUTH

KAROO, NATAL SCALIES, RIET RIVER, DULLSTROOM, BROWN WHEREVER YOU FISH, WITVIS,

LAKENVLEI, INJASUTI, BUSHVELD RIVER, CHISELMOUTH, KOMATI

YELLOWFISH, PONGOLA RIVER, RIVER, SAWFIN, BARKLY EAST

pollution to challenging ill-thought out government legislation, future. For just R360 a year, you can help protect FOSAF.

FLUFF NOT SO WEE BEASTIE

THE NEW BOB POPOVICS-DESIGNED BEAST FLEYE HOOKS FROM AHREX JUST DROPPED. ANDRE VAN WYK FROM BUCKTAIL FLIES (BUCKTAILFLIES.COM) WEIGHS IN ON WHY FANS OF BIG FLIES WILL WANT TO TRY THESE.

Over the last five years, I’ve spent the better part of my time at the vice tying with bucktail, playing with styles and approaches like the Beast, hollow fleye and bulkheads, and learning from the best out there, especially the OG Bob Popovics. So, when word got out that Danish hook gurus Ahrex were working with Bob on hooks specifically designed for tying Beasts, I was understandably stoked.

Why the hype?

Aside from the facts that they are A) beautifully engineered, and B) Mo and the cats from Ahrex worked with Bob and his 30-40 years of tying and fishing to produce them, the big draw with these big hooks is that there hasn’t really been anything like this on the market before. Everything that was this sort of size, shape and length was always a light wire hook, not really capable of standing up to big nasty fish. While I have not yet fished these hooks, they are a dream to tie with and I am super-excited to put them to the test on the water. With Bob’s input and everything he has put into Beasts over the years, they should be an absolute winner.

The options

There are two versions of the Beast Flye: the regular (SA290) and the long (SA292), giving you two different ways to approach tying these flies. They come in three different sizes: 4/0 (hook lengths of 47.10mm in the SA290 and 54.10mm in the SA292), 6/0 (53.60mm in the SA290 and 61.60mm in the SA292), and 8/0 (60.00mm in the SA290 and 69.00mm in the SA292). When you compare Ahrex’s sizing to most other hooks, you could see these more along the lines of 5/0, 8/0 and 10/0.

Real estate

Something you notice is that even on the “short” version, the SA290, there is an extended shank. It’s not something you see often on hooks the size and strength of an 8/0. This gives you more real estate to fit in all of those hollow ties. Or, if you’re stacking bucktail or tying in hackles, you have a lot more shank to play with.

Barbetjie

Most of us fish barbless these days and while the hooks do come barbed, it’s a small micro-barb that is pretty easy to squash.

Not tied down

While designed for Beasts, this hook is going to be an absolute winner for any kind of large pattern where you’re looking for a big, solid, strong hook with more real estate to be able to tie in multiple points. With really big patterns, these hooks allow you to push the hook point that little bit further back. When you’re fishing for short striking fish, that makes a difference because it pushes the bite point further back giving you more chance of it grabbing on the point. Similarly, if you are fishing for toothy critters, like elf/bluefish, a lot of the patterns are tied far back leaving the front of the hook bare. With a hook that has this much space, instead of tying a wire leader you could just tie your fly towards the back giving yourself a half-inch of hook up front which works as a pretty solid bite trace.

Rustfri

Ahrex’s corrosion-resistant coating is in my experience far superior to anything else on the market. I have been tying on their hooks almost exclusively for the last two or three years ever since the SA270 Bluewater and the SA280 Minnow hooks came out.

Available from ahrexhooks.com

“AHREX’S CORROSIONRESISTANT COATING IS IN MY EXPERIENCE FAR SUPERIOR TO ANYTHING ELSE ON THE MARKET.”

This enables you to create a larger pattern. That’s ultimately what makes these Beast hooks as opposed to normal hooks. The Beast fly is a big pattern and if you can fit more ties in or space your ties out to create these big profiles, that’s a win.

Drop it like it’s hot

The Beast hooks have a drop bend and drop point which is great because it prevents fouling on the cast. Being straight all the way to the back of the shank means that you can start tying off the back with hackles; plus if you are tying Beasts, your mono extension pushes right the way back beyond the bend of the hook. While it won’t prevent fouling of hackles or synthetic fibres at the back entirely, it is going to minimise it.

The eye has it

To match the overall size and attitude of these hooks, they put a nice big eye on it. That way you can fish heavy shock tippets, fluoro and mono, which is a major advantage.

LIFER DR FISH

RECOGNISABLE FROM RUNNING BYOR (BRING YOUR OWN ROD) LINE-TESTING EVENTS FOR SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS ALL OVER THE WORLD, JEFF PIERCE , AKA DR FISH, GETS TO FISH IN MORE PLACES THAN MOST. BUT HE’S AT HIS HAPPIEST ON HIS BOAT THE DOUBLE HAU L, SIGHTFISHING FOR SMALLMOUTH BASS BACK HOME IN MICHIGAN.

Photos. Jeff Pierce

The first fish I remember catching was a small pumpkinseed sunfish in a pond at a campground. I think I was five then. When I was eight years old, I spent part of my summer in Bermuda and that is when the fishing bug really got me.

I was born in Rochester, NY and lived in the area until I was nine or 10. We then moved to Florida for a year and I became obsessed with fishing. While I loved the fishing there, it was way too hot in the summer and way too crowded in the winter. Then it was back to western NY, surrounded by so many lakes, rivers, and streams and so many fish to chase. Ten years ago, when I joined the team at Scientific Anglers, my family and I moved to central Michigan. We love it here. The fishing opportunities are mind boggling.

When I got seriously into chasing fish, I wanted to be on the water all the time. So, I tried to figure out a way I could fish and get paid for it. I ended up getting my first job as a deckhand on a sport fishing charter boat. It involved long hours and hard work, but it was a blast. I worked with a number of captains over the years, guiding for trout and salmon. In the offseason one year, I washed dishes at a diner to pay for more fishing gear. I also got a part-time job for a little while at a fish market. Here and there I tied flies commercially to help pay for college and more fishing gear. In college, I worked in the fishing tackle department of a huge sporting goods store. Then I was hired by a fishing tackle distributor that sold product to the retailer. A few years later I went to work for one of the manufacturer’s sales rep agencies that called on the

distributor. We represented several major fishing tackle brands like Rapala and Mustad hooks. Three years later Mustad offered me the sales manager position, covering half of North America. Over the next 15 years, I wore many hats at Mustad, including Prostaff management, global portfolio management, and product development. I then moved on to Scientific Anglers (SA) and have been with them for just over 10 years now. I’m responsible for all product sold outside the United States, as well as all original equipment/private label production worldwide.

My day starts early and ends fairly late. Being responsible for all our international customers, there is always someone open, somewhere in the world, needing

assistance. The first emails and messages start getting answered around 5:45am and the last ones might get sent out as late as 11:30pm. I’m responsible for the new B2B platform at SA as well, so there always seems to be something that needs updating or someone who needs assistance with access. Then there are discussions with private label customers and R&D, as we work to develop new fly line products for them. Add to that some time spent in production, discussing upcoming custom line production and any challenges that come up with special orders. There are, of course, some office BS sessions, getting the run down on who fished where the past weekend and what the plans are for the upcoming weekend. I travel a fair bit so, while on the road, out of

country, a typical day could be hosting a BYOR (Bring Your Own Rod) line demo event, meeting with a local fishing club, talking with fly shop staff, and perhaps a speaking engagement at a retailer.

I’m blessed to live in an incredible region. Twentyone per cent of the world’s freshwater is located within a four-hour drive from my home. The Great Lakes offer an incomprehensible number of opportunities with the long rod. Michigan has a mind-boggling 4,530 miles of Great Lakes coastline to explore. Not to mention all the inland lakes and countless rivers and streams and cold, crystal clear waters with numerous species that are willing to eat a fly.

Despite what it looks like, these are not Indian Ocean flats, but rather smallmouth bass territory in Michigan.

“MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE IS SIGHT-FISHING BIG SMALLMOUTH BASS, IN LESS THAN A METRE OF GINCLEAR WATER, ON LARGE FLATS.”

“TWENTY-ONE PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S FRESHWATER IS LOCATED WITHIN A FOUR-HOUR DRIVE FROM MY HOME.”

I spend much of my time running around in my boat, the Double Haul. We have so many great fisheries, depending on the time of year. My absolute favourite is sight-fishing big smallmouth bass, in less than a metre of gin-clear water, on large flats on Lake Huron or Lake Michigan. These fish are aggressive and incredibly hard fighters. June and July are so much fun, when I spot and stalk smallies with big Hex and Drake mayfly dry fly patterns. Sixty foot-plus casts are the norm chasing these old, educated fish. If the bugs aren’t hatching, sculpin and crawfish patterns are effective as well. There is just something about hunting an expansive flat, looking for a big fish, then making that cast and watching that fish react to your fly. Ninety-nine per cent of the time we are casting to a specific fish, so good eyes are a must.

Six- and 7-weights are the go-to with either the SA Amplitude Smooth Infinity Warm (dry flies) or the SA Sonar Stillwater Clear Camo Intermediate (crays and

sculpin). Fluorocarbon leaders in the 3 to 4m range are typical. A trophy smallmouth bass is 20 inches (51cm) or better. Many smallmouth anglers will never catch one that size. On a good day we catch multiple fish over that mark. We have caught fish up to 23 inches on the flats, truly a fish of a lifetime for any serious smallie angler.

My other close second is fishing the Niagara Bar on the west end of Lake Ontario. Fishing three to eight metres of water, stripping baitfish patterns on Sonar 3D I-3-5 and Sonar Stillwater SD5/7 lines. It’s a remarkable fishery where we catch chinook, coho and Atlantic salmon, steelhead, brown trout, lake trout, smallmouth bass, walleye and the occasional musky. You may strip-set into a fish that makes your reel scream with joy, as you watch 250 yards of backing melt off the reel. Eventually a chrome bright 23-pound (10.5kg) chinook slides into the net. Then a few casts later, you’re down and dirty, fighting a metre-long lake trout that engulfed your rabbit strip fly. There’re not too many places

Lunker lake trout

you can go and have a good opportunity to land a trout over a metre long. Everyone I have ever taken there was speechless, stunned by both the fish we caught and the number of fish there.

As far as life goes, I am most proud of my two fantastic boys, Jerrit and Taylor, and being married to my wife Stacey for 30 years this year. On the fishing side of things, it would be having been the recipient of the Silver King Award by the Federation of Fly Fishers back in 2004. This award is given to someone who has made extraordinary contributions to the sport of saltwater fly fishing. What makes this even more of an honour is it’s not given every year. It’s only awarded when the board feels it’s warranted.

Without question, the most satisfying fish I have ever caught was a massive 47-inch (119cm) Atlantic salmon on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec. The fish had a crazy girth and went wild when it felt the steel in the small Thunder & Lightning fly it took on the swing. The battle lasted nearly an hour and took me over 1.5km down the river. As if the size of the fish wasn’t enough, I caught it on 4X fluorocarbon tippet. A quick measurement and a couple of pics later the fish was released to continue on its journey.

Having been in the fishing business for 40 years now, I have been lucky to have travelled to so many incredible places around the globe. It would be hard to pick one, but I do have a special spot in my heart for New Zealand, both the North and South Islands, for the people, the countryside and, of course, the fishing. Every fly angler should fish New Zealand before they die.

I’ve always enjoyed sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years, helping anglers improve their skill set. We all started somewhere and learned from folks along the way, so it’s important to pay it forward. That being said, there are very special places that need protecting. So, while I’m happy to share knowledge on how to, I don’t always share the where to. It seems we all have that one person we know who we just can’t take to the secret spots.

I can be incredibly stubborn and strong-willed. This trait has led me to take some rather big hikes into and out of difficult spots. It also most likely saved my life during a serious boating accident in New Zealand in October of 2022. I probably should have lost my life that day, but I didn’t, because I was too damn stubborn to die.

I have always looked at my friends who are home builders and exceptional carpenters and been so jealous. It’s an incredible life skill that you can draw from over your entire lifetime. I have built some very basic work tables, but I’m the guy that measures three times and still has to cut it two or three times.

Twenty-five years or so ago I took an amazing trip, deep into the jungle in Brazil. As if the base camp wasn’t far enough off the grid, we went deeper and slept under tarps and mosquito netting a couple of nights. So many bugs and the heat... it was rough. The fishing, however, was simply incredible, as was the scenery and the wildlife. Fourteen or so species on the fly, including some beautiful peacocks and payara. How remote was it? The previous year, as they were exploring locations for a secondary camp, a couple of the guys had a run in with some completely unknown indigenous people. Even other regional tribes knew nothing about them. There aren’t too many places left on the planet as unexplored as that.

I’ve always found that it’s best to face your fears head on. Avoidance only makes it worse. Roll those sleeves up, take a breath and jump in.

I’ve been lucky enough to check a lot of fish off the bucket list. Of those still on the list, tigerfish are at the top. The whole experience of seeing the Big Five while stripping streamers for tigerfish is something I hope to do before I use up the last of my nine lives.

Jeff’s first love, smallmouth bass

Atlantic permit

“GETTING OTHERS INTO THE SPORT OR PUTTING THEM ON THEIR PERSONAL BEST OF A SPECIES BRINGS ME GREAT JOY.”

When I started out fly fishing aged 10 or 11, it was all about how many fish I could catch in an outing. These days it’s more about the whole experience. A day swinging flies for coho in British Columbia isn’t always about how many fish were fooled. It’s about being out on the water in an incredible place, maybe seeing some elk or a bear, or a lynx. That solitude in such a special place is what it really means to me these days. Getting others into the sport or putting them on their personal best of a species brings me great joy as well.

Since I’ve been in the sport, there has always been that arrogance and elitist attitude about fly fishing where fly anglers think of themselves as better than conventional anglers. Pretty frustrating to see it still around just as much as it was 40 years ago. It would be nice to see that fade away, as it should have no place in this beautiful pastime.

Looking back on my life and wondering if there is anything I would have done differently, I wish I’d paid more attention in high school Spanish class. Some of my travels and customer meetings would have been easier if I had. As for life in general, I’m very happy with where I have landed. Having been to so many amazing places and spent time with so many incredible people across the globe, I’m so blessed to have been able to make a living in the fishing industry the past four decades. Well, I guess there is one thing. Perhaps I should have invested heavily in Bitcoin back when it started.

The last fish I caught was a beautiful 20.5 inch (52cm) smallmouth bass, stripping streamers on our local river that should be frozen over at this time of year.

Look out for Jeff on Instagram @drfish_jeffpierce

Smallmouth yellowfish from Sterkfontein Dam

CAPE STREAMS

CAPE TOWN

BOLIVIA

TANZANIA

SEYCHELLES

POP QUIZ

FUGUE STATE OR MASS DEBATE? PSYCHOTIC BREAK OR DEEP FAKE? TAKE OUR RAPID FIRE QUIZ TO TEST WHETHER ANYTHING FROM THIS ISSUE STUCK IN YOUR BRAIN LIKE BUBBLE-GUM TO A SHOE.

1. What did Herman Botes borrow from his daughter on a trip to the Tankwa for Clanwilliam yellowfish (page 22)?

A. The entire songbook from Frozen

B. A positive attitude.

C. A sleeping bag with broken zips.

D. Her fly box.

2. According to Roelof Botha if Rassie Erasmus fly fished, he would… (page 26)?

A. Come up with some innovative ideas for targeting largemouth yellowfish.

B. Install disco lights on his skiff to tell other anglers where to fish.

C. Get banned for poaching.

D. Get banned by FIPS and the IGFA for making videos pointing out their flaws.

3. When Ewan Naude hears the words, “Ass Magic” does he… (page 40)?

A. Think of the good old days back at boarding school in Grahamstown.

B. Get a tingling in his groin and flashbacks to the Farquhar flats.

C. Think of rooming with his chommie Paul Robinson.

D. Look longingly at his tights in the cupboard.

E. All of the above.

4. Shaun Dickson’s “funny” rainbow trout in Hugging The Bear are rumoured to have what genetics (page 62)?

A. Brook trout.

B. Columbia River redband trout.

C. Golden trout.

D. Cutthroat trout.

E. Mexican rainbow trout.

5. What was painted deep in the Drakensberg valleys in Hugging The Bear (page 62)?

A. Neon graffiti spelling out, “Pieter and Peter wuz here”.

B. The light fantastic.

C. Pricasso’s earliest masterpiece.

D. Light dicks.

6. According to Richard Langford, what do the inner-city tarpon of Georgetown, Grand Cayman eat (page 74)?

A. Tarpon toads.

B. French fry flies.

C. Bufords.

D. Bulkheads.

E. Meat Whistles.