In the hidden Bulkhead Hollow Fleye, Conrad Botes discovers the fly of his salty dreams. Here’s why. The Bulkhead Hollow Fleye. Photo John Travis When it comes to fly tying, I’m a bit old school in the sense that I try to resist new fads and tying styles for as long as I [...]
From exotic bucket list locations like Providence to home-based heaven like Lake Jozini and Sterkfontein Dam, Flycastaway guide Brendan Becker leads a pretty shweet life. We caught up with him for this issue’s High 5s. A happy client, Brendan Becker and a bumphead parrotfish from Providence 5 people you would like to guide/fish [...]
While he sounds (and looks) like a WWE superstar, Jimmy “the Shark Man” Eagleton is one of South Africa’s pioneering saltwater fly fishing anglers, favouring the windswept West Coast. In the highly unlikely probability that you'll bump into him at night on a tidal island, he’ll make you a coffee amidst the guano. We caught [...]
We covet steenbras at the best of times, but we’ve recently been introduced to their butterball cousins from Namibia (aka Nambia). Instant fish crush. Just add water. Our Wish List Fish from The Mission Issue 08 was the Namibian steenbras. What West Coast steenbras, aka West Coast sea bream, aka Lithognathus aureti (if you live [...]
On Friday I blanked, well sort of. I had planned on an epic float with Nick van Rensburg of Flybru, down a section of water that I had a ball at the week before. We were psyched and the dingy was already packed in the back of the car, electric motor battery charged up, but [...]
THE FROTHING RABBIT AND TWO OTHER THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED FOR SOUTH AFRICAN TIGERFISH The theory of ‘marginal gains’ centres around the small incremental improvements (in any process) that eventually add up to one significant leap in improvement. It was popularised in the cycling world by Sir Dave Brailsford, who was the performance [...]
In our social media age of non-stop self-promotion and faux-modesty, there are a few anglers that seem not only to develop an aura that demands respect, but that somehow manage to do it off-line, above the wash. Navigating myths, rumours and legends, Jazz Kuschke discovers that, if you’ve heard any kind of story about Mark [...]
Cold, windy and inconsistent, Western Cape saltwater fly fishing is neither for the flakey nor the faint of heart. Within it, there are sub-divisions of difficulty. A step-up from the calm of the estuaries is the chaos of rock and surf fly fishing. It takes experience, persistence and determination to get it right. But the [...]
Changing your name on a regular basis is not something one would consider a good life choice. But the gentleman of the sea appears not to mind. Through years of tracking we now know that the leervis of the South (including those on the West Coast, False Bay, Southern Cape and southern Eastern Cape) becomes [...]
Ever since Scott sent our testers a couple of rods from their new Scott Sector range, we’ve been gagging for a verdict from their long-term test. After all, the Scott Sector has retired the legendary Scott Meridian. Both of our salty guinea pigs, Fred Davis and Peter Coetzee, are unabashed long-term Scott fans,. But, they’re [...]
