Life is short so make time to indulge your inner-ADHD child with a selection of fly fishing distractions. Watch, tie, listen or buy, here’s our something-for-everybody curation of all things fly fishing.
We loved the recent African Waters X Ineos Grenadier collab mission to Lesotho. Watch as Keith Clover, director of African Waters, explores the Bokong River behind the wheel of the Quartermaster. Read our experience of the Bokong here. Fancy testing our an Ineos Grenadier in SA? Book a test drive here.
After a long wait, Mending the Line is out! So… we’ll be taking a two hour break to watch Brian Cox’s character teach a veteran to use fly fishing as a means of dealing with emotional and physical trauma. Fine print: It’s on American Netflix. SAFFAS, use your best legal or otherwise websites to try find it…
We’re reading Cortland Line’s Q&A with Flip Pallot. US army man, turned banker, turned outdoor TV producer and saltwater fly fishing legend, Flip has had more than his fare share of experiences with many legends, including the likes of Lefty Kreh. Read here.
We’re (trying) to tie Space Coast Flies’ The Sipper, the fly that “Wakes, Chugs, Pops and most importantly it catches fish.” An EP baitfish pattern with foam tied into the head, with “characteristics of a gurgler, a popper and a diver.” For a unique South African saltwater popper, check out Richard Wale’s tutorial of the Stella.
In other (fly fishing related) news, Patagonia just released another excellent new film. We’re watching Undammed, a story on the Klamath River dam removal and one of the central figures in that fight, Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis. As more hydropower dams are built on the African continent (check the Batoka Gorge below Vic Falls), while in the first world they seem to be tearing them down, we can’t help but wonder what the impacts of these projects will be on the environment in our neck of the woods.
FROM HOME SOIL
Local expert fly tyer and instructor Gordon van der Spuy’s 2024 revision of The Feather Mechanic – A Fly-Tying Philosophy, is making waves over at Midcurrent, and spreading further afield. If you haven’t read it, you should. In this one-of-a-kind contribution to the world of fly fishing and fly tying, Gordon not only tells the story of his own development in fly tying with signature flair, but he also takes the reader into the function of some of the most deadly patterns in history, so you understand why they work and equip yourself with the know-how to do your own thing. Signed copies on request. Order yours here.
Into reading? You should check out our free magazine.
