PART 3 in a 12 part series of blogs where we look at the Christmas Wishlists of The Mission/Feathers & Fluoro team.

Each list features three categories: Stocking Filler (cheap and cheerful), Sublime (a great piece of gear in the mid to high price range) and Ridiculous (what Motsepe wants, Motsepe gets).

Today’s dreamer is Jazz Kuschke, gonzo journalist of the Garden Route.

STOCKING FILLER

– A batch of LeRoy Botha’s articulated JAMs. The oke is an artist (and a musician with solid taste) and has evolved these onto entirely new dimension. A legit ‘sand’ grunt still eludes me and these will be the ticket.

– A Dremel tool. The popper and slider/diver head machining possibilities just become endless.

– Cork sheeting. Comes in squares of about 300mm x 300mm and I want to cover my tying table in it.

– Stanley hip flask. I have three hip flasks each with their own history. The dented Rémy Martin model I inherited from my grandfather – who taught me how to fish – is usually in my backpack. Time to retire that one to a display on the collections shelf in the fishing room for something ’new’ but equally as timeless.

SUBLIME

– Hayaari H-Skiff. That little micro skiff would be epic for the South Africa estuaries and light offshore missions here in my local bay.

– Orange River Trip for 2019. “The guys who were supposed to provide the context for this one are currently out of reception… Afloat on a lifeblood river in a moonscaped land. Somewhere where the Largies grow serious; the sunsets are red; and the nights crystal clear. They said you’d understand.”

– The complete works of John Gierach. I have half his titles in my collection and would dearly like to complete it. Outside of Thomas McGuane (who is in a league of his own) I rate John Gierach is one of the finest fishing scribes of our time.

– Oakley ‘Prizm Shallow Water Polarized. Best lenses I’ve ever had in fishing eyewear. Left mine in Andy Coetzee’s bakkie on a Maputaland mission. There aren’t many of those in the country. Maybe the old legend can send mine back?! *hahahahaha

– Patagonia Stealth Atom Sling. For those short estuary sessions when a full backpack is overkill.

RIDICULOUS

– (not ridiculous, ‘ridiculous’ but..) A Land Cruiser 76, fully equipped for African overloading (DIY missions). Drawer system, long-range tank(s), roof-top rig, dual battery system, fridge(s), etc etc. In my first two years as photojournalist for Getaway magazine I spent a lot to time on the road (and off) in Africa and yearn to revisit some of those places and a host of new ones. Now with my own crew.
– A share in an Indonesian island resort. While the Chinese commercial fleets have done some major damage down there there are still fish around. And the best waves on the planet, of course.