Of all the salty fly fishing sea dogs in all the world, few have the credentials that Andy Coetzee has. From guiding to setting up lodges, working with Nat Geo or the Smithsonian, wrangling dugongs, sea turtles, GTs and tarpon, there’s a good chance Andy’s been there and done that. We caught up with him on coconut wifi at a remote camp in northern Angola. As featured in The Mission Issue 49 (Jan/Feb 2025).

BIRD HEAD

The first fish I remember catching was with my twin brother Marcus (Mark). We were living in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and we were catching tilapia using bent pins and little corks. We were probably four or five years old.

I’m such a wanderer, a strandloper, that the list of places I have called home is endless. Many of these are in wild, isolated areas. For instance, I spent many years of my life in Rocktail Bay (KZN). I also spent many years a little bit inland from Rocktail at a cashew project in Maputaland. Then I went on to the Makhathini Flats, followed by the Transkei and then Seychelles. Those are all places I would call home because I visited them, and I fished, and I felt at peace there.

“It’s this undying pursuit of the new frontier that keeps me going. That and condensed milk.”

The list of things I have done is also endless. I have reinvented myself countless times from being a tour guide in Johannesburg and in the Kruger National Park to being a fly fishing guide in Seychelles. I’ve run lodges in numerous places and been a freshwater fisheries researcher on the Pongola floodplain. I’ve also been a sea turtle researcher and a horticultural researcher. I have caught dugongs and done consumer insight market research all around South Africa in the townships. For instance, while doing change agent work for corporates all over the country I’ve taken people like bank managers into the townships for two days. What else have I done? I’ve lived in isolated places pursuing my pioneering dreams and worked in both national and international television with Nat Geo, the Smithsonian, etc. It’s this undying pursuit of the new frontier that keeps me going. That and condensed milk.

Last year, two acquaintances asked me to check out the potential of a possible tarpon fishery in northern Angola on the border with Congo. My twin brother and I came out here for 10 weeks. No shower, no fridge, no nothing. Just hardcore living and fishing. We at stale baguettes (they were fresh for the first day), Nutella, basmati rice and a half a can of tuna each for supper – absolute bliss. And, of course, the ubiquitous can of condensed milk.

We lived in a tent that got flattened. We had a gazebo that I built with walls made of flip-flops we picked up off the beach, it was named the “Flop House” after John Steinbeck’s book, Cannery Row. Our toilet was made from a toilet seat and a 200-litre drum that I picked up on the beach. I cut a hole in that and attached it to the seat. It was named the “Slop House”.

This new venture is a four-rod rustic lodge in the far northern reaches of Angola. I have had some challenges with training staff who do not even know what hospitality is, let alone tourism. There’s a language barrier of French and Portuguese, neither of which I speak. And then there are the logistics. It’s been a challenge but also a great insight into life up here. It’s wild and that’s what gets me going.

My nickname, “Khanda Lenyoni”, was given to me many years ago by the Zulus in Maputaland. It means “head of the bird” because I used to wear those foam peaks, and I would put all the flies I had used into them. The young boys would say, “Look at that white man; he’s got a head like a bird.” A lot of people know me as Khanda Lenyoni.

My home waters I would regard as Rocktail Bay, Black Rock, down to Mabibi and Kosi Mouth.

In my opinion there is only one outfit to use for the GTs there and that’s a G. Loomis GLX 12-weight 3-piece and an Abel Super 12 reel. I swear by them. I am hard on equipment, but nothing beats that setup which is what I’ve used for the last 30 years. While I have had them repaired (I have smoked the drag on the Abel a couple of times, and the cork and the reel seat on the Loomis have had to be replaced), I still have those outfits.

The best advice I have ever been given was from the former commanding officer of SAS in Rhodesia, Jack Crutchley. He said to me, “Keep up your enthusiasm. That zest for life is what inspires people.” That sat with me then and it still sits with me.

I am most proud of having taken my children to some wild places, exposing them to my enthusiasm for life.

What I have had to work on is my impatience. It’s my Achilles heel. I have to remind myself constantly to slow down a bit. But, on the flip side, my high energy level, the greatest asset I have, means I can get a shitload done in a day.

The most satisfying fish I ever caught was a GT I caught with my daughter, Grace, at Rocktail Bay when she was about 10 or 12 years old. It was a really nice fish. She helped me tag it and we named it after her.

“Tarpon fishing is the new obsession. You throw a fly in here and you think, ‘I don’t even know how I am going to land this thing let alone hold on for a couple of seconds.’”

The most satisfying fish I never caught was a GT I hooked in the bricks at Kosi Bay that just smoked my ass. These days, it’s not about landing the fish. If I can seduce it to take my fly, that’s enough. If I had a quick release system, I would release it right there and then. That’s why tarpon fishing is the new obsession. You throw a fly in here and you think, “I don’t even know how I am going to land this thing let alone hold on for a couple of seconds.”

My go-to drink is cold condensed milk. It’s the elixir of life. I have had three condensed milk collections in my life. The first one was eaten by my children because I went to America following a blonde with big tits. My kids felt I had abandoned them, so I think they did it just to make me feel bad. I started another collection and can’t remember what happened to that one, but I am on my third now. I currently have over 90 cans from all over the world and when friends travel, they get me one to add to the collection. 

While condensed milk is my first choice now, it used to be Jack Daniels. Jack and I had a very close relationship but that was 36 years ago, and it led to the demise of my relationship with my kids and my now-ex-wife. When my daughter was one day old, my then-wife said she could not wake me up and that I was endangering both my daughter’s life and hers. I have not had another drink since then.

One place never again is marriage. I am not good marriage material. I’m too much of a wanderer. I don’t want someone holding a gun to my head saying, “Choose between me and your passion.” You are going to lose. I am just going to miss you, that’s all. 

“One place I have to return to is the Congo and their Goliath tigerfish. That fish is my nemesis.”

One place I have to return to is the Congo and their Goliath tigerfish. That fish is my nemesis. 

The handiest survival skill I have is being good at taking calculated risks. There is an analogy that I often use. I am a paratrooper (same as my twin brother), and there are many of us who have been in the military in the parachute battalion. You don’t try to jump. You either jump or you don’t. So, in life, when you are standing in the door, jump! That’s life. You’ve done the training, you’ve calculated the risks, now jump out the door and see what happens. So, you have a bad landing? Tough. Then maybe you did not do your training right. Perhaps something happens on the way down – deal with it. That’s life.    

There are two skills I would love to master and those are Spey casting and touch typing. It is so frustrating when you want to write stuff, and you are pecking at the keyboard like a chicken with two fingers. 

Before I die, I want to pass some of my life skills and insights onto young folk who are just starting out on their path.

What I get out of fly fishing has changed over the years. I am no longer as fanatical about catching fish. Now it is more the holistic thing about where I am in the moment. If I only get one shot at one fish in a day, so be it. When I was here in Angola checking out this spot with my brother, some days we would just sit and look at the fish – 100kg tarpon rolling within 10 feet of us – and I would say, “Mark, it’s not about catching that fish. It’s just about appreciating this majestic creature.” So ja, it’s not about the swing-your-dick, grip-and-grin pics for me anymore.   

Something I have changed my mind about is population pressure andthe state of our oceans and the state of our fisheries worldwide. I thought there was hope when we were managing quotas and fishing pressure, but I am getting more and more cynical. The last fish I caught was a huge Angolan tarpon.

This interview first appeared in The Mission Issue 49 (Jan/Feb 2025). You can read the whole thing below, for free, forever.

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