A lover of unfashionable fly targets like catfish and grass carp, in his fly fishing and fly-tying tastes, veteran Gauteng guide Terry Babich marches to the beat of his own drum. As featured in The Mission Issue 37 (Jan/Feb 2023).

The first fish I remember wasn’t a fly-caught fish. I was probably about ten years-old and caught an 8kg catfish on bait. That started the obsession, I guess.

I have lived mostly in Gauteng,  Johannesburg and Boksburg. But I also lived near Nelspruit for a short time and went to boarding school at Settlers Agriculture  High School in what was then the Far Northern Transvaal.

I fish all over but the Vaal dam would probably be where I spend the most time. I like to stalk the shallows of this huge expanse of water searching for catfish disturbing the water surface. Or looking for signs of carp and grass carp between the grass on rising water levels surrounded by grassland or ploughed fields. 

“I like to stalk the shallows of this huge expanse of water searching for catfish disturbing the water surface

When it comes to the best advice I have ever been given, two things come to mind. “Surround yourself by the best” and “take a walk around yourself “. I guess I use those two as an excuse to go fishing, always trying something different or looking for someone to fish with.

If not balanced by a fly rod you will only find Coca Cola or coffee in my hand.

I don’t have any survival skills that I am conscious of, but I do not fish when there is lightning (ed: a handy skill if you live on the Highveld).  

If I could change anything in fly fishing, it would be to make it affordable to all, to let all facets of fly fishing think equally of each other and to make people protect what we have. The days of our fishing waters and stocks are numbered. It’s scary.

“Live now, enjoy your life and when you’re old at least you will have the memories”

Things I have changed my mind about include tackle, drifts, flies and everything else. Fishing is a moving target and my views and opinions change all the time as influences and knowledge changes. Life is the same – you can’t get stuck on who and what you were when you were young. It’s normally all about the money and then you die before you have lived. Live now, enjoy your life and when you’re old, at least you will have the memories, because material things lose value as you age.

This lifer with Gauteng guide Terry Babich first appeared in The Mission Issue 37. Check it out for free below.

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