On the 30th of July, the first ever South African Fly fishing and fly tying expo will be hosted at Lourensford wine estate in Somerset West. It would be safe to say that this is possibly the most complete exhibition of fly fishing and fly tying yet seen in this country, with leaders in all aspects making an appearance.

Exhibitors include:

X-plorer Fly Fishing –  Official distributor of Loon, Wapsi, Tonic eyewear, Rio and Redington to name but a few of the products they are responsible for.

Derek Smith – Probably the longest standing custom rod builder in the country, Derek has been building custom rods in South Africa longer than anyone else. Arguably the best ‘ plastic’ rod builder in the South Africa.

Stephen Boshoff – Stephen is renowned for his world class bamboo rod builds, custom nets and exquisite fly boxes. His attention to detail is unparalleled. He is simply put, world class.

Craig Thom – Craig is the proprietor of Stream X and has been responsible for bringing in quality products like the Hanak Range of products from the Czech Republic, Stream X is probably one of the best stocked fly fishing shops in the country. He is also a skilled artisan in his own right specializing in working with wood.

Chris Bladen – Chris is a local Sculptor of International renown. He enjoys sculpting fish and has exhibited work globally. His attention to detail and his unwavering passion for bronze is reflected in his work.

Sharland East-Urquhart –  Sharland is a well-known landscape artist working in acrylic on canvas.

Dave Walker ( Walkerabouts Inn Rhodes) – South Africa’s very own fishing Father Christmas, he is the party in the quaint village of Rhodes and has been instrumental in the development of fly fishing in the distict which today is regarded as the mecca for river and stream fishing in the country .

Fred Steynberg – Fred runs an operation called Linecasters and is regarded as one of the top professional hunting and fishing guides in the country. He is very versatile in what he does and fishes for anything from tiny trout to gigantic tarpon.

Gavin Schneider – Cape Town-based producer who owns Welgemoed Trout Lodge on the Bokspruit near the small stream Mecca of Rhodes. Gavin aims to provide the experience of a lifetime for all his clients. Rhodes is about more than just the fishing and this is what Welgemoed Trout Lodge offers.

Shaun Futter – Shaun is a young fly fishing artisan who hails from Durban. He has emerged on the local scene with a massive bang. He is young, passionate and has a good eye for aesthetics. He is one of our younger artisans who has made a good impression very rapidly. Watch this space!!!

Jay Smit – Jay Smit is the inventor and creator of the now world famous Jvice. He has been instrumental in putting South Africa on the international map in terms of making people aware of what this country has to offer.

Andrew Fowler – Andrew is literally haunted by rivers. He is the author of “Stippled Beauties, Seasons, Landscapes and Trout”. A fly fishing devotee of the highest order who delights with his prose.

SAFFA –  The South African Fly Fishing Association is the governing body for competitive fly fishing in this country. They have played a massive role in educating local fly anglers and have implemented numerous programmes aimed at enriching the lives of local fly fisherman. The IFFF casting instructors are a direct result of SAFFAs efforts.

Boland – A very active provincial fly-fishing organisation largely responsible for the upliftment of fly fishing amongst junior anglers in the province.

Western Province – A provincial fly-fishing organisation that has played a tremendous role in competitive angling in this country producing numerous Protea anglers including the likes of Maddy Rich and Christiaan Pretorius but to name a few.

Tom Sutcliffe – The Doyen of Local Fly fishing. Tom is our very own Gierarch. His writing has captured the imaginations of local fly fisherman for decades. He has been instrumental in shaping the sport in this country and was the proprietor of South Africa’s first exclusive fly fishing shop, “The Fly Fisherman”.

The CPS – The Cape Piscatorial Society is one of the oldest fly fishing clubs in the country. Established in 1931 this organisation has had a major impact on fly fishing in this country. It has been home to numerous greats of local fly fishing including Ed Herbst, Tony Biggs, John Beams, Tom Sutcliffe, AC Harrison but to name but few.

FOSAF – The federation of South African Fly Fishers is a local body of anglers responsible for championing the rights of fly fishers in this country. They have played a pivotal role in protecting environments where fish occur and advocate environmentally friendly practices.

Feathers and Fluoro – An international site for addicts of fly fishing. Run by local mavericks Leonard Flemming, Conrad & Herman Botes, Peter Coetzee,  Fred Davis and Andre van Wyk; this site breaks all the boundaries. These guys are cutting edge, providing an outlet for the postmodern angler.

The African Fly Angler – Run by Morne Bayman this online fly fishing shop provides the largest assortment of fly tying materials in the country. Morne has been instrumental in bringing top quality products into the country.

Dream resorts – These guys have recently syndicated the famous Highland run, a Mpumalanga venue which has always been renowned for huge river fish.

Tourette – South Africa’s most prominent outfitter. These guys have pioneered fly fishing in many areas in Africa and have been responsible for many break throughs in international fly fishing including landing tarpon from the surf in Gabon, a feat once thought impossible. They have been instrumental in putting local fly fishing on the international radar.

Marcel Terblanche – Marcel is an artist who hails from Franschoek. He is fly fishing’s very own Trechikoff. Marcel is also the proprietor of ‘Drift Fly Fishing’ who specialise in custom tied flies and furled leaders. Marcel’s flies have caught fish all over the world.

RCJ Glass – Riana Terblanche is a former farmer that started doing glasswork since retiring in Stilbaai. She now teaches her art and skill to her cleaning lady, Jessica, and together they create beautiful art.

Fly Tyers include

Tom Sutcliffe – The Doyen of South African fly fishing.

Ed Herbst – Our leading fly fishing academic

Peter Brigg – Author, artist and small stream devotee

MC Coetzer – Coach of the South African fly fishing team and two times winner of the Internationally renowned fly tying competition “The Mustad Scandanavian Fly Tying Open”.

Conrad Botes – Saltwater Guru and pioneer, one of the very few people alive who have actually landed a tarpon on fly from the surf.

Herman Botes – Creator of the legendary ‘Pappa Roach’

Ruhan Neethling – World rated classic Salmon fly tyer, he appears in the International publication ‘Classic salmon Flies’ by Michael D Radencich, a collection of salmon flies tied by some of the World’s best classic tyers.

Alan Hobson – Inventor of the Hot fly and various other off the wall creations, and, together with his wife Annabelle, proprietor of the famous fly-fishing destination, The Angler and Antelope in Somerset East.

Darryl Lampert – More aptly known as Mr CDC South Africa, Darryl has played a major role in exposing the South African public to this wonderful material.

Matt Rich – Protea fly fisherman and devotee of European nymphing.

Tim Rolston – Leading Cape stream guide and author of numerous fly fishing books

Leonard Flemming – Well traveled fly fisherman extraordinaire and inventor of the Wolf spider.

Jimmy Eagleton – Our very own ‘Shark man”. Jimmy is not exactly conventional, this guy has taken 160kg + rays on fly and loves pushing boundaries.

Jannie Visser – One of the creators of the JAM fly, also responsible for being instrumental in pioneering fly fishing for grunter in this country.

Richard Whale – A true salty dog, a well rounded fly fisherman who runs a guiding outfit called “ Whale Fly fishing”.

Philip Meyer – Creator of the now world famous Para RAB.

Henkie Altena – World class fly tyer who is on the Semperfli pro staff. Henkie is a true artist and takes tying beyond just the mundane.

SJ Roberts – Creator of Fly tying South Africa, South Africas very own Facebook fly tying page.

Mark Krige – A world class tyer who is not governed by convention, he brought us wonderful creations like the “ Santa Fly”, a lifelike rendition of father Christmas. Marks thinking is that one day Santa will fall and considering trout are opportunists they’ll be ready for him.

Gordon van der Spuy – Feather Mechanic and producer of the dvd ”Fundamental fly tying”

IFFF Casters

These gentleman are amongst the very few in this country who are qualified IFFF casting instructors. The International Federation of Fly fishers is a global organisation which is instrumental in the development of fly fishing. Led by Tim Rolston these gentleman are at your service and include Andre van der Werff, Richard Gorlei and Maddy Rich . These guys understand casting like few. The IFFF course breaks casting down to its simplest form, the course approaches casting logically. They will also be facilitating the casting competition throughout the day. The Grand prize is a 4 day trip for 2, fully guided by Tourettes, to the Bokong river in the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

Food and refreshments will be on sale and are provided by Boland fly fishing.

Coffees and teas will also be on sale and are provided by Eugene from “Yum Factor”.

Parking will be available close to the function room (Laurent Room)