So I've been dreaming about a yellowfish fly fishing mission to the tropical parts of Africa for some time now, where - as Ed Truter recommended - one may need a short, '6 ft fly rod' to cast under a canopy of low-hanging trees. The higher reaches of African rivers can be very bushed in [...]
Battling musical earworms from Grease, Platon Trakoshis gets to grips with some hyper-spooky Berg River carp. DAY 1 I had just come back from the river after messing up a couple of takes like a complete rookie. Having spotted some tanks on my dog walk the day before I decided to head down for a [...]
I've been playing with a new rod and reel combo, a Moonshine Epiphany 10'6" 3 wt (to get yours in RSA, contact Stream and Sea) and a pewter-coloured Predator 4/5 reel (tiny for its size, perfectly suitable for a 3 wt outfit) and it just feels so good. The rod is long and strong, so [...]
Plop. Greedy eyes swivelled towards the commotion. As they focussed, I swear she licked her fat rubber lips at the fry pattern hovering 1.5m away. She stroked her whiskers, cruised over and slurped it down. A plan was coming together and this was a welcome change. No hesitation or suspicion. Since moving to the Netherlands [...]
Carp fishing for fly anglers in the Western Cape definitely slows down in the winter months. The fish seem to hang out in deeper water and the very important sight fishing element is lost - accurately placing a fly in front of a feeding carp is an important part of successfully catching these fish on [...]
I'm no fan of cyclists... I think if you live anywhere with narrow roads you probably aren't either. Unless perhaps you're a cyclist yourself. I'm not talking about mountain bikers, I'm talking about the lycra clad pseudo Tour de France coffee shop clogging shaved leg road cyclists that seem to be oblivious to everything and [...]
We don't waste time on carp flies, because carp aren't exactly kings that only dine on the finest roast, right? They also thrive in mud holes that muck up flies in one outing, so why bother tying beautiful flies for them? Right...And that is also why most of my carp flies look like crap, but [...]
According to my knowledge, in fly fishing 'bloodworm' may refer to three different things: 1) Red midge larvae, 2) reddish coloured freshwater annelids (aquatic oligochaetes that are the freshwater analogs of terrestrial earthworms) including tubifex worms (sold as 'bloodworm' in frozen blocks to feed aquarium fish), and then 3) the well known marine bloodworm (a [...]
I've been so focused on ticking off a 2020 fly fishing bucket list - trying to fit in special fishing trips in the limited free time I had, rather than squeezing in the regular stuff - that I somehow forgot about the fisheries on my doorstep. For instance, the thoughts of chasing after big Clanwilliam [...]
Lockdown - I'm tired of hearing it and avoid the subject these days. But during the lockdown, my fly tying station was my psychologist. Years ago my tying desk was in something close to a cellar, the living space was two floors up. My wonderful wife, Belle, wouldn't have any of this so she bought [...]
