"If I could change one thing in fly fishing, it would be the illusion that you can drop a packet of money on going to an exotic venue and come back as an accomplished fly angler. I’m all for the School of Hard Knocks – I had to repeat a few grades myself just to [...]
Freshwater GTs? Juvis? No, fully grown! This was end of what sounded like a florally ludicrous conversation between two chaps I was fishing with. It was a long time ago, the fishing was good that day so I never again considered the statement. Until recently that is, when a friend sent me a video clip [...]
"We’d come to target a fish that holds a much revered place in South African saltwater fly-fishing lore. The Maputaland GT (Caranx ignoblis) is something of a unicorn. To bring a good one, 100cm plus, to hand from shore in South Africa is holy grail stuff, the tales of which are whispered in hushed tones [...]
“Violent”, “savage”, “incredible strength”, “endearing lisp.” If Mike Tyson were a fish, he’d be a GT. Tackle-shattering, pound-for-pound all in fighting powerhouses of the flats, GTs both fascinate anglers and destroy their wet fishy dreams and gear. Addiction is best dealt with in the open so we caught up with author Peter McLeod of Aardvark [...]
From his home waters in the Seychelles of Alphonse, Cosmoledo, Poivre and Astove to Russia for Atlantic Salmon, Bolivia for Dorado and everywhere in between, Keith Rose Innes has had the pick of the bunch in all the dream destinations. Rearrange your bucket list and start checking the bank balance, here are his top 5 [...]
When I watched Gangsters of the Flats for the first time, I cried a little. GTs are the most INSANE fish to catch in shallow water and Capt Jack's short film brought back too many emotions. Here is the second instalment, filmed and edited by the Captain himself, be prepared... It may make you cry too! [vimeo [...]
I never had the privilege of fishing with the late Paul Weingartz. When preparing for our first Farquhar trip - seems so far back now - I picked Paul's brain about hooking, and more importantly, stopping these bruisers. He is, after all, one of the elite few to have landed GTs of over 100cm in the South African [...]
At the end of March, we took a trip to Farquhar with Upstream Fly Fishing. John Yelland and myself were hosting and the crew - consisting of Jeremy Stewart, Andy Killick, Mike Terepolski, Neil Rowe, Rob Stokes, Graeme Kearley, Johan Kuhn and Clive Venning -, while dogged by high SE winds and loads of sun [...]
In a follow up to the first knot post, here's a short video that demonstrates the importance of being able to tie a knot quickly and easily. The scenario was that I had found myself faced with a shoal of angry GTs and after presenting and getting a solid hookup, I got pulled over a [...]
We sat around the dinner table watching the little hermit crabs make lines in the sand chasing our messed scraps around on the sand floor, we were eating Wahoo sashimi, courtesy of Ryan Hammond and Kegan Mattheys day in the deep. We finished dinner and the guys settled down with a few beers on the [...]
