When we announced the Feathers Award in December 2020, we knew it would attract some very special entries. This was not only because for this inaugural competition we allowed for entries from any time in the past 24 months, but also because in our experience fly anglers in Africa are, for the most part, hard-charging [...]
In the hidden Bulkhead Hollow Fleye, Conrad Botes discovers the fly of his salty dreams. Here’s why. The Bulkhead Hollow Fleye. Photo John Travis When it comes to fly tying, I’m a bit old school in the sense that I try to resist new fads and tying styles for as long as I [...]
Conrad Botes battles chaos, fatigue and demons in his return to Gabon on a quest for the Silver King - tarpon. As featured in The Mission Issue 03. I wake up some time on the morning of day three. Or maybe it’s day four, I can’t remember at this stage. I’m completely exhausted, stretched to [...]
Guide, guru, mystic dream weaver and fly fishing pioneer – Arno Matthee is exploring the final frontier. By Tudor Caradoc-Davies, featured in The Mission Fly Mag Issue 03. I came across a great new word the other day – psychopomp. Relax, it’s not what you think. Steve Hofmeyr is not involved. In ancient Greek it [...]
The free films just keep coming! This time, it's Atlanticus (the trans-Atlantic tarpon fest) and Water is Life from Grant Wiswell of Castaway Films. All you need to do is sit back, relax and dream of big fish. https://vimeo.com/414009001
From cave art of woolly mammoths to hero shots of trophy fish, we feed off visual story-telling. Without Instagram and the rock star poses, the trophy fish and the Michael Mann montages that sell destinations, gear and dreams, today’s fly fishing world would be a much quieter place. Dictated to by geography and history, everyone would keep in their lane… but not Fly Fishing Nation’s globe-hopping Stephan Dombaj. When it comes to lanes, think of him as a talented Pricasso, boozed, in a rally car, armed with a loudhailer. The Mission met him in issue 6.
Earlier this year, we spent some time fishing in Gabon with fashion photographer and film director Travys Owen. When he’s not shooting for mega brands like Adidas or lipping African poons, Travys is amassing great tunes. For this Gabon-inspired selection, Travys says, “Deep in Gabon camping on a sand spit having one bar of 3G [...]
"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 [...]
"It’s impossible to convey to somebody what the jungles of Gabon are like. I can tell you that they are endless and totally overpowering with almost no sign of human habitation, but no matter how much hyperbole I use, most people will never know what it feels like to take a boat trip down a [...]
THE MISSION's editor at large and Feathers & Fluoro stalwart Conrad Botes on juvenile tarpon in Gabon. For more on this trip, read his account in Issue 3. It often occurs to me that it’s the unexpected parts of a fly-fishing trip that stay with me. Case in point is the trip we had to [...]
