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 [...]
A public consultation notification about manganese and iron ore mining prospects in the Cederberg (in the Twee River and Leeu River confluence area to be specific) is doing its rounds at the moment. A company called 'Orren Capital (PTY) Ltd' is planning to prospect for these mining activities in an area with scarce indigenous species, [...]
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 [...]
Natal scalies may be aggressive at times and eat big flies, but they are no pushover. We (Jeff Tyser, Ben Pellegrini and me) had many big yellow mambas swim over to check out our flies, but most of them either spat the fly out so quickly we couldn't connect with them (they sipped and spat [...]
My corruption of Herman Botes’ Papa Roach has come up in conversation quite a bit lately. It’s fair to ask why on earth I would tamper with this damn near perfect stillwater trout fly, but in my case the answer is simple: you absolutely don’t have to, but … you can.
Snowshoe is not regular in South Africa. I was introduced to this funky dry fly material via Instagram (the platform may have its pros and cons, but the pros still outweigh the cons for me so far...Like spotting great-looking fly patterns and 'new' fly tying materials). Materials I came across on Instagram, which I really [...]
In this issue 27 story, Andrew Harrison and his son Ruari find that, away from the crowds and into the bush, if you know both how to persevere and where to look, the rewards justify the effort. "If God ever gives the earth an enema, he will stick the tube in at Colenso in [...]
Soft hackle and CDC Brassies should be in every trout and yellowfish nymph box; they imitate a variety of 'bugs' and have some serious mojo even on the slow days. I particularly enjoy fishing them patiently under an indicator in stillwater channels or deep pools where you can give them plenty of hang time to [...]
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 [...]
In its last Cederberg river system redoubt, South Africa’s remaining Clanwilliam sandfish population is fighting for survival. They’re a tantalisingly, challenging target on fly. In issue 24, Leonard Flemming runs us through what is being done to save them and how you and your fly rod could help. An indigenous sandfish from the Biedouw [...]
