It is very sad news for South African and international fly Fishing, friends as well as the family of an incredible man, Tom Sutcliffe, who passed away recently.
Tom’s books taught us so much on how to fly fish for trout. They are entertaining and informative but kept things simple and real. There are tricks in there that we will use forever and remember him every time.
Being an avid photographer himself, he was a big fan and early supporter of The Mission for it’s originality and constant awe-inspiring imagery.
I was lucky enough to have got to know him and a highlight was when we filmed the Fly Fishing & Fly Tying EXPO in 2016 organised so well by Gordon van der Spuy. Tom didn’t want to be interviewed per se but preferred to just have a chat about fly fishing. He spoke so well that we ended up using his voice for the narration.
His passion for all things fly fishing and the creativity of all the people featured in this video runs so true for everything he believed in and supported. We shared a passion for photography as well and he was very intrigued by the video-making process as with so many things in life.
He will be sorely missed by many and remembered often on trout streams all over. Rest in peace, Tom.