The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine Issue 51

ISSUE 51 MAY/JUN 2025

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IN WITH THE OLD, DOBA VS ESTUARIES, MIKE DOHLHOFF, STERKIES MASSIVE ATTACK, A GRAMMY WINNER’S BEATS AND MORE

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Working through heart-pounding, “be-ready” water on a British Columbia steelhead river, Asher Koles unleashes a dry-line Spey cast most of us only see in our dreams.

Photo: CHASE WHITE © 2025 Patagonia, Inc.

W W W . T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M ISSUE 51 MAY/JUN 2025

CONTENTS Cover: A fin perfect juvenile skipjack (aka springer or ladyfish) caught by Hano Scholtz in a southern KwaZulu-Natal estuary. Photo Ross Kiggen

30. THE TRANSITION Moving from “stink rods”, as they put it, to fly fishing, Ross Kiggen and Hano Scholtz of Doba Productions rig up light saltwater outfits and show us their estuary evolution in the species smorgasbord of southern KwaZulu-Natal.

40. COMBAT SPORTS On a fly fishing pilgrimage to Alaska, Rob Jeffries experiences the rite of passage of fishing a salmon run and lives to tell the tale.

50. MASSIVE ATTACK Bad things never happen to you … until they do. And, as Andrew Savides discovered when he came under attack at Sterkfontein Dam, even if you think you are prepared, shit can get very real, fast.

56. IN WITH THE OLD We all love new and shiny things, but to eschew older clobber would be silly. So, to celebrate products that deserves a second or third life, we’ve put together a collection of our own: of thrift experts, menders, fixers and other people who believe as we do in reusing, repurposing and breathing new life into quality gear.

84. TO TAG OR NOT TO TAG? A useful contribution to science or a clumsy yet well-intentioned way of doing damage to fish? Matt Kennedy investigates what the science of fish tagging is all about, and how a regular citizen scientist like yourself can get involved.

REGULAR FEATURES 10. Ed’s Letter 14. Chum 18. Wish List Fish 18. Booze, Beats & Munchies 22. Undercurrents

26. High Fives 68. Salad Bar 80. Pay Day 92. Lifer 98. Pop Quiz

Peter Coetzee grimaces in his happy place, balls deep in the Angolan surf, fighting a 200lb tarpon. Photo. Andy Coetzee.

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T U D O R CA R A D O C - DAV I ES

BACK TO THE FUTURE

R Check out our “Berg Buddies” video about fly fishing for carp at youtube.com Read Platon Trakoshis’s blog about this witvis project at themissionflymag.com Check out “Chiselled”, Leonard Flemming’s account of which species do and do not count as one of South Africa’s official yellowfish slam. themissionflymag.com A Norwegian firm is about to launch salmon farms in Namibia to take advantage of the cold Benguela Current.

We expect news of environmental disaster to be a few years behind.

Photos. Platon Trakoshis

ight off the bat, let me be clear. I think carp are brilliant fish, wonderful for fly fishing. In the right environment, they deserve as many books, poems and films as other more celebrated species. But despite spending countless happy hours targeting them, at the same time I hate the fact that in South Africa we have to fish for carp in places where the indigenous species have been pushed out. Like the Berg River in the Western Cape of South Africa where the former resident indigenous species, witvis (white fish), became locally extinct years back.

There were once vast schools of witvis in the upper and middle reaches of the Berg. We are so far removed from that sort of scenario today; witvis and other indigenous species like Clanwilliam yellowfish and sandfish hang on in a few mountain redoubts and conservationist-managed breeding dams, while hardier aliens take up their rivers. As for the carp, it’s not their fault that they are so bloody resilient, capable of surviving in just about any river that flows through polluted industrial zones where witvis and aliens like trout often wilt and where even bass struggle.

Yet even when we replace species like witvis with our favoured introduced aliens, we long for days gone by when the rivers and the alien fish scene was better than they were today. Who hasn’t heard the stories of searun trout in the Lourens and Eerste rivers in the Cape (before they also got too polluted) and thought, that would have been epic to fish that?

The resistance fortunately does exist. Witvis have just been re-introduced to the Berg as part of the Bringing Back the Witvis project by the Freshwater Research Centre, backed by the Ford Wildlife Foundation, Table Mountain Fund, Boschendal, Cape Nature, Fynbos Fish Trust, Freshwater Films, Babylonstoren, and the Western Cape Government. This pilot project is part of a

bigger programme with further releases planned, so maybe, if the witvis hold and manage to survive the pollution from industrial areas between Franschhoek, Paarl and Wellington, in a few years we might just have a viable population swimming through this important arterial river again. And witvis, like all good (even honorary*) members of the yellowfish family, do love a fly.

Of course we should not be here – whether it is having to reintroduce witvis to the rivers they existed in for millennia or removing dams in the USA so salmon can migrate again (and restore ecosystems) or fighting salmon farming that’s killing wild stocks – but in life and fly fishing we live through the mistakes made by our parents and grandparents.

When it comes to what species we fish for, I often think about 1) the frozen fish aisle in a supermarket and 2) rivers running through many European towns. For the former, it’s about how we have unknowingly adjusted our expectations. Over a few decades, the go-to marketed processed fish went from cod to hake to whiting as overfishing and collapsing stocks changed what the trawlers could reliably bring in. Your average punter, living far-removed from the actual food source, does not have strong views on which white-fleshed frozen fish is in the box. But we should. Just as we should know what species should be swimming in our rivers. Which leads me to number 2. As a South African, if you visit any mid-sized town in places like Italy, Germany, Switzerland or France (and many other countries too), it’s always a pleasant surprise to stare down from a bridge onto a river and to see wild fish there.

Fish like trout or chub from that place, just doing their thing. Surprising to us, totally normal to locals.

If, at some stage in the next five years, I can look off the N1 bridge in Paarl and spot witvis, I know we’ll be on the right track.

This magazine is home-grown, hand-rolled and smoked into being by a bunch of real humans, completely AI-free. If you enjoy what we do and feel you would like to support us in some way, get some The Mission merch from our website, buy us a beer/coffee on Patreon (patreon.com/themissionflymag), or just send us an email telling us how amazing our jaw lines are at info@themissionflymag.com.

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Home of th e world’s best saltwater fly fishing Seychelles Outer Islands Alphonse Island | Cosmoledo Atoll | Astove Atoll | Farquhar Atoll Providence Atoll | Amirante Islands | Platte Island +248 422 9700 [GMT+4] | reservations@alphonsefishingco.com | www.alphonsefishingco.com

“Long leaders and delicate casts will spook fewer fish and overcast windy conditions are my favourite. I don’t even bother on clear windless days.

Grunter are just way too fickle.” Our Lifer Mike Dohlhoff on his fellow Breede River residents (page 92).

EDITOR

Tudor Caradoc-Davies

ART DIRECTOR Brendan Body

EDITOR AT LARGE Conrad Botes

CONTACT THE MISSION The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine for Soutie Press (Pty) Ltd 25 Firth Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa info@themissionflymag.com www.themissionflymag.com

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COPY EDITOR

Gillian Caradoc-Davies

MANAGING DIRECTOR Ingrid Sinclair

ADVERTISING SALES

CONTRIBUTORS #51 Noguchi Kazuhiko, Charles Humphrey III, Milan Germishuizen, Peter Coetzee, Alex Haller, Ross Kiggen, Hano Scholtz, Rob Jeffries, Andrew Savides.

Dr Bruce Mann, Dr JD Filmalter, Matt Roberge, Jojo Elgarice, Simon Clark, Mike Dohlhoff, Erica Basson PHOTOGRAPHERS #51 Noguchi Kazuhiko, Milan Germishuizen, Peter Coetzee, Alex Haller, Ross Kiggen, Hano Scholtz, Rob Jeffries, Andrew Savides, Dr Ryan Daly, Simon Clark, Mike Dohlhoff, Gone Outdoor, Dr Bruce Mann, Dr Ryan Daly

tudor@themissionflymag.com

THE MISSION IS PUBLISHED 6 TIMES A YEAR. THE MISSION WILL WELCOME CONTENT AND PHOTOS. WE WILL REVIEW THE CONTRIBUTION AND ASSESS WHETHER OR NOT IT CAN BE USED AS PRINT OR ONLINE CONTENT. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MAGAZINE OR ITS OWNERS. THE MISSION IS THE COPYRIGHT OF SOUTIE PRESS (PTY) LTD. ANY DUPLICATION OF THIS MAGAZINE, FOR MEDIA OR SALE ACTIVITY, WILL RESULT IN LEGAL ACTION...AND YOU BEING TAGGED BY DR JD FILMALTER SO THAT EVERY TIME YOU GO NEAR A DECENT FISHERY ALARMS WILL BLARE AND YOU WILL RECEIVE AN ELECTRIC SHOCK TO THE NETHER REGIONS.

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CHUM FILMS TO LOSE YOURSELF IN (AND ONE TO TEACH YOU HOW TO PIMP YOUR 4X4), THE IF4 IS ALMOST UPON US, A NEW EVENT FOR DUBAI, NEW RODS, NEW CLOBBER AND A NEW WOMEN’S COMPETITION.

WATCH... ...THE REINDEER JOURNALS, a film by one of our favourite fly fishing personalities, Riverhorse Nakadate (we did a profile on him in Issue 17). Directed by Tony Czech and in partnership with Patagonia, The Reindeer Journals is “an ode to wilderness and living simply”, conveyed through the beauty of Northern Lapland. But it’s more than that. As Riverhorse and his friends fish for pike, trout and Arctic grayling, in his uniquely poetic and philosophical prose he expertly narrates the plight of the reindeer, Lapland and the planet and weaves it together with what should be driving all of us: lives rich in experiences and a shared love for the planet. It’s only 10 minutes long, but this is one to watch after work, far from your phone and other distractions. vimeo.com PIMP YOUR RIDE...

When he’s not guiding on the Gaula, picking mushrooms with the gnomes or racing loud cars in the Simola Hillclimb, petrolhead Nic Schwerdtfeger is one of our Crash Test Dummies automotive consultants. In this video walkthrough he takes us through how to pimp your 4x4 for an overlanding fly fishing adventure in Africa. Whether it’s marine-grade diesel filters and all-terrain tyres, cosy rooftop tents or built-in drawer systems, if you’re into 4x4, fly fishing, and mullets, then this video will tickle your fan belt. youtube.com/@themissionflyfishingmagazine

NEW DUBAI FLY TYING... ... EVENT LOADING with the “Bar Flies” get-together run by veteran Seychelles guide Stu Webb and Captain Brenton Sharp (who also happens to be the nifty artist at Pointing Projects). For a modest fee, you can expect fly tying materials, beers and grub plus expert tuition on tying lethal patterns. Stu says, “The plan is to start with two flies, a Clouser and a Semper. In the future, we’ll cover flexos, gurglers and the bucktail revolution.” For more info, get in touch with Stu and Brenton via their Instagram profile, @sandfishmiddleeast.

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GRAB YOUR TICKETS FOR... ...IF4 IN JULY. Coming in hot this winter are the IF4 (which stands for International Fly Fishing Film Festival) events featuring some of the best fly fishing filmmaking there is.

This year’s line-up includes contributions from heavy hitters like RA Beattie, Hilton Graham (with a film about artist Paul Puckett) and Joshua Caldwell (of Netflix’s Mending the Line fame) along with some fresh faces too. Shows are set for Knysna, Cape Town, Durban and Joburg. Find out more about the films at flyfilmfest.com and grab your tickets at quicket.co.za.

CHECK OUT THE NEW SJAM-BOK RODS... ... FROM CHRIS CLEMES FLY RODS. Better known for split cane/bamboo fly rods found in places like Farlows of London, in a nod to his South African origins (and the Springboks’... cough... utter domination in world rugby), Chris Clemes has now brought out a fibreglass small stream rod called the Sjam-Bok. This 7-foot, four-piece, 3-weight rod is short and hardy like Kwagga Smith, but with all the Kolbe-esque fine touches you could want when laying down dry flies on chalk streams, Cape kloofs or other Lilliputian waters. chrisclemes.com

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NEW PLAYER ALERT AS SNOW PEAK... ... ENTERS THE FLY FISHING GAME. If you were paying attention towards the end of 2024, you might have heard that Japanese outdoor experts Snow Peak acquired a majority shareholding in New Zealand brand, Swift Fly Fishing (producers of the hugely popular Epic fibreglass and carbon rods). Now Snow Peak, who have over 65 years in the outdoor game, have started manufacturing fly fishing-specific clobber, including technical shirts, the V1 vest, the SR-1 Gore-Tex Storm Shield wading jacket, quilted insulation jackets and more. snowpeak.com

ENTER THE... ...SAFFA LADIES FLY FISHING OPEN. Are you a woman looking to raise your skill levels (or perchance crush all opposition)? Then maybe the inaugural SAFFA Ladies Fly Fishing Open from 23 to 25 May at Verlorenkloof Estate, Mpumalanga, is for you.

Designed to foster competition among female anglers and enhance their skills in a supportive environment, this event will take the format of 3 x 3-hour river sessions and individual (not team) scoring. The only thing you need to do is affiliate yourself with a province before signing up. flyfishsouthafrica.co.za

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WISH LIST FISH

SUZUKI F O U N D N E X T T O C O N TA I N E R S H I P S A N D FA C T O R Y D O C K S , T H E U R B A N , G R U N G Y J A PA N E S E S E A B A S S I S O U R N E W O B S E S S I O N .

N O G U C H I ( G U C H I ) K A Z U H I K O O F PATA G O N I A J A PA N W E I G H S I N O N T O K Y O ’ S U N I Q U E N I G H T-T I M E F I S H E R Y. Photos. Noguchi Kazuhiko

WHAT Unrelated to the motor brand with which it shares a name, the Japanese seabass aka suzuki/maru suzuki (Lateolabrax japonicus), is a species of Pacific sea perch that grows as large as 120cm in Tokyo Bay. The colloquial names change according to size and age. Fish below 35cm are known as “seigo”, 35-60cm “fukko”, and 4 years/60cm+ “suzuki”. The average size caught on fly is fukko class, but occasionally suzuki, which Guchi says are “career fish”, are caught in a good season. Within the greater predatory seabass family of Lateolabracidae, this one is known as maru suzuki. There are other sub-species like the hira suzuki aka blackfin seabass (Lateolabrax latus) and tairiku suzuki aka Chinese seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) throughout the Asian Pacific.

WHERE You can find suzuki everywhere around the coast of Japan’s four largest islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. Guchi says, “Tokyo Bay might be the best, but Osaka Bay and Nagoya Bay are good seabass fishing areas too.” In Tokyo Bay seabass fishing is done from a boat at night in areas surrounded by industrial lighting, which attracts both baitfish and predatory sea bass. “The approach is simple,” he says. “Find structure. At night, we cast into shaded sections near walls or ship hulls, then strip a swimming fly from the shadows through

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water that is lit up by factory or ship lights.” Suzuki tend to stay deep during the day, especially when the sun is high. During certain times of year, from September to November, fishing early morning and evening under daylight conditions can provide a chance for surface action bust-ups.

HOW Guchi overlines his rigs in order to quickly and easily load casts. He says, “Suzuki don’t run fast, and rarely get onto the reel. I use a 7-weight with an 8-weight WF-line; good enough to fight even 80cm+ fish.” Choice of fly line is also important. “You need lines for cold to moderate temperatures. Don’t bring tropical lines, otherwise you will wrestle with line memory and tangling. The average casting range is 15 to 20 metres. It depends on the season and time of day, but you can use floating, intermediate, and fast-sinking (Sink 4) lines. Intermediate must be most versatile, but it depends in which range of water you want to trace your fly.”

Suzuki are not leader-shy. “The total leader length is nine feet, with tippet strengths of 16-25lb. I use 20lb tippet in most cases, down to 16lb if I feel the fish are spooky.”

Choice of flies varies, says Guchi. “I mainly use Zonkers, and EP, Clouser, and floating minnows, ranging between 7cm and 12cm. Some people use huge 20cm streamers, especially during winter (December), when the natural baitfish are bigger too.”

WHO Shore-based DIY fly fishing for suzuki is not recommended because of restricted access throughout Tokyo Bay. Instead, Guchi recommends contacting Tokyo Bay guide boat operators like Seakuro (seakuro.com) and Pallas.

Otherwise local man Ed Yoshida of the Tokyo Fly Fishing and Country Club (TFFCC) can help with a budgetfriendly guided boat fish-along. hideto@urbanislander.co.jp

W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

A PLAN IN JAPAN If you find yourself in Tokyo, try to combine an early morning guided boat session with an après-fish visit to Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji/Toyosu Market. Open from 3am, with auctions starting at 5:30am, if you can find a spot in the queue, try to get the omakase for breakfast at Sushi Dai. Thank us later.

BOOZE, BEATS A G R A M M Y AWA R D W I N N E R ’ S P L AY L I ST, P E R I - P E R I TO TA K E TO A D ES E RT I S L A N D A N D A N U P G R A D E TO YO U R S H E R RY GA M E .

THE BEATS - CHARLES HUMPHREY III Not only is Charles Humphrey III the third of that name in his family line, but in life the man is a triple threat too. On the music front, he’s a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician (stand-up bass) for the album Nobody Knows You by his former band the Steep Canyon Rangers.

These days he’s a member of the Songs From the Road Band (songsfromtheroadband.com). As an ultra runner, Humphrey has some serious chops too, having won a 12hour endurance race and finished the Western States 100Mile Endurance Run. Last, but most certainly not least, Humphrey is also the man behind Beast Coast Anglers (beastcoastanglers.com), a kick-ass fly fishing guide crew operating in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. For this issue’s Beats he serves up a stellar playlist featuring Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and more. We can totally see him belting out “islands in the stream / That is what we are” as he busts out a perfect cast into a back eddy for a big, dry fly-sipping brown.

“ALWAYS GIVE 110% AND NEVER STOP LEARNING.”

What do you consider your home waters?

Although Beast Coast Anglers is based in Asheville, North Carolina and we offer experiences in Western North Carolina and North Georgia, I consider the East TN (Tennessee) tailwaters my home.

For people unfamiliar with fly fishing in these areas, tell us why it’s the tits.

East TN is full of wild trout. The rivers have epic bug hatches due to their limestone bottoms. The black caddis and sulphur hatches are among some of the best dry fly fishing opportunities in the world. You can fish year-round, and the tailwaters are home to massive browns and rainbows.

As a musician, an ultramarathon/100-mile trail runner and a fly fishing guide, what do you get out of each of these pursuits? Is there any overlap in terms of what you need to do well and enjoy each of them?

The overlap in music, running and fishing is dedication and joy. If you’re striving to be among the best you have to put it all on the line. Always give 110% and never stop learning. All three things spread joy. That’s what I’m about.

PRESS PLAY

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AND MUNCHIES THE MUNCHIES – MIELIE’S CHILLIES When he’s not molesting permit, bones, GTs and other species on St Brandon’s Atoll in the Indian Ocean off Mauritius, you’re likely to find Flycastway head guide Milan “Mielies” Germishuizen braaiing back home in South Africa.

That also means time spent bottling batches of his special chilli sauce, a condiment that’s transported to the guides’ table at St Brandon’s when he’s back at work.

“My dad has always been a chilli fan, so I grew up with the flavours as a kid. He makes a great cooked chilli which is one of my favourite things to put on a medium-rare steak or drizzle over a boerie (legendary South African “farmer sausage”) roll. The recipe for Mielie’s Chillies was inspired by one of my dad’s fresh chillies where he threw in a shot of Jack Daniels. The smoky flavour of the Jack went great with the spice of the chilli and, since then, I’ve just been playing around with a few flavour combos. Good on a steak, use it in a peri-peri chicken marinade, or dip a boerie in it!

Ingredients • 3 handfuls of chillies. I like to use two handfuls of African bird’s eye chillis and one handful of normal green finger chillies.

• 2 cloves of garlic • The juice of 1 lime and some of the zest • 1 shot of tequila • Olive oil • Salt Method • In a food processor, roughly chop the chillies. I have a little handheld processor with a string you pull like you’re starting a lawnmower, it works great.

• Add all the chopped chilli to a small jam jar that has been sterilised in boiling water. Don’t forget to sterilise the lid too!

• Crush the garlic and add to the jar along with the tequila, a pinch of salt, lime juice and zest and give it a good mix with a spoon.

• Once this is all mixed together, top the bottle up with olive oil so that all the ingredients are covered.

• It’s ready to eat straight away but, in my experience, it’s at its best from about a week to 10 days in the jar.

Note 1: I like to take out about 80% of the seeds from the chillies because this sauce gets hotter and hotter the longer it all lies together in the bottle. Taking the seeds out will help that the sauce doesn’t burn twice.

Note 2: If you aren’t a fan of tequila, you can swop it out for whiskey. When I do this I use lemon instead of lime to mix it up a bit.

Arguably one of the best braai locations in the world, St Brandon’s atoll in the Indian Ocean.

THE PHUZA - SALDANHA WINE & SPIRIT CO SHERRY We’re not ones to turn our noses up at a bottle of OBs but, as things get a little chillier across the country and your thoughts turn to fortified wine heart-warmers, we recommend you try the spread of new sherries and soetes being produced by winemaker Adi Badenhorst at Saldanha Wine & Spirit Co. Dedicated to reviving the rich tradition of South African fortified and sweet wines, these exclusive bottlings tap into their coastal terroir of sea, salt, and sands.

Bonus: If you get them direct from their HQ in Saldanha, you can target the winter fishery of sandsharks on fly at the same time. aabadenhorst.com

UNDERCURRENTS

THE REVOLVING DOOR B E AT E N , T R A P P E D A N D H O O K E D B Y W E S T A F R I C A N TA R P O N O F F THE BEACH, PETER COETZEE TRIES TO MAKE SENSE OF HIS S E L F I N F L I C T E D A G O N Y. Photos. Peter Coetzee

W

e sat on the beach, two Coetzees with different lives and life stories but a common addiction, namely being tortured by a stupid prehistoric fish more than 100 million years old that will probably be here long after us. I asked Andy, one of the fishiest men on the planet, if he’d ever been this addicted to a species.

He’d come to tarpon late in life, but no, this was it.

There is not much I can write that will do justice to the sight of a 200lb class tarpon cartwheeling half a kilometre away, behind the backline of Coca-Cola-coloured West African water. It was now done and we were sitting on the beach.

Andy commented that I seemed content. It was weird for me not to feel upset. Once again we visited the odd habit of us fly anglers obsessing over getting photos with fish.

Why we began looking for a metaphor I don’t know, maybe for some respite from the tarpon head game, something that IGFA legend Tom Evans quoted as the worst part of tarpon fishing. We were debriefing on what was easily the gnarliest battle of my fly fishing life. For 70 minutes, I had pulled harder than you could ever imagine against a 35lb drag. The fly line that came back was only clear mono core.

If you want the answer to how hard you can pull on a fly rod and for how long, I can tell you now.

“Do you ever look at the pics of you holding fish?”

Andy asked.

“Pete, you didn’t get the pic,” Andy said, “but it was at our feet, you looked the f$king thing in the eye, you won.”

The fight was long enough for adrenalin to fade and for any bravado to evaporate. Andy had saved the day, arriving with a leather palming glove made for KP reel fishing (a drag-less large-diameter conventional method similar to centrepin but mainly used on big saltwater species off South Africa’s northeastern coast). I had palmed, held, pulled, for over an hour. Both the tarpon and I were completely broken and, in the dying moments of the fight, I was filled with only a single emotion for the animal: empathy. As so often happens, the fish came unbuttoned in a series of turns while we tried to land it in the river. In a final almost peaceful moment, it had gulped air right at me and we’d looked at each other.

It will sound like coping, but I was happy. I did not throw my hands in the air. I watched it swim away healthy. It was OK. I had turned an unstoppable fish that had run 500m on the first run and I had got it in. At this size, and with this kind of temperament, to fly anglers West African river mouth tarpon are mostly a story of being completely spooled.

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“No, I don’t,” I responded.

“I thought so,” said Andy.

For a long time now I’ve been obsessed with capturing moments rather than hero shots. Fish tailing, rolling, whatever it takes to make it feel like you’re there. I’ll often revisit these shots in moments of nostalgia.

Andy was still trying to make sense of the hero shot. “Bird watchers don’t need to catch and hold birds. We don’t need to pull in a lion on a game drive and torture it for it to be a success. What’s wrong with us?”

I didn’t have a ready-made answer for him. But you have a lot of time to sit and think in Angola, and the ocean makes you think deeply.

“I think it’s about connection Andy,” I said. “We’re obsessed with feeling connected to the animal. Do you know, I count time when connected to tarpon?”

“And the photos?” Andy said.

“Ego, I guess.”

“These things get to you badly. It’s like heroin,” Andy said.

Prior to this trip I’d contacted Conrad Botes, another member of the tarpon addict support group, hoping for some respite.

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“YOU LIVE HERE NOW. YOU’LL NEVER ESCAPE.” “How do you stop thinking about tarpon Conna?” I’d asked him.

Typically terse, Conrad said, “You don’t. Don’t even try.

You can’t.”

And so on that beach, right up near Angola’s border with Congo, a search for the metaphor commenced. A day later I’d lost two more fish, shortly after the eat. Now they were all I could think about, any past successes a lifetime away. And then it came to me. This is a revolving door of experience and emotion. You’re stuck in this revolving door reliving, re-thinking and tormenting yourself with hypotheticals. What could I have done wrong? Why did it come off? Why didn’t it eat? Why did I do that stupid thing? I did it all perfectly, or did I? Is it my hook? Is my strip right? Is my strip wrong?”

Each section of this revolving door is a different moment with a different fish, but the species is always tarpon and the angler is always you. You tire of your current section and its echo chamber, but like a never-ending hall of mirrors you can only move to another one with a new fish.

You almost forget about the one you were just thinking about as you move. How do you exit? Well, your brain tells you that “success” will solve it. The problem is, you’re now addicted and you only want to be in that revolving door.

And so the next moment brings you straight back in. You live here now. You’ll never escape. And anyway, you know that if you’re true to yourself, you’d rather be inside that

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door than outside it. Its welcome mat is a venue like the Angolan beach Andy and I were sitting on where these fish and these moments are possible. In fact, if you ever find yourself outside, you know you’d sacrifice all other fishing just to be back inside.

Curiosity can be a dangerous thing. I like to tell myself that had I known the effect of this animal on me, the mental torture, I’d probably have never set foot on that mat outside that revolving door. I have had many run-ins with “fish of a lifetime” that got away. These were mostly on DIY missions; 1.5m+ GTs in Oman and Yemen, a goliath sweetlips in the Maldives, etc. The details of how I “lost” them bug me for a few weeks afterwards, yet none of these fish have the effect that even a shitty teenage tarpon has on me. I’ll listen to love songs of loss, and it’s only tarpon moments that come to mind. I hate what these fish do to me, but I love it too, and it’s now part of my DNA. Whatever this is, it’s incurable.

And if you think that dream fish photo is the anecdote, chat to an experienced tarpon angler, because you’re wrong. You’ll be back at the entrance to the revolving door soon enough.

Revolving doors, echo chambers, hall of mirrors – these are imperfect metaphors, but they all share the same challenge. No escape. Considering we enjoy the spectacle of a fish fighting for its life at the end of a line, maybe we deserve it.

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Tigerfishing Barotseland Zambia www.ngombelodge.com ngombelodge@gmail.com +27(0) 82 477 2360

Yellowfish Orange River South Africa www.gkhuigkhui.com info@gkhuigkhui.com +27(0) 82 477 2360

“FLY FISHING FOR BILLFISH IS A TEAM SPORT SO YOU HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS.”

HIGH FIVES

Exploring a remote island on the Somali Border means packing heat.

CAPTAIN ALEX HALLER I F YO U ’ R E LO O K I N G TO TAC K L E B I L L F I S H O N F LY, YO U ’ D B E H A R D P R ES S E D TO F I N D A B E T T E R P E R S O N TO P U T YO U O N TO F I S H T H A N H A R D - C H A R G I N G K E N YA N CA P TA I N A L EX H A L L E R O F S I R A I SEA (SIRAIHOUSE.COM), WHO H AS A L R E A DY GA R N E R E D T H E K I N D O F S P EC I A L F I S H - F I N D I N G R E P U TAT I O N M A N Y O L D SA LT Y S E A D O G S WO U L D K I L L FO R .

Photos. C/O Alex Haller.

5 best things about where you guide?

1. In Kenya it has to be the variety of billfish and in-shore species we target and the different methods we use to target different fish. Kenya is definitely an all-round fishery.

2. We have about 250 nautical miles of coastline along the Kenyan coast. Depending on the time of year, we get to fish most of the coast. It’s nice to work out how the fish are behaving and what they are feeding on in those different locations.

3. It’s a super-tight-knit charter group and everyone is happy to share information with each other, which makes it so enjoyable.

4. I love coming in from a long day’s fishing, having a beer and catching up with all the captains, chatting and exchanging stories and making plans for the next day.

5. How close the billfish grounds are in Kenya. Depending on the time of year, we start fishing pretty much a kilometre from the coastline, so that not having to do those long runs out to sea makes it super-special.

5 items not to leave behind before a mission out to sea?

1. Sunglasses, you’re pretty fucked without them.

2. Sunblock. There is nothing worse than coming in sunburned after a day’s fishing.

3. Garmin InReach two-way satellite communicator. We fish pretty remote locations so it’s a good thing to have for safety reasons.

4. A cooler box of beers never goes amiss.

5. Plenty of water to rehydrate after dehydrating.

5 things you are loving right now?

1. Our season is coming to an end and we are packing the boat away, so I will get back into my surfing now. I’m just about to do a trip to Indonesia.

2. Free diving.

3. Kite surfing.

4. Catching up with mates.

5. Travelling.

5 favourite bluewater destinations?

1. Kenya for the diversity, the different species of billfish, and the quantity.

2. Seychelles for the flats fishing and one of the healthiest ecosystems out there.

3. Cape Verde for big blue marlin and numbers.

4. Oman for the size of GTs, and they also have pretty good billfish fishing.

5. Mozambique, a great place for catching big black marlin. I’d love to get down there at some stage.

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5 most difficult experiences as a boat captain?

1. Managing clients’ expectations with the reality of the fishing at the time. Captains and crews are always out there trying to catch good fish, but you’re not always going to have good fishing.

2. Mechanical and electrical boat issues. You just have to have a big enough spare-parts store to cater for this, and to try and get problems fixed as quickly as possible.

3. Making time for family and friends in a fishing season.

It’s close to impossible, but that’s part of the job and we are lucky to do what we do.

4. Bad weather. I’ve been caught in a few hectic situations.

That’s not such fun.

5. Not raising fish when other boats around you are raising.

It really messes with your head.

5 best things you have picked up from the job?

1. Experience. Time on the water in all different weather conditions and environments.

2. Getting to travel around the world and to experience some pretty remote and wild fishing locations.

3. Getting to meet a lot of new people from different walks of life, creating friendships and memories.

4. Structure.

5. Learning to manage people and their expectations.

5 funniest situations captaining a boat?

1. The best one has got to be when the cook on the boat I was running ate a batch of a client’s special brownies. That was entertaining.

2. My brothers and my friends missing fish on the pitch.

Good banter, giving each other shit.

3. Dealing with flies when fly fishing for billfish. It can be a surprise where they end up, anywhere from in the outriggers to in the back of heads, into radars. You name it, they have been there.

4. Coming downstairs to cast a fly at a sailfish (to show a client how to do it properly after they had missed three in a row) and subsequently missing the fish myself. I got a lot of uphill for that one.

5. The same, but on the pitch. Coming down to pitch a fish and missing it, getting a lot of chirps for that, and loads of laugher from the clients and crew.

5 species on your hit list?

1. Golden dorado. Growing up, it’s a fish that fascinated me. I’d love to get one, one day.

2. Tarpon, I’ve never caught one of those.

3. Broadbill swordfish. Although I have put anglers onto

many broadbills, I’ve never actually caught one myself so I’d like to actually do that at some stage.

4. Tanzanian tigerfish are definitely on my hit list.

5. Shortbill spearfish. That would be great fun on a 9- or 10-weight.

5 common mistakes clients make?

1. Lifting their fly rod when trying to set the hook on a billfish. It never works. You’ve got to keep your rod tip down.

2. Casting too far behind the fish. If you do that you want a pretty fast switch onto the fly otherwise the fish sort of loses its momentum in the excitement. If the fish has to look for the fly for a while, you often don’t get a great bite.

3. Not listening to captain or crew. Fly fishing for billfish is a team sport so you have to work together to achieve success.

4. Clients not getting set up and panicking before the fish arrives. You need to get to your rod and get comfortable and set up well before the fish is at the back of the boat or it will often result in a poor presentation of the fly.

5. Not loading your fly enough on your back cast.

Obviously, fishing for billfish, flies are pretty big and heavy so you have got to seriously load it otherwise you end up casting short or the fly just ends up flopping in the water.

5 hints that your client is a tool?

1. Asking questions like, “Where are the fish?”

2. ... and “Why are we not catching?”

3. When a client does not want to take any advice from you.

4. When the client does not ask any questions about the area or fish behaviour.

5. Tipping the crew and captain before the charter starts.

5 essential ingredients for an incredible mission?

1. Remote locations with limited phone reception.

2. A good bunch of like-minded mates with a common goal for the mission.

3. Plenty of cold beer.

4. Favourable weather conditions.

5. Cooperative fish.

5 of the last fish you cast to?

1. Sailfish.

2. Blue marlin.

3. Black marlin.

4. Swordfish.

5. Wahoo.

“IN KENYA WE START FISHING A KILOMETRE FROM THE COASTLINE. NOT HAVING TO DO LONG RUNS OUT TO SEA MAKES IT SUPER-SPECIAL.” 28

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Clockwise from bottom left: Billfish legend Jeremy Block with a world record broadbill swordfish caught on Alex’s boat, another client with a fly-caught blue marlin and Alex after winning the Malindi International Sailfish tournament where his boat released 19 sailfish.

THE TRANSITION M OV I N G F R O M “ST I N K R O D S ”, AS T H E Y P U T I T, TO F LY F I S H I N G, R O S S K I G G E N A N D H A N O S C H O LT Z O F D O BA P R O D U CT I O N S R I G U P L I G H T SA LT WAT E R O U T F I TS A N D S H O W U S T H E I R EST UA RY E VO LU T I O N I N S O U T H E R N K WA Z U LU - N ATA L .

Photos. Doba Productions

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Hano Scholtz works his Pisces Predator kickboat across a southern KZN estuary (above) and gets a reward in the shape of a springer (opposite page).

t wasn’t until late August 2023 that Liam van der Merwe, a good school friend of ours who is both A) one of the best fly fishers we know and B) a guide at Alphonse in Seychelles, took us on a scalie (aka Natal yellowfish) mission up the gin-clear waters of the Umzimkhulu River. Not many people can say that they were introduced to fly fishing by an Alphonse guide without spending serious money on a remote island destination.

having our eyes and brains cracked open by the fly gods…

Why do you think we transitioned?

From that day on, fly fishing has become the only thing that matters. From the casting style and finesse to the stealthy approach to every new pool and spot, all aspects of fly fishing grabbed us. This, however, was not where my friend Hano and I started fishing together. During Covid we got into ultra-light spinning in our nearby estuaries, which is where our passion for our local waters started. Yes, don’t judge us, we did engage with the stink rods before

You might think KwaZulu-Natal’s humble South Coast doesn’t have as many fly fishing opportunities when compared with other South African coastal destinations, like Kosi Bay, the Garden Route and Transkei rivers. But, even though we’re still wet behind the ears in the fly fishing world, we would seriously disagree with you. When it comes to the South Coast, we have a few pristine estuary systems that are all unique in their own way.

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Unlike the other write-ups featured in this mag, we don’t have too much knowledge or insane stories to unpack (some of these stories are insane), but what is worth noting is what the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal holds in its systems. We wanted to share our evolution with the rest of you fly fishing-obsessed freaks as we progress on our neverending journey.

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“WHEN IT COMES TO THE SOUTH COAST, WE HAVE A FEW PRISTINE ESTUARY SYSTEMS THAT ARE ALL UNIQUE IN THEIR OWN WAY.”

“ROCK SALMON FIGHT LIKE A BLUE BULLS FAN AFTER FIVE DOUBLE BRANDY AND COKES.” Our estuary fishing can be summed up as follows: Clousers, flippers, CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) tracks, zamaleks (aka Carling Black Label), Pem’s Pisces Predator kickboats, and 4x4ing.

Olive over tan Clousers are simply the way in these systems.

We use our 6-weight setups with a variety of different retrieves depending on where we are fishing, whether it’s structure, a drop-off or the colour line of a pushing tide.

Ninety-nine per cent of the time we’re using our trusty Pisces Predator kickboats, handmade by local legend Pem whom you could call the godfather of kickboat fishing. Putting our “padda pote” (frogs legs aka fins) on and paddling our way up-river (sometimes even at night), we’ve been told that we’re a bit crazy to share real estate with the sharks and crocs but, hey, wouldn’t you take that risk pursuing a big GT or rock salmon?

The diversity of fish species available to us is what keeps us missioning. These waters include most trevally species from giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), greenspot kingfish

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(Caranx papuensis), blacktip kingfish (Caranx heberi) to the good ol’ bigeye kingfish (Caranx sexfasciatus).

The smaller kingfish typically school up so, when you hook one, you’re often in for a few more, but the bigger boys are usually lone cruisers, patrolling the banks. We’ve yet to go tight with one of these donkeys. One man who has, is Liam. Whenever VDM speaks, we listen intently, taking in as much as we can and hoping to apply that knowledge to hook a big bully ourselves. We often find ourselves on the water talking about how we would hold a GT of that calibre for the camera, and how insane that would be. Yet, the fact is that one could pick us up at any moment.

Onto other estuary species… We also get river perch, aka slim Jannie (Acanthopagrus vagus), which are some of the smartest fish around. They tend to hide in the mangroves or in the bricks, making them a real challenge to target.

Sometimes they’ll explode on a flipper or a popper, and that’s when the fun begins. These fish don’t mess around.

They pull hard and fight dirty, making them one of our alltime favourite species to chase.

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A juvenile GT (above) and an estuary perch (below).

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“SMALLER KINGFISH TYPICALLY SCHOOL UP, BUT THE BIGGER BOYS ARE USUALLY LONE CRUISERS, PATROLLING THE BANKS.”

A pickhandle barracuda (above) and a solid estuary GT (below).

Another one of our favourites is pickhandle barracuda (Sphyraena jello) aka sea pike, an awesome species to target but they are not kind to your fly. Have you seen their teeth!?

After two of these toothy buggers your bucktail fly is finished.

There are a few more uncommon species to target such as rock salmon (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), the elusive bulldog of the rivers. I am terrified to hook one of these on the 6-weight as, on spinning tackle, they fight like a Blue Bulls fan after five double brandy and Cokes. We can’t imagine what that must feel like on fly.

Oxeye tarpon (Megalops cyprinoides) are very few and far between, and we’ve been fortunate to hook one or two, but they jump like no one’s business and give you a big old middle finger while you watch your line go slack.

We’ve also been lucky enough to land a few springers (Albula vulpes), a highly rewarding fish to catch. Built for speed and with 10/10 aerobatics that would make an Olympic gymnastics judge cream their pants, they are a mullet’s worst nightmare.

We’re hard-driven to tick off all of the species lurking in our river systems, knowing very well (if at all possible), it might take a lifetime to get that right. One thing’s for certain, our Instagram page is only going to show more and more reels and photos of our attempts at doing so. We may have started our fly fishing journey a bit later than we would like to have done, but this is only adding fuel to the fire and we have tons to catch up on. Sheesh, with hindsight we should’ve started practising our double hauls while we were still in our mothers’ bellies.

SHOP THE MISSION

Ross and Hano’s combined list for southern KZN estuary missions.

Sage 6-weight RPL. Ross says, “From when Sage still made two-piece rods, it’s old but gold and I will hold onto this thing forever. Got it from my ballie’s (old man’s) best mate when I started fly fishing.” farbank.com

Xplorer Guide 2, 6-weight. Hano says, “This was my dad’s old rod. The butt section is probably the only original piece of it left.” xplorerflyfishing.co.za Doba Productions Not to be confused with Dobies itch, Doba Productions, founded by Hano Scholtz and Ross Kiggen, is a content creation and production company inspired by a shared passion for local fish species and exploring South African waters.

Specialising in fishing-related content, they bring stories to life through high-quality photography and videography. dobaproductions.co.za

Orial 25l Drifter bag (Ross) and Orial 30l dry bag 3.0 (Hano).

These bags keep everything, from camera equipment to fly boxes, dry and secure. orialoutdoor.co.za Maxima Ultra Green. “Name a better valuefor-money leader for salt.” maximaline.co.za

Redington 7-8-weight Rise 3 reel. “Well made, stops fish and looks amazing!” farbank.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za Pisces Predator kickboats.

“They keep our asses out the water and without these things we wouldn’t be able to fish the spots we do.” piscespredator.co.za

Sigma 24-70 F2.8 art lens. “Versatile, sharp and lightning-fast autofocus.

What’s not to like?” sigmaphoto.co.za

COMBAT SPORTS DIY ALASKA

ON A FLY FISHING PILGRIMAGE TO AL ASKA, ROB JEFFREY EXPERIENCES THE RITE OF PASSAGE OF FISHING A SALMON RUN AND LIVES TO TELL THE TALE. Photos. Rob Jeffrey

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fter months of research and poring over possible options, the decision was made: to see Alaska. We were going to hire an RV and wing it. It was 10pm when we (James Trace, Hugh Moubray and I) zombie-marched through Anchorage International Airport to meet Kenny, an amazing South African who now calls Alaska home and who would prove instrumental in our planning of this road trip of a lifetime. We wound our way through Anchorage close to midnight, yet in broad daylight, to Kenny’s beautiful home where we were fed and given a chance to recover for the adventure ahead.

We headed off the next morning to fetch our RV, which quickly took on the apt name of Tribu-fucking-lation. A mobile sanctuary fitted with just enough comforts (and a sewer system) to remind me of civilisation while being rustic enough to keep us tethered to nature, it was an evertemperamental companion on this trip. After a quick run to stock up on supplies and buy our sport fishing licences, we hit the road – on the wrong side, in a 23-foot behemoth.

Our destination was the Kenai Peninsula, where the Russian and Kenai rivers run like arteries through the rugged landscape. There, amidst the vast wilderness, we hunted down the sockeye salmon run. This had taken on an almost mythical status as we heard about it from every tackle store owner and fisher we bumped into on our journey southeast. Every enquiry of, “Where is the best spot to fish right now?” was met with, “Oh man, you gotta get down on the Kenai man, the reds are coming in hot right now. If you don’t limit in 30 minutes, then you haven’t had a hook in the water!”

We had heard stories of the Kenai and Russian, where the sockeye salmon come up-river in their millions, turning the waters a vivid red by sheer volume. But stories, like all things, have a way of miraculous expansion. We kicked Tribu-fucking-lation into drive and charged down the Sterling Highway towards the epicentre of the sockeye run, Soldotna.

“YOUR RIG IS BASICALLY A SUPERSIZED EARLY-2000S VAAL RIVER CZECH NYMPHING SETUP. THE ROD AND REEL ARE IRRELEVANT.”

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The drive from Anchorage along the Kenai Peninsula is a pristine slalom, winding and cutting through endless stretches of forest and mountain. Our pesky vehicle rolled steadily along, the engine’s hum a constant companion to the towering pines and the occasional glimpse of a distant glacier.

We eventually growled through the city of Soldotna, taking in the quivering anxiety of every fisher frantically trying to get down to the river. Summer salmon runs dominate life here. Tackle stores bristled with gear for the short bonanza that follows the salmon. Every gas station, retail store, hardware store or any store for that matter, stocks the essential salmon fishing paraphernalia which is available 24/7.

We crossed the main bridge over the Kenai and looked down at the monstrous, powdery blue giant. The river

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flows at a dangerous pace from bank to bank, with a metre or two of wadable bank at each shore line. It’s easy to see the best spots to fish. They are full of people. We laughed nervously at the spectacle below and popped over the bridge and parked the RV in a small gravel lot by the river bank. Wasting no time in getting our gear set up, we marched in the strangely balmy Alaskan weather down to the river.

The sockeye salmon run was in full swing. The fish, driven by an ancient urge to return to their spawning grounds, moved with relentless determination. Their numbers were staggering. The river was alive with porpoising fish. By the time we arrived, the daily counts of salmon entering the river since the start of the run were close to 200 000 fish per day with more than 1.5 million in the system already.

Looking up and down the banks at the evenly spaced anglers tossing heavy “rigs” into the current, the reality

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“WITHOUT THESE MASSIVE RUNS THE WILDLIFE, FOREST, FISH AND, MOST OF ALL, THE PEOPLE, WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED OUT HERE.”

of “combat fishing” began to set in. We walked the bank for a few minutes and found a gap wide enough between anglers to fit the three of us newbies in. We needed all the space we could get and moral support from each other to tackle our immense incompetence.

We looked, as unsuspiciously as possible, at the closest neighbour and scrutinised the techniques to figure out how to snag a salmon. When I say snag, that’s exactly what it ultimately is. A sockeye, and all other migrating salmon, are not interested in food. They either want to kill something, give it a curious nibble, or simply run into the line/hook by sheer chance. In the case of sockeyes, the latter is the most likely. Your rig is basically a super-sized, early-2000s Vaal River Czech nymphing setup. The rod and reel are irrelevant. It’s the weight and leader length that determine the success of your drift. And yes, it’s just about the only way you do it here.

Between the sockeye salmon (opposite page), grayling (above) and locals (below), Alaska did not disappoint.

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Like father like son, Rob and his boy Jesse klapped a salmon or three on tour.

The first few lobs were tentative as we tried to find the rhythm of the river and the right technique to intercept the fish. Fish were being hooked, up- and downstream of us, as they moved up the ledge in volleys of hundreds, even thousands, of fish at a time. You could see a shoal moving upstream as anglers downstream suddenly went tight and your focus peaked, knowing that they were seconds away from your position. Keeping in contact with my line and feeling the rolling split shot on the bottom, I felt the distinctive “tap-tap” of a fish. I inquisitively set the hook and was met with an immediate rush of energy back into my hands. The fish jumped straight up in the air, landed, and shot off for the middle of the river. Herein lies a problem. You can’t let the fish run into the current because, even with 30lb leader, they are almost impossible to stop without breaking off or pulling a hook and they also entangle every other line being fished below you, which is generally frowned upon.

Within a short period, all three of us had our first wild Alaskan sockeye in hand. It was only the first fish that made it back to its watery world mostly unharmed. The rest made it directly onto the dinner stringer. This was part of the experience. We fully intended to eat the freshest salmon ever. It didn’t disappoint either. Catch-andrelease is not a term associated with salmon in Alaska and especially not fresh, silver sockeye. They are second only to the kings in colour, flavour and texture. We ate salmon so fresh the sashimi crunched at the first bite.

The two days flowed by in a blend of sun and the deafening white noise of the water, the relentless pursuit of the sockeye punctuated by moments of quiet reflection on the beauty surrounding us. Despite the disdain we had bestowed on the river from the lofty vantage of the bridge when we arrived, the experience was utterly embracing.

There is a sense of camaraderie between anglers as each would courteously step back as you fought a fish and ask if you needed a hand with a net.

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After filling our fridge with enough salmon to keep us fed for a few days, we headed off into a magical world of hiking trails, deep into the bear-infested forests in search of the plethora of lakes and streams that the trout and grayling call home. We wandered for days among the tall pines and Alpine bogs in what felt like a silent movie immersion. One day we bumped into Tim, a lanky-framed man walking with purpose along the bear trail to a weir on the Russian River. He stopped and asked if we would like to see his fish. Confused, we obliged and followed him for 20 minutes in an awkward silence. Suddenly we heard fish splashing loudly just up ahead, and Tim let out a sarcastic shout: “I’m on my way boys and girls!” Tim is one of the many characters we encountered on this trip. His job, for the last 23 years, has been to open and close a fish gate on a weir on the upper Russian River and count (by hand clicker) every single salmon that passes through it. It’s a seemingly irrelevant and technologically replaceable job, with one very important outcome. Until Tim’s count reaches its target, you can’t catch more than one sockeye in the Russian River. We popped out of the woods in silence, tired, educated and utterly satisfied with the beauty and strangeness of it all.

After just over a week of this aimless soul rambling between fish and forest, I had to think about what this experience had been. What it really is, is a no-BS window into the value of salmon, wilderness, and the spirit of Alaska. Salmon are the absolute life blood of these systems. Without these massive runs the wildlife, forest, fish and, most of all, the people, would not have survived out here. There is simply no other reason for any of these people to be on this river and to protect the fish. There is a deep love of salmon and respect for the sanctity of the run that just about every person respects whole-heartedly. It’s all down to the sports fishers who pay for the privilege and fund the efforts of people like Tim, who make sure these runs will continue.

After all, the only thing more terrifying than a grizzly bear approaching your stringer of salmon, is the game warden…

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MASSIVE ATTACK B A D T H I N G S N E V E R H A P P E N T O YO U … U N T I L T H E Y D O . A N D , A S A N D R E W S AV I D E S D I S C O V E R E D W H E N H E CA M E U N D E R AT TAC K AT S T E R K FO N T E I N DA M , E V E N I F YO U T H I N K YO U A R E P R E PA R E D , S H I T CA N G E T V E RY R E A L , FA S T. Photos. Andrew Savides “Hey man, are you OK, did you fall in?”

I never thought that I would have a knight in shining armour.

I certainly never thought that he would be someone that I’d been cursing for three days for the noise and wake his boat made; that he’d be riding a white rubber duck or would be towing kids on a wake board. But there you are, some things in life don’t go as you expect them to.

The weekend, right until almost 18 minutes before he pulled up, had been stellar.

In three days, I hadn’t caught a fish. I had, however learned new ways to get my fly rejected, dropped or crudely spat out. The three guys with me had caught a few each but, just being out there, camping under massive skies, talking shit and drinking beer was enough for me. I used to say stuff like that to console myself and to look like a real deep dude but, I’m coming to realise, with a mixture of bewilderment and horror, that it’s true. I didn’t even harbour any jealousy or animosity toward my mates which, when you put it into perspective, is the hallmark of a real deep dude.

Lee had left early on this last morning of the trip. He has a new lady and was mumbling something about itches and scratching. Andrew, Craig and I had packed up some way ahead of schedule, despite the annoying background hum of a light whisky hangover. Someone suggested that we walk the bank for a few last casts and, while Craig and I strung rods, Andrew grabbed his binos to try to identify a bird that he could not identify from its call. I was travelling light in sandals and without my pack, just a few flies in the hat, a roll of tippet in my pocket and overtly vengeful intentions.

Craig and I walked down a headland and split in opposite directions. It wasn’t planned that way but the bastard had, the year before, sunk a massive stimulator bend-deep into my scapula and I wasn’t taking any chances, notwithstanding my new real deep dude persona. Before long we were far apart and separated by the spine of the headland.

I had been making my way along the top of what is pretty much a cliff face, carefully looking for a pair of largies that we’d seen the day before. I couldn’t find them. There were lots of other fish about but getting to them was impossible, so I pushed on.

When I reached the bay, I snapped to attention. Muddies and smallmouths were clearly spawning in the shallows but moving in and out of the bay were some respectable males. Hunkering down into that bent-over pose of the serious, if not malevolent, fly angler, I made my way around the fringe of the bay away from the spawners and in the direction of the cycling males.

There’s no need to explain this walk-and-stalk style of angling. I was creeping along with a fly in my left hand and my rod and coils of line in my right; rod and hands, those most traitorous of appendages, down and out of sight. This isn’t an easy task for a portly middle-aged man and it was not being made any easier by a bloody great fly buzzing around my head. I waved it off and kept moving.

Another joined it. Then one more.

When I realised that they were bees there was no panic, despite my allergy to them. The last time that I was stung and after I had regained full consciousness in an ER recovery room, the doctor prescribed an EpiPen. He instructed that even if I was stung in the hospital car park, I was to inject myself before coming in. Since then I’ve kept an EpiPen and the necessary tablets with me at all times.

Or, you know how it is … most of the time.

My EpiPen was in my pack. My pack was on the passenger seat of Andrew’s Subaru and shit was beginning to develop the potential to get real.

“Hey man, are you OK, did you fall in?”

I slowly retraced my steps but had hardly moved when the first bee stung me in that sensitive fold of skin between two of the fingers of my right hand. I looked down at my hand and both it and my bare legs were fairly covered in bees. Until then I had not even noticed them. I took a few stings to the hands and legs and my immediate thought was that it hurt less than I expected it to.

I hadn’t heard the boat pull up and I hardly heard him calling. I was looking for a place to die.

Then I was swarmed and the shit that I just alluded to realised its full potential.

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W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

On either side of me were erosion gullies and the only way out was back through the swarm. I ditched my gear, jumped into the water and tried to get away underwater, like I’d seen in the old Yogi Bear cartoons. There really was nowhere else to go and, at least, I figured I could keep them off my body where the bigger veins and arteries are.

What I had not imagined was what taking stings to the face, nose and eyes would feel like.

I resurfaced and looked at my watch. “I have 20 minutes,” I told myself. “It’s the outside maximum, but don’t panic.

I’ve run the scenarios through my head a hundred times before, although not like this one, but I have time and I need to get going. Engage hero mode.”

Hero mode faded pretty quickly when I realised that the swarm had followed me and hammered my face and head relentlessly. Back under water, rinse and repeat twice until I got behind a boulder and out of sight.

Settling my breathing and heart rate I called Craig first. I was concerned but not yet in trouble. From experience I honestly expected my reaction to be worse. Other than a slight tightening of my throat I had no real signs of anaphylaxis. Although it’s an unpleasant foreshadowing,

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you know what it leads to. I learned later from a doctor that while you never, ever run from danger into water, the cold environment may have restricted blood flow and slowed down the whole process.

An iPhone is fantastically waterproof but there’s a less fantastic problem with it. In one of those little holes on the bottom edge is the microphone and when submerged the holes draw in water. It effectively mutes the phone.

“Savs? Savs? Savs?”

I redialled and when the next call connected the swarm was back. Face, head, rinse and repeat. Screaming and waving of arms and more subsurface swimming.

Try Andrew. Same result. They couldn’t hear me. I watched the swarm turn and I went back underwater.

You know how this goes. Swimming, calling, stinging, screaming. My recent calls log for the day bears testimony to this. It took some time for me to realise that every time a call connected the swarm would turn around and come back. I saw it coming: while the dark mass was on its way to me, the athletes among them were out in front. Someone needs to explain this to me. You can’t make this shit up.

W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

“I HADN’T HEARD THE BOAT PULL UP AND I HARDLY HEARD HIM CALLING. I WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO DIE.” By then I’d swum or run along the bottom a few hundred metres along the head-high ledge of the shore. Being neck-deep in the water kept me out of sight of Andrew who was by now burning up the hills, off-road, at 80km/h looking for me.

Throughout all of this I was perfectly lucid. As melodramatic as it sounds, you just know when your time is up. In the cruellest, coldest, most certain way, it becomes clear to you. I was in trouble. My vision was distorted, my heart was beating with a feeling of water being squeezed from a wet sponge and I was really starting to battle to breathe. I understood that I was going to black out.

Deciding that I didn’t want to drown I found a small place on the ledge where I could lie down and just, what, sleep?

No, I lay down to die. There was nothing exceptional about it, just the absolute certainty that I was shortly going to stop breathing and die.

“Hey man, are you okay, did you fall in?”

He had come some way to get to me, probably wondering why I was standing up to my chin in the water, periodically thrashing my arms and yelling like some manic preacher.

“Bees. Please, my friends have my EpiPen.” “You need to swim.”

Jesus, I’d had just about enough swimming by then, but I did my best. I held the ladder but had to be pulled on board. He shouted something to his kids and was waving and shouting at the hill.

I don’t remember the ride. There was a white chair with a back that you need to flip over, but I couldn’t work it out.

Then he did something to it and I sat there. I think someone else was on board, maybe a kid, but everything is vague.

“You need to swim.”

I looked up. Andrew was running to the bank, not more than 15 metres from me. He was holding my pack. So, I swam up onto the rocks on the shore. I mean, what else would I do?

My EpiPen was being held out. Everyone I go anywhere with knows where it is – I just hadn’t shown them how to use it. I took a bit of time to try to get control of myself.

Two is one and one is none and I best not screw this up.

“WHEN THE CHEMICAL HITS YOU THE RELIEF IS ALMOST IMMEDIATE… IN EVERY LITERAL SENSE OF THE TERM, YOU FEEL LIFE RETURNING TO YOUR BODY.”

When the chemical hits you the relief is almost immediate.

Whoosh. A handful of tablets washed down with a scoop of water and you, in every literal sense of the term, feel life returning to your body. I don’t know whether Andrew realises how close it got, because you bounce back so fast.

Craig arrived in time to see an epic adrenaline dump complete with me pissing myself and what hunters call typewriter legs; like watching that Aussie Olympic breakdancer on 10X playback speed.

The boat had gone. I wish that man had stayed for me to thank him. I haven’t been able to find out who he was, and I’ve really tried. There isn’t a single part of me that thinks that without him coming to check on me I would not have died.

As for my friends, no man has been blessed with better mates than I have.

We stood around a bit. I said I was OK, that we did not need to worry about going to the hospital and that I wanted to go home. I wasn’t home long before I was back in a medical centre being seen to again. It turns out the anaphylactic shock was not done with me. I knew it could

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happen but, sometimes, you just want to go home.

After a few days the swelling subsided and, although puffy, my eyes were fully open. It took more than a month to get my hypertension under control. It turns out that hypertension, adrenaline, antihistamines and steroids are poor bedfellows.

I’ve cried a river typing this, my sleep is disturbed by recurring nightmares and there’s a better than even chance that if you cut me off in traffic, I’d assault you. It’s going to take a bit longer to get that most vestigial, fight-orflight, lizard part of my brain back onto an even keel. It’s called acute traumatic response, and I don’t recommend it, although you feel less crazy when you hear that it has a name.

Now listen, I’m not going to buy a llama and go hiking in Tibet and see out the rest of my days in bliss and boiled lentils, but something else inside me has changed. I notice things, like birdsong, and I smile more than I did. I am really, really grateful to be alive. As trite as it may sound, I never want to lose sight of that again.

Hell, the other day I even went fishing.

W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

THINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY I’m giving you the following info because there’s some shit that you need to think about, whether you are allergic to bees or not. I’m going to try not to lecture you, but you need to pay attention and add this advice onto what you’ve learned about safety in the outdoors. Why? Well, humans engage in magical thinking, believing that bad things only happen to other people. I believe we need to engage in mildly risky behaviour like chasing fish in the mountains to feel alive. But that means we also need to prepare for when things go wrong.

BEE prepared The first step is to speak to a doctor. If you have proper allergies, they will likely tell you to carry an EpiPen. If you can’t afford two of them then take vials, distilled water and syringes as a back-up. EpiPens are big and cumbersome, but they’re designed that way so that a person who may be battling with motor control or may be on the verge of passing out can operate them. My doctor told me of one of her patients who was found dead from bee stings next to his mountain bike, had an open syringe and two broken adrenaline vials next to him. Vials need to be snapped off in a very specific way, drawn up with distilled water and measured out exactly. This isn’t easy to do when you can’t see or breathe properly.

Keep your EpiPen and tablets on you at all times.

I have made a belt holder for them. It contains the device and a waterproof container with my tablets and a small, laminated instruction card. On the back of the card, I have my ICE details, health conditions, medical aid number and doctor’s number. On the front there are instructions as well as pictures of how to administer the device. Be sure to show your companions, family and colleagues how to use the device. For example, you only ever administer it in the outer thigh, exactly where your hand would be if it was in your pocket. Not in the heart, Tarantino fans. Anywhere else can kill you, the exact outcome that you’re trying to avoid.

After using the pen get to a hospital. The medication will wear off before the toxins in your body will and you can go into anaphylaxis for up to a few days afterwards. This came as a nasty surprise to me.

Above all else, just imagine the worst-case scenario and plan for that. You don’t need to be hysterical about it and the difference between what you need for best- and worst-case scenarios is not much.

Free solo If you’re going out solo, you need to take special precautions that I’m not qualified to give you. I fish alone in the Drakensberg quite a lot and I carry, for example, about 3 000 calories in nutritional bars, two lighters and fuel in a double Ziplock bag, a silver emergency blanket, a torch and that sort of thing. All of this can fit into a cargo pants pocket, if fashion isn’t your thing. If you’re inclined to do solo trips in secluded places, and I recommend that you do, get yourself a Garmin inReach or some other similar communication tool.

Andrew Savides after calling Dricus du Plessis’s mom fat...or after a weekend at Sterkies? 50/50 call.

Fried piper If, during the course of a normal day, you stand a chance of straying from your group or intend to split up, then carry an emergency whistle to alert them to a problem.

Three bursts are the accepted signal for a problem. If you can hear the rugby ref over 60 000 other screaming fans, then you can be sure that they work. Make sure you have a periodic check-in interval and, for the love of God, lift up your head occasionally and look around.

Analogue backup If you aren’t going elbow-deep on a Garmin, it’s safest to just work from the premise that you don’t have a device at all. Because yes, phones fail. A small waterproof container on your pack, jacket or belt with your ICE and medical information will take 10 minutes to set up and is practically weightless. If you’re in a reserve be sure to sign the mountain register and have someone know where you’re going and when you’ll return.

CHECK OUT THE ORVIS PODCAST EPISODE… … BE PREPARED FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES WHEN FLY FISHING for a fantastic interview with EMT and wilderness medicine trainer Mike Tayloe on how to prepare and handle worst case scenarios. orvis.com

IN with WE ALL LOVE NEW AND SHINY THINGS, BUT TO ESCHEW ALL CLOBBER OLDER THAN A SEASON WOULD BE SILLY. SOME OF THE GREATEST FLY FISHING APPAREL, TACKLE AND OTHER GEAR, IS GREAT BECAUSE IT ENDURES. AND WHEN IT STARTS TO COME APART, IT DESERVES MENDING, NOT THROWING IT AWAY. SO, TO CELEBRATE PRODUCTS THAT DESERVES A SECOND OR THIRD LIFE, WE’VE PUT TOGETHER A COLLECTION OF OUR OWN: OF THRIFT EXPERTS, MENDERS, FIXERS AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE AS WE DO IN REUSING, REPURPOSING AND BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO QUALITY GEAR.

THE OLD

THE FINDERS

MATT ROBERGE OF FISH AND THRIFT @fishnthrift Instagram thrift accounts are a dime a dozen, but few specialise in fly fishing apparel or execute their curation with style as well as Matt Roberge of Fish and Thrift.

The Mission (TM): Your account curates a ridiculously cool selection of vintage fishing apparel. Plus, you also have a much larger and more general interest vintage account, Vintage Sponsor. Was the fishing side of the business big enough to warrant its own thing or do you do it simply because you are into fly fishing yourself?

Matt Roberge (MR): I originally started doing it as a more acceptable way of posting fish pictures! I had been posting an annoying number of fish to my personal account and thought “I gotta start a fishing account” but there’s no way I could have just started posting my boring fish like everyone else, and then it came to me. I had a lot of fishingrelated stuff already and tons of technical outdoor gear that can and should be used for fishing, so I combined the idea of a fish pic and two pieces of gear. That grid layout makes it so I can’t flood the feed with fish or gear. The ‘fishing side of the business’ is definitely a passion project.

“ADOPTING THE MANTRA OF, ‘BUY USED, BUY LESS AND BUY ONLY WHAT WE NEED,’ YOU CAN GET PHENOMENAL DEALS ON CLOTHING.”

TM: Where do you fish when you get out? What do you see as your home waters?

MR: I’m originally from Pennsylvania and that’s where I’m most comfortable. I grew up fishing in Marshalls Creek which is a five-minute drive from my parent’s house, so I would consider that my home stream, but I frequent a lot of tiny streams around the Pocono Mountains. I live in Vancouver now and good fishing is kind of “far” away, but I would consider the Squamish Valley or Lynn Creek my home waters. I’m still settling in and figuring out all the water that exists up here.

TM: What vintage clobber do you find you turn to the most when you fish?

MR: I have the Filson chest pack that I found in an antique store. It holds everything you could ever need on the water. When I’m fishing tiny steams, I have this collapsable, tiny, lightweight chest rig I found in Pennsylvania at a flea market from a brand that went away in the 2000s. As for clothing, I have Simms waders for the cold and recently got wading pants and boots from Patagonia for warmer/ less serious water. I use the Italian-made boots by Andrew Shoes called “The Creek”. They resemble mountaineering boots so they’re my go-to for British Columbia. Depending on the weather I have a few Gore-Tex wading jackets and a few lightweight Arc’teryx jackets and fleeces I like to wear.

TM: Without giving away any state secrets, how do you find such quality gear?

MR: The serious quality gear I run into at flea markets or eBay and sometimes Facebook. Lots of the better fishingspecific gear I’ve bought to try for myself and have decided I won’t use so it gets thrown on the chopping block. As for just overall fishing clothes and weird branded stuff, I have a like-minded friend who does more of a wholesale business and sends me some pretty great items.

TM: On the fly fishing front, are there specific brands or fly fishing pieces that you keep an eye out for when digging for thrift?

MR: There is one brand I’m searching for a lot right now,

The Creek by Andrew Shoes A shoe and bootmaker from Treviso, Italy with almost 40 years of experience, Andrew Shoes specialises in outdoor footwear for hunting, hiking, climbing and fly fishing. andrewshoes.com

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they made a lot of cutting-edge, wild designs, high-quality stuff. I won’t mention it here because it’s very low-key and cheap right now because people aren’t aware of it. I only became aware of it after finding this insane collapsible bag at a flea market. Patagonia, Simms and LL Bean definitely catch my eye, and technical things I haven’t maybe seen before spark my interest.

TM: Is there a Holy Grail item you are always keeping an eye out for?

MR: Nothing really comes to mind, maybe the Filson chest bag would have been it for me. People in this business who are successful, are always looking for something they haven’t seen before. Chasing a white whale is useless.

TM: Do you find that most of your customers know what they are looking at when it comes to the history and design of a garment? Or is that a part of what you do, educating people? Or… do most customers just buy something because it looks cool?

MR: I’m not much of an educator, publicly, but I can explain what or why you’d want this or that for a certain reason. I think people either know or are buying strictly off aesthetics or trend. There’s nothing cooler than authenticity.

TM: Are there any contemporary classics coming out of the fly fishing world at the moment?

MR: Housefly is making a lot of cool stuff, best brand out (Ed: they have also just collaborated on a new range with Filson). houseflyfishing.com Nation FC has great-looking rods and gear. nationfc.com Skwala interests me a lot, seems very high-quality and authentic. skwalafishing.com Montbell is a giant brand but they make so much cool stuff. montbell.com Hardy and Arc’teryx aren’t going anywhere. hardyfishing.com, arcteryx.com TM: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in a pocket?

MR: A Canadian $20 bill from the 70s.

“PEOPLE IN THIS BUSINESS WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL, ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THEY HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE. CHASING A WHITE WHALE IS USELESS.” W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

“GOOD PRODUCT IS GOOD REGARDLESS OF THE AGE.”

JOJO ELGARICE OF RAG PARADE SHEFFIELD @ragparadesheffield If you like quality brands, rare finds and personality, then a visit to Rag Parade Sheffield (aka Jojo’s General Store) is a pilgrimage. From cult brands like Belstaff, Barbour and CP Company, to special dead stock sneakers, watches and more, Jojo’s curation is from the top shelf.

TM: How do you find such quality clobber?

Jojo Elgarice (JE): Mainly from good contacts and paying decent fair prices for good stuff over many years. The real secret is building good relationships and having a solid reputation, so people want to deal with you again in the future. So I suppose a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck is involved too sometimes.

TM: Do you find that most of your customers know what they are looking at when it comes to the history and design of what you sell? Or is that part of your job, to educate people?

JE: I think more and more that our customers are very clued up and have a good knowledge of product and what they like and don’t like. Of course sometimes people buy stuff because it looks cool (myself included) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but on the other hand it can come from a much deeper rooted and educated standpoint. It can get very specific but it can also be exhausting hunting a very particular jacket for a client, so usually it’s best just to come and see what’s available and try stuff on. Education is also a huge part of it but not in an academic sort of way, more just finding people that enjoy “your edit” of clothing and hopefully becoming customers along the way.

JE: I mean a lot of things certainly do… I’ll never forget when we sold this amazing old Ventile fly fishing jacket to a Japanese vintage dealer that we’d dealt with for years and we was like, “It’s a mega-piece isn’t it?!” He replied, “Yes it won’t be for sale, I’m a professional fly fisherman, Jojo,” Love how the Japanese guys are so humble like that, they’re the type of people who would save someone’s life or something and never tell anyone about it. There’s a lot to learn from that perhaps. Then, on the flipside a lot of it becomes “fashionable” or heaven forbid “a trend” and then that can quite easily transcend into modern clothing too as the designers are often looking at the same/similar references to the vintage dealers. I walked past Uniqlo in Manchester and they’re now even doing their own version of a Barbour Spey-style jacket.

TM: Do you keep tabs on more modern products from storied brands, anticipating that specific items will be vintage classics in time?

JE: Yes 100%, I’m not against modern clothing in any way if it’s very good. I mean good product is good regardless of the age right? It’s usually down to the fabric, if that’s good then it’s half the battle. I’m constantly looking forward at newer stuff that will become a “future classic” so to speak. I’ve even done mental things in the past like collecting hundreds of the same style of military jacket hoping they’ll become hot one day. Sometimes it’s a success and sometimes you take the loss, haha!

TM: While designed for specific sports or tasks in mind, do you believe the majority of what you sell goes back to “work” (e.g. on the water in the case of a wading jacket) or is it more likely that their second life is a straightforward one of fashion?

TM: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in a pocket?

JE: The list is pretty long haha… But it’s got to be hypodermic needles (quite a scary one), a Rolling Stones backstage pass, and old pills from the 90s are always funny too. The best of all time has to be when my friend pulled a jacket from a rag house many years ago and in the pocket was a train ticket from that weird long-named place in Wales (Ed:“Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch”) – the ticket was super-long to fit the name on hahaha.

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[

The English translation is “St Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio near the Red Cave”.

Orvis neoprene wading jacket.

1980’s Nigel Cabourne camouflage hunting jacket.

1970s Stearns inflatable fly fishing jacket.

1990s Wychwood Four Seasons vest with contrast wool lining.

1980s Barbour ‘Two Crown’ waxed cotton fishing bag.

1980s House of Hardy waxed cottong fly fishing jacket.

1990s ‘Double Layer Ventile’ British fly fishing jacket.

1970s Belstaff ‘Castmaster’ fly fishing vest.

1991 Barbour Spey fly fishing jacket.

A lot of guys like the idea of giving something a second life. The other reason would be they simply can’t get their hands on the product. There might be for example an old flannel that people want but that can’t be replicated in the new stuff.

TM: What do you tend to look for in gear?

SC: So, the brand obviously is number one. I focus pretty much on outdoor wear, whether it be Patagonia, LL Bean, Carhartt (because there’s more to that brand than workwear), Simms, Orvis, Bass Pro, pretty much all the original Americana brands. Then second to that would be the condition. We need to make sure that the waterproofing is not peeling inside or that the taping is still intact. My guys do pick up damaged stuff like flannels that we then repair locally. A lot of people like that repaired look.

SIMON CLARK OF SOUTHERN PROVISIONS, KOMMETJIE @southern_provisions_kommetjie There are second-hand stores a-plenty in South Africa, but few have a curated focus like Simon Clark’s Southern Provisions, Kommetjie. For great thrifted outdoor gear, visit the shop in person or shop easily off their Instagram account.

TM: Many of the brands you stock are very hard to get a hold of in South Africa. How do you track them down?

Simon Clark (SC): I source most of the product out of the clothing bales that come from America and Canada. I have some guys that cut the bales open, send me photographs almost on a daily basis, and it’s kind of like being on Tinder, I swipe left or right, yes or no. I then grade it, make sure I’m happy with the condition. Everything gets washed and steamed and tagged, and we try and present it like a new item.

TM: What is the appeal of thrifting for you and your customers?

SC: I’ve been in the clothing industry my whole adult life and it has always frustrated me how there’s so many cool products that South Africans just don’t have access to.

Thrifting works because people love the sustainability of it.

TM: Where does the vintage part come in?

SC: People use the term vintage quite loosely. Technically vintage is 20 years or older. “Pre-loved” or “second-hand” is last year’s H&M jersey. That’s the difference. Once again I’m super passionate about these Americana brands, and I’m just looking for pieces that are special to me.

TM: What about local brands?

SC: Funnily enough, I get a lot of K-Way from Europe.

What I’ve realised with South Africans is we buy a product, and we use it until it’s worn out. Whereas in America or Europe, they wear it for one season and they toss it away and we get all their thrifted goods.

TM: Where does Southern Provisions fit into SA thrift culture?

SC: I’m extremely passionate about flannels. Typically flannels are one of the worst-selling garments in the clothing industry, but we sell a lot of flannels in the shop because I started pushing it harder. I think people turn to social media and find their trend. Thrifted outerwear and workwear are the two biggest trends at the moment. It doesn’t matter what country you’re living in. The frustration here is there’s a lot of people in this country that are incredibly passionate about outdoors and outdoor brands, but sadly there’s just simply not enough people out there to justify opening up concept stores for these overseas brands. It’s also too expensive. Our import duties are 45% on clothing. That’s why we do so well with thrift, because people aspire to a lot of these brands, for various reasons, and we are able to make it affordable.

“THRIFTING WORKS BECAUSE PEOPLE LOVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF IT. A LOT OF GUYS LIKE THE IDEA OF GIVING SOMETHING A SECOND LIFE.” 64

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BRAND-AID

While thrifted/vintage/second-hand gear may be largely the domain of independents, there are big brands who believe in giving their clothing a second life whether that means it gets a new owner or a new purpose.

PATAGONIA - WORN WEAR The best example of this is Patagonia with their Worn Wear initiative, which allows you to trade in gear you no longer use and buy used gear listed on their Worn Wear website. Adopting the mantra of, “Buy used, buy less and buy only what we need,” you can get phenomenal deals on clothing and even more technical apparel like fly vests that for whatever reason have only seen light use from the original purchaser. Their commitment to this ethos carries over into their Wader Repair Tours in North America and Europe, where their team will inspect, diagnose, and repair waders of any brand, for free, while doing live patching demonstrations, sharing maintenance tips and connecting with local organisations protecting clean water and wild fish. wornwear.patagonia.com

FLYFISHING GEAR 2ND HAND OR UNWANTED - SOUTH AFRICA If you are still on Facebook and keen to sniff out a deal or two, you might want to join the “Flyfishing Gear 2nd Hand or Unwanted – South Africa” group.

Amid the odd scammer and troll, you can come across a few worthy gems. facebook.com COMPLETE FLY FISHERMAN WHATSAPP CLASSIFIEDS Diversifying from selling magazines, TCFF now sells second-hand gear too via their dedicated WhatsApp channel. By all accounts it is very active and highly policed, so if scolding and S&M is your thang, you know where to go.

SIMMS - RECAST Bozeman, Montana-based Simms Fishing have also just launched their equivalent of Worn Wear with their Recast programme. It’s still early days in terms of the depth of their inventory, but considering Simms’s history in fishing, there should be plenty more on sale soon. recast.simmsfishing.com

XPLORER REPURPOSED WADERS On the local front in South Africa, Xplorer Fly Fishing have their Re-Xplore range of products including coolers, laptop sleeves, bottle coolies, packing cubes and wader workstations made from repurposed waders. xplorerflyfishing.co.za

THE FIXERS

ERICA BASSON AT GONE OUTDOORS REPAIRS goneoutdoor.com While not actually owned by Patagonia per se (they also stock brands like Fjällräven, Hoka and Ciele), as far as South Africa goes Gone Outdoor do their best to fly the flag for the house that Yvon Chouinard built and that includes adopting Patagonia’s approach to repairing clothing.

TM: So what’s the deal with your gear repairs. Explain the idea behind it?

GO: Our gear repair initiative is grounded in the belief that the most sustainable clothing option is to maintain and extend the life of the products we already own. By repairing rather than replacing, we reduce waste, conserve resources, and minimise our environmental footprint. In a world where repairing has gone out of “fashion” and fast fashion dominates, Patagonia stands out by designing timeless clothes with repairability in mind, prioritising durability and longevity in their products, and ensuring they can be easily repaired and continue to serve you on your adventures. Our goal is to keep your gear functional and out of landfills, aligning with our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

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TM: Who’s doing the repairing? Is it certified to function the way it did on day one?

GO: We outsource our repairs locally in Cape Town. For minor fixes, such as patch repairs with tenacious tape, we offer in-store services that can be completed while you wait. Our primary focus is ensuring that repaired garments can perform their intended functions as effectively as they did on day one.

TM: Talk about how you fix different gear? Puffers, waterproof kit, Gore-Tex, and light breathable gear.

GO: When it comes to puffers, we specialise in patching holes, restitching seams, and refilling down if needed.

The same goes for fleece and sweatshirts: we can mend tears, replace snap buttons, zippers, and various gear toggles. We also handle wetsuit repairs! Our goal is to repair everything we can. However, each repair is unique, and there are some limitations. Unfortunately, items with Gore-Tex or other waterproof technologies that are delaminating or heavily damaged may not be repairable. If you’re unsure whether your garment can be repaired, our team is always here to help.

W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

NOSO PATCHES Looking for a quick and quirky solution for a hole in your favourite puffer jacket or sleeping bag? Check out NoSo patches’ huge range of patches to suit your and your garments’ personalities. nosopatches.com, justlikepapa.com

ZOE CAN PATCH IT @zoepatches Zoe Zou from Albuquerque, New Mexico is well worth following on Instagram not only because she teaches you how to fix “broken” garments that most people would either toss or fix in a really ugly way, but also because she shows how mending a favourite jacket, sleeping bag or backpack can give it a unique, personalised look that no one else will have. Yes, if you live in the USA you can hire her to fix your beloved kit, but chances are she will inspire you to fix your own stuff. zoecanpatchit.com

NAIAD - CUSTOM NETS AND ROD/REEL REPAIRS Your grandfather’s coveted cane rod looking a little the worse for wear? Or perhaps you treat your reels worse than a ginger stepson? While many fly shops in South Africa offer rod and reel repairs, the guy who specialises in it (and who quite a few fly shops use) is Andrew Strachan of Naiad. Whether you have broken a tip, smashed a reel seat, crushed the cork or any other mishaps, if anyone can get your cherished rig back in action, he can. flyrodrepairs.co.za

SERGIO ALBERINI @ sergio.alberini Who knew there was such a thing as a superstar cobbler? We didn’t until we came across the profile of Italian boot repair maestro Sergio Alberini who takes much-loved shoes and boots (generally from the workwear and outdoor markets like fly fishing, hunting and hiking boots to Converse sneakers) and basically brings them back to life. You can literally see the transformation as the uppers of hard-worn boots are resoled with Vibram soles and cleaned up, reemerging as even better boots than they were new.

Unless you live in Italy, you are unlikely to make use of Sergio’s services, but that should not stop you from finding a quality local cobbler (e.g. Rocksole in the Western Cape) to get a few more seasons out of your wading boots. rocksole.co.za

L AT ES T R E L E A S ES

SALAD BAR PATAGONIA - SWIFTCURRENT TRAVERSE ZIP-FRONT WADERS You know the saying, “gird your loins”, meaning to prepare for hard work? Well, from everything we’ve heard about Patagonia’s new range of waders, your loins and the rest of your body will thank you as these bad boys are designed for years of hard work in tough conditions. There are two main series in the range: the Expedition and the Traverse. The latter is most applicable to South African conditions, whereas the Expedition is what you’d look to if venturing into ultra-frozen places (like Alaska or Tierra de Fuego). A ton of R&D went into the Traverse zip-front waders to reduce weight and bulk while ensuring they stay as durable as possible. Built from H2No Performance 4-layer 100% recycled material that is treated with a DWR finish made without intentionally added PFAS, these waders sport an intuitive feature set. The interior includes one large, quick-access drop-in stretch pocket; one large, zippered security stretch pocket; and a centre-back hanger loop for easy drying and storage.

The exterior features two zippered, stretch stash chest pockets for fly boxes or other goodies, a fishing tool dock and pack loop attachment points at the chest. There’s also a low-profile net loop at the centre back. A gusseted crotch with an articulated seat and legs allows ease of movement in and out of the water, articulated legs with heavy-duty scuff guards at the ankles deliver additional abrasion resistance in high-wear areas, the anatomical booties have lower volume and a sock-like fit for all-day wading comfort, while a waterproof zipper allows you to take a leak easily, but keeps the water out when fishing. Designed for durability, repairability, and mobility, these are waders from the top drawer and they are available from Xplorer Fly Fishing in SA. patagonia.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

AIRFLO - PREMIUM NYLON TIPPET You know what’s a drag (besides the rise of global fascism, the cost-of-living crisis and pop stars in space)? Drag, that’s what.

Airflo’s premium quality copolymer tippet is designed to reduce drag on the most delicate presentations. Exhibiting that holy tippet trinity of suppleness, incredible knot strength and tensile strength, it allows your flies to dance naturally across micro seams and currents just like naturals, while in the larger diameters it can go all the way with the biggest breker fish without breaking down. Bonus: it comes on floating recycled spools with a spiffy new tippet band. Available from 7x to 1x plus three half-sizes too: 4.5x, 5.5x and 6.5x. airflofishing.com

THE MISSION - WAVE-RIDER LONG SLEEVE T-SHIRT Rock on and fish on? With our black Wave-rider long-sleeve T, you might just get that balance right. Made from 100% combed cotton, with a soft-to-touch feel, this super comfortable T comes in a strong black with a stylised red The Mission logo on the chest. themissionflymag.com

“ROCK ON AND FISH ON.” 68

RODS ~ REELS ~ FLOAT CRAFT ~ FLY TYING ~ GEAR ~ APPAREL

THE LARGEST RANGE OF FLY TACKLE IN SA - COMPLETE OUTFITTING SERVICE - DESIGNED IN SA, SOURCED FROM THE WORLD

Shop Online: www.xplorerflyfishing.co.za

Contact Us: retail@xplorerflyfishing.co.za | Tel: 031 564 7468 Xplorer Concept Store: Unit 4, Marsailles Park, Durban North, Durban, 4051.

CONNECT WITH US:

RIO - OUTBOUND SHORT Planning on smashing tigerfish or largemouth yellowfish in the months ahead? Then you’re going to need lines that can bomb out large flies at major distances with aplomb. Built with a short, aggressive front taper (including Rio’s SlickCast coating) Rio’s OutBound Short series lines easily handle large, weighted streamers, while the powerful head design loads rods deeply and quickly for fast, easy distance.

There are six different density lines to cover the demands and nuances of any fishery: A full floating line (F), for top water action, a floating line with 15-foot of “hover” sinking line, then 15 feet of clear intermediate sinking line at the front (F/H/I), for fishing 2 to 3 feet deep; a full intermediate sinking line with a 15-foot clear tip (I), for fishing 3 to 5 feet deep; an intermediate sinking line with 17-foot of medium sinking line, then 13 feet of fast sinking line at the front (I/S3/S5), for fishing 4 to 8 feet deep; an intermediate sinking line with 17-foot of fast-sinking line, then a 13-foot extra-fast-sinking line at the front (I/S5/S7), for fishing 6 to 12 feet deep, and last but not least a full, extra-fast sinking “dredger” line (S7), for maximum depth. farbank.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

SIMMS - RIVERKIT WADER TOTE Look, we’re not overly anal about our cars. They’re tools for going fishing, carting family around, running errands etc, but on the fishing front (other than full-time guides) we admit it’s a little anti-social when the boot of your car stinks to high heaven due to wader funk, wet boots and whatever else you tramped through while out fishing. That’s where a compact, gearwrangling carry-all like the Simms Riverkit Wader Tote makes perfect sense.

Made from heavy-duty 600D polyester fabric with backside PU coating, its water-resistant, durable and breathable mesh panels allow for ventilation when wet gear is stowed inside. Features include a padded lid that doubles as a fold-down changing mat plus a large accessory pocket with internal key clip and dual grab handles for in-hand or over-the-shoulder carry. Wet or dry it will keep your waders, boots and rain gear in one place and always at the ready. simmsfishing.com, frontierflyfishing.com

ORVIS - CLEARWATER CAST FLY REEL One of the best loved reel series out there, Orvis’s Clearwater LargeArbor reels have a new family member in the 3 to 5-weight Clearwater II. With a die-cast design protected by a durable powder-coat finish, these reels are built to last. Expect a Carbon-to-stainless, sealed disc drag, a click drag knob that delivers consistent settings and an updated radiused reel foot that keeps your leader from kinking when wrapped around it. The reel easily converts to either left- or righthand retrieve. orvis.com, flyfishing.co.za

“ONE OF THE BEST LOVED REEL SERIES OUT THERE.” 70

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A Unique Chobe River Safari

IN ONE OF AFRICA'S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER ANGLING DESTINATIONS

All-Inclusive Adventure | Private Local Guide & Boat | Fuel Included

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+27 21 715 2412

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enquiry@zqcollection.com

GUIDED BIRDING

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FISHING

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ichingochoberiverlodge.com

MAY DAY FISHING - DEAD SAILOR T-SHIRT You might recognise the artist’s hand on this spiffy T from May Day Fishing as that of Dillon Harland who collaborated with Ray Montoya for an Oman-inspired artwork in Issue 9 of The Mission. Even if you don’t, it’s still a keeper that will hide future mustard stains. maydayfishing.com

“IT’S A KEEPER THAT WILL HIDE FUTURE MUSTARD STAINS.” FISHPOND - LARGEMOUTH PIOPOD We’ve been carrying around a Fishpond Piopod for years, stuffing everything from stompies to tippet and riverside trash into it. Now there’s a big brother version of the original in the Largemouth Piopod. Designed to fit in any standard cupholder in your car or on your boat, it boasts a rugged, durable, recycled PP construction featuring a unique elastomeric cap.

Specially designed to swallow microtrash like plastics that can endure in the wild forever, it’s a simple gizmo but one that helps you do your part in keeping wild places free of crap. fishpondusa.com, frontierflyfishing.com

“BIG BROTHER.” STANCE - LIVE ALOHA CREW SOCKS These Hawaiian-inspired crews feature a unique washed black design and super-soft combed cotton blend. Mid-level cushioning gives you that springy fresh underfoot feeling. But most NB, someone worked an Alphlexo crab into the design. We see you random Stance sock designer, we see you. thestorestuff.co.za

W W W. T H E M I S S I O N F LY M A G . C O M

THE MISSION - TAILGUNNER GRUNTER DAD CAP (HONEY) Celebrated for their magic fish juju, sweated in, crushed, re-shaped and worn again and again, our Dad Caps have been a favourite since we first launched them almost 10 years ago.

We’ve given them a slight update with a new plastic snapback and more solid construction of the unstructured 6-panel build, but still with a cotton twill sweatband, a pre-curved peak and, of course, our Tailgunner Grunter logo designed by Conrad Botes.

Available now in Honey, honey. themissionflymag.com

“CELEBRATED FOR THEIR MAGIC FISH JUJU.”

THE MOST ADVANCED POPPERS YOU WILL EVER FISH TRADE INQUIRIES

Available in the

+27 13 741 2232 info@scientificfly.com www.scientificfly.com

spacecoastflies@gmail.com

ORVIS - MEN’S ULTRALIGHT WADING BOOTS The thing with wading boots is you either get to choose a light boot (and sacrifice on toughness) or a tough boot (which is inevitably heavy). Weighing in at 1.14kgs for the pair, Orvis claim that their new 2025 Ultralight Wading Boots are their lightest boots yet, but they also claim that they have shed extra weight without compromising traction, stability, or performance. New 100% recycled ripstop upper materials combine extremely low water absorption with super-fast drainage to keep your boots light, while drying quickly after use. Abrasion-resistant TPU mudguard panels give you lightweight durability for multiple seasons of abuse, while the Michelin rubber outsoles are stud-compatible for more traction options on slick cobbles or snotty streambeds. orvis.com, flyfishing.co.za

FISHPOND - TRUCHA BELT “Is that a snoek op jou broek or just a troots?” With Fishpond’s snazzy Trucha webbing belt you can transition from the river side to a bar stool with nary a second glance amigos. Tight-waisted midget? Fear not – the nylon webbing can be trimmed to size and sealed off with a little flame for a completely custom fit. Just make sure you take the belt off before applying said flame. fishpondusa.com, frontierflyfishing.com

AIRFLO - POLYLEADERS When you get to understand a fishery extremely well, you will know that the fish are active in certain areas of the water column. But just choosing a floating, intermediate or sinking line may not work well enough if there is a layer of complexity thrown into the equation (for example, needing to cast across a shallow zone into a deeper channel with a sinking line). That’s where the versatility of Airflo’s diverse selection of Polyleaders comes into play, as there’s literally no angling style or tactic you won’t be fully equipped for.

With low-volume, indestructible welded loops and super-supple polyurethane coatings, they come in three different lengths (5’, 8’ and 10’) and seven different densities (Clear Floating, Clear Hover, Clear Intermediate, Slow Sink, Fast Sink, Super-Fast Sink and Extra-Fast Sink). Functioning as an extension of your fly line, they let you fish any part of the water column, in every type of water imaginable. airflofishing.com

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SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS - LAUNCH PAD Attention boat owners or lodge owners who entertain guests who need to fish off your boats (to be clear, we are talking to half the Zambezi’s lodges here)! Fly line management is a major issue when fishing off a boat, especially when the wind kicks up. It can literally cost you shots at fish that you might have waited for all day.

With silicone spikes and cones designed to keep coils separated, Scientific Anglers’ Launch Pad takes the hassle out of managing your fly line on your boat deck.

Get one of these and the argument over whose turn it is up front will only intensify. Available in Grey and Ice Blue. scientificanglers.com, frontierflyfishing.com

“TAKES THE HASSLE OUT OF MANAGING YOUR FLY LINE.”

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WHAT’S YOUR GOLD? While RIO makes dozens of specialty fly lines, many anglers still want that one tried-and-true delivery system that simply handles it all. Gold Series multipurpose lines unlock the potential, powered by smart taper designs and performant weight distributions that sync with the wide-ranging opportunities you’re used to seeing during any given session. And because no region, water type or fly box is the same, we’ve expanded Gold into three distinct classes — each tailored to your multipurpose program — making Gold Series the new standard for all-around versatility.

GOLD MAX

GOLD STANDARD GOLD XP MULTIPURPOSE

MULTIPURPOSE

STANDARD WEIGHT / STANDARD POWER

1/2-SIZE HEAVY / EXTRA POWER

REAR LOADED / FULL SIZE HEAVY

PRIMARY SMALL DRY / DRY DROPPER

PRIMARY DRY DROPPER / LIGHT INDICATOR

PRIMARY HEAVY INDICATOR / BIG DRY

SECONDARY BIG DRY / LIGHT INDICATOR

SECONDARY SMALL DRY / BIG DRY / LIGHT STREAMER

SECONDARY STEAMER / DRY DROPPER / LIGHT INDICATOR

RUNNING LINE

43'

BACK TAPER

19'

BODY

22'6" HEAD LENGTH 47'

FRONT TAPER

5'6"

RUNNING LINE

48'

BACK TAPER

15'

Xplorer Fly Fishing - Distributor of Rio Lines Contact | www.xplorerflyfishing.co.za | 031 - 564 7368 | support@xplorerflyfishing.co.za

HEAD LENGTH 42'

BODY

FRONT TAPER

RUNNING LINE

BACK TAPER

21'6"

5'6”

53'

4'6”

BODY

28'6" HEAD LENGTH 37'

FRONT TAPER

4'

C&F DESIGN - DOUBLE SIDE COMPARTMENT GUIDE BOAT BOX If you spend hours dreaming through the winter months of the surface eats of troots and yellowfish while tying impeccable dry flies, then it makes absolutely no sense to store those flies in a box that crushes their delicate hackles and CDC fibres. Rather take a gander at what the Frontier Fly Fishing chaps call “the best Sterkfontein dry fly box we have ever seen”, namely the C&F Design Double Side Compartment Guide Boat Box. With 40 large compartments for storing all your dry flies, whether you use it as a storage box, or a boat box, this is the home your dry flies deserve. c-and-f.co.jp, frontierflyfishing.com

“THE BEST STERKFONTEIN DRY FLY BOX WE HAVE EVER SEEN.”

TIEMCO - DRY MAGIC No need to carry specialised oil for your CDC flies as Tiemco’s Dry Magic does the job on both CDC patterns and regular dry flies. A silicone-based gel floatant, this stuff stays on longer and float flies higher. tiemco.co.jp, frontierflyfishing.com

ORVIS - PRO STRETCH LONG-SLEEVE SHIRT The Pro Stretch long-sleeve shirt from Orvis might just be the shirt that does it all. There’s the obvious appeal of the UPF rating of 50+; there’s the ridonculous lightness of the garment (so light that it reminds you of that one time you went topless for beads at NOLA); the streeeeetchiness of the fabric allowing you to lunge, cast and fall off boats with grace; there’s the tech features like a collar made from moisture-wicking, breathable Polartec Power Dry fabric, which catches and dries sweat and spray as it runs off your head and neck; underarm gussets that increase your range of motion; the shirt’s anti-odour finish; and a hidden sunglass/cellphone cleaner in the lower hem. Then there are two chest pockets for easy storage of your various bits and bobs.

Lastly, there’s the fact that because it comes in an array of colours that sound like country songs – Blue Fog, Ash Plaid, Titanium Stripe, etc – you might be able to wear your fly fishing kit and even possibly be found attractive in some parts. orvis.com, flyfishing.co.za

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TIEMCO - SINKING LINE DRESSING Mooching around a stillwater struggling to get your tippet to sink sufficiently while working the weed beds? Tiemco Sinking Line Dressing is what you need for that kind of salad situation as it is designed specifically for aiding in the descent of sinking lines and leaders. tiemco.co.jp, frontierflyfishing.com

CHOOSE YOUR COLOUR shiltonreels.com | sales@shiltonreels.com

RIO - MIDGE TIP Check out any serious stillwater troot angler’s kit and you will be astounded at the number of fly lines they pack for a day on the water. To the uninitiated it can feel like overkill, but the reality is there are so many extremely specific scenarios on stillwaters where if you are not equipped with the right line you can blank. The Premier Midge tip from Rio speaks to a sub-set of those scenarios. A floating line with either a 3-foot or 6-foot long, clear intermediate tip that sinks 1.5 inches per second or a grey hover option that sinks 1 inch per second, this line is deadly on windy days, when fishing in shallow bays, close to lake shores or over the top of weed beds.

Perfect for fishing nymphs, emergers, and chironomids (buzzers). Each line is built with a supple coldwater core, SlickCast coating, and welded loops on the front and back for fast rigging. With options available in regular and long, hover and intermediate, it is a must have line for lake anglers everywhere. farbank.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

FULLING MILL - MICRO BALANCED BUNG LEECH (BLACK 2.5MM) While a balanced bung leech might sound like a euphemism for a sex toy, it is in fact a superb fly designed by Curtis Fry at Fly Fish Food to work in conjunction with UK comp fly fishing star Howard Croston’s Drop Back Bung.

If you indicator fish on stillwaters, then you’ll want this wispy leech imitation in your arsenal. That’s arsenal, not arse, you sick puppy. fullingmill.com, flyfishing.co.za FULLING MILL - PROCTER’S BOUNCE BACK CADDIS (YELLOW) We love a fly that A) gives you options and B) is resilient. This foam head caddis pattern ticks the former by passing for not just caddis, but grasshoppers and other terrestrials, while it also does the latter thanks to the foam head. You can fish it static obviously, but if you make sharp tugs on the line to momentarily drown the fly, it will bounce back up to the surface. This lethal tactic provokes strikes both on rivers and stillwaters. fullingmill.com, flyfishing.co.za

AIRFLO - COMPETITOR FLY BOXES Aimed at the competition and boat fly angler market, but ideal for any of the obsessives among us (read: most fly anglers), this 28cm x 21cm x 6.5cm box sports a durable waterproof design. With four sides featuring slotted foam you get enough space for more than a thousand flies, which is a ridiculous amount of space. Available in orange, grey and white. airflofishing.com

“ENOUGH SPACE FOR MORE THAN A THOUSAND FLIES.”

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KORKERS - BANTAM LITE If the idea of needing different boots for your freshwater and saltwater fly fishing sends your bank balance into a flat panic, then we encourage you to look at Korkers’ Bantam Lite boot, which is designed for both applications. Featuring Korkers’ OmniTrax Interchangeable Sole System for customised traction, a speed lace setup made with durable non-corrosive hardware, internal drainage thanks to the boot’s internal channels which sluice water out the midsole ports, an EVA midsole and internal ankle wrap for a secure fit and shock absorbing comfort, the overall construction is also made hydrophobic materials for a faster drying boot. And at 2 lb 8 oz per pair (1.138kgs), they are super light! korkers.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

“BOOTS FOR YOUR FRESHWATER AND SALTWATER FLY FISHING.” RIO - POWERFLEX PLUS Brands rarely put their cocks entirely on the block with superlative absolutist statements that leave little room for doubt, but when it comes to their Powerflex Plus tippet Rio are not messing around. They state (and we quote), “Simply put, this is the strongest, most reliable tippet ever made.” Made from a highly technical formulation of the nylon copolymer manufacturing process the result is a “prodigious strength increase, without compromising knot strength or suppleness.” Is it the strongest, most reliable tipper ever made? Both you and the fish you target will soon be the judge. Available from 7X (2.75lb) to 0X (18lb) in 30- or 50-yard spools. farbank.com, xplorerflyfishing.co.za

“SIMPLY PUT, THIS IS THE STRONGEST, MOST RELIABLE TIPPET EVER MADE.”

ORVIS - SLING PACK One of Orvis’s best-ever products in our opinion, the best-selling Sling Pack just got an update. Made of a 100% recycled Eco Cordura it’s designed to store, organise, and offer easy, intuitive accessibility when you need it, while staying completely out of your way when you’re fishing. It features a main compartment with a zippered security pocket with key fob and stretch mesh pockets for storage of small stuff. The front drop-down has a zippered pocket with elastic mesh slip pockets. The left shoulder design frees up casting arm and shoulder. orvis.com, flyfishing.co.za

“THE BEST-SELLING SLING PACK JUST GOT AN UPDATE.”

PAY DAY ONE BOOK FOR YOUR COFFEE TA B L E A N D O N E F O R Y O U R M I N D , AND A FOLD-OUT CUPBOARD FOR YOUR CAR..

THE OUTDOOR ARCHIVE - COFFEE TABLE BOOK If you’re all about the outdoors but occasionally live in a home with a coffee table, then this is the book for that table. A definitive collection of stunning cover shots for outdoor magazines and outdoor brand catalogues (plus accompanying text by area/industry experts) The Outdoor Archive covers a wide range of generations, styles, sports and continents, while celebrating photography, graphic design and our shared love for the natural world. thamesandhudsonusa.com

THE INTERPRETERS: SOUTH AFRICA’S NEW NONFICTION - THE BOOK BOOK We know, we know, this has fokkol to do with fly fishing other than that it was published by us... Soutie Press (publishers of The Mission), but this book is too good not to give it a shameless punt to our audience. Edited by Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle, The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Nonfiction collects some of the best nonfiction published since the end of apartheid. From the underworld of zama zama goldminers to the tragicomic closure of a Cape Town zoo, from stick fighting to punk rock, game lodges to fruit farms, aliens to mermaids, The Interpreters assembles a range of true stories that are often more far-fetched, and more compelling, than any fiction. Contributors include big (the biggest) names (J. M. Coetzee, Antjie Krog, Rian Malan, Njabulo S Ndebele, Jonny Steinberg, Kimon De Greef, and Bongani Madondo) and lesser known but no less important emerging voices (Zanele Mji, Lindokuhle Nkosi, Srila Roy and Julie Nxadi). Available from all good bookstores, Amazon, and soutiepress.com

“THIS BOOK IS TOO GOOD NOT TO GIVE IT A SHAMELESS PUNT.” 80

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PENTAX WG-1000 - THE UNBREAKABLE CAMERA These days, most people fall into one of two camps those who see themselves as serious photographers willing to lug high-end full frame or mirrorless cameras when they go fishing OR those who rely on their phones if/when they feel the need to capture a moment or a hero shot. The thing with the former is the cost and the weight involved with the equipment (not to mention that you also need some skill to use it properly). And with the latter, well... premium mobile phones sport excellent cameras these days, but there are two downsides we experience 1. It’s easy to lose or damage these expensive phones while juggling fish/rod/net above water and 2. They’re the bloody devices we like to get away from when fishing.

There is in fact a third camp, occupied by quality rugged point and shoot cameras and Pentax’s WG-1000 is a sterling option to consider should you be leaning that way. Waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, it’s almost as though this thing was designed for fishing missions.

With a 16.76MP sensor, 4.9-19.6mm focal length, 0.6m (wide) to 1m (tele) focal range, F3.0 (wide) and F6.6 (tele) aperture, 4x optical zoom, 6 x digital zoom and up to 300 shots on a single charge, this device will take both shots and a beating while allowing you to leave your phone safely in the bottom of your pack. pentax.eu, cameratek.co.za

ALU-CAB - THE MODULAR DUFFEL Car camping can turn pretty average if you aren’t organised. Alu-Cab specialise in helping you sort out your shit. Admittedly, that’s normally in the form of a roof-top tent or clever canopies and storage, but their new range of accessories and clobber is predictably schweet too. Currently, we’re lusting after the modular duffel, a compartmentalised roll-out bag that can be hung from your car door when in use. Made from 280D polyester, once rolled out you have a bevy of zippered canvas mesh bags (two large, two medium and four small) each with a vinyl label pocket, that you can arrange however works best for you. When compared to the alternative – digging around despondently in a duffel bag or ammo box in your boot – there’s no contest. alu-cab.com

“A COMPARTMENTALISED ROLL-OUT BAG THAT CAN BE HUNG FROM YOUR CAR DOOR WHEN IN USE.”

TO TAG OR NOT TO TAG? THAT IS THE QUESTION. A U S E F U L C O N T R I B U T I O N T O S C I E N C E O R A C LU M S Y Y E T W E L L - I N T E N T I O N E D WAY O F D O I N G DA M AG E T O F I S H ?

M AT T K E N N E DY I N V ES T I GAT ES W H AT T H E S C I E N C E O F F I S H TA G G I N G I S A L L A B O U T, A N D H O W A R EG U L A R C I T I Z E N S C I E N T I S T L I K E YO U R S E L F CA N G E T I N V O LV E D .

Photos. Dr Bruce Mann, Dr Ryan Daly, Dr JD Filmalter, Peter Coetzee

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T

here’s a good chance you’ve caught a tagged fish along South Africa’s coastline and in its estuaries. Perhaps you are already into tagging or, like me, have seen others do it and wonder about the who/what/when and where of the whole shebang.

To get a few answers I spoke to a couple of experts: Dr Bruce Mann, the former senior scientist at the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) and Dr JD Filmalter, an experienced ichthyologist, fish scientist and veteran tagger (grunter, kob and GTs are his speciality) who also happens to be The Mission’s inhouse authority.

In South Africa, data collected from tagged fish goes through ORI. Their Cooperative Fish Tagging Project (CFTP), which has been running for over 40 years, encourages the sharing of fish and catch data.

Bruce says, “Fish are normally tagged with a unique number so that the same individual can be recognised if it is recaptured and its movement between two points in time can be recorded as tagging location and recapture location. Similarly, if the fish’s length is measured at tagging and again at recapture, we can learn how much it has grown over time.”

“There are obviously more complicated types of tags available such as acoustic, archival and satellite tags which each provide different measures and data respectively,” he says.

So, why bother? Well, there are several scientific reasons for tagging fish. Says Bruce, “We can conduct population assessments (normally done within closed systems like in dams or lakes); assess fishing mortality rates (i.e. the recapture rate can be linked to the fishing mortality rate under certain conditions); but most often tagging is used to determine movement patterns and growth rates of any particular species.”

Tagging is mostly done by fisheries scientists, but volunteer anglers who are interested in contributing to research can get involved and make a difference because it enables more fish to be tagged over a wider area at considerably lower cost. It also encourages catch-and-release and has had positive impacts on the pro-conservation behaviour of anglers.

So as you sit there in your toit Teesavs giving the horizon your best thousand-mile stare, consider adding a lab coat to your ensemble because this is what is referred to as “citizen science”.

“Such tagging is normally done under the auspices of an established tagging project where the species tagged, the size of fish tagged, the type of tags used, the best practice for hooking, landing, handling, tagging and releasing fish is carefully specified in accordance with an animal ethics policy,” says Bruce, “and the data is strictly recorded and stored.”

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“AS YOU SIT THERE IN YOUR TOIT TEESAVS GIVING THE HORIZON YOUR BEST THOUSANDMILE STARE, CONSIDER ADDING A LAB COAT TO YOUR ENSEMBLE.” The key term there is “carefully specified”, because we have seen on numerous occasions wannabee fish taggers invoking the spirit of The Simpsons’ Ralph “I’m helping” Wiggums and then getting it wrong.

Size matters Bad news for the juvie-bashers because, as a citizen scientist, you should not be tagging every pup grunter and baby kob that you come across on the Garden Route or Overberg coastline. JD says, “An undersized estuarine grunter that’s tagged isn’t going to leave the estuary for another four years, and the likelihood of recapture before then is quite high, in which case we learn nothing and only put the fish at risk.”

Still wondering if size matters? “The minimum size of fish tagged is clearly specified in the ORI-CFTP,” says Bruce.

“Fish need a minimum 30cm fork length for smaller D-tags and 60cm fork length for larger A-tags.” Tagging fish that are too small for the size and type of tag used can result in death.

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“TAGGING FISH THAT ARE TOO SMALL FOR THE SIZE AND TYPE OF TAG USED CAN RESULT IN DEATH.” Practise discretion Also, just because you’ve caught a fish, doesn’t mean you need to tag it. The movements of common estuary fish are already quite well documented. If a particular species’ habits are not under the scientific spotlight, then the risk involved in tagging might have no rewards whatsoever.

The ORI-CFTP selects priority species suitable for tagging and discourages members from tagging species that are not good candidates. Galjoen, which are hardy, respond well to tagging and are recaptured often (7% recapture rate). They are a priority species and a lot has already been learned through tagging about their behaviour. Blacktail, however, are not a priority and should not be tagged.

“They shed their tags easily, are not recaptured often (2% recapture rate) and are seldom bigger than the minimum tagging size of 30cm,” says Bruce.

Even if you have a taggable species, common sense needs to be applied. Bruce says, “If a fish is clearly exhausted or bleeding badly when landed, it should also not be tagged as this could compromise its chance of survival

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when released.” If the only benefit is bragging rights to your mates about how many fish you’ve tagged, then rather don’t tag at all. JD says, “It comes down to people’s education about best practices, awareness about priority species and their willingness to release non-priority species.”

Be prepared If you’ve checked with the tagging programme what species, size of fish and any other goals ORI are looking for and know exactly what to do, you still need to prepare for what is essentially bank-side surgery. The procedure itself is relatively simple, but it is still easy enough to screw up.

JD says that in order to contribute, you have to tag properly or not at all. “Most important is being well prepared to do what you want to do to, while maximising the likelihood of your fish surviving, and that actually takes quite a bit of effort.” There are small technical details that really improve the security of the tag in the fish as well as its likelihood of the fish’s survival. Things can go wrong if taggists (Taggards? Antagonists? Taggamuffins?) are not on the ball.

Bruce says, “If fish are tagged with dirty equipment (tags

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DO IT YOURSELF To get into tagging, you first need to register as a member with the ORI tagging programme, which will allow you to contribute to their database by tagging your catches and recording recaptures. If you’re not so sure about the finer details and best practices for fish tagging, then fear not. The South African Association for Marine Biological Research’s (SAAMBR) YouTube channel has a full playlist of comprehensive videos that go through the how-tos and why-dos of fish tagging. But, for the broad strokes Bruce says these are the key points to follow if you want to tag your fish the right way:

and applicators) or if the tag is not inserted correctly then infection can result around the tagging wound. Biofouling can also occur in some habitats such as estuaries with high nutrient loads and algal growth. The tags themselves (i.e. dart tags) are covered with a smooth clear plastic sheath to discourage biofouling and tagging manufacturers are constantly working on incorporating anti-fouling agents into the tags they produce,” says Bruce.

The tag end If done correctly, the data acquired from tagging can be used to help ensure better conservation and fisheries management. “Generally, the good far outweighs the bad in well-run tagging programmes,” says Bruce. “However, if a fish species does not survive well after tagging or if the species rapidly sheds the tag after tagging, then the tagging of that species should be discontinued.”

JD says, “Theoretically tagging does give anglers added motivation to release their fish, and there are a lot of species that we really don’t know enough about where recreational tagging could help shed some light.”

Before you cast, make sure that you are ready to tag your next fish.

1. Have a bucket of fresh seawater ready.

2. Have the tag loaded in the applicator that is clean and sharp.

3. Have a tag card or slate ready to record the data.

4.Have your measuring stretcher ready, a damp cloth nearby and a camera on hand.

Fish with adequate tackle to land your fish quickly.

1. Ultra-light tackle tires the fish out too much and reduces its chances of survival.

2. Use a circle hook with a crimped barb.

Once you have landed your fish ensure that you handle it carefully.

1. Put it straight into your bucket of water, to minimise air-time.

2. Wet the tagging mat or stretcher.

3. Remove the fish from the bucket, cover its head and eyes with a wet cloth.

4. Measure it carefully, mouth closed and up against the headboard (the fish).

5. Record the type of length you measured (i.e. fork length, total length or precaudal length).

Tag and release.

1. Remove a dorsal scale with the tip of the applicator.

2. Insert the tag carefully but firmly and make sure that you go deep enough into the muscle to ensure that the barb is secured behind a pterygiophore (bones that link to the dorsal fin spines).

3. Immediately place the fish back into the bucket of water.

4. Ensure that the data is correctly recorded and then carry the fish in the bucket and release it.

Once you get home, remember to submit your tagging data promptly and accurately and wash your tagging equipment thoroughly.

1. Record the species, tag number, length, length type, exact locality, date, angler name, contact number, and whether the fish was released or not.

The same procedure as described above will apply if you catch a tagged fish. oritag.org.za

LIFER

OLD MAN RIVER MIKE DOHLHOFF HAS SPENT A L ARGE PART OF HIS LIFE BESIDE RIVERS, EITHER THROUGH HIS WORK BREEDING ENDANGERED CL ANWILLIAM YELLOWFISH IN THE CEDERBERG OR, IN HIS RETIREMENT, FISHING DAILY ON THE BREEDE RIVER. Photos. C/o Mike Dohloff

When I was working at the Clanwilliam yellowfish hatchery in the mid-80s, the Cederberg was relatively unknown, and it was very unspoiled and wild. Living in the mountains and working with fish was a dream come true.

Unfortunately, government budgets back then were very limited, and it was a struggle to do what was required.

We did the best we could at the time, and I am pleased to say that some success was achieved, but much more was required. Sadly, a few years after I left the project was abandoned and regrettably all that remains now are neglected remnants of what was once a thriving little hatchery. Still, some of my fondest memories are from those days.

The first fish I remember catching was probably a goldfish in the garden pond. I also remember the thrill of plunking with worms and a float for barbel in the Jukskei River near our home. In those days it was very different to today, unpolluted and full of fish.

I grew up in Johannesburg then, after being in the army in Cape Town for two years and discovering the many treats the Cape had to offer, I never went back. I studied nature conservation in Cape Town, worked in Jonkershoek at the then-trout hatchery and then went onto the Clanwilliam yellowfish hatchery where I lived at the top of the Pakhuis Pass for a few years. After my dad unexpectedly passed away, I had to leave and run the family fruit farm near Greyton. This I did for 25 years before selling up and moving to Port Beaufort at the Breede River mouth where I currently live.

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I am a passionate bird photographer so on a typical day early morning light will find me cruising the riverbanks, beach and nearby vlei, hoping for a moment to present itself. Later in the day, usually the last few hours before the low tide, I will throw for kob or grunter. A pushing tide will find me fishing the sandbank drop-off for garrick (leervis).

I am fortunate to fish a lot, but hard work is still required for success. This season has been particularly tough for a variety of reasons but it’s still a privilege to be out on this awesome river.

Where I live at the mouth of the Breede River Estuary, I am spoiled with the many different options that a 40km tidal system has to offer. The four main species I have access to require significantly different approaches. Kob (the most elusive) demand substantial casts in usually windy conditions throwing fairly large heavy weighted flies preferably on a 4/0 jig hook. Basically, Clouser-style flies, an intermediate line on a 9- or 10-weight rod is the required gear. Generally, we fish the last two hours of the falling tide when the bait fish are being sucked off the mud banks and into the main river channel. The current is also more manageable closer to low tide enabling you to get your fly down to where the fish hang out.

Rocky substrate is always better. Kob can be surprisingly aggressive but also maddingly full of shit. Persistence will usually be rewarded, though. The thing with kob is the

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Mike’s favourite fish, garrick aka leervis. (above). Mike with a solid Clanwilliam yellowfish (opposite).

next pull could be a real giant, as many of these large fish choose to make the river home. The hope of such an encounter is what drives me.

The grunter subject has been extensively covered in many articles so all I’ll add is that in my experience targeting them on the mud flats with a floating turd-style fly is the preferred method of choice. Long leaders and delicate casts will spook fewer fish and overcast windy conditions are my favourite. I don’t even bother on clear windless days. Grunter are just way too fickle. Persistence will result in a few encounters where it is remarkably easy to bag a few in one session but, mostly, it is much tougher than that. I favour a 7- or 8-weight rig.

Garrick, my favourite fish, can occasionally be plentiful on the pushing tide, fishing the drop-off from the sand bank into the channel. Being pack fish and very aggressive they can be relatively easy to catch at times, provided you strip fast enough. These are true gamefish, and a decent specimen is a surprisingly strong animal. Most, however, are much smaller but always provide a good tussle for their size. Eight- and 9-weight rigs with floating or intermediate line fit the bill. The most fun and impressive way to fish for garrick is with a popper, as the chases and the takes can be epic. In saying that however, the humble old Clouser does account for many of my more impressive specimens.

There is a fairly substantial rock shelf on the northern side of the river mouth and, when conditions allow – low tide around springs with a moderate wind – some

really awesome gully fishing can be had for blacktail and occasionally wildeperd, with a 6-weight rig and small bonefish-style flies. This can be a worthwhile alternative when the river itself is being stubborn.

The bay outside the mouth also offers some really good reef-dredging opportunities. Fishing a fast-sinking shooting head on a 10-weight over 10 to 20m structure gets the job done. A variety of reef fish including roman, copper steenbras, santer, dageraad and yellowbelly rockcod are still plentiful on occasions. Chasing bonito under birds in the summer months is a standard sport. It gets even better when the skipjack tuna turn up!

The best advice I have ever been given is that the journey is more important than the destination. Also, if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it!

I am most proud of my family, without a doubt. I’ve been lucky enough to share 41 years with my incredible wife, Jane. She deserves a medal just for that! We have two amazing grown-up daughters and three awesome grandchildren. My hope is that they all inherit a love for wild things and understand why it’s so important to protect them, although I’ll settle for them not thinking Grandpa’s bird photos are boring.

I’ve always been a fan of instant gratification. If I want something or want to do something, it means right now!

Patience is not a strong point for me. Age has mellowed that a bit but, honestly, not much.

“THE THING WITH KOB IS THE NEXT PULL COULD BE A REAL GIANT, AS MANY OF THESE LARGE FISH CHOOSE TO MAKE THE RIVER HOME.” I’m also pretty much at ease leaving home comforts behind. Extended camping tours in wild places? That’s my idea of a good time. Who needs a comfy couch when you’ve got a campfire and the sounds of the bush or river?

was very special. But I suppose my first and only (to date) metre-plus kob from my home waters that was shore-based and on my own with no one to share it with, is probably right up there.

One place, never again would be a crowded taxi with a drunk driver travelling through the night from northern Congo to Brazzaville to make the only connecting flight back home in a week. The 11-hour ordeal was a truly horrifying experience but the alternative to bail out of the ride and be left on the side of the muddy road in the middle of the Central African jungle at night had other risks. I opted for the former and am very grateful to still be alive.

My go-to drink is definitely very cold beer for the main course, followed by good whisky for dessert.

One place I have to return to is the Congo, but under better circumstances!

The handiest survival skill I have is being comfortable eating most things I can find walking down a rocky shoreline at low tide. There is no excuse for living near the sea and starving. Take risks, but within reason.

It is OK for an angler to lie when people with attitude rock up at the river and expect you to share your hard-earned secrets as if you owe it to them? I prefer to be evasive.

Epic sessions and specific spots are to be shared with close friends who understand, not with strangers.

A skill I would like to master is knife making. I have a deep appreciation for fine knives and I once did a course but let myself down with my ability. Maybe one day I will try again. My tutor called my wife after I left the course dejected only to tell her, “You can’t teach a brick to swim.”

When it comes to the most satisfying fish I have ever caught, several special fish come to mind. My first sailfish was pretty outrageous and my first proper largemouth yellow (8kg-plus) in the Richtersveld, after years of trying,

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The biggest adventure I have ever been on was a yacht trip from Cape Town to Northern Madagascar with a friend who was relatively new to the game but bought a boat and asked me to join him. It was quite a ride with many awesome experiences, but it taught me that sailing is not my thing, perhaps a short trip but no more.

The best way to face one’s fears is to analyse the risk and proceed accordingly.

Before I die I’d like to catch a really giant fish on my home waters. A 1.5m kob from the shore would tick that box. I’d also maybe like to revisit some of the really special places I have been to in my life.

What I get out of fly fishing has changed over the years.

When I was young I was results driven, now I am just as happy with the process. Blanking, but being on my own casting a fly and fuelled by hope and imagination, is also good.

If I could change one thing in fly fishing, it would be to understand why something so awesome has a competitive element to it. It is not about who caught the biggest and most.

Something I have changed my mind about is keeping big fish. Way back killing a big fish was still acceptable.

Now if you do that you are a c@*t.

The last fish I caught was a half-decent garrick 400m from my home.

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FYNBOS FIS

RESTORING RIVER

SUPPORT T

SH REVIVAL

RS, SAVING SPECIES

HE REVIVAL

“So you say khat is basically the same as oregano?”

POP QUIZ DID YOU JUST LOOK AT THE PRETTY PICTURES OR DID YOU ACTUALLY ABSORB SOMETHING FROM THE PAGES OF THIS ISSUE? TAKE OUR RAPID-FIRE QUIZ TO SEE IF ANYTHING STUCK (OR ESTABLISH THAT SOCIAL MEDIA HAS FULLY FRIED YOUR BRAIN).

2. Which of the following is tarpon fiend Peter Coetzee not stuck in (page 22)?

A. A hall of mirrors.

B. A revolving door.

C. A one-way street.

D. An echo chamber.

E. A glass cage of emotion.

3. According to Ross Kiggen and Hano Scholtz, rock salmon fight like … (page 30)?

A. ANC/MK apparatchiks vs modern day “third forces” that reveal their corruption.

B. Your living room furniture as JD Vance approaches.

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C. Steve Hofmeyr with a mosh pit of invisible fans.

D. A Blue Bulls fan after five double brandy and Cokes.

E. A Stormers fan after two glasses of cougar juice.

4. What did Rob Jeffries and crew name their RV Alaska-mobile (page 40)?

A. Shit-Bang-Bang.

B. Van Chunks.

C. The Salmon Wagon.

D. Kenaai-Flyer.

E. Tribu-fucking-lation.

5. When attacked by a swarm of bees at Sterkfontein Dam, in order to survive Andrew Savides took inspiration from … (page 50) A. Bear Grylls.

B. Stoffel the Honey Badger.

C. Leo Prinsloo (that armoured cash-in-transit van driver).

D. Ernest Shackleton.

E. Yogi Bear.

Answers: 1. D, 2. C & E, 3. D, 4. E, 5. E

1. What are 35–60cm Japanese seabass known as (page 18)?

A. Priko.

B. Piggo.

C. Jocko.

D. Fukko.

E. Nobbo.

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The sun dips low, glinting off the riffles as you reel in the last cast of the day. Don’t rush to pack up. There’s no need to hunt for a campsite. Your rig is ready when you are. A mobile basecamp that gives you shelter, shade and storage. The best bit? It also gives you time. From quick overnights to weeks off-grid, we build the ultimate vehicle equipment so that you can wade deeper, stay longer and fish harder.