COMPLETE FLY FISHERM TOP 10. STILLWATER SUCCESS South Africa: R35.00 (vat incl) Other Countries: R30.70 (tax excl) TIGERFISH TREE RIVER ARCTIC CHAR

Transcription

1 Issue 237 April 2015 T COMPLETE FLY FISHERM H A E N AFRICA S FRESH AND SALT WATER FLY FISHING MAGAZINE NILE PERCH KENYA S JADE SEA TICKING THE BOXES FOR A FLY FISHING CAMPING TRIP TIGERFISH ESSENTIALS TREE RIVER ARCTIC CHAR TOP 10 FLIES AND TACTICS FOR STILLWATER SUCCESS South Africa: R35.00 (vat incl) Other Countries: R30.70 (tax excl)

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3 PUBLISHER Tight Loop Productions (Pty) Ltd EDITOR PJ Jacobs Tel: (012) Fax: (012) EDITOR-AT-LARGE Tony Biggs FIELD EDITORS Andy Coetzee Murray Pedder Marcus Janssen Turner Wilkinson Andrew Levy Dan Blanton (USA) Steve Starling (Australia & Pacific) FIELD CORRESPONDENTS Ian Couryer Graeme Field CONTRIBUTORS Gerard Barnardt Conrad Botes Jonathan Boulton Keith Clover Dionne Crafford Phillip de Moor Miles Divett John Dreyer Horst Filter Leonard Flemming Bill Hansford-Steele COPY EDITORS Janet Nowers Chris Whales ADVERTISING & PRODUCTION MANAGER Lizelle Jacobs Tel: (012) PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JP Koekemoer Tel: (012) MARKETING & ADVERTISING SALES Marianne Marais Tel: (012) SUBSCRIPTIONS (HARD COPY AND DIGITAL) Nicolette Raath Tel: (012) Fax: (012) OTHER DIGITAL PLATFORMS Anthony Krüger Gerhard Laubscher Malcolm Meintjes Jolyon Nuttall Rasmus Ovesen Ben Pretorius Keith Rose-Innes Richard Schumann Rob Scott Tom Sutcliffe Steve Thornton POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 1777, Ifafi, 0260, South Africa PATRONS The Cape Piscatorial Society Cyril Ramaphosa All rights reserved, reproduction of contents of this magazine is prohibited without the written consent of the editor. Editorial opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher and editor does not accept responsibility for advertising content. Publishing and editing of material received will be at the discretion of the editor. Editorial contributions must be directed to: The Editor, TCFF, PO Box 1777, Ifafi, 0260, South Africa, or via TCFF does not pay for unsolicited material. EDITOR S CAST Bespoke art cheaper or simply better? One of my other passions in life is building musical instruments, partly for the joy of doing it, and partly for financial reward. Also, they sound a lot better than factory jobs and one tends to build a very personal relationship with a custom instrument. Personally, I find it hard to let them out of my shop once done. A while ago, Tom Sutcliffe asked me why I do not try my hand at building custom fly rods bamboo especially and while I entertained the thought for a bit, I think it best left to the experts we already have in this field. Our rod builders can compete with the best in the world, and I can understand their passion and dedication. Owning one of their creations is so much more than having just another fly rod; they re special, and have every right to be. That being the case, it gave rise to a question I have been asked more often than I can remember, albeit mostly by novices or those new to the pursuit. Is it better/cheaper to tie your own flies? In our pursuit, tying flies is definitely a bespoke art, much like building bamboo rods, thus the answer is not as simple as it seems. TCFF holds fly-tying in high regard and regularly features articles on the topic. In fact, we do so every month, no exception. Apart from other contributors, we are fortunate to have as our Fly-Tying Field Editor one of the most knowledgeable tyers. If you are new to our publication, pay particular attention to Murray Pedder s article this month Autumn flies and techniques for stillwater trout and you ll soon see what I am driving at. Also, don t be surprised if next you re off shopping for a fly-tying kit. To answer the question, I suppose becoming a fly-tyer is a bit like building instruments. You start off by knowing nothing, slowly learn the ropes through trial and error and advice from experts, until finally one day you wake up realising that you do not want to fish with any other fly than one you have tied yourself. Not to say that you stop appreciating a well-tied factory fly, but being able to tailor flies to your own exact specifications is one of the reasons you tie in the first place. But you won t be doing it for the money, that s for sure. Talk to any fly fisher who doesn t tie and the first thing he ll tell you is that store-bought flies are expensive! Nothing could be further from the truth. The price of one genetic cape can keep you in store-bought flies for a long time, and you ll need several of those if you are serious about tying. In fact, store flies are downright cheap, a bargain, especially if you look at the quality of some of our locally produced flies, which are excellent and almost impossible to replicate cost-wise at your own desk. The moral thus, if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, don t look towards a bespoke piece of art. When something is custom, it s always more expensive, and that s just the plain fact of it. On the upside, most of the time they work a lot better. At least, that s what you ll have to believe. P J TCFF APRIL

4 APRIL 2015 ISSUE FEATURES & FLY-TYING 16. Forum: Learning the Ropes Coming into the fold as a novice fly fisherman, there is a lot to learn, and just before you think you know it all, more lessons present themselves. Ian Couryer explains. 18. Guide Tips and Tricks: Stalking Fish Stalking and sight-fishing your quarry is the ultimate hunt in a fly fishing context. If you have yet to experience this thrill, Ryan Hammond offers a few tips that will give you the edge. On the cover: Stillwater magic Photo: Rasmus Ovesen 20. A Fly Angler s Essentials for Tigerfish: Part I In Part I of our new series on tigerfish, contributor Gerhard Laubscher shares a few invaluable tips on how to up your success rate with big tigers. 26. Lake Turkana: Kenya s Remote Desert Lake African expeditions are best left for the not-so-faint of heart. Andrew Nightingale and Sven Verwiel s dream came true when they finally got to explore Kenya s Jade Sea. 32. How to Gear Up for a Camping Fly Fishing Trip This month, contributor Sean I Ons looks at the essentials for making your next fly fishing outing a happy camping experience. 43. A Very Special Fly Fishing Feat Contributor Ben Pretorius shares the story of one man s sheer determination to ultimately make a rare catch along our coastline. 46. Tree River s World-class Arctic Char Fishing Tree River in the western corner of Canada s Nunavut territory is a fabled arctic char fishery. Rasmus Ovesen investigates. 56. Readers Competition: Karoo Oasis Trout in the Karoo? Gijsbert Hoogendoorn travels to Somerset East to debunk the myth and comes back a believer. 60. Autumn Flies and Techniques for Stillwater Trout With autumn on our doorstep, Fly-Tying Field Editor Murray Pedder discusses ten stillwater fly patterns he never goes without, and how best to make use of the opportunities that prevail at this time of year. 82. Kiss the Water By Andrew Levy. REGULARS 3. Editor s Cast 6. Editor s Inbox 8. What s Up 10. Gear Bag 14. Talk to Tom 68. Book Review 69. Outventure Guide 76. Travelling Angler 80. Specialised Services 4 APRIL 2015 TCFF

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6 EDITOR S INBOX your letter to: editor@completeflyfisherman.co.za LETTER OF THE MONTH Oz experience hits home I recently had the privilege, courtesy of a brother who was intelligent enough to get a respectable job with a respectable salary and to marry an Aussie (okay, the wisdom of that is debatable), of fishing a few streams in southwestern Australia. On the final day of our fishing, my brother and I rounded a bend in the Lefroy Brook. In the water, three rainbows in the 4lb class were feeding on nymphs and it was my turn to target sighted fish. I managed a cast, in the near-certain knowledge that I would put these fish down, but a fish surged forward and took. Given the character of the water, I had no choice but to fight the fish hard, and soon I had it close to the bank. As my brother was about to net it, the hook pulled. No words were necessary as we trudged up the bank in search of the next fish. As I walked, I mourned not for the loss of what for me was a dream fish but for a lost South Africa. A South Africa that once had rivers and streams such as the Lefroy Brook in abundance pristine, responsibly stocked, maintained as precious resources. Not one stream I fished in southwestern Australia ran heavy with man s detritus. The only evidence of humanity I encountered were signposts discouraging pollution, and two friendly park rangers. I recognise that South Africa faces challenges on an immensely different scale, and I acknowledge that many South Africans have little choice other than to erect their shacks alongside waterways. What I mourn is the lack of any powerful political recognition that we are in the process of killing our beautiful countryside, slowly but surely, through ignorance and lack of enforcement of policies designed to protect the environment. Darren Taylor. (Letter shortened.) Dear Darren sad but true. It remains for us to educate as far and wide as possible, and lobby those in power until we can no longer be ignored. Your letter takes our prize of the month, and a great Horizon Trout Stalker V-boat to the value of R3250, compliments of TCFF, will be on its way to you as soon as you contact our offices on Tel: (012) with your details. Enjoy! Unethical behaviour We have just returned from a week at Qwantani. Fishing was hard but enough fish were recovering from lockjaw to keep us happy. What prompts this letter is some very disappointing behaviour on the part of people I would have thought knew better. I was taught that you do not fish to spawning fish, you do not wade onto spawning beds and you do not disturb spawning fish. The Qwantani harbour was full of boats belonging to various guiding groups, plus a number of private boats like ours. During the week that we were there, we found a whole lot of spawning sites that we were previously unaware of, but the one perhaps best known to most anglers is the section from North Point eastwards into Three Anchor Bay and southwards down the long bank almost to Craigielea Bay. We tended to give the area a wide berth and fished elsewhere, so I can t say specifically who were fishing there but there were four or five boats spread along the bank, and I counted 20-plus anglers. The inescapable impression I am left with is that some guides and some anglers just have to catch a fish, and to hell with the consequences. (Letter shortened.) My decision to publish this letter despite the author requesting to remain anonymous was taken as a result of the essential message contained therein: the fact that wherever we may be fishing, there is always the chance of other anglers observing our behaviour. Unethical behaviour is frowned upon and strongly condemned by most environmentally conscious fly fishermen, and so it should be. Guides are always under pressure to get fish for clients, and in doing so make their living. However, this letter illustrates that getting a client into fish while stepping over the line is a very shortsighted view indeed. Word gets around. Making one client happy, only to lose another prospective client is not conducive to a long career. Fortunately most of the guides that I know are very environmentally conscious, and do their best to convey this notion to their clients. All of us, guides included, need to play by the rules in service of the greater good of the quarry and our pursuit in general. Vaal River concerns again The poor water quality on the lower Vaal at the end of last winter was totally against expectation. Previous end-of-winter seasons provided visibility of 300mm to 500mm. Last year, visibility was down to 200mm and the water smelt badly. I took some photos at the road leading off the N12 to Bloemhof s municipal sewageprocessing grounds, and you can clearly see overflowing sewage running down the road from the plant and heading directly for the river. The area was a mess, reflecting the lack of concern from the governing authorities. Big rains would allow a large amount of debris and solid foreign material to enter the river and become someone else s problem downstream. I also spent a couple of hours fishing above Benjoh. I usually avoid the middle Vaal due to the poor water quality, but it was evident that those waters were healthier than below Bloemhof. At Christiana, a wetland was developing on the western side of the N12, and from the smell, it was township runoff that was damming up against the road. As soon as the rains came, this would overflow into the Vaal as well. We can only guess at how bad the situation is going to get, but I fear the worst for the lower Vaal in times to come. Sean I Ons. Readers comment as to the state of the Vaal will be appreciated, so send me a mail if you ve fished the Vaal recently. Ed. WIN THIS From our February 2015 issue, TCFF will award the writer of the Letter of the Month a HORIZON Trout Stalker V-Boat valued at R3250! Tel: /9 6 APRIL 2015 TCFF

7 HIGH QUALITY JUST GOT AFFORDABLE HORIZON TROUTSTALKER FEATURES INCLUDE Top and side panels Denier Nylon fabric. Bottom panel Denier PVC fabric for maximum puncture resistance Main bladder - heavy-duty, heat seam sealed Urethane Foam seat and backrest standard with each boat Boston valve located in cargo pocket to avoid any possibility of line snags Large mesh stripping apron with 30mm raised lip Large side cargo pockets with internal zippered pockets and a large utility pouch behind the backrest Built-in rod holders on the inside of the cargo pockets Utility D-rings on the underside for backpack strap attachment Blaze-orange panel on the bow for easy visibility 130kg carrying capacity Repair kit included Boat weighs 7.5kg Air * seat and air backrests available as an upgrade Price: R3250 Contact Frontier Distribution for your nearest dealer Tel: (011) info@frontierflyfishing.co.za (Best price guaranteed) KICK-BOAT

8 FORUM: WHAT S UP Send your news to: info@completeflyfisherman.co.za Yellowfish Working Group conference Fighting to save the Vaal In November last year, the owners in the share block scheme, Luciana Country Estate on the Vaal River, raised a special levy and contributed R90,000 to SAVE (Save the Vaal Environment) in the fight against pollution of the Vaal River. Pollution levels are at an all-time high, says Trevor Stubbs, chairman of SAVE. The Vaal has become a dumping ground for toxic effluent, and the organisation has set itself a fundraising target of R3 million to bring clean water into the Vaal River system. One of the contributing factors to the problem is raw sewage, which enters the river as a result of pipe bursts throughout the ageing sewerage network, from informal settlements where government has not taken steps to deal with the disposal of sewage and from poorly operated septic tank systems. SAVE has also been made aware that some developers have not connected waste water to the Emfuleni system, resulting in additional spills directly into the river. To make a donation, contact Maureen Stewart on Cell: , save@mweb.co.za, or visit SAVE fundraising cruise To help fight pollution in the Vaal River, Save the Vaal Environment (SAVE) will be hosting a three-hour fundraising boat cruise on 25 April, with boarding at Stonehaven on Vaal Harbour from 11am. The cost of R300/person includes snacks, and a cash bar will be available on the boat. By joining the guys for the leisure cruise, you will be doing your bit to help clean up the Vaal River. Sounds like a good deal to us! For further information, contact SAVE on Cell: , or save@mweb.co.za. The 19th Yellowfish Working Group (YWG) conference will be held on Sunday 28 June at the Champagne Sports Resort near Winterton (the day before the start of the conference of the Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists at the same venue). The YWG conference is not only for scientists; anglers, guides, landowners and conservation officials are also welcome. The cost is R340 per person and includes lunch. Interested parties can contact Peter Arderne: mwardern@mweb.co.za. Should you wish to make a presentation, contact the YWG chairman Peter Mills: peterjm@mweb.co.za. SAFFA Nationals in May River trout clinic Mavungana Flyfishing is hosting a river trout clinic from 30 May - 1 June at Verlorenkloof Estate, situated about 40 minutes drive from Dullstroom. Lessons will include how to present accurately and delicately; the importance of entomologically correct representations; and mastering techniques such as reach cast, pile cast, line mending and control to acquire that perfect drag-free drift. Participants will be divided into small groups and, accompanied by the knowledgeable guides from Mavungana Flyfishing, ply their newly learnt skills on over 6km of Crocodile River. Meals will be provided and participants will be accommodated in spacious ten-sleeper Crofts. For further information about the clinic, the guys at Mavungana (info@flyfishing.co.za). This year s Ladies Nationals event, organised by the Mpumalanga Fly Fishing Association, will take place from May. Twenty ladies will participate in five sessions of fishing on both river (Blyde River) and stillwaters (Kiepersol, Acacia and Willows dams). The hosting venue is Trout Hideaway, which is situated in the mountains behind the town of Pilgrim s Rest. For further information, contact Lyle Smith by lyle360@hotmail.com. The Senior A Nationals, hosted by the Western Province Fly Fishing Association this year, will take place on the Cape Piscatorial Society s waters of the Western Cape from 6-9 May. Fifty-five anglers, making up nine provincial teams and two invitational teams, will participate in both river and stillwater disciplines. The hosting venue, from which all logistics will be run, is Du Kloof Lodge, situated in the heart of competition river waters. Anglers will travel to Lakenvlei Dam in the Ceres area for their stillwater sessions. For further information, contact Matt Rich by maddyrich1@gmail.com. 8 APRIL 2015 TCFF

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10 FORUM: GEAR BAG What s new Contact Frontier Fly Fishing on (011) /9 Contact Mavungana Flyfishing on (011) or (013) Patagonia s Ultralight Wading Boots OFFER A LIGHT (AND STICKY) SOLUTION Boats and vehicles can only take you so far; you have to make it the rest of the way to the fishing hot spot on your own two feet. So, when the trail gets long, it is important to have the right footwear. Patagonia s Ultralight Wading Boots feature a lightweight, quick-drying, synthetic leather upper that is flexible yet tough enough to handle hard use. Durable Venergy mesh with Bionix yarns drains the footbed while keeping sand and silt out, making the Ultralight an ideal fishing boot. The internal support and reinforced toe box protect feet from deep-water pressure and rocky river bottoms. Long-wearing Rock Grip sticky rubber soles hold fin straps, accept studs (sold separately) and can be resoled for extended life. Now, go rack up those miles. More innovation from GoPro GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM TO GO WILD! The new GoPole Bobber, a floating handgrip, is the first-of-a-kind floating GoPro accessory. Made of plastic, rubber and stainless hardware, it is designed to save your camera if dropped in the water, and doubles as a handgrip and a floating device. The hi-vis floating body of the Bobber makes it easy to spot in the water, even in rough surf. It floats all GoPro BacPac accessories with ease, including LCD Touch BacPac, Battery BacPac and even the Dual HERO system. Attach the wrist strap to secure the Bobber to your wrist during high-action filming, and your equipment stays safe. No adapters are needed as it features a direct GoPro connection. The Bobber measures 15cm x 4cm and weighs only 85g. It comes standard with a hitorque thumbscrew, a wrist-strap attachment and a carabiner attachment. Available through Incredible Connection, Dion-Wired, Takealot, Action Gear and Orms Affordable quality FROM SCIENTIFIC ANGLERS As the technology used in all things fly fishing continues to advance, what used to be top of the line and blew everyone away just a few years ago is constantly improved upon. But you could argue that with all this research and technology comes an increased price tag. Not so, says Scientific Anglers. Enter the new Frequency series of fly lines, which are as little as half the price of other premium offerings. Think of these as top-quality, no-frills Scientific Anglers fly lines. They are available in six different tapers to cover all scenarios: Boost, Trout, Magnum, Sink Tip, Intermediate Sink and Full Sink. Contact Jarden South Africa on New reels from Greys STRONG AND LIGHTWEIGHT The all-new GTS700 reels, with their tri-spoke design, have part bar stock 6061 frame and die-cast spool carrier, making them lightweight and strong cassette reels. The large-arbor design and dual Rulon disk drag system offers a unique line ID system, with coloured pegs supplied. Other features include a new clear, modified polycarbonate cassette spool; a captive spool-release screw; and toolless left-to-right conversion. Each reel is supplied with two additional spools in a neat neoprene reel case. 10 APRIL 2015 TCFF