3 FEBRUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER
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RANDOM PARAGRAPHS FROM MY ANGLING LIBRARY
From Robert Traver’s Trout Madness
Trout Madness
Perhaps it is sheer sentimentality or conservatism on my part; perhaps it is a stubborn desire to do things the hard way; but somehow or other I like and prefer the sense of personal involvement, immediacy and control that, I at least, feel only when I am delicately casting my fly over likely trout waters. By comparison I find that this thing called spinning is strictly for the birds.
There – I’ve finally said it! The line of dedicated and appalled spin-fishermen who wish to stone me for heresy will please form on the left.
(If my friend the late Charles Norman, author of African Angler, had read this piece he would have been first in the line to the left. We did two trips to the Okavango delta together when he held me spellbound flicking plugs into holes the size of hat boxes 30 paces away using a coffee grinder on a little glass rod! It was a remarkable demonstration of skill and accuracy.)
FROM CLASSIC ANGLING
Classic Angling No 81
The latest issue of Classic Angling (No 81 January/February 2013) has its usual sprinkling of gems. Here are three:
No ladies allowed
It seems that the Flyfishers’ Club in London may have to backtrack after deciding to ban women from all its activities, a decision apparently not compliant with the UK Equality Act of 2010. This august club, founded in 1884 and whose members once included GEM Skues and Frederick Halford, then held a straw poll on the issue of women. Result? Members were hugely in favour not only of being free to invite women to club functions, but – wait for it – opening membership to ladies! The article adds, though, that the decision is likely to go to ballot. Let’s hope wisdom prevails – just as it did back when they abolished slavery.
Hell hath no fury…
A New Zealand woman, Angela Potter, took revenge on her ex-boyfriend by selling off all his secret GPS fishing coordinates on the internet! She got $3000 for them after 89 688 views.
Be warned!
Auction prices for bamboo rods
If you ever worried about your quality bamboo rods holding their investment value, a recent American auction will reassure you. Two Per Brandin rods, a 7 ft 2–wt and an 8’6 4–wt, realised $3700 and $3 600 respectively.
A lovely Per Brandin fly rod from his website(see below)
Of course Per Brandin is one of the world’s great bamboo rod makers, but even so, these are pretty tidy prices on an auction.
http://www.brandin-splitcane.com
ASPECTS OF AUSTRALIAN TROUT FISHING
Andrew McKenzie, in New South Wales, Australia, sent this to me:
I went fishing in the first of the rain to hit New England. We walked down into a remote gorge on private property to fish the headwaters of the Nymboida River. The water is lovely; superb runs but with a slight silty tint, and it’s seldom fished. Access along the river is tricky and at higher flows would be very difficult if not dangerous. The leeches are numerous. Stop for any length of time in the bush, look down and in about 30 seconds you can see them moving towards you cheerfully anticipating their next meal. Unfortunately it is the ones you don’t see that cause all the trouble!
Possibly a tiger snake
After enduring all of this we did not take a fish or even see one. It has been a very difficult season in the New England area with low flows and few trout. We were hoping that the fish had moved from the more marginal waters upstream to these deeper pools with secure flow.
My friend who fished with me sent this picture from FlyLife OnLine (http://www.flylife.com.au ) which I thought you may enjoy. The snake is, I think, a Tiger and deadly. I have met a few in my time along streams and especially around the highland lakes in Tasmania. They generally run away when they feel you coming, but can get very aggressive around breeding time.
Finally, a quick note to tell you that I ended up winning the auction on Antiquarian Auctions for Hey’s ‘Rapture of the River’. Final price was $260USD (R2392) plus shipping, which I thought was fair considering the condition of the book. Thank you for running my request on your web site as I would not have known anything about this option without a lead from one of your readers. In the end I had three replies which were all very helpful.
BIG BIRKHALL RAINBOW
My nephew Clive Will fished Birkhall late last year when his mate, Gary Gorton, caught this pretty rainbow of 9 pounds on a dragonfly nymph.
Gary Gorton
YELLOWFISH FROM MARIO GELDENHUYS
Says Mario:
I fished the Sterkspruit (well, actually a little gully that runs into it some way up) and managed to find a few yellows. As always, the Barkly/Rhodes yellows are nowhere as close in shape as their brothers further up north, but rather sleek and muscular - the Usain Bolts of yellowfish!
This fish took a little #18 EARP (Easy and Reliable Pattern) on the SECOND drift, fought well on the #4 TXL-F and I had no issues on the 6X tippet.
A SHARP-POINTED EXCERPT FROM ‘ARE TROUT SOUTH AFRICAN?’
Reading the manuscript of Duncan Brown’s latest book, Are Trout South African? I came across a marvellous quote directed at anti-trout lobbyists. It was written by the late Robert Kirby, who in my view was this country’s finest and sharpest satirist by a caustic mile.
Questioning both the emotiveness and selective scientific evidence used by the lobbyists, Kirby writes of their ‘fatuous adjudications’ and their ‘gloriously diligent hysteria’.
Wonderful use of words, after which the newspaper apparently declared correspondence on the matter closed!
Are Trout South African? promises to be a great book, due for release in May by Pan Macmillan South Africa.
COCH – Y –BONNDU BOOKS
I received two interesting books from Coch-Y- Bonddu (http://www.anglebooks.com) sent by kind favour of Paul Curtis. They are Romilly Fedden’s little masterpiece, Golden Days, and The Forgotten Flies of Frank Woolley.
Golden Days
Fedden was an artist who wrote evocative essays on fly fishing in the dark days of the First World War while serving with the British Army in France. His book is described as one of the great classics of angling literature and the little I have read so far confirms exactly why.
The Forgotten Flies of Frank Woolley by John N Watson represents a wonderful chronicle of this man’s flies and his life (1877 to 1949). Woolley was one of the first professional fly tiers of his time, a flamboyant character who was also a barber. All the patterns in the book – and there must be over 100 – are photographed by Terry Griffiths, without doubt one of the best at this sort of thing in the world.
The Forgotten Flies of Frank Woolley.
Detailed reviews of both books will follow.
THE WORLD’S ULTIMATE FLY FISHING DESTINATIONS
Marcus Janssen the Deputy Editor of Fieldsports Magazine contacted me with news on an exciting project due to be released on 1 March of this year. Marcus says:
At Fieldsports, under my direction, we have created a one-off ‘bookazine’ titled ‘The Fieldsports guide to the World's Ultimate Fly Fishing Destinations’.
Featuring 22 of the world's top saltwater and freshwater destinations, it contains outstanding photography and copy and the quality of production will be of the highest standard.
For your information, unlike ordinary magazines, it's going to have an ISBN number and will be available in WH Smiths, Amazon, several hundred additional news agents and other independents in the UK, our own e-commerce site, plus a digital version will be available for iPad and Android which we will market heavily.
As soon as the ‘Bookazine’ is launched and I have more information I will let readers know.
See www.fieldsportsmagazine.com
REEL MEMORIES FROM HUGH BIRD
I received an email from a man in the UK called Hugh Bird saying he enjoyed my website and had visited it particularly to pick up tips on angling photography and how to spot trout. As it turns out he is a professional sporting photographer, a great outdoors man and has a remarkably beautiful website of his own!
Hugh Bird’s picture of the falls of Truim
It’s called Reel Memories and you can see it on this link: http://www.reelmemories.co.uk
SMART TACKLE FROM TON LEWIN AT FRONTIER FLY FISHING
This is something your readers may find interesting. Some time back I commissioned six trout landing nets from master net maker Lloyd Hautajarvi who lives in Michigan in the USA. Lloyd has been hand crafting custom nets for 31 years and his nets are universally regarded as the finest money can buy.
Hautajarvi nets
His craftsmanship and attention to detail is absolutely mind-blowing! The six nets I have just landed feature the following highly figured North American hardwoods: Red Phase Maple Burl, Quilted Maple, Curly Walnut, Birdseye Maple, White Ash Burl and Walnut Burl. No stains or colourants are used, so what you see is the natural colour and grain of the woods. Net bags are deep and are made from high quality, knotless cotton. If you’re looking to treat yourself to the ultimate handcrafted landing net, these nets are the last word!
Petijean CDC-oil
I’ve also just received a shipment from Marc Petijean containing his CDC-oil which fly-fishermen around the world have been raving about. One drop on a fly protects it from fish slime and it will keep CDC super- buoyant.
Petijean Amadou fly dryer
Also in the shipment was the Petijean Amadou dryer. I was first introduced to this piece of kit when you and I fished the Upper Lourens. You had one and I remember being so impressed with it that I immediately ordered one when I got home. I maintain it was one of my best fly-fishing purchases and drying waterlogged dries has never been easier. This dryer really works and anyone who fishes dry flies and emergers (particularly CDC flies) should not be without one!
RHODES ‘STOEPSITFEES’ PRESS RELEASE – From Ed Herbst
With little more than a week to go, the residents of the little mountain village of Rhodes believe they are more than ready to provide visitors with a memorable “stoepsitfees”, the first in the country. The festival will run from February 15 -16.
The hamlet of Rhodes
Says Dave Walker, the bearded patriarch of the North-eastern Cape hamlet who came up with the idea: “Stoep-gossip and story-telling are as South African as biltong, braai and the Bokke. However, if you Google ‘Festivals in South Africa’ you will get more than 35 million responses and descriptions of festivals that celebrate everything from prickly pears to Witblits – but nothing that eulogises a centuries-old tradition!”
“The general idea is that visiting participants will come to Rhodes, having made their own arrangements for accommodation in the village, register, settle in and from sunrise to sunset the following day, get into the “stoepsit” mode i.e. stroll or travel from veranda to veranda where they can buy a cup of tea, coffee or something stronger, a koeksister, pancake, homemade rusks or whatever is on offer.
A chicken practising for the Stoepsitfees
“It is a gentle way to discover what makes village life tick, why people choose Rhodes as the preferred refuge from the hurly-burly of city life, to reminisce and to swop stories and to experience rural hospitality at its best. It will also expose visitors to the fact that while villages like Rhodes may be isolated, they are also home to a vibrant artistic community.
Walker points out that the weather in Rhodes during February is benign, the fly fishing for which the area is renowned is at its best and that many of the region’s most spectacular alpine flowers are coming into bloom.
Walker hopes that the stoepsit festival will not be confined to Rhodes and foresees the establishment of a “Stoepsitfees Association”
“This is an event that should, in fact, be a national if not international event endorsed by medical practitioners and stress relief experts throughout the world for its wonderfully therapeutic and soul-restoring properties,” he says.
For more information and details about the upcoming festival contact Dave Walker on (045) 974-9290 or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sterkspruit rainbow under water
