CONTENTS Volume 29 Number 156 August/September 2016 COVER: MADE IN MINIATURE A perfectly formed Cape stream rainbow. Photo by Leonard Flemming. FEATURES 10 20 YEARS STRONG 2016 TOPS @ Spar Kamberg Trout Festival — by Mark Wilson & Ed Erskine 17 Bungezi Beetle A new take on bugginess — by Rex Fey 20 Materials Matter Fundamental Fly-Tying part 4 — by Gordon van der Spuy 28 In His Boots Part 1: Meeting the master — by Pami Simpson 31 Frontier Catch and Release Competition Brett Blackbeard’s largemouth yellowfish wins him a R7 250 Sage Pulse rod! 10 33 Conning Carp Dry flies they just can’t resist — by Terry Babich 39 Xplorer Big Fish Competition Ian Gibson’s 68cm rainbow trout makes him this issue’s prize winner 40 Good Progress, Bru An update on the Umgeni initiative — by Andrew Fowler 42 Relax! It’s just another rod revolution — by Andrew Savs 44 Big Move! New view for Natal Caravans after 56 years 33 46 The Joy of Chile A DIY fishing trip to South America — by Andrew Vos 52 Learning to Cast — and Teach The benefits of an IFFF experience — by Andre van der Werff 55 Change the Way You Tie Review of Fundamental Fly-Tying DVD — by MC Coetzer 17 DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor — by Sheena Carnie 50 Calling all Junior Flyfishers — Win awards from Stealth 6 In my Opinion — by Erwin Bursik 51 Property Sales 7 Items of Interest to FOSAF members 66 Directory Adverts 37 Subscribe and Win! 66 Ad Index Publisher: Erwin Bursik Editor: Sheena Carnie FROM THE EDITOR Advertising Executive: Mark Wilson UST a few weeks and it will be spring ... and the rivers Editorial Assistants: Vahini Pillay will be open! In the meantime it’s been quite chilly — Advertising Consultant: Joan Wilson here in Durban anything below 20 degrees counts as Administration Executive: Anne Bursik “freezing” — and those who prefer staying indoors Accountant: Jane Harvey Jwhen it’s cool outside have been perfecting their fly pat- Exec. Assistant: Kim Hook terns. It’s obviously the year of the beetle, because in this issue Rex Fey unveils his Bungezi Beetle (pg 17) and Terry Contributors: Terry Babich, MC Coetzer, Babich has discovered that a beetle is the secret to catching Ed Erskine, Rex Fey,Andrew Fowler, Sheena Carnie carp on dry fly (pg 33). Also in this issue we celebrate the Leonard Flemming,Andrew Savs, Pami 20th anniversary of the Kamberg Trout Festival (pg 10); many of our readers have no Simpson, Gordon van der Spuy,Andre van doubt spent a misty morning at the side of a dam in the Kamberg and know why it’s der Werff,Andrew Vos and Mark Wilson. such a popular event. Although the rivers have been closed to fishing in recent months that doesn’t mean they’ve been neglected. The #BRU (Blue River Umgeni) Advertising – National Sales: initiative is still in full swing and much progress is being made (pg 40). Angler Publications cc Now I’m off to pack for a trip to Cape Town and the inaugural Flyfishing Expo. Telephone: (031) 572-2289 Our country is just bursting with talented, creative people in a wide variety of Mark Wilson cell: 073 748 6107 guises and I’m looking forward to meeting a host of them at the expo. Joan Wilson: [email protected] Happy reading. Advertising — Gauteng & Mpumalanga: Paul Borcherds 082 652 5659 Sheena Carnie Publishers: Angler Publications cc IN MY OPINION PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 Telephone: (031) 572-2289 HAT does it take to get you sufficiently moti- Fax: (031) 572-7891 vated to emerge from your comfort zone, e-mail: [email protected] take up a fly-rod and head for a mountain stream, dam or the ocean shore to cast a fly? Subscriptions to FLYFISHING WSome, like myself, will feel that father time and business FLYFISHING magazine is available on sub- commitments — the anchors of life — hinder us from set- scription at R145 per annum (six issues). ting off on spontateous piscatorial forays. For subscription queries, new subscrip- However, a few weeks ago I had more than a wake-up tions and renewals: FLYFISHING Erwin Bursik call; it was more like a hefty kick in the appropriate place Subscriptions Department, and it certainly got me motivated. I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016. South African Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T-SA) presentation at Gateway’s movie e-mail: [email protected] house in Umhlanga Rocks. I was completely captivated, right from the very first • Through www.africanangler.com,or seconds which depicted cockpit chaos on a sportfisher with a marlin in the spread • E-zine digital subscriptions — visit and a fly angler endeavouring to place his bundle of feathers in the marlin’s www.africanangler.com > FLYFISHING > mouth. Two hours later, after many more scintillating moments of video footage, I SUBSCRIBE, then choose your option. was more than anxious to get out my fly tackle and hit the water. • Alternatively,go straight to The fact that the destinations showcased favour the rich and famous is of no <www.zinio.com/FlyFishing>. concern; they merely served as the spark to the fire, driving me to start making plans for a trip into the piscatorial domain to satisfy the urge. Reproduction: We can’t all expect to get to Jurassic Lake to hook 10- to 15 lb rainbow trout, Hirt & Carter but most flyfishers can get to a dam or river within 200km of their homes and get Printers: just as much excitement as some of those seen on film. Sure, we won’t get the Robprint (Pty) Ltd same size trout, but we can easily get a one kilo rainbow on a 2- or 4-wt rod, and that fight will make you feel like you have a monster on the end of the line. Full production is done in-house by Angler It’s all about your mind-set — if you think your local dam or stream is boring it Publications on Apple Macintosh hardware and will be, but if you take the time to go slightly off the beaten track or get out of software for output direct to plate. your usual comfort zone, try different techniques or areas, a whole new world will open up to you. Fortunately your appetite for great fishing adventures can easily FLYFISHING, ISSN 1011-3681, is published bi- be sated locally because South Africa is blessed with countless spectacular fish- monthly (six times per annum) by Angler eries boasting numerous species. Publications cc, Registration No. CK While watching these films one thing that struck a chord and upset me was the 88/05863/23, and is distributed by RNA to reminder of the threats which hang over our country’s trout waters. About 20 CNA outlets nationwide, as well as directly by years ago the Patagonian government allowed 5 000 rainbow trout fingerlings to the publishers to retail stores throughout be released into the river which feeds Lake Strobel aka Jurassic Lake. Today the South Africa, as well as through subscriptions. offspring of those trout have grown to monster proportions and the very strong among them are able to get to the spawning beds in the lake’s feeder river. This • Copyright is expressly reserved and nothing highly acclaimed fishery not only provides anglers with an incredible experience may be reproduced in part or whole without but also entices hundreds of international flyfishers to visit Patagonia to enjoy its the permission of the publishers. While every fishing opportunities. Big trout and good tourism marketing equals large sums of effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the foreign exchange being channelled into that country’s coffers. Fishing provides contents of this magazine, the publishers do jobs and recreation opportunities so please support Trout SA and FOSAF in their not accept responsibility for omissions or efforts to fight for trout’s place in South Africa. errors or their consequences. And now I’m off to book a trip to go trout fishing in the mountains. • The views expressed in this magazine are Until the next time. not necessarily those of the publishers, the editors or the editorial staff. Erwin Bursik 6 • FLYFISHING August 2016 FOSAF NEWS AUGUST WINNER HIS issue’s winner of the members’ draw is Neels van Niekerk, membership no AV0016 of Heidelberg, Gauteng. His prize is a copy of Andrew Fowler’s book, Stippled Beauties, kindly donated by Andrew. Stippled Beauties is about a rich appreciation of the natural world that surrounds Tus as flyfishers. It is no co-incidence that the proceeds of the hardcover limited edition of this book are being used to fund a stream restoration project in the KZN Midlands because it is the KZN Midlands that features strongly throughout the book, as this is the author’s home water. The restoration project is on the upper Umgeni River, favourite fishing grounds of the late Neville Nuttall, and in turn of author Andrew Fowler. Alien wattle trees are being removed from the river banks, to restore the biodiversity and enhance the flyfishing expe- rience. The project is well under way, and by the time you read this around 6.5km of the worst infestations will have been attended to by the hired contractors and volunteers alike. Lighter work will continue, and it is realistic to expect that the project will enhance all 17km of this delicate trout stream. Less than 20 of the special collector’s edition remain; they can be ordered from <www.truttablog.com>, as can the softcover edition of the book.