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Troutless in Africa

On Friday, as I lowered the back door of the aircraft, turned and reversed down the steps onto the tarmac, I felt cool dry April afternoon air swirl around me and lift my spirits. I had come home. Home to Southern mountains, to prospects of winter frost, to Trout, and good coffee. I had left behind sticky Mozambique, with it’s potholes, humidity, train ambushes and sugarcane. I had left behind Tanzania’s red earth rivers, it’s bribes and mosquitoes. I had left behind Lusaka’s dust, incomplete buildings, and broken machinery. We had retreated to the place with good freeways, neatly laid

6 April 2014

The Secretary

Look at those long legs! Have you ever had the privilege of watching a secretary bird tackling a poisonous snake? It is quite something to watch! Enough to cause me to pause a while and watch these things strutting around in the veld, in the hopes of seeing it again. (From David Bygott, ”Silly Birds” , Zimbabwe) Clearly I was not the only one to make this association about the leggy secretary!

29 March 2014

Journeys through the journal (6)

I don’t remember what the occasion was, but a number of us had been invited up to Bill Duckworth’s Trout syndicate at the top end of the Dargle Valley. We were staying over at the “Opera House” , and it was a colourful gathering to say the least. I vaguely remember that the band of merry fishermen included Jim Read, Mike Harker, Henry Aucock, Bill Duckworth, Trevor Sweeney, Hugh Huntley, and myself. There may have been others. It was October of 1995. Spring had sprung, and I remember a cool wind across short green veld, some of which still bore

20 March 2014

Father & Son, Camera & Oils

11 March 2014

Journeys through the journal (5)

the 4th September 1988. The farm “Avon” on the Mooi River. It was one of the best spring fishing years that I have had. The diary records it as being a dry spring, with the river not flowing all that strongly, and plenty of algae around. On this particular day PD and I were only on the water around 10 am. It was cold, clouded and blustery. I remember we went up to the top boundary, and fished downstream from there, although we were of course upstream nymphing. I know, it is illogical, but were were younger then, and it

5 March 2014

It’s still a delight….in any colour

The DDD is old hat here in South Africa. (Photo courtesy of Tom Sutcliffe) I did a quick google search for DDD. First time around I got all sorts of weird stuff, so I added the words “Dry Fly”, and still got no less than 89,000 hits! That says something, doesn’t it? I will admit that after page three the real DDD gets replaced by tent fly sheets, and obscure digital equipment, but let’s just say you won’t struggle to uncover information about the real thing. Probably the most comprehensive article about tying and fishing it, is written by none

24 February 2014

The FMD revisited

The FMD on video Tying the FMD from Andrew Fowler on Vimeo.

20 February 2014

Journeys through the journal (4)

It was mid winter in 2012. The fishing club committee had arranged a week-end on a large stillwater, for us to see if we could help the hatchery there boost it’s brood stock with some hens and cocks. On the Saturday I enjoyed taking my good friend Win out on the canoe. Win had had a rough year, health wise, and I enjoyed the opportunity to help him “break the fishing drought” so to speak. Some of us took a few minutes to find our sea legs! The boat is stable in that it will never tip over, but it

15 February 2014

A Bustard no less

I still call this one a Stanley bustard, but they tell me it has changed its name. I wonder if it knows, that it’s is now called a Denham’s Bustard. It is a really large bird, that struts confidently in the veld. I haven’t often been able to get as close as I did this day.

12 February 2014

South African Shelduck

The shelduck is most distinctive in that the male and female are equally striking, but different, and I always seem to see them together. They inhabit our still-waters here in KZN, and provide a welcome distraction on slow days.

7 February 2014