16 May 2017
Downstream fishing, machine damage, bulls, and compromise
I try very hard to do things right, and to do them the right way, but we all have to compromise sometimes. Last week I fished for a sighted Trout downstream. Peril the thought! It was rising in Bird Pool up on Furth, but it was rising against the rock shelf that you just can’t physically get downstream of. The current plunges into the pool, and runs parallel to the shelf, straight into a steep and wooded bank. So I had to use the riffled water at my feet as my screen from the trout’s vision, kneel in the shallow
9 May 2017
23 March 2017
Great Things
I have had the privilege and the satisfaction over the last three years or so, to work alongside some seriously committed fly-fishing conservationists on the Umgeni River: Roy (whose doctor told him to get some youngsters to haul logs instead of suffering another hernia) Anton (who had an adverse reaction to bramble spray, but carried on anyway) Penny, who isn’t scared to get dirty Lucky and Zuma….two of the hardest working guys you will find Bob…who is just always there and quietly gets on with it Russell….who has committed diesel and machines for many, many hours and tidied up after
8 February 2017
Advocacy
The word “advocacy” is used extensively by Greg French in his recently published book ”The Last Wild Trout”. In reading the context in which he uses it, the meaning is abundantly clear, but for a simple starting point here is the definition as found on Google: ad·vo·ca·cy ….pronounced ˈadvəkəsē/ : noun public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. example: "their advocacy of traditional family values" synonyms: support for, backing of, promotion of, championing of; I found that French’s book in general, and the repeated use of this word in the informative “conservation notes” at the end
14 November 2016
A guest post from Brett Coombes
“Opening Day – 1 September 1990” After a winter of repeated tackle cleaning, fly tying and general pent-up abstinence, fly fishermen, myself included, seldom miss an opening day of the season. It was the first day of spring and we were to have the privilege of fishing a small stretch of the upper Umgeni River. The old Merc bumped, lurched and scraped its belly down the stony track towards the farm “Knowhere”, with its large house overlooking the bend in the long pool and the downstream flats along the southern bank of the river dotted with grazing sheep. We parked
15 August 2016
Are you being poisoned by your great grandfather?
Since I am more interested in rivers than history, I have yet to establish whether the original farms “Manor Farm” and “Brigadoon” actually share a common boundary or not. I have been busy working on a river instead of pouring over old surveyor general maps, which I would also like to do, if I could just find some time. What I can tell you is that you can see one farm from the other, and that the Umgeni River flows first through Brigadoon and then Manor farm. Brigadoon being on the southern bank, and Manor Farm on the northern one.
25 May 2016
Umgeni River clean-up no 5
This is the third year that the Natal Fly Fishers Club (NFFC) is arranging volunteer days to clean up on the Umgeni river. The next two such days are 27th Feb (next Saturday) and 12 March. We are trying to rid the river of alien invasive wattle trees, restore good flows, terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, and yes: good fly-fishing. Many South African fly-fishermen have probably read about this somewhere, so I won’t bore you with the background and history. If you do need any more info, you can visit this blog. This is just about the here and now and
20 February 2016
11 November 2015
Your Kavango
On Sunday it was roast beef and veg in Notties, and as the storm passed, and cool mist and drizzle set in, beers at the Notties pub amidst talk of Trout. Tuesday I was in the city: Lusaka. As I write I am looking out over the Kavango at hot sticky Angola, and with a bit of luck, I won’t miss my flight to Cape Town on Saturday. Stop the word, I want to get off. But we can’t get off. We need to look after it instead. Here in Northern Namibia their issues are food for thought. Flying in
30 October 2015
