6 | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | TCFF
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Understanding what it’s all about
I’ve always lived under the illusion that I was a fly fisherman,
but the truth is that I only had a vague idea what it meant to
really be one. All I knew was a technique taught to me by a
friend, which I kept repeating over and over again. Then I got
to know various nymphing techniques and managed to build up
a fly box imitating the decorations on a Christmas tree. Nymph-
ing is an effective skill and a discipline of fly fishing I practise
whenever an opportunity presents itself. Sure I’ve had success
landing many memorable fish, but I never learnt the full scope
of what fly fishing really has to offer, like how to properly cast
a fly into that sweet spot and see the fish taking your fly on the
surface. I never learnt to observe nature and look out for a
hatch or to set out on a journey on foot to find a feeding pool (as
I’d like to call it). Trying to imitate the exact feeding pattern
in super-stealth mode is not an easy task. One of the most im-
portant lessons I’ve learnt over the past year is that I knew very
little about fly fishing. Luckily for me, I’ve made a new friend
who knows what he is doing and who has been teaching me
skills that would have taken me 20 years to learn on my own.
Whether it is a friend or a guide, make sure you use the time
wisely and learn as much as you can, absorb his/her every move
and every bit of knowledge that he/she can pass on to you. I
am still on my learning journey and look forward to every
opportunity to gain new knowledge I did not have before. I am
far from being a good fisherman, and will carry on learning until
one day I can pass on all that I have learnt to another eager fly
fishing student. Hendrik de Wet. (Letter shortened.)
Well Hendrik, quite a mouthful, but I think you are on the right
track. I have decided to award you “Letter of the Month” and
your prize –being a brand-new Sage fly rod –will no doubt
help you further along in your quest. Contact our offices on
(012) 371-3915 with your details and your prize will soon be
on its way to you. Tight loops. Ed.
In praise of service excellence
I am an avid angler who cut his teeth in the competitive rock-
and-surf discipline of angling. Fly fishing is a passion of mine
at which I am a complete novice, but take every opportunity to
rectify that. Knowing the importance of tackle, I decided to do
some homework and see which best-quality rod I could afford
within my budget. What I came up with was the Horizon 590-
4 GTS 9ft 5-wt from Frontier Fly Fishing, a marvel of engineer-
ing which increased my casting distance, was light enough to
fish the whole day and had the finishings of a Formula One race
car. I was in heaven. With my last trip starting out with my
new rod and two decent trout to my name in the first session,
what could go wrong? Well, come the next bite with me
producing my best marlin strike (rookie mistake #1), resulted in
only hooking underwater structure, and then, after some vigor-
ous jerking (rookie mistake #2) I retrieved, only to see my fly
had gone. Horrified, I realised two inches of my rod tip had
snapped off. I was devastated to say the least, but luckily I had
my old, super-budget rod with me to complete the trip. I de-
cided to phone Frontier Fly Fishing from the dam I was fishing
at and spoke to a gentleman named Tom Lewin (who believe
me earns this fitting description) and explained what had just
happened. He assured me that a plan could be made as there
are spares available for these rods. Discussing options from the
action of the rod to possibilities of repair, it was decided that
another tip would be the best solution. My details were taken
and I was going to sort out whatever paperwork had to be done
when I got home from my trip. Well, you could have knocked
me over with a feather when I received a message from home
the very next day that a package from Frontier Fly Fishing had
arrived by courier for me. Folks, I am not talking about being
around the corner, I am talking about Johannesburg to Port
Shepstone, South Coast. I’ve been in the fishing game my whole
life and have seldom dealt with more pleasant, professional and
eager-to-help individuals than those at Frontier Fly Fishing.
My fishing buddies couldn’t believe the efficiency, and neither
could I. My next rod will definitely be purchased from Frontier
not only because they manufacture great rods but also because
the efficiency and professionalism of the people you deal with
is amazing. Well done! Lance Grobler. (Letter shortened.)Thumbs up for Joshua Toms
What an awesome letter from Joshua Toms in the last edition.
We have the same issues in the UK. As you said Ed, the
passion, conviction and enthusiasm shines through. Great to
read and the message is get off your arse and go find the fun.
The future of fly fishing needs guys like this to pick up and carry
it forward. I am quite sure Joshua will do amazingly well in
whatever he does in life. In fly fishing, he will undoubtedly
excel. Good on you Joshua. Miles (UK).Shad carnage
Eight months ago I booked a trip to the South Coast hoping to
be in time for the sardine run. Well, I got that wrong by one
week, but what I would like to share with you was a real eye-
opener as to how our local shore fishermen are decimating our
fish resources. I was fishing a little bay just 1km from Margate
main beach, and after a fruitless 45 minutes I presumed, like
previous days, I would blank. But then one local caught a lovely
big shad, then the chap next to him. On my next strip I also
hooked into a great head-shaking shad. There were four of
us and we continued to catch fish for the next few hours. It was
unbelievable as a shoal had obviously come into the bay.letters
Win a Sage Pulse
9ft, 5-wt fly rod valued at R7250,
if your letter is chosen as “Letter of the Month”.
E-mail: [email protected]
TO THE EDITOR
SPONSORED BY
Tel: +27 11 463-9048/9 http://www.frontierflyfishing.co.zacontinued on page 79