The Complete Fly Fisherman – August-September 2019

(Steven Felgate) #1

8 | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | TCFF


NEWSWORTHY


WHATS UP



I


rarely watch movies on the big screen any more. They’ve
simply become too expensive and finding something with
merit and a decent storyline on the circuit is almost impossi-
ble these days. Useless, rehashed, mostly American-made films
filled with plastic anecdotes and horribly shallow jokes. Not to
mention the price of the snacks. Ag nee.And I can’t even have a
beer. So when TCFF came knocking with double tickets to the
annual Fly Fishing Film Tour, to be held at Rivonia’s Barnyard
Theatre a mere couple of minutes from home, I was simply
through the roof! Finally something nice to lay one’s eyes on!
No cheap storylines, no cheap gags, no insecure Hollywood
actresses... just pure, unbridled fly fishing joy! Oh sweet relief.


With the disappointment of the South African cricket team’s
performance weighing heavily on our minds, fellow musician
and fly fishing buddy Donovan Borne and I set out to Rivonia
for what would prove to be a wonderful escape from reality
albeit just for a couple of hours. With complimentary drinks
on offer (to keep out the winter chills, I presume) 350-odd of
Gauteng’s fly fishing fraternity descended upon the Rivonia
theatre dressed in their best puff-jackets and brand-name shirts
and caps and whatnot. It was a great experience just standing
in the foyer waiting for the event to start as stories (tall tales?)
from all over the globe seemed to be pouring from every
corner. Walking among the folks, with a propensity for eaves-
dropping, I couldn’t help but smile every time somebody would
namedrop a beautiful location. “Patagonia!...”, “The Amazon!...”,
“... spent a couple of nights in Bolivia...”, “... lost my mind in
Argentina...” All I could reply with was: “Ja. I went to the Vaal
the other day... my uncle’s place... lekker.” A love for travelling
truly goes hand-in-hand with this game.


The Kids are Alright!


This year in June, the annual Fly Fishing Film Tour once again made its way through South Africa,
wowing audiences in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban alike. TCFF Freelance Social Events
Correspondent KOBUS DE KOCK JR braved a chilly Rivonia evening to check it out.

In what would prove to be a recurring theme throughout the
evening, MC Keith Rose-Innes began the night by asking all the
under 18s (and there were a significant amount of them) to
please come forward and help themselves to some top-notch
merchandise provided by the sponsors. Lots of little smiling
faces and the films hadn’t even started yet!

The evening was divided into two parts; showing five or six
short films each, with a giveaway section in between to keep the
crowd happy. Not that the films didn’t. A couple of highlights
for me included Alignment, in which professional snowboarder
Eric Jackson and friend Curtis Ciszek spend a season in Canada
pursuing steelhead as well as snowboarding down some treach-
erous terrain, fly rods and gear in tow! Great stuff. Karlie
Roland takes us on the Snake River next to her family’s land
in Where it All Startedand explains how her father got her
into fly fishing and how she subsequently became a guide. In
NexGen, narrated by 12-year-old Jack Buccola, we learn more
about this youngster’s passion for steelhead as well as the amaz-
ing dynamic between father and son. A moving piece of work.
Bounce, the shortest film of the festival, follows David Mangum
on his quest for tarpon. Shot entirely in slow motion, it ends
with David kissing a giant prehistoric-looking tarpon as it eyes
him eerily during its release. Beautiful!

With three major cities, over 20 top sponsors, R750,
worth of prizes, recycling initiatives and a whole bunch of pre-
pubescent smiling kids, I found this to be a proactive and well-
organised event, leaving both Donovan and I smiling from ear
to ear, hopeless cricket completely forgotten. Well done F3TSA
for paying it forward. Indeed, the kids are going to be alright!
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