Calling the Fly fishing manne

[DJR]

Only the 2nd time ever that I went fishing and didn't even wet a line. (The 1st time I forgot my reel at home - stupid idiot.)

 

This time our plan was to stop at this dam in the upper Riflespruit near Rhodes in the Eastern Cape, and catch a nice fresh trout for lunch.........but we found the dam solidly frozen over. Yes, that is the dog ice skating to fetch a stone we threw. It was thick enough to walk across, but we only risked it over the shallows. Nobody felt like dying  from hypothermia. Early morning we measured -13, but nobody expected the whole dam, 200 metres across, to be solid. The ice was so mirror smooth and clear that you could see the little fish under the ice. We were forced to have sarmies for lunch.

Edited October 8, 2018 by DJR

[CogitoErgoSum]

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[DJR]

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Ha ha, big mistake that! At the very least he should have had the sense to get her a wader-wedding dress! She is going to make him suffer for EVER after that slip up.

[Pieter1]

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Hahaha! Win!

[Stretch]

Thought you chaps would be interested in this. I found it fascinating. About a young man who stole a large collection of naturalist Alfred Wallace's bird collection from a natural history archive museum in England and sold them to buy a gold flute. The feathers are used exclusively to tie salmon flies. Well worth a listen and looks like a good book to read too

 

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/654/the-feather-heist

 

Edit: I meant to mention - apparently there is a chap in South Africa who has some of these feathers and he has refused to return them to the museum despite requests by the museum for people who bought them to return them

Edited August 20, 2018 by Stretch

[Gen]

Thought you chaps would be interested in this. I found it fascinating. About a young man who stole a large collection of naturalist Alfred Wallace's bird collection from a natural history archive museum in England and sold them to buy a gold flute. The feathers are used exclusively to tie salmon flies. Well worth a listen and looks like a good book to read too

 

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/654/the-feather-heist

 

Edit: I meant to mention - apparently there is a chap in South Africa who has some of these feathers and he has refused to return them to the museum despite requests by the museum for people who bought them to return them

Genade..

 

The lenghts people will go to.

[DJR]

Genade..

 

The lenghts people will go to.

The tiers of salmon flies are the OCD people of the flytying world!

[Stretch]

Genade..

 

The lenghts people will go to.

 

This guy that did it is a very interesting fellow. To this day he shows no remorse for what he did - apart from admitting it was wrong. He didn't serve any time and is currently employed in Vienna in the philarmonic Orchestra. But as DJR says - there is a group of people who dedicate themslves to flying ties according to the original victorian recipes - and this requires feathers from these rare species.

[Gen]

This guy that did it is a very interesting fellow. To this day he shows no remorse for what he did - apart from admitting it was wrong. He didn't serve any time and is currently employed in Vienna in the philarmonic Orchestra. But as DJR says - there is a group of people who dedicate themslves to flying ties according to the original victorian recipes - and this requires feathers from these rare species.

Weirdos [emoji23]

[DJR]

I watched one of our local flytiers at the recent Lourensford Expo tying some incredibly beautiful salmon flies. The dozen or so flies he did for the occasion went straight into a box frame and was auctioned for charity. I don’t know what they sold for, but I would bet on thousands. What I find sad is that those flies will forever stay behind glass and never get wet or catch the fish they are meant for. Yes, yes I know they are artworks, but they remind me of bikes that are never ridden, or knives kept in a safe - sad!

[DJR]

As for the ‘fetish’ tiers, I agree, they are very strange

[Stretch]

With all the fresh water salmon in the rivers near me...I feel like I should be investing in some fly equipment! Sans the fancy flies!

[DJR]

Stretch, there are so few Places left on earth where ordinary people can still go and catch a salmon that I would rate it as one of those things not to pass up if you have the chance. It is entirely possible that in our lifetime natural free spawning wild salmon may disappear from all but the very remotest parts of the arctic. Dams, pollution etc have already killed them in a large part of where they were found just 1 lifetime ago

Edited August 20, 2018 by DJR

[DJR]

Tried the Molenaars this morning. First trout outing of the season for me. But, alas, with all the great rains the Cape had this winter, the river was near unfishable. Certainly too high and too fast to wade. Aah well, it was a beautiful morning out. Went past Fish For Africa on the way home and got something to feed the the Weber.

[DJR]

Upper Elandspad with D. First trout of the season was smaller than the smile it caused. But who cares, it is a start. Streams are looking great, but I have an idea many of the bigger trout died off in the serious drought of the past two seasons, because we say only smallies and mediums.Still a fantastic day and an amazing hike deep into the mountains.

[Slowbee]

Dude, where are the invites? if only to join you guys for a walk !