The casting imperative. Again!

Sometimes the casting 'evangalists' can seem a bit much, going on about how important good casting is to be able to fish better. It can get a bit tiresome at times, and its easy to shut it off and ignore it as background noise, but we shouldn’t.This point was clearly made at the recent Maremanna (sic?) weekend as more than 20 people fished the same dam, most within sight of each other. The guys on the dam wall did OK and one guy at the edge of a reed bed cleaned up the morning session.

Why?

Whether the fish were lying deep and in the old river course due to a 'natural' cause or because there were so many people on the bank isn't really important, but they were. Thus, those on the wall and the one guy who was casting into the old riverbed where it was close to the bank were well into the fish.For those who were not, the only option was to cast further so that the old river course could be reached.

One 'tosser' solved the problem by wading in deep, which worked, but spoiled the fishing for the people on either side of him. So, other than the exceptions, those that were getting decent casts in, were catching fish.

In my situation, the fish were sitting just beyond my best cast, so only an exceptional cast was rewarded by a fish, but those casts were few and far between, and were hampered by the rising embankment behind me. The further I cast the more likely I was to lose my flies to the fynbos, so it ended up with a comical looking half steeple, half normal cast. It is a common cast on the far side of the Dullstroom municipal dam.

A sinking line would have allowed me to 'shoot' my line but as the water was on the shallow side, I would have just been dredging weed.

The cast and to a lesser extent the fly (although I have to admit that Alan Hobson's H.O.T. Fly was doing a good job) was determining the results.

Time and money spent on casting lessons and practice, is time and money well spent, and will result in better fishing.

BUT, as we have discussed in previous newsletters, far casts are not the only way, sometimes fish are close, and often a delicate accurate cast is needed. Get practising....

Open day

Thanks to all those who attended our open day last weekend. It was great to have you here, and it looked like all were enjoying themselves.

The winners of the “Golf” and the “Great Fly Race” are listed at the bottom of the newsletter, as well as those who won prizes at the lucky draw. If you weren't at the draw, please check the list, you most likely won something and will need to collect it. Items not collected by the end of October will be donated as prizes for the CPS river festival. There are some pictures on my blog with compliments from Stephen Boshoff.

Many thanks to Jandi (Xplorer), Omnisport (Orvis), Optimax (TFO) & Stealth who very generously provided prizes.

Furled Fluorocarbon Tenkara leader 12ft, 13ft & 15ft

Furled Nylon 12ft  Tenkara leader

Furled fly fishing leaders in thread or mono, for stream or stillwaters, made in SA

Tenkara spool Stores your line on or off the rod Also useful for storing cast or rigs for nymphing

Leader swivel, 3 sizes

Realistic Coloured Foam, various selections

Nymph legs

UV Chewee skin	Chironimid Braid	Micro Rabbit Strips	Glass Rattles
Crystal Skin	Pseudo Eyes	Jackal strips for tails	Faceted Slotted Tungsten Beads

Ulta sill Dry Sac, 1 litre & 35 litre

TPU waterproof accessory case

EMBOSSED TIN SIGN: FISHERMAN PARKING ONLY 11x16 inches "So if you are one of those 'fish have feelings' animal rights fanatical polyester wearing types, don't even friggin think of parking here!

Military

Summ

Namibia

New Flies
 Bass mice by Symon

And now for something completely different....

Symon has been quite busy tying the bass flies above and we thought  it  would be fun to do some mouse earrings and brooches. Here they are, brooch above and earrings right. The perfect gift for your flyfishing wife or girlfriend. Move over, feather hairpieces.

DVD, Fly Nation: the Silver Collection
Fly Max Films 2011
R199.00
Get 5 great episodes from the first season of Fly Nation TV, including the full, extended cut of the banner Skeena Steelhead episode, featuring footage nor aired on TV.
With unbelievable footage of April Vokey and steelhead sipping dry flies - this is the hottest steelhead film of the year. Includes: Skeena Steelhead; Gasp Atlantic Salmon; Stuart Florida; Iceland; Fortress Lake brook trout with Paul Brandt.    Buy Online

Fifty More Places to Fly Fish before you Die:  Fly-fishing Experts share the World's Greatest Destinations
Chris Santella
Hardcover, 7x8 inches, 224 pages 2011
R249.00
Maps out the meccas of the flyfishing world, including natural history, anecdotes, & fish tales about each site. Includes many of the "next big things": fishing in San Diego for mako sharks; sight-casting in Bolivia for golden dorado; flats-style striper fishing in Maine's Casco Bay; nocturnal seat trout angling in Wales; & fishing for giant mahseer in the Himalayan foothills of India. Provides adventurous anglers with enough travel-&-tackle info so that you, too, can start planning excursions to go fish around the globe.
Fifty More Places to Fly Fish Before You Die is the latest offering in the bestselling Fifty Places series. Chris Santella's first book, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, has more than 100,000 copies in print, and Santella-now a regular fly-fishing contributor to the New York Times and many angling periodicals-has finally returned to the subject that started it all.  Buy Online

Visit www.netbooks.co.za for a large range of Fly Fishing Titles. For the latest book & DVD releases go here