South African Fishing Flies – The Red-Eyed Damsel
(This post is the third tribute to South African Fishing Flies by Peter Brigg and Ed Herbst; one of the great stillwater patterns published in the book is discussed here) One of my earliest stillwater fly fishing memories is of catching a quick eight-fish-tally using Hugh Huntley’s Red-Eyed Damsel. Although the original fly was tied […]
South African Fishing Flies – The DDD and RAB
This post is part of the book review on South African Fishing Flies (by Peter Brigg and Ed Herbst) and my successes with personal favourite flies featured in the book. I revelled in the efficacy of Tom Sutcliffe’s Zak nymph in fooling many fish species; now I will be discussing his DDD and Tony Biggs’ […]
Tom’s net – Tying ZAKs
A step-by-step tying demo of the ZAK nymph – a great South African trout fly By Tom Sutcliffe KEY AND CRITICAL STEPS TO TYING A GOOD ZAK NYMPH I previously posted a series of pictures on tying the Zak, which, on reflection, could be improved on. The Zak, as Ian Cox rightly points out in […]
Tom’s Net – Witels River Photo-essay
I recently found this post on Tom Sutcliffe’s website; a photo-realistic journey through one of the Cape’s most demanding gorge hikes. A nostalgic account of idyllic varsity days… Photos by Billy de Jong One of the most remote rivers in the Western Cape is also one of the prettiest and one of the most secret. The Witels […]
What separates the men from the boys (?) – Part three: casting or false casting?
This is the 3rd post on a series of articles that will focus in part on ethics of fishing and modern progression in fly fishing (in a South African context) I ‘got to know’ Tom Sutcliffe, the man in this story, through his writing. When I met him in person, he was everything I imagined […]
Tom’s Net – Dean Riphagen on the Henry’s Fork
Here is a piece written by Dean Riphagen on the Henry’s Fork that was published on Tom Sutcliffe’s website. FISHING THE HENRY’S FORK – IS THIS ‘THE FINAL EXAM’ IN FLY FISHING MASTERCLASS? OR WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE TO FISH THE FABLED ‘FORK’? Text by Dean Riphagen. Pictures Dean Riphagen and Rowan Nairn Rowan Nairn […]
Tom’s net – The dry flies of Oliver Kite
Tom Sutcliffe is a celebrated patron of South African fly fishing. He has contributed tremendously and arguably more than anyone in our country to fly fishing through his work, including the start of the previous Fly Fishing Magazine and being one of the key figures that started the Federation of Southern African Flyfishers (FOSAF), his […]
‘Peter Brigg’ profile, a South African fly fishing artist
Peter Brigg is certainly one of the most influential fly anglers in South Africa. He has become a popular fishing companion for many who visit the KwaZulu Natal province to fish the famous Drakensberg rivers. I have also spent a day fishing with Peter Brigg on the upper Bushmans River in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve and can vouch […]
