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CTC Article Archive 2 ~ Corporate Trophy Challenge
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To qualify for the final in this tournament you have to possess some unique qualities as a team, most of which have little to do with the gentle art of fly fishing. The Hyundai Corporate Trophy Challenge sponsored by the Weekend Witness is undoubtedly the most festive gathering to be hosted in Southern Africa and a more fitting location than the legendary Notties hotel you could not find. But it really doesn’t matter how long you’ve been fishing, or if you can cast 30m with consummate ease and present a line better than Billy Conolly or even if your hand tied flies attract insects of the opposite sex or how incredibly successful we think or actually are at catching fish……this tournament is the great leveler.
The village of Nottingham Road has become the gateway to what is arguably South Africa’s finest fly fishing waters, which are exemplified every year when 180 anglers descend on this historical trout arena.
Since it’s inception in 2001, the event has dumfounded many a seasoned fly caster when their best efforts have been thwarted by the fly wise trout or their best return has been upstaged by the blundering yield of a virgin piscator who doesn’t know the difference between a tippet and a tie down.
The scientist in all evolving fly fishers, should always be cautious about concluding too much from a great days fishing, least of all that it is your innate ability. Over the last six years I have seen a rank beginner waddle out of his float tube radiating pure pleasure, not realizing that his haul of ten rainbows and two browns ( two eclipsing
60cm) will be a benchmark that he might never emulate again while from the same water a scowling pro stares malevolently at your casual enquiry into the day’s fair, mumbling words of contempt for the better faring “imbecile” . “It’s a funny old game” doesn’t quite cover it and I’ve yet to experience a day when the trout hasn’t had the last laugh.
The last leg of the three qualifying options has concluded and this year certainly provided moments of humor that would have any satirist reaching for his pencil. The usual antics of urbanites smashing car sumps, being towed out of the midlands mud or being chased by salt hungry cows were hardly worthy of mention in the infamous Wildfly choice awards at the Saturday night prize-giving’s. When you had men brave enough to leave their wife on their 27th wedding anniversary and a young buck who left his Matric debutant standing in her dress alone at the dance, you know that tempting such fate is bound to have repercussions.
The ladies definitely had the last laugh though, when an even braver entrant invited his wife, but not deeming her worthy to fish with him, put her in an opposition team resulting in her not only out fishing him but making her team qualify and in the process ousting his team from a final place. Couple this with the hilariously shenanigans of would be Casanova, who attempted to scale the balcony of a local fair maiden, with the agility of an inebriated buffalo, resulting in x-rays and sheepish explanations of how he tore his ligaments and you begin to understand why there is no shortage of memories.
1530 fish was the final tally, between 180 fly mongers, over 12 fishing sessions, rounding off to 26 fish an hour in fishing produced. These stats mean absolutely nothing now, to both the lucky 15 teams that will be back on the 27th July to contend for the grand title on WildFly’s jewel of midlands waters, Lake Le Seuer or to the 30 teams who left the snow capped scenery wistfully with stories to entertain their colleagues until they return to challenge in 2008. |
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