Count Out

Count Out

I’ve never considered fly fishing to be a competitive sport, amongst anglers that is. It’s the fish you have to battle with after all, so another fly fisher can only really be considered company on the water.

 

Hence, the TOPS Corporate Challenge has never been about fishing, despite some 24 000 Trout having been caught and released over the last 20 years. This benchmark fly fishing festival is all about the time you spend with mates, imbibing and embellishing on past angling adventures you’ve had together and possibly trying to convince anyone within earshot that you can throw a line.

And despite ‘Ronas’ efforts to keep us all locked up at home and Uncle Cyril’s adjusted levels causing mayhem with our best laid plans, this illustrious gathering was yet again successfully hosted at the legendary Notties hotel. Of course the pub was a shadow of it’s former self with sensible social distancing but that didn’t stop every entrant from celebrating in the great outdoors!

 

The WildFly waters lived up to their reputation, producing some spectacular Rainbows and even a few rare Browns made an appearance. The conditions however couldn’t have been more challenging!

Howling winds, driving rain and sleet that turned into a genuine snowstorm!….thankfully we all had our Jonsson fleeces!!

 

No rational person would chose to take out a fly rod, but that’s one symptom resulting from this pandemic, you lose all sense of perspective and logic is quickly cast aside. Every single person braved the merciless weather and returned grinning like a schoolboy who had finally been allowed out to play, albeit with a slightly bluish tinge to their complexion.

Fortunately a Glenbrynth single malt kept the polar bears at bay and the Trout played ball, with 699 fish making into the record books in the qualifying legs

 

Thankfully the final brought out a little sun and with spring brightening up the landscape, the 48 fly fishers made a lot of hay.

112 fish in the first session was followed by 75 in the second, with a 64cm Rainbow hen from Oakbrook dam landed by Paul Lishman, equalling the 64cm Brown caught in leg one. Remarkably 79 Trout were landed in the 3rd session and as one has come to expect only 48 in that last shell shocked session with Gavin Loveday recording another 64cm from SpringGrove dam.

The yardstick of a good sized Trout I believe is 50cm and if you are lucky enough to broach the 55cm mark, you move into that 7lb category, which for most casual anglers is a memorable catch indeed. But if you’re lucky enough to land a wee beast that eclipses the 60cm mark, you’re in trophy territory.

 

This was the first count out, forcing us to look at their respective largest fish in the legs, Paul’s 59cm from Oribi dam, pipped Gav’s 56cm, bestowing on him the trophy for the largest fish of the 2020 TCC.

The 314 Trout caught in the final took the tally to 1013 fish for the event. But yet again it was the average size of fish recorded this year that caught everyone’s attention with every dam measuring a Trout in excess of 55cm and more fish caught over 50cm than any other year!

 

The session scoring system kept the adjudicators busy and everyone guessing with two count outs, for 4th and 3rd place as well as for silver and gold, with just a single fish tipping the scales.

Every fly fisher won a holiday to enjoy some more fishing compliments of WildFlytravel.com, and Easy Escapes, but there were some anxious anglers waiting to see if they’s made it to the trophy tiger grounds of Matoya lodge, the majestic Bains River Camp in the lower Zambezi or the luxurious White Pearl resort in Mozambique as well as the incredible Orange river drift with Kalahari Outventures.

 

Hendrik Fourie took top honours with his 17 Trout caught and released, engraving his name into the WildFly honours board at Notties.

And this performance was good enough to catapult his team ST Fergusson, past the 3rd place of ‘Nympmaniacs’ and the 2nd place podium held by team ‘ZZ Tops’ to be crowned the 2021 TOPS Corporate Challenge champions.

 

With trips to Semonkong in Lesotho, Shayamoya on Jozini, Giants Cup in the berg or Fordoun and InverMooi in the mIdlands, every team was rewarded for their efforts on the water.

This coupled with the incredible prizes from Hardy, Greys, Airflo, Frontier Fly Fishing, Outdoor Warehouse and Xplorer ensured that regardless of the who caught what, just for harassing the Trout you walked away with an armful of goodies.

 

So when all was said and done their were a lot of winners in the war waged against the Trout in WildFly country!

Snowmen

Snowmen

It’s not often that you see anglers return from the water with very little to say, especially if they have even less to show for their efforts. To say the fly fishing was tough in the 3rd leg of the TOPS Corporate Challenge would be like describing this world-wide pandemic as a mild head cold. read more

Fair Weather Fisherman

Fair Weather Fisherman

For once the naysayers, me included, got it completely wrong. We always watch any incoming weather with trepidation and automatically assume the worst especially when we see a front looming. And we had every right to be worried this last weekend, a max of 3 degrees pred read more

TCC 2021 Leg 1

TCC 2021 Leg 1

After 20 years of watching fly fishers pit their wits against the wiles of feral Trout, you would think that we’ d seen it all, yet every year at the TOPS Corporate Challenge something happens that beggars belief. read more

The Fly Shrink

The Fly Shrink

How smart do you think fish really are? I mean it’s not as if they’ve managed to crawl out the water……yet we seem to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure them out. read more

Lazy Boyz

Lazy Boyz

To tube or not to tube is a shouldn’t be a dilemma. Although targeting Trout from the bank and stalking a fish is the way to go on arrival at any dam (as long as you get their at the proverbial crack of), to not jump in your float tube when fishing any decent sized dam is just limiting your options. read more

2020 in Hindsight

2020 in Hindsight

It’s been a bit of a mother-in-law year, in that we all want to see the back of it, but we can’t honestly say that we haven’t learned a lot from the last 12 months.
This time last year, murmurs of a new contagion once again emanating from behind the great wall were rife, but it wasn’t anything new to be taken seriously…Bird Flu, Swine Flu, hell it might as well have been DonkeyKong Flu for all we cared, ‘another storm in a tea cup’, was the average consensus.
If there ever was a lesson to be taken seriously.
One can never speak lightly of the tragic human toll, but we’ve all had this hit home and are no doubt unjustly tired of the bad news selling doom and gloom, so as a by no means tongue in cheek perspective, think about the fish it has cost you?

 

We’re not getting any younger and opportunities to experience the great fishing destinations are far and between, miss your window and you might just fail to open another. Add to this the fact that fish function in their own timezone / season and a few years in lockdown can cost your dearly.
Self isolation can also be  a vicious circle, it’s quite easy to get too comfortable connecting to the digital world….you’re reading this after all…..and living vicariously through a screen watching great fishing action just isn’t the same, lest you forget.
So get up off your arse and cement some dates with the fishing buddies that you’ve only been engaging with on WhatsApp!
I’m not saying unplug….god forbid…..as you still need to get the inside track on where the fish are running. But that also presents another dilemma, who the hell do you believe? The era of fake news is upon us!
With your digital feed now customised according to your browsing history, algorithms are our new school masters…..Lord help us!
If Mr. Make America Great was the unbridled architect who held such sway over the masses, then how on earth are you meant to believe the latest post by any angler. That old adage of all fisherman being liars apart from you and me….and I’m not too sure about you, is the ultimate truism.
And that’s why there is no substitute for many fishing friends (real ones, that you’ve actually fished with), for a true fishing buddy will never steer you wrong and it’s also why I like to congregate with them over a wee dram, as I rarely trust a man who doesn’t imbibe in a tipple or two and loose lips don’t really sink ships, but they sure do give away the top fishing spots.
Here’s to raising a glass in celebration of your next conquest!
The Purple Patch

The Purple Patch

I like to think that life is a cycle and the wheel turns, it’s what gives me hope that my personal best will not remain just that.

I’ve spent more hours on a bar stool than I care to remember, listening to stories of big fish landed and larger ones lost. The yarns and tales turn into fables as time ticks by and so they should, as anecdotes are by design there to entertain.

This Trout season will see a few of those narratives evolve, and one in particular needs recording, so the history books reflect the facts as they would be hard to embellish, father time’s Alzheimers notwithstanding.

Enter our protagonist, a humble and talented mechanic whose stature belies his peaceful demeanour. He’s by nature an outdoorsman, but relatively new to the art of fly fishing, so his expectations on any angling session are basic, just simply catch some fish. Like his chosen trade he approaches the task methodically, wanting to understand how Trout work and cleverly he does not overcomplicate matters with intricate rigs.

“Find the fish and put the right pattern in their path!”, it’s a mantra that is as practical as it is successful to all who have faith.

 

Now John keeps company with a bunch of fanatical anglers, who dispense more advice than they would ever accept and are partial to a drop or two of the good brew.

It is at one of these infamous gatherings that talk turns to the Trout festivals in WildFly country and the inaugural ‘Notties Invitational’, where the stage is set.

 

This competition is a single day on the Mooi River, and for his sins he has the fly fishing zealot Sven Turner as his partner, who has him at the waters edge at an ungodly hour, casting in the pitch black to sounds of feeding Brown’s. His aim is true and the contact startling. You expect to harass a few wee Trout on this river, but after a heart stopping bout trying to keep it out the sticks, he landed a 57cm wild specimen, which is tantamount to a trophy fish, and thus he deservedly claimed the title.

Covid put paid to any events for the next 6 months, so fast forward to level one and the relief of being able to fish again. Hence, when the Tops Corporate Challenge announced the dates, it was time to dust off the float tube. His team comprised some notable personalities whose accomplishments on the water were certainly outweighed by their performance in Notties pub!

Now a lot of people think kicking around in a lazy boy on a dam is all about potluck, but the format of the TCC rules out any flukes! And John knows if you want to consistently catch fish, find the weed and fish the spaces in between, less movement translating into more fish. A strategy he proved by drilling the fish in session one. Now you might lay claim to such good fortune at the dam’s feet, but he proved in the next 3 sessions, fishing completely different waters, that his technique played the pivotal role. 27 Trout over the weekend, comfortably filling each session quota earned him the accolade as the top fly fisher of the whole tournament.

He had peaked at precisely the right time, or so one would think.

I had the pleasure of awarding him both trophies and more enjoyably joining him and a few other reprobates at this year’s Swartberg Trout festival. Being the old bullets of this squad, myself and Grevin Price, sensibly joined the lads the morning after the FNB, arriving at the dam to the shock of all three of our team mates fighting fish. Never have you seen tubes pumped and rods rigged so fast!

The fish weren’t feeding, they were feasting and everyone had the opportunity to make the proverbial hay.

And although everyone was catching, on everything from Taddies, Damsels and Minnows to small nymphs and even dry flies we weren’t quite measuring up to the size Trout that John was doing battle with. We all lost big fish, except the man who was riding his purple patch like it was Sea Biscuit!

You know you’re in the zone when your buddies start referencing your beloved mum, whilst hurling abuse at your good fortune.

 

‘It’s a Slab’ got upgraded to ‘another Bus’, which comments we started to ignore, such was the man’s action, but when this was replaced by a strange silence, broken by a screaming reel and ‘@#$$ it’s a Tank!’ we all snapped to attention.

After a bruising bout, it was the fish we all pray for….a double digit, 70 cm Rainbow hen and one that John Larter confidently brought to the net, which at 10.5 lbs was his personal best and the biggest fish of the event.

He had pulled off the trifecta, a feat I dare say will probably not be repeated by anyone else. So, in my not so humble opinion, he is the undisputed 2020 individual Trout champion

The lesson I took from witnessing his remarkable achievement was that any day you spend on the water could be your day, so don’t stop casting.

Breaking Records - TCC Final

Breaking Records - TCC Final

Breaking Records – TCC Final

Getting to the final in any event can be a little nerve wracking, especially when qualifying for the first time. Fishing isn’t seen as a competitive sport by some, lending itself more to recreation and relaxation as an activity, but try telling that to the intrepid bunch of fly fishers who have been dreaming of catching a trophy Trout during lockdown. “Have a glass of not so seriou”s is the sage advice dispensed at the TOPS Corporate Challenge and for good reason…

Brad Stephens

Brad Stephens

Louise Steenekamp

Louise Steenekamp

It’s one thing to be competing with another person but quite another to be pitting your wits against the finicky feeding habits of fish.

Hence if you make the mistake of taking this pastime too seriously and start fixating on The Trout, you spend too much time casting, changing flies and chasing fish, forgetting why you’re on the water in the first place. This all translates into catching less fish.

Hendrik Fourie with 61cm Rainbow

Hendrik Fourie with 61cm Rainbow

A few fell into that pressure trap this last weekend on the WildFly waters, but those that slowed it all down and let the fish find their fly scarcely had time to focus on anything else but the bend in their rod!

An Astounding 197 Trout were caught in the first morning of fishing, which was more Trout landed in one session than in the entire Third leg of the qualifying rounds. Even a Bok defeat couldn’t have wiped the smile off every anglers face on Friday lunch. The 100mm of rain over the last week had certainly helped, cooling the dams and injecting some fresh nutrients, but take nothing away from the efforts of the entrants who were filling scorecards.

Tavis Cairns with a great Brown Trout

Tavis Cairns with a Great Brown Trout

Niel Westerhof with his 59cm Rainbow

Niel Westerhof with his 59cm Rainbow

The Yamaha boat, sponsored by Natal Marine and Caravans might have been the motivator for the quick exodus from The Legendary Notties as anglers went in search of the elusive tagged fish, but I think the sheer amount of action spurred everyone back onto the water. A further 97 Trout were recorded in that afternoon session, witnessing some very weary anglers returning, many having spent the last 12 hours searching for that double digit specimen.
Day one of the TCC Final set a new record for amount of fish caught in a single day and after a hearty meal, new plans of attack echoed around the event arena.
Of course, no one bothered to consult the fish about these best laid plans or make an offering to the weather gods.

Hendrik Fourie landed a beautiful Rainbow Hen of 61cm.

John Larter - The Best Fly Fisher for the TOPS Corporate Challenge.

John Larter – The Best Fly Fisher for the TOPS Corporate Challenge.

The 2020 record – Gavin Cowell with his 66cm (9lbs) Rainbow

Session fishing is always a diminishing scale of returns, with rod and a little peer pressure taking it’s toll. Hence why the rule of 4,3,2,1 fish to count in respective fishing sessions is  a great handicap……for the Trout in particular. And the fishing session total slid down to 92 Trout in the 3rd and plummeted to only 39 fish in that telling final session. You would think that with 425 fish landed in two days that many anglers would have caught their full quota (without having fish bequeathed), but only two fly fishers managed this task. Neil Westerhoff came a close second, but it was John Larter with his 27 Trout that walked away with a new Sage X compliments of Frontier Fly Fishing, taking top honours as The Best Fly Fisher for the TOPS Corporate Challenge.

Team Artav 4X4, our 2020 TOPS Corporate Challenge Champions.

Team Artav 4X4, our 2020 TOPS Corporate Challenge Champions.

The Outdoor Warehouse Team - taking Silver.

The Outdoor Warehouse Team – taking Silver.

In 3rd place - The ‘Nymphmaniacs'.

In 3rd place – The ‘Nymphmaniacs’.

Chasing the current 2020 record of 66cm, caught by Gavin Cowell that weighed 9lbs saw Hendrik Fourie land a beautiful Rainbow Hen of 61cm from InverMooi Estate, which earned him biggest fish in the final, also walking away with a hamper of fly tackle compliments of Greys.

With every team who made the final guaranteed a fishing holiday, compliments of WildFly Travel and Easy Holidays anticipation reigned over supper as the results were tallied. With trips to the incredible Baines River Camp and renowned Matoya Tiger Lodge as well as adventures down the mighty Orange with Kalahari Outventures and Trout getaways at Semonkong, Fordoun, Loxley House, Highland Lodge and Giants Cup, every team was winning.
In 3rd place was the solid performance of the ‘Nymphmaniacs’, but it was the contest for the illustrious title that was only defined by 3 placing points, with ‘The Outdoor Warehouse’ team taking Silver.
Entering for the very first time and proving their fly fishing prowess were the talented Artav 4X4 team, our 2020 TOPS Corporate Challenge Champions.
With 1167 Trout landed in this year’s event, the Wildfly waters delivered yet again! Here’s to keep everyone in casting distance and spending more time on the water in 2021!!
Self Isolating Trout - TCC Leg 3

Self Isolating Trout - TCC Leg 3

A few anglers thought that the Trout were adhering to the Covid regulations this last weekend as they certainly were reluctant to come within casting distance, let alone out to play.

Weather is always a go-to excuse, but 34-degree heat and Trout do not mix well, let alone the toll it takes on fly fishers adrift in a tube for 10 hours in the blazing sun. It’s why the TOPS Corporate Challenge is traditionally held at the beginning of Winter and despite 270 fish being recorded in the 1st Leg and 315 in the second, boding well, the first taste of a pending Summer had the Trout diving for cover.

Gavin Cowell with the winning fish

Gavin Cowell with the winning fish

-Sune Morten with her first wildfly rainbow trout

Sune Morten with her first WildFly Rainbow Trout

Only 90 fish were recorded on the first day (less than what was caught in the first morning of the previous two legs) and some tired and weary fly fishers, looking a little shell shocked, were quenching a well-deserved thirst that evening. It wasn’t just a lack of action or a mild case of sunstroke, but more the fact that some didn’t even see a fish move. Lack of oxygen in the top layer of the water column will account for that, yet to add insult to injury, a few anglers managed to figured out how to target Trout in these conditions and had subsequently filled a scorecard.

Craig Cowell with a wee beast from Lochwood

Craig Cowell with a wee beast from Lochwood

A stunning 59cm Brown and a 59cm Rainbow were testament that a few big Trout were feeding, but on what had those in the know, very tight-lipped.

Changing fly or tactics that have served you so well over the year’s is like asking someone to change the way they dress or walk. Any advice one might part in this respect is always met with a polite ear, but rarely does it sink into the extent that any angler changes their habits.

Gavin Cowell - 59cm brown from Invermooi

Gavin Cowell – 59cm Brown from Invermooi

A Spring / Summer fishing strategy is in stark contrast to Winter and the best suggestion I could ever offer is to slow it all down and let the fish find your fly! In such warm conditions, the Trout isn’t going to chase as aggressively and if nothing else slowing it all down keeps your fly in the water longer, which mathematically increases your chances. You also end up fishing deeper and trust me, the Trout on a hot day will be right down there.

A storm that night injected a little oxygen into most waters and saw a marginal increase in the 3rd session, with 48 Trout succumbing to the fly, but the rain had woken the bigger fish up.

 

Biggest Fish & Top Fly Fisher - Gavin Cowell

Biggest Fish & Top Fly Fisher – Gavin Cowell

Paul Coetzee - best performing dam

Paul Coetzee – Best performing dam

Riaan Viljoen for his 59cm Rainbow

Riaan Viljoen for his 59cm Rainbow

 

Depending on how one fished, flies that worked varied from Minnows and Strip leeches / Platanna varients to small Red-eyed Damsels, Flashback Nymphs, and the reliable Bloodworm.

It’s always decided in the 4th session in the TOPS Corporate Challenge, giving everyone something to fish for and with Hardy, Sage, RIO, Horizon, Xplorer, Scientific Anglers, Greys, and Airflo creating an incredible prize pool, the teams stayed out until last light looking for that one big Trout to count.

3rd leg Champions - ARTAV 4x4

3rd Leg Champions – ARTAV 4×4

The Runners up - The Dead Donkeys

The Runners up – The Dead Donkeys

And Gavin Cowell hit it out the park with a 66cm beauty from Lochwood in the final session, not only giving him the biggest fish, but also top fly fisher for the weekend. The final tally for the TCC 3rd leg was 161 fish.

Top honors went to a new team, Artav 4×4, who consistently out fished their fellow entrants in every session winning the 3rd leg of the TOPS Corporate Challenge.

In a few weeks, the final will decide the 2020 champions and with all the rain on the horizon, I think it’s going to turn the fishing on its head once again.