Stream X - Stocked, not
Wild.
021 551 4248 sales@streamx.co.za
Dear [fname]
before I say anything, I would like to invite you to our Open day on Friday the 24th of September. A reminder with details will send out closer to time, but please book this date in your calender.
Pushing the envelope or smashing through the boundary?
There is often debate about what constitutes fly fishing and what doesn’t. On the one hand there are the dry fly purists who disdain anything other than a dry fly on a stream or river. On the other side of the railway tracks are the blue water boys, who chum and tease huge fish into a frenzy and then casually lob a fly into the ensuing melee.
While both extremes use fly rods, fly reels and flies the situation is far from clear cut, as there are no clear rules. It’s a kind of democratic anarchy, as the rules are largely followed, but every man fishes according to his own personal dictates. This situation has allowed fly fishing to evolve from the dry fly only chalkstream fishermen, to the various aspects it encompasses today. All species in the world are now targeted, some more successfully than others, but that makes it a challenge, which in turn makes it more attractive.
These are the thoughts that occupied my mind as I wolfed down four cans of anchovies in the early hours one morning. It may seem to be a strange preparation for my first snoek (Thyristes atun) fishing trip, but prudence dictated that should a heaving sea cause a heaving stomach, my efforts would not be wasted. Thus my early morning brain stumbled upon the first question of fly fishing ethics. If I were to lose my breakfast, it wouldn’t really be chumming. Really! It could also be considered 'catch & release'.
The second question was more complicated. The fly rod and fly reel were safe from scrutiny, but what about my line? Twenty five meters of braid, connected to a six meter head of Rio T17 (that’s a 10 inch per second sinking rate) may not have been an out of the box fly line, but it was probably safe. This line sinks like a brick, especially with a saltwater DDD fly attached. (The saltwater DDD, with apologies to the original DDD, is a large Clouser pattern 4/0 to 6/0, with enormous dumbbell eyes). It was named “Denton’s Deadly Diver” after the man who ‘invented’ the eyes and pointed out that it had the potential to cause serious harm to the back of a skull, as well as sinking like a sack of hammers.
This was a perfect morning for fishing, a calm sea and a whimper of wind. The good ship "Double Haul" made good time to Buffels bay. My rod was quickly rigged and my ‘line’ castt into the water. It sank like it should have, and within moments of getting the fly down, and before starting the long strips, the line started moving away.
No smashing take. Just a reassuring solid pull. I said “Ooooh”, the fish speeded up and pulled harder. A louder “OOOOH”, this was fun. With the 10 weight rod bent to its limit we had a bit of a tug of war, followed by a few to-and fro's. This fish wasn’t giving up easily.
With some good advice from Captain DDD, the fish was soon boated, almost a meter of flashy silver with some serious dentition and a kak attitude.
The rest of the morning went well, with a lot of fish lost off the hook. Having a seriously sharp hook was essential, and having a hook hone even more important. [Tip of the Day: Keep your hooks sharp, and your wits sharper]
Despite using a mono (100lb Sufix) shock tippet, only one fish broke it off, just as it got to the surface. For the most part the fish were swallowing the Saltwater DDD’s deep, so the tippet was severely tested. One of Captain DDD's fish had the flash of the fly sticking out of it's gills.
The mere suggestion that this is flyfishing, may cause pain in some quarters. When snoek fishing on fly is broken down to its basest components, it is really vertical jigging with fly tackle. It was not nearly as efficient as the commercial guys with bait, but it was immense fun, and no matter what side of the tide you sit, flyfishing.
This is where it gets worse. At some point someone suggested that treble hooks would be a lot more effective (as would barbed hooks). That may well sound like flyfishing blasphemy, yet trebles are quite common when fly fishing a salmon stream.
So where do YOU draw the line?
Best regards
Craig
Wormy and ‘pap’ snoek – the facts The parasite worms in snoek put a lot of people off eating it, but as it turns out there is nothing to worry about. The ‘worms’ are a flesh eating Nematode, but are harmless to humans, and some claim it improves the flavour. There are none of these above the lateral line, so if you are squeamish, eat the top half and give the bottom to the cat. Pap snoek is not caused by over playing the fish, or not keeping it cool, but by another bug called Kudoa thyrsites, which causes “soft flesh syndrome”. If a fish is heavily infected, these parasites release an enzyme which rapidly breaks down the flesh. |
News & Events
StreamX Open DayFriday 24th September, Fly fishing heritage day
Book the day on your calender now. Prizes, Boston lager, competitions, guest fly tyers & more.
2010 Calender
2nd of
September @ 6pm Fly Tying Thursday
Cancelled due to CPS
event - Clubroom revamp official opening - all welcome.
No charge for attending, or for the Thelema Wine. Don't forget to tell us you are coming.
18 September Bells Jonkershoek Festival
24th September Stream X Open Day
7-10 october Vaal River
Yellowfish Train Trip to Warrenton with StreamX & On-the-fly
More
Details, Book & Pay
Online Credit cards accepted
16 October Carp outing with
StreamX & Sean Mills
29 October to 2nd November Vaal River
Nymphing Masterclass
12-14 November Yellowfish
outing to the Klein Karoo with
StreamX, Sean Mills & Mark Krige
More
Details, Book & Pay
Online Credit cards accepted
4 December Sand Shark
(Guitarfish) outing with StreamX & Sean Mills
9-12 December Father & Sons Vaal
River Yellowfish Train Trip to Warrenton with StreamX
& On-the-fly
More
Details, Book & Pay
Online Credit cards accepted
More details on our
Guides &Travel page.
Feedback
On the 5th of August Conrad
Botes shared pictures and tales of his recent trip to Cuba. Doing some
serious fishing, he caught many tarpon and bonefish as well as
numerous other species. Thanks Conrad, we all enjoted the talk and the
pictures. Thanks to Graeme Field for some of his pics too.
Shilton Sale..a rew reels left
CL1 /CL2 combo, SLL7 Titanium, SLL8 Titanium
For click here for details and purchasing online. You are also welcome to visit the store or view this pdf file.
Just landed..
Furled leaders
Advantages of Using Furled
Leaders
# Change leader and tippet in a flash
# Fight larger fish with lighter tippet
# Cast perfect loops, & adds distance to your cast
# Long leaders cast with ease
# Makes better presentation on the water & improves your accuracy
# Lasts longer than a standard mono leader
# Comes with small loop, for easy tippet change & includes level
tippet & perfection knot
Available in:
Czech Nymph 9ft 4X
natural silk & premium quality clear nylon R85.00
Hi Viz Fl 6ft Green,
Orange, Yellow 4X natural silk R79.00
Small Stream 6.5ft 6X
premium quality clear nylon R85.00
Trout Special 8ft 4X
premium quality clear nylon R85.00
Trout Standard 8ft 5X
premium quality clear nylon R95.00
Due Early September
Steve
Farrar Blend is now available in BLEEDING colours,
incorporating a red and wisteria colour flash.
New Colours available are: BLEEDING BLACK, BLEEDING YELLOW, BLEEDING
PURPLE, BLEEDING RED, BLEEDING ORANGE, BLEEDING GREY, HOT ORANGE,
ANCHOVY.
Fish
Scale This revolutionary baitfish fibre has an unbelievable
realistic scale finish when emerged in water. the blend of pearly
twisted flash & crimped nylon simulates the scales of baitfish
& makes your flies super natural & irresistable to the
predator.
Streamer Brushes These
super soft
brushes have been constructed using Fishient synthetic fibres and are
guaranteed to produce optimal results on your flies. 2 brushes per
pack, 30cm long.
Available in two sizes: 2" (50mm) wide and 1" (25mm) wide.
Colours are Anchovy, Baitfish Green, Bleeding Black, Bleeding Purple,
Bleeding Red, Chartreuse, Electric Yellow, Orange, Peacock, Sea Blue
Baitfish Emulator Flash
in more colours FL. HOT PINK, GRAY GHOST, OLIVE.
Crosscut Rabbit Zonker
1/8" in Black, Chartreuse, Charc m Gray, Red, Purple, Olive
Var, Olive, Tan, Hot Pink, Chinchilla, Fl
Orange, White, Dark Olive
Peacock Eyes Black
& Red
Sparkle Emerger Yarn
more colours:
GRAY, AMBER, LT. OLIVE, LT.TAN, TAN, CLEAR, WHITE, CREAM, DARK OLIVE DUN
The Xplorer Adventure pack has
also arrived, with less orange, and more olive on the front. Pop
in and have a look.
For the fly tyers, we received a shipment of Centipede Legs from Veniard, which were fine enough (0.2mm)to even impress Ed herbst, and most mobile we have ever seen. They lasted about a week in the shop, but we have more arriving this week. Colours are brown, Olive, Red & Tan. R50.00
Fly of the Month
(with apologies to Capt. Dan Blados, creator of the Crease fly)
Capt Blados' Crease fly is a really effective fish catcher, especially
for elf (shad) in the Western Cape.
While experimenting with some great material called 'liquid fusion' I
came up with the idea of making a transparent Crease fly and hence, the
Grease fly. Being transparent it allows you to make pretty good
imitations of baitfish, especially glassies, which are a favourite of
elf. Fish it in exactly the same way as you would a crease fly, on the
surface with an erratic jerky retrieve to create 'pops'.
Step by step tying instructions are here
DVD of the Month
DVD,
Czech Nymph
Johan Klingberg
Duration: 77 min (+78 min bonus)
Video: 16:9 PAL Audio: English, Swedish
R229.00
Join Johan Klingberg in his exciting sessions with some of the world's
most skilful nymph fishermen. This unique film shows Czech national
team fishermen up close, as they reveal the methods that for a long
time were kept secret. You'll also be professionally taught how best to
use these methods when fishing for grayling, brown and rainbow trout in
Scandinavian waters. Buy
Online
Fly Tying Tip of the Month
Trapping items neatly.
It can be frustrating sometimes when you are trying
to trap in some wire or tinsel, and it keeps winding round the hook
with the thread, and never catching.
Here is an easy way around it. Hang your bobbin so it keeps tension on
the thread where you want to trap something (in the example above we
are tripping some tinsel near the bend of the hook). Take your tinsel
or wire and with one hand (behind the vice) on the left, pass it in
front of the hanging thread, grab it with the right hand (behind the
hook).
Then move it towards the rear and at the same time lifting it up
evenly. Move it until it sits under the thread, and on top of the hook
shank. Make one more wrap, then pull the wire or tinsel to the left as
far as you want it, then trap properly and continue. It is also a great
way to keep things neat.