Learn Fly Fishing in South Africa

Getaway Magazine

Learning fly fishing in South Africa's Eastern Highlands - the prettiest place in the country not to catch a fish.

"The chilly water climbs past my knees as I inch carefully out into the stream. It moves slowly here, through a long, shallow pool, and the barest of eddies drifts gently behind as I glance down to check my footing. It’s early spring in the Eastern Cape Highlands and cotton-wool clouds hang bright and fluffy over 2500-metre peaks. The Bokspruit is running pure with snowmelt and my waterlogged boots are clearly visible on the stream bed below.

I pause, unfamiliar rod in hand, trying to recall the morning’s torrent of instruction. From the nearby bank my guide and persevering teacher, Fred Steynberg, sees my hesitation and calls out encouragement: Keep your elbow in, don’t throw. Wrist straight. Aim beyond that ‘V’ of moving water. I cast – an inexpert waft – and line and fly zip by perilously close to my ear. Surprisingly I land more or less on target and remember to lower the rod tip quickly, then slowly take in the slack. My eyes fix on the tiny white fly as it floats on the current towards me. Wait, was that a... ‘Strike!’..."

Extract from The beginning of the line, Getaway magazine, March 2017. —