Any’fin’ is possible with a ‘reely’ good rod
The fly fishing competition was a real trout pleaser.
Sundowner Fly-fishing Adventures (SFA) and Kloofzicht Lodge hosted a very successful sixth annual winter fly-fishing competition.
The competition has become one of the most popular competitive trout fly-fishing events in Gauteng. The beauty of the competition is that it allows a wide range of people to compete, from novice fishermen to experienced fishers (although no national fly-fishers are allowed to enter).
This year the competition had entries from six female fishermen, and four juniors. The event took place on Sunday, 23 July.
One of SFA’s main objectives is to promote and be involved in the development of fly-fishing in South Africa.
The dams at Kloofzicht have a reputation for having sizable trout and this year competitors caught batches of trout weighing in at between 1,5 to 2,5kg. This meant there were fewer fish caught overall, but the competitors could thoroughly enjoy catching much bigger fish. Many fly-fishers caught their personal best at the competition.
“I was very pleased with the result of 32 anglers out of 61 hooked,” said Wayne Sinclair, manager of SFA. “They each landed one or more fish. At least another 20 other anglers hooked and lost fish.
The buffet lunch was delicious and if the competitors had not had to go back to set themselves up for the last fishing session, they would have lingered over it for the rest of the afternoon.
“We couldn’t present such an incredible competition without the valuable support of our sponsors, who provided prizes valued at over R160 000.
I am also grateful for the great work done by the SFA staff/ guides who made a supreme effort in assisting the competitors. They scored fish and provided a shoulder to cry on when a big trout got away.
“It was our privilege to select Cansa as our charity for this year’s competition. Cansa created awareness about the necessity to protect one’s skin from the sun to prevent skin cancer by selling sunblock and bandannas to the fishermen. I am proud to say we received R4 200 in donations from the competitors.”
Fishermen can look forward to some exciting developments about next year’s competition. These will be communicated in the near future.
Here are the results:
Trout competition (Tie-breaker: Most trout caught and earliest fish caught):
Overall winner – Abraham Duvenage caught four trout with first fish caught as early as 7.25am
Men’s category:
First prize: Quinton Marx caught four trout with first fish caught at 8.25am
Second: Lyle Smith caught four trout with first fish caught at 1.05pm
Third: Keith Nethercote caught three trout with first fish caught at 7.08am
Women’s category:
First: Ruane Koegelenberg caught two trout with first fish caught at 7.07am
Second: Benna Botha caught one trout at 10.44am
Juniors’ category:
First: Jared Hughes caught two trout
Species Competition
First: Abraham Duvenage caught numerous trout and a 2,5kg carp
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