Fly Fishing | Chasing a Dream at the World Fly Fishing Championships in France 2024
Fly fishing has long been a beloved pastime and competitive sport worldwide
In South Africa, the passion for fly fishing is growing both socially and at the competitive edge, with an increasing number of anglers dedicated to improving their skills and competing on the world stage. I wanted to write this article to explore the current state of fly fishing in South Africa, the technical improvements needed for anglers to compete internationally, and the aspiration that more and more South African’s have of winning a medal at the World Fly Fishing Championships.
Looking at the Senior South African team’s performance in France, it is clear things are looking bright for the future. With Dan Factor finishing individual 11th overall and the Team finishing 8th overall (just a few points short of a top five finish), one can see the step forward. The Team was completely out of their comfort zone fishing two international rookies on very challenging French waters, however the depth off skill and angling potential showed through. Whether it was catching wild brown trout in glacier fed mountain lakes or grayling in crystal clear rivers the team and its anglers performed well in changing conditions, but why is this?
Well, South Africa boasts diverse and rich fishing environments, from pristine rivers to expansive lakes, offering an array of opportunities for fly fishing enthusiasts. However, despite the abundance of natural resources, South African anglers have historically lagged behind their European counterparts in competitive fly fishing. This disparity can be attributed to several factors, including limited access to advanced training, less exposure to international competitions, the gap in technical ability, international experience and differing environmental conditions.
So, what is changing??? Simply put it all comes down to belief. For several years now, information sharing, coaching, skills development, technique, strategy and time on the water have all been improving steadily. In some of these major growth areas of development we are close or have surpassed the ability of the large challenging nations. However, with this said we have always lacked the belief that we can challenge and beat the best on their home waters, until now! The last two years have showed that non-European nations are closing the gap to their European counterparts, and this can be seen in the trajectory of results. Not only is South Africa showing a move up the rankings but countries like the USA, Australia and New Zealand are producing some impressive team and individual results, with many of these anglers consistently in the mix for top shelf medals.
Some of the development that we are starting to see as a country is rooted in the international guides and coaches getting involved. The last five years has seen South African Travelling Teams use some of the best anglers in the world as Coaches and Guides, this information and skill is filtering into the community, ultimately raising the overall level of Fly fishing in the country. Just one example of this is the number of one percenter’s that are used to create efficiency on the water, every one percenter learned helps our top anglers gain precious time back to potentially hook another fish. Our ability to use the right technique at the right time, identify where fish may be holding, how these fish are feeding and even the strength of tippet used are all areas that have seen massive improvement across our best anglers.
I believe we are reaching a tipping point that could see South African Fly Fishing become a major player at International Competitions. We now have large groups of strong anglers with lots of experience at an international level, this means the pool to select from is growing in strength. But to move forward yet another step we need to invest time, resource, and money in the right ways. Immediate focus must go into building provincial numbers and into strong youth development programs. Teams that travel internationally should have sponsored managers and development programs that are designed for the specific waters being fished. Information sharing and coaching should become part of our DNA with a mentality of improving all anglers’ abilities, and in doing this our local competitions will become more competitive.
The French tournament had many highs and lows for the South African Team. With its breath-taking landscapes, technical fishing, unforgiving natural fish and extreme hikes. The Team has grown in confidence and ability moving into the next chapter of South African competitive fly fishing, a chapter with so much possibility. Keep an eye on this space, it will be worth it.
