From the 3rd to the 5th of July the Queenstown Fly Fishing Club held its annual gathering. For the second consecutive year it has been sponsored by Xplorer. As always, the Aloe Grove Guest Farm provided the perfect base from which to fan out for the two full days of fishing. This took place at seven of the 15 dams managed by the QFFC in the area around Dordrecht.
Seven teams of four took part this year, entrants coming from as far as Cape Town, Nottingham Road and Pretoria. It was great to have three junior entrants this year as well. Roughly half were first-timers, the others seasoned regulars. Somehow the event would not be the same without the two ever-present teams from Maclear. Three reps from Xplorer were on hand to provide the last-minute necessities for those who needed to stock up.
As was the case the previous year, the two days of fishing coincided with a major cold front sweeping across the country with the result the temperatures were shockingly low throughout each day and the wind a major challenge. Friday the 4th dawned with a sub-zero north westerly blowing which strengthened to 10m/s as the day progressed. Friday night saw no sign of it easing and throughout Saturday it continued to batter the already windswept anglers. Credit must go to those who persevered to the very end!
In spite of the weather, a surprising number of fish were caught, including some trophy specimens for which the area is so well known. Fly fisherman who fish the Eastern Cape waters for the first time are completely overwhelmed by the size of the fish that are caught here. Eleven fish over 60cm were landed and three of these were trophies over 10 pounds! It would be accurate to say that as many, if not more, were lost! Just as importantly, all fish were fin perfect specimens with vivid colours and attractive proportions.
Some magnificent prizes were on offer this year! For the second consecutive year, Gavin Loveday caught the winning fish, a 64.3cm cockfish from Pinegrove Dam. The winning team was the Four Amigos consisting of Gert Ferreira, Mike Adams, Johan Botha and Andrew Stuart. Between them they caught 29 fish totalling 13,94 metres in length. Liam Wege won the junior section.
As the QFFC Club, we are extremely grateful to Xplorer for their ongoing support of this worthwhile annual event. We also value the support of the other subsidiary sponsors. As always, we are grateful to Aloe Grove for providing the perfect venue and some delicious evening meals. A final word of thanks must go to the QFFC Chairman, Reg Morgan and his Committee members for organising another popular gathering.
The winning team – the Four Amigos.
Gavin Loveday with his winning cockfish of 64,3 cm.
Another fat hen caught by Gavin Loveday. Although this fish was not as long as his winning fish it was heavier, weighing over 10 pounds.
One of the guides with the team, the Fishaholics, which contained two junior anglers.
The ‘Red Eyed Buggers’ dressed appropriately for the adverse weather.
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