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80 LUCKY ANGLERS SHARE DULLSTROOM BONANZA!
And on a lighter note - the average return card from Session 1 !!!!
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Dullstroom Fly Fishers' Association recently hosted the 2012 DFFA BONANZA and opened a record-breaking treasure chest of prizes totaling R 150 000.00 which were shared by the 80 participants - either through skilful angling ......Or in the seemingly endless lucky draws!
The event took place between October 11 and October 14 and was the first dullstroom-based competition featuring Xplorer Fly Fishing as the principal sponsor, with Senqu and Bunnahabhain lending great support with their products.
The 2012 BONANZA was run much along the lines of the Dullstroom Classic which was discontinued a few years ago, and was then regarded as the most prolific fly fishing event on The Highlands Meander at the time. The 80 BONANZA participants fished in 4-person teams, over 5 sessions, on 10 waters, many of which are not normally accessible to public fishing - and the general consensus was that a great time was had by one and all - DESPITE SOME TRULY AWFUL WEATHER CONDITIONS!
The rain started falling heavily on the registration evening and the weather from that point played a significant role in the fishing - and what actually happened was that it largely became a competition in two parts. Through Day One, the heavy rain and strong winds did make fishing difficult, but the fish seemed to be active in most dams and some good returns were recorded on various sunk line sactics. But then as the weather improved on Day Two and water calmed, fish clearly strarted feeding in the surface - predominantly on caenis mayfly hatches. At this point, the skilful anglers came to the fore and the lion's share of the returns went to those who changed their tactics and fished in the margins with flies in the surface where the fish could see them.
But throughout the event, one team dominated and drew futher and further ahead as the fishing conditions improved. The team was Team Hookjaw, comprising of Richard Bailey, Johan Ferreira, Evert Minaar and Barend Pieters - they landed 65 fish for 120 points - and they were rewarded with magnificent prizes from Xplorer Fly Fishing and Bunnahabhain Islay whisky.
Some way behind, were the runners-up The Moenahs who landed 27 fish for 43 points to win prizes sponsored by Senqu. Fittingly, these two teams also included the anglers that scooped the major individual prizes, with Hookjaw's Johan Ferreira claiming the top angler prize (a beautifully framed original watercolour by Tom Sutcliffe, plus a very special 25-year old single malt from Bunnahabhain), while The Moenahs' Greg Gillings took the biggest fish prize with a magnificent 72cm rainbow cock taken from Mavungana's Laverpa waters. This earned Greg a top-of-the-range Xplorer T-50 4/5 weight rod.
But the awards and prizes, in true BONANZA fashion, did not only go to those anglers who caught the most or the biggest fish.
The event took place between October 11 and October 14 and was the first dullstroom-based competition featuring Xplorer Fly Fishing as the principal sponsor, with Senqu and Bunnahabhain lending great support with their products.
The 2012 BONANZA was run much along the lines of the Dullstroom Classic which was discontinued a few years ago, and was then regarded as the most prolific fly fishing event on The Highlands Meander at the time. The 80 BONANZA participants fished in 4-person teams, over 5 sessions, on 10 waters, many of which are not normally accessible to public fishing - and the general consensus was that a great time was had by one and all - DESPITE SOME TRULY AWFUL WEATHER CONDITIONS!
The rain started falling heavily on the registration evening and the weather from that point played a significant role in the fishing - and what actually happened was that it largely became a competition in two parts. Through Day One, the heavy rain and strong winds did make fishing difficult, but the fish seemed to be active in most dams and some good returns were recorded on various sunk line sactics. But then as the weather improved on Day Two and water calmed, fish clearly strarted feeding in the surface - predominantly on caenis mayfly hatches. At this point, the skilful anglers came to the fore and the lion's share of the returns went to those who changed their tactics and fished in the margins with flies in the surface where the fish could see them.
But throughout the event, one team dominated and drew futher and further ahead as the fishing conditions improved. The team was Team Hookjaw, comprising of Richard Bailey, Johan Ferreira, Evert Minaar and Barend Pieters - they landed 65 fish for 120 points - and they were rewarded with magnificent prizes from Xplorer Fly Fishing and Bunnahabhain Islay whisky.
Some way behind, were the runners-up The Moenahs who landed 27 fish for 43 points to win prizes sponsored by Senqu. Fittingly, these two teams also included the anglers that scooped the major individual prizes, with Hookjaw's Johan Ferreira claiming the top angler prize (a beautifully framed original watercolour by Tom Sutcliffe, plus a very special 25-year old single malt from Bunnahabhain), while The Moenahs' Greg Gillings took the biggest fish prize with a magnificent 72cm rainbow cock taken from Mavungana's Laverpa waters. This earned Greg a top-of-the-range Xplorer T-50 4/5 weight rod.
But the awards and prizes, in true BONANZA fashion, did not only go to those anglers who caught the most or the biggest fish.
The two lady entrants, Madelein Tuinder and Erika Swart, unfortunately both blanked - but they shared the ladies' prizes sponsored by the DFFA and Simply Caroll's.
The Vier Pappegaaie team won the Best Dressed Team Award hands down for their dashing evening outfits - not to mention some very innovative weather-proofing on Day One couresy of Pick' n Pay!
Dave Hepworth earned himself a dinner for two at Mrs Simpsons restaurnat by catching the very first fish on a Mrs Simpsons fly at 7:15am on Day One.
And perhaps, most significantly, the Kennedy Family's "True Grit" award went to the only junior entrant, 14-year old Divan Steyn, whose single fish of the event was the biggest of his life so far - a beautiful 55cm brown from the Bird of Prey Specimen Dam.
The Vier Pappegaaie team won the Best Dressed Team Award hands down for their dashing evening outfits - not to mention some very innovative weather-proofing on Day One couresy of Pick' n Pay!
Dave Hepworth earned himself a dinner for two at Mrs Simpsons restaurnat by catching the very first fish on a Mrs Simpsons fly at 7:15am on Day One.
And perhaps, most significantly, the Kennedy Family's "True Grit" award went to the only junior entrant, 14-year old Divan Steyn, whose single fish of the event was the biggest of his life so far - a beautiful 55cm brown from the Bird of Prey Specimen Dam.
Which were the best waters? Well, Forelwater, Jansens (the DFFA Club Dam), and Little Troutbeck all fared very well, but by far the very best was Mavungana's Leverpa which produced the biggest fish, the most fish per angler, and was most favourably rated by the participants - so a well-earned accolade all round. But there were unsung heroes to boot - and topping this list has to be Dylan Evans from Dullstroom Country Estates who on 3 occasions broke out of his working weekend to rescue anglers who were stuck in the mud on the road leading to Dullstroom Country Estates. And moments of great generosity - Johan Ferreira, the winning angler, enjoyed the event so much that he has already pledged R 10 000.00 to get the 2013 BONANZA off to a flying start - a gesture that will be truly appreciated by the Helping Hands charitable organization who are the principal benefactors of all funds raised. Ont that note, the DFFA are still reconciling their books, but it seems that they are very likely to equal last year's record contribution of R 40 000.00 - well done guys.
So the DFFA BONANZA is well and truly on the map and destined to become even better as a fun-filled, skill-based event on the Dullstroom Fly Fishing calendar. The new DFFA Chairman, Peter St Clair, praised the support of all the many sponsors and water providers at the final prize giving and, in his closing remarks, Alan Hatton the event organizer indicated that the DFFA are already working on the things that can be improved further and asked the following of this year's participants
"if youhad a good time, tell all your friends. If you didn't, then tell us, and we'll make sure that you will enjoy next year's BONANZA!"
So the DFFA BONANZA is well and truly on the map and destined to become even better as a fun-filled, skill-based event on the Dullstroom Fly Fishing calendar. The new DFFA Chairman, Peter St Clair, praised the support of all the many sponsors and water providers at the final prize giving and, in his closing remarks, Alan Hatton the event organizer indicated that the DFFA are already working on the things that can be improved further and asked the following of this year's participants
"if youhad a good time, tell all your friends. If you didn't, then tell us, and we'll make sure that you will enjoy next year's BONANZA!"
