The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine

26/09/2025

T H E • D R E A M
“There’s a lot in fly fishing that’s not so much about actually doing it as about living out a kind of dream. The dream obviously differs depending who you’re talking to, anything from discovering the ultimate day-long float trip down a broad river filled with big, powerful trout, to wading alone in clear saltwater off some unknown atoll stalking schools of silvery-translucent bonefish or, in my case, catching wild trout in remote, quick-flowing, glass-clear, high altitude mountain streams.” – Tom Sutcliffe, Shadows on the Stream Bed.

Following in the literal footsteps of fly fishing author Tom Sutcliffe in search of wild fish, Matt Kennedy filmed his dad Alex Kennedy in a tribute to the late writer while exploring the highly regarded trout streams of the Eastern Cape near Vrederus trout lodge.

A video tribute to Tom Sutcliffe; exploring the highly regarded trout streams of the Eastern Cape in search of wild trout.

23/09/2025

B U L L S • I N • A • C H I N A • S H O P
A few months back we were tagged in a video by a guy catching redfish. “Coolio, broseph!” we thought, making imaginary finger guns at what we initially assumed must be a fan in Louisiana or Texas. Except, when we paid closer attention, we saw that this was all happening in the environs of Asian financial-hub-megacity Hong Kong. Yes, that place, the home of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. And these weren’t some Fong Kong redfish raised in an aquarium but proper ones, you know, red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, the real McCoy. Curiosity piqued, we asked the angler in question, Martin Connell, how he came to be catching redfish in Hong Kong waters.
Read the full interview at the link below.

18/09/2025

S T R E A M S • L O A D I N G
News broke that CapeNature in all their infinite wisdom, foresight, care and planning, had just informed the Cape Piscatorial Society (), mere days before the Cape trout stream season opened, that they would be cancelling the MOU between the two organisations.

Just like that, decades of collaborations and partnership (donations, river clean-ups, security and Working on Water assistance etc) to care for and manage the rivers in the Limietberg, were gone in a puff of smoke. Zero actual consultation. No negotiation. No compromise. No collaboration towards some kind of shared solution. Read more below.

16/09/2025

H E R E • B E • D R A G O N S
“What messed with our imaginations most, though, were stories of big fish breaking off hooks and ripping apart long lines that had been left overnight with live baitfish (up to 10cm long). Gordon reckoned that the beasts responsible for ripping their night lines apart were likely very big blue yellows (also called mpifu by the locals). However, with the Kalungwishi being part of the Congo River system, we did wonder about other river monsters potentially inhabiting this headwater, like goliath tigerfish, or some kind of large vundu-like catfish perhaps? Here be dragons indeed.“

Rafting down the Kalungwishi River in northern Zambia in search of blue yellowfish, Leonard Flemming learned about the threats lurking in this stunning river but also the existential ones this fishery is facing. Read all about it in issue 53 below.

Rafting down the Kalungwishi River in northern Zambia in search of blue yellowfish, Leonard Flemming learned about the lurking threats

12/09/2025

T H E • B E A T S
Better known as the bassist for indie-rock band Portugal. The Man, these days you're more likely to find Zachary Scott Carothers working a different groove, guiding in Oregon with Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters. He serves up this issue's epic Beats, playlist featuring pearlers from The Flaming Lips and Helmet to Manu Chao, Link Wray, Vi**ra Boys, The Stranglers, Bowie and more. Head over to the link below to tune in.

You're more likely to find Zachary Scott Carothers working a different groove, guiding in Oregon with Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters

10/09/2025

I F • T H E S E • W A L L S • C O U L D • T A L K
"Although there must have been some fly fishing fanatic that stocked the this river with trout at some point in the last century, it was Tom in Shadows on the Stream Bed who claimed he and his buddy Ed Herbst must have been the first people ‘in anyone’s memory’ to fish the Swith. Or at least, in Tom’s words, ‘if not discovered, then perhaps rediscovered.’ Like many others before me, I always get that feeling when fishing the Eastern Cape montane streams.”

Following in the footsteps of acclaimed South African fly fishing author Tom Sutcliffe, Matt Kennedy (PolaroidMatt) explores the magic valleys of the Eastern Cape Highlands in pursuit of wild trout while staying at Vrederus WILD TROUT. Read the full feature from issue 53 at the link below.
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Matt Kennedy explores the magic valleys of the Eastern Cape Highlands in pursuit of wild trout at Vrederus trout lodge.

04/09/2025

I S S U E • 5 3

Can you feel it? The quickening. We are officially in the BERS (the period between September and December when time speeds up), rocketing towards the festive season and warmer weather (at least in the southern hemisphere). That means, more time on the water and hopefully less time behind a desk. To get those piscatorial juices flowing, we have a gem of an issue for you at the link below.

Our cover feature sees Matt Kennedy and his father work their way through the trout options of the highlands of the Eastern Cape between Vrederus and Rhodes, following in the footsteps of the late Tom Sutcliffe. Then we have our deep-dive into comp fishing where Matt Gorlei counters many of the myths around it and sets the record straight on a few other things. That’s followed by Leonard Flemming’s account of a hardcore rafting trip to the stunning Kalungwishi River in northern Zambia where he, Ben Pellegrini, Garth Wellman and George Bell chased the region’s unique Avatar-esque blue yellowfish.
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What else?
- We’ve got a High Fives with Juan Rossouw who divides his time between St Brandon’s in the Indian Ocean and guiding around his home town of Nottingham Road.
- A Lifer with 78-year-old hard-charging, rock-climbing, fish-catching retired geologist Andy Killick.
- Then there’s beats from Zachary Scott Carothers of Portugal. The Man.
- An interview with Martin Connell about the redfish fishery in Hong Kong, and much, much more.

Read The Mission Issue 53 online for free, or, if you live in South Africa, you can grab a free copy from your nearest STOCKIST next week.

Eastern Cape Trout, Zambia's Kalungwishi River, Comp Fishing Redux, Redfish in Hong Kong, Booze, Beats & more.

28/08/2025

P O U N D • F O O L I S H
“When it comes to weights and measurements - and for the purpose of this exercise, let's keep it focussed on tigerfish - what is the acceptable roundup for happiness? How do we measure success? Is it possible that it actually doesn’t matter? Maybe, we have been looking too closely at numbers, pounds and kilograms, inches and centimetres, that we have lost sight of what is important. As it is, too often the real trophies are diluted by, let's call it, ‘dubious’ measurements and generous claimed weights at the end of the day. ”

Having seen first-hand the uncomfortable obsession many anglers have with a specific size or weight of fish, seasoned Africa guide Stu Harley of FireTail Fly, asks if we're not missing the point.

Click the link below for Stu’s full article.

Having seen first-hand the obsession many anglers have with trophy fish, seasoned tigerfish guide Stu Harley

27/08/2025

M U N C H I E S
When he’s not making fly fishing videos, or talking about fly fishing, in his spare time The Mission’s content coordinator Matt Kennedy goes… fly fishing. Sometimes that results in fresh fish for dinner.

“One of the many critters in False Bay willing to eat a stripped Clouser is the feisty Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) which patrols the reefs near Simon’s Town harbour. The odd bigger fish offers a decent fight on a 5-weight, and more so, offers a healthy oil-rich fillet for the pot or, in our case, the tortilla.”

Find Matt’s full mackerel tacos recipe below.

Bigger Atlantic mackerel offer a decent fight on a 5-weight, and more so, offers a healthy oil-rich fillet for the pot or mackerel taco recipe

20/08/2025

With proper care and maintenance, good quality fly fishing gear can easily outlast you, so I take the time to maintain and treat it properly.

18/08/2025

D A W I E G R A S
Few people know South Africa’s premier dry fly destination, Sterkfontein Dam, as well as issue 52’s Lifer David Weaver, aka Dawiegras, Brave Dave. But his fly fishing savvy extends way further, to the salt and beyond, except for spotted grunter. He can’t help you there.

“Sterkfontein Dam is the best still water, sight-fishing, dry-fly destination in Africa, if not the world. To be able to drink the water into which I’m casting a line is a privilege that I will never take for granted. Then to be surrounded by the stunning Eastern Free State sandstone cliffs, with the Drakensberg looming in the distance, is like a soul-restoring tonic.”

Read more about issue 52’s Lifer David Weaver below.

Few people know South Africa’s premier dry fly destination, Sterkfontein Dam, as well as David Weaver, aka Dawiegras.

12/08/2025

G N A R L Y • F R O G
The Gnarly Frog is a topwater bass fly designed for warm water surface fishing. Besides having a space-age foam popper head design (courtesy of Arno Laubscher at Gnarly Headz), this frog’s appeal is the two reverse-tied zonker legs that give the popper a splayed-out frog-leg silhouette and a French chef an er****on.

In this video, Platon Trakoshis goes through the steps on how to tie the Gnarly Frog from tail to top, explaining the details behind what makes this padda pop.

Watch the full step-by-step fly tying video on The Mission’s YouTube channel at the link in bio.
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The Gnarly Frog is a topwater bass fly designed for warm water surface bass fly fishing, using 2 zonker strips and a Gnarly Headz popper head.