Surviving the 2003 Bells Fly Fishing Festival at Rhodes by Ed Herbst

            It was the late Andy Warhol who came up with the idea that everyone was entitled to 15 minutes of fame. Ideally this fame should be reflected on the front page of the newspaper as in “.... braves mountainous seas to save child from drowning.” Rather than the back page as in “.... caught with pants down at pop festival.”

            I made the front page of programme of the Bells-sponsored Wild Trout Association Fly Fishing Festival at Rhodes but I don’t think it was what Warhol had in mind or what I would have chosen.

“WARNING!

Unusually hot weather conditions have been conducive to encouraging snakes to become far more active than usual at this time of the year. Ed Herbst was bitten on Sunday morning 16 March while fishing the upper reaches of the Diepspruit. Fortunately he survived and rumour has it the snake has severe tooth ache!”

            I had been dropped off with farming friends near Barkly East by Dave “Thankshjalot” Walker, sage, raconteur, master of the pizza oven, stalwart promoter of tourism in the southern Drakensberg, ex-mayor of Rhodes, and mine host whenever I visit that charming village.

            Unfortunately he did not drop off the large bag containing my wading boots, thick socks and the soccer shin pads with which I encase my legs, front and rear, whenever I go fishing. Thus it was that when I was bitten twice on the right leg just above the ankle by a cobra I was fishing wearing only trainers. Fortunately it was couth enough not to inject any venom, something that happens quite often and what snake park personnel refer to as a “dry bite”.

            Not an auspicious omen and, almost inevitably, when the Bells Festival opened in Rhodes a few days later, angling’s most depressing dirge, “You should’ve been here yesterday!” added to the pervasive gloom as the heavens opened and normally clean streams became muddy.

            Now I am an unashamed, indeed brazen propagator of the notion, heretical to some, that unless the sun is shining and a gentle breeze wafting upstream at the correct angle just off my right elbow, then I stay at home.

            This is no hardship you understand, because fly fishing, being such a multi-faceted activity, provides the perfect antidote – fly tying. Its attraction was best summed up for me by British author, Arthur Ransome, back in 1929: “Fly tying is the next best thing to fishing; it is the licking of the lips that eases a thirsty man in the desert.”

            This is a particularly apposite quote under the circumstances because, notwithstanding the deluge, everyone caught fish while I was tying flies and everyone seemed to end the day with a raging thirst.

            Derek Cuthbert, Bells’ Brand Development Manager, had the antidote – his demonstration of some of the finest single malts on the planet. Clearly this is a tough job but someone has to do it and as the saying goes – when the going gets tough ... For those with a penchant for odd information, the value of maturing whisky in Scotland is equivalent to 7 times the reserves of the Bank of England!

            Dinner after the first day’s fishing evening was served at that well-known local hostelry, Dave Walker’s Walkerbouts featured a magnificent Haggis sponsored by the Barkly East Butchery. Such a noble dish could hardly be allowed to be consumed without due reverence and was piped in by Craig Ellis, (On hearing the skirl of the pipes, the resident cat left the premises at speed!). Almost needless to say, not all of those present paid due reverence by way of sampling the haggis! Ah well, softies abound. 

            As the event continued the weather slowly cleared, the river levels dropped, the water cleared and, inevitably, as we left the sun shone and the weather was perfect! According to the local fly fishing sages: “You should have been here tomorrow....! Nevertheless 633 fish were caught equivalent to 12 trout per rod per day and 4 of which were in excess of 450mm.

            As with all the Bells Fly Fishing Festivals I was left with a store of happy memories, with new friends acquired and new fishing and fly tying methods learned. The Festival is not a competition so everyone got a lucky draw prize and the community benefited from the presence of several dozen, eco-friendly visitors spending money in the village.

By all accounts, this was one of the most successful Bell’s events held in Rhodes yet with a record number of entrants, guests and partners.

            Everyone left for home with the feeling that it had been time and money well spent and a new appreciation of, and respect for, those single malts...