Chris Clemes Fly Rods

23/08/2026

Always a lovely time spent at Natimby. The fish were in great condition

02/08/2026

Good times at Salterton, hot weather and low water but beautiful as always

01/08/2026

Summertime!

04/07/2026

Beautiful midwinters day on the Hermanus Fly Fishers Club Waters, I think an appropriate wine to improve my luck ;-) White Water Farm, Stanford

13/06/2026

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30/05/2026

What a view from the tent to wake up to :-)

30/05/2026

Burrowing scorpion hiding under our camp fireplace stones

03/05/2026

Featured in The Times Luxury this spring — a profile of the workshop, the rods, and a place alongside Hermès, Hardy and Orvis.

Read the full piece:

The best luxury fishing gear to buy now — from expensive rods to high-tech waders, here’s everything you need to invest in before your next fishing trip

18/04/2026

The Jan du Toits: A River You Have to Earn

Some places you plan for. Others you wait for.

The Jan du Toits Kloof — the JDTs, as it is known to those fortunate enough to have fished it — runs deep in the Boland mountains outside Wellington, protected on all sides by Cape Nature and managed by the Cape Piscatorial Society. The CPS holds a special access arrangement with Cape Nature and the Mountain Club of South Africa, but the number of permits issued each season is severely limited, and the only way to obtain one is to win the annual lottery. Members enter a draw held each July or August. There is no other way in. No amount of knowing the right people, phoning the right office, or arriving at the trailhead with good intentions will get you there. You enter, you wait, and if your name comes out of the draw, you go. When my number came up, I understood what it meant.

April. The last weeks of the South African trout season. The fish are in their best condition of the year — deep-bellied, strong, coloured up after months of feeding through summer. The Cape mountains are beginning to turn. There are rivers in the Western Cape you can book on a Tuesday afternoon, ...

04/03/2026

Chilled times at the lake. I haven’t been to Lakenvlei in the Western Cape for over 10 years I believe. It hasn’t changed much at all, brought back memories from school and varsity days spent fishing with friends and family. The water was very warm but we had some success as well@as good wine and some great braais