ON THE WATER
NEELS BLOM: Impressions of impressions are caught in a volume of meaning
South African Fishing Flies authors Brigg and Herbst and their contributors help explain the meaning flyfishers weave into their mythology
In a faraway country, high up in a remote montane district in a forgotten village, tucked in a dark corner of a sometimes-crowded bar in a small inn, a great work of art is rendered directly onto the wall — an impressionistic suggestion of an impressionistic study of a living thing. The sketch, in charcoal almost certainly from a pipe smoker’s burnt matchsticks, is of a fishing fly that bears a fleeting resemblance to the imago stage of an insect in the mayfly family. Look closely at the ephemeral image on the wall and you’ll understand the meaning flyfishers weave into their mythology. It is sparse, frugal even, but precise. Into this fabric, the flyfishing authors Peter Brigg and Ed Herbst have now added even greater texture with their book, South African Fishing Flies (Struik). The authors say the book does not represent an exhaustive list of South African flies, and it is true, it doesn’t. A comprehensive volume would be a book such as Bill Hansford-Steele’s Fishing Flies for Af...
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