Ladies

Ladies 

Competitive and Recreational Ladies fly fishing in South Africa is experiencing continual growth both on and off the water.  We have an annual Ladies National event which is fished on both rivers and stillwaters pending on the hosting area. Ladies and Younger girls can also fish in the Masters or Youth divisions respectively.

SAFFA Ladies Co-Ordinator & Protea Team angler, Amy Visser, is pro-active in organising online fly-tying workshops and fishing events for ladies at all levels of experience in South Africa. With our Ladies teams fishing the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships for many years, 2022 saw the first Fips-Mouche Ladies World Championship Event held in Norway, where South Africa was represented by a Protea Ladies Team. SAFFA is now able to enter a Worlds team annually as well as a second team bi-annually to the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championship.  We look forward to more exciting developments in Ladies fly fishing throughout the country with the addition of an increasing number of social ladies fishing festivals to the seasonal calendars across SA.

Ladies Nationals

2023 Ladies Nationals were held in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga during July. It was an all stillwater event fished in very cold and dismal conditions. The ladies stuck it out in a tight contest and bought some really good fish to the nets, but the strength and experience of the Gauteng North A team was once again hard to match.

Team Gold - Gauteng North A, Team Silver - Gauteng North B, Team Bronze - Mpumalanga

Individual Gold was well earned by Marlise (Blom) Heyns (GN), along with the longest cast and top fly tyer accolades.
Longest Fish was caught by Kristine Page (GN B)
Most Fish & Accuracy Casting- Amy Visser(GN A)
Liezl Jacobs (MPU)was awarded the Best Newcomer trophy.
The Rae Galbraith trophy for fishing achievement and sportsmanship was awarded to Amy Visser

2024 SA Ladies Team

The 4th Fips-Mouche Ladies World Championship took place in Vyssi Brod, Czech Republic in May 2024. Our Ladies were put through their paces on and off the water at team selection trials following the 2023 Ladies Nationals in Dullstroom. Congratulations to our Ladies selected to participate in the CZ - Amy Visser, Amy Tough, Lucinda van Niekerk, Bianca Viljoen & Jonina Fourie, with Coach Matt Rich & Manager David Karpul selected into the Management roles.
With CZ, France and Australia taking the podium positions, our Ladies team put in a good performance to finish 6th overall. Amy Tough landed the biggest fish of the Championship with an 80cm Pike.
Invaluable experience was gained by both the anglers and management to be shared and to be put into practice on our home waters as we strive to grow our sector of Ladies fishing both technically and socially. Supporters back home eagerly followed the event via live whatsapp feeds from the river banks..
"'It's been exciting, interesting and riveting following your journey. I am inspired and this has motivated me to keep growing and learning. Thank you Matt & David for bringing it closer to home for us" - Bridgit Stegen , Women in Waders angler.

2023 SA Ladies Teams

A SASACC Mixed team, including some of the above ladies , represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championship held in June'23 on the Isle of Islay, Scotland. The Scottish lochs proved to be challenging fishing in the strong winds, but our Ladies don't give up and pushed through the gusty conditions,continuing to give their best performance. Final CW Results