 KAMBERG 2009 — Extra Special Times overshadow hard times — by Mark Wilson
HAVING been a keen follower of the Kamberg Flyfishing Festival for some years now, I was interested to see how the present economic downturn would affect the entry base this year. Always an optimist, I was not surprised to be told that total entries this year were at a record 190-plus. This prompted a further obvious question: Why is this particular festival, snuggly tucked away in the Kamberg valley, so popular? And what drives participants to come back, year after year?
I offer the following explanation for this particular festival’s success: firstly the flyfishers themselves, with a passion for their piscatorial pursuit, opt to attend a festival with like-minded individuals. They are willing to spend hard-earned cash to enjoy the experience. I mention the “experience” rather than catching a fair quota of trout, although the latter is always nice.
Secondly, and no less important, there are the sponsors who so generously support this festival, notably Bell’s Whisky. The brand is firmly ensconced in the flyfishing ethic and through committed support. Essentially, Bell’s Extra Special Whisky is flyfishing. Even though promotional budgets are being slashed, for obvious reasons, this major sponsor has remained committed to this prominent, ever-popular festival on the flyfishing calendar.
Finally, there are those who organise this particular event, promote it, accumulate prizes, secure sponsors, negotiate and stock dams, provide meals and act as consummate hosts. This festival has all these areas well covered.
This year’s festival took place from 21st May, the night of registration, and culminated in the prize-giving on Sunday 24th May. The format of the festival is as follows: each team draws dams to be fished over a total of five sessions, which translates into two sessions a day on different dams. Only fish measuring 55cm or longer, or weighing at least 2kg are permitted at the weigh-in. This drastically reduces the number of fish which are killed at the festival. The heaviest fish each session qualifies for the prize for the biggest session fish or for the final top “five heaviest trout” category overall.
Erwin Bursik and I were fishing with the NBP Engineering team this year and were fortunate to draw the following dams over the days that followed: Kariba, Sourveld Top, Riverside Top, Granchester and, finally, African Shell Duck. I don’t usually go out of my way to mention our particular draw, but as the heaviest trout this year was caught by one of the individuals in our team, I feel justified in doing so.
On our drive to the Kamberg, Erwin had regaled me with tales of how the weather can and had turned this particular festival on its head in the past. He made sure to include some horror story of sleet belting down on flyfishers, forcing them to seek refuge in their vehicle in a desperate attempt to restore body heat. To date I had experienced a few “cold” Kamberg festivals, but nothing close to what Erwin described, and I was worried that my luck might run out.
Read the full story in the August/September 2009 issue of FLYFISHING.
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