WORDS Amelia Brown
When a fly-fishing magazine landed at VISI HQ sporting a suited Conrad Botes with a carp caught in the Castle of Good Hope moat, we were suitably intrigued and, er, caught up with editor Tudor Caradoc-Davies to find out more.
How was the The Mission born?
The three partners – Brendan Body (started Session skateboarding magazine and is a co-owner on The Lake), Conrad Botes (comic artist of Bitterkomix fame who is better known in fly-fishing circles as the guy who catches and releases more big saltwater fish than almost anyone else) and myself (food, travel and more freelancer with a background in lifestyle magazines) – were all a bit bored with what was available in South African fly-fishing media. The best way to start anything is to verbalise your intention, so I got chatting to Conrad about putting together a magazine. A friend mentioned that Brendan was also keen on doing the same and I got in touch with him, too. It soon became apparent that, although we have different backgrounds, we all wanted to create something fresh and exciting in fly-fishing.
Where did the name come from?
The name is something inherent in fly-fishing itself. There are many other, easier ways to catch fish, but that’s hardly the point. The appeal of fly-fishing is the mission – the challenge of heading up distant valleys or across far-flung tidal flats to convince a fish that the feathers and thread you’ve tied to a hook is worth eating. It’s very much part of the lingo for someone to refer to an “incredible mission” they had over the weekend.
It’s free! How are you making that possible?
Our revenue model is based on advertising. Our print run is limited to 3 000 copies, which go directly to fly-fishing shops, clubs and guide companies for goodie bags. The free mags generate hype and drive customers to the stores, while the extended digi-mag means that anyone from Pofadder to Pennsylvania can check out our fly-fishing stories, destinations and personalities while allowing us to market ourselves as a global fly-fishing title focused on Africa.
The photographic essays are great. Tell us about the photography and design.
We’re fortunate that the three of us bring strong media networks to the table. From fashion photographers, like Warren van Rensburg, Oliver Kruger and Jan Verboom to surf and skateboarding photographers like Ryan Janssens and Ben Bergh to award-winning documentary filmmakers like Colwyn Thomas of Scholars & Gentlemen, a lot of our friends either fly-fish already or are up for missions with us. We’re also not overly obsessed with the grip-and-grin trophy shots of big fish, preferring to let our photographers tell a story even if (gasp!) the anglers in question blank (aka don’t catch). The design is driven by Brendan on the keys, with Conrad weighing in and occasionally pulling in his brother Brandt (the powerhouse illustrator behind Studiobotes.com).
The illustrated cover didn’t exactly look like a fly-fishing magazine…
And therein lies the point. It’s a Conrad Botes artwork that he will be exhibiting later this year in Paris. I could waffle on about its artistic merits, but in short, it went nicely with our lead story on the life and career of South African super guide Jako Lucas. When you don’t answer to a big media house there’s a lot of freedom to do things because you like them. Our readers love it.
What’s the feedback been?
Phenomenal. The print copies fly off the counters at shops, we’re getting approached by advertisers both at home and abroad and every week we receive messages from people (many of whom are not even into fly-fishing) telling us how much they love the magazine.
See more about The Mission on page 184 in the latest issue of VISI (VISI 90). Catch up on previous issues online or follow The Mission on Facebook or Instagram.
