About
The Hastings Exclusive
THE HASTINGS EXCLUSIVE 2025
FLYFISHING COMPETITION
Welcome to the 9th annual Hastings Exclusive Fly Fishing Competition. The dates are set and dams will be well prepared.
The Hastings Exclusive is a unique event open to limited entries and by invitation only. The waters fished, span across various farms in the pristine Upper Dargle area of Kwa Zulu Natal Midlands. Our high altitude competition dams are fished only by special permission from the owners of these exclusive waters. We are again pleased to confirm that a portion of the proceeds from our competition will go into the development of the waterways and flora of this special fly fishing destination, assisting with the development of the area to ensure longevity and quality of these waters for many years to come. We strive to keep this event as one of the most highly ranked fly fishing competitions and a firm favourite in your calendars. We will continue to offer great fishing, amazing prizes, valuable Goodie bags and we have a team working hard towards delivering a very special experience.
FORMAT:
Teams of 3 anglers each, 4 fishing sessions each on a different water, Strictly C.A.R.
- Thursday evening – Meet at Hastings farm for check-in, briefing, dinner & drinks
- Friday & Saturday – Fishing sessions 1-4. Two full days of fishing with good food and lots of fun
- Saturday evening – Prize giving
- Sunday morning – Depart for home
PRIZES:
Fantastic prizes to be won for Top teams, The best individual, Biggest Fish and many more.
ENTRY:
Please enter your team by firstly making the team entry payment and then going onto the Hasting Exclusive web page to complete the entry form, personal details and get access to important information.
- Entry per angler – R4 900.00 includes, all meals Thursday to Saturday evening, a goody bag, and a huge amount of fun
- EFT – Hastings Farm Pty Ltd: Investec Bank: acc. No. 1001-3394-088
- Please use your name and team as the payment reference.
- Entries will be opened to past participants first for a limited period, so please reserve your team entry early by making your team payment before entries are opened to new teams on 1 January 2025
- All payments made by 30 November will go into a special draw for some exciting prizes
- If you are entering alone, please state this on the entry form. Other individual entries will be grouped together to form teams of 3.
ENTRY PROCESS:
Please provide these personal details by filling in the form here or emailing Lawrence MacDougall on hastingsexclusive@gmail.com. Please specify jacket size and shirt size as XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL (Clothing sizes will be included as part of the entry form).
DATES:
Thursday evening 22rd May – Sunday 25th May 2025
FORMAT:
Sessions 1-4:
There are 2 sessions on the Friday and 2 on the Saturday. First session each day starts at sunrise and ends at 12:00. The second session runs from 1pm to sunset. Exact times will be advised at the briefing. The competition is a team competition of 3 anglers per team. On the Thursday evening briefing session, a draw will take place for which dams each team fishes for each session. The dam spread is evenly based and will ensure everyone has spectacular fishing.
Please take note of this year’s format. The competition will be based on the best team across all sessions and points are scored per session. This will result in a team ranking after each session. This means that one excellent session and 3 bad ones, doesn’t secure the win. The objective is to catch large fish rather number of fish. So, catch the target number of fish for the respective session and then go hunting big ones!! Details of the format will be provided at the Thursday evening briefing.
Prizes and what’s up for grabs will be advised on arrival. You will be excited to know what the prizes are as there are some great items and experiences. We also have an unbelievable goody bag again this year, thanks to our sponsors.
Our “suggested” flies will be on sale at the venue as well as necessary items such as traces, extra nets, etc.
GOODY BAG:
On arrival, each contestant will receive an unbelievable goody bag with some amazing gifts from our sponsors. As there are numerous items of clothing, we require your clothing size as you enter on-line.
ACCOMMODATION:
There is plenty good accommodation in the area and we encourage you to reserve the accommodation of your choice urgently. Please support our the farms that are making their dams available to us: see for more info hastingsfarm.co.za/accommodation-nearby.
MOBILE & DATA RECEPTION
There is limited connection in the area. Vodacom should connect in most areas but MTN and Cell C and other subscribers battle. Some accommodation has Wi-fi but it is suggested you bring your own router if required. There will be WIFI at the base camp, but we cannot guarantee it will be working as reception and connectivity is intermittent.
CANCELLATION TERMS
As this is an exclusive by invite only event, and items are specifically procured for the number of teams, there is no refund, unless the team can be replaced by another team.
Included in the entry fee:
• All meals from Thursday evening to Saturday evening
• Great Goodie bag to survive the weekend
• Tea and coffee and rusks every morning
• 4 fishing sessions
• Unbelievable fishing and memories
Please remember to bring enough cash for drinks, raffles, purchases of gear, etc.
COMPETITION RULES
• This is strictly a catch and release competition.
• All fish caught must be handled with extreme care and all efforts made to return the fish to the water safely and uninjured.
• Only bone fide fly fishing equipment may be used. No lures, bait, spinning or any other fishing equipment is permissible.
• Fishing times for each session must be strictly adhered to. No lines in water prior to the session opening time or after the closing time.
• Barbed hooks may be used.
• No fish finders or electronic fish detection may be used.
• Float tubes and waders may be used. Only flippers and no motorised propulsion. Float tube etiquette will be advised at the briefing.
• All measurement of fish caught must be from the tip of the beak to the inside V of the tail running along the side of the fish.
• Any fish over 60cm must be photographed with the provided measurement tool.
• All catches must be recorded on the catch return forms, even if the session quota has been reached. This is very important to assist us with stocking levels, dam conditions, etc. Catch return form must still be submitted even if no fish are caught, stating “no fish”. The dam, team number and session number must be clearly noted on all return forms.
• No fires or open flames allowed at any time. Please collect all litter and cigarette butts and discard in a dustbin.
• All anglers must always carry a net, hook extractor. These will also be on sale at the venue, if required.
• Indemnity forms must be completed and signed by all participants on arrival.
• The judges’ decisions are final. Any dispute must be lodged with the organiser during the event and no later than 7pm on Saturday 25 May. Any dispute lodged after this time will not be considered.
• The dispute will be ruled on exclusively by 3 of the directors of Hastings Farms and the outcome will be final.
• No prizes can be exchanged for cash or swopped.
• All farm gates must be left as found and all farm signs and rules strictly adhered to.
• By entering this competition and paying the entry fee you acknowledge and accept these terms and rules of the competition.
• The Hastings Exclusive, its members, sponsors and organizers do not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage to any property or any injury, illness or death to any entrant / guest whilst using the waters or facilities or properties on which the festival is being held.
• Please observe normal security rules and lock your vehicles.
• The Hastings Exclusive committee reserves the right to interpret these rules entirely at their discretion.
• The purpose of this competition is to provide anglers with unique waters and experiences. Honesty, and respect for the fish and waters, is of utmost importance and everyone’s acknowledgement of this makes the Hastings Exclusive a truly special competition.
NB: Indemnity form – This will be attached to the invite. However, if it is not completed before the event, it can be completed at the event. No-one will be allowed to fish without first completing the indemnity form.
DIRECTIONS
Hastings is approximately 4.5 hours drive time from JHB and 1.5 hours from Durban
Directions to Hastings from Johannesburg
1. Take the N3 to Durban
2. Take the Tweedie off ramp (just before Howick). From Durban direction, it is the turning after Midmar.
3. At the end of the off ramp, turn right and go over N3 (or go left if coming from Durban).
4. Drive to the ‘T’ junction (The Everything shop and fuel station on your LHS)
5. At the ‘T’ Junction turn right and go for about 5kms (past the Nelson Mandela Capture site)
6. Take the turn off for Dargle/Impendle to the left (there is also a sign to Hebron Haven). This is just before Piggy Wiggly.
7. Travel on the tar road – it will become dirt after about 20km’s
8. You will pass Barrets Country House (on your right) after about 8km on the dirt section.
9. Keep going for about another 5km until you see the D522 on your left – take it!!! (there is also a sign here for ‘Hastings Farm’ and Tillietudlem) – this is where the road becomes a bit dodgy, so take it slow.
10. Go for another 4km’s on the D522 and you will see ‘Hastings Farm’ on your left – you are there!!!! There is one possible place that you could go wrong, and that is when you are on the dirt road. There is a junction as you go past Barrets Country house – make sure that you keep to the right.
Hastings coordinates: 29.5752° S, 29.9346° E
Hastings Farms KZN is also on WAZE, so this should lead you there directly.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Lawrence MacDougall:
Lawrence MacDougall
082 652 5429
hastingsexclusive@gmail.com