A Low Inanda Dam In My Xplorer Journey Deluxe

For many years my wife’s watched my vibrant blue Fishcat Deluxe fade into something she deemed unworthy of floating on a dam. To right this wrong she gifted me with a brand new Xplorer Journey Deluxe for my birthday and Christmas presents. At first I was torn, not wanting to discard my still buoyant Fishcat, however curiosity soon got the better of me and I decided to give it a try at my local bass dam, Inanda.

After convincing my wife that Emma would love a morning of sun, water and open spaces we climbed into the car and headed for the dam. So far all was on track. There was a short queue at the gate but it didn’t take long and soon I’d setup a small picnic spot for the family. And then came the fut bit, unboxing my new float tube.

It started off well as I lay everything onto the grass and inserted the foam seats. Things then took a turn for the worse as I discovered that none of the nozzles on my standard pump fitted into the tube’s summit valves. Two bass fisherman wondered over to assist or laugh at me, I’m not sure which. Thankfully they too were soon sucked into the puzzle as we tried 3 different pumps with no success. The instructions didn’t offer any assistance other than the hope that the tube could be inflated by mouth. Now I’d love to see the person who could inflate this tube by mouth as all I succeeded in doing was bursting a lung.

By this stage the bass fishermen had lost interest and wondered back to their fully inflated tubes. I battled on and eventually worked out that I could lock the valves open, pump the bladder to near full, and then shut the valves without loosing too much air. I then managed the last few pumps by getting Sharon to hold the nozzle against the valve while I pumped like crazy. An hour later and the tube was finally ready; I kicked out onto the water a little frustrated but glad I was finally going to get some fishing done.

Since writing this post I’ve visited 2 fishing shops neither of whom were able to assist in pumping up the tube. One assistant was so kind as to get out a tube and to open a pump, boasting it was an easy task, only to discover it was near impossible. After leaving them flustered in the shop I taped the attachment Xplorer provide onto my pump’s tube and the tube now goes up with ease. I wouldn’t however want to open this v-boat for the first time at the dam, far from home.

The dam itself was low (80% according to a local website) which meant that the water was 10 meters back from the reed beds I usually fished against. There was therefore very little structure available other than a few sunken trees. I’m guessing this is why the fishing had been tough as neither of the two fisherman who’d assisted me had caught, and neither had any of the small boats bobbing around me.

A small bass at Inanda Dam

A small bass at Inanda Dam

Being quite busy near the picnic sight I kicked my way north-west searching for structure. Eventually, after about an hour, I found a section with some weed and picked up my first small bass of the day. Feeling better about my outing I decided it was a good time to u-turn and head back to the picnic sight. Amazingly my journey back was more successful and I picked up several more small bass over the sandy bottom.

The tube itself performed well. Coming from a Fishcat with inflatable seats I was worried that the foam seats would be uncomfortable but, although they are firmer, this certainly isn’t the case as I fished happily for two hours. The stripping apron is fuller than on the Fishcat which I loved as my line got snagged less often. Otherwise it was much of a muchness to be honest. The pockets were roughly the same size although the built in drinks holders take up a little space once holding a drink. The boat moved easily though the water which is a must. And the stabiliser bar didn’t worry me although some say it’s a safety concern if the tube ever flips. That said Nick and I have tested this before and it didn’t cause us any issues (read our tube myth busting here). All in all I found it to be a great tube which I’d happily recommend to a friend.

Another Bait Outing – Grunter Bashing

Since this is primarily a fly fishing blog, I’m not going to spend too much time describing (or justifying) my bait fishing outing. Suffice to say it was a great day on the water despite tough conditions, mostly due to strong winds. Fishing was tough with only a handful of grunter coming to hand, of which only 1 was of size. This poor fellow was unfortunate enough to make it home to my pan and went down well with chips and a side salad. You really can’t beat fresh (mercury filled) fish.

Warren with a spotted grunter caught on bait

Warren with a spotted grunter caught on bait

Over Overlining Fly Rods

While there may be occasions where overlining a fly rod is a worthwhile endeavour, this isn’t always the case. I recently made the mistake of packing my gear far too quickly for a family trip to Ifafa beach. While the wife wasn’t watching I grabbed my rod, reel, and flybox, and hid them cunningly in the back of the car. I should however mention that when fishing the salt I often bounce between a 5 weight and a 9 weight rod, depending on my target species and the conditions. This chain of events led to a very interesting experience.

One evening, when Emma was relaxed and Sharon was enjoying a glass of wine, I grabbed my rod and headed down to the beach to try for a few shad, or whatever species I could muster in the gullies and along the beach. Sadly the beach was busy with bait fishermen in most of the good holes and gullies. This meant I walked quite some way (roughly 1kms to MacNicols) before I managed to put in my first cast. I stripped my line onto the beach, flicked it out behind me, let the rod load, and then stood there confused at just how much the rod loaded and how close it felt to a piece of spaghetti.

A quick look at the rod confirmed my worst fears; I was fishing a 5 weight rod with a 9 weight line. FAIL! Now while overlining a 5 weight rod with a 6 weight line may have some benefits, this combination felt more like the end result would be a snapped rod. So with my lip dragging on the beach I reeled in my lose line and headed back to camp for an ice cold beer. Lesson learned!

Ifafa Beach

Ifafa Beach

The New Location X

During a recent trip to the Bend my mate Dave and I decided to head out to try a new water. Admittedly I was initially a little upset that we weren’t fishing the Mooi River, seeing as the season had just opened, but looking back this was the best decision we could have made. The river was still very thin after all, while the brown trout we discovered were fat and happy.

After loading up the Ark we took a short drive to our new location X and launched the boat. Dave handed me a paddle and proceeded to tell me tales of woe about a biking accident, a plate in his shoulder, and his new inability to paddle. In his defence he did take 3 strokes before lowering his paddling and letting me do the rest.

It was cold, with a chilly wind pushing across the water, and was drizzling on and off. Not deterred we picked our first drift and got down to prospecting the new water. It was a poorly chosen drift and we didn’t get so much as a touch as we crossed the water. However as we approached the far bank and as I was getting ready to paddle us to our next location, I connected with a fish. It felt solid and gave a good account of itself all the way to the net where we discovered it was a beautiful brown trout of around 1.5kgs.

Some of the browns we caught

With the Adrenalin now flowing we worked our way around the water trying various new spots. I managed to land 3 nice brown trout while Dave was having less luck. Trying to help out I lent him a fly similar to the one I was using, and suddenly things changed. Almost immediately he connected with a fish which he strangely lost. He quickly threw another cast in the same direction hoping to get a second chance, while I warned him to check his fly. He pulled it in and low and behold the hook had snapped…something Nick will find humorous as it’s happened to him on numerous occasions when borrowing flies from me.

With lunch approaching we called it a day and headed home to the families, with Dave mumbling in my ear about his lost fish and my jinxed fly.

The following day we gave the same water another try, this time in what were beautiful conditions for us humans – sunny skies and warm weather. Sadly the trout disagreed as I only managed to land one fish in a solid two hour session. Dave was again unlucky missing another fish which again looked to be solidly on. Thankfully this time it wasn’t on a borrowed fly.

Now I patiently sit and await my next invite, hoping Dave still needs me to paddle him around.

Back To Underberg

Craving some trout fishing, Neill was kind enough to put together another boys weekend to trout mecca known as Underberg. I put in for a full day’s leave on Friday (rather than the usual half day) in the hope of getting in a full day’s fishing. Sadly this was not to be as Neill got stuck with customers which temporarily delayed our departure. Add to this that my car’s fuel warning light had come on, and that Neill’s car had battled to start the previous morning, and it was clear we weren’t off to a great start.

As it turned out Andrew and Richard weren’t doing too much better, and we all arrived at Turner’s Cottage at around 11am. Being close to midday I wasn’t expecting much from the fishing, but it was great to finally be on the water. I started my assault close to the wall thinking the fish would be holding deep with the sun overhead. This proved to be unsuccessful and I eventually decided on a strategy change and kicked to the shallows at around 12pm. Strangely this seemed to be the answer and I landed 4 good fish within 10 casts, with 3 of them weighing in at over 2kgs.

From Turner’s Cottage we headed to our usual accommodation, Twin Springs, where we unpacked our bags and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We then climbed back into the cars and headed for Trelevans 2 for a short afternoon session. Fishing was tough but I managed to land a few small trout in my usual corner. Neill also got a few fish but sadly the Thompson brothers struggled. As I said, going was tough.

That evening we had a quick beer at the Himeville Arms before heading back to our cottage for the usual braai. Amazingly we managed to behave ourselves – well, more than usual – perhaps due to the looming committee meeting early the next morning.

Sunrise at Twin Springs

The following morning Neill and I met up with Alan, Spurge, and the rest of the UHTFC committee at the Himeville Arms. It was a short, informal meeting over breakfast but was great to be involved. The food was good, the meeting was valuable, and the banter was lively. That said we didn’t hang around for too long as there was fishing to be done.

From the Himeville Arms we headed to Finelands where I was glad to see that the weed had died back over the winter months. In summer this water is often only fishable directly in front of the launch site, while we were lucky enough to have the entire dam available to us. Fishing was again tough with only a few small rainbows coming to hand amongst the 4 of us. The water quality was great and the temperatures were right, so perhaps we just had an off morning. Either that or the fish outfoxed us again.

After a quick lunch we decided to try an afternoon session at North End. Neill always sells this water as one of his favourites, while I’m yet to pluck a good fish from it. That said I do love it thanks mainly to the beautiful thatch lapa on the water’s edge. Again fishing was slow and we only produced 4 or 5 fish between us before being blown off the water by a strong westerly.

Up until this point it had been another great boys weekend, but sadly Andrew was still fish-less. We therefore spent the last evening enjoying a few beers around the fire and carefully deciding on our final water. Where could we go to ensure we all walked away from the weekend with at least one fish?

Richard with a nice trout

Alan shot to the rescue by offering us his dam for our final morning session. I walked up to the water’s edge upon arrival and was immediately amazed by the clarity. There was a pipe pumping water in close to the launch site and it was immediately obvious that the fish were enjoying the man made inlet. We were all set!

Neill was first into the water and picked up a lovely bow on just his second cast. Richard and I were close behind and had soon picked up a few fish of our own. Andrew however continued to struggle as the day rolled on. And then, just as we were readying ourselves to kick to the shore, Andrew connected with a fish. He played it skillfully for a few minutes before landing what was definitely the fish of the day.

With everyone smiling from ear to ear we called it a day, packed up the cars, and headed for home.

Andrew with the fish of the day

 

A Tough Weekend At Kamberg

Fishing Erskine Dam, Kamberg

I recently spent a long weekend at the Kamberg Nature Reserve with my family. It’s a beautiful venue and was once one of the most highly regarded fly fishing venue in Kzn. Sadly, since the hatchery closed, I’ve found the dam fishing to have declined, although they do claim to still stock them regularly. That said, it’s still a great venue for beginners thanks primarily to the mowed banks making it an easy venue to fish compared to our many farm waters. And if you exclude the dams it still has a beautiful stretch of the Mooi river, which I was sadly unable to fish due to it being the closed season.

Over the course of the weekend I only managed two short afternoon sessions of around an hour each. On both occasions I lost fish, although the truth of the matter is that I blanked for the weekend. Other anglers at the reserve had similar results and to the best of my knowledge no fish came out over the two days. It is however worth mentioning that there was a large drop in the air pressure, and that the whole Kamberg Valley seemed to have had an off weekend.

It’s still a venue worth visiting, although I’d definitely do so when the rivers are open.

A Rare Bait Outing

On the odd occasion us Baha Boys down our fly rods and head out instead with a bait stick in hand. Sunday was one such day.

Alan had invited me to join him on his trusty vessel to do a little grunter fishing in the harbour. Needing to pump some cracker we got to the harbour shortly after 9am, just as the banks were beginning to expose themselves. I have to admit, I felt a twinge of jealousy as I watched a fly fisherman land a small fish while I was dirtying my hands with the cracker pump.

With enough bait in our bucket we climbed back onto the boat and headed for our first spot of the day, nestled under a large container ship. We kitted up a few rods and dropped our baits overboard. While wondering what to do next (since I’m used to continuously having to cast) Alan whipped out a few eisbein sandwiches and poured us each a cup of hot coffee. “I could get used to this,” I thought.

But the relaxation was shorted lived; I’d barely taken my first sip of coffee when I saw one of my rod tips dip. A quick strike and it was fish on, (possibly) a small bluefin. Alan was meanwhile busy landing a few fish himself, the majority of which were also (possibly) bluefin.

Eventually, tired of the rats and mice, we headed to a new spot. Sadly it produced similar results with no large grunter coming to hand. Worried about our bait supplies we quickly decided to move on.

We kept prospecting spots and eventually found a few areas where we picked up some better fish. These included grunter, catface rockcod, galjoen, blacktail, and more. Alan was quick to point out that if you were counting species, you weren’t catching big enough fish. I guess this is true, but it was a great day out none the less. Hopefully next time we’ll get some bigger fish that I can take home to appease the wife.

A small catface rockcod caught on bait

Trout In The Sleet

I recently decided to take the family on a mini adventure to a very cold Underberg. Snow was predicted and it’s not often that it falls over the weekend in accessible locations. I was therefore going to make sure that my little girl got to build her very own version of Olaf (as a parent I now get to reference Frozen).

Our snow hunting on the first day proved unsuccessful and at 2:30pm it was clear that we would have to wait for nightfall for snow. I therefore decided to shoot off to one of the UHTFC’s dams for a quick fish. I dropped Sharon and Emma off at the hotel and promptly headed for Lake Isabella, at Alan’s recommendation. Amazingly as I passed through Underberg the sunny skies darkened and the rain began to bucket down.

When I arrived at the water I was greeted by another angler and we stood under the lapa chatting as the rain fell. He’d been fishing for a few hours but hadn’t picked up any fish. Not a good sign but time was running out and this was going to be my only opportunity to flick a fly over the weekend. I pulled the hood of my Columbia jacket over my head and walked out into the rain.

For the first 45 minutes I fished from the bank, sadly without any luck. I couldn’t help but think that if I was out on the water my chances would be better. I therefore manned up, headed back to the boat shed, and launched one of the rowboats. I hadn’t made it far from the bank when I noticed some white fly on my pants. Odd, I thought, brushing it off, only to realise that it was ice. I looked up only to notice that the rain had turned into sleet. It wasn’t snow, but we were certainly one step closer.

Warren fishing in the sleet

I positioned the boat between the two small islands and began prospecting the weed beds. I had at best another 30 minutes before I needed to rush back to the hotel to make the kick off. Fishing remained slow and it was amazingly on my last cast that I connected with my first and only fish of a day. It may only have been a 30cm stockie, but it felt like a massive victory to my frozen fingers. I promptly released it and called it a day, rowing back to the boathouse. I quickly shed my wet clothing and jumped into my car, surprisingly dry.

Back at the hotel I dried off, warmed up, and then we headed into the Himeville Arms pub for the rugby. It was packed to the brim but we thankfully found a half table nestled in the far corner where I could see the screen from. We ordered food and drinks, and then Sharon entertained Emma while I watched the Boks take on the All Blacks. The pub food was great (especially Sharon’s chicken schnitzel), the beers were cold (and delicious), and the rugby was promising (until the last 10 minutes).

Not a great session, but any time on the water is time well spent.

The Boston Fly Fishing Festival 2015

I can safely say that the Boston Fly Fishing Festival is by far my favourite festival. Yes, I will admit it’s the only festival I fish regularly, but I’m utterly convinced this is irrelevant – it’s just that good – and this year was no exception. Will I be back next year? Definitely, but I’ll be packing a set of bolt cutters. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s start from the beginning.

With Nick, a key Baha Boy and team member, having left SA for Australia I was forced to relook at Team Baha for the 2015 event. Neill and Bruce had both secured their places after dominating the 2014 festival, which meant there was just 1 space left to full. Coxy’s mom might have prevented him from coming and Alan was down at Hole In The Wall. This saw me approaching Dave from the South Coast, who is a solid salt water fly fisherman.

I only managed to get away from the office late on Friday which meant that the other three had already arrived and registered by the time I entered the Boston Club, just after 8pm. The beers were flowing, but it did seem a tad quieter than previous years. Perhaps this was just due to Nick’s absence, which also accounted for the smaller fire. We were given our usual measuring stick (for the fish you fools), as well as a jacket, a few flies, and our water allocations.

Star Dam, Boston

Sadly we weren’t lucky enough to secure a spot on McKenzies 1, but we did manager to land McKenzies 2 which was apparently fished less and showed good promise. We also drew Star Dam and Rivendell, both of which we had fished in previous years and had done us well. Our fourth water was Meadow Farm which was new to us and we knew very little about. All in all it looked to be a promising mix of old and new.

That night we were well controlled in the bar and, after a fantastic meal cooked by the farmers wives, made it back to our cottage just after 10pm. I’ll again reiterate what I’ve said every year. This festival is something special thanks entirely to the Boston locals. The farmers selflessly open their homes for the anglers to sleep in, and their wives work tirelessly to feed the masses through fantastic home cooked dinners, and breakfast and lunch packs. The vibe is relaxed, and the fishing is good. What more could you ask for?

The next morning we headed for our first water, Star Dam, at around 6:30am. We were sharing it with another team but were the first to arrive. Rather than rush onto the water we kitted up slowly and dished out a few home tied flies among the team. The other group arrived just in time to see us kicking onto the water, and getting into fish almost immediately. It had begun!

Star Dam fished well with all of us picking up a good bag of trout. The majority were stockies in the 35 – 40cm range, but we did get a few nice fish of 50cm+, with Dave making a pig of himself just before climbing out. It was a good start to the festival and I was left wondering if it was due to the slightly warmer temperatures. In fact, that morning I’d seen only a sprinkling of frost in one of the valley’s, whereas in the previous year’s session on Star Dam the reeds were frozen.

Dave landing a nice rainbow trout at Star Dam

After enjoying our lunch on the waters edge (while our tubes dried) we packed up the cars and headed for Rivendell. This is when the real fun started. As we pulled up to the gate Dave was quick to inform us that it was locked. Flashbacks of the 2014 festival sprung to mind as I remembered how we were locked into this same water and were forced to knock over the fence to get out.

On this occasion however, being midday, Bruce and Neill headed to a group of nearby houses where they found a staff member to help us out. He didn’t have a key but instead showed us a section of the fence which we could detach and drive though. Although we were now in, this was somewhat frustrating as we’d wasted close to an hour of fishing time. I guess the golden lining was that it was at least during the midday “heat”.

Once inside we quickly made our way onto the water with most of the gents heading for the deep wall section, while I kicked for the inlet. Fishing was tough and by the time I reached the inlet, which is a long stretch that took me close to an hour, I’d not had so much as a touch. Thankfully the inlet changed that and after a short battle with a stockie I was on the board. I then fished my way along the far bank, which was steeper and deeper, to my teammates up at the wall. Again this produced not even a bump.

The boys at the wall had also been struggling with just a stockie or two coming to hand. Amazingly things then changed, either when I put on a red fly, or when the sun began to dip. None the less the water suddenly came alive and we all landed multiple good fish in the 40 – 55cm range. One of them gave me such a good run I was convinced it was at least 10lbs, and worthy of the fish of the trip. It ran me well into backing multiple times, forcing me to yell out with joy. Sadly I didn’t get the last laugh as, when I finally got the fish to hand with Neill close-by to photograph the beast, I discovered it was merely a 50cm rainbow which I’d foul hooked in the tail.

Warren landing a trout at Star Dam

After enjoying a solid last hour we headed back to the shore and polished off a cold beer or two while packing away our kit. Darkness was fast approaching and we knew we had to wangle our way through the fence, so we didn’t linger for too long. Fence one proved little challenge having done it earlier, but then we hit an unexpected surprise – the next farm gate was locked, and this fence was as solid as a rock.

Sadly none of us had cell reception, and we were a long way from the club, so it was time to make a plan. On paper our first idea seemed good. Put a tyre iron through the lock, and twist it until the lock snaps. Unfortunately my ropey arms didn’t have the strength, nor did Neill’s, Dave’s or Bruce’s. So we moved onto plan two, and began cutting through the lock with the file on a trusty Leatherman. Much to my amazement this proved to be successful (albeit slow) and 10 minutes later we’d cut through the lock and were on our way.

After a quick shower we made it to the club, just in time to log our catches. Once again a fantastic meal was put on by the locals, and we then enjoyed the standard tales of the day from the other fishermen. On a whole it sounded like everyone had done well, although no monster fish had been produced. Again we slinked off relatively early and enjoyed a few sherries around a roaring fire in our cottage, before heading off to bed.

Escaping the waters after being locked in

Early the next morning we headed for Meadow Farm, a water than none of us knew anything about. It was a small water to say the least, beautifully located against a forest of pines. Sadly it was heavily weeded, although it did have some nice channels which had good potential to hold fish. Despite being a beautiful water, it was perhaps a little too small for a team of four fisherman. In fact sitting in the middle I could cast to all 4 banks with relative ease.

Bruce and Dave elected to fish off the banks, while Neill and I got onto the water in our tubes. I was lucky enough to get into a small fish on about my 10th cast, while the rest of the boys struggled until well after 10am when everyone finally got into a fish or two. It was actually an amazing dam to fish as you could see the bottom the entire way across. This meant, by paying a little attention, you could spot fish and direct the boys on the water as to where to cast.

From Meadow Farm we headed to what we were hoping to be our best water of the weekend – McKenzies 2. McKenzies 1 had done well for us in the past with all anglers picking up 10+ fish per session. Dam 2 was apparently even better as it was fished far less frequently, but stocked equally as well. Word on the street was that while it generally produced fewer fish, it produced bigger fish.

It took a little 4x4ing but the view that awaited us was well worth the effort. McKenzies 2 is a large water, located in a valley with a sunken forest near the inlet. It has good structure, deep and shallow water, and more than enough space for 4 anglers to enjoy. The Maclear team were busy packing away and spoke of good catches in the 50 – 60cm range.

Bruce with a nice rainbow trout

Excited after a tough morning session we got quickly onto the water. Sadly the fishing was tougher than expected and at 3pm we all gathered on the bank fishless. We had a quick snack, refueled and regrouped, and then got back onto the water.

Thankfully the late afternoon session was more productive with Bruce, Neill and Dave all getting into fish. I on the other hand was less lucky and struggled until 5pm without a touch. The wind had picked up and just staying in one spot was difficult, but I was determined not to blank. As is often the case, I amazingly got into a fish just as I was kicking back to the shore. It took a fly deep and slow and headed for the horizon at great speed. It certainly felt like my fish of the trip but, after a long fight, it slipped off  my barbless hook as I lost concentration netting it.

I sadly met the rest of the boys on the bank and we packed up for the last time. As darkness fell we headed for our cottage to freshen up prior to prize giving. And then the unexpected happened – we discovered that we’d been locked in again. While I saw the funny side, some of my team members were less than excited. Thankfully we had cellphone reception on this occasion and managed to get hold of the organisers to come open the gate. Since they were roughly half an hour away we relaxed under the stars, and shared some much needed whiskey from a hip flask. Getting locked in wasn’t bad at all.

Warren Prior with a good rainbow trout

Having lost a lot of time we weren’t able to head home for a shower, and were instead forced to shoot straight to the club in our wet gear. Thankfully we arrived just in time to have a quick drink before sitting down to dinner and prize giving.

Prize giving was short and painless as is the norm with this festival, and I was lucky enough to come away with an Xplorer peak. Sadly, for the first time in 3 years, we didn’t place. But then it’s not a festival that’s about the prizes; it really is about the vibe and spirit, which were once again spectacular.

Amazingly the pub was at its rowdiest that night, perhaps at the peril of a few fishermen who’d brought their girlfriends with to join in the festivities. Shots flowed a plenty and there was dancing on the bar, as well as a few activities I simply can’t mention here. All in all it was a great end to yet another amazing event. As I say every time, we’ll be definitely be back next year!

Castleburn And The Umzimkulu River

The view from Lake Madingofani

I was lucky enough to win a weekend away at Castleburn at last year’s Boston Fly Fishing Festival (courtesy of the UHTFC). We finally decided to make use of it when my dad and Cassia flew up to Durban to visit Emma and us. The weekend was fantastic while the fishing was a bit of a mixed bag as my dad and I only made it onto the water twice over the course of the week.

Our first attempt saw us heading down to Lake Madingofani (Castleburn Lake) for a late afternoon session. On the walk down we fished a few of the smaller dams, more out of curiosity than due to their potential. I assume these dams are targeted at beginners as we were easily able to cast across them. We could also easily see all the fish in these dams as they are extremely shallow. However, despite all of this, we were still unable to land any fish (I guess they could see us too) and therefore continued down to the lake.

It is interesting to note that these smaller dams are stocked weekly and you are allowed to keep these fish for the pan. The lake on the other hand is strictly catch and release.

Lake Madingofani is large and looks extremely promising. I opted to take a row boat out while my dad fished off the mowed banks and convenient jetties. He therefore slowly made his way to the wall while I headed for the reeded areas closer to the inlet, as well as the far bank which isn’t fishable from the shore. Over the next hour or two I slowly fished my way around the dam until I met up with my dad who was now fishing the wall.

One of the smaller dams at Castleburn

Neither of us had had so much as a touch despite the hundreds of fish rising around us (so many in fact that it almost sounded like rain). That said, they appeared to be stokies in the 4 – 5 inch range with no bigger fish in sight. Strange, since the manager swore blind that they hadn’t stocked fish that small. Could the fish be breeding despite no river flowing into the dam?

As night fell I finally managed to hook one of the small stockies. My dad meanwhile had a promising knock from a larger fish but sadly didn’t manage to connect.

Our second attempt saw us heading down to the Umzimkulu River the following afternoon. My dad climbed in at the pools while I jumped in further downstream at the bridge. On just my second cast I landed a beautiful brown trout of about a hand-span. Shortly afterwards I spooked a second fish, which was probably around a kilogram in size and a beaut of a brown. Slowly we made our way upstream, but the water was thin and for the next hour neither of us spotted a fish. Our luck then took a turn for the better, either because of the longer runs or perhaps due to the evening rise. Either way, the fish suddenly came alive and both of us landed several small browns, all in spectacular condition.

Eventually, fearing we’d finished our beat and were now trespassing, we climbed out of the water and waded through thick grass back to the main road for the walk home. It had been a successful session in my preferred type of water, crystal clear mountain streams.

It’s tough to say how well the lake usually fishes, but either way, I definitely preferred (and would recommend) the river.

The Umzimkulu River at Castleburn

A small Umzimkulu brown trout