Trip Report Archives - Page 2 of 5

19Jun 2016 by Warren Prior 1 Comment

The Boston Fly Fishing Festival 2016

"I can safely say that the Boston Fly Fishing Festival is by far my favourite festival." Yes, it's a line that I often start my annual Boston post with, but it remains true. And this year was no exception, despite what were very tough fishing conditions. We got off to a great start by entering two teams instead of our usual one. The more the merrier proved to be true, although sadly we were unable to find a farmer who was able to accommodate all eight of us at a single venue. Neill, Bruce, Keegan and I therefore stayed with Helen, who had put up Team Baha for several years, while Andrew, Richard, Dan and Dave stayed in what became known as cat cottage. Now I'm not 100% sure what that…

05Jun 2016 by Warren Prior No Comments

Natal Scalies On The Umkomaas

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Yellowfish

With Leo heading for the UK we decided to do one last outing with the fly sticks prior to his departure. Our chosen quarry was the Natal Yellowfish, aka the scaly, on the Umkomaas River just outside of Richmond. We had a great turnout with 6 of us making our way to Hella Hella via the mandatory coffee stop. Although I'd fished the Umkomaas on multiple occasions it was the first time I'd been to this particular stretch, and I was suitably impressed. Hella Hella boasts a beautiful section of river, nestled under looming cliffs and running through thick indigenous forest (complete with far too many thorns). The conditions were good, although not perfect. It was perhaps a little chilly with the air temperature measuring 12 degrees on arrival. I unfortunately didn't measure the water temperature but it…

21May 2016 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Low Bushman’s River

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

Amazingly it's been quite some time since I've had the pleasure of fishing the upper Bushman's River. It's always been one of my favourite stretches of river despite the fact that it generally produces smaller fish. I guess this is because for me it's not about the size when it comes to wild brown trout, but rather about the beauty of the surroundings. To be fishing under the Giant, with the Drakensberg looming above you, while ankle deep in cold, crystal clear water is hard to be beat. I'd wondered the whole drive about the water level after a season of low rainfall. When I got to the water's edge it was immediately obvious just how low the river was. My mind rushed back to a session on the Umzimkulu earlier…

14Feb 2016 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Valentine’s Day Curse (Umzimkulu River Lodge Trip Report)

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

Being Valentine's weekend granny was kind enough to offer to look after Emma so that Sharon and I could get away for a weekend of solitude. Since this opportunity presents itself so rarely we decided to kill several birds with one stone by organising a relaxing, hiking, romantic, fishing weekend away. As nonsensical as that sounds we found the perfect venue in the Umzimkulu River Lodge, located 22kms outside of Underberg. We had a little hiccup getting there as we made use of Google Maps rather than following the sign I'd seen on so many occasions. This saw us taking the second Coleford road rather than the first and then left us guessing when we crossed the Umzimkulu with no lodge in sight. After driving backwards and forwards for ten minutes…

16Aug 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments

Back To Underberg

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

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…

14Jun 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Boston Fly Fishing Festival 2015

Event, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

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…

22Mar 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments

Fishing The UHTFC

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

Having been voted onto the UHTFC committee at the AGM, Neill and I decided that it was time for a club visit and informal committee meeting. In other words, it had been far too long since we'd targeted trout on fly and were itching to get back in the water. We phoned a few friends and had soon organised a group of 4 fishermen, and had booked accommodation at Twin Springs. I took the Friday off with the plan of heading to the Berg after my wife had left for the office. It was a good plan on paper, but fell apart when I tried to get my fly rods out of the garage after my wife had left for work. I soon discovered that she'd taken both garage door…

03Jan 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments

Sterkfontein New Years

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Yellowfish

Sterkfontein remains one the premier fly fishing locations in South Africa, growing in popularity annually with no end in sight. Not only does it provide some of the best sight fishing in the world, but it also offers fishing for a purely South African species in a venue of unmatched beauty. But it's not all sunshine and roses. Sterkfontein is also known for it's tough conditions and unpredictable weather. Sunshine can turn to lightning (and pouring rain) in an instant, turning a once tranquil dam into a fierce, ocean rival, sinking boats caught unexpectedly in the storm. This is where we chose to camp for a week... [caption id="attachment_2926" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Sunset over Sterkfontein Dam[/caption] Sharon, Emma and I arrived at Sterkfontein on Monday morning where we met up with Nick, Tarryn…

23Nov 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments

Cape Vidal Trip Report, November 2014

Salt Water, Trip Report

With the windy months having passed us by, and the water warming through the spring months, it was time for another trip to Cape Vidal. Sadly however we battled with booking and managed to secure just a single campsite, meaning that just 6 fishermen could join us on this adventure. I picked up Graeme at 4:30am and we headed to Durban where we met up with Bruce and Laurence. After quickly packing the trailer we hit the road at 5am with Vidal set firmly in our sights. We stopped just twice on route, once for the maditory cup of coffee, and then again for the even more mandatory Wimpy breakfast. The other two adventurers, Neill and Arthur, were already on route from the South Coast Fly Anglers and had agreed to meet us on…

12Oct 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments

UHTFC AGM And Fishing Festival 2014

Event, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

A few months ago I received a phone call from Alan asking me to be the guest speaker at the UHTFC AGM. I happily accepted, feeling honoured that I'd been asked, and began planning my speech. The months flew by and before I knew it I was packing my bags (and laptop) for the trip up to Underberg, hoping my talk would be well received. I arrived at Twin Springs, just outside Underberg, at around 3 in the afternoon. It was overcast and misty, with temps in the single digits, and sporadic drizzle passing in waves. Neill and Derek had spent the morning on the water and were looking a little worse for wear, although they had picked up some lovely fish for their effort. We therefore decided to relax…