09May 2022 by Nick Nortje No Comments
North Straddie Diving – May 2022

North Straddie Diving – May 2022

Diving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57CX_MSQQqQ After all the bad weather for the start of this year, along with floods, I have been given an awesome opportunity to be a certified dive guide for Manta Lodge and Scuba. He's a few clips of the past week's dives. Spots include Turtle Caves, The Nursery, Manta Bommie and Shag Rock.
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28Nov 2020 by Nick Nortje No Comments
Marlin Mayhem!

Marlin Mayhem!

Deep Sea Fishing, Lure Fishing
Sunrise off the coast of Brisbane With my freezer running low on fish, I decided to head out off Brisbane in search of some Spanish Mackerel, that were being caught in good numbers. I loaded the boat the night before, fueled the tank, re-tied all my leaders, made the wire traces, and with all the admin done, I called it a night, ready for the 3:30am start. The alarm sounded, I snuck out of bed not to wake the wife, made a quick cup of coffee and was out the door heading to the boat ramp in no time. The plan for the day was to head to South Passage Bar and cross it on first light, and then pull high speed lures around the local reefs. It was a…
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04Jan 2014 by Nick Nortje 1 Comment
Sterkfontein 2013/2014

Sterkfontein 2013/2014

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Yellowfish
[caption id="attachment_1750" align="alignleft" width="200"] View at Sterkfontein[/caption] On the 30th of December I packed up the family, camping gear, and boat for a 5 day getaway to one of the Free State's best kept secrets – Sterkfontein Dam. It was an early 4am start to get to the dam and set up camp before searching for some gold. Thankfully the drive  was uneventful and, after stopping for the mandatory cup of coffee, we shot through to Harrismith via the N3 as reports were coming in that the R74 was impassable. After topping up the tank of the Terios (to avoid being raped a further 50c/litre due to a petrol price increase the following day) we headed for the dreaded R74. The road now has an unmanned stop/go and is basically a…
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08Sep 2013 by Nick Nortje No Comments
A Tough Vidal Trip

A Tough Vidal Trip

Fly Fishing, Salt Water, Trip Report
[caption id="attachment_1387" align="alignleft" width="300"] A bad omen perhaps?[/caption] The much awaited Vidal trip took place over the weekend of the 6th – 8th of September. With 12 Baha and DFT members booking out two separate cottages we once again had quite a crowd! Departing from Durban at 4.30 am we made our way to the St Lucia Wimpy for a quick brekkie and a soup bowl of coffee. Spirits were high and there was much excitement from the “Vidal Virgins” who eagerly asked where to fish, what to expect and what flies work. We left the Wimpy in our hordes to make our way to the beach, knowing very well that a buster was on its way up the coast. While leaving the car park I sadly noticed we had…
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13Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments
The Xplorer T-50 (9wt 4 Piece Saltwater Fly Rod)

The Xplorer T-50 (9wt 4 Piece Saltwater Fly Rod)

Fly Fishing, Reviews
So after collecting my new rod from Xplorer I was keen to get it on the water to test out the much talked about T-50. My first impression was WOW! A beautiful carbon rod tube coated in a neoprene sock was handed to me by Xplorer, inside was a 4 piece, 9wt wrapped in a rod cloth. [caption id="attachment_1111" align="alignleft" width="200"] The T-50 in it's rod tube[/caption] Xplorer have really outdone themselves with the T-50. It's built on premium Japanese, high modulus carbon blanks which have ultra-fast tip actions and the grip is crafted from premium grade cork. The saltwater models have Alps Triangle anodized aluminium reel seats while the freshwater models have CNC machined, up-locking fittings with natural burl inserts. The eyes on the rod are REC recoil stripper guides…
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03Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 1 Comment
Cape Vidal – Another Trip With The DFT

Cape Vidal – Another Trip With The DFT

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_1139" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Wading at Cape Vidal[/caption] Friday saw 6 DFT fly fishermen climb out of bed at 4am in pouring rain and howling wind to make the 320km drive to Cape Vidal to lay claim to the kingfish that frequent the area at this time of year. The weather reports were not good but we were confident it wouldn't be as bad as they made it out to be. [caption id="attachment_1138" align="alignleft" width="300"] First kingie of the trip[/caption] I picked up Steve and headed to the first rendezvous point to meet the rest of the gang and travel up in convoy. At about 5:30 we were all together; Steve, Neill, Bruce, Joe, Graham and I. And after a quick cup of coffee we were on our way. This…
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23Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje
Springer Into Action

Springer Into Action

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
So after a very successful Midmar trip the Baha Boys decided to give the salt a bash before they parted ways to their various holiday destinations. The location was Durban Harbour. Warren arrived at my place at 04:15, hooked up the boat and we made our way down to the bay. The weather was as humid as hell (even at 4am) but thankfully we had our Columbia Sportswear shirts on to sort that out. [caption id="attachment_917" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nick With A Springer[/caption] Arriving at the bay just before sunrise we eagerly kitted up and launched the boat. After having great success at the Silt Canal we made our way up to it, stopping along the way to fish the drop off at various points and to test out the newly…
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04Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments
The Xplorer Guide II (5wt 9ft 4 Piece Freshwater Fly Rod)

The Xplorer Guide II (5wt 9ft 4 Piece Freshwater Fly Rod)

Fly Fishing, Reviews
[caption id="attachment_745" align="alignright" width="300"] The Xplorer Guide II[/caption] On first viewing this rod I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of the construction of the rod tube. It is made out of carbon fibre and has machined and polished end caps giving you a feeling of class. Unscrew the top cap and you pull out your four rod sections wrapped in a cloth sleeve. The rod is constructed using Xplorer's XP7 modulus graphite blanks, pac bay eyes and a lightweight aluminium up-locking reel seat with a high quality cork handle. I paired the rod with the Rio Mainstream intermediate, weight forward line and the Xplorer Eclipse 4-6wt reel. This combo I feel gives the rod a good balance. The rod action is medium to fast and can effortlessly cast…
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