Blog - Page 16 of 30 - Baha Adventures

17Jun 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Boston Fly Fishing Festival 2013

Event, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_1303" align="alignnone" width="900"] Sunset on route to the Boston Dargle Fly Fishing Festival[/caption] After having taken part in the inaugural Boston Dargle Fly Fishing Festival in 2011 (and having then missed the second festival due to my wedding) there was absolutely no chance that we were going to miss the third running of this (now) legendary festival. So we made sure we got our entries in early and then counted down the days until the festival began. [caption id="attachment_1304" align="alignleft" width="300"] View over Ivanhoe[/caption] When Friday, the day of registration, finally arrived my day in the office dragged. Thankfully I managed to sneak out a little early and headed for my house where two of my team mates, Nick and Neill, were meeting me at 4pm. We threw all…

30May 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

Teach The Teacher With Peter Hayes

Event, Fly Fishing

[caption id="attachment_1256" align="alignnone" width="800"] Sunrise over Eland Dam, Kamberg Nature Reserve[/caption] Thanks to the KZNFFA Peter Hayes spent several weeks in South Africa offering fly casting courses, and in his free time fishing the local waters. As part of his trip he was kind enough to get involved in several upliftment projects involving some of South Africa's local communities. [caption id="attachment_1255" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren releasing a rainbow trout[/caption] One such project revolved around the Thendela community which is located directly outside the Kamberg Nature Reserve on a stunning stretch of the Mooi River. The long term plan here is to divide their river frontage into beats and to then get the locals to guide tourists on these stretches of river. For the fishermen involved it would provide access to some…

19May 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Family Fishing Trip To The UHTFC

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

Since the birth of my daughter fly fishing has taken a bit of a back seat but, being who I am, that was of course definitely not sustainable. So when I was told that Peter Hayes was offering a clinic to the Aids orphans in Underberg I immediately took Friday off, packed up the family, and headed for Underberg. Neill was meeting us there but sadly Nick was unable to make it. Strange that we fish together almost weekly and yet have never done an Undies trip together. Anyway, moving on. Sharon and I were woken at 4am by a sick daughter. This was not the start I was hoping for as we trolled the internet in the dark working out whether, at 6 weeks old, we needed to worry…

07May 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Freedom Hawk, Freedom 12

Reviews

Having done my fair share of kayaking (including the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the 50 Miler) I've spent many an evening contemplating fishing skis and whether they're fly fishing friendly. The thought of combining the paddle with the rod definitely appealed to me and it made perfect sense for both estuary fishing as well as to open the doors to some "deep" sea fishing in the form of nearby reefs. But was the standard fishing ski (or kayak) a genuine option for a fly fisherman? I'd certainly heard of people fly fishing off of them but it sounded both uncomfortable and inconvenient. And then one day, while browsing fishing websites, I came across Freedom Hawk's range of fly fishing kayaks. My eyes widened and I immediately sent them an e-mail inquiring about availability in South…

01May 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

A Day On The Bushmans

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

It's been a slow river season for the Baha Boys with only a few trips having been undertaken. And of those trips Lesotho is the only one really worth mentioning. A raging Lotheni River over Christmas meant 5 fishless days for myself, and the birth of my daughter also meant a short lull in the fishing. So when Worker's Day rolled around, and both Nick and I had a free day, we grabbed the opportunity with both hands and headed for the Bushman's River. I guess there's no real point in introducing the Bushman's as (almost) every trout fisherman in South Africa knows it as perhaps the best wild brown water in the country. That said there have been numerous recent reports around the vast number of rainbows coming out…

21Mar 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Two Days, Two 4am Starts, And A Handful Of Fish

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

Although I consider Casino Beach to be a low tide venue, it is actually ideally fished at neap tides. This is when the wave action is not too overpowering and the holes open up nicely. Low tides means a flat beach with fewer holes while high tide means fighting the surf. So when the tides reached neap (or near neap) on a Wednesday we decided to go for a quick pre-work session. Nick picked me up at 5am and we planned to meat Neill on the beach at sunrise. Things took a turn for the worse when we reach the beach and I took my rod tube out the car. It was empty! My only hope was that Neill (who lives nearby) had not yet left home and could bring…

17Mar 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Another Casino Outing

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_1144" align="alignright" width="300"] A little wavie at Casino Beach[/caption] After a night out at the rugby (and a few too many beers) I decided that a quick trip down to the beach was in order. I was in desperate need of fresh air as well as a little exercise, and a flicking a fly into the surf checked all the right boxes. Checking the tides indicated a roughly mid-day low so I threw my kit into the car and headed for the beach. There was a fair amount of wind around but not enough to deter me. The beach was crowded and it was great to see an abundance of surfers, children, people running on the boardwalk, others building sand castles and more generally having fun. I opted for my…

13Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments

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…

07Mar 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Pre-work Surf Session

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words. Yesterday morning, before work, was one of those days... [caption id="attachment_1083" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Fly fishing the surf at sunrise[/caption] If you're interested in the conditions, they were close to perfect. Neap lows, a slight breeze and manageable surf. The result; a handful of bastard mullet and largespot pompano. What a way to start the day. And you'd rather be at gym?

03Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 1 Comment

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…