Fly Fishing Archives - Page 13 of 23

17Dec 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Midmar Bass Bashing

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report

[caption id="attachment_888" align="alignleft" width="300"] Launching At Midmar[/caption] Amazingly it had been 8 years since Nick and I last visited (and camped) at Midmar Dam in the Kzn Midlands. Yes, it's not as scenic as the mountains and bass are not as fondly thought of as trout by most fly fisherman; but we're not most fly fisherman! So when a long weekend popped up just before Christmas we packed the vehicles, hitched the boat, and took the families up to Midmar for a relaxing weekend with a "little" fly fishing. We arrived at around 6pm on Friday evening which left us just enough light to pitch the tents and get camp ready before darkness fell. Then the beers came out, the fire was lit, and we began the usual discussions of…

04Dec 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Kingdom – A DVD Review

Fly Fishing, Reviews

[caption id="attachment_803" align="alignright" width="300"] The Kingdom Screenshot[/caption] Following on from Touching Gold, Safari and Film Africa take us on a journey through the beautiful and remote Lesotho highlands in search of the countries large, elusive and very wild Trout. SFA'a unique style can be seen throughout the DVD and is easily recognisable if you've previously watched Touching Gold. I find that fly fishing DVDs tend to come in two main formats; those which try to teach you something and those which share an experience with you. This DVD certainly falls into the second category and leaves you wishing that this was an experience you were part of. Tourette Fly Fishing guides are seen stalking both wild Rainbow and Brown Trout in the crystal clear streams of the Lesotho Kingdom. Throughout…

04Dec 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Touching Gold – A DVD Review

Fly Fishing, Reviews

[caption id="attachment_800" align="alignright" width="300"] Touching Gold Screenshot[/caption] Touching Gold is the first fly fishing DVD filmed and produced by Rayno Egner of Safari and Film Africa. In association with Tourette Fly Fishing it transports the viewer to Free State's famous Sterkfontein Dam, regarded as one of the best sight fishing venues in Africa. Although Sterkfontein was originally fished for Trout (and contains many other species including Bass and Largemouth Yellowfish) this DVD shares with us the magical experience of sight fishing for Smallmouth Yellows. Anyone who's fished (or visited) Sterkfontein will be aware of the sheer size of this body of water as well as it’s incredible clarity. It can be hugely intimidating to anyone new to the venue and this DVD goes a fair way in giving a few…

04Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments

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…

02Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje No Comments

Shad Bashing 101

Articles, Fly Fishing, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignnone" width="400"] Warren With A Shad[/caption] [caption id="attachment_649" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Small Shad[/caption] Common Name: Shad Other Names: Elf Scientific Name: Pomatomus saltatrix Size: Shad can grow to be 120 cm long with a weight of 14 kg. Habitat: Shad are mainly found on sandy bottoms in clear water. They are also found close to reefs and rocky ledges where there is foamy water. Eating Quality: The fresh flesh of a shad is excellent to eat, but not after being frozen so only keep what you can eat. In this article I'll be touching on some of the things that have worked well for me over the years to target shad. Being an avid fly fishermen of both salt water and fresh water I am constantly looking for…

25Nov 2012 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments

Nick’s Underberg Virginity, Broken

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

Friday the 24th finally saw Nick head out to test the much talked about waters of the UHTFC (in Underberg) with Neill in tow to show him the ropes. After a late start due to an issue on the N2 we departed Assagay at 17:15 in high spirits. [caption id="attachment_863" align="alignright" width="226"] UHTFC Sign[/caption] The drive up was uneventful and tales of how the waters were dominated on past trips filled most of the 220km road trip. I was praying silently that I would A) catch a fish, and B) it would be a lunker. We pulled into Undies around 19:30 and headed to “Woolies” hoping to grab some meat. Unfortunately they were closed so we opted for KFC. We pulled into our accommodation, scoffed the KFC, cracked some ice…

18Nov 2012 by Warren Prior 1 Comment

Inanda Dam Bass Bashing

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_590" align="alignright" width="300"] Warren With A Bass[/caption]After a rather interesting DFT demo by Marco Breschi, our club’s bass expert, I had a chat with him and we decided to head down to Inanda Dam on Sunday morning for a little bass fishing (on fly of course). With my newly tied strip leech in hand, Nick picked me up, we met Marco at the gate, and we headed down to the dam. Our first mistake was arriving at 5am only to be told that the gate only opens at 6am. We must thank Nick for this great piece of planning, so if you ever happen to run into him please be sure to rough him up a little. None the less we put the time to good use by pumping…

11Nov 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Another Underberg Himeville Trout Fishing Club Trip

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_585" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hail On Arrival In Underberg[/caption] Having been up to Underberg earlier this year I was quick to accept another invitation to go up and fish a few of the UHTFC (Underberg Himeville Trout Fishing Club) waters. I put in a half day’s leave and met Neill at Plantations at 1pm. We promptly packed up the Jeep and were soon on the road to Alan’s house in Underberg. After weeks of rain (over 400mm in a month which normal has around 90mm) I was glad to see that the weather sites all agreed that it would be a sunny weekend. That said there was a severe storm warning for the Underberg area on Friday and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Thankfully we had just carried the last of…

04Nov 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Cancelled DFT Outing

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

The heavy rains of October had not yet eased but we'd promised a salt water outing and we had to stand by our word. As such we headed north on Sunday morning to the agreed venue of Westbrook. Sadly people seemed deterred by the conditions and despite the last 2 outings having been supported by over 20 anglers, it was only Nick and I who arrived. The was perhaps lucky since the conditions were terrible and even we decided to give the fishing a miss. That said we explored some of the coastline for future venues and eventually succumbed to the temptations and flicked a line at Casino beach for half an hour. Sadly the ever productive beach produced nothing for us and we eventually headed home empty handed, but a little wiser as…

20Oct 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Port Edward Quickie

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_575" align="alignleft" width="300"] Port Edward Beach[/caption] During a recent trip to Port Edward Nick and I took the obvious opportunity and headed down to the waters edge to get in a little fly fishing. Sadly October had seen over 3 times the normal rainfall for the period and as such the seas were chocolate brown to say the least. Not being easily deterred we fished the rocks in front of the chalets with no luck before heading north. We were hoping to find a few gullies but sadly the seas were as big as they were dirty. Eventually, after an hour or so of exploring, we decided to head back to the beach. We'd fished a few gullies while battling with waves, and Nick had dropped a small fish,…

Category: Fly Fishing