Uitzicht and Bracken Waters

Uitzicht and Bracken Waters

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_202" align="alignleft" width="225"] Warren Fighting A Trout In His Tube[/caption] During the week Nick had taken a bold step and joined the NFFC (Natal Fly Fishers Club), so on Sunday we jumped in the Paj and headed for Uitzicht, a club water in the Kamberg area. Neither of us had fished this water before, but due to a rather humorous Butt Farming sign, we both knew exactly where it was. A cup of coffee and toilet break later (which involved me getting locked in the gents by an excited Nick) and we were inflating the tubes on the side of a great looking dam. We waded into the chilly water and just after kicking out Nick realised he'd lost his net. He sulkily headed back to shore and as…
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Baha Bushmans

Baha Bushmans

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_196" align="alignright" width="225"] Warren Prior With A Bushman's Brown[/caption] With only two weeks remaining in the river season I was beginning to feel the pain of having only had one outing, mostly due to a snapped Achilles. Thankfully I managed to get a pink slip on Sunday and recruited fellow Baha Boy Nick Nortje for a trip to the Bushmans. I picked up Nick at around 6am in Pietermaritzburg and continued the long drive to Giant's Castle. We arrived at 7:30 and started kitting up. It was Nick's first time on the rivers so this took a bit longer than usual. We whipped off his intermediate line and wound on a new floating line, eager to get onto the water. The river was flowing at a good rate as…
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Silverhill

Silverhill

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_193" align="alignright" width="300"] View Over Silverhill[/caption] Sharon and I spent the Easter weekend at Silverhill (Kamberg) with my dad, sister and Cassia. Silverhill is a 4 star resort offering various activities including fly fishing in several, small, stocked dams. Upon arrival I looked at the photos they had stuck up...there were none of fish. I then looked at the brochure...fishing was mentioned, but again no photos. At this point I perhaps should've been more suspicious. On Saturday morning I planned to be up and on the water early, but after a severe outbreak of hayfever (I'm guessing due to the thatch) and very little sleep, I ended up only hitting the water after breakfast. Although the dam I fished was small, I took the opportunity to make use of…
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Technical Lotheni

Technical Lotheni

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_190" align="alignleft" width="225"] Western Fly Fishing The Lotheni[/caption] Thanks to a not very cooperative Achilles, it had been a long wait for me to get into my first river of the season, some 6 months after they opened. Western, Karen, Sharon and I headed up to Lotheni for the first long weekend, hoping for a combination of some relaxation and epic fly fishing. Now I've always known that the Lotheni River was very technical wild Brown waters, but this weekend really just emphasised that point. At around 2pm on Saturday Western and I walked from the campsite, back towards the main camp, rods in hand, and eager. We entered the river at the small feeder stream the road crosses, and I carefully chose my first fly for the trip...the…
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Float Tube Bliss

Float Tube Bliss

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_183" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nick On His Float Tube[/caption] On Sunday morning Nick and I headed out to Mavela to do some Trout bashing. Although we knew the conditions weren't going to be ideal (they never are in January), I had to get out there. I'd bought a float tube, which had been sitting in my cupboard, unused, since September. Not only are ruptured Achilles expensive, they're also a pain in the ass. Anyway, I picked Nick up at 6am, and we were in the tubes and on the water by 7:30am. It was already sweltering hot, and the water was far too warm for my liking. A fisherman who arrived a little after us measured it at around 25 degrees. Looking back, I think we were lucky that the…
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Smashing Colmonell

Smashing Colmonell

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_180" align="alignright" width="200"] Warren Prior's Rainbow Trout[/caption]On Sunday I got up at the usual 5am, packed my fishing kit, and met Shaun in the basement. We headed for Colmonell, stopping for the mandatory cup of coffee at the Bean Cafe. By 7am we were kitted up and on the water. There was a fair amount of activity around us in the shallows, and I could see it was sizeable Rainbows, so things were looking good. At around 8am I pulled out my best Rainbow of the year, a hen fish weighing in at 2,6kg. Shaun quickly informed me that I was cheating as I'd used the infamous Mrs Simpson. This of course was all biterness as he had none in his box. Shortly after that I pulled out a…
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Two Weeks In A Row

Two Weeks In A Row

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignleft" width="200"] Warren Prior Casting[/caption] For the second week in a row Sharon was working, which meant that I had the pink slip to go out and do some fishing. Western's girlfriend also had plans, so for the second week in a row he joined me. I arrived at the water at around 7am after complicating the process of getting there. Western was running again so he was going to join me at around 10am. The good news was that I'd remembered the key this time, and so I could actually do some fishing instead of sitting around in the car. There was another club member there setting up his tube so we had a quick chat while we kitted up, and then we both hit the water.…
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Colmonell With Western

Colmonell With Western

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_171" align="alignright" width="225"] Warren Prior With A Colmonell Rainbow[/caption] So after a long fishing layoff I finally made it back to the water. On Saturday morning I woke up at 5am, packed the car, and was on the road by 5:30. Just over an hour later I pulled up to the gate at Colmonell. FAIL! I'd forgotten my gate key. Luckily for me Western was following me up, so I gave him a call and then started the wait. Then it was time to keep myself occupied...I taped up my leg and kitted out 2 fly rods. This took me all of half an hour so I whipped out the camera and took a few misty photos. This killed another 30 minutes so I made a few phone calls.…
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The Tank Chair

The Tank Chair

Fly Fishing, Randoms
[caption id="attachment_168" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Tank Chair[/caption]So after months of careful consideration, and being pissed off since I'm stuck in a cast, I'm come up with the perfect Christmas present for me this year. So its time for all of you to pool your money together and get me one of these bad boys... I give you, the TANK CHAIR! With one of these chairs I could be out fishing right now. And better yet, I'd be doing it in comfort and style. Of course I'd need to make a few modifications. For example I'd be adding a cooler box to carry the beers, and I'd have to replace a few of the parts with stainless so I could fish salt water as well as fresh water, but otherwise this…
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Club Waters Trip 2 – Mavela, Again

Club Waters Trip 2 – Mavela, Again

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignright" width="300"] Underwater Trout[/caption] After fishing Mavela last week and only landing one, I decided I needed to give it another try. Bruce and I drove up early to find very different conditions to those Nick and I had fished last weekend. It was overcast, and there was a strong wind blowing, making casting from the bank difficult. Due to the ripple on the water we also couldn't see the fish like Nick and I could previously. Bruce had brought his tube, and after setting it up he got into the water and I headed off down the bank. A couple of hours of tough fishing for me produced nothing. Although I did have two big hits which I somehow missed. Bruce did have more luck in the…
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