01May 2015 by Warren Prior 5 Comments
Castleburn And The Umzimkulu River

Castleburn And The Umzimkulu River

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_2484" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The view from Lake Madingofani[/caption] I was lucky enough to win a weekend away at Castleburn at last year's Boston Fly Fishing Festival (courtesy of the UHTFC). We finally decided to make use of it when my dad and Cassia flew up to Durban to visit Emma and us. The weekend was fantastic while the fishing was a bit of a mixed bag as my dad and I only made it onto the water twice over the course of the week. Our first attempt saw us heading down to Lake Madingofani (Castleburn Lake) for a late afternoon session. On the walk down we fished a few of the smaller dams, more out of curiosity than due to their potential. I assume these dams are targeted at beginners as we were easily…
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22Mar 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments
Fishing The UHTFC

Fishing The UHTFC

Fly Fishing, 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…
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01Mar 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments
The Bend Curse

The Bend Curse

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Randoms, Trout
I've now visited the Bend twice, both times in pouring rain with the river far too dirty to fish. But that's far from my biggest problem. On my latest trip, when everyone headed off for an afternoon nap, I decided to skip the river and give the still waters a try. I therefore got Dave to sketch me up a rough map of the dams on the property, grabbed my fly rods, and headed out for an afternoon session. My first stop was at Otter Dam which was too dirty to dedicate any time too. So I quickly popped over to Three Springs Dam which, although dirty, was fishable. I kitted up my rods and began prospecting the wall with minimal confidence. There was little sign of activity so after 15 minutes I called it and…
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03Jan 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments
Sterkfontein New Years

Sterkfontein New Years

Fly Fishing, 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…
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21Dec 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments
The Bass Are Back

The Bass Are Back

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water
[caption id="attachment_2116" align="alignright" width="225"] Nick with a bass[/caption] After months of waiting it was finally time to head back down to Inanda Dam for a little bass bashing. Sadly conditions were not what we'd hoped they would be. Heading north towards the Umgeni River revealed algae on the surface that was so thick it appeared to be paint. Throwing out a popper was useless as it would either sit on top, or work it’s way under where you could no longer see it. Fishing sub surface may have worked but we weren’t interested in sitting in the muck. We therefore headed towards the dam wall where the surface was thankfully clear of the green goo. There was however another problem in that the dam was so low that there was…
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23Nov 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments
Cape Vidal Trip Report, November 2014

Cape Vidal Trip Report, November 2014

Fly Fishing, 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…
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12Oct 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments
UHTFC AGM And Fishing Festival 2014

UHTFC AGM And Fishing Festival 2014

Event, Fly Fishing, 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…
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