Fresh Water Archives - Page 6 of 14

01Jan 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments

A New Year’s Trip To Shongweni Dam

Being such keen fly fisherman there is simply no other way to spend the first day of the new year than on the water. And with Nick up at Sterkfontein Dam dominating the yellows I decided that my best option would be to take the family down to one of the local bass dams for a short, afternoon session. My gut told me that Midmar and Inanda would be chaos with the new year's rush, and so I decided on Shongweni where I thought it would be quieter due to power boats not being allowed. As it turns out I was wrong. Shongweni was absolute chaos and we struggled to find a place to park. Eventually Sharon dropped me and my tube off and kindly got permission to sit at…

25Dec 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Unfishable Injisuthi

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

Warren headed to Injisuthi over Christmas. Sadly the rivers were to high to flick a fly... [slideshow id=93]

22Dec 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Slow Morning At Inanda

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_1642" align="alignright" width="300"] Yet another largemouth bass[/caption] Bass seem to be topping the todo list of late. I guess it's because they're close to home and great fun to fish for on the surface. So on Sunday we headed back down to Inanda Dam to have another go at the good old largemouth. I got down at 5:45 only to (once again) discover that the gate only opens at 6am. Rather than standing around I put this time to good use and inflated my tube and kitted up my rod. That way when the gate opened I was ready to go and was on the water within 5 minutes. This proved to be a good move as I picked up 3 fish within 15 minutes of kicking out. After…

16Dec 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Yet More Inanda Bassing

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_1623" align="alignright" width="300"] Warren with a bass at Inanda Dam[/caption] After a slow weekend of fishing at Midmar we decided to head down to Inanda Dam to get back into some decent largemouth bass. With Nick driving it meant a lazy 6am start which resulted in us arriving at the gate at roughly 6:30am. I whipped out my Wild Card, it was swiped, and we were let in. While driving to our fishing spot I took a look at my slip and noticed that my card had expired several months before. Clearly they don't check the slips. Free entry for the win! After inflating the tubes we kicked out onto the water which was as smooth as glass. The sun was already bright and I was unsure as to how…

15Dec 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Annual Midmar Camping Trip – Take 2

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report

[caption id="attachment_1635" align="alignleft" width="300"] Carnage during a hail storm at Midmar[/caption] Our annual Midmar camping and bass pilgrimage got off to a rocky start on Friday afternoon when I received a photo of a decimated gazebo from Nick. He'd taken a half day and had headed up early with the family to get a small advantage over me with the bass bashing. Much to his dismay however all that this had resulted in was him setting up camp amidst a huge hail storm, which in turn had left his gazebo looking like nothing more than a trodden on spider with too many legs. Not deterred by his cries Sharon, Emma and I packed up the car and headed for Midmar with the new Cassa da Priors. We arrived shortly before…

01Dec 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Inanda Dam Domination

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_1459" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Warren Prior with a nice large-mouth bass[/caption] A big Xplorer sale meant that Nick and I ended up with a few extra fly rods that needed to be tested. For me the rod I wanted to put through its paces was a new Guide II 7 weight which was to become my bass (and possibly salt water) rod. We had originally planned a salt water outing down the south coast as we also had a few new 9 weights. However wind and high seas dictated our decision and we eventually opted to head down to Inanda Dam for some bass bashing. We arrived at Inanda in a slight drizzle, sucked down the remainder of our coffee, and then peeled the plastic off the new rods. The water…

17Nov 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Dry Lesotho And Weekend In Underberg

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_1443" align="alignleft" width="300"] Top of Sani Pass[/caption] After days of planning (ok, a cold beer and an idea) we left at 4am for the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Tents and sleeping bags were packed, firewood was at the ready, and the Captain Morgan was prepped for an adventure worthy of Kingsley Holgate. We stamped through the SA border at 7am and were proudly the first car up Sani Pass for the day. It was at this point that the adventure was downgraded by a level or two. Since our last trip up Sani a lot of work has been done. The road has been widened, retaining walls have been erected, drainage has been installed under the road, and ice corner has been defeated. The pass as we knew it…

06Nov 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Back To Midmar

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_1416" align="alignleft" width="199"] Nick with a nice Midmar bass[/caption] It's that time of year again when the fishing options are endless. The harbour is starting to perform with the summer game-fish arriving. The rivers have finally been opened and have received some rain. It hasn't yet got too hot so the dams are still producing some nice trout. The yellows have moved up into the rapids. And the bass are coming into the shallows. With so many possibilities it was tough to choose a weekend's outing. However we eventually settled on Midmar and some bass bashing. Why? Well, the recent rains had possibly discoloured the rivers and we didn't want to drive all that way for nothing. We also wanted to make use of the boat and have some…

13Oct 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

The UHTFC AGM And Festival

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

[caption id="attachment_1421" align="alignleft" width="199"] The New UHTFC Banners[/caption] Once a year the UHTFC host their AGM and, in order to make it more exciting and to improve attendance, they throw in a small fly fishing festival as well. The general format is a meet and greet on the Friday evening (where waters are drawn), fishing on the Saturday, and then weigh in followed by the AGM and dinner on Saturday evening. Not wanting to miss out on any fishing time Neill and I planned to leave Hillcrest at 1pm in order to get in a short afternoon session. Sadly things went a little pear shaped from the start. Firstly, on my way home, I stopped off to pick up some new Baha decals only to discover they weren't finished yet.…

26Sep 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Sad Day Of Exploration

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Yellowfish

[caption id="attachment_1371" align="alignleft" width="300"] Testing out my new Fortuner in the Umgeni Valley[/caption] A year has passed since our last Heritage Day but the memories of a day spent fly fishing under snow capped mountains (and the adventure that followed) is still fresh in my mind. It therefore seemed only fitting to spend this Heritage Day in search of yet another adventure and fishing for a purely indigenous fish, the Natal Scaly. Having just picked up my "new" vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner, we decided to head for the Umgeni Nature Reserve knowing they had a 4x4 route down into the valley. I'd last fished the venue with my dad in around 2007 and fondly remember the fun we had with the scalies. As such is seemed like the perfect choice. I…

Category: Fresh Water