Eland Dam (Kamberg) Drained

[WazzyP]

Hey guys,

I was up at Kamberg this weekend and see they've drained Eland Dam. Sadly I forgot to ask why before I left. Anyone got any information? My guess would be maintenance since they've cut down most of the reeds surrounding the dam.

The down side is that it obviously drained through Erskine Dam so it looks like a chocolate milkshake. There were a lot of guys giving it stick but only 2 fish came out the whole weekend.



I got one fish from the dams and lost one. Focussed instead on the Mooi River where I picked up one small brown. A beautiful river but tough to fish due to the access.

Cheers,
Warren

[poppernel]

Warren, draining a dam like this is really not good. Unless getting rid of unwanted intruders, like we had to do with Lake Sneeuberg. (but we were assisted by a major drought then) The big problem here is losing vegetation ie weed beds and aquatic grasses which are rich in foodstuffs. Talking here about snail etc, bloodworm and the like. But time heals all, JUST NEGATE FROM USING POISONS.
DAVE

[WazzyP]

Warren, draining a dam like this is really not good. Unless getting rid of unwanted intruders, like we had to do with Lake Sneeuberg. (but we were assisted by a major drought then) The big problem here is losing vegetation ie weed beds and aquatic grasses which are rich in foodstuffs. Talking here about snail etc, bloodworm and the like. But time heals all, JUST NEGATE FROM USING POISONS.
DAVE

Very true Dave!

[E.T.]

Kamberg won't see me again soon, honestly.
Dizzy and I were there in March and we really looked forward to those big Browns you associate with the Mooi. Well we walked our behinds off and we could only see 4-8cm fish scatter, even when coming back through the water, because the going on the bank is tough. The only good sized fish I saw, I hooked and somehow it snapped me off on 6X, still don't know why it broke off, but it did.

The water into the mountains is lovely, but the upkeep of it is not. If you get out the water, you can't get back in again. And if you walk the bank you bleed. Working hard for your fish is always good for me, but this place was ridiculous. If you compare Kamberg to the rest of the reserves in the Berg, then I have to say that it is the worst maintained of them all. There are no clear walking paths.

I do believe that if you can find a way to get deeper into the mountains, you will get quality fish. Would I do it? Nah, there is better water to fish in the rest of the Drakensberg.

[WazzyP]

Kamberg won't see me again soon, honestly.
Dizzy and I were there in March and we really looked forward to those big Browns you associate with the Mooi. Well we walked our behinds off and we could only see 4-8cm fish scatter, even when coming back through the water, because the going on the bank is tough. The only good sized fish I saw, I hooked and somehow it snapped me off on 6X, still don't know why it broke off, but it did.

The water into the mountains is lovely, but the upkeep of it is not. If you get out the water, you can't get back in again. And if you walk the bank you bleed. Working hard for your fish is always good for me, but this place was ridiculous. If you compare Kamberg to the rest of the reserves in the Berg, then I have to say that it is the worst maintained of them all. There are no clear walking paths.

I do believe that if you can find a way to get deeper into the mountains, you will get quality fish. Would I do it? Nah, there is better water to fish in the rest of the Drakensberg.

I think on a whole Kamberg is well maintained. They have a wheelchair path along a short stretch of the Mooi, hiking trails to the rock paintings, clean chalets and well maintained dams. That said of their 5 dams, only 1 is currently stocked and fishable. Another is undergoing maintenance (as seen above), and the rest were discarded when the hatchery was discarded. So basically only 2 dams are maintained.

That said I fully agree with you about the Mooi. I left the river bloody and slightly frustrated. The banks are steep and there are generally no paths. In places the river is too steep to wade which means backtracking until you find and exit point, bashing through thick bush, and then trying to get back in. Every fish I catch in that river feels like a prize.

I will go back, but not anytime soon.

[E.T.]

The thing that annoyed me was that there was trees that fell over onto the water and next to it and this is not cleaned up at all and this makes the going impossible.

Yes, the chalets are neat, but thats it. The rest of the place does not appeal to me remotely.
I do not drive 400-600km to a reserve in KZN to fish stockie dams, I want to fish the rivers and the Mooi up there certainly does not qualify as any of the rivers I would like to fish on my annual pilgrimage to the Berg.

I was invited a while ago to fish the Mooi lower down, I said that I would not even consider fishing that water even if there was a naked blonde sitting on the bank every 100 meters. That is how the Mooi at Kamberg stuffed it up for me. I would rather fish Lotheni instead of Kamberg. But honestly the Brown fishing on the Bushmans is just something else.

[smallstreams.co.za]

You guys should not even THINK about doing the KMS Gorge trip then!!!!