Great, thanks Mario.
I guess I'll have to bring my A game.
Mario Geldenhuys
Smallstream fanatic, plus I do some other things that I can't tell you about
"All the tips or magical insights in the world can't replace devotion, dedication, commitment, and gumption - and there is not secret in that" - Glenn Brackett
That would be great.
Will send a PM.
Wow, what a nightmare! 5 days of fishing in the Rhodes area and I caught only 1 trout.
It is instructive to see how the fishery has deteriorated over the last three years. I have fished Rhodes in late April for the last number of years:
From 2010 to 2013, it was 30-40 fish per day. Mostly small fish, with only 1 in 10 of 14 inches or longer
2014 was 25 fish per day, better size.
2015 was 5-10 fish per day, with very few less than 12 inches.
2016 less than one trout per day.
The returns from the wild trout festival show a similar pattern.
Three consecutive summers of very late rain mean the rivers have been under huge pressure in early summer, with surface flow actually stopping this summer. Accordingly, the otters and birds had a field day.
In three days spent on the bell river (2 on the upper middle reaches, 1 on the lower reaches) I managed to see only 3 fish, all of which spooked long before I could get anywhere near. The lower sterkspruit yielded a beautiful hen fish of 18-20 inches, but I didn't even see another fish. The Kraai delivered some beautiful clear-water yellows, but not a hint of a trout.
I have two major concerns about this fishery, firstly that it will take at least two years for the trout numbers to recover to a level that makes such a long trip worthwhile.
The second is that the trout have been genetically selected to be super-skittish. Only the most shy and alert fish appear to have escaped predation, which means their offspring will likely also be very shy. Great for survival, but not so great for fishermen.
So what to do if you love the area? Chase yellowfish at a more appropriate time of year. I found some great new (to me) water on the Kraai, where the yellows were in the deeper, slower water 20-30m downstream from rapids, but i'm sure that at a warmer time of the year they will be in faster water. The difficulty will be timing when the Kraai is flowing clear enough to be attractive.
Korrie Broos
Don't go knocking on Death's door, ring the bell and run like hell. He hates it. (anon)
Nymphing, adds depth to your fly fishing.
Nymphing, is fly fishing in another dimension
I think it is due to a situation brought on by several years of sustained drought. The trout will survive. Nature regulates itself. All we need is a couple of years of decent rain, and a good spawn. there are hundreds of kilometres of river in the area and the fish will migrate to safer and richer areas. The fish are there, its just that they are not as easy to catch as they were in the past.
Disclaimer.... none of my posts are intended to be "expert advice"..just opinions from someone who is willing to help where he can.
Andre will tell you about the Umzinkulu around Underberg, a couple of years ago.
It was so low, you could not buy a fish over 15cm. after the first rains, the fish appaered from "NOWHERE" and the rivers where back to normal.
Korrie Broos
Don't go knocking on Death's door, ring the bell and run like hell. He hates it. (anon)
Nymphing, adds depth to your fly fishing.
Nymphing, is fly fishing in another dimension
Korrie, the rivers around Rhodes are flowing beautifully at the moment. Conditions are close to perfect right now, but there are almost no fish to be found.
Similar reports over 4 days of guiding - very few fish to write about I'm afraid. We found lots of small fish in the Upper Bell and Upper Bokspruit though. And when I say small, I mean fish that probably hatched at the 1st sight of water in January!! So, the fish will (as always) return given there is sustained water. The drought has actually stretched over a period of 5 years - so this has had a HUGE impact!! There are still some good fish around. We hooked (and lost) a 18" in a logjam. Super skills from the angler to actually get the fly infront of the fish without spooking it!! We saw 2 other similar sized fish on the same beat, and an absolute beast of well over 22" on the beat lower down!!
I agree that for the next year or so fishing will not be all that great, depending on where you fish. Good fish (trout) was still being caught lower down on the Sterk and Kraai. They are there, but just very few. The adverse weather also did no-one many favors!!
Mario Geldenhuys
Smallstream fanatic, plus I do some other things that I can't tell you about
"All the tips or magical insights in the world can't replace devotion, dedication, commitment, and gumption - and there is not secret in that" - Glenn Brackett
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