Urban Barbel - Fishing the flooded Lawns

[Nepptune]

Had some fun on Sunday after all the crazy rain…

Went down to the regular carp spot to see if I could irritate a Carp or two… 30 knot winds and very murky water put paid to that idea, although I did spot a few Carp, they were sitting in gaps in the weeds less than 30cm square… trying to land a fly in that zone at 15 metres against the wind, with a 3weight, and not spook the carp was a bit of an exercise in futility….

As I was about to pack up, a chap and his kids and their dogs came walking past asking if I was fishing for catfish… I said no I was chasing Carp… he says " Well if you want to catch some catfish, there are a whole bunch back there in the flooded area"….

Hmmmm… so I figure what the hell…

Walked up to a section of flooded lawn/and weeds alongside the main water channel, and was greeted by this:


Must have been 50 to 100 of the things in foot deep water…

Of course I quickly chopped off the 5x tippet I had on for the carp, tied on a big Wooly Bugger and ventured forth…

Unfortunately for all their fervour, the Barbel weren't feeding as hard as it looked, and the water was so shallow my Bead headed Wooly bugger kept hooking bottom..
Switched over to a big Walkers Killer type thing, and concentrated on trying to get a fly right over their whiskers… again not so easy in the wind, but soon this happened:





Pretty entertaining on a 3 weight!

Couple minutes later:



My little guy Zeppelin keeping an eye on "his catch"… I swear this dog is part pointer, part fishing guide…. he is obsessed with fish, especially tailing fish in shallow water… he goes on point when he spots a fish, often before I do and its damn near impossible to get him away from the waters edge once he's spotted a fish… that is of course until a duck/coot/Gypo makes the mistake of coming too close….


Here's a closer look:

**** Yes I know, its pretty sacrilegious to be using a BEAUTIFUL hand built Custom Sage ONE 390, that Mario put so much time and effort and energy into crafting for me on ugly Barbel, but hey, fishing rods are meant to be fished right?****

And here is a pathetic "Selfie"…. will have to do until I teach Zeppelin to use my iPhone!


Not exactly glamorous fishing, but a pull is a pull, and the tug is the drug, wherever you get it!

[MarkK]

I see you've even got the matching fish graphic "barbel" finish reel...

[Nepptune]

I see you've even got the matching fish graphic "barbel" finish reel...

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

[Korrie]

There were a couple swimming in the River club parking lot over the weekend.
casting might have been easier, as you had no grass

[Nepptune]

There were a couple swimming in the River club parking lot over the weekend.
casting might have been easier, as you had no grass

Probably the same shoal Korrie… these were just up the drag from there… The grass presented a "challenge", added to the entertainment! :-)

Truth be told I was amazed at the number of Catfish in that water… Ive fished that section for the better part of 2 years now, and seen hundreds of Carp, even caught a few, as well as seeing a large number of pretty healthy sized Tilapia, but until a week ago had never seen a barbel in there… then I saw 2 last week… tiny ones… then this crazy mass of them… huge numbers, and some of them pushing the 8 to 10 kilo mark I would bet… interesting to see… and something to fish at when the carp aren't playing the game!

[Korrie]

The Barbel have been there for years.
I started to fish there there probably 15 plus years ago.
There is a small guppie type of fish, grows to about 3cm.
They tend to hug the roots and grass overhanging for protection.
The barbel loves to feel among the grass and roots for these little fish.
There are some big undercuts amongst the willow trees, where the barbel loves to hang out.
Dapping a fly, will get you some success. amongst the roots of the willow, but be aware, you will get a big skrik, when Mr Whiskers jumps out of the undercut.
I have never seen the big mothers that you are talking about. the biggest I have always seen was probably 60 or 70cm.

The quarry above your house have some good bass and carp in as well.

[Korrie]

The canal below the bridge, sometimes have cruising carp, The spookiest fish you have ever seen.
You want a challenge, stroll along the concrete section, spotting and sight fishing, for them.
If they are in that section, you can call them the "Untouchables"

[Nepptune]

Hi Korrie,

The carp in that whole system can be tricksy buggers… some days spookier than a wily brown in 6" water, and other days just completely indifferent rather than spooky… but I have had a small amount of luck with them…

The Tilapia that are in their at the moment, are SERIOUSLY spooky though… even from 15 or 20 metres away, they are spooking before you've lifted a rod to cast… some big buggers in there though, managed to get right up close on a few very very quietly, and they are pushing 30cm's, which is a bloody good sized Breamfish in my books… still gotta try figure out how to get them to eat though… need less windy conditions though…. I could swear that place gets more wind than Vredehoek…. if a duck farts in Muizenberg it blows a gale along that system… drives me nuts!!

I've only had a look in that concrete section of the canal once, and it was completely devoid of any life ( so was the rest of the system at the time, during winter ) but I will definitely have a look next time again… I like the idea of fooling one of those spooky sneaky carp…especially from an elevated position!

[Shamwari]

Hi Korrie,

The carp in that whole system can be tricksy buggers… some days spookier than a wily brown in 6" water, and other days just completely indifferent rather than spooky… but I have had a small amount of luck with them…

The Tilapia that are in their at the moment, are SERIOUSLY spooky though… even from 15 or 20 metres away, they are spooking before you've lifted a rod to cast… some big buggers in there though, managed to get right up close on a few very very quietly, and they are pushing 30cm's, which is a bloody good sized Breamfish in my books… still gotta try figure out how to get them to eat though… need less windy conditions though…. I could swear that place gets more wind than Vredehoek…. if a duck farts in Muizenberg it blows a gale along that system… drives me nuts!!

I've only had a look in that concrete section of the canal once, and it was completely devoid of any life ( so was the rest of the system at the time, during winter ) but I will definitely have a look next time again… I like the idea of fooling one of those spooky sneaky carp…especially from an elevated position!

The definition of torture = Where I stay in Century City at the moment, in the complex they have stunning water ways like small streams and the odd pool, with lunker bream in them...why torture? Huge "No Fishing" signs frigging every where...at night, you must see these bugger rising...looks like I will have to put on the old tree outfit again and blend in if you know whats me means!

[Shamwari]

Just look at the water in front of my little flat...