Bass again... but this time on Harties

[GavinD]

Good day fellow fly fishers.

The bass club is going to have another friendly competition, but this time at Hartbeespoort dam during the middle to end of September. Again all the other fishers are going with normal bass gear, but I will again try flying the flag for fly fishing. Does anyone have any tips, insights, experience or general comments that might be able to assist me?

I have been reading up as much as possible and even going through research papers on the fish populations and trying to get into what aquatic insects, smaller bait fish or other juicy bass morsels the dam holds for bass. Been trying to decide what type of flies I should try and tie to target the bass, but any and all inputs would be much appreciated.

[Shamwari]

Good day fellow fly fishers.

The bass club is going to have another friendly competition, but this time at Hartbeespoort dam during the middle to end of September. Again all the other fishers are going with normal bass gear, but I will again try flying the flag for fly fishing. Does anyone have any tips, insights, experience or general comments that might be able to assist me?

I have been reading up as much as possible and even going through research papers on the fish populations and trying to get into what aquatic insects, smaller bait fish or other juicy bass morsels the dam holds for bass. Been trying to decide what type of flies I should try and tie to target the bass, but any and all inputs would be much appreciated.

Well, that time of year is spawn time, so ja, not nice to fish for spawners, that being said, the shallows will be cooking. Topwater will be good I would suspect in the mornings up against the banks, then adjust to streamers etc as the day progresses.

Adapt to Harties yucky clarity as well.

[tombosis]

Good day fellow fly fishers.

The bass club is going to have another friendly competition, but this time at Hartbeespoort dam during the middle to end of September. Again all the other fishers are going with normal bass gear, but I will again try flying the flag for fly fishing. Does anyone have any tips, insights, experience or general comments that might be able to assist me?

I have been reading up as much as possible and even going through research papers on the fish populations and trying to get into what aquatic insects, smaller bait fish or other juicy bass morsels the dam holds for bass. Been trying to decide what type of flies I should try and tie to target the bass, but any and all inputs would be much appreciated.

At Harties during the spawn, use weighted fairly compact patterns such as the GoTo with an extended rabbit strip tail, bunny leeches etc. Oversize dragon fly patterns also really piss off a nesting fish. You want the fly to sink fairly quickly onto the nest so you can gently jiggle it without moving it off the nest. Rabbit strip and Marabou are great materials for this type of fishing as they seem to move even when dead still.

The water clarity should still be good that time of year before the snot gets going proper (Oct-Nov). I used to fish Pecanwood and the surrounding developments at that time of year, plenty of good spawning substrate around those areas. There are surprisingly big bass in Harties!

Regarding fishing to spawning bass- this has long been seen as accepted practice in bass fishing and is as old as the sport itself. It's the best time of year to get a really big fish (particularly of fly). Fish released immediately generally return to the nest (catching them again is frowned upon!).

[Shamwari]

At Harties during the spawn, use weighted fairly compact patterns such as the GoTo with an extended rabbit strip tail, bunny leeches etc. Oversize dragon fly patterns also really piss off a nesting fish. You want the fly to sink fairly quickly onto the nest so you can gently jiggle it without moving it off the nest. Rabbit strip and Marabou are great materials for this type of fishing as they seem to move even when dead still.

The water clarity should still be good that time of year before the snot gets going proper (Oct-Nov). I used to fish Pecanwood and the surrounding developments at that time of year, plenty of good spawning substrate around those areas. There are surprisingly big bass in Harties!

Regarding fishing to spawning bass- this has long been seen as accepted practice in bass fishing and is as old as the sport itself. It's the best time of year to get a really big fish (particularly of fly). Fish released immediately generally return to the nest (catching them again is frowned upon!).

I could not have said that better!

[smallstreams.co.za]

At Harties during the spawn, use weighted fairly compact patterns such as the GoTo with an extended rabbit strip tail, bunny leeches etc. Oversize dragon fly patterns also really piss off a nesting fish. You want the fly to sink fairly quickly onto the nest so you can gently jiggle it without moving it off the nest. Rabbit strip and Marabou are great materials for this type of fishing as they seem to move even when dead still.

Where do you find spawning bass? Close to the banks? We have a venue close-by with bass, and apparently big ones too. When do they spawn?

[Andre]

So why's it ok to fish for spawning bass, and not ok to fish for spawning trout?

[smallstreams.co.za]

So why's it ok to fish for spawning bass, and not ok to fish for spawning trout?

In dams we fish for/to spawning trout as well.

[Shamwari]

In dams we fish for/to spawning trout as well.

No those are steelhead

[Uli@84]

Hi Mario,

I enjoy targeting Bass on fly, generally Bass Spawning is based on consistent Water Temps, the American research I have read seems to indicate 60 Deg Fah, which is about 16C, In south Africa I believe temps in that regions should induce spawning, by this I mean, consistent water temps over days. This generally occurs in September as Shamwari Indicates although in the Western Cape it can range from Sep to Nov based on the size of the waters, as we sometimes have late fronts which can screw around with our seasons.

Before targeting Spawning Bass, I would make sure I know the species in a dam, if the water has a good Bluegill population, avoid targeting bass on nests, Males gaurd nests and a few minutes away from a nest is ample opportunity for Bluegill to wreak Havoc on such nests. Rather wait a bit and target the fish Post spawn when they leave the nests and get active again.

Just my opinion on the subject.

[Andre]

Trout don't spawn in dams , they only spawn in moving water. I think they try and go through the motions, but I don't think that trout actually reproduce in still water.

In dams we fish for/to spawning trout as well.