Lower Orange report back

**Korrie** · 05-04-17

We had lots of ideas and long chats on why the fishing was so slow.
a. The water rose very quickly and for about 4 weeks there was high flows. in the high flow areas, there would be very little food, perhaps the fish are only in the sections where the water would be at 15 or 20 cumecs.
b. with the high water flows, the water was cooler than "normal" maybe that have switched the fish "off"
c. the barometer dropped a lot on the first day, maybe it affected the fish.
d. with the water dropping a lot of the last week from about 300cumecs to 50 cumecs and dropping even more, maybe the fish have started to move to the pools

Maybe it was a combination of all of the above, or perhaps we are terrible fishermen.

**Korrie** · 05-04-17

Have a look at the aerial photo of De Hoop.
Lots of channels etc.
The Width of the river here is more than 400meters.
With all the channels etc it is probably 1,5km of waters to fish.
When you are wading it is difficult with lots of deep waters, submerged rocks etc.
I have come up with an idea for the next trip, a boogie/body board that is slung diagonal across your shoulder.
You can move in certain deep pools much easier, go down long rapid at a speed.
General mobility will increase in the area.

**dollar** · 05-04-17

i think fishing was slow mainly because of three things, drop in water flow, water temperature and behaviour to seasonal change.
boogie board could work but i would reserve it for a fun use than a fishing tool. i would consider an inflatable kayak, although pricy but ideal for find spots.

**Korrie** · 05-04-17

We chatted about the various options.
We used an Arc. Open water it is great, but for moving in the channels and boulder hopping between outcrops it is a mission to always go back, waiting for your partner.
With a boogie/body board, you move around with so much freedom.
Yes, it will be a fun tool to use, and very easy and making getting around a big pleasure.
if you are downstream from the Arc on the rocks and wading, swimming upstream knocking the shins against rocks etc, with this method, you just keep on going down and fishing.
on 2 occasions we washed down and ended up 200 meters below the Arc.
At the end of the drift, when you have to walk back it is much easier than carting an Arc over rocks etc. to the camp site.

**Korrie** · 05-04-17

Originally Posted by dollar

i think fishing was slow mainly because of three things, drop in water flow, water temperature and behaviour to seasonal change.
boogie board could work but i would reserve it for a fun use than a fishing tool. i would consider an inflatable kayak, although pricy but ideal for find spots.

Yet, upstream at Douglas area, the fishing was fantastic.

**dollar** · 05-04-17

that sucks when you find out a venue above you or below fishes well and all you've done is scratch your head while starring into a box full of flies. it happens alot here in gauteng, from reading reports of poor catches in areas close to the one you fished which left you with a aching arm from pulls after pull, all day long. maybe the answer would be found in the fishes stomach, not on what they chowing but that they full, content and have time to chill before they need to feed again. some areas produce more insect life than others or simply some idiot washed his cutlery and clothing just upstream from you messing your planned outting.
here is my stupid thing, rituals, did you do all before the first cast?

edit: Sendlingsdrift from douglas is like a 10 hour drive, not just upstream

**Korrie** · 05-04-17

No Rituals for me.

you mentioned food in the stomach.

The one late afternoon we did a downstream drift thru the channels.
where the one channel meet the main stream we saw the odd rise, we tried with a dry fly, later we moved 20 meters down stream and tied the croc to the reads and sat on the seam of the 2 meeting streams.
We experienced the greatest hatch ever. Rising fish EVERYWHERE. So many you could not even cast close enough to the boat. Some rising 50cm from the boat. When the headlamp shone on the water, I guessed about 50 dry flies per 30cm square. Francois said it must be 100 flies per square 30cm. And it was not just one but about 5 different insects floating by, Mayflies and caddis. light, dark, cream, camel, brown all different colors. This was phenomenal. In a 5 meters radius around the boat at any time probably 10 plus rising fish. THE WORST PART, in 45 minutes we managed one take.

We could not match the hatch or they could not pick our flies from the rest. We tried a lot of different patterns and even droppers. NOTHING! ZIP NADA.

**dollar** · 05-04-17

maybe that is the answer you looking for, just too much feed. a single fly amongst hundreds has a better chance of surviving the onslaught from fish and in this case your fly. i remember now, a similar thing happed to me last year, may flies everywhere and no takes on a perfectly presented pattern, until the pattern lost its bouyancy and i started hooking the fish. eventually i changed to a nymph rig with the dry on the top dropper, not saying you should of tried but that it worked for me then.

about that floating device, have you seen those new "sup", light and very boyant.