Maybe you're all shy or maybe you just don't know where Gamtoos is, it's in between PE, East London, Jeffrey's Bay.
Howdy Fleas,
Being a total Salt/Estuary noob I was hoping to pick up a few pointers from the Gurus here wrt Salt/Estuary fishing in the aforementioned area.
I've read an article published in a TCFF of like 8yrs ago regarding the actual mouth, but that mostly referred to fly fishing in summer.
I will be visiting in the first/second week of August and from what I've been told it is supposedly wickledly cold in the area that time of year ?
What species will be around ? If I can at least form an idea of what will be there to target I can find out the rest ito trategies and flies for myself, but I'm looking for some basic noob guidance.
I've been told my a fairly knowlegeable fellow angler that small flippers, blue over silver/white as well as olive over silver/white minnows should graft in terms of tempting the Leerfish that might be around the area then and a WF floater on my 7WT with a 9'-10' leader ending in 5Kg mono/fluoro should be more than sufficient.
Any other tips/tricks/suggestions ?
TIA,
Last edited by Scythe; 09-07-07 at 07:01 PM.
Maybe you're all shy or maybe you just don't know where Gamtoos is, it's in between PE, East London, Jeffrey's Bay.
I am neither shy and I do know where the Gamtoos is!! but have never fished there with a fly .... the flies etc suggested to you will work .. certainly for estuarine Leeries.
Be sure to tie up Clousers in White/Cartreuse ... White/Blue ... White/White. I also like using a Surf Candy in White/Blue.
Your 7WT is more than adequate ... I use a 10' #7 Scott in estuaries ... either with a floating/intermediate line.
If you are lucky you may also find a skipjack or two!! ... they are amazing fish!!!
I always wanted to be somebody,but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Alcohol is the anaesthesia by which we endure the operation of life. GBS
and it is NOT that cold there in August ... but it may still be rather early in the season for summer fish.
I always wanted to be somebody,but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Alcohol is the anaesthesia by which we endure the operation of life. GBS
I fished there at the beginning of the year.fished the mouth and went down the river aswell.jumped over some fence and wanted to join a family who were fishing there.the guy had two rotweilers(who gave me the charge,luckily he could stop them)with him and proceeded to tell me i was on private property.he said i can stay and fish though.didnt have any luck at either spots.
i beleive they get monster kob there.that would be my target species.also leeries,springer and maybe grunter.as to wether they will be around,we will leave that up to you.
have a look at the southern cross site...scff.co.za they might have reports on there,or else pm kevin cox.he is from that erea.
good luck
stephen is wishing he was fishing location x right now.......
Stephen Smith
Hey Scythe, I spent about 10 days there a few years ago, but wasn't fishing at the time so can't help you on that score
There are however quite a few permanent residents in the village, some of whom fish the river quite a bit, they are very freindly and helpfull so don't hesitate to tap i9n to their local knowledge.
One thing I can tell you, STAY AWAY FROM THE OCEAN. There is the meanest rip you've ever seen which has claimed at least three lives that I know of Don't even wade in up to knee depth. The locals will vouch for this.
It's not in the catching, it's in the learning something new.
view albums at. http://www.flytalk.co.za/forum/album.php?u=659
Howdy Gents,
Thanks to all and sundry for the comments, did also pick up some good information from Kevin Elliot as well as Kevin "The Toxic" Cox regarding the freshwater & stream angling in the are, so I'm pretty excited to be testing out new waters and species ... now to be able to identify what I catch would be groovy
Last edited by Scythe; 11-07-07 at 10:27 AM.
Hey Scythe
Haven't been to the Gamtoos in moons, and when I last was there I was still fishing with bait(yeah you read that right bait, that stinky stuff). I can however tell you this. There are Steenbras, Grunter, Mullet, Leervis/Garrick, Kob(big and small) and lots of other small fish species you often pick up with bait.
I would not completely disregard the ocean, there are a few safer places to wade in but not tot deep, if you cant read the water dont try the ocean at all. There are definitely good holding water for Wave Garrick, but I can't say if they actually will occur there or if it might be to cold. There are also definite chance of Shad, but not really time of year.
I would not only limit myself to floating, try intermediate as well, make sure to take some mud charlies.
The mouth might be open or blinf when you get there, but if it is blind, there are still fish.
O and wind, make sure to take warm jacket, not so much the cold but the wind is what my get at you. Get ready to cast in some serious windy conditions.
I love this area and the Gamtoos has a very special place in my hart.
Good Luck
Hi Scythe, I haven't fished the Gamtoos for many years and when I did it was with bait. But Stephen is right, it is famous for huge kob. You will find boats anchored and fishing through the night to try to catch these brutes. I don't know how you target them with a fly, I would imagine big dark flies fished slowly at change of light would be best. Best of luck.
Scythe mate- it's not really renowned for its fly fishing potential. It's all about the kob in the Gamtoos- there are monsters there- but you need mullet and sardines and tjokka/ octopus to catch them most of the time other than when they come into the river to breed- and the fishing with raps etc can be quite good I have heard.
I would rather go to the Krom etc and try for leeries/ grunter etc. December/ January has never been a very successful time for me in that area however.
I would rather concentrate my effort on enjoying some rock & surf fishing ( ) when you are down there. The shark fishing, steenie fishing and kob fishing in the area can be really good.
" Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian." -Dennis Wholey
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