The sandsharks of Langebaan

[Big Jim]

April is still good.You are more than welcome to join me for a day in early April.

[William Ewels]

That's a plan then Jim, many thanks I'm tying up some flies based on your instructions

[Big Jim]

Will be back in Cape town the 5th of April.If it hasn't rain before then , will take you to a spot where there is a good chance of getting a sandie over 1-meter.

[William Ewels]

I'm tying a batch of these - a variation on your excellent fly Jimmy - I added a zimmer frame Hope you don't mind.



Don't have my full fly-tying kit with me so improvising - couldn't find all the materials and not the right hooks, and haven't (yet) put epoxy on the bottom. Probably a bit small too - but hoping the little "zimmer crab" is sufficient to get the species on my tally.

[Big Jim]

I checked the spot yesterday and got 2 sandys for the whole day's fishing. Was hard work but still looks good.

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[William Ewels]

Jimmy shared some of his passion with me



Hooked seven, beached five, of which three were properley mouth hooked and fought brilliantly on light gear. It was a steep learning curve, a big paradigm shift, and a total blast:

[Pipe]

Excellent, would love to try that sometime! What setup do you use? That is a very cool fly

[William Ewels]

Pipe, I'm not exactly an eggspert after just one successful session. Although I am totally chuffed

I used a 2wt ... it's a dirty little secret of mine and I do have problems with it. Well okay it's more of a 3.5wt and I was fishing with a Rio T8 shooting head.

I think a 6wt would be just right - with an extra-fast sink line probably overlined by one or even two because everything is very very short range. And I'm pleased to say some backing will be of considerable use

[Niel Malan]

Hi Guys,
I have previously had success on the sand flats near the Langebaan Park gate and also at the Preekstoel sand flats on the western side of the lagoon (near Kraalbaai house boats). A friend and myself tried yesterday from 2 hours before high to an hour after. We covered the flats from the front of Preekstoel to some 1.5 km to the right. We did not see a single sandy moving or lying in the sand! Also no evidence of any previous activity on the flats. The conditions were perfect - sunny and no wind with clear water. Only saw a few mullets. I was very surprised and disappointed. I will appreciate your comments.
Thanks
Niel Malan

[gkieser]

Hi Niel,

How was the water temp?

Thx
G