Sterkies: 27-31 Jan 2012

[troutmaster]

We will be fishing Sterkies from 27-31 Jan.

Staying at Qwantani.

Anybody else fishing there during the same period?

Pop me a PM and we can hook-up for a beer or braai and exchange some fishy tales.

[sofly]

Hey Barend,
Will be up there the same wknd, with a group of 4 friends. Only trouble is that there is the Tourette sight fishing comp the same wknd, so we will be sharing the dam with another 20-30 anglers.....

[troutmaster]

Only trouble is that there is the Tourette sight fishing comp the same wknd, so we will be sharing the dam with another 20-30 anglers.....

Great, will you guys also be at Quantani?

Will b in contact closer to the time.

[saml]

Hey Barend,
Will be up there the same wknd, with a group of 4 friends. Only trouble is that there is the Tourette sight fishing comp the same wknd, so we will be sharing the dam with another 20-30 anglers.....

I was on Sterks this past weekend, during the first leg of that same comp. I saw two or three other boats the entire weekend, the place is huge.

[troutmaster]

I was on Sterks this past weekend, during the first leg of that same comp. I saw two or three other boats the entire weekend, the place is huge.

How was the fishing?

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Feedback from Jonathan regarding the Mavungana 13-16 Jan trip:

"Our Sterkies trip was great little bi of Iffy weather but on the first and last day good light and excellent sightfishing. I have been fishing it for 15 years and I must say I have noticed the fish are becoming pressurised and painfully spooky – a consequence of the Vaal being shot and every Tom Dick and Harry heading off there so inevitable I guess.
Have fun and tight lines
Best
Jono"

[core fly]

riend of mine was there the past weekend.also said he hardly saw guys there,but apparently weather ws not the best.They managed loads of fish,he said it was good going.

[saml]

How was the fishing?

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Feedback from Jonathan regarding the Mavungana 13-16 Jan trip:

"Our Sterkies trip was great little bi of Iffy weather but on the first and last day good light and excellent sightfishing. I have been fishing it for 15 years and I must say I have noticed the fish are becoming pressurised and painfully spooky – a consequence of the Vaal being shot and every Tom Dick and Harry heading off there so inevitable I guess.
Have fun and tight lines
Best
Jono"

It was awesome hey troutmaster, it was my first time on sterks so i dont have anything to compare it to, but i got 13 fish. sunday was tough for me, only got 1, but friday and saturday got me 6 fish a day. if you spotted a fish and got your cast in its path it was a hit almost every time, many were missed and broken off too. Before 10am and after 3pm it was near impossible to get them to come to the surface.
Purple doctors beetles, black foam ant, small black cricket and doctors hopper accounted for pretty much all the fish in our group.

Good luck and have a jol!

[troutmaster]

Made good progress today; 5wt lines cleaned and then stretched out in the yard and allowed to hang in mid-air all day, got a good stretch in the sun; then when it started cooling down I dropped the lines to the ground, didn't reel them in; left another 2 or so hours until 'cooled'; all memory seem to be gone. So that is sorted and rods etc packed.

Made good progress on the flies as well [I am a slow un-productive tier]!

Did a number of beetles in different colors foam and packed the 2-sided fly box that I will primarily use [going to travel 'light']; only taking the very small Explorer chest pack and then my Deuter Spider hiking back-pack [25 or so litre].

Also combined various tying techniques that I picked up from this forum into my own nymph pattern [sorry for the poor quality pic] - basically:

- Tail (I used Cock de Leon)
- Wire ribbing
- Plumbers tape body colored to your liking, e.g. olive, brown, black
- Some dubbing for thorax
- I did these on #16

Maybe we can call it the B-Nymph if it works

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On the dry fly side:

Ants [black and red] - various sizes
Klinkhammers, various colors and designs
Caddis
Hopper
Stimulator
DDD, various colors and designs
Beetles, various colors and designs
Adams

PS: I DID NOT tie all these today, only the beetles, the rest was pre-tied or some bought

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Some more nymphs will follow over the next 2 nights; just covering the bases with some generic nymphs in various colors; tan, olive, brown, black; some with flash, some without.

Have some f-flies, some beaded CDC stuff [J Marais] and some Gary LaFontaine sparkle pupae.

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Hopefully this covers most situations; I will however carry a spare fly box or 2 with various 'old' stuff; just in case

[Stones]

I was on Sterks this past weekend, during the first leg of that same comp. I saw two or three other boats the entire weekend, the place is huge.

Hey Sam,

Saw your pics on FB, flippin awesome man! You guys looked like you had a great time.
Well done on that sizer!

[geoffrey]

yes Geoff and Laurence will be there at quantani friday night to sunday will be in a white prado. Barend feel free to join us for beers wine whiskey fishy stories and braai.