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Thread: Who wants to fish with me in the "Berg this weekend (02-04 Nov)?

  1. #1
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    Default Who wants to fish with me in the "Berg this weekend (02-04 Nov)?

    My fishing partner had to bail on our weekend fishing plans in the 'Berg.
    I am still going, so who wants to joing me Fri-Sun at/near Kamberg?

    I plan to leave JHB early Friday morning, return Sunday evening.

    Staying @ Riverside at Kamberg. Plan is to fish whatever clear headwater streams holding (brown) trout i can get onto.

    Gary
    Gary
    Flytyer - Where great flytying begins

  2. #2
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    Would love to go with! But the wife has other plans for us. Let me know how the fishing went.
    Last edited by FCLoretz; 01-11-12 at 01:17 PM.
    Frederick

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  3. #3
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    Would love to go, but have other plans, you should ask earlier.
    Korrie Broos

    Don't go knocking on Death's door, ring the bell and run like hell. He hates it. (anon)
    Nymphing, adds depth to your fly fishing.
    Nymphing, is fly fishing in another dimension

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pipe View Post
    So how was the trip Gary?
    Went by myself.

    5 hour drive down on Friday afternoon.
    Got to Riverside after 18h00. River high, but flowing clear. Weather cloudy & overcast.

    After getting the keys to the Hunters' Cottage, I popped down the the river in failing light - got a nice 13" brown on dry below the dairy that was rising to (I think) mayflies.

    The cottage is very nice, with everything you will need for your stay (microwave, 2 fridges etc). I can definitely recommend staying there and intend to take the GF back soon.
    http://www.kamberg.co.za/

    I decided to fish upstream in Kamberg Nature Reserve on Saturday, since I had never been in the reserve. Also, this would give the river time to drop further, making fishing at Riverside easier (and the drive back to JHB a little shorter).

    Saturday - fished the morning in the reserve above the (old) hatchery. Weather was partially cloudy, which did make polaroiding difficult. River still high, but clear. Fish came reliably to the nymph (Tungsten PTN Jig = "The GUN"), with only 2 rising to various dries. Most fish were small ~8-10 inches, with the biggest going ~13 inches. I did drop a bigger fish in the 16 inch range.

    For the afternoon, I decided to try the water downstream, near the entrance to the reserve.
    This turned out to be a big mistake, since while the upper water is relatively open, the lower water in the reserve has banks covered with thick brush & tree's, as well as high banks & some very big & deep pools. Access was very difficult and while these would be find with downstream-bugger-sinking line tactics, that is not how I wanted to fish. I did get fish in the heads & smaller pools. Walking out past the Kamberg dams, with the clouds pressing in and wind howling, I saw a couple of rises. Wanting to know what they were, I fished for a few minutes and landed a small rainbow on dry, missing a few others. Tally for the day - 24 browns & one rainbow.

    The weather turned really foul and I had to run the last few hundred metres to the car as thunder, lightning, rain and hail started coming thick and fast. The hail averaged the size of a marble, with bigger ones as large as quail eggs. Not fun when these smack you on the head! I sheltered the car as best I could below an oak tree which was losing leaves rapidly and waited out the storm.

    Driving back to Riverside it was clear that the rain & hail runoff would discolour the water for my next days fishing. How badly would have to wait until I checked out the river on Sunday Morning.

    Sunday dawned, neither bright nor clear. The river itself was running a little off-colour, still high, but fishable. I ventured out, picking up fish exclusively on the nymph. The first 2 fish were as good, if not better than anything I picked up in the Reserve.
    It rained, then stopped just long enough for me to pack away the rain jacket, before raining again. Repeat a few times for good measure. It hailed again. Hail makes a noticably bigger splash when hitting the river than rain. With bad visibility, rain settling in for the rest of the day and rivulets of caramel-coloured water flowing into the river, I called it a day around lunch.
    Tally for the morning - 10 brownies.

    When I got back to the farm house, this proved to be *just* too late to join the younger Moller family (Brett, Carmen & sons) for an artichoke & chicken pasta lunch. I did manage to miss the torrential rainstorm that followed while I was helping out in the kitchen with pickled artichokes that Brett & Carmen will be taken up to the FoodWineDesign Fair, 23-25 Nov in Hyde Park.
    http://foodwinedesign.co.za/home/

    Blessed with a bottle of the artichokes & specific instructions on how to prepare the lunch I missed, in the car & back to JHB for me.

    All in all, a very relaxing weekend, with some fishing, new friends and pleasant experiences.
    Gary
    Flytyer - Where great flytying begins

  6. #6
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    Not too sure about hiding under a tree with lighting or protecting the car from the hail under a tree.
    But sitting in the car, you are insulated by the tires.
    Korrie Broos

    Don't go knocking on Death's door, ring the bell and run like hell. He hates it. (anon)
    Nymphing, adds depth to your fly fishing.
    Nymphing, is fly fishing in another dimension

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    Faraday cage ... not the tyres
    Mario Geldenhuys
    Smallstream fanatic, plus I do some other things that I can't tell you about

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  8. #8
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    Nice report Gary, echoes my thoughts on Riverside and the kamberg reserve 100%. The big stillwater at riverside across the road is pretty good too.
    Check your knots!

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