Seems like you have something you want to share with us.
All is legal - an opinion is an opinion. Be fair, dont get personal.
Hey y'all
So understandably this open forum is not the place for sharing your favourite stream X, but I was thinking it might be semi-"humane" to spare fellow forumers the misfortune of visiting a venue that is simply off the cards, fly fishingly speaking, by sharing no no venues that you have recently visited.
This is not meant to diss the venue in question per se, and this will not be the place to vent your anger over bad service at an already established venue (for that purpose, visit THIS thread instead). Rather this thread is a place to highlight venues that potentially may or may not have been great fly fishing venues, but turns out to be not so great, if that makes sense.
One question before I post the first one, is this mostly legal?
Seems like you have something you want to share with us.
All is legal - an opinion is an opinion. Be fair, dont get personal.
Free speach... bring it; can't wait to hear all about this
Sometimes a venue just isn't to your taste, where someone else might love it. For example, I absolutely hate small stokkie ponds, but other guys love them.
Disclaimer.... none of my posts are intended to be "expert advice"..just opinions from someone who is willing to help where he can.
Don't go to Kloofzicht (Near Brookwood), it's a waste of time and money if you're looking for good fly fishing.
Ok, so with the recent crap hitting the Vaal, my scheduled Tuesday fishing trip got scrambled a bit.
I said to myself, "whatever, that's what waders are for" and got ready to head for the Vaal anyway, but then SWAMBO questioned my wisdom, and I thought that maybe there is a chance after all that I can pick up something nasty that can spread to my little one, so I ended up going to...
...Magaliesburg instead to try and find an alt spot for yellows. First stop, Sleepy River, but no one was there and I didn't feel too safe being there all alone. (Looks too bushy for ff anyway, but I read here somewhere that someone has caught fish there before, so maybe I missed the spot). Then I thought, "Barbus Haven", but on my way there decided to rather try Lovers Rock.
It's R90 to get in (R60 per additional adult), and as a day visitor you are technically only allowed access to the pool to the right of the venue (maybe 60 meters of river overall), but I walked the entire stretch of water. To the right of the reception area, under the bridge about 30 meters on is a large rock formation right on the edge of the water (I think this is the rock the venue is named after), I climbed to the top and sat there for about 20 minutes, trying to imagine I'm all alone in the bush, and pulling a fish eagle move, but all I saw were two ducks and a very large crab. Bear in mind that the water was clear enough to see the bottom, and I saw nada, nothing, not a ripple or a shadow in sight.
From here I slowly proceeded down stream to the other side of the venue. Nothing.
Near the end there is another pool. Here I almost fell over dead, as there, under the fallen tree were two carp!!, about 500g each, and then I saw another, maybe a kilo! I had no intention of targeting carp, but I said to myself, no matter how long it takes, I WILL get one of them. After planning my strategy, and finally tying on a fly, I proceeded to the other side of the stream for a better angle of attack, but despite the fact that I literally crawled on my hands and knees, they somehow sensed my presence and quietly disappeared into the depths. This was 2 1/2 hours after I got to the venue, and the first time I even tied a fly on my line. That was also the last fish I saw. I briefly saw the same trio a bit further down the pool, but I spooked them again before I even knew they were there. I really think those are the only three fish in that whole stretch of river, and therefore I do not recommend this venue, I'm of the opinion that there are simply hardly any fish.
Very few birds as well...
They have a neat swimming pool
Trip cost me nearly R300 if you include entrance fee, petrol, 1x warmish beer, and comfort food on the way home. I'm disappointed that I didn't take my chances at Vaal Streams instead, but oh well.
Hopefully a future "searcher" will be spared.
I think the most depressing part of the day was while driving home and pondering the possibility of losing the Vaal altogether .
That will be serious grounds for immigration.
Just as Andre mentioned........I really enjoy Kloofzicht, it might be a bit expensive, but it keeps the crowds away which i actually prefer. I don’t think you can get a better setting and surrounding anywhere near JHB than at Kloofzicht , never mind Jhb not many places can offer what this venue can, the sunrise through the kloof is amazing every now and then you get different buck passing by even the giraffes come check what’s happening, with a bit of a hike you are bound to see the elands. Its safe which is a bonus for Jhb as well, ( well apart from the hippo that is now on the loose and has taken a liking to the main dam, but still better than having to stick your gun down a criminals throat)
The fishing... some might say its a bit difficult, but who wants to hook a 500g rainbow every 10min in a tiny pond standing in between 20 other fishers, some of them might even have a spinner in their hands or even bait and having big brother watching you to make sure you don’t accidently loose it and end up paying for 10 -15 stockies for the morning.
I am not big on troots, i know very little about catching them but i have managed to land quit a few at Kloofzicht and only paying for one or two that swallowed the hook too deep or destined for the pot. Not many places around here that you can catch trout, bass, BIG carp and small scale yellows......
I have even included a pic for humpy, i just know how he loves a rod in the mouth pose...........
Just out of interest the very silver small trout was caught in the river not the dam, not quite at Kloofzicht exactly, but the access point was there, and this after catching a couple of stockies in the small dam.
So yes some people might not like certain things about certain venues, but again its preferences those same things that people don’t like others might be looking for.
Last edited by Andre s; 29-02-12 at 08:34 AM.
Nice pics Andre. I'm not a fan of city fishing, unless I'm really really despirate but for beginners and kids it gets a thumbs up
".....angling is a sport that requires as much enthusiasm as poetry, as much patience as mathematics and as much caution as housbreaking". - James Rennie 1883
Bookmarks