The extensive guide to fishing at Kloofzicht lodge and spa

[Etienneb]

Hello all! Scrolling through the threads I've seen a lot of confusion and unhappy anglers sharing their stories of fishing at Kloofzicht. Being able to help with the ff clinics that sundowner host I usually get the rest of the day to fish on my own and I've learned quite a lot from this place. DISCLAMER: I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL AND THIS IS ONLY WHAT I LIKE TO DO AT THIS VENUE REGARDING TECHINQUE AND STYLE. I will cover technique and what I use for certain times of day at the end.

First let me explain the layout. The main dam right at the top is called kloofzicht lake and is the biggest by far. Below that you have the mulberry dam which is the smallest dam at the venue. Below the mulberry you have the carp dam and way on the furthest side you get the bass dam. We will only be focusing on the kloofsight lake and the mulberry in this thread because they are always stocked whereas the the other two dams are only stocked for the comp that they host.(also I haven't really bothered fishing them, but the same techniques can be used)

Let's go into more detail of the dams starting with kloofzicht lake. On the side closest to the mulberry you have a dropoff starting about 5m away from the bank witch streches from the inlet at the bridge to the island.There is also a dropoff running parralel to the island on your righthand side. This signals the end of the old dam, everything left of the island is where they have extended the dam. The old dam is deeper than the newer part and can be up to 12ft deep. Brown and rainbows can be caught in this dam.

Hotspots: The inlet is always a hot place to fish and anglers like to camp that spot. The outlet on the newer side of the dam also has good fishing. All the drop off spots almost always produce.

The mulberry dam is only stocked with rainbows but escapee browns make for a good surprise. This dam is only 4m deep at max and therefore stock don't usually last through summer as in kloofsight lake. Carp are wreaking havoc in the mulberry at the moment so your chances of catching one of these okes are quite high.

Hotspots: Because of the size of the dam it doesn't really matter but along the reeds has never failed me.


Technique: I prefer fishing a floating line with a team of buzzers (mostly static) on a 14+ ft leader. For sure it's boring to some but last time I checked they weren't catching any fish. I don't really fish intermediate or sinking lines in fear of a crab chopping off my line( yes I've seen it happen) but don't let that stop you. When you are fishing a sinking line however make sure you wait for it to get down when fishing the main lake as it is really deep.

Flies: Atomic bloodworms and silver and black buzzer patterns have never failed me. The old faithful speedcop does well and I've also had success on white woolybuggers and olive damsels.

EXTRA INFO: Early mornings you can often get a few trout on dry droppers as they feed very close to the surface. Mid day you should go deeper and fish slower. Evenings can produce big hatches of 'muggies' ( size 18 and smaller) which really get the fish into a frenzy.

I hope this was of sum use to someone. Feedback would be great.
(Yes future forumites, this was written during a global epidemic)

Cheers

[Etienneb]

I've made an error regarding the depth of Kloofzicht's main lake. The main dam can get up to 20ft on some places

[Etienneb]

Also I'ts a pandemic not epidemic......

[cgreene]

Thanks for the extensive guide. Its been a while since Ive fished because of the pandemic. I bought new fishing gloves and Ive been looking for a place to try them. I might consider this place. It feels great to buy new fishing gear once in a while. If anyone is looking to upgrade their fishing gears, you should try this site.