Blog (Page 2)

Jet Ski Epic - 21st February 2010

		At 4am on Sunday I was up and ready for the first epic Baha Boys deep sea fishing trip. Nick and I hooked up the Jet Ski and headed for Umdloti, stopped at a garage of course for a quick coffee and kak (you can't go at sea). At 5:30am we pushed the ski into the surf, and Nick pulled off a dodgy launch. There was a decent shore break, so the plan was we push the ski into the water, Nick jumps on and starts it, then I jump on and we go. That’s pretty much how it went down, except that as soon as Nick jumped on, a huge formed in front of him, and he put full steam to punch through it, not knowing if I was on the back. Seeing this happen, I took a good grip on the ski and pretty much did some barefoot skiing over the wave. Nick turned around looking a bit worried, and then laughed as he saw my white knuckle grip on the ski. We tacked up behind back line and then started off with some trawling. After limited success we stopped over some structure to try and pick up some bait. We had no luck with this either so we went back to trolling. At around 7am we spotted some birds over the water, and when we got there the water was boiling as tuna nailed baitfish on the surface. We trolled through it a few times with no luck, and then tried chucking some drop shot at them. Nick had one knock but we picked up nothing. Eventually it died down and we continued trolling.
When we've gone fairly far north we turned around and started trolling back to where we started. FAIL! We were using a two stroke ski, and it was producing a large cloud of fumes. Since we were now heading in the same direction as the wind, the fumes started to build up around us. I was facing backwards watching my rod and chatting to Nick. Suddenly he stopped responding and I smelt a strange odor in the air. BWAHAAAA! Chunda! So there's a new chunda boy in town. When we got back to Umdloti we'd still picked up nothing. There was a bit of excitement however as some dolphins started following us on the ski. They were next to us, under us and all around us. In fact, they were so close I could've reached out and touched them. We trawled for a few more hours while the swell got bigger and the wind stronger. Eventually we decided to call it a day and beached at around 10:30am. A few of the other skis had beached, and I'm glad to say that everyone blanked - hey, it’s better than just us blanking. We loaded up the ski, gave it a wash, and then dropped it off with Nick's boss. It was a great first deep sea outing, and I look forward to the next one. A big thank you to Racetech Yahama for loaning us the ski.

Float Tube Bliss - 24th January 2010

		On Sunday morning Nick and I headed out to Mavela to do some Trout bashing. Although we knew the conditions weren't going to be ideal (they never are in January), I had to get out there. I'd bought a float tube, which had been sitting in my cupboard, unused, since September. Not only are ruptured Achilles expensive, they're also a pain in the ass. Anyway, I picked Nick up at 6am, and we were in the tubes and on the water by 7:30am. It was already sweltering hot, and the water was far too warm for my liking. A fisherman who arrived a little after us measured it at around 25 degrees. Looking back, I think we were lucky that the trout weren't dead! I worked my way around the edges fishing the weed beds and between the reeds. I soon realised that this probably wasn't the best idea due to the water temperature, and headed for the inlet, hoping for some cooler water. Nick opted to fish the deeper water (definitely the better option), and had a couple of knocks, landing one, while I got nothing. At around 10 we had a quick break and a bite to eat, before getting back into the water. By now we were both sweating, and nick had decided to toss the waders and fish from the tube in just his baggies. We both headed for deeper water, and I'd soon picked up a 19 inch Rainbow fishing deep and slow. Being the fist fish in my tube I called Nick over to take a photo. FAIL! After he'd snapped off a few shots I released the fish, to find him laughing heavily. A later look at the photos revealed all he'd got in way my head! Grrr.
By now we were both sweating, and headed for the shade of a tree to relax under and have lunch. The were a few clouds forming, but none were blocking out the sun just yet. At around 2pm we got back into the tubes and headed out for our final session. The wind was starting to pick up, and the odd cloud would cover the sun for short periods, offer some relief. We headed towards the cooler water of the inlet, and fished as deep as we could in the area. We both had a couple of knocks, and I managed to pick up a 4 inch stockie. At around 5pm we called it a day, packed up, and headed home. Although the conditions were far from ideal, neither of us blanked, which was great. Both of us loved fishing from the tubes, and I'm sure we'll be back soon...prefereably once the weather cools down.

Smashing Colmonell - 20th December 2009

On Sunday I got up at the usual 5am, packed my fishing kit, and met Shaun in the basement. We headed for Colmonell, stopping for the mandatory cup of coffee at the Bean Cafe. By 7am we were kitted up and on the water. There was a fair amount of activity around us in the shallows, and I could see it was sizeable Rainbows, so things were looking good. At around 8am I pulled out my best Rainbow of the year, a hen fish weighing in at 2,6kg. Shaun quickly informed me that I was cheating as I'd used the infamous Mrs Simpson. This of course was all biterness as he had none in his box. Shortly after that I pulled out a stockie of around 15cm on a damsel nymph probably my smallest ever still-water fish). And then, sadly, everything went quiet. Eventually we switched tactics and Shaun started dead drifting a nymph on a strike indicator. This produced another good Rainbow from amongst the weed beds - it weighed in at just over 2kgs. After a short lunch breaks the weather really started to move in. The wind was howling, making it difficult to cast. Since we hadn't produced a fish in a while we packed up and headed home. What a fantastic day's fishing!

Two Weeks In A Row - 21st November 2009

For the second week in a row Sharon was working, which meant that I had the pink slip to go out and do some fishing. Western's girlfriend also had plans, so for the second week in a row he joined me. I arrived at the water at around 7am after complicating the process of getting there. Western was running again so he was going to join me at around 10am. The good news was that I'd remembered the key this time, and so I could actually do some fishing instead of sitting around in the car. There was another club member there setting up his tube so we had a quick chat while we kitted up, and then we both hit the water. The wind was howling, but luckily it was mostly from behind so casting wasn't too difficult. I managed to land a small Rainbow Trout of around 17" just after 8am. It took a large Mrs Simpson as I was lifting it out of the water for my next cast. Success! Sadly this was to be the only fish of the day. Western did arrive at around 10am but never even saw a fish. And as for the man in the tube, he had no luck either. At around 3pm, when the howling wind finally got the better of us, we packed up and headed to the local pub for a few beers and the rugby. Not too bad for a man in a cast...

Colmonell With Western - 14th November 2009

So after a long fishing layoff I finally made it back to the water. On Saturday morning I woke up at 5am, packed the car, and was on the road by 5:30. Just over an hour later I pulled up to the gate at Colmonell. FAIL! I'd forgotten my gate key. Luckily for me Western was following me up, so I gave him a call and then started the wait. Then it was time to keep myself occupied...I taped up my leg and kitted out 2 fly rods. This took me all of half an hour so I whipped out the camera and took a few misty photos. This killed another 30 minutes so I made a few phone calls. All in all I managed to occupy myself for the majority of the 3 hour wait. After what felt like an eternity Western finally arrived with the key and we were in. FAIL! I'd never fished Colmonell, but you have to wade through a little marsh to get to the water. I held me breath and prayed the cast taping was water-proof. Fifteen minutes later we were flogging the water in cold, misty conditions. This was soon forgotten as I hooked into a fish on my third cast. It turned out to be a decent sized Rainbow which gave two or three good jumps during the fight. Western was then made to wade out through the weeds to retrieve the fish, since we'd forgotten the net in the car. It was a good sized fish of around a kilo and was soon back in the water. Sadly the rest of the day did not go as well. We didn't manage to land another fish, although it was still fantastic to be out there flogging the water. It was a pity Western didn't net a fish, but there's always next time. All in all Colmonell seems like a good dam with some decent sized fish in it. During the morning I spotted a few rises and a couple of big fish. Sadly after lunch we didn't even see a fish. Still, its worth another visit.

The Tank Chair - 6th October 2009

So after months of careful consideration, and being pissed off since I'm stuck in a cast, I'm come up with the perfect Christmas present for me this year. So its time for all of you to pool your money together and get me one of these bad boys... I give you, the TANK CHAIR! With one of these chairs I could be out fishing right now. And better yet, I'd be doing it in comfort and style. Of course I'd need to make a few modifications. For example I'd be adding a cooler box to carry the beers, and I'd have to replace a few of the parts with stainless so I could fish salt water as well as fresh water, but otherwise this is the chair for me. No excuses...you know what I want. I love Christmas. And remember, its a time for giving...

Club Waters Trip 2 - Mavela, Again - 30th August 2009

After fishing Mavela last week and only landing one, I decided I needed to give it another try. Bruce and I drove up early to find very different conditions to those Nick and I had fished last weekend. It was overcast, and there was a strong wind blowing, making casting from the bank difficult. Due to the ripple on the water we also couldn't see the fish like Nick and I could previously. Bruce had brought his tube, and after setting it up he got into the water and I headed off down the bank. A couple of hours of tough fishing for me produced nothing. Although I did have two big hits which I somehow missed. Bruce did have more luck in the tube and managed two Rainbows of around 30cms. After a quick snack we swapped and I got into the tube for another two hour session. During this session the wind dropped down, the sun came out, and last weeks midges (mayflies) arrived. Suddenly Bruce could see the fish from the bank, much like we could last week. But again the fish didn't seem interested, and he landed nothing from the bank.
		I had a bit more luck on the tube. I picked up a 40cm Rainbow on a dragon fly nymph. I also lost one on the same fly when it swam right at me and I couldn't strip in the line fast enough It was only the second time I'd fished from a tube, and the first time I'd landed a fish from one. It was fantastic, and I'm certainly looking forward to getting one. It was time for lunch so we relaxed on the bank for a while eating the 3 tons of food Bruce had bought, and then it was time to get back onto the water. As I got up I noticed the tube was as flat as a pancake. Glad I wasn't on it when that happened. I fished the bank again while Bruce took a snooze on the bank. I'd sneakily borrowed a fly from him, and was into a fish on my second cast. This quickly put an end to Bruce's snooze as he rushed to kit up. We fished for a little longer, with no more success, until the wind picked up and an electrical storm started. And that was the end of that. It was a great day's fishing, and I look forward to getting onto the water again. Next time I'll try another water.

Club Waters Trip 1 - Mavela - 23rd August 2009

Since joining the NFFC about a month ago I hadn't had a chance to fish any of the club waters. Thankfully I put an end to this over the weekend. On Sunday morning I picked up Nick Nortje (I write his full name since he likes it popping up in Google) and we headed to Mavela, one of the club waters. We arrived at around 7am and were on the water by half past seven. Mavela is a largish body of water with good clarity. It is relatively shallow (as far as I could see) with a lot of weed beds. All in all it looked like a great spot for trout. While tackling up we noticed a lot of activity on the surface, and when I got down to the water I saw why - there were a lot of hatches taking place. I had already kitted up with an intermediate line, and being a bit lazy, decided to fish it for a while before changing to a floating if I need be. Nick started off by fishing his was across the dam wall, while I opted to fish up a bank where there was a lot of surface action. After fishing all the usual suspects on my intermediate, with not even a touch, I decided it was time to try a floating line with some dries. This too proved to be unsuccessful. Having said that, I've never fished dry flies on stillwaters, and I was unsure of exactly how to tackle it. The obvious answer would be to cast a dry in amongst feeding fish, and then give it the odd twitch every now and then. However the fish weren't feeding in one area, so throwing it out and leaving it there seemed fruitless and counter productive - besides of course being highly frustrating. Stripping them in slowly also didn't seem to be the correct approach. My solution was therefore to attach a dropper to the dry, and fish it with a slow retrieve over the weedbeds. Good idea, kak results!
		At this point two other fisherman arrived with tubes, and we watched intently, wondering if they'd have more luck in their tubes than we were having on the bank. We continued fishing while they kitted up and made their way into the water. As luck would have it, literally 5 minutes after they got their tubes into the water, I picked up a decent Rainbow of about 15 inches on a dragon fly nmyph. The fish was strong, fought hard and looked to be in good condition. Thanks Nick for letting me catch the first fish in my club waters. *Bwahaaa* After that we struggled for another few hours before Nick managed to pick up a good cock fish, of around the same size, in full breeding colours. The two float tubers, as far as I could tell, had still picked up nothing. At this point I feel its my duty to point out that Nick's fish was a complete fluke (I hope he's reading this). He tossed out his brightly colour fly, and started retrieving it. During the retrieve process he got pissed off at the midges around his head, took off his cap, and started swatting at them madly. It was at this point that the fish nailed his fly, and he was "on dad"...Lucky bastard... Sadly that was to be it for us. We fished until around 1pm when the wind picked up, but managed no further fish. What was so frustrating was that we could see a lot of fish in the shallows, cruising on the edges of the weed beds. Hours of sight casting to them with every fly in my box produced not so much as a follow. Clearly a trip back is in order to work those bastard out..

Previous