27Mar 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Prairie Weed And Uitzicht Grass

Prairie Weed And Uitzicht Grass

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_300" align="alignright" width="300"] The Parking at Uitzicht[/caption] With Nick having purchased a new float tube on Saturday (the Xplorer Journey) we decided to break it in and headed for one of the NFFC club waters. Being the adventurous type we opted for a dam called Prairie which we had not fished before. Everything about this water looked fantastic right up until we actually got down and started to fish it. From the bank we could see there were a fair number of weedy patches in the water. At first we took this as a good sign since there appeared to be ample fishable water. However once we paddled out we quickly realised that 80% of the dam had thick weed less than a meter below the surface (there's nothing…
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20Mar 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Pholela Rainbows

Pholela Rainbows

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignright" width="300"] Warren Fly Fishing The Pholela[/caption] With a long weekend upon us Sharon and I planned a last minute trip to Cobham. Why Cobham? Well I wanted to fish a river and this was the only venue available on such short notice. That said I'd fished the Pholela in the past and had gone home empty handed, so this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to change that. We arrived at Cobham on Saturday morning and set up camp. By the time we'd set up and eaten lunch the weather was looking somewhat ominous. None the less I opted to head out for an exploratory trip up the river while Sharon relaxed around camp. The river was flowing both high and quickly but was definitely fishable. As…
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12Mar 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Inanda Dam Bass Bashing

Inanda Dam Bass Bashing

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water
[caption id="attachment_290" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Nick Fly Fishing Inanda Dam[/caption] Since Nick was working on Sunday we decided to have a fish on Saturday morning. Rather than head to the berg we tried something new and headed down to Inanda dam to bash some bass. Nick picked me up at 7am which was a nice change from the normal 5am, however in retrospect this may have been a little late as the temperature in the valley climbed to a sweltering 38 degrees. We pumped up the tubes and were in the water by 8am. Nick quickly got into his first fish of the day, a small largemouth Bass taken on a flipper. I had started with an intermediate line and after Nick missed a few more takes I opted to switch…
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06Mar 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Baha Blank

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
Sadly it was another blank fishing day for me, this time in the harbour. The initial plan was to head down early and fish the pulling tide (yes, a pushing tide is generally better but this would’ve meant fishing closer to midday). Sadly however my plan took a turn for the worse when I turned on the TV and got stuck watching SA bowl out England for 171 in the World Cup. When the last wicket had fallen I grabbed my rod and headed for the car. It was nearing 10am and was far later than I had hoped. The weather at the harbour was hot and sunny with a strong north easterly blowing. This meant I did most of my fishing from behind the big concrete block which was…
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20Feb 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Under Pressure

Under Pressure

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_284" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Granchester Panorama[/caption] After a superb trip to Granchester in January we decided that it was time we hit it again. Expectations were high after landing 8 fish on the previous outing and not even the dropping pressure could lower our spirits. After all, I'd fished a falling barometer before and I'd usually caught. This had, perhaps incorrectly, lead me to believe that this was generally a myth even if there was a small amount of scientific evidence to back it up. So at 5am on Sunday I was in the car and on my way to fetch Nick. Our only real concern was whether the X-Trail would make it the 130kms to Granchester without over-heating. It did. [caption id="attachment_285" align="alignright" width="300"] Pressure Drop[/caption] Having all but…
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13Feb 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Midday Harbour Fun

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
Since Sharon had been called in for some last minute lecturing I was free to wet a fly. Sadly my options were a little limited since I had things to do and therefore could only leave the house at around 9:30am. I decided that my best option was to fish the harbour which can produce at any time of day. However as soon as I pulled into the harbour I quickly realised that the tides were against me. It was high tide and after consulting my cell phone I discovered that it had just started pulling. In my personal experience high tide in the Durban harbour is best fished in the early morning or late afternoon, preferably as the sun is rising or setting. I've always been far more productive…
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30Jan 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Kamberg Sight Fishing

Kamberg Sight Fishing

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_279" align="alignleft" width="200"] Warren Freeing A Fish From The Reeds[/caption] On Sunday my 5am alarm was followed by the normal cries of "Why Warren, Why?" Thankfully Sharon and I were soon on the road and had quickly filled up with the normal cup of Wild Bean coffee. We arrived at the Bushman's River at around 7:30am and even though I'd been looking down at the river and had seen how fast it was flowing, I was still optimistic. After quickly kitting up we headed down the path to get the fishing under way. When we arrived at the swing bridge where I usually start fishing it became quite clear that the river was flowing far too fast. However despite the heavy flow it was still crystal clear and this…
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15Jan 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Exploring Granchester

Exploring Granchester

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignright" width="300"] Fish Eye View Of A Trout[/caption] Sunday was a day of fishing and Nick and I headed to Granchester at 5:30am. The Proteas loss soon became a distant memory as we pumped the tubes and kicked our way out onto the water. Having not fished the water before we both made our way to what we considered the good spots. I fished the weed beds while Nick fished the deeper water. Within 30 minutes I was into my first fish, a nice 1kg Rainbow picked up off a bank. Shortly after this Nick picked up a similar sized fish near the inlet. I paddled over to him to take a photo or two and left my fly dead drifting in the water a meter or so…
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02Jan 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments
Sterkfontein

Sterkfontein

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Yellowfish
[caption id="attachment_247" align="alignright" width="300"] Flies For Sterkfontein[/caption] Sterkies was to be the first official fly fishing trip of the Baha Boys. That said, there were only 2 fishermen amongst the 6 of us so it was going to be tough to get in a lot of time on the water. Even after a difficult drive to Sterkies (thanks to some car troubles) Nick and I were in high spirits as we discussed the mornings fishing plans over a rum at midnight. Despite being the last to bed we were the first up and were ready to go. Sadly we got off to a rather slow start, sorting out the boat etc, but this was to be expected on the first morning. When we eventually got into the water we headed…
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