Blog - Page 17 of 30 - Baha Adventures

13Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 2 Comments

The Xplorer T-50 (9wt 4 Piece Saltwater Fly Rod)

So after collecting my new rod from Xplorer I was keen to get it on the water to test out the much talked about T-50. My first impression was WOW! A beautiful carbon rod tube coated in a neoprene sock was handed to me by Xplorer, inside was a 4 piece, 9wt wrapped in a rod cloth. [caption id="attachment_1111" align="alignleft" width="200"] The T-50 in it's rod tube[/caption] Xplorer have really outdone themselves with the T-50. It's built on premium Japanese, high modulus carbon blanks which have ultra-fast tip actions and the grip is crafted from premium grade cork. The saltwater models have Alps Triangle anodized aluminium reel seats while the freshwater models have CNC machined, up-locking fittings with natural burl inserts. The eyes on the rod are REC recoil stripper guides…

07Mar 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Pre-work Surf Session

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words. Yesterday morning, before work, was one of those days... [caption id="attachment_1083" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Fly fishing the surf at sunrise[/caption] If you're interested in the conditions, they were close to perfect. Neap lows, a slight breeze and manageable surf. The result; a handful of bastard mullet and largespot pompano. What a way to start the day. And you'd rather be at gym?

03Mar 2013 by Nick Nortje 1 Comment

Cape Vidal – Another Trip With The DFT

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_1139" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Wading at Cape Vidal[/caption] Friday saw 6 DFT fly fishermen climb out of bed at 4am in pouring rain and howling wind to make the 320km drive to Cape Vidal to lay claim to the kingfish that frequent the area at this time of year. The weather reports were not good but we were confident it wouldn't be as bad as they made it out to be. [caption id="attachment_1138" align="alignleft" width="300"] First kingie of the trip[/caption] I picked up Steve and headed to the first rendezvous point to meet the rest of the gang and travel up in convoy. At about 5:30 we were all together; Steve, Neill, Bruce, Joe, Graham and I. And after a quick cup of coffee we were on our way. This…

24Feb 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Inanda Dam Domination

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_1074" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Releasing a largemouth bass[/caption] With Inanda Dam so close to our humble homes it's amazing that we don't pay it more frequent visits. It could be that we take it for granted. But it could also be due to the ever present fear of crocodiles. That said I don't know of any recent reports so I like to put that thought into the back of my mind. On Sunday morning Nick and myself headed down to Inanda Dam for a 6am start. Many of you may remember our previous fail when we arrived at 5am only to discover that the gates only opened at 6. Well this time we arrived at 6am only to find out that the gates had been open since 5. Can they…

18Feb 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Baha Back In Africa’s Original Flyfishing Magazine

Fly Fishing, Randoms

[caption id="attachment_1067" align="aligncenter" width="877"] Baha Fly Fishing In Africa's Original Flyfishing Magazine[/caption]

17Feb 2013 by Warren Prior 1 Comment

The Gurneys Are Back!

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_1059" align="alignleft" width="300"] Simon and Christian releasing fish[/caption] With Nick being up in Mozambique I decided that a trip to the harbour was in order. After all, I didn't want him to get an early lead in 2013. The low tide, which is essential for wading the sand banks, fell at around 1pm. Although this is not ideal for the game fish, the nice thing about the harbour is that there are always some fish around. With that in mind I climbed into my Jeep and headed down to be there at 11:30. Things got off to a ropey start when I came to a stand still on Field's Hill. A taxi had potentially hit another car and had rolled. After not moving for 30 minutes they finally opened…

15Feb 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

The R10 Bar…aka Carlo’s Bar

Fly Fishing, Randoms

Back in 2005 Nick and I made our first visit to Ponto do Oura, Mozambique. Amidst all the fishing we took to my trusty Pajero and explored the surrounding areas for both new fishing spots as well as any adventure that lay around the corner. Now you must remember that in 2005 the Pontos were completely different to what they are today. There was far less tourism, very few holiday resorts, and far fewer bars. So when we stumbled across a small reed bar in the middle of nowhere we thought we'd hit gold. And we had! Our first beer was a 2M dumpy which cost us R10. We then threw back a Laurentina dumpy which also cost R10. Realising that we were bound to have a few more we inquired about the price…

29Jan 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Xplorer XPS-S Large Arbor Fly Fishing Reel

Fly Fishing, Reviews, Salt Water

[caption id="attachment_1027" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Xplorer XPS-S with a decent wave garrick[/caption] The Xplorer XPS-S Large Arbor Fly Reel is Xplorer's premium range of salt water reels. They're designed to have BIG FISH stopping power and having fished with the reel I would certainly stand by that statement. Upon picking up this reel I was immediately impressed by the build quality. It is a fantastic looking reel which is CNC machined from bar stock aluminium. It has a black, hard anodized finish which means it appears as a slick black on your fly rod. I assume this comes from the good old days of fly fishing when reels were finished in black to make them less reflective and therefore prevent the reel from glinting which can easily spook fish. This may…

27Jan 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Photoless Casino Session

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

It's not often that the Baha Boys return from a trip photo-less. In fact it's Nick who often bellows the words, "Pics or you're lying". So I guess this is what makes our weekend trip to Casino beach just so strange. For me it was nothing more than a great morning out. I was up well before 5am but we only headed for the water at 6am since Nick was worried about the tides. We walked onto the beach where a slight north-easter was blowing chopping up the surf a little. Thankfully it was an easy wind to fish in since it was to some degree blowing across us and not directly into us. And for the first time ever the beach was crowded with bait fisherman who had sadly laid…

13Jan 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lesotho 2013

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_964" align="alignleft" width="225"] Ian kitting up his bamboo rod[/caption] After a week of nervous weather watching our day of departure for Lesotho arrived and, as expected, it was raining. The four of us climbed in the Jeep and began the three hour journey that would take us up Sani Pass and into the Mountain Kingdom. Although none of us were new to fishing in the rain, navigating a pass that had been eroded by daily downpours (and was more the likely slippery and wet) was an obstacle that lay in the way of our fishing. We were also a little nervous that the river would be too high and that the trip would be in vain. We made our usual first stop for fuel and coffee and quickly learned that any slowing of…