Blog - Page 24 of 30 - Baha Adventures

15Jan 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

The New Baha Vessel

[caption id="attachment_390" align="alignright" width="300"] A Tiny Largemouth Bass[/caption] Sunday started off with a little admin as I helped Nick patch up a few holes on his newly acquired boat. This was of course all worth it as we hooked it up to the Jeep and headed down to Inanda Dam to make sure it didn't sink. This did of course mean that we packed the fly rods and planned to nail a few bass in the process. When we arrived at the gate at around 11:30 we could hardly believe the queue. Yes, it was a beautiful day, but the queue was ridiculous. It must've taken us around half an hour to just get through the gate and then we had to worry about finding a free slipway. With the…

02Jan 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Shongweni Dam Fail

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water

[caption id="attachment_387" align="alignleft" width="300"] Shongweni Dam, Kzn[/caption] For the first fishing trip of the year Nick and I found ourselves at Shongweni Dam. Personally I would've preferred Inanda but the general consensus was that Shongweni would be far less busy on the second day of the year. Sharon and I arrived first, just before 9am, and were greeted by hordes of people. Never have I seen the dam quite so busy. Thankfully we were just early enough to secure the last decent picnic spot with both shade and a braai. Nick and Tazz arrived shortly after us and, after setting up, Nick and I were on soon on the water. There was a buzz of activity on the surface but sadly it wasn't from fish. There were kids swimming in…

17Dec 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kamberg Bliss

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_384" align="alignright" width="300"] Another Rainbow Trout Release[/caption] Having spent the morning stocking some of the club waters Sharon and I decided to spend the night at the Kamberg Nature Reserve. We drove through the gate at 12am and I immediately became aware of the storm clouds which were already forming overhead. Worried that I wouldn't be able to fish later that day I cut a deal with Sharon which allowed me to fish while she unpacked the car. I fished the usual spots around Erskine for about 30 minutes with no luck. It was midday in summer and I wasn't expecting a lot so I continued fishing while enjoy the pair of Crested Eagles nesting in a nearby tree. It was at this point that I noticed a few…

16Dec 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Trout Stocking

Fly Fishing, Randoms

[caption id="attachment_381" align="alignleft" width="300"] Stocking Rainbow Trout[/caption] With Friday being a public holiday I'd agreed to monitor the stocking of several NFFC waters by Bushman's River Trout. So at 6am Sharon and I took a leisurely drive to the Giant's Castle area where we met John. He'd stocked the 3 dams with 3" (or 5”) fish the previous morning and it was now time to put in a few 10" fish to kick start the process of rehabilitating these Mondi waters. The whole process was surprisingly fast and started by looking for a place to safely release the new fish. The obvious choice was along the dam wall into deeper, safer water. There was however a small problem in that we could see the previous day's smaller fish shoaling along…

11Dec 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lake Naverone (My 30th Birthday)

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_378" align="alignright" width="300"] Dragon Fly Nymph Comparison[/caption] Sharon decided to take me fishing for my 30th birthday so we drove up to Lake Naverone on Friday evening amidst the mist and rain. I didn't set an alarm but was awake by just after 6am on Saturday. We lazed around a little so I only made it onto the water at around 8am. I fished the large dam in partly cloudy conditions starting close to the inlet. Almost immediately I missed two strong hits which got me rather excited. Sadly I saw no more fish for the next hour. The inlet was heavily weeded so I made my way to the far bank which appeared to be the deeper of the two. I picked up one tiny rainbow but wasn't…

04Dec 2011 by Nick Nortje No Comments

The Uitzicht Curse

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_373" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nick's Uitzicht Rainbow[/caption] So after a slow, shaky start due to the night before being Warren and Sharon’s engagement party, and the Tazz having morning sickness, Tazz and I made it to the customary coffee stop at 6.20am. The weather was not looking too good from home, but hey, I had to collect my jacket that I had left behind on a previous drinking trip (I mean fishing trip). As I had confirmed from Durban the weather was miserable; 10 degrees, rain, mist but no wind! I finally made it to the dam after some 4X4ing through the mud (manly grunt here). I must point out the actual Kamberg tar road is full of pot holes that even a 4X4 feels, it almost felt like I…

13Nov 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kamberg, Catch, Repeat

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_369" align="alignright" width="225"] Clinton Nortje's First Trout[/caption] On Sunday morning I woke up at around 5:30am to far more light than I expected. By 6am I was at Nick's place where Clinton picked us up and we headed for Kamberg, stopping of course for a cup of coffee and a doughnut. We arrived at Kamberg at around 7:30am in thick mist and a little drizzle. From afar conditions were looking good and we quickly spotted two other fishermen on the water. A brief chat to them revealed they were staying there, had been fishing for a while, and had caught no fish. Not a good sign but nothing to worry about. Since the other fishermen were fishing Eland Dam we headed down to Erskine and got to it. Both…

24Sep 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lotheni’s Sneaky Browns

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignleft" width="300"] First Wild Trout On The New Rod[/caption] At 5am on Saturday morning we climbed out of bed, packed the car and headed for the Drakensberg. Stopping for petrol proved annoying when the standard garage told us they were out of diesel and we were forced to head into Pmb to find some. Otherwise all went well until we reached the Underberg turn off when I forgot that it was shorter through Nottingham Road and we headed for Underberg on my 111km worst road. After passing through Himeville the road turns from tar to dirt for the last 40kms. The dirt was in good condition bar the fact that they seem to be working on it. This meant large piles of rubble for long stretches leaving only…

18Sep 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Mooi River, Kamberg

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_359" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Mooi River[/caption] Sunday morning started at the normal 5:30am for me when I packed the car and headed for the Kamberg Nature Reserve. Nick was heading up Sani Pass and so I'd decided to take the opportunity to explore the Mooi River which we'd always ignored for some unknown reason. Sharon was originally going to join me but ended up working at a golf day her company was sponsoring and hence I explored alone. When I arrived at the reserve I parked at the picnic site near the gate and walked down to the river. My first impression was "WOW, what a fantastic water!" Carefully I climbed into the crystal clear water, which was flowing steadily, and began the trip upstream. The upper Mooi River…

04Sep 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Open Season (For Rivers Anyway)

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_354" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Nick Nortje On The Mooi River[/caption] Sunday saw Nick and I head out fishing once again. The rivers opened on the 1st September and we thought we'd go and look at a section of the Mooi River I'd fished two or so years ago. After the usual 5:30 start and mandatory cup of Wild Bean coffee we hit our first glitch...road closure in Pietermartizburg. A "quick" divert through town saw us arriving somewhat later than planned. We kitted up quickly and began the 5km walk downstream to the start of the beat. The water was surprising clear for Reekie Lyn and was low as expected. That said the higher than usual winter rainfall (and snow) meant the river was at least flowing. As an added bonus…