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Jet Ski Epic

Jet Ski Epic

Bait, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_187" align="alignright" width="300"] Jet Ski Fishing[/caption] 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…
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Float Tube Bliss

Float Tube Bliss

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_183" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nick On His Float Tube[/caption] 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…
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Smashing Colmonell

Smashing Colmonell

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_180" align="alignright" width="200"] Warren Prior's Rainbow Trout[/caption]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…
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Two Weeks In A Row

Two Weeks In A Row

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignleft" width="200"] Warren Prior Casting[/caption] 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.…
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Colmonell With Western

Colmonell With Western

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_171" align="alignright" width="225"] Warren Prior With A Colmonell Rainbow[/caption] 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.…
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The Tank Chair

The Tank Chair

Fly Fishing, Randoms
[caption id="attachment_168" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Tank Chair[/caption]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…
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Club Waters Trip 2 – Mavela, Again

Club Waters Trip 2 – Mavela, Again

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignright" width="300"] Underwater Trout[/caption] 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…
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Club Waters Trip 1 – Mavela

Club Waters Trip 1 – Mavela

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_160" align="alignright" width="225"] Warren With A Small Rainbow[/caption] 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…
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Center Bank Bashing

Center Bank Bashing

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_154" align="alignleft" width="225"] Nick Nortje Catching Crabs[/caption] After a long period of no fly fishing, I finally managed to get back into the water, and was more excited than ever. The main reason being that during the week I joined the Natal Fly Fishers Club (NFFC). This means that I now have access to large selection of club waters holding everything from trout, to yellows, to bass. However after all of this I still ended up fishing the salt, and will have to wait a while until I can get out to those waters, since most of August is already booked up for me. Onto the fishing report... On Saturday morning Nick and I headed down to the harbour with the hopes of picking up a Garrick or two.…
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Bait Fishing Durban Harbour

Bait Fishing Durban Harbour

Bait, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_151" align="alignright" width="225"] Nick Climbing The Block[/caption] After having been out of the water for far too long, I finally managed to wet a line in the harbour. Sadly it wasn't a fly line, but having sat out for a few weeks I was willing to take anything. Nick picked me up at 7:30 and we headed down to the harbour where we met his brother. We knew high tide was at 6am, but we figured that we'd still be able to pump some cracker. This turned into a more entertaining experience than expected. Lets just say its rather interesting trying to pump cracker in waist deep water. But being the tough guys we are, we managed the deed and soon had our lines in the water. Standing waste…
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