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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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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Pholela River Blanking

Pholela River Blanking

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_145" align="alignright" width="300"] The Pholela River[/caption] I'm not even sure this is worthy of a report, but if I don't fill it in I know I'll have hundreds of disappointed readers. Ja, whatever?! So here goes... Over the weekend a few mates and myself camped at Cobham.It was, as expected, f$%^ing cold. But other than this, we had a fantastic time. Anyway, part of the trip involved me taking a friend of mine up the river for a few fly fishing lessons. I must say, he caught on quickly, and certainly had a good chance of picking up any Rainbows that may be around. Sadly, due to several factors, we didn't manage to pull any fish out of the Pholela. So here's the list of excuses... Firstly, all of…
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The Mooi River

The Mooi River

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_137" align="alignright" width="300"] The Mooi River[/caption] Just 2 days after a fantastic morning's fishing on the Lotheni River, I was back in the Berg, this time fishing a section of the Mooi River just below Kamberg nature reserve. Shaun and I left Plantations at around 5:30am, and after a short stop for coffee, were at the river by 7:30am. We kitted up and started our 5km walk downstream, from where we would fish our way back to the car. On the way down we fished a few of the pools without much luck. The weather was overcast, with a cold front approaching, and we figured this could've turned the fish off. Shortly after turning around and heading back to the car, the sky cleared and the sun came out.…
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Lotheni

Lotheni

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_134" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren Fly Fishing The Lotheni[/caption] After a good trip to the Bushmans River over Easter, I decided I'd give the Lotheni River a bash before the end of the season. So when the offices closed for a week, Sharon and I headed to Lotheni for 3 days. Of the 3 days we spent there I only fished one morning. I hit the river at about 7:30am, Sharon bravely wading the river behind me in an old pair of takkies. I was hoping she would be able to walk on the bank, but unfortunately she had to cross a few times which isn't ideal without boots. The fishing itself was more difficult than the Bushmans, and after fishing 2kms of river over 3 hours, I'd landed only…
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The Priors Dominate The Bushmans River

The Priors Dominate The Bushmans River

Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignleft" width="225"] Clive Prior With A Wild Brown[/caption] Over the Easter weekend Sharon and I hit the berg, namely Giant's Castle, with my dad and Cassia. Of the three days we were there, my dad and I spent one day punishing the Bushman's River. I must admit in advanced, that I really wasn't expecting much. Looking back I'm not really sure why I thought this, because the fishing was absolutely fantastic. If I learnt one thing from this trip, its that I'll be back there in a hurry. I suppose the sad thing is that the rivers get closed from the end of this month. (Everyone go AWWW) Anyway, on Sunday morning my dad and I took a leisurely strole down to the river. Well, he took a…
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Exploring Inanda Dam

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water
This week I decided I'd explore some of the local water, rather than hitting the salt. So when Saturday morning arrived I grabbed my 5 weight, and headed down to Inanada Dam to try and pick up a few Bass. I'd fished the dam once before with Nick, and we'd managed to pull out a few Bass, so I figured I had a good starting point. WRONG! Since the dam is now full (and clearly wasn't when we last fished it), the area we'd been successful in was now completely underwater. I didn't let this deter me, and headed off on foot into the unknown. There was a bit of a path, but it got more vague the farther I went. Eventually I was just bashing my way through the…
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