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 the warm water, paddlers flying around the dam up against the banks and fishermen casting mielie bombs everywhere.
We kicked over to the reed beds along the opposite bank hoping to get away from the people but the odd paddler still shot past us, and usually between us and the structure rather than behind us. Grrrr!
None the less we continued fishing, Nick on the surface and myself sub surface, hoping for a little luck. Sadly it never came. An hour and a half later and we were both still fishless. Slowly we kicked our way back to the bank to have a little snack and to re-strategise.
Hunger pangs fed on a few good rolls we kicked back out, still unsure as to what to try next. We slowly worked our way through our fly boxes trying both deep and shallow water, structure, inlets and anything else we could think of; but again it was to no avail.
Eventually we headed back to the picnic sight and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with friends. Not the best start to the year but still a good day out. Next time it will definitely be Inanda!