Trout Time

Trout at night, what do you know?

Well summer is officially over and the cold weather has moved in, which brings us to that time of year when we angling enthusiasts attempt to soften the blows of winter’s fishlessness by migrating up to the ever majestic trout water of the winter wonderland that is Dullstroom. On the 8^th of June a couple of us headed up to little trout beck in search of our favourite cold water species, the illusive rainbow trout, which I must add has become not only my favourite cold water species but also one of my favourite species full stop.

Craig’s beauty

We arrived at our venue late the Friday afternoon to find a couple of the lads slapping the water to no avail. Only after nightfall did our first fish hit dry land. This was with the arrival of Chris “the gold digger” le Roux, who (having just pulled up in his car) jumped out, took my brand new Explorer Guide series II out my hand, made his first cast and subsequently landed a fish in front of many a dropped jaw. Very impressive Chris, now give me my rod back.

Another decent rainbow

After a very well behaved and gentlemanly friday night we scurried out of bed the following morning to slap the water some more. The weather seemed top notch from the inner side of the lounge behind our coffee cups, but then we stepped outside. In short the wind was howling, and the temperature had dropped staggeringly with the arrival of a vicious cold front. We struggled a little but a few fish were taken by our more experienced fly fishers.

My only fish

Unfortunately I only managed a morning session that day and my trip was cut short but i still managed to land a fair rainbow and picked up on similar patterns that we have in the past. In short, the fish that were taken were almost exclusively taken on strikingly orange flies, my favourite being the Pancora wooly bugger, but many also being buttoned on pure orange buggers as well. This always seems to be the go too colour at this time of year, and I suggest it dominate your fly box during the coldest months.

 

Moriti Fishing and Wildlife

Just a quick post about a new adventure fishing/safari website, which has recently been launched. It’s called Moriti Fishing & Wildlife and it offers some amazing deals specializing in fishing tours, fishing lodges, self catering game lodges, canoe safaris, wilderness trails, houseboats and exclusive flying safaris for people wanting to see Africa in style!!

Africa!

Each activity and lodge has been hand-picked by the owner for its value for money and service. Packages include everything from guided fly-fishing trips to the Vaal river and tiger fishing in Kariba to steelhead fishing in British Columbia and Peacock bass on the Amazon!

Bass!

Some of my favourite packages available are guided fly fishing trips to Dullstroom targeting bass, Nile perch in Egypt, and lower Zambezi tiger fishing packages at Mvuu lodge.

Surf Fly!

They also market simpler packages such as bass fishing at Mongena game lodge in Limpopo and day trips for bass fishing excursions near the Kruger National park.

Alaska!

Have a look around at Moriti www.Moriti.co.za, summer is on its way and I think that they may just have something to offer you for the holiday season.tight lines…

Huge Tigers!

Dulltstroom Trout

Just a few quick pics to show the quality of trout that can be taken on fly in the Dullstroom/Belfast area of Mpumalanga during the winter months if you are one of our fishing buddy Keith “get that man a Bells” Falconer.

Beautiful Hen

Another Great Fish

And Another...

Big Orange and Ugly

Inside!

It’s the winter season again. This is the time where we reluctantly pack our bass rods away and dust off our trout fly rods and reels. This past weekend (27^th May 2011) we sped down to our usual trout fishing haunt, Dabchick Cottage, just 5 kilometers past Dullstroom. Now we have posted about this superb venue before and have noted that the exclusive trout dam on location is NOT for the faint hearted. It is a difficult pond to fish. Surrounded by reeds, which are difficult to cast around, one needs a pair of waders or a float tube to truly give themselves a fighting chance. However, having said that, for the experienced angler the dam has proven to produce some very high quality fish.

Beautiful Rainbow

This last trip was no exception. We set out early Saturday morning in the blistering cold, red noses and all. At the time that we got to the dam the conditions were perfect, good temperatures, little wind, and a bit of fish action. The “Bass Bugger” Shaun Taylor and I had different starting strategies when it came to fly selection. We had both heard the saying “big orange and ugly” for winter trout! He decided to take this advice and tied on a large pancora woolly bugger, which is basically a woolly bugger with a bright orange and yellow tail. I on the other hand was not convinced and opted for a slightly more finesse arrangement of an orange trout egg trailed about 20 centimeters down the line by a small orange Flashback Nymph.

1.5 kg Personal Best

I fished slow and steady while the Bass Bugger pounded the water fairly quickly. Within 5 minutes he was on with the pancora! A decent fish of over a kilo broke the surface and was soon after netted. Then it was my turn. I felt a knock on the line and the fighting began! The 1.5 kilo trout took the orange trout egg, which meant that both the fast and slow approaches were working. Until the Bass Bugger literally proved to me that my fish was probably a fluke by landing another large fish in quick succession shortly after mine. We had fished for an hour or so when the wind picked up, blowing a strong icy breeze over the dam, both freezing our extremities and putting the fish to sleep. We caught nothing after that for a while and so decided to pack it in and hit the town for breakfast at our favourite pancake palace Harries Pancakes. They really do make AMAZING food, a must visit, it’s just too bad that their service is so consistently shocking.

Good Trout

In conclusion, although both the Bass Bugger and I caught our personal best trout that weekend, we also learned a valuable lesson: when the sky is cloudless and the wind is strong and icy, the only trout that you will be catching is at the Duck and Trout restaurant, go there instead.

Winter, Again….

So the winter has definitely crept in, and in an attempt to salvage what sanity we have left the “Bass Bugger” and I made a trip up to Dullstroom to target Rainbow trout this past weekend the of the 4^th of June. We fished our usual private farm dam at Dabchick cottage on the Saturday morning and the weather was absolutely FREEZING. A cold front had settled in and unfortunately for us this seemed to force the fish down along with the temperatures. Fishing was tough and after trying a wide variety of flies from Olive and Pancora Wooly Buggers to PTN Orange Hotspot Nymphs, we turned up with nothing. We fished them shallow, deep, fast, slow and even tried just fishing them static on intermediate line, but nothing, not even a bite. With not even a single rise for the day it was difficult to tell which areas to target. Only when we changed to the boring egg pattern did we start to see some action. The “Bass Bugger” Shaun Taylor managed to land the first rainbow trout, just fishing his white egg pattern agonizingly slowly. Then it was my turn and we each managed to land just one meager fish for the day, although Shaun’s was undoubtedly a decent sized specimen.

First Trout

The next day we tried a new venue, a series of 3 dams set up by the local Mavungana Fly fishing shop. The weather was undoubtedly better, slightly warmer temperatures, less wind, and not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately though, the water at these 3 dams was so clear that the fish could basically see you before you even arrived at the dam. Getting to close meant spooking fish. It was tough fishing for us but, again, we managed to land one trout each. I took a very good sized fish on a size 14 Orange Hotspot PTN fished static,  with slight twitches no and then, which is a new style of fishing for me. Shaun took his on a Pancora Wooly Bugger fished deep on intermediate line. We were both using about 3 kg fluorocarbon tippets  not only to get our flies to the bottom (as flouro sinks quickly) but also because fluoro is far less visible in crystal clear water than normal leader materials.

Later on in the afternoon we returned to Dabchick dam where I managed to land one more small trout on a Pancora Wooly Bugger rigged in tandem behind a small Orange Hotspot PTN. Again this was allowed to sink and then fished extremely slowly through the water column with a figure 8 retrieve. Bright Flies such as Pancora Wooly Buggers (black Wooly bugger with an orange and yellow tail) and Orange Hotspots are ideal at this time of year (June) as the bright orange and yellow colours serve as attractor patterns to fish preparing to spawn. In most cases such bright attractor patterns should be fished quickly and aggressively to entice a bite, however, in tough conditions trout seem to prefer a much slower retrieve. There is not a feeling in the world better than the moment a passing fish tugs at your line on a tough days fishing when you least expect it.

My trout of about 1.5 kg

TIPS:

For most of your trout fishing applications in Dullstroom a 5/6 weight rod with matching floating line will be adequate. Floating line is versatile because it is a necessity for dry fly fishing, which is best in the early mornings/late evenings. However it can also be used for deeper fishing applications, such as in the middle of the day when the fish move deeper, by simply using a longer leader (no shorter than the length of your rod). Also remember that for surface fishing always use monofilament leaders and tippets, as these will float on the surface better than fluorocarbon. Use Fluoro when fishing deep as it sinks quicker.

Although floating line is versatile there will be occasions where you might need either a sinking or intermediate line. These are especially beneficial for very deep water fishing conditions where you may need the line to pull the fly deeper quickly. I have also found that in windy conditions it is difficult to fish sinking flies on floating line as the line actually acts as a sail which allows the line to be blown across the surface of the water, therefore affecting the action of the fly under the water, often pulling it out of the strike zone. However, with sinking line the wind has little effect as the line sits under the water surface.

Shauns second

A new piece of advice that I can give you is not to think too much. When you are on the water, make your fly selections, set up your rig and once the fly hits the water for the first time, just enjoy it. Don’t over think and just fish. Good luck.