Return to the Vaal

Big Jon McCaster

Its been a long time since we updated this blog. It’s been a long time since we went fishing, full stop… But now we are back, and started the season off (a little late) at our favourite spot on the Vaal River. The day was fairy slow going, with relatively few takes occurring. However, I did manage to land one yellow fish within the first 3 casts. Its almost like mother nature sometimes like to tease us with an early take first thing in the morning, with the promise of more to come, and then drops us like a hot potato.

First yellow

Besides a feisty crab, the only other fish worth mentioning was a good carp, hooked and landed by Kyle “its on, its off” Fouche. After a long 10 minute fight we managed to just fit it in the net, unweighed and most likely around 3 to 4 kilograms depending on who you ask.

Common carp

In between the two fish landed there were, of course, many fish hooked and lost. The biggest of the day OBVIOUSLY got away. Overall we had a good first day out on the water in a long time. The flow rate was surprisingly good, however, the water was slightly dirtier than recently reported, most likely due to a solid amount of rain that fell the previous day. This, coupled with a subsequent drop in water temperature would have most likely caused the slow bite. In any case, we cannot wait to get out there again, and will do as soon as life allows it.

On dad!!

The Carp King trading cards!

SO we have heard that the “Carp King” Russell Manchip has made quite a name for himself among his Australian students abroad. As a result we have decided to release the first EVER  digital “Carp King” trading cards in honour of the man himself.  So here is the first of MANY to come, designed and made by Gregor Rohrig himself! Print them, use them as a desktop background, do with them what you will! Enjoy! (tongue-in-cheek).

The “Carp King” himself

 

Seaborg!

I know this is an oldish topic but it is just one which I really cannot ignore. Enter the Daiwa SEABORG!!!!! No, I’m not talking about a robotic version of Aqua man returned from the future to end all humanity; I’m talking about an electric reel developed by our friends over at Daiwa fishing technologies.

Seaborg Megatwin 1000 MT

Now whether you have heard of it or not, I’m going to tell you what it does. It basically does the fishing for you! It drops the lure to the depth that you want and reels in at the speed that you want. More technically one is either able to program a desired depth to which you would like the reel to “cast” or you can program it to remember certain depths at which the action is taking place. It also reels in for you automatically adjusting the drag to suit the fish’s ever changing opposing force, and you can even program it to work a jig to your specified action and pattern so that you can simply hold the rod nice and tight and do…. well… nothing.

Side view

It also has an onboard computer that automatically displays line let out and distance retrieved from the bottom, and even automatically stops reeling in when your lure is close to the rod tip. The model in the pictures (1000 MT) boasts a 20kg max continuous drag and for short spells it can put out 75 kilos of winding power, which I must say that I wish I had built in to myself!

The machine

Look I don’t think this little fishing robot is for me as I prefer to do my own fishing, right? But hey, at least it lets you watch!

Explorer Journey V-Boat

Journey V-Boat

So I tried out the Explorer Journey V-boat that the misses got me for my birthday (a catch I know), and I must say that I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was the first time that I have fished from such a craft and I will admit that I was sceptical about it. When I think about bass fishing I automatically think of SPACE. We always approach the water with more rods than we can handle, bags and bags of lures (most of which we don’t bother trying), and massive cooler boxes filled to the brim with food and, ummm, cold drinks *cough*. Now I found myself packing 2 choice rods, an acute selection of lures and tackle, and a tiny checkers packet with a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water.

The very first thing I noticed was the convenience of it all! Not only did I not have to think about a thousand things to pack, or manage a large boat, but the burden of lure and technique selection also dissolved away. This was effortless, number one, AND it also forced me to choose and spend time on only one or two techniques! I mean how often do you find yourself changing fishing patterns more than your line is actually in the water? A lot of us just don’t give a particular technique enough chance to work before we change!

The next thing that worried me as far as space was concerned, was the ability to move around. I was used to stepping around a boat, choosing my vantage points with ease. But I found that, first of all, the sitting position of the V-boat was not only comfortable, but I could also position myself in any direction that I chose. This does take some practice though, I must say. Once you get the hang of manoeuvring yourself about, the V-boat begins to afford you a ton of convenience.

One of the downfalls that I found was that if you are into pitching grubs and worms subtly into cover, underhanded, then you will have problems. Obviously the sitting position is too close to the water for you to do this. I would say that the V-boat is more suited to power fishing. Cranks, flukes, spinner baits, and also finesse fishing, if you don’t mind a bit of a splash on the water, which I do not. In saying that I believe that it’s true power will be unleashed when fly fishing for trout on still waters in winter. How many times do we fish a body of water that is near inaccessible from the bank? Too often.  This boat will eliminate this problem entirely and also allow you to fish in windier conditions as you can position yourself with the wind no matter where you are.

In closing I think I will enjoy fishing off the craft in winter for trout, and also during summer for bass, and I would fully recommend it too any angler looking for a craft of this nature. And at a price of around R4000 it is well worth the money you pay. Enjoy.

Rust de Winter Again!

Early Morning

We gave Rust de Winter in Limpopo a bash this past weekend, 17^thaugust 2011. What a day’s fishing. In the morning the water was a little chilly at 56 degrees Fahrenheit, so the fishing was a little slow. I managed to land 3 fish, the biggest of which was about 1.3 kg’s and lying deep.

1.3 kg Beaut

After a short brunch we hit the water again around 12. The water temp had risen significantly to about 63 degrees Fahrenheit and this seemed to wake the fish up effectively. Two of the guys I was fishing with doubled up on their first cast back on the water. From that point on we hammered the fish for the rest of the day. The fish were much shallower now, probably enjoying the warmth. Natural coloured flukes were the ticket, although we did manage to land fish on grubs and cranks too.

Slightly Smaller 1 kg Fish

The largest fish that I landed was a 2.2kg bass, one of the nicer fish I have caught in a long time. Will definitely hit Rust de Winter this season more often than the last.

2.2 kg Mid Afternoon Fish