Flyfishing report: Trout - Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands

We got some snow on the 'berg right at the end of July, and of course, like a large swathe of the country, a whole lot more this week. Apart from snow seekers getting their cars stuck on the roads and destroying fences, the farmers are as thrilled as us flyfishers at how much moisture we have received from above. We are told we are heading for a mega-drought, which could still be the case and worries us tremendously, but this moisture sees us going into it stronger than might otherwise be the case. Nottingham road had had 40mm when I spoke to a resident yesterday, Dargle 22mm. In Hilton we had had 45mm by this morning. Another farmer I know between my home and Notties had had 15mm before last night's rain. So, you get the picture: not only widespread soil temperature drop, but lots of moisture. The very upper uMngeni was at 8 degrees C (water temp) when I was working there yesterday. The air temp only briefly went above 4 degrees C!

Just before this moisture we had predictably pre-frontal weather. I was out there (in shirt sleeves!) throwing a fly, as were 4 other anglers I bumped into. For all five of us, it was really slow. The one bloke had encountered one fish the day before. The boardermaster lost one and had a take. One of the other guys took to fishing from his deckchair, such was the state of the fishing. I landed just one fish.

The weekend before we got one or two fish, plus a few stockies on a cold and blustery day in which we never took off jackets or beanies. A week or so before I got just 2 fish in a full day.

BUT: My pal got 8 strong fish on that last-mentioned day above. Plus, my one fish last weekend was a really good one. Also, a dam I visit a fair bit produced a Brown of over 8 pounds on the weekend.  

So, what would you call these metrics...good or bad? I don't know, but fishing in the middle of winter, which is what we are going through, has for me always been about putting in the hours, but with the chance of a lunker. This winter seems little different, even though it feels to me like we are putting in a lot of those patient hours.

I have also been putting in some hours at the vice...tying up "Taddy Buggers" for when the river season opens in about 3 weeks’ time. Those are basically Woolly Buggers, but tied, small, squat and dense and on a large gape hook, about #10 or #12. The secret to these things is that while they have quite a big bead, it is a plastic bead. It's a sort of pearlescent jade colour, and not heavy at all, but helps the fly break through the meniscus of a slow flowing, deep green pool, without plunging down into the logs below. There it wiggles until a Trout ambushes it from below. Last season it was the business, but I confess, I still lost them a dozen at a time on logs. So, I am re-arming quicker than the Americans, and the sight of my home river flowing as strongly as I saw it yesterday, has my anticipation piqued to say the least. 

Tight lines

Andrew

Into a good one before the cold front arrived.