Flyfishing report: Trout - Western Cape

Date of Report: Tuesday, 14th November 2023
Name: Vikki Geldenhuys (Cape Piscatorial Society Secretary)
Email: cps@piscator.co.za
Phone: 081 826 0835

Smalblaar, Elandspad & Holsloot.

A feature of the first couple of months of the season has been that the rivers have been very high and at times almost unfishable. Fortunately, they fined down considerably for the CPS River Festival last weekend which was well attended and a great success with a good number of trout caught and released. The good news for the club is that several new members have signed up.

With the warmer weather bass are starting to come on the bite. All bass caught must of course be destroyed.

The Witte  

This attractive brown trout stream which is accessed from Bains Kloof has not really recovered from the drought and heat wave a few years ago. Those fishing this last weekend blanked but a member fishing it 3 weeks ago took three fish.

Lakenvlei

This large and normally clear water impoundment near Ceres is still quite muddy after the winter and spring floods which have filled the reservoir for the first time in 10 years. The dam was well stocked with yearlings in June which were trucked in from Mpumalanga as the local trout hatchery had suffered flood damage. Bookings for the hut at Lakenvlei have been light recently and in any case as mid-summer approaches the water temperatures are too high for good trout angling although members are welcome to kill as many bass as possible which have become a pest in the dam and necessitates stocking with larger trout. Experts believe that when the water cools again in autumn the fishing could be quite good.

FOSAF_5467.jpg