On a recent trip to Vaalvlei, near Stanford (close to
Hermanus) I was able to wet a line after been blown out the first day by
seriously strong winds. The Sunday morning started out crisp and with a
moderate wind blowing. I walked down through the vineyards to the lake and was
greeted by 4 other fly anglers, one of which had managed to land a 16inch trout
on a nymph and some bluegill on dry flies.
I fished for about an hour with no luck, and then changed to
a Di 7 sinking Poly leader and two flies, an orange fritz and a black fritz
with 4mm tungsten bead and blue flash. I caught two trout of about 13 inches
each in quick succession. The fishing was tough and after landing two small
bass and a bluegill ,I headed back to the cottage on the hill after a further 3
hours.
The following morning, I made my way back down to the lakes.
The wind was much calmer and the weather more stable. I caught a beautiful
bluegill sunfish in the first lake on a black fritz fished deep and slow.
Moving onto the main lake, I tried for trout using a sinking
line and boodbies and then a floating line an sinking leader and various
combinations of flies, but no success. I then headed around the lake dipping a
black fritz fly in size 8 with tungsten bead into the gaps between the water
lilies a rod length or two away. The technique is very simple. You dip the fly
in a hole in between the lilies and let it sink to the bottom before giving it
one or two twitches. You then bring it back out and try the next hole.
After
about 20 minutes of doing this I felt a strong tug on the fly and set the hook.
Utter chaos ensued as I tried desperately
to subdue an enraged largemouth bass amongst the densely packed water lilies
and other weed. After a little while I eventually managed to lip land a
beautiful old specimen. After taking a few pictures I continued on using the
same technique. About 5 minutes later and I hooked into a 14 inch trout amongst
the lilies which was a big, welcome surprise.
After no more success, I switched tactics and tied on an elk
hair caddis in #14 with a brassie nymph tied underneath (new Zealand style). I
fished this off one of the jetties casting towards rising trout. A little while
later and I was rewarded with a nice feisty trout taken on the nymph.
The sun was rising now and I had spotted some trout rising
close to the lilies around the lake. One of them was going berserk. I cut off
the trailing nymph and started casting the dry fly at the rising trout. By now the
fish was rising a meter away from the side. I recast the dry close to a fresh
rise and the trout turned on the dry and inhaled it. I set the hook and was
rewarded with a 14 inch rainbow for my efforts.
The trout where now cruising 2 to 3 meters away from the
edge between the weed and water lilies on one side and the heavier weed a bit
deeper out. This was exciting fishing, spotting a rising trout and trying to
intercept it with the elk hair caddis. I had a few near misses as the trout
swirled on the fly but refused it. But perseverance paid off and I landed a few
more trout on the dry flies.
By this time My wife Dee had joined me and she
took some pics of the action with our DSLR and 55 to 200mm lens. The biggest was 16 inches and in good
condition.
I used a 9foot 5weight TFO Jim Teeny rod for the trip.
For more info on the venue check out www.vaalvlei.co.za
My DVD “The ultimate guide to starting fly fishing” was shot
at this venue and can be ordered here… http://seanmillsflyfishing.weebly.com/dvds.html
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