Calling the Fly fishing manne

[DJR]

Hmmmm....so you are the fellows we come across at fishermans cave on our way down Elandspad Kloof

 

Btw, if you find people sleeping over there, report them to the rangers, like skipping red traffic lights, it is illegal!

[Kranswurm]

Btw, if you find people sleeping over there, report them to the rangers, like skipping red traffic lights, it is illegal!

 

I know. Its normally a mess we find there

We do a kloof from the rivers source to the parking area in one day.Tough but stunning swims and jumps.

Not been up there for a while.Its all Protea farms on the top.Don't think I am fit enough now to tackle that

[DJR]

............ Might be a bit "butch" for cape streams where you guys roll with 1, 2 and even 0 weights I believe.

 

Naaah, the 1, 0 and lighter sticks only work if there is NO wind, and that is not often, so I fish a 2# rod with a 3#line. It loads better for short casts and handles wind better than the featherweights.

 

Here are some of my own "pheasant-tail-flashback-cat-dog-body-nymphs" for small streams

[Big H*]

Naaah, the 1, 0 and lighter sticks only work if there is NO wind, and that is not often, so I fish a 2# rod with a 3#line. It loads better for short casts and handles wind better than the featherweights.

 

Here are some of my own "pheasant-tail-flashback-cat-dog-body-nymphs" for small streams

 

As a rule I do not buy flies, I bind them. Bought a few Tigerfish flies when we visited Cahorra Bassa. My eyes are not that good anymore. I bought a desk lamp with a magnifying glass over the weekend and those #20 hooks will be within reach again.

[DJR]

Then you'll enjoy checking my fly boxes, here's some Charlies from my saltwater box. All made by DJR.

[DJR]

....and some Czech nymphs that are deadly on smallmouth yellows in the fast water, provided you get them to bump along the bottom.

[Big H*]

....and some Czech nymphs that are deadly on smallmouth yellows in the fast water, provided you get them to bump along the bottom.

 

Hey where did you get my fly boxes from!!!!!! Charlies are so easy to make, Clousers take a bit of time.

 

The Kingie I landed at Pemba was with my own Clouser. I have quite a few crab imitations which I landed Pompano on. Shad in Angola when they are in a feeding frenzy eat anything that shines. I think if you cast a teaspoon with a hook they will take it. Landed a nice size leerie on a foam popper fishing the shad periphery. Once tried a sinking line and landed a blue ray, but had to do a long line release as I was tired and it was way too heavy for my #9 road. I have a new unblooded four piece #9 that I cannot wait to get into the salt.

 

Also always had my #5 rod in the bakkie in Angola when the oshonas started flooding. The barbel on a half a chicken was amazing. Landed hundreds of them. Always had a crowd op local crowding around me. Hooked one on the backside, he felt the sting and ran. He broke the tippet easily and I could not land him!!!!!

[DJR]

............................Always had a crowd op local crowding around me. Hooked one on the backside, he felt the sting and ran. He broke the tippet easily and I could not land him!!!!!

 

:D

[JCA12]

We (my parents and my brother and myself) used to do a lot of fly fishing up near dulstroom (syndicate on a farm). We used to go once every seven weeks. Awesome trout fishing (me, my brother and father would regularly land more than 10 trout a weekend each). we would release almost all, and keep maybe 2. Recently with me and my brother in varsity, we don't go up as often (haven't been this year). I've been fishing since 7 or 8, got my first rod at 10 (8 foot 6, 3-4 weight, and first fish was a 2kg trout (took me a good 10 to 15 minutes to get it in).

[Pieter1]

Sorry man but what is a strike indicator for? From what I remember it's like "BANG!! FISH ON!!"

Edited November 6, 2013 by Pieter1

[rouxtjie]

Sorry man but what is a strike indicator for? From what I remember it's like "BANG!! FISH ON!!"

Piet with bass and trout the takes are positive...so you can feel the take and strike, yellofish....aikona, it doesn't mouth a fly, it sucks and rejects quicker and very very very subtle. That is the other trick to nymphing for yellows, you must always be in contact with your flies but not so much to induce drag...sounds easy hey, but took me 4 years to master. Like I said in a previous post, sometimes a newb will get 2 takes on a single drift, if his technique is right he still has about 0.5sec to react, they are that quick...no jokes. If his technique is wrong he wouldn't even know he had a bite. When you got it down to an art you can drop the indicator and fish by feel and "zen" alone.

 

With yellows you strike for everything, line movement, bob in indicator, line stopping....if it does anything that doesn't look like the flow of the river, strike. You also make peace with he fact that you will strike a branch or rock every now and again...but there is a saying that if you don't hook up on the bottom of the riverbed now and again, your flies are too high in the water column and thus passing over the fish that are feeding at the bottom

Edited November 6, 2013 by rouxtjie

[rouxtjie]

I use a foam hopper for an indicator since it gives me another column of water ie top water to cover. With yellowfish it's all about covering the water columns in a systematic way. So if I have a dry(in my case a foam springkaan aka hopper) I cover the top for the odd gele wanting it, but it also helps me detect strikes, 2 birds one stone...then I normally have a heavy caddis larva rolling on the bottom and a smaller brassie or hotspot nymph or cdc nymph in front of it, acting as a mayfly or caddis trying to get to the top to emerge. In the late afternoon I drop the heavier caddis larva and shorten the length from my indicator to the point fly to about 10cm. If there is a hatch of the night time egg lying caddis it's action on both the dry and the point, and you might get a double on...I would then switch my hopper to a elk hair caddis or airhead on the dry.

 

This is just the summer technique, in the winter it's top water all the way. But you work harder for your fish, they are generally bigger though.

[DJR]

........................When you got it down to an art you can drop the indicator and fish by feel and "zen" alone.

 

My master told me that if you even think/wonder/imagine that you might have a take, you should have struck a half second ago. After a while you strike without even knowing why, and more often than not, you have a fish on. Sadly, you also lose that Zen magic if you don't do it often enough. Much like riding sweet single track and jumps and drops......stay away too long and you are going to make an arse of yourself the next time....until it comes back sweeter than before !

[Pieter1]

 

Piet with bass and trout the takes are positive...so you can feel the take and strike, yellofish....aikona, it doesn't mouth a fly, it sucks and rejects quicker and very very very subtle. That is the other trick to nymphing for yellows, you must always be in contact with your flies but not so much to induce drag...sounds easy hey, but took me 4 years to master. Like I said in a previous post, sometimes a newb will get 2 takes on a single drift, if his technique is right he still has about 0.5sec to react, they are that quick...no jokes. If his technique is wrong he wouldn't even know he had a bite. When you got it down to an art you can drop the indicator and fish by feel and "zen" alone.

 

With yellows you strike for everything, line movement, bob in indicator, line stopping....if it does anything that doesn't look like the flow of the river, strike. You also make peace with he fact that you will strike a branch or rock every now and again...but there is a saying that if you don't hook up on the bottom of the riverbed now and again, your flies are too high in the water column and thus passing over the fish that are feeding at the bottom

Oh okay. I like the technicality of it all.

[rouxtjie]

 

 

My master told me that if you even think/wonder/imagine that you might have a take, you should have struck a half second ago. After a while you strike without even knowing why, and more often than not, you have a fish on. Sadly, you also lose that Zen magic if you don't do it often enough. Much like riding sweet single track and jumps and drops......stay away too long and you are going to make an arse of yourself the next time....until it comes back sweeter than before !

Yip exactly what you said, you loose that feeling of depth if don't spend enough time on the water. Hahahaha my master....mr courier taught me very well...legend flyfisher that knows his stuff

[rouxtjie]

Oh okay. I like the technicality of it all.

It's sounds technical but in practice it's not that hard, if someone shows you the basics you will catch your first yellow that day...it's all about changing when something isn't working and learning from it....