Fishing the Western Cape Waters

A quick catch up on what’s been happening in the Western Cape streams from the CPS:

Holsloot:

We had an interesting session on the Holsloot recently on one of the hottest days of the year, the venue chosen specifically in the hope of seeing some all day action and although the fish weren’t committing suicide we did at least find the odd one that would come to a fly right on into the afternoon. We rarely saw a rise and did have to put up with the usual “Vietnam patrol” approach through bushes, there were times when one felt that one should have an R1 over the shoulder instead of a three weight rod and finding an escape route when we were done for the day took some effort but at least we saw some fish.

Smallblaar:

The Smallblaar is looking rather like a desert as one drives past, I really can’t think that it is good or responsible to fish down there until things cool off a bit and each year I think “darn those fish are all going to be cooked” but then when the rains arrive there will be the largest fish back in the lower beats, or at least that has always been the case up to now..

Unfortunately one thing that I didn’t get around to was assisting with the stream clean up last Sunday, I had every intention of going but various commitments got in the way so my apologies and thanks to those who participated and I will try harder next time to make it.

Oh, and before I go, here’s a cool deal:

Upstream Flyfishing is having a massive sale, 25% off all Redington gear on March 7th and 8th and what’s best is that they’re still offering free shipping to anywhere in South Africa!

You can visit them here: www.upstreamflyfishing.co.za

Just to keep you all posted with what’s going on in the world of fly fishing in the Western Cape:

It is times like this (considering that our miraculously adapted trout already living on the edge of survivability in waters that should to all intents and purposes be too warm for them) I get a little worried about my career prospects. Global warming may or may not be a real factor but out there in the mountains things have been uncommonly hot and I am certainly not referring to the fishing.  Paarl and Worcester have seen a lot of days where temperatures have climbed dangerously out of the thirties and although there are still good flows in the Elandspad the fishing has been TOUGH. Yes those capitals were intentional.

I have been on the water a few times of late and each time much the same situation has presented itself, hopeful amounts of activity in the early hours although even now there seems to be less activity until the sun is up a bit and then as the day warms or the water warms or the brightness becomes and issue the fishing becomes much harder.

I suppose that it could well be simply the brightness factor, trout after all don’t have eyelids and given my propensity to reach for the Costa’s as soon as the sun is up I am sure trying to look up into the sky without being able to blink may well be problematic for the trout. Still which ever way you cut it, water that may well have been teeming with fish in the earlier parts of the season or even the earlier parts of the day for that matter suddenly become deserted. It is simply too hot or too bright and not a lot to be done about it.

Last Sunday saw a very good spinner fall on the Elandspad and there were fish all over the place, difficult to tempt to be sure but at least out there feeding for an hour or two. Thereafter it all went quiet again and although we got a few fish and tempted a tricky one to a #20 brassie after he steadfastly refused a parade of dries, it was all pretty much over by lunchtime.

It would seem that if you need to fish then a morning foray is about as much as you can hope for, trekking higher into the mountains may well prolong the fishing a bit, there is more shade up there and the water doesn’t get heated as severely which perhaps provides a little more time for the trout to feed in relative comfort.

The Holsloot has again proved uninspiring, typically temperamental, some fish in the early parts of the day but a lot of water, and cool water at that, apparently devoid of life, frustrating to say the least.

So there is fishing , although limited, to be had, if global warming is part of the problem or not I couldn’t say but if you don’t plan on taking up bowls or golf in the near future you may well consider it an investment in your fishing future to avoid too much unnecessary air travel, trade in your gas guzzler for something with a more efficient engine and try not to let all those CFC’s escape from your fridge or deodorant can.

So after last week’s missive and a promise of an “on stream update” what do I have to offer? Not a lot to be honest, the flows in the Elandspad appeared pretty good when I was up there but both Mike and myself really struggled to find fish, they simply were not out and about but for the early hours of the morning.

I have always been of the opinion that one didn’t need to be up at crack of dawn to be successful but with the intensely warm days of late and the bright sunshine that goes with that it seems that the fish are going to ground or at least they were last Saturday when we were there.

Reports back from various people on the Holsloot suggest that that particular river and our normal refuge in times of low flows and extreme heat has continued to be pretty fickle and all in all now is probably not the best time to be seeking out trout. As to the lower beats, well I think that it is probably irresponsible to even consider fishing them but for a few hours in the early morning, the fish must be pretty stressed, not least because if you think that it has been hot in Cape Town you should be checking out the temperatures in Paarl and Worcester, it has been more than a little hectic.

There is apparently a bit of rain due this week, whether sufficient to make any real difference to the fishing though I have my doubts. The dog days of summer are upon us, sure you can find some fish if you work hard but they are going to give you few chances and I doubt that most of the fish that I have seen of late are going to hang around for you to make more than a couple of casts before they fade away.

Perhaps it really is worth a very early trip to see if things are better although on average that tactic never seems to be particularly effective it may well be that in these conditions it could prove fruitful.

Elandspad Fire:

This past weekend was the first opportunity to see the results of the fire on the Elandspad. Although I wasn’t able to view the full extend of the damage it appears as though the fire stopped short of crossing the stream. Either held back by the path or at least by the greener bankside vegetation. I am not the expert but it looked to me as though the fire went through fairly quickly and didn’t generate too much heat, there were still some green protea bushes in amongst the burned stuff and I suspect that there will be a reasonable recovery. We weren’t knee deep in ash or black as the ace of spades on our return and the path was clear so perhaps it wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been. Although as said we didn’t see all the way up the river.

Clean up Time:

Notification from the office that we will be holding a clean up session on Beat 1 of the Elandspad and six of the Smallblaar. These sections are most easily accessible to the general public and as a result seem to accumulate the most rubbish. Combined with the fact that the design of the drainage on the road outside the tunnel collects all the papers and plastic along the roadside and then with the first rains deposits it all into the river it can all get a big grubby..

Proposed date for litter cleanup on Smalblaar beat 6 and Elands Pad beat 1 is 26 or 27 February 2011. Meet at 8am at SB6 parking and start at 8:30am, Finish by 12pm. All interested parties (martyrs) can contact garnet.prince@gmail.com. Please note that these beats have been provisionally closed on these dates to allow the activity to take place. If you are fishing the streams please take note of the condition of the beats especially the parking areas and let me know. You will need a few refuse bags (a bucket is better for broken glass), garden gloves and loads of enthusiasm. There will be a mystery prize for the most used diapers collected

Nature Conservation Checks.

I am pleased to report that I have seen the Nature Conservation guys on point at the Elandspad carpark a few times of late deterring the indigent alcoholic masses from wrecking the environment and turning back the occasional crew armed with beachcasters and 4/0 hooks so they are making some effort which is great to see. It also means that you should insure that you have your documentation in order when you are fishing, you have been warned.

Errata: Notifications of Barbel and Minnows.

Those astute observers amongst you may have noticed a typo in last weeks news where I referred to barbell as saw toothed catfish instead of sharp toothed catfish, the latter being obviously the correct nomenclature. Regrettably banging out a few hundred words at five in the morning occasionally leads to these lapses so my apologies..

Should there be any confusion please note that the tiny fishy looking things are the minnows, the larger spotted ones are the trout and the even larger brown ones with whiskers and heads that look as though they have been recently involved in an altercation with a Mac Truck are the barbel. That should avoid the necessity of any close inspection of dentition to adequately make an assessment of your catch.

If you encounter any of the minnows or the catfish please let Jean know to pass on the information to Dr Cockcroft, if you encounter any of the trout please notify me because I have been battling to find any. Thanks

Ed Herbst, was been appointed as the Cape Piscatorial Society’s new President at the latest committee meeting. Ed has served the society selflessly for years acting virtually alone in compiling and editing the Piscator Magazine and I doubt that he is a stranger to anyone remotely interested in fly fishing in South Africa. Congratulations to Ed on his appointment.

NOTIFICATION OF CAPTURE OF BARBEL AND MINNOW SPECIES:

Dr Andy Cockroft has requested that we notify him of any barbel (saw tooth catfish) or minnows (Barbus sp) caught on the rivers. Please do kill any barbel that you may capture but not the Barbus Minnows.. I would imagine the best way to pass on the information would be to mail Jean at the society. If you can manage images particularly of the minnows that would be an advantage.

RANDOM MUSINGS OF A FRUSTRATED ANGLER.

I must confess that I haven’t lifted a rod in anger since the previous newsletter so as a result have nothing to which I might personally attest in terms of the state of the streams. I am due out on the water later this week so perhaps there will be a more significant update next time around.

I suppose we are in something of the silly season. The equivalent of that dearth of news that occurs at certain times of the year when the mass media are forced to focus on other matters such as Royal Weddings, cats in trees and unusually shaped marrows to keep the presses rolling. With Cyclone Yasi beating up Queensland, civil unrest in Egypt, a selection of fibbers bamboozling the commission of enquiry into the invasion of Iraq and much of the US about to disappear under the weight of snow the main stream news has plenty on its plate and the marrows are going to have to play second fiddle but here there is little to report.

I did receive some feedback from Nick King, a reliable source, who was asking about the Holsloot, apparently his experiences have pretty much mirrored mine and the question of why this river, which should be our most stable refuge in times of extreme summer temperatures doesn’t fish as well as it once did remains open. No matter the cause the sad truth seems to be that it doesn’t perform up to expectation and I really don’t know why. The stream has always been a tad fickle but that not withstanding one can cast elegantly crafted flies over lusciously fishy looking runs for hours only to suddenly find a fish or two in some arbitrary bath tub sized pocket, there for no apparently good reason. I really would be interested to hear from others about their experiences up there, the valley is always a joy, peaceful and remote but the fishing has really been a disappointment.

Driving over the Smallblaar last week the water appears markedly low and with the temperatures hitting the high thirties or more on a regular basis I can’t but imagine that the fishing down there must be limited. Perhaps Ok for a morning only jaunt but beyond switching to targeting the bass I shouldn’t think that one was going to enjoy an all day affair on that water unless you really needed a bad excuse to avoid being home and painting the patio or something.

I have yet to visit the Elandsapad, post the fiery holocaust that apparently engulfed it, but will see the blackened remains for myself over the weekend and shall be able to report back on that in due course.

I still have an inkling that I should be heading out in search of some carp, it has been a plan for sometime but work commitments have interfered one way or another and contrived to keep that plan on the backburner for more than two months. There is the salt of course, I haven’t had any feedback about prospects out there in the briny, I suspect that the hardcore saltwater fanatics play these things close to their chests but from my limited foray last week it still has to be an option and information from a bait fishing colleague suggests that there are some elf and maasbanker pitching up in various places along the coast.

If nothing else a few trips to the coast trying to find fish will at least make you appreciate the trout fishing all the more, with trout we know where they live even if they are not particularly disposed towards taking flies in the summer heat and casting at a fish that you can see, even should it be ignoring your best efforts can be rewarding in a way that walloping a popper into an apparently endless ocean rarely is.

So as you might deduce from the above scribbling, not a whole lot going on on the fishing front and these days when things are slow the alternative is to fish you way through the internet and wait for the howling South Easterly gales and the beating summer sun to abate and provide some window of opportunity.