Bass fishing at Papyrus Lodge in Western Cape

2 comments

Posted on 11th January 2011 by admin in Destinations

, , , , , , ,

Initially I thought that Papyrus Lodge was for fly fishing, but when I arrived it became clearly that it is far more geared up for plastics, spinners, jigs and the likes as the dam is fairly planted and stocked with black bass.

Papyrus Lodge is quite a wonderful setting on the Winery Road in the Helderberg, just 25 minutes from Cape Town. The luxury chalets are positioned on the lake, so you’re sitting on your desk with the water under you. You can fish from your deck whilst having a braai, or you can use one of the small row boats provided to row around the lake and fish. The lake isn’t too big, so it’s easy to try out all the spots, but you probably won’t have to as the fish are very keen on biting, regardless of what you throw them. I was most successful with pumpkinseed worms and lures:

Best colours used were dark or blue, and they loved lures which make noise! I caught about 30 bass in the space of 2 days, 2 which were large and my fiance caught a giant too. Here are some photographs:

Fishing Lures
papyrus-lodge
papyrus-lodge-fishing
papyrus-lodge-chalets
black-bass
Black Bass Fishing Western Cape
Monster Bass

[googlemap_in_wordpress width="450" height="450" src="http://maps.google.co.za/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=papyrus+lodge&sll=-28.45,24.7&sspn=19.829883,46.538086&ie=UTF8&hq=papyrus+lodge&hnear=&t=h&z=5&iwloc=A"]

Cost: Accommodation booking required to fish
Fish: Black Bass and Carp
Tackle: Spinners, Lures, Plastics
Rating: 4/5
Catch and Release: Yes
Contact: http://www.capestay.co.za/papyruslodge/

Theewaterskloof Dam

0 comments

Posted on 6th October 2010 by admin in Destinations

,

Haven’t had the opportunity to fish here yet, but thought I’d share the location as it was mentioned in the Water Shortage in the Cape post.

Theewaterskloof Dam is located about one and a half hours away from Cape Town, near to Villiersdorp. Theewaterskloof is a very large dam, with a capacity of over 450 million cubic meters.

The dam is set inland and is surrounded by stunning mountains and natural lands. If you have a boat, it provides launch facilities and if you’re into camping, you can camp. Self Catering accommodation is also offered and there’s a restaurant not too far away.

Opinion:

“I was fortunate enough to live in Villiersdorp for 4 years in the early 2000′s. The Theewaterskloof dam was my main bass venue and I caught many there. I used a tube or fished from the side. The best lure was a brown fluke texas style as I recall. Best day was 4 bass over 1.5 kg with bigest 2.5kg. It’s a temperamental dam but you can catch loads if you get lucky. Bounce the worm off trees and over the rocks near the side for best results.“

How to get there:

[googlemap_in_wordpress width="450" height="450" src="http://maps.google.co.za/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Theewaterskloof+Dam&sll=-28.45,24.7&sspn=18.717195,39.506836&ie=UTF8&hq=Theewaterskloof+Dam&hnear=&ll=-34.033315,19.25354&spn=0.276549,0.617294&t=h&z=11&iwloc=A"]

Cost: Rates Here
Fish: Trophy largemouth Bass going up to 4kg!
Tackle: Spinners, Worms
Rating: Unknown
Catch and Release: Yes
Site Manager: Theewaterskloof Yacht Club – 028 840 1334

Jonkershoek Fly Fishing

3 comments

Posted on 24th September 2010 by admin in Destinations

, , , ,

Nestled high in the most picturesque valley and protected from the Cape’s howling winds, the Jonkershoek flyfishery offer superb flyfishing for both the experienced and the novice angler. All 5 dams are operated from the oldest hatchery in Southern Africa, so there’s an abundance of fish to be caught.

The staff are incredibly helpful, armed with rods to rent and plenty of flies to purchase, and for just R5 a fly, it’s a steal. Recommended flies are black and green woolly buggers and anything bushy and dark green. The fish bite on a slow retrieve and fairly shallow, and they bite a lot! The rainbow trout vary in size from rather small to a couple kilograms.

Black Woolly Bugger
Sign Post
Jonkershoek lower dam
Jonkershoek lower dam
Jonkershoek Info Sign
Trout Jonkershoek

How to get there:

[googlemap_in_wordpress width="450" height="450" src="http://maps.google.co.za/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=jonkershoek+fly+fishing&sll=-33.844756,18.759842&sspn=0.079984,0.132351&ie=UTF8&cd=1&hq=jonkershoek+fly+fishing&hnear=&ll=-33.919432,18.884125&spn=0.30541,0.529404&t=h&z=11"]

From Cape Town, take the N1. The offramp after the Engen garage is for Stellenbosch. Take it, and turn right towards Stellenbosch. Carry on that road all the way into Stellenbosch. The forth set of traffic lights you turn left. There is a Mazda/Ford garage on your left. This is Merriman road. Carry on Merriman until you find a big traffic circle and take the second exit. Keep on that road for 7 km’s and we are on the left hand side.

Cost: R100 for the day and use of 5 dams
Fish: Mozambique Tilipia, Rainbow Trout and Whitefish
Tackle: Fly fishing
Rating: 4/5
Catch and Release: Yes
Site Manager: Charl Hamilton – 072 459 7750