TFO Elevare vs. Wyoming’s Cutties

By Amy Bo Visser

Day 5: Ladies Fly Fishing World Championships – Idaho, USA
Read More “Casting Confidence”

Waiting for the Winter Trout to turn on, means biding your time until the water temperatures tell them to. As soon as it dips below that 12 degree mark, it should properly trigger their urge to spawn, with Hens looking for running water at inlets (a rare feature in Natal Winters), and, or shallow water in which instinct dictates they should focus on finding suitable habitat to shed their eggs. These excretions will send any cock fish into a fighting frenzy, but even without this water bound aroma, at this time of year, water temperature makes the males break out their battle regalia, and bright orange flanks signal their desire and “take no shit” demeanour.

To some, targeting spawning fish might seem off sides, but in still water terms, with the general absence of viable spawning grounds, it’s sight fishing sport that brings out their best in every weight category.

Yet, despite the water temperatures being where they should be, this exciting activity has been late to arrive.

We think this is largely due to the late Autumn rains. Consequently every piece of water is full to the brim and the shallow shale spillways have an unusual amount of weed and large deposits of run off soil. Dams are ordinarily a few meters lower by the Winter Solstice, exposing the structure around which Trout gravitate at this time of year, so sighting fish is also a little more challenging.

Couple this with the amount of newly flooded shoreline releasing fresh nutrients and subsequent food through Autumn and the theory rationalises the lack of sight fishing to spawning fish in the Natal Midlands seems to make sense…..but then so do many of a fly fishers far flung reasons as to why we’re not catching.

Fortunately the Trout fishing waters in WildFly country still continue to produce fish, as the Winter festivals have shown us.

The recent Kamberg Trout Festival, driven this year by TFO and Cortland, still delivered 451 Trout, with the largest of 62cm being recorded, a beautiful Brown Trout to boot. Well done to Bradley Turkington!

What fly consistently delivered the goods was a topic of too much debate, although Minkies, those wiggle Minnows and articulated Damsels certainly caught more than their fair share. But I do believe it was the time on the water fishing in the right areas that proved the telling factor, with many fish being taken in the channels between the weed beds. This year, the ‘one fish to count in each session, made the serious fly fisher focus on those bigger Trout, with that 50cm yardstick being everyone’s goal. Fortunately almost every dam delivered on its promise in this respect. This made it a closely contested affair, but the team which eventually took top honours was the IFP (Independent Fish Producers), with their team captain Andrew Johnson also walking away with the best fly fisher award.

The KTF is a highlight of my social fly fishing calendar, as you get to spend a long weekend with your best fishing buds, acting like care free youngsters again, in the spectacular Kamberg countryside. This fundraiser is only possible because of the incredible community who come together each year, opening up their farmland to us weekend warriors.

And what a festive weekend it was, fortunately thanks to the Kamberg Ladies and their scrumptious grub, we staved off the Winter chill, helped by the lads behind the pub at the Farmer Associations’ ‘Wheel and Plough’.

Too many people to thank for all their hard work, but a big shout out to Leigh Robertson and her team for keeping us so well fed, Kim Willemse for all the organisation and admin, Matthew Moxham for steering the team behind the scenes and to Dave & Andrew Culverwell for driving everything plus a great prize giving!

It’s a one of a kind fly fishing experience, which the WildFly team would never miss out on.

I believe all us social anglers suffer the same contradiction. When emerging off the water victorious, we bestow our wisdom with great gusto, confident that we’ve cracked the code, yet when the fish do give us the middle fin, we have a littany of ‘rational’ excuses as to why they aren’t co-operating.

No where is this more apparent than at the TOPS Corporate Challenge, largely due to the fact that when celebrating the catches, loose lips are quick to dispense pearls.

There are many legitimate reasons as to why Trout don’t feed or strike but environment aside, I must reluctantly admit the root of my blank days largely lie in my own hands.

Patience is one downfall, which is exacerbated by our modern world demanding that everything be sped up and the expectation of an instant result. Take casting, being the fundamental of our sport, or so we think. As soon as we get on the water we break out into a frenzy of line chucking, in part to get a rythym going and just because feeling that line whistle through the air is poetry in motion when we get it right. Yet , this prentense at artistry is lost on the fish, unless they elect to grow wings. In short too much casting reduces your chance of catching, which is simple mathematics really.

This wasn’t the fundemantal challenge on the 2nd leg of the TCC this weekend. Convincing this very festive bunch of anglers to rise and shine is where it started and in some cases team members were dragged to the waters edge. A little bleary eyed is what the waiting Trout were very pleased about, as strikes were missed and many fish lost at the bank. Quite frankly a good portion of the field just couldn’t wait to get back to the warmth and shelter of Notties, as that beastly Easterly drove the temperature gauge South. Surprisingly, considering the number hours spent on the water, 104 Trout were measured in the first day, with many fly fishing virgins landing their very first Trout.

The weather provided a reliable reason for the beligerant Trout not coming out to play but the age old question reverberated around the dinner table. What fly should I be using? Now I would always rather to be throwing the wrong fly in the right area of a dam than stripping the right fly in the wrong area, but despite this little adage, we remain transfixed by the fly.

Driving the demanding fly question, was entrants seeing fish rise on some dams and in the gin clear watching Trout chasing each other up and down. Couple this with some very accomplished fly fishers catching up to 13 fish in a session, where others didn’t trouble the scorers and confusion reigned.

And it was a real mixed bag on the fly front.

Select dams saw the dainty red eyed damsel getting the desired result, whereas on others only the bright ugly flies got any attention. The WildFly Wiggle Minnow certainly produced more than its fair share of fish, as did GPB’s.

Day two had 74 fish caught and released, interestingly with more fish measuring over half a meter due to balmier weather keeping the fly fishers on the water longer.Adding to the 1st leg’s result two weeks ago, it brought the tally up to 514 Trout landed at the halfway mark of the TOPS Corporate Challenge.

As always the festivities outweighed any fishing, as new freindships were forged over our social sport. The Fly Fishing Consultants took top honors, winning the 2nd leg, with Reel Wanderers, Fly Beserkers, Fish On and Unispan all qualifying for the grand TCC final.

John Larter was the man of the hour, winning the biggest fish of 56cm and top fly fisher with 22 Trout to his name.

Advice as always is easily given and rarely absorbed, but if there’s one unequivicol truism it’s keep your fly in the water longer and let the fish find your fly!



At one stage, I thought the second coming of Noah was at hand. We’ve barely seen a blue sky these last few months, the consequence being that in WildFly country we’ve yet to enjoy the Brown Trout season. The rest of SA seems to have suffered a similar fate in terms of torrential, turbid rivers.

It does bode well for an action packed May though, despite giving only a small window in which to walk the Mooi river catchment.

We’ve had far too much time to contemplate how we intend assaulting our Trout waters and I’m not one for preaching more time behind a vise than we can spend with a rod in hand, but sorting one good, go-to fly box, is where it should all start. The creations which have evolved at the hands of these devoted or rather, possessed bar flies sure do look juicy and the itch to feel line taken from my grasp is almost overwhelming.

Thank whatever you call God, Trout season is kicking off. And what a rewarding few months it promises to be!

Dams have hardly stopped overflowing, with nutrients pouring into habitat and a fairly constant water temperature making a factory of food for the cold water contender that has been lying low. It’s time to go knocking on the door. Last season measured 1685 Trout caught and released during the festivals with a few 9lb Rainbows recorded and many more ‘Trophies’ testing tippets and hence why it’s wise to tackle up properly.

I have no idea what fly will reign supreme this Autumn / Winter, but I won’t leave much to chance on breaking strain. Fluoro might cost you more than a great single malt, but unlike some scotch you wont have any regrets.

It’s wondering what fly, before we strap anything on, that starts the old motor running. After many fine celebrations last year, word soon spread about that new killer pattern, which had hundreds of tying pundits scratching for more material, trying to fill their fly boxes with the latest sure thing.

It’s always boils down to water temperature, the seasons producing the varied menu for Trout and right now we’re recording the lower dams at around 19 degrees and some of our higher altitude waters a little lower. Minnows and Platanna are still prevalent and for the dry fly addict, Hoppers abound with every step you take in the veld. In my opinion, it’s a little early for any gaudy attractor flies….although we do give fish more credit than due when it comes to selective versus opportunistic feeding.

All I can tell you is that my box is never empty of Dragons or Damsels and the complete array of Midge patterns that will inevitably sit on point.

But I’ve yet to wet a fly line on our Trout waters and I’ve no doubt that the fervour behind the vise amongst the brethren will reveal a few variations that tip the scales. So stand by for our Bi Monthly Trout Report, where we’ll keep you updated on the feeding habits of fish in WildFly Country.

Raise a glass and celebrate, because your time spent on the water with great mates, is what it is all about!

Written by: Amy Visser. While the Vaal River often sparks mixed opinions among anglers, particularly when it comes to fly fishing, there’s no denying the unique experience it offers. Despite the river’s challenges, I’ve found countless moments of joy and excitemen read more