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
Tried and tested is many a successful anglers mantra. But, being creatures of habit does make stepping out of our comfort zone and fishing differently no easy task. Fortunately there’s always a common denominator when it comes to fishing the TOPS Corporate Challenge and that’s the comfortable company of colleagues and acquaintances that become friends in the celebrations that typify this hallmark event.
Opening night of the TCC Final followed this familiar pattern, until a few curve balls were thrown at the entrants. Bonus points for fish over half a meter in length were applauded, but the animated debate started when entrants were asked to nominate their ‘Top Dog’ on the fishing front. After a little verbal wrestling, a team champion was chosen, only to be told that they would not be allowed to bequeath any fish over their quota. Taunting laughs and much friendly ridicule followed much quenching of thirsts.
Waking to howling winds was a sobering experience, but knowing the incredible holiday prizes up for grabs, everyone departed for their dams before the sun made an appearance. Remarkably, despite the bleak weather, the WildFly waters really delivered! 132 fish were caught in the first 5 hours, with a 59cm Rainbow from Wayne Stegan setting the benchmark.
As usual, it was an animated lunchtime at Notties, with artistic license the cornerstone of many great fishing stories being shared.
The wind died marginally in the second session, allowing the fly fishers to notch up a further 103 Trout, and Alistair Moores-Pitt pipped his team mate by recording a stunning 60cm Hen. But the story that echoed at the legendary Notties that evening was the all ladies team ‘Women in Waders’ at the top of the leader board, pulling ahead of their husbands,’The Zimmers’. It takes a brave bunch of men to challenge their better halves at this event.
Calm conditions greeted the contestants the following morning, as everyone was puzzling what a fly shy Trout would eat. Considering our lofty position in the food chain, we sure give the fish a lot of credit and it’s easy to get infatuated with this conundrum if they continually refuse your advances.
Winter fishing for Trout can certainly thicken your skin.
Only 69 fish were recorded in session three and those that stayed out of their float tubes reaped the rewards. Levity was soon restored come lunch, with the Casting Olympics at Notties, judging what a fly fisher can really do with a beer in one hand and a rod in another.
The final afternoon at the TCC final is where dreams are made and a few frustrated hopes dashed. It always comes down to that one fish in the eleventh hour. A paltry 50 specimens made it to the net, to tally a rewarding 354 Trout for the TCC final.
A very impressive total of 1310 fish were measured and released at this year’s event, with many more lost, providing the substance for future great fishing tales. Top fly fisher was closely contested but eventually conceded to Richard Bechard and Ali held onto the biggest fish award despite Ivo Buratovich’s 60cm Rainbow cock fish.
The eyeopening total of 163 feral Trout measuring over 50cm was the result that really stood out this year.
As ever a closely contested affair, but with every team winning a fishing holiday somewhere in Africa it was all smiles come prize-giving. In 5th place was ‘The Zimmers’, with 4th going to the unofficial ‘Department of Fisheries’. Bronze medals deservingly awarded to the ‘Notties Fly Beserkers’ and runners up, the ‘Reel Wanderers’ narrowly missed winning.
Yet, there was one team that impressed everyone, not only as they led the charge in Notties pub every night, but because four years ago they finished stone last. Testament to their efforts and perseverance, the ‘Fly By Nights’ were duly crowned the 2024 TOPS Corporate Challenge Champions. A truly great fishing story!
The TCC continues to set the standard for festive fly fishing in South Africa, so if you hope to get a coveted slot, make sure you apply early.
Trout fishing might be why you get a pink ticket to this weekend, but all who attend would agree that it’s really about the time you get to spend making new memories in the beautiful Kamberg Valley.
Of the many excuses we invent as to why we don’t convert our casts, few hold as much water as those that account for simple biology.
Time with a rod in hand gives us perspective of fish behavior, but changing what we do, that has in days past worked, is easier said than done. It’s why, ‘which fly is working’ is almost a direct result of how often we throw that pattern.
It’s what makes festivals like the TOPS Corporate Challenge a key indicator.
The first leg of this benchmark event witnessed some outsanding catches, with 442 Trout landed and measured, many fish making an angler’s personal best! But 4 weeks later the tables turned. Take nothing away from the festivities, always being the mainstay of the TCC, on the fishing front, most Trout were just not interested in coming out to play.
There’s always a little trepidation before the official start to the Trout season.
With the waters having been rested over the heat of Summer you are never 100% sure of how the Trout have faired or if they’ll react to your finest cast.
Fortunately the 1st leg of the TOPS Corporate Challenge showcased what the WildFly waters have to offer and gave almost everyone cause to celebrate. As all who’ve enjoyed the festivities at the legendary Notties will attest to, these celebrations started well before anyone harrassed a fish. But level, if somewhat ropey heads prevailed and most were on the water as the sun made an appearance, which was fortunate, especially for Jardus Smith from the Hamill Bandits.
His very first cast delivered an instant response he wasn’t expecting and after a few heart stopping moments, he landed a 66cm, 9lb Rainbow Hen that would earn him the deserved acolades.
An impressive 159 fish were recorded in the first 5 hours of the opening session, which understandably created a very festive lunchtime in the beer garden, with blue skies and enthusiastic tales of exploits on the water, adding to the atmosphere. Talk of Damsels and Dragons echoed around the team tables, adding much credence to the advice that had been dispensed by the WildFly guides the night before.
After an entertaining casting competition to keep all the anglers on their toes, it was back out on the waters to take advanteg of the sublime conditions.
The afternoon session proved without a doubt that Trout were still feeding with abandon, another 110 fish making it to the net and a good few of these breaching the 7lb mark.
Just the time you spend on the picturesque Trout waters in the foothills of the Drakensberg is enough to raise a glass, but many of the entrants had notched up their personal best fishing session, giving just cause to celebrate in style. As always, after a little imbibing, the secrets of everyone’s success on the water was dispensed freely, so it was no surprise that the 3rd session again delivered over a hundred quality Trout. But the clouds then rolled in earlier than expected, throwing a spanner in evey fair weathered fisherman’s plans.
Those that ventured out into the misty vales for the final session were very well rewarded, with many fish in excess of 7lb’s as well as another couple of Trout exceeding the hallowed 60cm mark. With the temeperature dropping, the trophy Trout had woken up!
A total of 442 Trout were caught and released in the opening weekend of the TCC, which had tributes and toasts flowing all evening.Shenanigans off the field dominated the prize giving, with a bounty of sponsored goodies dished out to all and sundry. August beckons for the five teams that made it through to the grand final, who earned themselves a fishing holiday for their entire team, compliments of WildFly Travel.
A big hand to Kobus Potgieter and the Outdoor Warehouse team who took top hours as the winners of the 1st leg of the TOPS Corporate Challenge.
As we’ve come to expect from SA’s leading festive fishing event, the TCC yet again set the benchmark for 2024 calendar year.
The Fall, as it’s fondly referred to in the US, is my favourite time to test out new fly patterns. It’s those golden weeks before the leaves turn brown that the Trout feed freely and often languorously so.
It all depends on the water temperature, but before their often aggressive spawning behavior, there’s a window in which a Trout’s focus is exclusively on the food chain and it’s a real buffet for the fish’s’ palate. Minnows and Platanna abound, as do many invertebrates. The hatches might not equal the slightly warmer months, but there’s no shortage of adult insects flying around to tell you what to strap on.
Our still waters are dominated by float tubes / v-boats and when fishing any decent sized dam, you can understand why. But many of us have adopted a lazy boy approach to this very distinct style of fly fishing, which at this time of year can be detrimental to one’s catch records. Finning around a dam at high speed might induce a reaction, but a more considered approach will net your more fish.
Trout hug the weedbeds for cover and ease of food access, and at this time of year, if you want to find the fish, find this, their pantry!
We tend to moan about weed in a dam far too much, as it interferes and irritates our clean retrieval, but we really should focus on spending more time in and around this habitat, especially in Autumn.
An effective strategy is to place yourself in the weedbed, literally, and make sure you’re in casting distance of the holes or channels. You ideally want a floating or hover line, so you can control the retrieve and be presenting just your leader and flies into these zones. I like to have a tandem rig comprising of a slightly weighted larger profile fly followed by a weightless smaller pattern on point……be prepared for a take on the drop! If allowed to settle, the retrieve is a short / gentle one (you can also fish this static), but the key is to keep your fly in the zone longer.
Don’t give up on a hole too soon, try an alternative fly to your first choice on point before abandoning where the fish should be holding,
The takes can be surprisingly subtle, you might actually think you’ve hooked some weed, in fact very often as I pull my fly out of a little weed snag does it induce a take.
One of the most productive habits to condition yourself to on every retrieve, is changing the trajectory of your fly, which is a simple piece of muscle memory. This is very effective on an intermediate or sinking line, as whatever your pattern, generally your fly is moving horizontally through the water column and by simply lifting your arm ( when you have about 5 meters of line left in the water, if you line doesn’t have a hang marker), you are pulling the fly vertically up. This triggers a response from any following fish, with strikes occurring as close as your flippers, so be prepared. It also obviously also works on a floating line, but with a weighted rig, you are working your flies vertically through the water column anyway.
Everyone has their go to rig, but you won’t go wrong on an imitative green or brown dragon, trailed by a delicate red eyed damsel…..it is after all the Year of the Dragon.
Take nothing away from a minnow variation fished in deeper water, but you have all day to do this and the satisfaction from finessing a fish from it’s comfort zone is hard to beat. So don’t be quick to rip and strip at pace in open water if your dam has a good deal of weed structure, fish the spaces in between and keep your fly in the water longer.
Here’s to the Trout chasing the dragon.
Everyone has Yellow Fever at the moment and when you see the quality of fish that Sterkies and select sections of the Vaal and Orange rivers are producing, you can understand why. But for me, it’s the start of Trout season that get’s my temperature spiking.
Taking nothing away from the fighting qualities of our indigenous yellow fish species (which arguably can outstrip a Trout), there’s something just so majestic about a wild Brown gently sipping a dry off the surface and the speed at which a Rainbow attacks a swinging streamer that never ceases impress. It’s horses for courses, with water temperature dictating terms, yet regardless of your species preference, to bastardise a phrase, the Trout will always come home to roost.
Typically here in the Natal Midlands, after the rivers have flushed and in the lower reaches burst their banks, the equilibrium of the current returns to a robust flow rate, allowing the larger Trout to leave the comfort of their pools and move confidently through the river course. The timing is everything and never an exact science, but if you’re fortunate, the increased water level is constant and will clear, no where near Gin, but a far more forgiving dirty Martini, providing the ideal conditions in which to convince those wise old Trout to come out and play.
These are water conditions you can fish throughout the day, just changing tactics as the sun moves across the horizon.
We all love to throw a dry, but at this time of year, it generally only delivers a consistent result at first light to moving fish, on a quick drift through structure or the insect hatch in the late afternoon / last light. Hoppers and Caddis remain my firm favourites and rarely disappoint in late Summer.
But if you resolve to spend more time fishing this year, it requires dedicating the whole day, leaving many hours in-between to fiddle with a bigger fly.
Sticking with a floating line for ease on control, my first-pick fly is this years’ namesake, the Dragon, which is one of the most versatile flies you can strap on. The more imitative the better and any colour as long as it’s green is my motto. It is a fly that can be fished on the fringes, drifted across any structure or simply laid to rest in the slow water. Not many trout refuse this meal and the Big Browns of the Natal Midlands resemble any addict in the way they chase the Dragon.
Despite all of these flies mimicking what you will see all around the river bank, I can’t help but resort to some Guerrilla tactics, just to keep busy during the inevitable slack periods. We all have those ugly, go-to streamers, that practically kick down the door of where a trout might be holding and for me there’s non better than the Bully Bugger! As crass in appearance as the name implies, it’s effect on River Trout in South Africa re-enacts the charge of the light brigade, with the same result, if it wasn’t for the fact that we release our fish. I’ve yet to throw this fly on any day and not elicit a chase or a solid take, but predictably not all with a happy ending.
For the time being I’m grateful the river Trout are firing in the freestone streams of the Berg, which I hope continues until their migration upstream to spawn. Fortunately that’s the automatic transition to the still water season and based on the 2355 Trout caught and released in WildFly country last year, we have a lot of Trout action to look forward to.
So make sure you spend more time Trout fishing in 2024, and with this being the ‘Year of the Dragon’, here’s wishing the fish find your fly.
It’s the one calendar entry that keeps any fly addict awake at night with excitement, a fly fishing epic that will potentially go down as the greatest adventure of your life! It starts with months of planning, hours on Google Maps, and researching the internet, and culminates in a weekend of festivities, with a bit of fishing thrown in the mix and a lifetime of memories to take home.
The difference between a good fishing trip and a legendary adventure teeters on the “wolfpack” you choose to run with. We all have our selected group of fishing mates but the ones who make a fishing expedition truly epic are cast in a certain mold.
The Researcher
Without him, there probably won’t be a trip, he’s the guy who spends more time on Google Earth than Rassie Erasmus does on Twitter. He starts tracking weather patterns 2 months ahead, and on the day of departure will hand out a travel kit that includes, a full trip itinerary with a time schedule, hand-drawn detailed maps of the water that will be fished, a blank catch logbook, and number 2 pencil.
A vital part of the team “The Researcher” makes sure no unexpected, unpleasant surprises pop up.
The chances of him catching the biggest fish of the trip…? very good, he knows which flies work where and which areas will be most productive. If he spends this much time planning a single trip you can bet his fishing skills have been refined and tailored with the same amount of effort.
Gadget Boy
The name says it all… No situation arises that he can’t handle with a piece of technology. Gadget Boy has the latest and greatest tackle and apparel, his boots and waders look like they were designed by NASA and even though the lodge you are staying at is fully equipped, he brings along a complete pop-up dining set and compact kitchen just to make sure. On the water, he looks like a walking talking Icast tackle trade show, and whatever you do don’t ask him about the fishing apps he has on his phone.
If you do forget something at home or even break a rod on the trip, “Gadget Boy” has got your back.
Don’t worry about him catching the biggest fish of the trip, he’s usually preoccupied with his toys.
Bear Grylls
This dude was made for the outdoors. He is in his element when he is outside in the wild, he doesn’t own a pair of waders and wet wades in 9 degrees Celsius, he gets by with a few of his favorite flies pinned to a faded John Dear trucker cap and a Swiss army knife hooked on to his belt. He loves to give “Gadget Boy” a hard time.
When things go wrong in the wilderness, this is the guy you want by your side. Your group’s very own Bear Grylls.
Probably has the best chance of hooking the big one, I mean this is his backyard.
Beer Can
The life of the party… He will lose his sense of humor if there is no space in the car for at least five cases of beer, avoid a very unpleasant situation by dedicating packing space for beer. He refuses to drive and usually rides shotgun because traditionally he cracks the first cold one as you leave the driveway and follows up with “Let the games begin boys” or something to that effect.
“Beer Can” will serve as entertainment for the week, armed with tons of outrageous stories and inappropriate jokes, there is never a dull moment with him around.
He irritates the rest of the crew with the amount and quality of fish he tends to catch… With beer in one hand and a busted old fly rod in the other don’t be surprised if he catches the big one.
The Instagrammer
Often you forget what his face looks like because it is constantly hidden behind a camera lens and or iPhone. He’s got a thousand gigs worth of sunsets, emerging insects, and close-up shots of fly fishing rods clasped by some hand model and he can list every photography filter known to man but struggles to recall the name of the fly he just tied on.
The bonus is, your trip will be well documented with this fellow on tour and he has a knack for making 10 inches look like 20.
It’s hard to operate a camera and fly rod at the same time so I wouldn’t bet on the “Instagrammer” to nail the big one.
The final of any gathering can often be a tense affair, the urge to win giving rise to a little friction. Which, when fuelled with huge rewards can create some fierce competition.
That is until you throw fish and the good cheer of fellow fly addicts into the equation. Read More “The Last Cast – TCC Final”
