| Date of Report: Saturday, 29th November 2025 |
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Name: David Weaver Email: eff@ohs.dorea.co.za Phone: 083 303 4230 We’ve had a crazy early season. With all the rain and overcast weather, the catching has been tough. And then a day of sunshine and it’s game on. Last weekend the weather held on the Friday and Saturday and we had superb fishing and catching. Nowhere were the fish prolific, but we had to search for cruising fish. All the fish we caught were big, fat and in superb condition. The usual drifts along the rocky slopes and the wall were not working and all the fish we found were held up in the warmer water in the bays. Dog’s Head, Dog’s Leg and Nuwejaarsvlei was where we found the highest concentration of fish. As far as flies go, all the old faithfuls were working, but in smaller sizes. The hoppers are still only about a size 10 and the Beetles were size 12. When the pressure dropped the fish went off the bite, just as well because we needed to get back for the rugby. Early morning has been dead with the fish only coming on the prod at about 10am. They then stayed active till the first storms, pressure drop, built up, and then went off the bite totally. We had small groups of spawning fish at The Quarry, but nowhere else were there any signs of spawning. The water temperature is still a bit cold at 16°C and then on the onshore banks it rose up to 18°C. Spawning normally becomes very active above 20°C The dam is very full, so a lot of the banks look very different to last season. One of the joys of Sterkies is that every season throws news challenges and it’s like learning the dam anew. You were only a professor yesterday. A humbling piece of water that doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Always a challenge, never easy and one that tests us to the limit of our flyfishing ability.
Sterkfontein smallmouth. |
