With the current spell of back-to-balmy weather, we really seem to be on a weather merry-go-round! Even the pressure is pretty stable, so one would hope that the fish are also enjoying the calm before (the possibility of) the next storm.
Early morning temperatures are back up a couple of degrees, out of the frost zone (caveat: location dependent) into the low single figures, with clear blue skies and midday temperatures in the mid- to high teens for the foreseeable forecast — time to make hay while the sun shines, this is winter in The Midlands.
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The rivers, while currently closed for trout, are still open for other species, the most notable one being yellowfish aka scaly.
There has been some excellent fish reported from the Natal Fly Fishers Club beat(s) on the Umkomaas River, as well as further afield from the Tugela system.
Weighted nymphs being the order of the day, in the form of Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN) in standard and Hot Spot livery, as well as the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (GRHE) nymph. Pink bead nymphs are also proving to be popular with the scalies.
The Natal Fly Fishers Club is currently experiencing an outage on their website, so the process of online bookings and returns has been impacted … please contact the Secretary or Chairman directly to assist with logging a booking manually in the meantime.
From returns prior to the outage, there have been some lively fish coming to hand in the 13-15 inch / 33-38cm bracket — lively no doubt due to the water being described as “whiskey cold”!
A bloodworm suspended under a dry fly, presented to fish cruising the banks is doing the business.
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This weekend sees Leg3 of the TOPS Corporate Challenge taking place on the waters in and around Nottingham Road — we look forward to reporting on what the anglers brought to the net next week.
Biosecurity protocol remains a CRITICAL component for the control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
All anglers (and visitors) traversing The Greater Midlands are advised to take heed of biosecurity measures, and to heed all biosecurity notices / signage around The Midlands, and to please comply with any movement regulations, and assist where possible with hygiene and risk-reduction measures to safeguard local livestock.
The 24-hour biosecurity spray stations on the Kamberg Road at the Connington Road junction, and at the beginning of the amaHlubi Tribal area on the way up to Giant’s Castle are required stops for all travelers going up and down the valley.
While water quality issues at Albert Falls Dam continues to fall under the spotlight with a “Saving Albert Falls” campaign, the bass fishing remains on the low down in The Midlands, with very little news coming from both Midmar and Albert Falls.
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Inanda Dam continues to provide some solid fish.
Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to Vinesh Soogreem at [email protected]
