CATCHING A ‘FRESHWATER BONEFISH’ – THE MOOI RIVER SCALY

By Damon Mathfield

It was a clear spring morning when I made my way down to section of the Mooi River in the Muden valley, otherwise known as the Golden Valley. Armed with my Horizon XRS 5 weight rod and matching Scientific Angler GPX floating line, I tied on a size 16 beaded Zack nymph. With confidence in the tiny, drab fly I worked my way upstream casting boldly into all the likely lies. Even though I had been on the water for an hour without a knock I was spurred on by the splashy rises from KwaZulu-Natal Yellow Fish (Scaly) in some of the pools. Walking briskly upstream I rounded a corner in the river and saw nice long shallow looking pool typical of the Mooi River. I approached tail end and carefully fired a short cast from behind some reeds on the bank. The water was flowing quicker than I anticipated and I gathered line quickly to maintain tension as the fly made its way to the rocks at the end of the pool.

After gathering in almost all the line I was about to lift the leader from the water when it straightened. I responded by lifting the tip of the rod and within seconds most of the line was off my reel. I applied more pressure to ensure that the hook was set and the fish accelerated taking me into my backing. I have caught a number of heavy stillwater trout, but none took me into my backing. Swimming upstream this fish had my backing out in seconds. I can see why people refer to them affectionately as ‘fresh water bonefish’. After a one or two more spirit runs I netted the scaly as it drifted between my legs and was relieved that the 5x tippet had held. I carefully placed the big 54 cm fish on the bank next to my fly rod for a quick photo and then then released him back into the Mooi. My hands were still shaking from the thrill of the fight, what a fish!