Tony Kietzman reports on fishing conditions in some of the streams near the village of Rhodes in the Eastern Cape Highlands.

The region experienced a very dry winter with hardly any snow and the streams all but dried up; in places the Bell and Bokspruit even flowed underground. As a result, fish stocks were concentrated in pools and the predators had a field day. Survivors, however, thrived.

The first rains arrived in early spring and regular showers continue with the odd cloudburst raising levels and discolouring the water. The Yellowfish migration happened as normal. High levels and discolouration ensured that there was little angling pressure. Nevertheless there were windows of opportunity and I’ll tell of some outings over the last month.

Jun Morikawa and Ryu Taisuke joined me for a few days after Christmas, my first Japanese guests. I took them to Brucedell on the Bokspruit on the first day. Jun is a more experienced fly fisher and he insisted that I devote my energies to his friend Ryu.

Click in images to open them

Jun Morikawa at Brucedell

Jun moved into the lead and we soon spotted the first fish. Ryu and I sat high on the bank and watched Jun moving up the pool in the water against the opposite bank. The trout were to be found right on the bottom at the head of the pool, hanging below the drop off. The densely bushed bank necessitated a roll cast to get across the pool.  Jun’s roll cast is a kind of poetry, even when lifting a nymph through the water column.  

A snake fell from a tree overhanging the water, species unknown, but about half a meter long brown in colour and very intent on getting out of the water. Jun pointed it out and maintaining his composure cast again. Ryu and I watched as he pulled three fish from this one pool before us.

Jun had recently acquired a 3-wt Sage ACCEL. (See http://midcurrent.com/gear/rod-review-sage-accel)  . He allowed me a few casts and wow, this sure is a sweet stick! I would personally prefer a longer one, but apparently the 7’6 one is better than the 9ft. version. What a gem.

Fish were mostly found in deeper pools or fast flowing pocket water. There were not many and my guests certainly deserved more than came to hand.

The next day we visited Jennerville on the Sterkspruit. Nymphs were mostly fished as there was very little evidence of surface activity.

Jun on the Jennerville beat of the Sterkspruit

We fished in gradually harder rain, watching the distant lightning, until the water changed colour in front of us. Once again Jun got a few and Ryu missed a few. He is relatively inexperienced, but now casts like a pro and fish should come easily to him in the future.

 Jun and Ryu were my first Japanese clients. They work for Japanese companies in South Africa. They fish a bit differently to us; they value skill and etiquette and exhibit more manners. These are very genteel people and I look forward to spending more time with them on our streams.

Herman Potgieter arrived in the village bearing a special gift for me. Santa, in the form of Ed Herbst, had sent me the complete wherewithal to tie his new Simulid pattern. A fishing expedition was organized to test the pattern. A day or two later we got together with Arnie Vosloo on the upper Riflespruit.

Conditions looked optimal with clear water and easily fordable levels. A southeaster was blowing, but today we were on a mission to test the Simulid pattern. Herman had already tied some.

Arnie is Basie Vosloo’s son and he’s a tough farm boy, a shorts and sandals type of fly fisher who grew up on these waters.  Arnie is at present finishing his doctorate at Stellenbosch where he brews beer and keeps an eye on the Western Cape’s wine quality in his spare time. Herman is from Cape Town and regular visitor to the area. This highly accomplished fly tier presented me with a handful of his RAB patterns. Herman must also be quite a dancer as he showed off some very fancy footwork over the slippery rocks.

Herman Potgieter on the Mt Mourne

We started near the Mount Mourne homestead, having elected to leave the pump pool residents alone.  A nicely scoured out pool on the first bend beckoned and Arnie was soon catching fish on a dry.  After Herman had caught a few we moved upstream and finding no fish decided to go over the mountain using the steep trek path. Arnie amused us pointing out spots on the stream and giving accounts of how as a youth he had done this here and that there......I only ever came here to fish.

Where the path came close to the river we took to the water again. The Rifle, together with the Bokspruit and Glen Nesbitt stream were certainly the most affected by last February’s flood. The river has changed substantially in places.

Taking my bamboo for a walk at Mt Mourne

We came upon a clean fast run at the head of a big pool where we had failed to even find a fish. Ed’s new simulid fly was then suspended under an Edhammer (Ed’s version of the Klinkhåmer) and on his second drift Arnie was in.  Even in this knee deep run the fish chose the nymph over the dry. It works!

Arnie Vosloo into a fish on the upper Riflespruit

We had a rare encounter with a snake, the second in ten days, a Spitting Cobra or Rinkhals, quite a big one, well over a meter in length.  I saw it first, warned the other two and shouted to Arnie who then had my camera to get as many shots as he could. Once again DSLR cameras seem to be there to make you want another lens. These snakes often have red- terracotta colour markings in this area, but this specimen had ochre coloured markings. It was fighting for its life, being washed downstream and appeared to be quite exhausted when it finally managed to get out of the water.

Rinkhals in the rapids!

 We didn’t see many fish, certainly not where I had expected to encounter them in the faster clean runs. Bur what an enjoyable day and what great fishing buddies.

An old friend – we worked it out it was 20 years – Gary Shung King, aka The Little Fisherman, joined me for a day at Hillbury on the Bokspruit.  Initially we split up and I went up the Riflespruit from the confluence with the Bok, where I managed to catch a yellowfish at the first riffle.

Yellowfish from the Rifelspruit

We finally joined up and started leapfrogging one other with a bit of spotting thrown in. It transpired that we had both seen monster yellowfish. We crossed well downstream of them and spent quite a while stalking, only to fail to tempt them.  Gary landed numerous trout, most of them adult fish without parr marks. These will hopefully all get to breed in the coming winter. I can only say that The Little Fisherman holds fish in very high regard. After hooking what was his fish of the day it managed to get tangled up in some submerged branches. We tried moving up and downstream, pulling and giving slack line, but the flashing on the stream bottom continued. Not wanting to injure the trout Gary got undressed and went in to rescue the fish which eventually escaped.

I generally find that trout are more acrobatic in cooler water. We caught numerous jumpers, and even in the warm water, estimated at 18 degrees, the fish were highly acrobatic, leaping out of the water repeatedly. That can only mean that they have a high condition factor.

Releasing a trout from the Rifelspruit

At present we are experiencing a hot spell. This has led to warm water keeping the fish inactive. The good news is that rains are forecast for the week ahead; this should raise levels slightly and drop water temperatures. Fishing will continue to improve from this juncture and we hope to see you all in the Eastern Cape Highlands.

Tony Kietzman