Nick’s Underberg Virginity, Broken

Friday the 24th finally saw Nick head out to test the much talked about waters of the UHTFC (in Underberg) with Neill in tow to show him the ropes. After a late start due to an issue on the N2 we departed Assagay at 17:15 in high spirits.

The drive up was uneventful and tales of how the waters were dominated on past trips filled most of the 220km road trip. I was praying silently that I would A) catch a fish, and B) it would be a lunker. We pulled into Undies around 19:30 and headed to “Woolies” hoping to grab some meat. Unfortunately they were closed so we opted for KFC.

We pulled into our accommodation, scoffed the KFC, cracked some ice cold beers, and sat down with fly boxes deciding on the best approach to tackle the dams in the morning. At around 10pm we called it a night and hit the sack.

At 04:30 I was awoken by the resident rooster who signalled the start of the domination. Neill for some reason was not yet awake!! Finally a very rough looking Neill surfaced only to inform me he had mastered the art of “shitting through the eye of a needle” during the night. This was not good!

After he finally got some food and liquid in we headed off to our first water, Finelands, for the morning session. Neill opted to fish the banks as he was still not feeling too good whilst I jumped in my Xplorer Journey to lay claim to the infamous Undies trout. 45 minutes in I decided to change tactics as the dam was fairly weeded. I opted for a sinking line, floating fly combo, and man did that work. A stunning 2.25kg rainbow cock smashed my fly and gave me a good rev. Finally in the net, Neill cheered from behind the bushes.

On a high I fished the other side of the weed beds and again the line went tight. But this time line screamed off my reel not wanting to apply too much pressure I gently palmed the reel to gain control. Finally, after an epic battle, I landed my personal best trout, a 2.6kg rainbow hen.

Neill then decided to take a chance and jumped in with his float tube. Finally he was rewarded with 3 really good fish the smallest being no less than 2kgs.

With the heat rising we opted to fish later in the afternoon. A quick lunch braai and a few beers killed the time and before we knew it we were back on the water, this time at North End. The water level was fairly low and it looked completely weeded.

Once in this was not the case. Deep channels ran the length of the dam with some fantastic weed areas for the bigger fish to hide. Fishing was tough as there was a major pressure drop in the afternoon, nevertheless we fished on. In the distance we could see the lightning flashes and both Neill and I prayed silently it would blow over.

Finally with the storm just about to hit us my fly again was smashed this time by the smallest fish of the weekend, a 1.6kg rainbow cock. It must be noted that this fish smashed me close to my flippers and once hooked it jumped out the water straight at me as if launching an assault on his capturer. Neill was pissing himself with laughter thinking I had pulled the fish out the water when I set the hook.

With the wind speed increasing 10 fold the fish was returned to the water and we made our way to the bank. Neill put in his final cast before we got out and was completely smashed. He didn’t even have time to react to the fish and it unfortunately broke him off.

On the bank we had a beer while waiting for the storm to pass. Eventually we called it a day and drove home catching the last few minutes of the rugby.

Sunday again was a late start. The weather was not the best with a howling wind and thick mist. Be that as it may we made our way to the final dam, Turners Cottage. We pumped our tubes up and headed into battle. Using my newly learned technique I fished the same way as Saturday, sinking line with a floating fly. Neill was the first to draw blood with yet another fantastic rainbow of around 2.2kgs.

Just a note; do these UHTFC dams have small fish?

I opted to fish with Neill to have a chat and then all of a sudden a gentle “nibble” on my fly turned out to be the biggest bend my Xplorer Guide2 had had to endure. This particular fish had my reel screaming I had no option but to apply maximum pressure to try and turn it. This proved futile as this fish stripped off 30+ metres of backing before coming to a halt (oh shit). My worst fears had been confirmed; the fish had buried itself deep in the weed and there was no way of getting it out. It was with a heavy heart and great sadness that I had to break the leader off. The bus left me at the depot, my trophy at the bottom of the dam. We fished for about another 2 hours with only a stockie coming out and decided to call it a weekend.

In conclusion, I have never fished club dams where all the fish were that big. The UHTFC really has some fantastic waters to offer at very affordable rates. Their hospitality is heart-warming. I for one cannot wait to get back to Undies to lay claim to my bus that left me empty handed. Why not join yourself to get in on the action?

Til next time, tight lines.