Bushman’s River – Baha Fly Fishing

21May 2016 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Low Bushman’s River

Amazingly it's been quite some time since I've had the pleasure of fishing the upper Bushman's River. It's always been one of my favourite stretches of river despite the fact that it generally produces smaller fish. I guess this is because for me it's not about the size when it comes to wild brown trout, but rather about the beauty of the surroundings. To be fishing under the Giant, with the Drakensberg looming above you, while ankle deep in cold, crystal clear water is hard to be beat. I'd wondered the whole drive about the water level after a season of low rainfall. When I got to the water's edge it was immediately obvious just how low the river was. My mind rushed back to a session on the Umzimkulu earlier…

28Apr 2014 by Warren Prior 1 Comment

A Tough Day On The Bushman’s River

Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_1811" align="alignright" width="300"] Nick with a Bushman's River rainbow[/caption] After a poor showing on the rivers for most of the season we decided that a trip to the Bushman's was in order. A Monday public holiday gave us the perfect opportunity so we booked the water and were on the road at 5am, heading for the Giant's Castle area. Our usual coffee stop was a little disappointing but with few other options on the route I guess we'll be back for more. However despite the muddy water they served us the cup of coffee still helped pass the time until we arrived at the hatchery just before 7am. We were met by Vaughan who took us back to the cottage where we kitted up the rods and got ready…

16Feb 2014 by Warren Prior No Comments

Giant’s Castle Valentines

Fresh Water, Trout

Being a lover of anything fly fishing related, and having a wife who understands that (hopefully), we booked a cottage in the Giant's Castle Nature Reserve for Valentines Day. Admittedly we've never really celebrated Valentines Day, but we are always looking for excuses to get outdoors and into the mountains. We left early on Saturday morning after dropping off Emma at my mom's house. It was our first weekend away without Emma and I think Sharon was a little apprehensive. None the less we took a casual drive up opting to stop at the Piggly Wiggly for breakfast. I ordered poached eggs and ham on homemade bread with a holendaise sauce and was less than impressed. The eggs were poached in those plastic cups like our parents did in the…

01May 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

A Day On The Bushmans

Fresh Water, Trout

It's been a slow river season for the Baha Boys with only a few trips having been undertaken. And of those trips Lesotho is the only one really worth mentioning. A raging Lotheni River over Christmas meant 5 fishless days for myself, and the birth of my daughter also meant a short lull in the fishing. So when Worker's Day rolled around, and both Nick and I had a free day, we grabbed the opportunity with both hands and headed for the Bushman's River. I guess there's no real point in introducing the Bushman's as (almost) every trout fisherman in South Africa knows it as perhaps the best wild brown water in the country. That said there have been numerous recent reports around the vast number of rainbows coming out…

06Oct 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Bushmans River With An Aussie

Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_572" align="alignright" width="300"] Underwater Brown Trout[/caption] Thankfully the weather on Saturday was rather more pleasant than on Friday. We were therefor up at 5am and headed for the Bushman's River to do a little small stream fly fishing. Competition was in the air since my uncle was out from Australia and I had been dominated by him on the golf course. Thankfully I got off to a good start and landed my first fish just a few casts in on a small elk hair caddis. Nigel struggled a little thanks to what he deemed to be "small fish and light tackle". Apparently it was somewhat different to the tigerfishing of the previous week. In fact he struck so hard on his first wild brown that it sailed past us…

23Sep 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kamberg And The Bushmans

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_558" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Warren Prior Fly Fishing Kamberg At Sunset[/caption] Another long weekend and another trip to the Berg to dominate some wild browns and rainbows. Sadly my last minute booking meant Kamberg was he only venue available and I was forced to head there for the umpteenth time, which isn’t really a bad thing. [caption id="attachment_559" align="alignleft" width="300"] Fly Fishing The Bushmans River[/caption] Friends of ours were staying at Giants Castle (yes, I was jealous) so Sharon and I headed for the Bushman’s River to kick the weekend off. We left just after 5am and were on the river by 8am ready to hunt down a few wild browns. Thanks to the recent snow falls and heavy rains the river was high, but definitely fishable. Things started off…

09Apr 2012 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

Glengarry

Bass, Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout

[caption id="attachment_438" align="aligncenter" width="900"] The Little Mooi At Glengarry, Kamberg[/caption] Things got off to a ropey start when Sharon woke up sick at 3am. "This can’t be good," the fisherman in me thought. Thankfully after taking a few pills she climbed back into bed and we managed to doze for another hour or so until we climbed out of bed at 4:30am. [caption id="attachment_435" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Priors On The Bushmans River[/caption] We packed the car slowly but Sharon seemed to be feeling a little better so I kept cautiously quiet. Just after 5am we pulled out of the complex and finally started our long weekend away. Our first stop was of course the BP garage for freshly brewed coffee before setting our sights on Giants Castle and, more importantly,…

15May 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Bushmans Battling

Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignright" width="300"] Fly Rods At The Bushmans[/caption] Thankfully, on Sunday, I woke up feeling somewhat better than I had when I fell asleep. I packed up my kit, got into the car, and headed for Nick's place. Two hours later and we were pulling into Giant's Castle Nature Reserve. It was 6 degrees and the water in the Bushmans River looked chilly. After quickly kitting up we opted to give the bottom section of the river (from the gate upwards) a fish since we’d never fished it before. It certainly looked promising, but would it produce? Stepping into the water immediately confirmed our earlier fears...it was FREEZING. In fact, it was the first time I could remember where my legs were actually burning while wading upstream. Thankfully this…

16May 2010 by Warren Prior No Comments

Baha Bushmans

Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_196" align="alignright" width="225"] Warren Prior With A Bushman's Brown[/caption] With only two weeks remaining in the river season I was beginning to feel the pain of having only had one outing, mostly due to a snapped Achilles. Thankfully I managed to get a pink slip on Sunday and recruited fellow Baha Boy Nick Nortje for a trip to the Bushmans. I picked up Nick at around 6am in Pietermaritzburg and continued the long drive to Giant's Castle. We arrived at 7:30 and started kitting up. It was Nick's first time on the rivers so this took a bit longer than usual. We whipped off his intermediate line and wound on a new floating line, eager to get onto the water. The river was flowing at a good rate as…

12Apr 2009 by Warren Prior No Comments

The Priors Dominate The Bushmans River

Fresh Water, Trout

[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignleft" width="225"] Clive Prior With A Wild Brown[/caption] Over the Easter weekend Sharon and I hit the berg, namely Giant's Castle, with my dad and Cassia. Of the three days we were there, my dad and I spent one day punishing the Bushman's River. I must admit in advanced, that I really wasn't expecting much. Looking back I'm not really sure why I thought this, because the fishing was absolutely fantastic. If I learnt one thing from this trip, its that I'll be back there in a hurry. I suppose the sad thing is that the rivers get closed from the end of this month. (Everyone go AWWW) Anyway, on Sunday morning my dad and I took a leisurely strole down to the river. Well, he took a…