23Apr 2017 by Warren Prior No Comments
Granchester – The 5 Year Return

Granchester – The 5 Year Return

Fresh Water, Trout
This morning I returned to Granchester, one of the Natal Fly Fishing Club's most popular dams, after a 5 year break from the venue. A quick review of the blog reminded me that it had been a tough outing with Nick picking up the only fish (you can read the story here). I was hoping for better luck. The drive up proved to be spectacular with mist filling the valleys, while the golden sunrise highlighted the autumn hues of the surrounding trees. In fact the view was so spectacular that I even put my fishing on hold to stop and take a few photos. [caption id="attachment_2842" align="alignnone" width="1600"] A golden sunrise in the Natal Midlands[/caption] I arrived at the waters edge just after 7am. It was 4 degrees (Celcius) with…
Read More
10Aug 2015 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Tough Weekend At Kamberg

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_2466" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Fishing Erskine Dam, Kamberg[/caption] I recently spent a long weekend at the Kamberg Nature Reserve with my family. It's a beautiful venue and was once one of the most highly regarded fly fishing venue in Kzn. Sadly, since the hatchery closed, I've found the dam fishing to have declined, although they do claim to still stock them regularly. That said, it's still a great venue for beginners thanks primarily to the mowed banks making it an easy venue to fish compared to our many farm waters. And if you exclude the dams it still has a beautiful stretch of the Mooi river, which I was sadly unable to fish due to it being the closed season. Over the course of the weekend I only managed two short afternoon sessions of around…
Read More
30May 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments
Teach The Teacher With Peter Hayes

Teach The Teacher With Peter Hayes

Event
[caption id="attachment_1256" align="alignnone" width="800"] Sunrise over Eland Dam, Kamberg Nature Reserve[/caption] Thanks to the KZNFFA Peter Hayes spent several weeks in South Africa offering fly casting courses, and in his free time fishing the local waters. As part of his trip he was kind enough to get involved in several upliftment projects involving some of South Africa's local communities. [caption id="attachment_1255" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren releasing a rainbow trout[/caption] One such project revolved around the Thendela community which is located directly outside the Kamberg Nature Reserve on a stunning stretch of the Mooi River. The long term plan here is to divide their river frontage into beats and to then get the locals to guide tourists on these stretches of river. For the fishermen involved it would provide access to some…
Read More
01May 2013 by Warren Prior 2 Comments
A Day On The Bushmans

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…
Read More
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…
Read More
09Aug 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kamberg Snow Adventure

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout
[caption id="attachment_523" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Panorma Of Eland Dam, Kamberg Nature Reserve[/caption] With the news of heavy snow falls on Tuesday and some light snow on Wednesday there was only one place that the Baha Boys were going to spend Woman's Day...and that was being manly in the Berg with a little fly fishing on the side. [caption id="attachment_521" align="alignright" width="300"] Warren Prior Fly Fishing In The Snow[/caption] We decided to head up slightly later than normally knowing that the water temperatures would be cold and that the fishing would be slow. That said we didn't want to leave it too late since there was bound to be lots of people heading up to see the snow. So at 6am Nick arrived at my door, we packed the Terios, and headed…
Read More
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,…
Read More
17Dec 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kamberg Bliss

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_384" align="alignright" width="300"] Another Rainbow Trout Release[/caption] Having spent the morning stocking some of the club waters Sharon and I decided to spend the night at the Kamberg Nature Reserve. We drove through the gate at 12am and I immediately became aware of the storm clouds which were already forming overhead. Worried that I wouldn't be able to fish later that day I cut a deal with Sharon which allowed me to fish while she unpacked the car. I fished the usual spots around Erskine for about 30 minutes with no luck. It was midday in summer and I wasn't expecting a lot so I continued fishing while enjoy the pair of Crested Eagles nesting in a nearby tree. It was at this point that I noticed a few…
Read More