27Dec 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Raging Lotheni

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_926" align="alignright" width="300"] A Very High Lotheni River[/caption] It was with much anticipation that I walked down to the Lotheni River, ready to end 2012 (and start 2013) with several wild brown trout. Sharon and I had booked 5 nights in the nature reserve from boxing day into the new year. Camp was set up and I was ready to enjoy 6 days of trout bliss. On our drive in I could see that the river was high, but looking down on a river from above is always a little deceptive. It was therefore only when I stepped onto the bank that I realised that the river was literally raging. In fact it was impossible to cross in places and, despite having fished it often, it was unrecognisable to me.…
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29Apr 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lotheni

Fresh Water, Trip Report, Trout
[caption id="attachment_479" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Lotheni Star Trails[/caption] Long weekends are not made to be wasted, and what better way to take advantage of one than by heading to Lotheni, one of my favourite (wild) brown trout waters. [caption id="attachment_476" align="alignright" width="300"] Warren Prior Tying Flies[/caption] With Sharon as my wingman for this trip I decided to cut her some slack and to head up a little later than I usually would with Nick. We left our house at around 6am and stopped off at the Lavender Trout for breakfast. Amazingly they had run out eggs which forced us back into the car in search of another breakfast venue. We opted for a bistro in The Junction at Nottingham Road. Both of our meals were fantastic and when we left Nottingham…
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24Sep 2011 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lotheni’s Sneaky Browns

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignleft" width="300"] First Wild Trout On The New Rod[/caption] At 5am on Saturday morning we climbed out of bed, packed the car and headed for the Drakensberg. Stopping for petrol proved annoying when the standard garage told us they were out of diesel and we were forced to head into Pmb to find some. Otherwise all went well until we reached the Underberg turn off when I forgot that it was shorter through Nottingham Road and we headed for Underberg on my 111km worst road. After passing through Himeville the road turns from tar to dirt for the last 40kms. The dirt was in good condition bar the fact that they seem to be working on it. This meant large piles of rubble for long stretches leaving only…
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21Mar 2010 by Warren Prior No Comments

Technical Lotheni

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_190" align="alignleft" width="225"] Western Fly Fishing The Lotheni[/caption] Thanks to a not very cooperative Achilles, it had been a long wait for me to get into my first river of the season, some 6 months after they opened. Western, Karen, Sharon and I headed up to Lotheni for the first long weekend, hoping for a combination of some relaxation and epic fly fishing. Now I've always known that the Lotheni River was very technical wild Brown waters, but this weekend really just emphasised that point. At around 2pm on Saturday Western and I walked from the campsite, back towards the main camp, rods in hand, and eager. We entered the river at the small feeder stream the road crosses, and I carefully chose my first fly for the trip...the…
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30Apr 2009 by Warren Prior No Comments

Lotheni

Fresh Water, Trout
[caption id="attachment_134" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren Fly Fishing The Lotheni[/caption] After a good trip to the Bushmans River over Easter, I decided I'd give the Lotheni River a bash before the end of the season. So when the offices closed for a week, Sharon and I headed to Lotheni for 3 days. Of the 3 days we spent there I only fished one morning. I hit the river at about 7:30am, Sharon bravely wading the river behind me in an old pair of takkies. I was hoping she would be able to walk on the bank, but unfortunately she had to cross a few times which isn't ideal without boots. The fishing itself was more difficult than the Bushmans, and after fishing 2kms of river over 3 hours, I'd landed only…
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