Stagstones.

Thursday was a public holiday here in SA, human rights day, or some such nonsense. One thing public holidays are good for is to go fishing, and that is what I did. It was still dark when the Italian leprechaun and I left to go fish the Little Mooi river, on the farm Stagstones in the Kamberg valley.

Click to enlarge.

Literally the crack of dawn. This photo was taken looking back the way we came just as the sun peeped over the horizon.

The Little Mooi at Stagstones. "Mooi", is Afrikaans for pretty, the old pioneers named quite a few rivers Mooi in SA. In a dry country like ours all rivers look pretty. (This stream is pretty)

Brown trout were planted in this stream in the  early1890's, since then they have bred and flourished here under extremely harsh conditions. In the summer the water can get very warm. In the winter the stream is reduced to a trickle, and in drought years it almost dries up, yet the trout survive.

 This is a tough stream to fish, the banks are steep and trees grow over it making it impossible to cast in most places. Except for a few pools most of the stream is not more than knee deep, the water is clear so unless you are very careful the fish see you a long way off.

I would think that the best time to fish here is very late in the afternoon, or after sunset, and to look for rising fish. Although I spent about three hours wading I saw no fish, the water was warm and I suspect that they were all in the shadiest, deepest holes they could find.

Photos of me fishing by Enrico Bucceri, aka the Italian Leprechaun.

Concentration, watch that drift.

One of the few places where you can actually do a normal cast on this stream.

Preparing to roll cast. for most of the stream this is the only cast practicable, and then only a rod length or two.

Maybe, just maybe, in the shade against  the undercut bank.