Too wet for amphibians?

 Sunday night we had one of our torrential downpours which have been the norm all summer. In a dry country such as ours we don't normally complain if it rains, but this summer   it has almost been too much of a good thing, even the amphibians are taking shelter from the rain.

This Cape claw less toad, which is almost 100% water dwelling, actually came into the lounge to get out of the rain it seemed. I put it out and two minutes later it was back. Not the prettiest of creatures, it's harmless enough and serves a useful purpose in nature. 

Years ago these hapless creature were kept by the hundreds at hospitals around the world as a reliable pregnancy test, the so called "frog test". Pop one of these in the urine of a woman and if the toad started spawning, accurate proof that the woman was pregnant. 

A great favourite as bait among bait fishermen, as they don't drown and their struggles to get off the hook attracts game fish, such as bass, sharp toothed catfish, (barbel) and large mouth yellow fish. (They are usually hooked through the skin on the back). 

Get those boots on.

When I take my hiking boots out of the cupboard my dogs know now we're going walking or fishing, and their joy knows no bounds. 


Took my 6 weight rod with a foam popper and tried my luck on some bass. There's something so relaxing about casting a fly line, the rhythm, the timing, the whole process, is a bit like meditating. You loose yourself in the action of casting.


Click on photos to enlarge.

The boots that make my dogs so happy.

Lady can't contain herself,  "come on, come on, get those boots on," if she could she would put them on for me. Sissy gets a bit of grooming in. 

At last, we're on our way.

This White-faced duck seemed to think it was well hidden.

A heron settling down for the night.

While I was photographing the heron above, this small bass took my motionless popper and basically hooked himself. I caught several more bass among the reeds and water grass.

Walking home we were rewarded with this sunset.
.

Spurrwinged Geese & small bass.

Took my 3 weight fly rod, some size 14 nymph and dry flies and walked to the dam just below the cottage. As I walked down I noticed two Spurrwinged geese, (Plectropterus  gambensis). These geese are found right through sub-Saharan Africa wherever there are wetlands.

These are very big birds, standing more than a metre tall. This is the gander.

Goose and gander together. I think these two birds are moulting as they look very scruffy, especially around the head.

Summer evenings are some of my favourite times, I take my 3 weight fly rod and fish for small bass. Almost an unthinking activity, no exertion, just flicking a small fly among the water weeds and grass and catch fish. Totally relaxing. 


Today was one of those those thundery  evenings with a spattering of rain now and then and the fish were overcome with a sort of suicidal madness, grabbing everything I threw at them.

Miscellaneous.

Went on my daily forced march with my three dogs and enjoyed it. Lovely sunny afternoon with blue skies, the first for many days.

Sissy and Tombi in the middle foreground and Lady further on. (Click on photo to enlarge and you might actually see them).

Happy mushrooms. (Toadstools?) I'm no mushroom expert so I can't tell. Later in the summer the whole veldt with be full of the Makowe mushrooms, big as a side plate with thick firm flesh, delicious fried in some garlic butter with a bit of salt and pepper.


Only caught one small bass today who took the small muddlers minnow and made a run for it like a trout, instead of diving into the weeds like a self respecting bass should do.

Evening bass fishing.

Once again my three dogs forced me to go fishing. Took my 5 weight, 8' 6" rod and walked to the bottom dam. An ice cold south wind was blowing so I wasn't too optimistic. Started with a #12 muddlers minnow and after about 20 minutes switched to a #12 woolly bugger. Cast in and let it lie did still. The takes were solid and the fights short but furious. Soon I had three to my count.


Click on photos to enlarge.

Bass no 1.

Bass no 2. This one wasn't keen to have it's photo taken, but I managed to convince it to pose for a quick snap.


Never took bass no 3's photo as one bass pretty much looks like another. Decided to go home at this point as it was getting very cold. 

After the storm bass fishing.

Earlier this afternoon we had a violent storm, lost of noise, gale force wind, but very little rain.


About an hour after the storm the dogs once again forced me to go fishing, (the three of them gang up on me so what can I do). On the way to the bottom dam I took the photo below.


Click on photos to enlarge.

After the storm.


The only place that's fishable at the moment at the bottom dam is from the dam wall itself. All round the rest of the dam is a broad weed bed. Problem was that the wind was blowing right at me making casting difficult. I was fishing with a small muddlers minnow , basically letting the wind blow it back to me on the surface, just giving it a twitch now and then, and keeping the line tight. As I started to lift the fly the bass below struck. Whether it was waiting in ambush or followed the fly I can't tell. Fortunately I was using a 2x leader with 3x tippet so I was able to wrestle it out of the weeds.

Pose for a quick photo.


On my way home later my right of way was challenged by this fresh water crab on the dam wall of the smaller dam just below my cottage.

Not more than 3 inches across but quite willing to defend itself.

First bass of Spring.

Officially Spring starts 1st. of September here in South Africa, but the bass don't know that and they are getting very active.


Excuse the camera shake, must have been slightly excited to catch my first bass of Spring on a fly.

Not very big but worth the effort. 

The fish took the fly so gently I almost didn't notice.

Caught the bass on this fly that I tied last week on a bass hook, deer hair body, elk hair collar, and long grisly hackle.

Tranquility

Click on photos to enlarge.

Reflections of a winter willow on tranquil waters.

In two or three weeks time bass will be rising all over this pond at this time of the evening, and I'll be there casting a fly.

Winter Solstice

June 21st is the winter solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere. Tonight will be the longest night of the year, with tomorrow the shortest day. But here in SA shortest day will still mean about 9 hours of sunshine. Then the days start getting longer, but this does not mean that winter is over, our coldest weather still lies ahead.

Day break on the morning of the winter solstice.

About 10 minutes later.

By the end of August the dogs and I can start taking our evening walks to one of the two farm ponds and do some serious bass fishing. Trout fishing in the various still waters will be viable until November, after that it becomes too hot, streams are still an option though as the season for trout fishing in streams opens again in September.

Fish and fishing

This blog was supposed to about fish and fishing, but I've got one of those wandering minds, all sorts of things interest me and catch my attention, but here are some pictures of fish I've caught and waters I fish in.

Click on photos to enlarge.

A small bass, 1 to 1 1/2 pound, I caught last year, in the larger of the two dams on the farm where I live. This was taken before the summer rains, if you click on the picture to enlarge, you will see a wide muddy space then short grass, this is all under water now. Even at this low water the dam is 100 meters + wide at this point.

This is the opposite side of the dam from where the previous photo was taken. The grass where I'm standing and in the foreground all along the edge is growing in +- half a meter of water. The drop off on the right is one and a half meters about four feet+. Perfect bass water, lots of structure.

My six weight bass fly rod, cheap but effective. A fast action rod with lots of backbone to wrestle bass out of the weeds.

 Small bass caught on a blue foam popper.

This one caught on a yellow DDD, a South Africa deer hair pattern. Except for two bass, and I took no Photos, which were in the one and a half kilogram range, this has been my average size for the summer. Most evenings I catch nothing, but I do get lots of casting practice. This seems to have been the story everywhere, the Wagen Drift dam, about 4 km from where I live, usually delivers several impressive bass every summer. This year the fishing there has been dismal.

Previous summers the fishing has been fast and hectic and I usually lost count of the number of fish I caught and released.

Storm clouds reflected in the water 21st March.

My three fishing buddies, Sissie on the left, Lady in the middle giving herself a good shake after a swim, and Thombi far right.

Storm

Today was a public holiday in SA, human rights day. So no work, slept late, got up,(05h30) normal time is 04h30). made coffee and had some breakfast, a nice big juicy mango. Talking of coffee, Estcourt has a huge Nestle coffee factory right in the middle of town, claims to be the biggest coffee factory in the southern hemisphere. In this town you don't have to stop to smell the coffee, you don't have much choice. Lying in the middle of a very productive agricultural area all our factories process agricultural products. Wood processed into hardboard, pigs into bacon, milk into milk powder, maize into maize meal and a couple of animal feed producers.

Took my dogs, my 6 weight fly rod and walked to the bigger of the two dams yesterday afternoon about 16h30. Took some photos of the smaller dam on the way, and saw way to the south west, over the Berg, clouds building up. Continued on to the bigger dam, about 15 minutes walk, and looked back at the clouds, they had covered the whole south western horizon. Decided to try my luck any using a foam beetle cast into reeds and grass in the shallows. Managed to hook one  6 inch bass who performed some acrobatics and threw the hook. By now the sky was black and I decided to head for shelter. You don't want to be caught out in an African thunder storm waving a carbon fibre rod about! Got home just in time the sky opened with a crack and the rain came down.

This has basically been the story the whole summer regarding bass fishing in these two dams. Summer means good bass fishing, but with the weather being so unstable the fishing hasn't been good. We had a dry summer last year and during the winter the dams shrunk to about a third of their normal seize. As the water receded green grass appeared. The herd of cattle on the farm loved to graze this grass fertilizing the bottom of the dam. With the good rains this summer the dams filled up quickly. With the well fertilized dams the water is swarming with all sorts invertibrate life, I think the bass are so well fed that anything I try and tempt them with does not interest them. But I'm not too disheartened there is still about six weeks bass fishing left.

In winter I fish for trout, mostly in still waters, but I still do some bass fishing. Although bass become very lethargic in cold water and their metabolism slows down reducing the need to eat, though they still need some food. Summer months my bass fishing is restricted to early morning or late afternoon, the sun will cook you in the middle of the day. In the winter I fish for bass from about 11 to 2 o'clock. I use intermediate line and almost no retrieve letting the fly sink slowly. Bass pick up the fly and start to swim away and I tighten up. Lots of good fun.

I've been tying flies for a trip to the upper Mooi River in the Kamberg Nature reserve, which lies right in the foothills of the Drakensberg. Dry flies, RAB and DDD's, The RAB is a variant type fly and the DDD is a spun deer hair fly a bit like an Irrisitable, and weighted ZAK nymphs some Ptn's and Grhe's.(code that fly fishers understand) These SA patterns can be seen with full tying instructions and photographs on Tom Sutcliffe's web site, the link for which I put on a previous post.

God willing and weather permitting I'll make the easy 60km trip next week. Hopefully I will have got a new data cable and be able to download some photo's of the scenery in the beautiful Kamberg valley, the river and with luck of some trout. Will try out my new 3 weight TFO rod that I built from a kit ordered from the US.

Next blog I'll explain why I chose Drakensview as my blog name and where the name Drakensberg comes from and what it means.