inNATURE:
Words: Alan Hobson | Photos & Video: Angler & Antelope
Exponential Growth & Exceptional Fishing Very seldom does all the puzzle pieces fall into place for a dream weekend of fly fishing. This was the case when my good friend Apie, from Cape Town, organised a clinic for his Port Elizabeth clients; Stephen, Alan, and Craig, at Mountain Dam. When Apie first started making arrangements for the clinic back in September 2011, the Eastern Cape had just recovered from its worst drought in fifty-odd years and one had to work extremely hard to land a few fish, although a good size. Since then Mother Nature has smiled upon us and we enjoyed good winter rains in 2011, followed by bountiful summer rains and heavy snow falls this past winter. The net result, bubbling fountains and gurgling clear cold water. When building expectations with his clients for this clinic, Apie would drop me a reminder to make sure that our waters were stocked. He would not be disappointed as we had stocked more than 8,000 fish in our various dams and stretches of river in 2012 , including 12-20 cm yearlings, and 16 cm, 60 gram yearlings, followed by a very heavy stocking of about 6 cm fingerlings. By spring 2012, the water temperatures were ideal; fluctuating between 9 and 12 degrees. Whether it was divine intervention or the sheer genius of Mother Nature, or both, conditions had reached their prime. The crystal-clear snow melt, together with substantial rainfall during winter for the second season had, for the first time ever, provoked our trout to breed in certain sections of the Little Fish River.
88 • DO IT NOW Magazine | January 2013
Apie’s enthusiasm had definitely rubbed off on the rest of his team in the year building up to this clinic, as everyone had purchased some fly tackle in anticipation of the trip. I say purchased but not yet broken in. The group arrived late on Thursday night to get an early start on Friday, and I had been under strict instructions from Apie to ‘train’ the fish by whistling and have them come to the fly on demand. So whilst enjoying a welcoming drink at the bar, I presented each member a lanyard with a whistle, to summon the fish, and a line clipper to prevent chipped teeth and thus save on dentist bills. Early Friday morning we headed up the Boschberg to Mountain Dam. It was misty and a fresh easterly breeze stirred up a chop on the surface. Somehow the water exuded an ambiance of expectation or perhaps it was just the excited babble of the fishermen, but the conditions felt right. Alan pumped up his V-boat and was on the water in record time. Apie headed for the rocks at the wall, and Craig and Stephen came with me to target the weed beds. Shrieks of delight echoed across the water as Alan brought his first fish to the net, then another and another. Eventually Apie’s congratulatory enthusiasm from the rocks after Alan’s third fish resonated into a, “Ag nee man!” By this time both Craig and Stephen had managed to bring their first fish of the trip to the net. Apie blew hard on his whistle, but to no avail. So I called him over to join us on the weed beds as more fish had succumbed to the net. What a day! Fifty fish, ranging from 30-46 cm and weighing from 600 grams to 1,2 kilogrammes, were successfully caught and released.