the state of South Africa's water resources- the CSIR report

most South Africans will be aware of the presentation authored by Dr Andrew Turton in November. Subsequently we understand Dr Turton has resigned from the CSIR.
I have spent years working to communicate with government regards the state of the water resources (especially in the Vaal) in South Africa... with very mixed results... well done to Dr Turton for standing up and being counted.

if you've not read the document let me know and I'll email it to you... it's worth a read and I can't seem to post documents to the blog.

November 2008 Middle Vaal Report

Just when you think you have seen it all on the internet … in terms of fishing and related stuff of course, you somehow happen upon another website bursting with photos and information useful to the fly angler. This is a local site and if you’re into dragons and local damsels (no rugby cheerleaders) it should be your first reference http://www.warwicktarboton.co.za/index.html. My experience is that as one progress along the fly fishing evolution scale you start to appreciate more and more on an outing. It’s not just about the fishing and suddenly you start questioning what all these wonderful things you see are. On a recent trip to the upper Vaal I was fortunate enough to flush an owl. But what was it a Spotted Eagle owl or Cape Eagle owl? Returning along a different path I flushed the whole brood of 4 chicks and mom. The one owl turning in flight to display the bright yellow eyes of the Spotted Eagle owl.
Do you fancy adding another dimension to your fly tying? How is this for a departure from the mundane two dimensional stuff we usually see http://www.flytyingclips.com/index.html.

Water and Weather forecast
While mentioning websites, the Weather SA guys have gone interactive with great new functionality on their new site. It will require proper broadband but there are cool features like Google Earth with various weather overlays. I really like the one with a graphic of the previous 24 hour lightning strikes displayed – certainly a handy bit of info when you’re planning to wave a 9’conductor around the next day.
“The rain is here good and proper, the flows are already up and the visibility is shot until autumn. Sad, but a dimension of the Vaal that makes it true to its name. Keep an eye on the flow data I find the DWAF site reliable at the moment, with the Randwater information very erratic. You decide for your own safety, but I don’t like fishing over 30 cubic metres per second.
Insect Activity
Flows and visibility means that it would be pretty much heavy caddis larvae (rockworms) and hotspots for most people. Minor flooding should scour out some atomic or San Juan worms. Over simplification maybe but if you can get these flies into the ZONE you will catch fish.

Approach and Technique
I don’t profess to catch a fish on every cast but I really believe we have covered all the bases in previous reports. I recently picked up some great advice from two members of the Sexyloops community. One from New Zealand another from Obama country.
The thread centres on fighting big fish in moving water. You can follow the whole bit here:http://www.sexyloops.co.uk/cgi-bin/theboard_07/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=4;t=9615;&#top
Neil (NZ)
“Bob you could add to that, when fishing in flowing water the use of the current.
Getting the fishes head moving across the flow and closing its gill cover (with the water pressure) tires them quicker than anything I know. It may sound terrible that your trying to suffocate the fish, but hey we fight them into exhaustion letting them sit in the current with their mouths open is just like reviving them and can only prolong the fight
On rivers with a wide bed that can contain a flood, with beach areas, fish can be subdued quickly by holding a steady rod position then walking down stream slightly and away from the water. Pulling the fish back and into shallow water.”
And from the States
Matt Klara
“Some engineering to think of regarding reel start-up inertia and rod angle and tippet protection. Someone posted recently that start-up inertia has more to do with line friction in the guides than on the reel. Static friction is much higher than dynamic friction. And the friction on the guides increases the deeper you candycane the rod. So, a strong tippet, very low rod angle (less than 45 degrees), and a silky smooth reel is a good combo.”
A lot to think about when that big one does eventually take. You should be playing the two scenarios in your head when the fishing is slow. Stay sharp!

LARGEMOUTH
I think the time is over to exclusively fish for them. Unless you head West and follow the river until the flow drop and the clarity improves. Carl Nel has posted some great photo’s of superb clarity below Kimberley. The other option is to go Stillwater like Sterkfontein. Alternatively target them when fishing the deeper channels in the rapids, by using bigger flies and crab imitations.

News
FOSAF with the help of Keith and I will be publishing an information pamphlet for Vaal venues, tackle shops and other important distribution points. Fishing Owl, Trevor Babich contributed and sponsored the first print. Please take one, give to your mates and take to heart what is written - the future is in all our hands.

The fourth edition of the FOSAF favourite flies are out and ready to fill the Christmas stocking. This is really a top quality local product worth the support.
The year is rapidly running out, I’m not sure there will be another update on the Vaal. The next one might contain more holiday ramblings of the yellows near Calitzdorp or the possibilities of a new venue near Philippolis

Carl & Keith

October 2008 Middle Vaal Report

Don’t be misled by the heading of this report there’s not a lot about the Vaal in here. What I can tell you is that the Vaal is in great shape. Reports of big fish and great dry fly action are pouring in. Riaan Fourie took time out to get away from the financial markets and found some stability in the Vaal Hackle area. Large fish were cruising clear pools (up to 2 meter viz) and were eagerly taking flies. Another group of friends fished the Orkney area where they got stuck into a lot of +3kg fish with some PB and improvement on that on consecutive weekends.
Some people are complaining about the clarity which is plain dumb – like complaining when a super model brings her twin sister on a date! Maybe it’s just me but it’s the best kind of fishing the Vaal can offer, walking and stalking large fish almost New Zealand style – it’s just the lack of William Ellis silverware that reminds one you are in Africa, or is it the Netstar chopper overhead.
Enough of that and more on our fishing and rafting trip to the Richtersveld. It was actually a lot more than that and words even photo’s cannot capture the feeling and happenings of such an amazing excursion. It’s truly God’s own country – staggeringly beautiful and so quiet! No quad bikes or alarms ;-).
Traveling 1300 km to a new destination through a part of the country I’ve never visited was to be part of the fun – there’s not a lot happening on sections of the N14. We had a good steak in Vryburg the Texas of SA but the best rump was at Bi Lo restaurant in Upington. The Camping next to the river in Kakamas gave me an early shot at Northern Cape yellows but it was a fat 4kg carp that ended my hiatus of the previous two months. Damn foreigner but still flyfishing at least. If only the other fish of 7kg plus took the fly.

Water and Weather forecast
Looks like we are in for more hot and dry weather up here which should be good for fishing and the first spawning – reports of which are coming in. Please avoid these fish they are very easy to catch if you are willing to toss ethics aside. If someone does confront you on the river, take the reprimand on the chin, it’s done in the spirit of conservation.
Long range forecasts and long range trips go hand in hand. Daily checks are done with the websites but you know it’s only an impending disaster that will cancel the trip.

“Die Mas” Kakamas

Cold fronts were still buffeting the Cape and we woke to a crisp clear morning below zero in Kakamas – we don’t camp….often….. at all. It took a while to thaw out, which only really happened after the first cappuccino at the Springbok Lodge in Springbok. After that I gallantly gave up my down sleeping bag to my wife – if you want to be warm go goose down. (If you want a trip to succeed keep the wife comfortable.)
Crossing the border was easy enough. Our border posts certainly beat theirs hands down but they had better roads in that part of southern Namibia.
Once on the river we lost contact with websites and weather reports the only reminder of frontal systems was a chilly head wind making progress downstream a mental battle. The 13 km paddle at Elgro is a walk in the park!

Insect Activity
Being part of the same water system meant that on the insect front there wasn’t too much that can change from Parys to Pofadder. And it was the case where mayfly and caddis presented in pretty much the same shape and size as on the Vaal if not a little smaller. With all its faults on the pollution side the Vaal certainly does have much larger biomass per rock than the Richtersveld. Great for big fat yellowfish – then again I would rather drink Gariep water straight from the river. What was lacking was the really large Hydro caddis, but crabs and baitfish were more prevalent as large protein items on the menu. I covered all the bases with a good selection of flies.

Worm, crabs and nymphs

Approach and Technique
The Vaal caddis is hatching and the whole life cycle of the insect is on the menu. If you appreciate some of the finer nuances of fly fishing on the Vaal consider fishing the stages. This pupa Caddis pupa on a top fly with a larva fished in the glides or just below the rapids –swing the flies and use the Leisenring lift. Then switch to a Hydrolater towards evening, with the pupa on a dropper.
In the Richtersveld the approach was to complete a day’s paddling, find a camping spot, pitch a tent (get’s easier), fetch water, boil it, make a fire, cook food and sleep. Wake up repeat the previous in reverse order until the afternoon…………. I would be lying if I said that. This was never intended to be a fishing only trip. If that is your intention then get a 4x4 and camp in the Richtersveld nature reserve. Or travel along the Gariep on the Namibian side in a 4x2. Norotshama Lodge at Aussenkehr is a great base to explore from.
We had one really tough day of paddling 23km with the aforementioned head wind. But after that had two day’s rest (fishing) while a group went hiking into the mountains of the Richtersveld. That’s when my wife developed the visible symptoms of Chickenpox and I lost my photographer. Fishing was good but somewhat disappointing on size. There were plenty of small fish (cast-a-fish stuff) in the rapids but getting the bigger fish one had to explore the pools. I did a lot of walking and spotting without success. Even with good clarity I did not spot fish in the same lies I’m used to on the Vaal. Surface activity was limited to splashy rises; I did not see fish porpoise/head & tail rise, which is the trigger to switch to dry fly.
The two bait fisherman in our group got some excellent smallmouth specimens in the deeper pools. One fish exceeded 4kg with a few of 3.5kg.
LARGEMOUTH
I really battled to get my largie in the Gariep. There is plenty of water perfectly suited to hosting them, lots of bait fish (tilapia) and crabs, and very little fishing pressure. I got my first one on the last day at the Fish river confluence. Even the guys with Rapalas got nothing. I blame the weather.

Been there …….got the picture

Carl & Keith

GONE FISHINNG

I'll be fishing the Gariep river from 28 September to 5 October. Report to follow

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=richtersveld&sll=-28.579604,16.530004&sspn=0.008875,0.019226&ie=UTF8&ll=-28.127706,16.958771&spn=0.570432,1.230469&t=h&z=10

September Update

Report and some evidence just in. Clarity is absolutely great at the moment! With fairly constant flows the conditions should remain for another week-end. PTN hotspots and cream caddis produced for them.

September 2008 Middle Vaal Report

When not fishing you meet interesting people photographing interesting subject - Bengt von Veh Magaliesberg

I have NOT spent any time on the river in the last two months hence the hiatus in reporting and my somewhat crappy mood. It’s an absolute disgrace! Such is life and as we evolve from single men to married with kids our disposable time diminishes. Choices we make, I’m glad I made mine.
Another choice I made is to join my uncle and friends on an upcoming 5 day raft through the Richtersveld. Part of the group is going on a two day hike, which leaves us two solid days of fishing. So I’ll get some sanity back.
For those of you with less interference in your fishing diaries get to the water. I’ve received some great reports in the last fortnight. Herman Botes has time to fish in the week and he had a magnificent day on Tuesday. All fish caught on the dry, some over 3kg, a final count of 30 plus and I must agree with the man that the Vaal is one of the best tail water fisheries in the world.
Water and Weather forecast
We’ve had steady flows in the last month – I watch the rates daily thinking that I may end up fishing the next weekend. I’ve been wrong on that. Clarity is good but with changes in temperature, wind and possible rain we may get some algae bloom, just like a pool going green round about now.
Weather is great and we’ve said goodbye to winter with some soaring 30C+ days in September.
Windguru at http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/vaal_dam gives good indication of wind and weather conditions in the Vaaldam area, good enough for Parys and a fair indicator for the Potch area. Looking at this you can expect wind North and North East.

With the high pressure south of the Cape it’s keeping the frontal systems away – clear skies for the next few days – looks like a fishing weekend.

Insect Activity
Reports coming in from the first weekend in September indicated that the hatches are thick- with some mayflies but already dominated by the caddis species. The odd Vaal caddis showed themselves over the weekend. You will do well imitating the large larvae – sometimes up to #8 hook. Check the rocks in the rapids to appreciate their size and prevalence in Spring.

Pupa for colour – note eyes and antennae

Approach and Technique
The Vaal is as we all know the dumping ground for a lot of nutrients, more than the system require and can handle. This combined with some other factors creates one of the scourges of the Vaal massive spirogyra growth– fortunately limited to this period. These long strings of algae clog up the prime fishing areas especially the rapids. I have experienced it so thick it makes wading impossible.
What to do when your favourite venue suffers? You can wait for summer rains to wash it away, but that is not an option when the urge to fish is there.
I have two options:
Get away from the stuff, the fish are still cruising the pools and are not exclusively feeding in the rapids. Target them with normal open water tactics. Mayfly nymphs on a slow retrieve or the surface flies.
Try a dry and dropper approach to targeted fish, fishing the clear lanes in-between the veg. Not an easy task but at times the choice between fish and driving home early.
A mate of mine had a great day in the Dome fishing a holding pool just above and below the rapids. He got plenty of fish and some whoppers amongst them! He lost plenty, almost all of them because of rusted hooks – from a waterproof box. He lost all his flies and had a very frustrating and disappointing day. Avoid this by taking these precautions.
· Invest in a good waterproof box.
· Leave all flies outside the box or the box open to dry. Often forgotten when racing back from a long day and you still have to take the significant other out at 19:30 and it’s 18:45 with Gasmere 50 km’s to go.
· Check flies before the trip using needle nose pliers to check them. Rusted flies break off at the tail where the dubbing ends.

Bertu and Tinus teamed up to produce this one and the next

LARGEMOUTH
While the rain remains absent the clarity should be good. Dedicate some time to pursuing these great game fish now before the summer rains reduce visibility. Fishing has been good to excellent from Parys to Prieska actually I’m only reporting up to Nkolo Spa/Christiana.

Average size fish for these chaps

News
The guys in the Western Cape are relaunching the Yellowfish Working Group. You can contact them here if you are interested :
http://www.flytalk.co.za/forum/showthread.php?t=4696
Northern Cape Bells is happening in October and there may be some slots available.
I’ve received some worrying news from the headwaters of the Vaal. Dave Weaver reported a possible new trout farming venture at Sterkfontein dam. I’m all for people earning a living but I see absolutely no reason why another person must enrich themselves buy stuffing-up (is the nice word) another pristine environment. We’ve had a lot of that in South Africa and are reading about the effects weekly – Wonderfonteinspruit, Sterkfontein caves, Loskop dam, Northern Cape diamond mining etc. etc.

FOSAF reports Yellowfish September 2008

Horrors of horrors, I see in the chronicle this week a small notice that there is a planned trout farming operation earmarked for Sterkies. I have registered myself as an interested and affected (I+A) party. At this stage I have no further information regards this proposal but I will keep you informed as and when I get more info. I sent the notice out to a number of people on my e-mailing list so hopefully the word has got around. Should you wish to be listed as an I+A party please e-mail, Mr E Hinrichsen at aquaeco@telkomsa.net. You can also go and view their activities at www.aquaeco.co.za.

Joy when a mate scores in Seychelles! Well done Theo

Carl & Keith

August report delayed- Carl disgusted with himself ;-)

We've not posted the August report yet because Carl claims to be so under the whip in his day job he's not had time to blog... he disgusts me and apparently himself. Hopefully we'll hear from him before the end of the month.

Have you been on the Vaal recently? please post a comment and let us know what you've been up to.

I am off to Scotland next for a few days fishing the Tweed and its tributaries for browns and grayling... and maybe some sea trout! watch my blog "flies and stuff" for more.