Last week was such a busy week filled with uncertainty, only made the call that we will go down to my mom’s place at Bloemhof on Wednesday afternoon. My son did most of the packing whilst my wife and I finished the last few outstanding things for the business.
We left Joburg at around 11 on Thursday morning and arrived in Bloemhof at around 3 because of a sinkhole in the road by Stilfontein and hectic traffic through Klerksdorp.. oh and the obligatory stop at the biltong shop in Wolmeranstad.
We fished at the Die Kiewiete, my mom’s place at Die Hoek (river section below Bloemhof dam). We were anxious to get a line in the water and by 4 we were relaxing next to the beautiful and calm Vaal River, cold beer in hand….man life can be great!
Fishing was very slow with only a few small Grass Carp that came out, which instantly transformed into Barbel bait. We took the rods out when my brother and friends arrived to go and eat a delicious home cooked meal which my mom prepared. What a great start to a long weekend with family and friends.
We fished from early on Friday and I caught 3 small Barbel (1-2 kg class) and my friends caught small Carp and more Grass Carp. We left our Barbel rods in and went up to get the fire ready for the evening’s braai. Just before dark my reel started screaming and I sprinted down to the river in record time. The fish was solidly hooked and the fight lasted a good 10 minutes or so. Was very happy to finally net the 12kg Barbel, small by Bloemhof standards but I was happy.
Saturday’s fishing was very slow and we did not fish very long because it was windy and not great to sit outside. My friend Cheryl’s nephew caught a 3kg Carp and my kids also caught more Crass Carp. These fish have become a real nuisance and they attack the bait of as soon as it hits the water. Mielie pips is the only thing that lasts longer than 5 minutes. I took out my “Feeder” rod, put a float rig on and started to catch the Grass Carp on float. Catching fish with a float brought back lots of very fond childhood memories…. Highlight of the day was the awesome fillet steaks that Cheryl braaied for us! That evening we all played a great game of charades and consumed a little bit too much wine….
Sunday’s fishing was also slow but at least Cheryl caught a nice 4kg Carp. The weather improved slightly but there was a chill in the air. We drove to the dam and it was shocking to see how low the water level was. The dam was at 17%, up from the earlier 14% and it is scary to think what is going to happen if the catchment area does not get rain soon. The kids caught a few small Grass Carp and Christian caught a 3kg Barbel. Went to bed early….
Monday started lazy and we did not fish much in the morning. We went down to the river at about 3 and it was the nicest calm afternoon, not a whisper of wind. The Grass Carp were attacking the bait and we caught loads of them, even two at once on a Rietvlei trace.
Sadly it was the end of the weekend and we had to start packing up and prepare for the trip home early the next morning.
What a great weekend, we caught some fish, saw the 2 ½ meter leguan, an Otter family of three, loads of Flamingo’s, the Fish Eagle’s and a bunch of other stunning birds.
Very little beats sitting next to the river, smelling tjops on the braai and listening to the cry of Fish Eagles…
