Vaal River Update

[UrbanFF]

Well done Herman, we also tried this weekend at Elgro and with 6 rods on Sat and 3 on Sun we only managed 3 solid hits but none netted .

[Herman Jooste]

With the beutifull weather of yesterday and the similar promised for today, I decided at the last minute to visit GVP today. 
 
Gear was packed quickly and I hit the water around 11:00 after blowing up the boat etc. The wind was still quietish so I rowed down to where I had seen some action earlier. Threw a wooly bugger for 1/2 an hour in a 360 deg circle and nada. 
 
Rowed up to the main outflow of the next pool, ( where there are 3 tail outs ), and fished all 3 with different buggers. Eventually got a bump on the trusty speetkop, but I think it took short, ( fly missing some marabou tail.! )
After another 15 minutes in the same area I rowed up to my favourite spot, and sat and watched.
 
Nothing on the surface whatsoever, threw the streamers where I got the last LM, but NADA.  
 
Come 14:00 and the wind was pumping in gusts, ( AGAIN , so much for wind still balmy days in winter . )
 
At 14:30 after trying a few drifts ( out of desperation, ) with 2 drys in tandem, I decided it was time to go home.
 
I did notice 2 f/f who had entered at Strome and waded virtually all the way up to the bottom of GVP.    Couldn't see if they got anything though.
 
Vis was poor, for this time of the year ( around 20 cms ) and flows low enogh for me to see many rocks upriver that are normally submerged.
 
All in all another brilliant "learning" day on the Vaal in winter.

[icstuff]

Sorry about my poor wind prediction but Wind Guru lied to me

[Lichia amia]

Come on Summer !!! 
 
 

[icstuff]

Come on Summer !!! 

Craig why not join us the weekend is the weather holds?
Summer is fun but you will be seriously tested in winter.

[UrbanFF]

Come on Summer !!! 

Hi Garrick - I couldn't agree more -      [size=78%]for[/size]

[Lichia amia]

Come on Summer !!! 

Craig why not join us the weekend is the weather holds?
Summer is fun but you will be seriously tested in winter.

    Pietertjie , soon old Chap . Need to add a Yellow on a dry fly to my catch list 

[icstuff]

I also need one of those!

[Herman Jooste]

Not strictly the Vaal River, but Pieter and I visited a trib of the Vaal yesterday ( Sunday ) for a change of scenery.
 
It was f*****g cold early on with frost on the bonnet, WHILST we were driving !
 
Meanless to say that once we had stopped, the first things to be unloaded were the hip flasks, 
 
Got rigged up, whilst watching the water ( in between swigs from the flasks ) and headed off.
 
 Like a twit, I started on the wrong side of the stream and after fishing a point into a deep pool, realised I had to be on the other side, by the rocks.   Instead of walking back all the way to the bridge, I decided to wade over in the shallow rapids at the tail out of the pool, IN TRACK SHOES and SANS WADERS, or Wading staff,      . I nearly saw my @rse about 4 times on a 5 meter wade in ankle deep water  , damn those rocks are slippery. 
 
Eventually at my possie I started throwing Largie flys at every piece of structure in the pool I could reach, changing flies every 15 minutes or so. At arpund 11:00 I saw a rise to my left, and then a minute later again in the same spot. Changed fly to a dry and put it in the right spot, once, twice three times.
 
Then about 10 m across the pool I see a baitfish come out the water, tailwalking at a high rate of knots, with a V shaped "bow wave" of a LM just under the surface chasing it. 
 
I got my line in, changed fly back to a streamer, and the fly in the water in less than 2 minutes.
 
Should not even have bothered  . That LM was by that time not in the area.
 
Score for the day was Fish 100, Herman 0.     But that's winter at a venue you don't know.
 
Visibility was poor, at around 20 - 30 cm's. Flies used , virtually every one in all 4 fly boxes, dry's, beetles, hoppers, nymphs, caddis, wooley buggers, Go To's, damsels you name it.
 
Was it worth it ? Hell YES, a wonderfull stretch of water that definately needs to be expolred further, especially in early summer.

[Herman Jooste]

I haven't fished the Vaal for 3 weeks now    and am getting serious withdrawl symtoms.
 
Seeing that we are coming close to summer tactics ( my pool temp has gone up 3 deg this week, in spite of the snow on Tuesday  ), I decided to start replenishing a very depleted "summer" fly box.
 
So today I've tied : 4 x Black nymphs # 13 and 4 in # 16,( the secret Vaal recipe noggal ). and 4 x PTN Orange Hotspot in #14.'
 
Other flies in the plan are : Olive GRHE, Tan Caddis, Chartreuse caddis, Mustard caddis, #16 & 18 V rib caddis, and a few Copper Johns in various colours.
 
What are the other members plans for what one hopes will be a great summer?

[UrbanFF]

Hi Herman, Not quite an answer to your question but I will be taking an ARC to GVP tomorrow for one last bash at the LMYs - if I come right I'll post pictures and brag after the fly tying session at the TFTG so latish :)


I have a load of MSPs and Woolie buggers that still need to get wet.

[Herman Jooste]

 

Hi Herman, Not quite an answer to your question but I will be taking an ARC to GVP tomorrow for one last bash at the LMYs - if I come right I'll post pictures and brag after the fly tying session at the TFTG so latish :)


I have a load of MSPs and Woolie buggers that still need to get wet.

Eeiisshh Richard, fishing on a workday ??????????? 
 
A cold front come through VDB yesterday and today, with high, cold winds. ( Hence my not fishing)
 
Good Luck and tight lines, be prepared to row, and don't forget the corners I showed you on our last trip.

[Rory]

I haven't fished the Vaal for 3 weeks now    and am getting serious withdrawl symtoms.
 
Seeing that we are coming close to summer tactics ( my pool temp has gone up 3 deg this week, in spite of the snow on Tuesday  ), I decided to start replenishing a very depleted "summer" fly box.
 
So today I've tied : 4 x Black nymphs # 13 and 4 in # 16,( the secret Vaal recipe noggal ). and 4 x PTN Orange Hotspot in #14.'
 
Other flies in the plan are : Olive GRHE, Tan Caddis, Chartreuse caddis, Mustard caddis, #16 & 18 V rib caddis, and a few Copper Johns in various colours.
 
What are the other members plans for what one hopes will be a great summer?

No Humpy's Favourites???    Best I get tying as well, my summer fly stocks are low!

[Herman Jooste]

I haven't fished the Vaal for 3 weeks now    and am getting serious withdrawl symtoms.
 
Seeing that we are coming close to summer tactics ( my pool temp has gone up 3 deg this week, in spite of the snow on Tuesday  ), I decided to start replenishing a very depleted "summer" fly box.
 
So today I've tied : 4 x Black nymphs # 13 and 4 in # 16,( the secret Vaal recipe noggal ). and 4 x PTN Orange Hotspot in #14.'
 
Other flies in the plan are : Olive GRHE, Tan Caddis, Chartreuse caddis, Mustard caddis, #16 & 18 V rib caddis, and a few Copper Johns in various colours.
 
What are the other members plans for what one hopes will be a great summer?

No Humpy's Favourites???    Best I get tying as well, my summer fly stocks are low!

They are in the plan.    Finally got some decent #8 & 10 hooks, so will be tying some up. Can't give away all the secrets now can we.

[UrbanFF]

Hi Herman, Not quite an answer to your question but I will be taking an ARC to GVP tomorrow for one last bash at the LMYs - if I come right I'll post pictures and brag after the fly tying session at the TFTG so latish :)


I have a load of MSPs and Woolie buggers that still need to get wet.

Eeiisshh Richard, fishing on a workday ??????????? 
 
A cold front come through VDB yesterday and today, with high, cold winds. ( Hence my not fishing)
 
Good Luck and tight lines, be prepared to row, and don't forget the corners I showed you on our last trip.

We rowed all over , we fished hard but once again nothing to show for our efforts. The water was 8.5 deg flow was +- 20 cums and vis was OK, I did notice that even a GVP the water is very salty these days , not a good omen for the future, has any one else noticed this increase in salt ?
Watched a load of mayflies hatch and it was fascinating to us but clearly not to the SMYs :).
I left a number of flies in the river, taken by rock fish but other than that we got 0 attention.

[Herman Jooste]

I haven't fished the Vaal for 3 weeks now    and am getting serious withdrawl symtoms.
 
Seeing that we are coming close to summer tactics ( my pool temp has gone up 3 deg this week, in spite of the snow on Tuesday  ), I decided to start replenishing a very depleted "summer" fly box.
 
So today I've tied : 4 x Black nymphs # 13 and 4 in # 16,( the secret Vaal recipe noggal ). and 4 x PTN Orange Hotspot in #14.'
 
Other flies in the plan are : Olive GRHE, Tan Caddis, Chartreuse caddis, Mustard caddis, #16 & 18 V rib caddis, and a few Copper Johns in various colours.
 
What are the other members plans for what one hopes will be a great summer?

Here is a pic of thr best Mustard Caddis I have ever tied

[Rory]

  Super fly Herman!

[Herman Jooste]

Thanks Rory.
 
With my pool temp up to 15 and the promise of little wind, I took a spur of the moment trip to GVP yesterday morning. Got there just before sunrise to a river looking like a mirror. Flat, shiny and NO rises. 
 
Got onto the water around 07:00 with the water temp around 13 ( I guess ).
Rowed up to my favourite spot and drifted a tandem of dries all over the place, hoping to bring a fish up from below.
 
 After about an hour of this, I decided to go big. Tied on a Spietkop on a # 8 hook, but didn"t cut off the 4X tippet, tied to the 12 lb Maxima leader. My first cast to the area where I got the LM 3 weeks ago and I get picked up, again on the drop.   Can't say for definate what it was 'cos the fight lasted a whole 30 seconds before I was snapped off on the tippet. . With the Scott 5# I have turned and landed 3.8kg SM this winter as well as 2.8 kg LM, and a 5.8kg Barbel,
Yesterday NO CHANCE, so I am assuming it was a biggish LM. . At least I know where it hangs out, and will be back in 2 weeks time, with straight 12lb Maxima. 
 
The rest of the morning entailed rowing all over the place, fishing all likely tail outs, even the " muddie hole " with nearly every fly I had on me, BLANK.
 
Oh ya the vis was only about 25 cm's and guesss what, the " Rock Snot " has already started growing
 
Picking venues untill the first flush is going to be tricky.

[Debbie]

Herman what do you fish from? tough luck with the break off, that can be frustrating.

[Herman Jooste]

Herman what do you fish from? tough luck with the break off, that can be frustrating.

Debbie, at GVP I use the ARK Croc 2 inflatable with the blow up floor. It's now 6 years old and has never let me down.    I actually bought it because the wading at GVP is really, really hard. It makes getting to far away spots so much quicker and easier   I get to a spot in 10 minutes that would take a competent wader an hour to reach.
 
As far as the break off, I only have myself to blame, I should have cut off the light tippet before attaching the fly. Stupid mistake.