Here some info I have compiled and collected over the years :sml:
South African Trout FishingThe Rainbow Trout was first introduced to South Africa in 1897, but it was only in the 1960's that sport fishing for the Rainbow Trout started to become popular. Then trout farms and hatcheries started to develop in Mpumalanga, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape provinces. The South African angling record is over 6 kilograms. These fish require clear, aerated water preferably less than 21 degrees Celsius. Flowing water is essential for breeding to take place. Rainbow Trout in South Africa have a life span of only 5 years or less. Males reach full breeding maturity after 2 years. Breeding season is between June and September.
The gentle art of fly fishing is popular in South Africa, with three areas especially recognised for their bountiful offerings: the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Mpumulanga province, and the Eastern Cape. All three regions boast sizeable mountain ranges; it is in their mountain streams that trout flourish.
For those that find fishing in rivers or off river banks too difficult, there are plenty of well-stocked dams to offer an enjoyable challenge.
Both brown and rainbow trout are to be found, though seldom together in the wild, they do co exist in stocked dams.
The South African trout season starts in September and finishes at the end of May. The best times for fly-fishing are in September and October, and then in April and May. However, many of the country's dams and lakes have no closed season.
Trout were introduced to southern Africa near the turn of the century from Loch Leven brown trout stock imported from Scotland. These browns did well in their environment, and rainbows were introduced a decade or so later to complement them. Still, most of the rivers retain a clear identity, either brown or rainbow waters, rarely ever holding both species.
South African trout waters are small by international standards, more streams than rivers, yet the average size of the trout caught is large. Most of the rivers produce fish of up to four or five pounds, and in the Barkly East area river fish up to nine pounds are not rare. In the upland sections of most rivers the trout proliferate and the waters tend to become overstocked.
Good trout fishing is dependent on good rainfall and a season or two of poor rains sets the sport back. South Africa is dry, but droughts are less common in the eastern highlands than they are in the interior, and often less devastating.
Just as bad as droughts is the problem of flash flooding and siltation.
To compensate for the relative uncertainty of the river water, South African trout fishermen have taken to stillwater flyfishing. All the stillwaters are man-made impoundments, called lakes or dams, averaging 10 to 20 acres.
Most are remarkably fertile, and the growth rate of the fish in them is phenomenal. Trout up to 10 pounds have become commonplace, and the best go over 14 pounds. Most of fishing is done from float-tubes, using floating lines, imitative nymph patterns and dry flies.
It is often frowned upon to catch trout using other methods except fly fishing. Trout do occur in areas where there are rare minnow, barb and other fish species, they are believed to be the reason why some of these fish are on the endangered list. Projects are currently underway, mainly in the Western Cape, to see exactly how Rainbow and Brown Trout as well as Bass have affected the indigenous fish populations…
There is concern amongst the fly fishing community as many conservationists want to get rid of the trout that occur “natural” in rivers, streams and lakes where they are arguable killing off indigenous fish. It is a highly debated topic as a lot of people are either against or for this. Trout have been in our local waters for 120 years now and there are other things to take into consideration such as water quality, water temperature and organisms that the indigenous fish feed on… The Bass species are more likely to blame if predation is causing the indigenous fishes numbers to decrease…
WK
