From: 11/18/2015
To: 12/18/2015
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Brown trout
Since mid November, when last I commented on conditions in the KZN midlands, there has been little improvement when it comes to the drought conditions.
We are now in the throes of our full summer heat, but it has thus far only been accompanied by severe thunderstorms in some places. A week or so back, after a stinker of a day, about 40 mm fell in the village of Nottingham Road, but apparently a lot less fell further up the catchment. The Mooi river came up 3 inches, and was a little dirtied in its lower reaches, but it was hardy the “flush” that we need and expect at this time of year. On the same occasion the Umgeni catchment got nothing at all! Then again, the Mlambonjwa River at Cathedral Peak, has had a one severe downpour of 75mm, and as much again in subsequent rain events. T View more...Since mid November, when last I commented on conditions in the KZN midlands, there has been little improvement when it comes to the drought conditions.
We are now in the throes of our full summer heat, but it has thus far only been accompanied by severe thunderstorms in some places. A week or so back, after a stinker of a day, about 40 mm fell in the village of Nottingham Road, but apparently a lot less fell further up the catchment. The Mooi river came up 3 inches, and was a little dirtied in its lower reaches, but it was hardy the “flush” that we need and expect at this time of year. On the same occasion the Umgeni catchment got nothing at all! Then again, the Mlambonjwa River at Cathedral Peak, has had a one severe downpour of 75mm, and as much again in subsequent rain events. The river is apparently flushed, flowing strongly, and must be looking great. With rain and storms about, we hope that it is just a matter of time before the Umgeni, The Mooi, The Bushmans, and all the others, get their thunder storms.
Jac and I headed out to the very lower Bushmans a few weeks back. This is big lower water, and we went there in search of depth and flow. I had visited a week earlier, and was pleased to see the flow was up a few inches, but the algae was still in the slow pools. Graeme had managed a good Brown the week before, but we only had a few small yellowfish, and no Trout. The hot weather , and warm water (24 degrees!) probably had a lot to do with it.
I did however visit a stretch of the upper Mooi a few weeks back. It was low for sure, but it was not dire, and it was most certainly fishable. It would have been a challenge to fish on account of the low clear water, and there was algae around, but it was most definitely fishable.
On the Stillwater front, my friend Anton kindly filled me in on what was going on ten days ago when I was returning from a week-long business trip, and feeling decidedly out of the loop. He had tried Highmoor and found it bright, hot and unproductive, but for a brief spell when it clouded over, they got some action. But even up there the water was a touch over 22 degrees C! On a later foray to a private dam near the Dargle, they did rather well with a 6 and an 8 pound Rainbow, but by 11:00 am it was way too hot and all over.
PD and I had a unique day this week, fishing for Browns on a stillwater near Mooi River. It started out cold, and the warmed up to become a warm blustery day. Strangely we caught fish when it was brighter and warmer, which is unusual for Browns, but I guess we were coming out of a cool patch and that is what mattered. We got 8 Browns between us, which is not half bad in my book. The secret is clearly to get out VERY early, or pick the odd cool cloudy day.
For now the predicted good rainfall on “yr.no” keeps diminishing as the appointed day draws near, and then all but peters out completely when the day arrives. We take what we get, and look out anxiously for news of a good river flush, when we will be out there to try for some fish rejuvenated, if not by much cool water, certainly by higher oxygen levels!
