Fly fishing for majestic trout in the Eastern Cape
Our journey started early at 4am in the middle of November, the dog days of summer. Myself, my Dad and my cousin.
Our destination was Gubu Dam.
A large, fly fishing only dam stuck between the towns of Keiskamma Hoek and Stutterheim approximately an hour’s drive from east London, owned by the Amatola fly fishing club in the Eastern Cape.
We left our family home on the coast with great anticipation.
A 3-hour journey with much talk of the fantastic fish we hope to catch.
As soon as we arrived and unpacked (not properly) the fishing rods were out and ready to fish.
We took our time to inspect the dam and look for any potential food that the trout might be feeding on. I spotted large freshwater gobies, tadpoles, and many insect species from nymphs to beetles.
As a group went and fished down by the boat ramp, close to the main building for the rest of the afternoon and evening but to no success.
The next day the weather started perfectly.
Cold and rainy.
Great weather for trout fishing and surprising for what was essentially the middle of summer.
We soon hooked up with 3 large fish each in the first few hours of fishing, all large, beautiful fish over 40 cm long. All caught on minnow imitation flies.
We decided then to move to the dam wall, a place that has a reputation for active fish.
Along the way my dad spotted a deep hole.
There he cast out a sinking line and moved his fly with slow deliberate determination and was rewarded with a personal best brown trout.
The only brown trout we caught the whole trip. Weighing in at 2.02 kg and at 56 cm long it was a majestic fish.
We all felt rewarded watching it slowly swim away back to its watery home.
The rest of the day was quiet, but we had not realized that our luck had turned…
The next few days turned out to be a true struggle, as the weather had changed to a sweltering 34℃ and the fish went off the bite.
We learned from the other guests - that used their fish finder - that the trout had gone down. 4 meters deep in fact.
For me and my family who were true bank anglers this was an impossible depth to reach.
This did not stop us trying to catch fish.
From late afternoon and into the evening, but we seemed to be defeated.
Luckily the weather changed once again, and it soon became cold and rainy.
We decided to split up. With me deciding to fish an inflow near the clubhouse and my Dad and cousin deciding to fish the dam wall.
I changed up my fishing strategy: SLOW and using a sinking line so that my fly touched bottom.
I barely twitched the fly. Two short pulls on my fly line and then a pause that lasted six or more seconds before repeating and BANG!
I was on.
A huge rainbow trout, that gave me an amazing fight after I landed her, measured 45 cm in length.
My personal best trout.
I was proud to have caught it after such a hard day of fishing.
When I returned to the lodge, I heard that the dam wall was uneventful. They had caught nothing.
We then thought that fishing the inflow might be a wise choice and my father ended the evening hooking into a feisty but small 36cm rainbow.
The next day my cousin and father performed well catching 2 apiece.
My luck, however, had run out for the fishing trip, just in time as we planned to leave the next day.
It was an unforgettable trip, though, and despite the hard fishing we all enjoyed the experience.
The clubhouse was lovely and clean, and the fishing memorable with us breaking personal best trout.
We plan to come back soon.
Maybe when the weather is more on our side and the fish are biting.
So, prepare yourself, Gubu... We will return!
If you are interested in fishing this great dam, contact the Amatola fly fishing club through their email: stac.trout@gmail.com or phone: 041 368 9324
