Shongweni Dam fishing improving
We have been told that fishing at Shongweni Dam has improved recently.
Carp
From the start of last week reports had been horribly slow and most anglers had not heard of many catches from our dams at all. It was only by around Friday that reports started to come in thick and fast, from most of our dams. The two dams which stood out over the rest were Shongweni Dam and Nagle Dam. Both dams have a good water colour and are not dirty as many of the others are. Fish have been caught on conventional tackle and specimen tackle right through the weekend and it is refreshing to hear of the fun that a group of children had in the shallows at Albert Falls with nothing more than a simple Rietvlei trace and almond flavoured mielies as bait.
This is the ideal way to get fishing into a youngster as there is no way that they can deny the fun they are having. Albert Falls has always been an incredible dam for good numbers of smaller carp to keep the family busy, while Shongweni and Midmar have made excellent waters for larger fish on specimen tackle.
Bass
Good to see that there is an increase in rainfall over the KZN region recently, which is the last hope before the winter months. The dams have filled slightly and will continue to fill slowly. After the recent pollution problem, Shongweni is starting to fish well again and has seen good numbers of bass in the 1.2-1.8kg range. Hazelmere has still been slow but is more accessible now with the water level increasing to 35.36%. With the rising water levels, the dam will begin to clear up and fishing will be incredibly exciting once the fish begin to become more comfortable in their new surroundings. Anglers who have not already made use of the low water levels should get down to the dam and mark off coordinates for drop-offs, rock piles and any structure at all in order to be successful when the dam is full. It will not take long for the fish to move back to their original territory, and targeting them in the process is easy, provided you have a contour map or a good knowledge of the contours. Fish will follow any contour and try remain in the same depth for as long as possible to avoid pressure changes. Once the fish has found the correct location, it will move extremely slowly, vertically into the depth of water which it feels comfortable in. Albert Falls saw a lot of smaller fish being landed close to the campsites by campers and their children, which were using small plastics such as Zoom Fish Doctors and C-Tails in electric blue or chartreuse. A range of Mcarthy Paddletails has been released which is the ultimate shallow water weightless option available for a variety of conditions. Be sure to try them out in the shallows as the water levels rise.
(File Photo: Wikipedia)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa
From the start of last week reports had been horribly slow and most anglers had not heard of many catches from our dams at all. It was only by around Friday that reports started to come in thick and fast, from most of our dams. The two dams which stood out over the rest were Shongweni Dam and Nagle Dam. Both dams have a good water colour and are not dirty as many of the others are. Fish have been caught on conventional tackle and specimen tackle right through the weekend and it is refreshing to hear of the fun that a group of children had in the shallows at Albert Falls with nothing more than a simple Rietvlei trace and almond flavoured mielies as bait.
This is the ideal way to get fishing into a youngster as there is no way that they can deny the fun they are having. Albert Falls has always been an incredible dam for good numbers of smaller carp to keep the family busy, while Shongweni and Midmar have made excellent waters for larger fish on specimen tackle.
Bass
Good to see that there is an increase in rainfall over the KZN region recently, which is the last hope before the winter months. The dams have filled slightly and will continue to fill slowly. After the recent pollution problem, Shongweni is starting to fish well again and has seen good numbers of bass in the 1.2-1.8kg range. Hazelmere has still been slow but is more accessible now with the water level increasing to 35.36%. With the rising water levels, the dam will begin to clear up and fishing will be incredibly exciting once the fish begin to become more comfortable in their new surroundings. Anglers who have not already made use of the low water levels should get down to the dam and mark off coordinates for drop-offs, rock piles and any structure at all in order to be successful when the dam is full. It will not take long for the fish to move back to their original territory, and targeting them in the process is easy, provided you have a contour map or a good knowledge of the contours. Fish will follow any contour and try remain in the same depth for as long as possible to avoid pressure changes. Once the fish has found the correct location, it will move extremely slowly, vertically into the depth of water which it feels comfortable in. Albert Falls saw a lot of smaller fish being landed close to the campsites by campers and their children, which were using small plastics such as Zoom Fish Doctors and C-Tails in electric blue or chartreuse. A range of Mcarthy Paddletails has been released which is the ultimate shallow water weightless option available for a variety of conditions. Be sure to try them out in the shallows as the water levels rise.
(File Photo: Wikipedia)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @kingfisherdaiwa