FOSAF FLYFISHING REPORTS - Yellowfish - Lower Vaal & Orange

Lower Orange

A couple of weeks ago I had a fishing trip to the lower Orange at Pella. What struck me was the devastation the drought has wrought on the Northern Cape. One passes farms with not a blade of grass. We were lucky with the weather as the temperature had been as high as 40°C the week before but the hottest day we had was 29°C. The fishing was good and I managed a 6kg smallmouth which is the largest the tour operator has seen in that stretch.

Orange (Hopetown)

Flow is normal at the moment after a surge last week when the country experienced outages. Clarity has improved markedly after been poor up to a month ago

Lower Vaal & Riet Rivers

Both rivers are low and very clear. Fishing in the lower Vaal has been good with plenty of barbel and carp on the move in addition to yellows. What is concerning is the increase in grass carp numbers.

6kg smallmouth from the lower Orange near Pella