05Jan 2013 by Warren Prior No Comments
The First Trip Of 2013 – Durban Harbour

The First Trip Of 2013 – Durban Harbour

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_938" align="alignleft" width="300"] Warren's First Fish Of 2013, A Southern Pompano[/caption] After Nick's severe mocking of me, post his springer smashing session, it was time for some serious payback. As such I was both excited and nervous as we headed down to the Durban harbour after squash on Saturday afternoon. The plan was too find the springer and to fish into dusk, and even the dark if fishing was good. We arrived at the harbour at around 2pm and were kitted up and on the water by 3pm. This meant we had at least 4 hours of (hopefully good) fishing ahead of us. The only concern, food was limited. After chugging out of the yacht mole we fired up the engine and headed for our favourite springer spot. Sadly a few…
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23Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje
Springer Into Action

Springer Into Action

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
So after a very successful Midmar trip the Baha Boys decided to give the salt a bash before they parted ways to their various holiday destinations. The location was Durban Harbour. Warren arrived at my place at 04:15, hooked up the boat and we made our way down to the bay. The weather was as humid as hell (even at 4am) but thankfully we had our Columbia Sportswear shirts on to sort that out. [caption id="attachment_917" align="alignleft" width="300"] Nick With A Springer[/caption] Arriving at the bay just before sunrise we eagerly kitted up and launched the boat. After having great success at the Silt Canal we made our way up to it, stopping along the way to fish the drop off at various points and to test out the newly…
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02Dec 2012 by Nick Nortje No Comments
Shad Bashing 101

Shad Bashing 101

Articles, Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignnone" width="400"] Warren With A Shad[/caption] [caption id="attachment_649" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Small Shad[/caption] Common Name: Shad Other Names: Elf Scientific Name: Pomatomus saltatrix Size: Shad can grow to be 120 cm long with a weight of 14 kg. Habitat: Shad are mainly found on sandy bottoms in clear water. They are also found close to reefs and rocky ledges where there is foamy water. Eating Quality: The fresh flesh of a shad is excellent to eat, but not after being frozen so only keep what you can eat. In this article I'll be touching on some of the things that have worked well for me over the years to target shad. Being an avid fly fishermen of both salt water and fresh water I am constantly looking for…
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04Nov 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments

Cancelled DFT Outing

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
The heavy rains of October had not yet eased but we'd promised a salt water outing and we had to stand by our word. As such we headed north on Sunday morning to the agreed venue of Westbrook. Sadly people seemed deterred by the conditions and despite the last 2 outings having been supported by over 20 anglers, it was only Nick and I who arrived. The was perhaps lucky since the conditions were terrible and even we decided to give the fishing a miss. That said we explored some of the coastline for future venues and eventually succumbed to the temptations and flicked a line at Casino beach for half an hour. Sadly the ever productive beach produced nothing for us and we eventually headed home empty handed, but a little wiser as…
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20Oct 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments
Port Edward Quickie

Port Edward Quickie

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_575" align="alignleft" width="300"] Port Edward Beach[/caption] During a recent trip to Port Edward Nick and I took the obvious opportunity and headed down to the waters edge to get in a little fly fishing. Sadly October had seen over 3 times the normal rainfall for the period and as such the seas were chocolate brown to say the least. Not being easily deterred we fished the rocks in front of the chalets with no luck before heading north. We were hoping to find a few gullies but sadly the seas were as big as they were dirty. Eventually, after an hour or so of exploring, we decided to head back to the beach. We'd fished a few gullies while battling with waves, and Nick had dropped a small fish,…
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30Sep 2012 by Nick Nortje No Comments
Baha/DFT Harbour Outing

Baha/DFT Harbour Outing

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_565" align="alignright" width="300"] Durban Harbour Fly Fishing Outing[/caption] The 30th of September saw DFT head down to Durban Harbour. No less than 20 fly fishermen congregated in the Café Fish parking lot in eager anticipation to lay claim to the many species that can be caught in the Harbour. We made our way onto the banks at 6:30 to fish the pulling tide. Earlier in the week we had heard reports of a shark sighting, so the boys timidly walked knee deep onto the banks keeping an attentive eye out for this elusive shark. On arriving at the drop off we were greeted by a pod of dolphins smashing the fish we were about to target! All of us stood in awe as we watched them no more than…
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16Sep 2012 by Warren Prior 2 Comments
Cape Vidal (With The DFT And South Coast Fly Anglers)

Cape Vidal (With The DFT And South Coast Fly Anglers)

Fly Fishing, Salt Water, Trip Report
[caption id="attachment_544" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Cape Vidal Teaser Image[/caption] After the success of the first Cape Vidal trip in April we headed back, this time with 14 fly fishermen from Team Baha, the DFT and South Coast Fly Anglers, to try our luck yet again. [caption id="attachment_547" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Boys Fishing The Ledges At Vidal[/caption] Nick picked me up just before 4am and we quickly passed Jan and Gavin on Fields Hill as if they were standing still. Clearly it was going to be a long drive for them with Jan cruising at a conservative 100km/hr on the freeway. Our first stop was at the garage just before the Mvoti Toll Plaza where we met up with Clinton and Hayden (and waited for Jan and Gavin). They eventually arrived as…
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26Aug 2012 by Nick Nortje No Comments
Rocky Bay

Rocky Bay

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_532" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rocky Bay[/caption]The 26th of August saw the first DFT saltwater outing run by myself and Baha Fly Fishing. I was a bit apprehensive on Saturday when a huge buster came through and really turned the surf upside down. I was unsure as to the number of attendants, but thankfully on Sunday morning no less than 10 guys pitched up with rods in hand. After kitting up the guys made their way down to the beach and headed off in various directions. Some guys opted to fish the gullies and pools to the south, while a handful of guys walked north to fish the deeper waters along the beach. Conditions were far from ideal with the massive shore break and lots of seaweed off the beach. Nevertheless…
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12Aug 2012 by Warren Prior No Comments
The First Baha Challenge

The First Baha Challenge

Fly Fishing, Salt Water
[caption id="attachment_528" align="alignright" width="300"] The Casino Beach Challenge[/caption] Sunday morning saw the first small Baha Fly Fishing Challenge which was held at Casino Beach. We all met in the Suncoast parking lot in a light drizzle where we kitted up and tied on our favourite flies. Once everyone was ready we headed down to the beach and the challenge began. Thankfully the surf was a lot cleaner than expected after the heavy rains and snowfalls in the Drakensberg. The boys split into small groups and began fishing their way up and down the beach. Sadly only two fish came out that morning, a small wave garrick and a similarly small thornfish. Fishing between seasons is always tough but we were hoping to at least pick up a small shad. As…
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