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Successful Vaal flyfishing clinic
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Fourteen guys
attended the Open Flyz clinic and at the end of the day four of them managed
to land some fish in very trying circumstances! Cold
conditions kept the fish down but at least the spirits of the group
stayed up.
Attendees arrived from about 7:30am to a warm welcome
of coffee, a shot of some Famous Bird, and Shadow, the Border
Collie's smile. Karen then brought out some of her famous cookies
and soon everyone was warm and content. The theory part of the
clinic was held in the lounge of the River House at Otters. This
stunning three bedroomed-house is right on the river and has a
swimming-pool, jacuzzi and pool table. A warm fireplace and huge
open-plan kitchen completes the picture!
The clinic started with DVD-presentation regarding
some basics of flyfishing and the guys asking questions and making
suggestions throughout. We then moved on to more Vaal-orientated
techniques and discussed different fish species, entemology, river
craft and flies. A short demonstration session followed on the
island before we all had lunch.
Although Otters Haunt had provided a scrumptious warm
meal, the thought of everyone was to get to the water as soon as
possible! Openflyz guides took the guys down to the river and
positioned them so that those without waders could try from the
bank. It was quite an exercise to find possible holding water for
all the guys but we spread ourselves out among the pools and rapids!
The guides then spent some one-on-one time with as many of the guys
as possible. With the water being a chilly 11 deg C, a couple of the
guys started leaving around 16:00 with a few die-hards fishing on
till dark.
James Bean
FEEDBACK ON
THE DAY
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I did not have
much of a good start and almost did not make the trip.
Luckily I started preparing on Thursday and had everything
needed to make the trip. Saturday morning it's time to leave
and I could not find my wallet. In a frantic search, I left
the car door open and my dog helped himself to the dry wors
that was on the rear seat. This was not going to be my day.
I thought about the what ifs and 45 minutes later me and my
wife decided aag lets go. We had enough to cover toll fees
and we can cut down on the luxuries. The drive from Pretoria
took less tan 2 hours and we arrived safely. I joined the
group that were there for the clinic and after some
introductions and presentations we were on the water for
some demonstration. It was then that I heard Pieter Kriel
talking about something that immediately caught my interest.
This was my second trip to the Vaal It was an opportunity to
put into practise what I was thought by the guys from
Openflyz and I am going to incorporate Pieter's idea into my
approach.
After about the fifth cast I got stuck
into a nice SM of about 1.5kg. I temporarily forgot about
all the miseries that I experienced that morning. Later in
the day I caught another one slightly bigger than the first.
I stayed over to have another go the following day but the
fish decided to play hard to get. I managed to spot a few
where they were feeding but I could not reach them. I was
reluctant to put on a wader, because I don't fancy being
alone on the water. I think it is dangerous.
That Sunday afternoon before packing the car to leave for
home I found my wallet. It was where I never thought it
would be. We managed to celebrate with an ice cream and a
cola and made our way home. What a weekend.
How I wished my Pa had a farm on the Vaal. I can't wait for
the next trip.
Jerome. |
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trevorcoetzee
replied:
I wasn't as lucky as you Joempas. I wanted to make a turn at
the clinic, but I was unable to get there. OpenFlyz, please
let us know when you have other clinics on the go.
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Hi
Guys
Just wanted to "drop a line" to say thanks for the great clinic you
held. Even though I did not catch any fish (Not that there weren't
any
takes) I learnt so much and can't wait to put it all into practice.
Thanks again
Colin Burke
Hi,
Jus a qwik note to thank you and the guys for a great day out (even
though the fishing was slow)!
I must admit that I have learned quite a bit and look forward to
putting this to practise in the near future.
later then.
Pravesh B Surajbally
Technical Team Lead - AWD Development
FNB Homeloans - IT Development
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