Sterkies
For a Beginner
eing the third largest dam in South-Africa, Sterkfontein dam can be massively
B
daunting. Having a catchment area of 195 km2 and a surface area of 69.37 km2 this piece of water is massive and photos does not really put the size into perspective. When seeing it for the first time, reaching the banks and looking into the blue water one can easily be intimidated as to where to start fishing.
During the 3 hour drive to Sterkies, Alfred and I exchanged some “fishy stories” and speculated as to the quality of the fishing that awaited us the weekend. After meeting up with Michiel, Denise and Brani in the Wimpy we had a short breakfast and headed to the short wall to try our luck there.
Upon arrival we quickly assembled Alfred’s boat and headed out along the side canvassing the surroundings for any yellows. To my surprise Alfred showed me to cast parallel to the bank landing my black beetle as close as 10cm from the side. This to me seemed counterproductive, and just as I started to go into “autopilot” - pickup roll casting as Alfred drifted the boat next to some cliffs, I was smashed by a yellow and took completely by surprise. This fuelled both of our spirits and we stopped
10 SeriousFun@JFFC JUNE 2017
A quick "selfie" as proof in case nobody believes me and a photo showing the beetles in their thousands right at the water's edge.