the boat in a little bay, each canvassing a different side of the boat.
As I moved around the bay, I was super stoked to see the yellow fins protruding from the water about 15m from me. I placed the fly out but the wind got the better of me and blew my fly too far off the bank with it landing about 2 meters from the bank. I carefully retrieved it, and prepared for a second try. On this cast I gave it a little haul at the end to power the fly through the wind. The beetle hit a large boulder at the water’s edge and proceeded to fall off of it into the water. FISH ON!
After a brief fight I landed my first ever Sterkies yellow. With this now I quickly moved back to call Alfred, only to learn that while I was stalking my school of yellows, he already landed 3.
We proceeded to lob flies at the yellows for the rest of the day and decided at about 4pm that it was time to head back to the car as it would soon be dark. While heading back, Alfred drifted the boat at a rocky outcrop close to a small island. My eyesight is somewhat lacking, and after one of my casts Alfred just casually mentioned that he was pretty sure a yellow just sipped my fly. In disbelief I just slightly tightened my line and once again FISH ON!
Fighting this yellow against the sunset is probably a sight and experience I will never forget. After a quick photo it was released again. We headed back and enjoyed some refreshments and exchanged our day’s fishing experiences with the other members already at Dennis de Klerk’s place.
The next two days the fishing got more and more difficult. I decided to take it easy and spent my time taking photos and soaking in the beauty of the surroundings. I was astonished to find hundreds, if not thousands of beetles at the water’s edge. It is no wonder that the fly of choice is mostly beetle patterns.
Fighting a yellow against the sunset - PRICELESS! Photo: Alfred