The Miracle of Mare Dam
I must admit : I am more of a pot hunter of plains game in Zimbabwe other than REALLY a committed fisherman . Nonetheless I greatly enjoy fishing safaris on houseboats or other boats on Lake Kariba . Going to Mana Pools National Park is actually never done without a fishing rod and also the Runde River at Chipinda Pools in Gonarezhou National Park is fun , and we always keep some decent bream for my friends and I for an evening braai .
In as much as I like telling hunting stories ( and other adventures of the bush ) around the camp fire ... I must also underline , if somebody would have told me this story I would not have believed it .
Trout fishing was always something I thought only REAL ‘ pros ’ can practice : The Film by Robert Redford : ‘ A River Runs Through It ’ with its wonderful pictures and atmosphere , actually kept me (‘ worm on a hook ’ -type of angler ) distant from even thinking of trying fly fishing .
We love the Eastern Highlands . My friend Christian and his family invited us for a weekend to their cottage near Troutbeck . Over the days we went hiking , went to Nyanga National Park and Christian took his trout fishing gear with him . So ‘ fly fishing ’ was the call of the next Saturday . After finishing all the paper work and acquiring all the licences for a day of fly fishing at Mare Dam in Nyanga National Park , Christian went to the trout hatchery as we needed three more fly fishing rods from the hatchery , which they luckily had for a fee . We now were four proud and dedicated anglers ( Christian , his two - children Jonathan and Nubia - and myself ).
It was late in 2012 and the rainy season had not really commenced in the east of the Zimbabwe ’ s Eastern Highlands . Therefore the water level of Mare Dam was extremely low . I was impressed by the professionalism of Christian ’ s technique : dynamic , even acrobatic movements of body and equipment I could not even dream of copying him . My fly always dropped a maximum three metres ( at most ) off
the shore . It was so frustrating for me to see the 10 and 12 year old Nubia and Jonathan improving by the minute . It was not surprising that Christian , after half an hour or so , had his
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