Bass fishing at Harties!... Yes, I said Harties

Where: Hartebeespoort Dam.
Date: Saturday, 14 April 2007.
Time: Arrived at 8:30, left at Saturday 12:30.
Accessability: Very Good.
Weather: Cloudy and cold in the morning. Warm and clear in the late moring and afternoon.
Cloudy and cold Friday (night before).
Water condition: Clear and clean.
Water temperature: Relatively warm considering time of year.
Fees: R25.00 per person, R25.00 per vehicle.


Great Expectations
We were promised a trip to the Vaal on a friend's boat. But due to unfortunate circumstances, that never realised. So Foxtrot, Savage, another friend of ours and I reluctantly headed towards Hartebeespoort Dam. Don’t ask way, we just did. I promise you, I did not expect to write anything about the weekend’s fishing.

We fished at Oos Oewer Angling Club. The day started overcast and chilly but the sky cleared up at about 09:30. Despite the cold night before, the water was relatively warm. We also expected poor water condition, but were surprised to see clear water.

Fish’on!
We fished from the land and caught more than 30 Small Mouth Bass between us. Savage started with a blinder, landing three bass in three casts. Most of the bass where caught on spinner bait. Gold, Black and orange colours where the most successful. I tried worms and Rapalas, with some success. We even caught two spotted bream. As I said before, the water wasn’t to cold, so the fish were active. Fast retrieval of spinner bait did the trick.

Outcome?
I’d say successful. Nice day, except for the ‘misunderstanding’ we had about going to the Vaal River and fishing on a boat all day. A mistake I’ll never make again.