Oppiekoppie Bass Farm - Brits

Where: Oppiekoppie Bass Farm - Near Brits
Date: Saturday, 28 April 2007.
Time: Arrived at 6:30, left at 13:30.
Accessability: Good
Weather: Cloudy and very cold throughout the day. Windy, cloud cover constantly changing
Water condition: Brown
Water temperature: 15-16 Degrees
Fishing by appointment only:
Please phone Ben Calitz 082-3600 373 Markus Willers: 082-802 5063 before you go.

A man on the Radio says it's going to be a bad day for fishing...
...but what does he know right? A lot apparently. Oppiekoppie is a nice little place nestled in the koppies near Brits in the North West Province. The Dam has been there for a while now, recently new dams have been built and the main dam has also been extended. There is plenty of Bass and Kurpers, stocked periodically.

A very cold day!
This day was a particularly cold day. Windy and definitely not ideal for fishing...but I firmly believe that you can catch Bass on any kind of day, you just need to work harder...much, much harder. I only caught 3 that day, and only one was worth writing home to about. The water was also brown in colour and visibility was very low. I tried a number of different techniques, targeting fish in all sorts of spots. Oppiekoppie Bass Farm as abundant structure and little coves and grass overhangs where bass can hide and ambush pray. Slow retrieval didn't work that day, neither did dark, pumpkin or watermelon seed coloured lures work...no the only thing that work where small little 2" white coloured grubs (Berkley Gulp). I also had success with a Booyah White Blade Spinner (3/8).
Fish were biting short (close to bank). All strikes, even the ones I missed seemed to be aggressive strikes as opposed to feeding strikes.



Conclusion:
Good experience. Nice place, baaaad day for fishing. Will I go back? Definitely! Early summer, late spring; March should be excellent.


Visit them at www.oppiekoppiebassfarm.co.za

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.

Bossie's trip to Top Lodge in the Drakensberg

Top Lodge
Pristine scenery, calm misty weather, a borrowed rod & reel and enough bass to keep me busy for a week. Top Lodge is a private little spot hidden in the Babangibone Valley in the northern Drakensberg.

My wife and I went there mid February this year and I can strongly recommend it to anyone. We met our hosts Gavin and Joan Everitt late that Friday afternoon. Gavin showed us around our private cottage and made us feel right at home. Earlier I had laid my eyes on a little dam just north of our cottage, so when Gavin offered me a Rod and Reel, I had to accept

Saturday Morning
Early the next morning after a brisk hike in the hills, I took my wife back to the cottage, made her some coffee and snuck off. I approached the little dam like a cat sneaking up to its pray, inspecting and analysing the contours and shadows. I left all my gear at home, but found everything I needed in Gavin's tackle box.

The water was shallow and stained from the leaves. I couldn't see very deep but could make out enough movement to spot my target. And so, with a floating popper lure, the hunt began.
I only fished for about two hours, caught two and missed a few more. It was great fun.

What else?
Besides fishing, Top Lodge offers a whole lot more. Here are some of things you can do, see and have access to when visiting Gavin and Joan at Top Lodge:

- braai / barbecue
- onsite- fireplace
- fishing (less than 3km)
- fishing onsite
- golf (less than 5km)
- horse riding (less than 5km)
- kitchen (fully equipped)
- lake onsite
- microwave in unit
- nature trail (less than 2km)
- nature trail onsite
- parking all onsite
- private entrance
- restaurant (less than 5km)
- rock art (less than 20km)

You can contact Gavin and Joan at:
Local Tel: 036-4386575
Cell (1): 083-3681111
Cell (2): 083-9906384