General
description and habitat:
With trophy fish breaking the 10lb
mark, this fresh water speedster (fondly
referred to as a freshwater bonefish)
is one of Southern Africa’s
finest fly fishing targets.
This fish is native to the Orange-Vaal
River system. It is however in the
crystal clear waters of Sterkfontein
Dam that Tourette Fishing guides will
guide you on a sight fishing spectacle
of the highest quality.
With a shore line of over a hundred
kilometers, this high altitude body
of water offers arguably the finest
freshwater sight fishing Africa has
to offer, on par with top international
destinations. The crystal clear water,
combined with a healthy yellowfish
population, make this destination
a firm favourite amongst all fly anglers
privileged enough to hunt her waters.
Yellowfish feed on a myriad of invertebrates.
They breed from spring through to
mid summer when they will migrate
to spawn on suitable gravel beds.
When water temperatures reach roughly
18 degrees Celsius, the yellowfish
at Sterkfontein will begin to swim
higher in the water column, on the
look out for terrestrials blown off
the grass-land banks or the ever possible
caddis hatch. Fishing a dry fly becomes
extremely productive from here on.
This occurs each year from November
through to March.
Angling Tackle and Tactics:
Fly:
Small mouth yellowfish in Sterkfontein
are treated to a myriad of both terrestrial
and aquatic invertebrates on which
to feed. The results being that fly
anglers can confidently target these
freshwater speedsters with dry flies
throughout the season, a method we
strongly encourage.
A standard Sterkfontein set up comprises
of a 9ft fast action 5 weight rod.
This rod should be matched with a
good quality reel spooled with a WF
5 or 6 weight line. 9ft 2X and 3X
leaders are used, with tippets ranging
from 4X to 6X (fluorocarbon and standard)
depending on the fishing conditions.
Productive dry flies include; Elk
winged caddis, foam beetles, Dave’s
hopper, klinkhammer, stimulators,
flying ants, CDC caddis, and parachute
Adams in sizes 12 to 18
At times, when cruising fish are
reluctant to rise to the dry fly,
nymphs are used. In these scenarios,
GRHE, Zac nymph, Z-winged caddis and
mustard caddis in various weighted
options are most productive.
Additional fly tackle includes lead
putty, fly floatant, Orvis Mud and
strike indicators. Over the past couple
of seasons our guides have come to
rely heavily on Orvis mud and believe
this product offers the best method
to sink ones tippet leading up to
the dry fly.
As all fishing is sight fishing,
a good pair of polarized glasses is
recommended. Although we use a 16ft
sea going zodiac to move around the
dam, the majority of fishing is done
off foot; either walk-and-stalk tactics
or wading tactics are employed. Thus
a sturdy pair of comfortable rubber
soled wading boots is recommended.
Comprehensive tackle lists will be
sent out on request keith@tourettefishing.com
or on booking.
Visit the following link for a video
clip highlighting the sight fishing
for yellowfish at Sterkfontein www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNFBbN_3uD0
For details on the areas Tourette
Fishing targets small mouth yellowfish
, go to the following page:
• Sterkfontein
Yellowfish Safari