The Extreme Guide to Fly Fishing Cape Streams

By Sean Mills

The Cape Streams located around Cape Town (South Africa), are home to some very wily rainbow and brown trout that are very fond of rising to dry flies and eating nymphs. In this book, Sean Mills (the author of “Fresh water fishing in South Africa), gives you all of the pertinent information enabling you to fish more effectively.
The location of the streams, how to book a beat, the types of flies to use as well as the different techniques like dry fly, nymphing, soft hackle fishing etc. are all covered in detail. He also covers what clothing and footwear to use, what tackle you need, leader designs and how to read the water and approach trout stealthily. With more than 20 years of experience on Cape Streams, this book is a wealth of knowledge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sean Mills
• Release date: Jun 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463729250

Sean Mills

Sean Mills is a freelance photographer, videographer, artist and writer living in Cape Town South Africa.

Book preview

The Extreme Guide to Fly Fishing Cape Streams

Introduction

An 18inch rainbow trout from the Smalblaar River

There is nothing like the sound of rushing water in a Cape mountain stream to calm the soul. The pureness of the air and the clarity of the water are like medicine in this day and age of high pressure jobs and split second information gathering. When I am on a river, the melody of the rushing water is like music and I can finally relax completely and rely once more on my natural instincts. Really good river fishers seem to become one with the river. They move with it, fish at its pace and read the water like accountants read ledgers. The key to successfully fishing Cape streams is the ability to read the water and present the fly in the right areas, with the right fly patterns and then having the confidence to expect a take at any second. This only comes with practice and time spent on the water. I can think of no better school myself and I am a very willing student. I learn something new every time I step foot into the cold, clear waters of a stream. After many years of fly fishing Cape Streams, I have found that I still have so much more to learn.

To the uninitiated, the clarity of the boulder lined Cape streams is enough to send legs into jelly and bring about paralysis of the brain. Nothing can prepare you for the helplessness that you experience that first day that you rig up a fly rod, tie on a fly and then start wading knee deep in a clear Cape mountain stream. Most first timers invariably do not have the confidence or know how to fish the pockets and runs of the stream and instead head for the safety of the pools where depth and familiarity at least offer some reassurance. Make no mistake, you can catch trout in the pools of a Cape stream, but you are missing out on a whole lot of fun! The first thing you realize is that these fish are wild, born in the river and they are a whole lot wiser than their stocked lake cousins. Mistakes are penalized and the trout vote with their tails! I have fished Cape streams for the best part of one and a half decades now and have come to know and love them. If you learn to fish a Cape stream well, you will be able to catch trout anywhere in the World!

The Smalblaar River looking back towards the N1

If you get things right however, then you can be treated to an amazing day on an awesome stream. According to several overseas anglers that have fished our rivers, including the Italian fly fishing team Captain, Edoardo Ferrero (holder of several gold medals) our Cape streams are World class and unsurpassed when it comes to technical dry fly fishing. So you don’t have to spend thousands of Rand’s on a trip to Yellowstone or New Zealand to enjoy dry fly fishing utopia, it is right here on our door step!

So if you want to take a trip on the wild side, and fish amongst the eagles, leopards and wild trout of the region, page away and have fun. I promise you that it will be worth your time. Fly fishing Cape Steams for trout is simply awesome!

I have included all of the pertinent information in this E book which will set you well on your way to becoming a successful Cape stream angler. Nothing can substitute for time on the water however. If possible, try to fish a Cape stream with a partner for safety reasons, especially if you are fishing the upper beats, off the beaten track. Also tell someone where you are going and leave contact details for people who know the area in case anything happens and they need to come and fetch you. Never forget that you will be fishing in the mountains and by their very nature, they can be a hostile environment.

A spider web glistens in the early morning light

For more details check out the Cape Piscatorial Society website, www.piscator.co.za

Cape Streams

The Cape streams are among the most stunning anywhere in the world and there is enough variety of fishing to delight even the most discerning of fly fishers. They are especially well known for the exceptional dry fly fishing that is available. Four of the rivers are run under the capable hands of the Cape Piscatorial Society which was started in 1937. They employ a full time secretary and bookings can be made through them during office hours (10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday). Cape Piscatorial Society-[phone] Address- 4th floor of the Mercantile Building, Hout Street, Cape Town. In order to fish the Cape streams you will need certain permits. The first one is the Western Cape inland angling permit that is obtainable from most Nature conservation offices and some tackle shops. You will need this one to fish lakes as well. The Eerste and Lourens rivers do not need additional permits and neither does the upper Breeder River at Slanghoek. De barbed hooks are mandatory on the CPS controlled streams and all trout must be released.

24 Rivers-This river is about 140 Km from Cape Town near Saron Village which is close to the town of Goude on the West coast. It feeds the Voelvlei reservoir. There are both bass and rainbow trout. Arranging to fish it is very tricky at present.

Banhoek Dwars River-Helshoogte pass-Stellenbosch. This river had populations of rainbow trout and brown trout, and may still do so. Much of the fishing appears to be on forestry or private land. There are some access points one being at Boschendal Estate. The river is heavily bushed in and so a 7foot rod is advisable.

Berg River- Fraanshoek-Fish species include smallmouth bass, brown trout and rainbow trout. This is a very beautiful and productive river but access to the water can be difficult to obtain because much of it lies on private farm land. The upper reaches have excellent fishing in the spring, winter and autumn months. In winter and early spring, dry fly fishing can be very productive and nymphs and small streamers like the woolly bugger normally work well in the deeper pools. In the summer months, when the river runs lower depending how much water is being let out of the new Berg River dam. Due to this new dam, the river is effectively a tail water fishery and could become very productive soon. Fraanshoek is an hour’s drive from Cape Town. Take the N1 highway north and then take the Fraanshoek turn-off at Paarl (R45). Unfortunately, much of this river has been taken up by a dam and the upper reaches have been closed to fishing. The area just below the dam has great potential however. Float tubing or drifting with a rubber duck between the bridge on the way to Fraanshoek and the N1 Bridge near Paarl could be very popular in the future.

Breede River-Ceres, Slanghoek- This is one of the most