YOU’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE: It’s the first day of the annual boys’ fishing tour. Spirits are high because lockdown was brutal and the trip had been indefinitely delayed. Almost didn’t happen at all. You’re on a productive estuary and the conditions are favourable. The first session of the week is a bit of a […]
The country as a whole has not experienced rains like this in many years. With the Vaal and Orange in flood, dams overflowing across the land, this past month we’ve seen some serious water; but how has this affected trout country? Areas around Dullstroom have received upwards of 400ml of rain, which is crazy to […]
Get familiar with your conditions The dynamic of our coastal zone is forever changing with tides, weather and moon phases playing a big role in fish behaviour. Most predatory fish like moving water to actively hunt their prey which often get disorientated and flushed from the safety of shallower flats or structure. Combining a spring […]
While you fish the spectacular Lower Orange River for smallmouth- and largemouth yellowfish, a logistics team heads downstream with all provisions to setup a high-end camp complete with hot showers and gourmet meals served with wine and craft gin…. PRESS PLAY Got you interested? Get in touch to find out about the remaining available dates […]
“Yeeeeuw!” The hoot from out of the next bay sparks everyone in our boat’s attention. We’d been fishing the river section, right near the mouth of the main lake, working tight in the bays to find some protection from the wind. That was a proper howl to have cut through the wind. Without a word […]
Over 400 tigerfish have been landed on fly by our clients on Lake Jozini over the past two weeks. The weather has not always played along, with back-to-back cold fronts plaguing one of the groups, but the anglers persevered and the fishery kept producing. Various fish in the 6lb – 8lb range came out, as […]
The 2020 home-grown tigerfish season on Lake Jozini is in full swing. We had a great family-orientated group on the water from 19 to 25 August. The group of 8 anglers were made up of a father and future son-in-law; as well as three farther-and-son pairs. Of the group only one had previous caught a […]
To me, there’s nothing quite like catching a fish on a dry fly… It’s cliché, I know; but being able to present your fly accurately, and watch the fish break the surface as it sips your #18 CDC emerger is worth every second you spend prepping, reapplying floatant, degreasing your leader, and watching that tiny […]
Whisky (and whiskey) and flyfishing have a long history. In remote northeastern Scotland lies an area ruled by frosty North Sea gales. Summers are fleeting, winters long and turbulent. It is the coldest place in all of Britain. When not blanketed in snow, it’s a place of rolling green hills and big rivers. Harsh as […]
Sometimes its not a matter of thinking outside the box, its simply getting a new perspective. Here we’ve drawn from the knowledge we’ve acquired not just from extensive trout fishing around Dullstroom, but more so from the fishing and guiding we have done for the variety of species we’ve been targeting around Southern African the […]
Take your mind out the gutter! This is not that kind of “how-to” guide…. Although swinging flies is regarded by most, as a technique reserved for targeting anadromous fish while wielding large 14ft double-handed Spey rods in the northern hemisphere. It is a technique that has been adapted and tweaked the world-over for a plethora […]
“The sheer aggression and vast scale of the naked geology is intimidating, yet this landscape inspires a near-spiritual devotion in many who explore it” – Scott Ramsay on the Richtersveld in ‘South Africa’s Wildest Places’ Our guides are among those with that near-spiritual devotion Scott speaks of so eloquently in his beautiful book. So when […]
A good pair of sunglasses is one of your most important pieces of gear, but with so many options out there, it can be a little difficult to know what to choose. Here are some insights (see what we did there) to help you make the informed choice: It’s great having a world class guide […]
Tidying his office and fishing room during the downtime, founder Jonathan Boulton came across a dusty old hard drive. On it he came across this clip he and his brother featured in many years back on Pongola. “Like the dusty hard drive, the drought took Pongola off our radars for three years and now we’re […]
This a quick and simple pattern to tie and one of my favourite patterns for Tigers, especially at Pongola where there is a large population of Tilapia. MATERIALS Hook: Gama B10s #2-1/0 or Gama SL12S short #2/0-4/0 Thread: Red or orange 140D Danville’s Weight: Lead wire 0.02 Tail: Fishient SF fibre, bucktail to prevent wrapping […]
Jack Lotter swears by the Dingane when targetting GTs in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. Just before lockdown, Gareth Reid sat down with Jack at our Johannesburg store to chat through the pattern and get a better understanding of Jack’s tying process as well as the factors (density, shape and hook-keeling, among others) which he believes makes this […]
There are two very important aspects to a quality grip-n-grin ‘hero’ shot. The ability to take a great picture is one of them. Being on the opposite side of the lens as the subject is the other. Before you think this is some cheesy ‘how to’ guide on the best way to capture your good […]
As anglers we often debate our favourite species, but for me its more than just the fish, its the where and the how, the environment in which you pursue them and the technique used to fool them. One of my favourites is Tigerfish, more so the home-grown version, right here on Pongola dam with Rhino […]
It takes the proverbial ‘village’ as they say, here is a look at the people who make Mavungana such a slick operation. Jonathan Boulton Jonathan Boulton AKA The Boss. Jonathan started the business way back when Brad Pitt was still soaking wet after being dragged down the Blackfoot River in Missoula. A Zoologist by qualification […]
“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like” – David Alan Harvey Much like telling a story, ‘evoking an emotion’ is the holy grail of photography. In order to achieve this you need to strike a balance between technical ability and creative license. To get the most out of your gear (so […]