Gijsbert and I visited Balloch farm this past weekend to try out the Vlooikraal and Willow and camped in the cave with some other friends.   We drew up a trip report with some feedback for those interested. Enjoy!

Friday, 24 April:

We left Bloemfontein at 17h30 and drove in rain almost all the way from Lady Grey to Balloch and arrived there at 21h45.  Temperatures were on the cold side and I was a bit concerned about the weekend's fishing, having had a look at the weather forecast.  Gijsbert had arrived from Grahamstown before dark and he had a quick look at the stream and advised that we rather head downstream first on the more "open" water to build up some confidence for the Willow. Sounded like a great plan to me!

Saturday, 25 April:

The morning was overcast and cold, with light rain drizzling down intermittently.  Around 09H00 my girlfriend dropped Gijsbert and myself off far downstream from the cave, almost at the Balloch turn-off from the dirt road and we started working our way back upstream on the Vlooikraal.  The water level was on the low side and crystal clear.  The morning was made more interesting by a strong headwind that swept down the valley and hammered us with gusts every few minutes.  Being only my third trip with a 3wt on small streams, I didn't find the fishing easy at all (in fact, the most challenging I've had to do since I started fly fishing) and was struggling to stay out of the branches and grass, not even to mention making good presentations and staying hidden.  I reduced my leader to 8ft to try and cast properly as I was struggling too much with the longer leader and light, small flies   

By lunchtime I hadn't caught anything and my spirits were low to say the least.  Mario had warned us it can be tough, and it was definitely the case for me.  Just three very light strikes, that's it.  I have a feeling my flies were too big (all beaded and around #14 and #16, not 100% sure) but it was just as well, because I wouldn’t be able to cast anything lighter anyway.  I have a few very small unbeaded flashback nymphs, but with my skill level there was no way I would be able to make it work.  Gijsbert was doing better and was off the mark for the day with a rainbow and a brown.  But it was tough fishing.  We hadn't progressed as far upstream as we wanted and we decided to head back to the cave to take a break and warm up a bit.

After lunch we headed back downstream again and I quickly caught a rainbow in the dam just to feel a bit better about myself    From there we fished back upstream towards the cave.   The weather lifted a bit and the sun came through every now and then and the wind also calmed down a bit.  Our luck seemed to change as well.  The afternoon went better and Gijsbert picked up pace quickly with a few rainbows on an Adams.

I managed to catch a beautiful 10 inch brown and a small rainbow in the same pool.  I didn’t expect to find such a brown and was very chuffed indeed.  My weekend was made with my first wild brown!  We were very happy as the day ended off much better than it started and we knew it wasn’t going to be a blank weekend   

Sunday, 26 April: 

So, now we’re hardcore….now we tackle the Willow…   EISH!  We started the morning above the waterfall and quickly realised just how challenging this little stroompie can be!  I managed two get two small browns in the pool above the fall where the road crosses the stream and I thought it wasn’t going to be so bad.  But as we moved further upstream things went pear-shaped.  I quickly realised I was out of my depth up there.  It also started raining again, a bit harder than Saturday.   I decided to push on and tried to fish all the way up to where the first poplars are, but with no reward.  (Luckily the rain didn’t last that long).  Just one strike in the large pool as the stream turns to the left where the land starts opening up.  Shortly after this I decided to turn around and head back to the cave for something warm to eat and drink.  I had seen enough of the Willow to realise I need more skill to fish it with confidence.  Now I know why Mario suggests a lighter setup than a 3wt.  In those confined spaces it felt like my 5wt and I was making a lovely mess of it! :-D  Gijsbert on the other hand was doing better and succeeded to catch a small brown on a RAB.

It was rather cold and we only managed to gather enough willpower to venture out at around 15h30.  We decided to head back downstream again to the same pools where Gijsbert caught those rainbows on Adams the previous afternoon.  I have never caught anything on a dry fly yet and haven't really tried either.  He reckoned I should give it a try there.  There were other people at those pools when we got there. They were busy with a photography course, walking all along the stream, taking photos.  I made one or two casts there, but didn’t expect too much, so we moved further downstream.  We took a long walk and Gijsbert dropped down into the valley where stream runs far below the road on the right-hand side.  I continued further down, past the grid gate and approx 500 meters downstream of the weir.  It was becoming late and the light was starting to fade quickly.  I found a very good-looking spot where the stream makes a bend with a shallow pool and I approached carefully on all fours.  There was enough room for me to cast properly and I tied on a Royal Wulff and cast it into a slow drifting spot with a bit of an undercut.   It was perfect (for once) and I got a strike almost as the fly hit the water, but was caught off-guard by the suddenness of the strike.  So I tried again and managed to land a 5 – 6 inch brown. I was super chuffed and couldn’t believe it!  The last light was on its way out and I packed up and headed back to the cave.  My weekend ended off perfectly!

Further upstream Gijsbert was having a ball and was doing damage with a small tungsten beaded Hare and Copper and managed to catch 12 rainbows.   Looks like he cracked the code there!   

It was a great weekend…one for the books.  I managed to land a decent-sized brown and catch my first trout, also a brown, on a dry fly as well.  I think we were very blessed indeed and we’re very thankful. Couldn’t have asked for more!  It was tough fishing for me, but worth every minute and very rewarding. And the scenery is just amazing this time of year.  Balloch is an incredible venue and we enjoyed our stay tremendously.  I’ll hone the small streams skills a bit and Balloch will definitely see us again! 

To Mario:  Thanks for all the good advice.  It helped us a lot!  If we fish together somewhere in the future I owe you a cold one!     I'm not sure how to put the pics in the report, so I put them in the gallery for now.  You're welcome to throw it in here. I'd like that!