Behold, the majestic Sterkfontein

My first Sterkfontein Yellow. A lifetime of memories

Went to Sterkfontein last Saturday for a session between 7am and 2pm. All in all we got 20 fish between Neil and myself. Neil have been fishing Sterkfontein for years and with this being my first trip to Yellow paradise, I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at a beautiful Sterkfontein with, behold, no wind what so ever.

It took me the best part of three hours before I got the presentation right and landed my first Sterkfontein yellow.

In the second session i did much better and cracked the code. What I can tell you about end of season Sterkies fishing, is go small. We got all our fish on a size 22 green PTN and size 22 Zak.

Below Neil Schuld with the fish of the day. Caught on a Zak nymph slow strip retreive. We were standing waist deep casting towards the shore line.

What you should know about Sterkfontein, are two very important things, stealth and presentation.

On top of the normal things you have to do at the waterside, like cracking the code for the right fly, these two factors will determine whether you have a great day, or go home utterly frustrated.

Oh and one more thing, DO NOT STRIKE. These guys take off at such a speed they "strike" themselves. Don't grip the line when retrieving either. Be sure that when the fish does take, that the line can easily be stripped out from your hand at any time. By doing this I was able to land all my fish on a 5X tippet.

Neil and I started on the west side of the bank about 200 meters apart, working our way towards the east. In the afternoon session the wind started picking up and, to our dismay changed direction as well. We worked our way back from the East but by 2pm the wind was pumping and one could not effectively launch a fly on a 5 weight. We decided to call it a day and headed back.

I had loads of fun and this was truly a trip of a lifetime. Granted it will get better. I do stay only an hours drive from the mighty Sterkfontein, after all.