The Lost Lake of Mpumalanga

Catherine pitches her white spinnerbait against an island of submerged water grass, lets it fall through the water column and begins a slow retrieve. A hungry bass darts from the cover, snatches the shiny lure and attempts a speedy getaway. The ill-tempered bass races toward the weed patch but Catherine lifts her rod tip and leads it to open water where the fight remains fair. My fish-wise wife remains in control and the one-trick bass runs out of luck. “Get the net!” Catherine shouts, her eyes locked on the action. Seconds later I scoop a fat, green bass of 1,5kg aboard. “Wow! What a fight,” Catherine exclaims with surprise. “I thought that bass was a lot bigger.” More truthful words have never been spoken. Kwena Dam produces an exceptionally strong and healthy bass, the kind that hoodwink anglers into misjudging size. Lowveld anglers consider it a trademark. No wonder they have for many years kept secret the “Lost Lake of Mpumalanga”. +THE FISHING Kwena Dam sits below the Drakensburg Escarpment amongst the rolling foothills of the Steenkampsburg Mountains, surrounded by sweeping prairie grassland and sandstone koppies. Few anglers know the lake better than Lowveld bass angler Charl Carey. Charl Carey of Nelspruit has been fishing Kwena Dam for many years and knows the lake well. “Kwena is one of the Lowveld jewels . . . The bass are strong and in excellent condition with fish over 2kg common and bags of 8kg, and more, frequently caught,” he tells me. The ardent angler from Nelspruit has been fishing there since the early 1990’s. He knows every point, rock pile and break line and considers it one his favourite fishing holes. Charl describes his biggest Kwena bass to date as a 3kg beauty, but knows of one over 5kg landed several years ago. The avid angler proclaims Kwena on the comeback after a spate of overfishing and a long period of drought. “When the water level stays constant for a couple of months the dam provides large patches of water grass, with crystal clear water, lots of bass, bream and large numbers of carp,” Charl explains. Although the recent drought affected fishing quality throughout much of 2016 the dam has lifted to acceptable levels and bolstered catch rates. Charl considers the previous drought an asset because boating anglers were unable to access the dam which took a lot of pressure off fish stocks. Additionally, Charl reports current elevated water levels have regenerated large patches of water grass and new shoreline vegetation where bass hold. The new cover remains equally valuable to the forage. Grass beds are often key to catching Kwena bass. “It’s an excellent top water dam, particularly in the early morning, with spinnerbaits always a key factor for the bigger fish,” he says. “Plastics such as Ultravibe Speed Craws, Senkos and Flukes fished on the shady sides of grass patches always get fish,” he adds. Kwena can be difficult at times and Charl attributes it to fishing pressure imposed on a relatively small dam. The Lowveld Bass Trail (LBT) hosts upward of fifty boats on a tournament Saturday and Kwena is a popular LBT venue. Regularly scheduled tourneys and corresponding practice sessions can put fish on high alert. Frank Gottschalk, partnered with his brother Ben have won an LBT tournament with a Kwena bag over 9kg. Frank Gottschalk, another Lowvelder who frequents Kwena considers it a fishing hotspot that receives lots of pressure from local anglers but remains largely ignored by outsiders. Frank considers Kwena well suited for his favoured style of spinnerbait fishing, but suggests the dam can be hot one moment and difficult the next. Leg three of the Lowved Bass Trail (LBT), held at Kwena in April illustrates the point: Frank and his brother, Ben, fishing as Team Venom won the event with a bag of 9,24kg. However, Frank recalls that out of five practice sessions leading up to the competition, three of them produced very few keeper fish. Fortunately, tourney day became a big bass jubilee. Frank agrees that Kwena is rebounding from both the past drought and overfishing. Lake levels dropped to less than 30 percent capacity but now hover around 80 percent. The good news, he says, is that other regional lakes are also regenerating. “Good fishing in other local dams such as De hoop, Nooitgedacht and Vygeboom has taken lots of pressure off Kwena and the bass populations are rebuilding,” the tourney angler reports. Frank’s suggestion for first time Kwena anglers is to work spinnerbaits around the grass beds, dead stick large stick baits on deep water structure and spend some time on the dam wall rip rap. Both Charl and Frank caution visiting anglers to beware of weather conditions. Kwena can be a dangerous body of water when the wind blows, and care should be taken on smaller boats. +WHERE TO STAY Catherine and I nosed around prior to our weekend trip to Kwena and learned about the country guest houses of Stonechat Lodge. We hit the jackpot. The accommodations are top shelf, well managed, reasonably priced, scenic, roomy enough for boat trailers and provide electrical hookups. The management and owners are accommodating, wonderful people. The well equipped Sandstone Cottage at Stonechat sits high atop a koppie and provides a scenic view of Kwena Dam and the valleys below. Stonechat consists of two large, fully furnished, self-catering cottages. Both are relatively new, well-appointed and surprisingly (for the price point) high end. ‘Limestone’ cottage, the smaller one, sits along a large trout and bass dam and provides two bedrooms with one full bath. Catherine and I stayed in ‘Sandstone’, the larger cottage with three bedrooms and two full baths. The spectacular view overlooks Kwena Dam and the surrounding valleys. We observed Warthogs rooting in the veld, several bird species including Stonechats and enjoyed the breathtaking scenery. Additionally, Stonechat provides 12 campsites for both tents and caravans, with electrical hookups, well maintained ablutions and a large full house communal lapa. Owner Kevin Trollip remains actively involved with the Boy Scouts and their various youth programmes, and Kevin offers a discount to all current and former Boy Scouts. *Anglers who wish to visit Kwena Dam and book a spot at Stonechat Lodge can shoot an email to: reservations@stonechat.co.za. +GETTING THERE The route to Kwena Dam and Stonechat Lodge remains straightforward. Simply exit the N4 onto the R36 toward Lydenburg. Stonechat Lodge is situated on the NE corner and accessed from the R36. Travel remains excellent, with four lane expressway and wide, two lane highway along the N4, but the final leg to Kwena on the R36 becomes a spoiler. The dam is located about 8 km north along the R36. A large sign on the R36 directs anglers east along a dirt road that leads to the dam offices and free shoreline launching. The secondary dirt road remains in general good nick and devoid of traffic. If it wasn’t for the final eight kilometers along the R36, the road to Kwena would be smooth and trouble free. Mining operations in the adjoining mountains use this route to transport chrome ore to ports in Matapos, Mozambique. Hundreds of laden trucks egress the mine sites along the R36 every day and the road is choked with potholes. The best advice for Kwena anglers is to drive slowly along the final leg, but don’t let the blight of unregulated mine traffic dissuade you from a visit to this beautiful dam. The scenery remains appealing and the potential for a great sack of bass looms large.