DISCOVERY: Winter Boat Fishing On The Vaal

When experienced bank angler Riaan ‘Vis’ Bezuidenhout boarded the boat of experienced all-round angler Werner Lubbe for a two-day session on the Vaal River, he enjoyed an all-round learning experience.

The Vaal River is truly special – it starts about 240km from the Indian Ocean on South Africa’s East Coast, but the river decided to be upstream and instead flows in a westerly direction for 1500km through the middle of our country to join the Orange River.

With a considerably large number and different species of fish the river offers many angling opportunities. There are numerous resorts on the shore that provide access to a variety of fishing habitats, such as deep pools for barbel, strong flowing streams for yellowfish, rocks and rapids for mudfish and many sandbanks for carp.

Vaaloewer – in the heart of the Vaal River

The Vaaloewer resort is situated roughly in the middle between Parys, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg. It is an old ex diamond mine where many Protea anglers have retired with its entrance on the Lindequesdrif road. Vaaloewer is the point where three provinces meet; it is the westernmost ‘town’ in Gauteng and faces the North-west Province with Free State on the other side of the river. Birdlife such as Fish Eagles that regularly call, badgers and monkeys scurrying around on the rock cliffs and lichens lying and baking on the banks all serve to create a typical forest atmosphere. Under a clear starry sky and with the cleanest air in Gauteng, Vaaloewer is a must on your fishing venue wish list! 

CANDY’S LODGE – AKKOMMODASIE EN BOOTLANSERING

The weir built in 1995 lifted this section of the river surface by about 6m. Boats can now sail for 5km between the weir and Silver Streams and enjoy fishing. This section of the river is clean and peaceful with the advantage of being located below the Barrage.

Boat launching costs R300 per day with a R50 once-off fee for the licence, and all documentation must be in place (Skipper, COF, Buoyancy certificate).

Additional activities include clay pigeon shooting and mountain bike routes, visits to the tourist town of Parys with a nature-rich golf course only 27km from Vaaloewer.

How to anchor a boat to provide a stable fishing platform.

Once your target fishing area has been found and selected, it is crucial to keep the boat as stable as possible on the water. If the boat moves around because of river currents, or the wind, your trace on the river bottom will also move around. Here is how to securely anchor the boat:

Step 1: 

Place the first anchor about 15-30m away from the fishing area. The length of all the anchor ropes is determined by the slope of the river bottom.

Step 2: 

Now place the second anchor at the same length beyond the fishing area.

Step 3: 

Tie the two anchor ropes together by means of a carabiner. Tie a marker drum to the two anchor ropes so that they can be easily accessed again later. Now place a third anchor inline with the 1st anchor.

Step 4: 

Now move over to the right side and place a fourth anchor as close to the 2nd and 3rd anchors as possible.

Step 5: 

Move the boat back to the marker drum with the 3rd and 4th anchor ropes lying limp in the water. Tie the 1st and 2nd anchor ropes to the boat and move forward until they both pull tight.

Step 6: 

When the 1st and the 2nd anchor ropes are tight, the 3rd and the 4th anchor ropes can be tightened and tied to the boat. The boat will now move minimally on the surface. 

When +playing a fish there is always a possibility that the fish may swim around the anchor ropes. The rod can then be moved over the top or bottom of the anchor ropes to avoid any friction or entanglement which can cause a lost fish.

TOP TIP: The more acute the angles of the anchor lines to the water the better!

STRATEGIES

To enjoy a successful session on the water it is essential to locate a productive fishing area. Even with a good bait you won’t catch a fish in the wrong place, but you can catch a fish with the wrong bait in the right place! So the crux of the matter is that you have to carefully choose where you fish.  

Werner Lubbe and I drove up and down pretty much all afternoon to study the features of the river bed with a fishfinder to make sure that we would prepare feeding spots in spots that held good potential for catches. We decided on two feeding spots to give us more chances. See X1 and X2 on the aerial photo. X1 behind the large island has a nice sandy bank and is uniformly 4m to 6m deep in the middle. At X2 we found an underwater mound around 6m – 8m deep and next to it another bank at 4.1m deep with many fish showing on it.  

After putting out our groundfeed we started fishing at X1 behind the island. At the soft sandbanks we moored the boat against the shore. Like the top-class angler that he is, Werner got the first catch net wet in 5 minutes. After that the bites went dead so we then moved on to the next area X2 in ‘Porcupine Bay’. Here again Werner hooked a fish almost immediately, but he unfortunately lost it when the fish got entangled with the marker float. Except for a few small smallmouth yellowfish the fishing slowed right down while we sat with great anticipation, wondering what the full moon would hold for us. Werner then reigned supreme for the day by connecting with a whopping 11kg barbel that took his fishhead bait. 

Very early the next morning we were back on the water at X2 where we caught only a few small fish and then decided to go back to the island at X1. Here the cards fell right for me and I caught a feisty 5kg carp using a pineapple tigernut bait.

The Vaal River offers opportunities to apply various fishing techniques. Werner focused on Feeder and bank fishing while I focused on specimen carp and bank fishing. We also both tried our luck with artlure in the rapids and around structures.

Upon reflection, we realized that after each fish landed the bites dried up, so we most probably would have fared better had we moved around more after each catch because the fish appeared to be very timid.

It was an unforgettable experience for me to go fishing with Werner on his boat in my backyard. There isn’t a monetary value for the amount of experience I gained. I would advise every angler to come and try Vaaloewer’s fishing opportunities.

Until next time. May the alarms scream and your lines be tight and deliver many wet catch nets!

The latest digital edition of STYWE LYNE/TIGHT LINES is now available!