February in KZN is known for it’s excessive heat, humidity and warm Indian Ocean. For many anglers, this means that a host of species present themselves, with Dorado aka “Popcorn Bream” being a popular target. With this in mind, we reached out to Mark De la Hay from African Fishing Outfitters to setup a morning session and target these disco fish on the fly.

With an offer to fish a well-kept bass pond in Kokstad, from an Xplorer friend, Greg Todd, ideas started brewing as to how we could link these two trips up over a weekend. As the logistics of getting both done in one weekend started unfolding, a scene was being set that would make for one very epic weekend. And so, embodying the spirit of Xplorer, the plans were locked in, and a Never Stop Xploring essence took the helm.

Fast forward to 4:30am on a Friday. After an early wake-up, and average petrol station coffee, we met Mark in Ballito. With a gap in the weather, a hairy shore break was all that stood in the way of getting out to the fads and jamming out with the Dorries.

One of the most impressive features of KZN boat anglers, are their surf launching skills. Mark is without a doubt one of the best, and witnessing this first-hand showed why having an experienced skipper is essential to not only finding fish, but getting you there and back, safely.

After punching though the swell, we sped out to the FADS chasing a dramatic sunrise. Being met with deep blue water, and hords of Dorado, Shaun, John and I were amped up to start casting at the electric shapes that were patrolling the structure.

With the immaculate conditions and schools of patrolling fish, there was a scurry to setup our T50 12wts with the Xplorer XPSS and Redington Behemoth with Rio Tropical Outbound Short F/H/I, and Rio Tarpon lines. Flies of choice went to natural coloured Clousers and larger poppers, that proved to be effective as the sun lit up the playground for the morning.

As the first casts were made, chaos ensued. The engines cut, and the first few casts were sent into battle, with each strip seeing chases and boils from all angles. Electric fish, and high energy anglers make this quite the scene. Within no time, the boys were hooked up to the first fish of the day. To say that Dorado love to dance would be an understatement. Heavy eats, acrobatic displays and mind blowing colours made our time fly. Within the first hour, we had 4 fish under the belt, with more chases and action to count.

And then, it went quiet – Lines up, and off to the next FAD we went.

As we pulled up to the next stop, we switched over to surface flies with Gnarley Head poppers. Within the first few strips, the bigger Bulls would come darting out from the depths, pushing each other out of the way to get to the fly. Busting fish on poppers is one of the ultimate fly-fishing experiences, and again, the boys were frothing with screaming reels, woops and hollers as each Dorado put up their aerial dances.

Over the next few hours, this process would be repeated. Flies that found most success were clousers and baitfish patterns of varying sizes, fished on 30lb Rio Flourflex. Progressive tapered Floating lines and the multi density Float/Hover/Intermediate RIO lines were perfect for getting our flies in the right position. Most of our fish were on the surface, so being able to keep the flies in the top column was essential.

After an electric morning and countless fish, the boys were maxed out on Dorries. A smooth return to land, and massive stoke, we said cheers to Mark and made our way back home to drop off the saltwater gear, and pack the Bass kit and float craft.

And so, off to East Griqualand we went.

Arriving just before sunset, we prepped our gear for the next morning, lit up the braai and cracked a few beers, settling in for an evening of braai, great conversation and anticipation for the next day.

Again, as the sun rose, we found ourselves launching float tubes on what was described to us as the pig farm. Seeing photos from Greg of 10lb plus Largemouth Bass got the boys stoked to get down and dirty on bucket mouths.

The gear selected for this consisted of our new prototype NRS rods, Guide II and T50 7wts with a host of lines. The early morning passing front saw us start with Rio Outbound Short Intermediate lines, and smaller baitfish patterns. Noticing a lot of Carp Fry meant that slowing the fly down and getting the right depth before the water warmed was essential. Shaun managed to land a few finicky fish in the first couple of hours, focusing on the rocky structure at the dam wall.

As the temperatures rose and the weather cleared, we switched over to Rio Grand floating lines and Rio Big Nasty leaders with larger weighted leech patterns. The fish seemed to become more willing to eat the fly but wanted something suspended over structure. Longer casts into wooden structure, with a slower strip seemed to do the trick, with a few solid bass to show.

As mid-day approached, we took a lunch break on the side of the dam under the trees. A hearty sandwich, one or two beers and a nap to wait out the heat of the day saw us get back on the water just after 3pm. The evening bite on Bass is renowned for being good. And so, as the afternoon light started, the bite improved, with fish coming alive on both the rocky bands and fallen trees.

Bass can be a complicated subject for fly anglers, but as the summer seasons come and go, embracing these impressive predators can be very rewarding. The largest fish from this trip clocked in at 4.8kg. With more time, we are certain that we would have found some bigger fish. What makes trips like this rewarding is the hunt. The concept applied to chasing Dorado on FADs is equivalent to chasing Bass on structure. Putting in the time, changing up the approach and embracing the adventure makes the result of getting the bite just the cherry ontop.

If anything, the point of the story is that we have some truly incredible fishing right on our doorstep, and there’s not much stopping you from doing it all. Get your mates together and put in some thought as to how vast you want to go on a fishing weekend. We can almost guarantee you that you’ll be surprised at where a little bit of madness can take you.

#neverstopxploring