It was a weekend bash for Mike and Lawrence who were joined by a second group comprising of Greg and his old man, also Mike, Paul and Mark. As usual our guests couldn’t wait to get on the gin clear water and rods were set up before you could say ‘yellowfish!’ Our first session on the water was interrupted by an unexpected but very welcome thunder shower. Good thing there was some piping hot showers, and delicious food, ready in camp to welcome guests back off the water.
We began at the bottom of beat one on the first full day and caught good number of yellow fish and were pleasantly surprised by some hungry rainbow trout. The yellows were loosely taking flies off the surface and as one can expect, the buck fever took over resulting in many missed strikes. After some calming words from the guides the gents started to settle down and found their groove. Mike was on a roll and ended off the day with a beautiful yellow that had one too many hoppers for breakfast.
The trip continued on this trend, with everyone getting stuck in during the afternoon session. The buck fever, combined with tough light to spot the dry flies, left some of the egos slightly bruised. A good thing the Bokong is home to some forgiving fish that ended up hooking themselves 😉 Mike was on song again, after a few lessons in high sticking the pocket, water he was fishing like a hungry cormorant. He landed the fish of the trip, once again a fat hen fish just shy of seven pounds.
Day two we trekked up with our river ranger David and his noble steed bringing lunch. This time it was Mark’s turn to fool the fish, as one after the other came up to his little green Klinkhammers. The fishing was slower and much more technical higher up so we let the guys loose on beat one for one last session before sundown. As the last light left the sky the team strolled back into camp with sore arms, and in time for a proper steak dinner.
It was a real pleasure watching the team’s river skills develop over their time in camp, and one of most rewarding aspects of being a fly fishing guide.
All good things come to an end, and so did a great weekend in the Lesotho highlands. We are already looking forward to seeing these lads again soon.
Tight lines until next time
Johann and Stu
