The beginning of May saw our last group of guests for the Makhangoa Community Camp season 20/21 arrive in camp.
The LHDA(Lesotho Highlands Development Authority) have been pumping water out of Katse dam to South Africa at a rapid pace, and the dam level dropped by a meter and a half within the space of two weeks. This created the water in the dam to murk up and turn the rainbow trout off from feeding.
On the bright side though, since the water temperatures started to drop and cause the visibility to increase earlier this season in March, we haven’t seen smallmouth yellowfish come out of the dam in numbers however, the murky water conditions seemed to bring the yellows back into shallower water and on the hunt for food. The group managed to land over 10 fish off the drift boat, which is incredible for this cold time of year in the hills. Intermediate and fast sink lines were used with 2X or 3X tippet. The natural patterns came into their own once again this week with flies such as black & olive damsels, the good old faithful Mrs. Simpson, and brown wooly buggers doing the trick.
Overall, the guys had a fantastic time despite the lack of trout, each hooking into some strong yellowfish, and blown away by the overall experience of the Makhangoa Community Camp.
On behalf of myself, Greg and the rest of the MCC team, we would like to thank all the guests who came up this season. It has been a tricky time with the worldwide pandemic, but we are beyond excited for the 2021/2022 season and can’t wait to welcome the next guests back in the new season.
Till next time – stay safe
Phil, Greg, & the MCC team.
