Since Bon Accord dam is so close to where I live I don’t always post when I visit. I think of this dam as my practice grounds. It is not one of the biggest dams but yet it is big enough to make a big difference regarding how deep you cast. We also sometimes test our different baits and techniques and practice our casting. Since Bon Accord dam is just 14km from my home it is also nice to be able to fish for only a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

About three weeks back I made a quick fishing session from about 16h00 till sundown and I caught about 7 very small carps. A week later I visited with a friend. We arrived at about the same time and caught 9 small carps by sundown.

It was only last Wednesday when a very special friend of mine proved to me that there are indeed much bigger carps in the dam. Now I really don’t want to admit that she can probably outcast me by far (if there even exists such a word ), but she is a very practiced and experienced angler to say the least.

Being a public holiday the banks were packed with anglers and finding a spot was difficult. I had to settle for a not so popular spot, at about the middle. Any case when Nanette arrived she took one of my rods, put some magic mix of my dupas, dough, floaties and ball dips on the rig, and even though she asked for a rig with a heavier weight (which I did not have), she cast a distance that was mildly amusing to put it very lightly. I wanted to re-bait after about 20 minutes or so, as I always do, but she told me to let it lay for about an hour. I was getting the fire ready for braai or something (what I did when the reel started spinning is not really that important for a fishing story), when I suddenly heard the fish run. Out of excitement I grabbed her rod and started reeling in. I got orders all the way while doing so! She did the last bit herself while I stood ready with the net. Out came a beautiful 2kg+ Bon Accord carp. Unfortunately we did not weigh it, but somewhere in that region, and the biggest carp I’ve seen there in a long time, and…. caught on mere #1 sized hooks!

It was as if after seeing that bigger carp (I know it’s not that huge but still big for a dam where I usually only catch 500gram fish) I started believing enough to catch a bigger one myself. Saturday came and I had to feed the addiction again, so I called my buddy Joe, who caught some nice pics of the boats on the dam and the fish in the dam that day, to join me for a fishing session. I was able to catch I nice bigger carp that day. I got to weigh it this time and it weighed 2.5kg.

The next day Andre joined me for a short midday session. We caught about 7 fish (if I remember correctly now) and once again a bigger than usual Bon Accord size carp took the bait on one of Andre’s rods. The fish gave a nice fight, something we all love and we landed the fish safely a few minutes later.

All and all I’d say fishing has improved over the last few months at Bon Accord, but maybe thats just because our techniques improved. The hyacinth problem is getting better, but there are more boats now because of this. Also it is somewhat sad to see that some people are netting fish in the dam. And I am talking about 5kg+ fish, which goes to show that there are even much bigger fish in the shallow waters. I know it is a very touchy subject amongst anglers, especially when specimen anglers are involved, but I personally don’t have a problem with people taking fish home to eat, although I normally put all the fish I catch back into the water safely. But netting fish takes things to a whole new level. And if you don’t believe me about the 5kg carps being netted, just drive around the dam on the highway and you’ll see people selling salted fish to the passing cars and taxis.

And thats what I have for a small update on fishing conditions at Bon Accord dam for the first part of 2012.

Thanks Joe for letting us use your photo’s! And for those who don’t know the website’s top banner is also one of Joe’s artworks.

To read more about our other Bon Accord dam fishing trips click here.

Altough we are passionate carp anglers we enjoy most fassets of modern day fishing and were never more reminded of this fact than when we hooked a small barbel at Bon Accord dam in January. Despite the small size of the barbel , it still caused utter chaos and reminded us of it’s immense fighting power. Barbel is the omnivore of fresh water and will eat almost anything you put in the water. At Bon Accord dam the barbel are plentiful and can be caught on the usual baits such as small fish heads, platannas and chicken liver.

In January we did not target barbel per se, but managed a few takes on earth worms. Keep in mind that earth worms produce catches of various species and sizes and when targeting barbel, bait such as platanna is recommended. Also keep in mind that catching with platanna is not legal in all nine provinces of South Africa , so do your research beforehand! In future articles we will focus a bit more on how to catch this amazing fish, covering topics such as bait, rigs and venues.

Hyacinth is a common problem experienced at fishing waters in and around South Africa and many people have been battling with this intruder plant over the past decade. Bon Accord wasn’t overseen and during a few occations in the 2010 fishing season we were left with a sea of hyacinth obstructing each and every available fishing spot. It is with great excitement that I announce that most of the hyacint have been removed since, and that fishing can once again be enjoyed by young and old.

I do however have to point out that there is still a small amount of hyacinth present, mostly a problem when the wind picks up forcing these plants to the side.

Sadly the conservation of all other areas around Bon Accord dam are lacking.Papers, bottles, cans and other litter can be seen lying around the once beautiful grass banks while staff members strole past leisurely picking up the minimum required.

The first day of the new year is a good day to start fishing, and that’s exactly what we did!

Rigging up for a fresh start

Being an angler, early mornings every now and then is inevitable, so it was early rise on the first day of the new year to do some last minute preparations before hitting the road. We have decided to fish Bon Accord dam because it is so close and because it was back to work again on Monday.

By the afternoon all was set up and we had already made a feeding spot a bit further down the so called “hotel” side of the Bon Accord dam, but it was only by 5 ‘o clock that we had the first one in the net. It was a barbel, caught on Andre’s rod, brought to the dry ground by my brother Riaan, since Andre was away at that time. Although the barbel was not very big it put up quite a nice fight.

Andre with Bon Accord Barbel

During the day we all had a few runs but somehow most of the the fish escaped. Riaan caught a few plastic bags and a baby carp. Andre also caught a baby carp just a moment or two later, which just shows that Bon Accord dam is full of fish life.

Riaan caught nice size plastic bag

He also caught a small carp

Not a good way to start a year, but luckily non of us blanked, as I caught a small carp just after dusk. Mind you, I have serious problems recalling this event. Luckily Andre took photo’s to remind me.

I caught a typical Bon Accord Carp

After that nothing much happened. It started drizzling and a few Bon Accord crabs came out of the water to the light. Andre’s bait was taken by something which we believe was a barbel, because he used bait fish.

One of those Bon Accord Crabs

The next morning I went to pick up my friends, who were to join us for the day.

In the past Bon Accord dam’s water was seriously infested with Hyacinth. This seems to be much better now but the banks were quite polluted by careless anglers who, despite the fact that dustbins are provided, simply throw their garbage in the grass beside the dam.

Dirty banks

Despite the very wet conditions, it was a good and fun first outing for 2011!

Great buddies who joined us

Our catch for the night

During the last week of the summer holiday I decided to join one of my old school friends for a quick (which later became a very long) fishing trip to the nearby Bon Accord dam.

Knowing from recent experience that the hyacinths in Bon Accord sometimes leaves little space for anglers, we set off very early in the morning, in that way keeping Rietvlei an alternative. This time however the hyacinths weren’t so bad. Apart from some around the bank of the dam there were almost no hyacinths in sight. I was still worried about water life though as I heard through the grapevine that hyacinths takes the oxygen out of the water, and since me and Dre didn’t make a catch the previous time we fished Bon Accord I thought it to be a great possibility that there were very little if any fish left in the dam.

Luckily the possibility fell forgotten quickly as lots of small fish started jumping around in the water close by. A few minutes later our neighbors caught the first one. Not very big. I estimate it somewhere between  500 and 700 grams. But as for us we didn’t catch anything..

Until finally at about 16h00 in the afternoon I heard my reel sing, which by this time really sounded like music to my ears. I caught the first one, a 0.6 Kg Carpie on Champion Guava dipped worms. At first I thought it was color that did the trick as the muti contains some red florescence, so I tried it again, but this time some surprising and unforeseen circumstances messed up my attempt.

The hyacinths started creeping closer from where they were hiding around the corner of the dam, so that within a half hour casting became impossible. I almost started packing up when I saw the clear waters behind the hyacinths were also coming closer, so I decided to wait a while to see if it will blow over to the other side, giving us some space to fish.

After a while it paid off. The hyacinths were “gone”, but in the west a storm was brewing. About an hour later we were sitting inside the car, again waiting, not for fish to bite, not for the hyacinths but this time for the storm to pass. And then we were casting again and this time reeling in fish after fish.

Our catch for the night

After my second bite we started a little competition between me, my old pal Rinus and a guy by the name Riaan, that we met there. So now we were fishing for the bigger ones. Riaan, who stays near to Rietvlei taught me a few tricks at applying mieliebom in a way so that it doesnt fall of as easily. It basically comes down to forming the “bom” to a square with your fingers before rounding it.

During the light rain of the evening we caught 9 “keepers” (although the barbel was a bit small) of which I caught 7. Riaan caught another 2.

We kept fishing until 12 at night when the storm came back and the cold became a bit more than just unpleasant, so we drank something to make us warm and went to “bed” in the car as it was to late for building the tent in the rain. Sleeping somewhere, someway, between and on the front seats is no fun (Rinus on the backseats), but at least we could rest from the rain and cold.

The next morning we counted the fish to make sure, reeled in, greeted our neighbours and left for some sleep at home.

Having caught 7 carps on one rod I’d call the trippie a success!

Trip summary:

Fishing period: 6h00 am – 8h00 am (next day)

Catches: 8 Carps, 1 Barbel

Bait used: Guava dipped worms. Caught smaller fish on custard dough, compliments by the neighbours

Distance the fish was caught at: 40 – 70 metres

Fishing spot: Next to waterworks, opposite Onderstepoort. Drive around the dam until about halfway.

Conditions: Bit of everything. Most fish caught at night with some light rain.