Good carp fishing at Midmar Dam

Bass - At this time of year, there are a few hints and tips that one could use to help improve angling, as the water temperature increases, water levels flood and new food sources pop up. Lure retrieval should be more aggressive and faster, crank baits and jerk baits with faster retrieves will get more bites than slower presentations. Even when fishing patterns such as flukes, senkos or spinner baits, a jerk then pause retrieve will be more productive than a straight level retrieve. In a dam such as Albert Falls, smaller Bass hunt in shoals to trap Tilapia in the shallows and on particular drop-offs and structures. Keep an eye out for action on the surface, caused by fleeing baitfish, and present a weightless fluke on the outskirts of the shoals. This is where the feeding Bass patrol in hope for an injured Tilapia to veer off track. Fish these areas thoroughly and there is some great fishing to be had. Another fun target species is Tilapia on light tackle. These fish can grow to weights in excess of 4kgs and a specimen of 1.5kgs will out-fight most fresh water fish pound for pound.  

Carp - Carp angling in our big three dams (Albert Falls, Inanda and Midmar) has been exceptional, with the presence of a lot of smaller fish. This keeps us busy, but it would be nice to see the average size of the Carp increase a bit. Due to the temperature increase, algae and surface weed has increased substantially. This is good in a sense that when decomposing occurs, animal life thrives and there is a massive ecosystem boost and fishing becomes excellent, but until that point, what is happening is the weed and algae is draining all of the oxygen from the water, causing the fish to travel to water that is rich in oxygen. In a small dam, this is a good thing because the fish have only one option and that is to move to the river inlet, which makes them easy targets.

(File Photo:Wikipedia)

- Kingfisher

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