Dullstroom - Field & Stream

[MickeyBlue42]

Little trip report...


So we ended up staying at Field & Stream for 6 nights. Gavin was an excellent manager and always made sure we were good!


The unit was spacious and even had a dishwasher which is a win for bigger groups. We ran the fireplace a few nights and had some fantastic evenings on the balcony overlooking the dam.


Fishing was tough as there was a lot of rain... 60mm in the one 30hr period. Water was dirty and the wind was up on quite a few mornings and afternoons.


We had one excellent late afternoon period (45 minutes) where I lost 3 trout. 2 fish, the leader snapped and one I lost close to the bank (maybe 30-40cm). Foam wing hoppers (brown) caught the first two, and one on a purple beetle. I also tried fishing droppers with no luck.


We saw some big trout in that dam. Another crowd who was fishing at the same time as us...he has caught a 3.5kg in the trophy dam and has definitely seen bigger! Wish the conditions could have been better but that's fishing.


I was fishing a 5wt with 5x leader which was definitely too thin, for me anyway... Came back the next day with 3x but the action had passed!

Other trip hightlights....

* Joe's Special - curried trout and masala chips at Fatimas. Samoosa's for takeaway
* Spent a great morning with Kevin from Life on Fly. Did an introductory course for my wife which I joined in and I learned a few new tricks myself! He came to Field and Stream for the session.
* Excellent lunch at Baker Boys
* Great Ribeye Steak from Labamba Supermarket
* Lamb Sosatie's & Sourdough from Lunsklip
* Die Joint has all of your herbal supplies should you enjoy the herb!
* Had a quick beer, whisky tasting and charcuterie board at Wild About Whisky which was informative and enjoyed!


If you go to F & S, you need an SUV at the least. We got properly stuck the one morning and needed help to get out. The road was much better this year as apparently work was done on it, but if these rains continue it's going to be back to the same!

[Mr.G]

Dullstroom can be tough at times.Never been to FnS but some of the dams i have had great success I fished a olive booby fly on sinking line. Deadly combination.The fish smash the fly when you stop stripping and the fly starts floating up,almost like a hatching insect.I often had 6-8 in the net before the guys around me got 1.
5x trouthunter tippet is one of the strongest tippets out there,very pricey but you do catch more with thinner tippet when you fishing pressured water.

[MickeyBlue42]

Dullstroom can be tough at times.Never been to FnS but some of the dams i have had great success I fished a olive booby fly on sinking line. Deadly combination.The fish smash the fly when you stop stripping and the fly starts floating up,almost like a hatching insect.I often had 6-8 in the net before the guys around me got 1.
5x trouthunter tippet is one of the strongest tippets out there,very pricey but you do catch more with thinner tippet when you fishing pressured water.

Funny you said that...

Kevin the teacher/guide... He only fishes sinking and then adjusts his leading length. Less drag and you can fish a lot of depths as I understand it by adjusting your leader length. And he gave me a pair of cans to fish

My experience is more salt but getting into freshwater!

[Alwyn777]

Luckily you didn't use a Mickey Finn fly. You would've gotten stuck/snagged again

All in jest

Glad you enjoyed your stay. It's a very nice farm.and I'll certainly be back.

And yes, as mentioned, a booby on a sinking is deadly, especially when fishing other flies aren't delivering results.