As we push off into the flow of the
river, the thermometer on my clever new
watch rises before my eyes, a reminder
that the luxury of cool air will soon be for-
gotten. Seasoned anglers wear UV light-
blocking clothing from head to toe, but
the added bonus of a full cover-up is that
if you wet the clothing while you’re wear-
ing it, the wonderful physics of latent heat
evaporation very effectively cools you
down. I always find there is no rush to
cast a line early morning for yellows and
indeed the action just gets better and
better as the sun warms in the sky.
In this remote area of the Orange
River, a take is never far away, and to
catch quality smallmouth yellowfish here
is not hard work, with 1kg - 2.5kg fish
being the norm. The larger specimens
are more difficult to land and their turbo-
charged fights are more akin to battles
with inshore salt water species. If you
want to connect with an elusive large-
mouth it takes more determination, how-
ever, but success is usually forthcoming.
I have caught mahseer in India up to
nearly 100lb and I can confidently say
that to land a big largie in this wild loca-tion is a comparable achievement. With
the mahseer fishing in India currently in
terrible decline, the South African large-
mouth yellowfish offers a viable alterna-
tive for international anglers. Having
spent many hours wading the Orange
River and being amazed by the abun-
dance of small molluscs and crabs, it
is not difficult to understand how real
monsters can lurk here.TACKLE AND TACTICS
The ideal rod for the job is a fast-
action in the 7/8-wt range. Combine this
with a 12ft leader of quality fluorocarbon
about 17lb in strength. Dark-coloured
Muishond or Skunk type flies made with
a Zonker body, CLF fibre head with tung-
sten dumbbell eyes, all tied on #5/0 circle
hooks worked well for me, especially
since they prevent snagging. Good-sized
smallmouth yellowfish can be caught on
a variety of methods including dry fly.
For sheer arm-aching numbers, Euro
nymphing or even New Zealand upstream
nymphing are extremely effective. Here a
10’6” nymphing rod with a 22ft leader
(RIO Two Tone is a favourite) and two or
three natural flies with the all-important
pink or orange hot-spots will keep you in
the action all day long. Even a humble
2kg smallmouth will have the line down28 | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | TCFF“WITH THE MAHSEER FISHING IN INDIA CURRENTLY IN TERRIBLE
DECLINE, THE SOUTH AFRICAN LARGEMOUTH YELLOWFISH OFFERS
A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR INTERNATIONAL ANGLERS.”
Top: Jacques Marais with a young but solid largie.
Above: A river safari the African way.