TCFF | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 | 69STILLWATERS
Large stillwaters can be very intimi-
dating so my advice is not to look at the
lake in its entirety but to break it up into
sections. Look at these in more detail, ie
drop-offs, points, weedbanks and so on
and approach them in the same way you
would a smaller piece of water. Reading
a stillwater, understanding its topo-
graphy, recognising the drop-offs, old
riverbeds, inlets and outlets and identify-
ing weed channels are all paramount to
success for the angler. If I look at two
waters I have fished extensively, namely
Bernard’s and Sid’s in the Eastern Cape,
they have certain areas and structures
that consistently produce fish. Of course
there are times when fish are spread
throughout the lake and no pattern is
obvious, but when this is not the case I
start gravitating to the areas I am familiar
with. The first thing I suggest to anglers
is to get into the weed channels and start
fishing along them with both floating and
intermediate lines. Cover depths and fish
at various speeds from static using drag-
ons and damsels, to more active fishing
using minnows and Strip Leeches. If
you observe the bank topography it will
tell you more about where the deeper
sections, the drop-offs and the ledges are.
If the wind is blowing hard, an anchor
system is a must. You cannot effectively
fish weed channels, drop-offs or any area
for that matter if the wind is pushing you
along too quickly. You need to anchor
down to effectively cover the area you
have identified as a potential spot that
holds fish. These days I constantly use a
thermometer to take water temperaturereadings. Last year September while
fishing the Eastern Cape, we had a really
tough trip with water temperatures not
climbing much above 8 degrees. We
returned to the same venue in October
and we had an exceptional trip with tem-
peratures up at 11 - 13 degrees. This year
April we had another great trip with
similar water temperatures.“LARGE STILLWATERS CAN BE VERY INTIMIDATING SO MY
ADVICE IS NOT TO LOOK AT THE LAKE IN ITS ENTIRETY BUT TO
BREAK IT UP INTO SECTIONS.”