Bass Fishing along the garden route

[Nico_T]

Hey Guys,

a member from the german forum called barsch-alarm suggested your forum to me.
A few facts about me: I am from Germany and a convinced catch and release fisherman who mostly fishes in the netherlands.


I will be traveling the garden route in less than 3 weeks. Starting from Capetown going all over to Port Elizabeth and back.

I googled a lot of stuff but it wasn't too helpful with regards to bass fishing near the coast.
So my current plan is to try Serpentine River and Island Lake as well as the ponds in Kurland.
I'll carry a medium heavy casting rod and a variety of lures with me.

I am happy about any help from you guys!

I am not asking for specific spots or top secret locations.
But in fact I would really appreciate suggestions for bodies of water with the opportunity to catch my first bass.

Thanks in advance and tight lines
Nico

 

[DJP]

Most of the inland waters have some bass in them but not all are easy to fish, i.e. Serpentine and Island lake.
My advise would be to get a guide in each area to take you fishing, most of them will know the local areas (fresh and saltwater) and be able to tell you where you can and can't access as well as what species to target. Also, the local tackle shops will be able to direct you to some of the public waters.
You will be in South Africa in prime fishing time, especially for catching some big saltwater fish / sharks which is an unbelievable experience for any fisherman so maybe consider doing that as well on your trip.
Guides (there are plenty others):
In Cape Town https://www.rademeyerfishing.com
https://www.mmmcapetownfishingadventures.co.za
Bass fishing Cape Town Adam Gouws https://www.tosf.co.za/charters/bass-fishing/

Garden route https://www.gofishtours.com/about-shawn-mey/
gjgroenwald@gmail.com Mulloway charters , Witsand, South Africa

Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth ) https://www.duvanfishingcharters.com

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

where will you be staying in the garden route?? Lots of lodges and guest houses on farms have farm dams that don't get much pressure and there are BIG bass in those dams, closer to cape town there is more pressure on the bass, and as you go up the coast the sea fishing really gets much better so most are throwing lines on the beaches or rocks so theres almost no pressure on the bass. The stretch from tsitsikamma to past PE is in the middle of a hectic drought so the dams that side are pretty empty, though impofu dam which has open public access I've had epic bass fishing from the banks there, over years, but the last 5 years the dam is super low and only pools and river channel where all the good spots were, though public can access through the water treatment works, and pay a R10 deposit it used to be and get a key to get through the gate and go down to their area and fish, return the key at the end of your session to get your ten rand back..That area of the dam, close to the wall side of the dam, might still have water where you can cast to structure..I am sure there are still lots of bass there, in the old good spots that are now pools the catfish (barbel) ate all the bass. There were always a couple lodges in the tsitsikamma area that had dams to fish on for guests that contain lots of hungry bass, one on Robbehoek but I cant remember its name has renowned dams. There are hundreds of little waters on private land that contain decent bass, one just needs access, but lots do offer accommodation so win win..

Breede river also has good bass, on route up..as well groenvlei near knysna and im sure countless other spots. If you have your bass gear with, for sure throw lures in the estuaries up the coast, all the way up the coast, now in summer, fishing can be epic..You will forget all about a bass once you have your first leervis chase, smash and grab! Or cob (meagre or drum, EU or USA) or even elf/shad (USA- bluefish) for that matter...get a guide and go catch some fish in the sea as DJP says..you wont regret the experience!

 

[Dr halibut hoffman]

Cape town has pretty dismal bass fishing in my experience unless you got access to private waters, as too many people, too little fish, too much pressure..BUT the best bass fishing in my life without parallel was in a private estate in Cape Town, I'll message you the name..maybe you can book to stay there..in which case buy a kicktube or kickboat this side and you will smash as many bass as you can handle, and then spend the rest of your holiday catching proper fish..I love catching bass but if I can fish the southern and east coast in feb/march the bass gear gets packed away!

 

[DJP]

Book the house boat, lots of bass, can fish off the deck or their kayaks, plenty of other dams with bass in the area, you normally just have to buy a bottle or two of wine.

https://southhill.co.za/accommodation/house-boat/

Or stay in the cottage at https://www.paulwallacewines.co.za

All the wine farm there have bass in their dams, you MUST get permission from the landowners and they don't give it to anybody due to security reasons and just a bad history of people misbehaving. So better to stay on the farm and enjoy some fishing whilst you are there.

 

[Nico_T]

Dr halibut hoffman wrote:

where will you be staying in the garden route?? Lots of lodges and guest houses on farms have farm dams that don't get much pressure and there are BIG bass in those dams, closer to cape town there is more pressure on the bass, and as you go up the coast the sea fishing really gets much better so most are throwing lines on the beaches or rocks so theres almost no pressure on the bass. The stretch from tsitsikamma to past PE is in the middle of a hectic drought so the dams that side are pretty empty, though impofu dam which has open public access I've had epic bass fishing from the banks there, over years, but the last 5 years the dam is super low and only pools and river channel where all the good spots were, though public can access through the water treatment works, and pay a R10 deposit it used to be and get a key to get through the gate and go down to their area and fish, return the key at the end of your session to get your ten rand back..That area of the dam, close to the wall side of the dam, might still have water where you can cast to structure..I am sure there are still lots of bass there, in the old good spots that are now pools the catfish (barbel) ate all the bass. There were always a couple lodges in the tsitsikamma area that had dams to fish on for guests that contain lots of hungry bass, one on Robbehoek but I cant remember its name has renowned dams. There are hundreds of little waters on private land that contain decent bass, one just needs access, but lots do offer accommodation so win win..

Breede river also has good bass, on route up..as well groenvlei near knysna and im sure countless other spots. If you have your bass gear with, for sure throw lures in the estuaries up the coast, all the way up the coast, now in summer, fishing can be epic..You will forget all about a bass once you have your first leervis chase, smash and grab! Or cob (meagre or drum, EU or USA) or even elf/shad (USA- bluefish) for that matter...get a guide and go catch some fish in the sea as DJP says..you wont regret the experience!

The places I'll be staying are:

Capetown / Simonstown
Swellendam
Wilderness
Plettenberg Bay
Pumba Private Reserve
Amakhala
Joubertina
Oudtshoorn


So for the estauries? How do I fish them, that just sounds insane!

thank you guys so much for the input