Hi guys New to posting on the forum, thought I'd

[Grassy_Carp]

Hi guys

New to posting on the forum, thought I'd give it a go.  Went to the Vaal River (near Deneysville) 2 weeks back, on the 23-25 Sep.  Fishing was tough, the saturday morning saw colder weather and strong winds.  Tried sweet white dough and floaties, also tried juana mielies with FX and Duiwelsdrek on the bol.  Other combos tried was FX and Perdeby, Q35 and Perdeby, Lootie and Garlic .  Nothing really produced any fish, think the weather had a part to play in this.  Also, not much movement on the water in terms of fish jumping, etc.

That afternoon, out of desperation, i tried some brown bread mixed with custard powder, and that finally produced! A nice yellow of about 1.5kg, fought nicely all the way.  Released straight away to fight another day.

The next morning, the weather was much better, and once again tried with the brown bread mixed with custard powder.  Kept getting decent bites, but the fish were just not running once taking the bait (even with the baitrunner function).  I missed at least 3 decent bites like this.  Eventually tightened the drag on the baitrunner, and landed a beautiful +- 1.5kg river carp.  That was it for my fishing for the trip as we were about to leave.  The guys next to me were catching on marshmallows (about 3 carp, all decent sizes of more than 1-2 kgs).

Two questions to ask is why were the fish not taking the bait and running like they do in the dams, and secondly, the place was quite snaggy with lots of rocks(lost quite a few traces, resorted to just one hook but still lost some).  What is the good rig to use in a river like this?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cheetah13]

Hey Grassy Carp



The fish probably didn't run because of the cold weather, but I'm no expert and with regards to rigs and traces, do a search, you should find loads and loads of excellent info!

Congrats with the 2 fish

 

[Naruto]

Welcome! Rivers can be a bit tricky. Helps to fish a spot regularly to get to know the features, snags etc. What weights were you using?

 

[Grassy_Carp]

Hi Naruto

Sorry for the very late reply! Just been busy, wish I could say was busy fishing but not the case.  Hopefully soon! 

Used std mushroom type sinkers, M 1.5 I think was the size.  Do you think those dart type bom holders would be a better bet in the river?

 

[Stones]

Hey Grassy,

Thanks for releasing the Yellow!

There is only one rig that works for me on the rocky Vaal River floor when baiting; running ball sinker, swivel and trace piece to a single hook. Keep the line elevated as much as possible when in the water. When re-baiting, strike high, reel quick and you should get your rig back every time.

Stones

 

[Grassy_Carp]

Hi All

Second trip to the Vaal river, 2 weeks ago, more of a family get together than a serious fishing trip.

Caught a few small ones, barbers, muddies, yellows and a small carp.  My bro lost a decent size fish late in the one evening when he was all alone and no one to net the fish. 

Baits used, brown bread, plain mallows and mielies.  Most of the fish caught on the bread and mallows, no takes on the mielies.  Best dips that worked were perdeby and looti, which worked for the small muddies very well.

One thing I was really amazed by is the depth of the river in this stretch (below the dam wall near Deneysville).  At one stage, using the canoe I rowed out a good 200m at an angle towards what looked like deeper water (in front of us the depth ranges from 50cm to just over a meter deep, with lots of rocks), and when I finally dropped the baits, checking the depth it was nearly the same as in front of us lol! Really thought it would be deeper there.

I must say I still enjoy fishing the river, but need to find a spot where the water is deeper to target the bigger carp. 

Next trip, Bloemhof!!

 

Tight lines