Bloemhof session in December

Hi all,

I am going to do a couple of nights at Bloemhof in December. Probably Sandveld close to the bridge.

What is the best approach to take here?

1. what depth does one look for? How far do you have to go in?
2. what is the bottom like? lots of structure or just sand.

3. what flavours work? dips, hook baits?

4. is there any particular hook bait that stands out?

5. is it necessary to flavour the Ground Bait?

Thanks

Hi.

Fortunately fishing at Bloemhof is very easy.

1.I always fish water between 2-4m deep,any deeper means you just wait longer for bites.

2.Sandveld has a mostly sandy bottom,hence the name.But it depends very much on the water level of the dam.Close to the bridge,the old riverbed is about 200m from shore when the dam is full.As the water recedes,you might get within casting range of the riverbed,which can be up to 8m deep,with lots of mud and snags.Also,if the dam has been empty for a while,lots of grass and plants grow on the exposed sand.So then when the water level rises again,you have 'snag city' everywhere.I don't know the current situation there,you will have to guage the situation on your spot when you get there.

3.We have always done well on a few basic flavours there,nothing fancy is needed.A few that we always use are:
Garlic
Almond
TCP
Duiwelsdrek
Honey
Lootie
Strawberry
Peach
Perdeby
Bunspice

4.Our first choice hookbait at Bloemhof is always a small plain comp float with a small dough backing.Plain Koo sweetcorn pips are also a time tested hookbait,has caught millions of Bloemhof carp.Floats and dough seems to get picked up quicker,sweetcorn lies longer but often gives a bigger average size fish.When it's rainy,Kariba earthworms are a superb hookbait.

5.I would strongly advise you to keep your groundbait plain,absolutely no need to flavour it.Most important tip for fishing Bloemhof is to practice 'kolgooi'.Keep feed going in on the same spot consistently,and you will catch plenty carp,all day long.

At current dam levels at 30m you are fishing in 5m water and at 100m you'll be in 8-10m of water

Better size fish at 80m and build a feed spot

December is when we fish the junior nationals there. There will be over 260 juniors competing there 8-16 December.

We put 5 tins koo pips per 4kg dry feed and then simply use those pips as hookbaits and on the other hook a Vampire floatie or Gumtree pip

2 December's back my son weighed 83 fish in an 8 hour session a Sandveld. Caught 144 fish over 3 x 8 hour sessions and was the SA Champion for U/19A division

Thank you so much Beeslek and Enigma.

That information is really helpful.

Thanks so much