I would bet that most people who fly either to or through Johannesburg in South Africa have no idea whatsoever that within a couple of hours of this sprawling city lies some truly outstanding and easily accessible fly fishing. They say that when God finished building the world, he dumped all the leftover rocks in the Vaal river. This winding river offers some classic fly fishing, especially if you are into upstream or Czech nymphing, plus some dry fly action. But the quarry is not trout. Ever heard of the yellowfish? Thought not. Kind of like a cross between a barbel and a sleek river carp, these powerhouses are like some kind of cult religion to South African fly fishermen.
As with a lot of things in South Africa, the fishing need not be in the least bit expensive. Many parts of the Vaal river can be fished by simply seeking the landowner's permission or buying a permit. The stunning area around Parys that is under two hours drive from the centre of Johannesburg is one of the best parts of the Vaal river to go and target yellowfish. Walk it, wade it, even float it, there is stacks of good fly fishing around. Make that little bit of extra effort and the chances are that you won't see another person all day.
Pound for pound, yellowfish are enormously powerful adversaries. The most common species is the smallmouth yellowfish, as you can see here, but there is a far larger and less common largemouth yellowfish that can grow way over 20lbs. Often known as "largies", these fish require a bit luck and real dedication, but there are huge numbers of hungry smallmouth yellowfish around. As with all river fishing, the water levels very much dictate fish activity. A really good time of year to target smallmouth yellowfish is during our generally miserable winter, and little beats jetting south and stepping out of the airplane to those never ending blue African skies.
You can see from the shape of the mouth how perfectly adapted these smallmouth yellowfish are to living and feeding in the extensive Vaal river. Honestly, you can't believe how rocky the bottom is, and this of course provides the perfect habitat for a generally bottom feeding fish. Upstream nymphing is about as much fun as you can get out here, but often as the sun begins to dip and the temperatures drop slightly, you will find these powerful fish taking flies off the surface. The whole experience very much reminds me of a kind of uprated trout fishing thing - same gear, same kind of knowledge, but with Africa in the mix.
I fished and photographed with Jako Lucas, one of the consistently outstanding guides from the South African based FlyCastaway. These guys grew up smashing yellows just as a UK fly angler chases trout, and I can't reiterate enough how much a guide will make your time just a huge amount more worthwhile. Forget all about the stuff you read in the papers about South Africa and just make sure to give yourself some decent fishing time any time you are close to Johannesburg. Seriously, this is world class fly fishing that virtually nobody outside of South Africa knows anything about.
Travel, contacts etc:
The South Africa based company FlyCastaway (www.flycastaway.com) specialise in organising and guiding trips to some of the world's best fly fishing (Seychelles, Zambia tiger fish, South Africa yellowfish etc.), and having worked with many guides around the world, I simply can not recommend them any more highly. These guys grew up fly fishing for yellowfish and they are seriously good at it.
