Ok so it’s not remote  as in “its safe to fish kaalgat” but considering not many people fish the sections we went to, it qualifies. We had to put our new Froggy V-Craft Mudbug Float Tube through its paces and there is no better place to do it than on Clanwilliam. So we organised our wives to join us and we headed there for a mid week break.

Tuesday
Our timing was a bit off weather wise as a few days before there was a serious cold front with reports of snow in the area. Of course the day we arrive it was 35 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. Great tanning weather my wife tells me. So we hit Rondegat bay for the afternoon. The water temp was very nippy to say the least with patches of very warm water. Fishing was much tougher than the last time but with patience and a little thought we were rewarded with some nice fish.

Rondegat Bay
Some late afternoon smallies 1.5kg & 1.4kg Respectively
1.6kg Smallie	They taste better when they are released

Wednesday
The morning was spent in the bay again but absolutely nothing for me but Myles landed a nice 1.9kg smallie on a 5 weight fly rod that took a good 10 minutes to subdue.

Myles with some nice early morning fish 1.5kg and 1.9kg respectively
1.6kg & 1.4kg Smallmouth Bass
Tons of smallmouth Fry – Future looks secure	Waiting for that topwater smallie

The rest of the day was spent fishing for river smallies….in the river section. This is where a float tube comes in really handy as you can access water that you will never be able to with a boat, or on foot for that matter. We found a spot that wasn’t fenced off and headed off into the bush with the landy, and came across this really lovely piece of beach were the girls could chill and drink cocktails and we could disappear for a few hours.

The fish where still not really interested but I managed a rat on one of the drifts and lost one in the rapids but it really was a great feeling drifting down the river for about 2kms, fishing spots that not many get to fish, we really enjoyed it, so much so that we did it again the next day.

Clanwilliam Cocktails	Froggy Mudbug ready to river drift.
Heading Out
A rat caught in the channel	Caught in the bay

Thursday
We spent the morning fishing the bay and the fishing was starting to pick up. This is normal for your last days fishing, it’s just one of those things. We picked up some nice smallies before we headed in for breakfast and to pack up.

The afternoon we did the river drift again. We picked up fish fairly regularly. The water is very clear in the river and you can see fish swimming everywhere. Some even swam up to me to check me out. These fish are not interested in anything, you have seen them so they have seen you.

I caught my first proper sized river smallie while drifting in very very shallow fast running water. I did not expect such a nice fish to be cruising in such shallow water but there she was and because it was so shallow she spent a lot of time in the air winning her my “most memorable catch of the trip” award.

Smallies live here.	Most memorable catch of the trip – 1.4KG

Moral of the story, get out there, try new spots, and please, please remember …. they taste better when they are released.