Since I was camping at Lotheni for 5 nights and the river was (sadly) unfishable we headed into Underberg for the day. After a quick cup of coffee with Alan we shot across to North End due the thatch gazebo which offered some shade for Sharon in the 30 degree plus heat.
On arrival (at 9am) I noticed two other fisherman on the water. I quickly kitted up one of the boats and then rowed out onto the water. The other fisherman looked less than pleased that I was there (I guess the boats are a little noisier than float tubes) but after a brief chat all was resolved and we got down to fishing.
Apparently they’d landed just one 4 pound rainbow between the two of them that morning. And with the temperature rising they decided that that was enough and called it a day.
I carried on fishing and two hours later was still empty handed. Then, on my last cast, I hooked into a 5 pounder that fought me incredibly hard on my river stick. Sadly however it came off just before I got it to the boat.
I paddled in, had a quick snack, and then went back out in the sweltering heat to try again for the missed fished. Thankfully the short session produced a nice 1.5kg fish which saw me calling it a day and getting off the water.
Sharon and I then headed back to Alan’s place where he kindly offered to take us out to lunch at the Old Hatchery. It’s certainly a fantastic location and worth looking at as an accommodation option for a weekend’s fishing. The menu was limited but all the food on it was above par.
All in all a great day out on the Underberg waters.