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GUIDES Tony Kietzman
Where, What & When
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The Eastern Cape Highlands ring the southern border of Lesotho. Numerous catchments drain the escarpment flowing in a North Westerly direction. These fabled streams are fed by winter snows and summer rainfall. The village of Rhodes is located near to the southern tip of Lesotho and has a resident population of less than forty individuals. I’m is privileged to be one of them and to guides in the area.
We target rainbow and brown trout in running water. During the warmer months, the indigenous yellowfish (Labeo barbus spp.) become available as they migrate upstream to spawn. All fishing is catch and release. I have extensive knowledge of the area and its flora and fauna.
Contact
Contact Person: Contact Number: Email: Website:
Tony Kietzman +27 (0)82 894 3946 tonykietzman@webmail.co.za or tonyjwkietzman@gmail.com The Wild Trout Association - www.wildtrout.co.za
Other Information
The Highlands are home to The Wild Trout Association (WTA), a group of riparian land owners who make their waters available to the public, offering the greatest concentration of flowing waters accessible to the public in South Africa. We base ourselves in Rhodes and travel out to beats in one of the many catchments. One may fish at altitudes between 1600 and 2500msl. The remoteness of the area ensures solitude and one will not share your beat with anyone outside your party. The going can be rough at times and conditions can change rapidly in the mountains so raincoats and protective gear are always carried. The WTA permits winter fishing for those who own the apparel and brave the conditions.
Favoured waters are the gradient influenced freestone headwaters, clear and fast flowing. These offer an intimate close up experience with sight fishing opportunities. The quarry may often be small but - is a foot long fish not a trophy when taken from a stream that one can step across? This is where sub zero outfits belong and dry flies are the order of the day. Some beats start upstream of where the road ends; we park and hike in. We do not experience predictable hatches on the same scale as in the northern hemisphere and fish a fairly limited flyboxes. I believe that placement and presentation are of the utmost importance. A fish of greater length than the depth of the water it is taken from is considered a bragging fish. Larger specimens are generally targeted in the more pastoral and slower flowing middle and lower reaches of the streams.
The environment, its flora, fauna and one’s sight fished quarry all come together in a very Zen way.
