Magalies Barbus Haven Fly-fishing

FLY-FISHING: MAGALIES BARBUS HAVEN

Description

MAGALIES BARBUS HAVEN (MBH ADVENTURES) Location: GPS Co-ordinates 26° 0'22.98"S  27°33'48.68"E
MBH is situated on the upper stretches of the Magalies River. The water quality is superb, being in close proximity to the source at Maloneys Eye.
It’s approximately 45 minutes from Johannesburg and Pretoria - easily accessible for day trips. Close to many of the top hotels and Country houses such as Valley Lodge, Mount Grace, Whispering Pines, De Hoek, making this venue ideal for conference breakaways or corporate activities.

Sections
The venue is divided into four sections: Section 1 - Valley BrookSection 2 - Golden Brook Section 3 - Kingfisher Bend Section 4 – Trout and bass casting lake  

Magalies River Conservancy
MBH is a founding member of the Magalies River Conservancy.
The major objectives defined in the Conservancy Rules are: ·          Preserve, protect and increase the (threatened) indigenous yellow fish species in the river system. ·          Improving water quality in the river and anti-erosion measures on riverbanks and catchments areas. ·          Conserve the mammals and insects. ·          Eradicate the exotic plants and trees, resulting in encouraging indigenous birds to the area.  

Environment
The area is endemic to a multitude of ferns, cycads, wild flowers and indigenous trees. Please be considerate when walking on trails and along riverbanks not to damage the local flora. We would appreciate your assistance in preserving the pristine condition of this environment by picking up any litter that you may find.

Birding
The area consists of riverine forest, wooded gulleys bordered by hilly grassland/savannah. This habitat is home to an extensive variety of bird species (Bird checklist provided). We welcome the inclusion of any species that you may identify which we have not included.

Fly-fishing
Most guests visit the establishment in search of the large scale Yellow fish and more importantly, Small Scale Yellow fish. Not only are these two of the species that make up part of the 9x9 fly-fishing challenge, but also are they an enviable quarry found in a small river system, which provides challenging and exciting fishing for quality fly-fishers.

The fishing controls require the following: ·          Strictly fly-fishing ·          Maximum of 4/5 fly-fishers per day ·          Only catch and release ·          Barb less Hooks ·          Soft mesh landing nets ·          Wetting hands before handling fish ·          Submissions of catch reports for research  

Small Stream tactics
This style of fly-fishing requires skills and tactics that differ to those used in still water venues. Due to the river environment, techniques are restricted to the following casting techniques: ·          Roll-cast ·          Bow and arrow casts Normal fly-fishing casts should be kept short and restricted to one false cast before presentation of the fly. The main technique once the presentation of the fly has been made is UPSTREAM NYMPHING, utilizing the DEAD DRIFT technique. The fly, which imitates the fly food source, needs to move naturally in the current in order to convince the fish. 

Vouchers
An official fishing voucher with reference number and permit number should be sent to you. This must be presented to the security on check-in at Section 1. Please keep this voucher close to your person while fishing, as routine checks require the voucher to be presented. We appreciate your co-operation, as this is a major form of limiting and controlling poaching and illegal access.

Fly-fishing guiding, tuition and Team Building
Because of the specialized nature of the fly-fishing on the Magalies River (small stream techniques) we offer a service for guests that ensures that they expand their knowledge as well as increasing the enjoyment of their fishing experience.
Prices available on request.

Basic team building activities is offered to Corporates, which compliments the actual physical fishing. Prices on request, subject to time and size of group.

BOOKINGS: CELL- 0834140391 / 082768 5378 TEL- 0113154503  EMAIL: sundown@iafrica.com Recommended flies
It is important that fly fishers adapt to the river the flies to the type of food sources that the fish are feeding on in.
Over the various seasons the majority of the food remains similar but there are certain types that are completely different especially during summer and winter months. We recommend that the size of the flies ranges between #16 and #22 due to the size of the insects in the river not being very large (Small river system does not sustain large population of big insects, but rather a large population of smaller insects.)

All year round San Juan worm (Red and Chartreuse) Beaded Red Brassie Pheasant tail nymph Flash back Nymph (Dun and olive) Hot spot Nymph Beaded Charteuse Caddis Summer and Spring (Warmer months) September - March Yellow berry imitation Mulberry imitation Orange nymph Dragonfly Nymph and Emerger Damselfly Nymph and Emerger DDD Royal Wulff

Winter Green Caddis Green Algae imitation  

River Flow Rate
The flow does not fluctuate significantly between summer and winter. The main cause of the river flow increase is rainfall (only affecting the flow for up to 24 hours after the rain has stopped) and decrease in the river flow caused by agricultural concerns drawing water.

Water Temperature
As the river is spring fed, the temperature of the water stays very constant throughout the year. The main exception where the temperature may decrease is after rainfall. This is a real asset for the fly fisherman targeting yellow fish as the fish are not affected by large water temperature fluctuations that would normally occur on larger water systems.  

CORPORATE AND CONFERENCE GROUPS  FLY-FISHING EVENTS We make it our business to educate our guests on the basic techniques required to understand fly-fishing, after all this is a graceful past-time. This activity does not only include the physical aspect of fishing but more importantly: ·          Encourages the awareness of the environment. ·          Preservation of finely balanced ecological systems. ·          Appreciation and the enjoyment of the trees, birds, mammals and insects that co-exist in the fishing areas. ·          Basic introduction to entomology and the role it plays in effective fly-fishing. ·          Encourage people to take time to actually relax. ·          Guests must be advised that they may not be successful in hooking a fish. There is a good possibility that they may but the main aim is learning a new skill, and leave having enjoyed oneself with a few hours on the river.

Time
2 Hours per event.

Typical event itinerary:

Session 1 ·          Welcome and meet guides and event co-ordinator. ·          Bigger groups will be divided into smaller groups. ·          Allocation of fly-fishing equipment. ·          Basic tuition on casting techniques.

Session 2 ·          Team building exercise (Blind folded accuracy casting game). ·          Introduction to river entomology. ·          A personalized collection of unique fishing flies will be presented to the guests.

Session 3 ·          Guided fly-fishing on the trout/bass dam and Magalies River. Each group will have the personal attention of an experienced guide who will assist in attempting to outsmart the wily yellow fish. ·          On the river guests will be introduced to various small river-fishing techniques that are necessary when fishing in this small stream environment. 

Size of Groups: Minimum of 8 and a maximum of 20 guests. Each event will be tailor-made according to the group size, we can handle a maximum of 100 guests at a larger venue.

Other:
Some groups may have people who are already proficient in fly-fishing. They are welcome and we encourage them to bring their own equipment. Small stream fishing (especially on the Magalies River) is unique. Our events will be enjoyed by novice and experienced guests alike.

Contact Details WAYNE SINCLAIR 011 315 4503 Enquire now View Rates View Directions

Directions