Catching grass carp in the Vaal system.
I use two basic methods. In the dams I use 10ft 6wt rod with a floating line and sight cast to fish. The takes are extremely subtle and often difficult to detect. These fish can be very spooky and are spooked easily visually and by noise. Optimal patience is required to catch them. Slow wading gentle presentation and minimum aerial casting is required. Three flies on droppers unless the grass and sticks are dense then I might fish one fly. Best fly is a Grassie Fritz. It's best to fish rising water levels. Early season fish are normally skinny of 5 to 8kgs. After feeding on submerged grass, end of season fish reach 8 to 12kgs and even bigger.
In the river sight fishing is key, targeting individual fish on the edges and eddies. A 9 wt rod, floating line to keep them out of rapids and avoid them getting to far away from you in the fast water is best. Two flies 15lb leader. With a Let-us Catch-Em fly and a Grassie Fritz. With the Vaal Barrage being infested with water lettuce grassies zone in on surface flies. Moving a long way to eat a fly unlike the static fishing in dam where they hardly move at all. Fish dry and dropper casting upstream and drifting as close to the fish as possible. In the river the fish are mostly big fish 8kgs and up
These fish tend to be reeled in easily and then when they see you dart off with excessive speed. A very big landing net is required. They often jump straight out of the net.
This is the epitome of stalking and hunting. They are very aware of what is happening around them.
These Vaal River fish have a bad reputation as being invasive as they are diploids compared to the triploid and therefore sterile grass carp supplied by De Rust in Bonnievale. But these diploids do contribute in a big way by improving the water quality in a country where this is a major concern. Fish stocks especially yellowfish numbers have really improved in the Vaal Dam since grassies have come along. They eat a lot of vegetation in the dam keeping the nitrates down and algal blooms lower. In the river they have been accused of eating the water weed but in real terms the pollution and chemically rich effluent released from the sewage plants has destroyed the vegetation. The poor flood control of the past few years has caused the river bottom to be scoured away leaving the bottoms clean of vegetation. Be that it may, this is an awesome sport fish on fly. You will feel like you have really done it right if you land one of these beasts. What a challenge to catch and land one.
Materials for Grassie Fritz
Size 10 grip 14731 hook.
3mm tungsten/brass orange/chartreuse bead.Chartreuse strung marabou.
Ice chenille large kelly green.
14/0 semperfli nano silk black.
Tying Steps for Grassie Friz.
Step 1. Put bead on hook and dress hook.
Step 2. Add marabou about 2x hook length.
Step 3. Tie in in chenille at base of tail and wrap forwards towards the bead. Tie off. You don't want this fly to next neat at all. Scruffy is good.
It doesn't get simpler than this. This fly if my first fly I tie on for grass carp and common carp and almost always my top attractor fly for trout. Next to a black Woolly Bugger probably my first choice in fly. I have even caught small and largemouth yellowfish on this fly.
Almost all the flies I tie have no names and you would be pressed to find something similar. I have a habit of never copying anyone else's fly. What fun would that be? Anyway, with a short attention span it's difficult to remember what you saw in someone's box filed with 800 flies. Tie what you think works. If your gut feel is right, you will design right. This fly has no aesthetic value for a fly tier at all. But it certainly catches fish in one of the most pleasing manners, off the surface. Just tie it mish mash on the hook. Everyone looks different. Sometimes chaos is effective.
If you are fishing the Vaal River you will need to tie some Catch-Em dry flies and this is how you tie them.
Materials for the Let-us Catch-Em dry fly.
Size 8 grip 14731 hook
Ice chenille large kelly green
Foam rectangle
14/0 semperfli nano silk white.
Tying Steps for the Let-Us Catch-Em dry fly.
Step 1. Cut slits into foam to allow for 4 arms.
Secure foam either on top of hook or slide hook shank through the middle of the foam base before tying in just below the hook eye and dress the hook
Step 2. Attach chenille in a mess hanging off the hook in no particular order. You will find it impossible to make two the same. Leave hook exposed at the bottom of the fly allowing for good hook set.
Grassies on the surface are one of the most difficult fish to catch. Sometimes they just grab the green stuff and sometimes they inspect the fly for what feels like forever before they gently sip it in. You literally have to take note of when it disappears before your eyes because there isn't always a large splash or commotion.
A common carp caught on a Grassie Fritz.
And this is a Vaal River Grass Carp that fell to the Grassie Fritz.
A yellow caught on a Grassie Fritz.
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