Just before the African Autumn set in we had the absolute pleasure to have our good friend Marco Tetteroo from Nash Benelux over in South Africa for a few days of carp fishing. We decided to take Marco to one of our favorite spots next to the Kruger Park for a proper African Adventure. Klaserie dam was the setting for a 6-day adventure. Both Alex and I had been to Klaserie on previous occasions and every time it was quite difficult for us to get a good size carp. Alex blanked on his last session so we weren’t really sure how this trip would play out. But with a funny guy like Marco around catching one would just be a bonus.
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We set out our adventure in the early hours of the morning and arrived in Hoedspruit around lunch time. After some shopping we hit the water side and immediately saw that the fish were active. As we stopped at the swim our neighbour had just landed a good size common so its meant game on! We set up camp and got some rods out and it wasnt long before Alex was on with his first Klaserie Carp of the trip. That fish gave us a taste of what was to come for the next few days. That first morning we started catching carp almost every hour or 2. The bites kept coming but the average size fish were very small around 5kg and most were commons. later that 2nd day Alex and I suddenly had a double up and those 2 fish were both over 10kg which got our hopes up for one of those Klaserie Monsters.
We used Marco’s Deeper Pro+ to find the correct depths and we managed to locate amazing drop off only 80m out and another good drop at around 180m. These 2 areas were the main productive spots for the first couple of days. our baits consisted of mostly Tigernuts (shaved and mixed) and Hemp. We did not want to invite any possible barble into our areas so we stayed away from the maize and boilies. Nash Sweetcorn was the flavour of choice and this hookbait proved irresistible to the Klaserie Carp.
On the 3rd day after landing almost 30 carp Alex and I had another double up which felt good. After playing that fish Alex spotted the distinct golden colours of a klaserie mirror on the surface. Its a Mirror! he shouted with excitement. He played the fish extra carefully and slipped it into the landing net. Alex had managed to catch one of the old Klaserie mirrors that have survived years of droughts and hardship. The fish looked thin and wrinkled making it almost beautiful from its ugliness. A true klaserie character and a precious prize on a trip such as this.
After that double up we had a few more small fish and in between the action our electric motor suddenly stripped its pin and wasnt turning any more. Without the correct tools we struggled for a few hours to fix it but our efforts were in vain. It was casting or rowing from there. That night around the camp fire we made the decision to spend the next few days at the Klaserie Caravan Park which is situated right next to the Main dam and holds carp of up to 50lbs. And only the thought of such a big fish was enough to get us pumped the next days move.
That morning Marco had a nice 10kg Common before we packed up and move around to the Caravan Park. We dropped our gear and went for a sightseeing trip to the nearby Viewpoint at Blydepoort Canyon. This spot is a must see for everyone heading towards the Kruger Park. After a quick Lunch we headed back to the water for the 2nd part of our African Adventure.
Klaserie Caravan was very good to us from the minute we set foot on its banks. Only an hour into our session that night my first rod was away and I managed to land an ok size common. The 2nd run wasnt long after that and that fish was a nice 13kg common. The signs were there and we knew this was going to get busy. Late that night i lost a huge mirror right underneath the net which shattered my heart into pieces but was quickly consolidated with a another stunning mirror this time ending up inside the net luckily. For the next 2 days we had regular runs in the heat of the day and actually did not have much action during the night time…which was a blessing because we got our much needed rest in the night. Marco was targeting the reeds on the inlet side of the dam and lost quite a few fish in those reeds unfortunately. I had a bit of open water with no real snags which helped in landing most of my catches. Alex was also working hard for his bites and did manage to get a few nice fish as well.
On our final day the rain came drizzling down and not only made everything soaking wet but also brought some bigger fish. I landed the biggest one of the trip and 15kg common and some more amazing looking mirrors that were around 30lb mark. Our trip ended with a wet packing up in the rain session and a long drive back to Pretoria but certainly was one of the finest fishing session of my fishing career. Fishing with absolute legends like Marco and Alex whilst catching amazing carp with the sounds of Africa around you really makes for an unforgettable trip for sure!!
Till next time
