LAPA SPECIMEN CAMP, PRETORIA EAST
Imagine a lake surrounded by nature, with beautiful green scenery, clear blue water, islands, snags and reed beds. Imagine comfortable swims with power, shade, and no background noise besides the birds chirping away and a choir of frogs at night. Imagine that place with 20kg carp swimming around boshing out every now and then making their locations known. This place does exist and it is called Lapa Specimen Camp.
Nestled in the Zwavelpoort valley east of Pretoria the dam is located on a private residence and has been a secret Specimen carp venue kept under the radar for many years. The lake was built in 2003 and was recently made open to carp specimen anglers and has since produced some stunning fish including a new lake record of 20.7kg.
The Dam
The Dam is just over 4 acres in size (about 2 rRugby fields) and is fed by a spring and underwater aquifer. The dam is packed with natural food sources that reside in the grass beds and surrounding reeds, snags and rocky banks. It has a mostly clay bottom with hard patches in between the grass beds. The bottom has really interesting underwater features including the deepest point in the dam which is 5m and a few smaller holes and islands. There are only 2 swims on the dam which can accommodate up to 4 anglers at a time. Each swim area is split equally and allows every angler a good chance of making a catch. Swim 1 has the luxury of a roofed lapa that really helps for protection from the weather, while Swim 2 has a very iconic “European feel” to it. Both swims have their advantages.
Tactics
At Lapa Specimen Camp you can easily spot the location of the carp from the main fishing area. They often jump to clean their gills and on sunny days you will spot the two big Albino Grass Carp from a mile away. These fish normally swim with the rest of the carp and often give away their location.
The key advantage at Lapa is to be super discreet and quiet. Maintaining minimal noise will play to your advantage as these fish are easily spooked and do not react well to any water noise whatsoever. On swim 1 there are 2 snags sticking out of the water at 60m which is where most captures come from. The far margins also seem to produce fish as they patrol the marginal route. On swim 2 there you will often find the fish close to the reed beds where they like to hang out and also against any of the islands on either side.
Bait
Lapa fish have always been very keen on maize. Many fish have been caught on the old faithful maize stack. Feeding a very small handful of feed right over the hookbait has proven to be effective. Lately the fish have taken well on small popups fished over small baited areas as well. Lapa fish do love their boilies and the best sessions have come from anglers that have opted for a boilie only approach. The use of a bait boat instead of dropping with a boat can also be advantageous on this venue. Flavours that did well are Nash Citrus, Nash Sweetcorn, Sticky Krill and Proline Pineapple.
Other info
The owners have allowed only Specimen anglers to fish their very special private dam. The utmost respect for the property and the owners is of high importance when fishing Lapa Specimen Camp. Bathroom facilities as well as an outdoor shower is available. There is even a kids playground right next to the angling area that really makes this place ideal for exclusive family sessions. The resident dogs are around most of the time which offer a bit of company as well as security during the evenings. The venue will move into a members only syndicate in January 2021 and really promises to become one of the premier Specimen Venues of South Africa. For more information and bookings visit http://megacarpwaters.co.za/
