Hi all,

I do field work in South Africa, and will be heading off again in early Jan.

Based on a bit of research, the Orange River (which is near where I work) has Yellowfish in it, which (allegedly) are a fly quarry.

Does anyone have any experience going after them? And any advice?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

PS. we also have cattle dams stocked with some sort of carp in the dim past - though they take bent safety pins on baling twine, so not a lot of subtlety needed.

Register on here Fly Talk Forum - Powered by vBulletin and ask. They are very friendly and helpful guys. Few of them are members here also sothey may come along.
I have had some excellent fishing through a guy I met on there. It was wild Rainbows so cant help with the yellows.
I do know they are a very highly rated fish which are readily caught on the fly.

Brilliant!

Thanks - I had no idea there was an SA forum.

Oh the wasted hours ahead...

Hi, I will give you all the help you need. I regularly host guided trips to the Orange river, and have a lot of yellowfishing experience that i will be happy to share with you. I particularly specialise in the orange river area, and in particular, the Lower Orange, which is down stream from the Orange/Vaal confluence.
When you are in SA, you can feel free to call me as well, I will be happy to PM all my details to you.
Andre
Oh.. I am also a mmeber of Fly Talk, where you will get a lot of help

Richtersveld 2010 - Fly Talk Forum
Richtersveld 2010 - Fly Talk Forum
http://www.flytalk.co.za/forum/showt...ge+report+back
Try these for starters.
Where exactly will you be going to on the Orange?

I haven't been lucky enough to fish for yellowfish yet but I hear they are getting very close to overtaking trout as the number 1 freshwater fly quarry in SA - otherwise known as the "freshwater bonefish" - which should give you some idea of their fighting qualities.

Sounds like you're in good hands with Andreb. Good luck going after the yellows.

Pound for pound, they are the strongest fish in Africa, even stronger than the fabled Tigerfish. They also fight longer and dirtier. The yellowfish fight is never over, until the fish is in the net. There are several sub species of yellowfish in SA, but the most common in the Vaal/ Orange system, are the small mouth yellow, and the largemouth yellow. The small mouth are largely insect feeders, and are caught successfully on fly, using Czech nymphing tactics, in moving water, although there are many ways to catch them, using pretty much the same flies and tactics as trout and grayling, depending on the structure of the water you are fishing. The largemouth yellowfish, is a predatory carbivore, and is ciught successfully, using baitfish flies, and large leeches, stripped through the water, on the surface, or just under the surface. Largemouth, grow huge, and fish of pover 10 pounds, is not uncommon. Most small mouth are in the region of 3 to 7 pounds.
Rods typically used are anything from a 3 to a 5wt for smallmouth, and a little heavier up to a 7 wt for the larger and stronger largemouth.
Anything that you would use for Grayling, and trout, will work for smallmouth, and anything you would use for pike, would work for largemouth. The trick is to select you water carefully.

I know someone who fished on the vaal last year, says they're the South African Masseer (SP?). He caught them on nymphs and and dry flies.

John.

The mahseer of India (of which Rudyard Kipling wrote “besides whom, the tarpon is but a herring”) and the yellowfish are related. Both belong to the Cyprinidae family.

I read somewhere both are relics of a time long ago before India split off from the African continent. Pity the yellowfish lost/never developed the ability to attain weights of 150-200lbs!

Thanks everyone (especially andreb).

I'll be near Upington, and probably not with time to do anything more thn spend an afternoon dabbling in the river there.

But the Richtersveld has been on my list for a while now!

When's the best time to go? I should be back for a longer stint in the Northern Cape in July-Aug time, and might be able to work in some holiday. Though it might be a bit of the chilly side by then.

(PS. Andreb - I'll agree with your comments about the Delta on the other thread. Lived there (well, Maun, but close enough) for 4 years and would love to go back. Tiger from the Panhandle, on fly, is another little dream).