NEWSLETTER: WINTER 2011 This newsletter comes to you from a decidedly chilly Underberg some say the coldest on memory! Despite this there has been a lot going on at the club! FROM THE SECRETARY The club continues to strengthen with more members, more stocking and more waters! The first six months of the year has lived up to expectation with plenty of action all round. The stocking program has gone well, the office and new booking system have paid dividends and we held a very successful fishing festival. The early months of the year saw very high rod numbers with the office taking 109 bookings in April. Lately the numbers have dropped off but that is mainly due to the inclement weather. Last month we saw quite a lot of snow landing in the village and there is a photo of the club office covered in snow on the front page of the web site. One intrepid fisherman informed us that one of his ambitions in life was to fish in the snow and so off he went! Needless to say he was the only rod for that entire week! The dams are now crystal clear and down to 8 deg C at 3m which means that the weed has died back and the bass have gone to ground. The fishing is perfect for the brave! Enclosed with this letter you should find your new membership card, booking number and car disk. We are giving the slow payers until the end of August after which they will have to book as visitors! THE OFFICE The reopening of the club office has been a milestone for the club. Not only has it given back control to the committee but the interaction for members and the committee alike has really helped to liven things up. The office has been decorated with all the old memorabilia and the booking boards have been restored. The office really is looking quite smart these days. Much thanks must go to Brendan Devine who has basically single handedly manned the office and club cell-phone since we took over the bookings. The office is equipped with tea and coffee so you are welcome to stop in and have a chat! Just a reminder that office hours are 8am 10am Friday to Sunday and on Public holidays. The booking phone is manned 8am to 5pm daily.
MEMBERSHIP The committee wishes to heartily welcome the following new members to the club: Stephen Cuff Robert Moni and his wife. Colin Shepherd Peter McAdam Roy Huntley Wade Breytenbach We wish you all a long and happy relationship with the club. FINANCES The clubs treasurer, Mr Ian Davies has been doing a sterling job of getting the clubs finances up to date. We can happily report that the club is on a sound financial footing and we have managed to drastically cut unnecessary expenses. All this money is being funnelled into fishing! In summary our year on year results are: Total income up 42% Stocking is up 89% Expenses are down 29% Should things continue to improve like this, we expect that this will be reflected in our fishing statistics! All the clubs annual financials right up to the end of the 2010/11 year are now with the auditors and will be presented at the coming AGM (see below). STOCKING Alan Payne has been very busy with the clubs stocking program and in all 7000 fish have been put into our still waters. This was nicely rounded off a few weeks ago with 1000 Brown Trout. This should really improve the fishing in the coming months and we are hoping to increase these numbers next year! A full schedule of the stocking over the last few years is on the web site under the News section.
FISHING REPORT The fishing over the last six months has been very good and it is only the unlucky who have gone home empty handed. We have started publishing comprehensive fishing statistics on the web site on a month by month basis so everyone can now see what is going on. The highlight over the last six months was Ray Doherty catching and returning a 9lb'r at Lake Ringstead. For the non-believers there is a photo on the website! The numbers of fish caught in the rivers was impressive given that they are not stocked and all the fish are wild spawned. Due to the nature of our river system the fish aren't that big but what they lack in size they make up for in cunning. The biggest river fish caught in the last few months was a 0.750kg taken at Lower Rocks. The rivers are still flowing well which bodes well for when the rivers open again next month! We have put a link to the Department of Water Affairs gauging station at The Banks on the website. You can find it under Rivers - River Condition. It's interesting to see how the water level flutates. THE AUTUMN RIVER FLY FISHING FESTIVAL This event was held to commemorate our ex-club manager, Bill Simsons, long standing contributions to the UHTFC. It was a great success with fisherman coming from as far afield as Johannesburg to fish and share the evening with Bill. Unfortunately a cold front came through on the Friday before the event which put the fish down somewhat. None the less all participants really enjoyed the opportunity to fish some waters that are normally not accessible to the club. The dinner on the Saturday evening was hosted by The Old Hatchery on the Drakensberg Gardens road and was also very well organised. There were plenty of prizes so no participant went away empty handed. Wolf Avni said a few words about Bill, thanking him for his years of service and he was given a framed picture of his favourite water as a symbol of the clubs appreciation. EMERGENCY ASSIST Members are reminded that the club subscribes to the Underberg Community Watch and as such all members are covered while fishing. If you need any assistance from being stuck in the mud to vehicle trouble and medical emergencies you can call 033-7021114. From there an appropriate response will be arranged. Please note that the assistance itself is not free and you will still have to pay! i.e. if you need a tow truck then you will have to pay for it but at least it will come! And don't phone the Community Watch to ask for fishing!
THE LIBRARY The club has an extensive and impressive collection of books and papers that are kept at the club office. We encourage members to make use of this resource and you are welcome to borrow the books. You will need your membership card and to sign for the books but please just remember to return them. CLASSIFIEDS If you want to sell or buy some fishing equipment send us a mail and we will put it here. BUDDY LIST If you would prefer to fish with someone then send us a mail and we'll put your name and number here. Fly-fishing needn't be a solo affair. RECIPROCITY The UHTFC and the FFA have a reciprocal agreement and members are able to fish FFA waters for R80 per day. This is a fantastic opportunity for our members in the Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas as these waters are closer for day trips. Send the office an email at admin@uhtc.co.za if you want details on how to book and would like a copy of the FFA magazine. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The club AGM has been scheduled for the 15 th of October and the club will be hosting another event to coincide. This will be an open event to the general public and there will be some educational components on the Saturday as well as access to some of the very best fishing in the country. The AGM itself will be in the evening at the Country Club and a dinner will follow. Wives, kids and friends are welcome. The cost will be R150 per head. TIGHT LINES AND THE BEST IN 2011 FISHING!!!!
STILL WATERS LIST No 1 Lake Isabella Equipment: 2 boats 2 rods per boat Other: Bank fishing / Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2009/930 fish No 9 Lake Ringstead Equipment: 1 boat 2 rods per boat Other: Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2009/600 fish Bag Limit: 1 x > 2,5kg No 10 Mount Dragon Equipment: 1 boats 1 rods per boat Other: Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2008/210 fish No 12 Palframan Equipment: 3 boats 2 rods per boat Other: Bank fishing / Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2008/1100 fish No 14 North End Other: Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2009/750 fish No 15 Goxhill Other: Own boat / Float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2008/550 fish No 17 Rocco's Dam Other: Bank fishing / own boat / float tube max 4 rods Last stocked: -
No 21 Trelevans 1,2,3 Last stocked: 2010/100, 200, 100 fish No 26 Lunds Dam Equipment: 2 boats 2 rods per boat Last stocked: 2009/800 fish No 28 Peakvale Last stocked: 2008/400 fish No 32 The Grange Equipment: 1 boat 2 rods Other: Own boat / float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2010/50 fish No 34 Banavie Last stocked: 2009/650 fish No 36 Ringstead Upper Last stocked: 2010/250 fish No 37 Ringstead Lower Equipment: 1 boat 2 rods Other: Own boat / float tube max 2 rods Last stocked: 2009/1000 fish
No 47 Blair Athol Last stocked: 2009/600 fish Bag Limit: 2 x > 450g
RIVER WATER LIST No 51 Tretower Upper No 52 Tretower Lower No 53 Ericsberg Upper No 54 Ericsberg Lower No 55 The Banks No 56 The Rocks Upper No 57 The Rocks Middle No 58 The Rocks Lower No 65 The Grange No 60 Watermead Upper No 61 Watermead Middle No 62 Watermead Lower No 76 Wimples