The Maden dam is about 22km from King William’s Town and around 80km from East London and is well known in fly fishing circles. The dam is small, and a good place for all levels of expertise. Although the dam is at one of the lowest altitudes in the country, and even with the hot summers, the water still remains cool enough to support a trout population due to the volume of cold water running in from the cool mountain stream, the flow of which is pretty strong. The river itself also holds trout, but fishing for them in the dense forest requires an entirely different set of tackle, tactics and skills to fly fishing the dam itself.
As no boats are allowed, and the dam is small, the easiest way to fish is with the use of a float tube. There is also pretty limited bank fishing available, with the majority of the water being bordered by a thick forest.
There are abundant weed beds, with most of the banks having a weed bed of some kind to try. This means that that there is plenty of food for the fish – a good thing in that they are healthy and strong, but bad in that they can become very picky on some days.
The Frontier Acclimatisation Society in King William’s Town is the oldest fishing club in South Africa. It holds regular freshwater fishing events at the Maden Dam. Contact: 082 334 8036, 082 569 8755 or 040 654 3160 (office) 043 748 1857(home)
| More info on the town of King Williams Town | More info on the Amatola Region |
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