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Pretoria is one of those cities which are endowed with a number of good fishing spots, with three dams within its precincts, and the fourth just outside the city’s western boundary.

The three dams located within the city’s boundaries are Rietvlei, Roodeplaat and Bon Accord, while Hartebeespoort dam is located about 30km west of the city, near the town of Brits in the North West province.

I have had the opportunity to fish at Rietvlei, Roodeplaat and Hartebeespoort dams, but gave Bon Accord a skip because of stories about fishermen being mugged at this dam which lies north of the city, and not too far from Soshanguve township.

All four dams are well known for the abundance of carp and catfish, while Roodeplaat and Hartebeespoort are also famous for bream (popurlaly known as kurper in Afrikaans).

On arrival in Pretoria from Durban in 2008, the dam I got to know of first was Hartees (as Hartebeespoort is popularly known), and it was to become my only fishing spot for a few months before I got to know about Rietvlei and Roodeplaat dams.

Later, Rietvlei became my favourite fishing venue as it was the nearest to my house, and also had excellent ablution facilities. I felt safe at Rietvlei because it was always well patronised, and as the saying goes – there is security in numbers.

I later switched to Roodeplaat after learning about the abundance of my favourite fish – bream – at this dam.

The tranquil at these dams is soothing and satisfying especially to those fishermen after carp and babel, because once they have set their equipment, they can sit and relax.  Some even read novels, listen to the radio or play soft music while waiting for a bite..

However, this quiet atmosphere can be disrupted in a big way by the arrival of groups of people who find dam sites ideal places for braais and the playing of loud music. This is a common problem at both Roodeplaat and Rietvlei dams, especially during those weekends which coincide with month-end when resources with which to purchase braai meat and beer are readily available.

It is this annoying behaviour which made me scout for dams far away from the city where I could fish in peace and tranquillity.The noise was a blessing in disguise because I then discovered some wonderful fishing spots such as Mkombo and Klipvor dams in Mpumalanga and North West provinces, respectively.

The fishing at Mkombo dam was for some time the best I had ever experienced, until the arrival of God forsaken poachers who have almost wiped out breams from this largel dam which is about 23km long. Before the arrival of poachers, I rated Mkombo as the best fishing spot for both bream and bass.

Want to catch a crocodile using fishing tackle? If the answer is yes, then go to the crocodile headquarters – Arabi dam in Limpopo province.

Thank God the crocodile in Arabi dam are well fed as the dam has plenty fish and other wildlife, therefore the crocodiles hardly target people. The crocodiles at Arabi are relatively docile as some fishermen ply their trade in canoes from which they could easily be attacked by crocodiles if they were wild.

Arabi dam is probably the dam with the highest density of crocodiles in South Africa and it is virtually impossible to fish at the dam and leave without seeing several crocodiles. Proof that the crocodiles at this dam have no interest in human beings is the fact that some pedestrian fishermen ply their trade standing in water, some up to waist level or even deeper.

About four years ago, while fishing for carp, bream and catfish at Arabi with my friends, Evans and Andrew, one of Andrew’s lines had a strong bite, which triggered the alarm and got our adrenalin running as it was the first bite that morning after about two hours of quiet.

Andrew was in no time holding his rod, fighting with what we assumed to by a catfish. In the spirit of togetherness or camaraderie that exists between fishermen, Evans was soon holding a landing net, and was in the water up to the waist. “Oh My God, this catfish must be massive,”said Andrew as the drag of his reel went into overdrive as the “fish” pulled away.

Suddenly we heard Evans shout: “croc” as he threw away the landing net and began to run in the water, and out.

With his rod in a semi-circle formation, Andrew fought the fish, sometimes reeling in the line, and at times realising line so that it would not break. After about 20 minutes, the “fish” began to tire, and was getting closer to the bank.

When the “fish” saw Evans who was holding a landing net in the water, it suddenly had renewed energy, once more sending the drag into a whizz. A few minutes later, the “fish” was once again close to Evans who was by then holding the line in an effort to control the “fish” towards the landing net.

Suddenly we heard Evans shout: “croc” as he threw away the landing net and began to run in the water, and out. Neither Andrew nor I believed him as we had not seen the crocodile, and Andrew continued to fight his “fish”.

About a minute later we were all shocked when the fish on Andrew’s line turned out to be a crocodile as its head surfaced for the second. The first time its head surfaced, it had been seen by Evans only, triggering his panic and accompanying swift response.

“Someone cut the line please,” shouted Andrew who had retreated to at least 10m from the water, but was fortunately still holding his rod. I quickly cut his line with my hunting knife which I always carry on me when fishing, just in case I am attacked by a crocodile.

From the size of its head, I estimated the young crocodile to be at least one and a half metres long. Eventually, Andrew told us that the crocodile had taken been hooked after taking a chick which he had used as bait, hoping to catch a catfish.

One of several fishermen who had been attracted to the scene after Evans wailed “croc”, remarked that this was the second time he had witnessed someone catch a crocodile at Arabi dam.

After settling down following the mini drama, Evans remarked: “I will not fish here again,” but that was a false statement, as a few month later, we were back at Arabi together, lured by the tasty and sometimes fast biting bream found in this dam.

In October last year I was spoiled rotten by my fishing colleagues, Forbes Chiweshe, Charles Magumise and Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi who invited me to Zimbabwe on an all expenses paid fishing trip to Africa’s largest man-made water reservoir, Lake Kariba.

Tsvangirayi bought me a return ticket to Harare on British Airways, while Charles and Forbes transported me from Harare to Kariba and also took care of the cost of hiring a house boat for two nights as well as providing first class food and drinks for the entire trip.

I left OR Tambo on an evening flight on a Friday, and after a few hours’ sleep at Tsvangirayi’s house in Hatfield, we were on our way to Kariba in the early hours of Saturday, in a convoy of two cars. The only women in the group of seven were wives of  Charles and Forbes.

We all left from Forbes’ house in Marlbrough at about 4.30am, and stopped voluntarily only twice – the first stop to by fishing worms and the second to buy drinks, while the rest of the numerous stops were at police roadblocks, a feature for which Zimbabwean roads had become notorious during dictator Robert Mugabe’s rule.

On arrival in Kariba which is over 300km from Harare, our first assignment was to buy food and drinks from a local supermarket. I must say the amount of beer that was purchased was as if we were going to supply a tavern, and not for people going on a fishing trip. An equally impressive amount of food items was bought.

Kariba, which is on the Zambezi river, is probably the dam with the highest number of crocodiles in Southern Africa – and these are human eating crocs.

After the shopping, we left in the sweltering heat for our houseboat, a beautiful well looked after facility which was to become our home for two nights and three days. The temperature was to hit a maximum of 38 degrees on that day.

Coming along with the houseboat was a crew of three young men and two small boats on which we were to make our fishing escapades from the houseboat.

Kariba, which is on the Zambezi river, is probably the dam with the highest number of crocodiles in Southern Africa – and these are human eating crocs. So before we even got onto the houseboat, our rather humorous captain gathered us together for house rules. Rule number one was that: “Thou shalt not swim in Kariba waters whatsoever unless you want to commit suicide and have a funeral where there will be no body to be viewed.”

 He said even in the docking area which some people might believe to be safe, there were crocodiles. He informed us that just the day before (Friday) a fisherman had been attacked and killed by a crocodile while doing bank fishing in the company of seven colleagues.

At Lake Kariba it is not advisable to do bank fishing alone, but in groups of at least eight fishermen so that the large number of people deters away crocs. However it is not uncommon that a crocodile will snatch a fisherman from the closely knit group of fishermen as had just happened a day before our arrival.

Once on board our five bedroom houseboat, we set sail for Antelope island which happens to be one of the nearest islands from Mahombekombe harbour.  We spent our first night docked at Antelope island. I was shocked by the number of crocodiles in the waters around the island. One could see croc heads above the water in every direction.

When I asked the captain whether the crocodiles were not scared of the boat and people to come so close, he said the crocs were attracted to boats by the silly habit of some people of throwing food into the water. After anchoring the houseboat, it was time to go out fishing in the small fishing boats.

As we were fishing, a huge hippo suddenly appeared from underneath the water and opened its mouth wide.

We went to another island just about a kilometre away and used only one fishing boat as the women had chosen to stay behind. It took us no less than an hour to find an ideal place which did not have too many obstacles on which our lines would get entangled. As we were fishing, a huge hippo suddenly appeared from underneath the water and opened its mouth wide.

There was great panic amongst us, but the hippo had no interest in us and submerged, only to come out again with a mouthful of grass. One of the boat crew members who was piloting the small fishing boat said by opening its mouth wide, the hippo was deliberately displaying its arsenal (huge teeth) and warning us to keep away from where it was grazing.

By the time it emerged for the second time, our guide had already switched on the engine and was raving the engine loudly to frighten the hippo away, just in case it had other ideas. However, the hippo kept submerging and emerging with a mouthful of grass each time.

Around sunset, after catching a few breams each, some of them an impressive size, we needed no encouragement to go back to our houseboat as mosquitoes had started patrolling for blood donors.

Back at the boat we wined and dined in style as there was abundant food and drink, including some very expensive whiskeys – some of which I had brought on a recent trip to the United States. Honestly that was my only contribution on this trip as my friends did not want me to buy any food or drink. They said they were revenging my hospitality to them the previous year when I had invited them to South Africa and we had a wonderful time at Loskop dam.

Before going to bed well after midnight, we all agreed that we would leave for our morning fishing at 5.30am, and then come back to the houseboat for breakfast, but this later proved to be all talk and no action as the beers, wine and whiskey had taken their toll. The crew was up at the agreed time, only to be greeted by silence as we were all asleep. Among my friends I was the first to wake up, something  I attributed to the fact that I was the only one who had not taken whiskey the night before.  I then suggested to the chef that he go ahead with making breakfast.

Before we retired to bed the previous night, Charles had said if he was still asleep by the time others woke up, no one should wake him up because he was on holiday and that on his agenda, fishing was secondary to having a good rest. I said amen to that.

After breakfast we went back to the spot where had fished the previous day as we had invested some of our masese  (residue from traditional beer) at the spot.  We did not regret the decision as we court some nice breams.  Charles who seemed to have had one too many the previous night did not come with us on the morning fishing excursion.

He decided to just chill by the houseboat, but being the keen fisherman that he is, he decided to set up one fishing rod in the hope that if he left his line in the water, he might catch a big bream – his favourite fish. As he was taking a puff, his unattended rod was violently pulled into the water and his reaction not fast enough to save it.

His guess is that it must have been taken by a huge babel as there are plenty monster babels on Lake Kariba. When we arrived from our fishing excursion, we found Charles counting his loss –  a brand new Shimano 4000 reel and an Abu Garcia rod, not to mention the nylon line and hook.

Around 11am, we started off for our next destination – Gachekache river mouth. This was a long trip by houseboat standards. On arrival at Gachekache, I immediately christened it the headquarters  for poachers as there were poachers all over, laying their nets from their dug-out canoes, seemingly oblivious of the many crocodiles that criss-crossed the waters. They also laid their nets dangerously close to hippos.

At Gachekache river mouth, Tsvangirayi was to become the second person I know to have caught a crocodile by fishing line.

After anchoring our houseboat at a spot we were going to call home for the night, we proceeded as usual in one the small fishing boats, scouting for areas where we could find fish. We decided to anchor at some place not too far away from a head of hippos. This was after our number one theorist Charles had suggested that there would plenty breams close to where hippos stayed, his argument being that the breams came to feed on hippo dung.

Besides the hippos, there were crocodiles all over and indeed we caught a few impressive breams each on worms at this spot, rather confirming Charles’ theory that big breams are found where there are hippos and crocodiles. Tsvangirayi then caught a relatively big fish, but as he was reeling it in, his line suddenly came to a halt, leading him to believe that he had hooked an obstacle.  

When he forcefully jerked his fishing rod to try and get his hook off the obstacle, suddenly his line started moving again, but this time he could feel that there was massive force behind it. He quickly adjusted his drag so that his line would not break, believing he had hit a massive babel.

Realising what was happening, our skipper (boat driver) quickly removed the anchor and soon the boat was being pulled in the direction of the line. From the slow but forceful pull and the continuous sound of the drag, Tsvangirayi jockingly quipped that he had caught a crocodile. A few seconds later he was proved right when a crocodile’s head appeared above the water, shaking as it tried to get rid of the hook.

Tsvangirayi wanted to cut the line immediately, but the majority of the curious fishermen urged him not to. Realising that it was in hot soup, the crocodile changed direction and headed towards a head of hippos. The croc started causing commotion among the hippos, and the angry hippo bull looked at us with a gaping mouth. At that moment we all agreed that Tsvangirayi should cut his line.

We generally agreed that the crocodile had been caught after snatching a fish which had been caught on Tsvangirayi’s line.

Tsvangirayi had just become the second person I had witnessed pulling a crocodile on his line, after my other fishing friend Andrew had done so at Arabi dam in Limpopo province, South Africa. This was certainly the highlight of the trip and we soon retreated to our boat for some awesome food and drink. I must say the chef on this boat was excellent, so was the beer, the wine and the whiskey.

Klipvor dam in Borakalalo Nature Reserve inthe North West province is one of the best fishing spots I know, not only inSouth Africa, but in the Southern Africa region, when it comes to fresh water(inland)  fishing.

I happen to be privileged enough to have also fished in Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, so I can speak with some authority about fishing in the region. In Malawi I have fished on Lake Malawi and some smaller dams around the City of Blantyre and Lilongwe, while in Mozambique I have fished at Cabora Basa dam and on the Tete and Pfungwe rivers.

In Swaziland I have fished at Maguga and Lusip dams, while in Zimbabwe I have fished at a countless number of dams and rivers, including the mighty Zambezi River and Africa’s largest man-made water reservoir – Lake Kariba.

Of all these dams, I have found Klipvor dam to be the best when it comes to catching bream, which happens to be my favourite fish.

In SA I have fished at Inanda Dam on the outskirts of Durban and Midvaal Dam near Pietermaritzburg, both in KwaZulu Natal. In Gauteng I have fished at Rietvlei, Roodeplaat, Bronkohorstspruit, and some smaller private dams in farming communities.

In Mpumalanga I have fished at Rhenosterkop, Witbank, Da Gama and Bushbuckridge dams. I have also fished at a large dam near Barbeton, whose name I have forgotten. In Limpopo I have fished at Loskop, Arabi, Rust de Winter and Njelele. In North West province I have fished at Klipvor, Vaalkorp, Hartebeespoort, Molatedi and Roodekoppies dams.

Of all these dams, I have found Klipvor dam to be the best when it comes to catching bream, which happens to be my favourite fish. It is also very good at carp, but unfortunately it does not have my other favourite fish – bass.

Klipvor dam is located in Borakalalo Nature Reserve, a relatively well protected place against poachers, resulting in fish populations burgeoning.  Fishermen congregate at this dam from as far as Barberton in Mpumalanga, and Thohoyandou in Limpopo not only because of the abundance of fish, but also because of its relative safety, especially for those fishermen camping overnight. It has the added bonus of an abundance of wildlife, and animals such as hippos, giraffe, zebra, topi, waterbuck, wildbeast, impala, baboons, monkeys and others which fishermen do not have to look for, as they come to the dam to drink.

The security at Borakalalo used to be among the tightest of any dam as the nature reserve was one of the few places at which rhinos were kept. However, the remaining rhinos have since been moved to some safer undisclosed place following the slaughtering of nine rhinos by poachers in a single night, about six years ago. The departure of rhinos marked the end of the tight security for campers as night patrols were no longer as frequent as they used to be.

The dam has one of the highest densities of bream, as the tight security kept fish poachers at bay. So at the peak of the bream fishing season, it is easy for a fisherman to fill a bucket with breams in a day. The abundance of this species ensures its survival and multiplication as almost all fishermen practise catch and release as there is no need to keep the small ones.

Those who have been fishing at the place since the apartheid era say standards have also dropped, as the dam’s fishing areas used to be among the cleanest in the country, but are now littered with all sorts of dirt.

A retired former ranger at the reserve said during the apartheid era, the Bophuthatswana Bantustan premier, Lucas Mangope used to have a personal interest in the cleanliness of the dam, and would be seen leading by example by picking trash and placing it in dustbins whenever he visited the reserve.

The ranger decried the rate at which standards have fallen, saying the fishing sites were now dirty and security was no longer guaranteed for those camping overnight. He said the current management was no longer strict about separating day fishermen from campers, thus compromising the security of Pitje camping site.

Stories of campers having their tents cut at night and valuables stolen are now common, and this has resulted in a decreased number of campers. Gone are the days when the camping area would be declared full and therefore not taking any more campers, especially over public holidays when fishermen flocked to Klipvor for fishing and relaxing.

One day during the week – I think it was a Thursday if my memory serves me right – one of the few campers  I had camped with at Klipvor dam, had his tent cut and his firearm stolen. His tent was the only one that was targeted, leading him to suspect that the theft was the work of rangers who were after his gun, since he had declared his firearm on entry at the gate as required by the law.

He believed strongly that this was the work of rangers as it was only his tent, among several, that was targeted. He said it was only the rangers who knew he had a firearm since he had declared it at the gate on entering the reserve, as is required by the law. Besides that, the rangers who are supposed to patrol at night to keep campers safe had not seen any intruder that night. The man was so angry that he threatened to splash the incident on the internet and in the media so that other fishermen would not come to the dam and fall victim like him.

I must admit that since this incident, campers have become fewer and fewer. To make matters worse, the current management seems to have done away with a standing rule that requires the separation of day fishermen from campers. Day fishermen are no longer restricted to their side of the dam, and can fish at the camping area which used to be strictly for campers only. This, campers allege, allows thieves posing as fishermen to scout the camping area during the day, then come back to steal from the campers at night.

The former ranger said standards had fallen so much because some parks staff, including  top management, no longer consisted of professional rangers who have undergone training in wildlife management, but political appointees who know little about conservation. Animal poaching is said to be rife, both by armed poachers and pot poachers who come to hunt with dogs.

Sometimes fishermen can here poachers’ dogs barking as they chase animals in the park, and sometimes dogs get lost during the chase and end up by the fishing sites after losing track of their owners. When this happens, rangers are forced to shoot the stray dogs.

Bream fishing is now severely threatened at Klipvor dam as poachers from as far as Limpopo now frequent the dam, camp overnight and use nets at night when patrols few and far between. A fisherman from Gauteng said the guys from Limpopo were soon going to destroy fishing at Klipvor as they have done to dams in their province.  Besides using nets during the night, these unruly fishermen also jig both at night and in broad day light.

“Because they are poorly trained, most of the rangers do not know what jigging is, hence the unruly fishermen jig even during the rangers’ presence. Jigging is the use of multiple three-star hooks on a line, striking with speed where fish are congregated, therefore catching the fish by hook or crook – some by the stomach, eye, tail or any part where the hook lands on the unsuspecting fish. “It’s a form of rape on the fish I must say,” said the Gauteng fisherman who complained that if this illicit way of catching fish was not brought to an end immediately, good fishing would soon be a thing of the past at Klipvor dam. The Gauteng fisherman said he had repeatedly reported this illegal way of catching fish, but the rangers had shown little interest in confronting the poachers.  “They come this far from Limpopo because they have finished fish in Limpopo, now if their activities go unchecked, they are going to finish fish here as well,” he said.

Fish at Roodeplaat and Rietvlei dams over fed

For everyone in Pretoria who calls himself or herself a fisherman, is most likely to go Roodeplaat or Rietvlei dams as they are the nearest.

This has resulted in tonnes of bait – especially that for carp – being dumped into the dams, something which may explain why fish have not been biting well at the two dams of late. Most weekends, the two dams are inundated with so-called fishermen, most of whom seem to be much better at boozing than fishing.

I have been fishing at both dams since 2008, and I must point out that both have become pale shadows of what they used to be, prompting me to look for alternative fishing venues, alas much further away from my home in Pretoria.

While the fact that the offloading of bait into the dams each weekend has meant that the fish are always well fed, and has thus contributed to them not biting most of the time, other factors have also contributed – namely poaching and noise.

I was surprised one day when I decided to cross Roodeplat dam in my canoe, to try my luck on the other side of the dam, about 300m from my usual fishing site. Just on my first cast, my line got entangled onto something, and when I went to investigate, I discovered that I had hooked a fishing net. After removing my hook, I decided to follow the line just out of interest, to find out how long it was.

I actually got the shock of my life because the net was incredibly long. In fact, after following it for about 500m, I decided to abandon my investigation after suspecting that the poachers might be watching me from nearby bushes and could hurt me. I immediately rowed back to the other side because I know how dangerous poachers can be if you cross their path, or even if they only suspect you are against their activities.

When I eventually related the encounter to one of my fishing friends who also sometimes fishes from a canoe, he said he had also come across a net and had followed it from one end to another, and estimated it to be about a kilometre long. He said it was actually there permanently, and the poachers just visited it regularly to remove their loot.

That day I also learned something I had not know for years.I had always believed that there are no crocodiles at Roodeplaat dam, only to come across a very big one on that day as I was rowing back to my traditional fishing spot. I immediately remembered what my late father and fishing mentor used to tell me about big water bodies. He always reminded me that I should always suspect that there could be crocodiles in any dam, even if some fishermen told me that there are no crocs, because they might not have seen them as crocs tend to hide from human beings.

The other day when I decided to camp overnight at Roodeplaat dam, I discovered that there are poachers who come in during the evening,pretend to be fishing, but use nets at night, and leave the dam very early in the morning when it is still dark. They obviously do so with the co-operation of security guards because when I reported the matter to the security in the morning, they did not seem too interested.

I have seen this same group of poachers – four of them – at least twice, and they move in a white single cab bakkie. Their favourite poaching spot is by the first gazebo near the river mouth, about 300m from the main gate.

Around 2008 to 2013 I used to prefer Rietvlei dam over Roodeplaat, but I eventually completely abandoned fishing at Rietvlei for security reasons. Twice I had read in the press of incidents when fishermen were robbed of valuables such as cellphones and laptops, at gun point during the night at Rietvlei dam.

Also I was put off by a corrupt and semi-literate security guard who used to demand bribes from fishermen in order to allow them to leave with fish. I say semi-literate because he insisted that it was illegal to take fish home, yet there was a placard near the entrance which said fishermen were encouraged to practice catch and release for conservation purposes. But they were certainly allowed to take fish home if they so desired.

Roodeplaat has generally been safe, and I have heard of only one incident if an attempted robbery. I have slept there many times without incident.

When I first arrived in Pretoria in 2008, one of the first things I wanted to know was where I could get a good dam to fish at.

One of my workmates informed me of Hartebeespoort dam, about 30km west of Pretoria. The dam, he said, was famous for bream and big carp.

Just a month after arriving in Pretoria, I found myself at Hartebeespoort one weekend, and was fascinated by the size of carp which fishermen were catching there. I was also impressed by the cleanliness of the venue, Mierhoff. On my first visit to Hartebeespoort, I only fished during the day, as I could not commit myself to my favourite outing – camping.

Having satisfied myself about the security of Mierhoff, the following weekend I was back with my family on a Friday and camped until Sunday. It was an enjoyable experience, and for the next several months I became a regular fisherman at this venue, which was not only safe and clean,but the fishing was also good.

I soon became friends with the owner of the place, a big and hardworking Afrikaans man, who did most of the ground maintenance himself. I eventually discovered other dams which were better at other species of fish since Hartebeespoort was only good for carp. However, I went to the other dams mostly for day fishing as the alternative dams I had discovered did not have good ablution facilities.

This meant that when I wanted to camp, I reverted to Hartebeespoort for its cleanliness and relative safety. I was later to dump Hartebeespoort after learning that fishermen were losing their property -especially cellphones and laptops – to thieves who sneaked in at night when fishermen were asleep, and cut open their tents to steal.

What baffled the owner of Mierhoff was how the thieves gained entry as the gate to the fenced property was locked during the night. The thieves became emboldened by their success, and later I heard they had stolen a fridge from a guesthouse on the premises.

The thefts prompted several fishermen, including me, to stop camping at Mierhoff as it was no longer safe to do so.

Months later, two young men were caught by private investigators who had been hired to try and solve the mysterious thefts. It turned out that the two were stealing in a very clever way. They arrived in the dead of night in a canoe, having pedaled from across the dam. They carried fishing rods, and when they docked at Mierhoff, they acted as if they were some of the campers who were returning from fishing in deep waters during the night.

On that fateful day, little did they know that they were being watched as they performed their usual ritual of docking and moving out – fishing rods in their hands. Watching them from parked cars, the investigators eventually caught the culprits in the middle of the act and arrested them.

When they appeared in a magistrates’ court, the two culprits said they had gotten away with their thieving activity because they carried fishing equipment and appeared as though they were fishing. They said fishermen had not suspected them when they arrived in their canoe with fishing rods, and they proceeded to carry out the thefts.  

Renosterkop used to be a premier fishing destination

Renosterkorp Dam in Mpumalanga is now a pale shadow of the once renowned fishing destination it used to be. 

A combination of negative factors has crippled this once mighty fishing venue. Renosterkop, also known as Mkhombo Dam used to be an angling paradise for fishermen from Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. Fishermen also drove from as far as the North West and Free State provinces to this dam which probably had the largest variety of fish. Species which used to be found in abundance included bass, various types of tilapia, mudfish, barbell and fresh water mackerel.

As a bonus to fishermen, Mkhombo was surrounded by a game park which teemed with different types of animals, including zebras, kudu, wildebeest, waterbuck, wild pigs, warthogs, and a variety of antelopes, including impalas. But this is all now history as the fence separating the game park from the surrounding rural villages was cut and almost all the animals poached. The last time I was at Renosterkop for fishing was on January 1, 2024. I went there with my neighbour and fishing colleague Dolf Bloem, and we did not see a single animal – not even a rabbit.

According to a villager who declined to be named, the dwindling fortunes of Renosterkop Dam are a result of mismanagement by parks officials and other authorities who seem to be turning a blind eye to the poaching as well as the cutting of the game park fence. He said the fence cut from the game park perimeter can be seen at some villagers gardens and homes, but nothing is being done by the authorities to bring the culprits to book.

The poaching of animals occurred simultaneously with the poaching of fish. As the poaching of fish increased, with the authorities also turning a blind eye to this nefarious activity, fishing gradually became poor at the dam. First to suffer was tilapia which is far more vulnerable to netting than other species. Efforts by fishermen and other well wishers to save the situation by removing and destroying nets came to an abrupt end when poachers hiding in the surrounding bushes began shooting at those removing their nets. In one incident the fishermen were lucky to escape unhurt when they were shot at and their boat sustained three bullet holes.

In a separate incident, poachers sliced the the tyres of a Nissan Navara bakkie and boat trailer after seeing the owners of the car and trailer removing nets from the dam. The poachers are said to carry AK rifles, making even the rangers scared of approaching them. As a result, the poachers even set their nets in broad day light.

Unfortunately, the catchment area of Renosterkop Dam did not receive good rains for nearly a decade, and the dam level continued to fall, making the fish even more vulnerable to netting. By 2019 the dam was almost drying, with less than 3 percent of its capacity, forcing crocodiles and hippos to crowd at the little stretch of water close to the dam wall. “I never knew there were so many crocodiles and hippos in this dam until I came fishing when the dam was less than three percent full,” remarked my friend, Dolf.

Thanks to the heavens for three good consecutive rainy seasons in the dam’s catchment area in 2020 and 2021, which resulted in the dam spilling in 2022. The dam has a catchment area of over 3 700 square kilometres.

Renosterkop Dam which is fed by the Elands River has a surface area of 3 624 hectares, and when full, holds 206 000 000 cubic metres of water. It is currently more than 90 percent full, a statistic which gives hope that fish will get a chance to multiply to healthy levels again. Even if poaching is still rife, at 90 percent capacity fish still have a chance to breed significantly to ensure good fishing because of the size of the dam. 

The drought period during which the dam almost dried had its own advantages now that the dam is full. During the drought, vegetation, including trees grew on the dry dam surface, and now provides cover to fish from poachers.

However, although Renosterkop now has plenty water, and already a significant fish population, it has become an unsafe fishing destination because of crime. There has been a countless number of incidents of fishermen being robbed at gun point at the dam, even during the day. Some fishermen have even been shot while camping there overnight, therefore deterring most fishermen from going to Renosterkop any more.

On January 1, my friend and I went fishing at Renosterkop, we targeted the dam wall area which is considered the safest as it is just a few metres from the staff quarters (rangers’ houses) and also the nearest fishing point to the main gate where security personnel will be based. But to our surprise, we were the only fishermen there. The parking area where fishermen leave their cars and trailers after launching their boats looked disused, and so was the launchway, indicating that no fishermen with boats were going to fish at Renosterkop anymore.

Initially my friend and I thought that there might be another place from which fishermen launched their boats, but for the whole day we did not see a single boat nor hear the sound of one cruising from a distance.

As we were fishing, a villager with three thin dogs approached us and asked us where we were from. When we told him we were from Pretoria, he asked us why fishermen from Pretoria who used to frequent the dam were no longer coming to fish. When we said it was probably because of crime, he confirmed that indeed it had become unsafe fishing at Renosterkop, especially alone, because people were being robbed even during the day. He advised us against camping overnight, saying doing so could be dangerous.

He said he missed the good old days when fishermen with boats came in droves and people like him would be paid to look after the cars and trailers as fishermen cruised around the dam, fishing.

Criminal activity aside, Renosterkop remains a viable fishing destination. We caught a good number of carps, averaging about 3kg. We also caught some tilapia when we used worms, but we were concentrating on catching carp. 

However, we also lost quite a few carps which got entangled in the notorious grass which those who have fished at Renosterkop will be aware of. So when going to fish at Renosterkop, go with a canoe so that you can go in and disentangle your fish from the unpopular grass which seems to have multiplied many times over since the dam filled up. 

The brazen nature of the corruption I personally witnessed at the Nature Reserve at Roodeplaat Dam and total disregard of government regulations is shocking to say the least.

Some time last year, the Department of Infrastructure Development under whose authority Roodeplaat Dam falls introduced a new payment system requiring those entering the dam precinct either for fishing or any other sport to pay entrance fees by card only. In other words, payment by cash was scratched.

This move which was probably aimed at avoiding theft or fraud, eliminated a lot of fishermen from nearby informal settlements who do not have bank accounts, and therefore cannot pay by card. This has made fishing at the nature reserve more attractive because the place is no longer crowded.

On January 22, 2024, I went fishing at the nature reserve whose entrance is on Moloto road. As I normally do when I go fishing, I always aim to be number one at the entrance gate so that I can pick one of my favorite fishing spots before they are taken. So I was up early, and was at the gate by 5.50am. Indeed I was number one, and found the gate still closed. I thought the gate would open at 6am, only to be told that it opened at 7am. I am not sure if this is the new official opening time, since I have known the gate to open at 6am over the two decades I have been fishing at the dam.

Bored that I would have to wait for over an hour before the gate opened, I tried to negotiate with the security guard manning the gate to allow me in and then I would come back latter to pay after the cashier arrived. The guard asked me if I was paying by card or cash, and when I said card, he said it was not possible because the swiping machine would only be available when the cashier arrived.

So the waiting continued for another half an hour until another car with two fisherman who seemed to be familiar to the security guard arrived at about 6.30am, and negotiated to be allowed to enter via the exit gate which was open. Happy that we would finally be allowed in, I followed the other fishermen to the exit gate where the boom was lifted to allow their car in after they paid cash to the security guard. The boom was immediately lowered before I could get in, and the security guard came to my car and asked me if now had cash. When I told him I did not have cash but had my bank card, he bluntly told me that I could not enter and had to wait for the cashier.

I immediately remembered that a new system had been introduced the previous year which actually barred payment by cash. I challenged the security guard, telling him that what he was doing was illegal and that he was committing both fraud and corruption. He simply ignored me and walked away, leaving me angry and frustrated. It was mind boggling that I, a law abiding citizen who was first to arrive at the gate was being denied entry, even after telling the security guard that I could leave my bank card with him to ensure that I would come back and pay.

I was fuming as I waited for 7am, angry that some people who had come after me had been allowed in ahead of me simply because of corruption. When the cashier eventually arrived at 7.05am, he was approached by the corrupt security guard who was mumbling something to him while pointing at me. It became obvious to me that there was an agreement between the security and this particular cashier because when I confronted him about what was happening, he looked sheepish although he said he was unaware that this was what the security guard was doing before he arrived.

To confirm my belief that they were working in cahoots, instead of saying action would be taken against the security guard, the cashier said: “Please forgive him”.

So it dawned on me that while the official policy is that payment is strictly by card, those who bring cash are actually more welcome that law abiding citizens, and it goes without saying that the cash does not reach government coffers.

Realising that there might be trouble brewing after he had seen me angrily confronting the cashier, and the sheepish manner in which the cashier looked, the security guard finally came to my car and said he was sorry.