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During our November 2020 Natal Midlands fishing trip we returned to Midmar Dam to try our luck again. Last time we failed at carp fishing but we managed to catch a few small bass from the side though. This time (because we still don’t have a boat) we decided to use a charter so we can learn more about the dam and what lures to use from an expert. This was a good decision.

Fishing

We met up with Tiaan Odendaal from SA Bass Fishing Tours at Midmar’s boat launch early in the morning. 

He immediately took us out to a spot he had been catching fish at recently and straightaway we were catching smaller bass without much effort. This first spot didn’t have much structure but there was a lot of submerged grass (Hydrilla) where the bass were hanging out.

After a dozen or so catches we moved on to Pylon Bay.

This is apparently a very popular fishing area and it’s plain to see why. There is a lot of structure around and there is a stream that flows in from the south. It didn’t take long for Linky to get hooked up but as soon as she got stuck in the fish jumped and we realised it’s a monster. She fought it for about 10 minutes before we eventually got it safely on the boat.

And as always it was safely released. We were sure it’s her new pb but her big fish caught at Beacon Vlei a while back was still bigger somehow. Still it was an awesome start to our day!

From there working our way down the bank and then into the channel we continued catching loads of bass, lots of small ones but also many bigger fish which would have been great catches had it not been for the monster we saw earlier.

Our final couple of spots that Tiaan took us to was more of the same, catching bass at will. Mostly smaller males but with the odd 1.5kg every now and then which was a lot of fun.

But eventually the weather decided we had caught enough bass for the day and gently but firmly let us know that it was time to head home. The ride back was a bit bumpy but a lot of fun (depending who you speak to).

So in terms of baits we used all kinds but if there is one thing we learnt from this trip it’s that worms work very well at Midmar. Any kind of senko or finesse worm really did the trick. We also caught some on flukes and swimbaits and Tiaan got a couple on a crankbait.

And in terms of fishing spots here’s a map indicating where we went and how we did at each spot.

Summary

A fantastic day out on Midmar Dam, much better than our previous attempt. we ended the day on close to 50 bass caught including one true monster. We are so glad we used Tiaan and SA Bass Fishing Tours, it made a really massive difference having an expert taking us around the dam, showing us all the spots and sharing tips as we went along.