A Scaly Valley

The Umkomaas valley is a hidden gem in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. The uMkomazi River is the largest river on the South Coast. The river is 298 kilometres long, from its source just South of Giant's Castle in the Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site to its mouth on the Indian Ocean.

It is home to one of the nine recognised species of Yellowfish in South Africa, the Natal Yellowfish or Scaly. Labeobarbus natalensis are endemic to the Kwazulu Natal Province and are a highly sought after species to target on fly in the area.

The most exciting time to target the Scaly is late winter into Spring, just before the first summer rains. Although you will still get fish in chocolate water, the cleaner water during this window of opportunity allows for some excellent sight fishing. You are able to see fish flashing in the rapids as well as cruising in the shallows and pools.

There are many ways to catch this species and you can make your fishing as technical as your experience dictates. The most productive way is to nymph the rapids where you will catch plenty of smaller fish but always stand a chance of hooking into a bigger Scaly. I found that casting a full fly line in the calmer pools with two flies tied dropper or New Zealand rig style seemed to produce the better fish. Fly combinations include a weighted #12 nymph with a #16 flashback at the point or fish with a heavier caddis at point and a nymph as your dropper fly. Sight fishing can be done with dry flies such as an Elk Hair Caddis, Klinkhammer, Adams or Hopper patterns with GRHE and flashback nymph droppers. If all else fails then pop a San Juan worm on under an indicator and fish the slower water.

Even though they are called a Yellowfish they are olive from above and easily disappear against the river bottom. A Scaly doesn't seem to swim alone, when you see one there is a high chance that you have walked straight passed several others already... These fish spook easily and you are generally only presented with one opportunity, so make sure that you are extremely accurate with your fly presentation. These fish are strong fighters, but you can get away with fishing 4x to 5x tippet only scaling up (Pun intended) if you are fishing in heavily structured areas. Keep your rod tip high when you are fighting a fish in the rocky shallows as to avoid your line catching an any sharp edges.

Your first approach should be to use the riverside vegetation as cover, walking slowly on the banks while spotting fish. If you cannot see fish then you should focus on casting into the slightly deeper holes, preferably behind the larger submerged rocks. Scallies also tend to circulate in the shallower pools, if you stand in the same spot for long enough then you are often presented with a second crack at the small shoals.

Before you know it, the Natal Yellowfish season will be upon us. This leaves you with a couple of months to prepare your fly box and gain as much information to plan your approach. To keep up to date with the latest trends and to seek local advice join the Facebook group, Fly Fishing KZN and like the page, Species on Fly.