Nottingham Zim

[Bassanator]

Well well , I got a call on the weekend and my mate tune me they are going to Nottingham in August 5 - 10 . They have planned the trip right , and made sure of the moon faze .

So I can't wait , I have been before but last time I was there they had a flash flood , so you got to know how sh1t the fishing was but still we got some fish .

The logde is really beautiful and there are big crocs and hippos , but even bigger fish......

So I'll keep you posted on the events as they unfloded !!!

[Tornado]

I am very jealous - what an awsome dam - and the fact that it was closed to the public for the last two years makes me even more peed off that u guys are on your way there.
Enjoy

[Bassanator]

It's such a beautiful dam , with all the wild life . I know look I need to chat to the Mrs first but I see no problem with it , but can't wait to get into some piggy's

[Jeremy]

they are going to Nottingham in August 5 - 10 . They have planned the trip right , and made sure of the moon faze .

Ok so where is this dam and Bassanator please tell me what are the best moon phases.

[Bassanator]

they are going to Nottingham in August 5 - 10 . They have planned the trip right , and made sure of the moon phase .

Ok so where is this dam and Bassanator please tell me what are the best moon phases.

Well the dam is just over the board birtbriage Zim and is about 15km from there , and the best moon phase is 2 days before and 2 days after

[Jeremy]

Can't wait for the report back, hope you catch some monsters, 2 days before and 2 days after, I presume you talking about the full moon.

You would think a trip to Zim would be dirt cheap with the Zim dollar and all, but I'm sure everyone in Zim wants to get there hands on US dollars. Bassanator have your mates organised this as a package deal or can you contact Knottingham and just arrive.

[Tornado]

Jeremy - u can try and contact the owners son directly on 0835502580 -ask for Byron.
After entering Zimbs one takes the Bulawayo road, after 15 k's u take a left and then u famba down that track for about 45 k's or so.Whilst travelling down this dirt track one actually travels parrallel to the Limpopo.Also one is so close to SA u have full MTN or Vodacom signal just up the drag so no roaming is required.I have some wonderful fotees of the chalets and our trip up there if u wish I can e-mail them - just need your mail add

[Jeremy]

Thanks for all the help Tornado my e-mail is <!-- e --><a href="mailto:jclacherty@absamail.co.za">jclacherty@absamail.co.za</a><!-- e -->

[basshammond]

Hi Tornado

I am going to Lake Nottingham in July and we are there 3 days before and 1 day after full moon so hopefully will have some good fishing. Could you send me some info on areas/lures/pics of your trip (<!-- e --><a href="mailto:mhammond@frwaring.co.za">mhammond@frwaring.co.za</a><!-- e -->)? I will also do a full report on the dam and lodge when we get back.

[basshammond]

Hi Guys

Promised i would do a report back on our trip.

We left JHB on the 9th July (3 days prior to the full moon) with a lot of hope and excitement for the trip ahead. Reports befroe the trip were that the fishing had not been easy but good numbers were still coming out and a few monsters including a 10lb giant that came out the week before we arrived.

Our first day was a very tough one as mother nature had stepped in at the last minute to keep our feet on the ground. The day before we arrived was 32 deg celcius and they day we got there was 15 deg maximum which according to the managers was the coldest they have had in 5 years at the lodge. The fishing, unfortunately, reflected this and we battled to scrape out more than a few bites landing 5 fish between 3 of us in an afternoon. All the fish came off the islands close to the lodge and around isolated timber. The fish were close to the bottom and the bait had to be dead sticked for ages to get a bite - Not the kind of fishing we were hoping for. Nothing bigger than a kilo on the first day.

The second and third day produced much the same with a few "bigger" 3lb fish coming out on mid to deep diving crankbaits on the main lake and secondary points close to the lodge. The afternnon session was spent upriver and depsite the amazing looking structure, the water was murky, shallow and cold which was not going to produce. Again, all the bites came on cranks and soft plastics but nowhere near enough bites were had to develop any kind of pattern.

The final day was a lot warmer and the fish responded slightly as we saw a few schools of Tilapia were seen being chased in some of the shallower bays opposite the lodge. The biggest fish of the trip (4lbs) was taken n oenn of these bays on a shallow squarebill. The KVD 2.5 in chartreuse crazy shad did the damage int he dirtier water. One of our group also lost a very big fish close to the boat on a white Booyah spinnerbait (3/8 oz) but i think we were all a bit distracted after witnessing a giant crocodile grap a fully grown white breasted comoront from its perch in a tree in the water just a few minutres prior to the big fish bite. A few more bites came later in the day including an awesome attack of a Spro Bronxeye shad that was extremely deep inside an overhanging tree.

All in all, I am slightly concenred about the future of the fishing at this venue. I am certainly no bass pro but have fished for bass all over South Africa, botswana, Swaziland and Zim (in extremely tough conditions) but there seemed to be some deeper undelying issues (other than cold fronts) behind the tough fishing. We witnessed a massive amount of gill nets in the dam and despite the lodges best efforts to take them out, new nets are found almost daily. Another slighly worrying fact, that was mentioned by the lodge managers is that there was a severe flood two years ago and she informed that a massive number of fish were lost. She even witnessed bass stuck in trees 3 meters above the level of the dam just a day after the flood. Again, I am no expert on fish ecology in the area but there was a distanct lasck of fish movement. Even the gill nets had very few bass (1 for every 100 tilapia aught). It is unfortunately part of the deal when fishing in Africa but unless something is done, I doubt this venue will get back to the glory days I have heard about in the past. I sincerely hope i am wrong but all evidence including from local anglers who fish the dam regularly say that the dam is not what it used to be.

As an aside, the lodge and its staff are absolutely first class. They were attentive to our needs and were postive evert day, despite the tough fishing) and the overall experience was a very positive one.

Would I recoommend the dam as purely a fishing destination for those wanting to experience trophy bass fishing at its best - No.

Would I recmmonend the lodge as a family holiday or getaway to experience amazing birdlife, game viewing and delicious food - Absolutely!

Tight lines and would definitely like to hear if anyone has any thoughts on the dam.

[Navrik]

Thanks for sharing basshammond. Pity about the lack of fish but it does sound like a bit better than a good day at the office :blue-cool:

[Josvanheerden]

This is so sad - we went there annually between 2008 and 2012.

The first three years were nothing short of spectacular with us catching tons of fish and most everything was in the 1.2 to 1.8 class with more than a couple 3kg and 4kg fish making an appearance. The one year a youngster got a 6kg in the morning and a 7kg later in the day.

In the early days you did not see a lot of gillnets but the last couple of years it was insane - nearly every tree within 100m of the bank had a gillnet chock o block full of bream.

I suspect the floods had a lot to do with the fish numbers dwindling but we were also concerned at the fact that the lodge managers encouraged people to bring in bass to cook as bar snacks - we obviously did not oblige but some of the other guests brought stringers of 5+ 2kg fish to be filleted. I am all for a slot limit but then educate your guests and keep it to the 500g to 1kg fish and not your prime breeding stock.

Although we love the venue and the people we have not been back as result of the poor fishing. To be honest I would rather spend 20% of the Zim trip costs and spend a week at Goedertrouw in September/October.

I do hope the dam recovers though.