Gauteng has spawned a new, spring-fed trout venue

Daily Maverick

4 days ago

It's how newcomers often rise to the sport of fly fishing: a stocked dam where the casting does not have to be far and the trout, unlike their wild kin, are not as wary. At the end of the day, it's about escaping the endless grind of Joburg for a nearby outdoor experience in the countryside.
Joburg anglers have a new trout venue in Muldersdrift and it is a welcome addition to a fishing scene that has seen trout dams in the nearby Cradle of Humankind fouled by the collapse of the Magales City sewage works.
Syringa Trout Farm opened for business on 5 July and had an official launch on 2 August. I was there both days with a trip in between and caught each time. For an avid fly fisherman like myself, it is simply a delight and a convenience to have more angling options less than a 40-minute drive from my home.
Gauteng may be the urban and industrial heartland of Johannesburg, a historic upshot of the fabulously rich gold reefs of the Witwatersrand. But under a big sky it still has lots of outdoor space, countryside and veld, with opportunities galore for hiking, cycling, game viewing, bird watching, fossil tours and, despite mounting water woes, fishing.
Capetonians in their bubble have the splendours of the mountains and the (cold) sea, but Gauteng also has plenty of outside gems beyond Joburg's wonderful parks and trails.
Syringa is easily accessible from Beyers Naudé and is on the doorstep of the Cradle.
There are two dams, one small and one large, ringed by blue gum trees – but there is still plenty of space to cast a fly rod.
Pointedly, the dams are spring-fed and the trout I have caught there have put up a nice fight – an indicator of clean water. When trout are unhealthy, they don't bite, let alone fight.
Syringa is managed by David Bain in partnership with Avianto Estate /Syringa park, which has dog-friendly hiking trails, a hotel and other venues over a sprawling property near the Cradle.
Bain's family also operates the Brookwood facility in the Cradle where I fished for trout for more than 20 years. This is where I introduced several friends over the years to the fine art of fly fishing, hooking and reeling them into the sport.
But the collapse of the Mogale City sewage works – a reeking example of local government failure – has literally spilled shit into the Blaaubankspruit, used as a water source for a number of trout venues in the area.
It is a shocking indictment on the state of local governance in South Africa that a sewer is literally running through the Cradle, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site – probably the only one on the planet that has been tainted in such a way, with the stench of mismanagement and corruption hanging in the air.
Ecologically the damage has been extensive: native yellowfish, birds, lizards, frogs, otters – all victims of a 21st-century disaster inflicting an area where humanity's ancestors were once the hunters and the hunted on their long and arduous evolutionary journey.
There are tentative signs of some recovery in the stream, but it will be some time before it becomes clean enough again to support dams for trout, which require pristine waters. Brookwood still offers fishing for carp which are a hardier species on this front.
'It's going to take years to recover because there is still a metre or more of shit sludge at the bottom, and it will need to be taken out by adding bacteria that can eat it or it needs to be physically removed,' Bain told Daily Maverick.
The Kloofzicht Lodge in the area still offers trout fishing, but it is further downstream and has costly filters to keep its dams clean. The bottom line is that this municipal mess remains a massive cost for businesses in the area.
Lanseria Country Estate near the airport of the same name also has winter trout fishing and bass fishing in the summer, but its waters, like Syringa's, are unaffected by the kak.
Derided by some as an invasive species in South Africa, trout also serve as an indicator species which highlight the relative health of aquatic ecosystems, and when they are contained in human-made dams they are not an invader.
On the day of the recent official Syringa launch, fishing maestro Mark Yelland, one of South Africa's top guides and instructors, was on hand to offer some advice to beginners, which included the wife and sons of a friend of mine.
Once you get the hang of it the basics of fly fishing are not that hard to grasp. Trust me, I have piss-poor hand-eye-coordination – a cricketer I am not – but I manage to throw a line and catch fish.
Under Mark's fairly brief guidance, my friend's wife and sons measurably improved their casting, spawning some new members of the angling fraternity.
It's how newcomers often rise to the sport: a stocked dam where the casting does not have to be far and where the trout, unlike their wild kin, are not as wary. But on account of the convenience, even veteran anglers who reside in Gauteng enjoy fishing such waters. I have been fly fishing for 30 years and still relish such jaunts.
At the end of the day, it's about escaping the endless grind of Joburg for a nearby outdoor experience in the countryside. And it's great to see that there are spring-fed waters near the Cradle that are unsullied by the blunders of the Mogale municipality, which will hopefully be held to account in next year's municipal elections – or possible legal action. DM
Syringa is open Wednesday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 6am to 6pm. Entry is R120 and it is strictly a catch-and-keep venue for trout. There are also bream and yellowfish which are for catch and release.
The venue is licensed and sells beers and ciders and has braai facilities if you fancy a fire and boerewors roll. And you don't have to fly-fish: angling with spinning gear is allowed.