Diamond River Outfitters and Stream and Sea have teamed up to bring you a unique hosted trip to the promised land. The Eastern Cape Highlands have a reputation for offering some of the best trout fishing South Africa has to offer.
Journey through the hallowed valleys of the Eastern Cape Highlands stalking wild trout in the hundreds of kilometers of pure waters we have fallen in love with. This is truly a pilgrimage to discover the deep charm of small stream fly fishing in the epicentre of wild Trout in South Africa.
Set in the Eastern Cape Highlands, between Lady Grey, Barkley East and Rhodes, where we spend 6 enchanted nights in the pristine High Karoo in old English style farmhouses that give this area the feeling of the home of fly fishing in England and Scotland.
We fish some lesser-known but spectacular rivers as well as many of the renowned water, written about in many books over the decades. The scenery varies considerably, from pastoral scenes to fishing in deep sandstone canyons on pure white bedrock runs.
We also fish the Bell River Valley which is home to the well-known quaint trout village of Rhodes. Our accommodation is set right within striking distance of well-known rivers like the Bell, Bokspruit, Riflespruit, and Sterkspruit. All of which hold incredibly healthy populations of fish eagerly awaiting a well presented dry
This trip is ideal for all experience levels and is the perfect way to introduce your spous and kids to the magic of the Eastern Cape Highlands and the fly fishing Culture.
The focus is to catch wild, small stream Trout, and a lot of them. These rivers see very low fishing pressure and have produced incredibly good numbers of fish. We primarily target these river fish with dry fly, but we adapt the required technique as fishing situations dictate. In most cases, trout range in between 20 and 35cm in size. As an idea of maximum size, the largest fish was a river fish of 49cm.
At this time of the year the Eastern Cape Highlands puts on an incredible show. The Autumn colors on the trees and fish beginning to show their pre spawn glow are something to behold.
We have included an element of history on these trips, having lectures from the residents and historians to provide perspective on the history of this remarkable destination.
This goes far beyond a “fishing Trip”, this is a journey into nostalgia and an emersion in the finest part of our sport.
The prime time to fish the streams in the Highlands is from March through to May. We offer a very short season of 3 weeks for a maximum of 6 rods in the heart of the Autumn blush.
