Contact 033 386 2059
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Shop Lower level, Hayfields Mall, Hayfields

Hours Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat 08:00–13:00 · Sun & hols 09:00–12:00

Call 033 386 2059

Fishing · Bass

Bass on the dams around Pietermaritzburg.

Plastics, cranks, jigs and the rods to throw them. A big part of the shop, and the fishing the owner does in tournaments.

Reading the water

Bass hold on something.

Drowned trees, a weed edge, a rock bank, the drop-off at the end of a point. Find the structure and you have found half the fish. The other half is working out how deep they are sitting today and what will make them bite.

The dams around here fill and drop with the seasons, and the drowned trees at Albert Falls stand in or out of the water depending on the year. That changes where the fish are, and it changes what you throw.

An angler in a red shirt holding a bass on a boat among flooded trees
Flooded trees. From Rochester’s own album.
Two anglers casting from the Rochester boat past drowned trees at Albert Falls
Albert FallsThe Rochester boat working the tree line.

On the wall

What goes on the end of the line.

Ask what has been working this month. It changes.

Packs of 13 Fishing soft plastic swimbaits hanging on a pegboard wall

Soft plastics

The wall people come in for. Worms, creatures, swimbaits, craws.

Zoom · Gary Yamamoto · Yum · Big Bite Baits · Rage Tail · Cull-em · McCarthy
A yellow and green crankbait hanging from a rod over dark water

Hard baits

Crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater, spoons and spinners.

Rapala · Spro · Berkley · Strike Pro · Strike King · Salmo · Halco
Swivels and snaps in a clear tackle box compartment

Jigs, hooks and terminal

The small things that lose you the fish if you get them wrong.

Strike King · VMC · BKK · Spro
A spinning reel on a cork-handled rod, close up

Rods

Racked by the dozen. Picked up, flexed, argued over.

Shimano · G. Loomis · Abu Garcia · Okuma · Sensation · Hardy
A red baitcasting reel on a rod resting on a wooden jetty

Reels

Behind the glass. Baitcasters, spinning reels, the big star-drags for the sea.

Shimano · Daiwa · Lew's · Abu Garcia · Okuma · 13 Fishing
A hand holding a fishing line tight above the water

Line

Fluorocarbon, braid, monofilament.

Seaguar

Two setups

Most bass anglers end up owning both.

Baitcaster

For heavier lures and heavier cover: jigs, big worms, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, anything you are pulling out of the trees. More control, more power, and a learning curve with the thumb.

Rod
Medium-heavy casting rod
Line
Fluorocarbon or braid
Throws
Texas rigs, jigs, cranks

Spinning

For light plastics and finesse: drop shot, wacky rigs, small swimbaits, days when the fish are shy. Easy to learn, and the first rod most people should buy.

Rod
Medium or medium-light spinning rod
Line
Braid to a fluorocarbon leader
Throws
Drop shot, wacky, weightless

General starting points, not rules. We’ll fit it to your water and your budget.

An angler in a tournament shirt holding two bass at the water's edge
Woodstock DamA pair for the scale.

From the counter

The owner fishes the circuit.

Mark Todd has his Natal colours in bass. He fishes the tournament trail with Mark Schmidt, and the advice at the counter comes from those days on the water.

  • Albert Falls Bass Classic, 2022Third-heaviest bag.
  • Goedertrouw Dam, August 2022Sixth of 35 teams, Joey’s tournament trail.
Albert Falls, 2022

Tell us the dam and the month.

Bring the name of the water, what you have been throwing and what you want to spend. We’ll narrow down the wall for you.

033 386 2059 Email us Visit the shop