Where Pietermaritzburg anglers get ready.
Tackle, straight advice, and rod and reel repairs. A Todd family shop since 1990, downstairs at Hayfields Mall.
16:45The day before
It starts at the counter.
One question: what’s working? 270 square metres downstairs at Hayfields, and people behind the counter who fish.
LuresSoft plastics from Zoom, Gary Yamamoto and Big Bite Baits. Crankbaits and topwater from Rapala, Spro and Salmo. Ask what’s working this week.
BaitcastersShimano, Lew’s, 13 Fishing and Abu Garcia, for heavier lures and heavier cover.
Rods and reelsPicked up, flexed and argued over. We’d rather you hold three than buy the wrong one.
FliesTied in the shop and bought in. Woolly Buggers to Mrs Simpson’s.
LineFluorocarbon, braid and mono, matched to the reel and the water.
You walk out with a plan, not just a bag.
All the tackle
04:30Before first light
Before first light
The alarm goes at half past four.
The rods have been in the bakkie since last night.
You’ve checked the knot three times.
05:15The drive out
Every trip leaves from the same counter.
The waters in Rochester’s own albums and result sheets, and the other dams worth knowing about. Albert Falls is about twenty kilometres up the road. The furthest is worth the early start.
Where the team has fished
- Albert Falls Dam20 kmAlbert Falls Bass Classic 2022: third-heaviest bag. Rochester boat photographs.
- Inanda Dam45 kmTeam photographs with the day’s bag.
- Durban and the coast65 kmRock and surf, and the launch sites for deep sea.
- Spioenkop Dam135 kmTournament dawn photographs from the boat.
- Goedertrouw Dam140 kmJoey's 2022 season, 6 August: team Rochester Tackle sixth of 35.
- Woodstock Dam150 kmPhotographs from the Woodstock prize-giving.
Other waters worth knowing
- Nagle Dam20 kmLargemouth bass and carp on the Mgeni, near Cato Ridge.
- Midmar Dam25 kmLargemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, carp and bluegill, in an Ezemvelo reserve outside Howick. You need a freshwater angling licence.
- Shongweni Dam40 kmBass, carp, barbel and tilapia. No motorboats on the dam: fish from the bank, a canoe or a kayak.
- Hazelmere Dam60 kmBass, carp, yellowfish and tilapia, north of Verulam. Permits at the gate.
- Kamberg Nature Reserve75 kmTrout in Eland and Erskine dams, fly tackle only. Open all year; pay the rod fee at reception.
- Wagendrift Dam85 kmLargemouth bass and carp, from the bank or a boat, in an Ezemvelo reserve outside Estcourt.
Straight-line distances from 28 Blackburrow Road. The first list comes from Rochester's own tournament sheets and photographs; the second is other public waters near Pietermaritzburg. Check access, permits and licences before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
06:00The wait
Then nothing. For a long time.
A knock.
Another.
Fish on.
Drag singing. Rod bent to the cork. Don’t horse it.
11:00Afterwards
Then you tell it at the counter.
From the result sheets
Albert Falls Bass Classic, 2022
Biggest bags: third, Mark Todd and Mark Schmidt.
Goedertrouw Dam, 6 August 2022
Joey’s tournament trail: team Rochester Tackle, sixth of 35.
MonBack at the counter
A family shop that fishes.
The Todd family opened Rochester in 1990. Mark Todd runs it now. He has his Natal colours in bass and fishes the dams and the sea, so the advice at the counter comes from the water, not a catalogue.
Ian Todd started the rod repair and building side of the business. The workshop still fixes rods and services reels, and the shop makes its own kick boats, bait boxes and flies.
Come past before you go.
Downstairs in the Hayfields Mall, the Pick n Pay centre.
Lower level, Hayfields Mall28 Blackburrow Road, Hayfields
Pietermaritzburg, 3201
- Monday to Friday
- 08:00–17:00
- Saturday
- 08:00–13:00
- Sunday and public holidays
- 09:00–12:00
Rochester Tackle © OpenStreetMap contributors