Brandvlei Dam

Brandvlei Dam
Brandvlei Dam
Official name	Brandvlei Dam
Country	South Africa
Location	Western Cape
Coordinates	33°42′45″S19°24′57″E / 33.71250°S 19.41583°E Coordinates: 33°42′45″S19°24′57″E / 33.71250°S 19.41583°E
Purpose	Irrigation
Opening date	1983
Owner(s)	Department of Water Affairs
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earth fill dam
Impounds	Lower Brandvlei River
Reservoir
Creates	Brandvlei Dam Reservoir
Total capacity	303.800.000 m3

Last updated June 15, 2019

Brandvlei Dam is an earth-fill type dam on the Lower Brandvlei River in Western Cape, South Africa. It was completed in 1983 and the inlet is the Holsloot river.

The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 6.6 million inhabitants in 2018. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province.

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European, Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.

The Brandvlei Dam, 15 km south of Worcester, is often referred to as the Greater Brandvlei Dam. When both it and the adjacent Kwaggaskloof Dams are full, the “wall” as it is known that divides them is submerged, making it one massive impoundment with a capacity of 458 million cubic metres. It is reputedly the best smallmouth bass fishing area in the country. "Brandvlei" or "The Burning Marsh" was named after the regular view of steam rising from the rivulet flowing into the dam, especially during early mornings.^[1]

Worcester, Western Cape Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg.

Greater Brandvlei Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on a tributary of the Breede River, near Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa. It was formed by joining the original Brandvlei Dam and the Kwaggaskloof Dam after reconstruction in 1989. Its main purpose is for irrigation use and the hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high (3).

Kwaggaskloof Dam is a dam on the Wabooms River, near Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1975.

Towards the northwest you will find Brandvlei Prison, which contains a hot spring with temperatures up to 45 °C, the hottest in South Africa. The Table Mountain Group hot water springs vary between 35 °C and 45 °C. The water at the nearby Goudini and the Brandvlei hot springs is classified as "pure" by virtue of its low content of dissolved mineral matter. You cannot visit this hot spring voluntarily (unfortunately it is situated inside the prison area).

Recreation

Boat launching, sailing, fishing and camping facilities are available at both Worcester Yacht club and Kwaggaskloof which make up the Greater Brandvlei dam.^[2]

Water sports

The water varies from quite murky after heavy rains to clear in the summer months. Boat traffic can be heavy, it's a popular venue for water skiers, inflatable boat races are sometimes held on the dam, this can cause havoc for bass anglers.^[3] The Worcester Yacht Club is situated at the Brandvlei Dam.

Angling

Kwaggaskloof (sometimes spelled Quaggaskloof) and Brandvlei Dam is considered by many to be one of the prime Smallmouth bass waters in South Africa, some would argue that it is “the” prime smallmouth lake. Regardless, the lake is certainly one that has some big smallmouth bass, until recently it was the holder of the South African record, a fish of 3.23 kg (7 lbs) caught on a crawdad coloured soft plastic worm in 4 metres (12 foot) of water in September 1998. The "wall" is an excellent spot to catch big Smallmouth Bass, fish of 2.5 to 3 kg are regularly taken along its length.

Structure is not immediately apparent on this lake but it is there, much of it is in the form of deeper ridges, channels, drop-ofs, points, old quarries and humps, a boat is a pretty much essential to fish Kwaggskloof properly and anglers need to be willing and able to read their electronics. Visible structure is there, it is just not that obvious, mainly along the South Western bank, this is also where largemouth bass are more likely to fall to a well placed spinnerbait or shallow running crankbait. Another choice piece of structure is an old road that runs into the lake in the most Southerly corner of the dam, partially exposed at low water, it's usually submerged and can easily be missed.

The largemouth bass is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to eastern and central United States, adjacent southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but widely introduced elsewhere. It is known by a variety of regional names, such as the widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, bucketmouth, largies, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, Green trout, gilsdorf bass, Oswego bass, southern largemouth and (paradoxically) northern largemouth, LMB. The largemouth bass is the state fish of Georgia and Mississippi, and the state freshwater fish of Florida and Alabama.

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The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular game fish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stocking—as well as illegal introductions—to many cool-water tributaries and lakes in Canada and more so introduced in the United States. The maximum recorded size is approximately 27 inches and 12 pounds. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. Its common names include smallmouth, bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, and bareback bass.

Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass or Kentucky bass, and Guadalupe bass. Black bass are members of the sunfish (Centrarchidae) family.

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References

↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-23.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
↑ http://tracks4africa.co.za/listings/item/w126940/brandvlei-dam/
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-22.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)

List of South African Dams from the Department of Water Affairs

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[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-23.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)

[2] ttp://tracks4africa.co.za/listings/item/w126940/brandvlei-dam/

[3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-22.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)