Unicor Dam, Flora Park Ranch (Peet's Place)

Unicor Dam was built in the early 50’s and is situated just outside the town of Evander close to Secunda in the Mpumalanga province. Flora Park Ranch is one of the best maintained fishing venues of the Highveld containing Carp, Catfish, Mudfish, Moggel and Bass. It’s a picturesque venue with everything an angler could dream of. Safe, accessible, controlled, lots of fish, beautiful stands with shade trees, ablution facilities, space for kids to play, ride their bicycles and friendly people! Oh, and did we mention its only about an hour and 20 minutes drive from JHB?

 

Neat, clean and tidy – the banks at Flora Park Ranch are picturesque.

 

How to get there

From Gauteng you need to travel on the N17 freeway towards Secunda and take the Kinross off ramp about 14,5km after passing through the Leandra Toll Plaza. You’ll find a Sasol garage at the top of the off ramp where you need to turn right onto the R546 towards Evander. Travel on this road for 5,8km and turn left onto the R580 towards Secunda. The turn off to the venue is 2,5km from here on the right with a clear sign board stating “Unicor Park” – as you turn off the tar road onto a short gravel road you’ll pass a brick wall and about 10m past the brick wall you’ll find a blue gate on your left to enter the premises. Do not go straight as this will take you to a different resort. (Google Maps link at the bottom of the page).

 

Entry and Info

Entry is strict and very controlled by the owner Peet, who opens the gate at 06:00 in the morning and locks it again at 18:00 in the evening. They take great care of this venue so there are a few important rules needed to abide to make sure its an enjoyable experience to everyone and anyone.

 

Rules

1. No open fires
2. No loud music and/or foul language
3. No alcohol misuse
4. No canoes or boats allowed on the water – bait boats are allowed
5. Always take your rubbish with you and only leave your footsteps
6. No keep nets, strictly catch and release

 

Entrance Tariffs are as follows

R100 from 06:00 – 18:00. If you want to camp you pay R100 extra to stay from 18:00 – 06:00. 

*Clubs can book the venue for competition fishing where proper new generation keep nets will be allowed only for the day.

Contact number:

Peet – 082 491 0326

*Please note these times, numbers and tariffs can change at any time without notice.

 

Spots to Fish

Stands 1 – 7 are very popular as it is close to the inlet where the reeds in the water are growing, this is obviously a fish magnet therefore these spots hold a lot of fish. Stands 32-36 are also a great area as its on a point giving you access to deep and open water –  these stands are especially good when camping and feeding spots are made as the fish can turn up in numbers after a day or two of making your feeding spot in the deeper water.

Another good spot especially during the summer is number 41 just to the left of the cluster of trees in the water – the water here is quite shallow but gradually gets deeper to the right and this transitioning zone hold a lot of fish. 

Stand 18-28 are the least favourite as they are in a bay but its not to say that you wont catch as the fish are everywhere, this area is just a bit more inconsistent than the other spots.

The “sloep” area all the way on the left side of the bank is a good spot when the weather is sunny and warm as this shallower area holds a lot of fish during the latter stages of the day.

Willow trees close to the waters edge makes for great shading spots at your fishing area.

What to use / How to fish

Just like any other venue Unicor dam rewards the angler who puts in the effort. These fish are plentiful and everywhere but they see a lot of bait and know when to avoid it. By casting very accurately and clipping your line into the clip on the spool of your reel you will vastly improve your chances of catching more and bigger fish. 

Good distances to try are 30m and 40m. A lot of the fish are very close to the bank so make sure not to avoid fishing in close. This is also great for kids as they can get the fish going within reach of their abilities. Other distances to try are 90m and 125m, especially for the larger specimens. The record for biggest Carp at Peets place is 18,2kg (40lb) with lots of backup fish between 5 - 8kg. However this is definitely not the norm at Unicor dam and the average size carp range from 500g – 4,5kg.

Hook baits for the carp that you can use include floaties, sweet white dough and corn kernels (mielies). For the bigger fish you can also try boilies and tiger nuts. Just make sure that the boilies you’re using are soluble and wont harm the fish. For the catfish snake worms and small fish fillets/heads work well. There are massive catfish so make sure to use beefed up gear when putting out baits to catch them.

Stronger flavours seem to work very well and it seems as if fishy flavours like Halibut, Salmon and Anchovy oil also produce good catches at this venue so make sure to take some stinky stuff with on your trip to Unicor.

 

Dips for Unicor Dam

• Perdeby/Scorpion (Bunspice/Cinnamon)

• Devils Fork (Almond/Garlic)

• Sniper/Bass/Nail-It (Garlic/TCP)

• Lootie/Oxblood (Berry Molasses)

• Paint (Spirits)

• Kiana (Pink Sweets)

 

Map