Catfish Joe's Fly fishing South Africa is the oldest and specialised calm water raft fly fishing for yellowfish and monster catfish and low intensity adventure rafting company On the lower Orange river in South Africa in the same area as the annual Kalahari Augrabies extreme marathon. We were the first to design rafts based on the Alaskan raft fishing methods and operate mainly on the Lower Orange river and other concessions in private areas in Southern Africa. Most river rafting companies with small rafts normally doing white water advertise fishing as activity but don’t be fooled if you are a serious fly fisherman into these low budgets, paddling experiences that are very nice but not for the discerning fly fishermen.

We believe this is an exclusive experience as it is nicely balanced between safety, infrastructure and remoteness and wilderness. It is definitely one of the more scenic habitats hugging a river one can find anywhere on the planet. In South Africa it cannot easily be beaten. Catfish Joe's Wilderness Adventures is your gateway to this beautiful and pristine wilderness area. For over 15  years we have been leaders in  specialised Wilderness raft fly fishing Adventures on the lower orange river and surrounding Kalahari and Namaqualand scenery.

Joe Lategan felt the draw of this beautiful and safe area years ago on his quest to hunt for monster fish in Southern Africa’s wilderness areas. It is a fact that the more remote a river is the more wild it is including the numbers and sizes of fish. This area is steeped in history and lore from Koi, Hottentots, Boers, Missionaries, adventure seekers, outlaws and poachers to recent stories told around the campfire. The area of the Orange River we operate in has been selected for many reasons but the most important were that we didn't want to do white water rafting but wanted to cater for the more mature client and also to allow for the older person that need to explore parts of the country they will never be able to with other means as no roads give access to the sections of the river we operate in. The rapids are thus fun to glide over as they normally are the productive zones for yellowfish on fly.

The Orange River obviously has areas that are great for white water rafting along its course but we leave this for the people that specialise in this adventure activity. We rather take our time to marvel at beautiful rock formations and narrow canyons edged by towering cliffs, or to stop for the bird watchers or kudu or leopard along the river. Along our tranquil 60 km river adventures we will allow you to see some of the great bio-diversities along the Lower Orange river.