On Christmas afternoon, I drove through to Cape Vidal to join At van Tilburg for the weekend. I arrived at about 5pm and unpacked my bags. At’s wife Kathy had organized a bring and braai at the day visitors picnic site overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful evening and the party ended up in the wee hours of the morning.
On Saturday the 26th, At woke me and said that he was not going to sea, but his two nephews, Riaan and Pierre, were going as well as Johan Strauss. They wanted to fish for gamefish. I said I would join them as I would much rather go to sea then sit on the side, especially on such a nice day. We hitched the boat and headed for the beach. After an uneventful launch, we were through the surf and stopped to catch some livebait. After catching a few maasbanker and mackerel, we traveled north for about 5km.
We decided to pull some lures over Oscar pinnacles to have some fun with the bonito or tuna and so we put out a few halcos and an islander saillure. We were in 40 meters of water and I had just finished setting the lines when Riaan said he saw a fish jump behind the close lure – the saillure. I spun round to see a wake forming about 5 meters behind the lure. Whatever it was, it was fast and it charged up to the lure and smashed it. The reel smoked off and I handed the rod to Riaan. The fish took about 100m of line before it slowed down. By then Johan and I had cleared the other rods and Riaan could start gaining line. After a few good runs, the fish came to the boat, tail first. It was a wahoo – Riaan’s first! He was over the moon and after a few quick photos we reset the lines. Pierre trolled over the pinnacles and we were rewarded with a double strike on the halcos. Riaan and Johan pulled he fish to the boat. They were both small yellowfin tuna of about 2,5kg … perfect marlin bait … but we didn’t have the marlin tackle on the boat, so we reluctantly released them. When I let them go I could feel the heartburn! We continued trolling and the furthest lure got eaten. The reel took off at quite a pace and I picked up the rod to pass it to someone else. Everyone looked at me and said “you take it”. Oh alright if you insist! I battled to gain line until Pierre drove toward the fish, which was still on surface. When the double and leader came out the water, I saw that it was a nice yellowfin of about 8kg. I passed the rod to Riaan and grabbed it by the tail. I removed the hooks and slid the knife into the bloodline then put it into the tuna tube. It might sound cruel but it is the best way to ensure that the fish is bled properly for sushi.
With a few tuna under the belt, we headed north to vegetation – a spot 12km north of the launch where we had done well in the past. In about 23m over the marks, I heard the close reel give a short burst. I ran to the back to see a sailfish billing the islander. I picked up the rod and put it into freespool with my thumb on the spool. When the sail took the lure, I gave it a few seconds then tightened up. It was on for a moment then off. I lifted the rod and went to freespool again. The sail came in again and did the same thing with the same result. After the third time it lost interest and whacked a halco on the way through but also missing the hooks. I told Pierre to make a turn and come over the exact same spot and we might raise the fish again. As we turned the far lure got chowed. The reel initially took off then slowed ... this was no sailfish. Johan pulled the fish in quickly and I gaffed a king mackerel (cuda) of about 6kg. Pierre worked the area a bit without another strike. I suggested we rig the livebaits and slow troll over the area. If there was one cuda, there would be another. I rigged 4 live maasbanker and a dead sardine, staggering them in distance and depth. We trolled between 20 and 30 meters using the current to push us from north to south. And would you guess it … in 23m on the mark I saw the long surface rod bend a bit then straighten. I ran to the back picked up the rod and put the reel into freespool. The line took some tension and I fed some line out. As the reel picked up speed, I put the drag up to strike and wound up the slack. The rod bent and I struck back. Almost immediately a sailfish exploded behind the boat heading in the opposite direction. The reel was absolutely smoking at that stage. I knew Johan had not seen, let alone caught a sailfish, so I handed him the rod and said good luck! I’ll never forget the look of panic on his face – Classic! Riaan and I cleared the other lines as fast as humanly possible. Johan said that there was not a lot of line left on the reel, but I assumed he was just over reacting and casually told Pierre to start turning toward the fish, I also told Johan to back off on the drag a bit. Pierre said we should calm down because the situation was under control. I thought the same, until I glanced at the reel in Johan’s hands. Holy S%*t! we were down to about 20 meters and loosing fast. I shouted to Pierre to turn … NOW! He shouted back saying “Calm down!” – Obviously he didn’t understand the severity of the situation! Adamant get some immediate action out of Pierre, I took the rod from Johan and showed Pierre the reel – which was now about 6 or 7 turns from the knot – and said “Your call!” and left it at that. I gave Johan the rod just in time because if I didn’t have two hands to hold on with I would have been overboard! Pierre spun the steering wheel left full lock and opened both 115 Optimaxes to the max. AVANTI flew around as the line came to an end and the knot started pulling tight. I grabbed the line between the reel and the first guide to create some slack on the knot to prevent it from breaking. Pierre created some slack, but was running toward the fish and not where the line was going into the water. Riaan and I were almost out of our minds trying to get Pierre to turn a bit left to chase the line and not the fish! Pandemonium! Luck was on our side and the tension slowly released and Johan could get a few turns onto the reel. I told him to keep the rod pointed at the line and wind for all that he was worth. He did very well and after we had about 20m on the reel, and I told Pierre to slow down. There was enough line in the water to keep tension on the fish’s side so we were not worried about the slack on our side. Calm was restored after we had about 100m back on the reel and the fish had settled down. Johan told us that he wanted to load the fish and because it was his first one, we didn’t have a problem with his request. After about 25 minutes, the fish was next to the boat.
We don’t like to use the gaff on billfish (unless we don’t have a choice) because it makes the photograph look terrible, so I took hold of the leader and brought the fish within reach. I took the bill and lifted the fish into the boat. We were all over the moon. After the very close call with this fish, we were very relieved to have it on the boat.
After a well deserved cooldrink, we reset the lines. I was busy putting out the second livie when the reel took off in my hands. I fed for a moment then gave a quick strike – on! The fish took some line then came straight to the boat. Winding like a madman, I managed to keep tension on the fish, but as the double line came out the water, the hooks pulled on a smallish cuda (+-5kg). We had one more chop on a livie before we decided to put lures on and troll for home. Over Oscar pinnacle we managed a bonito of about 3kg which we released before heading for the beach.
We loaded the boat and parked the boat at the washbay. We weighed Riaan’s wahoo and Johan’s sailfish. They weighed 14,6kg and 29,8kg respectively. Overall, it was a fantastic day’s fishing with two ‘firsts’ ... not every day you catch 5 species of gamefish.
On Saturday the 26th, At woke me and said that he was not going to sea, but his two nephews, Riaan and Pierre, were going as well as Johan Strauss. They wanted to fish for gamefish. I said I would join them as I would much rather go to sea then sit on the side, especially on such a nice day. We hitched the boat and headed for the beach. After an uneventful launch, we were through the surf and stopped to catch some livebait. After catching a few maasbanker and mackerel, we traveled north for about 5km.
We decided to pull some lures over Oscar pinnacles to have some fun with the bonito or tuna and so we put out a few halcos and an islander saillure. We were in 40 meters of water and I had just finished setting the lines when Riaan said he saw a fish jump behind the close lure – the saillure. I spun round to see a wake forming about 5 meters behind the lure. Whatever it was, it was fast and it charged up to the lure and smashed it. The reel smoked off and I handed the rod to Riaan. The fish took about 100m of line before it slowed down. By then Johan and I had cleared the other rods and Riaan could start gaining line. After a few good runs, the fish came to the boat, tail first. It was a wahoo – Riaan’s first! He was over the moon and after a few quick photos we reset the lines. Pierre trolled over the pinnacles and we were rewarded with a double strike on the halcos. Riaan and Johan pulled he fish to the boat. They were both small yellowfin tuna of about 2,5kg … perfect marlin bait … but we didn’t have the marlin tackle on the boat, so we reluctantly released them. When I let them go I could feel the heartburn! We continued trolling and the furthest lure got eaten. The reel took off at quite a pace and I picked up the rod to pass it to someone else. Everyone looked at me and said “you take it”. Oh alright if you insist! I battled to gain line until Pierre drove toward the fish, which was still on surface. When the double and leader came out the water, I saw that it was a nice yellowfin of about 8kg. I passed the rod to Riaan and grabbed it by the tail. I removed the hooks and slid the knife into the bloodline then put it into the tuna tube. It might sound cruel but it is the best way to ensure that the fish is bled properly for sushi.
With a few tuna under the belt, we headed north to vegetation – a spot 12km north of the launch where we had done well in the past. In about 23m over the marks, I heard the close reel give a short burst. I ran to the back to see a sailfish billing the islander. I picked up the rod and put it into freespool with my thumb on the spool. When the sail took the lure, I gave it a few seconds then tightened up. It was on for a moment then off. I lifted the rod and went to freespool again. The sail came in again and did the same thing with the same result. After the third time it lost interest and whacked a halco on the way through but also missing the hooks. I told Pierre to make a turn and come over the exact same spot and we might raise the fish again. As we turned the far lure got chowed. The reel initially took off then slowed ... this was no sailfish. Johan pulled the fish in quickly and I gaffed a king mackerel (cuda) of about 6kg. Pierre worked the area a bit without another strike. I suggested we rig the livebaits and slow troll over the area. If there was one cuda, there would be another. I rigged 4 live maasbanker and a dead sardine, staggering them in distance and depth. We trolled between 20 and 30 meters using the current to push us from north to south. And would you guess it … in 23m on the mark I saw the long surface rod bend a bit then straighten. I ran to the back picked up the rod and put the reel into freespool. The line took some tension and I fed some line out. As the reel picked up speed, I put the drag up to strike and wound up the slack. The rod bent and I struck back. Almost immediately a sailfish exploded behind the boat heading in the opposite direction. The reel was absolutely smoking at that stage. I knew Johan had not seen, let alone caught a sailfish, so I handed him the rod and said good luck! I’ll never forget the look of panic on his face – Classic! Riaan and I cleared the other lines as fast as humanly possible. Johan said that there was not a lot of line left on the reel, but I assumed he was just over reacting and casually told Pierre to start turning toward the fish, I also told Johan to back off on the drag a bit. Pierre said we should calm down because the situation was under control. I thought the same, until I glanced at the reel in Johan’s hands. Holy S%*t! we were down to about 20 meters and loosing fast. I shouted to Pierre to turn … NOW! He shouted back saying “Calm down!” – Obviously he didn’t understand the severity of the situation! Adamant get some immediate action out of Pierre, I took the rod from Johan and showed Pierre the reel – which was now about 6 or 7 turns from the knot – and said “Your call!” and left it at that. I gave Johan the rod just in time because if I didn’t have two hands to hold on with I would have been overboard! Pierre spun the steering wheel left full lock and opened both 115 Optimaxes to the max. AVANTI flew around as the line came to an end and the knot started pulling tight. I grabbed the line between the reel and the first guide to create some slack on the knot to prevent it from breaking. Pierre created some slack, but was running toward the fish and not where the line was going into the water. Riaan and I were almost out of our minds trying to get Pierre to turn a bit left to chase the line and not the fish! Pandemonium! Luck was on our side and the tension slowly released and Johan could get a few turns onto the reel. I told him to keep the rod pointed at the line and wind for all that he was worth. He did very well and after we had about 20m on the reel, and I told Pierre to slow down. There was enough line in the water to keep tension on the fish’s side so we were not worried about the slack on our side. Calm was restored after we had about 100m back on the reel and the fish had settled down. Johan told us that he wanted to load the fish and because it was his first one, we didn’t have a problem with his request. After about 25 minutes, the fish was next to the boat.
We don’t like to use the gaff on billfish (unless we don’t have a choice) because it makes the photograph look terrible, so I took hold of the leader and brought the fish within reach. I took the bill and lifted the fish into the boat. We were all over the moon. After the very close call with this fish, we were very relieved to have it on the boat.
After a well deserved cooldrink, we reset the lines. I was busy putting out the second livie when the reel took off in my hands. I fed for a moment then gave a quick strike – on! The fish took some line then came straight to the boat. Winding like a madman, I managed to keep tension on the fish, but as the double line came out the water, the hooks pulled on a smallish cuda (+-5kg). We had one more chop on a livie before we decided to put lures on and troll for home. Over Oscar pinnacle we managed a bonito of about 3kg which we released before heading for the beach.
We loaded the boat and parked the boat at the washbay. We weighed Riaan’s wahoo and Johan’s sailfish. They weighed 14,6kg and 29,8kg respectively. Overall, it was a fantastic day’s fishing with two ‘firsts’ ... not every day you catch 5 species of gamefish.
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