On Friday 5th February, Wayne Ritchie, Michael Duvenage and I attended the briefing of the Richards Bay Skiboat Club Marlin Interclub/Interprovincial. This competition was scheduled for the following three days. There were several interclub and interprovincial teams taking part and it promised to be a great tournament. Wayne, Michael and I were representing the Richards Bay Skiboat Club with Divan Coetzee as our deckhand.
On Saturday the 6th the weather committee called off the competition due to 20 plus knot winds. The forecast for Sunday also looked bleak so it was no surprise when the second day was also blown out. By now everyone was tired of sitting on the side but the forecast for the next day looked fishable. Wayne phoned me on the Sunday to let me know that he had to work on the Monday which meant Michael, Divan and I would need to take out Wayne’s boat without him. I was not comfortable with this and made arrangements to fish on another boat. We approached Frans van Rensburg and he offered to assist us on the last day of the tournament. Frans owns the 40ft Power cat “Trinity”.
On Monday morning, the competition organizers gave us the go ahead to fish, eventhough the wind was blowing around 18 knots. We left the harbour at 05:15 and headed in an easterly direction. The sea was relatively calm but there were a lot of white horses around. The green water was out to about the 200m mark so it took us about 45 minutes to get out there. We put out the lures and headed deeper. The radio was very quiet and only one dropped fish had been reported. At about 8am we were in 700m of water when the center rigger with the blue and white Moldcraft super chugger popped, then nothing. I ran to the rod and gave the reel a few turns. The rod bent and the reel took off in the opposite direction. Michael and Divan cleared the deck while I tried to keep the line under control and then called in the hookup. The fish jumped about 150m away showing it to be a blue marlin. Once the lines were cleared, Divan and Michael helped me get into the standup harness and the fight commenced.
On Saturday the 6th the weather committee called off the competition due to 20 plus knot winds. The forecast for Sunday also looked bleak so it was no surprise when the second day was also blown out. By now everyone was tired of sitting on the side but the forecast for the next day looked fishable. Wayne phoned me on the Sunday to let me know that he had to work on the Monday which meant Michael, Divan and I would need to take out Wayne’s boat without him. I was not comfortable with this and made arrangements to fish on another boat. We approached Frans van Rensburg and he offered to assist us on the last day of the tournament. Frans owns the 40ft Power cat “Trinity”.
On Monday morning, the competition organizers gave us the go ahead to fish, eventhough the wind was blowing around 18 knots. We left the harbour at 05:15 and headed in an easterly direction. The sea was relatively calm but there were a lot of white horses around. The green water was out to about the 200m mark so it took us about 45 minutes to get out there. We put out the lures and headed deeper. The radio was very quiet and only one dropped fish had been reported. At about 8am we were in 700m of water when the center rigger with the blue and white Moldcraft super chugger popped, then nothing. I ran to the rod and gave the reel a few turns. The rod bent and the reel took off in the opposite direction. Michael and Divan cleared the deck while I tried to keep the line under control and then called in the hookup. The fish jumped about 150m away showing it to be a blue marlin. Once the lines were cleared, Divan and Michael helped me get into the standup harness and the fight commenced.
The fish went deep after its display on the surface. Frans backed up on it and I managed to get most of the line back. After 30mins, the double line came out the water followed by the tail. When the marlin had sounded, the leader wrapped around its tail and I was pulling in reverse. Luckily the leader unwrapped and the fish could be traced and tagged. Divan held the fish by the bill while Michael jumped overboard with the video camera. After a few shots, Divan released the fish and we were on the score board with the first release.
The current was screaming at about 6 knots so we had lost a lot of ground during the fight. We opted to run a bit north to get back to our fishing grounds before resetting the lines. At 9:40 another boat hooked up to a good marlin on 50Lbs tackle. We were all a bit nervous knowing that a big fish could put us into second place. We were still chatting about the possible scenarios when the port rigger with the purple and black Moldcraft widerange popped and the reel took off. Michael grabbed the rod while Divan and I cleared the deck. I called in the hookup at 10:05 while Michael settled into the fight.
The current was screaming at about 6 knots so we had lost a lot of ground during the fight. We opted to run a bit north to get back to our fishing grounds before resetting the lines. At 9:40 another boat hooked up to a good marlin on 50Lbs tackle. We were all a bit nervous knowing that a big fish could put us into second place. We were still chatting about the possible scenarios when the port rigger with the purple and black Moldcraft widerange popped and the reel took off. Michael grabbed the rod while Divan and I cleared the deck. I called in the hookup at 10:05 while Michael settled into the fight.
The fish gave an awesome show on the surface then settled. We could see that it was a good fish. After a few good runs, Michael managed to get the fish to the boat. Divan traced the fish and I tagged it. Michael jumped overboard again and filmed the fish as it swam away. The +-160kg blue marlin took 50 minutes from hookup to release.
The lines went back in and we continued trolling. The boat that had hooked up earlier released their fish about 10 minutes after we released ours. The radio was quiet for the next while with the exception of a few dorado being caught.
At about noon, we were enjoying the boat lunches that the RBSBC had supplied when we heard a loud crack followed by a screaming reel. The starboard flat line elastic had popped as a marlin latched onto the pink and white Pulsator Marlin Magnet. I grabbed the rod while the other lines were cleared. Frans called in the hookup much to the disbelief of the other boats.
The lines went back in and we continued trolling. The boat that had hooked up earlier released their fish about 10 minutes after we released ours. The radio was quiet for the next while with the exception of a few dorado being caught.
At about noon, we were enjoying the boat lunches that the RBSBC had supplied when we heard a loud crack followed by a screaming reel. The starboard flat line elastic had popped as a marlin latched onto the pink and white Pulsator Marlin Magnet. I grabbed the rod while the other lines were cleared. Frans called in the hookup much to the disbelief of the other boats.
Frans backed up and I retrieved as fast as I could. About 10 minutes later, the leader came up and Divan grabbed it. Michael tagged the fish and removed the hooks before turning it loose. It was a blue marlin of about 60kg. Everyone on the boat was ecstatic! It is not every day that you catch 3 marlin in one day in South Africa.
We reset the lures and again continued trolling. A short while later the port rigger popped. There was a bit of a splash but nothing spectacular. Michael brought the fish in and we saw that it was a small dorado. It came to the boat, Divan gaffed it and brought it aboard. After removing the hooks, Divan lost his grip on the fish and it flopped around the deck. Divs nonchalantly sat on the fish which actually calmed it down! It was then quickly slid into the hatch.
At about 2pm, I was sitting looking at the teaser swimming behind the boat when I saw a marlin come flying into the spread to investigate. The black body and electric blue tail was clearly visible as it darted between the lures. All of us were watching the spectacle and willing the fish to eat a lure. But it was not to be as the fish lost interest and faded off into the depths.
The day ended with no more fish caught and we managed to take top honors in the competition at the prize giving that evening. On behalf of the RBSBC team, I would like to thank Frans van Rensburg for an incredible day on the water and look forward to fishing with him in the near future.
(Pics to follow)
We reset the lures and again continued trolling. A short while later the port rigger popped. There was a bit of a splash but nothing spectacular. Michael brought the fish in and we saw that it was a small dorado. It came to the boat, Divan gaffed it and brought it aboard. After removing the hooks, Divan lost his grip on the fish and it flopped around the deck. Divs nonchalantly sat on the fish which actually calmed it down! It was then quickly slid into the hatch.
At about 2pm, I was sitting looking at the teaser swimming behind the boat when I saw a marlin come flying into the spread to investigate. The black body and electric blue tail was clearly visible as it darted between the lures. All of us were watching the spectacle and willing the fish to eat a lure. But it was not to be as the fish lost interest and faded off into the depths.
The day ended with no more fish caught and we managed to take top honors in the competition at the prize giving that evening. On behalf of the RBSBC team, I would like to thank Frans van Rensburg for an incredible day on the water and look forward to fishing with him in the near future.
(Pics to follow)
