Father and sons

On 28^th December 2011, Frans and his two sons, Hein and Ettienne, joined Phillip and I on “Stephe”. Hein had never caught a marlin and we were hoping that today would be his lucky day. We put to sea at about 6am and headed south. In 50m we started putting out the spread when “Proximo” called us to say they just had a marlin strike in 100m, just ahead of us. Phillip headed in that direction while Frans and I set the lines. We had 3 lines out when Frans shouted that there was a fish in the spread. Seconds later the left long popped and the reel ran. The fish was on for a few seconds then pulled hook... We quickly reset the spread and made a turn. As we straightened out, the right long came down and we were hooked up! Hein took to the chair and we cleared lines in a hurry. I transferred the rod and clipped him into the harness. In the meantime, the fish was jumping a fair distance away. Once everything was settled, Hein worked the fish to the boat like a pro. I took the leader and then tagged a nice striped marlin. Way to go! Well done! After a few quick photos, it was turned loose... not bad for 6:45am!

Frans and I set the spread and Phillip worked the area. Not long after, we had another fish come up and swat the left long but did not connect. Slowly we worked south to Diepgat and at 8:45am, on our second turn, the left short popped and the reel took off. We cleared the lines and Ettienne took the strike. The fish had only jumped once so we did not get a good look at it. 15mins later I took hold of the leader on a +-80kg Blue Marlin. After a few photos, we tagged and released the healthy fish.

The lures were back in the water in a flash and as the last drag was set, I saw a fish on the right short. It missed the lure the first time then connected on the second attempt. It ripped off a lot of line and made a commotion on the surface in the distance. While we cleared the deck, Frans took to the chair. The fish went deep and gave Frans a good workout before I took the leader. The fish angled to the surface and when it came into view, we were surprised by the sight of a +- 100kg mako shark... Not what we were expecting. After a few tense moments on the leader, we managed to get the hooks out of the spinning fish and set it free without damage to fish or crew.

Again the lines went out and Phillip worked the area. At 11am, we were busy watching a boat in front of hookup to a marlin when our right long rigger popped and the reel smoked off! While clearing the lines, the fish greyhounded out the back in spectacular fashion. Once settled, Frans took the rod and slowly but surely brought the fish closer. I took the leader and brought the fish closer. It was a good Blue Marlin of around 130 to 150kg. The hooks were only just wrapped around the bill and came off very easily resulting in the fish swimming away strongly... unreal! Father and both sons had each released a marlin before midday!

Needless to say, the lined went back in quickly but the weather turned for the worse and so we headed back to the beach by 1:30pm. Thanks to Phillip, Frans and the boys for a great few days at Sodwana. It will be one to remember.

Black Magic

On 26^th December 2011, Phillip, Corrie and Llewellyn (from Sea Queen fame) and I boarded Lappies Labuschagne’s “Black Magic” and put to sea off Sodwana. The water was an off blue and there was little current. The wind was a light NE.

We put out a spread of lures and Lappies trolled south towards Diep Gat. The morning was uneventful in fishing terms, but with Oom Llewellyn’s quirky sense of humour and classic jokes, we enjoyed every minute of the day. After several hours we only had a few half hearted chases from dorado. Several boats had reported hook-ups in the 600-700m depth and so we focussed our attention on this depth.

At about 1pm, the left long rigger came down and a very small fish thrashed on the surface. We could not decide what the fish was but treated it as s billfish. Corrie took the strike and very quickly had the fish near the boat. The identification varied from spearfish to stripey to baby blue marlin. Only when Phillip took the trace, did we positively id the fish as a very small blue marlin. Because it was still full of energy, it gave us a good run around at the boat and after several spectacular jumps, the fish was tagged and released ... all captured on my GoPro camera.

That was the last of the action we had for the day and headed back to the beach. Thanks to Lappies and crew for a great day.

Non-jumpers

Early on Sunday 18th December, Hannes, Manie and I left Richards Bay and headed to Cape Vidal. We were going to fish for the day and then leave the boat there for a few days. We finally arrived on the beach at 6:30 where we met up with the rest of the crew, Wayne and Mark. After an uneventful launch, we quickly looked for some maasbanker on the point, but found only a few seapike. We then headed to Oscar pinnacle to look for live bait for marlin.

The sea was beautiful. The surface was like oil and the clarity was like gin... conditions that you you REALLY battle for bait. We put out several halcos and feathers and worked the area for a few hour. At about 10am, we finally managed to get a small kawa-kawa. We rigged it and put it out in 60m of water. The wind was slowly picking up but still very fishable.

In 120m, the rigger popped and I fed the fish. We hooked up and the fish stripped quite a lot of line before slowing down, allowing us to gain control. About 25 minutes later, a big hammerhead shark came into view. I traces it and just before I could cut the leader, the shark bit us off.

There were now a few white horses on the surface and things looked lively. We put bait rods out again to look for bait. It took about 20 minutes before we had a double strike on kawas. We managed to get one, but it was hooked in the gills and died after pulling it for a while. Back to the bait rods... this time, it took all of 3 minutes to get bait. Again, this one was in the gills so we did not even waste time rigging it.

We managed to get another kawa-kawa a few minutes later but it was also badly hooked. We decided to rig it and see how it swam. After pulling it for a few minutes it began flashing on the surface. We slowed down and that seemed to help the situation. Not long after, the rigger popped. We hooked up and settled into a strong fight. The line stayed deep for most of the fight, but finally angled up to the surface. We could just make out the shape of a big shark cruising on top. Wayne fought the fish to the boat where I leadered a +-250kg tiger shark. After a quick photo, we cut the trace and it swam off. After that we headed for the beach.

More dorado...

On Friday 16^th December 2011, Michael, Hannes and I launched “Lihann” off Richards Bay. The sea was very unsettled but we managed to get out to 500m. We put out a basic spread of lures and worked an area that looked promising. About an hour later, we managed to hook a dorado of about 9kg which found its way into the hatch.

A few hours without a strike, we made a shallow turn and were rewarded with a nice wahoo of about 12kg. We persevered until 2pm without another touch before upping lines and heading home.

The next day, we launched again. The conditions were picture perfect. Flat seas, no wind, good current. Everything looked promising. We trolled between the many boats but failed to raise a fish. At about 11am, we caught a dorado followed shortly after by another. The day was rounded off with one more dorado before we upped lines.

With wings...

On Sunday 11^th December 2011 at about 6:30am, my Dad, At and I launched “AVANTI” at Vidal. After earning our wings in the surf, we stopped on the backline to catch a few maasbanker, just in case. After getting a few, we put out the marlin lures and headed north.

There was no action and by noon, we decided to head back to the point. In 350m, At saw a single white bird dipping on the surface. He turned towards it and moments later a nice dorado came charging in and ate the left long lure. After a quick fight, with some good jumps next to the boat, I brought in a 14kg bull dorado which At gaffed. We trolled to the backline without any other action, but still a great day.

A bit big for bait...

On Saturday 10^th December 2011, my Dad, At, Hubert, Mike and I launched “AVANTI” at Cape Vidal. We were going to try marlin fishing and hopefully get Mike his first fish... ever! After negotiating the surf, we stopped on the backline to look for some small livies, just in case we found a few dorado. 20 mins later we had about 15 livies and headed for Oscar where we trolled halcos around looking for a small tuna. About 30 minutes later, we caught a 2kg bonito and put it in the Luna tube. We continued trolling and had 3 missed strikes. On our last turn, the long rod went off and Hubert took the strike. The fish took a lot of line and then went deep. Hubert battled the fish for close on 20 minutes before I put the gaff in. It was a beautiful yellowfin tuna of 24,9kg! Not bad on a bait stick.

After that we put out 5 konas and worked the 200 – 500m contours. Apart from a dorado that chased the lure but did not eat, it was quiet. At about 2pm, in front of the point, I saw a good size marlin come up and grab the short corner lure. It took a bit of line then pulled hooks. A few seconds later, it exploded on the Japan. It took some line then stuck its head out the water shaking violently. It was on for a few seconds then unfortunately pulled off. At made a turn and the long rigger came down. It was a dorado but it too pulled hook after a few jumps. At made another turn and again the long rigger came down. It was another dorado. Mike took the rod and after some coaching, brought a nice 11kg dorado to the boat ... not bad for his first ever fish.

That was the last of the action we had for the day so we headed for the beach and a cold drink.

Big Blue on Baby Blue

On Sunday 27th November 2011, Phillip Marx and I launched his 21ft Yeld “Stephe” off Sodwana. Phillip had a few friends from Russia visiting him for a few days and so decided to take them for a day’s marlin fishing. The weather could not be more perfect. There was not a swell in the bay and I am sure we could have reversed through! Just passed the backline, Phil and I put out 5 lines with a variety of lures. The flat sea gave them an amazing action and we were sure something was going to happen.

We trolled around for a while and came across a patch of flying fish and skipjack tuna. We worked the area for a bit but only had a big dorado charge the left short before fading away. After the bait went down, we headed deeper and at 600m, the left long lure was eaten. I just saw a splash and silver flank as the fish turned. The fish slowly took line and after the other lines were clear, Phil slowed down. Both of us assumed it was a dorado or wahoo but as it came closer, we saw it was a shortbill spearfish! Classic! I lifted it out of the water for a few quick photos then tagged and released the beautiful fish.

Trolling continued and at about 11am, the centre rigger with the Baby Blue lure popped. Immediately Phillip and I started clearing lines and as we looked back, a huge blue marlin stuck its head and shoulders out the water. The reel ran for a few seconds then stopped as the hooks pulled! Unlucky! It was the biggest marlin that Phillip or I had ever seen. One of those that will haunt you for a long long time. We worked the area for an hour or so but only produced a dorado of 10kg or so. The Russians were feeling a bit queasy and so we trolled to the point. In 50m, the centre rigger popped and the reel smoked off. A +-90kg marlin jumped out the back as we frantically cleared the lines. The angler was settled in the chair with the fish still slowly pulling line when for no reason, the hooks fell out! Guess it was just not our lucky day.

Thanks to Phillip for a great day. I will remember it for years to come.

Dorado Lockjaw

On Saturday 26th November 2011, Brent and Richardo (7 years old) Goncalves and I launched Brents “Majazane” off Sodwana. We had been there for the week for the Billfish Nationals, but bad weather had blown us off the water for all but 1 day. We decided to stay for the weekend and make the most of it. This was the first day we had seen the sun in a week!

We headed north, pulling a few high speed lures. Apart from one wahoo that chased the lure, clearing the water a few times but missing the lure, there was no action. Bret suggested we move to Diepgat where they had previously fished successfully. After a quick run, the drift baits went out. About 10 minutes later, the redeye on the surface went away with a nice dorado. It gave Brent a good go on 6kg line before I gaffed the fish. Nice! A few minutes later, 2 other dorado cruised into range around the boat, but despite all out efforts, they would not eat. I assume it was the cold water (21 degrees). The baits went out again several minutes later the other surface bait was taken by another dorado. Again, Brent had fun on 6kg and tussled for about 20mins before I could gaff. We were at the end of the drift and upped lines. Richardo was not feeling well, so we decided to troll high speed lures to the point and drop him off. About half way back, the close lure was eaten and a nice dorado took to the air. While Brent fought the fish, I tried to get the 2 followers to eat. Brent put the rod with the hooked dorado in the holder and joined in to get a second. These other fish also had lockjaw and lost interest after a few minutes. Brent brought the hooked fish to the boat and before I could gaff it, it ducked under the boat and broke off... that’s what happens when you are greedy I guess.

After dropping Richardo off, we headed to a shallow reef off the point where we caught a small kaakap (green jobfish). That was the last action that we had for the day. Thanks to Brent and Richardo for a great day on the water.

Trio of Dorado

On Saturday 12th November at 6am, my brother-in-law Carl and I launched “Selfish” out of Richards Bay. There was a moderate NE wind blowing but it was predicted to swing SW by 11am. The plan was to look for a bonito of tuna and pull it for marlin. The current would push us south and by then, the wind would be SW and we could come back with it ... sounded good.

We headed to the pipe line where we stopped to look for some livies. After battling for 20mins or so, I found a shoal of maasies and Carl caught a few strings for bait before we headed out to small high point. While we were running there, the water temp dropped to 22,4 degrees and the colour was green. We were about 1km from the pinnacle when the temp shot up to 23 and the water colour improved dramatically. It was still not blue, but it was a lot better that shallower.
There was already another boat there and they had not had a pull yet... not good news. We set 5 bait rods with small lures, one of which was an iland Saillure. I trolled around the pinnacle without a pull so decided to work south zigzagging the ledge as I went. I found a nice bump on the ledge so made a turn and as I straightened out, Carl saw a splash on the Ilander. The rod buckled and the reel took off. Carl took the rod, hoping it was a bait. A few seconds later, the water erupted and a nice dorado cleared the surface. I cleared the deck and Carl brought the fish within gaff range where I helped it into the hatch ... nice ... fresh fish for supper!

We reset the line and pulled for about an hour without a pull. I suggested we change to bigger lures and go deeper to find clean water. After a quick change, 5 lures were smoking behind us. At about 450m, the temperature was 24,2 degrees but still a clean green. I tacked shallower and in 90m found a nice current line and half a degree temperature change. I trolled along this line heading back north. About half an hour later, the port rigger popped and the 80lbs reel ran a bit. It was a nice bull dorado. Carl brought it closer where we saw that it had a follower with it. I quickly grabbed a spinning rod rigged with a treble and nylon trace. A live maasie was hooked through the nose and flicked overboard.... Coconut! The second dorado swallowed the bait and turned to join the first when I set the hook. It took off jumping. I put the rod in the holder and gaffed Carls fish before continuing the fight. Not long after, Carl gaffed a nice dorado for me.

That was all the action we had for the day and headed back as the SW started picking up. At the club, the fish weighed 9, 12 and 12,4kg. In all, it was a great day.

Bitter Sweet

On 5th November at 6:30am, Ray, Andrew and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to find one of the elusive marlin that had been seen over the last few weeks. We stopped at the pipeline to look for bait but could only find one lost shad so I headed north to the ledge where we managed to find some mackerel and maasbankers. We then headed to the castle where we put out 3 bait rods and 2 big marlin lures. The water was a clean green and 23 degrees.
After trolling for about half an hour, we had a double strike on the bait lures. I cleared the other rods while Ray and Andrew fought the fish. Andrew had his fish next to the boat first. It was a 4kg yellowfin. Unfortunately it was hooked deep so we bled it for sushi. Ray brought his fish in and I grabbed it by the tail, lifting it into the boat.
I rigged the yellowfin on a 20/0 circle hook and 400Lbs trace before letting it out behind the boat. We headed deeper and the water colour and temp improved. There were a number of flying fish around and things looked good. In 200m, the water was blue and the temp over 24 degrees when Andrew shouted “There is something!”. I looked back to see the rigger clip pulling far back. There was a huge splash out the back of the boat as something tried to eat the yellowfin. Next thing there was just slack line, before the rigger could even open. I could not understand what was going on. There was another big splash out the back and from the foam, the yellowfin came torpedoing out the water, probably 3m in the air. As it landed, there was another ball of white water. This carried on for probably a minute with the yellowfin clearing the water about 10 times to get away from whatever was trying to eat it. The line would pull tight then go slack as the pursuit went on for what seemed like forever. We were not sure who to back in the chase, the petrified yellowfin fleeing for its life ... or the as yet unknown predator trying its damndest to catch something to eat. I was standing on the back hatch to try and get a glimpse of what it was when I saw an electric blue shape pass through the foam and spray, followed by a dorsal and tailfin of a big Make shark. We decided to let the mako catch the bait so that we could try catch it. Unfortunately, seconds later, in a final chase, the mako picked up the leader, biting us off before the line could take tension. A bitter sweet of note!
We looked for another bait for close on 2 hours without success so opted to fish for gamefish with the live mackerel. These were drifted in 150m on the colour change, hoping for a dorado. Unfortunately, this was not to be and the day ended without any more action.

The long wait is over...

On 29^th October 2011, Riaan Charmers, Wayne Ritchie, Jacques, Divan and I launched Riaan’s 27ft Butt Cat “Predator” off Richards Bay. We had not been on the water in weeks and we were all looking forward to an eventful day. The weather looked promising with a light SW swinging to NE in the afternoon.

We headed up north to Groenkop where the guys had caught some snoek the previous few days. We trolled small lures for about half an hour before upping lines and running for the deep. We had the big guns with us and put out a spread of marlin lures looking for our first billfish of the season. The water was a cold 22.7 degrees, but at least the water was blue. We headed out to sea hoping to find warm water and something that would indicate where to concentrate our efforts. The temperature stayed about the same all the way to 1100m with it reaching a max of 22.9degrees... Not exactly ideal.

There was nothing that tweaked our interest so we headed shallower. In 450m, we found a slight current line with the odd bird nearby. I zigzagged the line a few times and started seeing flotsam. In this same area, we found a few flying fish. This was the most activity we found so far. About an hour later, we had a pair of dorado come into the spread and managed to hook one of them up. Riaan fought the fish to the boat where Divan gaffed our first Dorado of the season. A fish of around 11kg ... Finally some action. We worked the area for a while without any more action. At 2pm We turned for the harbour. In 100m, Jacques saw movement on the japan lure on the centre rigger. As I looked up, I saw a small billfish chasing it down. Moments later, there was a big splash and the rigger popped. The reel gave a short burst but then went silent. I tried teasing the fish, but to no avail. I assume the cold water resulted in the fish not being aggressive and so it just swatted at the lure before moving on. Oh well, at least we saw our first billfish for the season.

We headed back to the harbour where we had some electrical issues. After manhandling the boat onto the trailer, we found the problem to be a faulty battery. It was a really great day on the water and a good sign of things to come...

All quiet on the fishing front

The past few weekends have been terrible in terms of weather and no fishing has taken place.

There have been a few daga salmon caught in the week by anglers fishing at night. The garrick have slowed and only the odd one is coming out.

So far, there have been 3 blue marlin and 1 shortbill spearfish caught by the guys fishing for billfish, the biggest being a 175kg blue caught on Friday. Several billfish have been lost. The conditions are very unpredicatble with blue water close in one day and cold green water as far as you can go the next. The only constant factor is the bait. There are alot of bonito around and have been for the past month or so.

Hopefully the conditions will improve and remain stable enough to get out there and fish.

I will keep you updated.

Patience Pays Off

On Saturday 3^rd August 2011, Ray and I launched “Selfish” for a day’s Garrick fishing. There had been quite a few coming out and we wanted to get into some of the action. The weather forecast did not look too great for the morning, but the prediction was for a beautiful afternoon. We were on the water at 7:30am and went straight to one of the buoys in the harbour to look for bait. As we stopped, it started to rain ... NOT AYOBA! We battled for about an hour before we decided to go to the pipeline and look there for some.

After a bumpy and wet ride, we arrived and send down sabikis. Before Ray and I hit the bottom, we were on. We both lifted full strings of maasbankers into the boat. Maasbankers are not my favourite bait, but beggars can’t be choosers. Drift after drift we caught maasbankers. Every now and again, there was a shad in the mix. It was a bit of a mission but at least there were a few shad around. I moved a bit and found some nice pinky’s, but it was shad I was after so I returned to the maasbankers to persevere. On the second drift, there was a strange showing about 5-10m from the surface. Ray and I lifted the jigs into that depth and both went on instantly. We lifted 2 strings of beautiful size shad into the boat! We went down again and the same story ... patience finally paid off! Within 15 minutes, we had enough shad for the day and headed back to the south pier.

I rigged 4 baits, 3 on surface and 1 deep and slowly trolled near the pier. The water was an off green and the changing tide was making it worse... at least the rain had stopped. We had trolled for a few minutes when the far bait was taken. I fed the fish but nothing happened. After a while, the line picked up and ran off the reel. I gave it time and then set the hook. It turned out to be a small Garrick of just over 6kg. The lines went back in and I worked the same area. About half an hour later, the same rod had a pull. I fed the fish and hooked up. It took very little line and came to the boat quickly. I traced the fish and lifted it into the boat by the tail. If it was not a competition, I would have released it. At least we were on the board. The rest of the day produced no further strikes and at 4pm we upped lines and went home.

First Garrick of the 2011 season

On Saturday 20^th August 2011, my Dad and I as well as Nico Swart launched our boat “Selfish” off Richards Bay to look for Garrick. This was the first time in several weeks that the weather and sea conditions had allowed us to launch. Finally we were could get rid of the withdrawal symptoms we were experiencing.

We headed to one of the nearby marker buoys in the harbour where we found a shoal of shad. We sent down sabiki rigs with pieces of sardine and quickly had a hatch of shad for bait. Our next stop was just over the channel to the south pier, where the fish had been coming out for the past few days.

As we arrived I rigged up 4 shad, 3 on surface and 1 deeper with a running sinker. We then slowly trolled along to the end of the pier. Nico had never fished for Garrick before, so I rigged 2 baits on spinning rods and 2 on conventional reels. The spinning rods are easier to use because you can leave the bail open and when the fish takes the bait, the line automatically freespools. I explained the drill to Nico and then we sat back and waited. At about 8:30am, half an hour after we put the lines in the water, I looked back and noticed the line was running off the one spinning rod. We were in a area where there was a big swell. I thought a swell had popped the trip and we were having a ‘false strike’. I picked up the rod and held the line. I felt the line take tension and then there was the heavy weight of a fish. I continued feeding the line and after a count of about 20, I tightened up and set the hook. When I was sure the fish was on properly, I handed the rod to Nico. The fish did not take any line and came to the boat very easily where I put the gaff into it. Great, our first garrick for the season, and Nico’s first.

The lines went out again and 20minutes later, the deep bait revved and the reel ran. I fed the fish but after a few seconds, the bait was dropped. I changed the terminal config to allow the sinker to run more freely and rigged the bait for another go. Things were very quiet and so we tried on the outside of the pier along the colour line that formed during the outgoing tide. As we crossed into the clean water, one of the surface baits was taken. I fed the fish for a while, then set the hook. The fish started taking line and as I passed the rod to Nico, the hook came out. Bad luck.

I rerigged and made another turn. This time, the deep bait went. I fed the fish and then set the hook. This time I made sure I gave it enough time to eat, resulting in a solid hookup. Nico took the rod and had a good tussle with a Garrick. After a few short runs, I gaffed the fish. Nice. I made a few more turns over the colour line and about half an hour later, the deep bait was taken. I fed the fish and tightened up. The fish took off and splashed on the surface. It was another Garrick. My Dad took the rod and had a great fight before I gaffed the fish.

Things went quiet from then on and after an hour of nothing, we upped lines and went home. The fish all weighed between 8 and 9kg.

Madeira

On the 14^th July 2011, Riaan Pretorius and I left Durban Airport for a 10 day trip to Madeira, Portugal. Good friends Mike Warren and Allan Myburg invited us to spend a few days there to see if we could get a nice Blue Marlin... even though the season had been shocking so far.

Our flights took us from Durban to Joburg to Frankfurt to Porto and finally to Funchal... 25 hours later! Allan was there to meet us and after a 30 minute drive, we arrived in Calheta, our base for the next few days. Omega 1, a 48ft Buddy Davis is moored in Calheta Marina which is only 10 minutes from the house where we were staying. After settling, we went down to the mooring to meet up with the locals and hear what had been happening the past few days. The news was not good. There had been nothing in the past few days and there was a sombre mood amongst the crews based there for the season.

Being middle of summer, the weather was beautiful! 26 degrees, sunny skies and flat seas ... every day. The sun only set at 21:45pm with boats launching at 19:45 for an hour or so marlin fishing! This was difficult to get used to. Our daily movements were very laid back. Up at 6:30, a light breakfast, leave for the marina at 8:00, stopping at the bakery for freshly baked buns, a cup of coffee at the marina cafe and then onto the boat, leaving the harbour at around 9am each morning. The run to the fishing grounds was about one minute ... not even 500m! The water is purple in the marina and the deep water (over 100m) starts immediately. Our average day would end around 5pm. After returning to the marina, the boat was washed and prepared for the next day. At about 6pm all the crews met at the marina cafe for a few beers and some snacks before heading home. Riaan and I had our daily sundowners at 21:45 (after dinner!) before retiring for the night... what a life!

This is a big Blue marlin fishery with little or no bycatch so there is no place for light tackle. Each day we would set the lines with 5 BIG lures on HEAVY tackle. All the boats in the area are running similar patterns, waiting for that one big fish to show up. The average size of the fish in Madeira are 600-700Lbs with 900Lbs and bigger making the occasional appearance.

After 3 days of trolling in perfect conditions without a strike, we decided to try some other types of fishing. I had taken the daytime swordfish gear with me and Allan was very keen to give it a go to see if this could be an option for when the fishing was slow. It would also be the first time deep dropping was done in Madeira. In total, we deep dropped for 4 days. On day 1 we never had a bite after 3 drops. On day 2 we tried another area and on the first drop, we had a bite. The rod bumped and the reel took off. Riaan took the strike and tried to gain line on the fish. It took about 20 minutes to get the 500m mark back on the reel and a further hour to get the fish to the surface where it turned out to be a bigeye thresher shark of about 100kg. This was the first Thresher shark caught by a sports fishing boat in Madeira. Not too bad. The rest of the day was dead. On Day 3, we had another bite from what I am positive was a broadbill. The weight tripped and the rod slowly pulled down. The fish let go then ate again after teasing it a bit. I took the strike and about half way up, the hook came out. The bait had a slash mark on it but other than that, it looked perfect... just bad luck I guess.

The next few days were the same, without a strike so we took a day off to see the island. It is beautiful! Some of the places are out of a dream. Absolute paradise.
Our trip came to an end very quickly, and even though we did not catch a big Madeira blue, it was still amazing. Riaan and I agree that we would go back any time again. If you get the chance to go, grab it with 2 hands. Both Riaan and I are very grateful to Mike and Allan for hosting us for the few days and showing us what the island has to offer.

Junior Nationals 2011 Richards Bay

On Sunday 10^th July 2011, I launched “Lihann” in the 2011 Junior Nationals off Richards Bay. I had the Natal U/19 team on board as well as a selector, Phillip Marx.

We headed to the pipeline to look for livebait. We managed to get about 15 shad and a few pinkies before heading to Mapelane lighthouse. I had heard that there were a few nice fish caught there the previous day so I was pretty confident that something would happen. Just short of lighthouse bay, the team put out a few small lures for snoek and I trolled around hoping to find them. After about an hour, there was still nothing. By 10am, other boats were also struggling on the pinnacle so I suggested that we run further north to the ledge and focus on cuda.

The team rigged up 2 wala-wala, a live shad, a bonito and a mackerel. The third line was still being put out when the first bait (a wala) was taken and the fish smoked off. It was on Chris’ rod and he fought what seemed to be a nice fish. After about 15 minutes, the hooks suddenly pulled! The 7/0 single had opened! Bad Luck. The lines went out and I zig-zagged the ledge moving slowly south. At about 11am, the 2 deep baits went away on a double strike. One pulled hook but the other one found its way into the hatch ... a cuda of about 10kg. The spot was marked and I made a turn while the lined were set. As I passed over the mark, another deep bait was eaten. Chris managed to get a nice cuda after a good fight. By now there was a frenzy of bait rigging and setting of lines! I made a wide turn to give the team time to regroup. Finally we got a good spread out and I made another approach. Again, the deep bait went away, but the hooks missed. Our conversion stats were not too good! Almost every turn resulted in a strike so I suggested a few adjustments, the baits went down again. The next pass resulted in a solid hookset and another shoal cuda went into the hatch.

There other boats had seen very little action and moved off to other spots for the last hour of the competition. The fish seemed to go quiet after that, apart from a big shark that ate a bonito. I trolled a bit further south on the ledge and had a strange pull on the deep bait. It turned out to be a small cuda that never knew it was hooked and woke up next to the boat when I put the gaff into it.

We ended up with 4 cuda from about 10 strikes. Our biggest fish for the day was 18,8kg which helped the team into first place on the first day. Unfortunately, I could not participate in rest of the tournament due to work commitments but it was great to be part of it.

Pics from the past

2011 Mapelane Junior Interclub

On Saturday 25^th June 2011 at 7:30am, we launched “Worth While” off Mapelane. We were fishing in the annual Mapelane Junior interclub, representing the Richards Bay U/16 team. The skipper was Stuart Worthington and I was the manager. The team members were Sean and Dale Leenstra and Kelvin van Rooyen.

After an uneventful launch, we looked for some livies on the backline. There was nothing at all so we headed for Mapelane Lighthouse. About a kilometre from the spot, the water went brown and we abandoned the idea, changing our heading to the 50m ledge. The water was still an off green and not too promising. We rigged a few wala-wala, bonito and mackerel and put them out. Stuart slow trolled along the ledge working north hoping to find a cuda. After an hour and a half without a strike, we upped lines and headed for “Chisa”, a section of the 50m ledge straight off the launch.

There were already several boats there but nothing was happening. We set our lines and joined the fleet hoping for a fish. By noon, there was still not a single fish caught by the competition boats. We upped lines and moved to Dingo’s ... another spot on the 50m ledge. The water looked much better so we put out a few baits there. A few boats followed us and slow trolled around us. At about 12:30, the wind changed to a SW of about 5 knots. Within minutes of this change, two boats near us hooked fish. We had to get a fish here. Not long after, the deep wala-wala rod bent and the reel ran. Dale took the rod and we cleared the other lines. This fish was precious and we knew we could not make any mistakes. Dale brought the fish closer and I waited with the gaff. The cuda circled under the boat and when it came out, I stuck it with the gaff and brought it aboard. Finally ... some points on the board. Lines went back in and 20 minutes later, the deep bonito was eaten. Sean took the rod and this time the fish fought deep and never gave an inch. After going up on the drag, a few times, we were at stale mate. The fish headed out to sea and all we could do was follow. After an hour, we all agreed that it was a shark and pushed the drag to full. Another 10 minutes passed before the line parted. By then it was lines up and we headed for the beach. There were only 3 fish weighed. Ours happened to be the biggest at 14,6kg.

The next morning we launched at 7:30am again, this time on Herman Olivier’s “Mitsufishi”. We looked for livies and managed to get a single live shad. We headed to Dingo’s and put out similar baits as the previous day. Herman trolled over the ledge for a while without any luck. The current had pushed us back so we upped lines and went back to the start of the ledge and reset lines. There were a lot of birds following us and eating our surface baits. Unfortunately several were hooked and we brought them to the boat where they were unhooked and released. About halfway down the ledge, the rod with the surface bait bent and the reel ran slowly. We all assumed we had another bird. Next thin the reel dropped a gear and really took off ... it was a fish! Sean took the rod and we cleared the others. The fish fought deep and it finally came to the boat. It was a yellowfin tuna. As I tried to gaff the fish, it took off on another run. Sean brought it back in range and I gaffed it. It looked like a border line case as the minimum weight for tuna was 5kg. This was our last strike for the day and at 12 o clock it was lines up. We headed to the beach and weighed the fish. It was 5,4kg ... sjoe! Just made it.

The 2 fish we weighed in the competition helped us into 1^st place and Dale took top individual. This is a great competition and would recommend all juniors who like deep sea fishing to participate next year.

Saltwater Crocodiles

On 16^th June 2011, Hannes Duvenage and I took Mark Beyl and 2 of his friends cuda fishing off Richards Bay. We launched “Lihann” at 7:30 and headed for the live bait reef. After catching a few maasbankers, we headed for small highpoint to look for some bonito. We trolled a few small lures around the pinnacle without any success so we changed course for Petingo Wreck, still trolling the lures. About half way to the wreck, we caught a single small bonito and put it into the luna tube. We then upped lines and raced to Petingo.

The water was a good cuda colour and there was little current. I rigged up the live bonnie, a dead one, a live maasbanker and 2 wala-wala. Hannes trolled around the wreck looking for that elusive ‘crocodile’. After a few hours of trolling without a pull, I checked the baits. The bonnie was not looking great so I converted it to a dead bait and put it out and went to the controls. I had just passed over the end of the wreck when I saw the rod with the newly rigged bonnie bump and then keel over. The reel smoked off and Hannes picked it up while the other guys pulled in the remaining lines. Hannes handed the rod over to Mark and I turned to chase it. We gained most of the line and had the fish 5 m from the boat. It was a good cuda, well over 20kg. The fish made a short run and shook its head violently. All of a sudden, the leading wire broke and the fish was gone! I could not believe it ... you could have knocked me over with a feather. How in the Hell could that happen? On closer inspection, we saw that the wire loop through the eye of the leading hook had broken! I have never seen that before ... not on #8 wire! Oh well, back to the drawing board.

The lines went back in and we trolled some more. About half an hour later, the deep bait with a wala smoked off. I took the rod out the holder and gave it to Wayne. We cleared the other lines and chased the fish. After 15mins, we had the fish 3m from the boat with the leader on the rod. I could just not reach it with the gaff. Suddenly the fish spooked and pulled off a few meters of line. As we looked at the fish, we saw 2 blackfin sharks rip into it, tearing it to pieces. One picked up the wire and bit it off. The sharks thrashed on the surface as they devoured the trophy cuda! Unbelievable. I conservatively estimated the fish at 25kg ... and we got a good look at it at the boat!

Back to trolling. I had just re rigged the baits when the same rod took off! This time the hooks pulled after a few seconds. That happens ... I suppose! By now we were a bit irritated and needed some good fortune. With 3 bad luck fish behind us, we looked forward to another shot. At 4:45, the surface bonnie was eaten and the reel smoked off. I took the rod and made sure the fish was under control before handing the rod to Paul. We chased the fish while the other lines were cleared. The fish made a few strong fast runs indicating it was a good fish. The fish settled under the boat with a good bend in the rod. Suddenly the tip shot up indicating something had gone wrong. I took the rod and looked at the reel. Paul had knocked the reel into freespool and there was an over wind!!! I quickly undid the mess and wound up the slack. Amazingly the fish was still there! Paul was finishe and said he could not handle the fight any more so we gave the rod to Mark. About 10 minutes later, the fish was within gaff range. I stuck the fish and lifted it over the gunwale. I was expecting a 20kg cuda, but when I lifted the fish over the side, I saw a head that looked like a dogtooth tuna! It was a proper Petingo ‘dile! I called it 30kg before it was on the deck ... the eternal optimist! We were over the moon and finally we had shrugged off the bad luck. We trolled until dark without another rev.

Back at the club, the fish pulled the scale to 32,0kg!!! A fish of a lifetime.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon

On Sunday 12^th June at 11:30am, Sakkie and Ettienne de Villiers and I launched “Deep Burn”, a 21ft Yeld off Richards Bay. There was a 15knot SW blowing for most of the morning and the sea was quite choppy. We headed for Petingo straight into the wind, resulting in a bumpy and wet ride. After an hour, we arrived at petingo. As expected, we were the only boat there.

The water was 19,8 degrees with a reverse current but clean water. Etts and I rigged 4 baits, 2 bonnies and 2 wala-wala, while Sakkie slowly headed for the wreck. As we neared the buoy, I picked up the spinning rod and cast a spoon at it. In the fourth turn, I went on with a small torpedo scad which was quickly released. On the next pass, I put the spoon right next to the buoy and before I could start retrieving it, I went on with a stronger fish which gave me a good tussle before I released a bigeye kingfish. It was a bit quite with the cuda, so I gave the spinning rod to Sakkie and took over as skipper to hopefully find a lost cuda. Sakkie changed the spoon for a popper and went straight on with a torpedo scad. I made a turn and lined up the marks. As we reached the end of the wreck, the bonito on surface was eaten and the reel screamed off. Etts took the rod while Sakkie and I cleared the other lines. The fish fought deep and made big circles under the boat. After 20 minutes, we saw the fish for the first time. It was a nice cude but it was foul hooked in the flank. For the next 10 minutes, we had it within 5m but could not get a gaff into it. In this time, the heavens opened and rain poured down on Sakkie and Etts. Finally the fish came within range and Sakkie lifted it into the boat. We all estimated it at 18kg ... not bad.

The lines went back in and I trolled back up the wreck. As we neared the buoy, Etts put the popper in and was rewarded with an awesome surface chase and solid take. He brought in another bigeye which he released. As the baits passed the buoy, the wala-wala was eaten and the reel smoked off. I picked up the rod to pass it to Etts or Sakkie, but they said I should take it. Oh alright! The fish made a few runs and within 10 minutes came to the boat where Etts gaffed it. We guessed it at 22kg or so. Again the lines went out and we trolled past the buoy. Every cast with the popper resulted in a chase/strike. It was awesome fun. The sea picked up a bit and we got a good wave over the nose, drenching us all. With the wind blowing on out wet clothes, we decided to call it a day and upped lines. We happened to be next to the buoy so I put in a cast and has about 10 kingies chase the popper to the boat before one took it. Magic! We caught a few more kings before heading home. We were back in the harbour at 4:30pm.

When we off loaded the fish, we noticed that the fish were exceptionally fat. Etts took out the hand scale and weighed the smaller fish. It was 22kg! We then weighed the bigger one which bottomed out the 25kg scale ... we were intrigued and wanted an accurate weight. After weighing them on the club scale, they were 22,1kg and 26,5kg!!! Two really good fish.