A day to remember

On Saturday 4^th June 2011, Mike and Dale Leenstra and I launched Mike’s boat “Beluga” off Richards Bay. We were looking for the junior SA Record cuda on 8kg line, a 24kg fish. Richards Bay is blessed with large cuda and probably the best place to target a really big fish.

The SW was blowing at about 15knots when we left the harbour. We stopped off at the pipeline to look for bait but never found one livie. After trying a few other spots with the same result, we headed for Petingo. When we arrived, there were 2 other boats on the wreck. They had not had a pull since early that morning so we were not too confident in our chances. We rigged four 8kg rods, 2 with wala-wala and 2 with small bonnies. On our first approach to the wreck, while Dale and Mike putting out the third line, the first rod bent and the reel took off! Dale grabbed the rod while Mike retrieved the other line. Once the fish settled, I followed it with the boat to gain line. After about 20 minutes, Mike gaffed a nice cuda of around 20kg ... what a start!!!

The current had pushed us off the wreck so while I trolled back, Mike and Dale reset the lines. They were busy with the last line when the deep bait was eaten and the reel took off! Mike started clearing the other lines when the bait he was retrieving was eaten and the fish took off! A double ... Nice! I left the controls and cleared the last line while Mike and Dale fought their fish. Unfortunately Mike’s fish pulled hooks after a short run but Dale’s fish stayed on. We fought the fish for about 15 minutes before Mike gaffed another slightly smaller cuda. Again the lines wet out. And I continued working the wreck. About an hour later, the deep bait was eaten. Dale took the rod while Mike and I brought in the other lines. Again Mike’s rod took off in his hands and we were onto a double! I followed Dales fish while Mike kept his at a safe distance. After 20 minutes, Dale’s fish was acting differently and fighting deep and slow. Not like a cuda. I backed off the speed and let his fish take some line. Mike then managed to bring his fish closer where I gaffed it, another nice cuda. Dale in the meanwhile was constantly loosing line but the fish was now right on the surface. I road towards the fish to get an id. About 20m from the fish, a sharp white fin broke the surface. On closer inspection, we saw that it was a big manta ray. It must have swam into the line and hooked itself. Oh well, at least we got Mike’s fish!

I took us back to the wreck and the lines were reset. I worked the area for about an hour before we had another smoking reel. We cleared lines while Dale fought the fish. Unfortunately, as the lines were cleared, the hooks pulled. We also notices that one of the other baits had been chopped by a cuda ... unlucky. Because there were so many fish around, we decided to put in the 3kg line. It was in the water for about 20 minutes when it was eaten. The fish screamed off and as it settled, a garfish came up and bit the line where it enters the water resulting in a broken line!

It was now about 12:00 and the other boats were losing heart. Between them, they had caught 1 fish. We were just lucky and had the right bait in the right place ... with the wrong tackle! If we were using heavier line and more hooks, the score would have been different ... but that’s record hunting for you. I handed the controls over to Mike and took a breather. Mike made a few turns and was rewarded with a screaming reel. I cleared the lines and Mike chased after the fish. After about 25mins, it was near the boat. I gave Mike the gaff and went to the controls. Dale brought a really nice fish in and when the leader was on the rod, Mike went in for a gaff shot as fish spooked and took off. The one hook got caught up in the gaff and resulted in a lost fish. That happens I guess!

At about 2pm, we were getting ready to pack up when the deep line was taken. The fish headed straight for the buoy but luckily for us, it veered off to the side and didn’t cut us off. The fish did big circles under the boat until it came into gaff range and Mike redeemed himself by lifting a nice fish into the boat.

After that, our bait had run out and we headed back to the club. The fish weighed 16-22kg and were just short of the record. Oh well, next time ... I promiseJ