Cracking the Code

On 30^th December, while on holiday in the Eastern Cape, I had seen several grunter feeding on the sand banks in the Goukamma river mouth, so I decided to try my luck with them. The first order of business was collecting bait so we made a turn at the Knysna Lagoon during low tide and managed to get a few nice mud prawns. With the bait sorted, I grabbed 2 long, light spinning rods and headed down to the mouth. I scouted the area for a bit and found an area where the fish were tailing.

I am not a grunter guru, so I started out by using the standard running sinker rig I use in the Richards Bay harbour. I threaded a mud prawn onto the Mustad #1 silver bait holder hook and fired it out onto the edge of the bank where the fish were feeding. I sat there watching as several fish swam over and past my bait without showing any interest... something was not right. I quietly waded out about 40m onto the bank and found a small channel that was holding a few smaller fish. I cast the bait out and freespooled as I returned to the side where I put the rod in the holder. As I picked up the second rod, I had a pull on the first. After a short fight, I managed to catch my first white steenbras. I removed the hook and released it. I rerigged and put the bait back into the same channel but with no luck.

Grunter in the shallows

The mouth of the river was closed, so there was no tidal movement. The water was also crystal clear and shallow, so the fish were super skittish. To make things worse, the grunter were swimming with shoals of mullet which, being at the bottom of the food chain, would spook for their own shadows and in turn spook the grunter. I had to rethink this setup. I removed the sinker and swivel from the one rod and joined a 2 meter section of 6kg fluorocarbon. To that, I attached the #1 hook. I waded out with a fresh mud prawn and found a few fish on the bank. I cast the prawn out in the area and freespooled as I quietly walked back to the side. As I reached the side, the line started running off the reel. I fed it a bit then hooked up and fought a nice grunter to the side. It had swallowed the bait so I decided to keep it. Nothing like fresh grunter fillets. I was chuffed that I had managed to finally get one. I rigged up the second rod and set a bait on the other side of the bank. It did not take long before I went tight to another similar sized grunter. This one also joined the first in the cooler. Just when I thought I had figured the grunter trick out, they stopped feeding... there was something else to this game...

Double up on grunter

With all the wading I was doing, the fish had moved off the banks and were no longer tailing. I scanned the area and saw another bank further up the river where there were a few fish. I packed up my gear and quietly moved closer. At this new spot, I was out of the wind so I could see everything in the water, and everything could see me... I presented a bait to a small shoal of about 5 grunter, but none bit. This went on for 45 minutes before I thought of something else I would try. Looking at the prawn in the water, I could clearly see the silver hook running through it. Also, the prawn had died due to the hook exiting the head. The final thing I noticed was that due to the long casts I was making, the bait curled back onto the bite of the hook resulting in a less than ideal presentation. I changed the hook to a black chemically sharpened bait holder. When rigging the bait, I half threaded the hook through the tail and then twisted the prawn and allowed the hook to exit its back. This allowed the bait to remain straight on the hook and to stay alive... game on!

Grunter dinner on the table

I quietly waded out about 20m and flicked the bait into the path of the feeding fish then returned to the bank and put the rod into the holder to set up the second rod. When I looked up, the line went tight and the rod bent. I managed to get another nice grunter into the cooler. I was sure I was onto something with these tricks. With 2 rods rigged up, I set one bait short to the right and the second one about 40m out on the left. While wading back after setting the long line, I saw the short line go tight. The long rod quickly went into the holder so that I could fight the fish. It was another nice grunter which was giving me a nice fight close to the side. I happened to look at the other rod in the holder and the line pulled tight bending the rod... I had a double. I switched rods in the holder and fought the second fish to the side. Both were nice fish and with these last 2, I had my quota for the day and headed home knowing I had cracked the code on the day. I did not go back to the spot again, but who knows, maybe next year.

Getting more involved

On Sunday 22^nd, Wayne, Andrew, Hugo and I left Richards Bay harbour onboard “Galavant”. We headed up north and set up in 70m of water. The water was beautiful! Strong current, warm, and deep blue. We decided to try something a little different on this day. Instead of pulling a bunch of lures around, we decided to rig up a few halfbeaks and pull them behind our teasers.

 

I rigged up a few baits and staggered them in the riggers. The clips and the drags were set lightly so that the fish could be fed a bit before tightening up. We hoped that this would improve the hookups on the stripeys as well as make the strike more exciting as the anglers would be more involved.

 

 

At 7:30, we were in 250m of water when the right long clip popped. I fed the fish for a few seconds then tightened up. The line ran off the reel at quite a pace but there was no white water out the back. The deck was cleared in a hurry and Hugo took the chair. After the first long run, the fish slowed down then came in pretty easily. We were not too sure what it was and only when it was a short distance away, did it surface and show itself. It was a nice shortbill spearfish. I brought it in on the leader where we took a few pics before releasing this rare billfish. What a great start.

 

The lines went in again and trolling resumed. There seemed to be a few fish on the 200-250m line so we spent most of our time there. By midday, the wind had picked up quite a bit, so we were being pushed south to the harbour. It was at about noon when the left long popped and the reel ran. I fed the fish but before I could tighten up, it was gone. The head of the bait came back, but there were no marks on the leader. Despite watching the baits, none of us had seen the fish, only a splash. We were pretty sure it was not a billfish, but the result was the same... a missed strike.

By 3pm, the day was pretty much over. We were trolling back to harbour in 75m of cold, green water, hoping for a Hail Mary fish. Andrew and I were looking at the baits when we saw a dark shape come up behind the right short. It was a small black marlin. The fish showed no rush in attacking the bait and had no lights on. It leisurely approached the bait and in slow motion stick its bill out the water and knocked the bait out the clip. By now I was already standing at the ready with a few meters of slack and the reel in total freespool. When the clip opened, the bait dropped back, but the fish never ate it. I tried teasing it a bit, but it faded back and out of the spread. The bait came back in perfect condition with only a slight scuff marl on the leader. I guess thats also part of the game. 
 
 
 

Blue Label

On Saturday 14^th December at 5:30am, we launched “Stephe” off Sodwana. We were a full crew for the day with Phillip’s friend Anton, his son and a friend, myself and my friend David from Joburg. None of them had caught a marlin before, so we were hoping for one of them to have a chance at ticking off this bucket list item. What made the day more interesting was that there was a side bet made the night before between Phillip and Fanie. Fanie bet a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label that we would not catch a marlin... the bet was on!

The surf was a bit big that morning, so it took some fancy footwork to get out, but soon we were headed towards Diepgat. I set the spread of lures while Phillip explained the drill to the crew. The conditions were perfect... warm, purple water, dolphins, birds, current lines, hammer heads, bait showings, you name it, it was there.

At around 8am in 300m, Phillip saw a fish come in on the stinger lure, a Marlin Magic Tube. The rigger popped and the reel smoked off. With so many hands on deck, the lines were cleared in no time. Anton was in the chair and we were just getting settled when the fish went ballistic. A really nice blue went greyhounding across the surface then doubled back on its track. When the fish landed, the rod shot back as the line parted. Just a bit of bad luck I guess. I rerigged the rod and set the lures. Phillip turned to come back over the area where we had a strike and at 8:45 in 300m, I saw a good fish come up on the right long “Merlin” lure. It missed the lure 3 times before it finally engulfed it. The rigger popped but the line just slowly ticked off the reel. While this was going on, the lines were cleared. As the last lure came into the boat, the fish went mental on the surface and dumped the reel well into the backing. Anton’s son was in the chair and managed to regain some line while Phillip backed up. When the mono was back on the reel, the fish went deep so we upped the drag to around 14kg. After about 10 minutes of this heavy drag, the fish turned our way and slowly came closer to the boat. 45 minutes after hookup, the leader was in reach. I brought the blue in alongside and was surprised at the size. It was somewhere between 450 and 500Lbs. Not bad for a first fish. After a few photos, we release her... and claimed the Blue Label!

It was still early, so we put out the lines again. Again, we worked the area and at 11:30 in 200m, there was a big splash on the left short “Ruckus”. The rigger popped and we were hooked up. The fish stayed on the surface and made a few great jumps near the boat. It was not long before Anton brought the leader up. The fish was super green and before I could get it close, it launched itself out the water. I held on for as long as I could, but had to let go when I felt myself going overboard! A short while later I had the leader again. This time the fish was a bit more relaxed and we could take the hooks out. As it is with black marlin, they can give you a hiding next to the boat and this one was no different. Both Phillip and I had received war wounds before releasing the 200Lbs fish. What a day!

Again the  lines went back in. The leader on the lure was a bit buggered so we replaced it with an “XL Ruckus”. This lure had never been in the water, so we were keen to see how it operated. At 12:00, Phillip turned back over the 200m line to intercept the birds working on a shoal of bait. While turning, the line wrapped around the tagline so I pulled on the slack line to unwrap it. As I did this, there was a big commotion in the wake and the line was ripped out my hand! We were on! All of us were taken by surprise by the fish but managed to clear the deck without a problem. The fish stayed close and jumped a few times before coming to the boat. We could see something was wrong as the fish was fighting strangely. This was a better size black, around 350Lbs, and with it being at the boat so quickly, all of us expected it to open a can of “whipass”. I took the leader and pulled it against the boat without much hassle. Only then could we see what the problem was. The leader had wrapped around the bill and jaw and then tangled in the hooks. The fish could not open its mouth to breathe, so it could not fight. Phillip removed the hook and the leader slipped off the bill for our third release for the day. Unreal... 3 marlin released by 12:30!

Again the lures were set and we worked the area. The water colour started to go a bit green so Phillip headed out a bit deeper to find better water. Things went quiet so we decided to make one last turn then head for home. At 2pm, Phillip turned towards the bay. The lines were just straightening out when the right short “Bogeye” disappeared in a big splash. The reel ran for a while but the line went straight down. While the lines were being cleared, Phillip and I mentioned that it could be a big tuna. I transferred the rod to the chair where David strapped himself in. The line was still leaving the reel at a steady pace, but the angle on the line had come up a bit only then did we notice the white water in the distance. It was a marlin. The fish tore up the surface and took a lot of line in a hurry. Phillip backed up on it while David put line back on the reel. After about 30 minutes, the fish was close. It jumped a few times then sat sulking under the surface. Phillip turned toward it to close the gap. David inched the fish closer until I finally got a wrap on the leader. I heaved the 300Lbs blue to the surface. After a few pics, we turned it loose. What a feeling!

It was nearing the end of the day, so for what it was worth, we trolled to the backline before going in. This was the first time Phillip or I had been with 4 fish in a day so it was super special. And to have all 4 anglers catch their first marlin in one day, was just the cherry on the top... with a Blue Label sauce!

North is where its at

On Saturday 8^th December at 5:30, Wayne, Lionel, Alex, Neville and I left Richards Bay harbour on “Galavant”, looking for marlin. We headed just north of the harbour and set lines in 70m of water. There was a nice colourline and a temperature increase of over a degree. We worked out to 600m then back to 200m for most of the morning without a touch. From 10am, the reports on the radio indicated that there were a few fish to the north. Several boats hooked fish but most unfortunately threw the hooks.

We slowly worked our way north against the current but did not make much headway. We were not too concerned as we had found some life in the 500-600m depth. There were a few birds, flying fish and pilot whales so we were pretty confident that sooner or later something would happen. The turn of the tide came and went with no action. With the day nearing an end, we moved in shallow onto the 100-200m ledge. As we turned, the right short rigger popped end the reel ran a bit. It was definitely not a billfish, so we left the other lines out while Lionel brought the fish in. It turned out to be a wahoo of around 14kg. Our day ended without another touch. Hopefully the next trip will be our turn to get a nice fish...

Stocking up for the Festive Season

On Sunday 1^st December 2013 at 5:30, Pierre, At and I launched “AVANTI” at Cape Vidal. The SW was blowing quite strong and the sea was very uncomfortable. Normally we would not have gone out, but the weather had been so bad the last few months, that we were desperate to get on the water to catch some fish and stock the freezers! We started out off the point looking for livebait. The showings were few and far between and by 6am, we had not found anything yet. At worked a bit further south and in 22m found a showing. Pierre and I sent the jigs down and immediately went on with full strings of maasbankers. As I lifted mine into the boat, Pierre shouted that there were dorado around the boat. His words were not cold when 3 dorado came flying into his bait string and stole the maasies off the hooks. There was a mad dash for rods to get a bait in the water. I grabbed a flickstick, that had a single already attached, pinned a maasie and pitched it overboard. As it hit the water, a dorado came flying in and engulfed the bait... on! As the fish went wild, doing cartwheels, I put the rod in the holder and grabbed another rod. I looked over to see Pierre and At both bending on fish! I pinned another bait on a cuda trace and flicked it out... on again! While this was going on, the first fish on the flickstick came off so I switched rods in the holder and rerigged a trace before casting another bait... same result! When the dust settled, we had 4 fish in the hatch from 5 strikes... not too shabby for 6:20am.

At went back to the spot where we caught the bait, but the shoal had scattered due to the dorado. We headed up north again and drifted back to the bait area. Pierre had rigged up a halfbeak which I put out the back, just incase. It was not long before the rod keeled over and the reel screamed. Pierre leaned over to slack the drag, but knocked the reel into freespool! I’ll leave the result up to your imagination.

Finally we drifted over a good showing and got a few maasbanker. I rigged up 2 surface lines and 2 deep lines and At trolled the area. We waited a whole 10 minutes for a reel to go and as this dorado was brought to the boat, the shoal came with it. This time we were prepared and fired 2 live baits out on the spinning rods. Instant hook-ups! We managed to get all of the fish in and reset the lines. At found an area where the water temp came up to 25.8 degrees and there were a few bait marks on the echo. A shoal of flying fish erupted nearby and as we came into the area, the 2 surface baits went away. At this stage, we knew what to expect, so when the fish were brought to the boat, 2 live baits were fired out, direction did not seem to matter. This resulted in one or two more hook-ups. At found another good bait showing which resulted in another 5 maasies. As I rigged them, they were eaten by hungry dorado. At one stage, Pierre and I were fighting fish when the deep line went away. The reel initially went away quickly then slowed down to a constant speed and the fish headed to sea. The rod was left in the holder as we all said it was a shark. We ignored that rod and loaded the 2 dorado. Attention then turned to the other rod which had stopped running. I retrieved the line to fine the bait still on the trace. It was squeezed to a pulp... obviously a billfish and not a shark ...whoops J Eventually the bait stocks ran out so I put out live seapike, but could not get a pull. When we checked the lines, there were free swimmers around the boat, but none would take these baits.

By noon, we decided to call it a day as there was a lot of work to be done. Back at the cleaning area we found that we had 19 dorado. We filleted all the fish and vacuum packed them so that the friends, visiting from inland, would have something to take home. It was a great day on the water and a great start to the festive season!

2013 Heavy Tackle Billfish Nationals

On Friday 22^nd November at 5am, Robin Vermaak, Hein Kohrs and I launched Robin’s “Piromero” off Sodwana. We were representing the Zululand team in the Heavy Tackle Billfish Nationals. We had only fished for 1 day and 4 hours in the week, so we were hoping that there would be some good weather to give us a shot at a billfish.

We headed straight off the point and put lines out at 400m. The water was not great, but the fish had been in this area the past few days. As we headed deeper, near 1000m, the water temperature increased from 24 degrees to 25 and the colour went to deep blue. There were a few flying fish and the odd bird in the area, so we worked the area through the tide change but had no luck. On the radio there were several boats that had billfish strikes so we headed shallower towards “Diepgat”. I worked the canyon walls for about an hour, but the water conditions were not favourable. I headed north along the 450 to 550m contour. The water temp increased again over a short distance and we started to notice flotsam on a current line. I worked the area for a bit and found a patch of cleaner water with a few flying fish. At 11:10, the right short rigger popped and the reel took off. Almost immediately, the water erupted as an angry marlin tore up the surface. It took alot of line on the surface before settling down. It was Hein’s turn in the chair, so he settled into the harness as Robin and I cleared the deck. Robin took over the controls while I got the glove and camera ready. Hein brought the fish in relatively quickly and soon I had the leader in hand. The fish was still very green and made several jumps on the leader. At one stage I thought it was going to end up in the boat! Eventually it was under control and the required photos were taken before removing the hooks and turning it loose. Finally, points on the board.

The lines went in again while I turned back to the area that produced the fish. We had just settled when the left short rigger popped. The reel ran a bit, but slowed down very quickly. The  line came to the surface and a dorado popped its head out. Hein gaffed it moments later and put it into the hatch.  Again we set lines and worked the area, but unfortunately there was no more action and finished out the tournament with 1 black marlin release.

New Faith in Bait

At 1pm on the Friday 27^th September, Danie Schoeman Jnr and I launched “ABF” off Richards Bay. The forecast predicted that the SW wind was going to come through in the evening and that the weekend would be a blow out. It looked like this would be our only chance to get onto the water. I had just arrived that morning from a trip to Canada, but knew that the fish would be feeding before the front, so put the jetlag on hold to get into the action.

We stopped at the pipeline where Danie pulled up string after sting of maasbankers. I, as well as other anglers from the area, don’t rate maasbankers as a good bait for Garrick and would much rather use a shad or pinky. However, after half an hour of catching only maasbankers, we had no option but to use them. With a dozen or so maasies in the livewell, we headed for the south pier.

As we slowed down, Danie and I each started letting out a line. I asked Danie to check the drag on the spinning reel he was using as I was not sure if it was set correctly. As he flipped the bail over, the rod bent over and the reel ran... he was on! I cleared the line I was setting and readied the tagkit. Danie fought a shoal Garrick to the boat where I tailed it, measured (770mm FL) and tagged it before turning it loose. What a start.

We set the 3 lines again and worked the area. Just before turning back, the close rod tip revved followed by a nice Garrick boiling on the surface. The line ran off the reel, but for some or other reason, the fish spat the bait. I turned back to the area and the far line went off. While feeding it, the reel stopped and the fish disappeared without hooking up. Our stats were not looking good but at least we had confidence in the maasbankers!

With the lines out again, I trolled around the point. It did not take long for the next reel to go. This time it was the long bait. I hooked up and made short work of another small Garrick which was tagged and released (900mm FL). We had drifted a fair distance so we ran back to the point and reset. Danie was busy with setting his line when I saw the deep bait rev followed by a strike. I fed some line then hooked up. This fish ripped off a fair bit of line then came in easily. It gave Danie a hard time on the leader but eventually made it onto the deck for its tag and release (920mm FL). Life was good...

I took us back to the point while Danie got the gear ready. As I slowed down 3 lines went out. I had gone about 50m when the long bait went away. I passed the rod to Danie who hooked up to another shoal size Garrick which was also fitted with a tag (870mm FL). By now, had the process licked. I would ride up to just short of the mark, Danie would put out the 2 surface lines while drove and put out the short deep line. By the time the lines were set, the fish would mark on the sounder and the strike was imminent. This time it was the short deep line that went away. I fed it a bit but when I tightened up, there was just slack line. I wound like hell and the line cut through the water towards the boat. When the line was straight up and down, it came tight and the fish took off. This fish gave me a bit more of a fight and when it showed, we could see why. It was a nice fish of over 12kg (1080mm FL) which was also fitted with a tag and sent on its way.

The light was fading so we made one more turn. Like clockwork, just as the showings came through, the deep line revved followed by a strike. I passed the rod to Danie who hooked up. This fish also took quite a bit of line so I followed after it to save some time. This fish did not want to come close but after some heavy drag, we changed its mind. While it was turning next to the boat, there was a second one with it but despite presenting a bait, it never ate. This fish was just hooked in the lip with the single hook, so I was soft on the leader but finally boated it. We were both surprised by the size of it but decided to release it anyway. We estimated it around 15kg (1100mm FL).

The wind had dropped, the sun had set and our time was up so we headed back after having a really great afternoon.

Bionic Bonnies ... BFTs!

On Wednesday 18^th September Riaan, my Dad and I flew out of Durban to start our long awaited journey to North Lake, Prince Edward Island, Canada. This is THE place to go and tick off the bluefin tuna off your bucket list.

After arriving at OR Thambo, we were told by SAA that our 8pm flight to Heathrow was delayed by 12 hours! To cut a long story short, our trip would be shortened by 1 day... Eventually we were on the a flight to Heathrow. We rushed through customs to the waiting plane bound for Toronto. Seven hours later we touched down before connecting to the four hour flight to Charlottetown... After a bit of grocery shopping, we headed 100km East to North Lake. We finally arrived at the beach house at 8pm, completely buggered!

The next morning at 6:30, we walked down to the quay side to the waiting boats. There was a very pleasant atmosphere amongst the captains and crews and everyone was super excited about the days prospects. We climbed aboard “White Water” run by Troy Bruce from “Bruce Brother Charters” and mate Ryan Young. These guys are a class act and know exactly what they are doing. Their tackle prep and boat manners are impeccable and exactly what you would expect from a professional operation like this. I would definitely recommend hooking up with them on a charter!

Before 7am, all the boats had passed through the narrow harbour inlet and made their way to the herring nets a few miles offshore. On arrival Troy and Ryan set 2 drift lines and a kite line with live mackerel. We were taken through the drill so that we knew what to expect when a strike occurred. Riaan and I were tasked with restocking the livewell with fresh mackerel which was actually a lot of fun. Unfortunately it was a very quiet day for us despite the guys trying their best get us into a fish. We returned to port at after 5pm where we enjoyed the local banter between the boats over a few cold beers. One of the operators had taken their “kill fish” for the season (only 1 bluefin may be harvested per boat per season) so we took the opportunity to have a photo taken with a Bluefin to put their size into perspective. This was a 498Lbs fish and although not considered a monster, it was still an impressive fish.

The following morning we were at the boat at 6:30 again. We followed the same routine as the previous day, fishing around the nets. Several boats hooked up near us, but by 10am, the bite was over. The afternoon passed without action but by 2pm the gannets had grouped together and were feeding on baitfish being pushed to the surface... something had to happen. At around 3pm, the thick rubber band holding the line snapped, followed by the chafing gear being ripped off the rod, as a big fish engulfed the stinger bait in a blind strike. The 130Lbs reel took off and 200Lbs backing melted off the reel despite a 50Lbs drag! Troy and Ryan kept the fish under control while we cleared the deck. Troy followed the fish to slow the run, but the fish was not having any of it and all but emptied the reel. It was my turn on the rod and not being used to fighting fish out of the gunwale, it took a while to get my rhythm. After about 15minutes, we had about half the spool back on the reel and gaining steadily. It all seemed quite surreal when for no apparent reason, the hook pulled! Unlucky. The boys persevered until 5pm without another pull, before returning to port. That night, my Dad and I discussed planning a return trip in 2014 as we were so impressed with the setup.

On day 3, we arrived at the dock and found out that we had been moved to a different boat for the next 2 days. We would be fishing with Capt. Ian and Mate Jason on “Aly Dan”. Our first stop was in the shallows to catch bait. These mackerel were tiny in comparison to the monsters we had caught the previous days at the nets, so we headed east towards them. As we neared the rest of the fleet, the water temperature dropped a bit, so Ian changed direction, heading West of the harbour. As we stopped and put out lines, the same story of the previous two days played out as a few boats hooked up at the nets. Jason upped the lines and we steamed all the way back East. Our morning passed without a touch despite moving to try other spots. The wind gradually died and the sea settled. Most of the other boats started making a long 2 hour run towards “Fisherman’s Bank” in the Northumberland Strait, half way between PEI and Nova Scotia where the fish were feeding. We however headed back West where we spent almost an hour of searching for a herring net which was lifted and cleaned out before folding and packing it away for the close of the season. With most of the other boats gone, we bobbed around off North Lake to pass the rest of the day. By 5pm, we had caught a blue shark for our efforts... whoopy! On return to the port, we refuelled so that the next day we could run to where the fish were.

At 5:30, we left North Lake. After an almost three hour run, we joined the rest of the fleet that had been fishing for some time already. The birds were everywhere picking up the scraps from the herring boats as they cleared their nets. There were probably 25 to 30 boats in the area, most of them tight on fish. We stopped short and started our first drift. Two live baits were rigged while Jason started cutting chum. Unfortunately the chum was still partially frozen, so the gannets has a field day.

We made another approach and stopped right next to the herring boat. The water surrounding the boat was a cauldron of massive swirls as the bluefin gorged themselves on the herring that fell out the nets. As our chum hit the water, a huge bluefin (over the mark) appeared from nowhere and engulfed the bait. The sheer size of these fish is staggering. Riaan and I both took a step back to try and comprehend what was going on under the water. There were more huge boils around us, followed by a strike on one of our live mackerel. The rod keeled over and the 130Lbs International took off. Immediately we were into the backing as Ian chased after the fish. There were a lot of boats around and our fish was intent on swimming right through the middle of them. Just as we were about to clear the pack, it doubled back and swam around another boat that was already fighting a fish. When the two lines touched, our main line burnt off and the fish was gone...Unfortunately that’s fishing.

We headed back to the herring boat and started chumming. I commandeered a rod and rigged up a live mackerel. I had just put it into the water when a bluefin appeared from under the boat and engulfed the bait, ripping the leader out of my hands! AWESOME! I tightened up and the mono flew off the reel into the water against a tight drag. Ian chased after the fish which stayed on surface. About 5 minutes in, the fish arched left towards the bow, the hi-vis dacron cutting through the water at speed. Despite forewarning from both Jason and I, the Dacron backing ended up being cut off in the prop!

The herring boats had finished lifting their nets and the feeding frenzy was over. All that was left were the few boats still fighting their fish. There were still the odd marks, but nothing like before so we drifted the area hoping for a strike. The birds started gathering over an area and the boats that worked the flock actively went tight on a few fish. We meanwhile watched this from quite a distance. Eventually, by some miracle, the birds moved in our direction and we started marking fish. I took over the chum station and dumped a sizable amount of bait in the water. Almost immediately the sounder marked a fish coming up. I threw a few big chunks in, followed by a whole mackerel. Again the fish came up. After a few minutes, the pattern was clear that every time I threw a whole mackerel, the fish would come up. One live mackerel was replaced with a whole dead mackerel and instead of me throwing a bait, we let this rigged bait go down the slick. Almost as if it was scripted, the fish marked on the sounder and the line went tight to a fish. Job done! Again the line went screaming off the reel as we chased after it. Jason and I were focussing on our line angle  in the water and again it started arching left towards the bow. It was like déjà vu in slow motion. Jason and I were shouting to go left but alas... Result: propeller 2; dacron 0.

By now, the three of us resigned ourselves to the fact that unless the fish surrendered themselves without a fight, we would never get one to the boat... to make things worse, we only had 1 rod left to fish with (the other 3 needed new topshot) and this one rod was very questionably to say the least. Luckily this tackle fix took quite some time to complete so we relaxed on the deck watching all the other boats actively working the flock of diving birds and hooking up to fish... Life was great.

Later that same day we stopped in the middle of the birds. Immediately we marked fish. I went to the chum station again and the same pattern repeated itself. After throwing several big chunks, followed by a whole mackerel, the fish would mark higher. Finally at 30ft, the rigged dead whole mackerel went overboard and the game was on! This fish took a ton of line and managed to stay clear of the other boats, as well as ours! For an hour, the fish would come to within 30m of the boat then empty the spool on a screaming run, despite a heavy drag, thumbed spool and glove-held line. Knowing this was our last chance of the trip to feel the power of these fish, everyone took chances on the rod in the gunwale. Jason was exceptionally calm in this situation and had a positive attitude throughout the fight. Every time the fish would run, he remarked that this was a really big fish and that we just needed patience... something that the captain needed at that point.

Eventually the fish started to tire and made its characteristic big circles. It surfaced 15m out to show its sheer bulk. The leader came up and Jason took hold of it. The fish turned under the boat and passed the stern where Jason had no choice but to release the leader. This was met with disgust from Ian who said it should never have been let go. At that moment, Riaan, my Dad and I knew what was going to happen as we had seen this story played out many times by impatient crews. The fish made another turn towards the boat then arched underneath, with Ian hanging onto the 250Lbs leader for dear life. The last thing I remember seeing is Ian’s hand flicking back as the leader parted...

It would have been nice if, after having sat in a plain for 23 hours and at airports for 18 hours, we were afforded just 5 minutes to get the photo of a giant bluefin tuna, that we came half way around the world for. Technically it was a caught fish, but not in our books as our goal was not achieved. Despite what we went through on the last 2 days of our trip, the first 2 days made up for it and we will definitely be back to fish for Giant Bluefin Tuna again... what an experience!

The things we do for bait!

After  a good day on Saturday, I decided to give it another go on Sunday 15^th. The bite had been early in the morning, so we needed to get bait as soon as possible. At 6am, Derek and I launched “ABF” and headed to the pipeline to catch bait. I was hoping it would be as easy as it was the previous day but this proved not to be the case. Every drop resulted in a full string of Maasbankers. This continued for over an hour, until we got 1 small shad. I headed back to the harbour to look for bait there as the guys had been getting a few shad while at anchor.

On arrival, I called up a friend who was fishing nearby. They were busy fighting their 4^th Garrick for the morning and it was only 7:30! I managed to barter a few shad from them and headed to the point of the pier. I quickly rigged up 3 baits before taking up my trolling approach. We had just settled when the far bait was eaten. I fed the fish then tightened up. I passed the rod to Derek and cleared the other lines. This was Derek’s first Garrick and it gave him a good run for his money. After the typical fight near the boat, I managed to get a gaff into the fish... what a start to the day!

Unfortunately, this was where the action stopped. It was as if someone had flicked a switch and the fish shut down. We fished through the day and only had 2 small hammerheads eat the baits. At 1pm, the NE wind had picked up and we returned to the club. The Garrick weighed in at 8,2kg.

Midday Madness

On Saturday 14^th September 2013, Jacques Spence (AKA Tjokkie) and I launched “ABF” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get in a days Garrick fishing before the season came to an end. The weather looked like it was going to give us a nice window, with a wind direction change at mid day, so we set off at 6am.

After catching a hatch full of bait at the pipe, we headed back to the harbour to troll for Garrick. I put out 2 surface baits and one deep, then slowly made our way around the point of the south pier. After about 45minutes, we had no action so I turned and headed into the bay. Friends of mine had called me indicating that they were into a shoal of fish about 100m from where we were so I headed in that direction. I replaced the deep bait and while letting it out, there was a big swirl behind the motors. Next thing a Garrick broke surface and ate the bait that I had just rigged. I fed the fish for a while then tightened up and passed the rod to Tjoks. The deck was cleared and the tag kit readied. After a strong fight, the Garrick was next to the boat and just when I was getting ready to take the leader, the hook pulled! Unlucky...

I rerigged and worked the area a bit without any luck. The boats that were anchored nearby were getting the odd strike, so we anchored up put out a few baits. For the next 2 hours, not one of the boats around us had another strike. The tide was scheduled to turn at 11:30 and I wanted to cover more ground during that time so at 11m, we pulled anchor and trolled to the pier again. With fresh baits in the water, a tide change and a swing in wind direction, something had to happen. I rounded the point of the pier and just started to turn back when there was a big swirl between the lines, followed by the reel running. I fed the fish then tightened up before passing the rod to Tjoks. The fish took a lot of line so I cleared the deep line and headed after it. A few minutes later, the reel ran with a second fish which I hooked up. Being only 2 on the boat, we had our hands full so I slacked the drag on my fish and put the rod in the holder so that we could concentrate on the first fish. After 15 minutes, we got our first look at the Garrick. It was a really good size and gave us the run around at the boat. Finally it was close enough to get hold of the tail and lift it into the boat. Only then did we see the true size of it. It was possibly the biggest one of the season so it was decided to keep it. Meanwhile, the other Garrick had settled and was just cruising along with us. I put up the drag and pulled it in before grabbing the tail, tagging and finally releasing it. Great stuff! Talk about a confidence booster...

Tjoks took us back to the pier while I rigged up 2 new traces. As we stopped, I let out the 3 lines and made a similar approach. The swell was pushing the boat towards the rocks so Tjoks turned to sea to avoid collision. I was busy at the back of the boat when the deep bait gave a short burst. I freespooled the reel but not much happened. After a short while I decided to check the bait and wound in the line. As I retrieved, the line angle moved to the front of the boat and the rod took tension I tightened up and to my surprise, the rod bumped and the reel took off... we were on! At first Tjoks could not believe it due to the strange strike but when I handed him the rod, there was no doubt. Again the fish took a lot of line so I followed it to help Tjoks regain some. After a good tussle, he had the fish at the boat where I grabbed the tail and wrestled it onto the deck where t was tagged then released. It was a nice fish of around 11kg.

Again Tjoks took us back to the point while I rerigged. When we stopped, I let out the lines and just as the last line was set, the far surface reel ran. I started freespooling the fish then passed the rod to Tjoks to hook it himself. When it had fed for a while, he tightened up and went on with another lovely fish that was intent on putting some distance between it and the boat. This was another good fish and took a while to get hold of, but eventually it was also tagged and released.

We made another two turns without a pull so we opted to call it a day. It was an awesome session with 4 fish between 11:15 and 12:30. The Garrick that we kept weighed in at 16,1kg... a real trophy fish.

Beast of the Bay

On Saturday 7^th September 2013, Dean, Andrew and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. We were looking to catch a Garrick for Andrew as he had never caught one before. We set off at 6am heading to the pipeline to get livebait. On the way out, we saw that the water in the bay and out at sea was dirty, the worst that I had seen in a long time. There was also a really big swell that made things worse.

On arrival at the pipe, we set up 2 bait rigs and baited up with sardine before sending them down on a small showing. There was absolutely nothing! I sounded around looking for some signs of bait but no luck. The other boats there also had nothing so they moved off to look elsewhere. Knowing that if you don’t have live bait, you were dead in the water, I persisted. After an hour of trying all my marks, I had one last one to try. As I sounded towards it, I found a good showing and as the guys went down, they went tight on bait. They lifted 2 mixed strings of shad and big maasbankers. I made another drift and the same result. I called the other 2 boats to the spot before moving off back to the harbour.

I stopped on the point of the south pier, but the water was absolutely filthy. It was so bad that I suggested we move to another spot. Inside the bay, the water was marginally better, but the visibility was still less than a meter. I spoke to a few other guys in the bay and they were all struggling for bait. None had a strike yet. Not having many options, we rigged up a few live baits and slow trolled along the dropoff of the shipping channel. By 10am I was out of ideas so I suggested we go to the club and buy some takeaways and some refreshments then head back into the harbour to wait out the day. By 10:45 we were back fishing. The NE wind had started picking up, so I anchored up on the Port side of the channel in the lee of the casurinas. This was the only area with clean water so I was feeling a bit more confident. We were sitting on the dropoff in 13m of water with 2 baits out the back on balloons in the deep water and 2 flatlines on sinkers straight down. It did not take long before the far balloon broke off and the reel gave a short burst. On the surface there was a small splash followed by a small shark breaking surface with the shad in its mouth. After getting rid of it, I reset another bait. We had just cracked open a beverage when there was a big swirl and commotion out the back. The far shad jumped out of the water a few times with something on its tail. The balloon broke free as I saw a nice Garrick break surface. I was expecting the reel to run, but nothing. I waited a while before checking the bait, which was still alive and well. Oh well, I guess it was just its lucky day... not ours.

The wind was picking up quickly and with it the waves in the bay. This 20kt wind was causing havoc for me as every few minutes, the balloons would trip the links to the line. I tried everything from inflating them less to adding water to them. I was at the point of using a stronger trip, but that would hinder the strike. Needless to say, I was frustrated. To top it off, while this was going on, a small shark ate one of the deep baits resulting in a good tangle. It was time to regroup... so I sat back and had a cold one. With a new found energy, I reset all the lines and managed to get everything right.

At about 13:00, I saw one of the deep baits rev. I walked closer, just incase. Moments later the reel took off like a cuda. I fed the fish for about 15 seconds then tightened up. The rod keeled over and the reel continued running as if it were still in freespool! I handed to rod to Andrew, hoping it was a nice Garrick. Dean and I cleared the other lines and lifted the anchor. By then, the fish had taken close on 200m off the reel heading straight into the channel. When the run stopped, Andrew slowly but surely gained line. After 20 minutes, the fish was straight up and down.

We were all guessing what it was. It ranged from a zambizi shark to a honeycomb or diamond skate. The fish took us into the dirty water and visibility went down to about 2m. When the fish was quite close, I saw a glimpse of a white shape in the murky water. It did not go white to brown like a skate would, and a shark would not come up belly first... On the next turn, I confirmed that it was not any of the above but that it could be a big salmon as the length and shape was about right. Finally, the leader cleared the water and we could not believe our eyes... it was a beast of a kingfish! It made one more turn before it came within range of the gaff. I lifted it into the boat and was shocked at the size of it. We snapped off a few pics before heading back to the club.

A crowd had gathered around us when we off loaded and everyone was anxious to know the weight. It eventually pulled the scale to 28kg! A real beast for the bay. This was one of Andrew’s bucket list fish which he had tried to catch for many years. Well done Andrew.

Spring has Sprung

On Sunday 1^st September at 6:30am, Jannie, Chris and I launched “Ohana” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get Jannie’s first Garrick, and our first Garrick of the season. After speaking to a few of the guys who had been fishing during the week, there had been a good number of Garrick in the bay, but livebait had been a problem. With that in mind, we headed for the bait spots offshore.

On the first drop with the sabikis, Chris caught 3 nice shad. I baited up and went down and as I hit the ground, went tight and lifted a string of shad into the boat. Within 15 minutes, we had a livewell full of bait and headed back to the harbour to find a suitable area to anchor. The water was quite dirty in the bay, but knowing that Garrick feed in all water conditions, we went about setting anchor. We opted for 3 balloons, one with a weight and the others without. We then also set 2 weighted baits straight off the rod tips at 7 and 9m. Things were very quiet until about 10am when the boat next to us landed a fish. 10minutes later, we had a pull on the weighted balloon. I fed the fish a bit, but it dropped the bait before I could set the hook. A short while later, we had a shark eat one of the baits and bite the leader off.

By 12:30, we were bored as hell so decided to check out the water on the outside of the south pier. There was a huge swell running and the water was churned up badly. The strong reverse current ran along the pier causing major rips and coupled with the easterly wind, it made a beautiful colour line about 100m from the pier. We decided to pull the baits along the line for a while before we went home. I rigged 2 surface lines and 1 deep. Jannie slowly trolled along moving north. A little ways ahead of us, a few small baitfish cleared the water followed by a big boil. Moments later, the far surface bait went away. I fed it for a while  before tightening up and setting the hook. I passed the rod to Jannie while Chris and I cleared the other lines. It did not take long to get the fish to the boat and on the first pass, we saw 2 followers. I flicked out another bait to try and tempt a second fish, but no such luck. It took some time to finally get the fish within range and finally I lifted Jannie’s first Garrick into the boat... Finally, the pressure was off.

I rerigged and set the lines. Jannie trolled the same line and it was not long before the deep bait went away. After feeding and hooking up, I handed the rod to Chris who had a great fight with a feisty Garrick. This fish was a carbon copy of the first. It was mission accomplished for the day as both Jannie and Chris had their first Garrick... Chris had caught ‘leervis’ in the Cape before, but never in Natal.

The rip was starting to dissipate with the change in tide so we did not have much longer to fish in these prime conditions. I set the 3 lines again and within a few minutes, the close surface bait gave a few short bursts. I looked back to see a Garrick circling it with the shad trying to jump out of harms way. I lightly pulled on the line to interrupt the jumping and was rewarded with an awesome smash on the surface. I fed the fish but after a few seconds, the fish dropped the bait and did not return as they usually do. I replaced the bait and Jannie made a turn over the same spot. It was no surprise when the same reel went away. This time it all went according to plan and I hooked up. While retrieving the other lines, Chris noticed that one of the lines was tangled with mine so he had to control the other rod to prevent a burnoff. The fish gave me a good fight next to the boat and after 15 minutes, Jannie lifted it into the boat. It was a perfect end to what started out as a slow day.

The fish were all between 7,5 and 9kg. Not a bad way to start the season.

Change of Plans

On Sunday 4^th August, Jacques Spence and I launched “ABF” off Richards Bay to look for snoek. The weather forecast looked unreal with a maximum of 7kt. We left the harbour at 5:30 and had lines in the water by 6am. I was concerned that the fish would not eat in such calm conditions during the day and hence the reason for launching so early. I hoped to snatch a few before it was light. Despite having 5 beautiful baits in the water, we never had a pull.

 

By 8am, not one of the twenty odd boats had a strike so I upped lines and headed for the pipeline. I rigged up a set of sabiki jigs and when we found the showing, Jacques dropped the jig to the bottom. He immediately went on with a string of maasies. We made another drift and Jacques went on with a few mackerel. This sparked my interest so I rigged up a second bait rod and sent the jigs down. I also went on with a string of mackerel. All fishing plans went out the window at that point and operation bait collection commenced. Drift after drift we went on with a mix of mackerel, maasbankers, redeyes and razorbellies. We sat on the shoal for an hour or so and managed to fill the livewell and headed for home.

 

After vacuum packing the baits the final tally came to 88 mackerel and 30 redeyes. Bring on the gamefish!

The Need for Speed

On Saturday 3^rd August, Pierre Smit, My Dad and I launched “AVANTI” off Richards Bay. The weather forecast looked good and we were hoping to get a few snoek. We left the harbour in the dark and ran up north to 5 mile light house. It was just getting light when I set the rods. I put out 2 fillets, 2 redeyes and a whole sardine.

 

I had just cleared the deck when I heard a reel go. It was the whole sardine had been eaten. The reel gave two or three short bursts as the fish shook its head and then it absolutely smoked off! It was definitely a nice cuda that had just figured out that it was hooked. I took the rod out the holder and eased off on the drag. I was about to pass the rod to Pierre when the reel went silent and the rod flicked back. I retrieved the line to see that the light #3 lead wire had broken... which was expected. We were not targeting cuda and it is very seldom that you get them out on the scaled down traces.

 

I was busy rerigging the trace when another reel went away. This time it was on a redeye. I passed the rod to my Dad who brought in a nice snoek. Great start. I rerigged the baits and replaced the whole sardine with a small razorbelly. Pierre trolled shallower as the sun was just clearing the horizon. In 12m of water, 2 reels went off. One on a redeye and the other on the razorbelly. Pierre and I took the rods. The fish swam everywhere and picked up a few lines in the process. After a bit of bobbing and weaving, we managed to load 2 nice snoek. Again I rigged the baits and Pierre tacked deeper. We were in 16m when a redeye went away. My Dad took the rod and after a good fight, loaded another snoek. We had found the line that the fish were on so we worked it for a while. I was throwing a spoon as we trolled and I noticed a big swirl behind the lure. I increased the retrieve speed and a snoek came flying up behind it. It bumped the lure then turned off. I made a few more casts and had fish follow every time. I was expecting a reel to go away, but nothing. We worked the area a bit more and I was busy retrieving the sardine to check it when I saw a dark shape behind it. I wound faster and a snoek raced in and gripped the bait. It took a few meters of line then pulled the hook. It definitely seemed as if the fish wanted a bit more speed as every time I increased the retrieve speed, it would induce a strike. Pierre increased the speed of the boat and pulled through the area. The rod with a redeye bent as we went on to something small. Pierre pulled in a nice big garfish that managed to get snagged, and released it.

 

We rigged up 3 fillets and put them out. I also put out 2 small rapalas. It did not take long for a strike. This time it was on a fillet. Pierre took the strike and brought in a small snoek. On the next turn, the same rod went away and the result was another small snoek. After that, the fish switched off and no one had any more action. We upped lines and went to the pipeline to look for Garrick bait. A few pinkies and maasbanker later and we were off to the backline south of the harbour. We trolled in 2.5m to 3m of water going south. I flicked the spoon as we trolled and on the third cast, I had a bump. I continued the retrieve and saw a snoek of around 4kg follow it. Unfortunately it faded off and never came back. After trolling for about an hour without a pull, we upped lines and returned home. We weighed the 2 biggest snoek and they came in at 7kg and 7,2kg.