On Saturday 8th June at 6am, my Dad and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. The weather forecast indicated that this would be the only fishable day before a big front came though. There were already a lot of boats on the water, most of which were headed north to look for snoek. The snoek catches had been very sporadic and I was not keen to hassle with 30 boats for maybe 1 fish. With the water being so clean, we opted to fish close to the harbour at the spots that we very seldom try.
Our first stop was at the pipeline where we caught some livies. They were a bit on the small side so we headed to a deeper bait mark. The showings on the echo indicated a big dense shoal of bait on the bottom so I went down with the jigs. As I hit bottom, I was on. After a few winds, the rod bumped and pulled down as something bigger latched on. It took a bit of line but unfortunately broke the jigs off. I rerigged and went down again. I was busy retrieving the next string of bait when I saw a big silver number plate a few meters below them. There were obviously a few bigger fish feeding on these baitfish so I rigged up a cuda rod with a make shift trace and bottom sinker and sent it down... just to see what they were. I had just put the rod in the holder, so that I could continue with the bait jigs, when the ratchet went. I tightened up on the drag and went tight on a fish that took a few meters of line then sat sulking. Every now and again, it would bump and take some line. It fought just like a flat fish. About 15 minutes later, I managed to muscle the fish to the surface. When I looked overboard, I got the shock of my life when I saw a big silver shape. I slacked the drag and pampered the fish to the boat where my Dad gaffed a beautiful 8kg queenfish! It was hooked in the dorsal fin which explained the hard fight. We very seldom catch queenies so it was a treat to get one. I went down again with a second bait and again, just after putting the rod in the holder, the reel went and I was on again. This time the fish took quite a bit of line and shook its head violently. I suspected it was another queenie so took my time and managed to get another 6kg fish to the boat. What a treat.
By now we had seen that the fish were right on top of the bait showing and if we were 20m off, we got no pulls so my Dad held the boat in position while I fished. Because queenfish are not a target specie here off Richards Bay, I was keen try and figure out how to catch these fish, while I had the chance. I rigged up a second rod with a double hook trace and 8oz sinker on an elastic. On the other rod I kept the original make shift trace. As my Dad trolled over the mark, the double rig went away but the hooks missed. Moments later the other rod went and we duffed that one too. I rerigged a lighter rod with a trace and sent it down. Almost on contact with the bottom, I went on and hooked a strong fast fish. About 5 minutes into the fight, the line parted and I retrieved a section of very frayed line. I had been cut off on something... After a bit of head scratching, I decided it was no more Mr Nice Guy and the heavy cuda stick came out. I beefed up the rig, including line, hook, leader etc and made another pass. As the showing started, I felt the bait rev followed by a strong take. I hooked up and passed the rod to my Dad. He put good pressure on the fish and 15 mins later had a nice 13kg kingfish next to the boat. On the next pass, I hooked up again. This time the line went slack followed by a big splash on the surface as another queenie cleared the surface. On the second jump, it spat the hook. What a great sight to see. The wind died down, the bait showing thinned out and the action slowed down. In the next hour, I had 2 other takes which were less aggressive and as a result, I missed the fish. My Dad suggested one more drift before moved on. As the bait showing came through, I had a pull followed by a hookup. After a strong fight, I had another 8kg queenie on the boat.
As per our plan, we left the spot to look for a cuda. I rigged up 3 livies and 2 dead baits. We trolled along the ledge looking for some activity. The sea was like a mirror and after nearly an hour of silence, my Dad shouted “There it goes!”. I spun round to see the deep rod bending to the water. The reel ran in short bursts and the line angled to the surface. It did not take a rocket scientist to know what was going to happen next. About 20m behind the boat, a nice sailfish tore up the surface. We cleared lines in a flash and my Dad took the rod. I chased the fish for a while before the sinker came up. I removed it and pulled in alongside the fish. We had no gloves on the boat so an old rag was the substitute. I billed the sailie, tagged it and removed the hooks before taking a few quick pics. It swam away strongly and ended the day off perfectly. We were back in the harbour by 1pm. Not bad for a quick morning.
Our first stop was at the pipeline where we caught some livies. They were a bit on the small side so we headed to a deeper bait mark. The showings on the echo indicated a big dense shoal of bait on the bottom so I went down with the jigs. As I hit bottom, I was on. After a few winds, the rod bumped and pulled down as something bigger latched on. It took a bit of line but unfortunately broke the jigs off. I rerigged and went down again. I was busy retrieving the next string of bait when I saw a big silver number plate a few meters below them. There were obviously a few bigger fish feeding on these baitfish so I rigged up a cuda rod with a make shift trace and bottom sinker and sent it down... just to see what they were. I had just put the rod in the holder, so that I could continue with the bait jigs, when the ratchet went. I tightened up on the drag and went tight on a fish that took a few meters of line then sat sulking. Every now and again, it would bump and take some line. It fought just like a flat fish. About 15 minutes later, I managed to muscle the fish to the surface. When I looked overboard, I got the shock of my life when I saw a big silver shape. I slacked the drag and pampered the fish to the boat where my Dad gaffed a beautiful 8kg queenfish! It was hooked in the dorsal fin which explained the hard fight. We very seldom catch queenies so it was a treat to get one. I went down again with a second bait and again, just after putting the rod in the holder, the reel went and I was on again. This time the fish took quite a bit of line and shook its head violently. I suspected it was another queenie so took my time and managed to get another 6kg fish to the boat. What a treat.
By now we had seen that the fish were right on top of the bait showing and if we were 20m off, we got no pulls so my Dad held the boat in position while I fished. Because queenfish are not a target specie here off Richards Bay, I was keen try and figure out how to catch these fish, while I had the chance. I rigged up a second rod with a double hook trace and 8oz sinker on an elastic. On the other rod I kept the original make shift trace. As my Dad trolled over the mark, the double rig went away but the hooks missed. Moments later the other rod went and we duffed that one too. I rerigged a lighter rod with a trace and sent it down. Almost on contact with the bottom, I went on and hooked a strong fast fish. About 5 minutes into the fight, the line parted and I retrieved a section of very frayed line. I had been cut off on something... After a bit of head scratching, I decided it was no more Mr Nice Guy and the heavy cuda stick came out. I beefed up the rig, including line, hook, leader etc and made another pass. As the showing started, I felt the bait rev followed by a strong take. I hooked up and passed the rod to my Dad. He put good pressure on the fish and 15 mins later had a nice 13kg kingfish next to the boat. On the next pass, I hooked up again. This time the line went slack followed by a big splash on the surface as another queenie cleared the surface. On the second jump, it spat the hook. What a great sight to see. The wind died down, the bait showing thinned out and the action slowed down. In the next hour, I had 2 other takes which were less aggressive and as a result, I missed the fish. My Dad suggested one more drift before moved on. As the bait showing came through, I had a pull followed by a hookup. After a strong fight, I had another 8kg queenie on the boat.
Nice Blog
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