6th times a charm

On Sunday 12^th October at 10am, Tammy, my Dad and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. There was a small weather window for us to fish for garrick and with the season coming to an end, we decided to take every chance we could. There was a strong NE wind blowing, but a SW was predicted for the afternoon, so there would be a bit of a lull… we hoped.

The sea was a bit bumpy on the way out to the pipe but we took it slow and arrived nice and dry. The water was not great and I thought we would really battle for bait. I sounded around a bit and managed to find a bit of a showing. My Dad went down with a sabiki and managed a few nice big maasbanker. At this time of the day, I was happy to have any sort of live bait, so after a few more drops, we headed back to the pier. After all the rain, the water was not a great colour, but the outgoing tide made a bit of a colour line so we had something to focus on.

SW wind about to make an appearance

I rigged up two maasbanker on my 1kg outfits and trolled along the line. Towards the South, there was a front cloud approaching at quite a speed. It was pretty obvious that the SW would be early. When the SW came through, it was not as bad as I had thought it would be so I tacked back to sea along the line. There was a bit of a swell so when the close reel gave a bit of a burst, I was not sure if it was a false strike or the real McCoy. I took uo the rod and felt it pulling to the water… it was a fish.

9.6kg Garrick on ultra light line

 

I freespooled while Tammy cleared the other rod. I made sure I gave it enough time and then tightened up. There was immediate tension and the fish went on a good run. This normally indicates a better size fish. My Dad turned the boat after the fish and got right on top of it, waiting for it to surface so we could get a look at its size. There were a few head nods before it went on another run. Again the chase was on as we tried to maintain close range combat. The wind was causing a bit of a hassle when trying to maneuver the boat a slow speed but luckily the fish behaved. After 20 minutes or so, it surfaced and we could get a look at it. To me it looked like a borderline fish so I put quite a lot of pressure on it. To my surprise, the double line came out the water followed by the leader. I grabbed it as the fish angled to the surface in front of the boat. My Dad was standing poised with the gaff and as the fish turned broadside, the gaff went in behind the head. We were all convinced that the fight was over, but the fish had other ideas and made a few quick shakes came off the gaff!!! I let go of the leader in time and slacked the drag as it took off on a spooked run. The chase was on again. After seeing the fish at the boat, we were pretty sure it was the right size, so I pampered it back to the boat. It sulked a few meters below the surface and only the double knot was out the water. I put a bit more drag on it and inch by inch the fish lifted. With the leader just on the rod, I lowered the rod deep into the water and wound the leader onto the reel where I wrapped it and forced the fish up. It surfaced next to the boat and in seconds it was gaffed and lifted into the boat. Finally, the right size fish!!! This fish had no condition whatsoever and is probably why it came in so easily. I put it on a hand scale which showed around 10kg. We decided to head to the club and quickly weigh the fish.

 

Possible World Record Garrick on 1kg line

When we got to the club, the official weight was 9,6kg. A possible SA, All Africa and World Record! Finally, after catching 6 Garrick on 1kg line this season, I found the right size fish! After a few pics, we got onto the boat and headed back to the pier. I rigged up 2 livies on 2kg line for Tammy and trolled around. The tide had turned and the colour line had dispersed. The water was now just a mix of brown rubbish. I trolled across the channel and just before we were about to clear the lines, I saw the close bait revving. Looking back, we saw a garrick surface, chasing the maasbanker. Tammy picked up the rod, anticipating the strike, but after 3 missed attempts, the fish disappeared. That’s fishing I guess. After a few turns with no action, we packed up and headed home.