On Saturday 1st November at 5am, Wayne,
Tjokkie, Tammy and I launched “Galavant” out of Richards Bay. We wanted to take
the boat for a run and check that the tackle was ready to go for the upcoming
marlin season.
The weather was overcast with a bit of drizzle.
There was a SE wind of around 15Knots and the sea was quite bumpy. Just before
the ledge, we put out 5 lures and proceeded deeper to see what the water looked
like. The temperature was quite cold at 22,6 degrees. The colour of the water
left a lot to be desired as it was a clean green. We could not do anything
about the conditions and played the hand that we were dealt.
 |
| Wayne with a 10kg dorado |
After bashing around a bit, I found a patch of
water in 700m where there were a few birds and the odd flying fish. It was the
only life I had seen the whole day so I worked this area on the tide change.
The birds gathered a bit and as I trolled past them, the right short and right
long riggers popped and we were on. Looking back, I saw the blue colours of a
dorado. Wayne and Tammy took up the rods and fought the fish to the boat. With
the hatch already open, I wrapped the leader and flicked Tammy’s fish over the
gunwale and into the hatch. Wayne’s fish was a bit better size so when it was
on the leader, Tjokkie gaffed it and put it in the hatch before it could do any
damage. With something in the boat, we all felt a lot better. The lines went
out and we continued working the area. After the tide had turned, the life disappeared
so I headed shallower where we passed through a squall with rain, wind and
choppy conditions. It was uncomfortable to say the least. We turned south along
the kasteel, trolling home into the wind with the current. Just when the rain
started falling properly, the right short and right long riggers popped and we
were on again. This time Tjokkie and Tammy pulled the fish in which turned out
to be small yellowfin tunny, which were bled before going into the hatch.
Everyone was cold and wet, so we upped lines and
headed back to port. At least we knew the tackle was ready for the season.
Bring on the warm blue water!
