On Monday 23rd March,
the Protea Angling Team boarded a plane at OR Thambo bound for Luanda. The team
consisted of Friedel Kirstein, Neil Coetzer, Handro Swart and myself (Captain).
After a one night layover in Luanda we caught a quick flight to Lobito where
the 24th FIPS-M World Big Game Championship was being held. We met
up with good friend Carlos Moran who was our guide for the next few days.
Carlos took us to the Tropicana Hotel where we would be based for the few days before
the tournament.
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| Captain leadering a feisty sailfish |
We had booked 3 days fishing with
Carlos on "Espirito do Raimundo", a 28ft Butt Cat with 175 Suzies on.
It was a great boat to fish from and learn the tricks of West Coast Sailfishing.
Over the next 3 days, the team found our feet and got to know each other’s
fishing styles. We focused on each person’s strengths and became accustomed to
this type of fishing, with Carlos coaching us as we went. The fish were a bit
scarce, but we managed to release 3 Atlantic Sailfish and quite a few dorado.
After a two day break, during
which Captian / Skippers briefings and public parades were held, the official
practice day dawned. We had drawn the boat “Pikalunga”, a 37ft Triton with 3 x
250hp Mercuries on the back. Joao and Nunu were the crew for the day. After
leaving the mooring at 7am, all the boats headed for the sailfish grounds. On the
way, the team went about the daily task of rigging halfbeaks, some swim baits
and some skip baits.
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| Practice day on "Pikalunga" |
By the time 25 baits were rigged, we had arrived at the
grounds and put out the teasers and 4 lines. Joao worked the current lines
trying to find a few fish. There were a few hook-ups on the other boats, but
nothing spectacular. We got the feeling that the skippers were scouting the
area and as soon as they found a few fish, they moved away keeping the location
a secret for the competition days. Things were a bit quiet for us but as we
worked north of the fleet, we found a decomposing dolphin floating in the
current line. As we passes by, we hooked 3 dorado. While fighting, there were a
few free jumping sailfish around too. On the next turn, two sails came up and ate
the long baits. Friedel and Neil hooked up, but unfortunately Neil’s fell off.
The fish was quickly released and trolling resumed. On the next pass, Neil
hooked up and managed to release his first Atlantic Sailfish. The wind picked
up in the afternoon so we slowly worked South back towards the harbour. Just
before lines up, Friedel released another sailie to give us 3 for the day.
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| 8 Sailfish released for the first day |
On 31st March, the first
day of the tournament dawned. We were on “Pura Vida” skippered by Marco Couto,
considered the top skipper in the tournament. We needed to make the day count.
After the mass start, all the boats headed for the grounds. We went about
rigging halfbeaks and when the boat slowed, 4 teasers and 3 baits were put out.
Marco trolled the area and Handro quickly released a dorado. The next pass over
the area saw a sailfish hooked up on the left long and Neil quickly released
it. It seemed as if the fish switched on and on every pass over the area, we
hooked up. The fish were not coming up on the teasers, but rather on the long
riggers where Friedel and Neil were fishing. When the dust settled, Friedel had
released 5 Sailfish and Neil had 2 dorado. The bite went cold and so we
regrouped, rigged up more baits and waited for the afternoon bite. At around
1pm, the fish came up again and the radio ran hot with the action. Friedel
started us off with a dorado on the long, followed by a teaser bite which Neil
and I turned into a double header on sails. By lines up, we had released 8
sails and 4 dorado. This was enough to put us into 2nd position for
the day, scoring 2 points.
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| Marco's selfie with the Protea team |
On 1st April, we were
on “Pikalunga” again with Nuno and Joao. We were comfortable with the boat as
we had fished on it during the practice day. With the “lines in” call, we went
about rigging halfbeaks while Joao headed for the grounds at 35knots. As we
slowed, the teasers and long rigger baits went out. Moments later, both riggers
popped and Neil and Friedel were hooked up to sails. Neil’s fish came in easily
and once released we focussed on Friedel’s fish. This sail was stubborn as can
be and took 45 minutes to release. While this was going on, the rest of the
fleet were caning the fish. Unfortunately due to the long fight, we missed the
rest of the morning bite and waited 4 hours for our next pull. Handro picked a
sail off the teaser and got the monkey off his back with his first sail of the
trip.
Joao made a turn over the same spot and another sail popped up in the teaser.
I got the pull and released a super charged fish that made me run around a bit
to prevent a break off. We were alone in this area and there were a few fish
around so we focussed our efforts there.
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| Another acrobatic sail |
Trolling along a weed line, Handro
released a dorado followed shortly after by Friedel with a sailfish. This fish
never jumped once and only when the leader came up did we see what it was… talk
about a scramble! With the lines in again, Handro managed 2 quick dorado before
Neil hooked a sailfish after spotting it free jumping. As the fish neared the
boat, I spotted a follower and grabbed the closest rod with a bait and flicked
it out the back before passing it to Friedel.
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| Double trouble on "Pikalunga" |
I was busy reaching out to leader
Neil’s fish when Friedel went tight on the second fish! Both sails took off and
went mad on the surface but luckily stayed separated. Friedel’s fish made a
mistake and jumped towards the boat. I managed to reach out and grab the leader
and cut if before it knew it was caught! We chased Neil’s fish down and released
it as well. With the bite on, the baits went back in and as we were turning,
Neil went tight with another sailfish. It was a small fish that took less than
10 minutes to release. There was a bit of time left, so we made another turn
and 3 sails came up in the teaser. I hooked up and let it run while The other
guys tried for a second and third. Unfortunately, after several strikes and
feeds, the other fish were dropped so we could focus on the fish I was on. It
was another easy fight and soon our 9th and final sail for the day
was released. We again ended in 2nd place… just 2 dorado behind the
top team. Our current position was 1st overall with 1 day left. 4
teams were within a few points of us so it was still anyone’s game. Unfortunately,
we were warned that the boat we were going to be on was the worst boat in the
fleet, so things didn’t look good.
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| Day 1 on "Pura Vida" with Marco Couto |
On 2nd April, we
boarded “Vigues”. The deckie Rui was very helpful and went out of his way to
assist us. The run out to the grounds was very quiet as we went about rigging
40 halfbeak. When we stopped, the daily routine of putting teasers and lines out
wet very quickly. There was a nervous tension onboard as we awaited the first
strike. I was looking at the teaser and noticed a dark patch behind it. It seemed
a bit odd so I moved my bait a bit closer. I felt a bump on the rod and
instinctively freespooled the bait… Just incase… I tightened up and the rod
keeled over and the reel screamed as a sailie tore up the surface! Nervously we
backed up on the fish and after a few tense minutes, released our first fish of
the day. What a relief. Baits went back out and on the next turn, I saw a fish
in the right teaser. Handro got a pull and when he hooked up, I had another
pull off the other teaser which I also hooked up. With 2 wild sailfish on and
the press boat buzzing around us, things were a bit hectic. We managed to keep
our cool and released both fish to score valuable points. Our next turn
resulted in a dorado that Handro released but then the bite went quiet. Other
boats left the area and with everyone spread out, it was difficult to keep
track of where the other teams were. Things seemed a bit strange as our skipper
kept heading north, away from the other boats. After several requests for him
to stick with the fleet, he muttered a few words in Portuguese and continued on
his route. The afternoon bite started at about 1pm and several teams were on a
hot streak. Two teams released marlin and were fighting sailfish. We in no
uncertain terms told the skipper to head back to the other boats which he
reluctantly did. As we slowed down and put lines out, I had a pull off the
teaser. When I tightened up, another sailfish cleared the water. We needed a
double to make up the points but unfortunately there was only 1 fish in the
spread. We asked the skipper to back after the fish, but for some or other
reason, he made out as if he didn’t understand us. With a lot of line out, there
was a lot of tension on the fish, even with the drag backed off. After a few
minutes, and well into the backing, the sail jumped and parted the leader off!
The
skipper only then decided to back up on the line… From then on, it was a losing
battle as we fought against the skipper, the masses of floating debris he put
us into and clock… The deckie was absolutely devastated at the situation we
were in and not even he could get the skipper to take us back to where the rest
of the fleet and the fish were. Be that as it may, the time passed by and so
did the hopes of a win. At 4pm we upped lines and the skipper raced back to the
harbour, destroying the inside of the boat to get into the harbour first. Talk
about a bad attitude…
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| 2nd Place overall |
We were pretty sure we had
slipped out of the running for a medal after ending 8th for the day
but to our surprize, after the jury had concluded the video verification, it
was announced that we ended up second overall for the tournament! AWESOME!
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| Atlantic Sailfish with Carlos Moran and the Proteas |
On 3rd April, we had a
spare weather day that was not used during the tournament, so we hopped onto "Espirito
do Raimundo" with Carlos and headed to sea. After fishing south for the
morning, without a pull, we upped lines and ran back to the grounds we had
fished the previous few days. The lines were just out when Handro hooked up a
sail that ate the right long bait. After a few pics, it was released and
trolling resumed. Moments later, there was a pack attack of sails and both Neil
and Handro went tight. Unfortunately Neils fish fell off but Handro released
another fish. We were hoping for a marlin, so we moved out the area and onto
the 500m dropoff. Not long after, the left rigger popped and Neil hooked up to
a nice Sailfish that gave a good show before being released. With no marlin
interested, we headed shallower where I picked a sail off the teaser and
quickly released it. We saw a free jumping sail a short distance away and as we
neared it, the close bait behind the teaser was chowed by a dorado.
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| Protea Team arriving back in South Africa |
I cranked
up the drag and winched in a nice dorado. While this was going on, Carlos
turned back to where we saw the sail and as we turned, it came up on Neil’s
bait which he fed and hooked up. it was another good fish that spent a lot of
time in the air before release. It was now 3pm and we had to get back for the
prize giving so we decided to get one last fish then up lines. Soon a fish came
up on the teaser and I fed it a bait before tightening up. I looked over and
saw the other flatline running so I clipped the bale over and it too went on.
Carlos took the rod and joined the fray. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the
lines angled to the same place and it was clear that the fish had eaten both
baits! Nothing like a bit of insurance… With this 6th release for
the day, we headed back to Lobito where our trip came to an end.
Thanks to everyone who assisted
and supported us before, during and after the event.
