Cannibals

On Saturday 2^nd May, Bryant, Tammy and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay. The Northerly wind was blowing a bit but was predicted to settle through the day. Our first stop was at the pipeline and it did not take long to fill the live well before heading out to the ledge.

Bryant with a Kawakawa

When we arrived, we put out a few small lures and trolled around the pinnacle. It did not take long before we caught 2 small bonito. These were put in the tubes and we continued trolling. After a while, the  other boats left and we could spend more time on the marks. I rigged one of the live bonnies and put it on the downrigger. I was hoping for a kingfish or something. On the second pass, there was a good mid water showing and it was no surprise when the livie was eaten. Bryant took the rod and put big pressure on the fish, just in case it wanted to go for the rocks. The fish did not fight too much and came in relatively easily. I was slightly disappointed when I saw that it was a big kawakawa of about 7kg. We unceremoniously released it and rigged up the other bonnie. After a few passes, I pulled it up to check it and found that it had been mouthed by something and it was dead.

I rigged it up to swim better and sent it down again. Bryant put out a live maasbanker on the surface, hoping for a yellowfin. As I was approaching the pinnacle, the surface livie was eaten. Bryant took the strike and quickly brought in a small yellowfin which was bled and put on ice.

There was no action on the deep bait so we pulled it in and drifted over the pinnacle. Bryant put out a live maasie and went tight on a 5kg bonnie which we released. It looked like fun so I rigged up a light spinning rod for Tammy and pinned a livie. On the next drift, she went on with a strong fish that took a lot of line. I chased after in and just as we had it under control, the rod gave a big bump and the fish was gone. I assume it was eaten by something larger. On the next 4 drifts, we hooked up to small yellowfins and big bonnies which we released. By 12 o clock we decided to run to Petingo and fish there for an hour or so. Unfortunately we never had a pull and when the Easterly wind started blowing, we upped lines and headed home.

Umlalazi Cuda Classic 2015

On Saturday 25^th April at 5:30am, At, Gert, Tammy and I launched “AVANTI” out of Richards Bay. We were fishing in the Umlalazi Cuda Classic. Our first stop was a the pipeline to catch bait before heading to Petingo.

When we arrived, At stopped short of the wreck and I put out a livie and 2 wala-wala. I was busy rigging up 2 bonnies when the surface wala went away. Gert took the strike and soon had a 12kg cuda on the boat. Not a bad start. I rigged up all the rods and At circled the wreck. There were a few boats around so it made things interesting. After an hour or so, the surface livie rod bent a bit then straightened. I picked up the rod to feel what was happening when it was pulled flat and the reel ran. It was a short run and quickly turned to the boat. The other lines were left in the water while I bobbed and weaved my fish through them. Soon I had a 10kg cuda on the boat. Not what we were looking for, but better than nothing. Trolling resumed and on the next turn, the livie on surface went away again. Tammy took the strike and brought in a rather small 6kg fish. I didn’t like the downward trend in size… Something had to happen.

Things were a bit quiet for about an hour so I decided to check the baits. I pulled in the surface bonnie and was shocked at what I saw. The bonnie had been chopped off clean behind the pec fins, including the wire to the tail hook. What was scary was that the ratchet never even ticked once!

 

I rigged up a fresh bait while At worked the wreck. I noticed the deep rod dip a bit then straighten. There had definitely been a bump. I retrieved the sinker and put the rod in the holder while I handlined the bait to the boat. The bait was near the boat when the line ripped through my hands. I let go of the line and the rod keeled over. We were on! At took the strike and fought another small 10kg cuda to the boat. Petingo was just not producing the goods for us.

Lines up came and we headed back to Zini. At least we were all on the score board.

On Sunday 26^th, the NE was blowing 15 knots and predicted to strengthen during the day. There had been a few nice fish at high point the day before so after catching a few livies, we headed 40km with the wind to the ledge. On arrival, we caught a few bonnies which I rigged up live. We had gone about 100m when the deep bait went away at speed… obviously a good cuda. Gert took the strike while I maintained a tight line on the other livie on the surface. I felt the bait rev followed by a sudden heavy pressure are the bait was eaten. The reel smoked off with the line cutting a bubble trail through the water. Gert’s fish sounded and then there were a few big bumps on the rod. The fight changed to a slow and heavy weight. Obviously a conversion resulting in the leader being rubbed through on the shark’s skin. My fish was still on surface and taking long fast runs. At followed it and soon it was close to the boat. It made a few circles before going on one last run. It was then that I felt the dreaded nods and the conversion. After going to sunset on the drag with 50lbs line, I could still not stop the shark. Both At and I had to grab the spool to break it off. How frustrating! I had 2 more bonnies and again it didn’t take long before we were on to another good cuda. This fish smoked off on surface before sounding and… yip, you guessed it, conversion… Other boats were having a similar issue with the sharks and from then on, every bonnie that I rigged was eaten by one.

I had no option but to rig up other baits so I put out 2 wala and 2 livies. After a few minutes, the deep livie went away and Gert fought a 9kg bonnie to the boat. By 12 o clock, we were tired of fighting sharks, heavy winds and other inconsiderate skippers so we upped lines and headed to Zini.

 

Our fish from the first day netted each of us some nice prizes. Well done to the winning angler with a cuda of 33,5kg. Congrats to the Umlalazi Ski-Boat Club for a great competition. See you next year.