Two Oceans Marlin Tournament

On Monday 15^th February, Tim, Ross, Gareth and I launched “Tyler” out of Struisbaai. I was invited by Brendan Davids to fish the Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, but adverse weather had resulted in the comp being called off for a few days. The Westerly wind that was blowing resulted in a sheltered bay just outside the harbour, so we decided to have a go at catching a Garrick in the afternoon.

Gareth with a tagged Leerie

Gareth had caught a few mullet for live bait and we had a few other rods rigged up with chisel nose plugs. We worked the southern point of the bay, but there was no action so we moved into the bay. While we were slow trolling, Tim was casting a plug off the nose. Gareth spotted a few dark shapes off towards the breakers and Tim’s next cast resulted in a few Garrick chasing the lure but did not connect. We worked the area for a bit and finally found them again. Ross cast his mullet into the shoal and went tight almost immediately. While he was fighting, my live bait was also eaten and we were hooked up to a double! Both fish were pretty close to the boat when mine threw the circle hook, but Ross managed to get his fish onto the leader where it was boated, tagged and released. Things were quiet from then on, so we headed back to the harbour.

Feeding the locals

On Tuesday 16^th February, the comp was called off again, but with the wind settling, we decided to make a midday launch and headed out to the 12mile banks. We put out a few marlin lures, and within a few minutes had a small yellowfin eat one of them. It was rigged up for a livebait, but unfortunately, after about an hour it was eaten by a mako shark. 

The lures went in again and trolling continues. There were big shoals of skipjack and small yellowfin that attached the swivels of the lures whenever we got near to them. Every now and again, there were bigger yellowfin that smashed the lures and we were kept busy for most of the afternoon. There was a lot of bait around, but no billfish so we headed back to the harbour.

On Wednesday morning the cold front came through with vengeance and the comp was again called off.

On Friday 19^th, he wind had finally subsided and all the boats put to sea. We headed out towards the 45’s but on route, the water colour got worse and worse so we made the call to turn around and head 5 miles back towards the Halfway House as the water looked good there. The lures went out and Gareth trolled the area looking for signs of life.

Ross with a WP Wahoo

After a while, the centre rigger popped and the reel ran for a bit. Ross took the strike and managed to bring a 12kg wahoo to the boat. This was an exceptionally rare catch for the area so everyone was very surprised to see it. The lines had just been reset when I saw a small marlin grabbing the left teaser. I shouted from the tower to get the pitch bait in the water, but the fish faded off as quickly as it appeared. At least we were in the right area. Some time later, we came across a big hammerhead cruising on the surface. Apparently also a rare sight. I was glad to see it, as from my experiences, the hammers and the marlin usually frequent the same areas. As luck would have it, we had just turned to work the area when Brendan saw a marlin come in on the left long lure. It followed the lure for a bit and when it finally attacked, it bill wrapped the leader and spooked without hooking up. Despite making a few more turns, the fish never came back.

Releasing a Mako Shark

I was up on the tower for a bit, when I saw a commotion on the left teaser. Through the foam, I could make out that it was a mako shark that seems adamant to destroy the squids. Brendan pitched a bait on the spinning rod and went tight with the fish. At about the same time, the right long came down and both lines ran to the same fish. After some commotion on the surface, the one leader was cut and Tim was left to bring the mako to the boat where it was released.

Again the lines went out and after a few tacks, the centre rigger popped. The reel ran for a bit, but then the fish as gone. We did not see anything, but on closer inspection, there were bill marks on the leader. It must have been a shy fish that was not keen to feed. The predicted front came through at 1pm and picked up to 20knots. We turned for home but kept the lures in the water. In the next hour or so, we caught two yellowfin and a skipjack before we upped lines and headed back to harbour. Unfortunately none of the boats competing caught a marlin, but considering the conditions…

Being a tourist...

The weather forecast for the Saturday (last day of the comp) was terrible and called a blowout. What was surprising was that on the Friday evening, the tournament committee sent an sms out to the competitors stating that the tournament was extended by an extra day and that Sunday was now also considered a tournament day. Unfortunately many of the upcountry teams could not take part as travel arrangements had been made months in advance, based on the dates supplied by the organisers. This was in my opinion a bad call and a bit short sighted. Never the less, a great time was had by all.