The Long Night

On Thursday 14^th September at 8pm, Andre, Terrence and I launched “Good Time” off of Richards Bay. There had been quite a few good size daggas around so we were hoping to catch a few... and while we were at it, stay out till morning and fish for garrick at first light. The sea was relatively calm with a slight onshore wind. There were quite a few boats fishing but none had caught any fish yet. we took our time sounding around until we found some good structure and some bait showings. After throwing the anchor, we could see how we would lie with the wind and current. Unfortunately, the anchor did not hold so we put a second anchor in tandem and threw again. This time it held and we positioned ourselves right on the spot.

Andre got to work catching shad while Terrence and I rigged up our bottom rods. With a good supply of bait, we rigged up 3 shad and sent them down. Things were very quiet for about an hour before Terrence caught a nice rockcod on his live shad. This was a good indicator that we were on some structure so we didn’t need to check the sounder to see if we had moved or not.

Andre had put his rod in a holder and continued catching shad. I kept an eye on the rod and as it would happen, the rod tip bumped a few times then keeled over. Andre dropped the shad rod and grabbed the bottom rod. There were a few good head nods with short strong runs, typical of a dagga. After a good fight, Andre had his first dagga on the boat… a fish of about 17kg. About half an hour later, Terence had a pull with another salmon. This fish was quite small in comparison and was under the 1.1m mark so he could still fish a bit. Things went very quiet for about an hour or two but then at about 2am, Terrence went on with a really strong fish. The head nods were big and it made some good runs. Terrence was convinced that it was a shark but we were not convinced. The fish had Terrence at his breaking point and just when he was about to hand over the rod, the leader came through the top guide. I looked over and saw a beautiful dagga. This was by far his personal best and ended up being 34kg.

The rest of morning passed with only one other missed fish so at 4:45 we pulled anchor and headed back to harbour to weigh the fish. Terrence headed home as he had to work but Andre and I decided to take the few live shad we had left to the south pier and try for a Garrick. There was a competition on the pier so there were a lot of lines in the water. We had to give them a wide berth to avoid any unnecessary conflict. As we made our first pass, a Garrick chased the close bait but never grabbed it. I made a turn over the same area and the far line went away. Andre fed the fish but the line never picked up. The bait came back looking worse for wear so I put on a fresh one. Two passed later and the far line went away. This time the fish fed well and Andre hooked up to his first Garrick. The fish was quite strong and when it got to the boat, there was a lot of blood coming from the gills so we loaded the 7kg fish. 

There were a few fish around as the fishing skis and other boats also got fish so I stuck around the area. Unfortunately the dredger came around the pier and we were forced to move. I headed south into the backline to a nice looking colour line so I put the baits out. One of the rods I was using was the bait rod we used to catch shad the night before. As Murphy would have it, that bait was eaten. I fed the fish and tightened up. The little reel sang as the Garrick went on a run, but it took strain when I put some pressure on it. The gears sounded like they had blown and it took a long time to finally get the fish to the boat. It was a similar size fish to Andre’s. With one Garrick each (and the lack of sleep) we decided to head home after what I would call a successful trip. Anyone interested in booking a bottomfish charter off Richards Bay, contact Andre from Good Time Charters.

2017 Richards Bay Garrick Derby

On Saturday 9^th September, At and I launched Avanti off Richards Bay. Our Club Garrick Derby was on so we had decided to enter.

Our first stop was at the pipe where we quickly caught a hatch full of livies before heading north towards Hlobane. On arrival, I put out 2 surface baits and 2 deeper baits. At slow trolled north towards a good-looking rip. It wasn’t long before we had our first pull. I fed the fish and hooked up. After a typical Garrick fight, we had points on the board. It was not a monster, but at least we had one. While I was rerigging, the deep line went away very slowly. I leant over and put the drag up. There were a few head nods and a slow run. At pulled the fish which ended up being a big rockcod.

Lines went out again and as we passed through the rip, At went on with a Garrick. It was also a small fish, so we released it. Trolling continued and as we went, I cast a stickbait into the backline. At one stage, a Garrick lazily followed the lure and faded off near the boat. I carried on casting and moments later there was a commotion on the surface as a Garrick chased the close bait. I freespooled as the bait was eaten and hooked up to another fish. When it was close to the boat, we noticed a lot of blood coming out the gills so decided to take it.

For the next half an hour we never had a pull so At turned us around and headed back to where we started fishing. This time when I saw a big splash on the surface, it was a big shark chasing the shad. Before I could get the bait away, it was eaten. I tried to strike it off, but unfortunately the hook set properly and the shark took off in the opposite direction. I was on max drag and thumbing the spool trying to part off, but only after a few burnt fingers, I managed to part off.

The next hour or two produced quite a few strikes, but the fish didn’t commit to the bait properly. They would grab it and run a few meters then spit the bait. Some would be on for a few seconds and as they started taking line, they would throw the bait. Frustrating to say the least.

As we moved north, there were less pulls so again we headed back to the start of our GPS track. It wasn’t long before we had a smoker on the deep line. This was obviously not a Garrick so I tightened up almost immediately. The fish took a lot of line on a fast and strong run but suddenly the tension was gone. On closer inspection, you could see that the leader cut off in the rocks. Obviously one of the kingfish that had been around the last while.

The next 2 pulls were both Garrick and both hooked up properly. These fish were however also shoal size so we released them both. It was getting late and we had another day’s fishing the next day so we packed up and headed home.

On Sunday 10^th September, we launched again and quickly caught some livies before making a B-Line for the south pier. There was a nice current line with plenty bait around. I put out 3 lines while At trolled along the break. It wasn’t long before the far bait went away. I fed and hooked up to a Garrick. It gave me a good fight until we could boat it. It was a bit bigger than the previous day’s fish. I wasted no time in rerigging and soon we had another pull. At had a great fight on a spinning reel with a strong Garrick making it 2 fish in 30 minutes.

There were a few chases around the boat so it was no surprise when we had another pull. When I hooked up, the fish took off on a strong run. The line angled towards the surface and the surface erupted as a big queenfish angrily launched itself. This was a big surprize as we normally don’t get them off the boats at this time of year. The fish made a few great jumps before going deep, making me work for every inch of line. It was a great fight on a spinning rod. Eventually the fish was at the surface where we could get hold of it and take some pics.

It was now only 8am and things were looking good… but looks could be deceiving… Despite working the area for several more hours, we never had another pull so at 1pm we headed home.