Opening an Account

On Sunday 18^th November at 5:30am, Wayne, Riaan, Dudley, Willis and I launched “GALAVANT” out of Richards Bay. There had been a few striped marlin around the previous day so we were keen to open our account on them.

There was a south wind blowing at about 12knots but the forecast predicted it to get better through the day. As we travelled deeper, the current increased. As a result of the N-S current and the S-N wind, the sea picked up and made trolling really uncomfortable. After several tangles, lure and position changes, we managed to get the lines out as we went about looking for a fish. There were a few birds at around 350 – 400m so we concentrated our efforts in that area.

Due to the rough sea conditions, two of the crew lost their breakfast and took up a comfortable space on the cabin floor. This left us 2 men down but the show had to go on...

I was watching the short rigger lure with a halfbeak behind it. Every time the lure skipped, the long body of the bait would flick into the air and look just like a bill. It caught me off guard a few times, but eventually I got used to it. At around 9:30, I happened to see this bill again, but this time it came in from the left and was followed by a long dorsal fin! I ran to the rod to feed the fish and I must have shouted something because all of a sudden, we had a full complement of crew members on deck. I reached the reel just as the elastic popped so I fed the fish for a count of 10 before tightening up. The rod buckled and the reel ran as a nice striped marlin stuck his head out the water in the middle of the spread. I backed off the drag a bit and let it take some line to get away from the other lines. Meanwhile, the once seasick crew cleared lines as fast as possible. Once everything had settles, Dudley was strapped into the Black Magic harness and fought his first marlin.

After about 20minutes, the leader came up and I took hold of it. The big swell caused havoc but Wayne did a great job to keep the fish in the best position. After letting go a few times, I wrapped the leader and pulled the fish onto the surface. We snapped off a few pics before turning it loose. It was a great feeling to get that fish. Not only was it Dudley’s first, it was the first fish on Wayne’s new boat!

 

The sea started picking up and after trolling for another hour or so, we headed back to the harbour to celebrate this first fish. Thanks to Wayne for the trip and I hope there will be many more fish to come.

Bycatch Bargain

On Saturday 10^th November, Kevin Boonzaaier and I launched “SELFISH” off Richards Bay. We were keen to pull a live bait around for marlin, but there were reports of a few dorado being around so we were geared for anything.

Our first stop was at the pipeline to look for bait. I stopped on the marks and as the sabikis hit the ground, we went on full strings with nice big maasbankers. We made two downs and had enough bait to put a dent into a shoal of dorado ... if we found one. The next stop was on the 45m ledge to see if the mackerel were there. Unfortunately there were only maasbankers so we headed north to the kasteel. We were greeted to a beautiful green to blue  distinct colourline about 50m on the inside of the ledge. I was convinced we would find something along the edge so I put out 4 halcos and a medium sized marlin lure ... just in case. I trolled up the line zigzagging over the ledged. It took all of 20mins to get a pull. Kevin brought the fish in but unfortunately pulled hooks near the boat. I made a turn over the area and went 3 rods away with small bonnies. One pulled hook but the other 2 went into the tubes. We made a quick run to the 100m mark and rigged the first bait. There had been a black released on the 100m mark earlier and a few strikes at 350-400m so I headed out deeper.
The temperature dropped the deeper I went so at 500m I turned and worked shallower. The bait was not doing too great and gave up the ghost so the second bait was rigged. It swam like a machine and after working the 100 to 200m ledge for an hour or so, I made a shallower turn. I noticed a dark shape behind the bait and moments later the rigger revved and popped. After a short feed we tightened up and were solidly hooked up to something... Kevin took the rod and fought the fish with an 80lbs stand up rig. This was the first time he had ever fought a fish on heavy tackle and did very well. Some 20minutes later, the leader came up and we could see a +-80kg hammer. I pulled it closer on the leader then let go as it made another run. A few minutes later, the trace was bitten through. Probably better in the long run.

We were only about 1km from the ledge, so I started putting out the bait lures. I was busy with the 3^rd stick when the furthest rod went away. I passed the rod to Kevin and cleared the others. The fish was right on the surface and I could see that is was a nice wahoo. This was suddenly very nerve-wracking cause the lure was tied directly to the nylon! As Kevin fought the fish, it made a few blistering runs which I tried to slow down by chasing after it. The fish settled down and it became a subtle tug o war. Out of the blue, Kevin said I must quickly take the rod. I took over as he put on an impressive display of digestive pyrotechnics! When the show was over, I handed him the rod to finish the fight. The fish made a few big circles under the boat before coming within range of the gaff. We estimated it at about 15kg and were over the moon with the bycatch...

With food in the hatch, we continued looking for bait and after the second pass over the ledge we managed a 2kg bonnie. I rigged immediately as we were in the last 15 mins of the prime. I trolled to bait to 60m and turned south, slowly heading home. A short while later, the rigger revved and popped. As I was feeding, a huge fin of a great white broke the surface in the area where the bait had been. I fed a bit longer, to insure we would be bitten off (...if it was jaws). After hooking up, the line surfaced behind the white, indicating we were hooked up to something else... Kevin pulled the fish hard on the standup rig and within a few minutes he had a feisty 70kg reef shark on the leader where we released it. It was really nice to be on the water after so long, and to have good sports and something to eat was a bargain.

 

What a start for Stephé

On Saturday 20^th October at 7am, we arrived at the beach at Sodwana. Phillip Marx had just taken delivery of his new 24ft Tomcat “Stephé”. Joining him were Trevor Harvey, Markus and Madelene and myself. After an uneventful launch, we set the spread and headed for Diepgat.

With new Raymarine electronics onboard, Trevor showed Phillip the functionality and setup. Mid way through the lesson, the left long popped and the reel smoked off! A small but angry marlin cleared the water while the dead lines were being cleared. As the last of the lures were lifted into the boat, the fish threw the hooks. Unlucky!

The lures went back in and trolling resumed. At about 8:30, I saw a swirl behind the right short followed by a small bill swatting the lure. The fish seemed a bit lazy and after popping the rigger but not hooking up, it faded off.

Phillip worked the area a bit and at 10:30, a fish came up on the left short. It billed the lure and popped the rigger, still no hookup. I teased the fish a bit and it came up again. This time it took some line before coming off. Again I teased it and the bill appeared behind the lure. As it took the lure, I freespooled it for a few seconds before tightening up. The fish took about 50m before pulling hooks! It seemed like the fish were there, but not aggressive enough to commit on the strike. Speaking to other boats in the area, they were having the same problem. I was hoping that the turn of the tide (11:30) would change their feeding pattern.

As it was, at 12:30, a nice fish came up on the left short but missed. It came back with all its lights on and smashed the lure. The rigger popped and the reel smoked off. The other lines came in in a flash as the fish jumped out the back. Madelene jumped into the chair and took up the rod. The fish took a lot of line so we chased it in forward to slow the run and gain some line. After 15 minutes, the double line came up and soon I had hold of the leader. Slowly I muscled it up but just as I had the trace in hand, the fish took off, ripping the leader out my hands. Almost immediately the fish took to the air and greyhounded for a few hundred meters before settling down again. Every time it came close, it would go on a long run again. After over an hour, Madelene had the fish close again. I took the leader and brought a lovely 350Lbs blue marlin to the boat. Trevor took the bill so that we could remove the hooks but was given a beating second to none! We took a few photos before removing the hooks and turning it loose. Great stuff!

That was all the action that we saw for the day so we headed home very chuffed with a marlin on the first launch.

GALAVANTing

On Saturday 13^th October, a group of friends (Jacques, Divan, Neville, Trevor and I) accompanied Wayne Ritchie on his new boat’s first fishing trip. Wayne had bought a 30ft Citation called “Galavant” and we were all keen to see how it handled on the water.

After almost 2 month of terrible weather, there was a slight window for us to put to sea. We left the harbour at 6am and headed north. The water was quite cold and only when we got to 700m did the temperature increase. There were a few birds and flying fish on the 950m to 1100m line so most of our efforts were focussed. At 10am, there was a big splash on the left long lure. The rigger bent and just when we were expecting the elastic to pop, there was a loud crack and slack line came flying back into the boat! Something had gone terribly wrong, be it a bad patch in the line or a line around a clip, the result was the same... no fish.

The rest of the morning was quiet and at around 1pm, I changed the heading to tack shallower and closer to home. There was a colour change at about 500m with a few birds fluttering along it. I decided to troll along the line going north. The line moved in shallower the further north I went. Wayne decided to put out a teaser of squids which ran about 7m behind the boat in the pocket of clear water on the port side. In 450m on the dropoff, I happened to look back and while scanning the spread, a movement on the teaser caught my eye. There was an angry striped marlin, all lit up, in the teaser. I shouted to the guys down stairs and they sprang into action. Divan brought the short rigger lure in next to the teaser. Wayne pulled the teaser out and the fish switched to the lure. Divs gave it a short count before tightening up. The fish was there for a few seconds then off. Wayne put the teaser out again and in a flash, the stripey was back swatting at it. The switch was made again and after a longer count, Divs jammed the fish. This time it took quite a bit more line but unfortunately pulled the hooks before making tracks. Beautiful to see but still a bit disappointing. I continued along the line and about 45mins later, in 130m of water, there was another fish in the teaser. This time it was not very aggressive and quickly faded off to the short with a half hearted attempt at it. It then faded off to the right long where it charged in and gripped the lure, popped the elastic but pulled hook after taking a few meters off the reel.

The colour line faded in the wind and waves and so I changed the heading towards the harbour. In the green water at 52m, I saw a bill behind the right short. I teased the fish a bit which resulted in a small sailfish coming up and whacked the lure. Unfortunately it was not to be and the fish lost interest after a few seconds. That was all we saw for the day and even though we never caught anything, we saw enough to know the boat does raise fish. The upcoming season will hopefully be very successful.

Things that go Bump in the night

At 17:00 on Friday the 24^th August, Jannie Jacobs, Pieter, Wally and I launched “Ohana” off Richards Bay to do some night fishing for daga salmon. There had been some nice fish coming out the last while and the good weather forecast resulted in about 15 boats putting to sea with the same idea.

This was the first time we had launched for daga and were not sure where the fish had been eating. When the salmon are around, it seems to be a state secret for some or other reason. We arrived at the pipeline and anchored over some good structure and bait showings. A few drops with the sabiki rigs saw the live well full of shad and maasbanker, even a nice rockcod. I had an 8kg rod rigged up so I pinned a maasie and sent it down. The sun went down and at just after 6:30, I felt a bump on the livie. After feeding it for a bit, I tightened up and went solid onto a strong fish. During the fight, there were a few big head nods and occasional short run. I had a ball with the fish and after 15 minutes or so, a nice kob of just over 16kg popped up alongside the boat. Jannie gaffed it and put it in the hatch. Not a bad start!

There was a major scramble on the deck as the crew made up traces and rigged baits. Finally, when the dust settled, we had 4 baits down. There were a few minor adjustments needed to prevent tangles, but finally we were all fishing. At one stage, my bait revved a bit, but then relaxed. Soon after, Wally’s rod tip bumped and keeled over with a heavy fish. I upped my line to get out his way and noticed my bait was dead and had several small puncture holes in it ... obvious daga marks. Wally meanwhile fought his fish to the surface but after an unexpected run, the trace parted. Unlucky.

New baits were rigged and lowered. Things went exceptionally quiet and at about 10pm, some of the other boats anchored shallower than us reported a few fish coming out. I put on the sounder to check if we were still on the structure. There was one nice showing of a bigger fish so I put the sounder off again. Not 30 seconds later, my bait revved and the rod bumped. I fed then tightened up. The fish nodded twice then made a 20m run before coming up a bit, followed by a few more nods. At one point, there was a bit of a stalemate and I put a bit more pressure on. This was met by a big head nod followed by a loud crack as the line parted near the reel. I could have kicked myself! I made up another rig and sent another bait down. After about twenty minutes, I felt a strange bump. I checked the bait and again the small bite marks were there. The fish were eating very shy. I put a new bait down and as it hit the bottom, the bait revved wildly. Before I could say anything, the rod bumped. I fed a meter or so then gingerly tightened up. Solid! Again the fish made a few short runs, one of which was around the anchor line. I could feel the line rubbing so I released the pressure. Luckily, the fish swam clear and I could lift it away from the rope. After 15 mins or so, I had a 17kg daga on the surface. I wanted to tag it but the crew asked if they could keep it so I obliged.

This was the last of the action we had for the rest of the night so we returned to port. There were a few really nice fish on the other boats with the biggest being 35kg.

Stubborn Sail

On Friday 10^th August 2012 at 6am, Carl and I launched “Selfish” off Richard Bay. We were keen to get on the water as the bad weather over the past few weekends had kept us shore-bound. We stopped at the pipeline and on our first down with sabikis, we filled up on maasbankers and shad. Within 10mins, we had more than enough livies and headed off north to look for a snoek.

I put out 2 redeyes and 2 fillets and trolled north between 14 and 25m. The water was 19 degrees and everyone was battling to get pulls. After about an hour the one redeye went away. Carl took the strike while I cleared the lines. The fish fought like a snoek for a few minutes but then things changed. The weight went heavy and the fish headed out to sea. Carl was fishing 8kg line and could not do much but hold on while I followed. After applying as much drag as we could, the fish tired and after an hour, Carl had a blackfin shark of about 60-70kg next to the boat. I managed to get my trace back before releasing it. We trolled until 10am then upped lines and headed for the 50m ledge.

I had 2 wala-wala pre-rigged and quickly put them out. I was busy rigging up a few other bait when Carl shouted “there it goes!” and the next thing, the TLD 20 next to my ear smoked off! Now thats how fishing should be ... 5 minutes in the water and on! I passed the rod to Carl and cleared the other line. He fought the fish to the boat where I gaffed a nice 11kg cuda. Great ... fresh fish for supper!

Without wasting too much time, I got the 4 deadbaits in the water. I was itching to get a livie in so I grabbed the closest rod (10kg line), attached a live bait trace and pinned a big maasbanker. I let it out about 30m on the surface and returned to the controls. We were on the shallow side of the ledge so I tacked deeper. As the depth sounder showed we were going off the deep end, we heard one of the reels slowly running. Both Carl and I swung around to see the rod with the livie bending double. As I picked up the rod, I could feel heavy head nods. There was a splash on the surface followed by more nods. Carl increased the speed of the boat and line began to smoke off the reel. Next thing a really nice size sailfish climbed out the water and started tailwalking. I passed the rod to Carl, as he had only caught one sailfish previously, and frantically cleared the other 4 rods and

down rigger... in record time ... Usain Bolt eat your heart out! Meanwhile, the sail was emptying the reel so we followed it to slow the run. It stayed on surface so I rode right to it where Carl managed to tip the leader (which was only 2 meters long). Carl and I thought it was going to be a quick fight but the fish had other ideas. It sounded about 10m and would not budge. In the next 45 minutes, I tried every manoeuvre in the book but could not get the fish up. The fact that there was no current or wind did not help either! I had one last trick up my sleeve and switched both motors off. Carl went up on the drag a tough and we let the fish do all the work.  

It took about 30m under some heavy drag before the line angled to the surface. I started the engines and moved to intercept the fish. As I pulled in next to it, it stuck its head out the water and gave a few jumps before sounding to the 10m depth again... but we had the trick. After repeating the process a few times, the fish began tiring. After an hour and 25 minutes, the fish was close to the boat again. The leader to double knot was just under the surface so Carl stepped back and I reached under water and gingerly took the leader. With this slight increase in lifting power, the fish lifted its head and swam to the surface where I took hold of the bill. We put in a tag, removed the hooks, revived the fish and sent it on its way. Carl and I both estimated the fish at around 40kg.

We returned to the ledge and trolled for another hour and apart from 2 big sharks, it was quiet so we upped lines and returned to port.

Lady Luck

At 6:00am on Saturday 21^st July 2012, Wayne and Elsa Ritchie and I launched Wayne’s 15’6 Vidal cat “Da Boys” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to get Elsa her first natal snoek. After launching, we headed north about 14km to the “Arial”. There had been a few fish there over the previous few days and seemed like a good place to start.

I rigged up 2 fillets and 2 small redeyes on light wire and small hooks to entice the wary snoek. Wayne slow trolled to around 25m and then back to 12m, hoping that the fish would be holding on the drop-off. After trolling for about an hour, the deep redeye went away. Elsa took the strike and quickly had a small snoek near the boat. Just before I could reach it, the hooks pulled, much to Elsa’s disgust. Oh well, you win some ...you lose some...

The baits went back in and trolling resumed. It was very quiet but as the offshore wind died down, the baitfish came to the surface and we knew things had to change. There were quite a few showings in 17-20m so we concentrated our efforts in this depth. The slow trolling was not producing anything, so we increased the speed a bit. We had not done 200m when the japan fillet went away with a good fish. Wayne slacked the speed a bit while I cleared the other lines. While I was clearing the surface lines, the line with a 12oz weight and redeye slowly sank close to the bottom. Before it could be cleared, the rod keeled over and the reel smoked off! A double ... Nice! Wayne took the strike and both husband and wife did battle. Elsa brought her fish alongside where I gaffed a healthy snoek. I cleared the deck as Wayne brought his fish to the boat. As I was about to gaff, the snoek spooked and took a short run. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a big brown shape cruising towards the boat. Wayne put the reel into freespool as the snoek bolted away from the shark. I revved the motors and made a bit of noise before the shark disappeared. I chased the fish while Wayne regained line at speed and within no time, the snoek was at the boat where I gaffed a really good size fish.

With our mission for the day successfully accomplished, and the SW wind picking up, we headed back to port. Elsa’s snoek weighed 7kg (joint first with the biggest snoek in the ladies section of the RBSCB Snoek Derby). Not too shabby! Wayne’s fish surprised everyone and pulled the scale to 9,2kg!

2012 Mapelane Junior Interclub

On Saturday the 7^th July, Herman, Brin and I launched “Mitsufishi” off of Mapelane in the Junior Interclub. Both Herman and Brin’s kids were in the Mapelane U/16 Development team. Being the first time Brin’s daughter had ever been to sea, we were nervous to drift as this might cause her to feel sick. It was decided to just pull lures around and hope for a few yellowfins or bonnies. The lures went out and 10 minutes later, a first time angler caught a bonnie! Welcome to the world of deepsea fishing... We trolled deeper out to the ledge but the sea was picking up due to the 15+ knot wind. Brin suggested we turn back to the shallows and calmer conditions. His words were not cold when 2 rods went on with small jube jubes. These went straight into the bait box. Herman made the proverbial “one last turn” and again 2 rods went away. This time it was with 2 small yellowfins. By now the kids were feeling uneasy so we headed back to base.

At the weigh-in that afternoon, there were only  a few fish, but a few really nice ones. The Richards Bay team got a 25kg cuda to win the comp. Cape Vidal had a snoek ad a 16kg cuda, both on spinning outfits. Although not eligible for the competition, a 32kg musslecracker was also weighed. The Sunday was blown out and the prize giving brought forward to 10am. My hat goes off to the organisers for a superb job. Everything was great, food, boats, accommodation, logistics, everything. The prizes were excellent and every angler received a prize, regardless of whether a fish was weighed. This is definitely THE junior comp to be part of... till next year.

Late Season Cuda

On Saturday 30^th June 2012 at 05:30, we launched Jannie Jacob’s boat “OHANA” off Richards Bay. We were keen to catch one of the late season cuda that were still around. Our first stop was at the pipeline where we caught a few shad and maasbankers before running deep to small highpoint to look for jube-jubes. After trolling small lures around for a while, we managed to get a small yellowfin tuna which we bled and put on ice for sushi. With no more success, it was off to the 32m ledge off Petingo.

On arrival, the water was a clean green with a slight north to south current. The off shore wind was dropping as predicted resulting in perfect conditions. I went about rigging a livie, bonnie and wala-wala while Jannie rigged his wala and a redeye sardine. The baits looked good and after trolling around for about an hour, the bonnie went away with the first fish. Chris, a mate of Jannies from the Cape, took the strike and boated a nice 14kg cuda... not a bad start. The lines went back in and 20mins later, the surface wala screamed off! Jannie fought the fish to where I could gaff it and an 18kg cuda joined the first in the hatch. Things went a bit quiet for a while due to a pod of dolphins harassing us, but as soon as they moved on, the bonnie was eaten by a smoker! I took the rod and tussled a 20kg cuda to the boat where Jannie gaffed it. Nice ...we each had one for the day!

A fresh bait was rigged and trolling continued. I was watching the deep bait when I noticed the rod bump and pull down. Just before the reel went, the tip flicked up. I wound like hell, but the fish was already gone. I got back half a bonnie with 2 trebles dangling where the tail used to be. Sometimes I can’t believe a fish can miss those hooks! I was down to the last fresh bonnie and lovingly lowered it to the ground, armed to the teeth with trebles. It was not even 15 minutes before I saw the same deep rod dip. This time I was quick off the mark and started cranking immediately. The rod stayed bent to the water and finally loaded up to where the reel ran. Chris took the strike and had a strong tussle with a fish that stayed deep. After a long fight, the 16kg cuda circled under the boat where it was gaffed. The trebles were all hooked down the flank of the fish which resulted in the long fight. We were now out of decent bonnies. I scratched around and found a frot, pale, soft bonnie which was tossed in the chum bucket earlier that morning. It looked awful but it was still a bonnie. Somehow it stayed together long enough for me to rig it and it too went to the bottom.

It was now 3pm and nearing the end of the day. Jannie suggested we troll to the northern most coordinate then up lines. About half way there, the surface wala took off, almost giving us a heart attack! Jannie took the strike and after a few long fast runs, the 14kg fish was gaffed. With time running out, Jannie let out the livie while Chris cleared the deck. I noticed that we had drifted quite far and suggested we pull up the livie and ride a bit north then put out else we would take forever to get to the last coordinate. As Jannie retrieved the livie, a +-15kg cuda came swimming in after it. We tried everything to get it to eat, but it was just window shopping and left as soon as it arrived. Without saying, the lines went out right there! We trolled until 4pm before upping lines. When I retrieved the deep bonnie, I saw that it was chopped! Oh well, can’t catch them all, all the time.

We ended the day with 5 lovely cuda. This was the best that Jannie’s boat had ever done with cuda so he was really chuffed, so were we all...

Snookered by the Weather

On Friday 8^th June, a small group of friends left for Sodwana for a weeks daytime broadbill fishing. We would be fishing on Mike Leenstra’s boat “Beluga”. Mike, Dale and I were there for the entire time but my Dad was only here for a few days. The weather forecast looked ominous for the first few days, but the long term forecast had a better prediction.

On Saturday morning, we launched and headed to Big W canyon where we had success before. On arrival, we were greeted with green cold water... not what we were hoping for. Our first bait went down at 8am but after an hour or so nothing had happened. We upped the line to check the bait and reset the drift. There had been an inquiry, but it came in the form of other squid that had mauled the bait. The pieces that were left had a number of “V” shaped cuts from the sharp beaks. This episode was repeated with the same result on every drop of the day, regardless of depth. Oh well, at least we tried.

On Sunday Morning, the 35 knot SW that was predicted came through and the day was blown out.

There was still a 15kt SW on Monday morning, but we launched regardless. This time we headed south to Diep Gat. The swell was really big, so deep dropping was out, instead we scratched around for gamefish in the green water. By the end of the day, we had 5 yellowfins (3 released), 1 cuda and a dorado.

The Tuesday forecast was for a 3-7kt NW wind ... this was everything but! We launched into a full on 20kt NE. The sea at 500m was unfishable for swordfish and we had no other bait to fish for gamefish. To make matters worse, the rough seas caused a screw to rattle loose in the controls which meant we could not pull it into neutral. All these issues called for a short day and we beached at 9am.

Wednesday morning looked a bit better, but on the way to the beach, the SE picked up and by the time we were on the backline, the wind was fresh. It took us a while to get to Diep Gat where we trolled lures for marlin bait. We managed two 3kg bonnies, one was rigged and the other went into the luna tube. After trolling for 3 hours in big swells, the bait died. The sea slowly started settling so we decided to rig the last bonnie on a deep drop rig and troll it into the canyon. As it got deeper, the weight was lowered. In 300m, with the bait just off the ground, the reel took off. Dale fed the fish for a while, but failed to hookup. The trip line on the weight did not break and the bait was torn off the bridle. On closer inspection it was evident, from the marks on the trace, that the strike came from a marlin... a surprise to all of us. The bonito was replaced with a squid and slow trolling commenced. At about 3pm, in 500m, the rod bumped a bit and the braid pulled off the reel. I slowly fought the fish to within 200m of the surface before the hooks pulled. There were no marks on the trace so who knows... That concluded the days fishing.

Thursday mornings predicted 4 kt SW to NE 5 kt only came true in the latter parts of the day. The 20kt SW that was actually blowing forced us to fish for gamefish off Witsand while waiting for better conditions. We managed to get a cuda, yellowfin and a nice dorado. Other than a missed strike on a live jube jube, we also caught a really big ... wait for it ... toby! By midday, the wind settled and we managed 2 drops. The squid were a problem on both drops and we assume the bait was eaten before anything worthwhile could get to it.

Friday morning was finally a nice day. The NW wind of 4kt and calm seas helped us get in 3 drops at Big W before the NE wind picked up to 18-20kt. In 650m the line went slack. Dale wound the slack in and found the line to be solid. Assuming we were stuck on the canyon wall, I turned the boat around and tried to free it. No matter which direction we pulled, the line remained solid in one place. The only option was to break the line. Mike and Dale both grabbed the spool of the reel (which was now on sunset) while I rode away. Nothing would give. I turned back and stopped directly above the line. As we were about to increase the preset, the rod bumped heavily and the reel took off! Mike took the strike and tried to lift whatever it was. After 20 minutes the 500m marker finally cleared the surface. Inch by inch, for an hour and a half, Mike pulled the fish until I traced a healthy 150kg thresher shark. Before I could cut the leader, it bit through the mono leader. 3 more drops produced baits mutilated by other squid, but nothing more tangible.

Saturday was our last day and once again the NE was blowing when we launched. Pre-empting the bad weather, we took a box of sardines with and managed 3 cuda and dropped another 2 before the wind settled. Two drops resulted in one mauled bait and another untouched after an hour of soaking!

Our week came to an end without success. We did however learn a few new tricks and had good laughs! Thanks to everyone involved. Hopefully next time the conditions will be in our favour...