Back Breaker

On Sunday 1^st March, my Dad and I launched “Selfish” out of Richards Bay. The last few weekends  had been very windy so we could not get to sea. The forecast for this day was good with a light SW. We left the harbour at 6:30 and stopped on the pipe for bait. After scratching around for a while we found a shoal of bait and filled the livewell. From there it was off to the ledge.

The water was beautiful. 27 degrees, purple and good current. To feel the area a bit, I put out 4 high speed lures and trolled north. About 20 minutes later 2 reels went away. Both of us brought in skipjack which were released. The trolling resumed and a few minutes later, I noticed something in the swell about 40 meters away. It was a marlin finning down the swell. All attempts at pitching a bait to it failed and after a few minutes, it moved off. Still nice to see.

When we reached the northern point of the ledge, I rigged up 5 lines. 3 on surface, one on a sinker and one on the down rigger. The sounder showed a thermocline at 30m so I set the deep baits at 35m and 25m. As the current pushed us south, the 25m bait slowly went away. I took the rod to feel what was going on. There was a bit of weight, but then it would come up a bit before going heavy again. After a few minutes, the hook pulled. It felt like a small fish that had been foul hooked and was spinning in circles. Guess we will never know. I checked the other baits and continued on.

A greedy shark with new braces

A while later, the same rod bent and took some line. I put pressure on it and the line angled to the surface. There was a lot of weight to whatever it was, but it was not really fighting. After 10 minutes. the sinker came up, which was removed. Only then did we see the brown shape of a shark. I got it onto the leader and broke it off. It sulked on the surface for a bit before fading away. While rerigging the rod, the dead bonnie I had out on surface went away, also very slowly. I pulled the fish to the boat and it was another shark. We assumed that it was a second shark that came up to look at what the first shark was up to. On closer inspection however, we saw that this shark had my other trace in its mouth! I could not believe it. Oh well, you learn new things every day.

30kg YFT on 10kg cuda rig

The day had been exceptionally quiet and after passing over all the marks without a pull, we opted to pull up the lines. One by one I retrieved the baits and packed the rod away. There was one rod to left and as I was going to retrieve it, it keeled over and the reel smoked off. I passed it to my Dad and then turned the boat to chase after it. The fish sounded and the constant head nods indicated that it was a tuna. The 10kg line did little to budge the fish so the drag went up over the strike button. 15 minutes after hooking up, my Dad was buggered. The long rod, heavy drag and deep fighting fish combination does not go well together. I was passed the rod and immediately felt uncomfortable. This was going to be a struggle. I pulled as hard as I dared for 15 more minutes and finally had colour of the fish. At the same time it must have seen the boat as it put its head down and took a bunch of line and I was back at square one. Inch by inch I lifted the fish, using the swell to help me. Finally I had colour again and this time managed to keep its head up. after several big circles, the tuna broke the surface and my Dad gaffed it. It was a good one! I was glad that the fight was over as it was not enjoyable. But it was a really nice fish though…

We headed back to the harbour where the fish weighed 30kg. Not too shabby.

Finally a break in the weather!

On Saturday 7^th February at 10am, Tammy, Tjokkie and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay. The weather forecast was totally off and instead of the predicted 5 knot wind, it was blowing 15 knots. We had waited a few hours and only at 9am did the conditions improve. The plan was to just take the boat for a run to test the motors after their service, so there were no big fishing plans.

I headed to the pipeline to look for some bait … just in case. After drifting around for an hour, the sea got better and better. There were only 4 light game rods on the boat, so I suggested we run deeper to the colour line and troll a few livies around, hopefully for a dorado or something.

 

Tjoks with a 14kg YFT on 8kg line

When we stopped on the ledge, the water was purple and 27,4 degrees. The current was ripping the southerly wind made things slightly uncomfortable but it was very fishable. I rigged up 2 surface lines and 2 deep lines and tacked the reef moving backwards at 3-4km per hour. It did not take long to find some showings and shortly thereafter the deep bait had a pull. Tjoks took the strike, but he was convinced that it was a shark so he gave the rod to me. I could feel that there were head nods and a few short runs so I wasn’t convinced that it was a shark and fought whatever it was to the surface. In the clean water I could see silver number plate with two other fish following it. As it came closer the followers disappeared. The fish turned out to be a Cape yellowtail of 7kg. No wonder it was so strong. With a fish in the hatch, the day was already made so we could relax. The lines went out again and about half an hour later the far surface bait went away. Tjoks took the rod and settled into a strong fight. This fish was on 8kg line, so he had some fun and games but after half an hour managed to get a nice 14kg Yellowfin on the boat.

We fished on for another hour without a pull so headed back to the harbour.

Marius with a Bigeye Kinfish

On Sunday 8^th February at 6:30, At, Tammy, Marius and I launched “AVANTI” off Richards Bay. The weather was almost too good to believe. We briefly stopped to get some livies then headed to Petingo. The water was gin clear and we could see the wreck and bait fish hanging around it. The surface was like a mirror and we knew that it was going to be a slow day.

I rigged up a few baits and we trolled around looking for a cuda. About an hour later, the surface bait was eaten by a small hammerhead which was released. A while later, At trolled over the wreck and I put down a small lure on the flick stick. I managed to get a small Bluefin kingfish which was released. On the next turn, the deep livie went away and Marius fought a strong fish that bumped its head a lot. After a good fight, he had a nice bigeye kingfish of around 5kg at the boat. At noon, the easterly wind picked up and on our last turn another hammerhead ate the deep livie. It was clear that there were no fish interested in our offerings so we upped lines and headed home.

2 Blacks in 2 Days

On Sunday 14^th December, At, Tammy and I launched “AVANTI” off Cape Vidal. The easterly wind was blowing about 10 knots and the sea was flat. But as most know, when the easterly wind blows, the Gamefish get lockjaw. We set about catching live bait and once the hatch was full, I rigged up a few while At trolled deeper. I only had the first rod out when the reel smoked off. Almost immediately a dorado cleared the surface, doing cartwheels out the back. I had another rod in my hand at the time and when the fish came towards the boat, I could not get to the reel fast enough to take up the slack and so the hooks pulled. Unlucky.

I rerigged and this time managed to get all the lines out before the medium bait went away. I was on the rod very quickly and managed to get a small bonito to the boat. It was a decent bait size so I put it in the tube for use later. About an hour later, we had not had a pull so At made up a trace for the bonnie. I rigged it up on a strong popping rod and was still busy letting it out when it was eaten. I tightened up and went onto a very heavy fish. The line surfaced and a big zambizi shark rolled on the surface. After giving it a dose of 20kg drag, the leader rubbed through. I was convinced that the zambi had been following us and that was why we never had a pull.

Jono with a small black on a dead bait.

One of the other boats reported that they lost a small marlin. That was enough to convince At and myself to change over from live bait to dead bait and increase the speed to cover ground. I put out a weighted teaser close to the boat. There were already 2 baits rigged so I put one out a long way and another just next to the teaser. I went about rigging the other baits when I heard the reel with the close bait give a short burst. I ran to the rod and put the reel to freespool, holding the bait in position with my thumb. I felt a fish pull and fed it for a few seconds before tightening up. The rod loaded up and line tore off the reel. The line angle came up and a very anger baby black marlin went mad on the surface. Tammy cleared the far line while I fought the fish. It was a great fight with plenty surface action and a few deep sounds, but within fifteen minutes At had the leader and brought the fish aboard for a quick pic before releasing it. Nice!

I rerigged and managed to get 4 lines out before the far one was taken. Unfortunately the fish pulled the hook leaving me with a mauled trace. Things went quiet so we put a bait on the down rigger. At trolled over a deep showing and the deep rod went away. I had a relatively quick fight with about a 4kg bigeye kingfish before releasing it. Things went dead after that so we headed back home.

Baby Black

On Saturday morning at 5:30am, At, Fanie, Tammy and I launched “AVANTI” at Cape Vidal. The SW was blowing about 15-20Kt so there were very few boats launching. After negotiating the surf, we went about looking for live bait. At tried a few spots before we found a good showing and soon filled up the live well. While Fanie and Tammy were catching bait, I put out a livie on a circle hook, just in case there was a dorado around the bait shoal. When we had enough bait, I brought in the trap stick and the hook had been neatly bitten off.

It was pretty protected in the bay so I rigged up 4 lines, 2 deep and 2 on surface, and At tacked in and out moving south with the current. It did not take long to get a rev. This time it was the deepest bait that went away and Fanie managed a nice dorado. At made a turn over the same spot and the far surface bait went away very slowly. I thought it might be a sailfish, but when Tammy had it close to the boat, it turned out to be a dorado that was hooked in the gills. In the next half hour, we had 2 big sharks eat the deep baits. I was busy making up a few new traces when the medium rod smoked off and Fanie had a bit of a tussle with a nice cuda of around 10kg. Again we trolled over the same area and the japan reel smoked off. Tammy took the strike but something was wrong. the fight changed to that heavy weight that we all hate. While this was going on, I looked into the water and about 4m down was another big shark just waiting for us to bring a fish to the boat. We broke off the taxman and rode away from the area and regrouped. With fresh baits out, we tacked over the same depth that we had the previous pulls and quickly went onto another cuda. I was afraid of losing it to another shark, so I put the drag to sunset and pulled like hell. Luckily the fish stayed on and was next to the boat in a few minutes where At gaffed it. I was still rigging a replacement bait when the medium bait went away. Fanie took the rod and was told to pull the fish double time and soon had another nice cuda on the boat. A short while later, we had a full spread out again. This time it took about half an hour before we had another pull. I took the strike and again went right up on the drag. Within a few seconds, I had a yellowfin on the leader but it managed to evade the gaff and took off straight down where a waiting zambi had a free lunch.

With the shark in the vicinity, things went a bit quiet so At trolled a bit north to move out of the area. Eventually the far surface rod went away and Fanie took the strike. At saw a few dolphins in nearby so he sped towards the fish before they could take it. As it came past the boat, I put a gaff into a nice dorado. It was pretty quiet until I lifted it into the boat. The tail touched the side of the hatch and it went mental, jumping off the gaff. In the commotion, a treble found its way into the back of my leg and now both dorado and I were hopping around the deck. Finally we subdued the fish and I could painfully remove the unwanted body piercing… I felt like starting a new trend… something like the “Hook yourself Challenge”… I nominate you!



Small Black Marlin on the leader

Our bait stocks were pretty low so while the lines were up, we ran back to the bait spot and filled up on a few better size mackerel and maasbanker. The lines went out and At trolled south to where we had the pulls earlier. It did not take long before Fanie got another cuda. I rigged a replacement bait and put it out a few meters and went to attach a weight. I then noticed a dorado flying in and grabbed the bait. Unfortunately it missed the hooks. I brought in the close surface line and saw the dorado come flying in from the side and grab the bait. I fed it before striking and a good fish took to the air. It gave me a good fight and soon had the biggest fish of the day in the boat.

Tammy's first billfish

The wind had died down a bit and the sea was looking really good. Both At and I were convinced that some time or other, we would bump into a sailfish… a fish that Tammy had not caught yet. With this in mind, we persevered until the afternoon. Things went very quiet and so I checked the baits but they were all good. After about an hour, At turned back towards the point to head home. We were both looking at the far surface line when the rod bent a bit then straightened again.
I walked towards the rod when it suddenly keeled over and the reel smoked off. I thought it was a cuda by the speed it was going but then, way out the back, there was a big commotion as a small billfish tore up the surface! Both At and I shouted simultaneously “MARLIN!”. It was probably the smallest black that I have ever seen, but it thought it was a grander by the way it was jumping. Tammy took the strike and At slowed the run by chasing after it. There was a lot of line in the water, but she managed to get the fish to the boat in about 15 minutes. After a few jumps, one almost into the boat, I managed to get hold of the small bill and pull it over the gunwale. After a few quick pics, we revived it and sent it on its way. Awesome! With that, we unanimously decided to head back home. 

A quick weekend at Vidal

On Saturday 6^th December, we launched AVANTI at Cape Vidal. On the boat was At van Tilburg, Tammy, my Dad and Uncle Glen. The SE was blowing so we opted to fish for some Gamefish off the point. Tammy and Glen had never surf launched before so they were pretty excited to experience it.

Once on the backline, At sounded around for bait showings. After scratching around for a while, he found a proper showing and we filled the livewell with mackerel and maasbanker. I rigged up a few baits and At trolled out to 35m then tacked back. There was a good current line at 30m so we focussed our efforts around it. With the strong N-S current and southerly wind, we drifted along the line and slowly moved south. Things were relatively quiet apart from 2 small sharks that ate the deep bait.

Off the beacon, the far surface bait went away. As I tightened up, a dorado cleared the surface.  Passed the rod to Glen and turned to clear some other rods when all 3 other rods went away as well! We had a full house on dorado… Unfortunately one of the fish kinked off a wire but the other 3 were still connected. My dad had his fish at the boat relatively quickly and there were 2 followers. I pitched a live bait to the fish but they wanted nothing to do with it. When the dust had settled, Tammy, Glen and my Dad each had a dorado in the hatch. Finally, some fresh fish to eat!

We continued drifting past the lighthouse but didn’t have another pull. I suggested we change tactics and fast troll some baits back to the point along the line so that we could cover more area. I rigged up 4 dead baits and At tacked up the current line moving north. It did not take long to get a pull and after feeding the fish, the circle hook was set in the corner of a nice yellowfin’s mouth. My Dad fought the fish to the boat while we cleared a few lines. The baits were just hanging in the water when a dorado came flying in to grab one. Unfortunately it too turned off at the last second.  The tuna was then gaffed, bled  and put on ice. I did a quick bait check and noticed that one of the baits had been chopped behind the head by something with teeth. I rigged up a few more baits and put out a 4 rod spread. Shortly after, the close bait went away with a dorado that missed the hook. It turned to the next bait and hooked up. Glen took the strike and brought in our biggest dorado of the day… Nicely done. By now we were near the point so we upped lines and beached.

On Sunday 7^th December, Tammy, At and I launched “Avanti” at 5:30am. There was no surf to speak of and we were soon on the backline. The plan was to fish for marlin but with a straight Easterly wind blowing, we knew we would battle to get bait so we caught about ten maasbanker before heading to Oscar. The current was ripping at over 4 knots and the upwelling was unreal. I put out 5 small lures while At trolled around the pinnacles. After an hour, we had not had a pull so I rigged up a dead maasbanker and swapped it out for one of the close lures. We passed over a mid-water showing and as luck would have it, the maasbanker was eaten. Tammy took the strike while I cleared the other lines. A short while later, we had a 6kg yellowfin in the livebait tube. We had drifted nearly a kilometre while fighting the bait so we trolled lures north and deeper before I rigged up the bait on a 20/0 circle hook. Trolling into the current, we were moving backwards at 5km per hour. We were about off the point when the bait revved heavily. I grabbed the line out the rigger and felt slack line. I quickly pulled in the line and when it came tight, the yellowfin came flying out the water with a big swirl behind it. Being overcast, we could not see what was chasing it and so when I felt the bait get eaten, I fed whatever it was. When it came time to tighten up, there was nothing… I wound in the line and found that the 500Lbs leader had been bitten through… obviously a big old hammerhead.

We did not want to have a late day, so I put out the bait lures again and At trolled towards the beach. As we passed over the current line in 40m of water, the dead maasbanker went away again. Tammy took the strike and brought in another 6kg yellowfin which we bled and put on ice. With a fish in the hatch, we upped lines and hit the beach.

2014 Tri-Facet Nationals

On Sunday 16^th November, provincial teams gathered at Sodwana Bay Lodge for the briefing of the 2014 Tri-Facet Nationals. I was competing in the Heavy Tackle Billfish section with fellow SADSAA team mates Les Hartley and Michel de Kock. We were fishing aboard “Little Joey” skippered by Chris Rothman.

On Monday morning, we launched in 15 plus knot SW winds. After trolling to diepgat, and then working the area for a while, we had a marlin come up on the centre rigger and grab the lure, but miss the hooks. We teased it a bit and it came back with a crash tackle. The reel ran for a while but before we could clear the deck, the fish jumped off. On closer inspection we could see that the leader had been wrapped in front of the lure. That’s just bad luck. By 8am, the sea was really big and the weather committee called off the comp.

Team SADSAA and Lappies Labuschagne

On Tuesday morning, all the boats launched in a still uncomfortable big sea. The water colour was not great but we persevered in the area we had worked the previous day. On one of our shallower turns, we trolled over a huge piece of black plastic sheeting that caught our right short. The drag in the water was so great that even over the strike drag, it would not budge so we had to clear the lines and go toward it to free it. Apart from a small dorado knock down that we had, the day was quiet. Only 1 fish was released between the 13 boats.

On Wednesday, the conditions were perfect. Blue water and calm seas. We put the lures out and trolled over the ledge. At just before 6am, Chris and I were looking at the spread and could swear that I saw a movement on the centre lure. We both looked and sure enough, just the tip of a dorsal fin broke the surface. The fish followed the lure for probably 3 or 4 minutes but despite all the teasing in the world, it would not commit to grab the lure and faded off. That was the first and last action that we saw for the day. Something had to change…

Bycatch: 24kg wahoo

On Thursday morning, we struggled to get ourselves onto the boat due to the previous night’s “team build”… We were one of the last boats to launch and put out a mixed grill of lures before heading south. At around 9am, as we passed by another boat, a really good sized blue marlin exploded onto the right long lure. It went ballistic greyhounding parallel to the boat with Chris trying to get away from it. We cleared the deck and then Kokkie took the chair. The fish settled down and because there was a lot of line in the water,  Chris slowly turned towards the fish. Everything was going according to plan when the hooks just fell out! Unbelievable! The lines went out again and on the next turn, the left long was eaten. I took the strike but the fish came in too easily. In the swell, I could see a short fish with electric blue vertical bars. Hoping it was a small stripey, I took my time to get the fish to the boat. When Les took the leader, my heart sank when it was id’d as a big wahoo. Kokkie gaffed the fish and after a few pics, continued trolling. A while later, we had a knock down from an unidentified fish but no hookup. Again, the action stopped as soon as it started. The wahoo weighed in at 24kg.

On the last day, we launched and fished the full day but did not have a touch. It was just not our week for a fish, but that’s how it goes. Only 6 of the 13 teams managed to get fish. Congrats to Team Enigme on taking gold with their two blacks and a spearfish. 
 

Playing the hand you're dealt

On Saturday 1^st November at 5am, Wayne, Tjokkie, Tammy and I launched “Galavant” out of Richards Bay. We wanted to take the boat for a run and check that the tackle was ready to go for the upcoming marlin season.

The weather was overcast with a bit of drizzle. There was a SE wind of around 15Knots and the sea was quite bumpy. Just before the ledge, we put out 5 lures and proceeded deeper to see what the water looked like. The temperature was quite cold at 22,6 degrees. The colour of the water left a lot to be desired as it was a clean green. We could not do anything about the conditions and played the hand that we were dealt.

Wayne with a 10kg dorado

After bashing around a bit, I found a patch of water in 700m where there were a few birds and the odd flying fish. It was the only life I had seen the whole day so I worked this area on the tide change. The birds gathered a bit and as I trolled past them, the right short and right long riggers popped and we were on. Looking back, I saw the blue colours of a dorado. Wayne and Tammy took up the rods and fought the fish to the boat. With the hatch already open, I wrapped the leader and flicked Tammy’s fish over the gunwale and into the hatch. Wayne’s fish was a bit better size so when it was on the leader, Tjokkie gaffed it and put it in the hatch before it could do any damage. With something in the boat, we all felt a lot better. The lines went out and we continued working the area. After the tide had turned, the life disappeared so I headed shallower where we passed through a squall with rain, wind and choppy conditions. It was uncomfortable to say the least. We turned south along the kasteel, trolling home into the wind with the current. Just when the rain started falling properly, the right short and right long riggers popped and we were on again. This time Tjokkie and Tammy pulled the fish in which turned out to be small yellowfin tunny, which were bled before going into the hatch.

Everyone was cold and wet, so we upped lines and headed back to port. At least we knew the tackle was ready for the season. Bring on the warm blue water!

6th times a charm

On Sunday 12^th October at 10am, Tammy, my Dad and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. There was a small weather window for us to fish for garrick and with the season coming to an end, we decided to take every chance we could. There was a strong NE wind blowing, but a SW was predicted for the afternoon, so there would be a bit of a lull… we hoped.

The sea was a bit bumpy on the way out to the pipe but we took it slow and arrived nice and dry. The water was not great and I thought we would really battle for bait. I sounded around a bit and managed to find a bit of a showing. My Dad went down with a sabiki and managed a few nice big maasbanker. At this time of the day, I was happy to have any sort of live bait, so after a few more drops, we headed back to the pier. After all the rain, the water was not a great colour, but the outgoing tide made a bit of a colour line so we had something to focus on.

SW wind about to make an appearance

I rigged up two maasbanker on my 1kg outfits and trolled along the line. Towards the South, there was a front cloud approaching at quite a speed. It was pretty obvious that the SW would be early. When the SW came through, it was not as bad as I had thought it would be so I tacked back to sea along the line. There was a bit of a swell so when the close reel gave a bit of a burst, I was not sure if it was a false strike or the real McCoy. I took uo the rod and felt it pulling to the water… it was a fish.

9.6kg Garrick on ultra light line

 

I freespooled while Tammy cleared the other rod. I made sure I gave it enough time and then tightened up. There was immediate tension and the fish went on a good run. This normally indicates a better size fish. My Dad turned the boat after the fish and got right on top of it, waiting for it to surface so we could get a look at its size. There were a few head nods before it went on another run. Again the chase was on as we tried to maintain close range combat. The wind was causing a bit of a hassle when trying to maneuver the boat a slow speed but luckily the fish behaved. After 20 minutes or so, it surfaced and we could get a look at it. To me it looked like a borderline fish so I put quite a lot of pressure on it. To my surprise, the double line came out the water followed by the leader. I grabbed it as the fish angled to the surface in front of the boat. My Dad was standing poised with the gaff and as the fish turned broadside, the gaff went in behind the head. We were all convinced that the fight was over, but the fish had other ideas and made a few quick shakes came off the gaff!!! I let go of the leader in time and slacked the drag as it took off on a spooked run. The chase was on again. After seeing the fish at the boat, we were pretty sure it was the right size, so I pampered it back to the boat. It sulked a few meters below the surface and only the double knot was out the water. I put a bit more drag on it and inch by inch the fish lifted. With the leader just on the rod, I lowered the rod deep into the water and wound the leader onto the reel where I wrapped it and forced the fish up. It surfaced next to the boat and in seconds it was gaffed and lifted into the boat. Finally, the right size fish!!! This fish had no condition whatsoever and is probably why it came in so easily. I put it on a hand scale which showed around 10kg. We decided to head to the club and quickly weigh the fish.

 

Possible World Record Garrick on 1kg line

When we got to the club, the official weight was 9,6kg. A possible SA, All Africa and World Record! Finally, after catching 6 Garrick on 1kg line this season, I found the right size fish! After a few pics, we got onto the boat and headed back to the pier. I rigged up 2 livies on 2kg line for Tammy and trolled around. The tide had turned and the colour line had dispersed. The water was now just a mix of brown rubbish. I trolled across the channel and just before we were about to clear the lines, I saw the close bait revving. Looking back, we saw a garrick surface, chasing the maasbanker. Tammy picked up the rod, anticipating the strike, but after 3 missed attempts, the fish disappeared. That’s fishing I guess. After a few turns with no action, we packed up and headed home.

From one extreme to the next!

On Sunday 5^th October, At, Pierre, Tammy and I launched At’s 17ft Yeldcat “Mozanti” out of Richards Bay. We were looking to catch some bait for a fishing trip to Namibia. Popular word had it that maasbankers were the best thing to use for the kob there so “Operation Maasbanker” commenced.

We headed to the pipeline and sounded around. There were not too many showings around and we scratched to find anything. When we did find the odd showing, it was a mix of maasbanker and small shad with the odd mackerel in between. There were probably 10 boats milling around and all were battling. About an hour later, most of the other boats had left and only a few were still milling around. To make things worse, a proper rain cloud had pulled in and for 20 minutes, we were drenched. Not the best time to have forgotten your raincoat…

Putting "Pressure" on 1kg line

I took over the controls and moved off to one of my other nearby spots. It took a bit of searching, but eventually I found a proper showing and At, Pierre and Tammy all went on with full strings as they hit the ground. We sat on top of the shoal for a while, filling the bait stocks. With a few livies in the live well, it was back to the harbour. As we come closer to the mouth, the rain and wind abated. The water was a nice colour around the south pier so we thought it a good idea to pull a few baits around for Garrick. There were a few boats there that had caught fish earlier so it was worth a shot. I had brought two of my 1kg outfits with just in case so I rigged up 2 livies and trolled through the working water. One of the baits was eaten by a shark so I rerigged and At made another pass. As the baits came out the rip, one was eaten. I fed the fish and tightened up. The fish took some line into the middle of the harbour mouth and then out to sea. It felt very strange to be using this ultra-light tackle after fishing with 200Lbs line for Bluefin tuna on my last fishing outing. Talk about going from one extreme to the next! At kept the boat close to it hoping to get a quick gaff shot. I was on for about half an hour when the line angled to the surface. We moved towards the fish to intercept it, but just as we were getting close, everything went slack… the hook had pulled! I could not believe it. It is very seldom that we pull a hook on a Garrick, let alone on 1kg line. This was a first for me.

Small Garrick on 1kg line

Pierre had some work to do so we dropped him off at the club and returned to the pier. Most of the shore anglers and other boats had left as things had gone quiet. We persevered and at around 3pm, I had another pull. After feeding and tightening up, I was on to a Garrick. The fish took a bit of line then surfaced. At charged it down and we were able to get a look at the size of the fish. It was one of the smallest Garrick I have seen off Richards Bay! I put as much pressure on the whispy line as possible and only on the third attempt, I managed to take a few wraps on the leader and lift the fish to the surface after only a 20 minute fight. At grabbed the tail and boated it. After a few pics, I released the roughly 4 or 5kg fish.

It was getting late, so we opted to head home. This season, I have managed to catch five garrick on 1kg line, unfortunately none of which have been big enough for the record. Hopefully the next Garrick will be the right size. 

Buckled and Bent

On Monday 22^nd September 2014, Rian Chalmers, Wayne Ritchie, my Dad and I left Johannesburg on a 10 day fishing trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada. The goal of the trip was to each catch a Bluefin Tuna. We had booked the trip through “Bruce Brothers Charters” based near North Lake. After many hours in airports and in the sky, we finally arrived at Charlottetown at around 6pm local time on Tuesday. After collecting the rental car, we did some grocery shopping before heading East to North Lake. The weather was terrible. The wind was blowing almost 40 Knots and the temperature was around 6 degrees. Things did not look good.

Our first day was a rest day. We took the time to ride around the eastern shore of PEI stopping at the very few shops in Souris. We met up with Troy, Jamie and Craig at the harbour and discussed the next morning’s plans. The weather forecast was still not looking good, but we would give it a try regardless.

On Thursday 25^th, we headed to sea out of Souris aboard Jamie’s boat “Tuna Clipper” accompanied by deckhand Blair. With the strong wind, Jamie could not get to where he wanted to go and had no choice but to fish off North Lake. The conditions were not great and by the end of the day, we had no luck on Bluefin. We did however release two small sharks to the boat. One was a blueshark but the other was a meter long porbeagle. This was the first time I had seen one in the flesh and was quite excited to see one.

On Friday 26^th we again headed out of Souris Harbour. This time we headed 20 miles into the Northumberland Strait towards Nova Scotia to an area known as “Fisherman’s bank”. As we were setting up the rods, one of the boats next to us went tight, followed by another. Things were happening. We marked 2 fish on the first two drift but had no bites. On the third drift, we marked a few fish. Blair chummed a few mackerel and the fish came up higher. Despite feeding a few baits down to the fish, we had no pulls. 

Wayne fighting an 800Lbs tuna

While Jamie was repositioning the boat for another drift, I rigged up a whole mackerel, hiding the crimp and most of the hook in the bait. I was hoping that this would tempt a shy fish to eat. It was not long before we were marking fish again. Blair chummed up three fish and Jamie sent down the newly rigged bait. The sounder showed a fish streaking up to 25 feet and it was no surprise when the line was ripped out of Jamie’s hands. “He’s got it!” Jamie shouted as the fish took all the 200Lbs topshot off the reel in a flash. Wayne jumped into the chair and Blair transferred the rod to the gimbal. There was a lot of line in the water and so Jamie chased after it. Wayne retrieved most of the line and had the fish straight up and down after 40minutes. Slowly the drag was pushed up until it was over the button on 50Lbs. With the reel in low gear and Wayne being lifted high out the chair, the fish circled below us not giving an inch. Leaning back into the harness, Wayne managed to gain half a turn at a time until Blair had the leader. Rian and I got some footage of the fish before it made a sudden turn and the hook popped out. We were happy to claim the fish as it was on the short 5m leader. The fish was estimated at around 800Lbs. What a start!

The wind started to settle but so did the activity around us. At around noon, Capt Craig on ”Lady Dawn”, had set a herring net a few days prior, was marking a few fish and hooked up to a fish. Both Jamie and Troy got the call to move to that area and a short while later, we had tied up to the net. Sometime later, we started marking fish. Blair started chumming and the fish came higher in the water column but we could not get a pull.

On with a 900Lbs BFT

I took over the chumming operation while Blair fed a bait down. On his second drop, a fish engulfed the mackerel and we were on. I took the strike and the fish absolutely took off! The line went under the boat and the herring net, but thanks to excellent boat handling and team work from the crew, the line was cleared and the fight continued. After about 30minutes, the fish had settled into its deep circles and I could put some serious pressure on it. With the drag up high and me leaning back into the harness, I slowly made headway and 20 minutes later, the swivel was at the tip. Jamie inserted a tag while Blair kept the fish under control on the leader. It was an exceptionally fat fish and they estimated it at 900 to 950Lbs! Awesome! After a few quick pics, Jamie cut the leader off short and the fish swam off. We had caught our 2 fish limit for the day so we headed home, looking forward to the next day.

327kg Bluefin

On Saturday 27^th we again headed out to the bank where we had started the previous morning. Things were very quiet but at 8am, there were reports of fish around Craig’s herring net. Again we sped towards the net and tied up to one of the buoys. A short while later, we started marking fish at 100 Feet. After chumming for a while, the fish came streaking up to 30ft and the bait, that Jamie was feeding back, was engulfed. The fish took off while Jamie buoyed off and followed it. My Dad was in the chair and was put through his paces on a “school size” tuna. After almost an hour, the fish was on the leader and after measuring it, it was released. The estimated weight was 650Lbs.

The net was obviously the place to be and since we had a fish for the morning, we gave two other boats a turn to tie up and hook fish. This did not take too long and by 2pm we were tied up and marking fish. Jamie had a live mackerel out on a balloon while we were waiting for the fish to rise in the chum. The sounder came alive with big marks and before we could feed a bait down, the livie was taken and we were hooked up to our second fish for the day. Rian jumped into the chair and had to hold on as this fish nearly emptied the reel. Again, expert boat handling skills and team work between the captain and deckhand resulted in a smooth fight and successful release of a 750Lbs Bluefin. This was a very stubborn fish and took just over an hour. With our 2 fish limit reached, we headed back to Souris where another boat had brought in a similar size fish to the one we had caught so we took the chance to pose with it.

Wayne's 450Lbs Jube-Jube

On Sunday 28^th, the race was on to the herring net. We were lucky to get a spot but only started marking fish after about an hour. I assisted with the chumming operation while Blair and Jamie fed baits down to the rising fish. Blair hooked on a herring and fed it down. Just under the boat, it was snatched out of his hands by a greedy fish. Wayne had his second chance at fighting a bluefin and after forty, the fish was on the leader. Jamie and Blair had a good chuckle at the size of the fish as it was the smallest one they had seen for the year… all 450Lbs of it!

Seared Bluefin Tuna steaks

Jono's 700 pounder

We waited our turn to tie up to the net again and it was not long before the other boats were on to fish. Jamie moved in and tied up. Almost immediately we started marking fish. I took up one rod while Blair took the other. We worked baits down the chum line and when a pack of fish came through on the sounder, Blair had the line ripped out of his hands and we were on. I was on strike and had a very unorthodox fight with the fish staying on the surface for most of the time. This allowed me to gain a lot of line in a short time and when the fish tried to sound, it was already near the boat. I put some mega pressure on the fish and managed to keep it from getting its head down. The pressure was immense and the only way I could lift the rod was to pull myself back using the chair handles. I inched the fish up and Blair grabbed the leader, holding the fish for a few photos before releasing a 700Lbs fish. It was 1pm and we had our 2 fish limit so we headed back to port.

On Monday, 29^th, our last day, the weather turned and was blowing at least 25 knots. The whole fleet’s Captains made a call to try a few close spots but it was too dangerous to head out into the Strait. By 9am, the conditions were terrible and so we headed back to port.

PEI Bluefin Tuna 2014

In the 3 days that we could get to the hot fishing spot, we caught 6 BFT from 450Lbs to 900Lbs. Everyone had the chance to pull on a tuna and could tick off  an item on their bucket list. This was one of the best trips I have been on and can only thank Jamie and Troy from Bruce Brothers Fishing Charters for the well run operation. I would highly recommend fishing with them next time you visit PEI looking to catch a Bluefin Tuna.

www.peibluefintunacharters.com