Catching bait and having fun...

On Sunday 19^th April, At, Tammy and I launched “AVANTI” off Richards Bay. We wanted to catch some bait for the next few weeks. After stopping at the pipeline and catching maasbanker and redeyes, we headed deeper and found a few mackerel. With the bait box looking good, we headed to the ledge to look for some bonnies.

I put out a few daisy chains and trolled over the reef. All five rode went away on small yellowfins. While we each fought fish, the other rods in the holders got slack line and the fish pulled hook. At had his fish at the boat when it turned around and took off. Seconds later a small black marlin stuck its head out the water! The conversion did not last too long before the leader parted. I managed to bring in one small yellowfin.

On the next few turns, we found some kawakawa. There was a good showing on the reef so we stopped to drift over it. Tammy and I each hooked a live maasbanker on and let them down to the showing. Both of us went on. Tammy pulled the hook while I fought a big kawakawa to the boat. It was around 9kg. On the next 3 drifts, we had a few pulls and caught more big bonnies. It was now 1:30pm so we decided to head for Petingo and try for a cuda in the afternoon.

On arrival, I let out 5 lines with livies and bonnies. It did not take long for a pull. The surface livie went away at a medium pace but the line angle then went deep. Tammy fought the fish for a while before it went on a run. It all suddenly ended with the leader being cut off. Not sure what happened there. Trolling continued and a while later the surface livie went away again. I took the rod while the other lines were moved out the way. We had just settled when the surface bonnie was eaten and the reel took off. Unfortunately the hooks pulled quite quickly. I continued to fight and soon had a 12kg cuda in the hatch. It was getting late so we made one last turn over the wreck and had a blacktip shark eat a bonnie before jumping and breaking off. That signalled the end of the day and we headed home with a few baits for the next  few trips.

One down, more to come.

On Saturday 11^th April, Wayne, Tammy Lorenzo and I launched “Da Boys” off Richards Bay. We were keen to get some fish to eat as the pickings had been slim. We stopped at the pipe and caught a few livies before heading south to Petingo. The Northerly wind was blowing a bit, but we were willing to take the punch on the way home.

Wayne and Lorenzo with some cuda

The water was a nice green colour and there was a 2 knot N-S current. We had to come right with a cuda. I put out a few lines while Wayne crossed over the wreck. There were a few garfish swimming with the boat and there was a good showing on the sounder.  I was busy letting out a live maasbanker when the line took off. I tightened up and went tight onto a baby cuda. Within seconds, it was in the boat and chilling on ice. Trolling resumed for a few hours without a pull. The wind had picked up to a 15 knot NE and we knew the ride home would be bumpy. I made one last turn over the wreck and drifted with the wind. As we reached the southern end, the surface livie went away but almost immediately pulled hook. On closer inspection we saw that the fish had picked up the leading wire before the bait and never hooked up. I rerigged and made the same turn, drifting back with the wind. Again at the end of the wreck, the rod with the deep bonnie bumped a few times but never came tight. I was busy telling Wayne that it was time to go home when the reel with the surface bonnie smoked off! I passed the rod to Wayne while Tammy and I cleared the other lines and stowed the rod. The fish gave Wayne a good fight before coming within gaffing range. I lifted a nice cuda into the hatch. Great stuff, but it was time to go home before the wind caused problems.

After a long bumpy ride we arrived at the club where the cuda weighed 18kg. ot bad for the first fish for the season. Hopefully there are a few more to come.

FIPS-M World Big Game Trolling Championship, Lobito, Angola

On Monday 23^rd March, the Protea Angling Team boarded a plane at OR Thambo bound for Luanda. The team consisted of Friedel Kirstein, Neil Coetzer, Handro Swart and myself (Captain). After a one night layover in Luanda we caught a quick flight to Lobito where the 24^th FIPS-M World Big Game Championship was being held. We met up with good friend Carlos Moran who was our guide for the next few days. Carlos took us to the Tropicana Hotel where we would be based for the few days before the tournament.

Captain leadering a feisty sailfish

We had booked 3 days fishing with Carlos on "Espirito do Raimundo", a 28ft Butt Cat with 175 Suzies on. It was a great boat to fish from and learn the tricks of West Coast Sailfishing. Over the next 3 days, the team found our feet and got to know each other’s fishing styles. We focused on each person’s strengths and became accustomed to this type of fishing, with Carlos coaching us as we went. The fish were a bit scarce, but we managed to release 3 Atlantic Sailfish and quite a few dorado.

After a two day break, during which Captian / Skippers briefings and public parades were held, the official practice day dawned. We had drawn the boat “Pikalunga”, a 37ft Triton with 3 x 250hp Mercuries on the back. Joao and Nunu were the crew for the day. After leaving the mooring at 7am, all the boats headed for the sailfish grounds. On the way, the team went about the daily task of rigging halfbeaks, some swim baits and some skip baits.

Practice day on "Pikalunga"

By the time 25 baits were rigged, we had arrived at the grounds and put out the teasers and 4 lines. Joao worked the current lines trying to find a few fish. There were a few hook-ups on the other boats, but nothing spectacular. We got the feeling that the skippers were scouting the area and as soon as they found a few fish, they moved away keeping the location a secret for the competition days. Things were a bit quiet for us but as we worked north of the fleet, we found a decomposing dolphin floating in the current line. As we passes by, we hooked 3 dorado. While fighting, there were a few free jumping sailfish around too. On the next turn, two sails came up and ate the long baits. Friedel and Neil hooked up, but unfortunately Neil’s fell off. The fish was quickly released and trolling resumed. On the next pass, Neil hooked up and managed to release his first Atlantic Sailfish. The wind picked up in the afternoon so we slowly worked South back towards the harbour. Just before lines up, Friedel released another sailie to give us 3 for the day.

8 Sailfish released for the first day

On 31^st March, the first day of the tournament dawned. We were on “Pura Vida” skippered by Marco Couto, considered the top skipper in the tournament. We needed to make the day count. After the mass start, all the boats headed for the grounds. We went about rigging halfbeaks and when the boat slowed, 4 teasers and 3 baits were put out. Marco trolled the area and Handro quickly released a dorado. The next pass over the area saw a sailfish hooked up on the left long and Neil quickly released it. It seemed as if the fish switched on and on every pass over the area, we hooked up. The fish were not coming up on the teasers, but rather on the long riggers where Friedel and Neil were fishing. When the dust settled, Friedel had released 5 Sailfish and Neil had 2 dorado. The bite went cold and so we regrouped, rigged up more baits and waited for the afternoon bite. At around 1pm, the fish came up again and the radio ran hot with the action. Friedel started us off with a dorado on the long, followed by a teaser bite which Neil and I turned into a double header on sails. By lines up, we had released 8 sails and 4 dorado. This was enough to put us into 2^nd position for the day, scoring 2 points.

Marco's selfie with the Protea team

On 1^st April, we were on “Pikalunga” again with Nuno and Joao. We were comfortable with the boat as we had fished on it during the practice day. With the “lines in” call, we went about rigging halfbeaks while Joao headed for the grounds at 35knots. As we slowed, the teasers and long rigger baits went out. Moments later, both riggers popped and Neil and Friedel were hooked up to sails. Neil’s fish came in easily and once released we focussed on Friedel’s fish. This sail was stubborn as can be and took 45 minutes to release. While this was going on, the rest of the fleet were caning the fish. Unfortunately due to the long fight, we missed the rest of the morning bite and waited 4 hours for our next pull. Handro picked a sail off the teaser and got the monkey off his back with his first sail of the trip.
Joao made a turn over the same spot and another sail popped up in the teaser. I got the pull and released a super charged fish that made me run around a bit to prevent a break off. We were alone in this area and there were a few fish around so we focussed our efforts there.

Another acrobatic sail

Trolling along a weed line, Handro released a dorado followed shortly after by Friedel with a sailfish. This fish never jumped once and only when the leader came up did we see what it was… talk about a scramble! With the lines in again, Handro managed 2 quick dorado before Neil hooked a sailfish after spotting it free jumping. As the fish neared the boat, I spotted a follower and grabbed the closest rod with a bait and flicked it out the back before passing it to Friedel.

Double trouble on "Pikalunga"

I was busy reaching out to leader Neil’s fish when Friedel went tight on the second fish! Both sails took off and went mad on the surface but luckily stayed separated. Friedel’s fish made a mistake and jumped towards the boat. I managed to reach out and grab the leader and cut if before it knew it was caught! We chased Neil’s fish down and released it as well. With the bite on, the baits went back in and as we were turning, Neil went tight with another sailfish. It was a small fish that took less than 10 minutes to release. There was a bit of time left, so we made another turn and 3 sails came up in the teaser. I hooked up and let it run while The other guys tried for a second and third. Unfortunately, after several strikes and feeds, the other fish were dropped so we could focus on the fish I was on. It was another easy fight and soon our 9^th and final sail for the day was released. We again ended in 2^nd place… just 2 dorado behind the top team. Our current position was 1^st overall with 1 day left. 4 teams were within a few points of us so it was still anyone’s game. Unfortunately, we were warned that the boat we were going to be on was the worst boat in the fleet, so things didn’t look good.

 

Day 1 on "Pura Vida" with Marco Couto

On 2^nd April, we boarded “Vigues”. The deckie Rui was very helpful and went out of his way to assist us. The run out to the grounds was very quiet as we went about rigging 40 halfbeak. When we stopped, the daily routine of putting teasers and lines out wet very quickly. There was a nervous tension onboard as we awaited the first strike. I was looking at the teaser and noticed a dark patch behind it. It seemed a bit odd so I moved my bait a bit closer. I felt a bump on the rod and instinctively freespooled the bait… Just incase… I tightened up and the rod keeled over and the reel screamed as a sailie tore up the surface! Nervously we backed up on the fish and after a few tense minutes, released our first fish of the day. What a relief. Baits went back out and on the next turn, I saw a fish in the right teaser. Handro got a pull and when he hooked up, I had another pull off the other teaser which I also hooked up. With 2 wild sailfish on and the press boat buzzing around us, things were a bit hectic. We managed to keep our cool and released both fish to score valuable points. Our next turn resulted in a dorado that Handro released but then the bite went quiet. Other boats left the area and with everyone spread out, it was difficult to keep track of where the other teams were. Things seemed a bit strange as our skipper kept heading north, away from the other boats. After several requests for him to stick with the fleet, he muttered a few words in Portuguese and continued on his route. The afternoon bite started at about 1pm and several teams were on a hot streak. Two teams released marlin and were fighting sailfish. We in no uncertain terms told the skipper to head back to the other boats which he reluctantly did. As we slowed down and put lines out, I had a pull off the teaser. When I tightened up, another sailfish cleared the water. We needed a double to make up the points but unfortunately there was only 1 fish in the spread. We asked the skipper to back after the fish, but for some or other reason, he made out as if he didn’t understand us. With a lot of line out, there was a lot of tension on the fish, even with the drag backed off. After a few minutes, and well into the backing, the sail jumped and parted the leader off!
The skipper only then decided to back up on the line… From then on, it was a losing battle as we fought against the skipper, the masses of floating debris he put us into and clock… The deckie was absolutely devastated at the situation we were in and not even he could get the skipper to take us back to where the rest of the fleet and the fish were. Be that as it may, the time passed by and so did the hopes of a win. At 4pm we upped lines and the skipper raced back to the harbour, destroying the inside of the boat to get into the harbour first. Talk about a bad attitude…

2nd Place overall

We were pretty sure we had slipped out of the running for a medal after ending 8^th for the day but to our surprize, after the jury had concluded the video verification, it was announced that we ended up second overall for the tournament! AWESOME!

Atlantic Sailfish with Carlos Moran and the Proteas

On 3^rd April, we had a spare weather day that was not used during the tournament, so we hopped onto "Espirito do Raimundo" with Carlos and headed to sea. After fishing south for the morning, without a pull, we upped lines and ran back to the grounds we had fished the previous few days. The lines were just out when Handro hooked up a sail that ate the right long bait. After a few pics, it was released and trolling resumed. Moments later, there was a pack attack of sails and both Neil and Handro went tight. Unfortunately Neils fish fell off but Handro released another fish. We were hoping for a marlin, so we moved out the area and onto the 500m dropoff. Not long after, the left rigger popped and Neil hooked up to a nice Sailfish that gave a good show before being released. With no marlin interested, we headed shallower where I picked a sail off the teaser and quickly released it. We saw a free jumping sail a short distance away and as we neared it, the close bait behind the teaser was chowed by a dorado.

Protea Team arriving back in South Africa

I cranked up the drag and winched in a nice dorado. While this was going on, Carlos turned back to where we saw the sail and as we turned, it came up on Neil’s bait which he fed and hooked up. it was another good fish that spent a lot of time in the air before release. It was now 3pm and we had to get back for the prize giving so we decided to get one last fish then up lines. Soon a fish came up on the teaser and I fed it a bait before tightening up. I looked over and saw the other flatline running so I clipped the bale over and it too went on. Carlos took the rod and joined the fray. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the lines angled to the same place and it was clear that the fish had eaten both baits! Nothing like a bit of insurance… With this 6^th release for the day, we headed back to Lobito where our trip came to an end.

Thanks to everyone who assisted and supported us before, during and after the event.

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!