Roaring Current!

On Saturday 5^th March, we launched “Seaduction” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to find a cuda for the boys from Theunissen. Our first stop was at the pipe where we caught a couple of mackerel. With the live well full, we headed south to high point. On arrival, we put out 3 small bait lures to catch bonito for livies. It did not take long to get 2 small bonnies which I rigged up, one on surface and one deep.

There was no wind, but the current was probably the strongest I have ever seen it there. With both motors a bit above in gear, we were going backwards at 7km per hour! This proved to be a huge challenge, as there was almost no time to work the pinnacle. 

Every 20 minutes, we would have to up lines and run back to the pinnacle and look for another bonnie. When we had one, it went into the tube and we would run almost a kilometre north to rig baits. We were then swept over the marks in seconds. It took 2 attempts to get our timing right, but finally presented 2 baits over the showing and went away on the deep bait. Unfortunately, the fish missed the hooks and we got half the bait back. It looked like a knife had sliced it off.

Dewald with some sushi

We put out the bait rods and almost immediately went on with two small yellowfin which we bled and put on ice. Again the lures were put out and the search continued. Things went dead for a while but eventually we caught another 2 baits. They were rigged and trolled over the numbers. The bait lasted a whole 5 minutes before the reel smoked off. The lines were cleared and Christo took the rod. The fish went on a sudden long run then came to a sudden halt and there was only a heavy weight that could not be budged… obviously a conversion… Everyone took turns fighting the shark and after 45 mins, we had drifted so far that it was not feasible to waste any more time on it so we broke it off.

Christo fighting jaws

The wind had picked up in the past hour and now the difficult conditions were almost impossible so we abandoned the cuda fishing and put out the marlin lures and trolled north, hoping to make the run home shorter. After about an hour, I saw a strange shape coming straight towards the prop wash from the port side. When it was a few meters away, I saw that it was a mako shark. It stayed in the white water for a while before fading off and launching itself at the left short lure, completely missing it. Moments later, it exploded on the japan lure and the reel took off. A few seconds later, the fish was off as it bit through the nylon leader.

The current was relentless and after two hours, we had not made much head way so we decided to call it a day and head back.

Two Oceans Marlin Tournament

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

Gareth with a tagged Leerie

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

Feeding the locals

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

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

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

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

Ross with a WP Wahoo

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

Releasing a Mako Shark

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

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

Being a tourist...

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

First 2016 Marlin

At 5am on Sunday the 10^th January, Frans, Deon, Barney, Annette, Andries and I launched “Trinity” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to find a marlin for the first time anglers. The water was clean from the shallows so while we ran out, I put out a high speed lure… just in case.

When we were near the ledge, Frans slowed the boat down so that we could drop the riggers and get the lures out. I started retrieving the hi speed lure I had out and felt that there was quite a bit of weight on the end of the line. There was a fish on it. Deon took the rod and after a bit of an awkward fight on the heavy rod, he had a 7kg dorado on the boat. Not a bad start to the morning. 

Barney with his first Blue Marlin

We went about setting the 5 lures spread while Frans trolled deeper. We headed out to about 600m then turned shallower. There were a few interesting readings on the sounder at 250m to 350m so we headed back to that area. 

In 375m, I had just finished adjusting the left flatline Ruckus when a bill and dorsal fin came up behind it. The lure disappeared in a ball of foam as the reel took off. Everyone grabbed a rod to clear the other lines. The fish came flying out the water and started greyhounding away from us. The line looked as if it was melting off the reel and by the time everything was cleared, we were into the backing. Barney was on strike and was quickly fitted with the standup harness. Frans backed up the boat and most of the line was put back on the reel. The fish sounded for a short while but soon came to the surface where I could get hold of the leader. The fish was pretty tired and so it was tame on the leader. We took a few pics of the +-130kg blue before the hooks were removed and the fish was turned lose. Great stuff!

It was still early, so we were confident that we would have some more action. The spread was reset and trolling commenced. Frans went into the cabin to rustle up some breakfast so I took over the helm. I tacked over the area where we had found the showings, hoping to find more life. I was busy with the inward tack when Frans came out the cabin with a scrambled egg and toast breakfast. I scanned the area in front of the boat to check for other boat traffic so that we could sit down to eat without having a collision. 

Deon fighting standup

Deon's first Blue Marlin

I took one last at the lures when I saw a big splash on the centre rigger lure. As I shouted, the rigger popped and the reel smoked off! Breakfast was put on hold as everyone dashed for a rod and cleared lines. The fish started tailwalking in a big arc behind the boat and ended up running parallel with us. There was a big belly in the line which kept tension on the fish. Deon was the next person in the hot seat and got strapped in to the standup harness. After explaining the drill to him, he went to work putting line back on the reel. Frans backed up slowly and soon the reel was pretty full. The fish sounded and sulked down deep for a while, taking a bit of line as it went. Deon was taking a lot of strain and so I put the reel into low gear for him. After some moral support, Deon got a second wind and started to inch the stubborn fish to the surface. A short while later, the bird came out the water and I grabbed the leader. The fish behaved itself while we took some photos. Deon took the bill from me and turned his first marlin lose. We all guessed the blue at around 110kg. Just a bit smaller than the first one. What t great day!

The lines went in again and trolling continued. This time we were able to eat breakfast without and interruptions. The day wore on without any more action so we aimed for the harbour and trolled shallower. We were just passing over the 50m ledge when I noticed a movement to the starboard side of the long rigger lure. All of a sudden, a black marlin of abound 300Lbs came hurtling out of the water towards the boat. As I shouted, the fish jumped again, this time under the rigger line and landed just short of the flat line. With the distance and trajectory of the previous two jumps, we all expected the next jump to be into the boat and Frans had already ducked in anticipation. Luckily the fish decided otherwise and disappeared under the wake. Everyone was on alert, scanning the lures but unfortunately the fish never came back. Oh well, that’s how it goes. My congrats go to Barney and Deon for joining the marlin club.

Slow Start to the Year

On Saturday 2^nd January 2016 at 4am, John and I launched “Drifter” off Richards Bay. We stopped at the pipe and filled up with livies before heading north along the ledge.

The conditions were great with a light off shore wind and crystal clean warm water with a good current. We pulled lures for a few hours working our way north, but things were very quiet. We decided to switch to bait in the hope that we would find something. I started retrieving the lines one by one while the boat was still moving at trolling speed. There were two rods left to clear when the far lure was eaten and the reel took off. John took the strike while I cleared the last line. The fish was not putting up much of a struggle and came to the boat relatively easily. When it was close to the boat, we saw that it was a wahoo. I quickly gaffed the fish before it could bite off the nylon leader and lifted it into the ice box. This was also John’s first wahoo.

I rigged up 4 livies and tacked over the ledge. Unfortunately the wind had swung to the East and things went stone dead. We trolled the livies for several hours without so much as a bump. When we reached the end of the ledge, we pulled up and headed home.

Running out of bait

On Saturday 26^th December at 4:30, John and I launched “Drifter” out of Meerensee Boat Club. There was a 15knot SE wind blowing with a bit of rain. The sea was exceptionally uncomfortable and the ride out to the pipeline took a while. Eventually we arrived and started looking for bait. With the difficult sea conditions, we struggled to get bait. After an hour, we had about 10 livies and decided to head off to the current.

Once we were in the strong N-S current, the swell picked up and we were thrown around properly. Somehow I managed to get 4 marlin lures out and we worked our way north. There was a good current line in 85m so I spent some time working along it. We were rewarded with a dorado of around 8kg. With only 2 people on the boat and shitty seas, it was tough going to clear the lines. We were going to battle if a marlin climbed on…

We fished through the prime and at 11:30 decided to switch to live bait. John and I were slowly clearing the rods when the far lure was eaten by another nice dorado which we loaded. We were pretty close to the ledge, so I rigged up a livie and put it out on surface. As I put the rod in the holder, the reel smoked off… we were on! I pulled the fish to the boat and could make it out to be a yellowfin tuna. All of a sudden it took off and a big electric blue shape charged after it. It was a marlin trying to eat it. Knowing that we were under gunned, I did not let the marlin eat the tuna and pulled it to the boat where it was gaffed and bled. I managed to rig up 3 livies, 2 on surface and 1 deep. No sooner had we started trolling, the far surface bait went away with a good dorado. John fought the fish and when it was close to the boat, the other surface rod went away with a second dorado. We both fought fish to the boat and managed to land them both… not bad. I rerigged and trolling continued. I tacked back over the ledge and the close surface bait went away. I was busy fighting the dorado when John went away on the deep bait that he was retrieving. Both fish gave us a good fight and we managed to land both again.

A good haul of gamefish in a terribly bumpy sea

Our bait situation was looking bad and we only had 3 livies left. I only put out 2 surface baits and made another turn. Sure enough, the close bait went away. I fed the fish a bit and tightened up. A small dorado bounced around out the back and managed to throw the hook. I pinned the last livie and put it out. This time it took about 20 minutes before we had a pull. The reel smoked off and I battled to get the rod out the holder. The fish took a lot of line but unfortunately the hook just fell out. Unlucky… 

We trolled the last livie around for a while but it just felt wrong fishing with one rod, so I suggested we switch to lures and troll with the current and head home as it was getting late. I put out 4 lures and trolled south along the ledge. It was not long before we were on with another dorado.

The current was running very strong and pushed us along at 16km per hour. So we could not work the area properly and only now and then we would pass over a high point. We were just getting ready to up lines when we went away with a big skipjack which took off so quickly that it had us thinking it was a wahoo. That was the last pull for the day and we headed back at 3:30pm.

Vidal Holiday

Recently I spent  few days fishing off Cape Vidal with good friend At van Tilburg on his boat “AVANTI”. The game fishing was really good and we had a few great days on the water.

A nice Sailie ready for release

On the first day, Saturday 5^th December, we launched early and caught live bait. Shortly after rigging the bait, we started getting a few pulls from dorado. The action was thick and fast and by 8am we had 8 fish on the boat. It was ridiculous fishing so we decided to try something different. I rigged up 4 small surface lures and headed north along a current line. It was not long when there was a bump on the one rod. I kept watching it and saw another bump. I took the rod and held the tip backwards. When I felt some weight, I flicked the rod forward allowing the lure to sink back then tightened up. Tight! The fish ran quite a bit before settling. A short while later, there were a few big head nods and the fish took off for the surface. A nice size sailfish cleared the water giving a great show. Shortly after, At’s boat-boy John, billed the fish before releasing it. Nice!

John fighting his first Sailfish

The lines were reset and about 15 minutes later, the spinning rod with the close lure went away. John took the rod and was treated to another sailfish dancing across the surface. This fish took a lot of line but after following it, John got it all back in a short fight. I leadered the fish and took a quick photo before releasing his first sailfish. Nice!

At one stage later that morning, we had a shoal of dorado around the boat. I had a 1kg outfit on board and fired out a live mackerel at them. Almost instantly it was swallowed by a hungry fish. When I tightened up, it went ballistic jumping all over the place. With the other lines cleared, At chased after it as I tried to stay connected. The fish settled and went deep. It took for ever to finally turn it's head and come to the surface, but would not come closer than 15m from the surface. The fish was clearly visible under the boat. It managed to get it's head down again and sounded. An hour and twenty minutes into the fight, there was a strange head shake and the pressure released. I retrieved the line to only to find that the hook had pulled! What a pity!

In the next hour, we caught a few more dorado and beached at 11am with 12 dorado and 2 sailfish. What a great day.

On Sunday 6^th, At and I launched and headed north. We were keen to fish for marlin. We battled to find live bait and were plagued by dorado. We caught 6 dorado and intentionally lost 4 before we finally caught a 3kg bonito. Unfortunately it was gill hooked and died, but a short while later we managed a 6kg yellowfin which was rigged. It was a few hours before the next prime so I rigged up a swimbait on a 30Lb rod and put it on the port rigger. It actually swam pretty well.

Finally the prim started and an hour in, the yellowfin began revving and went deep. While we were watching the rigger, the 30Lbs rod took off as something ate the swim bait! After some chaos, we were hooked up and settled. The fish had a lot of line out but after following it a bit, I had it quite close. I looked into the water and noticed a brown shape just beneath the boat. It was a big 200kg plus Zambezi shark that had come up to have a look what was going on. About 25minutes later, my fish came to the surface and showed itself to be another shark of about 130kg. At cut the leader off short and we headed home.

On Tuesday 8^th, we had a full crew on board. At, Wim, Brent, Jurie and I launched early and caught a few livies. The water was a bit green after the lightning storm the previous night and things were a bit slow. It took a while to get the first pull but eventually managed to get a small dorado on the boat. Just past the lighthouse, we trolled through an oily patch of water. Moments later, the medium bait went away. The fish was under control, so I left most of the other lines in. I did clear the deep line so that it didn’t tangle. I held this bait in the water and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dorado coming in. I flicked the bait at it and went on. I passed the rod to Brent and watched the show. While this was going on, the far surface bait went away. Jurie took the rod and joined the fray. Wim brought in a nice 10kg cuda and Brent got his dorado. A while later, Jurie also landed a similar size cuda. 

25,8kg cuda

There was only one bait still rigged so Wim put it out about 10m behind the boat, just while we sorted out the deck. When things were settled, I reached over to let some more line out. I was not paying much attention at the time. I felt that there was not much line on the reel and that the spool was slowly turning. I assumed the drag had been left very loose and that the bait had slowly pulled off line while we were busy. I nonchalantly put the drag up a bit… holy Shit! The reel absolutely smoked off. I looked at the rod which was now keeled over, but it was bending to the nose of the boat, past the skipper! There was a fish on… and it had been for a while already! I took the rod while At chased after the fish. As we were getting close, a dolphin came flying past the boat after the fish… just our luck… I freespooled the reel and hoped that the fish would get away. After a smoking run of 100m, I went to max drag and At chased after it again. This went on a few times when finally the fish was close. At one point we remarked that the fish was probably too big for the small dolphin to eat, that’s why it had not been chowed yet. The fish finally neared the boat and came within gaffing range. At gaffed the cuda and battled to haul it on board. It was a beautiful fish and one of the biggest I had ever caught at Vidal. Things went quiet after that with only a few big sharks and dolphin eating the bait, so we headed home. The cuda weighed 25,8kg.

Filleting dorado... waste not, want not!

On Wednesday 9^th, we were on the water by 5am. The SW chop made it difficult to see the shoals on the surface, but after searching for a while we managed to find some. While Jurie was lifting a bait into the boat, a dorado came flying in and snatched the mackerel off the sabiki jig. At threw a rigged livie at it and went on immediately. Henk took the rod and quickly had our first fish of the day. With enough livies, At traveled south towards the lighthouse. I put out 3 small high speed lures and it was not long before we were on with another dorado which Henk also caught. Nearing the lighthouse, the far lure was eaten by a nice dorado that Jurie caught. While the fish was on, there were 2 followers and At flicked a livie at them and went tight. Both fish made it into the hatch. There were a few big baitballs in the area so we trolled around them. It was not long when 3 rods went away. Jurie and Henk each caught a dorado and I got a nice yellowfin tuna which was bled for sushi. The wind dropped and the bite slowed down. Jurie took the spinning rod and threw a stick bait just to pass the time. Just as he was losing interest, out of nowhere, a dorado smashed the surface lure and Jurie went on! Classic! After a short fight, it was in the boat. At the same time, one of the other rods went away with another dorado. It was crazy fishing! At made a shallower turn and two rods went away with dorado. One pulled hook and the other made it to the boat. It was getting ridiculous, so we decided to take out the bait and troll lures to the point and then beach. About half way to the point, we got another dorado before calling it a day at 11am.

On Friday 11^th, At, Tammy and I launched at 5:30 and were treated to a flat calm sea with no surf at all. We quickly caught bait which was thick everywhere. As per the previous trip, we trolled lures south and soon went tight with a fish. It turned out to be a yellowfin. Nice for a change. Just south of the Lighthouse, we got another yellowfin, but the dorado were a bit scarce. There were a few shoals of tuna smashing on the surface and I managed to get a skipjack on a spinning rod and a small spoon. Things went quiet and after a few hours without a pull, I cleaned the lines and rerigged fresh baits. A short while later, we had a pull on the deep bait. It was a dorado that came flying out the water vertically for about 3m then threw the hooks. I worked the area without success and headed south. On one of the current lines, we had another dorado pull, but it also missed the hooks.

The wind turned direct East and everything went dead, even the bait disappeared off the surface. It was a sign to pack up and head home. This was out last day’s fishing at Vidal and we left on the Saturday morning with a coolbox full of fish for the festive season.

Beasterly Easterly

On Sunday 8^th November, my Dad and I launched “Selfish” out of Richards Bay. After the exceptionally strong winds that we experienced during the past week, we were pretty sure the water would be cold and unsettled. The plan for the day was to look for a bonito on light line. It didn’t sound like much of a challenge, but having tried it before, I knew it was quite challenging.

As usual, our first stop was on the pipeline to catch live bait. There was a strong reverse current but the water was relatively clean and 23 degrees. There was a lot of bait around and it did not take long to fill the live well. I had been requested to bring back a Rockcod for Tammy so just before leaving the pipe, I rigged up a dead maasbanker and sent it to the bottom. It didn’t take long to get a pull and brought up a nice catface rockcod that went straight into the ice.

With something for the pot, we headed to the ledge to look for a bonito. As we headed deeper, the water temp kept dropping. 14km later, the temp was 21 degrees. Not exactly ideal. On the positive side, there was little current and there was a good showing. I rigged up a 2kg outfit and pinned a maasbanker. I was busy letting it out when the reel took off in my hands. I fed the fish a bit and tightened up. The fish went on a bit of a run but nothing spectacular. I managed to lift it about half way before it made a second run to the surface. With the fish up on top, we chased after it and got some line back. A short while later, we had colour on a small tuna species. Only when it was on the leader did we see it was a striped bonito. Not what I had expected. We made another drift and sure enough went tight again. This time the fish gave a few head nods before the line parted under minimal pressure. Looking at the big showing on the sounder I guessed that another fish had swum into the line. On the next drift, I waited a while before getting a pull but finally went tight. This time the fish came straight to the surface and I could get a lot of line back. The leader was on the rod when the fish turned around and took off back down. I got a glimpse of the fish and it was also a striped bonito. 

Not long after, the fish was lifted into the boat. I wanted to take the opportunity to try catch one on 1kg line so rigged up a rod. As luck would have it, the showing had vanished so we moved around looking for them. After a while, a good showing came through so I put the bait out. It was only a few seconds before the bait was eaten and I was tight onto what felt like a nice fish. This fish made a few long runs and I could not gain an inch of line. After chasing it around the ocean for a while, it made another fast run but with quite a bit of line in the water, even with the reel in freespool, the line parted. I was pretty sure it was a bigger kawa kawa that had eaten the bait and not a smaller sarda. My Dad sounded around a bit more, and found another showing. Unfortunately at the same time, the wind changed to a direct easterly wind. It was like a switch going off and the fish stopped feeding. We made about 4 more drifts over the thick showing but could not get a pull.

This was enough for us to call it a day and head back home. The two fish weighed 2,8kg and 2,4kg respectively. Not spectacular, but still pretty challenging.

Big Bonnies!

At 5:30 on Sunday 14^th September John and I launched “Drifter” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to catch some small tuna on the new spinning rods that John had bought. As always, we stopped on the pipe to look for bait. On the first few downs, we caught mackerel  and shad. We spent some more time getting a few Maasbanker and then headed to the ledge. The SW wind was blowing about 5-10 knots but this was enough to keep the occasional rain squall passing over us. With the squalls, there was a stronger gust of wind that made a constant drift pattern very difficult. On the first 2 drifts, we never had a touch but finally on the 3^rd attempt, we had a pull but the leader was bitten through.

John with a 10.9kg Kawa-Kawa

The showing was very good near the bottom, so I set a bait with an 8oz sinker and as we neared the pinnacle, the rod keeled over. I fought a strong fish to the boat and after a good tussle ad a big kawa-kawa of around 9kg on board. The next drift was a carbon copy of the previous one and I soon had a second big kawa. I switched my rod to a surface bait and put John’s deeper down. Near the end of the drift, his reel took off and he had his hands full with a really strong fish. After a while the fish was near the boat when it took off and there were those dreaded bumps as a shark ate the fish. John retrieved the head of a nice amberjack. I slowly headed back to the pinnacle and put out a daisy chain to quickly catch some bonnies. It did not take long to go tight. John had the string of bonnies ear the boat when another shark grabbed them and the chase was on… Eventually it bit the leader off.

Whats left after tax...

On the next drift, John went on again with a strong fish. We both thought that it could be an amberjack, but after a long fight, a huge bonnie popped up next to the boat. It was one of the biggest that I had ever seen so I gaffed it to weigh. On the trip up to start the drift, we picked up a small bonnie that went into the bait box. The last drift never produced a pull so we upped lines and headed to the south pier. We tried there for a while around the south pier, but had no luck. When an ominous rain cloud was looming, we headed home to prevent being soaked.

The bonnie weighed 10.9kg, 100 grams off the current All Tackle South African Record.

Ripper of a day

On Sunday 30^th August, we launched John Farndell’s “Drifter” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to find a few Garrick as John had not yet caught one off Richards Bay. We stopped at the pipeline at around 6am and sounded around until we found a good bait showing. There were a lot of maasbanker, but it was shad that we were look

ing for. After searching the area, I found a spot where we managed to catch about 10 shad. With enough bait in the well, we headed north to Nhlobane.

Drifter in the backline fighting a garrick

We were the first to arrive and I quickly rigged up 3 shad. Two on surface on spinning gear and one deep on conventional gear. There were a few rips around so when we pulled the bait through the churned up water, it was no surprise when the far surface bait went away. I hooked up and passed the rod to John who had a good fight with his first Richards Bay Garrick. Great stuff!

I set the lines again and worked the next rip. Other boats had also arrived and were in the same area but were not having much luck. As the baits came out of the rip, the close surface bait revved before being eaten. John fed the fish and tightened up to his second Garrick of the day. This fish was turbo charged and gave him a run around before being boated.

With a bit of congestion from the other boats, we decided to head back south, slowly working the rips that were fading as the tide started to turn. Things were very quiet for a while but eventually the far surface bait went away and after hooking up, I passed the rod to my Dad. He had a good tussle with a similar size Garrick. When the fish was on the leader, it gave a last head shake on the surface and spat the hook. I suppose that happens.

John with his first R/Bay Garrick

We continued on out south bound route and saw a few fish chasing in the shallows. A short while later, the far bait was eaten again and when I tightened up, the rod took tension but then the bait came flying back. The leader had wrapped around the hook and then pulled the hook into the bait. This made it easy for the Garrick to spit the bait. By now the NE wind had picked up and the sea was getting bumpy. This combined with a slow bite let us to up lines and head back to harbor.

2015 Garrick Season begins with a bang!

At 6:30 on Sunday 23^rd August, Tammy, Terrance and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get our first Garrick for the season and if we were lucky, a snoek or two. Our first stop was on the pipeline to look for live bait. I sounded around for a while and found big shoals of Maasbanker and mackerel. I tried hard to find some shad but after an hour and a half that we tried, we only found two. 

11.8kg garrick on 6kg line

Terrance's first garrick

It was getting late so we headed north past groenkop. There were quite a few boats looking for snoek so I rigged up two fillets and two lures and trolled around. There was a lot of life in the water with whales, dolphin, diving gannets and shoals of redeyes. Closer to the backline, there were a few boats working a small area. I headed in that direction and started to see big bait showings on the sounder. Only then did I look back and see all 4 rods with a slight bend in them. Tammy and Terrance retrieved the lines and to our surprise, each one had a small shad on them. Realising that the showings were shad, I drifted the area while Tammy and Terrance cast spoons at them. Every cast was a shad and when they were near the boat, they were followed by hundreds more. It was amazing to see! This also meant that we now had an excellent supple of livies.

Terrance's second garrick putting up a fi

The snoek fishing was abandoned as everything that we put out resulted in a shad so the snoek had no chance to get to the lures. I rigged up four rods, one 6kg spinning rod for Tammy and three conventional 10kg rods for Terrance. All four were rigged with live shad and once set, I putted into the backline. The water had quite a few dirty patches and it took a while before it cleaned up with the outgoing tide. After about an hour and a half, and several position changes, we found a spot where the bait was being smashed in the breakers. It did not take long before the close surface bait on the spinning rod was eaten. Tammy fed the fish and tightened up. The fish took quite a bit of line so we cleared the other lines and followed after it. After a strong back and forward fight, the fish was gaffed and hauled aboard. It was a nice size Garrick considering the line class it was on.

With the first fish under our belt, the pressure was off and we could relax a bit. While the lines were out, I headed back north to where we started and set out 3 rods to look for Terrance’s first Garrick. It did not take long before the close surface bait revved. I picked up the rod and felt the bait get eaten. I let it run and passed the rod to Terrance. When it had fed enough, he tightened up and tussled his first Garrick to the boat. In true Garrick style, the fish put up a fight at the boat but I finally managed to grab it's tail and haul it on board. It was quickly measured, tagged, weighed and photographed before releasing the 7kg fish. Great!

Again I headed back to the starting point and set 3 more baits. There was a swirl in the breakers, so I made a sharp turn to try intercept. When I came back in line and we had not had a pull, I retrieved the close surface bait and saw that it had tangled with the far line. While I was undoing the tangle, a Garrick came up just behind the boat and tried to eat the bait. What a cock up! I bit the tangled leader off and let the other line go so that I could feed the fish, but it was too late and I was left with a squashed bait. We regrouped and continued trolling with three tangle free fresh baits. I was busy heading deeper along a colour line when the reel with the far bait gave a short burst. I fed the fish and came tight to another Garrick. I passed the rod to Terrance who released his second Garrick for the day.

Tammy on her second fish before releasing it

By now the pattern was clear and it was just a matter of following the same routine. Run up to the northern point, set 3 baits and troll past the shoal of bait and you were almost guaranteed to get a pull. On the next pass over the spot, I went tight on a fish and managed to tag my first garrick of the year. 

The next fish Tammy hooked up and had it at the boat in a few minutes before it was released. It seemed too easy but again we ran to the start and set up. This time, it was near the southern end of the marks when the far bait revved. I put the reel in freespool and waited for the pull. After a short feed, I tightened up and fought my second Garrick of the day. It was also weighed, tagged and released. It was getting late so we opted to make one more turn and if we didn’t get a pull, head home. Apart from two good chases in the backline near our baits, it was quiet so we upped lines and ran home. Tammy’s fish weighed in at 11,8kg and set the benchmark for the Club’s Garrick Derby. In all it was a great day that won’t soon be forgotten.