BIG Cuda!

On 1st May 2008, At van Tilburg, Piet Joubert, Pier Smit, Gert and I launched “AVANTI” off Richards Bay. By all accounts, it was terrible weather. A SW of 20 knots was blowing, it was drizzling and the sea was unsettled. But, with the cuda season coming to an end, it was not or never to get one last good fish.

We headed straight to Petingo. The trip took us about an hour to do the 18km into a head-on sea. When we finally arrived, we were not alone. Mike Leenstra on “BELUGA” was also there and he had 2 nice fish on board already. I went about rigging 2 wala and 2 bonnies. The sloppy conditions made setting lines at the slow pace very difficult, but somehow I managed to set the 4 lines. At trolled around the wreck for about an hour without a strike. I checked the baits but they were still looking good. At turned the controls over to me saying I might have more luck in riding over a fish.

I made several figure eights around the wreck and finally, at I came off the Southern side of the wreck, one of the surface walas was eaten. Everyone was sitting on the other side of the boat to keep dry, so I was the closest one to the rod. I ran back and took the rod. The guys cleared the lines and I called At to take the rod because it felt like a nice fish. He said I someone else should take it so I gave the rod to Pier. The fish made a few strong fast runs and after about 25minutes, it was near the boat. It made a few big circles and when it was within range, I put the gaff in. At first, I did not realise the size of the fish until I lifted it over the gunwale. It was massive! The biggest cuda I had been with ... by far! It was too long to fit in the hatch of the 21ft Yeld so we lay it on the deck with a towel over it. After congrats all round, we reset the baits.

I trolled around for another two hours or so without another pull. Mike had also not had another rev. The wind was more than 25knots and the sea was getting ugly. We decided to call it a day and had dry ride back with the wind.

At the club, Mike’s 2 fish weighed 24kg and 26kg. Two really nice fish. When we finally put out fish on the scale, it pulled the needle to 36.2kg!!! A great beast. It was the biggest cuda in SA for the year.

Lessons Learnt

On 18^th February 2008, my Dad and I launched “SELFISH” off Richards Bay to fish for cuda. It was a bit early in the season for the big cuda, but this day we were hoping to avoid the bigger fish. I was looking for an SA line class record cuda on 1kg line. Ultra light line and big fast fish are not a good combination so we were looking for the smaller cuda that had been around in the size rang we were after.

We stopped off at a few bait spots but could not find anything. There was not a breath of wind, the water was gin clear and 24 degrees... not great for big cuda. We gave up on live bait and headed off to petingo. Arriving at 9am, we joined the other boats in trolling around the wreck. I put out 2 rods, both with mackerel on the surface. I had very light wires and leaders so my traces were pretty much invisible. I had just put the baits out when the starboard rod bent and the reel took off. Before I could pick up the rod, the fish was off. The 3/0 hooks did not set with the light drag ... that’s par for the course. In went a new bait and my Dad continued trolling. With this light line, you need to be close to the rod so that you can slack the drag as the fish speeds away. Most times, I would only fish with 1 rod and I would hold it all day.

The water was so clean that you could see down the sides of the wreck. There were shoals of bigeye kingfish, seapike, batfish, scads and other bottomfish. It was beautiful! With so much activity, it did not take long for another rev. This time the hooks sat and the fish sped off. The other line was cleared and my Dad chased the fish. I was on it for about 20 minutes when it took another long, deep run. We could not chase the fish as it went down and it managed to get out enough line to result in the friction parting me off. When the line parted, I was in free spool! With this light tackle, the odds are never in your favour.

I rerigged and made another pass over the wreck. Again the rod bent as a fish took off. This time it did not fight on the surface, but rather went deep. The head node indicated that it was probably a kingfish and with such a big structure, it was no surprise when it cut me off... back to the drawing board.

In the next 2 hours, I had 3 other fish on ... presumably cuda. One pulled hooks on the first run and the other two popped the line after about 15 minutes. I had had enough so I brought out the big guns ... the 4kg rod J Now these fish had problems. I pulled one 1kg rig and the 4kg rig. On the first pass over the wreck, the 4kg went. I put some pressure on the fish and turned its head. Not long after, I released a bigeye kingfish of about 3kg... Revenge!

It was now about 11:30am. We were on the southern side of the wreck when I saw the 4kg rod bend a bit. I went to the rod and tightened up. There was a bit of weight, but then the bait came out. I held the bait there and the fish came back. Again, when I tightened up, it was on but then off. I was sure it was a small hammerhead so when the fish came back, I fed it a bit before setting the hook. This time, there was some good weight and the fish took some line. I told my dad not to worry about the other line as it was a shark and I would force it a bit. As I applied more pressure, there was a few big head shakes. I thought it a bit strange and told my Dad that something was not right. My words were not cold when the line angled to the surface and a sailfish out the back! NICE! It took off across the flat surface putting up a great show. The other line was cleared and we followed the fish. In the clear water, the sailfish was clearly visible and we stayed on top of it until it tired a bit. I worked the fish up where my Dad grabbed the bill. I took out a tag and popped it into the shoulder before taking the bill. We revived it for a bit before sending it on its way. We followed it for a few minutes, the orange tag clearly visible from a distance away. Finally it disappeared into the depths. Great. I estimated it at about 18-20kg ... a perfect fish for 1kg. Oh well, lesson learnt.

The day ended without any cuda, but it was still a great day on the sea.

Mapelane Billfish 2007

At 4am on Monday the 5^th March 2007, the “My Lady” team consisting of Jannie Nel, Trevor Harvey and I arrived on Mapelane beach for the first day of the Mapelane Billfish Invitational. The weather over the past 4 days had been horrific and the swell was really big. On the first morning of the competition however, the wind had died down but the swell was still big. The weather committee got together and made the call to cancel the competition for the day. Jannie had his brand new 17ft Yeld Cat off the trailer for the first time and was still keen to have a social fishing trip to see how the boat handled. Without much deliberation, we put the boat into the bay and made a few laps to check that everything was working. Jannie saw the gap and we comfortably made it through the sets.

The sea looked good, apart from a large swell that was running. We headed up to the slides, a few km north of St Lucia, where we put out a few small lures to catch livebait. The current was doing about 4 knots and the colour was a deep blue. We trolled for about half an hour when we had a double strike on skipjack tuna. These were quickly brought in and rigged on 20/0 circle hooks. I let out the lines and Jannie headed to deeper water.

The strong current pushed us south at quite a speed and at about 10am we were straight over the launch. While trolling, we found a flock of birds dipping on the surface and headed in that direction. Shortly after seeing the activity, I walked back to check the baits. When I looked into the water, I saw 3 or 4 small skipjack swimming with us, several meters behind the boat. I put out a small lure, but they were not interested. They swam with us for about an hour before we parted company.

The baits had been swimming for a few hours and were starting to take strain in the large swell. We adjusted the direction to troll in the trough to reduce the surge on the bait. This resulted in us trolling deeper. In about 250m, I saw a big blue flash about 10m from the port rigger. I jumped up and saw a marlin following the short bait. The fish had all its colours lit up, but it did not want to take the bait. I pulled the line out the rigger and let the bait further out, thinking the marlin was a bit shy of the boat. This also did not induce a strike. The fish made a big circle and then saw the long bait. It raced over to the bait but did not strike. The fish was obviously interested in the bait but would not take it. It obviously needed to be enticed to feed. I released the line from the rigger and let the dropback come tight off the rod tip. I then wound the bait in at speed hoping that this would tease the fish and it would strike. The marlin chased the bait right to the boat before moving back to the short bait. By now the three of us were out of ideas and were ready to give up! I let out the bait again and the marlin followed it again. When it was about 50 or 60m back, I put the drag up and had Jannie increase the speed of the boat. I wound the bait back to the boat causing it to skip on the surface. I could not see if the marlin was still around, but as the bait came down the swell, we saw the electric blue colours of the marlin closing in fast! I continued winding and lost sight of the bait behind the swell. Suddenly there was a heavy weight on the line and so I hit freespool, assuming the marlin had grabbed the bait. I fed the fish longer than usual as it was very shy, before tightening up. The rod loaded up and the reel started running... Hookup! The fish came flying out the water about 100m behind the boat giving a great show. I called to Jannie to get into the chair and we strapped him in.

Trevor cleared the other line and I took over the controls. Jannie had never fought a marlin out of a chair, all his marlin were on Scarborough reels, so I coached him until he got the rythme. The fish was very stubborn and took a while to get it to the boat. Trevor and I decided to boat the fish because friends had asked for marlin steaks for starters at the opening of a new restaurant. When the fish was near the boat, I put the autopilot on and took the leader. When the fish way at the boat, Trevor grabbed the bill and put the billrope on. The fish gave him a bit of a hiding before the two of us pulled the 90kg Black Marlin into the boat. Great! The first launch and the first marlin ... Nice.

By then it was about 12:00 so we headed for the beach.

Personal Best

On 29^th December 2004 at about 5am, At van Tilburg and I launched his 16ft Yeld Cat off Cape Vidal. We headed for Oscar and put out 5 bait rods looking for marlin bait. There was an easterly wind blowing and the baitfish were off the bite. We trolled around the pinnacles for about 3 hours without a strike so we headed north. In the middle of nowhere, the closest rod ran a bit. I took the rod and brought in a small Dorado of about 2kg. We knew we would battle to get another bait so we rigged the Dorado and put it out.

At about 9am, the rigger revved and before I could get to the clip, it released. I fed the fish but the line never picked up. After a short while, I started retrieving the bait. I could feel something pulling on the other end but then it would let go. I brought the bait in and saw that it had been ripped to pieces by a bigger Dorado. The bait was just too big for it to swallow.

At and I decided not to look for another bait but rather head shallower to look for gamefish. We stopped at a reef in 15m of water and caught a few maasbanker. I rigged two baits and let them out. I had just put the second rod in the holder when the first reel ran. A nice Dorado jumped out the water. I brought it to the boat where At gaffed it. As he lifted it into the boat, it jumped off the gaff. The Dorado went wild and managed to get caught up in the harness. I jumped on top of it and got it into a headlock. While this was going on, the second reel took off. At and I first put the dorado safely into the hatch before I took up the other rod. The fish felt quite heavy and after putting some pressure on it, the line angled to the surface. The next thing a big sailfish tailwalked across the surface. It looked very lethargic and after a few more jumps, it sounded. At followed it and I gained line, working the fish up. After a while, the sinker came up and At removed it. The fish came in easily and was soon next to the boat. The fish had lost its colours and was a dull grey colour. I removed the hooks (which were in the gills) and towed it alongside the boat for about 15 minutes. The fish showed no signs of life so At and I decided to load it. I tried to pull it over the gunwale but couldn’t so At assisted me. Both of us battled, thinking it was about 40kg or so. Finally it was on the deck and we continued fishing. After 2 hours without another strike, we upped lines and headed home.

We weighed the sailfish to see how big it was. It had us all guessing as it had good condition and length. It finally pulled the needle down to 55,4kg, my personal best!

Vidal Slam 2

On 10th December 2004, Dawie Snyman, Kibaan and I launched “Selfish” off Cape Vidal. We were hoping to get a marlin for Kibaan as he had never caught one before. We were through the surf and off to Oscar before 5:30am. There was a slight SW wind and a good north to south current.
On arrival, I put out a few bait lures and trolled around the pinnacle. It was dead quiet so I headed shallower where we had a strike on a feather. Dawie brought the fish to the boat where we saw it to be a cuda. As we were about to gaff it, the fish bit the nylon trace off... unlucky. At 8am, we were tired of battling for bait so I suggested we head to the point and look for some gamefish. Kibaan was super keen to get a Dorado, cuda or if it was his lucky day, a sailfish. I stopped in about 18m and we put down 2 sets of sabiki rigs to get livies. Immediately we went on with full strings and filled the live well. As Kibaan was bringing up the last string, a Dorado swam in and snatched a maasbanker off the hook. I grabbed the closest rod with a halco on it, hooked a maasbanker onto the back hook and flicked it out ... bang ... instant on! I passed the rod to Dawie and grabbed another rod. I pinned another livie and flicked it out. A second Dorado came out of nowhere and chowed it... on! I passed the rod to Kibaan and grabbed the next rod. It had a bucktail jig on it. Again I pinned a maasbanker and flicked it out. As luck would have it, another Dorado ate it, but this time I missed. As I retrieved the lure, another fish chased and grabbed the lure ... awesome! While this chaos was going on, I managed to rig another bait and get it into the water ... coconut every time! Four fish on with 3 guys! Major fun! When the dust had settled, we had 4 dorado in the boat and 2 missed fish. Things looked promising.

We regrouped and rigged up with a few cuda traces and staggered the livies at different depths and distances. I zigzagged between 18 and 30m, working my was south to the lighthouse. It did not take long for a strike. This time, it was a deep bait that went and Kibaan took the strike. After a quick fight, he had his first cuda in the boat. I made a turn and when I entered the same area, another rod went with a similar size cuda which Dawie caught. Things went a bit quiet until we were in line with the lighthouse. 3 rods went away and there were Dorado everywhere! I grabbed a spinning rod, hooked a livie and flicked it out ... on! Again we were one man short but managed to get all 4 fish out. I worked the area for a bit longer without a strike so we upped lines and headed back to the point.
We had just put the lines in when the deep bait went away. Unfortunately the hooks pulled after a few minutes. Oh well, we could not complain. About half an hour later, 2 surface baits were eaten and Dawie and Kibaan brought a pair of Dorado to the boat. One pulled hook but the other made its way into the hatch. We were almost ready to pack up when we had a smoker on the surface rod. Kibaan took the strike and brought in a nice cuda. After that, we upped lines and headed back to the point. Our livies were running low, so we decided to troll for another hour before calling it a day. We had just settled when I spotted a sailfish finning on the surface. I manoeuvred to intercept. I ran back to the closest rod while Dawie took the controls. I felt a heavy weight on the rod and freespooled for a bit. Dawie then gunned the motor and I tightened up. I was on for a few seconds then off! I couldn’t believe it. As the boat slowed, the far surface rod bent. I freespooled the reel and gave the fish a lot of time to eat. When Dawie gunned the motor, I hooked up ... solid this time! I passed the rod to Kibaan and cleared the other lines. Dawie followed the fish and we managed to get most of the line back. After a few head nods, the fish sounded, heading straight to sea. I took over the controls and followed the fish, trying every trick in the book to get it to surface. After 45 minutes, we were in 70m of water. The fish had not jumped so we were beginning to doubt ourselves that is was a sailfish. Slowly the fish tired and came to the surface. When the double line broke the surface, the fish shook its head and raced to the surface. The sailfish leapt clear of the water and tailwalked for about 30m. I managed to keep up with the fish and as it slowed, I stuck it with the gaff... BIG MISTAKE! The fish took off pulling me half way out the boat. Dawie grabbed my leg just before I went over. The gaff was ripped from my hand as the fish ran. Now there was a problem because we had no spare gaff. Whoops! The fish had luckily burnt up some energy on the surface and we could close the gap easily. Kibaan brought it closer and I gingerly took the leader. The gaff was still in the fish so when I grabbed the bill, Dawie got hold of the gaff and we lifted it into the boat. Sjoe! That was close. Kibaan was over the moon. He had caught the fish he was hoping for. Not only that, he had caught a Dorado, cuda and a sail in one day... a Cape Vidal Slam!
We headed back to the beach and weighed the sailfish. It pulled the needle to 40kg. Not bad for a first sailfish.

Vidal Slam

On 9^th December 2004, Hendry Steinberg, Haaie and I launched “Selfish” off Cape Vidal. There was a 15knot SW wind blowing which picked up the sea. Marlin fishing was out, so we opted to look for gamefish. The water was blue and there was a warm north to south current running. Perfect for gamefish.

After launching, we stopped straight off the launch site in 18m and went down with sabiki rigs to catch livies. There were a lot of mackerel and maasbankers ad we quickly caught enough bait for the day. I rigged up 4 rods, 2 on surface, 1 mid way and 1 deep. Slowly I trolled deeper and then tacked shallower, heading south into the wind. A few boats had found some Dorado off the light house so I made my way there. Haaie had not fished for gamefish before so he was keen to see some action.

In about 22m off the beacon, the mid water bait was eaten and the reel absolutely smoked off! Haaie took the rod and Hendry cleared the lines. I turned to follow the fish and Haaie gained line. After a strong fight, the fish was next to the boat where Hendry gaffed it. It was a beautiful cuda of 22kg! A trophy fish for Vidal. We were over the moon and Haaie even more so.

I rerigged the baits and continued trolling. In about 35m over the slides, I turned to tack shallower. On the turn, one of the surface baits was eaten. The reel screamed and a nice Dorado cleared the water behind the boat. Haaie took the rod and had a great fight with the fish putting up a great show before going deep. Probably half an hour later, I gaffed a 14kg Dorado. Another great fish. Haaie was on a roll.

I worked the area for a bit longer but had no luck so I suggested we up lines and ride back to the point. We trolled lures back but again had no luck. We arrived at the point and set the lines. After about an hour, I checked the surface baits. As I was letting out the second line, I felt something take the bait. I fed the fish for a bit then asked Hendry to gun the motor while I tightened up. The rod doubled over and the fish shook its head violently. Seconds later, the water erupted with a good size sailfish trying to rid itself of the hook. I passed Haaie the rod and cleared the other lines before taking over the controls. The sailfish jumped about 30 times, then settled into a slow, strong fight. It came to the boat several times but would then take off again. I managed to stay close to it and after an hour long tussle, Hendry managed to get a gaff into it and bring it aboard. Great! This was not only Haaie’s first sailfish, but it was a part of his “Vidal slam” ... a cuda, Dorado and a sailfish in one day. What a bumper day! We trolled all the way to the lighthouse without another pull before packing up and heading home. The sailfish pulled the scale to 40kg on the nose. Another great fish.

Lets Begin

My name is Jonathan Booysen. I am an avid deep sea fisherman living in Richards Bay, South Africa. I have fished off Richards Bay for more than 25 years now. Considering I am now 33, it is safe to say that I spend most of my free time on the water. Over the years, I have been fortunate to fish with some exceptional anglers and have incorporated some of their techniques into my own style of fishing.

In 1996 I started keeping a journal of every fishing trip that I went on. I would record things like current direction, water colour and temperature, swell size, cloud cover, fishing area, bait/lure used, wind direction and strength, quantity, size and species of fish caught … you know, the usual information that fishermen will look at when judging their chances of catching something in the area they have decided to fish.

As time marched on, I began to get a bit slack when it came to updating the journal. I would make up excuses why I should not fill it in. Most of the time it came down to being too tired from the days fishing. “I’ll do it tomorrow” was the best phrase I used to convince myself that it was ok to leave the “chore” until the next day. As the saying goes, “from postponing comes canceling” and that is exactly what happened. I fell out of the routine and as a result I have several years outstanding from my journal.

Any how, looking back at these records the other day I decided it might be a good idea to start updating the book again. While I was about it, I would blog about what happened and share it with who ever would like to hear about it.

So here goes...