Starting the new year with stripes

On 8^th January, Joe Martins, his wife Kim and I launched their 20ft Glacier Bay “Aqua Joe”. Joe had been slowly getting his marlin tackle ready and desperately wanted to catch a marlin. He had asked me for advise with regards to rods, reels, lures etc. After a few weeks, he finally had everything he needed and we were ready to try it out. We left the mooring at 6:30am and headed north off Richards Bay. The sea was a bit rough due to a storm that had passed the previous day. After dodging logs and masses of reeds, we found clean water in 100m and could start fishing.

I set the spread with a Moldcraft Widerange and Bobby Brown on the long riggers and a Pulsator Bonito Smoker and Stripey tickler on the short riggers. With the lures swimming beautifully, I trolled deeper towards the 500m line. We were in about 350m when the port short rigger popped and a nice Dorado jumped out the water. Joe had the rod in seconds but due to a bout of seasickness, he handed the rod to Kim who brought it in without too much fuss. The lines went out again and trolling commenced.

The sea slowly got better and better and at about 8:30 it was quite pleasant. We came into an area where there was a lot of bait. The small skipjacks and yellowfin were jumping everywhere. This was definitely the place to stick around. Kim had bought a Moldtech lure the previous day and asked me if I could rig it up for her. It was a similar shape to the Bobby Brown, so I swapped the lures. Now Kim was also confident in the spread. At about 9am I was looking back at the lures when I noticed a strange swirl behind Kim’s lure. Moments later, a bill and dorsal came out the water and crashed the lure. I shouted as the rigger popped. The reel took off and a +-100kg Blue marlin launched itself out the water. It gave two or three jumps and then the reel stopped running ... it had thrown the hook! Unlucky! At least we had seen a marlin for the day. I checked and reset the lures and continued trolling. I heard over the radio that a few boats had strikes in 250m so I worked shallower. The sea went dead from 10am until 12pm but then the birds started dipping and the bait came up again. At around 1pm, I saw a fish come up behind the starboard long rigger and engulf the lure. The rigger popped and the reel took off. Joe and I cleared the other lines before Joe donned the harness and took up the rod.

The fish jumped probably ten times before it settled. I slowly backed up on the fish while Joe gained line. The fight lasted about 30 minutes and Joe had it next to the boat. When it came to the boat the colours had faded due to the hooks forcing its mouth closed. After explaining the drill, I took the trace and brought the striped marlin closer. Joe asked to load the fish because it was his first marlin and a dream come true. The fish did kick at all so I pulled the fish over the gunwale and into the boat where Kim snapped off a few pics. Joe was over the moon! Mission accomplished.

We reset the lures and trolled for about an hour longer. It was getting late and there was still a lot of work to be done so we upped lines and headed home. The fish weighed in just under 60kg.

Wrapping up the year

On the last day of 2010 at Cape Vidal, I awoke to the sound of relatively heavy rain. We had planned to fish for marlin with Mike Buyskes on “Thresher One”, a 21ft Tomcat. After checking out the sea and weather, we decided to give it a skip. Back at camp, we made breakfast and lounged around. By 10am we could not take it anymore and decided to launch ... come hell or high water!

At 10:30 Mike and Mearl Buyskes, Bryant Beukes and I were through the surf. There was a light SE blowing but the sea was great. Mike had found a likely looking are on the GPS along the 500m contour that he wanted to work so we headed straight there. Twenty minutes later, we were at the spot and we went about setting 4 lures on 50Lbs and 80Lbs rigs. Mike then worked the contour from 450m to 600m. There was a great upwelling and temperature break along the edge of the contour and after trolling for about an hour, we started seeing flying fish, skipjack and spinner dolphin.

We had just turned at the 450m mark and were right on the edge of the rip when I saw a fish coming into the spread on the starboard side. The short rigger popped but nothing. Mike kept his course for a while when the short port rigger popped and the reel ran for a bit before stopping. By that stage I had the pitch bait amongst the lures but the fish was not having it. It wanted the big lures. I told Mearl to wind the lure to its original position and after retrieving 5m of line, the bill and dorsal of the fish broke the surface behind the lure and smashed down. This time we were hooked up! After a scramble to clear the other rods, the deck was cleared. Mearl took the chair and strapped in. The marlin stuck its head out the water showing it to be a small stripey ... Mearl’s first. The fish was a bit out gunned with the 80Lbs rig, and was at the boat in 8 minutes. It was cleanly hooked so we got the hooks out and turned it loose. Great!

The lures went out again and Mike continued to work the area. At about 2pm, another small stripey came up on the short starboard lure. I pitched a halfbeak to is but the fish was just window shopping and after a half hearted look, it faded off. Despite working the area for another half hour, we could not raise the fish again. At 2:30pm we upped lines and headed for the beach. What a great way to spend the last day of the year!

Twas the day after Christmas

On 26^th December, Alan and Bryant Buekes and myself launched Allan’s 19ft Yeldcat “Baccus” at Cape Vidal. By 5:30 we were through the surf and headed for Oscar. When we arrived at the southern pinnacle, Bryant and I rigged a few small halcos and daisy chains and started putting out the lines. Before I could place my line, Bryant’s rod went away. After a quick fight, he brought a beautiful little yellowfin of about 2kg ... a perfect bait! I rigged it on a 20/0 circle hook and bombed it back into the water, keeping it close to the boat and away from the sharks. Allan took a course deeper and we waited until we were in 60m before I let the bait out.

The sea was very uncomfortable with the SE wind of around 15 knots and we bumped our way out to 500m before turning. In 400m, I saw a small swirl between the boat and the bait. I went to the back to see what it was. There were two Dorado cruising with us. I quickly grabbed a bait rod with a daisy chain on it and cast it out. The Dorado came over to look but lost interest very quickly and swam off. I took out a mackerel and hooked it onto the back of the daisy chain and left it to wallow in the wake. We continued shallower and at 300m, the bait rod with the mackerel took off. I fed the fish and tightened up. A small Dorado climbed out the water a few times before coming to the boat where we loaded it. At least we had something to eat. After turning in 60m, I headed out towards the ‘hole’ off Vegetation. The sounder showed the bottom falling away and minutes later, the rigger popped. I fed the fish and tightened up. We were on for a few seconds then nothing. I fed the bait back with no result. After retrieving the line, we saw that it was a small shark and only the head of the bait was left. It was back to Oscar to look for bait.

Bryant and I set the bait sticks and Allan trolled over the pinnacle. Allan had just passed over the deeper pinnacle and was moving shallower when one, two , three, four ... five rods went away ... a full house! I grabbed the closest, shortest rod and quickly pulled in a small frigate tuna. It was badly hooked so I put it into the hatch. By then, Bryant had a small yellowfin next to the boat which I grabbed, unhooked and bombed into the luna tube. Bryant grabbed another bait rod while I readied the two marlin rods. Alan brought in another small yellowfin that I quickly rigged and bombed into the water, keeping it within a few meters of the boat. Alan headed deeper off the reef and away from the sharks while Bryant pulled in another beautiful yellowfin which I rigged on the 50Lbs rod. The last rod also had a yellowfin on it and this one we released ... our good deed for the day. With 3 beautiful baits, we were pretty confident.

We had just settled when I saw another 2 dorado cruising in our wake. I grabbed a baitstick, hooked a mackerel on and flung it in their direction. Immediately the smaller one grabbed the bait. I fed it for a bit then hooked up. It came to the boat very quickly and it had a follower ... a nice bull Dorado. Bryant flicked a frozen mackerel at it and hooked up. The bull went mad, jumping over my line and burning me off. Unlucky! Bryant managed to get his 12kg fish to the boat where I gaffed it for him.

At about 2pm, I saw the spare bait rev. Seconds later a shark appeared behind it in hot pursuit. I grabbed the line and pulled the bait away. Bryant did the same with the main bait while Alan opened the motor and sped away. Both baits were fine so after about 200m, we slowed down and put them out again. We had just settled when the main bait was eaten. After feeding the fish for a while, we tightened up but there was nothing. Just the head came back. We transferred the spare bait to the main position and continued trolling. Our bait in the tube had died due to being badly hooked so this was our last chance. In 120m the rigger popped. I fed the fish but when we tightened up, there was nothing. Again just the head came back. That brought our day to a close. It was obviously not our day ... maybe next time.

Raising the Dead

On 24^th December, I joined Frans van Rensburg, his son Jako and two of his friends on “Trinity” for a day on the water. We left the dock at 4:30am and headed straight out until the water was a deep blue colour. The lures went out and Jako trolled the area for a while. It was very quiet and so we headed north. The sun had broken through the clouds and the lures were looking great. Something had to happen! About an hour later, at 9am, the flatline was eaten by a hungry Dorado. This was brought to the boat and unceremoniously gaffed. Jako worked the area and soon after, we had a small marlin chasing the long port lure. It swatted the lure a few times, but never hooked up.

Jako found a current line and trolled north along the deep edge. At 11:45, there was a huge splash on the long starboard lure and the rigger popped. The 80Lbs rig took off and a big Blue marlin took to the air. We all grabbed rods and cleared the deck as the fish absolutely smoked off. Jako backed up hard trying to keep up with the fish, but it was too fast. Moments later, a movement to the starboard side caught my eye. It was our marlin, greyhounding parallel to us ... in the opposite direction! There was about 500m of line out when the fish slowed down and we could regain line.

Hennie regained most of the line, but the marlin had other ideas and sounded. We could do nothing but watch as the fish took more than half the spool of line. After two hours, the fish stopped and we could only assume it was dead. We were in 500m of water with a dead fish lying on the bottom... not a good situation to be in! We tried every manoeuvre in the book, but the fish would not budge.

Out of pure desperation, I put on a pair of gloves and grabbed the line. There was some tension, but I could pull it up. Slowly ... very slowly, the dead fish started to lift off the bottom. I continued hand-lining the fish while Hennie took up the slack. After 100m, Jako took over from me. So we took turns raising the fish until the elastic from the rigger came out the water. There was a huge amount of tension on the line now and almost zero stretch. I handed over to Jako, warning him not to put too much pressure on the line. Everything was going well and the fish was about 15m under the boat when a swell unexpectedly caused the boat and the fish to suddenly pull apart. All I can recall is Jako’s hand shooting towards him as the line popped. The big fish slowly sank back to the depths. By now it was after 3pm and the battle had taken its toll on the entire crew, physically and mentally.

We decided to up lines and head for home. This day showed us how important a good team is. Even though we did not manage to get the fish, we felt we had done our best.

Hard luck prize

On 19^th December, Wayne Ritchie and his two sons, Divan Coetzee, Jacques Spence and I launched “Big W” off Richards Bay. There had been a lot of billfish around and we were keen to catch one. We set off at 5am and were soon in good water. The lures went out and we trolled towards the drop off.

In about 300m, Wayne’s sons started feeling seasick and Wayne suggested we head back and drop him and his sons off. We trolled shallower and in 96m, I saw a fin slicing through the spread toward the teaser. I shouted to Wayne who was closest and before he could react, the short starboard rigger popped. The fish took some line then took to the air showing itself to be a good striped marlin of around 70kg. We cleared the lines and slowed the boat down. Wayne was busy clipping himself into the harness when the marlin jumped again and shook the hooks out. Unlucky! We were still in good water so put the lines out again. In 70m, the long port rigger popped and a Dorado splashed around. I happened to be near the rod, so I winched it to the boat where it unfortunately pulled hook. By now, we were in green water and we upped lines and dropped Wayne off. Wayne suggested that Divan, Jacques and I should launch again, so without much ado, we headed back offshore.

The same spread went out as we passed over the colour line and almost immediately, we hooked a Dorado. Jacques made short work of it before I gaffed it. There were a few hook-ups on the 500m contour so Divan headed out to sea. It was very quiet, but at about 14:00, the short starboard rigger popped, the reel gave a short burst but then nothing. We continued on our course and were rewarded with the long starboard rigger popping. This was a strip bait so I gave a few moments before setting the hook. The line ran off the reel at a constant speed but after I felt a few good head nods, it took off. We all looked back and saw a nice blue marlin clear the water. Beautiful! I gave the rod to Jacques and Divs and I cleared the lines. I went to the helm and as I was about to start backing up, the line went limp. On closer inspection, we saw that the trace had broken ... who knows why!

At 3:30pm we trolled towards home and in 80m, we had a Dorado take a lure. Divan pulled it in and it had two followers. I ran down stairs and flicked out a piece of belly shine on a spare rod. Almost immediately I went on. Jacques took the rod and I gaffed Div’s fish.

We rigged another rod with a belly shine and slipped it into the wake. It didn’t take long to hookup and we managed to get all three fish. They were not billfish, but they were a hell of a lot of fun and a great way to end the day!

By hook or By Crook!

On Friday 17^th December, I took out Mike Leenstra’s 21ft Yeld Cat “Beluga”. Fishing with me was Mike’s 13 year old son Dale. Dale has recently started targeting SA Records and has accumulated a few impressive fish on light tackle. Today we were looking for a Blue or Striped Marlin record.

We launched “Beluga” at 5:30am and headed North to the Kasteel (50m Ledge). The blue water started on the edge of the reef so I slacked the speed and let out a small kona on a baitstick while Dale let out a halco. I stopped the spool with my thumb to see where the lure was when suddenly the rod buckled and the reel took off! I put up the drag and gave the rod to Dale. He brought in a skipjack of about 2kg (a perfect bait). It went straight into the live bait tube and we headed deeper.

In about 200m, I rigged the skippie on a 20/0 circle hook and an 80Lbs rig. There was a big swell so I let the bait out about 30m and attached the line to the outrigger with a rubber band. Slowly we headed deeper and over the radio, several boats were hooked up in 400-500m. We turned at 600m and headed shallower. At 500m a pod of spinner dolphin cruised with the boat for a while before heading to parts unknown. We also started seeing flying fish and even an ocean sunfish. This was definitely the area to be. Probably 5 mins later, the bait revved and the elastic popped. I fed the fish a few meters when the water behind the boat erupted and a nice blue marlin of about 150kg started jumping. I upped the drag and wound like hell. Dale increased the speed but alas, the reel stopped running and the marlin was gone. On closer inspection, I saw that the fish had become tangled in the line and trace and the bait did not even have a mark on it! Unlucky! The bait unfortunately died and so Dale and I put out 5 marlin lures and headed back to the ledge to look for another livebait.

In 100m of water, I looked back to see the port long rigger bending for the water! Next thin the rigger released and the 130Lbs Tiagra took off. Seconds later, a black marlin of about 100kg exploded out of the water putting up a beautiful display! We cleared the lines and Dale jumped into the chair. He fought the fish very well and had it next to the boat in 15mins where I leadered the fish, removed the hooks and released it. Great!

We were practically on the reef so out came the big rods and in went the bait rods. We trolled around for about an hour and managed to get a nice Dorado and lost a wahoo. At 1pm I suggested we put the big lures out and head for the deep to look for a blue or stripey. We had just started trolling when we caught a 16kg wahoo on a marlin lure in 100m of water.

A short while later, in 500m, a blue marlin came charging in to the port long rigger but turned off at the last second! I worked the area for about half an hour without any action. It was getting late so I told Dale that it was time to head home. We decided to troll shallower until the water turned green before packing up. In 74m, I noticed a splash on the centre rigger, followed by a snap as the rubber bang popped. The 50Lbs Tiagra took off and another black marlin launched itself out the water.

Again we cleared the lines before Dale climbed into the chair. The fish settled and I slowly closed the gap between the boat and fish. The marlin was about 20m away when it shook its head violently and then took to the air then stripped quite a bit of line before settling again. Dale worked it closer and the leader came out the water. I took the trace and waited for the fish to give the right approach. It kept ducking under the boat resulting in a few tense moments. With just two people on board, one in the chair, meant I had to turn the chair, skip the boat and trace the fish ... stressful to say the least! Finally, after letting go 4 or 5 times, it surfaced next to the boat and I could safely pull it closer. I grabbed the bill of a healthy 90kg black and removed the hooks before turning it loose! Unreal, 2 blacks in a day with 2 people on board ... and one on 50Lbs ... NICE! After that, we packed up and headed home.

Fish's day off

On Sunday 5^th December we launched “AVANTI” at Cape Vidal and headed for the bait spot off the point. We scratched around for a while until we found a good showing and went down with bait jigs. As they hit the ground, we went on with mackerel and maasbankers. After the livewell was stocked, we headed for Oscar to pull for marlin bait.

Divan and I set the lines and At trolled over the pinnacles. It didn’t take long to get a pull. Three rods went away with yellowfin tuna and Johan, Pierre and Divan took the strikes. Moments after we hooked up, a pod of dolphin started jumping towards us. Knowing what was about to happen, all 3 anglers put the drags up to maximum and pulled like mad. The inevitable happened and 2 of the 3 tuna were eaten by the dolphins. The one we managed to get went into the livebait tube and we continued trolling. About 20mins later we hooked another yellowfin which found its way into the tube.

The baits were a bit big for our liking so we continued trolling to try catch a smaller bait. A short while later we pulled hooks on a nice size bonito but managed to catch another of about 2kg just after that. One of the yellowfins went into the hatch to make space for the bonito. The current had come in and so we headed about a kilometer north to gain ground and depth. En route we had a sailfish take one of the bait lures we were pulling but unfortunately it didn’t stick. In 60m I rigged the bonito and put it about 20m behind the boat.

Pierre rigged a live mackerel and put it on the other rigger, hoping for a Dorado or smaller billfish. At trolled the bait deeper and turned at 160m before working in shallower. We were hopeful of getting a marlin because the conditions were perfect. But, by 1:30 pm we had nothing so decided to call it a day. I pulled in the bait, cut it free and watched it swim away strongly. It was its lucky day.

Holiday Fishing

After returning from Kenya, I was keen to get on the water and try some of the new tricks I learnt. Close friend At van Tilburg was at Cape Vidal and he invited me to fish for the weekend. Divan Coetzee and I left Richards Bay at 03:45 on Saturday 4^th December and arrived at Vidal round 5:30. The SW wind was still blowing but the forecast indicated that conditions would improve as the day progressed. We decided to fish for halfbeaks on the low tide and launch at midday for an afternoon session.

At, Pierre, Divs and I fished for about two hours and managed to get 27 halfbeaks. After vacuum packing them, we hitched the boat, launched and set off for the live bait spot. The bait was relatively scarce but after 45mins we managed to get about 20 baits. The sea was choppy with a 15knot SW blowing. We wanted to fish south of the launch so we opted to pull lures instead of pounding our way into the wind. About 10mins later, we had a strike and Divan caught our first Vidal Dorado for December. After arriving at the lighthouse, we rigged a few livies and slow trolled north with the wind, tacking deeper and shallower as we went. In 27m Pierre caught a nice Dorado on the surface. A short while later, we had a double strike and Divs and I fought the fish. Mine came to the boat first and turned out to be a hammerhead shark of about 20kg ... not what I was hoping for! Divan brought in a Dorado of around 6kg.

The current had pushed us south while we were fighting the fish and we upped lines and moved further north before resetting the lines. Things were a bit quiet for a while until we moved into the area where the water temp increased. Almost immediately, the deeper bait was eaten and the fish smoked off. I took the strike and while Divs was clearing some lines I saw a Dorado swimming behind us. Divs fed it a livie and it was game on. Another double. I managed to get a cuda of +- 8kg while Divs got another Dorado. We were busy resetting the lines when the far surface bait was eaten. I picked up the rod and took up the slack. After a short run, I felt something break. On closer inspection, I saw that the 100Lbs fluorocarbon leader had been bitten through. It was probably another fish that ate the lure which had slid up the line. About 10mins later, Divan did his magic with a sailfish. Nice Divs!!!

At 15:30 we beached and after prepping for the next day, we enjoyed a fresh fish and chips meal. NICE!

We've been Having it!

On 13^th November 2010, Marius Botha, Riaan Pretorius, Divan and I launched Marius’ boat “Sea Hunter”. This was the first launch with his boat and we were unsure as to what the game plan should be. We loaded the boat with two 80Lbs marlin rods and a few game sticks and headed out to sea.

There was a light SE wind blowing and the sea was relatively calm. There had been a few Dorado north on the 50m ledge so we headed in that direction. After stopping off at a bait spot and catching some maasbankers, we put out some high speed lures and headed north along the ledge towards the castle. We had just arrived in the area when a reel took off. Moments later a Dorado of about 9kg took to the air. Marius fought the fish to the boat and Riaan unceremoniously gaffed it and popped it into the hatch. With something to eat, we were all satisfied that the day was not a complete waste.

We needed to make a decision as to what we were going to fish for... do we pull livebait around for gamefish of do we put out lures and look for marlin bait? Opting for the latter, we put out 2 small rapalas, a Dorado lure and 2 marlin lures (just in case). After about 15 minutes, the one baitstick went away with a small yellowfin tuna of about 2kg... a perfect bait. I pulled it in and put it into the livebait tube. Divan changed course for deeper water while Riaan, Marius and I cleared the other lines and prepared the traces. We did not have a bait needle, so I had to make a plan with a piece of #9 piano wire.

At 70m, Divan slowed the boat to live bait speed and I rigged the yellowfin on a 20/0 circle hook. The bait was let out 20m and the line attached to the outrigger. Slowly we made our way out to sea, turning at 300m. There was no current and we could maintain position without any problems. In 155m, the bait started revving. I ran back and pulled the line out the rigger. After a few seconds, there was a heavy weight on the line indicating the bait had been taken. I released the line and put the reel into free spool, pulling off line as the fish swam away with the bait. The fish’s speed increased and I told Divan to accelerate a bit. I increased the drag and the rod bent followed by a screaming reel... HOOKUP! Marius donned the harness and I passed him the rod. Once settled, we watched the line as it angled towards the surface. About 60m behind the boat, something broke the surface and thrashed around. None of us could get a good look, but we were relatively sure it was a marlin. The fish stayed on surface but would not come closer to the boat. If I backed up, the fish would sound but when I rode forward, it would come up again. The fish followed us where ever we went and after 45mins, Divan managed to get hold of the trace. The sun was at the wrong angle so we could not ID it. The trace was pulled out of Divan’s hands as the fish sounded a few meters. In the next 20mins, the trace came out the water 3 times. Finally we could see the fish. It was a good size black marlin. This was a very stubborn fish and even with 10kg drag, we made little impression. At one point, the marlin swam up to the side of the boat for a quick look at what was happening. Divan traced it within about 2m of the surface and it had all its fighting colours lit up ... beautiful!

It then sounded again. After 2 hours of heavy pressure, the fish started tiring. At this stage we were in 50m of water and had taken the trace about 7 times. We decided to load the fish if we could as it was Marius’ biggest fish. There was a problem however because there was no heavy gaff or sheleilie on the boat. We would need to grab the bill and manhandle it next to the boat ... this was going to be good! The leader came up and Divan gave a few wraps pulling the fish closer to the boat. I slowly circled keeping the fish out from under the boat and away from the motors.

Slowly but surely it came closer and when it was less than 2m away, it came to the surface and shook its head, dislodging the hook! It hung there for a few moments before veering off into the depths. This was an extremely strong fish and earned its freedom. There was no use crying over spilt milk, so we regrouped and put out the bait lures and headed to the ledge again.

After about an hour, we hooked another yellowfin tuna. I rigged it and let it out as we did the previous bait. The wind had picked up and most boats headed back. We stuck it out and continued to 220m before turning shallower. At around 2pm, the bait revved I ran to the back and released the line from the clip. After feeling the weight of a bigger fish, I fed slack into the water then let the line to run off the reel. Divan increased the speed and I increased the drag ... HOOKUP! Divan climbed into the harness and commenced battle. The fish stayed on surface, but came to the boat very easily. I had to ride away to keep tension. After convincing ourselves that it was a hammerhead, we were pleasantly surprised when the “shark” grew a bill and came flying out the water.

It gave a great display near the boat and after about 15 mins, Divan had it next to the boat. I leadered the +-80kg black marlin and Marius took the bill. After a few good shakes, I got the hook out and we released a healthy marlin.

Thanks to the crew for a great day, and remember ... Surf’s up Dude!!! Hehe!

MBA ... Master Builder Association

After a spell of terrible weather, which kept most of us off the sea, we had our break and planned to make full use of it.

On Sunday the 7^th November, Wayne Ritchie, Divan Coetzee, Ettienne de Villiers, Riaan Pretorius and I launched Wayne’s 900 Cobra cat “Big W”. We had entered the Master Builders Association Gamefish Competition held at the Meerensee Boat Club. The first day had been bad weather and we opted not to fish. Other boats launched and there were a few Dorado, tuna and sailfish around.

We headed for the castle with a SE wind of about 12-15knots. The forecast indicated the wind would settle and it was going to be a great day. The water was clean at 40m so I decided to put out a small high speed lure while we ran out, hoping to get a wahoo. In 55m we slowed to put out the lures and Riaan started retrieving the high speed lure. Halfway to the boat, he shouted that he was on! Classic. The fish gave a bit of a tussle before Divan gaffed a 5kg yellowfin. Wayne increased the speed to about 8 knots and Divan and I put out some lures. Div was busy placing a lure in the spread when the rod buckled in his hands. He was also into a yellowfin of about 8kg. We reset the lures and continued trolling.

At 350m we turned shallower as there had been more surface activity near the 100m mark. Moments later, the close lure was taken and a Dorado launched into the air. Seconds later the long rigger came down and a second Dorado, bigger than the first, took to the air. Riaan and Ettienne took the rods. We were busy retrieving the other lines when there was a loud crack. The next thing, the centre rigger fell from the sky and landed on the deck! Moments later the 130Lbs reel started running. We were on with 3! Chaos reigned for a few minutes as 3 guys tried to control 3 dorado. When the dust had settles, one Dorado made it to the fish hatch with the others pulling hooks. After clearing the deck and assessing the situation, we realised that the centre rigger had broken on a previously welded section which had become weak. When the Dorado took the lure, the rigger could not handle the strain and broke. Not to worry, we made a make shift plan and were trolling a full spread in no time.

We heard over the radio that one of the boats had a strike a bit shallower so we headed to the area where we had seen some skipjack feeding. At about 8:45 in 133m, the short port rigger lure was eaten. The fish took off to the starboard side at speed, so I picked up the rod and weaved my way through the other lines which were being retrieved by everyone else. The fish changed direction and shot past the starboard rigger causing the line to cut through the water. I tried to retrieve the slack but the fish was too fast. Wayne opened the throttle and after what seemed like ages, the line took tension. I handed the rod to Riaan who was by now in the standup harness. We clipped him in and left him to fight the fish which was still unidentified.

The fish fought on the surface for most of the fight and after about 30mins we caught a glimpse of it. It was a blue marlin of about 100kg. About 15 mins, I took the trace and Divan tagged the fish. After a few photos, we released a healthy fish which swam away strongly. This was Rianns first marlin and he had fought it well.

With a spring in our steps, we set the lines and Wayne continued working the area. About half n hour later, I saw a sharp dorsal fin followed by a sickle tail slicing through the water towards the short port lure (again). I shouted to the guys and everyone saw the bill and dorsal come up behind the lure as the marlin tried to eat it. The fish missed the lure about 4 times before it found the hooks and we were hooked up. The large dorsal indicated that this was a striped marlin and because Wayne had not caught one yet, we gave him the strike. I ran upstairs and took over the controls while the other lines were cleared. When Wayne was clipped in, he pulled the fish to the boat relatively easily.

About 30m from the boat, the marlin stuck its head out the water and then instantly turned away from us and greyhounded away almost pulling Wayne over the transom. At this stage, I put both 300HP Suzzies into reverse and charged the fish down. It looked like a scene from ESPN with white water coming over the transom. Absolutely spectacular! The fish stopped jumping and the fight slowed down. When we neared the fish, we could see that it had become tail wrapped. Luckily, as Divan took the leader, the line unwrapped and Divan could grab the bill. Ettienne tagged the fish and after a few quick photo and a reviving session, the striped marlin was released. Great! 2 marlin in as many hours!

The competition’s lines up was at 11:30 and apart from a quick strike with a skipjack tuna, the day ended. We were fortunate to do well in the comp and ended up taking the top billfish boat and the second biggest Dorado with a fish of 12,4kg. Congrats to Wayne, Riaan and the crew on a great achievement!