First Garrick of the 2011 season

On Saturday 20^th August 2011, my Dad and I as well as Nico Swart launched our boat “Selfish” off Richards Bay to look for Garrick. This was the first time in several weeks that the weather and sea conditions had allowed us to launch. Finally we were could get rid of the withdrawal symptoms we were experiencing.

We headed to one of the nearby marker buoys in the harbour where we found a shoal of shad. We sent down sabiki rigs with pieces of sardine and quickly had a hatch of shad for bait. Our next stop was just over the channel to the south pier, where the fish had been coming out for the past few days.

As we arrived I rigged up 4 shad, 3 on surface and 1 deeper with a running sinker. We then slowly trolled along to the end of the pier. Nico had never fished for Garrick before, so I rigged 2 baits on spinning rods and 2 on conventional reels. The spinning rods are easier to use because you can leave the bail open and when the fish takes the bait, the line automatically freespools. I explained the drill to Nico and then we sat back and waited. At about 8:30am, half an hour after we put the lines in the water, I looked back and noticed the line was running off the one spinning rod. We were in a area where there was a big swell. I thought a swell had popped the trip and we were having a ‘false strike’. I picked up the rod and held the line. I felt the line take tension and then there was the heavy weight of a fish. I continued feeding the line and after a count of about 20, I tightened up and set the hook. When I was sure the fish was on properly, I handed the rod to Nico. The fish did not take any line and came to the boat very easily where I put the gaff into it. Great, our first garrick for the season, and Nico’s first.

The lines went out again and 20minutes later, the deep bait revved and the reel ran. I fed the fish but after a few seconds, the bait was dropped. I changed the terminal config to allow the sinker to run more freely and rigged the bait for another go. Things were very quiet and so we tried on the outside of the pier along the colour line that formed during the outgoing tide. As we crossed into the clean water, one of the surface baits was taken. I fed the fish for a while, then set the hook. The fish started taking line and as I passed the rod to Nico, the hook came out. Bad luck.

I rerigged and made another turn. This time, the deep bait went. I fed the fish and then set the hook. This time I made sure I gave it enough time to eat, resulting in a solid hookup. Nico took the rod and had a good tussle with a Garrick. After a few short runs, I gaffed the fish. Nice. I made a few more turns over the colour line and about half an hour later, the deep bait was taken. I fed the fish and tightened up. The fish took off and splashed on the surface. It was another Garrick. My Dad took the rod and had a great fight before I gaffed the fish.

Things went quiet from then on and after an hour of nothing, we upped lines and went home. The fish all weighed between 8 and 9kg.