Pics from the past

2011 Mapelane Junior Interclub

On Saturday 25^th June 2011 at 7:30am, we launched “Worth While” off Mapelane. We were fishing in the annual Mapelane Junior interclub, representing the Richards Bay U/16 team. The skipper was Stuart Worthington and I was the manager. The team members were Sean and Dale Leenstra and Kelvin van Rooyen.

After an uneventful launch, we looked for some livies on the backline. There was nothing at all so we headed for Mapelane Lighthouse. About a kilometre from the spot, the water went brown and we abandoned the idea, changing our heading to the 50m ledge. The water was still an off green and not too promising. We rigged a few wala-wala, bonito and mackerel and put them out. Stuart slow trolled along the ledge working north hoping to find a cuda. After an hour and a half without a strike, we upped lines and headed for “Chisa”, a section of the 50m ledge straight off the launch.

There were already several boats there but nothing was happening. We set our lines and joined the fleet hoping for a fish. By noon, there was still not a single fish caught by the competition boats. We upped lines and moved to Dingo’s ... another spot on the 50m ledge. The water looked much better so we put out a few baits there. A few boats followed us and slow trolled around us. At about 12:30, the wind changed to a SW of about 5 knots. Within minutes of this change, two boats near us hooked fish. We had to get a fish here. Not long after, the deep wala-wala rod bent and the reel ran. Dale took the rod and we cleared the other lines. This fish was precious and we knew we could not make any mistakes. Dale brought the fish closer and I waited with the gaff. The cuda circled under the boat and when it came out, I stuck it with the gaff and brought it aboard. Finally ... some points on the board. Lines went back in and 20 minutes later, the deep bonito was eaten. Sean took the rod and this time the fish fought deep and never gave an inch. After going up on the drag, a few times, we were at stale mate. The fish headed out to sea and all we could do was follow. After an hour, we all agreed that it was a shark and pushed the drag to full. Another 10 minutes passed before the line parted. By then it was lines up and we headed for the beach. There were only 3 fish weighed. Ours happened to be the biggest at 14,6kg.

The next morning we launched at 7:30am again, this time on Herman Olivier’s “Mitsufishi”. We looked for livies and managed to get a single live shad. We headed to Dingo’s and put out similar baits as the previous day. Herman trolled over the ledge for a while without any luck. The current had pushed us back so we upped lines and went back to the start of the ledge and reset lines. There were a lot of birds following us and eating our surface baits. Unfortunately several were hooked and we brought them to the boat where they were unhooked and released. About halfway down the ledge, the rod with the surface bait bent and the reel ran slowly. We all assumed we had another bird. Next thin the reel dropped a gear and really took off ... it was a fish! Sean took the rod and we cleared the others. The fish fought deep and it finally came to the boat. It was a yellowfin tuna. As I tried to gaff the fish, it took off on another run. Sean brought it back in range and I gaffed it. It looked like a border line case as the minimum weight for tuna was 5kg. This was our last strike for the day and at 12 o clock it was lines up. We headed to the beach and weighed the fish. It was 5,4kg ... sjoe! Just made it.

The 2 fish we weighed in the competition helped us into 1^st place and Dale took top individual. This is a great competition and would recommend all juniors who like deep sea fishing to participate next year.

Saltwater Crocodiles

On 16^th June 2011, Hannes Duvenage and I took Mark Beyl and 2 of his friends cuda fishing off Richards Bay. We launched “Lihann” at 7:30 and headed for the live bait reef. After catching a few maasbankers, we headed for small highpoint to look for some bonito. We trolled a few small lures around the pinnacle without any success so we changed course for Petingo Wreck, still trolling the lures. About half way to the wreck, we caught a single small bonito and put it into the luna tube. We then upped lines and raced to Petingo.

The water was a good cuda colour and there was little current. I rigged up the live bonnie, a dead one, a live maasbanker and 2 wala-wala. Hannes trolled around the wreck looking for that elusive ‘crocodile’. After a few hours of trolling without a pull, I checked the baits. The bonnie was not looking great so I converted it to a dead bait and put it out and went to the controls. I had just passed over the end of the wreck when I saw the rod with the newly rigged bonnie bump and then keel over. The reel smoked off and Hannes picked it up while the other guys pulled in the remaining lines. Hannes handed the rod over to Mark and I turned to chase it. We gained most of the line and had the fish 5 m from the boat. It was a good cuda, well over 20kg. The fish made a short run and shook its head violently. All of a sudden, the leading wire broke and the fish was gone! I could not believe it ... you could have knocked me over with a feather. How in the Hell could that happen? On closer inspection, we saw that the wire loop through the eye of the leading hook had broken! I have never seen that before ... not on #8 wire! Oh well, back to the drawing board.

The lines went back in and we trolled some more. About half an hour later, the deep bait with a wala smoked off. I took the rod out the holder and gave it to Wayne. We cleared the other lines and chased the fish. After 15mins, we had the fish 3m from the boat with the leader on the rod. I could just not reach it with the gaff. Suddenly the fish spooked and pulled off a few meters of line. As we looked at the fish, we saw 2 blackfin sharks rip into it, tearing it to pieces. One picked up the wire and bit it off. The sharks thrashed on the surface as they devoured the trophy cuda! Unbelievable. I conservatively estimated the fish at 25kg ... and we got a good look at it at the boat!

Back to trolling. I had just re rigged the baits when the same rod took off! This time the hooks pulled after a few seconds. That happens ... I suppose! By now we were a bit irritated and needed some good fortune. With 3 bad luck fish behind us, we looked forward to another shot. At 4:45, the surface bonnie was eaten and the reel smoked off. I took the rod and made sure the fish was under control before handing the rod to Paul. We chased the fish while the other lines were cleared. The fish made a few strong fast runs indicating it was a good fish. The fish settled under the boat with a good bend in the rod. Suddenly the tip shot up indicating something had gone wrong. I took the rod and looked at the reel. Paul had knocked the reel into freespool and there was an over wind!!! I quickly undid the mess and wound up the slack. Amazingly the fish was still there! Paul was finishe and said he could not handle the fight any more so we gave the rod to Mark. About 10 minutes later, the fish was within gaff range. I stuck the fish and lifted it over the gunwale. I was expecting a 20kg cuda, but when I lifted the fish over the side, I saw a head that looked like a dogtooth tuna! It was a proper Petingo ‘dile! I called it 30kg before it was on the deck ... the eternal optimist! We were over the moon and finally we had shrugged off the bad luck. We trolled until dark without another rev.

Back at the club, the fish pulled the scale to 32,0kg!!! A fish of a lifetime.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon

On Sunday 12^th June at 11:30am, Sakkie and Ettienne de Villiers and I launched “Deep Burn”, a 21ft Yeld off Richards Bay. There was a 15knot SW blowing for most of the morning and the sea was quite choppy. We headed for Petingo straight into the wind, resulting in a bumpy and wet ride. After an hour, we arrived at petingo. As expected, we were the only boat there.

The water was 19,8 degrees with a reverse current but clean water. Etts and I rigged 4 baits, 2 bonnies and 2 wala-wala, while Sakkie slowly headed for the wreck. As we neared the buoy, I picked up the spinning rod and cast a spoon at it. In the fourth turn, I went on with a small torpedo scad which was quickly released. On the next pass, I put the spoon right next to the buoy and before I could start retrieving it, I went on with a stronger fish which gave me a good tussle before I released a bigeye kingfish. It was a bit quite with the cuda, so I gave the spinning rod to Sakkie and took over as skipper to hopefully find a lost cuda. Sakkie changed the spoon for a popper and went straight on with a torpedo scad. I made a turn and lined up the marks. As we reached the end of the wreck, the bonito on surface was eaten and the reel screamed off. Etts took the rod while Sakkie and I cleared the other lines. The fish fought deep and made big circles under the boat. After 20 minutes, we saw the fish for the first time. It was a nice cude but it was foul hooked in the flank. For the next 10 minutes, we had it within 5m but could not get a gaff into it. In this time, the heavens opened and rain poured down on Sakkie and Etts. Finally the fish came within range and Sakkie lifted it into the boat. We all estimated it at 18kg ... not bad.

The lines went back in and I trolled back up the wreck. As we neared the buoy, Etts put the popper in and was rewarded with an awesome surface chase and solid take. He brought in another bigeye which he released. As the baits passed the buoy, the wala-wala was eaten and the reel smoked off. I picked up the rod to pass it to Etts or Sakkie, but they said I should take it. Oh alright! The fish made a few runs and within 10 minutes came to the boat where Etts gaffed it. We guessed it at 22kg or so. Again the lines went out and we trolled past the buoy. Every cast with the popper resulted in a chase/strike. It was awesome fun. The sea picked up a bit and we got a good wave over the nose, drenching us all. With the wind blowing on out wet clothes, we decided to call it a day and upped lines. We happened to be next to the buoy so I put in a cast and has about 10 kingies chase the popper to the boat before one took it. Magic! We caught a few more kings before heading home. We were back in the harbour at 4:30pm.

When we off loaded the fish, we noticed that the fish were exceptionally fat. Etts took out the hand scale and weighed the smaller fish. It was 22kg! We then weighed the bigger one which bottomed out the 25kg scale ... we were intrigued and wanted an accurate weight. After weighing them on the club scale, they were 22,1kg and 26,5kg!!! Two really good fish.

A day to remember

On Saturday 4^th June 2011, Mike and Dale Leenstra and I launched Mike’s boat “Beluga” off Richards Bay. We were looking for the junior SA Record cuda on 8kg line, a 24kg fish. Richards Bay is blessed with large cuda and probably the best place to target a really big fish.

The SW was blowing at about 15knots when we left the harbour. We stopped off at the pipeline to look for bait but never found one livie. After trying a few other spots with the same result, we headed for Petingo. When we arrived, there were 2 other boats on the wreck. They had not had a pull since early that morning so we were not too confident in our chances. We rigged four 8kg rods, 2 with wala-wala and 2 with small bonnies. On our first approach to the wreck, while Dale and Mike putting out the third line, the first rod bent and the reel took off! Dale grabbed the rod while Mike retrieved the other line. Once the fish settled, I followed it with the boat to gain line. After about 20 minutes, Mike gaffed a nice cuda of around 20kg ... what a start!!!

The current had pushed us off the wreck so while I trolled back, Mike and Dale reset the lines. They were busy with the last line when the deep bait was eaten and the reel took off! Mike started clearing the other lines when the bait he was retrieving was eaten and the fish took off! A double ... Nice! I left the controls and cleared the last line while Mike and Dale fought their fish. Unfortunately Mike’s fish pulled hooks after a short run but Dale’s fish stayed on. We fought the fish for about 15 minutes before Mike gaffed another slightly smaller cuda. Again the lines wet out. And I continued working the wreck. About an hour later, the deep bait was eaten. Dale took the rod while Mike and I brought in the other lines. Again Mike’s rod took off in his hands and we were onto a double! I followed Dales fish while Mike kept his at a safe distance. After 20 minutes, Dale’s fish was acting differently and fighting deep and slow. Not like a cuda. I backed off the speed and let his fish take some line. Mike then managed to bring his fish closer where I gaffed it, another nice cuda. Dale in the meanwhile was constantly loosing line but the fish was now right on the surface. I road towards the fish to get an id. About 20m from the fish, a sharp white fin broke the surface. On closer inspection, we saw that it was a big manta ray. It must have swam into the line and hooked itself. Oh well, at least we got Mike’s fish!

I took us back to the wreck and the lines were reset. I worked the area for about an hour before we had another smoking reel. We cleared lines while Dale fought the fish. Unfortunately, as the lines were cleared, the hooks pulled. We also notices that one of the other baits had been chopped by a cuda ... unlucky. Because there were so many fish around, we decided to put in the 3kg line. It was in the water for about 20 minutes when it was eaten. The fish screamed off and as it settled, a garfish came up and bit the line where it enters the water resulting in a broken line!

It was now about 12:00 and the other boats were losing heart. Between them, they had caught 1 fish. We were just lucky and had the right bait in the right place ... with the wrong tackle! If we were using heavier line and more hooks, the score would have been different ... but that’s record hunting for you. I handed the controls over to Mike and took a breather. Mike made a few turns and was rewarded with a screaming reel. I cleared the lines and Mike chased after the fish. After about 25mins, it was near the boat. I gave Mike the gaff and went to the controls. Dale brought a really nice fish in and when the leader was on the rod, Mike went in for a gaff shot as fish spooked and took off. The one hook got caught up in the gaff and resulted in a lost fish. That happens I guess!

At about 2pm, we were getting ready to pack up when the deep line was taken. The fish headed straight for the buoy but luckily for us, it veered off to the side and didn’t cut us off. The fish did big circles under the boat until it came into gaff range and Mike redeemed himself by lifting a nice fish into the boat.

After that, our bait had run out and we headed back to the club. The fish weighed 16-22kg and were just short of the record. Oh well, next time ... I promiseJ

TataMaChance

On Saturday 28^th May, Mike and Dale Leenstra and myself launched Mike’s 21ft Yeldcat “Beluga” at Cape Vidal. We were there for the weekend and wanted to look for daytime broadbill. Unfortunately the 40 knot SW wind which had been blowing for 2 days prior had picked up the sea and the surf/swell was BIG! We decided to give it a go regardless, but we would not focus on broadbill until the sea had settled. After negotiating a hairy surf, we stopped at the point and looked for livebait. We found a few very small maasbankers but discarded the 5cm minnows and put out a few small feathers and rapalas to look for bonnies. We had not gone 100m and we were on with the first jube-jube. This was followed at regular intervals by a few more of the perfect bait size bonnies.

We changed tactics at about 8:30 and rigged a few strip baits and trolled north to Oscar, hoping for a sailfish. It was very quiet on the pinnacle and at about 10:30 I suggested we go and look at what the 500m line looked like. In 250m, we had a triple strike on skipjacks and rigged 2 on the big rods. We continued deeper looking for clean water. At the 500m mark, the swell was big but very fishable. I suggested we release the livies and make a drop - TataMaChance. After rigging a squid and setting up the tackle, we dropped a bait into 500m and drifted slowly south. After an hour, the rod bumped and the reel ran a bit. I took the chair and brought in a large wreckfish of around 30kg.

It was getting late and if we did not beach at the right time, we were going to battle with the tide. We packed up and headed home.

On Sunday the 29^th May, we launched at 6:30am and headed for Leven Point canyon. We made a drop at just after 8am in 550m and after an hour and a half drift, we lifted the bait to start another drift. When the bait came out the water, we saw that it had been eaten by some or other small bottomfish and only a few tatters were left on the hooks.

The next drop was in about 500m and as we were drifting into the canyon, the rod bumped and the reel took off! This was no bottomfish. Mike told me to get into the chair. I obliged even though I was pretty sure I knew what fish it was. After about 45 minutes, the leader came up. Dale unclipped the lights and I pulled the fish closer. When the swivel came out the water, a long snake like tail broke the surface behind the boat. It was a thresher shark of about 70-80kg. A real pest when it comes to deep dropping! After Mike and Dale had a good look at the fish, we cut the trace and it swam away.

It was now about 11:00 so we opted to pull strips back home along the ledge. As we neared vegetation, we started getting a few bonnies. We then found a lost Dorado of about 5kg that ate a stripbait. After trolling over Oscar and getting more bonnies, we upped lines and beached.

Thanks to Mike and his family for a great weekend.

Umhlanga Prestige Interclub

At 6am On Saturday the 21^st May, Michael Duvenage, my Dad, Shane Denis and I launched Shane’s friend’s boat “Mocha” out of Grannies pool at Umhlanga. We were fishing in the Umhlanga Prestige Interclub, representing Richard Bay.

We were the second boat to launch out of 22 and once on backline, we waited for the other boats to make their way through the surf. In this time we rigged up bait rods to catch live bait. By 7:30am all the boats were behind backline and we all set off for the wreck to catch bait.

On arriving at the wreck, we dropped strings of sabiki rigs down to the bottom into thick showings of bait. They were immediately eaten by hungry shad, mackerel, maasbanker, razor bellies and pinkies. There was an unbelievable amount of bait and at one stage we were pulling up full strings of shad and mackerel. It was a live bait angler’s paradise! It took a whole 15 minutes to fill the bait tank and then we headed north to Umdloti.

Michael and I rigged 5 rods with livebait traces and started setting the lines. With 3 surface lines out, we rigged two baits to send deep, one maasbanker and one shad. Mike let his bait out a bit when he said something ate his bait. While he was feeding the fish, I put the shad in the water. Almost immediately, Shame and I saw a dark shape come into view and chase the shad. As the shad came to the surface to escape, the “shape” grew a bill and sail and grabbed the shad about 2 meters from the boat! I fed the fish and watched it fade away with the shad in its mouth. Michael and I both gave the fish line before Shane opened up the one motor. We both tightened up at the same time and line ran off the reels. We all stood looking back as the lines came to the surface as the sailfish cleared the water shaking its head. As the sail fall back to the water, the shad went flying and my line went slack as the hooks came out. Michael on the other hand was still attached to the fish which took off away from the boat. We cleared the lines and backed up after the fish. Michael retrieved most of the line before the fish went deep. We moved away from the fish and the line came to the surface. I chased after the fish as Michael put line back on the reel in a hurry before the fish sounded again. After sulking in the deep water for a bit, it came to the surface where we caught a glimpse of the fish as it flashed on the surface. The dirt green water made the silver flank look brown and we all for a moment thought it had converted to a shark. Luckily this thought was dispelled as the fish lifted its sail and we saw the electric blue colours. After 15 minutes the fish started tiring and neared the boat. It made several great jumps and then tailwalked towards the boat. It came so close that Shane took cover as the fish barely missed the transom. Michael was quick to take up the slack and managed to get the leader on the rod. I backed up after the fish and a few seconds later it was next to the boat where Shane (who was now out from hiding) grabbed the bill. We took a few photos and then cut the trace before releasing a healthy 25-30kg sailfish. Not bad for the first 5 minutes of the competition!

Unfortunately that was the only action that we had for the rest of the competition other that a small bonito and another one that was eaten by the sharks. We also had a dolphin eat one of our live baits which was very uncommon!

Petingo Cuda

On Sunday 15^th May, Edmund Johnstone, Riaan Pretorius, my Dad and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay to fish for cuda. There had been a few fish around and we were hopeful that we would get a fish or two. We left the harbour at about 6:30am and headed to the pipeline to look for bait. The water was not a nice colour and we failed at catching a single livie. After more than half an hour, we headed for petingo.

We arrived at about 7:45am, I rigged 3 bonito and 2 wala-wala and staggered them in depth and distance from the boat. The water was a nice "cuda green" with a slight current. There were alot of jellyfish around even though the water was 23 degrees. My Dad began slow trolling around the wreck. Everywhere there were bonito crashing bait on the surface and good showings on the echo sounder. Things looked good.

At just after 9am, the deep bonito was eaten and the reel took off as the fish took about 50m of line. Edmund and I retrieved the other lines as my Dad chased the fish. Riaan was on the rod and had quite a tussle with the fish before I managed to get the gaff into it. It was a really nice cuda, well over 20kg. After cheers and congratulations, we reset the spread and continued trolling.

It was just before 10am when the surface bonito was eaten. The reel smoked off as the fish headed about 100m in the opposite direction. Riaan and I cleared the lines as my Dad chased the fish. Edmund gained line quickly and had it at the boat in a relatively short time. As the leader came out the water, the fish took off again. It started fighting differently ... very erratic. Only then did we see that a shark was after it. The cuda tried every trick in the book and finally managed to get away from the shark. As it swam past the boat, I put the gaff into another good fish.

The lines went out again and we continued trolling. The wind turned to an easterly direction and all the activity vanished. The rest of the day was dead and at 2pm we upped lines and headed home. The two cuda weighed in at 25,2kg and 18kg respectively.

Pipped at the scale

On Saturday the 7^th May, At van Tilburg, Marius de Wet and I launched At’s 21’ Yeld “AVANTI” at the Richards Bay Ski Boat Club. We were competing in the Umlalazi Couta Classic as we do each year. The previous year, we managed to win the competition and were defending our title this year.

The weather was terrible with strong SW winds and frequent rain squalls. The sea was very uncomfortable and we were unsure as to how we should approach the day. After heading out the harbour mouth, we ran to the pipeline to look for livebait. After an hour of battling, we decided to move to small highpoint where we would target the unspecified prize.

After a bumpy 45minute ride, we finally arrived at small high. The water was an off green and not too promising. We put out a few rapalas and surface lures to look for bonito. At trolled around the pinnacle a few times before 2 reels went off. Marius and I pulled in 2 bonito of about 4kg each. We continued trolling while I started sorting out the cuda traces and baits. I had just about finished the prep for slow trolling when 1,2, 3 reels took off. We all grabbed a rod and started pulling in the fish. The boat was still in gear to keep our direction when a 4^th rod went off. We each pulled in a bonito then Marius took the last rod. The fish came in relatively easily, but did not fight like a bonito. I was expecting to see a short fat shine under the boat when suddenly a nice cuda popped its head out from under the hull. It was the fastest I have ever looked for a gaff in my life! After a frenzied search for a gaff, I leaned over and gaffed a 12kg cuda. Now if that was not luck, then I don’t know!

We headed back to the pinnacle after drifting off and put out some cuda baits. I had a bonito and mackerel on surface and a wala-wala and silkie (wolf herring) down deep. One on a sinker and the other on the down rigger. Slowly we approached the pinnacle and as the sounder started picking up, the downrigger rod flicked and the reel ran a bit. I wound in the down rigger then took the rod. Marius and At pulled in the other lines as I slowly gained line o the fish. It felt very strange, as if it were fowl hooked. There were no headshakes or runs. I assumed it was a small cuda that had eaten the silkie and the row of trebles had caught it in the side resulting in the fish being pulled sideways. About 15mins later, the double line and leader came out the water. I looked down to see what it was when I saw a huge silver shine! The water was quite dirty so I could not get a good look. At then shouted that it was a big kingfish and grabbed a gaff. The fish circled twice before the gaff went in and it was hauled onboard. It was a beast! Nothing near what I was expecting. This was surely the best unspecified fish for the comp! We took a few photos and continued trolling.

The wind dropped throughout the day and the sea got better and better. At about 1pm, we had had no further action and pulled in the lines. I put on a few feathers and rapalas and At trolled around the pinnacle. The sounder constantly indicated big showings. As we trolled over the showing, every rod went away with small bonito ... perfect cuda baits. We continued trolling and stocked up on the baits before heading back to the weighin at Zini SBC.

Our cuda weighed 12,6kg and the kingfish pulled the scale to 31,9kg!!! Unfortunately this was not big enough to take top unspecified as there was a sailfish of 38kg weighed just before we arrived.

It was a great comp and congrats go to all those who organised it. The biggest cuda was 26kg followed by a 24kg fish. Well done to the winners!

uMhlathuze Fishing Festival 2011

Over the Easter weekend, the RBSBC held its annual Fishing Festival. It was fished over 3 days (Friday to Sunday) and had about 125 boats participating. I had entered my Dad’s boat into the competition with my Dad, myself and two good friends from Middleburg as competitors. I was the convenor of the competition and was very nervous to fish as there were so many things to sort out during the day.

On Friday the 22^nd, I was at the club at just before 4am. The weather had turned and a strong SW was whipping up the sea. The weather committee called the comp off for the day and the festivities began!

On Saturday morning, the wind had died and the sea had flattened. All boats put to sea before we launched our boat. The idea was to look for marlin with live bait so we headed to small high point and pulled some small lures around. The water was very cold and the colour was relatively green with a strong reverse current. The first pass over the pinnacle however resulted in 2 running reels. Wessel and Marinda both took up the rods and pulled in a 4kg kwaw-kawa and a 4kg yellowfin respectively. The yellowfin went into the tube and we continued trolling. Soon we had a few small bonnies in the icebox and headed out deeper. I rigged the yellowfin on a 50Lbs outfit and let it out 20m behind the boat before clipping the line into the rigger clip.

We trolled out to 600m but the conditions just got worse. The water colour changed to pea soup and the temperature dropped. At 11am we turned shallower to return to the slightly better water and in 400m, the bait revved but the rigger did not pop. I pulled the bait closer and saw the brown shape of a hammerhead shark behind it. I pulled the bait in but it was too late. The shark had bitten off the tail. We were now in the desert in terrible water without bait. The wind was now also blowing at about 15 knots NE and churning up the sea. We opted to abandon the day and head home before the rush. That marked the end of our day. There were 3 marlin released and a few nice tuna weighed. Other than that, results were poor.

On Sunday morning, the NE was still blowing at 10-15knots and only a few boats went to sea. Many returned before long complaining that the chop was quite bad. We had decided to give it a skip as well and spent the day enjoying the activities at the Club.

Overall the competition was a success and a good time was had by all. We will try again next year.