The curse is lifted

At 5:45 on Saturday 8^th February, Tjokkie and I launched “ABF” at Cape Vidal. We were there for the weekend and were hoping to just have a bit of fun with the gamefish on lighter tackle than we use at Richards Bay. The reports from the previous week were not good and all the boats were struggling for fish. There was however a lot of livebait around…

Our first stop was just off the launch to look for bait. I was expecting full strings on the first drop, but there was nothing! There were 7 of 8 boats around but everyone was struggling. After an hour of struggling, I went over a current line with nervous ripples on the surface. There was a showing halfway down and as the jigs went through them, we were on. There were a few decent size baits, but most a bit small… but beggars can’t be choosers. With a few baits in the well, I headed off to Oscar.

There was no current, 27.3 degree water and purple water. I was keen to get a feel of the area so that I knew where to focus my efforts so I bombed out a few halcos/rapalas and a surface lure and started trolling over the marks. I had also promised the ground crew sushi that afternoon, so I was hoping to get a yellowfin. There was not a lot of activity on the shallow marks, but when I went over the deep mark, the sounder went crazy with good showings. They started 10m off the ground and went up for 10-15m. this was obviously the place! As we passed over the showing, one of the halcos smoked off. I cleared the other lines while Tjoks fought the fish. It seemed just too easy, but then the fish sounded and the fight changed… The drag went up and up but we could not budge it. I looked on the gps and we were going circles over the same spot. Tjoks, suffering from a bout of nausea, passed me the rod to see what I could do. Immediately I could feel the line in the rocks and realised that it was probably a potatoe bass that ate the tuna when it sounded. Not wanting to waste any more time, I parted off. Knowing where to fish, I rigged up 4 bait sticks. Still hoping for a yft, I hooked a livie onto a single hook directly to flouro carbon leader and let it out. I was busy freespooling when the reel took off in my hand. I gave it 5 seconds then tightened up… vas. The fish did not seem too heavy so I put some pressure on it to get it in and start fishing, but as the fish sounded, there was a big nod and the fight changed to a slow give and take. I upped the drag to full and held on, slowly gaining line. I peered over the side and in the depths saw a big grey shape of a potatoe bass. I gained about 10m  more, then the fish headed back down. I put the brakes on and finally it chafed through the flouro.

Finally I managed to put out 4 baits and get a trolling pattern going. I was just approaching the showing when both deep baits went away. Both of us pulled as hard as we could, but Tjoks lost the battle when his fish turned into a frayed leader after another potatoe bass ate his fish. I managed to get a 5kg cuda to the surface and into the hatch. Finally something to eat. The baits went out and I made a turn. As I straightened out, the surface livie on flouro went away. I hooked up and passed Tjoks the rod. This time he pulled the crap out of it and we could gaff a small yellowfin which was bled for sushi. On my next turn, I saw the deep rod bump and when I checked the bait, it had been chopped. I checked the other deep bait and the same thing had happened to it as well. There were obviously a few cuda around, but they were chowing skelm. On the next turn, I was trolling with the wind, so I pulled neutral to get the lines down. It was not long when the surface rod just bent then flicked back with slack line. The cuda had picked up the leader in its teeth in front of the wire and bitten off… it seemed that I just had no luck today.

At long last!

Tjoks was feeling really bad, so I decided on one last turn, then I would take him back. I checked the deep bait before the last approach and it was fine so I let it down again. I turned to go to the controls when that rod bent over. The fish took some line but not like a cuda. Thinking it might be a kaakap or some or other bottom fish, I pushed the drag past the button and pulled the $#!% out of it. The line angled to the surface the sinker came up. I broke off the elastic and kept pulling, expecting to see a bottomfish pop. When the fish surfaced 20m from us, I saw a brown shape. First I thought it was an amber that had come up, but I looked closer and saw big pec fins and the white lines on the side… it was a prodigal son! I was so nervous that I could hardly think. This fish had eluded for so many years, and here I was with one on the line. I pampered it closer but something caught my eye to the right. It was a massive tiger shark! At that point, all subtleties went out the window and I pushed the drag right up. The fish came straight to the boat where Tjoks gaffed the 12kg fish. As it started twisting, we ripped it onto the boat. FINALLY!!! The curse was lifted. At that point, I was over the moon, so I we headed back to the beach.

Weekend fun fishing...

At 5am on Saturday 1^st Feb, Jannie Jacobs and I launched “Ohana” off Richards Bay. There had been a few cuda around so we were hoping to stock up on our fresh fillets. As per usual, we stopped at the pipe to get bait. A few maasbanker and mackerel later, we were on our way to the ledge to look for bonnies. Despite near perfect conditions, there were no bonnies to be found, so we headed to the 32m area South of Richards Bay.

Rigging a wala in a glassy sea

I rigged up 5 lines and Jannie trolled over a few of his marks. There was a slight reverse current but the water was a great colour and the temp was 25 degrees. Just on the shallow side of out marks, there was a good current rip with a few birds dipping in the white water. As we trolled closer, Jannie saw a cuda clear the water ahead of us. This was definitely a place to spend some time. As we trolled into the area, the surface rod with a dead bonnie went away. I was busy with the rod when the surface livie went away as well. Jannie took that rod while I tried to clear the other lines. I had put my rod in the holder but when I had cleared the lines and picked it up again, the fish was off. On closer inspection, the #9 piano wire had been kinked off. Meanwhile Jannie brought his fish to the boat where I gaffed a 5kg dorado. Lines went out again and before I could get the 3^rd rod out, the surface livie was on. It turned out to be a hammerhead shark.

Again lines went out but by now the current had moved quite a way off of the reef so after trolling along it for a while longer, we worked out way back to our original marks. The wind had dropped off totally and things were very quiet. There were a few boats bottomfishing ner us, so we trolled around them hoping that the movement of the bait / fish being brought up would attract some gamefish. Halfway through the turn, the surface wala-wala went away followed by the surface livie. After clearing the other lines, we fought both fish to the boat and put two 10kg cuda into the hatch, much to the disgust of the guys bottomfishing next to us. After rerigging, the lines went out and Jannie made another turn. In the about the same spot, the surface wala-wala went away. I took the strike and had another cuda in the boat, probably around 12kg. After this fish, the wind swung to the East and everything went dead. Despite trolling for another 2 hours, there was no more action so we headed back.

Cuda in ice water

On Sunday 2^nd Feb at 6:30, Wayne Ritchie and I launched “Da Boys” to look for some cuda. Again we first got some bait before heading to Petingo wreck. There was not a breath of wind but a SW wind was predicted to come through at midday picking up to 20knots. Hopefully we would have a fish by then. We arrived at the wreck and there was only 1 other boat there. The water looked good, but there were a lot of big jellyfish despite the water being a good temperature. I put out 2 wala wala, 2 livies and a bonnie and trolled around the wreck looking for the area with the most life.

After about an hour, the surface livie went away and Wayne brought in a small cuda of around 4kg. We were happy that we had broken the ice and could now relax a bit. I trolled over the same area and on the turn, Wayne said that there was a bump on the surface wala. I checked the bait and true as nuts, the wala had been chopped, missing all the hooks. This sometimes happens when you get a strike on the turn as there is not enough tension on the line to set the hooks… Oh well, that happens.

Cuda Boys

At around 11, the SW slowly picked up. I was hoping that this would switch the fish on. I had just turned to line up the wreck for another pass when the deep livebait went away. The fish shot to the surface making a bit of a commotion on the top before taking quite a bit of line. Wayne fought the fish and after a few nice runs, had a 10kg cuda in the boat. The wind speed was slowly increasing and the rain started to fall. I made another 2 turns but had no more luck, so we upped lines and returned to port with some fresh fish for supper.

Going down with a fight...

On Sunday 26^th January, we launched Andre Smit’s new buttcat “Seaduction” out of Richards Bay for a day’s game fishing. Crew for the day was Jeff van der Merwe, Dewald Smit and myself. There had been a SW blowing the previous day and the sea was still a bit lumpy. We decided to launch at around 7am to allow the sea to settle a bit. Once on the water, we headed out to the pipeline to catch livies. With a hatch full of bait, we headed for the ledge.

I put out 4 rapalas and a surface lure while Andre headed for the coordinates. As we went over the pinnacle, 3 reels went away with bonito. These went into the tube and the hatch before making another turn. We managed another 2 bonnies before things went quiet. At 10am, we headed shallower to petingo. It was still very early in the season for the big cuda, but we thought that we would give it a shot, just to see if anyone was home. I put out 2 livies, 2 bonnies and a wala-wala while Jeff slowly passed over the wreck. There were no other boats there, so things looked good. At about 11am, the deep bonnie was eaten by a fish that made a long, slow run. We followed it for a while to allow Andre to gain line and after a 30min battle, a blacktip shark came to the surface where we broke the leader. The lines went out again and 10 minutes later, the big bonnie on the surface was eaten by a 15kg hammerhead which we released…

Things went quiet for a while but at around 1pm, the bait showings on the sounder started to get better. I had just checked the last bait when the reel with the wala-wala on it absolutely smoked off! The fish dumped the reel and we were into the backing in a few seconds. The lines were cleared in a flash and I turned after the fish while Andre put line back on the reel. After such a long run, the fish was buggered and did not put up much of a fight near the boat. When the leader came up, Jeff gaffed it, but only just through the skin. I ran to the back, grabbed its tail and helped lift it into the boat. As the head cleared the gunwale, it shook and grabbed hold of the cushion and took a big chunk out of it. This fish was not going down without a fight. Jeff pried it off and slid it into the hatch. It was a good fish and only just fitted.

Big guys make big fish look small...

The lines went out and we made another turn. We were all sitting on the deck talking rubbish when the rod with the wala bent. Jeff walked towards it to see what had happened. His voice's pitch changed as he announced that the ratchet was not on! Something had eaten the bait but we could not tell what it was cause we could not judge by the sound of the first run. Dewalt took the rod, but the fish never took much line. He brought it to the boat in a few minutes where it turned out to be another hammerhead… disappointing! Jeff set the lines while I took a load off and trolled into the current towards the wreck. As I went over a good showing, the deep livie went away. The fish made a short run before Dewalt brought it to the boat where Jeff gaffed a shoal cuda. I liked the captain’s chair, so I left the deck work to Jeff and Dewald. With the lines out, I made another turn. We were joking around with Jeff for forgetting the ratchet and asked if he was sure they were all on. To prove it, he pulled some line off the far surface rod and yes, it was on. As he let go of the line, that same rod buckled and the reel took off … Classic! The fish made a fast but short run before coming to the boat where Jeff gaffed another shoal cuda.

We trolled around for another hour or so, but the wind had swung around to the east and the fish just switched off. With no more action, we headed back to port. The cuda that bit the boat weighed in at 24,3kg. Not a bad fish for this time of the year.

Let the games begin...

On Sunday 19^th January I took Louw and Wikus Davis out fishing off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get some fish for the table as the stocks were running low. At 5:30, we launched “Selfish” out of the Richards Bay Ski-Boat Club and headed for the pipeline. It did not take long to get a few strings of maasbanker before we headed off to the 50m ledge.

On arrival, the water temperature shot up to 27 degrees and the north to south current was flying at around 4 knots. There was a light southerly wind blowing, so the wind against current kicked up an uncomfortable chop. I rigged up 5 lines and let them out. By the time I had finished, we had been pushed back close on a kilometre. I tacked the ledge trolling into the current but moved south at 4km per hour.

Kasteel Cuda

I had just gone over a showing on the shallow side of the ledge when the downrigger rod flicked up then took off. I passed the rod to Louw and cleared the other deep line. The fish made a few good runs before I could get a gaff into an 11kg cuda. Not a bad start. We were close to the end of the ledge, so I suggested we pull up and run to the top of the reef for another pass. As we were about to clear the 2 surface lines, both rods keeled over and the reels smoked off. I was sure the two lines had tangled and was expecting a burnoff any second, but the fish slowed down and the fight continued. Both Louw and Wikus pulled the fish in which turned out to be a 9kg yellowfin. This fish had not tangled the lines, but rather eaten both baits! Talk about greedy.

 

We stopped at the top of the reef and set the lines. On the first pass over the reef, the other deep line went away. Wikus took the strike and had a bit of a tough time with a fish that turned out to be foul hooked. It gave him the runaround before I could get the gaff into a 9kg cuda. The rest of the ledge was quiet so we ran up north one last time and reset lines. Apart from a half hearted strike on the down rigger bait, it was quiet so we upped lines and headed home with some fresh fish for supper.

Short on Luck

At 7:30 on Saturday 4^th January 2014, we left Richards Bay harbour onboard “Galavant”. The weather forecast had indicated that it was going to be a beautiful day so Elsa and Candice joined us for their first fishing trip. There had been a few fish up north, so we headed in that direction.

Soon the water changed to a deep blue colour and the temperature shot up to over 26 degrees. Wayne slacked the speed and we set the spread of lures. The sea was exceptionally flat and you could see the wake for a long way back. On the radio we heard reports of a few early strikes and hook-ups. As we trolled over the drop-off, we came upon a good rip with some white water. It ran quite a way north between 250m and 350m, so we hugged the edge of it hoping for a stripey.

 

I was up on the flybridge checking out the scene when I saw a swirl and splash behind the centre rigger lure. As I shouted, the rigger popped but the reel remained silent. I scurried down the steps hoping to tease the fish a bit, but before I could get there, the reel started running. The lines were cleared in no time and Elsa took the chair. The fish did not jump, but took a good amount of line on the surface, so we had an idea as to what it might be. After explaining how to use the chair and harness, Elsa brought the fish closer. The leader came up and we could confirm it to be a shortbill spearfish. This was the first billfish that Elsa had caught and for it to be one of the rarest billfish, made it even more special. After a few photos, we released the fish and set the lures again.

 

The water temperature kept increasing and more and more boats raised fish in the spread, but would not commit on the strike. At about noon, we decided to head shallower to look for a black. From what we have seen, the blacks tend to prefer lures on the long and centre riggers as opposed to the shorts, so I changed out the lure on the right long for a larger lure. Wayne had tacked over the ledge a few times when I saw a small black come in on the right long. It knocked the lure out of the water but never popped the clip. It followed the lure for a few seconds before fading off. Despite working the area for a while, we never saw any more action for the day and headed back to port.

Cracking the Code

On 30^th December, while on holiday in the Eastern Cape, I had seen several grunter feeding on the sand banks in the Goukamma river mouth, so I decided to try my luck with them. The first order of business was collecting bait so we made a turn at the Knysna Lagoon during low tide and managed to get a few nice mud prawns. With the bait sorted, I grabbed 2 long, light spinning rods and headed down to the mouth. I scouted the area for a bit and found an area where the fish were tailing.

I am not a grunter guru, so I started out by using the standard running sinker rig I use in the Richards Bay harbour. I threaded a mud prawn onto the Mustad #1 silver bait holder hook and fired it out onto the edge of the bank where the fish were feeding. I sat there watching as several fish swam over and past my bait without showing any interest... something was not right. I quietly waded out about 40m onto the bank and found a small channel that was holding a few smaller fish. I cast the bait out and freespooled as I returned to the side where I put the rod in the holder. As I picked up the second rod, I had a pull on the first. After a short fight, I managed to catch my first white steenbras. I removed the hook and released it. I rerigged and put the bait back into the same channel but with no luck.

Grunter in the shallows

The mouth of the river was closed, so there was no tidal movement. The water was also crystal clear and shallow, so the fish were super skittish. To make things worse, the grunter were swimming with shoals of mullet which, being at the bottom of the food chain, would spook for their own shadows and in turn spook the grunter. I had to rethink this setup. I removed the sinker and swivel from the one rod and joined a 2 meter section of 6kg fluorocarbon. To that, I attached the #1 hook. I waded out with a fresh mud prawn and found a few fish on the bank. I cast the prawn out in the area and freespooled as I quietly walked back to the side. As I reached the side, the line started running off the reel. I fed it a bit then hooked up and fought a nice grunter to the side. It had swallowed the bait so I decided to keep it. Nothing like fresh grunter fillets. I was chuffed that I had managed to finally get one. I rigged up the second rod and set a bait on the other side of the bank. It did not take long before I went tight to another similar sized grunter. This one also joined the first in the cooler. Just when I thought I had figured the grunter trick out, they stopped feeding... there was something else to this game...

Double up on grunter

With all the wading I was doing, the fish had moved off the banks and were no longer tailing. I scanned the area and saw another bank further up the river where there were a few fish. I packed up my gear and quietly moved closer. At this new spot, I was out of the wind so I could see everything in the water, and everything could see me... I presented a bait to a small shoal of about 5 grunter, but none bit. This went on for 45 minutes before I thought of something else I would try. Looking at the prawn in the water, I could clearly see the silver hook running through it. Also, the prawn had died due to the hook exiting the head. The final thing I noticed was that due to the long casts I was making, the bait curled back onto the bite of the hook resulting in a less than ideal presentation. I changed the hook to a black chemically sharpened bait holder. When rigging the bait, I half threaded the hook through the tail and then twisted the prawn and allowed the hook to exit its back. This allowed the bait to remain straight on the hook and to stay alive... game on!

Grunter dinner on the table

I quietly waded out about 20m and flicked the bait into the path of the feeding fish then returned to the bank and put the rod into the holder to set up the second rod. When I looked up, the line went tight and the rod bent. I managed to get another nice grunter into the cooler. I was sure I was onto something with these tricks. With 2 rods rigged up, I set one bait short to the right and the second one about 40m out on the left. While wading back after setting the long line, I saw the short line go tight. The long rod quickly went into the holder so that I could fight the fish. It was another nice grunter which was giving me a nice fight close to the side. I happened to look at the other rod in the holder and the line pulled tight bending the rod... I had a double. I switched rods in the holder and fought the second fish to the side. Both were nice fish and with these last 2, I had my quota for the day and headed home knowing I had cracked the code on the day. I did not go back to the spot again, but who knows, maybe next year.

Getting more involved

On Sunday 22^nd, Wayne, Andrew, Hugo and I left Richards Bay harbour onboard “Galavant”. We headed up north and set up in 70m of water. The water was beautiful! Strong current, warm, and deep blue. We decided to try something a little different on this day. Instead of pulling a bunch of lures around, we decided to rig up a few halfbeaks and pull them behind our teasers.

 

I rigged up a few baits and staggered them in the riggers. The clips and the drags were set lightly so that the fish could be fed a bit before tightening up. We hoped that this would improve the hookups on the stripeys as well as make the strike more exciting as the anglers would be more involved.

 

 

At 7:30, we were in 250m of water when the right long clip popped. I fed the fish for a few seconds then tightened up. The line ran off the reel at quite a pace but there was no white water out the back. The deck was cleared in a hurry and Hugo took the chair. After the first long run, the fish slowed down then came in pretty easily. We were not too sure what it was and only when it was a short distance away, did it surface and show itself. It was a nice shortbill spearfish. I brought it in on the leader where we took a few pics before releasing this rare billfish. What a great start.

 

The lines went in again and trolling resumed. There seemed to be a few fish on the 200-250m line so we spent most of our time there. By midday, the wind had picked up quite a bit, so we were being pushed south to the harbour. It was at about noon when the left long popped and the reel ran. I fed the fish but before I could tighten up, it was gone. The head of the bait came back, but there were no marks on the leader. Despite watching the baits, none of us had seen the fish, only a splash. We were pretty sure it was not a billfish, but the result was the same... a missed strike.

By 3pm, the day was pretty much over. We were trolling back to harbour in 75m of cold, green water, hoping for a Hail Mary fish. Andrew and I were looking at the baits when we saw a dark shape come up behind the right short. It was a small black marlin. The fish showed no rush in attacking the bait and had no lights on. It leisurely approached the bait and in slow motion stick its bill out the water and knocked the bait out the clip. By now I was already standing at the ready with a few meters of slack and the reel in total freespool. When the clip opened, the bait dropped back, but the fish never ate it. I tried teasing it a bit, but it faded back and out of the spread. The bait came back in perfect condition with only a slight scuff marl on the leader. I guess thats also part of the game. 
 
 
 

Blue Label

On Saturday 14^th December at 5:30am, we launched “Stephe” off Sodwana. We were a full crew for the day with Phillip’s friend Anton, his son and a friend, myself and my friend David from Joburg. None of them had caught a marlin before, so we were hoping for one of them to have a chance at ticking off this bucket list item. What made the day more interesting was that there was a side bet made the night before between Phillip and Fanie. Fanie bet a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label that we would not catch a marlin... the bet was on!

The surf was a bit big that morning, so it took some fancy footwork to get out, but soon we were headed towards Diepgat. I set the spread of lures while Phillip explained the drill to the crew. The conditions were perfect... warm, purple water, dolphins, birds, current lines, hammer heads, bait showings, you name it, it was there.

At around 8am in 300m, Phillip saw a fish come in on the stinger lure, a Marlin Magic Tube. The rigger popped and the reel smoked off. With so many hands on deck, the lines were cleared in no time. Anton was in the chair and we were just getting settled when the fish went ballistic. A really nice blue went greyhounding across the surface then doubled back on its track. When the fish landed, the rod shot back as the line parted. Just a bit of bad luck I guess. I rerigged the rod and set the lures. Phillip turned to come back over the area where we had a strike and at 8:45 in 300m, I saw a good fish come up on the right long “Merlin” lure. It missed the lure 3 times before it finally engulfed it. The rigger popped but the line just slowly ticked off the reel. While this was going on, the lines were cleared. As the last lure came into the boat, the fish went mental on the surface and dumped the reel well into the backing. Anton’s son was in the chair and managed to regain some line while Phillip backed up. When the mono was back on the reel, the fish went deep so we upped the drag to around 14kg. After about 10 minutes of this heavy drag, the fish turned our way and slowly came closer to the boat. 45 minutes after hookup, the leader was in reach. I brought the blue in alongside and was surprised at the size. It was somewhere between 450 and 500Lbs. Not bad for a first fish. After a few photos, we release her... and claimed the Blue Label!

It was still early, so we put out the lines again. Again, we worked the area and at 11:30 in 200m, there was a big splash on the left short “Ruckus”. The rigger popped and we were hooked up. The fish stayed on the surface and made a few great jumps near the boat. It was not long before Anton brought the leader up. The fish was super green and before I could get it close, it launched itself out the water. I held on for as long as I could, but had to let go when I felt myself going overboard! A short while later I had the leader again. This time the fish was a bit more relaxed and we could take the hooks out. As it is with black marlin, they can give you a hiding next to the boat and this one was no different. Both Phillip and I had received war wounds before releasing the 200Lbs fish. What a day!

Again the  lines went back in. The leader on the lure was a bit buggered so we replaced it with an “XL Ruckus”. This lure had never been in the water, so we were keen to see how it operated. At 12:00, Phillip turned back over the 200m line to intercept the birds working on a shoal of bait. While turning, the line wrapped around the tagline so I pulled on the slack line to unwrap it. As I did this, there was a big commotion in the wake and the line was ripped out my hand! We were on! All of us were taken by surprise by the fish but managed to clear the deck without a problem. The fish stayed close and jumped a few times before coming to the boat. We could see something was wrong as the fish was fighting strangely. This was a better size black, around 350Lbs, and with it being at the boat so quickly, all of us expected it to open a can of “whipass”. I took the leader and pulled it against the boat without much hassle. Only then could we see what the problem was. The leader had wrapped around the bill and jaw and then tangled in the hooks. The fish could not open its mouth to breathe, so it could not fight. Phillip removed the hook and the leader slipped off the bill for our third release for the day. Unreal... 3 marlin released by 12:30!

Again the lures were set and we worked the area. The water colour started to go a bit green so Phillip headed out a bit deeper to find better water. Things went quiet so we decided to make one last turn then head for home. At 2pm, Phillip turned towards the bay. The lines were just straightening out when the right short “Bogeye” disappeared in a big splash. The reel ran for a while but the line went straight down. While the lines were being cleared, Phillip and I mentioned that it could be a big tuna. I transferred the rod to the chair where David strapped himself in. The line was still leaving the reel at a steady pace, but the angle on the line had come up a bit only then did we notice the white water in the distance. It was a marlin. The fish tore up the surface and took a lot of line in a hurry. Phillip backed up on it while David put line back on the reel. After about 30 minutes, the fish was close. It jumped a few times then sat sulking under the surface. Phillip turned toward it to close the gap. David inched the fish closer until I finally got a wrap on the leader. I heaved the 300Lbs blue to the surface. After a few pics, we turned it loose. What a feeling!

It was nearing the end of the day, so for what it was worth, we trolled to the backline before going in. This was the first time Phillip or I had been with 4 fish in a day so it was super special. And to have all 4 anglers catch their first marlin in one day, was just the cherry on the top... with a Blue Label sauce!

North is where its at

On Saturday 8^th December at 5:30, Wayne, Lionel, Alex, Neville and I left Richards Bay harbour on “Galavant”, looking for marlin. We headed just north of the harbour and set lines in 70m of water. There was a nice colourline and a temperature increase of over a degree. We worked out to 600m then back to 200m for most of the morning without a touch. From 10am, the reports on the radio indicated that there were a few fish to the north. Several boats hooked fish but most unfortunately threw the hooks.

We slowly worked our way north against the current but did not make much headway. We were not too concerned as we had found some life in the 500-600m depth. There were a few birds, flying fish and pilot whales so we were pretty confident that sooner or later something would happen. The turn of the tide came and went with no action. With the day nearing an end, we moved in shallow onto the 100-200m ledge. As we turned, the right short rigger popped end the reel ran a bit. It was definitely not a billfish, so we left the other lines out while Lionel brought the fish in. It turned out to be a wahoo of around 14kg. Our day ended without another touch. Hopefully the next trip will be our turn to get a nice fish...

Stocking up for the Festive Season

On Sunday 1^st December 2013 at 5:30, Pierre, At and I launched “AVANTI” at Cape Vidal. The SW was blowing quite strong and the sea was very uncomfortable. Normally we would not have gone out, but the weather had been so bad the last few months, that we were desperate to get on the water to catch some fish and stock the freezers! We started out off the point looking for livebait. The showings were few and far between and by 6am, we had not found anything yet. At worked a bit further south and in 22m found a showing. Pierre and I sent the jigs down and immediately went on with full strings of maasbankers. As I lifted mine into the boat, Pierre shouted that there were dorado around the boat. His words were not cold when 3 dorado came flying into his bait string and stole the maasies off the hooks. There was a mad dash for rods to get a bait in the water. I grabbed a flickstick, that had a single already attached, pinned a maasie and pitched it overboard. As it hit the water, a dorado came flying in and engulfed the bait... on! As the fish went wild, doing cartwheels, I put the rod in the holder and grabbed another rod. I looked over to see Pierre and At both bending on fish! I pinned another bait on a cuda trace and flicked it out... on again! While this was going on, the first fish on the flickstick came off so I switched rods in the holder and rerigged a trace before casting another bait... same result! When the dust settled, we had 4 fish in the hatch from 5 strikes... not too shabby for 6:20am.

At went back to the spot where we caught the bait, but the shoal had scattered due to the dorado. We headed up north again and drifted back to the bait area. Pierre had rigged up a halfbeak which I put out the back, just incase. It was not long before the rod keeled over and the reel screamed. Pierre leaned over to slack the drag, but knocked the reel into freespool! I’ll leave the result up to your imagination.

Finally we drifted over a good showing and got a few maasbanker. I rigged up 2 surface lines and 2 deep lines and At trolled the area. We waited a whole 10 minutes for a reel to go and as this dorado was brought to the boat, the shoal came with it. This time we were prepared and fired 2 live baits out on the spinning rods. Instant hook-ups! We managed to get all of the fish in and reset the lines. At found an area where the water temp came up to 25.8 degrees and there were a few bait marks on the echo. A shoal of flying fish erupted nearby and as we came into the area, the 2 surface baits went away. At this stage, we knew what to expect, so when the fish were brought to the boat, 2 live baits were fired out, direction did not seem to matter. This resulted in one or two more hook-ups. At found another good bait showing which resulted in another 5 maasies. As I rigged them, they were eaten by hungry dorado. At one stage, Pierre and I were fighting fish when the deep line went away. The reel initially went away quickly then slowed down to a constant speed and the fish headed to sea. The rod was left in the holder as we all said it was a shark. We ignored that rod and loaded the 2 dorado. Attention then turned to the other rod which had stopped running. I retrieved the line to fine the bait still on the trace. It was squeezed to a pulp... obviously a billfish and not a shark ...whoops J Eventually the bait stocks ran out so I put out live seapike, but could not get a pull. When we checked the lines, there were free swimmers around the boat, but none would take these baits.

By noon, we decided to call it a day as there was a lot of work to be done. Back at the cleaning area we found that we had 19 dorado. We filleted all the fish and vacuum packed them so that the friends, visiting from inland, would have something to take home. It was a great day on the water and a great start to the festive season!