Dropping off crew

On Sunday 7^th August, we launched “Avanti” off Richards Bay. We had a few of At’s friends on the boat looking for a Garrick. Knowing there was not much bait on the pipe, we opted to look on the shallow reefs near the nets and within 20 minutes, we had a hatch full of shad. The guys needed to leave for Pretoria at 11am, so it was going to be a short session. 

We headed to 5 mile and ducked into the backline. I rigged up 3 lines and At trolled through the rips. It took about half an hour for our first pull. I fed and hooked up the fish which ran straight into the backline. I handed off the rod and was busy clearing the other lines when the 40 lbs leader parted. Bad luck. We were back at square one. About an hour later, on the deep side of a nice rip, the short surface bait went away. Again I hooked up and passed the rod over. The fish didn’t do to much and was quickly next to the boat. I grabbed the tail and lifted it into the bot where it was tagged and released.

At made another turn while I let the new baits out. On almost the same spot, we went away again. This time the fish put on a better fight and took some time for me to get hold of the tail. This fish was also tagged after a few quick pics, then released. We had high hopes for another fish, but by 10:30, the had been no more action and we had to head back to drop the guys off.

It was still early, the weather was great and we had some bait left, so we decided to fish into the afternoon. We made the short run to the south pier and I had just set the last line when the first one went away. I passed the rod to Hendry who hooked up onto a shoal size Garrick. It gave him a good rev on the spinning rod and finally I managed to tail the fish and get a tag into it. Trolling continued, but it had gone quiet. 

The wind had picked up a lot and we were battling to maintain position so we headed to the north pier to give it a few minutes. Just before 4pm, the deep bait went away. Hendry fed and hooked up a good sized fish that gave him a nice fight before I could leader it. After tagging it, it was released and we called it a day.

First Garrick of the Season

On Saturday 6^th August, Wayne, Lorenzo and I launched “Da Boys” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get into some snoek and Garrick action. Our first stop was to get livies which proved very challenging and could not find a single one. I headed shallower to the shark nets and found a few showings. Wayne and I started getting a mix of pinkies and shad and soon we were heading up north.

Lorenzo with his first garrick

I put out a few snoek baits and slowly trolled north. As we were going, we saw a few birds dipping. I fired a small spoon at them and on the third turn of the handle, I went on to a snoek. It didn’t take long to boat the fish and we could follow the birds to get another one. Despite putting the lure right in front of the snoek, we could not get another pull. The action subsided and we continued north. We heard of some action a bit further north, so we changed to a few rapalas and feathers to get there a bit faster. A few minutes later Wayne went on with a snoek which also found it's way into the hatch.

The snoek had sounded and things were very quiet. We decided to head into the backline and look for a Garrick. There was a beautiful colourline in 4m of water so we spent some time working alone it. After about an hour, we had a pull and went tight with a small Garrick. We gave the rod to Lorenzo and he had his hands full with his first Garrick. After about 20 minutes, I put the gaff into the fish and hauled it onboard. We made another turn over the same spot and had a Garrick come charging in to eat a shad, but it turned off at the last second. It bumped one of the further baits o the way back, but never ate it. Sometimes they can be difficult like that. We spent some more time along the colour line but had no more pulls so we headed back to port.

Richards Bay Gamefish Interclub 2016

On the weekend of 30^th July, we launched “Avanti” with the Richards Bay Ladies team consisting of Tammy Hammond, Loraine Kapp and Petro Schutte. We were fishing the RB Gamefish Interclub. The weather was pretty terrible but everyone was really keen t wet a line. Our first stop was at the pipe where we caught a few livies. We quickly ran to the south pier to try fish for a Garrick before moving to plan B. The lines were just set when the deep line went away. Loraine went tight on a Garrick and after a bit of a tussle, the fish was next to the boat. I was busy reaching out to gaff the fish when the hook pulled! Talk about bad luck. We shrugged it off and continued fishing without any further pulls so we headed out to small high point. We drifted there a few time, but there was nothing, not even a showing. We decided to put out some trolling lures to cover some ground. It didn’t take long to get a pull. This time it was on a big deep diver way out the back intended for wahoo. I was pretty sure that’s what it was, but after a few minutes, the fish bit through the #7 wire! Again the lines went out and we trolled the area. Petro managed to get a small rainbow runner that was under the minimum weight and Tammy caught a jube jube that we kept for bait.

With nothing going on, we headed for Petingo hoping for a cuda or kingfish. The ladies worked jigs and live baits for a while but never had a bump so we put on a few cuda baits and trolled around for a bit. Just before lines up, we managed to get a pull and Petro released a nice bigeye kingfish.

Day two saw a late launch due to the weather being fowl. At 7:30 we all put to sea and managed to catch livies in record time. We headed south to where there were a few birds working and it didn’t take long to get a few pulls from snoek. Unfortunately a few fell off and the ones we caught were too small to weigh. With the sea being terrible, we headed to the harbour and pulled some livies around for Garrick. It was really quiet but finally we had a pull. The fish took off like a rocket when it ate the bait. Tammy fed it for a while before we tightened up… nothing! The shad came back in perfect condition! The Garrick must have swam into the line when it was chasing the bait and got tangled up. What are the chances of that? So our comp came to an end with a lot of good laughs and bad luck. We will be there next year to try again.

2016 Mapelane Junior Interclub

On Saturday 9^th July, we launched Tyron Gruar’s “Kaskasi” off Mapelane. We were fishing in the Mapelane Junior Interclub and I was the manager of the U/16 Richards Bay team. Hannes and Gideon Steenkamp and TJ Jacobs were in the team. After a bit of a wet launch, we headed for St Lucia swimming beach where we filled up on live bait and then headed for the 50m ledge.

TJ with a nice Wahoo

Gideon pulling a yellowfin

There had been a lot of small tuna around the previous week, so that was part of the game plan for the day. We put out 3 large halcos, a small kona and a smaller rapala then trolled north into the current. After about half an hour, we went on with a small yellowfin which was quickly boated. I happened to look at one of the lures that we had been pulling and saw some proper teeth marks on it. It must have happened in the last few minutes, as the lure was brand new. Trolling commenced and every half an hour or so we would get a pull from a small yellowfin. By the time we were at the northern tip of the reef, we had 6 small tuna. We were only allowed to weigh 3, so we needed to look for a different species. I suggested that we run back to a mark that we trolled over earlier that had some good showings and make a drift. Maybe for a cuda. Tyron came into the area and slacked off the speed to look for the showing. In the meantime, I put out 2 halcos just in case… As we were nearing the marks, the close lure went away at speed! Hannes took the rod while TJ started retrieving the other far line. Almost immediately, the rod was pulled flat and the reel smoked off as a second fish grabbed the lure! Unfortunately, Hannes’ fish pulled hook while TJ fought his. There were a few good smoking runs along the surface, leading us to believe that the fish was a wahoo. Sure enough after about 20 minutes, I gaffed a really nice one.

Richards Bay U/16 Day 1

Being a species comp, we needed to look for another species to double the points. But even though we tried really hard for a cuda, we never had another pull and headed back to the beach at 2pm. The wahoo weighed 18kg and the small yellowfins were between 4 and 6kg. Enough for 2^nd place for the day.
On Sunday 10^th, we again headed to the livebait spot and caught some bait but didn’t want to spend too much time as the day was shorter than the previous day. Again we headed to the ledge to troll for the yellowfins. Relatively quickly, we got out 3 weighables but then had a shark tax a tax us and take the best halco with it.

 We opted to look for another specie as the 3 yellowfins would not win us the comp. Tyron lined up the boat for a drift and while he checked the GPS, we let out a livebait on surface. While still freespooling, the reel took off and we went on to a better size yellowfin which unfortunately pulled hook at the boat.

Day 2 Mapelane Junior Interclub

With the drift line sorted, we ran to the top of the reef and drifted back. Knowing there were a few bigger tuna around, we put out a fluorocarbon rig with a livebait. While TJ was feeding it out, it was picked up but after a short run came off. On closer inspection, the flouro had been bitten off. Unlucky! We put on a piece of wire and made another drift. This time it took a few minutes to get a pull and after tightening up, the fish made a few good runs before it was at the boat where I gaffed a cuda. Now the hatch looked better. Unfortunately after a few more drifts we only got a shark.

At the weigh in, the 3 yellowfins weighed between 4 and 5kg and the cuda went 12,6kg. There were a few other nice fish that were weighed, and we ended up maintaining our 2^nd place. Thanks to everyone involved.

Tuff Tuna

On Saturday 28^th May, Wayne Ritchie, Lorenzo and I launched “Da Boys” off Richards Bay. The weather forecast was perfect and we were looking forward to a great day on the water. We stopped at the pipeline and looked for bait. There were very few showings around and all the boats struggled to find anything. There were a few shad and the odd Maasbanker but we had to really work for each of them. Finally we happened upon a decent showing and before hitting the bottom, went on with some bait. They turned out to be some really big mackerel which were finally able to move up north to look for some fish.

Wayne with a 20kg Yellowfin.

After a half hour run, I put out a few small rapalas and fillets and trolled north tacking between 15 and 25m. There were no showings or any signs of surface activity. At about 8:30, one of the cd7 rapalas was eaten and the reel smoked off. This was definitely not a snoek… Wayne took the strike while I cleared the other lines. The fish had a lot of line in the water by the time I had the deck clear so I slowly followed the fish to allow Wayne to put some line on the reel. The fish stayed on surface for a while before sounding. Initially we thought that the fish was a cuda, but it was becoming apparent that it was a yellowfin especially when we could see the tail beats on the rod tip. After 45 back breaking minutes, the fish was close to the boat, but it had no intention of coming closer. 

Lorenzo with a slinger

The long rod and big swell made it extremely difficult for Wayne to gain line on the fish and after an hour, he relinquished the rod to me. It seemed like a fresh pair of arms is what was needed and after another 10 minutes of circling, the fish came within range and Wayne managed to gaff a good size yellowfin. We could not believe that a fish could be that strong, but when we took a closer look, it all made sense. 

The fish had been hooked in the top of the head making it very difficult to fight. No matter, we had some fresh tuna steaks on the menu. The fish pulled a 20kg hand scale flat, so we were pretty chuffed.

Trolling resumed but without any more action. Lorenzo was keen to catch a few fish himself, so we stopped on one of the shallow reefs and sent down a light bottomfish rig. For the next hour, we had a ball with the many bottomfish species. We kept 5 fish for the pot and released the rest.

The wind started picking up so we decided to head back home. All in all, it was a great day on the water. 

Lekker fresh fish!

On Sunday 15^th May, At and I launched “Avanti” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to get a snoek or so with the perfect weather conditions. We stopped at the pipeline and caught a few maasbankers and shad before heading north towards Dawsons. On the way up, I rigged up a few rods with small rapalas and feathers. When At throttled back, I let out the lines and we trolled north in the backline.

It was stone dead so we made a deep turn and saw a few shoals of redeyes on the surface. Knowing that these primo baits were in short supply, I upped the lines and spent some time filling the bait box. After a while, the shoals disappeared and we continued trolling. The radio was silent and no one had seen good fish yet so we sounded around in the shallows and found a small reef to try for some bottoms. We were in luck and managed some nice rockcods, including a yellowbelly, and some other species.

With some fish to eat, we slowly trolled south and about an hour later, we had a pull on the fillet on japan. I pulled in a snoek of around 4kg. Great, mission accomplished. I rerigged and At made another turn. Again we had a pull on the same bait but pulled the hook. After a few more turns without another pull, we headed shallower into the backline and were rewarded with another pull. This time it was a good snoek of around 7kg. It was getting late, so after another turn without a pull, we upped lines and headed back home with some Lekker fresh fish.

Air Jaws

On Saturday 14^th May, we left Richards Bay harbour aboard “Galavant”. We were looking to fish for marlin one more time to see if they were still around. On the way out, all the anchored ships were facing the wrong direction which indicated that there was a reverse current… not a good sign. We pushed on past the ships and in 150m, set the lines.

The water colour was horrible and to make it worse, the deeper we went, the colder it became. The temp dropped from 23 degrees in the harbour to 21,4 degrees at 750m. Just before deciding to turn around, far out to see, we could see a bit of a colour change. Finally there was a break and the temperature rose to 24 degrees and the colour improved dramatically. There were a few birds and flying fish around, so we felt a lot better about our chances.

A feisty Mako Shark of around 70kg

The day wore on without any action. Other boats fishing in the vicinity also saw nothing. At about 1pm, I was sitting in the fighting chair, watching the teaser off the starboard stern cleat when without warning, a blue and silver shape rocketed out the water with the teaser in its jaws, landing with a big splash. It was an agro Mako shark that seemed intent on destroying the teaser. This was like a scene from the Air Jaws documentary. It attacked the hookless lure a few times before fading off to the left short lure. This was a Marlin Magic Ruckus, so I was not keen to have a toothy critter bite it off. It popped the rigger and I wound like hell to avoid hooking it. Luckily the shark faded back to where it smashed the left long and got stuck. We cleared the lines in a hurry and Willis jumped in the chair. The Mako didn’t take much line and soon I had the leader in hand. As soon as I had a chance, I grabbed the lure and slid it up the leader so that if it did bite off, I still had it. On closer inspection, I saw that the hook was only through the skin of the jaw and that I small slice with a sharp knife would free the hook, so I very carefully made a small cut and the hook came out. The shark took off to parts unknown. It was not a marlin, but it did give us a bit of a show and made a rather uneventful day much better.

Not long after, we headed back to port hoping that the next trip would be more successful.

Fish of a lifetime!

After a very busy few months, I finally managed to get onto the water…

On Monday 2^nd May at 8am, Hein, Wayne and I left Richards Bay harbour aboard “Galavant”. There had been a few marlin and tuna around so we wanted to see if we could find anything that would bite. We opted to fish strait out the harbour behind the ships. On the way out, we stopped to troll over small high point but a large container ship had anchored directly on top of it so we headed deeper. At around 100m, we slowed down and set the lines. The water was a bit green, 24.2 degrees and no current. Wayne trolled deeper to look for some better conditions.

Hein and his first Blue Marlin

In 900m, we saw a few flying fish and a bird or two. A short distance away, there was a piece of floating debris so Wayne made a turn towards it. We passed by it but there was no growth on it so we just carried on past it. A few minutes later, without any warning, the right short rigger popped and the reel took off. I flew down stairs to clear lines. Out the back, a small blue marlin of around 60kg tore up the surface. Wayne kept the line running off the reel while Hein and I cleared the other lines. The fish had a lot of line in the water by the time the deck was cleared so Hein had a job to put it all back on the reel. The fish had done a lot of jumping and was pretty docile when it was near the boat. I took the leader and after a few photos, removed the hooks and turned it loose. This was Hein’s first marlin so we were all really happy that we could check that box for him.

Jono and Wayne with a massive Spearfish

The lines went out and trolling resumed. The surface activity slowed down and soon there were no signs of life so we headed a bit shallower to work the dropoff. The wind swung to the SW and puffed at about 5 knots. Being nervous that the wind would strengthen, we opted to stay shallow and not make another deep turn. After tacking over the dropoff for a while, we found some more flying fish so I made a turn into the area. I looked back and saw a splash on the left long. The rigger popped and the reel screamed off. A feisty bull dorado of probably 18kg bounced around the surface a few times but soon threw the hooks. I was busy retrieving the lure to check it when the centre rigger popped and the 130lbs reel started running at a constant pace. We all assumed that it was a second dorado so casually went about clearing the lines. The reel picked up the pace and at the same time, there was a big splash out the back. Wayne shouted that it was a billfish so Hein and I cleared the deck double time. The fish jumped again and this time we got a good look at it, but something was different about this fish. It looked like a massive spearfish… I took the strike and hopped in the chair. I had never personally caught a spearfish, so I eased the drag off a bit to prevent the hook from pulling. This meant that the fish could take a lot of line, which it did. Slowly Wayne backed up and I could put line on the reel. About 20 minutes later, the leader came up. Wayne came to assist and take the leader. With the fish at the boat, we could see that it was indeed a spearfish and a monster at that. We decided to load the fish for the record books, so I gaffed it and helped Wayne pull it into the boat. Only then did we see how big it really was! But something still seemed off… the bill and dorsal fins looked a bit odd, but no matter, we could worry about that later. I was just over the moon with my first spearfish!

Once in a lifetime fish!

We trolled for about an hour longer without any more luck, so we headed back to the harbour. The fish weighed in at 40,6kg. This is the biggest spearfish weighed in Africa. DNA samples confirmed that the fish is indeed a longbill and the first of its kind in the Indian Ocean. It is indeed a once in a lifetime catch and I'm glad to have shared it with a great crew.

Roaring Current!

On Saturday 5^th March, we launched “Seaduction” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to find a cuda for the boys from Theunissen. Our first stop was at the pipe where we caught a couple of mackerel. With the live well full, we headed south to high point. On arrival, we put out 3 small bait lures to catch bonito for livies. It did not take long to get 2 small bonnies which I rigged up, one on surface and one deep.

There was no wind, but the current was probably the strongest I have ever seen it there. With both motors a bit above in gear, we were going backwards at 7km per hour! This proved to be a huge challenge, as there was almost no time to work the pinnacle. 

Every 20 minutes, we would have to up lines and run back to the pinnacle and look for another bonnie. When we had one, it went into the tube and we would run almost a kilometre north to rig baits. We were then swept over the marks in seconds. It took 2 attempts to get our timing right, but finally presented 2 baits over the showing and went away on the deep bait. Unfortunately, the fish missed the hooks and we got half the bait back. It looked like a knife had sliced it off.

Dewald with some sushi

We put out the bait rods and almost immediately went on with two small yellowfin which we bled and put on ice. Again the lures were put out and the search continued. Things went dead for a while but eventually we caught another 2 baits. They were rigged and trolled over the numbers. The bait lasted a whole 5 minutes before the reel smoked off. The lines were cleared and Christo took the rod. The fish went on a sudden long run then came to a sudden halt and there was only a heavy weight that could not be budged… obviously a conversion… Everyone took turns fighting the shark and after 45 mins, we had drifted so far that it was not feasible to waste any more time on it so we broke it off.

Christo fighting jaws

The wind had picked up in the past hour and now the difficult conditions were almost impossible so we abandoned the cuda fishing and put out the marlin lures and trolled north, hoping to make the run home shorter. After about an hour, I saw a strange shape coming straight towards the prop wash from the port side. When it was a few meters away, I saw that it was a mako shark. It stayed in the white water for a while before fading off and launching itself at the left short lure, completely missing it. Moments later, it exploded on the japan lure and the reel took off. A few seconds later, the fish was off as it bit through the nylon leader.

The current was relentless and after two hours, we had not made much head way so we decided to call it a day and head back.

Two Oceans Marlin Tournament

On Monday 15^th February, Tim, Ross, Gareth and I launched “Tyler” out of Struisbaai. I was invited by Brendan Davids to fish the Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, but adverse weather had resulted in the comp being called off for a few days. The Westerly wind that was blowing resulted in a sheltered bay just outside the harbour, so we decided to have a go at catching a Garrick in the afternoon.

Gareth with a tagged Leerie

Gareth had caught a few mullet for live bait and we had a few other rods rigged up with chisel nose plugs. We worked the southern point of the bay, but there was no action so we moved into the bay. While we were slow trolling, Tim was casting a plug off the nose. Gareth spotted a few dark shapes off towards the breakers and Tim’s next cast resulted in a few Garrick chasing the lure but did not connect. We worked the area for a bit and finally found them again. Ross cast his mullet into the shoal and went tight almost immediately. While he was fighting, my live bait was also eaten and we were hooked up to a double! Both fish were pretty close to the boat when mine threw the circle hook, but Ross managed to get his fish onto the leader where it was boated, tagged and released. Things were quiet from then on, so we headed back to the harbour.

Feeding the locals

On Tuesday 16^th February, the comp was called off again, but with the wind settling, we decided to make a midday launch and headed out to the 12mile banks. We put out a few marlin lures, and within a few minutes had a small yellowfin eat one of them. It was rigged up for a livebait, but unfortunately, after about an hour it was eaten by a mako shark. 

The lures went in again and trolling continues. There were big shoals of skipjack and small yellowfin that attached the swivels of the lures whenever we got near to them. Every now and again, there were bigger yellowfin that smashed the lures and we were kept busy for most of the afternoon. There was a lot of bait around, but no billfish so we headed back to the harbour.

On Wednesday morning the cold front came through with vengeance and the comp was again called off.

On Friday 19^th, he wind had finally subsided and all the boats put to sea. We headed out towards the 45’s but on route, the water colour got worse and worse so we made the call to turn around and head 5 miles back towards the Halfway House as the water looked good there. The lures went out and Gareth trolled the area looking for signs of life.

Ross with a WP Wahoo

After a while, the centre rigger popped and the reel ran for a bit. Ross took the strike and managed to bring a 12kg wahoo to the boat. This was an exceptionally rare catch for the area so everyone was very surprised to see it. The lines had just been reset when I saw a small marlin grabbing the left teaser. I shouted from the tower to get the pitch bait in the water, but the fish faded off as quickly as it appeared. At least we were in the right area. Some time later, we came across a big hammerhead cruising on the surface. Apparently also a rare sight. I was glad to see it, as from my experiences, the hammers and the marlin usually frequent the same areas. As luck would have it, we had just turned to work the area when Brendan saw a marlin come in on the left long lure. It followed the lure for a bit and when it finally attacked, it bill wrapped the leader and spooked without hooking up. Despite making a few more turns, the fish never came back.

Releasing a Mako Shark

I was up on the tower for a bit, when I saw a commotion on the left teaser. Through the foam, I could make out that it was a mako shark that seems adamant to destroy the squids. Brendan pitched a bait on the spinning rod and went tight with the fish. At about the same time, the right long came down and both lines ran to the same fish. After some commotion on the surface, the one leader was cut and Tim was left to bring the mako to the boat where it was released.

Again the lines went out and after a few tacks, the centre rigger popped. The reel ran for a bit, but then the fish as gone. We did not see anything, but on closer inspection, there were bill marks on the leader. It must have been a shy fish that was not keen to feed. The predicted front came through at 1pm and picked up to 20knots. We turned for home but kept the lures in the water. In the next hour or so, we caught two yellowfin and a skipjack before we upped lines and headed back to harbour. Unfortunately none of the boats competing caught a marlin, but considering the conditions…

Being a tourist...

The weather forecast for the Saturday (last day of the comp) was terrible and called a blowout. What was surprising was that on the Friday evening, the tournament committee sent an sms out to the competitors stating that the tournament was extended by an extra day and that Sunday was now also considered a tournament day. Unfortunately many of the upcountry teams could not take part as travel arrangements had been made months in advance, based on the dates supplied by the organisers. This was in my opinion a bad call and a bit short sighted. Never the less, a great time was had by all.