Tangling with Daga

On Friday afternoon 14^th June, Jannie Jacobs, Jannie's brother, Robert and I launched “OHANA” off Richards Bay. We were hoping to find a few dagga salmon that had been around. After arriving at the pipeline, we sounded around for a while to look for signs of life. It was not long before we found large bait showings indicating the spot to focus our efforts. We checked the drift before setting the sand anchor. We positioned ourselves perfectly on the top of the showing and I set about catching a few maasbanker before the sun went down.

As the sun set, the bait went off the bite so we set about rigging up the bottom rods. While Jannie rigged 2 rods to catch shad, I hooked up a live maasie and sent it down. It only took about 15 minutes before I felt the heavy bumps on the rod. I fed the fish for a few turns before I tightened up. The rod buckled over as the fish ran, but this was short lived as the hook pulled out after a few meters. After losing the first fish, everyone scrambled for a rod and sent down a livie. With a few lines down, our chances improved and Robert was the next to get a bump. This turned out to be a really nice rockcod. By now, the shad were around the boat so it was operation live bait and within half an hour, there was a healthy supply of bigger livebait for the evening.

Jannie put the bait rod down and rigged a shad on his bottom rod. The bait was only down for a few minutes before he had a pull. Unfortunately, his result was the same as mine... pulled hook. Things went a bit quiet and by 7:30 we still had no dagga on the boat. There were about 14 boats on the pipe and by the sounds of things, there was very little action. I switched on the echo sounder to see what was going on below. I saw that we were a few meters off the pipe, probably due to the wind and current pulling on the anchor. We pulled in a bit of rope until we were on top of the pipe and the showing... things had to happen. I put out a trapstick with a live maasie and floated it out the back. There had been a few kingfish in the evenings and I was hoping for one to climb on. Probably 10 minutes later, Robert had a bump and hooked up to a nice fish. Moments later, Jannie also hooked up so there was a bit of weaving to keep the lines apart. Jannie mentioned that he could feel another line on his line and next thing, his line parted! Robert managed to get his fish to the boat where we gaffed a 16kg dagga. When we lifted his fish into the boat, I saw that my trapstick line had been tangled up and while loosening the knot, I felt something pulling back on the other end... there was a fish on my line. Quickly we undid the tangle and I went about fighting the fish. As it came close, my trace cleared the water, with my bait still intact. There was however another line tangled around it... it was Jannies fish that had burnt off earlier! After handlining the fish, Jannie gaffed a 14kg dagga. Talk about lucky!

We had caught 2 fish in 15 minutes so there was obviously a shoal under the boat. I set my trapstick again and then put out a bottom rod looking to hookup the conventional way. I had just hit the bottom when the trapstick reel went away. I handed off my bottom rod and took up the other rod. Thinking this was a kingfish, I fought it really hard and within a few minutes, the fish was next to the boat. It turned out to be another salmon of 18kg... what a luck. I rerigged another bait on the same rod and had just turned to drop another bait when the reel went again. This time It took off at quite a speed with some good head nods. At one stage, I felt a rope on my line so I freespooled for a bit. Luckily the line came free and I muscled the fish to the surface. It turned out to be yet another salmon. This was the biggest so far and ended up being 21,3kg... not bad for a cuda stick.

It was now 8:30 and we had out quota of salmon. We opted to continue fishing and release any further fish we caught. Despite fishing for another hour, we had no further action and headed back to port. Thanks to Jannie and crew for a great night.

A Royal Flush ... complete with a Joker

On Saturday 8^th June at 6am, my Dad and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. The weather forecast indicated that this would be the only fishable day before a big front came though. There were already a lot of boats on the water, most of which were headed north to look for snoek. The snoek catches had been very sporadic and I was not keen to hassle with 30 boats for maybe 1 fish. With the water being so clean, we opted to fish close to the harbour at the spots that we very seldom try.
Our first stop was at the pipeline where we caught some livies. They were a bit on the small side so we headed to a deeper bait mark. The showings on the echo indicated a big dense shoal of bait on the bottom so I went down with the jigs. As I hit bottom, I was on. After a few winds, the rod bumped and pulled down as something bigger latched on. It took a bit of line but unfortunately broke the jigs off. I rerigged and went down again. I was busy retrieving the next string of bait when I saw a big silver number plate a few meters below them. There were obviously a few bigger fish feeding on these baitfish so I rigged up a cuda rod with a make shift trace and bottom sinker and sent it down... just to see what they were. I had just put the rod in the holder, so that I could continue with the bait jigs, when the ratchet went. I tightened up on the drag and went tight on a fish that took a few meters of line then sat sulking. Every now and again, it would bump and take some line. It fought just like a flat fish. About 15 minutes later, I managed to muscle the fish to the surface. When I looked overboard, I got the shock of my life when I saw a big silver shape. I slacked the drag and pampered the fish to the boat where my Dad gaffed a beautiful 8kg queenfish! It was hooked in the dorsal fin which explained the hard fight. We very seldom catch queenies so it was a treat to get one. I went down again with a second bait and again, just after putting the rod in the holder, the reel went and I was on again. This time the fish took quite a bit of line and shook its head violently. I suspected it was another queenie so took my time and managed to get another 6kg fish to the boat. What a treat.

By now we had seen that the fish were right on top of the bait showing and if we were 20m off, we got no pulls so my Dad held the boat in position while I fished. Because queenfish are not a target specie here off Richards Bay, I was keen try and figure out how to catch these fish, while I had the chance. I rigged up a second rod with a double hook trace and 8oz sinker on an elastic. On the other rod I kept the original make shift trace. As my Dad trolled over the mark, the double rig went away but the hooks missed. Moments later the other rod went and we duffed that one too. I rerigged a lighter rod with a trace and sent it down. Almost on contact with the bottom, I went on and hooked a strong fast fish. About 5 minutes into the fight, the line parted and I retrieved a section of very frayed line. I had been cut off on something... After a bit of head scratching, I decided it was no more Mr Nice Guy and the heavy cuda stick came out. I beefed up the rig, including line, hook, leader etc and made another pass. As the showing started, I felt the bait rev followed by a strong take. I hooked up and passed the rod to my Dad. He put good pressure on the fish and 15 mins later had a nice 13kg kingfish next to the boat. On the next pass, I hooked up again. This time the line went slack followed by a big splash on the surface as another queenie cleared the surface. On the second jump, it spat the hook. What a great sight to see. The wind died down, the bait showing thinned out and the action slowed down. In the next hour, I had 2 other takes which were less aggressive and as a result, I missed the fish. My Dad suggested one more drift before moved on. As the bait showing came through, I had a pull followed by a hookup. After a strong fight, I had another 8kg queenie on the boat.

As per our plan, we left the spot to look for a cuda. I rigged up 3 livies and 2 dead baits. We trolled along the ledge looking for some activity. The sea was like a mirror and after nearly an hour of silence, my Dad shouted “There it goes!”. I spun round to see the deep rod bending to the water. The reel ran in short bursts and the line angled to the surface. It did not take a rocket scientist to know what was going to happen next. About 20m behind the boat, a nice sailfish tore up the surface. We cleared lines in a flash and my Dad took the rod. I chased the fish for a while before the sinker came up. I removed it and pulled in alongside the fish. We had no gloves on the boat so an old rag was the substitute. I billed the sailie, tagged it and removed the hooks before taking a few quick pics. It swam away strongly and ended the day off perfectly. We were back in the harbour by 1pm. Not bad for a quick morning.

Avoid the Crowds

On Saturday 25 May, Bryant Beukes and I launched “Selfish” off Richards Bay. By 05:45, there was already a queue for the slipway as the boats lined up to get in the water. The weather prediction was very good and all the guys wanted to see if they could get a snoek or two. Knowing that the snoek grounds were going to look like a highway, I opted to fish South hoping for a last cuda before the season came to an end.

We stopped at the pipeline at 6am. The water was beautiful and in 3 drops Bryant had a hatch full of livebait. With such good conditions, I was keen to see if there were any mackerel on the deeper marks so stopped there on the way, but to no avail. While we were running south, I saw a swirl in front of the boat, then the blue streak of a fleeing dorado. I hit the brakes, quickly rigged a livie and flicked it out hoping the fish was still around. After drifting for a few minutes without any luck, I was about to pull up when I saw a nice showing on the sounder. Bryant went down and went on with a few mackerel. I worked the area and got some more bait before moving on.
 

Bryant with a fat 24kg cuda

We arrived at the 32m area at around 7:30. I rigged up a few bonnies, wala and a surface livie and then started tacking deeper and shallower to look for some activity. It was not long before I picked up a the odd showing on the drop off. Slowly I worked the area and was rewarded with a smoking reel! The surface bait had been eaten by a good fish which was taking a lot of line in a hurry. We cleared the lines before following the fish. When the reel was nearly full, the fish smoked off again, the line pulling a line bubble trail through the water. Both Bryant and I said that there must be something scaring it and moments later, when the fish was on the leader, a big Zambezi shark materialised from the deep. Luckily the fish was tired after the long runs and it was gaffed just before the shark could get hold of it. Talk about good timing. We battled to get the fish into the hatch but with a bit of force, it went in ... just.

 

The lines went in again and the search continued. About an hour later, I we went over a bit of reef and a bottomfish came up and took a few chunks out of the deep bonnie, so we replaced it with a livebait. I made a turn over the same showing and this deep livie went away with speed. As I picked up the rod, the fish broke off. On closer inspection, the mail line between the sinker and the bait had parted. Not great at all. I rerigged the rod and put out another livie. On the next turn, we went over a showing about 5m off the bottom and it was no surprise when the livie went away again. Bryant took the rod and after a good tussle had a shoal cuda in the hatch. Again the lines went back in and trolling resumed. Things went a bit quiet for a while but finally we went over a good showing and the deep wala-wala was eaten. It was quiet  slow pull, ant there were some big head nods. Before I could clear the lines, the fish was off. When Bryant retrieved the line, the 60lbs leader had been broken. The whole leader, double line and about 5m of main line were badly frayed.

 

By 12 o clock, we had not had another pull, so we upped lines and moved to Petingo for the afternoon session. Unfortunately, even with ideal conditions, we did not have a pull and returned home. The cuda was weighed in at 24,0kg. A nice fish to say the least.

2013 Umhlanga Prestige Interclub

At 6am on Saturday 18^th May, Craig, my Dad, Dale and I launched out of Granny’s Pool. We were competing in the 2013 Umhlanga Prestige Interclub. This was the 5^th year in a row that we attended the competition and in my opinion is the best interclub in the country. As defending champions we had high hopes that the fish would play the game again.

 

We were the first boat to launch and had about a 30 minute wait on the backline before the first batch of 10 boats were ready to go. All the boats sped off to the various bait spots. Craig suggested we stop at the Cason as there had been more bait there in the last few days. All the boats battled to get a good amount of live bait but eventually, by the time the second batch of 9 boats were let loose, had a decent supply in the live well.

 

The plan was to look for a queenfish, yellowfin or bonito on the bait marks as they scored more points than a cuda or other gamefish. We made 2 drifts, but had no pulls. I decreased the size of the leader on the surface bait and on the next drift, that rod had a strike. I took the rod and fought a big bonito to the boat. Our first points on the board. The problem was that we were only allowed 1 bonito per angler per day, minimum weight of 6kg. If there were more bonnies, then Dale or my Dad would have to get them... but what if the next pull was not a bonnie?! The next drift produced another strike on the surface and my Dad brought in a bonnie which was too small weigh. The next drift produced a double strike. One on the deep line and the other on the surface. Unfortunately Dale got an overwind on the strike and missed his fish. My Dad went tight and the fish ripped line off the reel... obviously a yellowfin. With the massively high number of sharks in the area, we had to pull every fish as hard as humanly possible. After 20mins of huge pressure on the yellowfin and some fancy boat manoeuvring, the fish was just under the boat, but then there was a short burst of speed and the 50lbs flouro parted. Whether it was chafed off or if a shark got it, who knows, but the same result... no points. Apart from 1 more small bonnie, we had no action and decided to move out to bulldozers.

 

On the first drift, I hooked a 4kg bonnie but pulled hook on the leader. Seconds later, 2 rods went away and both Dale and my Dad went on to big bonnies which joined mine in the hatch... now I could take a rod again! Our stock of maasbanker was now low so Craig held us on the marks and we managed to get 8 or so fresh baits.

 

There was no action on the next 2 drifts so Craig took us to Fontao where we set up for a drift. At the end of the drift, both Dale and I went tight on good fish. They ran in a similar direction, but when mine gave a few big bumps, I knew there were problems. Moments later, a shark grabbed the fish, followed shortly by Dales fish! The next drift, Dale went on and managed a small bonnie. We had time for 1 last drift before lines up. Again, 2 rods went away and after hard fights, both were taken by #%$#& sharks...

 

Back at the weigh-in, we found ourselves in 5^th position on day 1 after weighing in 3 bonnies of between 6,7kg and 7,5kg.

 

On Sunday 19^th, we launched at 7am. As we had launched first on day 1, we were in the second batch on day 2. By the time we arrived at the bait marks, there was a lot of traffic. Everyone was battling for bait and only after an hour, did we have enough. We made 2 drifts over the wreck without a pull. Craig said we needed to change tactics and head to a deeper spot of Umdloti. After a quick test drift to get the correct line, we went back up and set the lines. After about 30minutes, the long rod with mid water bait keeled over and the reel smoked off! I took the strike and fought what turned out to be a big yellowfin. The long rod had my back aching and after about 20 minutes, the fish was close to the boat but then it bumped its head and took off. Seconds later, the leader was bitten through but another #@$%& shark.

We started the drift again and I changed the long rod to the surface position. Again, near the end of the drift, the mid water bait took off. The lines were cleared and Craig took chase. I was a lot more comfortable on the short heavy rod and lifted the fish a bit quicker. About 10m from the boat, the dreaded head nod began so I freespooled the fish which took about 100m of line before it settled down. The drag went up and I wound till my arm wanted to fall off. The line surfaced and Craig put me on top of the fish where after 3 big circles, my Dad gaffed a nice yellowfin! Finally we got one out.

Back to the start of the drift and it was not long before the surface bait (on the long rod) went away. It took a lot of line in a hurry so we were up and after it in no time. I lifted it to within about 15m from the surface when believe it or not, the head bumps began. I freespooled and again gave the fish over 100m until it slowed down. The drag went up and the long wind began. Luckily, the fish came to the surface and made it easy for me to gain line. Craig sped towards it and the leader came out the water. After 1 circle, the gaff went into a good yellowfin. We were cooking with gas.

By now the wind was blowing about 15knots and the sea getting uncomfortable. 5 other boats had joined us and it seemed to be putting the tune down. Right at the end of our next drift, the surface rod pulled away slowly in short bursts. I fed the fish and as I tightened up, a dorado jumped out the water. I was over the moon as this was going to be an easy fight on the long rod... or so I thought. The lines were cleared and Craig took chase. Within minutes, the fish was in gaffing range and my Dad brought it onboard. It touched the deck and went ballistic, jumping off the gaff. As the fish jumped to the back of the boat I freespooled the reel just incase. Dale and Craig jumped on the fish and in the process got tangled in the bait jigs. The fish made another flip and escaped overboard, back into the water where it took off! Luckily I could let it go and the line ran free. After some choice words, we were chasing after the fish for a second time. In the end, it was gaffed and put straight into the open hatch. That was a close call.

Craig positioned us for another drift. It went very quiet and at the end, while Dale was retrieving the last deep line, had quietly announced that he was on. The fish took line very slowly leading us to believe it was a shark. The drag went to 3,5kg and in low range he pulled the fish to the surface. I removed the sinker and then Craig shouted it was a cuda! We could not believe it. Both my Dad and I took gaffs and on the first turn my Dad missed the fish as it was a bit deep. On the next turn, I missed it and managed to get the hook around the tail which shook off. On my next attempt, the gaff went in and I hauled a nice cuda on board... Great stuff.

There was no more time, so we headed back to the beach. At the weigh-in, the dorado was 8kg, the cuda 12,5kg and the 2 tuna were 13.2kg and 18.65kg respectively. At the prize giving that night, we managed a second place by only 60 points. Thanks to Craig for putting up with us for 2 days. Well done to the winning Zinkwazi 2 team. Thanks to the Umhlanga Committee for putting together a Fantastic event. We hope to be there next year.

Winter Dorado

On Wednesday 1^st May, Marius Botha and I launched “Addicted” of Richards Bay. We wanted to take advantage of the small weather window we had in the morning as the weekend forecast looked terrible.

We left the harbour at 6:30 and headed on the pipeline. As we stopped, there was a big showing of bait and when the jigs hit the ground, I went on with a full string of maasies. A second drop yielded the same result and just like that, in 10 minutes, we had bait. We then trolled small feathers south along the 30m ledge hoping for some small bonnies, but unfortunately they were not around.

On arriving at the 32m area, I put out a spread of baits. The current was ripping north to south and the NE wind of 15 knots meant Marius could not leave the controls for a second. Somehow, the 5 lines went out, even though we were going backwards at 6km per hour!

After about an hour of slow trolling, I noticed the surface rod with a livebait start bumping. I strolled over to it and gave a few winds, expecting it to be one of the many small hammer head sharks that plague us in that area. As the line came tight, the water boiled and the reel smoked off. Definitely not a hammer! By the speed it took off I assumed it was a cuda, but when I looked back, Isaw a nice dorado greyhounding away from the boat. Now that was a surprise. After clearing the other lines, I took the rod and had quite a tussle before Marius could get a gaff into the fish.

We had moved far south so while the lines were up, we ran 6km north to the point that we had started our troll. The wind seemed to have dropped a bit and handling the boat was much easier. Again the 5 lines went out and as I was checking the drag on the last reel I noticed that the surface rod, with a  mackerel on it, was bumping and this time I was sure that it was a small hammer. I gave a few quick turns on the reel to hopefully get the bait away, but the rod keeled over and the reel took off. Both Marius and I could not believe what we saw as another dorado jumped out the back. Marius took the rod and quickly had another dorado in the ice box.

By the end of the troll, the wind had picked up and was getting stronger. The sea was getting very bumpy and we had a 25km run back home. We upped lined and made the long run back to port. Unfortunately we did not get a cuda, but we were glad to have found 2 winter dorado.

Fresh bait

On Sunday 21^st April at 11am, Riaan and I launched ABF for a quick afternoon session. We were hoping to stock up on some bait for the next few trips.

The weather was beautiful and the water was exceptionally clean. Our first stop was at the pipeline but after a few drops, we headed out to the ledge to look for mackerel. As we arrived, there was a massive showing just off the bottom and Riaan immediately went on with a full string of redeye sards. These went straight into the ice water. The current was ripping and in a minute we were well off the marks so I made another turn. As so typically happens with redeyes and strong current, the showing had vanished! I zig zagged the area and found a nice showing. Both Riaan and I got a few redeyes on the one drop that we could make. This went on for a while until the showing had faded. I suggested we put on a few feathers and troll down the ledge to look for jube-jubes.

With 5 lines out, we trolled down to small highpoint. On the way, a few splashed caught my eye near the furthest lure. Next thing, the rod keeled over and the reel took off. This was no bonnie! As what often happens with tuna, 2 other rods took off as well. Riaan took the japan and I took the close line. I put the drag up to full and hauled a 4kg yellowfin tuna in which was bled and put on ice. Riaan was still busy with the long line, so I pulled in the other stick and released a similar size yellowfin. After some time, Riaan’s yellowfin came to the boat. It was a bit bigger than the others, but we had enough to eat so it was released. The lines went in again and about half an hour later, 4 rods went away. This time we both took the close lines and each released a yellowfin. The other rods were left in the rodholders and unfortunately the hooks had pulled. The lines went back in and we trolled over the pinnacle a few times without a touch so we headed shallower to the ships where we found a few more redeyes and mackerel. By 3pm, we upped lines and ran home. Hopefully the bait mission will pay off for us on the next trip out.

Cuda of a lifetime!

At 6:30am on Saturday 6^th April, Jannie, Ruan and I launched “Ohana” off Richards bay. We were keen to try for a cuda as there had been a few nice ones around. The weather looked beautiful and the horrid cold/dirty water from the previous weekend had vanished and was replaced with 26 degree clean green cuda water! BEAUTIFUL!

We stopped at the pipeline and managed to find a few big maasbanker. With the live well full we headed to Petingo where we rigged a few baits and slow trolled the area. Half an hour later, the boat “Tjienkie” arrived with a boat full of spearos. They proceeded to spread out over the wreck with the boat riding circles around the group of divers. We watched as they hauled out a number of bottomfish and small gamefish. Not being able to get near the wreck, due to inconsiderate boat handling,  we upped lines and moved deeper to avoid the situation going pear shaped.

Again we set the lines and trolled the area. At 11:30, the deep bait slowly went away. Ruan took the rod and as we were clearing the lines, the surface bait went away at speed. I took the rod and fought a fast, strong fish. About 15mins later, the fish showed itself to be a good cuda of around 25kg. Slowly it circled up and just as Jannie was about to gaff it, it made a short run. I brought it back and just before it was in range, the wire kinked off and the fish faded into the depths! Meantime, Ruan fought what turned out to be a hammerhead of about 70kg.

With fresh baits in the water, we made another turn. The livie on surface went away with a smallish cuda which pulled hook near the boat. Things went quiet and at 2pm I suggested we go back to Petingo for the afternoon session. On arrival, I put out the surface livie and was busy putting the other surface bait out when the 1^st rod absolutely smoked off! I passed the rod to Jannie and turned the boat to slow the run. Luckily the fish ran away from the wreck (and the resident sharks) so we could take out time. After several long fast runs, the fish showed its number plate. It was a BIG cuda, in the class I had not seen in a few years. The fish made a few big circles and I made one gaff attempt but missed completely, misjudging the depth in the clean water. On the next pass, I stuck the fish and hauled it aboard. As it hit the deck, we knew it was an easy 30kg fish. The head looked like a dogtooth tuna! When we slid it into the hatch, it did not fit!

With shaky hands, I rerigged the baits and Jannie trolled over the wreck. About half way up, the deep livie went away and I took the rod. After a quick tussle, a 10kg cuda was gaffed and joined the crocodile in the hatch. It looked minute against the other fish.

At 3pm, we upped lines and ran home. At the club, the fish drew a crowd of onlookers as it went to the scale. All guesses were surpassed when the fish pulled the scale to 34,7kg!!! A fish of a lifetime! Just it was a weekend too late as it would have won the Easter Bonanza and R40 000.

Well done to everyone on board.

The 10 year wait is over!

On Saturday 30^th March, Jannie, Wessel, Marinda, Ruan and I launched Jannie’s 21ft Yeldcat “Ohana” off Richards Bay. We were fishing in the 2013 Richards Bay Bonanza. The plan for the day was to run out into the deep water and look for tuna or marlin. The previous day several boats had reported hooking big tuna and the odd marlin, so we were keen to give it a go as Wessel had not caught a marlin yet.

We headed straight out the harbour and set lures at around 150m. After trolling out to the 1000m contour, we found large flocks of birds feeding on bait fish. After a while, a pod of dolphin joined the fray. We worked the different bait shoals and finally found one that had what we were looking for. As we approached the birds, big yellowfin tuna breached the surface, their sickle fins almost reaching their tails! We made several turns around the shoals with the long lines pulling through them, but could not get a pull. Other boats in the area were having the same problem. After a few hours, we opted to head in shallower to see if we could find more willing fish. In about 650m, there were more shoals of bait with small bonito mixed in. We had one of these small tuna grab the right long, but could not pop the rigger. All you could see was the little body flashing behind the lure. I went to retrieve it and as I took hold of the line, Jannie shouted that he had seen a fish coming in. I thought he was referring to the bonnie, but suddenly the line ripped out my hand and the reel took off! Unfortunately, after a few seconds, the hook pulled. Obviously something had eaten the bonnie off the lure while we were trying to clear the line, but missed the hooks.

The day was drawing to a close, so we trolled toward the harbour. There was a pinnacle on the 50m ledge between us and the harbour, so we decided to pull over it and then pull the lines. By now, the water was very green and all hopes of getting a fish were gone. As we came onto the ledge, all of us were looking at the sounder to see if there was a showing. Wessel turned back for a moment and then shouted “There it goes!”. I heard the rigger pop and the 80lbs reel slowly ran. I was not impressed as I thought someone was playing the fool and had hooked a bucket on the line while we were not looking. Is it was, the line surfaced and we saw a big splash. By then we realised that the strike was legit, but was probably a dorado. On the next splash, I caught a glimpse of a bill. I thought it was a sailfish as we were in 47m of green water. Wessel got into the chair with the rod while we cleared the other lines. Within 10minutes, the leader was on the rod and I brought the fish closer. I was very surprised when I saw the fish as it turned out to be a small black marlin! With the fish next to the boat, we removed the hooks and turned it loose. This was Wessel’s first marlin. What a great feeling, especially considering Wessel had fished the Bonanza for 10 years!

There was a good showing on the sounder so I put out a halco on a bait rod. Jannie turned over the pinnacle and we went away with a small yellowfin tuna, which we kept for dinner. After that, we upped lines and headed back. Thanks to Jannie for a great few days on the water.

Starting off with a bang!

At 6:45am on Saturday 23^rd February, Dean Ellens and I launched “ABF” off Cape Vidal. We were there for a friend’s bachelors party and needed to stay away from land to recuperate from the previous night’s arrival aggression! This was also the first time the boat had surf launched so it was exciting.

There were close on 30 boats that launched and the beach was a bit chaotic. After waiting for a gap, we launched the boat and ducked through the surf without a problem. The first action item for the day was to catch some live bait. There were already about 12 boats looking for bait but everyone was scratching. After over an hour, we managed to catch enough bait for the day and headed up north to “Greens”. The water was a bit green in the shallows but from 27m there was a nice current line with a lot of activity. We rigged up 5 live baits and slow trolled between 25m and 35m. The current was quite strong and pushed us back at a fare pace. All the time there were small yellowfin tuna and bonito splashing along the line. After about 45minutes, the surface livie started revving and the rod slowly bent. I picked up the rod, pointed it to the water and as the line came tight, I tightened up. Almost immediately a sailfish launched itself out the water and tailwalked toward us. I handed the rod to Dean and then opened the throttle to get the line tight. The sail changed direction and headed off for the blue yonder. Dean kept the fish under control and I cleared the other 4 lines before turning the boat to chase the fish. It stayed on surface so it was easy to pull in alongside it. The fish made a few manoeuvres under and around the boat with a few jumps thrown in before I took the leader and billed the fish. After the hooks were removed, and a few quick photos were taken, the fish was revived and released! Great stuff.

We had drifted quite a way so I ran back up to where we started and reset the lines. Things were quiet for quite a while but then the surface rod buckled and the reel ran for a bit. The line went straight down and we both Dean and I said it was a tuna. I left the other lines in and jockeyed the boat to allow Dean to gain line but also keep the other lines under control. After a bit of a struggle, the small yellowfin tuna came to the surface tail first, almost dead. I bled it and put it in the hatch.

By now it was 11am and it was pretty obvious that there were no cuda in the shallows so I headed deeper to the 50m ledge. In 45m, the deep bait went away. Again Dean fought a fish that stayed down and took little line. After a quick fight, he had another 5kg yellowfin on the boat.

By the time I had the lines reset, we were on the ledge. I tacked over it into the current and found a few good showings off the bottom. I pulled the motor into neutral for a few seconds to let the bait sink and as I put the motor into gear, the medium depth rod keeled over and absolutely smoked off! I took the strike and Dean cleared the other lines. I turned the boat towards the fish to slow the run but it still stripped close on 150m. As Dean cleared the lines, we notice that the surface bait had been mouthed by a fish and the deep bait had been chopped. There were obviously a few fish around. I fought the fish for a while before we saw it down below. It was a really nice cuda. After a few turns, Dean gaffed it and brought it onboard, it was a good 16kg fish... not bad for Vidal.

We rerigged for one last drift. As I trolled over the showing, the deep bait went on with a fish that fought very slowly but shook its head quite a bit. About half way up, the rod bumped and the line went slack. On closer inspection, we found the 60lbs leader had parted. That ended our day and we headed back to the beach for a well deserved drink.

2013 Heavy Tackle Billfish Inter Provincial

On Saturday 9^th February at 5am, Mike and Dale Leenstra and I launched “Beluga” out of Richards Bay. We were competing in the 2013 Heavy Tackle Billfish Inter Provincials. We headed North and put lines in at 100m. At 200m, we were greeted by large shoals of bait with birds working them. On our first pass, the rigger popped but the reel stood silent. The tip did have a slight bend in it. Dale pulled the lure in to check it and found it to be a baby yellowfin tuna of about 2kg... The live bait tube failed and so we released it in favour of pulling lures for blues and stripeys. At 8:30, in 250m the left long popped and the reel took off. As we were clearing the lines, there was a splash out the back but then nothing! The hooks had pulled... On closer inspection we found the telltale signs of a billfish on the leader. It was 10:1 a stripey that managed to get the hook over its bill, but not in its mouth. Lines went back in and we worked the area. The day passed by quickly and by 2pm, there had been no more action so we upped lines for the day. The tally of releases was a dismal 1 blue marlin between the 8 boats.

On Sunday 10^th, the wind was blowing 15kts at 5am. The weather committee made a call to allow the boats to sea and by 6:30 everyone was fishing. The sea was bumpy, but fishable. We worked the same area as the previous day and managed to get a nice wahoo within the first hour of fishing. We were hopeful that there would be some good fish on the cards for the day. After trolling for several hours, it became apparent that there were very few fish around and but the end of the day, there was again only a single release of a black marlin. Not exactly fireworks.

On Monday the 11^th, the last day of fishing, all boats put to sea but the water conditions had deteriorated and the cold green water was out past 400m. We worked the colour line and the deep, but saw nothing. As the day wore on, anticipation changed to hope and hope changed to desperation... and finally despair.  Finally, at 11am we had a pull on the left long but it turned out to be a yellowfin tuna of about 10kg. By 13:00, the wind had picked up to over 20kts and the call was made to call off the final day. There were unfortunately no fish caught by any of the boats.

Thanks to Mike and Dale for a good few days on the water. Hopefully next time there will be a few more fish around.