Jetski Fishing

On Sunday 18^th August, At and I launched his jetski off Ponta Mamoli. I had never been on a jetski before, let alone fished off one. It was going to be an experience. The surf was big due to the previous days howling SW but there was a lull before the predicted NE.

Once through the surf, we headed up north and when we were close to the area, we put out 2 speedpros and worked our way north. There were a few splashes in front of us and when the lures were close, both went on. This was going to be interesting! Both At and I fought strong deep fighting fish that pulled the ski all over the show but eventually we managed to land two big skipjack tuna.

With the ice broken, we trolled on. It wasn’t too long before the close lure went away. I fought the fish and felt some very quick head shakes. Both At and I were pretty confident that we knew what it was. When it was next to the ski, we confirmed that it was indeed a shoal size wahoo which was gaffed and loaded into the hatch. This jetski thing was quite fun.

We trolled shallower over a few marks hoping to catch a kaakap for supper. Almost on cue, the close lure went away with a small kaakap. Moving north, there were a few bonnies on the surface. I dug in the tackle box and all I could find was a white cuda duster which I rigged up on a popping rod with a nylon leader. At trolled over his numbers and there was a big showing almost to the surface. Unsurprisingly a reel went off. As I was getting ready to take the rod, there was a splash out the back and the popping rod keeled over and braid flew off the reel at an alarming rate. At took that rod while I fought the fish on the other. In the chaos of spinning jetski and smoking reels, my fish came off. At least we were still tight to the other one. We had just started following it when something parted. On inspection, the nylon trace had been sliced off. Talk about a hiding.

Not bad for a first time jetski trip

I scrounged in the tackle box and cut up a trace to use the last duster we had. I rigged it… with wire and put it out. We made a few turns and after some time, finally managed to get a bonnie. The tubes were not working so At held the bait in the water while I set the record for fastest live bait trace ever made! With the bait rigged, At headed back to the big showing. As we started seeing the reading, the reel smoked off. I took my time with the fish and after a few good runs, At managed to gaff a short but fat 18kg cuda. It was fun and games with the sharp teeth around your feet, but it found its way into the hatch.

The bonnies had disappeared so we put out a few dead mackerel and worked around. Soon the reel was smoking again and the ski was being towed all over. This fish did the same as the previous one and the result was another fat 17kg cuda.

The hatches were now pretty full but we had 2 more baits so At made another turn. I went on with a fish that fought like a kaakap but right next to the ski, a big potatoe bass came up and grabbed it and swam into its cave where I had to break it off. It was not the end of the world because second bait had gone away as well and At managed to get a tasty kaakap.

With enough fish to feed the masses, we headed home. It was a great experience and I will definitely try fishing on a ski again.

Shaken not stirred

On Friday 9^th August, Wayne, Lorenzo, Julio, Luke and I launched “Galavant” off Cape Vidal. We were there for the long weekend, hoping to the target sailfish that were around. The beach was not launchable without a tractor, so we were very glad that Wayne had organized one.

The SW wind was blowing about 18 knots which made the sea uncomfortable. To top it off, there was a bit of rain about that didn’t help the situation. The conditions were however good for tailing sailfish. We had some time to kill while the baits defrosted, so Wayne stopped at the first flock of working birds and the laaities went about catching jube-jubes on the light spinning outfits. At one stage, Lorenzo went on with a fish that took a lot of line in a hurry. Wayne chased it down and after quite a long fight, Wayne gaffed a yellowfin tuna that was bled and put on ice for sushi.

A nice cuda on a sailfish bait

After we had enough bonnies and the other baits were rigged, we deployed the teasers and a good spread of swim and skip baits. Wayne worked the area between the point and the lighthouse and it didn’t take long to get a pull. This time it was on the bellystrip. Luke was on strike and had his hands full with something that took a lot of line and slowly headed to sea. After about half an hour, it started coming very easily and next thing just the head of a taxed yellowfin tuna popped up next to the boat. Not a great start. Trolling commenced and about half an hour later, one of the swimbaits went away. After a short feed, we tightened up. As the line went tight, a feisty dorado launched itself out the water. On the third jump, it spat the bait. Moments later the other bait went away and the same thing happened. We were left with 2 mauled baits and no fish to show. Wayne made a turn over the same spot and it was no surprise when we had another pull. This time I fed it a bit longer and the circle hook found the corner of the mouth. Lorenzo had a good fight with it and soon had it in the boat.

Bycatch while sailfishing

We were keen to see if there were more dorries around, so Wayne made a few more turns, but unfortunately without any luck. We worked north and in 40m, the far strip went away. Julio was now on strike and had a good tussle with what we thought was a tuna. When it came next to the boat, it turned out to be a nice cuda, a surprise to us all.

After the cuda, the weather turned nasty and the rain made it less that ideal so at 2pm we called it a day and headed back to have a warm shower.

On Saturday 10^th, the SW had gone but it was replaced by a similar strength NE wind. All the rain clouds that were blown up north the previous day were now on a return trip. The wind was however the same direction as the current so it kept the sea calmer.

The laaities were tired of being battered about trolling for sails, so we opted to troll slower with live baits, hoping for a sail but having more shots at gamefish to keep them busy. There were large shoals of baitfish on the backline and it didn’t take long to fill the livewell with maasbanker. I also managed to catch a single big mackerel. Knowing more or less what depth the fish were from the day before, Wayne headed to that area while I set the lines. On our second turn, the deep line went away. Luke took the strike and managed to catch his first cuda. At least the ice was broken. The current swept us south at quite a speed and we were just ready to wind up the lines to run back to the point when the far bait went away. This time it was a small yellowfin tuna which went straight onto the ice.

Luke and his first cuda

With the lines already reeled in, I suggested we try to catch a few jube-jubes to pull as live bait. I was hoping that these bigger baits would give us more of a chance to get a sailie or marlie. It didn’t take long to get 3 baits in the tube and with that we went back to the point and rigged 2 of them. I also bridle rigged the live mackerel on a circle hook and 100lbs nylon and pulled it on a spinning reel with 10kg line… just in case there was a billfish or bigger tuna around. 

It didn’t take too long for another pull. This time it was on a live bonnie rigged deep. Julio fought the a shoal cuda to the boat which didn’t put up too much resistance on the heavy tackle. Rerigged the baits and on the next turn, the same rod went away. This time there was a bit more speed and Luke had a good run around with what ended up being a 14kg cuda. The hatch was looking good.

Wayne had just straightened out after a shallow turn when the deep live bonnie went away quite slowly. I picked up the rod and felt some weight behind the fish. Unfortunately after a few seconds, the hooks pulled. I could feel that the bait was still there so I fed it back but nothing. On further inspection, we saw the tell tail sandpaper like billfish marks on the skin on the bonnie… Damn! 

Lorenzo with his first Sailfish

Just then, Wayne noticed the spinning rod with the live mackerel starting to bend. I immediately opened the bale and fed the fish a bit. We were pretty positive we know what it was and when I tightened up and the line ran off the reel, a beautiful big sailie jumped out of the water. It turned down sea and absolutely smoked off. Lorenzo took the rod while the rest of us cleared the other lines. There was a lot of line off the reel and getting less by the second. Wayne got the boat up to speed and Lorenzo managed to put some line on the reel. After chasing the fish from the beacon to past the slides, it finally slowed down and we could get it close. Wayne closed the gap between us and the fish and just like that the leader came out the water and onto the rod. I grabbed it and hoped to get it on the bill for a quick release, but the fish had other ideas. It took some more line then sounded and headed to sea. The swell and wind was against us and it took another twenty minutes of big pressure to get the leader up. Lorenzo did a great job, not giving up when the fight was not going his way. I took the leader several times but had to let go every time as the fish was still too green. Eventually the fish tired and I could coax it up and get hold of the bill. By the time I managed to get it under control, I was a more shaken than stirred, but eventually we could tag it and take a few pics before releasing it. It was a quality sailfish of close to 50kg. Not bad for a 9 year old on 10kg spinning tackle.

After the release, we were close to the bonnie shoals again so we quickly caught a few and ran back to the point. We had one pull on a live bonnie, but it missed the hooks when it grabbed the head of the bait. Apart from that, there was no more action so when the rain started again, we packed up and headed back to celebrate the great catch.

Thanks to Wayne and the boys for a great trip. I will remember it for a long time to come.

First garrick of 2019 season

On Sunday 4^th August, At, my Dad and I launched “Avanti” off Richards Bay. There had been reports of Garrick so we decided to give it a go.

We stopped at the pipeline and quickly caught a string of shad. Within minutes, half the fleet swamped us and the bait showing disappeared. After some time, we were alone again and the bait reappeared. We managed to get some beautiful bait, then headed up north. We wanted to get away from the crowds and hopefully find some cleaner water.

The further we ran, the better the water became and when we arrived at our spot, were greeted with a lovely rip packed with bait. I rigged up a few baits while At trolled along the backline. After about half an hour, the far livie went away. After a quick feed I hooked up to a fish and passed the rod to my Dad. He had not fished in a while, so he enjoyed the fight with our first Garrick of the season. When it was next to the boat, I grabbed the tail and popped a tag into it before a few pics were taken and it was released. What a great start.

The lines went out again and while I was letting out the last bait, it was eaten. I fed the fish and when I tightened up, the fish spat the bait. On closer inspection, the single hook had turned into the head of the bait. Just a bit unlucky… At turned over the same spot and almost on cue, the close bait was eaten. I fed the fish which ran quite fast before stopping. There was no tension on the line so I started winding. The line arched to the boat and the line came tight right next to the boat! The fish immediately surfaced and again spat the bait… the hook had turned again! Frustrating to say the least. Oh well…

Things went a bit quiet so at 11am we ran to another rip further north. The last line was just set when it went away. I fed the fish and hooked up. My Dad took the rod and had a hard fight with a really nice Garrick of around 12kg which was also released.

The next pull came soon after the lines were set, but unfortunately the fish didn’t swallow the bait and we were left with a mauled maasbanker. The marks did not look like a Garrick though. We had an idea of the species, but would never know for sure. A short while later, the close bait went away and after a short feed, we hooked up. Again, my Dad was on the rod and had a very stubborn fight with what turned out to be a kingfish (GT). I popped a tag into it and sent it on its way.

The wind had started picking up and the sea became choppy. We decided to head home before it got too uncomfortable.

Daytime Daga

On Saturday 13^th July at 7:30am, Wayne, Lorenzo, Julio and I launched “Galavant” out of Richards Bay. We were hoping to catch some bait for the upcoming sailfish trip.

Lorenzo's 1st daga (18.1kg)

Our first stop was on the pipeline. I sounded around and found a few nice showings but unfortunately, they were mostly small maasbanker and pinkies. We kept looking and eventually found some really nice marks. Wayne and the two boys sent jigs down and came up with a mix of shad and big maasbanker. I was not too interested in the shad, but the maasies looked great. We made a few drifts through the shoal when something big ate one of the baits off the hooks. This peaked my interest so while the bait brigade was filling the live well, I rigged up a trapstick with a bottom trace and pinned one of the maasise that was in the live well. Unfortunately, there was no action but the showing had also moved a bit. We sounded around a bit more and found another great showing. There were a lot of shad following the jigs to the surface so I changed up the bait and rigged a live shad. On the next drift, I had a pull on the shad and hooked up to a fish that took quite a bit of line. Lorenzo took the rod and about 10 minutes into the fight, he was wishing that he hadn’t. The fish gave him a good go but eventually, it tired and Lorenzo could get it up to the surface. We were all guessing what it could be, but finally the big silver shine gave it away and a lovely 18kg daga popped up. It was Lorenzo’s first daga and he was over the moon.

After a few photos, we continued catching bait. When we had enough, we headed back to the club for a beer. Not bad for a morning’s bait fishing.

Mid-week daga

A nice daga on light tackle

On Wednesday 3^rd July at 18:30, Hansie, Terence, Ruben and I launched off Richards Bay. We were hoping to get Ruben his first daga salmon. It was still very early in the season, so we did not have our hopes too high. We stopped on one of our old faithful numbers and put the anchor down.

We waited about half an hour before we started getting shad but soon, we all had a livie in the water. Now the fish just needed to find us. There seemed to be very little action and by 9:30 none of the boats had bites. It seemed as if it was going to be a bust, but we thought we would give it another hour or so and then pack up.

I had put my light spinning rod in the holder for a while so I was keeping an eye on the tip. At one point, I thought I saw it bump differently to the normal swell action. I picked up the rod and felt the lightest of taps, almost like the shad was revving. I waited a second of two then wound up. To my surprise, the rod bent over and I was tight onto a fish. It want on a short run, shaking its head on a regular basis. I could not put too much pressure on it with the light line, but after a 15minute fight, I finally had a nice 18kg daga in the boat.

I was out for the rest of the night as I had my one fish limit, but the guys could still fish on. Despite fishing for another hour, there were no more bites so we packed up and headed home.

Father's Day fishing trip

At 7am on Sunday 16^th June, Father’s day, my Dad and I launched “ABF”. The weather forecast was for very little wind and a small swell, so we were keen to fish on the ledge and hopefully get a dorado or sailfish.

We stopped at our bait spot and sounded around. There was absolutely nothing on the sounder! We tried all out spots but got naught. There were a few birds dipping nearby so out of desperation, I put out a few small feathers and trolled around them. It didn’t take long to get a pull and soon had a few small frigate tuna in the bait box. Unfortunately, they are not a great live bait and die very quickly but a fresh dead one is a top-notch bait.

Fathers day Daga

We headed out to the ledge and put out a few dead baits. The deep one was not out long when we had a pull. My Dad took the rod and had a bit of a tussle, but nothing to write home about. After a few head nods, the fish came up and eventually popped up next to the boat. It was a big yellowbelly rockcod of around 15kg. It had a bit of barotrauma, so I made a small hole in the swim bladder with a bait needle and waited until the air had escaped before releasing a healthy fish.

The current was really strong so we ran north a fair distance before setting the lines. Despite going over some beautiful showings, we never had a pull. This quiet spell went on for a while until I sent a bait right to the bottom. As the showing came through, the deep line went on with a nice fish that bumped a lot, but didn’t take much line. My Dad pulled the fish in pretty quickly and to our surprize, a lovely daga salmon came up. We took a quick pic and put it back in the water. I was busy preparing a tag when the fish kicked hard and managed to get free from my Dad’s grip. To our surprise, it headed straight down without any assistance. Was good to see a healthy fish swim away.

The rest of the day went by without a pull, other than a few more small bonito so at 1pm we upped lines and headed back home.

Cape Vidal Jnr Comp

On the weekend of 25^th and 26^th May, Cape Vidal Ski-Boat club hosted their annual Cape Vidal Junior competition. The rules were simple… one fish per angler per day, biggest gamefish wins. Knowing there were some excellent skippers and anglers in the fleet, and it was their home water, we had to think outside the box if we wanted any chance at taking a prize. Because some of the juniors were still small, it was stated at the briefing that adults were allowed to assist them, especially when it came to their safety.

On Saturday 25^th May, Wayne, Lorenzo, Julio and I launched “Galavant”. The conditions were perfect… no swell, no wind, lots of bait. On the backline we caught a few livies. They were on the small side but would have to do. While we were drifting, I managed to catch 2 small bonnies which I kept alive for later use. Reports from the week before were that the fish were on the ledge but the current was flying at 4knots. This was going to be a problem similar to what I experienced the previous weekend.

18.6kg Amber

I suggested that we try to get a live bait down to the bottom as friends had been getting all their fish deep. With a big weight on the line, I let a bait down close to the bottom and quickly felt a strange bite. I waited for the rod to bend, but nothing. On closer inspection of the now dead bait, I saw that the bait had some rough sandpaper like marks on it… The next bait that went down had the exact same thing happen to it. This had to stop so I opted for one of the small live baits that we had, hoping that the fish would be able to get it into its mouth a bit easier. This worked like a treat and very quickly, we were hooked up to fish. It tussled a bit then started coming up easily we were pretty sure it was a bottomfish so we gave it to Lorenzo to bring in. With Wayne’s help, he brought the fish up and near the top, the line angled to the surface, just like a bottomfish. When it popped, something looked very strange… It was too long to be a bottomfish. When the leader was on the rod, we saw that it was a good size amberjack! We all scrambled for a gaff and managed to lift an 18kg fish into the boat!

36.7kg Amber

Our bait stocks were a bit low and the wind was picking up so we put on a few trolling lures and headed along the ledge and then shallower. It was very quiet but finally managed to get a strike that turned out to be a yellowfin of about 4kg. At 1pm it was lines up so we headed back to the beach for weigh-in. Out amber was the biggest fish for the day followed by two wahoo (12kg and 14kg).

Our plan seemed to have worked, so with the conditions for day 2 predicted to be a carbon copy of day 1, the game plan would stay unchanged… If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

On day 2 we were on the water bright and early, but the bait just refused to work with us. In an hour we only managed a handful of bait, but the fishing time was only until noon so that would have to do. Just to break the ice and get on the board, we trolled lures along the ledge until we found a bit of a showing that looked like gamefish. I changed up the spread and put out 2 lines.

Kaakap released

One on surface for a dorado and one down deep for hopefully another amberjack. The boat trolled slowly into the current but we were being swept backwards at 6km per hour! As soon as the showing started, the deep bait went away at an alarming speed. I had an idea that it was another AJ so I put the breaks on it in a big way. I was almost pulled overboard while Wayne sped forward to keep pace with it. Finally, it slowed down and started coming up. There were no more big runs, only a few head nods so Julio had a turn on the rod with Wayne’s assistance. In the next 20 minutes, Julio felt the burn and almost gave up, but stuck with it. When the leader came up, we were all dumbstruck at the size of the fish. I had never seen an amberjack that big before. Wayne gaffed it and needed some help lifting it overboard. It was a fish of a lifetime.

There was not much time to waste, so Wayne took us back to the top of the drift (which was a long was away) and I set up the baits again. This time we had a kaakap take the bait and after a quick fight Lorenze released his first kaakap. Wayne’s sister was on the boat for the day to take some pics and when we hooked another fish, we gave her the rod. About half way up, it was taxed by a shark and she brought the head of a potato bass to the boat. We could clearly see the zambie circling below waiting for the head.

30.3kg Amberjack

After that we managed a few bonito on the surface line before the deep line went away again. It was a similar fight to the first amberjack and when the fish settled, Lorenzo and Wayne managed to lift the fish to the surface. It was another huge amberjack, just a bit smaller than the first on. The fish was boated just in time for lines up so we could get to the beach just in time for weigh-in. The fish were a jaw dropping 36,7kg and 30,3kg respectively. Absolutely phenomenal fish.

Well done to Wayne and his boys on some amazing fish.

Kingfish and Potatoes

On Saturday 18^th May 2019 at 6am, Jurgen and I launched “ABF” out of Richards Bay. I had commitments for the afternoon so we could only fish for a few hours, but when the weather is good, you need to get on the water.

Jurgen with a 20kg Potatobass

We stopped at the wave rider buoy and quickly filled the livewell with maasbanker before heading out to the ledge. The current was flying at over 4 knots and the upwelling that it caused made it very uncomfortable. I put out a few lures and quickly caught a few bonnies for cuda bait. While trolling, I looked for a decent showing, but there was nothing to write home about so we decided to put some baits out regardless. The current was challenging to say the least and we ended up killing most of the baits due to the speed at which we pulled them. To overcome this, we rigged dead baits and tried to maintain position. Just as the baits were swept past the marks, one was eaten and Jurgen had a hard fight from what turned out to be a potato bass which was tagged and released. On the next drift, we hooked a shark that chafed us off. 

We decided to make one last drift and try a live bait. I stopped the boat a long way up current and Jurgen managed to get the bait in the right spot. He got a solid bite and hooked a fish that gave big head nods. We thought it was another potato bass but when it finally showed itself, we were pleasantly surprised. It was a nice GT of 103cm which we tagged and released.

After catching a great fish in the short morning session, we decided to head back to port.

Solo GT

On Sunday 5^th May, I launched ABF off Richards Bay. It was a solo mission as my normal fishing partners were either in the dogbox or away for the weekend, but the weather window was too good to pass up. There had been a cold front that passed through the previous night and the sea was unsettled and dirty but the forecast showed a lull at midday. I scrounged around on the pipeline and only caught 3 yellowtail scads. Speaking to the other boats, the water was dirty in the shallows so I decided to head out to the ledge.

On arrival, the water was 24 degrees and a clean green colour. There was a strong reverse current, but the sea was a lot more settled than closer in. I put out a daisy chain and a feather and trolled over the pinnacle. There were a few bonnies splashing on the surface and it was no surprise when I went on with a jube-jube which went into the tubes. On the second pass, I caught a second one and was ready to rig up. There was very little showing on the reef and the other boats there had only caught big bonnies. I stopped above the pinnacle and sent down a live bait. Just as I was coming off the pinnacle, I had a bite, but missed it. The bait came back with teeth scratch marks of what I assume was a kingfish. I ran back up to the start of the drift and sent another bait down without any action. On the next drift I also came up blank and the bait had expired. I pinned one of the scads and sent that down. It was on the ground for a short while when I had a bite. The circle hook found its mark and I was tight with a really strong fish that was determined to get back down to the rocks. After a short dogged fight, I had the fish on the leader. It was a healthy GT of over 20kg. I lifted it into the boat and readied my tag kit. Just when I was about to insert a tag, I noticed that there was already a tag in the fish. It was covered with growth so I cleaned it, took the number down, measured and released it. It was great to see it swim away strongly, hopefully for another person to enjoy the fight someday. Unfortunately there was nobody to take a photo.

The next few drops produced no action so I caught a few bonnies on the light flick stick. The wind had settled completely and before the NE wind picked up, I made the long run home.

The tag data indicated that a friend of mine had tagged the fish last year in April at the same spot that I had caught it. Its growth was negligible.

Rainbow without rain

On Saturday 20^th April 2019, the bonanza had been called off due to strong NE winds in the morning but there was a SW predicted for later in the day. We decided to take the opportunity and fish socially during the lull.

At 11am Hansie, Ruben, Terry and I launched headed to the pipeline and managed to get some nice livies. We then headed to the ledge to look for bonnies. The sea was surprisingly flat and we were a bit disappointed that we had not launched earlier. Be that as it may, we set about looking for bait and within a short time, we had some bonnies in the tubes and some spare in the bait box. The SW was already on the horizon so we didn’t have too much time and high-tailed it to Petingo.

On arrival the water looked great, there were no boats and the garfish were everywhere on the surface… things had to happen. I quickly rigged up 2 bonnies, a wala and a live maasbanker while Hansie trolled over the wreck. We were expecting a pull at any moment… but nothing. After several passes over the wreck the SW wind came through. It was about 15 knots so we continued fishing.

We had just gone over a good showing when the deep live bait went away. Ruben fought a small blacktip kingfish to the boat where it was released. The bait was quickly reset and on the next turn, it went away again. The fish gave Ruben a better pull and soon he had his first rainbow runner on the boat.

The bonnies were very quiet and just as we were ready to pack up, one was eaten by a hammerhead shark. At 4pm we upped lines and headed home.