Fishing EC Magazine November 2015

FISHING EC BAIT DEMO

CATCH COMPETITION

TIDES

NOVEMBER 2015

FLY FISH Saltwater Rivers

BORDER Interclub Triangular

RASSPL

Border Blacktips Kaysers Results

KAYAK CORNER

Brett Armstrong

CARP CLASSIC

Wriggleswade

E FRE Y COP ASE PLE ONE E TAK

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ISSUE: 23

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FEC | November 2015

CONTENT

Fly Fishing The Rivers 04 Border Interclub

FEATURES

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Bait Demo

Border RASSPL Kaysers 14

Kayak Corner

Lures that work in the upper reaches of our rivers.

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Catch Competition 26 Send us your photos and you could win.

Tides

Check the tide tables to make sure you fishing the right times.

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22 Target Line

Wriggleswade Carp Bonanza Results.

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EDITORS

LETTER

MAGAZINE EDITOR Nigel Louw CONTRIBUTORS Gareth Roocroft Jonathan Timm Shane Smit Brett Armstrong Carl Henn

CONTACT ADVERTISING: email: nigel@fishingec.com Mobile: 073 690 2606 Website: www.fishingec.com

Find us on Facebook Search: Fishing The Eastern Cape

No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Fishing The Eastern Cape. The magazine is published monthly and cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in articles. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Fishing The Eastern Cape does not accept responsibility for advertising content.

Well so far the warmer season is proving to be very fruitful. Anglers have been landing some nice Kob. Some in the surf, others in rivers and a few from the kayaks.

We have also received reports of the Wild Coast estuaries doing very well in the upper reaches with Bream, Skipjack, Barracuda and Kingfish catches.

This is the time now for you and your tackle to work hard and produce some great catches.

Don’t forget to send in your catch photos for our Catch & Win page. You could be the next winner.

Nigel Louw Editor

ON THE COVER

Jonathan Timm with a nice Kob he kanded in the Triangular competition.

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Key To Success Fly Fishing The Rivers Words/pics: Gareth Roocroft & Scott Bester

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he Eastern Cape is one of the most diverse fishing areas in South Africa, and is just an amazing area to fly-fish.

Saltwater fly-fishing can be a very intimidating prospect, and can be frustrating if you are not on the right path.

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I hope this article can shed some light on fly-fishing in the Eastern Cape, and can help you catch fish on a more regular basis.

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Where To Start?

A lot of fly fishermen start off on the wrong foot, by using heavy rods and large flies.

Before you can start targeting fish like Grunter, Leerie’s and Kob, you need to know the dynamics of the areas you are fishing, and what smaller species are around. If you think you can rock up with a 9 weight and catch a 4-kilogram Grunter in every session, you are wrong. Fly-fishing is a sport of patience, technique and understanding.

To start off, fish light, a 4 or 5 weight rod will be perfect. Arm yourself with a variety of small flies, such as Crazy Charlies, Fritz’s and Salty Buggers.

Then it is time to start exploring. Go to familiar spots where you have caught on bait or artificial before, somewhere you are confident in. I believe confidence and having a positive mind influences you as a fisherman, and fly-fishing is no different.

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What To Do? Once you have found that confidence boosting spot, now you can fish. Make a mental note of the area you are fishing.

What kind of bait is readily available in the immediate area? Are there prawn banks?

Schools of mullet? Glassies, Swimming Prawns? And so on. This will help at a later stage. Now it is time to set up. If you are in very shallow water, a floating or intermediate will suffice. If it is a deeper area, or there is a nice drop off, use sinking line. The line should be matched to the setup you are fishing (For example a 4 weight rod should be matched with a 4 weight reel and a 4/5 weight line).

Now, based on what bait you noted in the immediate area, choose your fly.

• • • •

Lots of mullet = Clouser Minnow Lots of mud/sand prawn = Crazy Charlie Lots of glassies = Fritz Lots of invertebrates/swimming prawn = Salty Bugger

The last part of the job is then tying on your leader and selecting the right colour fly.

For ultra light fly-fishing with a 4 weight, I use between 4lb and 8lb fluorocarbon.

The watercolour can influence the fly you choose but I have found that Chartreuse, Brown, White, Pink, Orange and Red are the go to colours in the Eastern Cape. And if they are all mixed together, it is a bonus.

Time To Cast We can finally start casting. Saltwater fly-fishing can require some serious casting and backbreaking work, so being a good caster is essential. Work the entire area you are in at least 3 times with one fly before you decide to change. With the smaller flies you should be getting knocks and takes if you are in the right area. So keep moving and cover lots of water, and when you find the fish, stay with them!

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You should become familiar with the smaller species of fish and the areas, so move around and use the tackle you currently have for a few sessions. If you do not catch fish, find new spots and try new things. But with the flies and tackle mentioned above, you will catch fish when you find them. Species such as Stumpnose, Moony, Blacktail, Karanteen and small Leerie’s will be caught during this process.

Clouser Minnow

Time To Step Up Now you should be confident with the area you are fishing and you should know it well, as well as what is swimming around. Now you can turn to your larger setups such as a 6 or 7-weight (I would not go any bigger in the rivers). Bigger versions of the flies mentioned above will be successful, and now you can also start using larger flies such as Slammers, Flippers, Epoxy Mullet, Woolhead Mullet, Baby Cray, Dog’s Breakfast, White Death and even the GRHE can all be used. If I had to choose 4 imitations however, they would be different sizes and colours of the Fritz, Salty Bugger, Crazy Charlie and Clouser Minnow.

Fishing for the bigger fish can be frustrating and time consuming, so make sure you work out the areas well in advance before you try and tackle them. Always look for structure, drop-offs and holes. And you need to remember the saying “perseverance pays off”, it is just how fly-fishing is. Nothing matches the adrenaline rush and happiness once you get a saltwater fish to commit to a fly, so it is very rewarding. And just in case, always keep that 4-weight fly rod handy; lots of fun can be had while timing or waiting for the tides.

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BORDER INTERCLUB TRIANGULAR Words/pics: Jonathan Timm

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very year, 3 of the top Border Rock and Surf clubs battle it out for top honours and the prestigious interclub trophy.

This competition has a lot of history and the yearly event has been fished for over 40 years between Cintsa Angling Club (Cintsa), Western Wall Angling Club (WWAC) and East London Angling Club (ELA).

This year the competition was hosted

by WWAC and was held on the 3rd October along the Cefani, Cinsta East (Xanadu) and Cintsa West Coasts (which is where the comp has traditionally been fished over the years). The Border Rock and Surf league rules and regulations are adhered to at this interclub (i.e. scoring

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system) with one exception, baits used, open baits were permitted but no sliding and no artificial lures were allowed.

The sea conditions were good and the wind did not blow as predicted, so the day was bound to have lots of fish caught. This time of the year the Blue Rays (aka Marble Ray) grace the East Coast with their presence to pup, and this year was no exception. Blue Rays were the predominant target species for the day - these fish can come gale and are a good scoring fish with the new border scoring system. A good number of these feisty rays were caught by the 44 anglers.

A noteworthy catch amongst the Blue Rays, was a beautiful 70kg Duck Bill Ray, which

was landed by one of the social anglers fishing with one of the clubs - the ray was caught to the left of Xanadu at the steps.

A couple of edibles were caught amongst the rays, with Jonathan Timm getting a good Kob of 12,23kg at the Xanadu mouth.

This year’s triangular was enjoyed by all participating anglers and the comradery was excellent as always. Friendships between members of all three of these clubs are noteworthy and all anglers are confident that these friendships will continue long into the future.

The day was concluded with a prize giving at Xanadu. A customary braai and beers were supplied by the hosting club and enjoyed by all.

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Prize Winners:

Points / kgs

Angler / Club

Top Senior Angler

231,78 points

Lorry Timmins (Cintsa)

Heaviest Edible

Cob 12,23 kgs

Jonathan Timm (WWAC)

Heaviest Non-edible

Raggy 17,5 kgs

Graham Kingley-Wilkens (ELA)

Seniors

Juniors (u16 & u21) Top Junior Angler

93,51 points

Wade Botha (WWAC)

Heaviest Edible

Cob 1,9 kgs

Caden Louw (ELA)

Heaviest Non-edible

Blue Ray 12,57 kgs Shaun Howlett (WWAC) / Callun

Kretzmann (Cintsa)

Ladies Top Lady Angler

166,41 points

Mishan Sumption (Cinsta)

Clubs

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Top Club (Triangular Trophy)

1062,79 points

WWAC

2nd Place

964,50 points

Cintsa

3rd Place

683,88 points

ELA

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Border Blacktips Kaysers RASSPL Results Words/pics: Shane Smit

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he Border Blacktips held our 3rd comp of the season at ever popular Kaysers Beach on the 3rd of October. Conditions looked great and I think the general feeling between the anglers was that it was going to be a very productive day. Well it was and it wasn’t if that makes any sense, on the 1 side quite a few specimens and different species showed up but nothing big besides a cracker of a Baardman caught relatively early by member Stuart Brill.

Boundaries for the comp stretched from the Chulumna river mouth all the way east up to Ncera river so some really good spots were available. 102 anglers in total registered for the event making it our biggest field this season so there were definitely some good expectations relating to catches.

Most were greeted by a grubby dirty sea with a colour line a few hundred meters out

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prompting most to have a first cast with a bigger bait looking for that pignose, kob or shark early on and it paid off for some. The guys that took the more conservative approach stuck with their traditional smaller baits and tackle setups in search for the smaller gully/reef edible species just to get on the board with some quick points. At the end of the 1st couple of hours i think most had a few points on the board but from there it really become quite a battle for the less experienced anglers as bites slowed right down as the day progressed and tide dropped. The clean water moved in on the lowtide and I think many of the anglers anticipated a renewed surge in bites but it was not to be and even with the cleaner water things still stayed quiet. None of us gave up though and fished hard right until the end, some being rewarded but most unfortunately not. Water temp stayed relatively warm throughout the day so even this could not be blamed for a change.

Some notable catches for the day were, member Stuart Brill as mentioned already with a 3.6kg Baardman, member Wayne Gallow with a 3.5kg pignose grunter and Andries Rheeder with a fat 2.6kg bluefish.

The ladies, masters and youngsters were out in full force as usual with Junior Taygon Mauer landing a very impressive 16kg blue ray which turned out to be the biggest FEC | November 2015

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overall in all age catagories. Lady member Marie Lamprecht managed a 30cm Blacktail with Masters member Peter Jacoby landing a beautiful 13.9kg grey shark. Top honours in the hotly contested non edible senior category went to father and son duo of Theo Pienaar and Dwarren Pienaar with a 67kg Raggy and 15kg blueray respectively.

Well done to all the anglers that attended and won prizes and thank you for your continued support not only for attending but also supporting our 100% catch and release system! 237 fish were caught and released on the day totalling just over 509kg.

Our next competition will be held at beautiful Haga Haga on the 7th of November and as always promises to be an awesome event! Anglers wanting to enter or simply have a query can drop me a mail at shane.rasspl@gmail.com We would just like to send out a huge thank you to Kaysers Beach Social Club for the use of their facilities and tasty food aswell as all our Sponsors for the awesome prizes received for this comp, without prizes of this calibre we would certainly not achieve the turnout we did.

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CORNER K A Y A K FISHING

Words/pics: Brett Armstrong

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ummer is definitely here guys and girls. The days are becoming longer and warmer and this gives us a lot more time to enjoy ourselves with friends and family while kayak fishing at one of our many local fishing spots. There is nothing like launching at 05h00 and getting home around 09h00 to still have the whole day ahead of you. There is nothing quite like early morning fresh start out on the water.

Kayak Club for East London So it’s official, we have formed a Kayak Fishing Club in East London, Kayak Fishing EC. We have setup an awesome website (with more updates to follow) at www.kayakfishingec.co.za and a Facebook page with the same name, Kayak Fishing EC, and would like to encourage you to go and checkout our site and to also Like us on Facebook and then share/spread the news. The club looks to formalize the amazing amount of kayak fishing enthusiasts in our area in order to best promote and manage our amazing sport. Our aim is to highlight and emphasize, amongst other aspects, safety, environmental awareness, promotional activities and kayaking events. This will be awesome for our sport and will allow it to grow in a more manageable and beneficial

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way for all who enjoy this adventure sport.

The club is focused on both ocean and river kayak fishing, so there is something for everyone here. We have a host of information and galleries available on the website, so check it out and join us on the water.

Product Review Over the last few weeks I have had the privilege and opportunity to test a new seat for my river kayak. I was not happy with the low-back smaller seat, which came with my kayak, so with that in mind I have been looking at many different options over the last few months. A kayak seat, in particular for a river kayak, is really an important add on.

It makes your kayak outing so much more comfortable, reduces backache and also reduces the pressure on your butt and nerves.

The result, a much more pleasurable experience. I chatted to a member of our club and fishing mate, Kelly who spends a lot of time fishing off his kayak in both the river and ocean and his kayak actually came with a high back seat, he raved about it, so with the help of Nigel from Wild Coast Kayaks, we managed to hunt down the same seat for a fraction of the cost of the imported ones available on the internet from eBay and Amazon and the like. Anyway, Nigel got

one for himself and I bought one as well. He now also stocks this amazing product. So after the very easy fitment process, which took all of 2 minutes, I headed off to the water. What a difference, it was day and night. I have since been on the kayak twice for extended hours and all I can say is, you got to buy one. It will be one of the most important aspects and modifications to your kayak. It is worth every cent. For more information on this seat, contact Nigel at Wild Coast Kayaks at nigel@fishingec.com.

Transkei Trip A group of us kayak fishing enthusiasts headed off in late September to the beautiful coastal villages of Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall for a week of camping, fishing, fun times and braaiing. What can

I say, Mark Kimble, chairman of our newly formed club, Kayak Fishing EC, did an amazing job at organizing the caravan park and related aspects and logistics of our trip.

I think the caravan site at Coffee Bay has to be one of the nicest parks I have ever stayed in. Close to the beach, nice ablutions’, clean and really neat with plenty hot water. The actual campsite was unbelievable, with plenty of shade, grass and even 24-hour security. What a pleasure.

Unfortunately, despite favorable ocean conditions, the actual catching of fish was not so good, with only a few edibles caught and released. However, the view, experience and abundance of whales, dolphins, sharks and the most breathtaking scenery, and of course great company, was all that mattered. The clean and calm waters mesmerized us, especially when we visited Hole in the Wall. Being witness to schools of bait fish swimming past you and boiling up the water, just breathtaking. This trip, was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing trips I have been on and I will definitely go back again next year. The time spent on the water was also extremely important, allowing us all the opportunity to gain more experience as kayakers and especially for the less experienced guys.

We all returned to East London, better for the experience and extremely motivated and ready for more. What a great time!

For more information and photographs of this amazing trip, checkout www.kayakfishingec.co.za.

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This month’s tip for Anchoring An anchor trolley system (adjustable anchor system along the side of your kayak) is a must for both river and ocean fishing.

However, when setting up the main anchor trolley system, use 4mm rope/rip cord rather than bungee rope/cord for the main line running along the side of your kayak. This allows for a more direct and precise maneuvering and adjusting method along the kayak for better directional anchoring out of the wind. In addition to this, ensure you actual anchor has 400-500mm chain attached to it. This will keep the anchor more stabilized in muddy riverbeds with its added weight.

For more information on kayak fishing and related aspects, please do not hesitate to contact me at info@kayakfishingec.co.za. Also checkout our website at www.kayakfishingec. co.za. To join our Whats app kayak fishing EL group, please message Brett on 0718838769 and request to be added to the list.

Remember: Safety first and always respect our environment.

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TARGET LINE

Wriggleswade Carp Bonanza Words/pics: Carl Henn

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arget Line Freshwater Angling Club hosted the Carp Bonanza at Wriggleswade Dam from 16-18 October 2015. The wind was pumping on the Friday and conditions looked tough before the start. We all know that the weather and be severe at Wriggleswade, but no storms were predicted this time around.

Saturday morning came and a few good catches were presented. The biggest bag weighed after the evening session was 26kg and the biggest fish 7kg.

The weather played along nicely and a couple of anglers felt the sun’s rays.

There was calmness over the water and fires were going on the night, as the anglers were ready to support the Bokke against Wales. Not all relaxed as the nets showed many anglers producing fish over the night and next morning.

The fish were mostly in the 4 to upper 5kg

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range and full of fight. Besides the carp, two beautiful yellows came out. Ed Wewege, with a 3.945kg and Chris Botha with a 3.260kg specimen. On the weekend 57 anglers competed, 245 carp were caught and released with a total weight of 783.250kg (3.197kg average), R 14 600.00 in cash prizes were handed out and plenty of lucky draw prizes.

Heaviest Bag 1 Riley Kaschula 24 fish 2 Fanie Rademeyer 21 fish 3 Tiaan Smuts 22 fish 4 Shaine Moodley 15 fish 5 Shaun Pautz 20 fish 6 Jacky Domoney 14 fish 7 Ferdie Pieterse 8 fish 8 Adriane Domoney 12 fish 9 Chris Fritz 8 fish 10 Chris Engelbrecht 10 fish

92.145kg 65.100kg 61.135kg 60.010kg 48.020kg 43.075kg 31.780kg 33.245kg 31.780kg 30.220kg

Heaviest Fish 1 Chris Fritz 2 Dwayne Rademeyer 3 Theuns Holtzhausen 4 Willie Fonche 5 Chris Engelbrecht 6 Riley Kaschula 7 Jordan Barnard 8 Ferdie Pieterse 9 Shaine Moodley 10 Riska Domoney

7.230kg 6.070kg 65.045kg 5.980kg 5.945kg 5.900kg 5.885kg 5.800kg 5.765kg 5.720kg

This event would not have been possible if our fantastic sponsors did not come to the party. Thank you to Target Line, Nedbank, Distell, Buffs Scrap Metal, Spargs Beacon Bay, Twizza, Coca Cola, The Original Muti, Super Cast, Magic Baits, Vincent Super Spar, Novateur and Rivers Hotel Port Alfred.

After all the positive feedback from this competition, there will definitely be another towards the end of next year. No dought bigger and better in anglers and prizes. Watch this space‌‌..

If anyone would like to know more about joining a freshwater bank angling club in this part of the world, please contact me Carl Henn on 073 857 2209 or e-mail sales@targetline.co.za .

See you all reel soon on the banks

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X TIPS O B T I A B

THE

ARTIFICIAL BAITS

The upper rivers are wild with action this time of year and here are some of the types of lures that will work.

Words/pics: Nigel Louw

Strike Pro Sprat Sticks

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Sponsored by SPARGS MALL BEACON BAY 043 711 7700

Halco Roosta Popper

Storm Flutterstick

Rapala X-Rap Walk

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CATCH & WIN Angler: Thelma Jonker Species: Zebra Location: Cape Recife Bait: Bloodworm/prawn Size: 38cm

Angler: Luke Siebert and Timothy du Plessis Species: Blacktail Location: Cintsa West Bait: Sardine Size: 26 & 31cm

Angler: Jordan Luck Species: Spotted Grunter Location: Estuary Bait: Sand Prawn Size: 62cm Send us your best catch picture and you could win an awesome prize.

(Photo must be of yourself holding the fish and preferably still alive. Photos of gutted fish do not qualify) Email your entry to nigel@fishingec.com with the following details: - Anglers full name - Species - Location caught | November 2015 26 - BaitFEC used - Size/Weight

October Winner Angler: Marc Beesley Species: Kob Location: Gamtoos River Bait: 1/2oz Bucktail Size: 1.7m

Marc wins himself an asortment of Triton lures. Sponsored by Bilimoria Fishing Tackle + an Alcock’s book.

Angler: Theo Pienaar Species: Silver Steenbras Location: Nahoon Corner Bait: Sardine Size: 14kg

Keep sending in your catches and stand a chance of winning a prize plus a copy of the new Alcock’s trolling and spinning book.

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TIDE CHART November 2015 Information supplied by the Hydrographer SA Navy The Hydrographer is not responsible for any transcription errors.

TO ADVERTISE WITH

CONTACT: NIGEL@FISHINGEC.COM 073 690 2606 28

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