FISHING EC BAIT DEMO
CATCH COMPETITION
TIDES
JANUARY 2015
LIGHT LURE FISHING
UPPER EC ESTUARIES
ALCOCK’S
Big Tai Stick
RAGGY
KAYAK CORNER Fluid Bamba Review
F C RE O E P Y
Putting In The Hours
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ISSUE: 13
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CONTENT
Light Tackle Upper EC Estuaries 04 Putting In The Hours
FEATURES
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Bait Demo
Big Tai Stick 14
Regulations Not Enough
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Sardine head bait.
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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20 Kayak Corner With Brett Armstorng Takeing a closer look at the Fluid Bamba fishing kayak..
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EDITORS
LETTER
MAGAZINE EDITOR Nigel Louw CONTRIBUTORS Nigel Louw Daron Parker Steven McGregor Dr Warren Potts Brett Armstrong The Alcock’s
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.
Rivers in the Eastern Cape seem to be alive on lures at the moment. Wether you casting from the bank, fly fishing or trawling lures from the boat. We had some good fun with the small Kob on the Strike Pro Arc Minnow 90 recently and Daron even managed a GT on the same lure, check out the article this month. Don’t forget to send in your catch photo and details to stand a chance of winning a monthly prize in our Catch & Win gallery.
Nigel Louw Editor
ON THE COVER
Daron Parker of Team Fishing EC with a nice GT caught in an East London estuary. FEC | January 2015
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E R U L IGHT
G N I H S I F
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ARIES U T S E RES ER EC P U L P U T H E TH LIG FUN IN & TRAWLING G CASTIN
Words/pics: Nigel Louw & Daron Parker FEC | January 2015
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ishing the upper estuaries of the Eastern Cape can be great fun. We have caught some nice fish so far this season. Not very big fish, but a variety of species and on light tackle setups. Some of the spots you can walk down and fish from the grassy banks or rocky outcrops. On one outing Daron and Myself managed to land a few Kob and he also managed to hook into a fair size GT Kingfish for our local rivers.
Daron Parker with a better size GT caught in a local estuary.
Looking for a good spot:
It is best to go down to a spot on full spring low so you can try seeing the structure. There might be trees, rocky ledges or mud bank drop-offs. Ideally you want to cast over a hole or channel and work your lure back across the deeper water. A predator fish will think this is a baitfish trying to flee from the shallows. Also throw length ways along rocky ledges or drop-offs as this is where the predator fish will be swimming waiting to ambush there prey.
Daron with a young Kob caught on a Strike Pro Arc Minnow.
Red head Strike Pro Arc Minnow.
Small GT on a Strike Pro sinking Spratstick. 6
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Species to target:
KOB:You can target the Kob using hard lures with a lip like the Strike Pro Arc Minnow or Rapala X-Rap type lures. Soft baits also work well. We managed to land a few on the McArthy Baits curly tail grubs and also the small three-inch paddletail. GARRICK: The Garrick(Leervis) can also be targeted on the hard or soft bait lures. Ones that have worked well for us are the Strike Pro Tai Stick. A Rapala X-Rap Walk will also do the trick. KING FISH: The Kingfish in our estuaries closer to East London are a bit smaller than the ones you can get in the Wild Coast. We tend to target them on small lures here in town. The Strike Pro sinking sprat works extremely well, it is a small lipless hard lure. Another good one is the Storm Flutter Stick. Look for lures of about four to eight centimetres.
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Tackle:
My personal preference is a seven-foot rod with about a 2500 size spinning reel as you can land pretty much any fish on it. You will also get a lot of line on, if spooling with braid. 8lb To 12lb braid is more than enough. The braid also helps you cast a bit further and feel the slightest knock from a fish. Your leader should be Fluorocarbon and use a knot like a Uni to Uni to join your leader to your main line braid. On the end of your leader you can use a light lure clip like the SureCatch ones and then just clip your lure on to that. Much easier when you want to change to another lure as it saves time not having to tie a knot.
Trawling light lures for Kob:
structure like a bank dropping off into a channel or a deep hole where fish could be lying. One thing that I am now certain of is that the noise from an outboard motor does not affect the fish biting. Daron and myself were each on our own craft and trawling the same spot. He would be trawling towards me and me towards him. So two outboards were idling over the spot. We would hook into a Kob then next run nothing, then next one get a Kob again. We landed about eight Kob on that day and on the day before I managed ten on the same spot. All of them went back of course, as they were still babies. The Kob ranged from 15cm to 45cm. You also don’t need a boat for this kind of trawling, you could use a fishing ski or canoe as well.
Trawling is a lot of fun. Nothing better than holding the rod in hand while idling along and all of a sudden you feel a knock followed by headshakes or a screaming drag. With trawling you need to look for the same
Nigel Louw with a young Kob caught on the Strike Pro Arc Minnow, Sardine colour.
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Steven McGregor with a Ragged Tooth Shark
PUTTING IN THE HOURS Finally Paid Off Words/pics: Steven McGregor
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fter putting in the hours, I finally managed to land my first rag this year. It’s taken a good while to get used to the fishing here in Port Elizabeth, after doing most of my fishing in and around East London (I moved to PE at the beginning of the year). The conditions required are completely different here- well, in my opinion anyway. In EL if the water is cold and off-colour and you throw out a bloody bait, you’re almost guaranteed a pull; whereas here in PE we’ve fished filthy, cold water, and on most occasions not even had a single decent pickup. The bigger fish have been few and far between. The PE locals swear that non-ed
fishing is greatest here as soon as the wind turns to a westerly direction after a few days of solid easterlies, so that’s generally what we’ve been trying lately, and so far it’s produced a better amount of pulls. What also seems strange to me is that we fished for endless hours during the sardine run and only managed to get the smaller non-ed species (spotted gullies, striped cat sharks and a couple flat fish etc.), whereas towards the end of the year (not during the sardine run) the non-eds are apparently much more abundant in PE. I’ve always learnt in East London that the sharks are more abundant during the sardine run FEC | January 2015
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due to a higher availability of food, but this is definitely not the case in Port Elizabeth! Anyway, the wait was well worth it! We waded out to the drop-off, which was thankfully very close to shore, and just lobbed our baits from there. About sixteen rags of over 100kg came out that night, most being caught on yellowtail with a few coming out on mullet as well as smooth hound fillets. The Raggies seemed to swim past in shoals every now and then, and as one guy went vas we could almost predict who would go tight next! There were plenty of double and triple-ups. It was a challenge bringing fish up and over the drop-off due to a strong rip, which formed at the edge of the drop. This big girl took me into my backing, but I managed to run up and down the beach and gain the line back while being guided by the fellow anglers. She was heavily pregnant, and exhausted after the fight. It took three of us to get her back into the water where we held her while
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Steven McGregor with a Ragged Tooth Shark
she recovered and regained her strength, and eventually swam off into the deep. There is nothing quite like fishing with other anglers who share the same love of nature, and respect of the sea and its entire fauna. Huge thanks to those who helped land, photograph and release this beautiful fish safely.
Fish: Ragged Tooth Shark Length/Weight: +-200kg Caught by: Steven McGregor Caught where: Blue Water Bay, Port Elizabeth Date caught: 29 October 2014 Bait or lure used: Mullet head and yellowtail throw bait FEC | January 2015
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Chad with a Elf (Shad) caught in the river.
BIG STRIKE PRO TAI STICK A SMASHING SUCCESS
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his fantastic new lure is now on the shelves and what I can tell you is that we had the first samples two months ago and as soon as we saw them we knew that they would be excellent Leerie and Elf lures. The very first afternoon we received them we went down to the surf to try them out with our 8 foot rods and absolutely annihilated the Elf on them as well as getting a couple of lovely Leeries. We found that the lure works similarly to its smaller brother in that we use quite a slow retrieve and the loud rattle drove the fish crazy. We used the lure for the next month and found that it consistently caught Elf and Leeries in various conditions and we cannot wait
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Chad with another good Elf (Shad) caught in the surf.
to use it in the Transkei and Mozambique as we know the Kingies will love them. The nice thing about this lure is that you can use it both for Estuary and sea fishing. It will catch small and big fish and we found that over time the lure was very durable and well made as all Strike Pros are. It also works well on a fast retrieve but we still say that our continuous “slow tweak and stop” method works the best as this best mimics an injured bait fish. This lure will definitely work fantastically out at sea for Yellowtail and various other game fish and I can’t wait to throw for some Yellowtail this season. Will keep you guys posted as we’re going for Yellowtail this weekend and the following week we’ll be using them in the Transkei. It is a must for any lure enthusiast.
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WHAT TO DO WHEN STICKING TO THE REGULATIONS IS NOT ENOUGH? Words: Dr Warren Potts Pics: Supplied
A young Garrick being released.
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ost anglers feel that as long as they stick to their bag limit and size limit regulations, our fish resources will be sustainable and we will still have good fishing in 20 years’ time. However, more and more scientists and conservation conscious anglers are beginning to realise that this is unlikely. The sheer number of anglers in this country (about 750 000 rock and surf anglers and about 250 000 estuarine anglers at last count) will quickly make a massive dent in the fish populations if everyone just “sticks to the regulations”. When compared with commercial fishing, recreational fisheries are quite different. In commercial fisheries, fishermen stop fishing when the stock is low and they no longer make a profit. However, in recreational fisheries, fishermen carry on fishing
even when the stocks drop low, because profit and even catch are not the only reasons that anyone goes fishing. Sometimes, you just want to go fishing to get out of the house, to spend some time with buddies or to experience scenic beauty. So, what this means is that recreational fisheries reduce the fish stocks down to below levels that commercial fisheries do and sometimes, this makes it impossible for the species to recover without a ban on fishing. This phenomenon was first brought to my attention in a scientific paper entitled: “Canada’s recreational fisheries: the invisible collapse”, by a group of Canadian ichthyologists. One of the reasons that the Canadian fisheries managers never noticed that the fish stocks had collapsed was because there were still many, many people fishing. This is essenFEC | January 2015
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tially the situation that we find in South Africa. The fisheries managers have not perceived a problem for most stocks because there are still so many people fishing. Our response to poor fishing has generally just been to drive further from the cities or to walk further from the back access points and it is here that we may still find some fish stocks that are still in a reasonable state. But, clearly this is not sustainable, as we will eventually run out of places like this. These problems are not unique to Canada and South Africa. In fact, they are problems that we see all over the world. So, what can the recreational anglers do to protect our fish resources? Well voluntary regulations have become a trend in developed country recreational fisheries management. A voluntary regulation is when a group or community of anglers decides to impose a regu-
lation on them. You may think that sounds strange, but, in fact, we already do this in South Africa. Bass and trout fishermen for example, impose a strict catch and release policy in many dams and rivers. This kind of voluntary behaviour has often developed from their realisation that fish like trout do not or cannot replace themselves quickly and will be decimated if we do not practice catch and release. So why have we not realised this yet for our marine fishes, especially when there is a lot of scientific data that shows that the slow growth and late maturity of many marine species makes them very susceptible to the impacts of fishing? For me, one of the best types of voluntary regulations would be the implementation of maximum size limits on our recreational species. For example, we should all stand
A young Kob being kept wet while handling it before the release.
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together and decide to release all dusky Kob over 1m long or over 10kg. This should become the norm in our estuarine and coastal fisheries and we should, as individuals, feel that we should approach people who do not stick to this informal regulation and let them know how we feel. Even by convincing one or two anglers that it is the right thing to do, you will have done your job. Perhaps, in future articles I could make some suggestions on other voluntary regulations that will help protect our fish stocks and we can try to initiate a movement of voluntary fish conservation, starting here in the Eastern Cape?
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K A Y A K CORNER FISHING
With: Brett Armstrong
Fun in the Sun and on a Fishing Kayak
What a great festive season! Fun times spent with family and friends on the rivers and in the big blue ocean. The season started off with a bang, with tons of holidaymakers making the “groot trek” to the coast in search of fun in the sun. With this influx of tourism into our cities and surrounding coastal resorts, will come the hopes of many a fisherman of landing that big one, something to talk about around the braai that evening, and what better way to experience the thrill of landing that monster fish, than off a fishing kayak. Over the last few editions we have covered some great product reviews and discussed some safety tips and given you some great ideas in terms of setting up your fishing kayak, but we have mainly focused on ocean going setups and fiberglass kayaks, so in this edition we are going to focus our attention on one of the most amazing plastic fishing kayaks, the Fluid Bamba. Rugged, but classy and sophisticated, what a beauty!
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Product Review – Fluid Bamba:
There are a few fundamental differences between fiberglass and plastic fishing kayaks, but one of the most obvious differences is weight. Plastic alternatives are much heavier than the fiberglass models, however with the added weight, comes increased stability and rigidity. Plastic models are naturally harder wearing and forgiving in terms of damage control. The Fluid range of kayaks are known for their quality and versatility and they offer a wide range of fishing kayaks, from the entry level Buddy to the top of the range Bamba. The Bamba’s specs are impressive: length 4.25m, width 80cm and weight 34kg. Don’t let the weight scare you, the craft is surprisingly maneuverable, and a pleasure to fish off. One of the key features of the Bamba is the large centre hatch for storing your catch and other goodies. The rear load bay can also house a large cooler box or storage container or even a live bait box. The front also has a storage bungee section, which is handy, especially
when spending the day out on the water. I also loved the spacious deck, with ample space for a gaff, net and some other essential tools you need around you while fishing. There is also plenty of rod holder options, including a nifty bait up rod holder. This is a must and makes baiting up effortless and quick. Despite not having a rudder, this kayak turns very well and the new peak deck design assists with higher speed trawling and also improves resurfacing during surf launches or choppy river conditions. The lower centre of gravity of the Bamba also assists when paddling in windy and choppier conditions. For those crazy kayakers, the option even existing to fit a rear mounted electric motor. A wonderful feature depending on how serious you are about your fishing. This addition does not affect the balance of the craft either, which is awesome. During the time I fished off the Fluid Bamba, I thoroughly enjoyed the versatility and comfort of this kayak. Everything had a place, it was so well laid out, it was such a pleasure and relaxing and I even tried standing and fishing and this was actually no problem, but clearly this method of fishing is not for everyone. If I was only going to fish on the river, this would by far be my kayak of choice. For me, spending 90 percent of my time in the ocean, a lighter and faster kayak with a rudder is better suited. For more information on the Fluid Bamba, checkout www.wildcoastkayaks.co.za. For more information on Kayak Fishing and products, contact me on brettflip@gmail.com
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TACKLE TALK strike pro sinking sprat
The sinking sprat stick is 4.5cm in length and weighs 3.6g. It is a sinking lure, but stays just under the surface on a quick retrieve. This lure is very good in the estuaries when targeting young gamefish like Kingfish or Garrick. www.kingfisher.co.za
fluid bamba kayak The New Bamba 2014 offers a couple of modifications on the original Bamba design to add to your angling pleasure. Specifications: Length: 425 cm / 13’11” Width: 80 cm / 31.25” Weight: 34 kg / 66 lbs Load Capacity: 220 kg / 480 lbs www.fluidkayaks.com
mcarthy baits paddle tails The McArthy Paddle Tail Saltwater Bait is perfect for drop shot fishing in SA waters as it has been designed and manufactured locally in South Africa. These baits look, feel and move like live bait in the water. www.mcarthybaits.co.za
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X TIPS O B T I A B
THE
SARDINE HEAD BAIT
Dont make all your baits out of the body and throw the head away, it is actually a very effective bait if rigged right. Words/pics: Nigel Louw
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You need a Sardine, knife, hook and trace and a tooth pick.
Slice the Sardine diagonally from behind the head to the stomach.
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Thread your hook through the top lip of the Sardine. 24
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Pull the hook right through the other side so the trace is in the mouth.
Sponsored by SPARGS MALL BEACON BAY 043 711 7700
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Then pierce the hook in and out of the head further back.
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Pace the hook and pull the trace tight. Push a tooth pick into the eye of the hook.
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Trim off the tooth pick. The tooth pick helps keep the hook standing proud. The end result is a very nicely presented bait with a wide gape on the hook to ensure a good hook set. Also by cutting it diagonally you have some of the intestines in for good smell.
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CATCH & WIN Angler: Pietie Marais Species: Ragged Tooth Shark Location: Kromrivier Bait: Mackerel Head Size: ?
Angler: David Species: Spot Location: Nah Bait: Halco Ha Size: 61cm Angler: Craig Tessendorf Species: Kob Location: East Coast Bait: McArthy Paddletail Size: 80cm
Angler: Jeanine Minnie Species: Skipjack (Springer) Location: Nahoon Estuary Bait: Strike Pro Tai Stick Size: 65cm
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) 26
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December Winner Angler: Jannie Barnard Species: Yellowtail Location: Cintsa West Bait: Sardine Size: 3.5kg
d Brits tted Grunter hoon amma Lure
Jannie wins himself 4 packs of McArthy baits.
Angler: Jaco Minnie Species: Diamond Ray Location: Gonubie River Bait: Fillet Size: 160cm
Email your entry to nigel@fishingec.com with the following details: - Anglers full name - Species - Location caught - Bait used - Size/Weight - Released (yes/no) FEC | January 2015
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TIDE CHART January 2015 Information supplied by the Hydrographer SA Navy The Hydrographer is not responsible for any transcription errors.
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BAMBA
SYNERGY
CHUMANI
BUDDY
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