Ski-Boat Magazine — January 2020

CONTENTS

January/February 2020 Volume 36 Number 1 COVER: TAGGED FOR RELEASE Yet another feisty blue marlin tagged by Stuart Simpson’s Nha Cretcheu fishing off Cape Verde. Photo: Stuart Simpson

FEATURES

10

SKI-BOAT Magazine Readers’ Survey Take our survey and win a fantastic prize from The Kingfisher

12

Camaraderie Triumphs Over All 2019 Mercury OET Bill- & Gamefish Tournament — by Erwin Bursik

21

Avoiding Tyre Troubles Pay proper attention to this vital part of your rig — by Erwin Bursik

29

On the Trail of ’Tail Tips for catching yellowtail around Cape Point — by Donavan Cole

37

29

Yellowtail on the Coals Recipe ideas from one of SA’s top chefs — by Ryan Cole

40

Hunting Tigers in the Caprivi Zambezi Mubala Lodge offers access to prime fishing grounds — by Erwin Bursik

52

Marlin Magic Cape Verde tactics revealed in detail — by Ryan Williamson

59

Floating on Cloud Nine 2019 Two Oceans Tuna Derby — by Kirsten Veenstra

65

72

Making Their Mark Protea anglers at EFSA Champs in Weymouth — by Francois Beukes

72

Setting Records Tales from the younger generation of top class anglers — by Finn-lee Reyneke

DEPARTMENTS 8 9 48 69 71 77

Editorial — by Erwin Bursik Postbox SADSAA News Subscribe and WIN! Kingfisher Awards Reel Kids

40 79 80 80 80 81 82

Mercury Junior Anglers Marketplace Smalls Ad Index Business Classifieds & Directory Rapala Lip — Last Word from the Ladies

The official magazine of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association

DO YOU PREFER AN EZINE? FIND US FOR FREE ON WWW.ISSUU.COM

Publisher: Erwin Bursik Editor: Sheena Carnie Advertising Executive: Mark Wilson

EDITORIAL

NO LONGER PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA

Editorial Assistant: Vahini Pillay Boat Tests: Heinrich Kleyn Contributors: Francois Beukes, Erwin Bursik, Donavan Cole, Ryan Cole, Finn-Lee Reyneke, Kirsten Veenstra and Ryan Williamson.

ADVERTISING – NATIONAL SALES: Angler Publications Mark Wilson cell: 073 748 6107 ADVERTISING – Gauteng & Mpumalanga: Lyn Adams — 083 588 0217 Publishers: Angler Publications cc PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 e-mail: angler@mags.co.za Subscriptions to SKI-BOAT: R180 per annum (six issues).

New subscriptions and renewals: SKI-BOAT Subscriptions Department, PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016.

Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 • e-mail: angler@mags.co.za • Through www.anglerpublications.co.za, or E-zine through <www.issuu.com> Reproduction: Hirt & Carter, Durban Printer: Robprint (Pty) Ltd, Durban Full production is done in-house by Angler Publications & Promotions on Apple Macintosh software and hardware for output directly to plate.

SKI-BOAT Magazine, ISSN 0258-7297, is published six times a year by Angler Publications & Promotions cc, Reg. No. CK 88/05863/23, and is distributed by RNA, as well as directly by the publishers to retail stores throughout South Africa.

• Copyright of all material is expressly reserved and nothing may be reproduced in part or whole without the permission of the publishers.

• While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, the publishers do not accept responsibility for omissions or errors or their consequences.

Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers, the managing editor, editor, editorial staff or the South African Deep Sea Angling Association.

8 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

A

PLAINTIVE cry for help has been heard from across our north-eastern border.

It’s a cry that a number of South African anglers in the Mpumalanga area have taken up very seriously because of their interest in what’s happening virtually in their back yard.

Of course it’s also their closest access to offshore fishing around Inhaca Island and on the southern Moçambique coast.

In simple term the local sportfishing fraternity and some Moçambique government departments are taking a stand against the destructive Erwin Bursik and often illegal commercial fishing practices Publisher that are employed off southern Moçambique.

In a Mozambique News Agency report, a prominent Moçambican minister is reported as stating, “We should take on individual and collective responsibility for defending the noble interests of our peoples and nations.” He said that the most effective way to fight illegal and unreported fishing would be through unified efforts from African countries along the Indian Ocean to help gain food security for the development of the affected countries.

The fight against illegal fishing has been ongoing, as it also contributes largely towards overfishing. Also of concern is the fact that a lot of fish and other marine animals have been placed on the “threatened species list”. In 2014 WWF Global applauded the ratification of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSA) by Moçambique, saying that it was a “huge step in the global fight to eliminate illegal fishing”.

This is extremely concerning to all of us in the South African offshore angling community because resource degredation in southern Moçambique could well affect the seeding of the main pelagic species that travel down the eastern seaboard into South African waters. It will also have a negative effect on the thousands of offshore anglers who go to Moçambique to experience the wonderful light tackle gamefishing the entire coast has to offer.

There’s mounting evidence that the numbers of illegal international trawlers is steadily increasing, and that they are catching anything and everything by means of massive trawl nets in addition to longlines and gillnets. This has to have a vast impact on fish stocks in the medium to long term.

I believe, therefore, that we should all support the petition started by Anton van Niekerk of the Nelspruit and Districts Angling Club and Overberg Deep Sea Club.

We trust that this effort will go some way to supporting not only the Moçambique offshore anglers, but also the South African anglers who fish Moçambique waters.

Over and above our support for our northern neighbour and their recreational and subsistence anglers, we need to ensure by any means possible that this scourge does not have a knock on effect and migrate south into our waters.

With this in mind, please would you support the petition mentioned above to help to save the ocean and the people of Moçambique. Send an email to Anton van Niekerk at <anuska@ccv.co.za> stating the following: “I support the petition to stop illegal fishing in Moçambique.”

Please include your name, signature, phone number, email address and date.

Till the next tide.

Erwin Bursik

POSTBOX inland, then at a suitable distance. This is known as the “deck test”.

The other way is to conduct the test as stipulated by Markus (see below) which the general surveyor will not have at his disposal.

HALF-CENTURY NOT OUT In November 2019 Umdloti Ski-Boat Club celebrated its 50th birthday. Present at the celebrations were (front) Ernie de la Mare, John Brice, Ivo Grueler, Peter Rens and Ian Ross and (back) Ant Norman, Brian Tarboton, John Aveyard, Pierre Jevon, Gordon Jacobson, Neil Rens and Barry (BJ) Turk.

RADIO IRREGULARITIES In the November 2019 issue of SKIBOAT we ran a letter from Andre Labuschagne detailing how he was fined R15 000 by SAMSA because his radio was allegedly faulty despite him having recently installing a new aerial and the fact that the radio worked fine calling in and out.

We recently received an update from Andre informing us that SAMSA has decided to refund him the R15 000 fine but not the money he paid to get his boat out the water.

He received the following clarification about the refund from Crispen Camp of SAMSA: “Our ACEO ruled that you did not act in bad faith in that you could not determine if your radio equipment was defective after having taken reasonable steps to ensure that your equipment was operational. In the circumstances the ACEO directed that the R15 000 should be refunded.

“It should, however, be kept in mind that at the time Mr Arnold conducted the ad hoc survey on your boat your radio equipment was found to be defective. It is this finding that lead to your vessel being detained. So on the facts, the detention was valid and stands.”

TESTING YOUR RADIO We have been f looded with survey responses (see page 10 of this issue) and one of them was from Trevor James who wanted more detail on how exactly skippers can test their radios to ensure they don’t end up in a similar situation. We asked two men-in-theknow at SADSAA for their responses:

Dale Evans, Director Autshumato Maritime Centre: There are so many variables to this that are not stated that it’s difficult for a comprehensive answer to be given.

In accordance with the Telecommunication Act, Regulations Act No.103 of 1996 Chapter 8 G4 (1): The licensee shall be obliged to maintain all radio apparatus at a station technically in a good condition and to ensure that it satisfies the requirements of ICASA and does not cause interference with the reception and transmission of other radio users or telecommunication lines.

One must keep in mind that it is the authorities’ mandate to ensure that the integrity of the telecommunication services network are protected and to ensure the proper functioning of connected facilities or equipment so as to avoid interference with telecommunication.

It is recommended that the installation manual is properly studied before installation, as that will provide the installer as well as the user with the proper guidelines they have to comply with.

With the VHF DSC radios there is an DSC loop test that the operator can utilise to determine if the DSC is functioning properly as well as a DSC test that the operator can conduct with the coast station at any time and location within sea area A1 along the coast of South Africa.

It is my opinion that at the time of survey the surveyor should test the radio either with the Port Authority or the Coast Station if at the coast, or, if

Markus Fourie, Provincial Safety Officer for Gauteng: Testing any RF equipment is not easy for the general public to do.

The only way is to do and radio test (radio to radio) and with VHF radios transmitting at 25 watt, you will be able to receive the transmitting radio signal with a broken aerial due to the high power of the transmitting radio if these two radios are close to each other like on the beach or launch site.

I would suggest doing a radio test with the 1 watt of the radio which can help.

The co-ax of the antenna must not be coiled for this will result in a high SWR reading and this will blow your RF amps of the radio. Grounding of VHF radios and antennas is crucial. The shorter the co-ax to the antenna is, the better.

Your 12 volt supply to the VHF radio is also a factor to be considered because wiring that is too thin can also cause a drop in voltage and transmitting power.

The very basic equipment needed to do a proper installation will be to have a watt meter to test the forward power and the reverse power of the radio (forward power may not exceed 25 watt). You will also need a proper SWR meter to test the antenna and coax resistance on the correct frequency range that you are going to work. A multi-meter cannot do these measurements.

Then you need a signal generator to generate the frequency that you are going to work with for testing the sensitivity of the receiving side of the radio.

The ultimate test equipment for doing this job is a spectrum analyser but they are very expensive.

In general I do not think there are many boat shops that have the above equipment and most customers want to install their own radios.

Markus will be writing a longer article early in 2020 giving further detail on how to set up your VHF radio, aerial etc and no doubt that will be very useful.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet submitted your reader’s survey please fill it in on page 10 of this issue and email it back to <sheena@mags.co.za>.

Those who submit their responses are in line to win a wonderful prize from Kingfisher worth R4 500. It’s also your opportunity to tell us what you want to see more of in your favourite deep sea magazine.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 9

READERS’ SURVEY We know SKI-BOAT magazine is your favourite deep sea fishing magazine, but we want to find out a bit more about our loyal readers so that we can make it even better by tailoring our contents to suit you.

To this end please would you fill in this two-page survey and email it back to sheena@mags.co.za or else go to our facebook page and click on the link to the PDF document and then mail that to us.

To give you a bit of incentive to reply, The Kingfisher have generously sponsored the prize pictured alongside worth R4500. One lucky reader who replies to the survey will win this 60 litre Safari Chiller and a bunch of Mustad goodies including a waterproof bag, landing gloves, cutters, pliers and filleting knife — well worth taking five minutes of your time to answer some questions about the lifestyle you love so much.

So let’s dive straight in ….

Please fill in/mark the appropriate box that best suits you.

WHO YOU ARE: Age group:

Under 25

26 - 35

Gender: Occupation: Annual earnings: Other family involved in Deep sea angling: Residence: Home language:

46 - 60

Male Student

Over 60

Female Corporate executive

Company employee

Self-employed

Below R250 000

Professional practice

R250 000 – R500 000

Spouse/partner

Retired

Over R500 000

Children

Parent/guardian

Gauteng

Mpumalanga

Limpopo

Free State

KZN

E. Cape

W. Cape

N. Cape

North West

Other Country

English

Club member: Beverage preference:

36 - 45

Afrikaans

Other

Yes Beer

No Wine

Spirits

Soft drinks

FISHING: Boat: If you own your own boat how many people crew for you?

Top three areas fished regularly:

Own

Crew

Charter

....................................................................................................................................................................

Zululand

KZN Central (Durban area)

KZN South Coast

Wild Coast

Border (Kei Mouth to Great Fish River)

Eastern Cape (Port Alfred to Plettenberg Bay)

South Cape(Knysna to Struisbaai)

Western Province

Moçambique

Namibia

East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya)

Mauritius

Other overseas Target species (approximate days per year): Preference for fishing style:

Billfish Dead bait

Gamefish live bait

Bottomfeeders lures

Tackle — rods (number owned):

Light

Medium

Heavy

Tackle — reels (number owned):

Scarborough type

Multiplying reels

Spinning reels

BOATING AND VEHICLES: Type of craft owned/used: Brand of craft owned/used: Brand of motors:

Boat

Jetski

Kayak

Inflatable

...........................................................................................................................................................................................

2-stroke

...........................................................................................

Craft insurance:

Insured

Number of tow vehicles — 4x4: Number of vehicles owned (family and company):

4-stroke Not insured

Up to 2 litre

2- to 3.5 litre

Small: .............................

Bigger than 3.5 litre

Medium: .............................

Large: .............................

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION — Please list your top three based on actual average days per year Hotel

Rented holiday cottage

Rented holiday flat

Timeshare

Camping/ caravanning

Owned flat/cottage

EQUIPMENT OWNED (approx. market value to nearest R1 000) Tackle (rods, reels, lines, tackle box etc)

Outfit (boat, trailer, motors, safety equip)

R..............................

Tow vehicle mainly used for fishing

R..............................

Camping (tent, caravan, camping equip)

R..............................

R..............................

OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES — List top three based on actual average days per year: 1)

.....................................................................

2)

.....................................................................

3)

.....................................................................

READERSHIP PROFILE Which version of the mag do you read?

Paper

Digital

Both

How often do you read the magazine?

Every issue

Most issues

Infrequently

How many other people read your copy of SKI-BOAT? What other angling magazines do you read?

How do you rate SKI-BOAT compared to other SA angling magazines?

What articles interest you most?

Mark from 1 to 10 where 1 is your favourite and 10 your least favourite

Do you use SKI-BOAT to guide you in your purchase of boats, motors and other equipment?

............................................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................................................

Excellent

Good

Average

Below average

Boat tests

Angling “how to”

Features on venues

Tackle tests

Editorial

Tow tests

SADSAA News

Competition reports

Junior Angling News

Rapala Lip

Yes

Poor

No

Any further comments: .............................................................................................................................................................

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to fill in this questionnaire. Please email the completed form to sheena@mags.co.za and look out for details of the prize winner.

COMPETITION

WITH THANKS

• ABR3 Electrical Consultants & Engineering • AFI • Albatros • Angler Publication - Ski Boat Magazine • Angling Adventures • BIG Catch • Black Diamond Vehicle Components • B.O.L.S Hengelklub • Buco Middelburg • Buco - Nelspruit • Bull Pull Recovery Kit • Camp Ross Ramos - Inhaca Island • CarryCat Marine • Close Up Mining • Cross Country • Dagga Boat Angling Club DBA • Decor cabinets • Diageo • Dolos (Oom Attie) • Dunlop Weskaap • Eventus Sitrus • Fanagalo • Fishing Pro Shop • Flametech Trichardt • Garmin SA • Gearbox & Diff King • Grimbeek Taxidermy • Grip Hooks • Heineken

By Erwin Bursik

W

HAT has the OET done wrong in the eyes of King Neptune, the ruler of the sea and all within her?

Why, for the second year in a row, has this prestigious 42-year-old competition experienced horrific weather and a dearth of billfish in the waters off Sodwana?

The “manne” of the Mpumalanga Deep Sea Angling Association put in a great deal of time, planning and work to prepare for this year’s OET, as did every team competing in the event.

Every angler wanted to ensure their team would be in the running to win this top-notch competition and walk away with the two Mercury 80hp 4stroke outboard motors which were proudly displayed in the marquee.

The 2019

winners

Team Cayrima

congratu

lated by

Mercury

’s Franco

is Human

(left).

FOR SPONSORSHIP

• Highveld Mall • Hoedspruit Diepsee hengelklub • iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority • Japie & Jason Strydom • Jean Meintjes Metal Sculptures • JHN Engineering & MiningSupplies • Jormid Electrical • KMSHK • KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife • LABA • Leatherbacks Restaurant & Magnum Charters • MAHI MAHI Addicts • Makita • Mallards Marine • Maui Jim Sunglasses • McGee & Co Lydenburg • Mega Lube • Mercury • MCON Construction • • Mojo & Squidnation Teazers • Mpumalanga Deepsea Angling Association • National Luna • Nelspruit en Distrik hengelklub • Nico Zaaiman • Pencox Auto-Air • Penn Fishing Tackle

Sadly the weather beat us all. We had two complete blow out days and one marginally fishable day when only about 50% of the f leet went to sea before being called back at 11am. That left just two full days of fishing in fairly uncomfortable seas. Not ideal at all.

The even bigger disappointment, though, was the lack of billfish in the Sodwana area, or at least their reluctance to feed. On day two five billfish were released, on day three two were released and another two were released on day four, giving a pathetic total of just nine billfish released at the 2019 OET. Two other billfish releases had to be disqualified because of apparent camera trouble. In order to have their billfish release count, anglers have to provide photographic evidence of the fish being held alongside the boat with the leaderman’s wrist boasting the colour band nominated by radio control.

So King Neptune technically allowed only 11 billfish to be captured and released at the November 2019 event.

Fortunately within the offshore angling community of South Africa there’s an unwritten creed underlying the incredible amount of “gees” and good old-fashioned camaraderie which has been evident at every one of the 42 OET events and 2019 was no exception.

It’s this enjoyable social interaction that all of us take as our reward for having fished the OET, and that side of the event was once again very special and could only have been better had there been more fish and better weather.

This camaraderie mentioned above was very evident at each day’s happy hour which was held in the large marquee erected in the grounds of the Sodwana Bay Lodge. Long faces and unhappy temperaments because of the bad weather and few fish just did not manifest in the marquee, because no one wanted to ruin the party.

Getting back to the actual fishing, there were a lot of small tuna around to provide those boats that were targeting them with a fair amount of fun. At least it broke the monotony of watching konas being dragged around the ocean.

In saying that, a huge amount of effort was expended by the marlin manne who went from Diep Gat in the south to Mabibi in the north, using their entire arsenal of fishing knowledge and equipment to try to coax a billfish to feed.

As I mentioned earlier, a fair number of small tuna in the 6- to 12kg class were presented to the scales along with a limited number of other bycatch species such as dorado, skipjack, tuna and wahoo.

Team Aye Ya Yai Second place

Team Marly Quinn Third place

Team Mrs See Varkie Fourth place WITH THANKS FOR SPONSORSHIP

• Pienaarbros / UVEX • Pulsator Lures • Rooibaard • Rooikat Wholesale Liquor • Rothman Motors & Feeler Africa • Sarel Greyling • Sea Pike Hengelklub • Specialised Security Services • Stinus Breedt • Sodwana Hengelklub • Star brite • Success Maintenance & Lifting Services • Sunset Boats • T-Line • Taratibo • Tropical Dream Tackle • Two Summers Electrical • Van Dyk Pharmaceuticals • Vodacom • Waves Eyewear Distributors • Willem Pretorius • Wokini Guest House & Game Farm • Zaen-Mari

In this section the most successful team was the crew on Aye Ya Yai who amassed 167.9 points all on gamefish.

That was sufficient for them to attain second position overall and be awarded the silver medal (happily received from Garth McGee and proudly worn) as well as the McGee Motors cash prize and the autopilot and GHC20 helm control display sponsored by Garmin.

Marly Quinn took third spot and received their bronze medals from Dawie Roux from Garmin. mNumzane caught two impressive yellowfin tuna, one of 25.6kg and one of 23kg, and the bigger fish won them the very substantial Calcutta prize.

With almost no reward, many of us persisted in our search over the ocean’s surface as far out as the 1 000m contour where the water was very blue and often in excess of 26°C.And still we couldn’t figure out why there were so few marlin.

Was it a lack of baitfish out deep due to the fast north-south current? Or was it simply that the blue- and striped marlin that normally dominate catch results had just not arrived in Sodwana’s water in time for the OET? Another surprise adding to our confusion was that the majority of billfish released were black marlin. Looking at the results from all the billfish competitions over the last two decades, blue- and striped marlin normally dominate.

It is going to be interesting to view the composition of the marlin species released at the Billfish 15 000 and the SADSAA Nationals — held at Sodwana in the two weeks following the OET — in order to put into perspective the poor fishing we experienced.

It was a tense day on Thursday 10 November as there were a number of boats that each had one marlin and thus 100 points on the leaderboard. Right up to the last 20 minutes no team had released two billfish. Then the ether was suddenly broken by a call: “OET beach control, OET beach control, Cayrima reporting a hookup.” Then came another call from Cayrima calling for extra time in accordance with the competition rules, to enable them to bring the fish alongside for verification and a photograph. At 2.10pm the blue marlin was alongside and soon afterwards it was successfully released.

Team Esperanza Fifth place

Team Dee Jay Sixth place

Team mNumzane’s Kelvin Mengel with the tournament’s biggest gamefish a 25.6kg yellowfin tuna

TOP TEN TEAMS 1. Cayrima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207.30pts 2. Aye Ya Yai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167.90pts 3. Marly Quinn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154.80pts 4. Seevarkie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147.70pts 5. Esperanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131.10pts 6. Dee Jay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123.50pts 7. Mrs See Varkie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116.30pts 8. Pinnacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100.00pts 9. Zambezi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84.40pts 10. C Cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70.20pts

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 17

2019 Mercury OET Bill- & Gamefish Tournament Tag & Release Teams

Team Zambezi

Team Seevarkie

Team Cayrima

Team Marly Quinn

URAL Trucks pulled the boats with immaculate ease.

18 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

This fish put Cayrima on top of the leaderboard and positioned them as possible winners if the predicted south-westerly buster put paid to the scheduled last day of fishing on Friday 8 November.

The weather man was right, and everyone but team Cayrima was disappointed when there was a 5am ruling that Friday was a blowout — fishing was cancelled.

The final function and prizegiving was a joyous event during which prizes were awarded to those teams which had achieved sufficient results to do justice to the awards that were on offer thanks to the vast array of sponsors.

Cayrima, skippered by Norman Creydt, was the only boat to release two marlin during this year’s OET, and they duly mounted the impressive stage where they were hailed as the champions of the 2019 OET. Mercury have supported the OET for 20 years, and rightly received rapturous applause from all of us the prizegiving when Mercury’s Francois Human

Team Mrs See Varkie

Team Dee Jay

Team Esperanza

Team Cayrima

Tag & Release anglers handed over the two 80hp Mercury 4-stroke motors to the skipper and crew from Cayrima.

Nico Zaaiman, President of the Mpumalanga Deep Sea Angling Association, thanked and praised the many sponsors whose generosity made the running of the 42nd OET possible.

He also thanked the association’s organising committee who had expended time, energy and extremely hard work to achieve the flawless running of this event.

As a personal observation, those of us who took part in the 2019 Mercury OET Bill- & Gamefish tournament and were at the sharp end of dismal weather and a dearth of billfish were uplifted by the OET team’s hosting of each evening’s happy

hour as well as the extremely professional prizegiving function. At this final function when the results had been announced and all those who had achieved had received their rewards, it was very evident that everyone attending had put the disappointments behind them and happily engaged in the afterglow and camaraderie engendered by the OET family.

The 43rd OET Bill- & Gamefish Tournament is already in the planning stage, and one can be assured that the Mpumalanga Deep Sea Angling Association will ensure that event is as exciting and happy an event as it was in 2019 — hopefully with better weather conditions and a lot more fish!

See you there!.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 19

20 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

BACK TO BASICS

Make sure you pay proper attention to this vital part of your rig

By Erwin Bursik

T

HE tyres on one’s ski-boat trailer can become a real problem if shortcuts or lack of knowledge result in the incorrect tyres being fitted.

Consider the inconvenience and potential danger of having a tyre “malfunction” while towing your rig even for a short distance, let alone the more serious consequences if you are travelling a long way from your home base.

Close to home — like when you’re travelling to a club launch site — the inconvenience of a burst tyre or a puncture can usually be overcome by merely

fitting the spare tyre you should have attached to the boat trailer. Fifteen minutes of toil and you should be up and running and, more than likely, still able to go fishing.

Revisit this scenario when you’re off on a trip to Moçambique, for example, and this “minor” incident occurs 20km on the Moçambique side of the border post. That happened to me recently.

Suddenly the options are much more limited and the challenges bigger.

A simple tyre change to one’s spare can be easy, but this is where the “what if” factor comes into play.

With a substantial distance still to travel to the next city or town, carrying

on regardless of now having no spare plays havoc with one’s mind.

I’ve been there and done that and will admit to being extremely concerned about what I would do if I got another flat before I reached the next town. I had visions of leaving my boat and crew on the side of the road while either going back to South Africa or into Moçambique’s next big town to try and find a suitable replacement. I estimated that even if I could find a tyre in Maputo, the delay would result in upwards of four hours being lost.

“It’s simple,” some people say, “just take an extra spare on the boat.” That’s exactly what I now do.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 21

The weight loaded onto the contact patch of the tyres on a single-axle trailer is enormous when the trailer is pulled over uneven beach surfaces.

This will give you the best odds of getting to and from your destination without any tyre problems.

There are two very definite extra criteria that are of utmost importance

Looking at all the what ifs and maybes, the most sensible option is to fit the best possible tyres available with respect to your craft’s overall weight and ensure they are correctly inflated.

Too low

c

Correct

Too high

c

c

c

c = contact patch

Area of reduced contact

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT INFLATION It’s almost impossible to judge the pressure of a tyre simply by looking and many garage airline tyre guages are inaccurate. Under-inflated tyres may give a smooth ride, but the additional flexing of the tyre causes rapid heat build-up, particularly on rough roads. This may cause a blowout as the tyre breaks up. It may also affect braking as there is an area of reduced contact in the centre of the tyre’s contact patch with the road. Over inflation reduces the patch and makes for a bumpy ride.

Pressures must be checked when the tyres are cold.

22 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

when fitting or replacing existing boat trailer tyres. First ensure that you’re not running under-specification tyres with regard to the load index, and second, ensure that your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure for your rig’s weight and your specific application.

In the May 2016 issue of SKI-BOAT, Malcolm Kinsey, our motoring correspondent, outlined in great detail what tyres and tyre pressures should be used for the tow vehicle and trailer when the rig is being used on off-road terrain, especially on the beach. However, I feel that article did not have enough detail with regard to the boat trailer tyres and their use during long distance, fairly high speed travelling.

In an endeavour to better understand the technical aspects of tyres and their use on boat trailers, we approached Glennn Evans of Hi-Q La Lucia to give us some expert advice.

Glenn is also a ski-boater and, having launched off the beaches of the KZN coast and Moçambique, he has had plenty of practical experience regarding the problems that can be experienced by ski-boaters towing big or small rigs over tar, gravel roads and beach sand.

This article will set out some of the basics of what is required to ensure that the tyres you select for your ski-boat trailer provide you with trouble-free towing on all road and beach surfaces.

Glenn’s first piece of advice is simply that one needs to accept that all vehicles, including boat trailers, run on air, not rubber. Think about it and then think back to the last time one of the

Note how much less the tyres on the double-axle trailer have sunk into the sand compared to the tyres on the single-axle trailer shown on the previous page. On a trailer like this each tyre has to bear less weight. tyres you were relying on to keep you moving lost air through a puncture or blowout. Now think about the distance you travelled on the deflated rubber tyre before you came to a grinding halt.

The volume and pressure of the air in your tyres is vitally important to keep you moving forward. It is also the volume of air, regulated by pressure, that allows us to regulate the profile of the tyre to optimise the central patch of tyre which is in contact with the surface you’re driving over.

It’s extremely important to remember that underinflated tyres build up heat extremely quickly, and the one thing rubber does not like is heat. Heat and excessive flexing are the primary causes of tyre deterioration and side wall damage.

If you choose to run low profile tyres you are physically reducing the volume of air able to fit in those tyres.

This, together with the heavy load you’re expecting the tyre to carry, will increase the likelihood of tyre degeneration and the possibility of a blowout.

Note that low profile tyres are not recommended for boat trailers.

One has to be extremely careful when it comes to the load rating or carrying capacity of a tyre, especially with regard to single axle boat trailers and where tyres are generally loaded very close to their maximum load rating and legal parameters.

The boat trailer tyres must be rated for the gross vehicle mass of your trailer weight plus the weight of the boat and the weight of all the additional items you load on the boat when travelling.

You also need to adhere to the legal load rating of your tyres as well as the recommended tyre pressures and running speeds.

As a rule of thumb with regard to tyre pressure it’s better to over inflate than under inflate tyres, but you should not exceed 3.4 bar for long distance high speed towing.

As an example, using a GVM of a boat and trailer of 2.7 tons and a single axle trailer: A) Tyre 245/70R 16” 109R load rating:1030kg total allowable load: 2060kg B) Tyre 225/75R 16” 121R load rating:1450kg total allowable load: 2900kg Despite the fact that the 245/70x16 TYRE LOAD RATING TABLE Load Index Load in kg 110 1060 111 1090 112 1120 113 1150 114 1180 115 1215 116 1250 117 1285 118 1320 119 1360 120 1400 121 1450 122 1500 123 1550 124 1600 125 1650 126 1700

is a slightly wider tyre (ie: 245 vs 225) the 225 has a better load rating because it is constructed for an intended commercial application. Infact a 225/75 is almost the same diameter as a 245/70 because the 75 and 70 are aspect ratios, ie: a percentage of the width.

225 x 75% = 169mm 245 x 70% = 171mm Effectively there’s a 2mm difference in the radius of the tyre.

With a double axle trailer one can multiply the tyre loading rate by four which gives you quite a large safety margin. However, as double axle trailers are primarily used for larger craft, one needs to do the maths to ensure the tyres used are adequate for the GVM of the rig.

WORKING ON THE BEACH For those of us who tow rigs on the beach, the general rule is to drop your tyre pressure to 0.8 bar for both tow vehicle and trailer. Beware: This is a guideline only.

Many factors must be taken into account when determining the tyre pressures on the tow vehicle and trailer.

To start with you have to determine the power of the tow vehicle, its tyre specs and the specs of the trailer tyres.

Combine this thinking with the approach to the beach, the gradient of the beach and, of course, how churned up the beach sand is thanks to the other boats launching, The most worrying factor is the road condition to and from the beach.

Very sharp turns or lateral gradients in these turns where the entire boat and SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 23

Then, if sufficient sand traction is not achieved, drop the vehicle’s tyre pressure to 0.8 bar but leave the trailer tyres at 1 bar.

Should you still have difficulty towing on the beach then resort to dropping all tyre pressures further, but you must then be extremely careful when it comes to making turns and driving on a sloping beach. Furthermore, reinflate the tyres as soon as you’re off the sand because driving with such low pressure can cause serious damage to tyre walls.

Glenn Evans recommended the GoodYear Efficient Grip Cargo tyre (pictured on page 21) for my single-axle trailer carrying a KingCat 200. The optimised side wall construction ensures that a load rating of 2 900kg is achieved and that, under the correct tyre pressure, there’s less chance of the tyre being pulled off the rim.

trailer’s weight is shifted on to one wheel can and does result in an underinflated tyre being pulled off the rim.

This also applies to the bigger double axle rigs being turned very sharply on

24 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

the beach sand. Once again, if the tyres are under inflated it’s easy to pull the tyre off the rim.

Glenn’s advice in this regard is to start with all tyre pressures set at 1 bar.

TOP TIPS: • Carry an extra spare tyre (ie two spares) — preferably on the right sized rim — during a long trip.

• Make sure your jack — rated to a minimum of three tons — can physically fit under the trailer axle in case the entire tyre shreds and the rim is on the ground.

• Have a puncture repair kit available and a 12 volt compressor on hand so that you can deal with a spiked tyre or slow puncture.

TACTICS

By Donavan Cole

I

F you ask any Cape Town angler they will all agree that yellowtail fishing around Cape Point can be some of the most exciting or most frustrating fishing you’ll ever encounter.

One day you will have them eating out of your hand and the next you will be pulling your hair out while they swim

around any and every lure you present to them. However, the days when they do bite make all the mombak (no fish) days worthwhile!

The average size of yellowtail encountered around False Bay is usually between 2- and 5kg; bigger fish up to 12kg are not uncommon, though, and a few specimens up to 20kg have been caught over the years. I have not land-

ed one over 12kg despite fishing around the bay for more than 20 years, but I have had many big fish reef or run me off over the years.

WHEN AND WHERE TO CATCH Around False Bay the yellowtail generally prefer warmer water of 15°C and upwards, but there are times when the fish can be caught in water as cold as

Tips for catching yellowtail around Cape Point

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 29

30 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

13°C. The fish will usually go off the bite with a sudden drop in water temp, but if there is a gradual drop in temperature over a few days then they can be caught in these colder waters.

The colour of the water is also a big factor and we will usually find that the best catches will be made when it’s clean and blue. Catches will decline from little to nothing as the water turns green and then to dirty brown.

A westerly wind is the favoured wind for catching them around the point as it will usually warm the water and make it nice and blue. During these times there is also a very good chance of encountering yellowfin tuna which usually results in the unsuspecting angler getting a hiding and a story of the big one that got away. I have, however, seen many large yellowfin landed on yellowtail tackle, so it doesn’t have to end badly.

Having said all that, though, yellowtail fishing is still unpredictable. There are times when we will have perfect conditions with no baitfish around and not a sign of a yellowtail, and other days when the conditions will be terrible with large areas of baitfish and we will make good catches. Nothing is written in stone, so any day out there when the weather allows is worth a look.

There are a few areas around Cape point where we regularly get good catches: • South west reefs a mile or two south west of Cape Point. The fish are usually caught on the edge of the kelp line.

• Bellows Rock — an exposed rock around two miles south of Cape point, with deep water all around.

• The Anvil — around a mile to the east of Cape Point. It’s a very shallow pinnacle that usually breaks when the swell picks up.

• Rocky Bank — a large rocky area around five miles south east of Cape Point.

The strong south easterly wind that usually prevails over the summer months will cool the waters around Cape Point and make the water rather dirty, but at the same time it will warm up the water inside the bay. We will then go and look for the ’tail inside the point, from under the lighthouse all along the kelp beds past Rooikrantz and into Buffels Bay. You generally don’t find massive concentrations of birds inside the point like you do on the outside, so keep a good eye out for one or two sterretjies and if you find them feeding you will be sure to get a yellowtail under them. If that doesn’t work your best bet is to troll lures.

The strong SE winds will also push the fish deep inside the bay and catches can be made from Simonstown, Glencairn, Fish Hoek Bay and towards Muizenberg. The fish are quite skittish

Some of the best yellowtail fishing spots around Cape Point.

Yellowtail showing under the baitfish

Yellowtail feeding under the birds with a couple of commercial boats inbetween.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 31

Chef Ryan Cole with his catch.

Take note of his recipe suggestions on page 37.

Donavan Cole fishing for yellowtail under Cape Point from his 3.2m dingy.

Juvhan (Boeta) Rademeyer with his first yellowtail. The smile says it all.

in these areas, though, and they can be very hard to catch, especially since they are not found under feeding birds like they are around Cape Point.

This wind unfortunately pushes the shoals very close inshore along this stretch where the beach seine net fishermen will catch countless tons with their nets that are rowed out at Long Beach (Simonstown), Fish Hoek, Muizenberg and Strandfontein. As destructive as this method of fishing might appear, it has been going on for more than 100 years and little has changed since then with regard to their gear and methods used.

Earlier is usually better when targeting yellowtail, and our day will start with us getting to Cape Point at sunrise.

We will then have a look for birds actively feeding on the surface as an indication of where the fish are.

The best birds to look for are terns or “sterretjies” — Afrikaans name comes from the way they look like twinking stars when they are seen hovering over baitfish with their rapidly f lapping wings. When you find them feeding this is usually a good indication that the 32 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

yellowtail are feeding underneath. Your best bet would then be to approach these birds and, depending on your favoured method of targeting them, get a lure in as quickly as possible.

There are times when these birds will feed over splashing yellowtail for ages, and other times you will be running around between groups of birds as they drop down to feed for mere seconds and then frustratingly fly off again.

Other times there will be a mass of terns, gannets, cormorants and gulls feeding on masses of bait as far as the eye can see.

These feeding birds will usually disperse mid morning and the fish will go off the bite. When that happens tactics change and you need to use your echo sounder to find the schools, stop on them and try dropping your spinners or jigs down to where they are.

SPINNING Spinning is by far the most exciting way to catch yellowtail as the chase and hookup is quite visual and there are many times when the whole school will chase after your lure just to have one of

them grab it right at your feet.

When you’re casting at surface feeding fish it’s always best not to cast into them if possible, but rather cast over the school and then pull your lure straight through the frenzy.

Before spinning reels became so durable and popular the spinning setup of choice would be a Shimano Speedmaster or Daiwa SL50 Multiplier loaded with monofilament on a Purglas Tiger Special rod. It was quite challenging casting these multipliers when the fish were splashing on the surface as the excitement would usually result in a massive overwind. Those setups are also not ideal for casting small lighter lures.

These days most guys are using grinders/spinning reels from 2500 to 8000 sizes loaded with braid, meaning they can fish with much thinner lines than before and not run the risk of overwinds. The smaller/lighter lures can thus be thrown much further with pin point accuracy.

There is a wide range of rods out there and guys will use anything from 5ft to 10ft rods depending on reels and

Charter client Eric was more than happy with this perfect specimen.

Smaller yellowtail caught on a jig.

Author’s favourite trolling lures, deep divers and surface lures.

Author’s favourite casting lures.

lures to be cast. Using the smallest, lightest setup will usually result in the most action and fun, but it can be impractical as you often need to bully the fish away from the reef and kelp, and then there are the seals that want to take your fish. My setup of choice is a Shimano Stradic 5000 or 6000 loaded with 30 or 50 lb braid on a 10ft Exage rod.

surface and you change to every single lure you have in your box only to find they will take one specific lure and nothing else.

Plastic surface poppers/plugs will also get a lot of action when targeting surface feeding fish. You get them in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colours, but my favourite is white or green in a long thin shape.

CASTING LURES Anglers use a wide variety of spinners and surface lures in different sizes, but the lure that most closely mimics what the fish are feeding on naturally will always get the most action.

When the fish are very fussy we shake out a few fish’s stomach contents and, depending on what we find, we will change lures accordingly.

On days when they’re feeding on large sardines you can catch them on most lures, but on days when they’re feeding on tiny lantern fish or maasbankers you will need to throw the smallest lure your tackle can handle.

There are, however, days when you will find the fish feeding ferociously on the

TROLLING Trolling is the favoured method for targeting yellowtail around Cape Point as you’re able to cover a lot of ground.

This method is usually most successful when there is not much bird action around and you rely on getting blind strikes.

We generally troll multiple lures and a mix of deep diving lipped-lures and surface running squids and jet heads, at speeds between 5- and 6.5 knots. I like to run the deep divers on the port and starboard quarters and have them swimming just on the edge of the prop wash. My squids will run in the wake and I’ll run them in a V-formation with the shortest lines just outside the pro-

peller wash and the longer lines out at around 20m.

I usually run deep divers when the fish are not feeding hungrily as they are often the first lures to get a strike.

When the fish really start biting I will remove these lures and just run surface lures as the lipped lures often don’t play well with other lures, resulting in tangles.

You also can’t troll these treblehooked lures through the kelp for obvious reasons.

Treble-hook lures are generally pretty dangerous and many anglers have had to head home early with a treble embedded in their hands or legs.

Handling a lively yellowtail with trebles swinging around from its mouth is an accident waiting to happen Over the last few years seals have become more and more of a nuisance and some days we will not be able to get a single yellowtail out as the seals follow the boat around like puppies and pounce on ever y fish that is hooked. This results in a lot of lost fish as well as lost and/or damaged tackle.

To get around this problem we SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 33

sometimes run bungees (a length of surgical rubber attached to a trace and lure) and short sticks similar to what the commercial boats use. This may seem unsportsmanlike for a recreational fisherman, but some days this is the only way that we can land a fish quick enough so that the seals don’t take them. We pull these heavy lines in by hand and lift the fish over the side without gaffing them.

BAIT FISHING Catching yellowtail on bait is not a common practice among recreational fishermen around the Point, but the commercial boats use bait very successfully when the shoals move deeper beyond their trolled lures. The favoured bait for them is squid/chokka, while commercial linefish boats do very well using pike cut into blocks.

The setup for bait fishing is pretty straightforward; I usually use a 9/0 hook on a trace around 1m long with a small power swivel between the leader and hook trace. When there is a bit of current we add a small sinker accordingly, but you want to fish with as little weight as possible so that the bait drifts slowly through the water column.

The bite can be anything from a mad rush as the yellowtail swallows the bait, to a slight bite that you might think is a small reef fish.

I also like to fish with a float, and I

34 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

make the trace as long as possible to be cast with a large float which will keep it on the surface. It can be pretty exciting watching and waiting for the float to be pulled under when the yellowtail takes the bait which is quite reminiscent of my experiences catching mullet as a kid.

FISHING ETIQUETTE Yellowtail fever can run pretty high when the fish are around, especially when there are birds all over and fish splashing under them. It is not uncommon to have more than 50 craft from kayaks and small rubber ducks to large commercial linefish boats in a small area all trying to get a piece of the action.

Tension can run pretty high during these times and you need to keep a good eye out for collisions as you will have some boats trolling and others drifting and spinning. Common sense quite often does not prevail and you will find guys trolling over each other’s lines or charging right through shoals of fish.

The commercial linefish boats will usually be catching fish on the “steam”, meaning they will be trolling a bunch of lines and when they get into a school of feeding fish they will do donuts on the school, hauling the fish in while the boat is travelling at trolling speeds. This is quite something to behold, but it is

best to give these guys a wide berth as their movements can be quite erratic and if you have a run in with their heavy tackle you will usually lose whatever lures you have entangled with them, not to mention the verbal abuse that will follow. They are also trying their best to make a living from what they catch, so it is always best to try and give them space to work.

When you’re trolling inside Cape Point take a wide berth around Rooikrantz ledges and Bortjiesdrif ledges as there will usually be guys spinning off the rocks. This is one of the few places around Cape Town where yellowtail can be caught from the shore, and as boat fishermen we have more than enough water to fish in without hindering these shore fishermen.

When you encounter commercials on anchor or drifting and catching fish on bait it is best to not troll too close to them, especially across their sterns, as their bait lines will usually be drifting behind them in the current. If you’re going to anchor near them it’s also best not to anchor directly behind them.

Happy fishing!

If you’re keen to target yellowtail around Cape Point then contact Donavan on <fishing@oceanlife charters.co.za>, phone 082 443 0476 or visit <www.oceanlifecharters.co.za>.

RECIPE

YELLOWTAIL ON THE COALS

By Ryan Cole

W

HILE Donavan Cole is a charter boat captain, his brother Ryan is captain of the kitchen at Sasify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay. After starting his chef’s career at the age of 16 and then gaining international experience, in 2015 Ryan started working at The Test Kitchen in Cape Town as head chef for Luke Dale-Roberts. In 2018 Ryan opened Salsify at The Roundhouse, offering fine dining without the snobbery.

Salsify was recently awarded a 1-Plate Award by the JHP Gourmet Guide 2020 Awards while Ryan received the American Express Young Talent Award 2020 at the American Express Dining Awards 2020.

Salsify was also recently judged to be the 8th best South African restaurant in the 2019 Eat Out Awards, only 13 months after it opened.

In line with keeping things simple but flavourful, Ryan has put together a suggestion for preparing your freshly caught yellowtail and some side dishes…. Bon appetite!

BEER BREAD Ingredients 500g flour 3g salt

GREEN MANGO SALAD Ingredients 3 green mangoes 1 medium daikon 1 lime — zest and juice 100ml olive oil 3g salt Pinch dry chilli flakes Pinch white pepper Method • Using a vegetable peeler, peel the mangoes down to the seed. Also peel the daikon into strips.

• Mix the oil, lime zest, chilli, lime juice and salt together. Pour over the peeled mango and daikon in a bowl.

BURNT LEMON MAYO Ingredients 3 egg yolks 3g salt 200ml canola oil 1 lemon 5g Dijon mustard Method • Cut the lemon in half, blacken the flesh side on the fire and squeeze the juice into a bowl.

• Using a hand blender add the egg yolks, salt, Dijon mustard and vinegar. Trickle in the oil until it is fully emulsified.

FIRE COOKED YELLOWTAIL Ingredients 1 fillet of fresh yellowtail 100g fresh thyme Juice of a lemon 30ml canola oil Method Cut the fillet into squares 6cm by 6cm.

Place the thyme directly on to the medium to low burning charcoal. Place the yellowtail on top of the thyme and cook for about six minutes.

200ml beer 4g instant yeast

Method • Mix all dry ingredients together, then slowly pour in the beer.

Working your hand in a circular motion mix by hand for 5 min.

• Cover bowl with clingwrap and allow to prove for 30 min.

• Divide the dough into six balls, flatten by hand and cook on the braai grid over medium hot charcoal for approximately four minutes a side.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 37

PLACES

By Erwin Bursik

T

HE sun’s golden orb settled gently over the red western sky into the bush-lined horizon of the north bank of the mighty Zambezi River. Before disappearing for the dark of night, it left its telltale path of shining gold over the rippled surface of this, one of the biggest east-flowing rivers in Africa.

A sight such as this not only reignites the soul, but also for me personally brought back memories of standing on the same spot exactly 30 years before, witnessing this same spectacular sunset on my first expedition to hunt the Zambezi’s legendary tigerfish.

Jaco Visser and one of the bigger +6kg tigerfish taken virtually in front of the lodge.

40 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

Zambezi Mubala Lodge’s communal facilities with the start of the west wing cabins.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 41

During the final stages of the ceasefire of the Border War I was a guest at a Captain Morgan competition held at a military camp on the very site where the new fantastic Zambezi Mubala Lodge stands. I was filled with excitement and anticipation at the thought of hunting the waters to hopefully catch my ver y first river tiger. (See the November/December 1989 issue of SKI-BOAT). This time, as I surveyed the river, I held in my hand a tall glass of Captain Morgan to toast my return to a magical destination and the fervent hope of tackling one of the big tigerfish for which this stretch of river within Namibia’s Caprivi panhandle is renowned.

Gondwana Collection Namibia purchased the two adjacent lodges that previously occupied this high cliff situation on the river bank. They subsequently demolished them and, with innovative design encompassing modern construction methods, brought the recently opened Zambezi Mubala Lodge into being.

Lining the cliff top are 22 self-standing ultra modern cabins which stretch east and west of the lodge’s lounge, dining, bar and swimming pool complex, and are all connected by a boardwalk.

However, at that moment of contemplation. it was the myster y and magic of the river that held my attention until the blackness of the African night closed its curtain on past memories and opened my mind to the extremely comfortable and inviting surroundings of the lodge itself.

Gondwana Collection’s lodges in the Caprivi panhandle provide access to both the Kavango River that arises in Angola and runs eastward forming the border between Namibia and Angola, as well as the famous Okavango swamps.

Gondwana’s Hakusebe Lodge is situated just west of Rundu and Namushasha, a lot closer to the Botswana border. Just east of Katima Mulilo are two Gondwana Collection Lodges — the Mubala Fishing Camp and, approximately six kilometres east, the new Gondwana Mubala Lodge. Further towards the Botswana border on the banks of the Chobe River is the Tented Gondwana Choba Lodge that overlooks the expansive flood plains that traditionally attract the huge herds of elephants, buffalo and plains game of the Chobe National Park. It’s a spectacular sight when the waters of the Zambezi push back into the Chobe River system, filling to capacity all the small waterways and providing the much needed water to perpetuate the cycle of life of that region.

For me, however, the draw of the tigerfish took centre stage and Gondwana Holdings’ Financial Director, Jaco Visser, and his high performance river craft had me more than excited

for the dawn of the following morning.

River fishing, especially in Namibia’s Kavango and Zambezi rivers, has expanded exponentially over the last decade. It has also developed into a specialised art form of angling where fishing with ultra light fishing gear and artificial lures is the norm. A number of highly competitive competitions such as the Crockango Bonanza on the Kavango River, the Zambezi Classic on the Zambezi and a Bream Classic in the Okavango swamps has brought about a revelation of tackle and specialised boats that are capable of high speed navigation along extensive stretches of all these rivers.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IS KING I was in very accomplished company, accompanied as I was by Jaco and Lappies Loubser, Gondwana’s Northern Regional General Manager, who won the Zambezi Classic in late August 2019.

Although tigerfish were uppermost in my mind, they were determined to expose me to the art lure side of the sport, targeting the large bream that are found in these waters and which play a very important part in these angling competition. I soon learned that the equipment and efficient use of it is not easy and immense skill and local knowledge is extremely important.

Drifting down a fast flowing river with reasonably strong upstream winds, a mere 2- to 4 metres from the reeds and bush-strewn banks is an art in itself.

Add to that flicking a quarter-ounce jig into pockets, holes and undercuts that hold these big bream — especially nembwe — was nigh impossible for a novice like me.

Initially it was highly embarrassing as eight out of ten of my casts ended with me snagging on seen and unseen structures. However, seeing my companions hooking and tussling with some good sized bream made me more and more determined to get the lure in the right area. In the end I caught two respectable nembwe, quite a few three

spot and even more “humpies” — humpback bream.

As a sport it is highly addictive, and I soon became obsessed with placing the lure into the right hole and getting these bream to eat. Once one gets these 2- to 3kg fish out of the “hole” and into the strong current of the Zambezi, they put up a tremendous fight on the light tackle we used. Very exciting indeed!

TIGERS AT DUSK We tended to leave the targeting of tigerfish till the last few hours before darkness, which resulted in a few very big tigers being caught. I personally still get an incredible thrill from the tigers’ ferocious take, aerial display and the tenacious fight next to the boat; and then there’s the relief of the netting.

Finally you get a few minutes of closeat-hand adrenaline-fueled photography and then the thrill of holding the tiger in the water until it kicks and powers its way back into the green water of the Zambezi River.

One of the methods used to target tigers is to suspend a live baitfish (bream) beneath a balloon. On one of the days a pink f loating balloon attached to a live bream was attacked by a two metre long crocodile that made a surface charge across the last ten metres to engulf the balloon and get entangled in my line. The fight was on, and it was a lot more visible than those against the sharks that take our tuna or ’cuda at sea. Needless to say, on light tiger tackle the attachment didn’t last long, but it was very exciting until the croc rolled me up and smashed the line.

Fishing the Zambezi is an almost calming experience. There’s no swell, big seas, strong wind and violent rocking like one experiences on the ocean, but rather a calm, hushed atmosphere as one drifts downstream. The beautiful views along both banks and the cool off-water breeze keeping one reasonably cool adds to the overall enjoyment.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 43

Whilst our fish expeditions took us up to 30km downstream of the lodge, most of the fish, especially the tigerfish, were caught in the eight kilometre stretch between the Mubala Camp and the Mubala Lodge.

Clients that fish on the lodgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charter boats have access to arguably the best fishing areas in that region, and each evening they shared stories in the bar of their experience fishing the mighty Zambezi.

The Zambezi Mubala Camp Lodge is accessible by road some 30km east of Katima Mulilo and provides bush-style tented accommodation with self-catering facilities sited above the river in park-like surroundings.

Excellent food is available in the bar area although the menu is very limited. For two nights of my stay I was accommodated in the camp and enjoyed the meals.

44 â&#x20AC;˘ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

The tented accommodation is very comfortable with an en-suite bathroom, a double bed and two single beds, and a verandah that doubles as the cooking and socialising area.

This camp is very popular among visiting Namibian fishermen as well as SA tourists driving through this area and the northern regions of Namibia.

Gondwana Lodges offers South African tourists a Gondwana Card that entitles them to a 40% discount on the rack rate accommodation charges and makes this camp very affordable. Add to this the twentyodd permanent tents, swimming pool, lodge, tackle shop and other facilities and its clear why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such a popular venue.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 45

Erwin Bursik’s brag album of humpback, threespot bream and one of the big tigerfish.

Anel Loubser of Zambezi Mubala Lodge. with her personal best 6kg tiger.

Wessel Worst’s winning tiger of 8.78kg taken in 1989 during the Captain Morgan Competition fishing the same waters.

It’s worth noting that the Zambezi Mubala Camp is sited on a backwater channel of the Zambezi with Kalimbeza Island on its opposite bank. The surrounding waters of this island are protected and policed by Sikunga Protection Area Guards to ensure that the prolific illegal commercial gill netting is virtually eliminated. As a result, the number of fish in this protected area has dramatically increased and all concerned believe this seeding will improve the overall fish population in this area and downstream towards Gondwana Mubala Lodge to perpetually sustain the fisheries in this area. A catch and release policy is rigorously promoted.

Gondwana’s Zambezi Mubala Lodge is, in my opinion, outstanding. Brilliant in design and even more exceptional when put to use by this fishing-weary fisherman. The cabins are very spa46 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

cious and I am certain my wife, Annie, would have been thrilled to stay in Cabin no.8 with me. Fully air-conditioned, with magnificent views of the Zambezi whether you’re lying in bed, in the “rain” shower or on the secluded outdoor veranda, it feels as if you are right on the water. The cabins are stylishly decorated and have everything one would wish for on a trip to southern Africa.

The dining area is designed for comfort and is open to receive the cool upriver breeze. It also offers a magnificent view of the river.

The meals are superbly prepared and presented and cater for all tastes.

The “table de hôte” menu varied substantially every evening I stayed there, with the superb-tasting food being beautifully presented and efficiently served.

A large firepit is situated between

the bar and the dining area and it’s extremely pleasant to relax there while enjoying an after dinner drink.

Off necessity the entire lodge is built on pillars, ensuring that when the Zambezi reaches its peak during the high water season and overflows its banks, guests at Mubala Lodge will not be affected. It must be quite an experience to be able to park your boat almost next to the bar access!

This lodge is primarily aimed at the international tourist market, but it’s becoming incredibly popular among visiting anglers who appreciate the additional luxury this lodge offers, especially when they’re accompanied by their non-fishing partners.

Zambezi Mubala Lodge is not accessible by vehicle, so all guests are transported by river ferries from Mubala Camp to the lodge, a 6km boat meander downstream which in itself is a won-

Two very nice nembwe that fell to the small jigs Jaco Visser fishes with from his Ruffnek TomCat shown below.

derful experience.

HORSES ON THE WATER In conclusion I need to enthuse about Jaco’s new craft — Ruffnek Boats Namibia’s most recent design. This craft was designed especially for the big rivers of northern Namibia where exceptional stability is required. The ability to use huge outboard motors on these craft enables the highly competitive anglers to cover up to 100km of river during fishing competitions. This year this boat ran 90km downstream to Impala Island and back — all within the day’s fishing. I was astounded! At nearly full throttle, we recorded an S0G of 115kph. The 300hp Mercury motor was running at 6 000rpm and swinging a 25 pitch prop.

The boat’s lateral stability was most impressive, both at speed and more especially while fishing.

As a skipper on the Zambezi one can’t just run straight at high speed — sand bars, bends in the river, hippos and local makoras require one to make many sharp turns.

During the time I was aboard with Jaco this was all achieved, with him rarely reducing speed to avoid the obstacles. To prove his boat’s capabilities, in one wide and deep stretch of the river he submitted us to some fulllock turns at very high speed. It was thrilling but frightening for me as we felt the “G” effects as the craft turned with great style, hardly tilting into the turn and not requiring much if any reduction of speed. I studied with interest the planing surfaces of the craft’s hull that enable it to achieve the speeds it does and, more importantly, its stability while three large anglers plied their “trade” during a days fishing on the river.

Jurgen Geiger of Ruffnek Boats Namibia needs to be lauded for departing from the traditional hull design to produce a craft that can load a 400hp on its transom and achieve the stability that Jaco’s TomCat showed.

GETTING THERE I travelled from Durban via Johannesburg to Kasane in Botswana, leaving Durban at 08:00 and arriving in Kansane at 13:30.

Thereafter it was a two-hour (140km) road transfer through the Chobe National Park to the customs border between Botswana and Namibia and then on to Mubala Camp.

Overall, a very interesting experience.

My fervent hope is that I don’t have to wait another 30 years to revisit this very special destination on the Zambezi River.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 47

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

I

RECENTLY attended the Kleinbaai Bottomfish Interprovincial prizegiving in the Western Cape, and noted that it was an extremely well organised tournament.

A stand-out feature of this competition was the large number of juniors participating. The future of our sport lies with them, and it is so important that we nurture their interest.

The maiden Pioneer Ladies Fishing

Phillip Marx, SADSAA President

Competition was held at St Lucia SkiBoat Club on 2 and 3 November 2019.

This is a fantastic initiative, giving our ladies a chance to showcase their talents. Team Free Spirit (pictured below) took top honours.

On behalf of the SADSAA Council, I wish all our anglers and their families a happy and successful 2020, with many enjoyable fishing hours in the upcoming season.

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

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E have selected the following anglers to represent SADSAA and the Proteas in various tournaments in the next few months...

• Junior Gamefish Nationals, Durban, 23 – 27 March; 3-man SADSAA U19 team: Jan Harem du Plessis (N) Captain, Quinton Olivier (SG) and Chais Gaul (N).

• Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai, 29 March – 4 April; 3man SADSAA Masters Gold team: Allen Ford (B) Captain, Rory Leonard (B) and Frans Beukes (N).

• Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai, 29 March – 4 April; 3man SADSAA Masters Green team: John Leuf (B) Captain, Gary Truluck (FS) and Wayne Gerber (EP)

• Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai, 29 March – 4 April; 3man SADSAA team: Louis Becker (WP) Captain, Kobus Koekemoer (B) and Abed Khan (N).

• Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai, 29 March – 4 April; 3man SADSAA U19 team: Jan Harem du Plessis (N) Captain, Josh Olivier (B) and Werner van Zyl (WP).

• EFSA European Championship, Cape Verde, 11-14 May 2020; 4-man Protea team: Jaco Hendriksz (G) Captain), Kobus Sutherland (MP), Janes Wasserman (G) and Piet Jordaan (MP).

Congratulations to all these anglers on their achievement, and we wish them tight lines.

SADSAA CONTACTS: Email: <info@sadsaa.co.za> • Website: <www.sadsaa.co.za> 48 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS 7 – 14 February:Two Oceans Marlin Competition, Struisbaai 16 – 22 February: Mapelane Billfish Invitational 4 – 7 March: Billfish Interprovincial and Interclub 8 – 13 March: SGDSAA Rosebowl Interclub, Guinjata 14 – 15 March: Durban Ski-boat Club Interclub 22 – 27 March: SADSAA Junior Gamefish Nationals, PYC 28 – 29 March: Umkomaas Interclub 31 March – 5 April: SADSAA Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai 10 – 12 April: Bonanza, Richards Bay 21 – 25 April:Tuna Masters, Hout Bay 25 – 27 April: Durban Ski-boat Club Festival 25 April – 2 May: GBBAC Offshore Classic, Gordon’s Bay 27 April – 1 May: SADSAA Senior Gamefish Nationals 1 – 3 May:All Coastal Bottomfish Interprovincial, Gonubie

RECENT RECORDS

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ONGRATULATIONS to the following anglers who have caught new records: Daniel Hughes (WP) — 880mm seventy-four: SADSAA and All Africa Length Records.

• Dion Wilmans (SG) — 3kg john dory: SADSAA and All Africa All Tackle Records.

• Shane Dennis (Umkomaas SBC) — 8.8kg Talang queenfish on 6kg line:All Africa Line Class Record.

• Carmen Badenhorst (St Lucia SBC) — 8.55kg queen mackerel on 4kg line:All Africa Line Class Record.

• Owen Barclay (Natal Rod & Reel Club), aged 15 — 26.5kg greater amberjack on 10kg line: SADSAA Junior Record and All Africa Junior Record, as well as a pending Junior World Record.

• Kieran McKay (Durban SBC), aged 13 — 9.56kg kawakawa on 10kg line: SADSAA Junior Reord and All Africa Junior Record.

• Finn-Lee Reyneke (L), aged 14 — 91kg yellowfin tuna on 60kg line: SADSAA Woman’s record and All Africa Junior Record (pictured below).

2 – 3 May: Umlalazi Couta Classic, Umlalazi 1 – 3 May: Marlin SBC Annual Classic Competition 3 – 9 May: ILTTA, Guatemala 4 – 8 May:All Inland Interprovincial, Sodwana 11 – 14 May: EFSA Billfish Tournament, Cape Verde 14 – 17 May: Mapelane Trophy Interclub, Mapelane 16 – 17 May: Shelly Beach Interclub, Shelly Beach 19 – 23 May:Tuna Interprovincial, Rumbly Bay 30 – 31 May: Zinkwazi Interclub, Zinkwazi 30 – 31 May: Mapelane Couta Derby, Mapelane 31 May – 5 June: Guinjata Species Bonanza, Guinjata 13 – 14 June:Warnadoone Interclub 24 – 27 June: 20th Shelly Beach Fishing Festival 25 – 28 June: Mapelane Junior Interclub, Mapelane

GUATEMALA INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT

M

PUMALANGA anglers Edwin Freeman (captain), Marius de Vos and Francois Bezuidenhout took part in this tournament from 7 to 9 November 2019. After two practice days on board Decisive with Brad Philips, the team took on some of the best sailfish anglers in the world. Although this is an own-boat tournament, one team member rotates each day, fishing with a randomly pre-selected team on their boat. This gives the teams a chance to meet the other anglers and to learn from them as well. The South African team ended eighth overall, with Edwin achieving a respectable 14th individually overall.

Over five days — two days of practice and three days of competition — the three released an impressive 69 sailfish. By all accounts it was an incredible experience in the best sailfish fishery in the world.

READERS’ QUERIES SADSAA’s President, Phillip Marx, has undertaken to answer a limited number of readers’ queries regarding SADSAA in each issue. If you have a question you would like answered, email him on <president@sadsaa.co.za>.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 49

TACTICS

Cape Verde tactics unveiled in detail

A beautiful 800 lb blue marlin caught off Cape Verde.

The typical spread used by Ryan Williamson in Cape Verde.

By Ryan Williamson

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APE Verde has got to be one of the most exciting marlin fisheries in the world. This is due to a number of factors — the large number of blue marlin in the area, the size of them and the whole aspect of switch baiting. The last season was fantastic, with great numbers and large fish. In this article I’ll share some of the experiences I’ve had and the successful techniques I have learnt from fishing there over the past few years.

and once the fish started peeling line off the reel, we backed off to 17 lb drag. During the season 33 blue marlin fell victim to this lure.

On the left short we had the Pulsator Monster Dominator which was run as a teaser 4- to 5 metres behind the Pulsator Dredge that was running on the right side. This combo was run closest to the transom of the boat approximately 10- to 12 metres off our stern. This rig got over 100 marlin bites this season!

The right teaser — a Pusator Tube — was set six metres further back than the left teaser. The Pulsator Tube raised some big girls which we teased in and jammed on the pitch, but the majority

of the marlin came in on the left short teaser.

Once a fish is sighted we immediately start clearing the dredge and start a slow turn towards the side the fish is on. This allows the teaser to run in clearer water. The pitch bait is deployed as soon as possible and also lands in the clear water where it’s more visible for the fish to sight and switch onto. The fish is teased in by the captain, and once the bait is correctly positioned in line with the incoming teaser we quickly jerk the teaser out of the water and the fish switches onto the pitch bait. The fish thinks it’s Christmas, engulfing the bait most times.

All the pitch baits had Pulsator ultra-soft chuggers in front of them, creating a smoke trail which assists the fish in locating the bait. We found that sometimes the fish following the teaser in, focus on the smoke trail of the teaser. In some cases if the pitch bait is purely skipping it is not the same action as what the fish was following in, and that’s why we put the chugger infront of the bait.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE This season we ran a ver y simple spread because Cape Verde is generally windy with a prevailing short chop, and a complicated spread with too many lines can get tangled up. The other reason for the simple spread was to allow our clients the opportunity to pitch baits at super-fast, unpredictable blue marlin. In many instances this was a first for them, and with an unbalanced platform to work on at times, extra lines just complicate things.

To start with we set a Pulsator Tube 13-inch lure on the long rigger with a single 10/0 hook. The Pulsator Tube, being slender with a DREDGING IS A MUST heavy keel weight, is perfectly suitWithout a doubt the dredge was ed to the Cape Verde conditions. Examples of the bait used, with a chugger fitted to the the major calling card in the Our drag was set on 35 lb on strike, spread. It adds a lot of body and front to create a smoke trail.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 53

2019 STATS FOR SMOKER Owned by Atlantic Fishing Charters; Capt Ryan Williamson, local crew Papo 6 April to 2 August 2019: Released 131 blue marlin from 164 bites 210 fish raised 103 days fished 98 on the pitch 33 on Pulsator tube lure Second most fish out of the fleet in Cape Verde during the 2019 season.

Top fish: 1 x 950 lb 1 x 900 lb 1 x 800 lb 3 x 700 lb 3 x 600 lb 7 x 500 lb 15 x 400 lb mass to the size of the spread, and with it swimming subsurface it lures fish up from the depths. They are intrigued by this dark yet sometimes shining contrast of what appears to be shoaling fish. When seen from below, the dredge stands out well against the white wash from the boat.

In most cases the fish come up behind the teaser lure trailing the dredge. We had the dredge running on a solid electric reel so that the dredge could be cleared rapidly once a fish was spotted.

At this point the fish is all fired up and has no choice but to hone-in on the closest teaser.

By staggering the spread over different distances we ensure that the fish doesn’t get easily confused and doesn’t have more than one lure to target at a time. If you overwhelm them,“shy” fish can disappear from the teaser behind the dredge. For that reason we have the Pulsator Tube on the long line with a hook in. We find that 80% of the timid fish will fall back and have a shot behind the long.

LOCATING THE FISH This is by far the hardest part of the exercise. If someone could do this flawlessly, they would be super wealthy, winning every million-dollar tournament. However that’s simply not possible and adds to the challenge of the sport. Modern-day large sportfishers have an arsenal of electronic aid on the bridge to detect bait, marlin and just about anything swimming or f lying “around” the boat. Captains are able to mark fish say at 2 o’clock, it’s 100m

away and 34m deep! However this technology costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and is for a selected few at this stage. At the moment no boats in Cape Verde are loaded with that kind of equipment. No need to despair though — a regular sounder with a 1kw transducer and knowledgeable operator will still catch you plenty of fish. That is the setup I had at my disposal. My sounder is set up to look at the top 150m.

On a ski-boat where you’re standing at almost sea level it’s harder to spot the tell tail signs of birds, current lines,

colour changes, jumping fish etc. Thus being tuned into your sounder is even more important than if you’re on a sportfisher with a bridge.

Would you throw anchor on a reef with no showing? It’s the same with marlin fishing; locating life on the screen and following its movements is the key to success. Marlin usually show up as an arch in close proximity to the bait showing.

This season was a bit different to last in that I caught many fish in 2000+ metres of water in the middle of nowhere. This happened about five

The arches here clearly show the positions of marlin.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 55

Darren Gray with a strong 350 lb blue marlin caught in Cape Verde waters.

times on various occasions where we caught a number of blue marlin in extremely deep water. The reason for this success is that we were monitoring the sonar and we marked a fair amount of bait in certain areas in deep waters and started trolling there. We would literally work an area of 2- to 3 nautical miles square, and there were periods during which we consistently raised fish. Perhaps there was an upwelling there that concentrated the bait, but whatever the reason, we caught a substantial number of fish in deep water.

TOP FOUR DAYS On one occasion we had a four-day booking and we decided to head to another island because the previous week we had some good fishing in deep water. This tactic paid off, and over those four days we had some amazing fishing, catching 19 blue marlin off 21 hooked, and raising another eight fish. Once again I worked an area of deep water that was three nautical miles square, and the marlin were congregated there around the bait.

BIGGEST FISH OF THE SEASON We recently had a client from the UK who had a dream to catch blue marlin.

He had fished at many destinations around the world but had had no luck.

56 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

He was scheduled to fish with us for three days. On the first day we did not see a fish and the client felt ver y despondent at the thought of another fruitless fishing trip. That feeling didn’t last for long though because on his second day with us we went thrree for three! The client was over the moon because he had finally caught his elusive first marlin.

On his third day with us I spotted a fish on the Pulsator Tube, but it was sitting pretty deep under the teaser, so judging the size of the fish was very difficult. I instructed the crew to throw the normal size pitch rod — a 50 Tiagra with 80 lb line on stand up. It has the usual 400 lb leader to a 12/0 circle which is what we would normally pitch to fish under 700 lb.

The pitch bait was in position and I started teasing the fish in. Suddenly she showed herself by coming up and giving a bite on the teaser — she was huge! By that stage it was too late to get the big pitch rod in the water and she exploded on the bait. We fought the fish for about an hour and a half, eventually getting to the leader. We tried to nurse her up, but it’s very difficult to lift such a big fish on normal 400 lb leader.

Eventually after backing down on her with the boys on the leader for 15

minutes, we cracked the leader on the snell. I called her 950 lb, but if you don’t weigh it, you can’t say it! She was the biggest fish I have ever seen in Cape Verde. The client came up to me afterwards and told me he didn’t want to kill her and he was over the moon to have fought her, especially on that tackle. Big smiles and happy clients is what we like to see, with the good mojo aboard we jammed another 450pounder on our homeward stretch.

Cape Verde truly is an amazing destination, not only for the numbers of blue marlin, but also the sizes. As with any top fishing destination in the world there are a number of factors that come into play, including weather, right water patches, currents, bait in areas etc.

When all of these factors come into alignment it means the difference between a successful fishing holiday and an unsuccessful fishing holiday.

To time this in terms of dates is very difficult — almost impossible.

However, in saying that, when you get everything to line up, Cape Verde is one of the top destinations in the world for big blue marlin.

For further details on fishing this spectacular fishery and the aspect of pitch baiting to blue marlin, contact Ryan Williamson on 082 490 7622.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ 57

58 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

COMPETITIONS

Images courtesy Dale Staples and Gary Lategan.

By Kirsten Veenstra

N

OVEMBER 2019 once again heralded the annual Two Oceans Tuna Derby which is held at the Atlantic Boat Club in Hout Bay.

The tournament has an interesting history going back to the turn of the century. During the 1990s it became increasingly evident that Hout Bay had a world class fishery on its doorstep.

The idea of travelling to the deep to catch a tuna up to 100kg on rod and

reel with stand-up gear had become a reality and many a tuna commercial pole boat had seen this size fish swimming in their chum lines next to their vessels. Anglers and boat owners started to plan and get the correct gear together for this daunting task.

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 59

Team Cloud Nine, with Mark Delany of Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing and their winning prize.

The Atlantic Boat Club members recognised this interes, and the Tuna Derby was born in the Millennium year of 2000, with Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing coming onboard as the title sponsor from the fourth year. At the first Derby the winning fish only weighed 62kg, but in the years that followed the dream became a reality as a number of fish in the 100kg range were caught.

This year 29 boats carrying 110 anglers took part in the Two Oceans Tuna Derby with entries coming from near and far — Cape Town, Botswana, The Netherlands, Richard’s Bay, Limpopo, Belgium and Canada.

The Two Oceans Tuna Derby has become known as one of the most prestigious annual sportfishing competitions on the South African sportfishing calendar. This year the prizes were worth over R800 000 and the winning team walking away with a Seacat skiboat with a trailer and two Yamaha engines worth R325 000. Second prize got a Yamaha golf cart worth R125 000 and third place received Furuno sonar equipment worth R90 000.

Each boat could weigh in two yellowfin tuna over 30kg and one longfin tuna over 15kg for each day of fishing.

This counted towards the overall prize.

In addition prizes were awarded for individual anglers in the jigging and popping category and in the catch and release category.

The opening function was held on Friday 1 November, and the competition organisers had set aside a ten-day window in which to get in a few days of fishing. Saturday 2 November was a blow-out which worked out well as it

gave the anglers a chance to watch South Africa beat England in the Rugby World Cup final at the club, complete with a spit braai.

Sunday 3 November was the first day of fishing, with a mass start at 05h00. Most of the fleet headed 40 nautical miles or so south towards the Canyon where some trawlers and long liners were also hoping to get a good catch. It was a slow and tough day, both windy and with big swell.

All in all, it was not the best day of fishing for most of the boats only seven of the boats weighed in fish, with a total of nine yellowfin, and five longfin coming to the scales. Cloud 9 was looking good at the end of the day, having weighed in two yellowfin over 70kg. Bob Deffossa on Extravagence had the top catch of the day with a 91.2kg yellowfin.

The Monday was blown out but all the anglers gathered at the club for a steak night and lucky draws.

The final day of fishing was on Tuesday 5 November. Sam Stuttart on the Cloud 9, described the day’s conditions very well in his blog on the event: “Tuesday’s forecast was no oil painting, with the north westerly wind picking up in the afternoon making for a rather unpleasant run home from the Canyon.

Thus, along with most of the competitors, we headed out into the west. The conditions turned out to be quite unlike the forecast, with flat seas and a hardly noticeable breeze, allowing for the 36-foot beauty (Cloud 9) to show us what she can do, and what a pleasure it was.”

Atlantic Boat Club prides itself on providing some of the best tuna fishing SKI-BOAT Januar/February 2020 • 61

Henry Hugo with this year’s heaviest individual tuna.

Photo by Gary Lategan.

Tarryn Hemmes was this year’s individual lady winner.

Photo by Gary Lategan.

two yellowfin over 70kg on Day 1 set them up for a well-deserved win.

Sam Stuttart later said, “Our game plan was simple, to be ‘persistent and consistent’. On the first day, this found us lifting our heads, putting some music on and continuing to search the area — persistency. We also worked with the motto: chum and they shall come!”

The anglers on Cloud 9 — Carlos De Gouveia (owner, skipper), Roberto Leão, Sam Stuttard and William Melck — fished with Shimano Tiagra 50W, 80 lb line class and Shimano rods, using sardines as bait.

Mark Delany of Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing, title sponsor of the event, commented, “The Two Oceans Tuna Derby is an event that we are proud to have supported for 16 years now. A big thank you goes to the team at Atlantic Boat Club in Hout Bay for all their hard work in putting together such a great event, to the anglers who enter and make the competition what it is, and to the incredible support from so many incredible sponsors who make the event possible. We look forward to another fantastic event in 2020.”

The 2020 event window will be Friday 30 October to Sunday 8 November 2020.

A big thank you to the major sponsors of the event: Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing, Furuno/Radio Holland, Yamaha, Phoenix IDRS and Allianz, and The Lookout Deck.

For more information on the Tuna Derby email <tunaderby@atlanticboat club.co.za> or visit <www.atlanticboat club.co.za>.

To read Sam Stuttart’s blog on Cloud 9’s full experience at the 2019 Two Oceans Tuna Derby, go to the news section on <2oceans.co.za>.

RESULTS Top winning boat teams: 1. Cloud 9, with total entered catch of 283.2kg, skippered by Carlos De Gouveia.

2. Extravagence, with total entered catch of 238.9kg, skippered by Sean Amor.

3. Silver Fox, with total entered catch of 238.9kg skippered by Heinie Strumpher.

in the country, and the second day of fishing in this year’s Two Oceans Tuna Derby certainly was that. Most of the boats headed west/north west towards the Cables, with many of the boats following a trawler. Once she pulled up her nets there were a substantial number of yellowfin over a broad area, and most teams caught multiple yellowfin over 50kg.

In total 41 yellowfin over 50kg were weighed and 11 longfin. The biggest 62 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

fish of the day, a 92.8kg beauty, belonged to Henry Hugo on last year’s winner, Silver Fox. The ladies’ competition was close, but was won by Tarryn Hemmes who weighed in a 57.2kg yellowfin. Reel Therapy walked away with an amazing prize of five 44-inch LG TVs for the most fish in the catch and release category.

Carlos de Gouveia’s team on Cloud 9 took the overall prize. Their consistency over the two fishing days and

Top individual catches: 1. Henr y Hugo, Silver Fox, with a 92.8kg yellowfin.

2. Bob Defossa, Extravagence, with a 91.2kg yellowfin.

3. Marc White, Kaskazi Too, with an 84.3kg yellowfin.

Top lady anglers: 1. Tarryn Hemmes, Mi Thyme, with a 57.2kg yellowfin 2. Judith Roetman from the Netherlands, Xtreme 1, with a 52.2kg yellowfin.

64 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

INTERNATIONAL

Protea anglers fish EFSA Champs in Weymouth, England

By Francois Beukes

T

HE Protea team selected to represent South Africa in the European Federation of Sea Anglers (EFSA) Boat and Line Class Championships in England in September consisted of experienced anglers — captain Martin Gierz (Eastern Province), John Luef (Border) and Allen Ford (Border) — and two new caps, Wayne Gerber (Eastern Province) and myself (Natal).

Once the initial excitement of team selection was over, planning and preparations began immediately. In order for us to be competitive and plan our strategy, we did a great deal of internet research and watched stacks of YouTube videos, looking for tips on target species, tackle requirements, conditions etc. From this it was clear that the team would be tested to the limit. It was going to be extremely technical and different to what we were used to when angling in SA waters.

Booking of flights and accommodation, sorting out visa applications and practice fishing days all formed part of the hype of actually fishing in Weymouth England. None of the team members had fished there before.

Excitement was at a high at the team send-off and capping ceremony just before departure at OR Tambo International Airport on 30 August. The event was attended by numerous family members and dignitaries from SADSAA (South

African Deep Sea Angling Association) and SASACC (South African Sports Angling and Casting Confederation).

The team landed at Heathrow Airport after a relatively short overnight flight from OR Tambo. After collecting our luggage, fishing gear and hire vehicle, we began the three hour drive to the beautiful and picturesque seaside town of Weymouth situated in Dorset on the Jurassic Coast. The area is popular for its fossils and pebble beaches.

In our first week we were based on the island of Portland, about ten minutes’ drive from Weymouth, in one of the houses built for the sailing teams at the 2012 Olympics. The team wasted no time in transforming our accommodation into what can only be described as a makeshift fishing tackle workshop, with tackle and traces everywhere. An abundance of various traces were constructed for the various species of fish

John Luef, Wayne Gerber, Martin Gierz, Francois Beukes and Allen Ford on a day off.

that we expected to encounter off the coast of England.

Our first practice day was fished in trying conditions. We encountered rough seas, winds and extreme sea currents caused by the radical change in tides. It gave us a taste of what was to come, and it was a huge eye opener to see the type of fish we would be targeting. When we got off the water our first stop was the local fishing tackle shop. We would make many more visits there over the next two weeks to replenish our stock and buy extra tackle as our strategies changed with more experience after each trip to sea. With the strength of the pound as opposed to the rand, these daily trips were costly and started eating into our savings.

Over the next three practice days we experienced some great fishing in trying conditions, with the entire team landing various target species included in the competition. These included conger eels, rays, tope (shark) and bull huss (dog shark), together with a variety of small edibles.

We were fortunate to witness both John Luef and Allan Ford catching their personal best conger eels, both exceeding the 15kg mark. These eels are abundant in England and are ferocious fighters.

They can be found on the rocky ledges and wrecks both in the shallows and the deep water.

Apart from these conger eels, most of the fish encountered were relatively small and required a lot of technical preparation as each species had a preference for different coloured beads, skirts, bait choice and presentation. The SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 65

Left: Francois Beukes with a bull huss. Centre: John Leuf with a beautiful undulate ray of about 7kg.

Right: Allen Ford and John Luef with two giant conger eels around the 20kg mark. norm was to use very small hooks.

Another thing we found strange is that even live “rag worms” were used as bait.

With our practice days completed and the team reasonably confident, we moved to the Crown Hotel in Weymouth for the final week. One of the highlights for the Protea team was the opening ceremony march by all of the competing countries’ anglers. The march was through the town, and the various countries’ flags were carried by local children while the procession was led by the local marching band. These are special moments that will be cherished forever.

The competition included two championships (Boat and Line Championships) which were fished over a period of five days. We found that the scoring system for the championships is very fair. All the anglers from each team are split up and fish on different boats, so we ended up with ten anglers from different countries per boat for each of the fishing days. A draw is done on the boat each day and each of the anglers is allocated a spot on the boat for the day. All fish caught, up to ten per species, had a pre-determined points allocation, and at the end of the day the points were tallied up and the angler with the most points on the boat earned 100%. All the other anglers then earned a percentage proportional to their points compared to the boat winner’s points. At the end of the tournament each angler’s percentages were added up and that determined the individual results. All team 66 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

Wayne Gerber with a double up of wrasse caught on live rag worm. anglers’ points were then added up after discarding the worst score each day, giving the team results.

The first two days were classified as the Line Class Championships and all fishing was done on anchor using 30 lb braid. The fish targeted were conger eels, rays, tope and all other fish over five pounds.

The Protea team did exceptionally well in this facet as it is similar to how fishing is done in SA. After being in third place after day one, we managed a credible fifth position overall out of 17 countries and 22 teams. Wayne Gerber finished in a formidable seventh place overall out of 112 individual anglers.

The last three days was the Boat

Championship where we fished on the drift using open line tackle of choice and targeted any fish 20cm and over.

This format of the championship saw the Protea team having mixed results, but ultimately placing ninth out of 22 teams. It’s worth noting that over the five days John Luef won his boat twice, Allan Ford once and Wayne Gerber once. Not to be outdone, our captain, Martin Gierz, placed a credible second on one of the days. John Luef also caught the second-most fish in the entire championship.

With these calculations, fishing conditions and boat draws, the competition was tough and extremely competitive.

When the competition was finally over, it was confirmed that the Protea team finished fifth in the European Line Class Championship and ninth in the European Boat Championship out of 17 counties and 22 teams. Wayne Gerber was awarded a gold medal and the Henr y Poulton Cup for the best (longest) bream, and I was awarded two gold medals and prizes for the Anglers Mail Cup for the best pollack, and the Inde Coope Cup for the “Best Fish other” — in my case a wrasse.

In total we had fished nine out of the 14 days that we were in England and eventually it was time to bring down the curtain on what can only be described as a competition the team will cherish for years to come. We made good friends and earned respect from all our fellow competitors for our sporting spirit — truly a memorable trip for the entire Protea team.

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FREE DIGITAL E-ZINE ON WWW.ISSUU.COM SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 • 69

RECORDS

By Finn-lee Reyneke

I

FELL in love with fishing at the age of five. I remember the days when my dad, Franz, would fish the Billfish 15 000 at Sodwana. He used to take me with to prizegiving and I would join everyone on stage. Those are amazing memories.

I would constantly ask my dad when I would be big enough to go fishing, and he eventually arranged for Uncle Jannie Nel to take us out on his boat, My Lady, for my first fishing trip on the big blue. Dad did not want to use his own boat because he needed to be able to give me his full attention.

That day I landed my first fish, a ’cuda of about 9kg. That was probably my dad’s biggest mistake ever, because from that day on I would not miss an opportunity to fish with my dad. Since then I have landed a few remarkable gamefish including wahoo, dorado and yellowfin.

Finally the day came that my dad said I was ready to catch my first marlin. On 21 December 2016, once again with my dad as my personal deckie, we were offered the opportunity to go out with SADSAA president, Uncle Philip Marx, on his boat Stephe.

It was not very long before a stripey decided to come past to have a look at our spread. The elastic snapped and it was game on! I was fishing with 80 lb tackle and it took me 25 minutes to get the fish to the boat. After the quick photo session and safe release I knew I was hooked forever.

On 28 April 2018 I had the opportunity to catch yet another first — my first black marlin on live bait — when I fished the All Inlands competition with my dad, Uncle Jan Nell and Uncle Riaan Claassens. My dreams became ever bigger, as would my fish.

72 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

In December 2018 my dad decided that I was ready to fight a big blue marlin. He said that I had the perfect technique in the chair and that I would enjoy fighting a tougher fish. We set out to sea on Dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boat, Jasper, looking for that one perfect fish for me.

We had no luck finding livebait, so we switched to konas. Before Dad could place the elastic on the fourth kona, the right long exploded. A big blue broke the surface and started one of the best aerial displays I have ever seen. I got in the chair, rod in hand, and the fight started. I could feel my heart beating with excitement. About 45 minutes into the fight we unfortunately pulled the hooks on this magnificent big blue. It still remains as the one that got away and is still on my bucket list.

In the school holidays in September 2019 we went down to Sodwana to participate in the Hoedspruit Junior Development Competition. I was overjoyed. Our team consisted of my dad, Franz (skipper), Uncle Riaan Claassens (deckie), Michelle Claassens (16), myself (14), Lisa-Marie Claassens (13) and my little sister Kay-lee (10).

Dad decided that we would go out looking for gamefish on day one. The bite was slow until we hooked a small black on a Speedpro. Michelle caught her first marlin that day on 15kg line

after a fight lasting just over an hour.

Overjoyed, but with only two days fishing due to extremely bad weather, we ended in second place.

On Saturday 28 September, once the competition had ended, the weather cleared up nicely and my dad, Uncle Riaan and I decided to go out to sea.

We left the lighter rods behind and loaded the big ones; I was still looking for my big blue. We stood on the beach early that morning, waiting for Dad to make the call as the surf had no pattern with proper swells coming in. After 20 minutes we were ready to launch.

We went out looking for the current and blue water as the bad weather from the past week made the sea cold and green. We decided to put out konas in 500m of water over White Sands, eventually heading to the 1 000m mark just off Island Rock. There was blue water at Mabibi and we kept on trolling in a northerly direction.

Eventually the water changed to a much better blue, almost purple colour. We also found a couple of current lines with dolphins, birds and small fish swimming in the

SKI-BOAT January/February 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 73

current lines. Some lines also had seaweed and driftwood.

We decided to work the area for the next two hours and eventually turned back south at 1 100m opposite Lala Neck around noon. We decided to start the troll back following these current lines.

Over the radio we could hear Uncle Tokkie from Certainty talking to the skipper of Kit Kat. They were busy fighting yellowfin tuna which were going wild on mackerel from Ronde-kop to Small White Sands. Sadly we were far away and it would take us over two hours to reach the area at trolling speed.

As we approached White Sands we spotted the two boats on the 1 000m mark. Certainty had already hooked up on two and Kit Kat had loaded one and was busy with the second. It was an amazing sight — as far as we could see there were yellowfin tuna feeding and they were huge. The way they were breaking the surface and chasing baitfish, it almost looked like white horses on a windy day. It was a proper feeding frenzy.

Before long one of our rods went tight; it was fitted with a St Thomas Prowler from Black Bart. I jumped in the chair and the fight of a lifetime began — or so I thought. After 25 minutes this amazing yellowfin was next to the boat. Dad took the leader — and the hook pulled! Dad’s estimation was around 60- to 65kg. Frustrated and eager to get one onboard, we quickly set the spread again.

According to Dad’s Lowrance unit we were in 1 053m of water, right over Small White Sands. Within five minutes of losing the first fish we had another one on the line. This time a Big T Trevor’s Terror right behind the boat on the right short did the trick. The reel was screaming and it stripped about 500 metres of line by the time I got in the chair. I have never seen a fish strip line like that.

The yellowfin eventually slowed down and the fight ensued. I got him to the boat in no time, but once again the fish turned and easily made space between itself and the boat, taking another big run. At that point I realised that yellowfin tuna of this size give a bigger fight than the two marlin 74 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

I had fought.

It took me around an hour to get the fish to the boat for the last time. It eventually came in on the port corner where Dad was standing ready to take the leader and Uncle Riaan was ready with the gaff. After we secured the fish I got out of the chair to switch the motors to neutral.

Trying to lift the magnificent fish over the side of the boat did not work as I was extremly tired and Dad was over excited. I then remembered something I’d seen done on the TV show Wicked Tuna, and put a bill rope over the tail off the yellowfin. It took all three of us to get the fish onboard, but it was worth all the effort.

I could not believe what had just happened, nor could I believe the size of this magnificent fish. We took a quick photo because time was against us and we still had a long run home.

By the end of the fight we were 1 100m straight off the lighthouse. Running at an average of 20 knots, the run home took us just over an hour.

Back at Camp Jasper we first had to explain to Mom why we where a tad late for lunch, then we got the scale from the locker — we were hoping for 80kg. I kept looking at Dad’s expression as we started lifting the fish with the help of PD Goosen’s Hilux; his face lit up — the scale confirmed 91kg.

I jumped for joy — this was truly a magnificent fish and definitely a fish of a lifetime. The news started travelling fast as soon as we started sending pictures of my fish. Someone then mentioned to my dad that we should check what the record was for yellowfin.

That Monday back home my dad did some phoning around and found out that my yellowfin qualified for both the SA Women’s 60kg line class as well as the Junior All Africa records. Needless to say, I was stoked; I could not believe that I could be so blessed.

I would like to thank my dad (skipper of Jasper) and Uncle Riaan Claassens for an amazing day’s fishing, and PD Goosen for his help with weighing the fish. What an experience!

76 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

BEST FISHING DAY EVER

by Juan Beer (7)

N the long weekend in August my family and friends went down to Port St Johns. I was very excited because off Port st Johns we only do bottomfishing, my favourite type of fishing.

We left early on the Friday morning. On our way there we started feeling something was wrong with the boat and trailer. We stopped a couple of times but just could not see anything wrong with the boat.

All of a sudden the wheel of the bakkie came off completely. At that point the bakkie rolled over on its side with the boat’s tow hitch breaking off and the boat riding past us. Luckily it just stopped next to the road.

As we were sliding on the tar road on the side of the bakkie, I excitedly said,“Oh, this is my first ever accident!”

Everyone laughed about that the whole weekend!

Uncle Brendan sent us another bakkie and hitch, and we fixed the trailer’s hitch and carried on driving.

O

Unfortunately we had lost a lot of time with the accident and could not fish that day.

The next morning early we were on the water. I was super excited as I was hoping I would catch my first ever copper — that would be my second “first” for the weekend.

Uncle Piet soon got a copper and then my uncle Dewald; that just made me more determent to get mine.

I put a live mackerel on my line and dropped it to the bottom; two minutes later something huge took my bait and almost pulled me over.

I fought the fish hard and about fifteen minutes later a monster popped up — my 32kg copper. I could not believe my eyes; it was bigger than me!

My cousin Pietie, my dad and uncle Gavin all caught fish after me.

It was my best fishing trip ever.

SKI-BOAT magazine, in conjunction with Mercury, is proud to offer all junior deep sea anglers the opportunity to win awards for excellence in angling.

If you are 16 years old or younger and you submit a photo of yourself and the fish you caught, you will receive a handsome certificate suitably inscribed confirming the catch.

And there’s more ...

Once a year the names of all junior anglers whos photographs appeared on the Mercury Junior Angler page will be included in a lucky draw and the winner will receive, courtesy of Mercury, a fantastic prize of a 2.5hp outboard motor.

All you need to do is send us a photograph of yourself and your catch, together with the following details: • Your name address, telephone number and date of birth • Species and weight of the fish you caught • Line class used • Date and place fish was caught • Boat and skipper’s name All entries should be sent to : Mercury Junior Angler SKI-BOAT magazine PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 or email your entry to <angler@mags.co.za>.

There is no restriction on the number of awards that can be applied for, and SKI-BOAT magazine reserves the right to use the photographs as it sees fit.

A selection of five award winners will appear in each issue of SKI-BOAT magazine.

Junior anglers, Mercury and SKI-BOAT magazine acknowledge that you hold the future of our sport in your hands. Here’s your chance to show us what you can do!

78 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

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Price: R950 000 Contact: Andre Bezuidenhout on 082 825 2423 80 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

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Last word from the ladies

RAPALA LIP

When the cheers turn to tears...

BACKING THE BOKS W

E were fishing when the Boks played in the final of the Rugby World Cup against England. Why? Because George was not prepared to see the Boks being “annihilated” by the team that had masterfully destroyed the All Blacks.

So we decided to go fishing rather than suffer through the humiliation of being thrashed by the Poms. In fact, George was so confident that the Boks would lose, that he promised to perform a backf lip — naked — off the back of our boat if the Boks won.

George weighs 120kg and, as far as I can remember, it has been many years since he last managed to touch his toes.

One cannot use the adjectives “athletic”or “f lexible” to describe him, and none of us gave much thought to how he would perform this backflip, or the sight of him doing it naked. Our rugby guru had spoken — the Boks would lose — and so we accepted that George was only teasing about the backflip.

The rods were out and we were trolling Rapalas when the final started.

George pretended not to be nervous of the outcome as we listened to the live broadcast on Radio 2000.

When the Boks were first to get points on the scoreboard, our two young sons became very excited and I think George forgot that we were pulling lures. We were now entirely focused on every word the commentator had to say and any sign that the Boks would maintain the upper hand.

We could not contain ourselves, when the Boks were leading at halftime and, by that stage our boat was zigzagging around the ocean like a drunken sailor. Suddenly two of our reels suddenly screamed. We were delirious with excitement — not only were the Boks leading, we also had a double-up!

This delirium evaporated when we realised that the distraction of the rugby made George steer like an inebriated skipper and caused our lines to 82 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2020

tangle. George made us promise not to tell a single soul just how terribly our lines had tangled and how much line we had to discard.

George then decided that multi-tasking during the broadcast was not healthy for his heart and ordered us to retrieve the lines. In the excitement, George, or one of the boys, left a Rapala lying on one of the chairs.

The rest of the game was magical — we screamed, high-fived, fist-pumped, laughed, jumped, hugged, rocked the boat and cried with delight when Mapimpi and Kolbe scored their tries.

As soon as the game was over and the world cup ours, our six-year-old reminded George of his backflip promise. The blood instantly drained from George’s face when my son mentioned the backflip but, being a man of honour, he had to oblige.

It was quite entertaining to see George undress, but we all cringed when he started performing a few stretches in the nude and exposed his “tonsils”.

We were all nervous about how this backflip would end, so our nine-year old offered to settle for a belly flop. It’s also possible he knew that a belly flop would scare away the sharks we had spotted earlier.

George immediately accepted this invitation, took up his position between the engines and jumped. Well, it was more of fall than a jump, but it was still a mighty belly-f lop that was sure to leave any fish psychologically scarred.

I had cause to reflect on my conviction that George was no longer “athletic” when he hit the water and then almost immediately launched himself back into the boat, collapsing on the closest chair. My sons and I were so busy laughing at the sight of George desperately clambering back into the boat that we did not pay much attention when he bounced out of the chair howling in agony.

George had sat himself down heavi-

ly on an exposed brand new X-Rap deep diving Magnum lure. One of the Rapala’s treble hooks had fixed itself right between George’s butt-cheeks, with two of the hooks having penetrated the skin on either side. Suddenly, the Boks’ victory was no longer that important.

George could hardly move and walked as if someone had pushed a tuna rod up his bum. When he offered to try and bend over so that we could see what damage had been done, our nine-year-old threatened to yank the Rapala if George dared to fart. This remark sent the three of us crawling around the deck with laughter while George still stood perfectly straight and still.

As luck would have it on this very lucky day, one of the local fishing charter boats arrived to see how we were doing and to share their joy at the Boks’ victory. The look on the skipper’s face, and those of his customers, was rather comical when they spotted George without his clothes. Their surprise turned into cries of laughter when I explained that George had an X-Rap stuck in his behind and that we required some help to dislodge it.

Our new friend made short shrift of the removal of the hooks but also teased that he would yank the Rapala if George dared to make any strange moves. I could see that by this stage George had completely lost his sense of humour and that his Rapala Lip was bigger than that on the lure! I scrambled to cover his “toolbox” with a towel so that the offending object could be quickly removed and his dignity restored.

On the way home I reminded a sheepish-looking George that he was fortunate that there was no lasting damage, and offered to spoil him with beer to celebrate an unforgettable Rugby World Cup triumph. His smile soon returned and all was well with the world...

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