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CONTENTS
January/February 2022 Volume 38 Number 1 COVER: RAMPANT! A possible grander black marlin that was allowed to swim free off Bazaruto. The angler was Duarte Rato fishing off sportfisher Big Bob. Photo by Kevin Hodgson.
FEATURES
11
Where to Fish Part 4: Exploring the Overberg Coast — by Rob Naysmith
20
Stability and Style Aplenty Boat review: Supercat Sliver 29 — by Erwin Bursik
26
Cruising to Victory Fish galore at 2021 OET — by Bryan Jooste
32
20
Marking Marlin Using sonar to improve your results — by Stuart Simpson
41
Down Deep Part 4: Dealing with your anchor — by Craig Stubbs
48
Innovative Improvements Update on the Seacat 800 — by Erwin Bursik
55
Courting ’Cuda Tackle and techniques that work — by Justin Paynter
63
To Tie or Not to Tie
55
Securing your outboard motors while towing — by Erwin Bursik & Ryan Hansen
67
Choosing the Right Tool Summer gamefish reel comparisons — by Paul Nixon
72
Bluecare 48
Making hull cleaning a dream — by Erwin Bursik
DEPARTMENTS 8 9 52 53
Editorial — by Erwin Bursik Postbox SADSAA News Kingfisher Awards
69 71 73 74
Bell Reel Kids Mercury Junior Anglers Marketplace & Ad Index Business Classifieds & Directory
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
BITTERSWEET MEMORIES OF WHAT WE’VE LOST
Editorial Assistant: Lynette Oakley Contributors: Erwin Bursik, Ryan Hansen, Bryan Jooste, Rob Naysmith, Paul Nixon, Justin Paynter, Stuart Simpson and Craig Stubbs. 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) 572-2289 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> Printing: Hirt & Carter, Durban Distribution: On The Dot <Riaan.Weyers@onthedot.co.za> 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 On the Dot, 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 2022
A
S this, the January 2022 issue of SKIBOAT, hits the shelves in midDecember, it gives me the opportunity, on behalf of all of us at Angler Publications & Promotions, to wish all our readers and advertisers a very Merry Christmas and all you wish yourselves for the year ahead. I can truthfully say that after the two trying years we have just endured — and thankfully Erwin Bursik survived — we need the year ahead to bring Publisher with it peace, health and a significant uplift in the economy that will allow all the people of South Africa to have a less stressful year going forward. As one gets older, memories are a major aspect of one’s life. For us anglers it’s an accumulation of experiences not only of the fish we’ve caught, but equally all the places we have been to in pursuit of what can only be called an obsession. During a recent trip to St. Lucia and Cape Vidal I had a memory overload, not only of the many, many fish I have caught in and from this area — stretching from Mapelane in the south to Cape Vidal in the north — but also memories of the topography of the region and the overall ambience of this section of our coast which is now a World Heritage Site. Sadly the memories of a decade of camping and fishing at Vidal, as vivid as they are, are tinged with the sadness of having forsaken it for the billfish of Sodwana over the last 20 years. The reignition of my love for Cape Vidal was immense, and re-instilled my view that it is arguably the best overall offshore fishing destination in South Africa. These memories came with a bittersweet appreciation of the region. Gone was the prolific hunting ground of spotted grunter in the estuary mouth of St. Lucia, and the rough muddy road along the wetlands of the Eastern Shores to Cape Vidal. Also gone is the ability to park one’s 4x4 on the Vidal beach with the tailgate open, the tackle box, bait box and “cooldrink” box readily available while catching shad in the “bay”. However, with the tar road and game driving “loops” throughout the Eastern Shores and Western Shores offering access to Cape Vidal, launching a ski-boat there is as easy as it gets off the KZN coastline. The beach at low spring tide was truly magnificent, with warm clear water in “the bay” which even enticed me to get wet and swim. As a launch site I remember it getting very challenging, yet during my recent visit it closely resembled Durban’s Vetch’s Pier launch. But the fond memories of launching through St. Lucia mouth during national and international gamefishing competitions, and of St. Lucia Ski-Boat Club slipway were quickly tempered by today’s reality. The slipway is now totally throttled by reeds and the gate to the club’s launchsite rusted solid; the sight of that really saddened me. When I spoke to one of the St. Lucia stalwarts about it, his response: “You will never see that again” made me question what man has or hasn’t done to have this prime estuary blinded to the ocean. As the skipper of the tourist barge said, while on a cruise upstream, “No more grunter. No more fishermen.” Case closed. My memories of anchoring all night on the landside of the drop-off as the incoming tide washed into the estuary and boats huddled together, and of the bank on the north side lined with anglers all targeting grunter made me really question my memory. “Was ek regtig daar?” All in all the beautifully neat, manicured hamlet of St. Lucia has much to offer. Even if estuary fishing is out of the question, they have an active launch site off the beach and of course Cape Vidal. There’s also the extremely pleasant gameviewing opportunities on the Eastern- and Western Shores, where one can appreciate the vastly different ecosystems and topography of the area. So we say bye bye to 2021 and hello to 2022 with the fervent hope that it will be a great year ahead for all South Africans. Till the next tide.
Erwin Bursik
POSTBOX
MYSTERY FISH CAUGHT OFF KZN
I
N recent months anglers off Durban have caught a few mystery spotted mackerel-type fish.We’ve asked the scientists for their opinions, but without a specimen to examine they too are stumped. Rudy van der Elst commented that he saw some similar specimens before at Vidal years ago, but did not clarify what they were.“I thought of hybridization, but this seems exceedingly rare in this group, but you never know! They may also be late maturing juveniles, before final colouring is established.” Bruce Mann said his best guess at this stage would be either West African Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus tritor (Eastern Atlantic distribution) or Australian spotted mackerel S. munroi (Pacific distribution). Alongside is a photo of Roscoe Rautenbach with one of these fish caught off Zinkwazi in KwaZuluNatal, and above a photo of two specimens on the beach next to a queen mackerel. If any anglers catch one of these Bruce Mann at ORI would be very grateful to receive a freshly frozen specimen that he could examine.
2021 BELL REEL KIDS WINNER
Jethro Doman is our lucky 2021 Reel Kids winner. Of course considering all the great fish and records Jethro has notched up, he’s more than just lucky, there’s a great deal of skill involved too. Jethro is pictured here with Blake Phillips of Bell who sponsored his prize of a Shimano Rod and Reel and who continue to sponsor this feature in our magazine. If you’re under 16 and would like to stand a chance of winning a fantastic rod and reel courtesy of Bell — plus a host of other lovely Bell goodies — find the details on page 69 of this issue.
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 9
BACK TO BASICS
Part 4: Exploring the Overberg Coast By Rob Naysmith
I
N this issue we move along the coast from where we left off at Cape Hangklip, and cover the area all the way down to Cape Agulhas. Although I’ve fished this area very successfully over the years, I’ve coerced a few of the local fishing legends to assist me in this article. It was not an easy task to get them to part with such treasured knowledge, most of which has been passed down through the generations; that’s the way it works down here. With the assistance of the most renowned statesman in the Overberg, Mr Olaf Bergh, the legends told their stories and shared their secrets, most never revealed before. In its heyday, the area from Cape Hangklip to Cape Agulhas was a nationally renowned fishing mecca. Whether from the shore or boat, catches were incredible, unbelievable by today’s standards. Commercial fishing harbours thrived in Hermanus and Gansbaai, supporting entire towns and communities with the huge bounty of fish readily available in vast numbers. Although a lot has changed, there is
still some excitingly productive fishing to be enjoyed As the area covers a great expanse of extremely rugged coastline, one is restricted to launching a boat from one of the few available harbours, each of which has a local fishing club. I have had the pleasure of visiting all of these clubs, and I highly recommend the visiting angler do likewise. Not only for the local knowledge but also to enjoy some of the most hospitable and inviting people on this planet. The launch venues from west to east are primarily: Kleinmond Harbour Hermanus Harbour Gansbaai Harbour Kleinbaai Harbour (where the great white shark boats operate) Pearly Beach — sheltered beach launch WHAT TO CATCH The Agulhas current eddies keep this coast relatively warm, and the winds play their part in concentrating the shoaling fish. The Overberg fishing is less gamefish orientated and more concentrated on bottomfishing than False Bay is, making it more of a year-round fishery.
The dominant target species in summer (October to April) are yellowtail, silver kob, geelbek and Roman. In winter (May to September) you can target yellowtail, snoek, silver kob and red stump. A fish known locally as a silver — but it’s red (don’t ask) — is plentiful in massive shoals throughout the year. It’s great eating and is in big demand by the locals. Other common species include red steenbras, hake and gurnard amongst many others. Tuna are present in the summer, but the distance to the shoals makes this fishery prohibitive to most boats. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS As with fishing in False Bay, the main ingredients to a successful day’s fishing here are wind and bait. Again, the lifeblood of this area is the massive shoals of anchovies and pilchards in relatively shallow waters. However, with dwindling stocks the fishery has become more concentrated towards Gansbaai than spread along the coast like it was in the past. In turn, this has made the eastern part of this coastline more productive from an angling perspective. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 11
YELLOWTAIL Time of year: Year-round Main areas: Dyer Island; vicinity of bait shoals migrating just off the coast between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. Lures: Mostly diving hard baits such as Rapala in the 12- to 14cm sizes. Surface skirted lures are popular when the shoals are concentrated near baitfish. Spoons, jigs and plugs: 4- to 6 inches. Silver spinners, green or blue jigs, white plugs. Bait: Not as responsive to bait in this area, but pilchard chunks on the drift does work at times. Depth: Shoals will be on the surface to mid-water in water depths usually 20m or more. Water temperature: 15°C and above Size:2kg to 8kg The best indication of feeding yellowtail is the presence of sea birds, especially the little tern or sterretjie, staying in an area. The tip movement of their wings will show you where the shoals are. Trolling is the most productive method of locating the shoals. Set a trolling speed of around 5- to 6 knots with your lures close to the edge of your boat’s wake, about 6- to 8m back. You can also troll a spinner 10- to 20m back. A selection of surface and diving lures is a good place to start however this limits your strike rate to one or two fish per strike. When the fish are on the feed, it’s best to remove the diving lures and just troll surface lures. This will increase the number of fish per strike. Yellowtail will not move far from a feeding area, so if you have patience and work the area, the results will surprise you. While you troll around, keep an eye on the echo sounder for shoals sitting between 10- and 20m deep. If they don’t come up and eat, stop and drop jigs and spoons. Your best plan of action when fishing blind, is to troll along the coast on the 20m contour, keeping an eye out for surface action and birds. A deep water rocky point is a good place to search for the migrating shoals of yellowtail. Once you see them approaching, cast your spoons or poppers in front of the shoal, not into it, and retrieve fairly fast just below or skimming the surface.
Young Jake and Darren were thrilled with their yellowtail.
CO-ORDINATES: 1. Dam Dropoff
The seas off the Overberg coast can be treacherous so skippers need to stay wide awake.
34:54 to 34:55 2. Pearly Beach 34:42 3. Wreck 34:43 4. Kob 34:45 5. Silvers 34:44 6. Drop off 34:34 7. Geelbek 34:40 8. Moordenaar 34:50 9. Dyer Island cutting 34:40 10. Geelbek 34:43 11. Geelbek 34:40 12. Silvers 34:44 13. Roman 34:40 14. Roman 34:41 15. Silvers 34:44 16. Kob/Geelbek 34: 39 17. Flag Poles 34:40 18. Red Joubert 34:39 19. Stump 1 34:41 20. Uil Kob 34:38 21. Holbaai 34:38 22. Reds 34:42 23. Kob 34:38 24. Hoed 34:44 25. Snoek 34:39 26. Haaibank 34:44 27. Kob 34:38 28. Koffee Bank 34:37 29. Moddergat 34:39 30. Robs gat 34:42 31. Geelbek 34:41 32. Birkenhead 34:40 33. Groot Steen Kob 34:40 34. Snoek 34:43 35. Pruime 34:33 36. Geelbek drop 34:38 37. Dassie Gat 34:33 38. Geelbek light 34:37 39. River mouth 34:25 40. Hermanus 1 34:26 41. Hermanus 2 34:25 42. Hermanus 3 34:25 43. Onrus 34:25 44. Bot point 34:25 45. Bot bank 34:25 46. Kleinmond 34:22 47. Kleinmond 2 34:23 48. Betty’s 34:21 49. Bettys Geel 34:22 50. Pringle 34:24
19:47 19:56 19:31 19:31 19:31 19:23 19:23 19:27 19:21 19:25 19:23 19:23 19:23 19:25 19:27 19:21 19:24 19:24 19:26 19:23 19:26 19:26 19:23 19:23 19:18 19:23 19:17 19:22 19:22 19:22 19:17 19:18 19:17 19:19 19:15 19:16 19:14 19:18 19:16 19:14 19:12 19:08 19:06 19:07 19:08 19:04 18:53 18:59 18:55 18:55 18:52
SILVER KOB Time of year: September to May Bait: Pilchard, octopus leg, chokka, mackerel, bloodworm. Temperature: 16°C and above Depth: 2- to 20m Size: 2kg to 20kg
Rob Naysmith displays this snoek’s formidable teeth. SNOEK Time of year: August to October Main areas: Around the bait shoals, Gansbaai. Lures: Dollies — A coloured lead weight with a plastic skirt and 12/0 snoek hook. Chrome and coloured snoek spinners. Bait: Pilchard and pike (Jap mackerel) whole, halves and chunks. Depth: 20m to 60m Size: 2kg to 8kg Cape Snoek are not as common along this stretch of coastline as they are on the west coast, but sometimes they do move into the area in huge shoals of many thousands of fish.Attracted by the aggregations of pilchards and anchovies, the snoek appear to move shoreward from the deep ocean. This phenomenon, as opposed to coastal migration, is something I’ve witnessed a number of times where shoals of snoek suddenly appear from Cape Point and Hout Bay, all the way to Cape Agulhas on the same day. There are shoals on the west coast where one can monitor their coast-long migration, but these fish seem to move straight in from the deep and then disappear once their food source dwindles. As I explained in the article on fishing False Bay, snoek are lightning fast devastating predators, making them awesome sporting fish. Usually eager to
take a bait or spinner, they can be tide dependent in this area, either eating prolifically on only the outgoing or incoming tides. They are always associated with the shoals of baitfish, where they can be seen breaking the surface at times in their frenzy. Hunting snoek is usually done with the fishfinder, where one looks for a tightly packed group of red “worms”. Simply drop a hard chrome spinner or jig down into the shoal and let the games begin. Snoek respond well to pilchard bait (either whole or half a fish) on nothing less that an 8/0 hook with a wire trace, if you’re not using a thick handline. There are not as many commercial snoek boats in this area as are found elsewhere, so it is more difficult to determine where they are unless encountered the day before unloading at their harbour. As a result, finding the snoek in this area is really up to you. Once you land a snoek, you need to dispatch it as quickly as possible to save the flesh from spoiling and to spare yourself the risk of a nasty bite that doesn’t stop bleeding. The common way is to hold the fish behind the gills and, with your hand under the jaw, snap its head back to break the neck. It’s still a great braai favourite amongst the locals of this coast, and rightly so. The bag limit is ten snoek per day, so watch your catch; it is so easy to be way over the limit before you realise it.
This stretch of coast is known for its catches of silver kob in the many bays and sand gullies which make up the bottom topography of the region. They are most prolific after the strong winds have blown onto the coast, churning up the sandy bottom, exposing the plethora of food organisms that in turn attract the small fish the kob feed on. When fishing the shallow, near coast areas in water depths from 2- to 10m, the initial search is for an area of sandy ground scattered with patches of flat reef; this is the ideal ambush ground for kob. Here it is best to anchor, keep noise to a minimum, and chum the water with chopped up pilchards. Keep feeding handfuls of chum into the water at regular intervals until the kob arrive under your boat. Baits such as pilchards, octopus, chokka and mackerel are always top producers, although there are many other baits such as bloodworm, mussel and prawn that work extremely well at times. Always use the freshest bait available. Livebait in the form of mullet and maasbanker produce the bigger fish, however it is hard to sit with a livebait in the water while the smaller kob are coming out all around you, so I find it best to use livebait in quiet times. The other areas that will produce excellent catches of kob are those where the anchovy and pilchard shoals are congregated. These shoals are usually pointed out by birds and often penguins. In water depths from 10- to 20m, these feeding birds drive the bait shoals down to the ground which in turn makes easy pickings for the kob. In situations such as these it is best to drift on the bait shoals, with engines switched off. Once again the best bait to use is pilchard and mackerel — as fresh as possible Although kob can be caught throughout the day, late afternoon and into the night tends to be the prime time. Night fishing is most productive in the shallow waters, especially when it coincides with a high tide. Please return all your small kob to the water, unharmed and cared for in the best way possible. Keep only what you can eat, and remember there is a bag and size limit on silver kob. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 15
RED STUMP (MISS LUCY) Time of year: June to October Main areas: Deeper reefs below 15m Bait: Octopus leg, pilchard, squid, red bait, marine worms, crayfish, prawn Depth: 15- to 30m
Colin Hartley shows off his catch of a silver kob and a geelbek.
Adele Palmer with a fine 5kg red stump. GEELBEK Time of year: September to May Main areas: Dyer Island, kelp-lined bays, deep water reefs and wrecks Bait: Pilchard, mackerel, octopus leg and squid strips Temperature: 18°C and above Depth: 4- to 30m Size: 3kg to 10kg Geelbek is one of the most sought-after fish of the region, and rightly so. Large shoals move along this area of coastline, hunting food in the shallow bays at night and over the deep-water reefs during the day. Again, it is the massive shoals of pilchards and anchovies that attract them to the area. After a strong onshore wind geelbek will move into the kelp bays that are prolific on this part of the coast.Access to these bays is either from the shore or through a gap or channel between the kelp fronds from the outside. These gaps indicate deeper water and often a sandy bottom, so you can get through without fear of damaging your props. Anchor in a bay at dusk and into the night, chum the water and wait for the fish to find you. Once they start to feed, chaos will ensue unabated until the fish lose interest, or one is injured. During the daytime hours geelbek constantly move in the deeper waters in search of the bait shoals, so again it’s important to find these shoals. The shoals of geelbek are usually located
directly below the bait shoals and will they rise to the surface during their feeding frenzy, so be sure to keep a drift bait out. Geelbek show up as a big red block on the echo sounder due to their tightly packed and stacked shoaling habits. These fish hunt over structure, so make sure you are looking for the shoals on a rocky seabed or sunken wreck. They will sometimes manage to herd a shoal of baitfish into a shallower, kelp forested area which rises quickly from fairly deep water. There they will camp for long periods of time with the baitfish trapped in the kelp. Their favourite bait is fresh pilchard, mackerel, anchovies, octopus leg and chokka. Geelbek have a large mouth with a hard, bony jaw so it’s best to use at least an 8/0 to 10/0 hook with a wide gape such as a Kendal Round. An 80cm to 1m trace line of 40- to 60kg hook line and a metre long sinker line off a three-way swivel tends to produce more positive hook-ups in deep water. In shallow waters a drift line works best. When fishing in or near the kelp it is best to use a heavy outfit to hold the fish from its notoriously long runs. Many of the more mature and experienced Cape anglers use handlines in these areas. Remember there’s a size limit and also a bag limit of two fish per recreational angler per day.
Although this fish species is becoming less prolific and harder to find, it is worth a mention as they are not only great sporting fish, but also excellent to eat. The secret to catching red stumps is to know what ground you are fishing on, so you need the ability to intimately read and understand your echo sounder. You will seldom see a stump on the sounder so you need to look for the ground they like to feed over. This, accompanied with fairly light tackle, neat traces and a well-presented bait, will produce this sought-after fish. Red stumps forage for crustaceans such as crabs and prawns, small mussels, octopus, cuttlefish and a wide variety of worms. These are found predominantly over a grass covered, sandy shale bottom, interspersed with patches of flat reef. A 60cm long trace line of around 25kg with a 4/0 circle or J hook works well. Fishing close to but not on the ground gets the most attention from a red stump. Once hooked, they give an excellent account for themselves, fighting with their strong, head nodding power, all the way up to the boat. This detail along with the co-ordinates I have given will certainly find you a few red stump but, please, irrespective of the law, only keep one and release the rest with minimum harm. That way we can all go back and catch a fish in the future. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 17
way you cover more ground in search of the bigger specimens and don’t remove all the fish from one area. A trace with a mono hook line of 20- to 30kg, and a 4/0 hook, fished very close to the ground tends to produce more bigger fish. When it comes to bait, they will take just about anything you offer them, especially pilchard, chokka and particularly fresh red bait or white mussel. Remember, Roman are on the endangered list, so watch your bag and size limit. Roman are quite resilient so if you wind them up slowly and return them to the water as quickly as possible they live to fight another day.
This young red Roman was handled carefully and returned to fight another day.
RED ROMAN Time of year: Year round Main areas: Deeper reefs below 10m Bait: Octopus leg, pilchard, squid, crab, marine worms, crayfish Depth: 15- to 30m This is another bottomfish species that is becoming less prolific and harder to find, but it is a great fish to catch and eat when done in moderation. So often I see anglers bragging with a huge pile of Roman of all sizes, most likely destined for a freezer or a restaurant. Like any angler with respect for what the sea gives us, I find this repulsive and a portrayal of sheer ignorance and greed. These fish take decades to grow to the bigger sizes we target, so let’s all give them a chance.That said, I’ll explain how to catch that one big fish you deserve for the day.
18 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
Although Roman prefer deep water, they can be found deep in the shallow kelp beds. In water of 6m or more in depth, Roman are only found on reefs covered with fresh weed growth.This is where their food — worms, crabs, cuttlefish, octopus, prawns and a myriad of other interesting bugs and things — lives. Romans are ver y resident reef dwellers, never venturing very far from their home spot which they defend with vigour from possible intruders. There is, however, always a group of younger fish that migrate in search of their own spot to live and breed. A Roman also changes sex according to age and population level; this is probably the saving grace of this voracious feeder. Personally, I prefer to drift for Romans when conditions allow. This
BE WARNED A word of warning when fishing in this region: the Sea Fishery Inspectors, and there are a lot of them, are on the ball in the Overberg area due to the abalone poaching pandemic that plagues the region. They show no mercy when faced with perpetrators who have caught undersized fish, are selling or fishing without a licence, or who have exceeded bag limits. There’s a real threat of them confiscating tackle, impounding boats and vehicles, and handing out fines that make grown men cry.YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Tight lines and please look after our fragile fish resource. For any further information related to this article or advice on the area, please email Rob Naysmith <rob@downsouthmarine.com> or Whatsapp 083 235 9550. Alternatively, pop in to Down South Marine in Cape Town for a chat.
BOAT REVIEW
STABILITY AND
By Erwin Bursik
S
UPERCAT Marine’s Dennis Schultz, who I have known since the earliest days of SKIBOAT magazine, first introduced me to his range of ski-boats when I tested his Supercat 620 off Port Alfred on the banks of the Kowie River. His innovative ideas captured my attention then, but it really boggled my mind when he asked me to do a review on the Supercat 38 Sport, an 11.6m displacement bitech hull that I was told could do 20 knots powered by twin 50hp motors. He also asked me to test the Sliver 29 that followed. My introduction to the craft in the
20 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
marina was great, but as I took the helm and pointed her hull into the big waves rounding the western breakwater of the Kowie River, my faith in Dennis and the two 50hp outboards powering Stiletto took a huge nose dive. All I remember to this day is Dennis standing next to me at the helm and reiterating that I must keep her straight bow-on to the sea, and saying, “Don’t touch the throttles!” We exited perfectly with oncoming waves seeming to rush through the craft’s tunnel without any major upward lifting of the bow. Now it’s 20 years later, and during
the intervening years I saw a sportfishing model of the 38 Sport, Castle Lager, very effectively fishing the waters off the north Kenya coast from Watamu. The first 29ft Supercat, Sliver 29, was bought into production in early 2007, and I reviewed her in the November/December 2007 issue of SKIBOAT. That craft was powered by twin 40hp 4-stroke outboards that maxed out at 21 knots at sea. With Dennis’s two sons, Neil and Clinton, having taken over the helm of Supercat Marine under the advisory eye of the old seadog, Dennis, a number of changes and innovations have been
STYLE APLENTY Supercat Sliver 29
implemented. One of these was the redesign of the Supercat Sliver 29’s deck layout. The original Sliver 29 had a raised deck in the large helm station area, thus providing more headroom in the below-deck accommodation and storage areas. Whilst this boat was popular in areas such as the Moçambique islands, the Seychelles and even the Bahamas, the South African sportfishing market tended to look for more fishing-orientated craft with less emphasis on the accommodation requirements. With this in mind, the Sliver 29 was re-designed. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 21
SUPERCAT Marine’s Neil Schultz Having the fishdeck and wheelhouse on one level the way it is now makes it, in my opinion, much more user friendly and gives her a much more streamlined appearance.This craft will be based at Port Alfred and her owner is looking forward to fishing in the waters off this Eastern Cape harbour. Once I was behind the wheel of the Sliver 29 and enjoying her performance on the waters of the Kowie River, I very quickly began to appreciate the new design of the helm station itself and also the easier access to the aft fishing deck. This is a great benefit when, for example, and as so often happens when fishing a craft of this size, the skipper has to leave his helm station and quickly move aft to either sort out a tackle problem, gaff a fish or even take a bending rod. It’s all so much easier on this new Sliver 29. As I stated in my review of the Supercat 590 Multisport (November/ December 2021 issue of SKI-BOAT), I was very disappointed that the mouth of the Kowie River was virtually barricaded with a sand bar that, during the then low spring tide, made it impossible to attempt an exit to sea in a craft of this size. One also has to accept that as the Sliver 29 has a displacement hull, it doesn’t jump up into the plane like many of the planing hull ski-boats we are used to. Any ability to plane across the sandbank and through a break in the waves that may have become possible with other boats would have been impossible with the Sliver 29 as the below water design of her twin hulls is designed to cleave water and not bounce over a sand bar. I was thus precluded from taking the redesigned Sliver 29 through the surf and experiencing once again the
incredible feeling I had last time of seeing a rolling surf building up in front of this craft’s bow and hearing Dennis’s voice in my ear. On that occasion, with great apprehension to put it mildly, I saw how the bows sliced into the cresting wave and watched the wave build up in the tunnel and slip aft, with almost no upward thrust of the craft’s bow.With very little of this “bow up” or jumping of the craft, its forward trajectory is not slowed down. After the first wave I took, and thereafter a second, we were out to sea with our speed over ground hardly retarded. Whilst I missed the “kyk weer” of my previous Sliver 29 launch, this time I was able to place the bow of the craft I was skippering into the big broken water that was smashing over the sand banks and colliding with the strong outgoing tide of the Kowie River. During the exercise it was incredible to note just how little this turbulent water affected the lateral and fore-aft stability of the Sliver 29. At one point I had both Suzuki 60hp 4-stroke motors in strong reverse, holding the craft against the outgoing river water whilst facing the very “angry” oncoming waves. It was impressive. Then, using forward reverse on the two Suzukis I was able to turn the 29ft craft 180 degrees on her axis to escape the washing machine of turbulent water, and power upstream in the protection of the wide Kowie River. Again I must reiterate the incredible performance of these two low horsepower motors and that of the twin
40hp motors on the previous Sliver 29 I tested. It’s really unbelievable when one thinks that on a conventional 30ft skiboat — monohull or cat — a minimum of 2 x 200hp outboards would be required for surf operations. Whilst doing speed trials on the river it immediately became apparent that there is no “jumping out of the hole and onto the plane” as one expects on any craft with a planing hull. A displaced hull cuts through the water, maintaining its stationary profile and flotation waterline, just incrementally increasing SOG with increased throttle application. Exact speed/RPM comparison undertaken naturally varied as the Kowie River was running fairly strongly on the outgoing spring tide. With little or no wind on the river, the approximate data I was able to ascertain was 8 knots at 3 000 rpm, and 13 knots at 3 800. She topped out at 21 knots at 4 500 rpm. Any increase in rpm over that didn’t result in any greater SOG. Much of the internal layout of the Sliver 29 is as a result of Dennis’s experience taking the original 38ft Sport on a month-long excursion from Port Alfred up to Moçambique’s Bazaruto archipelago.The original Sliver 29 incorporated many of the niceties and/or necessities he determined were required at that stage. Some of those features have now been sacrificed to make the latest version of the Sliver 29 more practical as a sportfishing craft that will be used for day trips off our South African coast.
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 23
As I mentioned earlier, the craft I reviewed will be used primarly for angling, thus changing the overall emphasis from cruising to fishing. This, to be honest, aligns with my thinking as — for a fisherman at least — the fishability of the craft is more important
24 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
than the cruising live aboard aspect. Having put the Sliver 29 into the rough stuff that was boiling in the mouth of the Kowie River where it passes between the east and west piers, I was totally confident and very impressed with the way this craft could
be manoeuvred while having the turbulent undercut waves bashing into her at all angles. It’s not easy to describe, but whether those waves were taken head on, on her forward bow, or side on, she seemed untroubled, and with her lateral stability inherent I had no qualms when playing with her in this rough and confined waterway. When I positioned her to take the broken wave on her transom, I noticed that the aft lift was negligible and didn’t force the bow region to dig into the water. Instead, the craft seemed to use its inherent flotation to lift the bows to enable her to glide forward rather than digging in as one would expect with a conventional planing hull of the same size. Throughout my review of the new Sliver 29 I really appreciated the changes to the saloon area and having the wide, flat deck area right to the transom. This open deck configuration not only improves the craft’s fishability, but also encourages the crew to be more centrally situated and closer to the skipper. With the older model they tended to say right aft next to the rods so they had quick access while fishing. Now a crew member can stand next to the skipper and be at the rods in seconds without having to climb around and down from the raised helm station of the previous model. I personally enjoyed the helm station’s accessibility, visibility and comfort, with all the necessary instrumentation, throttles and steering positioned for maximum skipper comfort. Whilst the entire helm station is designed to accept the installation of clears, at the time of the review they had not yet been fitted. From a personal preference point of view, I enjoy clears because they offer protection from adverse weather and also improve the ride and stability of most craft. For those unfamiliar with this craft, the below deck configuration of the new Sliver 29 still has the single sleeper accommodation in the forward section of each sponson.With its three ton load capacity, there are a number of variations that can be incorporated in line with an owner’s requirements.The craft I reviewed certainly had everything I would want for a day’s fishing off any port on the South African coast, all stylishly finished. I took a long and close look at this craft’s finishes because for many years I have only observed Supercat Marine’s presentations from a distance. I was extremely pleased to see that Neil and Clinton are continuing in Dennis’s footsteps, not only regarding the superb finishes, but also the extra ideas and hardware incorporated to make this craft an extremely well finished and well presented craft.
COMPETITIONS
Story by Bryan Jooste Photos by Kappie
K
ING Neptune was much more forgiving in 2021 than he was the previous two years, which allowed everyone four days of hard fishing off Sodwana during the 2021 OET. It was a welcome taste of freedom after the last two years of hardships on and off the water. Early in Februar y 2021 Nico Zaayman, Chairman of MDSAA, set the goal of making the OET bigger, better and more exclusive than ever before, without losing the heart and soul of this prestigious event. The tournament committee came to the party with new radical changes to the points structure and prize allocations. Marlin release points were dropped from 600 to 200 per release, sailfish dropped to 50 points and a multiplication factor came into play for more than one billfish and species released per day. Gamefish caught on 10kg line would receive double points, and those caught on 37kg line one point per kilogram. The 10kg and 37kg line classes would be scored separately for overall points, and prizes would also be allocated separately Mercur y brought two 150hp motors to the competition as the prize for the boat with the most combined points between 10kg and 37kg line classes. They would also be crowned the overall winners of the competition. All this put the OET in a different league with three top prizes for the week. Total cash prizes for the week came to R460 000 which was divided between the top five teams in each category.
26 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
Fish galore at 2021 OET
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 27
Also new to the OET was the replacement of medals to anglers who released billfish with new trophies numbered 1 to 100, which were sponsored by Jean Meintjies metal sculptures. Mrs Seevarkie was fortunate to release the first marlin of the competition and received trophy number 1 of 100. The OET tent as usual, was based at Sodwana Bay Lodge (thanks, Herman) with a huge digital screen showing daily action videos and pictures of anglers captured by Kappie and his team. Henk from Pitch Perfect Events kept everyone entertained throughout the week with live music and lots and lots of strafdoppe. Just over 52 boats entered this year and we have to commend all the teams for their absolute passion and camaraderie. Launching was hampered due to us having a very small beach area, but the teams worked together like professionals to launch all the boats safely each morning. The bigger boats made their tractors available to smaller boats, thus clearing the beach to make way for other boats waiting in line to launch.Well done, manne! My Lady tried to get through the surf on her portside gunnel all the way to the backline, but luckily a safe launch was called up after a few hair raising minutes. Day one turned out to be the best day of the week with 16 billfish released and 16 gamefish caught. Sixteen trophies were handed out on Monday night for the billfish released. Day two, as predicted, turned out to be a blowout and the safety committee instructed all the teams not to proceed to the beach in the morning.The newly build 9m long bar on wheels turned out to be the hero of the day and kept spirits high as anglers made a dent in the OET booze budget whilst Henk and his guitar kept everyone entertained with live music. On day three the wind allowed for some fishing with six billfish being released and 24 gamefish landed. After the day’s weigh in the all teams were spoiled by Mr Rooibaard himself — Jacques — with delicious pregos for everyone in the tent and a chicken liver pot with pap to die for. Jacques, you were THE MAN on Wednesday! On day four King Neptune was nowhere to be found as the sea was flat all the way out to the 1 000m mark with beautiful conditions for most of the day. Eight billfish were released and 28 gamefish were caught.
In second place: Team Mad Marly congratulated by Chris Rothman from Rothman Motors (right). Mad Marly took first place in the 37kg line class category
In third place: Team U Go Girl congratulated by Wayne Robins from Garmin (right).
WITH THANKS FOR SPONSORSHIP
• Albatros • B.O.L.S Hengelklub • Buco Hardware • Camp Ross Ramos — Inhaca Island • Close Up Mining • • Cross Country • Daga Boat Angling Club DBA • Dolos (Oom Attie) • Eventus Sitrus • Fishing Pro Shop • Garmin • • Gearbox & Diff King • Grimbeek Taxidermy • iSimangaliso Wetland Park • Jean Meintjies Metal Sculptures • • JHN Engineering & Mining Supplies • Jormid Electrical • Kleinhans Wildboerdery • KMSHK • LABA Ski-Boat Club • • Leatherbacks Restaurant & Magnum Charters • Mad Company • McGee & Co Lydenburg • MCON Construction •
TOP TEN TEAMS — OVERALL 1. C-Cruiser . . . . . . . . . 815 points 2. Mad Marly . . . . . . . .527 points 3. U Go Girl . . . . . . . . .417 points 4. Sea Ducer . . . . . . . . .416 points 5. Stalker . . . . . . . . . . .306 points 6. The Rebbel . . . . . . .327 points 7. Legend . . . . . . . . . . .242 points 8. Certainty . . . . . . . . .229 points 9. Aye Ya Yai . . . . . . . .228 points 10. Esperanza . . . . . . . .226 points TOP TEAMS — 10kg LINE CLASS 1. First Strike . . . . . .102.0 points 2. Fanna . . . . . . . . . . .79.2 points 3. Fanagalo . . . . . . . . .54.4 points 4. Fish For Fun . . . . . .48.0 points 5. Mat Suri . . . . . . . . .43.8 points Winners of the 10kg division: Team First Strike. The committee decided to keep Thursday’s points under wraps as well as the overall standings to keep everyone in suspense and to keep the pressure on all the teams. This certainly worked as the winners didn’t realise they would win until their names were called out on the final evening to take the victory. On day five King Neptune himself was back and conditions were not the best. Only 26 teams proceeded to sea and the leaderboard in the 10kg line class was turned on its head. Just two billfish were released and 25 gamefish were caught on the Friday. Every day at weigh in, all the lines and leaders belonging to anglers who had released billfish that day were tested and measured to ensure everyone was sticking to the rules. During the week lots of dorado, ’cuda, wahoo and small tuna species were weighed in, but
there was only one big fish weighed in. A yellowfin tuna of 36.7kg caught by the crew aboard Legend secured them the Calcutta prize of R57 000. Close Up Mining handed out R10 000 per day to the last marlin caught each day. With Tuesday being declared a blowout, Team Sea Ducer took home R20 000 on Wednesday for the last marlin caught. At prize giving the stunned crew of Mad Marly took victory in the 37kg line class, taking home R100 000 in cash and a combined prize value of R150 000. First Strike (lucky strike) had a fantastic catch on the final day, securing them victory in the 10kg line class which brought with it a R100 000 cash prize and total prize value of R150 000. Their final score was 121.5 points. The overall winners on points for the 2021 OET were three young guns
aboard C-Cruiser who racked up a total combined score of 815 points. Hats off to Charl, Stephan and Tiaan for winning the 2021 OET with the least amount of sleep of any team! Well done to C-Cruiser on winning this prestigious event. We were blessed to have Andries Maree, Phillip Marx and Paul Whitaker present at the final evening to bear witness to the huge impact the changes had on the OET and the success that followed during prize giving. Nico Zaayman thanked everyone present, especially the sponsors who made the 2021 OET possible. Sponsors are the lifeline of these events, and all the anglers are extremely grateful for their contributions. Planning for the 2022 OET has already started and promises to be even bigger and better, so make sure you book your spot.
Laba Ski-Boat Club got the most accumulated points of all the Mpumalanga Clubs.
WITH THANKS FOR SPONSORSHIP
• Mega Lube • Mercury • Mpumalanga Lifting • National Luna • Nelspruit en Distrik Hengelklub • Nico Zaayman • • Paul Whitaker • Pencox Auto-Air • PSG • Pulsator Lures • Rooibaard • Rooikat Wholesale Liquor • • Rothman Motors Ermelo • Safari & Outdoor • Sea Pike Hengelklub • Ski-Boat magazine • Sodwana Hengelklub • • Specialised Security Services • Success Maintenance & Lifting Services • Sunset Boats • • Taratibo • Tatner • Tropical Dream Tackle • Van Dyk Pharmaceuticals • Vodacom •
TECHNIQUES
Using sonar to improve your fishing results
32 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
By Stuart Simpson
T
HERE are many ways of targeting marlin and many of them — whether trolling livebait dead and strip baits or, the most prevalent, trolling artificial lures — have not only proved very successful, but have also been refined over the last 30-odd years to a point where, here in South Africa, the sport of marlin fishing has become extremely popular. I grew up with the passion of not only targeting these fish, but also exploring the numerous techniques available to catch them. I set out to learn as much as possible from marlin charter skippers worldwide to improve my strike rate, and to discover the best techniques for turning strikes to hook ups. I had read and heard of skippers picking up sonar verification of possible marlin showings, but to an extent I only used my sonar to pick up structure and drop off lines in deep water. I used that as an indication of where to troll, presuming that marlin would follow the upwelling and bait availability to hunt in a specific area. Did I go with the idea of hunting a specific mark that I thought could possibly be a marlin? Probably not.At least not until I started fishing Cape Verde four seasons ago.There experience taught me that one could pick up a marlin on one’s sonar, and establish a technique to work this area to get the marlin you’d found to come to the surface and attack your lures, or be excited by the dredges so that you could to pitch a bait to it. This pitch bait way of targeting marlin has been described at length in previous articles I have written for SKI-BOAT magazine.The 2021 season proved once again that this is not only the most successful way of hooking blue marlin, but without doubt also by far the most exciting form of marlin fishing I have ever encountered as an angler and now as a charter captain. Over the last few years I have learnt to fine tune the way I use my sonar to pick up specific fish I want to target, so let’s take a closer look at that... The best chance of finding subsurface fish comes back to the way we were all taught from day one fishing offshore — look for birds, and if the ocean is relatively calm look for water that runs like a river (current) or floating objects. Once you find this, keep your eyes on your trusted sonar. However, it’s not always as easy as finding birds diving and beautiful current lines and f loating
The dark red quarter moon shape shown on the sounder screen above is the 900 lb blue marlin in the main photo on this page. It was marked at 60m and came straight up into the author’s spread.
A 700 lb marlin on the drop off. She was caught one minute after being marked.
Big marlin streaking up as it’s being marked. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 33
34 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
objects full of fish. That only happens on those perfect days, right? Technology has come a long way, even in my relatively short career; it changes every year and it’s getting better and better, but fishing is fishing — some days are good and some days are hard. However, if you have the technology and you know how to use it, it can turn those not so good days into spectacular days. Different moon phases, the current running the wrong way, and wind blowing in the wrong direction can all chase fish down. Eye balling for birds and current lines might not help you at times like this, but using what you have infront of you can expose everything that you can’t see from above. As you can see on the screenshots alongside that I have taken off my trusted Raymarine Axiom Pro, I’ve set the sonar at 90 metres. All new machines these days have this option. Now look at the far right of the screen which shows an extra depth column. On my unit I set that to 300m and keep the main screen scanning at 90- to 100m. My reason for this is that fish might be down too deep to mark anything at 90m. I can’t say I’ve actually marked marlin at 150- or 200m, but what I’m looking for down there is bait! Where there is bait there should be fish big enough to eat your lures. Even though the bait might be sitting down at 200m, and you’re not marking anything from 0- to 60m, you’re onto something already. Remember that when bait are down deep they are safe, but there comes a time of day that they have to come up into the light; this might be at first light or late evening, and when that happens the billfish will be near the bait. Billfish might also be sitting right at the surface, in the top 10m of the water column where you cannot mark them unless you have side scanning which is unaffordable to most. In this case you’re still in the right area, even if you haven’t had a bite. Just change tack to suit your lures in the sea conditions on that given day, and work around that area to see if there are any higher showings which you will often find, then fish that area where you’re marking deep bait. I’ve caught countless fish off deep bait when I have not even marked one marlin on my screen. When trolling around from point A to B or B to A, depending on what your favourite tack is, just keep your fish alarm on. Fish can be anywhere and you cannot have your eyes on a screen all day. You could be in the middle of nowhere, trolling to your next waypoint unaware that something has changed underwater which is not detectible to the naked eye, and just like that your alarm will sound either with bait or that beautiful dark red, quarter moon shape
Bait showing deep. Notice on the right column how Stuart has dragged it down to see what he has found of interest.
This screenshot shows a big tuna at 80m and a tight bait ball at 20m.
Marlin, marlin and more marlin on bait. Stuart and his crew could clearly see the marlin, but they only came up to eat the next day, making for a great day’s fishing! SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 35
Marlin sitting in the clear side of the upwelling. Note that that’s not bait, it’s the thermocline.
Notice the change in current below the thermocline. indicating a marlin mark. You could be preoccupied chatting to your mates when a “Beep, beep, beep” suddenly warns you that you have driven over something of interest. If you’re on auto range showing the bottom, then don’t use the fish alarm option because it will beep at you all day and you will never mark any billfish unless you’re in 100m of water or shallower. I suggest you switch off auto range and set your machine; read the manual to fnd out how to do this. Obviously the fish will not always come into your spread after you’ve marked it, but the area where you have pinned it on your GPS gives you a much better chance of success than the empty spot you came from, so stay and fish that area where you marked the fish. Once you’ve marked a fish turn down your radio and ignore other boats’ hook ups; chasing other people’s fish doesn’t often have a good outcome. You have found a fish already, so rather tr y to catch that one even though it may not have bitten yet — it 36 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
may well bite after a few more passes. Not only that, there will be more fish in that area than what you think! Work the area where you marked the fish in a way that allows the sea to favour your lures and enables them to swim the way they were designed to. Don’t worry about running with the current as you might have wind against current against you. Do some tacks to figure out where all your lures are swimming at their best, and keep working that area for at least 30 minutes before thinking of leaving for another spot. If you do move on, always go back later to the spot where you marked bait or some fish on your machine. As the day progresses and the tide changes, an area that was quiet earlier could be mayhem one hour later. Sound around that area as the fish would not have moved too far. If some lures are jumping, don’t be lazy — change them until they are all swimming correctly. The fish might just not be on the snap yet, so by working around within 1nm max-
imum, trying different tacks, you will most probably start working something out — drawing a map out on your plotter and in your head — that shows smaller, tighter balls of bait and grouped marlin marks. After a while you will see a pattern. I’ve fished on a few boats at Sodwana and I see those skippers often leave their sonar screen as is all day long. Remember that water changes with current, so as this changes you need to set your gain differently. If the screen gets too cluttered on your machine, turn down your gain as you are obviously in an area with greater salinity. Conversely, as your screen becomes much cleaner, turn up your gain so you get clearer markings and it’s easier to identify what your sonar is trying to show you.This is as easy as sending a text on your mobile — a couple clicks on your machine and you will have it running at its optimal level at all times. If the water is really clear from the shoreline all the way out, then you can leave your gain on “Auto”. The transducer I’m using is a B275LHW which comes as an in-hull setup. I set my machine on high frequency as this is best for shallow water. Don’t use low frequency just because you’re in deep water; you only want the machine to draw out the first 100- to 150m clearly at its optimal power for you to see what’s going on. I’m not one of those that really reads manuals unless I’m stuck; instead I prefer going to YouTube for advice. The guys out there doing videos for these units are great salespeople. They show you things that you could not even imagine your unit can do, enabling you to get your money’s worth by using it correctly. Here’s my rule of thumb plan for marking bait and fish: 1. Set your unit to 100- to 150m. If you have the option of the column on the right, set that to 300m. 2. Use your gain to your advantage; in slightly dirty or milky water turn your gain down, in clear water turn your gain up 3. Use high frequency for marking mid- to surface level fish. 4. Don’t share power with any other fancy electrical units; your GPS & sonar unit should have a direct current with its own power source. Using these suggestions when targeting blue- and striped marlin can be construed as being a lot more effort intensive, but I find it is not only a lot more exciting but also keeps the skipper, gillies and anglers wide awake and a lot more involved in the “hunt” and any action resulting from it. It’s certainly lot more exciting and more visually pleasing than just sleeping on the deck while pulling konas endlessly all day!
TECHNIQUES
Part 4: Dealing with your anchor By Craig Stubbs
W
HEN it comes to targeting bottomfish over structure, you have two choices. One is to fish “on the drift” (either wind or current, or a combination of both), or on anchor (commonly referred to as “on the pick”).This is a critical choice, with quite a few pros and cons on either side. Making the right choice can make a massive difference to your day’s fishing. We have already touched on fishing on the drift and how to position your boat, so in this article we will concentrate on fishing on anchor. You have pretty much only two choices here, and that is a rock anchor or a sand anchor. For most offshore bottomfishing, the rock anchor we make use of is called a reef anchor and is a style of a grapnel anchor. Many of these are pretty rudimentary in design, with some being homemade and others more professionally engineered. Essentially it’s a heavy shaft with welded and bent rebar for the prongs.They do a good job of hooking onto reef structure, or jamming into crevices, and if they are well stuck when attempting retrieval, the rebar prongs will often bend open, releasing the anchor. It can then be bent back into shape on the boat, using a piece of hollow steel pipe. Stay away from those grapnel anchors with folding prongs and a locking mechanism, or Danforth (fluke) style anchors, as these are definitely not suited for the purpose at hand. Rock anchors are suitable for 90% of reef fishing applications, but there are times when a sand anchor is a great tool to 40 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
have at your disposal.Again, sand anchors come in a huge variety, but undoubtedly the best is the Rocna which is a spade/plow type design. These anchors are expensive, so it’s a bitter pill to swallow if you find yourself in a situation where you cannot retrieve your anchor, but they are invaluable at times.These instances are mainly when you have a relatively small patch of reef surrounded by sand and you have to accurately position yourself. A rock anchor would slide over the sand and only hook up on the reef, meaning that you would be fishing past your mark, but a sand anchor buries itself in the sand, allowing you to drift back and position yourself directly over the reef. Choosing an anchor weight is totally dependent on your craft size. It is not necessary to carry a 14kg anchor on a 16ft boat, but a larger boat would need a correspondingly larger anchor. It is not necessary to go overboard with this though, as your entire anchor setup is what contributes to successful anchoring, and not just the anchor weight itself. Your anchor setup is made up of the anchor itself, a length of chain, and then your anchor rope.The length of chain and the size thereof is critically important. The chain stops wear on your rope while on anchor, but the real reason it is so important is that it — combined with the anchor — is actually what holds you securely in place, due to its weight and propensity to dig and grab onto the reef below. Don’t go for less than 8m in length, and chain of around 8mm is recommended. The chain should be well secured to your anchor with a high quality stainless steel D-shackle, and the other end of the
RIGHT: An example of a premium quality and globally recognised Rocna sand anchor along with an example of a homemade rock anchor, both of which serve their purpose. BOTTOM: The author’s well-used rock anchor setup. In the first photo, you will notice the D-shackle connected to the bottom of the anchor shank, and in the second, secured to the top of the anchor shank, ready to be deployed. This is known as a “weak link” setup. Should the anchor become firmly stuck, the wire wraps connecting the chain to the shank will shear, allowing the anchor to be retrieved backwards and hopefully come unstuck.
chain should be secured to your rope with a rope-to-chain splice. A quick Google search will teach you how to splice, and it’s not as difficult as it initially seems. Do not under any circumstances tie a few granny knots to secure your rope to your chain; it will jam in your anchor roller, and will probably fail, leaving you anchorless and with a dent in your pocket. Splicing is secure, strong, lasts forever and slides well through the anchor roller On the subject of rope, nylon floating rope is the rope of choice, and 8mm to 10mm is sufficient for most small- to medium-sized ski-boats, going to a slightly larger diameter for larger boats. This rope offers minimal stretch, is tangle resistant and tough. The lack of stretch is very important when it comes to anchor retrieval, so do not ever use anchor rope that has a large degree of stretch. Store your anchor, chain and rope neatly in your anchor hatch, and if you notice knots and bunch ups in your rope, lay your rope out on land and repack your anchor hatch so you are best able to deploy your anchor when next on the ocean.
DROPPING ANCHOR So, you have arrived at your chosen spot, have sounded around and identified some good looking structure and/or showings, have done a test drift or two to establish drift direction and strength, and have decided to fish on anchor. The first thing you need to do is factor in how far above your mark you need to drop anchor in order to allow it to sink, grip and hold before your boat has drifted past the mark you intended fishing over.A general rule of thumb is that you need at least double the amount of rope out, relative to the depth you are fishing i.e. if you are going to be dropping anchor in 60m of water, then you would need to have no less than 120m of rope out.This will enable you to get the correct angle on your rope and chain to ensure they do their work safely and effectively. If you anchor in 60m of water, with only 80m of rope out, you are placing a lot of pressure on your anchor system and the chance of it holding is minimal, not to mention the safety issues this may cause. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 41
When it comes to dropping anchor, position the anchor just over your anchor roller, with a wrap of chain over your bollard as you slowly motor into position. Under the skipper’s instruction, release that wrap from the bollard and allow the anchor and chain to roll out via your anchor roller system, and begin pulling rope. Keep a careful eye on the rope as it uncoils and slides out the anchor hatch, and control the speed as best you can without causing rope burns. It its important to try and remain in control of the sink speed rather than just “bombs away” and letting rope lash around wildly. If you are in control of the rope as it sinks, you will feel the anchor hit the bottom. In communication with the skipper, either slowly feed out rope as the boat drifts back, or feed rope as the skipper slowly reverses the boat into position. When the boat is just above where you wish to stop, secure the rope to the bollard with a series of figure eight wraps. It is best to secure your wraps a short distance above your chosen anchor point to check if the anchor is holding. If it is, then releasing rope slowly will allow you to pinpoint your position. If the anchor is not holding yet, then release line, allowing the chain and anchor to do their work, before securing again and re-checking. If you have missed your mark, or your anchor is not holding, then retrieve it, and redeploy. DON’T DO... A few no-nos to mention at this point: • Don’t anchor in screaming current or if you are expecting sudden wind or changes in conditions. • Don’t bundle up your chain in your hands and throw it ABOVE: The author’s anchor retrieval buoy setup. For retrieval, your anchor rope is passed through the stainless steel ring and allowed to free slide within it. When the buoy is thrown overboard, it gives you good insight into your rope’s position and behaviour during retrieval, but also allows the rope and chain to pass all the way through the ring before grabbing the anchor, allowing easy retrieval on the surface.
BELOW: Retrieving the anchor. From right to left: Deploy anchor buoy. Steer well clear of rope and buoy. Once they are clear of the craft, accelerate in a smooth arc approximately at 45 degrees away from the pull of the rope. If the anchor frees itself, drive away from the buoy which will capture the anchor; if not, turn towards the pull of the rope and, in a smooth circle, return to your original starting position and try again.
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 43
out to deploy anchor. This could lead to the chain balling around the anchor and prevent a good deployment. • Don’t wait till your anchor rope sounds like a guitar string whistling in the wind before you pull anchor. If conditions deteriorate, weigh anchor as soon as possible. • Never secure an anchor on your stern! Only ever secure your anchor rope on your bow. RETRIEVING YOUR ANCHOR I have saved the most important for last, and that is the safe retrieval of your anchor. I would say that this is possibly one of the most dangerous aspects of boat handling and skippering one regularly encounters at sea, but if done correctly it is safe and can be accomplished time and time again without issue. First, you will need an anchor retrieval buoy.This is a large volume f loating buoy with a stainless steel ring that is attached over the anchor rope. Some prefer to break their anchor free and then attach the buoy, but I normally have my buoy attached throughout the process, which looks like this... You have decided it’s time to weigh anchor. Secure the sliding ring of the buoy over your anchor rope and toss the buoy over your bow. Start both motors and, with someone on the anchor bollard, release the figure of eight wraps and quickly strip out a few metres of rope before resecuring the wraps tightly.This slack line that you’ve created by releasing a few metres of rope will enable the skipper to “get an angle” on the anchor rope and begin to slowly drive away from it. At this point, your anchor rope and buoy should be alongside, never under your keel. Steer the boat at an angle away from your rope (and buoy) which will begin to arc away from you. Once the rope is sufficiently clear of the boat, you can begin to accelerate in a wide arc of approximately 45 degrees from your anchor line. This should, with sufficient pressure,
44 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
free your anchor. However, if the anchor does not budge, you will feel the tension of the rope begin to pull your bow around. In this case, don’t fight the rope too much, just slowly turn towards the pressure. Following a circular pattern, return to the position where you initially took off from and begin the process again. By slightly changing the angle of the pull on the rope you should eventually be able to free the anchor. Never pull directly away from the rope because if it does not come free, the pressure on your setup will be incredible. Just remember that 45 degree rule and try any pull from as close to that angle as possible. When your anchor pulls free, you will feel that through the rope, and it is here that your buoy does its job. The rope and chain pass through the ring on the buoy as you drive away from it, and the anchor eventually pulls all the way into the ring, meaning that you can retrieve your anchor system easily off the surface, rather than trying to pull in vertically. NON NEGOTIABLE Here are some non negotiables for pulling anchor: • Pull anchor into the wind and swell. • Drive at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from your rope. • If your anchor does not come free, do a wide circle around it and start again. • Only pull anchor off your bow, never from your stern. • Don’t panic. Remain patient and you should succeed in most cases. • If you cannot retrieve your anchor and conditions are deteriorating, retrieve as much rope as possible and cut your anchor loose, or tie your anchor rope to a floating buoy, and come back as soon as possible on a fair weather day to attempt to retrieve it.
EVENTS
ONE TWO SORRY FOR YOU Three four and there’s more Don’t forget to diarise the 2022 Durban Ski-Boat Club Festival
T
HE official chant of the Durban Ski-Boat Club Festival will once again be heard on Friday 29 April 2022. Enough is enough, and once again we will come together, our brotherhood of ski-boaters, and besides chanting the call we will compete for magnificent prizes starting with the all new Seacat 520 kitted out with the famous brands of Yamaha and Yamalube — 60hp four-stroke motors complete with controls and all the “catunda”. As they say,“It’s enough to rev your heart!” In preparation for the 2022 festival, our chant is being turned into a song by none other than Butch “No Shoes” Murray and his band The Situation. With the festival being held at our new club right on the beach, you can expect fun and games second to none. There will be prizes for young and
old, and the anglers had better bring along their wheelbarrows to take the spoils away. In fact, you’d better make that two wheelbarrows! The other thing you need to know is that our “Town Criers” have been busy up and down the coast, as far as Moz chanting to the ’cuda from the beach heads to holiday south in big numbers. Huge promises of fresh cuisine in the form of large maasbanker, fresh Natal sardines, and mackerel at special free prices have been added as an incentive to make Durban their holiday of choice. All accommodation is also free of charge for ’cuda that take up this special offer! We have really been proactive and have waived the requirement for them to have any form of covid testing as they cross borders. We will not be asking for passports either — they are free
to come and go as they please (to start with), and we have assured them of a warm welcome from our great band of anglers. We will host them like never before! We will wine and dine them — on the plate of course. And, subject to load shedding, our freezers are looking forward to cooling them down if they get over heated. I guarantee they’ve never before experienced such hospitality! So, my advice to all wannabe skiboaters ahead of this festival is to buy a Seacat and a CMH bakkie, and get it financed by none other than Wesbank. You will also need sound advice on tackle, so trot off to The Kingfisher in Hunter Street who will hook you up with the right stuff in preparation for this great event. Over and out from One Two Sorry for You!
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 45
BOAT REVISITED
INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENTS
Seacat 800 — 2022 model by Durban Yamaha By Erwin Bursik
I
N N O VA T I O N , practical experience and a dedication to perfection are clearly evident in the 2022 model of the Seacat 800 produced by Ryan Hansen and Grantley Read. In line with the motor industry’s thinking of periodically modifying and improving popular models of motor vehicles, this concept is now finding its way into the realm of boat manufacture. Hence the updated version of the Seacat 800. I really enjoyed the ride, looks and performance of the original Seacat 800, Basjan, which I reviewed for the September/October 2020 issue of SKI-BOAT.As a result, when Ryan informed me that a number of modifications were being contemplated for the Seacat 800 going forward, I queried his and Grantley’s thinking and even voiced my opinion with regard to changing the actual hull design that I had found so efficient and comfortable at sea. My thinking soon changed. When I first saw the new and virtually completed Seacat in Ryan’s workshop I was impressed with the increased cabin size and configuration which was all I saw. My next sighting was when the new and finally completed 48 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
rig belonging to the brothers of Harding Boerder y in Hoedspruit arrived at Durban Watersports Club for final inspection and photographs. I was blown away just looking at this Seacat 800 nestling on the beach following her sea trials. It was then that I asked Ryan to itemise not only the modifications they had made but also, apart from the aesthetic enhancements, the practical onboard and at-sea advantages of their innovative improvements. To keep it all clear, I’m going to itemise these in point form accompanied by a photograph of each upgrade as well as Ryan’s reasoning behind the changes. 1.The most obvious of these can be seen in the main photograph of the Seacat 800 looking stunning with its extended and modified cabin. It was generally felt that additional protection needed to be provided and an additional 800mm was added to the existing model.That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it makes a huge difference to the aesthetics and provides shade and weather protection to those on board. The additional forward-facing air vents and large sliding side windows guarantee a far greater airflow within the main saloon.
2. Some things within this helm station have been redesigned both in size and with extra padding to make it more comfortable for the skipper during those long hours behind the wheel.
5. The carpeted aft deck is open and totally uncluttered. I really liked that. However, a large coffin hatch is available and provided, and it can be loaded or left behind depending on the style of fishing one intends doing on a particular day.This hatch is large and, sited midships on the deck it will house much of one’s tackle, cool box etc. If I was going billfishing I would leave this in the locker and would instead have the aftmounted fighting chair in the position provided. The deck would then be open and clear when fighting big fish. Behind each “bum seat” there’s a crew seat facing aft that is larger than normal and has a gunnel side padded panel that allows the skipper and crew additional comfort when lounging. They’re small additions, but from experience I know that sitting on an aft bum seat adds a lot to one’s comfort while out on the boat.
3. This aft-facing seating now houses the fuel compartments — six cans in each and all interconnected with changeover valves. 4.There have been significant changes in the transom area in that a large luna tube has been sited in each corner and plumbed to one of the two aft clear water hatches that also includes the centrally located livebait hatch.
6. Back to the two large deck-flush “water hatches” — one in each corner adjacent to the false transom. They will hold approximately 200 litres and are fed by a faucet in the hatch opening to the sea. In addition to providing clean, bubble-free water to the luna tubes, it is believed that the combined additional weight of about 200kg of water virtually on the transom, will cause the wake pattern of the craft to change. Depending on the wake pattern required when pulling konas or bait, the skipper can, by closing the inlet valve, then pump out water to adjust the craft’s transom weight and thereby ostensibly changing the wake pattern. In conclusion I can categorically state that not only is this Seacat 800 a lot more striking in appearance but has, due to the many changes, become much more efficient in use as well as finished to the highest of standards required in today’s market place. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 49
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
W
Phillip Marx, SADSAA President
E’VE had an excellent run of tournaments since the time of writing the last report till now. These include: SADSAA Light Tackle Billfish Nationals held at Sodwana; SADSAA Light Tackle Billfish Interprovincial held at Sodwana; SADSAA Bottomfish Nationals held at Struisbaai; SADSAA Tuna Nationals held at Shelly Beach; OET Game & Billfish Tournament held at Sodwana; Billfish 15000 held at Sodwana; and SADSAA Heavy Tackle Nationals held at Sodwana. The fishing has been excellent, but little can compare to the high spirits and camaraderie of the teams taking part in these competitions. It just shows the resilience of the human species and our ability to triumph over adversity. This has been a tough year in all aspects, but we are starting to see 2021 in our “rear view mirror” and put it behind us. Let’s move forward in a positive spirit and make 2022 a year filled with smiles and happiness! We recently had our annual SADSAA meeting and are proud to share a full calendar of fishing for 2022.Thank you to all the people involved in the work required to put these tournaments together! Wishing you tight lines, a blessed Christmas and happy new year! Travel safe and make sure you charge your batteries over the festive break. Keep those motors running! SADSAA TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2022
DATE 13 - 18 Feb 24 - 27 Feb 2 - 6 March 3 - 6 March 17 - 20 March 21 - 25 March 27 March - 1 April 8 April 7 - 9 April 17 - 22 April 24 - 29 April 25 - 28 April 25 - 29 April 26 April - 1 May 26 April - 1 May 29 April - 7 May 8 - 13 May 19 - 21 May 23 - 28 May 21 - 27 May 26 - 28 May 12 - 17 June 14 - 18 June 27 June - 1 July 6 - 9 July 7 - 9 July 7 - 10 July 10 - 13 August 22 - 25 Sept 2 - 7 October 6 - 11 November 13 - 18 November 20 - 25 November 20 - 25 November
TOURNAMENT Mapelane Billfish Invitational Billfish Interprovincial Cape to Rio Gamefish Interprovincial Junior Bottomfish Interprovincial Tri-facet Interprovincial Junior Bottomfish Nationals SADSAA Council meeting PEDSAC Tuna Classic Gamefish Nationals Tuna Nationals EFSA Big Game Tournament SGDSAA Rosebowl Tuna Challenge 2022 Bottomfish Nationals GBBAC Offshore Classic All Inland Interprovincial Mapelane Trophy Interclub Tuna Interprovincial International Billfish Tournament EFSA European Species Champtionship Mapelane Gamefish Invitational Kleinbaai Interprovincial Junior Gamefish Nationals Junior Gamefish Interprovincial Mapelane Junior Interclub Tuna Interprovincial All Coastal Bottomfish Bottomfish Interprovincial Light Tackle Interprovincial OET Game- & Billfish Tournament Billfish 15000 SADSAA Light Tackle Billfish Nationals SADSAA Heavy Tackle Billfish Nationals
52 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
VENUE Mapelane Richards Bay Cape Vidal Pennington Struisbaai Sodwana Bay Port St Francis Johannesburg Port Elizabeth Zinkwazi Hout Bay Cape Verde St Lucia St Francis East London TBC Sodwana Bay Mapelane Millers Point Cuba Iceland Mapelane Kleinbaai St Lucia Mapelane Mapelane Shelly Beach Durban Umhlanga Sodwana Bay Sodwana Bay Sodwana Bay Sodwana Sodwana
HOST Mapelane SBC Richards Bay SBC Amatikulu SBC NDSAA GBBAC Gauteng EPDSAA SADSAA PEDSAC NDSAA ABC SADSAA/Protea SGDSAA Port St Francis SBC Border GBBAC MDSAA Mapelane SBC Cape Boat SADSAA/Protea SADSAA/Protea Mapelane SBC Kleinbaai SGDSAA Mapelane SBC Mapelane SBC Shelly Beach SBC Natal Rod & Reel Umhlanga SBC NGDSAA MDSAA Dorado SBC MDSAA MDSAA
TACTICS
Tackle and techniques that work
Justin Collins show off the ’cuda that fell for his tactics.
By Justin Paynter
K
ING mackerel, aka ’cuda are here, and it’s going to be a cracker of a season. The hunt for these fish excites any gamefisherman along our coastline, and the last couple of seasons have been something special. If the start of this season is anything to go by, we should see some good numbers being boated and new PBs being set in the months ahead. Just picture the scene: throttles down heading off to your selected spot, either with a tank full of bait or carefully selected dead bait in the anticipation of having your rod double over, while listening to the aggressive acceleration as it changes gears from zero to hero in a couple of seconds, and hoping that your preparation is going to pay off. In this article, I am going to look at all the aspects of ’cuda fishing including bait, traces, tackle and the two most important aspects — preparation and patience. Probably the biggest key ingredient of any successful fishing trip is preparation. This starts with selecting the craft you will be fishing on, the area you will be fishing, whether you’ll use dead or live bait, the traces you’ll use, and your rod and reel selection. Let’s dive in ...
CRAFT This may sound silly, but you need to know what sort of platform you will be fishing on.Will it be a paddleski, a jetski, a tiller arm rubber duck, or a 21ft skiboat with multiple livebait tanks? The important thing to remember is
that each one has its advantages and disadvantages. The most important thing you need to check is whether it has a live well and appropriate rod holders. The answer to this will have a ripple effect to the plan for the day. No live well would mean you would need to ensure you have the appropriate dead bait traces to suit the dead bait you have either caught prior to this trip or that you have purchased at your local fishing shop. Rod holders are vital, and I’m speaking from experience when I say that. Last season a very good mate of mine, Justin Collins, and I were fishing off Sea Belle. The ’cuda were boiling and, instead of re-doing a leader on my trolling rod, I took my grinder and tied a ’cuda trace on and placed it in a stand-up holder. The rod went off, the butt slipped through the slit in the holder, and a magnificent air bubble trail was left behind as the rod disappeared into the water. We were very lucky to catch the whole thing on GoPro and it made for some entertaining viewing. So, getting back to the point, taking ten rods out with you and only have place to put two rods is not the best idea. On both of my fishing platforms I like to have two flat rods that lie out to the side of the boat, and then I have one standing vertically. I generally don’t fish more than four rods at a time as it can cause chaos if you have inexperienced anglers on the boat. TIPS: • Ensure you have appropriate rod holders and that they are correctly
spaced out. • Keep a spare live well pump on the boat. You never know when the pump may go. There is nothing worse than having to try and keep your bait alive using a bucket. • Ensure your dead bait is kept in a proper cooler box with ice.This will ensure it stays fresh even for the next trip. • A decent fishfinder/GPS is vital. So many ski-boaters make the fatal mistake of not spending money on a decent unit. Remember, this unit is your eyes under the water. AREA As the “Where to Fish” series of articles continues in this magazine, you will have a better idea of where to fish and at what times of the year. I have said this before, but it’s really a good idea to go onto social media and follow as many fishing pages as you possibly can. Follow some of South Africa’s influential anglers and guys that are fishing on a regular basis. You will soon get a better idea of what is coming out where. As fishermen we all like to see a good picture and like to let everyone know that we caught a monster, right? The best way to show this off is on the social media platforms. If you are planning a fishing trip, do your homework, phone around or try to make contact with a local charter company to get a better understanding of where the fish have been coming out. Locals are often very reluctant to pass on information if the fishing has been good, and this is understandable. If you are going to an area that you don’t
Young Kaylee McLaren from Zululand is making waves with the great results she’s producing in competitions. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 57
be very effective. I’m not taking anything away from a live shad, mackerel or bonnie, as that is always first prize, but a dead bait rigged correctly is just as effective. Sometimes being the first one on the spot in the morning with nobody else around is first prize, and you can normally be back on the beach in a couple of hours with some fish in the hatch.As soon as more boats start arriving and they are pulling live baits around you, your chances with a dead bait decrease. Well, that’s my opinion anyway. When you’re hunting these fish, it is important to cover the entire water column to ensure all your bases are covered.
normally fish, just be respectful towards the locals and their club and you shouldn’t have a problem. Buying a beer or five for a local in the pub is a sure way of getting better insight. TIPS: • Work an area. You can’t just put a bait in the water and expect ’cuda to jump in your boat. This type of fishing can be highly frustrating and, on a slow day, boring. But the rewards of hooking one of these fish is worth it, time and time again. • You need to locate the fish. This means find the depth/line at which they are eating and then work that area. Often an angler will get a pull, boat the fish and then troll away from where he/she hooked it. If you get a pull, stay there and be patient. • If you are fishing an area that you don’t normally fish, and you can see a group of paddle skis or boats working nearby, make your way over there and try to follow the line that they are working.You can’t beat local knowledge. DEAD BAIT VS LIVE BAIT It’s a coin toss. Do you run to get live bait early in the morning or do you run to your favourite spot and be the first one there with dead bait? Over the past season I have fished a lot with dead bait, and it has proved to
58 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
Justin Paynter shows yet again why readers should take his advice when it comes to catching decent ’cuda. This one was nabbed off Durban.
Scenario 1: four rods with live bait Rod one — live shad/mackerel on the bottom using a Scotty downrigger. If you don’t have a downrigger put it on either an 8- or 10-ounce sinker. Let the sinker hit the bottom and wind it up four to six times. Rod two — live shad/mackerel on a 6-ounce. Rod three — either a mackerel or mozzie with a 2to 3-ounce. Rod four — a mozzie on the top super far out; this is normally called a “Hong Kong”. The Hong Kong rod is normally placed in the T-top or standing vertically. When you think you have let it out far enough, let it out another 10m and then it’s ready.
Scenario 2: three rods with dead bait Rod one — dead mackerel/bonnie/ walla walla on the bottom using an 8to10-ounce sinker. Rod two — dead mackerel/Japanese mackerel/walla walla on a 4- to 6-ounce. Rod three — either a mackerel or bonnie on the Hong Kong rod. TIPS: • Ensure your live or dead bait is swimming correctly. If you look at it and tilt your head a bit, bring it in and sort it out. • Check your baits regularly. Often a bait will get chomped in half and you will only realise it when you bring it in. I like to check my baits every 30 minutes. • Checking your baits also allows you to see what’s happening in the different water columns. One example is checking for dirt on the line, also known as gorilla snot. Feel your sinker to see if the water is warm or ice cold at the depth you had it at, and adjust the level if necessary. • Christmas is coming up, so ask for a Scotty downrigger.This is one piece of equipment that you will have forever and which will be worth its weight in gold. Use your finder to locate the depth of the fish, then you can literally let your bait down to that depth using the built-in depth range on the downrigger. • Use thin elastics to connect your sinker to the leader/line as it’s easier
to snap off when you have a fish on. • Don’t place your sinker too close to the baits. Distances vary, but to be safe, maybe 3- to 6m away. This depends on the angler and their preference. • My leader will never be more than 40 lb when fishing for ’cuda. Sometimes, I don’t even fish a leader, depending on the type of line I am using. • Vary your trolling speeds. I firmly believe that the paddleski anglers are so successful because they are at the spot before we get there and because of their paddling action. They var y their speeds, which allows their baits to flutter up and down and drop a little deeper when they are having a rest. On a boat, keep clicking your engines in and out of gear to mimic this fluttering action. Live baits must be pulled just in gear, whereas dead baits, you can pull a little faster. Just remember that speed varies on each boat as well. TACKLE: We can debate this aspect till the cows come home. Every ’cuda angler has their own special ’cuda rod which has either been passed down from generation to generation, been re-done about five times and is one fish away from breaking, or is the standard rod we buy at our local tackle shop. When it comes to choosing a rod, it
all comes down to preference. I like a rod with a soft tip.The reason for this is that it allows the bait to have a more natural action in the water. I am currently using the Kingfisher Poseidon Couta Lite and the Daiwa Grandwave boat 701 rod. I have them paired with the Daiwa Saltist Blue 40 H. I used to use the 50 H but just find that the 40 H combined with those rods is really well balanced. Again, it all depends on how deep your pockets go and your preference in brands.These have worked for me, they are robust and hard wearing, and I will continue to use them for many years to come. I generally like to fish 10kg line, as that is our normal line class for competitive angling, with no more than a 40 lb leader. However, if I am going to places like Zinkwazi and St Lucia or am fishing deeper waters, I’ll fish anywhere from 12- to 15kg line class. I would then opt not to fish with a leader, obviously water condition dependent. If the bite is slow, and you scale right down on your leader and ’cuda trace, you will find you have a better chance of getting a bite. Just remember, these aren’t stupid fish, and if you don’t take time with your preparation in terms of knots and bait presentation, you will not get a pull. TRACES I am going to run you through one of my standard ’cuda traces. As you
SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 59
This flasher (above and right) has been very successful. It is placed into the spread of baits while slow trolling. They’re made by Zululand angler, Johan de Jager aka Patat. The flashing blades attract the ’cuda’s attention when it may miss your bait. Some anglers also use these flashers to target sailfish off Zululand. progress in your techniques, you will try some new things which might work for you and not others.Again, that’s fishing; you must be confident in what you put in the water. If you see something working for someone else, don’t be shy to ask what he is doing or just steal with your eyes and try it out for yourself. Once again, this is the way I fish for them; you might prefer a different technique. I like to go as light and stealthy as possible, whereas other guys like big hooks, thick wire and big swivels. That works for them, so who is to judge. My preference is the following: WIRE I use No 3 Malin wire in the front. The length is normally between 30- and 50cm from swivel to first hook. I like to use a very small swivel, but again, it’s all down to preference and how good your eyesight is to tie the knot on the boat. I use Malin because you get more for your buck. I use No 5 wire between the hooks. Length depends on the size of the bait you are using. Some guys will go heavier because a ’cuda has sharp teeth and they reckon it’s harder to bite through, but I believe 60 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
Ethan Forte and SADSAA Development Officer Neil Coetzer were both very chuffed with Ethan’s great catch. that the thinner wire is less likely to kink and will be less likely to snap. No matter what size wire you use, if a ’cuda chomps that bait and gets that wire between its teeth, you are history. HOOKS — LIVEBAIT Competitive angling My setup has a No 2 in the nose and a No 3 or 4 in the back. I was using the Taman hooks by Gamakatsu, but I have recently moved over to the VMC Octopus/Dynamic live bait hooks and have been extremely happy with them. Social Angling I use one single No 1 or 2 in the nose and a No 6 VMC Black Nickel in the back I don’t tend to fish with more than two hooks unless I am fishing a bonnie or a walla walla. This is to ensure that I have covered the surface area of the bait and the fish doesn’t miss the hooks when it strikes. HOOKS — DEAD BAIT Pulsator makes an outstanding chin weight that has been very successful. The size of the chin weight you use will depend on the size of the bait. The chin weight comes with a sin-
gle hook embedded in it, then I use a No 6 VMC Black Nickel in the back. DUSTERS: A green bead is a must, and whatever the rest of the setup, I will always have a bait out with a green bead. Ever yone has their own special colour that works for them, but I like the pink Yamashita. Anything from the 1,5 to 2,5. There are cheaper makes on the market, but I don’t think they’re as successful. The dusters I use are the Pulsator HO33, HO13 and HO65. These are smaller dusters that don’t tend to drown your live bait and have been very effective. FLASHERS The flasher pictured above has been very successful for me and others. It is placed into the spread of baits while slow trolling and is made by wellknown Zululand angler Johan Dejager, aka Patat. I hope this gives you a bit of insight into ’cuda fishing along our coastline. Remember, be prepared and have patience. I wish you screaming reels and silver slabs lying on your deck!
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TOWING
TO TIE OR NOT THAT IS THE QUESTION
Securing your outboard motors while towing By Erwin Bursik and Ryan Hansen
These are adjustable support clamps with a “shock absorber” to reduce trailer vibrations and jolts to the outboard motors.
T
HE question is often raised as to how those of us who tow our ski-boats should secure the outboard motors while we’re towing. Seeing that one’s outboards make up the greater part of one’s rig’s value, it’s best to secure them correctly to ensure that they don’t get damaged and that the craft’s transom doesn’t endure more stresses than it is designed to take. In the past, before the days of hydraulic trims that most, if not all, of the bigger horse powered motors have as standard, a simple manual lever
flipped into position to stop a tilted motor from falling back into its vertical position. As this could and did easily happen, most of us towing craft at that time had a conglomeration of ideas and methods of ensuring that our motors were protected. This is especially important when one considers the road conditions back then, especially the old Sodwana and Cape Vidal roads, as well as the pre-war Moçambique roads from the border to the northern areas such as Tofo and Vilanculos. Innovative ideas — ’n boer maak ’n
plan — were plentiful. From wooden planks placed between a tilted motor and transom bracket, to engineering marvels that cradled the motors’ lower shaft in the desired position with the lower part of this stantion secured to the trailer. Much rope and/or a clamping system thus ostensibly prevented one’s motors from bouncing around and putting undue strain on the craft’s transom. Many pundits of the time spoke strongly against firmly tying or bolting one’s craft to its trailer as it was construed that the stresses the trailer expeSKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 63
rienced on rough roads were then directly transmitted into the hull of the craft it was carrying. This practice is used extensively even to the present, and often makes one wonder whether the trailer is supporting the boat or the boat is supplying the rigidity to a poorly manufactured trailer. That aside, and to avoid any red herrings being thrown into the equation, the primary concern was to prevent one’s motors from bouncing up and down on the vertical axis, and at the same time preventing the gearbox casing and propellers being damaged. There was also a concern that any movement during a long tow would put undue pressure on one’s transom. When hydraulic trims became the norm, skippers then set their trims to whatever level they considered to be sufficient to prevent damage to the outboard motors, skeg, gearbox and/or propellers. The trust was put in hydraulics to provide the necessary safety and security. Due to some skippers’ experiences, and others who question this over reliance on the strength of the mechanics in question, the wisdom of this practice has come under debate. Some feel that the vibration and bouncing of the rig on the trailer puts undue pressure on parts that have not been designed to withstand the rigours of long distance towing. After all, the motors are designed to work on the aft of a craft with the hydraulic piston and ram doing its job of raising and lowering, i.e. trimming, the craft while in motion and then, when it’s not running, lifting the entire unit out of the water, utilising its two action hydraulic rams for trimming while running and the second for fast trimming while mooring or trailering. Of course it must also be construed that the craft’s transom will have or should have been designed and built to withstand all the stress it and the hull has to withstand.There’s a lot to endure from the time it is dropped onto a beach or shorebreak, to the shakeup and banging it is subjected to over when running through the surf and over waves.Thereafter a long run at sea also tests the motors and their attachment points to the transom and the strength of the transom itself. The final high speed run up the beach on one’s return must also put enormous strain and torque on both the motors attached to the craft as well as the transom. This is exacerbated when the hydraulic ram has to take the enormous shock as the craft slides up the beach. Beaching kits installed in the hydraulic rams allow for this, but both the motors and the transom undergo enormous stresses during those last few seconds of beaching. 64 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
During this latter scenario of beaching, one mostly has no control, but with the high number of craft executing this procedure every day, we just accept that the combination of motor hydraulics and transom design simply “works”. However, we have more control over the often long and bouncy tow of our rigs, so we need to do what we can to ensure that after a long tow to Moçambique the motors and the craft’s hull and transom remain damage free. Ryan Hansen of Durban Yamaha is acutely aware of this problem and has provided SKI-BOAT magazine and its readers with what he believes is the most practical method of securing both craft and motors during any towing undertaking. Over to Ryan... First and foremost, the flip lever or lift button on some models is there primarily to ensure the motor is tilted right up and held in position while the motor is being serviced and repaired, not to hold it up when towing. A quick look at this lever will show it is not over engineered to withstand the motor bouncing up while being towed. Granted, one might say that on the current models with hydraulic trim rams one can set the flip lever and then set the trim to just hold the position. This may work for short tows, but is not ideal for the long runs.
ble action ram that uses the lowest position and slowest for trimming one’s craft whilst under power at sea, and the secondary phase of lift for faster final trim to lift the lower unit out of the water into its full up position. Ideally the hydraulic trims should be robust enough to hold partially- or fully trimmed outboards for towing. While that might be so for long distance towing on first world state highways, the roads in South Africa and especially Moçambique are a totally different matter. Any bouncing on the rougher roads can and will cause excessive wear on the ram rod seals and even the ram rods themselves. This is the broad scenario covering a wide spectrum of uses and towing scenarios, and as such each boat owner should adjust his thinking according to the road conditions he is likely to encounter while towing his own rig. Since time immemorial, many different devices have been used to support motors for long distance towing. From hard wood branch off cuts and short lengths of hard wood, to — in desperation — one’s shelele or kill baton. The more sophisticated skippers take a square bar of Teflon and neatly and easily drill holes for ropes to go through for easy deployment. The best and arguably the quickest, easiest and most effective devices are
Traditional service lock on most motors.
The centre tilt ram with the two trim rams below.
Furthermore, the beaching kits adaption of trims enables the motors to kick up from vertical to nearly horizontal to enable high speed beaching. This action could be activated by severe bouncing of the craft if one hits a bump or pothole during high speed towing. Another argument is that the hydraulic trim rams are engineered to withstand such pressure loads and, in most instances, have a two stage or dou-
the commercially available adjustable mounting bars that attach to the aft trailer frame and cradle the motor’s lower unit in a padded forked or Vshaped mount that has stretch straps for additional security. (See accompanying photographs.) Still on the table and under debate is whether one should tie the craft to the trailer frame for towing. Whilst all trailers have heavy-duty leaf springs and
Plunger service lock generally on the smaller motors.
Simple attachment holds the support clamp to the motor’s skeg
A Teflon block used to support a motor in the trimmed down position.
The service lock tab: used while in the workshop — not recommended for towing.
virtually none have shock absorbers, any bouncing of the trailer is transferred to the craft itself.The conundrum is, is the boat supporting the trailer or the trailer its boat? The craft’s hull is designed to withstand the rigours of on water use, not really being bounced on its trailer over rough roads. The two lines of thought are that if the craft’s keel is supported on a bed of rollers and supported fore and aft by turnbuckles or straps, any trailer movement is dissipated along the entire length of the craft’s hull and
most stresses induced from road to trailer are largely negated. Furthermore, the quality and framework of today’s quality trailers ensures minimal lateral and longitudinal bending or twisting. My personal opinion is that bow and transom restraint turnbuckles (held in position by rigid galvanised wire rather than plastic cable ties) and a forward movement-restraining chain attached to the bow cleat allows only a small degree of craft-on-trailer movement. After ten years of towing, mostly up to Guinjata in Moçambique, I have
not experienced any hull damage or apparent stress cracking in areas of the hull that are acting as retention points. A large number of craft are towed over some of those horrendous roads, all virtually using the same or similar tie down methods I just described, and as far as I know, no major adverse reports of hull damage have surfaced. For me this is proof that after many, many years of thought and practical application, we have a system that works well for our situations here in South Africa. SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 65
66 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
TACKLE
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOOL
Summer gamefish reel comparisons By Paul Nixon
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EEL reviews can be found all over the internet and in many publications, but what we don’t hear much of are the pros and cons and worry points between various size reels as well as entry level through to high end price comparisons. The information in this article is based on a very objective opinion and forms a basic guide; there are obviously many other factors to take into consideration as well as a myriad of other reels to choose from.The reels discussed here are what we see on a regular basis in my workshop where we see close-up how they withstand South African fishing conditions, and the opinions have been formed from our experiences with these reels. The term “use enough gun” comes to mind in deciding which reel to use when. For example, when fishing with livebait for dorado versus pulling konas for sailies or tuna, certain reels are more suited to these styles of fishing and unfortunately there is no “jack of all trades” reel. If you really want to compare, then one needs to factor in durability, reliability, drag capabilities and, of course, budget!
LIGHT GAME FISHING (Early season shoal ’cuda, dorado and snoek) SL50SH, TLD 2040 For the average holiday or weekend angler, there is a necessity to spend as little as possible, but you do still need something that will last and be reliable, and these reels are a good fit. Problem points: Drag washers are fairly rudimentary and compress and wear down over time, but these can be upgraded which dramatically improves the drag responsiveness.
Above: A Torium 50 reel which has had its washers upgraded. Saltist 50, Torium 30, Fathom 40 These reels will suit the more avid fisherperson with deeper pockets who is looking for a reel that is nice and smooth yet won’t break the bank. Problem points:Torium standard washers made of dartanium are brittle and do wear down and get sticky.These too can be replaced with carbontex washers which greatly improves drag responsiveness. Saltiga 50, Trinidad 30a, Avet, Penn Torque These are cream of the crop star drag reels, well made and with great internals. They have plenty of line capacity and a SKI-BOAT January/February 2022 • 67
Above: Tyrnos 30 and 20 reels.
Above: An Avet lever drag reel that’s being serviced.
great retrieve ratio. Problem points: Being metal-bodied reels, they do have a corrosion susceptibility if not pre-serviced.
checks and services should be mandatory.
HIGH SPEED TROLLING This is where lever drag reels really do come into their own when targeting dorado, sailfish and tuna. MID RANGE TLD 25, Penn Fathom lever drag, Tyrnos 30 These have all proven themselves time and again for everyone from the weekend fisherman to charter boats needing reliable and affordable equipment which is easy to maintain. Problem points:The drag cams are brass and often strip if not placed correctly in the lever housing.Tyrnos can get a lot of boat rash, but otherwise is really solid. A problem factor throughout the range of lever drag reels is water ingress on the drag cam and pinion bearing. Regular
68 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
High end Talica, Tiagra, Saltiga leverdrag, Avet It goes without saying that with reels like these being used the world over on professional outfits, and enduring relentless seasons of work, they are all phenomenal tools built to catch fish, easy to service and made to last. When trying to decide between these reels it really comes down to personal preference rather than one reel outperforming the others. Problem points: If the reel is poorly maintained, screw ports seize, making opening the reel a real nightmare. Pitting occurs on body internals if left unserviced and not season prepped. For more information on reel repairs, servicing and upgrades, contact Paul Nixon on 083 940 6273.
NEVER GIVE UP by Inge Southey (14)
FTER all the chaos that had been going on I didn’t think we would have a Mozam fishing trip in 2021, but we did! This story is about our challenging, adventurous fishing trip to Legogo, Mozambique. After six hours of driving we arrived at the Mozam border to find it was closed for the weekend. We were extremely disappointed, but when we booked into Palm Tree Lodge at Kosi Bay we met an old friend, Oom Hennie Kaufman the Mozam fishing legend! He helped me out by sharing his Mozam fishing HOT SPOTS and what to use and when — after I used my puppy eyes and best smile to retrieve the information! On the Monday we headed for the border. Just 5km over the border one of the tyres on our boat trailer started smoking — the bearings had seized! After another five hours of running around trying to find the right tools and pumping the jack up and down several times and getting grease everywhere, we were back on the road. I was just grateful that we continued going north! After travelling all of that day and the next we finally arrived at Legogo! The next day my brother, dad and I went fishing.There was quite a swell that day and lots of shallow reefs which made the launch tricky, but thanks to my dad we got out safely. When we reached what we call our HOT SPOT, we put out Oom Hennie’s suggested spread of rappies (Jannie Nel, Carrot, Morne, Pink and Silver). None of these names make sense to me — fishermen and their code names! After trolling for two hours the rods suddenly started screaming! My heart actually
A
skipped a beat and I was so excited. My brother and I brought in two ’cuda and a bonnie. Dinner was served! Our second day of fishing produced nothing but a skipjack and almost a solid 18kg ’cuda that bit through the line. The third day was beautiful — blue water, no wind and no swell. My whole family went out that day to the HOT SPOT. The reef that we jigged on was 40m deep and my sister and I both got our first bluefin kingfish.We were vas at the same time.We carried on jigging and as my dad said “lines up” I was busy retrieving, I shouted “Ek’s vas!” I had caught an 8.5kg ’cuda using a squid jig. After a long drift of jigging we saw a big bait ball and tuna jumping.We decided to troll with rappies again. Next thing, there goes our rods! My brother and I were working up and down, across, under and over each other. We eventually landed our yellowfin tuna. My brother’s weighed 7.5kg and mine 10.5kg.We then planed all the way back to shore entertained by dolphins and whales jumping. The next few days were bad weather, but we went back to sea on the day straight after all the rain and huge gray clouds had passed. On the way to the HOT SPOT we probably saw 20 whales! We trolled for ages and as we were about to get sleepy the rods went vas! My sister and I each landed a ’cuda.The rods kept going off again and again, and my mom, brother and dad all landed huge bonnies. When we eventually beached after one of our best days of fishing, we discovered that one of the front wheels on our truck had torn! Our friends then helped us replace the wheel and we treated them that night with tuna sashimi. This was my favourite adventure ever, and from all our ups and downs I learnt that you have a choice to get through them, and that as you overcome the obstacles it gets easier, so never give up!
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!
70 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
PRODUCTS
BLUECARE Making hull cleaning a dream By Erwin Bursik
A
FEW months back I attended the 2021 Jozini Tigerfish Bonanza hosted by the Sodwana Hengelklub. It was a great tournament, but the only downside was the brown stain on my ski-boat’s hull when it came out the water. In essence that’s the only downside resulting from a fishing trip to this truly magical destination. Over many years of fishing Jozini Dam the white area of Mr Ski-Boat’s hull below the waterline turned brown. Trying to clean it on return has always been a long and arduous task to get the hull back to its white external finish. I wasn’t the only one lamenting this. Many of the mates I spoke to had the same problem, and no one that I knew had found an easy way of sorting it out. Sugar soap, scouring liquid, industrial cleaners and a lot of elbow grease was required before one saw a difference. A sample bottle of Seabrite Hull Cleaner I found did work, but I have been unable to find the product in Durban, so the struggle continued.
Following the 2021 Tiger Tournament I again had to contend with a partially brown hull. Anthony Daniel, Yamaha’s After Product Manager, who also fished the event suggested I try both their boat cleaner as well as their BLUCARE Barnacle Remover.
Blesbok before.
Mr Ski-Boat before.
Blesbok after.
Mr Ski-Boat after.
72 • SKI-BOAT January/February 2022
The BLUCARE Boat Cleaner did not work, but the BLUCARE Barnacle Remover proved remarkably efficient. After a quick spray on the hull, I waited a few minutes and it washed off miraculously — no scrubbing or rubbing at all.The entire hull was clean within half an hour. Interestly enough, Jeff Blesovsky’s boat, Blesbok, which spent as much time on Jozini Dam as Mr Ski-Boat, showed less brown stain. After some discussion, we ascertained that Jeff always wax polishes his craft’s hull after cleaning so that may be why the water didn’t stain his hull as much as mine. However, Jeff was still complaining about the time it took his staff to clean the boat on previous trips to Jozini (normally an entire day’s work). He agreed to try BLUCARE Barnacle Remover, and Jeff, his boat cleaners and I were amazed at the efficiency of the product on Blesbok.
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