Ski-Boat July 2021

CONTENTS

July/August 2021 Volume 37 Number 4 COVER: AMBER FROM THE DEPTHS Brett Bartho with a beautiful 31kg amberjack caught off Shelly Beach.

Photo by Louis Pepler.

FEATURES

10

Where to fish Part 1: Ski-boating in central KwaZulu-Natal — by Justin Paynter

19

Down Deep Part 1: Getting a feel for bottomfishing — by Craig Stubbs

24

Longline — fact or fiction?

Washed up artifacts raise some questions — by Erwin Bursik

27

27

Myth Becomes Reality Fishing at Mount Vema — by Ryan Nienaber

34

Birth of the Gypski Part 2:A closer look at the detail — by Rob Naysmith

40

Their Future is Bright Overview of 2021 Junior Nationals — by Francois Beukes

45

Keeping Things Rolling Smooth line guides are crucial to good fishing — by Paul Nixon

52

Boat Building Excellence

10

Two Oceans Marine is a South African wonder — by Erwin Bursik

56

Guinjata Takes the Trophy 2021 Rosebowl Tournament — by Wessel Grimbeek

60

Far, Far Away Where have all the linefish gone? — by Jack Walsh

34

DEPARTMENTS 6 7 38 49 51

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

63 64 65 66

Mercury Junior Anglers Reel Kids Business Classifieds & Directory Rapala Lip — Last word from the ladies

The official magazine of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association

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

EDITORIAL

THE FUTURE OF OUR SPORT IS BRIGHT

Editorial Assistant: Vahini Pillay Contributors: Mignon Basson, Francois Beukes, Erwin Bursik, Wessel Grimbeek, Rob Naysmith, Ryan Nienaber, Paul Nixon, Justin Paynter, Craig Stubbs and Jack Walsh.

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

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

SKI-BOAT Magazine, ISSN 0258-7297, is published six times a year by Angler Publications & Promotions cc, Reg. No. CK 88/05863/23, and is distributed by 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.

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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.

6 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

I

N an era of uncertainty and a fair degree of scepticism, it is reassuring when an experience one has significantly raises one’s hope for the future.

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend the SADSAA Junior Nationals (see full details on page 40 of this issue) hosted by the Natal Deep Sea Angling Association. It turned out to be a mindful reaffirmation that going into the future our sport will be spearheaded by these vibrant, enthusiastic and very committed young anglers.

One often ponders the future and aligns that to one’s own very specific interests, comparing Erwin Bursik the present with the past, and looking to the Publisher future. For me, I wonder what the sport of deep sea angling has for our following generations.

With declining fish stocks on one hand, and the ongoing sophistication of boats and fishing tackle on the other, I wonder whether the ever increasing cost of our sport will begin to squeeze out participation as a result. On the flip side you have the unfettered enthusiasm and the ardent desire to go to sea to fish of those who follow in our footsteps.

During this year’s Junior Nationals, 18 provincial teams from all over South Africa participated in the Under 19 and Under 16 age groups. They fished out of Point Yacht Club where 54 enthusiastic young ski-boat anglers fished in the fourday long event. It wasn’t just the numbers that struck a cord with me, nor the high standard of the running of this competition; it was really the incredible enthusiasm, excitement and diligence of these young boys and girls who took part that was noteworthy. From the opening event where the boat draw took place till the final prizegiving, their excitement never waned.

Witnessing each weigh in and seeing the team camaraderie when the youngsters stood on the podium with their day’s catch not only gave me the proverbial lump in the throat, but also the inevitable conviction that here was the “spearhead” of young men and women who would carry the legacy of deep sea angling into the future.

It must also be mentioned that the organisation, finesse and attention to niceties during every aspect of this event was impeccable. This aspect of most deep sea angling events from interclubs and interprovincials to nationals has come a long way when compared to similar events held in the ’70s and ’80s when I participated. Not only is the whole presentation now much more sophisticated, but there is also much more visible support both at the weigh-ins and formal events where large numbers of people turn up to encourage the young anglers.

It is my ardent hope that all these indicators point to the fact that these young anglers will take over from the dedicated organisers of today and carry our sport well into the future.

Aside from the competitive aspect, it’s wonderful to see that an ever increasing number of today’s ski-boaters are involving their very young children in their pursuit to catch fish out at sea. The Mercury Junior Anglers’ page in our magazine is incredibly popular, and every submission fills me with much joy when I see the kids’ huge smiles and pride standing next to the fish they caught.

So, with a view to the future of the sport of offshore angling, please take a kid fishing — it’s actually far more rewarding than catching a fish oneself.

Till the next tide

Erwin Bursik

POSTBOX

PENDING SA RECORD BIGEYE TUNA Dear Editor, My son Connor has been going deep sea fishing with me since he was five years old and represented Eastern Province for the first time when he was just eight.

I have always regarded him as a very competent angler and most of his fishing has been done in the Eastern Cape where he has caught many good sized yellowtail. I always told him that would be good training for catching bigger fish one day.

When he turned 18 I decided it was time for him to try to catch his first tuna. On the morning of 23 April 2021 Connor, his cousin Duane, our friend Clive and I launched out of Hout Bay at

6am. We spent the morning trolling around 35nm offshore with no luck.We eventually saw a stern trawler and went up behind it to see if the boat was holding tuna, but still had no luck.

We decided to continue trolling, and at round 2pm we got some longfin tuna.We decided to start baiting for the fish and caught a few more longfin.

By 4pm I realised that Connor’s dream of catching his first big yellowfin was probably not going to happen on his first tuna trip. The next minute his Tiagra 50 spooled with 80 lb Ande line starting screaming. We immediately knew this was a very good fish. Connor quickly got strapped into his Black Magic harness. The fish ran off around 500m of line on the first run and then dug in and just would not come up.

I was standing next to Connor and explained to him, as I had done many days before this trip, that he would have to be patient and tr y to wear down this fish while mentally preparing himself for a very long fight.

Half an hour into the fight he had managed to get the fish to around 40 m under the boat when it took another run with the drag set at 12kg. The fish ran straight down, taking 500m of line again.

This went on for another 90 minutes where we had the fish at 30m under the boat and then it went straight down again, taking hundreds of metres of line every time.We eventually got the fish to the surface at 6.20pm after a battle lasting two hours and 20 minutes.

Once we gaffed the fish and brought it on board, we realised how big it actually was. We all just stood there in amazement looking at this incredible tuna.

We quickly took some photos as the sun had already set, and then began the long run back to Hout Bay. Back on shore, the fish was identified as a bigeye tuna which weighed in at 129.7kg. It’s a pending SA record.

What an incredible day of fishing, an incredible fish on Connor’s first tuna trip, and incredible to witness my son making the catch of a lifetime. All in all it’s a day that will be spoken about for many years to come.

SEAN JOUBERT MARLIN EATING TWO BAITS Dear Editor I read with interest the article on the 2021 Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, in which it was revealed that a marlin ate two separate baits presented at the same time and that the boat in question then had to fight the marlin with two rods.

This same thing happened to me when I was fishing for marlin off a marlin charter boat in Mauritius some years ago. I’m sure that when I have retold

the story to many of my fishing buddies there has been some suspicion as to whether I was telling the truth.

The story goes as follows: My wife and I chartered a boat out of Black River in Mauritius, and on our arrival found that we would be sharing the boat with another younger couple. The boat in question had great equipment — two 30 lb sticks, two 50 lb sticks and two 80 lb sticks, but only the skipper on board, no crew!

I have my own ski-boat here, so I knew my way around the boat and equipment, but the other guy knew nothing about fishing, least of all marlin fishing.

We put out all the rods and within minutes both the 30 lb sticks went.The younger guy grabbed one rod and I firstly helped to get the other rods in, and then took the other 30 lb rod. I told the skipper to help the other guy as I knew what I was doing, and it was only a bonnie.

Well, line soon began peeling off both reels and I told the skipper that this was not a bonnie! However, one can imagine the general level of persons chartering these type of boats in Mauritius — generally overweight tourists who know nothing about fishing. I probably fell into that imagined category.

Eventually the skipper realised that both rods were now really screaming and we all saw the marlin jumping — hooked with two 30 lb rigs. The marlin had eaten both bonnies soon after they were hooked by our lures (feathers).

We now realised that we both had the same fish hooked and it was estimated at about 500 lb!

The hooks were not exposed, so we presumed that both bonnies had themselves taken the lures and therefore had the hooks embedded in their mouths.

So how was the marlin hooked? Was it staying on both our lines because it had swallowed both bonnies? Or, by some miracle, had both hooks somehow also hooked into the stomach of the marlin?

Well, after three hours the first hook pulled, which left me fighting this marlin next to the boat for another 30 minutes on the 30 lb rig. It was proving impossible to get the marlin next to the boat with such a light rig and no skipper to reverse the boat on the marlin as he was trying to assist me in hand lining the marlin to the boat.

After half an hour of the marlin being handlined three times, we eventually put too much pressure on the light line and it parted.

After reading the article on the same thing happening at the Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, I am pleased to know this has happened to other anglers too.

ADRIAN HOFMAN SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 7

TACTICS

Part 1: Ski-boating in central KwaZulu-Natal

By Justin Paynter

D

URBAN can arguably be referred to as the place where offshore fishing from small craft started in South Africa. That was back in 1945, post the Second World War. The sport has seen spectacular growth during the 76 years since then, and now extends to the entire South African coastline as well as most of Africa’s gamefish areas.

Thanks to the mobility of the offshore fishing craft we colloquially call ski-boats, a huge number of inland boat owners tow their craft to fishing destinations from Namibia in the west right around the coastline of South Africa to Vilanculos on the central Moçambican coast. This trend leads to various sportfishing opportunities and exciting destinations where boat owners can pursue their sport recreationally as well as competitively, whilst at the same time enjoying varied holidays with family and friends.

However, these “nomadic” ski-boaters often arrive at a proclaimed hot spot, launch their craft and then face the perplexing decision:“Where do I start fishing and for what?”

10 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

As an example, a visiting ski-boater to Durban may launch his craft from Vetch’s PWC, survey the 180° vista of open sea and be confronted with the daunting task of finding a good fishing spot and knowing what to target there. Inevitably it’s generally a follow-the-herd instinct that takes over, as well as much trial and error, which may — with a huge amount of luck — result in him actually catching some fish.

Most, if not all, boat owners, new or old, will experience this conundrum at least once in their boating lives. Any time one launches at a destination they haven’t fished before, no matter how much research one has undertaken, they will be faced with this extremely vexing question: “Where do I now go?”

We at SKI-BOAT magazine have also faced this mental torment many times, so we have come up with a concept that will provide visiting skippers with some fairly basic information that will give them a good starting point at least.

The simplified nautical chart on this page shows the Durban area from Isipingo to Tongaat river mouth, and has been embellished with GPS waypoints showing where to target baitfish in this part of the ocean. On the subsequent pages

BAITMARKS OFF DURBAN

you’ll find a chart of the same stretch of coastline with waypoints showing where various gamefish can be targeted.

Justin Paynter, one of the most astute and successful ski-boat skippers and anglers of the modern era, fishes from his home base of the Durban Ski-Boat Club, and has agreed to help us develop this series. In time we hope we will be able to cover the entire South African coastline in the same way as we’re doing this small stretch.

This mammoth task requires input from leading sports skippers in each area, but hopefully it will end up providing historical data that will provide advice projecting well into the future.

As Justin pointed out during our deliberations on achieving this goal, the area to target specifically migratory pelagic gamefish cannot be depicted by one simple waypoint. However, by using two waypoints — the rough start and end of an area — one can create one’s own trolling/drifting pattern within an area which Justin highlights as being historically productive for each specific species shown.

The generous sharing of this “private” information will enable an upcountry skipper, for example, to go to Umdloti and then work the areas between the GPS waypoints in the knowledge that he is fishing in the right place at the right time.

Bait South: The Pipe South Break Wall South Pier Wreck

North: Containers Barge Dozer Casons Fontao

We are blessed with an abundance of bait and bait options in Durban.When arriving at a bait spot, you need to sound around and locate the bait showing. I generally use both green- and red bead Sibiki’s to see what the fish want on that particular day. I prefer using a heavier sinker like an 8 ounce because if you locate the mackerel they tend to swim up the line and you end up bringing up a ball of mackerel. The heavier sinker normally prevents this from happening.

The bait spots I’ve shown above are also known to produce good yellowfin tuna (all year round), queenfish (March to June) and dorado (November to March).

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 11

Justin Paynter with a decent yellowfin tuna caught off Durban.

King mackerel (aka ’cuda) Time of year: December to end of June Area: South: Cutting, Whaling Station, Fence North: Number 1, Umdloti, Seabelle, Stud Rock, Mid Reef Bait: Livebait — Mackerel, mozzie, razor belly, bonnie or seapike Dead bait — Bonnie, walla walla, mackerel Trolling speed: Slow trolled (boat just in gear) Depth: 10–40m (personal favourite is 18–22m) ’Cuda, one of the most sought after species along this coastline, is targeted during the months of December through to June. December sees the arrival of these silver speedsters, and usually we are blessed with a few decent fish in the early stage of the season. As the season progresses and we move 12 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

’CUDA MARKS OFF DURBAN

into the months of February through to the end of March, the shoalsize fish of 6-10kg are caught. The bigger fish are few and far between. As April draws near, the bigger fish tend to make their way into the shallows and it’s very common to be boating fish over 20kg in the above mentioned areas.

Most anglers’ fatal mistake when fishing for these fish is a lack of patience.When you decide to fish for a ’cuda, you need to realise that you have dedicated the day to this type of fishing. You cannot arrive at your chosen spot, fish it for an hour and then call it a day. ’Cuda fishing can be extremely boring, but when that reel takes off and you can hear the fish changing from ine gear to the next as your spool gets smaller and smaller, the time you’ve put in is well worth it.

I believe these fish tend to swim on a depth line, so I arrive at the area I want to fish and work different depths to find where the showings are, then work that particular line/depth.

Daryl Milne with a nice ’cuda caught off the Cason.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 13

Queen mackerel (aka snoek) Time of Year: April to July Area: South: Cutting, Fence North: Umgeni, Pick ’n Pay, Glenashley, Peace Cottage, Umdloti Bait: Livebait — Redeye Dead bait — fillet of sardine or red eye on a strip bait Artificial — small Halco/Rapala/spoon Trolling Speed: Livebait: Just in gear Dead Bait: 4–7 km/h Artificial: 7–12 km/h Depth: 4–14m The snoek can be an exceptionally exciting fish to catch.

When targeting these fish, you normally troll strip baits while your crew will tend to throw a spoon. Generally when these fish are around you can have multiple strikes at a time.

The trick is to locate the fish and then work that area.

They tend to congregate near river mouths and rips. Snoek love hunting along a colour line which they use as camouflage to attack unsuspecting prey.They are aggressive hunters but have extremely soft mouths, so a soft drag is recommended. Once hooked up, you can proceed to tighten up.

The best time to target these fish is sunrise and sunset.

A perfect example of queen mackerel (aka snoek) which can be caught off Durban.

14 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

Tyler Wolmarans and Justin Paynter pose with Tyler’s first dorado.

SNOEK MARKS OFF DURBAN

Yellowfin tuna and dorado Time of Year: October to June Area: South: 60–100m line, bait marks, or a bycatch while fishing for ’cuda North: Bait marks, Number 1, ships, 60–100m line Bait: Livebait — Mackerel, mozzie Artificial — Halco 160s, Williamson Speedpro 130s, Bite Me Tuna Candys Trolling speed: Livebait: Just in gear Artificial:10–20 km/h Anglers normally target these fish early in the morning or on the way back from their chosen spot for the day. Number 1 will produce some quality fish first thing in the morning until around 7:30am on artificial lures. If the bite slows down, it is advisable to switch over to livebait.

The bait marks will work during the entire day, but if there are too many boats on the bait marks the fish tend to move off. If you are the only boat on one of the marks then you stand a good chance of success. The bait marks are not far apart, so it is a good idea to move from one to another until you locate the fish. One might work better than the others on a particular day .

Helpful tip: If the westerly wind is blowing in Durban, the bait marks are an excellent option.

I have an app called Ship Finder Lite, and I use it to locate the ships that have been off Durban the longest, then I head to them first thing in the morning. Good numbers of dorado can be caught on the ship’s anchor chain by pitching a bait at it. If you have not managed a pull at that stage, then drift down the side of the ship where you tend to find the yellowfin to the aft end of the vessel.

Happy fishing!

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 15

TECHNIQUES

Tightening into a proper fish.

Craig Farren is one of those who has perfected “feel” and who, in turn, makes some great catches.

Part 1: Getting a feel for bottomfishing

By Craig Stubbs

T

HE world of “bottomfishing” is divided into roughly three groups of people — those who are infatuated with it, those who malign it, and those who merely fill up with a few bottoms if nothing else is eating. I form part of the group of anglers who absolutely love bottomfishing, and through this series of articles I hope to arm you with enough knowledge to strengthen your bottomfishing game.

This first article focuses on some basics for “general” bottomfishing, so please excuse the contents if you have already mastered bottomfishing to some degree. In future articles we will take a look at some differing techniques that can improve the odds of catching specific species or catching good fish in specific “zones”. For the purpose of this

series of articles, I am going to focus on the bottomfishing style we practise throughout KZN and all the way through to the Kei and beyond. Further south, techniques and tackle differ quite substantially, predominantly due to the relatively shallow water fishery that exists off the Western Cape.

When you start bottomfishing you need to accept that, just like many other forms of angling, catching quality bottomfish is not always easy, and it is not simply a case of rocking up at a mark, dropping pieces of squid and a heavy sinker, and catching nice plump fish for the pan. Sure, you may catch a few smalls, and maybe even get a decent fish or two, but becoming a good bottomfisherman is a complex affair involving the right equipment, bait, boat control and on-the-water experience.

I will get shot down for saying this,

but I am of the opinion that it is probably the most “skillful” form of angling that we practise locally. It is also a form of angling that is very engaging, and extremely “hands on”, unlike many forms of trolling which involve some skilful prep and then a shift to a “hurry up and wait” approach. (PS: I love gamefishing too, so no hard feelings!)

So, what makes a good bottomfisherman? Without a doubt, the most successful bottomfishermen are those who have mastered line control. On my charter boat, I see a lot of anglers who may be bottomfishing for the first time, or aren’t very experienced at it, and the most common factor that they have yet to master, is being able to control their line.

That’s where we are going to start, and where better than to begin than to talk about the tools that will be in your hands?

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 19

Above: Some of the simple foam wedges which I keep onboard to stop any potential overruns on the KP when it’s not being controlled. I keep them in my pockets and on deck; they cost next to nothing and will save you endless frustration.

Alongside, from left to right: A relatively heavy rod with a 10-inch KP, a slow/medium action 9ft rod with a 9inch KP Deluxe (my go-to setup), and a shorter Purglas Tiger Special with a 9inch standard KP. Don’t let the smaller size of this rod fool you — it can put some serious pressure on big fish. you are fishing relatively shallow.This is mainly due to the fact that spinning reels don’t offer you the line control that a centrepin reel does, and also that spinning reels work best with a “pump and wind” form of retrieve, which clashes with the generally straight retrieval of line needed for bottomfishing.

REELS Simply put, the most functional reel for bottomfishing is a traditional “KP” reel.

It’s a simple unbraked drum that can cause you untold frustration when first using one, but when you master it, is unmatched in its ability to control line while fishing, and control fish during a fight.

My go-to KP is a 9-inch version which I use for 80% of my bottomfishing. Under deep water conditions (100m-plus), I may go up to a 10-inch version, and for some lighter tackle applications may go down to an 8-inch version, but if you have to choose just one size, then 9-inch is the way to go.

20 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

They are available in a straight black Standard version, or a Deluxe version which is laminated and prettier on the eye. Functionally they are much the same, so it pretty much comes down to budget. If they’re looked after (i.e. not dropped), these reels are robust and last well, with the only weak point being the main bearing, but that’s cost effective and simple enough to replace.

Spinning reels do have some limited scope in bottomfishing live baiting applications (I will touch on that in a future article), but do not offer any significant advantage over a KP. I have tried them in the past, but they really aren’t suitable tools for the job, unless

LINE Braided line is an absolute must, mainly due to its thin diameter relative to monofilament. It cuts through the everpresent currents we often find in bottomfishing areas, and allows one to fish in a more “up and down” manner, whereas mono will quickly form a belly and drag in the water.

Fishing straight up and down is important for a few reasons. It minimises getting stuck on the reef which is common once currents pick up and your sinker begins to drag, it minimises tangles with other anglers’ lines, and it also gives you far better bite detection.

When it comes to breaking strain, I seldom fish less than 80 lb, and most of my reels are loaded with 100 lb braid (I prefer Berkley Whiplash). Such heavy line may sound like overkill, but its simply a good trade off between pulling power and longevity. Braid from 50 lb and below won’t last nearly as long, and can cut fingers like a razor blade under pressure.

Two quick tips: Don’t overfill your reel and don’t fill your reel under immense pressure. I normally load a KP with a few hundred metres of the cheapest 0.80–1mm mono I can find to part fill the drum, followed by 200–300m of braid, topped with a mono leader around 8m in length and again between 0.80mm and 1mm diameter.

RODS These are probably the least important part of the puzzle, but there are a few things to look out for. I have tried them all, and unfortunately many of the best rods aren’t even in production any longer. Rods such as Purglas’s Zulu Skis, Natal Skis and Cape Skis are all legendary, but there aren’t a huge amount of them on the market any longer, so if you have one then look after it, and if you don’t, keep your eyes peeled.

Any decent fibreglass rod in the 9ft range will do the job. In fact, most of today’s economically priced, stiffer “couta” rods are perfect for use as bottom sticks.A few others worth mentioning are the Poseidon Kingfish rod, Poseidon Geelbek (slightly too heavy for me) and the Elbe Explorer 15kg rod.

Some anglers swear by shorter and softer rods, and they definitely do have an argument for them. I have a few Purglas Tiger Specials that I have sourced over the years and rebuilt to bottomfishing setups and they are amazing. Their shorter length definitely means there’s a lot less pressure on your back when you’re fighting fish or fishing long hours.

However, these shorter rods don’t offer the same trace management ability when you’re lifting long traces onto the boat or getting long traces over the gunnel to drop baits, that a slightly longer rod does, so the choice becomes a personal one. I find myself switching relatively often, depending on the time of year and the likely target species.

Whatever rod you choose, make sure the guides are nice and strong and up to the task, and check them regularly because bottom rods do seem to get banged around a bit on the boat.

LINE CONTROL Now that you have the right tackle, let’s talk about line control.That line control starts right at the boat. Given that a KP has no brake or form of clutch, if it’s left upright in a rod holder, the drum will

Some busters will test your angling skills and tackle to the maximum. The author with a strong yellowtail.

spin and line will either pile up around the reel arm or peel off onto the deck — or a combination of both. I have witnessed some monumental line bunches that just a few careless seconds can create, so I make sure to always have some small foam wedges in my pockets or lying around the boat that can be jammed between the rod and the reel to prevent the spool from spinning.

Trust me, they cost next to nothing to make, and they will save you a lot of frustration.

The next aspect of line control starts when you lift your traces over the gunnel and prepare to drop baits.

Always remember that your sinker

needs to be the last thing that goes overboard.

If your trace is roughly rod-length, then keep your sinker in one hand while you use your rod top to get your hooks overboard. Once your hooks are cleared of potential hazards, only then should you drop your sinker. If there are other anglers on board with you, consider their lines too, and underhand throw your sinker a few metres away from the boat.

Once you release your sinker, you need to pay attention to your reel. Any line that slips between the drum and the reel arm at this stage is going to cause a problem, so manage this carefulSKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 21

Craig Stubbs was thrilled with this beautiful greater amberjack.

22 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

ly, and use a finger to control the speed of the drum as your sinker goes down. You will quickly find that this routine becomes second nature — trace out, check line is sitting okay on the reel, drop your sinker, feather the reel to control the speed of the drum as your sinker descends.

Once that sinker hits bottom, it’s all about feel. Generally you will be contending with some form of current or windinduced drift, so you need to maintain contact with your trace at all times. Luckily braided line gives you incredible sensitivity.

I find that instead of focusing on feeling for bites from fish, concentrate on “feeling” your sinker at all times.With your rod at a relatively constant angle, this feel is maintained predominantly by releasing and gaining a few feet of line, constantly using a “soft hand” on the drum of the reel. Allow your sinker to go down if you have lost bottom contact, or make a quick gain of line if your sinker has hit bottom and slack line forms.

You want your sinker on or about the bottom, but not left too loose that you lose contact and not too tight that you are actually lifting the rod against the heavy weight of the sinker.

That is the symphony, and when you get it right, it becomes a rather neutral feeling where you begin to feel just what your sinker is doing.

Once you have mastered this, you are 90% of the way there, and through that connection you will begin to be able to feel the difference between how various species, and even difference size fish bite. Establishing that means being able to feel for better bites, leave your bait in the strike zone for longer, and in turn catching more and better fish.

This article was rather elementary, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to establish “feel”. For me that’s the most important aspect of successful bottomfishing, the point where I think bottomfishing becomes a form of art and what separates the good from the great anglers.

In the next article, we are going to take a more indepth look at traces, bait and presentation.

UNUSUAL FINDS

LONGLINE Fact or fiction?

By Erwin Bursik

I

HAVE already voiced my view that longlining is not a major threat to the stocks of pelagic fish species of the inshore fishing areas along the South African coast where the vast majority of the ski-boat anglers ply their sport.

But am I wrong?

Two bits of washed up line and hooks I’ve some across recently seem to point to possible physical longline activity off our coast.The photos alongside are photographic evidence of this.

The first hook and line I extracted from the mouth of a ±20kg bullshark caught off my boat, Mr Ski-Boat, during April 2021 in 15 metres of water off the second whaling station on Durban’s Bluff.

This shark took a live mackerel while I was fishing for ’cuda. It was in very good condition and certainly did not seem to be affected by the “mouth ring” in the corner of its mouth.

The second hook and line was picked up on the beach, at Westbrook on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, by my brother Ed. These two finds do indeed worry me, and I wonder if they’re a sign that I should review my perception. Perhaps longliners do indeed pose a threat to our inshore fishing.

Any marine biologist or person associated with longlining or who has access to physical longliners and who has a view regarding these two finds, please send us your views or thoughts as to where these terminal rigs could have emanated from.You’re welcome to email <bursik@mags.co.za>.

1. The hook found in the shark’s mouth was about a 9/0 and a similar pattern to the hooks most of us use when bottomfishing for daga or cracker. What is strange is the style of knot used. The leader is also a lot heavier than I would have thought any bottomor commercial line fisherman was likely to use.

The leader didn’t appear to be bitten off as it was trailing alongside the shark’s mouth and had been for some considerable time judging by the growth on the leader and especially on the knot.

I purposely did not clean this because I wanted to show the configu24 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

1.

2. ration of the knot which is not one I am familiar with.

2.The tangled leader and hook combination found on Westbrook beach shows significant wear of the hook eye by the ring attaching the hook to the tangled leader.

Was this wear from years of use or was it wear from a fish dragging this twisted bunch of leader for what appears to be a long time?

Any views or thoughts from our readers or their connections would be appreciated.

PLACES

Fishing at Mount Vema, where

Mike Russon and Ryan Nienaber with a 35kg yellowtail caught at Mt Vema.

By Ryan Nienaber

W

HEN you mention Mount Vema to Cape Town yellowtail fishermen, it’s akin to mentioning a unicorn to a small child.This is the place where everything is possible. Dreams of 50kgplus yellowtail can easily become a reality, and from what I have now seen this area may well hold the biggest yellowtail in the world.

The sea mount is located 525nm due west of Cape Town, and rises from 5 000m to 26m in a matter of metres.

The bank itself extends for several miles and holds lots of ground between 40and 120m, with areas of pinnacles that come shallower. The water is bluer and

clearer than any I have seen before, and the water temperature averages 21.5°C. The currents are more confusing than any I have ever encountered before, with drifts that you simply could not replicate.

Our trip was planned on the spur of the moment — a team of seven of us would head out there on a converted 84ft racing yacht (now fitted with a motor and with the mast removed).The goal was to explore Vema and set the bounds of recreational fishing possibilities.

The first weather gap was predicted to be between 15 Februar y and 15 March 2021, so we had to be on standby for a day’s notice. On 24 February we saw the weather was looking

promising for calm seas on Vema in three days’ time, and although strong south easterly winds and big seas prevailed around Cape Point on 25 February, we set off.

25 FEBRUARY We departed from Simons Town. Swell was 3.5m and there was a 25 knot south-easterly wind gusting at 30+ knots.

26 FEBRUARY Cruising at a speed of around 8.5 knots we pulled lines from the get go. We got one strike of a tuna, but the hook pulled near the boat. We were not phased and spent this time prepping tackle and talking big stories of what SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 27

Ready to depart : Byron Danes, Craig Mackellar, Mike Russon, Peter-John d’Aguiar, Kyle Russon, Ryan Nienaber and David de Villiers.

Mike with a 30kg yellowtail he caught on jig.

David, Ryan and Mike with three 20kg+ yellowtail.

was to come.

Strong sea conditions prevailed, from behind with a 20-30 knot southeasterly blowing, and 3-4m seas.

27 FEBRUARY After two nights at sea it was refreshing to wake up, and see that by 9h00 we only had 270nm to go. The distance is mind boggling; it’s as if the horizon is simply not getting any closer. There is only so much you can do to keep entertained — lots of eating and tackle prep and lying down, along with some good stories from memory lane.

At 11h50, with 253nm to go, one of the rods let off a metre of line, we all heard it and looked back into the huge following sea, to sea a giant from the deep surfing down the swell. Bang and a massive marlin was on! That turned out to be the fastest I have ever seen a Tiagra 80W be totally stripped clean!

I had caught a 500 lb marlin just two days before in Struisbaai, but this dwarfed that fish. With my limited marlin experience I feel it could have gone 1 000 lb, but we will never know and he lives on to make another fisherman’s 28 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

dream come true.

The weather started showing signs of easing up, and the first fish found its way to the deck — a couple of flying fish; a great sign that we were heading into fishy waters.

28 FEBRUARY 9h15 85nm to destination 18h15 20nm to destination 20h20 Arrival on Mount Vema We scouted around for some shallower areas, and put in the parachute for the evening.

1 MARCH Game time! After waking up to good seas, we decided to move around the area a little in search of pinnacles that we could fish on, and simply try to understand a small section of this underwater paradise.

We put out two rappies and steamed around. In less than three minutes both rods took off with yellowtail.

Before those fish could be brought to the boat and released, the ocean around us changed colour from electric blue to yellow, as the tightly packed fish

schooled past.

It was literally drop for drop with whatever you could throw at them.

Young yellowtail in the 2–4kg size were clearly hungry and grabbed at anything.

We could have stayed there and plugged away at them all day, but that was not why we went to Vema.

We left those young ’tail biting and moved around a bit to the 40–60m water. Although the area looked much flatter, the fishfinder showed lots of fish holding in the area. The top half were smaller fish, and the big boys were down below on the floor.

We started working vertical jigs on the bottom and soon the first better fish started coming out in the 18–20kg size range. After a quick photo they were back in the water.

The boat was clearly not rigged for fishing, but no one cared; the fish were keeping us all busy. After a while our arms felt like they where falling off, so we took a unanimous decision to go on the troll and look for shallow pinnacles.

We found some bumps shooting from 50m to 25m and put in a net hoping to catch a crayfish for dinner. While

Mike, Ryan and PJ with a ±18kg yellowtail PJ got on jig.

The little yellowtail were clearly hungry and happily took 300g jigs destined for bigger fish.

Ryan with another ’tail about to be released.

we waited, we took the opportunity to jump in for a quick spearfish.To my surprise, two wahoo swam past me. I tried to chase them down and politely herded them to David who was waiting with sniper-like precision and bagged us some sashimi to go with the three crayfish we netted. A couple of young yellowfin which came by put the cherry on top for the day. Back on board we put out the parachute for the night as Vema is notorious for cutting anchors loose.

The original plan was to fish through the night, but everyone was simply too broken from the day’s fishing to even try.

2 MARCH We woke up to calm f lat seas, with under 5 knots of wind. What more can one ask for on an adventure trip 500nm out to sea?

In the morning when we looked at our drift from the night, we had done an almost perfectly circular drift. The current on Vema is next level and something I have never experienced before — strong and irregular, changing direc-

tion all the time.

Before we had even switched on the motor and moved up to the fishing area we wanted to target for the day, the jigs where already vas. We saw a handful of small tail darting erratically in and out under the hull which seemed ver y peculiar, but we soon realised what their problem was.A dark shadow came after them — a marlin of around 400 lb — simply herding them under the boat trying to get his breakfast.

I caught my first five finger fish that morning. It was a novelty catch, 2–4kg in size, but how many people can say they’ve caught a five finger?

The day was filled with many new species for all of us: ±5kg Blue Nose ±5kg Amberjack ±3 kg Five Finger Fish ±30kg Big Eye Tuna ±20–35kg Yellowtail The fishing was so good that David whipped out his fly-rod. I can’t remember exactly, but he caught something like five yellowtail in five casts on fly — truly magical.

While steaming around we saw a

long rope on the surface that seemed to disappear into the depths.We guessed it was an old anchorage, so we tied up for the evening in about 40m of water. She held strong and saved us the effort of having to put in a parachute for the evening.

3 MARCH The morning greeted us with rain, 1520 knot winds and a massive ground swell.Through the night we had swung around and now lay in 80m of water.

Due to the bad weather we decided to spend the day on anchor, on that same spot.

This turned out to be the most ridiculous day of fishing. The sheer quantity of fish we caught was unfathomable. Drop your jig, flip over, one jig, vas, reel up, release and repeat — literally all day long. I’m not sure if it was due to us being on anchor or if a big school of fish simply stuck with us all day.

With the fish being so wild, I tried every thing in my tackle box, from drop shots, spinners and buck tail, to just a skirt over a bear hook, it all worked. It was amazing to fish with such confiSKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 29

30 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

David with a wahoo caught on spear.

dence that you just knew you were going to catch no matter what you did.

Kyle and I were having a small competition to win a limo ride to see who could catch the most fish in ten minutes. We went drop for drop, neck and neck with each other, eventually only dropping our jig 6-8m so that we could catch faster than the other one. It was down to the wire, fish for fish even, until one of us dropped a fish while lifting it over the side, then the winner was crowned.

We had some turtles come and visit us during the day and even caught a small wreck fish of about 10kg. That night some maasbanker came up under the lights of the boat. I caught a few and dropped big livebaits through the night in the hope of catching my monster.

Mike hooked up a ’tail on a Tiagra 50W, and he simply could not stop it, even with that sized gear. It ended in sad stories as his line got zigzagged thought the reef until the fish eventually fouled and parted the line.

4 MARCH Waking to good seas with no swell, we

Byron with his 28kg ’tail caught on a jig.

David with his first bluenose weighing ±5kg.

worked around the shallow areas.

Everyone had had their fill from the previous day and both gear and men where worn down.This was to be the most enjoyable day of the trip for me.

We caught a couple of wahoo on the troll in the morning while moving up to the area, followed by a good few yellowtail in the 20kg size range on jig.

I suited up and jumped in for a spearfish, once again seeing the odd wahoo, schools of free swimming yellowfin and big eye tuna, and five finger fish distributed through the height of the water column.

After a couple of drifts we located a series of big rocks that we could see from the surface. These boulders rose 10–15m from the surroundings and really held the fish. The current was very strong, and dropping down to 20m on a single breath proved challenging.

I saw yellowtail that I believe to be the new world record, pushing what I estimate were 50–60kg. Like the boss of the rock, when one of them moved on all the younger ’tail shied away. One fish in particular I saw a few times; I recognised him by a small mark on his lower jaw. An absolute bus, he knew how to

keep his distance and effortlessly swam into the current as I tried with all my will to move into a spearfish-able position. It was not to be. I had many opportunities on yellowtail that would have been 20–30kg in size, but after seing that giant I could think of nothing else.

Once I was back to the boat, Mike wanted to scuba dive on the pinnacles we had found and was looking for a dive buddy. I pounced at the opportunity because I doubt that very many people have ever had the chance to scuba dive on Vema and understand the sea floor there.

As we descended through this perfect clear blue water, schools of young yellowtail swirled around us on the sea floor at about 30m. With time on my side, I examined the ground that I was simple unable to do on snorkel. The ground is covered with short kelp 1–2m high, shale gravel in between and bare rock. It’s very similar to what I have experienced on Alphard Bank in Struisbaai. I looked in all the cracks and saw a couple of crayfish. On closer inspection I saw some very tiny cleaner wrasse. I got totally engrossed examining the kelp, and when I finally looked SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 31

Left: Ryan with some sahimi he prepared — seared big eye tuna, yellowtail and yellowfin tuna.

Below left: Yellowtail markings from top to bottom.

Below right: Pinnacles coming up from 80m up to 26m. A good place to find big yellowtail — and get fowled up.

up, sitting not more than 2m away from me was that monster yellowtail with the small mark on his lip. Spellbound I simply admired him. For the next few minutes we swam together as I studied him and appreciated the gladiator of the reef that he is. I also got to accurately access his size, and with all confidence I can say that fish was 50kg+.

This scuba dive was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Upon surfacing and kitting down, we saw a Chinese longline-type vessel come onto the bank and start working the area. Being international waters, it is unfortunately a free for all who go there, with no regulations or policing.

That evening we set a course for Cape Point, 525nm to destination, followed by a small fines meeting to hold crew accountable for their sins on the trip.

5 MARCH 9h35 450nm to destination Naturally we had a couple of lines out and we hooked a 45kg yellowfin tuna around sunset.The sea was glassed out, and I kept dreaming of one more day on Vema.

32 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

6 MARCH 13h20 236nm to destination Just after lunch the back lines all went vas, and we could feel weight but no fight.

We took the boat out of gear and everyone reeled in. A huge clump of rope had hooked all our lines. No sooner were we looking at the rope in the blue water when it turned green — dorado!

Quickly we grabbed a couple of spinning rods. Dorado, yellowtail, and small big eye tuna all started coming up; it was so exciting.

I took this opportunity to jump in and have a look at what was happening under this drifting FAD. I saw a school of well over 100 dorado in the 6–10kg size, young yellowtail, and even some 50kg-plus yellowfin tuna.

Armed with my speargun, I looked for a nice bull dorado and took a shot.

As I hit it, about a million sharks came out! I’m not sure where they were hiding until that moment.

They were all around 1.5m long, and I swam as quickly as I could back to the boat with my prized catch while pushing these sharks away with my

other hand. I reached the dive platform and threw my dorado up, then I felt a blow on my back.

At first I thought my fellow dive buddy had hit me with his fist, but on turning around I saw a cheeky shark that had hit me with his nose.

My heart was racing, and I retired to quietly fillet us a fresh dorado for dinner.

7 MARCH We finally tied up back in Simons Town with a half tick next to one item on my bucket list.

Although I have now been to Mount Vema, it is not yet ticked off my list. I need to get back there.

It was an amazing trip, filled with great memories and new friends.Thank you to each of the members on the team for adding your bit and making this trip a reality.

What I saw and experienced out in the middle of the ocean was a level of fishing I have simply never experienced before. I hope places like this can remain in this pristine condition forever, but I wonder if that’s really possible.

BOATING

By Rob Naysmith

IN the March 2021 issue of SKI-BOAT readers were introduced to the Gypski, a new runaround boat based on an old concept. In this issue Rob shares further details of the boat which has now been completed and has successfully undergone her sea trials...

34 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

M

Y vision was for the Gypski to be the culmination of a lifetime of experiences, life lessons, emotions, knowing when to say, “let’s go” or “not today”, and catching fish like there was no tomorrow.

So why build a monohull craft when the big trend is towards the cat style of boat? To be honest, I weighed up the options, looking closely at the differences between them, especially in the applications I envision the Gypksi being used for, and there was only one clear choice. I’ll explain most of the reasons in this article.

CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING As I mentioned in the March 2021 edition of SKI-BOAT, there are some basic requirements that make a boat enjoyable to ride on, but there were a few more important prerequisites I considered fundamental to its success: Affordability: She needs to be affordable for the growing number of anglers wishing to venture beyond the shoreline. One just needs to look at the explosion in kayak, jetski and drone fishing over the past few years to see that a rig that’s light and easy enough to hitch behind the smallest of vehicles — not a big, expensive, underutilised tow vehicle — is required. All these advantages should be combined with an unimaginable fuel efficiency.

Power: She needs to perform with a wide range of horsepower ratings. The Gypski has the ability to perform with anything from a single 9.9hp up to a 40hp outboard, or a pair of 9.9hp to 20hp outboards, all dependent on her primary use.

Versatility: A Gypski has no boundaries — one day you can be chasing gamefish beyond the breakers, and the next stalking grunter and huge kob in the bay or estuaries. Then you move location to fish the reefs and gullies before heading off to catch tigerfish or bass in a dam. Launched off the beach or a ramp, whether trolling, bottomfishing, spinning, popping, jigging or flyfishing, either drifting or at anchor, she must do it all — and do it well. I wanted a boat capable and comfortable in any situation while being easy enough to manage single-handedly.

Safety: The Gypski way exceeds her buoyancy requirements. That, along with her incredible sea-keeping ability and high gunwales, makes her one of the safest boats on the water, even under a big load.

Sexy: A boat must look sexy — practical and sexy with uniquely beautiful lines and finishings to make her stand out from the crowd. Guys, when your partner falls in love with the Gypski’s looks, you’ve got a boat.

Once all those boxes had been ticked, I set my mind to what I would

consider essential on a boat and what would be nice to have. Reaching into the cupboard, I poured myself a lovely 12-year-old malt whisky and proceeded to put pen to paper.

Starting with the basics, I went on to what I would enjoy having on a boat, relying on my personal fishing and boating experiences. This culminated in the Gypski boasting features that one would usually only find on a big boat, along with a host of finer details that only experience can bring.

HULL DESIGN FEATURES The most important aspect of the Gypski’s incredible performance lies in her hull design, so let’s flip her over and take a look at what makes her design unique for a small boat — and better than a tin canoe.

Proportions: The 3.7m Gypski hull, in my experience, gives the perfect length to width ratio for her application. The impressive 1.65m gunwale width gives her incredible deck space, great loading capacity, and a stable, comfortable ride, while making her look and feel like a much bigger boat .

Sides: I gave her high sides — 400mm above deck level. This makes her more sea worthy and drier in adverse conditions, so her passengers feel more secure, there’s a nice leg leaning height while fishing, she has greater loading capacity and better safety all round. A surf-launch version is available with lower sides towards the aft section

for boarding beyond the shore-break.

Deadrise: A beautifully smooth transition from a 30-degree bow angle to a 5-degree “gull-wing” aft gives her great sea-cutting ability, and incredible stability in a following sea. This design ensures her ability to handle the worst sea conditions for her class, while effortlessly staying up on the plane.

Chines: The strategic placement and combination of flat and reverse chines gives her the ability to hop onto the plane quickly and effortlessly, while ensuring a dry ride in all but the worst conditions. This clever use of chines also allows for a lower horsepower requirement to stay up on the plane, reducing fuel consumption and ensuring a smooth, soft ride.

Strakes: The noticeable omission on the hull is the use of strakes. As the Gypski does not require any further lift under the hull, I left them off to provide greater “slide” stability in tight turns and quick manoeuvrability in restricted situations such as surf launching.

Gull wing: The mission to create maximum stability required me to minimise deadrise in the aft section of the hull, but simultaneously increase the width of the chines. This is where the fine balance comes in — too wide a chine off too great a deadrise will lift the stern excessively and push the bow down, which can lead to bow-steer or broaching.The final outcome I achieved is a “gullwing” effect that worked out perfectly.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 35

Reinforced bow: The most likely place that a boat will be damaged in a collision with another boat or object is the bow section which I call the impact zone.To protect the boat and its crew, I added an additional two layers of laminated Biaxial mat for super-human strength in this zone. This added very little to the overall weight, it just made it so strong that even container ships had best deviate when they see a Gypski on a collision course.

Shoulders: The steep bow and quick transition to the sides gives the hull a broad set of what I refer to as “shoulders”. This broader-than-usual forward section of the hull ensures her ability to carry more weight fore in the boat while reducing the chance of bowsteer. It also pushes the water away from the boat quickly when taking the sea or weather head-on.

Keel: I incorporated a keel from aft of the bow because it helps the hull track straight, assists with stability of a rocking boat and, more importantly, it protects the hull in unforeseen circumstances, given the multitude of fun places where the Gypski will be used.

Transom: The use of laminated PVC as a transom material reduces the weight and provides unsurpassed durability. This transom will never need to be replaced due to wood-rot, an expensive problem that plagues many boats.

The transom angle of 5-degrees allows for a notch or two out-set of the engine trim which is ideal for most such boats.

Materials: With the use of modern high-tech, synthetic materials, we have the ability to not only build the Gypski much stronger than with other materials, but also ultra-light. Her hull — with buoyancy, ribs, deck and gunwales in place — weighs in at only 83kg.Yes, she gets a bit heavier as we add other components, but as a hull she’s incredibly light.

TOP-SIDE FEATURES Okay, let’s flip her upright again and take a look at the top. Here is why the

Gypski took so long to be completed — every week without fail I would think of a new design feature or alteration to make her better, which turned into new plugs, more moulds, and a very frustrated team of staff.

Gunwales: Broad, rounded gunwales with tread patches makes her comfortable to handle with good grip should it be necessary. The tread pads on the bow section enable the crew to board from a jetty without the fear of slipping.

Anchor hatch: It’s not often you find so much thought going into a small boat’s anchor hatch. The hinged lid is recessed so it won’t get in your way while fishing, and there is a rope gully so the hatch lid can be closed while the anchor is deployed.The large hatch can hold 100m of rope and is self-draining overboard, so no more rotting anchor rope and chain.

Forward seating: The seating is way beyond ample and is shaped to allow easy access to the anchor, while giving good leg stability when casting or fighting a fish. Recessed hatches give access to a massive stowage space to pack enough gear, even if you wanted to go camping for a week with the dog.

Fish box: Okay, it’s pretty big, but that’s not all for fish — it’s also for the coolerbox with the food and beverages, and tackle boxes, and lure bags … and just a few fish to eat. The front of the box has a section with built-in, upright rod holders for easy rod stowage.

Centre console: The console is a comfortable height and size, with ample, high visibility display space for the echo sounder and radio, with stowage space below for fuel and tackle. The tiller version of the Gypski has a stowage compartment large enough to take a capsize bottle, fuel or tackle drawers in place of the console.

Rear seating: With recessed hatch lids, the aft seating incorporates an insulated cooler to keep bait frozen — or the live-bait healthy — the entire day.

On the opposite side there’s a battery

or fuel hatch, and between the two there’s a motor-well to keep transom slop from pouring onto the deck.

Self-draining deck: Classed as a small ski-boat by South African terms, the Gypski just had to have a self-draining deck with scuppers.

Transom cap: The wide, sturdy design of the transom cap allows it to double as a trolling board for the liedown rod holders BUOYANCY Below the deck of the Gypski I packed in the most buoyancy I could possibly fit. She boasts 20 individual buoyancy compartments, each filled with either hexagonal boat floats or polyurethane foam, depending on the client’s requirements, and an integrated drainage system for sustained efficiency.

FULL CONFESSION I must confess that I have not told you the full story of what has gone into the Gypski. I need to keep a few aspects secret — I’m sure you’ll understand.

What I can tell you about the Gypski is that she will more often out-fish other boats at anchor or on the drift in a water depth less than 8m.

This makes her perfect for estuaries, bays, rivers, lakes, dams and shallow reefs. On the troll for gamefish of all kinds, she comes into her own due to a specific inclusion in the hull. The next time you see a boat catching fish hand over fist while you sit and watch, it might well be a Gypski.

LESSONS LEARNED After an almost 60 year wait to finally gaze upon the perfect “tin canoe”, what I find is a replica of a traditional skiboat, only smaller. The basic shape of the boats we fished on in the ’60s compared to those we fish on now has not changed much, showing how competent the original designers were.

Instead, the changes in South African boats have come in the development of performance and safety considerations, the careful planning and incorporation of additional on-board features, and the subsequent world-class finishings.

I would have given anything to have this versatile little boat in my youth, but then Erwin, the many other budding boaters and I would have missed all the fun of our self-built tin canoes.

SPECS Overall length: 3.7m (12 ft) Gunwale width: 1.65m (5.4 ft) Gunwale height above deck: 400 mm Total weight excluding engine: 135kg • For more information and to order your custom-made Gypski, contact Rob Naysmith at Down South Marine on 083 235 9550. They have agents in most major centres and deliver countrywide.

36 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

O

Phillip Marx, SADSAA President

VER the last two months the local competitive circuit has been in full swing. It’s great when Martin du Plessis (SADSAA PRO) politely asks me not to write too much in the report as we need all the allocated space for photos and results. I will happily oblige and keep the written portion of this month’s report short and sweet.As the saying goes:“A picture says a thousand words!”

The fishing activity and photos represent what this sport is ultimately about — being on the water and doing what we love: fishing! It is wonderful to see all the social media platforms flooded with great stories and numerous fishing photos.

Unfortunately, a number of our international events have been cancelled due to Covid-19 and the selected Protea Teams will have to wait patiently for the international gates to open. Besides the SADSAA competitive circuit highlights over the last two months, bonanzas, interclubs and social fishing have also been in full swing with beaches open, weather playing its part and the fish on the bite.

The following SADSAA tournaments were hosted over the last two months: 1. Junior Gamefish Nationals (PYC, Durban) 2. Billfish Interprovincial (Richards Bay). Six teams participated in this event, but unfortunately bad weather limited the fishing and the fish caught.As a result, no medals were handed out.

3. Gamefish Nationals (St Lucia) 4. All Inland Interprovincial (Sodwana) 5. All Coastal Interprovincial (Gonubie, East London) 6. Gamefish Interprovincial (Pennington, KZN South Coast).

The U/16 and U/19 Juniors competing in the 2021 Junior Nationals held at Point Yacht Club, Durban.

38 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

Right: Douglas Dustan of the Natal team with a prodigal son of 27.42kg caught on 6kg line during the Gamefish Nationals. This is a pending All Africa Record.

Border men and ladies won gold at the All Coastal Interprovincial. Congratulations to Ian Moldenhauer, Fred Clarke, Claud Wilken, John Luef (BDSAA Vice President), Jacky Luef, Adele Lunt and Belinda Fischl.

Barne Yzelle, Jaco Huysamen, Jaco Hendriksz and Mariette Hendriksz with a great catch of ’cuda and yellowfin tuna that contributed to their winning score at the All Inland Interprovincial.

RESULTS: Gauteng 1 (Kit Kat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808.92 Griquas Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480.00 Southern Gauteng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374.11 MDSAA Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240.00 Limpopo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120.00 Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.08 MDSAA Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.26

Southern Gauteng (Neil Coetzer, Ockie Theunissen and Richard Hartley) took gold at the 2021 Gamefish Interprovincial.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 39

COMPETITIONS

Free State won the gold medal in the U16 division. Nick Nel congratulated Dewandre Smith, Eben Botha (C) and Francois Rossouw on their achievement.

By Francois Beukes

A

FTER the outbreak of Covid 19 and with lockdown regulations being enforced, the Junior Gamefish Nationals originally scheduled for 2020 eventually got off the ground in April 2021. The competition ran from 1 to 5 April with 18 teams made up of 54 anglers taking part.

Durban’s Point Yatch Club hosted this eagerly awaited competition in conjunction with Natal Deep Sea Angling Association (NDSAA) and the South African Deep Sea Angling Association (SADSAA).

The tournament was fished according to IGFA 10kg line class with SADSAA tournament rules and the SADSAA

40 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

Neil Coetzer, SADSAA Development Officer (left) with Paddy Venske, President Southern Gauteng Deep Sea Angling Association/SADSAA Selector (right) capping his grandson Dylan Venske of Southern Gauteng U16

points scoring system, which includes different species as a multiplication factor.The weakest link rule of a minimum of 5m of IGFA 10kg line was also used however a minimum of 20m would be needed if the angler wanted to claim a record.

After the formalities of the skippers’ briefing came the excitement of registration and the opening function which included a much anticipated “capping” ceremony where all the new caps officially receive their Provincial Colours,.

Then it was down to some serious fishing off the coast of Durban over a period of four days. From the outset it was clear that the junior teams would be tested to the limit with their 10kg line, expected species, tackle, traces and bait

presentations. It was going to be extremely technical and somewhat different to what most competitors were used to.

DAY ONE With excitement on a high on the morning of day one, the 18 teams mustered at the North Pier basin for an official group photograph and a simultaneous departure. It was truly an awesome sight to watch and an exhilarating feeling for the skippers and anglers alike who were taking part. During the day periodic call-ups of boat position and catches resulted in much anticipation at the scales where a crowd steadily started growing to eagerly witness the day’s catch.

Gold medal skipper in the U19 division, Abed Khan, is congratulated by Nick Nel and Francois Beukes (NDSAA Development Officer).

The first day out of four was fished in fair weather conditions and gave the juniors a taste of what was to come in the next few days with reports of numerous screaming reels, tackle failure and the ever present “tax man” taking his share of fish. A total of 12 cuda, six skipjacks, two bonito, five dorado and one sailfish (released) were caught.

DAY TWO The teams woke up to Mother Nature rearing her ugly head, with a south westerly buster testing the teams’ tent construction on the lawns of the PYC grounds. The weather committee had safety as their top priority, and resolved to cancel the day’s fishing due to strong winds and unfavorable fishing condi-

Gold Medal Skipper in the U16 division, Alain Kahn, is congratulated by Nick Nel and Francois Beukes.

tions. To keep the kids occupied, the organisers arranged for a tackle talk as part of a NDSAA/SADSAA development initiative. After the tackle talk it was down to the much anticipated “Tackle Buster” competition which culminated in two anglers being pitted against each other. They tested one another’s tackle strength and technique by trying to reel their opponents’ double line through the top eye of their rod. This activity was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

DAY THREE With the nasty weather of day two behind us, it was all systems go for day three.We were fortunate to witness the SADSAA under 19 team weighing three quality fish of three different species

caught on the boat Undertaker 2 skippered by Abed Khan. Apart from this catch, there were relatively slim pickings on day three with a lot of small fish arriving at the scale.

DAY FOUR The final day saw fair weather and the prospect of more fish being landed.

With almost nothing in it in the way of points on the leaderboard, the competition was still wide open and any fish weighed would certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Scales closed earlier on the last day so the fishing time was limited and teams needed to catch fish early to challenge the leaderboard or cement their position after the first three days.

All the anglers lined up before taking the traditional plunge into the harbour.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 41

SADSAA U19 won the gold medal in the senior division.

Dave Murgatroyd, Deputy President Natal Deep Sea Angling Association/SADSAA Selector, Phillip Papachristoforou, Jan Du Plessis, Chase Gaul and Nick Nel, Natal Deep Sea Angling Association President/SADSAA Tournaments Officer.

Natal U19 team of Dylan Westoby, Ryan Pellew and Altaf Steenkamp with some good fish caught on day one.

Unfortunately, day four did not live up to its expectation and those who caught fish had to work that much harder to succeed. The four days ended with the traditional team swim in the harbour by all the participating teams in a display of true team spirit.

Teams arrived at the prize giving with the hope of picking up some silverware in either the Under 19 or Under 16 age groups. After the formalities of the closing function were out of the way, it was confirmed that the gold medal for the Under 19 division was awarded to the SADSAA team followed

42 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

SADSAA U19 team members Jan Du Plessis (C) and Phillip Papachristoforou with three species caught on day three.

by Natal and Southern Gauteng respectively.Top Skipper in the Under 19 division went to Abed Khan on Undertaker 2.

The Under 16 gold medal was awarded to the Free State team, followed by Gauteng and Southern Gauteng respectively.Top Skipper in the Under 16 division went to Alain Kahn on Bite Me. Top angler overall went to Ryan Pellew of Natal.

Eventually it was time to bring down the curtain on what can only be described as a competition these young anglers will cherish for years to come.

Good friends were made in a true sportsman-like spirit and they all had fun on the water.What an experience!

With the juniors being the future of our sport, this competition has convinced all who took part that the sport of deep sea fishing is alive and well.

This competition’s success could not have been achieved without the support of all involved, from the host club (PYC) and the NDSAA committee, to the skippers, ground staff, caterers, competitors and sponsors.

It was truly a memorable competition for all involved.

MAINTENANCE

KEEPING THINGS

ROLLING Smooth line guides are crucial to good fishing

By Paul Nixon

M

AINTENANCE and preparation have been the focus of many articles in SKI-BOAT magazine, and most of them have concentrated on boat motors, reels, end tackle and the like, but very few guys speak about line rollers.

Simple, regular maintenance gives the angler the opportunity to pick up small issues that are relatively easy to sort out before they turn into major problems that need long downtime or expensive replacements.

We are now moving towards the big tuna hunting season when tackle is heavily utilised by those lucky enough

to spend long hours out on the big blue. With that in mind, we should start focusing more on spot maintenance to make sure we continue to have smooth solid-functioning equipment and minimal delayed downtime with equipment having to spend time at a workshop being repaired.

Line rollers on your fishing rod have a very simple design, and only simple tools are required to maintain them, and keep them spinning freely and smoothly. Issues that usually pop up are salt and patina buildup on the actual roller housing and line roller, as well as crystallization of salt within the roller sleeve.The tip roller can also get slightly bent if it’s knocked or dropped.

Start by taking each roller apart; that’s essentially four pieces — housing, roller, sleeve and fastening screw.

Clean each part carefully, first with a solvent to break down any old lubricants, salt or other material inhibiting the free movement.

I would suggest polishing with nothing more than fine steel wool to ensure the stainless parts are gleaming again and then oiling and reassembly should be done on each roller from start to completion so as to not mix up parts.

If the frame of the roller has oxidisation and salt buildup, then clean and polish that as well to ensure there are no rough edges.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 45

AFTER BEFORE

Also make sure that the entire makeup is still perfect and not corroded. If this is the case, then you will have to book the rod into a rod repair shop to have a new roller housing fitted.

The top roller housing should also be inspected to make sure it is not nicked or bent. If it is bent and preventing the roller from turning you can —

46 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

carefully — bend it open ever so slightly to get it running freely again, on top of the cleaning and polishing stated above.

The same simple maintenance should also be done on standard ring line guides by taking a soapy solution and a sponge or soft nylon brush to clean off salt and fish slime buildup.

Then lightly spray on a silicone based film to further ensure the metal and ceramic parts are freed of any unwanted salt and resulting rust and corrosion.

Happy fishing!

For more information on reel repairs, servicing and upgrades contact Paul Nixon on 083 940 6273.

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FREE DIGITAL E-ZINE ON WWW.ISSUU.COM SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 49

INDUSTRY

By Erwin Bursik

S

TEPPING aboard NSRI’s recently launched state-of-theart sea rescue craft, Donna Nicholas, on the Hout Bay Marina for her short delivery voyage to Cape Town’s Waterfront, I was astounded and proud to know that this craft was built in Cape Town by Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing.

Purpose-designed in France by Pantocarene Naval Architects, this 14.8m long, 4.8m wide, self-righting offshore rescue craft will be more than capable of taking on the notoriously wild waters of the Cape of Storms. She’s one of ten of these craft that will provide sea rescue duties along the entire South African coast.

Getting to ride aboard Donna Nicholas was the cherry on top of my recent visit to the Two Oceans Marine’s factory in Paarden Eiland, Cape Town, prior to reviewing the Magnum 46, which I covered in the May/June 2021 issue of SKI-BOAT

52 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

magazine.

Going back in history, I remember fondly when I first visited Rod and Mark Delany in their factory where the Magnum range of offshore sportfishing craft was conceived. Over time their brand not only became entrenched in the South African market, but also in Namibia, Moçambique, the Seychelles and a number of other overseas destinations.

When I reviewed the Two Oceans Marine Magnum 780 way back in early 1999, it was soon after they’d purchased the Magnum mould from Dennis Schultz of Port Alfred. The hull had been modified and its tunnel format redesigned to enable it to take on the very big head seas experienced off Cape Point.

Rod Delany and Reel Magic’s owner, Dawie van der Westhuizen, subsequently introduced me to the new redesigned Magnum 32 in Port Elizabeth. Over the next two decades this craft has proved to be one of the most popular boats in its size.

Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing commenced business in 1989 in a small wooden “Wendy house” in the Cape Town port precinct at Paarden Eiland. By 1995 permission had been granted to build a factory in the port to accommodate the building of bigger craft.The port-side factory seemed to grow exponentially, and every time I visited Two Oceans Marine it had expanded.

When the 48ft sportfisher Big Bob was being built — at the same time as a large live aboard power cat — an additional factory was acquired in the main Paarden Eiland area. The major move to the current 9 500sqm factory built in 2020 consolidated both these factories in the port.

One must never forget the past, and I soon got lost paging through the Two Oceans Marine reviews that had been run in SKI-BOAT, from the Magnum 780 in 1999 up to the Magnum 46 in the May/June 2021 issue. The Magnum range included 23-, 25-, 28-, 32-, 36- and 46-footers, but it was the Magnum 32 in various formats that really seemed to be the model in greatest demand over the many years.

Two Oceans Marine’s extremely high level of quality and innovation enabled it to expand its boat building capabilities into the offshore sportfisher- and large custom power and sailing catamaran arena, as well as the offshore rescue field.

They now build sailing and power craft up to 150ft in length, fully fitted out and finished off to the standards of the immensely demanding international cruising market where the majority of these craft are being sold.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic I had not visited Cape Town for a couple of years, and when I stopped outside Two Oceans Marine’s new factory and administration site in Paarden Eiland I was astounded to see the magnitude of what it has become compared to the very first factory I visited.

If I was impressed seeing it from the outside, I was totally blown away when I viewed its interior. Looking over the immense factory floor from the elevated admin offices, I saw at least ten craft ranging in size from 28ft to 100ft in the process of construction.

Having toured boat factories in USA, Spain, England and Japan, I had a strong basis for comparison, and I can state with great certainty that Mark Delany and his team can hold their heads high, as they certainly are “running with the big dogs”.

I climbed over, crawled around and inspected two more NSRI sea rescue craft which were being built, along with a number of the large yachts/cruisers in various stages of construction, before reaching the area where the Magnum sportfishers were lined up while being worked on. Actually standing next to the basic hull of a 100ft catamaran is daunting and provides a realistic proportional perspective of how huge these craft are and the enormity of the work of building the hulls and fitting them out.

A visit such as this intrigues me greatly as it gives me an opportunity to really see how these craft come together. It also allows me to see the full extent of what goes into these boats before the final elegant veneer and finishes are applied

Erwin Bursik and Mark Delaney.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 53

to create the vision one sees when the craft is moored in a marina.

Considering my own love of woodworking, strolling through the section of the factory where all the cabinet work and finishes are fabricated gave me great pleasure as well as insight into how well these parts are made and the expertise of those undertaking this work.

A further aspect that impressed me was the fastidiousness with which work was being done and the cleanliness of the overall workshop area.All the laminating, cutting, grinding and woodwork must produce a vast amount of dust and debris, yet throughout my wandering onto and into boats in various stages of construction, it was very evident that this aspect is taken very seriously.

Going back to 2012 when I did a series of articles covering Two Oceans Marine’s building of the 48ft sportfisher Big Bob, it was not only the design and build that intrigued me,

54 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

but also the way these huge craft are moved around during construction and the way they are then extracted from the confines of the factory building and transported to the Cape Town docks to be launched. It’s all incredibly slick and wellmanaged.

With Mark Delany now fully at the helm of Two Oceans Marine Manufacturing and Rod semi-retired and living at Knysna, this family business has climbed an enormous mountain to attain the capabilities, knowhow and international renown of the craft they produce.Their success must be highly lauded, and those of us associated with boats and boating here in South Africa can be extremely proud of the heights Two Oceans Marine have reached to attain the international acclaim they have.

The accompanying photographs speak louder than my words in exhibiting just what is achieved in the Two Oceans Marine factory here in Cape Town, South Africa.

COMPETITION

Wessel Grimbeek (left) congratulates the team on top boat Bucket List.

By Wessel Grimbeek

M

ANY would agree that there is nothing that beats the smell of a 2-stroke in the morning ... especially when you have a role to play as an angler.

However, there’s something that’s even better — the smell of a 2-stroke in the morning mixed with the fresh salty air coming off the ocean at the break of day.

The Rosebowl Deep Sea Angling 56 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

Tournament has entered its 41st year, and the anglers from the Southern Gauteng Division eagerly took the long and winding road to Sodwana Bay on the KZN North Coast where this fiveday event would be held from 12 to the 16 April 2021.This year it was hosted by the East Rand Boat Fishing Club.

It had been a long time since intrepid anglers could do battle with the denizens of the deep, so it was with tangible expectation that the teams started arriving ahead of the tournament for

registration on the Sunday afternoon.

The teams that took part were East Rand Boat Fishing Club, Albatross Ski Boat Club, Guinjata Sports Fishing Club, Makaira Game Fishing Club, Nomads Game Fishing Club and TSC. In total 191 anglers took part, fishing off 48 registered boats.

There has always been friendly competition and true camaraderie amongst the clubs and anglers at the Rosebowl events, and once again this tournament would bring out the best in gamefishing

sportsmanship among the competitors.

With a host of sponsors lined up, there was no shortage of incredible prizes and even something for thirsty anglers after a very long and tiring day out at sea.

By 4am Monday morning the teams started lining up their craft and tow vehicles, waiting for the local parks authority to open the gates to the launch ramp. On this first day of the tournament there was some serious expectation of solid fish to be caught, because only a few days earlier some anglers had an absolute blast with the gamefish out of the same area.

Unfortunately, even the best planning couldn’t prepare competitors for what would be called a “slow start” to the Rosbowl. Some good fish were hooked and lost while other teams did relatively well with some good king mackerel and other species coming out.

Weigh-in was held at Viskoors where “Straf Meister” Johan aka Langes handed out punishment to deserving competitors in the form of chilly infused tequila and other poisons.

Day two wasn’t much better than the first day, and for some teams there were choices to be made in terms of which areas to fish — heading north, trying Diepgat, heading south or even pulling their lines off the Point.

Once more radio calls came in of billfish strikes and losses and again, for many, those that dwell in the deep proved to be ever elusive. The second day wrapped up with a few fish less to the weigh station, and after two days of punishing fishing and more punishing

by Langes, it was back to the drawing board for the teams.

Already it was predicted that the final day of the tournament, Friday, would be a blow out, so at best, teams that were still lagging in points had only two remaining days to make up those points. The next two days would prove crucial in the final point standing.

By day three all of the niggling launching and beaching issues had been put to bed and, after a smooth launch, calls soon started coming in of fish strikes. As some anglers had pre-

dicted, the catches were much better as the weather patterns were slowly lining up for the blistering southwester that was expected on the Friday.

Once again after a long day, competitors settled down to a lovely meal prepared by Carol Pascoe and her team of helpers and, after Langes dispensed more “punishment” to those who deserved it, the weigh in started in earnest.

On this evening teams competed against each other in team spirit-driven games directed by radio host and MC John Badenhorst from Vibez.live and Fish Talk with the team from Nomads clearly taking things to a different level.

Day four, which would sadly be the final day of the tournament, dawned and in the blink of an eye the boats were all out at sea and working hard to raise those all-important bites.

In an event like this, different line classes are fished and those would prove pivotal in the point scoring system. Anglers used 6kg, 10kg and 37kg line classes, and on this final day sadly a very big sailfish was lost on 6kg line.

Guinjata Ski Boat Club were the winners of the 2021 Rosebowl trophy.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 57

The anglers aboard Bucket List were thrilled with their fish caught on 6kg line.

Wessel Grimbeek (left) and Freddie Serfontein (right) of BWS Envirotech congratulate Len Mathews and Alta Mathews on Bite Me for their great performance.

On the last day Warren Miller on Ship Faced caught a marlin on 6kg line.

Dorado, 13 yellowfin tuna, some cobia, skipjack and even a rare dogtooth tuna being caught. A total of 74 gamefish were caught. When it came to billfish, were four marlin hookups with three being safely released while the other one unfortunately didn’t stay on. There were also eight sailfish hooked with four of these being brought to the boat and safely released.

After a fun-filled evening at the prize giving, the winners were announced and Guinjata Sports Fishing Club took top honours. Albatross SkiBoat Club will be the hosts for the 2022 Rosebowl.

A load of fun was had by all, but sadly it was time to head back home and back to normality for some.

A massive thanks must go to the sponsors, partners, organisers and of course the competitors.As we all know, without these key people none of this would be remotely possible.That’s 2021 done and dusted. We’ll see you at the next Rosebowl, Beach Control signing off.

RESULTS Top boats for the 2021 Rosebowl were as follows: Day 1 Black Pearl Day 2 Climax Day 3 Man Size Day 4 Ship Faced Top anglers: 1. Warren Muller, Ship Faced 2. Ockie Theunissen, Climax 3. Alain Khan, Bite Me

Craig Pascoe with a nice tuna.

That would have been a massive point load for the team. As with any type of angling, pre-frontal conditions do play a role, and there was a marked increase in fish being caught on this final day.

As predicted, the wind arrived in the early hours of Friday morning, and just after 4.30 am, the safety committee headed down to the beach and the call was made that the day was indeed 58 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

This dogtooth tuna was a rare catch at the 2021 Rosbowl. “blown out”. This gave anglers time to start packing away their gear, cleaning boats, catching up with old friends and sleep while the organisers worked on the points and the final results for the prize giving which would take place that evening.

Some good fish were landed over the four days, with 20 ’cuda, two

Top women anglers: 1. Alta Mathews, Bite Me 2. Annalene Grimbeek, Maestro 3. Natalie Lenferna, Voicemail Top boats for the tournament: 1. Bucket List 2. Ship Faced 3. Bite Me 4. Climax 5. Zane Marie

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 59

RESOURCE

Where have all the linefish gone?

FAR, FAR AWAY

By Jack Walsh JACK Walsh has been writing for our magazine on and off for over 40 years.

He sold his last fishing company, Ocean Trawling, in 2006, and his last recreational estuarine boat in 2012 at the age of 75. Since then, writing has become his main occupation. He and his companies have owned 25 commercial fishing boats varying in size from 15- to 43 metres, fishing in ten different industry sectors and five different countries. He has also fished recreationally and competitively in dams, rock, surf, and estuarine conditions for 65 years, owning 20 different recreational boats in his lifetime.

Now he has offered to write a series of six articles for SKI-BOAT magazine, 60 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

reminiscing over some of his experiences, and noting what has changed during his lifetime. We hope you will enjoy them.

I

NO longer remember when I was first asked:“Do you know where all the linefish have gone?” However, I’ve repeatedly answered with:“We have eaten them all.” It might well have had something to do with the fishing forums that were created in the mid’90s to consider ways of preventing over fishing, and broadening participation by those who previously had not been able to gain fair access to the quotas or licences granted. Despite the mirth that greeted my remark, my answer was as true then as it is today.

We cannot blame anybody except

ourselves for the lack of linefish today.

Sure, we recreationals were not the only ones to blame because inshore trawlers caught a fair amount, and the commercially licensed linefish boats even more. Certainly no foreign trawlers, licensed or otherwise, took part in the plunder, as is the narrative that’s promoted particularly by our recreationals in an apparent effort to avoid the blame. Today, in my mind, there can be no question that the recreationals land far more fish — from the shore, the estuaries, and their ski boats — than do the, relatively speaking, few operating commercials.

In the early 1990s, new linefish regulations stopped recreationals selling their catch, seriously reduced the number of commercial licences, and can-

celled all B licences, unless you could prove you were a serious part time commercial fisherman. All B licences were done away with anyhow before 2000. In addition, during subsequent years, nearly all forms of beach and estuarine trek netting — except for sardines in KwaZulu-Natal and all fish in False Bay — were banned. I still don’t understand why False Bay was exempted. In addition, purse seining for yellowtail, white steenbras, or any other type of linefish was banned, and licences for large linefish trawlers that fished the Agulhas Banks (amongst other locations) were also banned.

As an aside, let us first speak about trek netting in False Bay. The reasons given for its continuance were that it was a tourist attraction, earned the participants a living and had prevailed for well over a hundred years. Well, what was so different in all the other parts of the coastline and estuaries where it was banned? Nothing!

The amount of damage done in False Bay is entirely disproportional and far greater than at most of the other sites, with the exception of estuaries. In the Bay, many over-exploited species are landed over and above the target catch of harders (mullet), and a large number of juveniles of all species are also caught.

Apart from the juveniles and sometimes harders, other landings included

kob and steenbras. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment will claim that there are regulations to prevent this, but when regulations are not enforced by a compliance division, what does this achieve? Zilch! As any regular surf angler will tell you, there has been an enormous drop off in the availability of harders in this bay.

The less said about yellowtail the better, particularly when you note that almost all the landings today are juveniles, when in my youth such catches showed a wide spectrum of sizes. Just ask the Kalk Bay fishermen what has happened to yellowtail catches off the harbour wall and from the small- and large boats that operate in that vicinity.

Before the regulation changes were introduced in the last part of the twentieth century, the scientists and many other stakeholders, including fishermen, had been agitating for all trek netting to cease for more than a decade.

However, it’s little wonder that all the new legislation, based on those outof-date scientific findings made well before 1980, did nothing to halt the decline of all inshore species. Some further regulations have helped a little, and there has been a notable increase across the size spectrum of some of the less heavily exploited fish. Now, finally, a small improvement in numbers is apparent, but most of these new recruits are barely legal, or are still

under size. Real recover y will take years, if not decades, due to the very slow growth rate of many of these species, which also explains the slow improvement in size.

The long and the short of it is that all stakeholders need to develop some entirely new innovative thinking regarding the protection and regrowth of our linefish stocks. An absolute imperative is for our Department of Forestr y, Fisheries and the Environment to restructure the fisheries compliance division to ensure such regulations are properly policed. After that, all participants must buy into whatever the new scenario is.

For a start, it is encouraging to see the development of the “catch only what you can eat” culture amongst recreationals, with the release of the rest of the catch as well as very large adults. The release of the latter is extremely important, as their propagation efforts are much more numerous and successful than the younger breeding stock of most species.

These principles cannot easily be applied to commercial licence holders.

To improve compliance and reduce effort in this sector in the same manner that is applied to virtually every other exploitation right, they should be restricted to both launching and discharging at their point of registry.

SKI-BOAT July/August 2021 • 61

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!

62 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021

MY FIRST TUNA

by Tyler Dalton (9)

O

N 5 May 2018 (back when I was just six) my dad and I went fishing off Durban for the Durban Ski-Boat Club Juniors’ Day. Our plan that day was a bit different than our usual one.

I had not been on the boat in six months.The last time we’d launched the shorebreak was really big, and when my dad dropped the boat in the water and tried to turn it around a really big wave almost knocked me off the boat.

That made me really nervous of the boat and I didn’t want to fish for a long time. I really wanted to fish the Junior Day, though, so Dad said we could launch through the harbour which is very calm and easy.

We got to the harbour slipway at 3am and a little later we headed out the mouth. Our plan was to go around to the Bluff to a bait mark called 8Fathom and look for livebait, and then go deep for a tuna.When we got to the bait mark I dropped my bait jig and caught a full string of mozzies.

While we were catching bait I asked my dad if I could hook a live bait and cast it behind the boat. Dad helped me pin the mozzie and I cast it just next to the boat.There were a lot of boats around us also trying to catch bait. My bait hit the water, and all of a sudden there was a huge splash and my reel started screaming.

Dad told me to sit in the front while he moved our boat away from all the other boats. Once we were safely away, my dad sat on the middle hatch and made me sit in between his legs. He held the rod with one hand and made me reel the fish in. After 15 minutes we saw the silver fish under the boat. At first it looked really small, but the more I reeled in the line, the bigger the fish got.

Eventually the fish was right below us and my dad kept on saying,“Pump and wind!”

He grabbed the gaff and gaffed the fish in the head.

When he put the fish on the deck, I was amazed at how big it was! It was such a nice feeling because all the boats

catching bait watched me catch this monster and they all started clapping and shouting. I felt really proud for catching such a big fish.

My yellowfin tuna weighed 19.9kg. I came in second place and I won a fishing rod, so the lesson I learnt was to never give up and not be scared to do something you love.

The reason I love fishing so much is because I like spending time with my family. I also love cleaning up all the plastic with my net and watching the sun rise in the morning. Sometimes we also see the dolphins jumping, and that makes me really happy. My brother (five years old) and I always fish with my dad and my uncle, and fishing is a great passion of mine.

BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS & DIRECTORY

Last word from the ladies!

RAPALA LIP

By Mignon Basson

I

ONLY recently started fishing, but am proud to say I have already caught a few different species, mostly on my dad’s boat. It was a special thing for me to have all my “first fish” with my dad, but one species that I was after which I hadn’t yet been able to catch was a ’cuda.

In April some friends invited me to Cape Vidal with them and at that time of year Vidal is crawling with croc ’cuda. My dad knew that I was most probably going to catch my first ’cuda without him and he didn’t like that thought at all!

In the weeks leading up to my Vidal trip, my dad took me out fishing almost every weekend, desperate to get that ’cuda. The closer we got to the April trip, the longer his lip drooped at the end of every unsuccessful fishing outing. Unfortunately for Dad, the trip came before the ’cuda did. I knew my dad was a little upset about that, but I was ready to spread my wings and fly with another skipper.

On our first full day at Vidal we woke up early and got ready to launch.

The sunrise was a real beaut, and the ocean was as flat as a dam. That morning I had a good feeling! Throughout the day we got a few runs, but they kept breaking off near the boat. By the end of the day no fish had been caught; my lip was starting to droop.

When I spoke to my dad that evening and told him we’d caught nothing, my lip dropped even further because I heard in his voice that he was actually happy about our unsuccessful hunt but was trying to hide it with empathetic noises.

The next day I didn’t go out on the boat, and — just my luck — the boat came back with seven nice ’cuda.

Murphy’s Law, I wasn’t on the boat!

My friend’s dad made it his mission to get me to land a ’cuda, for bragging rights of course. He was determined, and he succeeded in his mission: The next time that I went out was a good day and I got that ’cuda!

Ever yone on the boat knew the story and was eager to tell my dad, but I got them to keep quiet about it so that I could do the bragging myself. Truth be told it was a small ’cuda, but hey, a fish is a fish ’cuda I was thrilled.

Back on land I phoned my dad and when he answered all I could do was laugh. He instantly knew what had happened. He was happy and proud of me, but had that slight gutted tone — you know, like when someone else’s dad buys your kid a bigger Christmas present than you do? I could just picture him sitting grumbling to my mom that night — Rapala Lip deluxe!

Despite me knowing how upset he was, I couldn’t help myself — I kept sending him photos of me kissing my fish, holding it, cooking it and eating it.

At the end of the day I think he was a little unimpressed with my ego.

Back home, the first thing my dad’s friend did was tease Dad about my ’cuda. It was just some harmless banter, but I could see my dad was unimpressed and the barbs poked through his pride in my angling abilities.

A couple of weeks after the trip, my Dad and I were fishing in a social comp at our local fishing club. It was still ’cuda season and we were determined to target the crocs.At first we didn’t get any bites and there wasn’t much live bait, so we had a fresh idea. I took one rod out, and replaced the livey with a dead red-eye with a sosatie stick in it.

First run I grabbed the rod, fought the fish and brought it to the boat. It was a ’cuda and much bigger than the one I got with my friends.We were over the moon about this fish. I jumped

across the boat and just hugged Dad tight. I told all my fishing buddies about it and my mom was ecstatic — she knew she wouldn’t have a grumpy husband that night!

Throughout the day I was as happy as a clam and wanted to keep fishing for as long as possible. Late in the day we got a phone call from my mom, very worried: “The scales close in five minutes!”

There was clearly some sort of miscommunication and we’d thought we had more time, so we radioed in to the tower and let them know we were racing back. All I could think about was that we wouldn’t get there in time and my fish wouldn’t get weighed.

In record time we sped back to the base, and before we even hit the sand I jumped off the boat. Dad passed me the fish and I sprinted to the weigh station.

Thankfully I got there just in time! I hung up my ’cuda and all of a sudden people were saying it wasn’t a ’cuda.

Turns out it was a Natal snoek!

A little heartbroken, I ran back to Dad and explained what had happened.

To my surprise, he said he knew it wasn’t a ’cuda! Apparently he realised his mistake after we took photos on the boat in the morning and didn’t know how to tell me.

My Rapala Lip was well and truly out; I was furious that he’d let me believe I’d caught a ’cuda with him!

“Wait, my girl — it’s actually a better catch! In our area you don’t get Natal snoek so catching one is pretty extraordinary.” My name got put up on our club board, and all of a sudden it was my dad with the Rapala Lip again because I got the fish and he didn’t.

Although I still haven’t caught a ’cuda with my dad, I am grateful for everything he has done to allow me to succeed in fishing. We’ll get it soon, Dad!

YOUR CHANCE TO GET EVEN LADIES — are you an angling widow? Are you a frustrated crew member? Do you outfish the men on the boat and have to deal with their Rapala Lips? Do you bite your lip at the comments coming from chauvinistic male anglers?

We’re looking for new writers for our Rapala Lip column. All contributions are gladly accepted and they will appear anonymously to protect the writers from divorce suits, cold shoulders, banishments, cut up credit cards etc. Come on ladies, share your stories with us — you know you want to. Email them to <sheena@mags.co.za>.

66 • SKI-BOAT July/August 2021