SHARING KNOWLEDGE

By Erwin Bursik

BASING actions on what you think you know can be both daunting and dangerous, and sometimes blatantly stupid when it comes to offshore boating and fishing. It is said one should know their limitations and strive to equal these with experience and build up the base of knowledge that one thinks they have. One of SKI-BOAT magazine’s aims is to help build this base. In March I was invited to go fishing on B’s Nest, a 54ft Riviera sportfisher based at Richards Bay. She was recently acquired by my long time skipper and friend Brad Kidd who I have fished with for at least 20 years off Erwin Bursik Sodwana Bay. It was an invitation I could not posPublisher sibly turn down, not only because of our friendship, but also because I had reviewed this specific craft on her arrival in Durban from Australia back in 2004. Back then Derrick Levy of Boating World and I put her through her paces off Durban, and a few years later reviewed her again after substantial upgrades had been made by her owner.

As she’s arguably one of the top sportfishers operating in South Africa, I was not only excited to be aboard her again, but also keen to see how she had weathered since her arrival in early 2004. That question was quickly answered — she is immaculate. Icould not believe that after being exposed to 17 years of KwaZulu-Natal weather and a few trips to Bazaruto she showed no sign of wear and tear.

All the niceties aside, during the many hours I sat at her helm over two days while attempting to attract a marlin into our spread, I came to a stark realisation: Maybe on the many fishing trips I’ve undertaken off Richards Bay I should have spent more time at the helm of the craft I was on rather than just standing on the deck physically fishing.

My realisation came as shock as I looked at the large screen GPS plotter and viewed the hundreds of way points covering the area from well south of Richards Bay to up past Mapelane in the north. Which ones should we target, when and how? To begin with I thought it would be easy — just aim for where the waypoints bunch and you can’t go wrong... I soon became aware that I was effectively wandering around in circles not achieving a lot.

I most often fish — and skipper — the waters off Durban and Sodwana Bay; I know them intimately because I started fishing there long before the advent of GPS plotters. The knowledge of where to fish and how to fish those specific areas is embedded in my brain, and now using a GPS just puts those visual marks into perspective. The same will be true for regular skippers in other areas. However, take an experienced Durban fisherman and put him in an area he hasn’t skippered before — even if he’s fished the area — and he’s suddenly not nearly as efficient or knowledgeable as he thinks he is!

We at SKI-BOAT magazine are looking at ways to document specific areas along the South African coastline, showing not only specific areas to fish, but also when and for what, as a guide for those anglers who enjoy fishing new areas. Arming a skipper who’s new to an area with this info, even if it is generalised, will be far better than telling him: “The fish are coming out up north.”

We hope that skippers who are extremely knowledgeable on specific fishing venues will be prepared to pass on this information, thus creating a pool of data for all to use, and expanding our overall knowledge base.

Till the next tide.