Ski-Boat magazine November 2021

CONTENTS

November/December 2021 Volume 37 Number 6 COVER: INTO THE BLUE! A 300 lb blue marlin caught on Nha Cretcheu in some sporty conditions off Cape Verde. Photo by Stuart Simpson <capeverde.bluemarlin@gmail.com>.

FEATURES

11

Where to Fish Part 3: False Bay shares its secrets — by Rob Naysmith

23

Why I’m a Fishing Freak Fishing in False Bay from 1952 onwards — by Jack Walsh

26

Fast as Lightning Boat Review: Supercat 590 Multisport — by Erwin Bursik

32

Closer to the Water

26

Meet the Supercat Canoe — by Erwin Bursik

34

Jozini Tigers Burst into the Digital Age 2021 Tigerfish Bonanza — by Erwin Bursik

41

Down Deep Part 3: Ensuring success on the water — by Craig Stubbs

46

Eyecare Essentials A closer look at different colour lenses and their uses

48

Greasing Your Reels Make sure you pick the right lubricant for the task — by Paul Nixon

51

34

Meet Pop Bullen Fishing with an old man of the sea — by Elinor Bullen

58

’Cuda Cutlet Curry A recipe that’s perfect for summer — by Martin du Plessis

63

A Life to Remember Indeed!

Review of Brian Cohen’s memoir — by Erwin Bursik

51

DEPARTMENTS 8 44 55 56 61

Editorial — by Erwin Bursik SADSAA News Subscribe and WIN! Kingfisher Awards Mercury Junior Anglers

62 64 64 65 66

Reel Kids Marketplace Ad Index 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

SATISFYING A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE

Editorial Assistant: JeNade McIlroy Contributors: Elinor Bullen, Erwin Bursik, Martin du Plessis, Rob Naysmith, Paul Nixon, Craig Stubbs and Jack Walsh.

ADVERTISING – NATIONAL SALES: Angler Publications Mark Wilson cell: 073 748 6107 ADVERTISING – Gauteng & Mpumalanga: Lyn Adams — 083 588 0217 Publishers: Angler Publications cc PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 Telephone: (031) 572-2289 e-mail: angler@mags.co.za Subscriptions to SKI-BOAT: R180 per annum (six issues).

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

A

LL through the history of man, especially fishermen, there has been an insatiable need to catch fish. For some it’s a way to feed their families, for others it’s a true passion. Those of us who have spent most of our lives trying to outwit our piscatorial adversaries have come to realise that the more we believe we know, the more there is that still needs to be learnt.

With this as a basic philosophy, we at SKIBOAT magazine have always believed that it is our responsibility to share with to our readers a Erwin Bursik barrage of information and knowledge sourced Publisher from practising anglers. This is not only to enhance readers’ desire to go fishing, but also to help them become more efficient anglers to the point where their personal achievements are enhanced. After all, along with increased catches comes an increased enjoyment of the art of offshore angling.

It is this assimilation of old and new techniques that we deem as being of utmost importance. To aquire it requires the melding of old and new and, hence valuing the ideas and contributions of younger ski-boaters who continually prove their ability in the sport, especially in the competitive arena. They often bring with them innovation and new thinking that forces us old dogs to believe that new ideas can and do work to produce an increased catch record.

From SKI-BOAT magazine’s perspective, we find it hugely encouraging that this new generation shows such willingness to pass on their knowledge. And indeed, many of us in the senior brigade have realised that old dogs can learn new tricks.

When we analyse the stats from the digital version of SKI-BOAT we get a very clear indication of where readers’ interest lies, and there has been huge interest in the “Where to fish” series we have embarked on. As promised, our plan is to cover the whole South African coast detailing where exactly you can catch what.

For the last two issues we looked at sections of the KwaZulu-Natal coast, but this issue “Where to Fish” moves down to the Cape with False Bay being the focus.

Thereafter our sights are set on the Cape Agulhas to Arniston area. That region has become a mecca for ski-boaters countrywide to holiday and experience the extremely wide range of offshore angling opportunities that are available.

We at SKI-BOAT magazine are not only very proud of the acceptance of this initiative, but also extremely impressed at the willingness of those older and younger anglers who have so generously shared their special way-points and methods for fishing the areas being covered.

Let’s face it, in years gone by when someone asked, “Where did you catch the big one in your photo?” the proud angler would wave his arm in a 180 degree arc toward the wide expanse of the open ocean. That is fast becoming a thing of the past. These days there is an understanding that just because you caught a fish at “x” mark today doesn’t mean that its mates will be there tomorrow.

Enjoyment of offshore angling comes about through a combination of knowledge, persistence, the right equipment and planning — plus a degree of luck — which produces the results all of us offshore anglers live for and dream about. We at SKI-BOAT magazine are so grateful that readers still turn to us in droves to find the information and inspiration they crave to continue driving their passion.

Till the next tide.

Erwin Bursik

BACK TO BASICS

Part 3: Fishing in False Bay

By Rob Naysmith

F

OLLOWING on from the outstanding example the KwaZuluNatal anglers have set in sharing their wealth of knowledge and expertise of their coastline, we jump hastily to Cape Town.

Not that there is any pecking order, but there is only one summer a year, a summer that will be upon us by the time you read this article... Unlike the areas up our east coast, the Western Cape is basically a summer fishing venue for most of our species. As a major holiday destination, many anglers arrive with huge dreams of superb fishing but leave empty handed; we’re about to change that. And for all the guys new to fishing down here and keen to learn, this is for you too.

The first thing you will notice when fishing in Cape Town is that there are considerably fewer species to catch than further up the east coast. However, that’s made up for in the quantity of fish.The other notable aspect is that the fish species are more numerous during the summer months while the number dwindles down to a mere two or three that one can target with any measure of success during winter.

We will start the Western Cape with what is undoubtably the most popular fishing venue — False Bay. It offers safe launch sites, numerous boat clubs and generally calmer seas than out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Point in the west and Cape Hangklip to the east define the entrance to False Bay.The ‘bay’ itself can be envisioned as a big rectangle with

Muizenberg in the north western corner and Gordon’s Bay to the north east.

The fishing changes quite considerably from the entrance points to that inside, between the two towns, so much so, in fact, that seldom does one find the same species in both areas.

False Bay is the last refuge where one still experiences the final warmth of the Agulhas current close to land. As an example, the sea temperature can be a relatively warm 20°C in False Bay while it’s an icy 8°C on the Atlantic side of the peninsula.

This warmth difference is due to an eddy of Agulhas current being swept into False Bay by the dominant summer south easterly wind — the Cape Doctor. With it come a few fish species usually only found on the east coast.

However, these are strays and invariably

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 11

APPROXIMATE AREA CO-ORDINATES FOR FALSE BAY FISHING SPOTS 1. Cape Point 34:21.60 018:30.10 2. Anvil 34:22.20 018:31.00 (breaks in a big swell) 3. Bellows Rock 34:22.00 018:27.70 (swell always breaks) 4. Dumping Ground 34:30.60 018:23.90 5. South West Reef 34:21.50 018:28.00 (breaks along the reef in a big swell) 6. Down South Marine 34:02.22 18:28.36 (boat repairs & refurbishment) 7. Groen Dam 34:18.90 018:21.30 8. Rocky Bank 34:25.00 018:35.00 9. Rooikraans 34:20.00 018:28.40 (allow a 300m wide birth from the ledges) 10. Sout Gat 34:20.00 018:28.80 11 Buffels Bay 34:19.20 018:28.60 12. Smitswinkel Bay Wrecks 34:16.10 018:28.80 (5 wrecks in the area so beware of divers) 13. Whittle Rock 34:14.90 018:33.60 (the buoy is no longer on the main reef) 14. Caravan Reef 34:13.40 018:28.80 15. Roman Rock Light 34:10.88 018:27.62 (RESERVE AREA — no fishing allowed) 16. Simon’s Town 34:11.12 018:26.08 17. Gun Battery 34:10.50 018:25.90 18. Quarry Barges 34:09.40 018:26.50 19. Fish Hoek 34:08.80 018:26.60 20. Kalk Bay 34:08.00 018:27.60 21. Strandfontein Pavillion 34:05.50 018:33.10 22. Seal Island 34:08.20 018:34.80 23. York Shoal 34:09.50 018:35.50 (breaks heavily in a big swell) 24. East Shoal 34:08.90 018:38.90 (breaks heavily in a big swell) 25. Kapteins Klip 34:05.30 018:37.30 (watch for breakers) 26. Down South Marine 34:02.22 18:28.36 (boat repairs & refurbishment) 27. Cliffs 34:05.20 018:40.70 28. Swartklip 34:05.10 018:41.50 29. Macassar 34:06.00 018:44.00 30. Strand Reefs 34:06.40 018:46.90 31. Gordon’s Bay reefs 34:10.00 018:47.10 32. Steenbras River Reefs 34:12.60 018:45.80 33. Rooi Els 34:17.20 018:49.30 34. Pringle Bay 34:19.90 018:49.60

have no way to get home before the winter comes.

The dominant target species are as follows depending on the season.

Summer (October to April): yellowtail, yellowfin tuna, katonkel, kob, geelbek and chokka (squid).

Winter (May to September): snoek, yellowtail and katonkel.

For the sake of our resident reef species and their susceptibility to overfishing, I will exclude information on where or how to target them. I’m sure you’ll understand.

MARINE RESERVES — NO FISHING ZONES Paulsberg Restricted zone Offshore from the high-water mark between Venus Pool at S34°17.744’; E018°28.020’, and Smitswinkel Point at S34°16.549’; E018°28.464’, east (090°T) from Smitswinkel Point to S34°16.549’; E018°29.000’, south (180°T) to S34°17.744’; E018°29.000’, and west (270°T) to Venus Pool at S34°17.744’; E018°28.020’.

Castle Rock Restricted zone Offshore from the high-water mark between Partridge Point at S34°15.480’; 018°28.344’, and Millers Point at S34°14.100’; E018°28.508’, east (090°T) from Millers Point to S34°14.100’; E018°29.300’, south (180°T) to S34°15.480’; E018°29.300’, and west (270°T) to Partridge Point at S34°15.480’; E018°28.344’.

Boulders Restricted zone Offshore from the high-water mark between Rocklands, at S34°12.705’; E018°27.781’, and Seaforth, Simon’s Town at S34°11.567’; E018°26.762’, to S34°10.581’; E018°27.196’; east (090°T) to S34°10.581’; E018°27.781’, and south (180°T) to Rocklands at S34°12.705’; E018°27.781’.

St James Restricted zone Offshore from the high-water mark between the Kalk Bay Tidal Pool at S34°07.567’; E018°27.050’ and the St James Tidal Pool at S34°07.123’; E018°27.568 south (180°T) from the St. James Tidal Pool to S34°07.567’; E018°27.568; and east (090°T) to the Kalk Bay Tidal Pool at S34°07.567; E018°27.050.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS There are two important ingredients to fishing in False Bay — wind and bait.

Follow the wind and you’ll find the bait, find the bait and you’ll find the fish; it’s just that simple.

The Atlantic upwelling of nutrients and plankton is the lifeblood of the vast pilchard, anchovy, mackerel, red eye sardine and maasbanker shoals that attract our popular target fish species. These shoals are prolific outside False Bay and, with the help of the SE wind and Agulhas currents, some shoals round Cape Point and move into the sheltered waters of the bay. That said, due to the prevailing SE winds in summer, the bait shoals are more likely to be found on the west side of the bay, from Cape Point to Muizenberg and Rocky Bank to Macassar.

During winter, the dominant north wind blowing out of the bay causes a cold upwelling resulting in a change of target species. Some that do stay, such as the shoals of young first- and second year yellowtail, get grumpy and go off the feed until they acclimatise.

FINDING BAIT Unlike when fishing on the east coast, in False Bay we seldom use livebait except for when we’re targeting kob and geelbek. Our pelagic baitfish shoals are continually on the move, so the secret is to locate a shoal in the area where you’ll be fishing. That’s also where the bigger fish will be. Catching livebait, which send out panic-stricken vibrations on your line, will help attract the bigger fish.

Most harbours such as Simon’s Town and Gordon’s Bay will hold small congregations of baitfish most of the time so it’s always worth a look around there on your way out if you want some fresh bait. Just drop a number 4, 6 or 8 hook Sabiki Jig with six or so dropper flies into the shoal you see on your echo sounder and in minutes your bucket should be full. If the shoals are mackerel, make sure you put an extra heavy sinker at the bottom; this stops the fish lifting the trace and tangling it.

Adding some finely squashed pilchard chum in the water will help to keep the shoal around your boat.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 13

A shoal of snoek on the echo sounder showing the worm-like sounding.

Gavin Zurnamer with a beautiful yellowtail caught in False Bay.

YELLOWTAIL Time of year: Year-round, but over a wider area in the summer months.

Main areas: Summer — Cape Point to Rooikraans, SW Reefs, Bellows Rock, Anvil, Rocky Bank, Dias Beach, Smitswinkel Bay, Simon’s Town to Fish Hoek, Seal Island.

Winter — Front of Cape Point lighthouse, SW Reefs, Bellows Rock, Anvil, Rocky Bank,The Wreck.

Lures: Yamashita plastic squid, bulb squid, skirts. 4- to 6 inch. Hot pink, green/yellow, black/red, blue/white.

Diving hard baits such as Rapala, Storm, Halco, Williamson. 12- to 14cm.

Same colours as the plastics.

Spoons, jigs and poppers. 4- to 6 inch.

Tin or brass spinners, lumo jigs, white, blue or green poppers.

Bait: Fresh chokka (squid) strips and pilchard chunks on the drift.

Depth: Feeding shoals will be on the surface with hunting shoals midwater (10- to 20m). Sulking or waiting shoals will be a few metres off the reef; they don’t wait over sand.

Water temp: 15°C and above Size: 1.5kg to 14kg; smaller fish on the top and bigger fish down below.

Undoubtably the most popular summer fish species in the Cape, yellowtail are fun to catch, hard fighting and great eating. Although they are present all year round, their migration into False Bay takes place in the summer with the strong SE winds. Outside of Cape Point the best indication of feeding yellowtail is the presence of sea birds (especially the little tern or sterretjie) staying in an area. The tip movement of their wings will show you where the shoals are.

Trolling is the most productive method of locating the shoals. Set a trolling speed of around 5- to 6 knots with your lures close to the edge of your boat’s wake, about 6- to 8m back.

You can also troll a spoon or spinner 10- to 20m back, but watch out for other boats as they won’t expect a lure that far out.

A selection of surface and diving lures is a good place to start, although this limits your strike rate to one or two fish per strike.When the fish are on the feed, it’s best to remove the diving lures and just troll surface lures. This will increase the number of fish per strike.

Yellowtail are extremely susceptible to noise and commotion, so if they are breaking the surface, troll around the edges, not through the middle. Cat hulls make more banging noise on the water which can work against you a lot of the time if you’re trying to sneak up on yellowtail. In these cases it is better to stop trolling and rather cast spoons in the area.

While we’re talking about the noise factor, I’m not sure who started this “up

and charge” idea of racing across the ocean at top speed to be the first boat to a surface shoal, but it’s a really bad idea when you understand yellowtail.

Sure, you may be lucky and get a fish, but if you’d trolled up to it then a lot more boats could enjoy the shoal and your catch rate would sky-rocket.

Yellowtail will not move far from a feeding area, so if you have patience and work the area the results will surprise you. While you troll around, keep an eye on the echo sounder for shoals sitting between 10- and 20m deep. If they don’t come up and eat, stop and drop jigs and spoons. While drifting it’s a good idea to put out a bait line with a strip of chokka or piece of pilchard to catch that extra fish.

Once you move into False Bay itself the yellowtail habits change and they follow more of a migratory path. You will seldom see them breaking the surface, but if you look carefully you can see the shoals swimming along. They tend to swim from Cape Point towards Muizenberg, from just off the kelp shoreline to about a mile off.They often stop on their route and mull around an area for a while, and this is when they can be caught on drift baits.

Your best plan of action inside the bay is to troll along the coast. Generally they prefer a smaller size deep diving lure and the occasional surface popper.

Drifting off one of the many rocky points is a good place to wait for the shoals of yellowtail to swim past. Once you see them approaching, cast your spoons or poppers in front of the shoal, not into it, and retrieve fairly fast just below or skimming the surface.

SNOEK Time of year: Winter months (August to October) Main areas: Groendam, Rocky Bank, Anvil, Old Snoek Grounds, Sout Gat, Buffels Bay, Smitswinkel Bay, Millers Point.

Lures: Dollies — A coloured lead weight with a plastic skirt and 12/0 snoek hook.

Chrome and coloured snoek spinners.

Bait: Pilchard and pike (Jap mackerel) — whole, halves and chunks.

Depth: 20- to 60m Size: 2kg to 8kg The Cape snoek is a completely different species to the queen mackerel snoek found on the east coast.

Traditionally caught on handlines by commercial fishermen, as they have been for centuries, snoek is the staple fish of the Cape. They’re usually found in huge shoals of many thousands of fish. Commercial ski-boat catches are measured in numbers of fish per man, and over 100 fish per man is fairly common. When one watches the ease with which these fish are landed by commercials, it’s easy to believe that snoek do not fight very hard. However, the reality is quite the opposite; on a rod and reel these fish are formidable fighters ranking among the top few.

Most Cape anglers carry a set of thick handlines for catching snoek as they land the fish quickly, preserve the fish flesh from spoiling due to a long fight, stow away easily and can be lots of fun to use. However, for the purposes of this article I will refer to rod and reel

Happy anglers with a haul of snoek heading straight for the braai.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 15

Handlines with snoek spinners, dollie (bottom) and bait line. angling.

Lightning fast, devastating predators with a set of teeth to scare a piranha, the snoek is a great sporting fish. They eagerly take a chunk of pilchard or pike on a weighted or drifted line. When using a rod and reel, the use of a wire bite trace is an absolute necessity unless you own a hook factory, as snoek have a large mouth which, although soft on the inside, is pure bone and teeth. A hook size of 8/0 and upwards is recommended. When caught with bait on rod and reel, the hook is usually buried inside the soft flesh or throat, so the chance of it pulling out is minimal.

Snoek absolutely love anything that shines and readily take a spinner. I suggest a hard chrome spinner as the snoek can bur y its teeth into a tin spoon and hold on, preventing the hook from setting. But there again, when one fish jumps off, just keep winding and another will jump on.

There’s no need to cast for snoek as they tend to shoal under the boat, usually starting deep and rising as you catch them, until they can be seen swimming around the boat.

The easiest way to locate a shoal of snoek is to find the commercial fleet and do whatever they are doing. Don’t anchor your boat if they are drifting, and don’t anchor or drift where you interfere with them; they are earning a living. You’ll certainly know if you’ve messed up, because commercials have a uniquely colourful way of insulting your character, your mother, your ancestry and your anatomy, in a way that you’ll never forget.

If there are no commercial boats in the area you will need to locate the shoals on your own. Diving birds are about the only visual indicators, but for the most part I suggest sounding around in the locations mentioned above.

Snoek are seldom found in water less than 20 metres deep and, because of their voracious appetites, they’re usually always in the vicinity of bait shoals.

Snoek show up like a mass of worms on the echo sounder and are easily identified. Simply stop on a shoal and drop a spinner; you’ll soon know if they want to feed. While drifting or anchored, an indicator of feeding snoek is when you see big bubbles bursting on the surface around your boat.

Once you land a snoek you need to dispatch it as quickly as possible to save the flesh from spoiling and to minimise the risk of getting a nasty bite that won’t stop bleeding. The common way is to hold the fish behind the gills and, with your hand under the jaw, snap its head back to break the neck.

Snoek basted with apricot jam, cooked on the braai is real Cape food.

SILVER KOB Time of year: Summer months (October to April) Main areas: Strandfontein, Kalk Bay, Swartklip, Cliffs, Broken Road, Macassar, Strand, Gordon’s Bay. Bait: Pilchards, chokka, mackerel, maasbanker, mullet and livebait.

Water temp: 18- to 21°C Depth: 3- to 30m Size: 2kg to 25kg The prime fishing time for kob in False Bay is during or just after the south easterly gales slow down. The seabed would have been churned up, giving the water a greenish milky colour along the coast. Find the water and you’ll find the bait that attracts the kob.

The winds play the most important part in understanding the best areas to search. Where the wind blows directly onto the shore is where the most likely area will be. For example, a true SE wind will push the kob to the area from Kalk Bay to Strandfontein, a southerly wind will move the fish to the area from Strandfontein to Macassar, and a westerly wind will send them to Strand and Gordon’s Bay. It’s difficult to locate shoals of kob on the echo sounder, so rather look for the baitfish and features that kob prefer.

16 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

Kob like to feed over sand and on the edge of reefs and gullies, so you need to be able to read the ground topography and currents well to anchor accurately.

A good sand feature is a faint wisp of what looks like dust blowing over a dip; that’s food and baitfish.

It’s best to anchor and chum if you want any measure of success in catching kob. These fish move closer to the shallows as the tide rises and can sometimes be almost in the breakers, but don’t venture there; it’s not worth it.

Monohull boats do better in shallow water than cats do as they make much less noise; kob don’t like to be near banging boats.

The trace I suggest should be made of mono, not wire, up to about 55kg.

Use a single hook of 5/0 to 10/0 on either a sliding or fixed sinker line.

There is seldom any current to speak of in False Bay, so use the lightest weight required to get the bait down. Once anchored, chum the area using good quality bait, not all your old stuff from an age gone by. Why would anything want to eat that?

From there on patience is the name of the game, but once they find your boat the game really begins.A shoal can carry fish that vary in size from 1kg to 20kg which makes kob fishing very exciting.

Please return all your small kob to the water unharmed and cared for in the best possible way. Keep only what you can eat, and remember there is a bag and size limit on silver kob.

GEELBEK Time of year: Summer months (November to March) Main areas: Cape Point, Buffels Bay, Whittle Rock, Millers Point, Swartklip to Macassar, Strand, Gordon’s Bay, Steenbras River, Pringle Bay, Rooi Els Bait: Pilchard, chokka strips, mackerel, maasbanker, & octopus leg Water temp: 18- to 21°C Depth: 5- to 50m Size: 3kg to 10kg Geelbek are one of False Bay’s most exciting fish to catch, but one needs to know exactly where and when to look for them. Geelbek want warm, preferably blue, oceanic water with lots of anchovy and sardine shoals around.

Prolific night feeders in the shallows, geelbek can also be caught in deep water during the day.

They love wind and turbulent conditions, so fishing during a gale force wind can be most productive, although it’s not recommended. After a strong wind geelbek will move into the kelp and can be found just on the edge or in the shallow little clearings. In these areas it’s best to use a drift line with no sinker.

Allen Ford with a 10.5kg geelbek. Although this fish wasn’t caught in False Bay it’s obvious where it gets its name from.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 17

There are seldom any tell-tale signs that geelbek are in the area except at night when they swirl up the phosphorescence with the green luminescent glows giving them away.The most common way to find the shoals is with your echo sounder. Geelbek show up as a big red block due to the nature of their shoaling habits. These fish feed over structure, so make sure you are looking for the shoals on a rocky seabed or sunken wreck. Unlike kob, you will seldom find geelbek shoaling over a sandy ground, and if you do, they will be migrating.

Their favourite baits are fresh pilchards, mackerel and chokka, with the number one bait being a combination of them. Geelbek have a large mouth with a hard bony jaw, so it’s best to use at least an 8/0 to 10/0 hook with a wide gape such as a Kendal Round. A trace with a 40- to 60kg hook line and a long sinker line off a three-way swivel in best as geelbek do not feed right on the ground.

Ideally one should anchor rather than drift over the shoal because drifting breaks up the shoal by dragging it with you as geelbek like to play followmy-leader.

Remember, apart from a size limit, there is also a bag limit of two geelbek per recreational angler per day. And don’t think that by fishing at night you can convince the authorities that you caught two fish before midnight and two afterwards.

CHOKKA (SQUID, CALAMARI) Time of year: Year-round but more prolific during the summer months.

Main areas: Buffels Bay, Simon’s Town to Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, Strandfontein, Strand, Gordon’s Bay. Lures: Squid (chokka) jigs, Water temp: 15- to 18°C Depth: 5- to 50m Catching chokka has become the favourite pastime of many False Bay anglers. One doesn’t need a big boat or expensive equipment, although the best jigs are no longer cheap. Chokka bite

throughout the day although dawn and sunset can be the optimum times. Night fishing is great fun though you will need to use lumo jigs for the most success. A super bright light shining on the water helps to attract them at night.

Chokka are mostly found over a weed bottom which is where they lay their eggs.These are called nests, and if one fishes on a nest, the chokka will attack the jigs more aggressively, resulting in better catches. It is always better to anchor on a chokka patch for more regular catches as they rise up the water column the more you catch.

Drifting only serves to pull them away from where they want to be so you’ll soon run out of bites.

Simon’s Town has become the most popular spot for chokka with Buffels Bay and Fish Hoek a close second.

These spots have the required ground features that the chokka like. The best way to locate them is to sound around until you find a shoal; they do not appear ver y big, and will be lying almost on the bottom. One can drift until bites are felt, then put the anchor down.

Chokka have a unique bite, unlike a fish, and one which anglers need to experience to learn. For daytime fishing, drop your jig to the ground and slowly move it around, raising it a few metres before dropping it again. The chokka will hang on the jig and a heavier weight will be felt.At times they will knock the jig hard, especially when they are aggressive, yet at other times they are barely felt. It’s all about feeling the weight change.

Once you’ve hooked one, retrieve slowly and gently or you’ll pull the hooks out. When you get it to the surface, quickly lift the chokka into the boat, but watch out for the squirt becasue black ink can be messy.

Chokka are not only excellent bait but also make a prime meal. There are many preparation methods bandied around and I suggest you fish often and try them all.

Remember that there are two closed seasons per year for chokka and a daily

Some examples of chokka jigs.

18 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

bag limit of 20 per angler.You also need a separate permit for catching chokka in addition to the angling permit; they are both on the same form.

YELLOWFIN TUNA Time of year: Summer months (late October to February) Main areas: Ammo dumping grounds, Bellows Rock, Cape Point and Rooikrans.

Lures: Rapalas, surface lures, poppers and spinners.

Bait: These yellowfin don’t respond to baiting techniques.

Depth: 20- to 200m Water temp: 18- to 20°C and preferably clean water.

Size: 15- to 100kg with the average around 45kg This yellowfin tuna fisher y is approached differently to that found in the deep grounds off the coast. These fish are highly energetic due to the nature of their feeding. They move into the Cape Point area to feed on the masses of pilchards and anchovies found at this time of year, and focus their attention on hunting and devastating shoals of these little fish.

This constant hunt keeps the yellowfin shoals moving at speed until they find a baitball.This is probably the reason why baiting does not produce results in this area. Trolling is the best method of locating the yellowfin.

Anglers must constantly keep an eye out for a feeding shoal where you can throw a popper at them.

Unlike yellowtail, yellowfin move on in search of more food once the action is over, so it’s no good hanging around; rather get back on the troll. Often a yellowfin will eat a lure while you’re fishing for yellowtail, but if you are not correctly equipped, the fight will be a short one.

For some reason these yellowfin are not early risers, with shoals usually making their appearance around mid-morning. This could have its basis in the angle of the sun and its ability to better silhouette the bait shoals.

These yellowfin can be found almost anywhere from Millers Point to ten miles outside of Cape Point during their season. Popular False Bay spots include Rooikrans, where some anglers catch them from the ledges, to the Point itself, and out to Bellows Rock.

Enjoy fishing around the False Bay area, but please make sure you take note of the marine reserves and obey all rules regarding bag limits and other pertinent restrictions.

Queries on this article can be directed to <rob@downsouthmarine.com> or 083 235 9550. Alternatively you can find him at his boat shop, Down South Marine, in Diep River, Cape Town.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 19

BACK IN TIME

By Jack Walsh

M

Y first regular fishing days from a boat started at age 14, when my dad bought an old Gordon’s Bay seaplane tender at a bankruptcy auction in the harbour. Several years earlier, a combined effort by the SA navy and airforce to establish a seaplane base at Gordon’s Bay had failed, as nobody had factored in the wind at the home of the southeaster. Diesel engines were still a thing of the future, so the tender was powered by two 100hp Meadows petrol engines.

My first lessons about commercial fishing costs and income were then learnt! The motors’ two 100 gallon fuel tanks almost gurgled as the fuel burnt up. This was a considerable cost, even though petrol in those days was pur-

chased at a little over a shilling per gallon. I also learnt the value of a good catch, which, apart from feeding the farm staff, could be sold to pay for part of the fuel.

We seldom needed to go far. We caught kob off the five Steenbras Dam houses, kob or geelbek (Cape salmon) on the rocky banks off the Steenbras River mouth, and geelbek off Boskloof Point. If those species were not biting, there were always some red roman or red stumpnose on the bottom — never a lot mind you, unless the warm, clear blue water had set into the area.The full time commercial “tok-tokkies” seldom targeted bottom redfish intentionally, simply heading for the silverfish banks in the middle of False Bay if the kob and geelbek were not feeding.

In winter the bigger deck boats would transfer to Hout Bay for the West

Coast snoek run, whilst the smaller boats stayed with the silverfish, weather permitting. There were, incidentally, very few pleasure boats in those days, with only a few at each of Gordon’s Bay, Kalk Bay, and Simon’s Town, where the navy frequently asked them to leave for one reason or another.

Yellowtail were often targeted, and sometimes mackerel and elf (shad).

Tuna, when encountered, were ignored, being, in the fisherman’s vernacular, “enormous mackerel line-breakers”. It was only in the 1950s that a few intrepid and wealthy Cape Town sportfishermen acquired pleasure boats suitable for seeking tuna in the deep off Cape Point. Those “enormous mackerel” turned out to be yellowfin and longfin tuna, with, as time went by, the odd bigeye tuna, southern bluefin tuna, mako shark and marlin.

View of Strand jetty circa 1953 via Tony Abbeglen. www.theheritageportal.co.za

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 23

View of Strand Jetty 2017 via Elize Joubert. www.theheritageportal.co.za

At about the same time, rock anglers became aware of the shoals of yellowfin passing close to the ledges of Rooikranz, which then became one of the few places on earth where shore anglers could target tuna.

By the age of 20, I had graduated to a 15 foot (4.5 m) bakkieman’s discarded purse seine dinghy. With the help of a friend I repaired and converted it to an ideal linefish bakkie (boat). Then I purchased an 18hp Evinrude outboard to power it.

I vividly recall one particular outing …

It was 3 a.m. and a light fog made everything and everyone look ghostly.

There was a very cool and somewhat damp breeze drifting off the land, which would hopefully drive the fog seawards until the warmth of the rising sun burned it away. Being a Saturday, several crews of semi-commercial fishing craft were hanging around to see whether the fog would thicken or lift as daybreak approached.

I waded out to SW 15 which was moored to a cement block just off the beach. I then rowed her over to the little landing built into the jetty. It was close to high tide, so Bully, my fishing partner, was standing on the upper level to hand me the outboard motor. It was not light! I wrestled it onto the boat and mounted it on the transom.

The petrol tank followed and was duly connected. I told Bully that we would try to leave despite the fog, and would see whether the very bright red guiding lights remained visible long enough to enable us to navigate safely out of the “poort” and take us far enough through it. If we could manage that, then it would be safe enough to keep a straight line into the incoming swell.

Alan, a man who would later become my best friend, was going out on his father’s boat, and yelled that they would not come to rescue us if we capsized in the rather narrow channel between the breakers!

As it turned out, the lights were bright enough, and we soon entered that strange overwhelming darkness of the fog. Once I was sure that we were far enough out to avoid the reefs and breaking water, the noise of which had almost disappeared, we turned to starboard at an angle of about 35° from our previous course, edging towards a fishing spot known as “Nuwemoddergat”.

Of course, I needed the streetlights and the lights of the DeBeers dynamite factory to throw anchor in the right position, with no such things as echo sounders or position fixing equipment yet on the horizon. I knew the approximate running time at half speed on a very flat sea to get there, and aside from that, just had to trust our luck. Suddenly, to our amazement, some lights suddenly shone through the fog from the shore, and I realised that the land breeze had swung to the north-west and was already dispersing the fog in our area.

Judging by the brightness of the lights, I could identify them as coming from the Da Gama Hotel, though I still could not see the other lights from DeBeers.

Nevertheless I knew the approximate angle that I should be looking at the lights from the hotel, and that would have to do. We let down the anchor quietly so as not to disturb the hoped for shoal of kob that had been there the previous evening. The length of anchor rope indicated that we were approximately at the right depth.

We baited our lines, letting them sink to the bottom, then recovering about two fathoms. As it was still pitch dark, if the fish were there, they would be well off the bottom. Bully had a strike, saying that something took his line on the way down, and landed — somewhat unexpectedly — a large elf. I quickly threw out a drift line with a small piece of fish on a 1/0 hook.

At the same time, I felt my hand line tighten on my thigh, and hauled up, disappointingly, a large barbel. Then my

24 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

hand line ran again, and out came a mackerel, which at least ensured that we would catch fresh bait to go with our chokka (squid). We then let our lines down halfway to the bottom, thinking that we might just as well catch some nice elf, but, following solid strikes, we each landed two “koptel” kob of over 2.5kg.

As the sun rose, the other boats started arriving, but by then our middle compartment, between the dinghy’s two seats, was nearly full. The kob had almost stopped biting, and those that intermittently still did, were on the small side. We upped anchor, happy in the knowledge that our fish would be first on the market with no competition.

I slowly steered back to the jetty to give Bully a chance to bunch the small fish, two at a time, with reeds. We arrived back at the jetty to the cries in Afrikaans of: “Here’s young Jack, at it again!” It was good for my ego. I knew I had a special intuition for fish and fishing which was partly learnt, but mainly granted as a gift to me in the same way as the skills of any outstanding sportsperson.

The fish were thrown up onto the jetty, bunches to one side, singles to another, and those over five or six kilos went to the end. In those days we still worked in pounds and shillings, and that day the fish earned us over £60, of which Bully got 25%. Not a bad morning’s reward, when you consider that my monthly salary was £50!

You may ask where I am going with all of this. Well, when conditions are right, commercial ski-boats still come in with this sort of catch. Sometimes, though not very often anymore, with geelbek, and often in this past year with a small catch of redfish. The silverfish (doppies) are back on the deeper banks, and growing bigger all the time, though presently the sizes of all fish caught are much s----maller than they were in the old days.

Today, on a really nice day, excluding the tuna and yellowtail boats going out to and past Cape Point, you will probably encounter only 10 to 30 ski-boats in False Bay, of which maybe one third will be commercially licensed. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the fishing was still pretty good and compliance was non-existent, so that all boats — commercial and recreational — could catch whatever they liked and sell their catch.

Over a nice weekend and during the Christmas holidays, the number of boats out would easily exceed 100. There probably had been overfishing since the 1970s, but I believe it reached its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

There is, in my mind, no doubt that the disturbance caused by so many boats, coupled to the popularity of shore angling, resulted in far too many fish being caught to be sustainable. I also believe the fishing activity drove many of the remaining fish out of the bay.

By the end of the first decade of the millennium, the number of boats and shore anglers had decreased by over 50%, and has probably stayed at the level of 25% or less for the last decade, solely because of the lack of fish. Amidst this peace and quiet, I now believe that the fish are slowly returning, though I doubt this will be the case for the average rock and surf angler.

This is because of increasing disturbances caused by the high numbers of people on the shore’s fringes and beaches, coupled with increasing pollution.

I believe the increasing fish population has only been happening over the past five years or so. Red roman are once again fairly prolific though very small this year, indicating a reasonably large

population of fish just over the minimum size. Red stumpnose are also appearing again in small numbers, though they were never prolific, even in my youth, unless you encountered a feeding shoal on a bank which happened very rarely. Please also remember that all bottomfeeding redfish are very slow growing.

I often get asked what ranks as my most exciting fishing experience ever in False Bay … that’s easy!

I was due to get married one Saturday, and I had promised my parents and wife-to-be that I would go easy on the fishing that week so that I would not be worn out for the wedding or the honeymoon. Unfortunately, it was full moon, and on the Tuesday there were some strong rumours of a lot of fish down at Swartklip — more or less the middle point of the Bay’s shoreline. Wednesday was still days before my wedding, so, with the promise to my parents that I would be home by 10 p.m. — by which time they would be asleep and hear nothing — Alan and I set off at five in the afternoon. The rumours were right, and by 4 a.m., with the moon sinking towards the western horizon, our boat was so full we had to go home.

Alan undertook to sell the fish and then moor SW 15 so that I could get home, bath and shave to be at work by 8:30 a.m., which I did with no one any the wiser. Thursday was still miles away from the wedding, so off we went again with the same promises.

This time the gods really smiled upon us; geelbek were mixed with the kob, and by midnight we were over full.

In fact, when we started for home I found that the light southerly wind that was blowing caused the white horses to

splash over the gunnel, and I am very ashamed to say we actually had to dump some fish to avoid sinking.

Friday was again still and quiet, though this time it took quite some persuading to get my parents to allow me to go at all.

As Alan was committed to being at university early the next day, my other friend, Bully, came with me.We started to catch fish by 5 p.m., long before the sun went down and the moon came up, though the taxman (sharks) took a number of our fish.

When it was nearly dark, we moved away to another bank. The moon came up a bit later, though despite heavy plankton lighting up the water before it had risen high enough, the fish bit through. At 10 p.m. the clouds came over, and you could almost have read a book by the light of the plankton.

The fish continued biting, but suddenly the taxmen found us again, and we were lucky if we landed one out of every three fish we hooked. In the end, there were seven ghostly shapes, eerily etched by the plankton, circling us, and at least two looked bigger than our boat.

We already had a good catch, so we went home and I was actually in bed a little after midnight.The following morning I was refreshed enough to enjoy the wedding, reception, and then leave on our honeymoon to Durban.

Believe it or not, those three nights enabled me to pay off the loan on my latest second hand car, pay for the additional furniture for our new flat which I had bought on credit, and paid for all the honeymoon expenses with a fair bit over in the end.

And some still ask why I have always been a fishing freak!

A modest Strand catch back in the day.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 25

BOAT REVIEW

By Erwin Bursik

O

N the banks of the Kowie River, adjacent to the Eastern Cape’s hamlet of Port Alfred, Supercat’s walk-on mooring at the yacht club and marina displays a few of the craft this boatbuilding company manufactures. When I visited recently, in front of me floated their flagship — a 67ft super yacht — two 29ft Slivers and their latest redesigned Supercat 590 (the original of which I reviewed in SKI-BOAT magazine back in 1998). They are all magnificent.

The awesome picture on this page encapsulates the vari-

26 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

ety of incredible craft that are produced from start to finish at the Supercat factory which is situated on a small holding just inland of this town’s industrial area.

Dennis Schultz, together with his sons Neil and Clinton, have been building offshore ski-boats and yachts for many, many years. Initially they built the legendary Supercat 620, 520 and Witblitz, then they began specialising in their version of a displacement craft.To date they have manufactured over 60 of the 29- and 38ft models. These are mostly based in the Indian Ocean islands, but also as far afield as the Bahamas.

The Supercat 590 Multisport has been largely redesigned

to accommodate the needs of the resorts operating the 38ft Stiletto and 29ft Sliver outboard powered craft based on the islands off East Africa. In essence, the Supercat 590 I review in this issue is to be used as a “sports” craft for fishing, waterskiing and pleasure rides. It will also indirectly provide a backup for those owners who can utilise the outboard motor powering the Supercat 590 as a quick replacement for the motor of the bigger displacement craft should it be necessary.

For this reason, and due to the fact that the 38ft Stilleto and 29ft Sliver are traditionally powered by outboards ranging from 50hp to 140hp, a Suzuki 140hp ATL swinging a 21 pitch

stainless steel three-blade propeller was used on the craft I reviewed on the Kowie River.

At the outset I must admit I was not able to take the Supercat 590 or the latest Sliver to sea. This was because the notorious bar between the two concrete piers at Port Alfred’s Kowie River entrance to the sea was totally impassable. Huge winter swells had been generated by gale force winds the preceding day, and an unusual sand bar had formed between the east and west piers; at low tide it was so shallow that surfers were walking over it on this spring tide. This sand build-up has never been experienced before at this launch site

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 27

28 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

although, under normal offshore sea conditions, boats have only been able to go to sea on the high water.

On the day of the review the spring tide had just turned from spring low and the incoming tide was still meeting the outflowing Kowie River water, producing a horrible “graau” at the entrance over the sand bank. I admit I am Mr Chicken, and I had no wish to go swimming in that freezing, horrible water in mid-winter.

Neil and Clinton who are now running Supercat Marine grew up on the Kowie and arguably know the conditions of this launch site better than most; they strongly supported the decision not to tempt fate. We thus spent a lot of time “playing” on the upriver side of the sand bar, spinning the 590 into and around in front of the ugly churned up rollers that were coming over the bar into the river.

The excessive power and torque of the 140hp Suzuki initially frightened me a tad until I got its feel and was able to control the rate of throttle increase during tight turns. Her performance with a roller about to ride up her stern was electric; the Supercat 590 is very stable in the turn and out of the hole.

While assessing all the above, one must take into account the fact that this craft has a single engine installation that essentially allows one to turn extremely quickly, but does not provide the same stability within a tight turn that one would get from a dual engine rig.

Watching Clinton handle this craft as he ventured far closer to the washing machine than I would have dared, I wit-

nessed the dexterity he displayed in the bumpy waves. Seeing him spin the craft to escape the blinders building up over the sand bank showed me not only what this craft was capable of handling, but also just how proficient Clinton is with the throttle of the 140 Suzuki, and how in tune he was with the speed and condition of the horrible sea in which he was playing.

All regular SKI-BOAT readers will be aware of my reserve regarding speed over water, but with Clinton at the helm— and me trying to ensure I didn’t have my glasses whisked off my head—we ran upriver at a top speed of 70 knots, yes 70 knots, with the Suzuki 140 revving at 6 500 rpm. Exhilarating yet frightening.

Needless to say, when I was behind the helm the throttle never went that wide open and I enjoyed her at speeds up to 40 knots, but mostly worked on the boat’s feel and performance in the 0- to 25 knot range. Nursery school stuff, maybe, but it’s the extent most if not all craft are run out at sea under offshore conditions.

Being a single engine craft designed for the applications already mentioned, the Supercat 590 is very stylishly presented to appeal to the “sunseekers” as well as inland boaters and offshore ski-boaters. She’s the proverbial boat for all seasons.

A review of the accompanying photographs will show the open aft transom area where the original Supercat 530 has been extended. This not only acts as an “outmount”, but also facilitates extremely easy access on and off the craft. For those operating on the beaches of the Moçambique islands, for

example, when the craft is backed up onto the beach it’s a simple step off the transom for a “bathing beauty”. It’s equally as easy for a spearfisher or snorkeller to board the Supercat 590 in deeper water.

Clinton uses this model of craft extensively for fishing off his home venue of Port Alfred, and says he simply slides most of the fish he catches up onto the deck. If a larger fish is caught, once it’s gaffed alongside he manoeuvres it aft and again slides it over the transom and into the large fish hatches which are designed to accommodate fish as well as waterskiing and diving equipment.

The Supercat 590 I reviewed was extremely well presented and has incredibly high quality finishes both on the hull and top deck.

At this juncture it’s necessary to mention the Supercat factory with its immense array of high tech equipment including CNC steel laser cutting and bending machines, computerised design facilities that ensure the factory’s capability to produce incredible craft completely inhouse, including the 67ft yacht shown on the opening page of this article.

In Neil’s words,“With major suppliers far away from Port Alfred, our capability to make everything — including the extremely efficient 25m high mast — is a big advantage.” All this is evident when one sees and appreciates the finished

30 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

craft as I did during my recent visit to Supercat Marine.

While at the factory, I witnessed the bonding of the hull and topdeck of a Supercat 590 in production and saw for myself the under-deck configuration as well as the degree of composites used in the manufacturing process. Neil also showed me the total absence of wood with the build underway, and how their buoyancy is achieved.

It was a great experience for me to see this side of the boat rather than just be presented with a completed craft to launch and try out on the ocean.

The boat has a stylish centre console with a front opening, cone-shaped cover housing not only the fuel, but also the life jackets and safety equipment. There’s also easy access to the aft side of the electronics and instrumentation panel.

The helm station itself is unique. It’s very skipper friendly and has all the instrumentation required, offering the skipper good space to stand up and skipper during rough sea conditions, and sit down on a “bum” seat with pivoting backrest while casually boating and fishing in calmer conditions.

As I intimated, the two large longitudinal below-deck hatches were installed mainly to house water skis and spearguns, but also hold fish when the craft is used for fishing.

The Supercat 590 is a beautifully presented craft that will appeal to the inshore sportfisherman and the entire family.

T

HERE are many families who want to play on the water —whether it be river, dam or estuary — to have fun and sometimes fish, but don’t wish to spend large amounts of money to be able to enjoy this pastime.

Supercat has the answer for this market too.They have produced a car-top portable canoe that is 5.5 metres long and 1.4 metres wide, powered by a 6hp single cylinder Suzuki motor, which will adequately service this family need.

Clinton and I easily lifted the Supercat canoe onto the roof racks that were obtained from the local canoe shop and which had been fitted to his sedan. The canoe was positioned and strapped down all within five minutes.

It’s worth noting that this craft is fitted with two retractable plastic wheels that enable one person to wheel the craft around and launch it by lifting the bow.

I tried this both in the Supercat factory and then again when we handled the canoe at the Port Alfred Marina slipway.

It was a very easy exercise even once the 6hp Suzuki was mounted on her stern.

With two of us onboard we manoeuvred the canoe out of the marina and onto the Kowie River.

The most important aspect for me was both lateral and longitudinal stability and I was very impressed. I am not one to sit still on a boat, and yet whilst ensconced on the centre seat

of the craft with Clinton aft steering the “ship”, my thoughts went to the similar shaped “Red Indian”-type canoes of North America.

I felt totally safe and had sufficient mobility on her whilst on the water to facilitate trolling or drifting should I be fishing.

I have personally spent a lot of time on small boats fishing many of KwaZulu-Natal’s inland waters while trout fishing, and naturally compared the Supercat Canoe to the craft I have used so successfully on other occasions. I am convinced that I could have an enormous amount of fun using this craft under the right conditions.

Perhaps you think an outboard petrol motor is a no-no for trout dams? If that’s the case then a larger electric sneaker motor can be fitted which will adequately overcome that obstacle.

This craft has sufficient buoyancy and has been tested extensively by the Schulz brothers who assure me that even when turned turtle it will provide sufficient flotation and hand holds to enable the “swimmers” to survive the ordeal.

The era of having a small boat to play on the water with one’s family —whether on river, dam, estuary or in the ocean — seems to be re-emerging and Supercat are making it fun and hassle-free.Welcome back!

COMPETITIONS

By Erwin Bursik

T

HE 2021 running of Sodwana Hengelklub’s annual catch and release tigerfish tournament was not only a resounding success, but also introduced a ground breaking digital system to remotely capture and record each catch as it happened. Wthin seconds of an icon being pressed the 400-odd anglers taking part in the event were advised of the capture of each fish likely to make it into the top 10 places on the leader board.

Each tigerfish caught is placed on a supplied template on the craft’s deck

and photographed directly through the app which was created specifically for this purpose. The angler presses the “Submit catch” icon and the app not only photographs the fish, but also digitally records all the information regarding the catch. The photo, its GPS position, the exact time and the angler’s name are all retained.

This being said, most of the information is only accessible to the organisers and only the time, size of the fish and the angler’s name are instantly circulated to the other competitors.

At the outset I was Mr Sceptic and had doubts about this system, but I

34 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

soon became a total convert.

This event was once a total kill competition, but becasme a total release event a few years ago. In the past, though, anglers who caught potental prize fish had to “high tail” it across Jozini Dam with their precious cargo to a weight point where the fish was then weighed and had to be physically seen to swim away to be officially recorded.

It was a stressful process and the app has totally removed that aspect.

Sodwana Hengelklub were precluded from holding the 2020 Tigerfish Bonanza due to Covid, but Simeon van Heerden, the club’s chairman, and his

Kobus Meyer with his prize-winning 71cm tigerfish.

far thinking young committee didn’t let that deter them. It’s obvious they put in an immense amount of work on the 2021 event. Their dedication ensured they have kept the impeccable high standards of the competition’s past, and the introduction of modern ideas to will no doubt help to maintain the longevity of this, the largest boat fishing event held in South Africa — possibly even Africa as a whole.

We, the anglers who took part in the 2021 event salute you, Simeon, and your committee.Thank you for an exceptional event.

With a massed start at 06h00 on

Friday 24 September 2021, paracute flares dotted the sky as the sun peeped over the eastern silhouette of the Ubombo mountains. It’s a sight and experience I revel in each year.The roar of hundreds of outboard motors breaking the silence of dawn, and the sight of the craft churning up the tranquill lake’s surface as these craft fan out at full speed down towards the open lake and up the Pongola River channel to the south give me goosebumps every time.

In my mind, and I have no doubt in the minds of most of the skippers participating, lay the quandary of how the

new digital system and app would work in practice.

It wasn’t long before the “ping” on Mr Ski-boat’s designated cellphone indicated that the first tigerfish in excess of 45cm had been recorded and successfully released.

A green square and white tick ref lected official acceptance by the score master and then the angler’s name, time of capture and official length in centimetres all appeared. It worked for number one and the top ten, and continued to do so until the final whistle blew at 16h00 on Saturday 25 September 2021.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 35

Sponsors of the 2021 Tigerfish Bonanza celebrate a successful event.

The continual uploading of the leaderboard and the lengths recorded made it extremely interesting, although very disappointing to some when their entries fell off the list of the top ten.All in all most, if not all, of the anglers praised the new concept.

From a purely academic point of view I was interested in the time of capture of those tigerfish which made it onto the leaderboard. That aspect brought into question a number of theories as to the most prevalent times tigerfish are prepared to feed.The exact position of each catch would have

added much more interest, but this fact, understandably, was kept hidden in the “cloud”. One sincerely hopes that in time we may find a study indicating what areas of Jozini Dam produced the bigger tigerfish caught during the 2021 event.

For many of us the competition had limited success as the tigerfish we were targeting with a vast array of bait, including live tilapia, failed to show any interest in our offerings. Personally I felt totally bewildered when it came to how to catch these wily fish. A few — very few — juveniles was all that ended

up in our scoop net. All my plans, ideas and preparation came to nought.

At least those few fish inspired me to try and acquire more knowledge during the next 12 months so that at the 2022 Tigerfish Bonanza hopefully at least one of the crew on Mr Ski-boat will make it onto the coveted Tigerfish Bonanza leaderboard.

The persistent north-easterly wind which we experienced over the twoday event was certainly a challenge, and the colder sub-20°C lake water may have had an effect on the general bite.

However, we were all fishing in a rela-

Kobus Meyer with the Sodwana Hengelklub Committee who did a fantastic job organising the event.

TOP TEN TIGERS 1. Kobus Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . . .710mm 2. Jonathan de Vos . . . . . . . . . . .640mm 3. Johan van Heerden . . . . . . . .600mm 4. Dehan Sonnekus . . . . . . . . . .595mm 5. Werner Beetge . . . . . . . . . . . .585mm

tively small playing field so we agreed “cowboys don’t cry”, as we went about making excuses for why we didn’t catch any decent fish.

For many years when we’ve run the report on this event we have recorded the weights of the top ten tigers caught in this nigh on 20-year-old competition.

The change in scoring from weight to length will of course disrupt this historical data.

In saying that, I fully support the change but hope the scientific community will convert the lengths to approximate weights so that the historic tigerfish weights of the past can be compared to the weight of those captured and released going forward.

6. Coenie Vermaak . . . . . . . . . .565mm 7. Leslie Blignaut . . . . . . . . . . . .495mm 8. T Braukmann . . . . . . . . . . . . .480mm 9. Koos Uys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .480mm 10. Michael Thile . . . . . . . . . . . .470mm

The grand finale was an awesome event with the huge marquee erected on the clubs grounds at Golela filled to capacity to celebrate and congratulate the ten anglers who excitedly received their prizes. Congratulations, to you all!

With the enthusiasm and vigour shown by the Sodwana Hengelklub’s Tigerfish Bonanza committees, I have little doubt that the 2022 event will attract not only more competition but also an even bigger array of prizes than there was at this year’s event.

A special acknowledgment must be made to the sponsors who this year, despite the uncertainty of both the economy and the Covid situation, dug deep into their pockets to ensure that

38 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

the array of prizes up for grabs were both exciting and abundant.

In the words of Sodwana Hengelklub’s doyen and past chairman, Stephan Kleynhans, while complimenting the 2021 Bonanza committee, he predicted that this event will grow in status and echo the past when over 300 boats attended this event. It’s a mighty call, but one I would love to witness and hopefully take part in.

As I say each year when penning this report, I am already planning and scheming for how my team will not only take part next year but also be more productive in catching and releasing some bigger tigerfish in Jozini Dam. See you all there!

TECHNIQUES

By continually searching for and fishing new marks you will come across some quality fish. Here the author poses with a nice Scotchie.

Part 3: Ensuring success on the water

By Craig Stubbs

A

FTER reading the last two articles on this topic, you should have a relatively good idea of the bottomfish species we are looking for, the tackle we are using, baits we are presenting and a few tips and tricks to get started. In this article we are going to take to the water, analyse some structure and talk about how to position your boat and maximise your fishing time.

Most boats are equipped with modern fishfinders, and a standard 600w skimmer transducer will serve you just fine for the vast majority of your deeper water fishing needs. If you can afford a 1kw “mega” transducer, then go for it, but it is not essential. On the topic of

transducers, location and fitment are paramount to reliable and effective sounding, so do your research and measuring before you drill, or consult with industry experts and get your transducer perfectly located on your craft for maximum benefit.

A lot of “newbie” electronic users ask about the 50/200khz frequencies that you can select on the majority of units and which one to use for bottomfishing. There are some technical explanations, but basically the 200khz setting is best for fishing up to at least 100m depth, and will give you clearer detail.

The 50khz setting will give you depth penetration all the way down to a few hundred metres, but what you gain in depth, you lose in detail and ability to read/reveal smaller details.

FINDING MARKS So, now that your tackle’s packed, traces are prepped and you’re on the water, you are going to need some “marks” to start fishing. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t easily part with my prized fishing marks, and the majority of experienced bottomfishermen won’t, but there is a reason for that. It’s because they are gained from begging and borrowing and hundreds of hours on the water, bottom scanning and testing spots.

However, what I will do — and most people would for certain people — is share some of the less secretive spots, and from there you are going to be on your own. Luckily that is not as bad as it sounds, as one can, over the course of a few trips, quickly start to

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 41

Nothing beats the smile on an angler’s face when he’s fighting a good fish

build your own knowledge base of fishing marks. If you can glean just a few marks from a few different anglers at your ski-boat base then use that as a starting point and, as you travel, keep an eye on that fishfinder screen. If you see any bottom deviation, stop, sound, mark, and test fish. You will be amazed how fast you will begin to establish your own spots, and the reward of finding some reef yourself and picking up a few good fish is awesome.

The above advice all relates back to what I said at the start of our very first article, and that is, if you want to develop a love and passion for bottomfishing it’s going to take some time. That’s also why I feel that it is one of if not the most technical and skilful forms of angling out there, but if you put in the “hard yards” you will reap the rewards long term.

Let’s take a deeper look into structure. It’s great to see walls of reef, and plumes of fish show up on your finder screen, but unless these showings represent shoaling species such as geelbek, albacore (Cape yellowtail) or amberjack, you may well be a little disappointed with the results when you drop.

There is a reason for this, in that, as much as large fish like large structure, so do the “smalls”; they aggregate around this large structure due to the protection and access to food that it provides. This means that a lot of the time your baits will quickly be stripped with no real reward from bigger fish as they simply do not have time to find your bait.

My suggestion, in this case, is to use your fishfinder and “sound” around, within a few hundred metres of these larger pieces of structure. Look for smaller bits of reef or small showings of

fish (even a few small “scratches” on the bottom), mark them, and tr y these spots. This is often where the better bites will come.

Even if you can’t find any smaller patches of reef, learn how to read “hard” bottom on your sounder, because such “flat reef” can hold surprisingly good fish, particularly big soldiers and other large red fish. Some of my most productive drifts are largely devoid of big structure, and I would imagine the bottom to be pretty f lat reef, interspersed with patches of sand and the odd crack and crevice that’s too small to show up on the finder, but just enough to be home to some good fish.

USING THE CURRENT Current is one of the most important aspects of bottomfishing that you will need to come to grips with. It can frustrate you, but it is an ever-present factor that you need to come to terms with and learn how to use to your advantage. The predominant currents on the east coast of South Africa are either a north to south current or what we call a “reverse” current which is a south to north current. Both are, to a degree, affected by winds present on the day.

If there’s too little current, although it makes for pleasant fishing conditions, it seldom produces great catches, as the fish tend to spread out. Combine this with a very slow drift, and you simply aren’t covering enough water to find the fish. Conversely, when the current really starts to pick up, it can reach a point where it is impossible to fish effectively due to line drag in the water, and difficulty in keeping your baits near the bottom.

The ideal drift speed for me, is anywhere from 1.2 to 2.5km/h, which is

42 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

fast enough to cover water, but not so fast that fishing becomes difficult.When the current does pick up, you must be very accurate with your drift and dropping your baits, but often the fish school up tightly and feed well in strong current, so if you can get your bait into the feeding zone, you can get instantly rewarded.

Current also plays a huge part in fishing certain marks, and it is undeniable that certain spots fish better on particular currents. Say, for example, you have marked some coordinates and caught decent fish on a day when you had a moderate north to south current, but the next time you visit that spot you have a reverse south to north current. You may well find that on this different current your drift misses most of that structure and delivers fewer fish. It thus pays to note what marks fish best under what predominant currents, and be adaptable when you’re on the water.

Here’s a quick tip, particularly for those with 2-stroke engines. Don’t drive 20km to your favourite mark without stopping along the way to check the current. It is best to stop a few times along the way, and if you notice screaming current, change your game plan.

There will be the odd occasion that the current is really ripping in shallower water but is fishable by the time you reach your favourite deeper spot, but this is the exception rather than the rule. If I find a strong current (particularly north to south) on my way to deeper water, I’ll often turn around and fish shallower.

DROPPING YOUR BAITS So, how does one approach and prepare to drop baits onto a patch of reef?

The first thing to do when one reaches an area of marks is to sound around and see if you can pick up some decent showings. It’s incredible how one day showings can be strong on a certain spot, and the very next day there is hardly a blip on the screen. By sounding around an area, you should quickly be able to establish if the fish have moved and, if so, where they may have moved to.

Your “track” function on your GPS is your best friend in this case, as it will show you your exact path over a piece of structure, and by conducting a bit of a “search grid pattern” you should find a few showings. Don’t be scared to travel a few hundred metres around a given mark as fish can move considerable distance as ocean currents expose and cover various pieces of structure.

Once you are comfortable that you have located a few showings, cut your engines and keep your eye on your screen for a few minutes while your crew readies and prepares baits. Your track will expose what path your boat will be drifting along, and by using that

“This image represents a typical winter’s morning. There’s a light north to south current (blue line), combined with a moderate offshore breeze (grey line). By first establishing one’s drift line by stopping one’s boat and using the GPS track (pink line), one can extrapolate that information, and plan a drift that will pass over your marks (red line and X). Depending on current strength, you may need to move well above your first target before dropping baits.

as a benchmark, you can now plan your first down.

Armed with the knowledge of what path you will be drifting, fire those engines up again and move “above” those showings you saw while sounding around. Depending on how strong the current is running, you may need to move 100 metres or more past your chosen spot, knowing that it takes a little while for sinkers to get to the bottom. If the current is negligible, you may need to move only a few metres past your mark and before dropping the baits.

The worst mistake you can make is to undercompensate for current and drift, so that by the time your baits hit the bottom, you have already drifted past the fish. That means wasting time winding up heavy baits and sinkers. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve had to say to my crew: “Sorr y guys, we’ve missed the drift.” In return I get corresponding grunts and glares, particularly when we’re fishing in deep water.

To catch good fish, you need your baits in the best spots for the longest amount of time, so plan your downs carefully, know where your baits are going to end up, and minimise time spent fishing in “the desert” — large barren areas with little structure, and therefore little chance of getting fish.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 43

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

T

HE pelagic fish made an early appearance this year and there were catches of shoal ’cuda and dorado reported in late August and early September. I can’t remember when last you could target a dagga, ’bek, copper, garrick, ’cuda and dorado at the same time of year! This unusual pattern, together with the great and extended sardine run, certainly shows that the normal fishing pattern has slightly changed this year. We could extensively surmise and philosophise on why this has happened and link it to Covid and other factors, but in my opinion we will never really know how nature ebbs and flows. We as humans can certainly learn from nature and adapt and flow forward positively despite any curve ball thrown at us.

TOURNAMENTS Our calendar this year is ever evolving, and a number of events have either been postponed or dates have been amended. I commend all the provinces that have persisted and overcome the Covid obstacles to host events in these challenging times. We are now at the tail end of our fishing calendar and look forward to ending off the year on a positive note with the last few events: 14-19 November SADSAA Heavy Tackle Nationals Sodwana 16-21 November ILTTA Guatemala

Phillip Marx, SADSAA President

SKIPPER’S TICKETS There is a delay in COC Licenses being issued from SAMSA. Kindly see the below extract from Marine Information Notice MIN 07-21 (available on the SAMSA website).

Validity of Small Vessel Interim Certificate of Competency 14. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the issuance of the National Small Vessel Certificate of Competency (skipper’s licences) and has caused delays to issuance of certificates from 15 December 2019.

15. The Small Vessel Interim Certificates of Competence which is valid for a period of six months, issued by SAMSA and external participants in the National Small Vessel Examination Regime, are extended until 31 July 2022.

Boaters that intend using expired interims need to keep a copy of this marine notice as proof that the certificates as mentioned before have been extended, when confronted by enforcement officers, gatekeepers, or officials at launching sites.

Wishing You Tight Lines And “Keep Those Motors Running”!

SADSAA & PROVINCIAL PORTFOLIO MEMBERS The immense work that keeps our sport operating within a governed and organised structure certainly doesn’t just fall into place. There is a massive and dedicated team “steering the ship” and in this issue I would like to introduce the people behind the scenes. We will dedicate future editions to individual provinces and take a more detailed look at the people who “steer” each province.

SADSAA Executive President: Phillip Marx Vice President: Chris Schorn Secretary: Vikki Bezuidenhout Treasurer: Edwin Freeman International & Local Tournament Officer: Nick Nel Environmental Officer: Mark Beyl National Records Officer:TBC Public Relations Officer: Martin du Plessis Development Officer: Neil Coetzer National Selection Convenor: Barry Turk National Safety Officer: Carl Krause Deputy Safety Officer — Inland: Jannie de Jonge Deputy Safety Officer — Coastal: Riaz Hussain

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Action Committee President: Phillip Marx Vice President: Chris Schorn Secretary:Vikki Bezuidenhout Treasurer:Edwin Freeman Committee Member: Janes Wasserman Committee Member: Nick Nel Committee Member: Paddy Venske Finance Comittee Treasurer: Edwin Freeman Committee Member: Chris Schorn Committee Member: Paddy Venske Selectors Gauteng: Jaco Hendrikz Mpumalanga: Chris Rothmann (2019) Mpumalanga: Pieter Jordaan (2020)

Natal: Barry Turk (2020) Natal: Dave Murgatroyd (2020) Southern Gauteng: Neil Coetzer (2019) Southern Gauteng: Paddy Venske (2019) Western Province:Hubert Meyer (2019) Alternate Selectors: North Gauteng: Riaan Odendaal SADSAA Office Administration Manager: Michelle Bell email: <admin@sadsaa.co.za> Safety Administration: Lyn Adams email: <safety@sadsaa.co.za >

BORDER Chairman:Tyrone Gower Vice Chairman: John Leuf Secretary:Tracy Taylor Treasurer: TBC Records Officer:TBC Safety Officer: Gary Lunt Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer: John Rance Public Relations Officer: John Leuf Tournaments Officer:Tyrone Gower Development Officer: Gary Lunt EASTERN PROVINCE Chairman:Wayne Gerber Vice Chairman: Kevin Clark Secretary: Jen Nelson Treasurer: Ian Peinke Records Officer: Ben de Bruyn Safety Officer: Clint Bamber Deputy Safety Officer: Jackie Bamber Environmental Officer:Wayne Gerber Public Relations Officer: Richard Donaldson Tournaments Officer: Ben de Bruyn Development Officer:TBC

LIMPOPO Chairman: Paul Du Toit Vice Chairman:Tim Scholtz Secretary: Sanet Pretorius Treasurer: Johan Scholtz Records Officer: Johan Swart Safety Officer: Neels Pretorius Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer:TBC Public Relations Officer:TBC Tournaments Officer: Johan Swart Development:TBC

SOUTHERN CAPE Chairman: Chris Schorn Vice Chairman: Koos Scholtz Secretary: Dirk Coetzee Treasurer: Chris Schorn Records Officer: Dirk Coetzee Safety Officer: Chris Schorn Deputy Safety Officer: Johann Crouse Environmental Officer: Bryan de Wid Public Relations: Dirk Coetzee Tournaments Officer: Johann Crouse Development Officer: Marius Alberts

MPUMALANGA President: Paul Whitaker Chairman: Nico Zaayman Vice Chairman: Sam Botha Secretary:Vikki Bezuidenhout Treasurer: Edwin Freeman Records Officer: Johan van der Walt Safety Officer:Willem Pretorius Public Relations Officer: Dwayne Viviers Tournaments Officer: Bryan Jooste Development Officer: Jan Naude

SOUTHERN GAUTENG Chairman: Paddy Venske Vice Chairman: Neil Coetzer Secretary: Lynette Adams Treasurer: Johan Lange Records Officer: Mark Cockcroft Safety Officer: Colin Green Deputy Safety Officer: Leon Orsmond Environmental Officer: Lynette Adams Public Relations Officer: Lynette Adams Tournaments Officer: Lynette Adams Development Officer: Neil Coetzer

NATAL Chairman: Nick Nel Vice Chairman: Dave Murgatroyd Secretary:Tracy Hardman Treasurer:Tracy Hardman Records Officer:Anton van den Berg Safety Officer: Riaz Hussain Deputy Safety Officer: Johan Kuit Environmental Officer: Glen Jansen Public Relations Officer:TBC Tournaments Officer:Anton van den Berg Development Officer: Francois Beukes Admin Secretary: Gail Sonnekus Selection Convenor: Barry Turk

FREE STATE Chairman: Erwin Rohrbeck Vice Chairman: Gary Truluck Secretary: Dewald Smith Treasurer: Ronald Rens Records Officer: Johan Van Rensburg Safety Officer:Tim Leach Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer:TBC Public Relations Officer: Martin du Plessis Tournaments Officer:TBC Development Officer: Martin du Plessis GAUTENG Chairman: Janes Wasserman Vice Chairman: Marius Smit Secretary: Mariette Hendriksz Treasurer: Jaco Huysamen Records Officer: Peet Koekemoer Safety Officer: Markus Fourie Deputy Safety Officer: John Pumphrett Deputy Safety Officer: Johan le Roex Safety Secretary: Betsie Von Wielligh Environmental Officer: Ludi Szabo Public Relations Officer: Mariette Hendriksz Tournaments Officer: Clinton Good Development Officer: Jannas Hendriksz GRIQUAS Chairman: John Pledger Vice Chairman: Paul Borcherds Secretary: Mary Ann Hodgskin Treasurer: Mary Ann Hodgskin Records Officer: John Pledger Safety Officer:Abrie Coetzee Deputy Safety Officer: Piet Nel Environmental Officer:Vic Correia Public Relations Officer: Reinhard van Rooyen Tournaments Officer: Reinhard van Rooyen Development: Paul Borcherds

WESTERN PROVINCE Chairman: Colin Joubert Vice Chairman: DP Burger Secretary: Sonja Marais Treasurer: Derek Muller Records Officer: Peter Catzavelos Safety Officer: Pieter Welgemoed Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer: Malcolm Grant Public Relations Officer: Sonja Marais Tournaments Officer (Inshore): Morne Marais Tournaments Officer (Offshore): Daniel Hughes Development Officer: Roger Marais ZULULAND Chairman: Gerrie Delport Vice Chairman: Marius Vermaak Secretary: Jan Jacobs Treasurer: Peet Oelsen Records Officer: Hannes Duvenage Safety Officer: Fanie Wassenaar Safety Secretary:Yvonne van Duyker Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer: Lucas Landman Public Relations Officer: Fanie Vermaak Tournaments Officer: Shaun Aspden Developement Officer: George Breedt Skippers Ticket Admin:Yvonne van Duyker Admin Secretary:Anza De Vries

NORTH WEST Chairman: Harry Nysschen Vice Chairman: Dirk Craffort Secretary:Thinus Alberts Treasurer: Gets Engelbrecht Records Officer:Wimpie Jacobs Safety Officer: Gets Engelbrecht Deputy Safety Officer:TBC Environmental Officer:TBC Public Relations Officer:TBC Tournaments Officer:TBC Development Officer:Wikus Theron NORTHERN GAUTENG Chairman: Hans du Preez Vice Chairman: Stiaan du Plooy Secretary: Belinda du Preez Treasurer: Mearl Buyskes Records Officer: Riaan Odendaal Safety Officer:Trevor Dittberner Deputy Safety Officer: Christine Dittberner Environmental Officer:TBC Public Relations Officer: Piet Venter Tournament Officer: Stiaan du Plooy Development Officer: Ryno le Grance

NEWS UPDATES Keep up to date with all the SADSAA news by visiting our website www.sadsaa.co.za or our facebook page @sadeepseaanglingassociaion

READERS’ QUERIES SADSAA’s President, Phillip Marx, has undertaken to answer a limited number of readers’ queries regarding SADSAA in each issue.

If you have a question you would like answered, email him on <president@sadsaa.co.za>.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 45

MARKETPLACE

W

ITH South Africa’s gloriously sunny climate we’re often out and about exercising or relaxing as we enjoy our leisure time, doing our best to stay healthy.

Vitamin D from the sun is great for our bodies, but of course we know that the UV rays from the sun are not good for our skin. Nor are they good for our eyes. It’s thus vital that we all have a good pair of sunglasses to protect our eyes from harmful UV light.This is even more important if you’re spending a lot of time on the beach or on the water where the sunlight bounces off the surface of the water, increasing the glare.

Of course there are numerous brands out there and it’s often hard to make a choice depending on style, budget and features.

BRENTONI One of the most popular brands in South Africa is Brentoni. Their eyewear range is constantly being updated while maintaining those traditional lines that never go out of style. Brentoni sunglasses are fitted with UV 400 or polarised lenses, and no matter what your style there’s a pair of Brentoni eyewear to suit you!

Funky to conservative, metal or plastic, Brentoni has them all.

BALLISTIC Another popular brand in South Africa is Ballistic. Ballistic Polarised Eyewear is made in a state of the art factory from eco-friendly castor bean bio oil (Grilamid), that results in super strong, lightweight, heat resistant frames.

Japanese polarised lenses are then inserted in the frames.

This means that with every pair of Ballistics you get all the UVA and UVB protection you need in a super lightweight but strong pair of sunglasses that have a greatly reduced impact on the environment. Function, quality and style in every pair.

MAKO Mako Polarised Sunglasses were launched onto the Australian market over 25 years ago and have been at the leading edge of high quality polarised eyewear ever since. They have a very strong following in the fishing and boating markets with many consumers aware of the absolute commitment to quality Mako represents.

Australia has some of the harshest conditions anywhere in the world, so Mako develops their products to be able to cope with those conditions.This means they’re perfect for South African conditions too.

Mako’s high quality Italian and

46 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

Japanese lenses, have proprietary high definition and infra red filters added to them to create the ultimate in clarity and comfort.

These de-centred lenses have been sourced to ensure they offer 99.9% glare-free vision and provide true depth perception which is crucial for any outdoor activity.

Mako have carefully collected some of the best lens colour combinations ever developed so that no matter what your passion, they have a lens that will allow you to see more and do more in any environment.

All Mako Polarised Sunglasses are tested in the field by a team of outdoors people across a wide range of activities, from fishing and boating to race car drivers, bush walkers and cyclists. This means they are confident their lenses are the best they can be before they get to the end user.

Fishing conditions can f luctuate wildly and what works in one, won’t work in another. Mako’s lens range has you covered in all situations. Each lens colour combination will offer distinct advantages and disadvantages depending on the conditions and what you are trying to see.

Use these handy lens cards below when you’re looking for your next pair of sunglasses.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 47

TACKLE TALK

GREASING REELS Make sure you pick the right lubricant for the task

By Paul Nixon

and an unhappy angler.

It’s important to note that most, if not all, reels arrive very under-lubricated direct from manufacture, and are certainly not saltwater ready.

We always suggest that anglers season prep or pre-service a reel straight after buying it. This is not because we want to make a quick buck, but rather because we know a proper service of the reel will ensure the internals are 100% protected from wear, and that the negative effects of saltwater are reduced to an absolute minimum.

Screw ports, line rollers and seals are often the first to pack up if they’re not attended to correctly. A pre-service also gives you peace of mind that internals are correctly in place. A few of us reel techs have opened reels only to find that gasket seals have been pinched or are not aligned, thereby rendering their sealing capability ineffective.

O

NE of the phrases I most commonly hear from customers dropping off a reel is: “The bearings and gears are fine, just pack the reel with grease.”

While the theory behind that kind of makes sense, there are so many other things that need to be considered before you just throw any old grease inside an expensive piece of equipment hoping that it will just work!

There are many types of lubricants available, and knowing what to put where on or inside a reel is crucial to ensuring it will last and perform at its peak for many seasons. Unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” product that can be used across the board.

Greasing the gears and oiling the bearings is a good starting point. Grease protects the bigger moving parts such as the pinion, main and work gear from wear by providing a barrier which prevents friction. Oil is put inside the bearings and rollerclutches because its much lower viscosity allows the same anti-friction properties while also repelling any moisture.

GREASE The properties that need to be looked for in a grease are a low viscosity, adherence, high friction resistance, performance under high speed, and heat dissipation. Generally you won’t find these properties in the cheaper and often easily supplied greases. On numerous occasions we open up a reel only to find it has been filled with some gearbox grease which is all over the inside of the reel and has been flung off the actual moving parts where it should be.

OIL The properties needed in an oil to ensure bearings function as required are that the oil is penetrative, has high heat resistance, displaces moisture and, very importantly, prevents corrosion.

DRAG GREASE With carbon drag washers being in place in most reels these days a high quality grease (in small quantities) also needs to be applied to these. There are currently three drag greases available — Shimano, Cals and Xtreme Lubricants.

They are all Teflon based and can only really be separated by their melting temperatures.

This reel has suffered badly and the working parts are clearly coated in salt.

A beautifully restored reel with the correct lubricant in all the right places.

There is a phenomenon known as high speed runout where lower temperature Tef lon greases show a decrease in drag performance pressure when a big fish makes long, hard, sustained runs under high drag pressure.

Under-lubricated drag washers sometimes seize to the spacer washers, and invariably this ends in a fireside story

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FREQUENCY OF SERVICES The million dollar question asked by so many anglers is how often they should service their reels.

Rust is probably the top factor that causes untold issues inside a reel.

Saltwater is no respecter of expensive equipment, and if it’s not cleaned off properly — irrespective of how long ago a service has been done — and is left to sit, it will destroy a reel.

The frequency of your ser vices depends on how often you fish, what conditions you fish in and whether the reels get subjected to a lot of salt spray.

A rule of thumb that I recommend to clients is that if your reels are going to be stored for some time, rather service them before storage knowing that when the time comes to use them again they will be ready to work properly.

This works well for many of our inland anglers who only make the trek to fish at the coast a few times a year and when they do fish they will chance even a few inclement days because time is limited.

The bottom line is that if you take care of your equipment properly it won’t let you down when you have “the big one” on the other end of your line.

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

50 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

OLD TIMERS

MEET POP BULLEN Fishing with an old man of the sea

By Elinor Bullen

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ILLIAM “Pop” Bullen, like many others, departed from England in the late 1940s to relocate to the healthier climate of Durban, bringing his wife and four children with him.

Having been an ardent salmon angler “back home”, it wasn’t surprising that when he spotted a small boat being towed down Point Road and around the Point Prison towards the sea, he followed it to find out where the craft would be launched and for what purpose. After talking to the anglers who owned the boat he was invited to crew on a ski-boat the following weekend.

At the age of 64 he thus became an ardent ski-boater and excellent ’cuda fisherman and even acquired a 3hp Seagull motor to take with him to augment the single outboard most skiboaters used in those days. With his thick English accent and enthusiastic disposition, he soon became one of the

lads among the other ski-boaters.

Pop was always a “doer”, and in 1952 he noticed a 12 metre ex-seaplane tender being auctioned. He acquired this near “hulk” compared to the other ski-boats of the time. Looking down on her she looked like a big speedboat, long and narrow, and had two big diesel engines.

The previous owner had named her Game Fish and Pop decided that her name would stay. For the next few months my father was kept very busy getting her into good order. The two 98hp Perkins diesel engines were completely overhauled, the cabin was extended back by 2.5 metres enabling the engines to be inside it, and the back deck was rebuilt to make sure it was watertight. Game Fish had to be converted into a sea going craft because her life of running around on relatively calm waters working with flying boats was over.

In November 1952 Game Fish was ready to take to the open ocean. My father took every opportunity to go

’cuda fishing, trolling with his five rods pulling baits behind the boat. On occasions at least three or four rods would get strikes all at once! Poor dad would rush around striking fish and blowing his whistle to alert his crewman to come and help him. The ski-boaters used to tease Dad no end, calling his rods a forest of bamboo, saying it was no wonder he caught so many fish. For the first couple of seasons Dad fished within a few miles of Durban, Vetches Pier, No 1 and Umgeni River mouth until his confidence grew. My father had found a new wonderful interest in gamefishing.

UNDER FIRE On one particularly calm day in 1954 Dad decided to troll along the coast past Umgeni River mouth about half a mile out to sea. Knowing that there was a shooting range north of the river, he looked to see if the red flags were flying on their poles. He saw nothing, so he continued on his course, sitting in his chair watching his rods. Suddenly he

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 51

Right: Pop Bullen and his catch of ’cuda alongside one of the boats he fished on in 1951.

Below: Some of the ski-boats fishing off Durban in the 1950s.

was under attack! First he heard the splinter of wood near him, then he noticed water spraying up around the boat. He realised that the army was target shooting! Dad dived into the cabin, ducking down between the two large engines for protection. Meanwhile the boatman had opened up full throttle and turned the boat out to sea to avoid the flying bullets.

Once out of range my father surveyed the damage done to his beloved boat. His boatman claimed that one of the bullets came through the side window of the wheelhouse just missing him; it hit the steering column and ricocheted down the entire length of the cabin, splintering the back door frame.

The bullet then ricocheted again and headed out to where dad was sitting, piercing through the fabric of his trouser leg, missing his actual leg by millimetres, and finally exiting through the side of the boat, On my father’s return home from fishing he stopped off at the Natal Command to report his ordeal to the captain in charge at the shooting range that day. Evidently the flags were hoisted, but due to the lack of wind they were hanging limp on their poles. To cheer up my father, the captain invited him to join them at the target range the following week; he eagerly accepted and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of target shooting.

On weekends and during school holidays my brothers, Paul and Charles, and I were keen to fish with Dad. Competition was always fierce to see who was going to catch the most fish and, being the only girl among them, I had to prove I was the best. Even when my brothers were not on board and it was just Dad and I — an old man and a little girl — we were out to beat the young tough ski-boat fishermen.

HERE SHARKY SHARK Our first encounter with an enormous great white shark was quite frightening and certainly will not be forgotten by all involved. Dad and I had gone fishing at No 1 Ground; on our arrival we saw a ski-boat catching ’cuda so we took a troll past them, quickly hooking and landing a couple of fish. We then decided to take a drift just past the other boat and soon hooked up with another two fish which were promptly snapped up by a hungry shark.

Dad instructed me to start the engine and move from the area.We had travelled quite a distance when he noticed someone on board the ski-boat frantically waving a white shirt on the end of a gaff to attract our attention. I was immediately instructed to turn Game Fish back towards the little boat

to find out why they needed us so urgently. As we approached them, we could see the three fishermen huddled close together in the middle of their boat, two of them holding gaffs. They looked terrified and were pointing frantically at the ocean directly below them.We were horrified to see an enormous, sinister looking great white shark gliding around below their boat.

Dad immediately instructed me to get the big shad bait into the water to lure the shark away from the ski-boat. I quickly did as he instructed, and we dragged the bait across the shark’s nose so it would pick up the scent. It soon began following us. Meanwhile the skiboat quickly started its engines and raced off in the opposite direction to safety. The shark continued to follow the shad until we retrieved the bait.

Elinor Bullen (then aged 13) with some of the 55 ’cuda she and Pop Bullen caught off Umdloti one day in 1954.

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Above: Pop Bullen (centre) and two fishing mates with a good haul of ’cuda in 1951.

Right: Paul, Elinor and Pop Bullen with their crewman aboard Game Fish in 1960.

When it finally passed the back of our boat just a couple of metres away from us, the width of the shark’s head including its two pectoral fins, was wider than our boat’s transom. I felt a shiver of fear run through my body at seeing such a huge monster so close to our boat, but fortunately it then silently disappeared into the depths.

ENORMOUS CATCHES OF ’CUDA During 1956, before I started keeping a logbook recording our boat catches, I can remember one particular day when the ’cuda went into a feeding frenzy. It was a calm, hot day, and our helmsman had not turned up for work, but Dad and I decided to take the boat out anyway; we would just have to gaff fish and remove hooks ourselves.

We trolled towards Umgeni River mouth, and found the ’cuda a couple of kilometres offshore. The bite was so intense, with us catching fish after fish, that we used up our bait in no time and we had to cut the belly shine off our

dead fish to use. By lunch time we were so exhausted that we decided to leave the fish and head for home before the south-westerly buster hit us. We knew from our fast-falling barometer that there was ominous weather brewing, and fortunately arrived back at the dock just after 1pm before the bad weather hit. The two of us had caught 66 good sized ’cuda; this catch turned out to be our best catch ever for a morning’s outing. At the time Dad was 70 and I was 15 years old.

On one particular Sunday in April 1960 we left Durban later than usual and headed to Umdloti, 26km north with a travelling time of 45 minutes. On arrival, we could see many other skiboat anglers were already catching fish.

Dad grumbled that we should have left home earlier. Nevertheless, we soon joined the frenzy and with all five reels screaming, it was hard to decide which one to grab first to strike. Dad was blowing his whistle madly for our crewman to stop the boat and help us.

Elinor with a 26.8kg ’cuda she caught off Game Fish in April 1958.

Another exciting day on Game Fish had begun.

By lunchtime the fishing had quietened down, much to our relief, and we could enjoy the tea and sandwiches my mother had prepared for us. Dad asked me to count the fish in the box on the deck.When I opened it up it was nearly full and I estimated about 25 fish of around 5kg each. We had hardly finished our lunch when the ’cuda started biting again, so it was back into action.

Around 4pm we decided to call it a day.

We had just packed our rods away in the cabin when ski-boat S134 with the Mattsson brothers and crew Kenny Wightman aboard came motoring up to our boat. Their ski-boat was very overloaded with ’cuda and they had come to ask my father if we could take several sacks of their fish back to Durban for them; they would then collect the fish at the dock later. My father was always very helpful to the ski-boaters so he was only too happy to oblige them, and several bags were packed inside our cabin walkway. I can remember dad joking with Andy and Frank Mattsson that he would replace all their large fish with our small ones. They were very pleasant chaps and great anglers; it turned out that they had landed 88 ’cuda that day compared to our little catch of 42 fish.

From 1952 to 1962 we had some amazing big catches of ’cuda. Some days when we returned home we were too tired to even eat the supper my mother had prepared for us. Instead we would bath and fall into our beds to sleep. Yet we still managed to rise at 3.30am the next day to be on the fishing grounds before sunrise. If the fishing was slow during the day Dad would sometimes go into the cabin and sleep for an hour or so to help rejuvenate himself.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 53

Left: Seventeen-year-old Elinor fishing off Game Fish. Right: Elinor with a 19kg GT she caught off Game Fish in 1954.

GETTING MY SKIPPER’S TICKET When my father was 75 he had a major operation which put him out of action for some weeks. During that time I decided to obtain my skipper’s ticket so that I could take the boat out to fish. I had unofficially skippered Game Fish for years, so at the age of 20 I decided to call in at the Port Captain’s office and make an appointment.

On arriving I was instructed to go to an office where I was confronted by a man with dark, piercing eyes and very bushy eyebrows. He introduced himself to me as Captain Nesbit, and my confidence suddenly left me as he looked so fierce.

After I gave him my details and our boat’s name he started firing numerous questions at me. I must have answered them correctly, as he then instructed me to wait in the outer office until my pilot’s exemption letter was brought to me.

I was overjoyed — at last I was officially a Captain with a Harbour & Railways letter to prove it!

MARLIN FISHING ON GAME FISH One particular species my father was not keen for me to catch was marlin, as he said they took too long to pull in and he battled to sell them. However, on the occasions when Dad was sleeping onboard, I would sneak out a large bait especially rigged up for a marlin.

On one particular afternoon while trolling off Umdloti I hooked into a very strong fish on a large shad bait.The

fish did not show itself after I struck, so at first I was not sure what I had actually hooked. I instructed the helmsman to chase down my line to see if we could get closer to whatever it was.

My word what, a shock we all had — it was the biggest marlin we had ever seen at that stage. The marlin was cruising along just below the surface minding its own business and I wondered if it actually knew that it was hooked.

My tackle was a 9/0 Penn Senator with 24kg line on it, and there was no fighting chair or harness on board to help me fight this mighty fish. For three long hours I stood at the front of our boat trying every trick I could think up to turn or tire the fish. At one stage we managed to come within about 30 metres of it.

For the duration of the fight a skiboat from Durban had been standing by, ready to assist us if need be.

Eventually they came alongside and suggested that one of them should take over the rod from me. I readily agreed as I was exhausted.

A very strong looking young man named Alf boarded Game Fish and eagerly took over my rod.

Although he pulled hard on the fish for over an hour, it still made no difference to the marlin which just kept swimming strongly up the coast. We eventually realised the fish was far too big for us and cut it loose.

I subsequently had the opportunity to fish for marlin on a number of occa-

54 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

sions and landed a few good ones, but that’s a story for another day.

TIME FOR A CHANGE In late 1962 I decided to quit fishing (briefly) and join my sister who was living in Salisbur y, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). During the two years I was away my dad fished with his helmsman, and occasional my brothers, Paul and Charles, went on the boat with him.

Unfortunately no one kept a record of what was caught after I left the boat, though I am sure that a lot more fish were landed.

In 1970, at the age of 84, my father sold Game Fish; he’d owned her for over 18 years. Our family was in stitches when Dad told us that the new owner had only bought her, because he was told that she caught lots of fish!

The last couple of years of William “Pop” Bullen’s life were not good as his cancer came back and he died in September 1974 at the ripe old age of 88.

Thinking back I realised how fortunate I was to experience such an amazing life due to my father teaching me how to fish and encouraging me to follow my dreams.

Little did he know in those early days that he had charted a course for me to follow which I managed to successfully navigate, going on to catch many more fish, including some records, and spending 26 years working for ORI. But that too is another story for another day.

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RECIPE

58 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 59

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!

60 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

MEET THE ’CUDA WHISPERER

by Seth Corfield (10)

O

N Saturday 3 July 2021 I went fishing with my Uncle Peter (we just call him Oom) on his boat Bullshark, together with my oldest brother, Chase, and my uncle’s dad, also Peter.

There were a lot of sardines in the water so we trolled Aliwal Shoal as a start without any luck.We came inside to get some baits and found a massive shoal of sardines in front of Green Point. It was a whole lot of fun as it’s the first time I was on a boat seeing the millions of them swimming under us.There were no fish around the sards but we got some nice live baits for later.

We tried a deeper reef for tuna for an hour or so with no luck so we decided to head back to Scottburgh to try for some ’cuda. It wasn’t long before we had our first ’cuda on board of about 8kg. My brother Chase was next on the rod, but he wanted my knife. I really wanted to catch a fish, so I gave him my knife so I could be next.

About an hour after the first one we saw a huge smash on top of the water, not realising that our bait was being eaten.The reel screamed off and we were ON! The fish was wild and ran around everywhere. We thought it was a shark or a tuna as it was very heavy and my arms got so tired, but everyone encouraged me not to give up. After about 20 minutes we saw the fish for the first time and it was HUGE! My heart started racing and the fish kept us busy around the boat.After an amazing 25-minute fight Oom gaffed the fish and got it on the boat.

Everyone was cheering and hugging each other out of excitement; we could not believe how big this fish was.When we got back the ’cuda weighed 26.5kg which is my biggest fish ever!

It’s a day I will never forget. I am now truly the ten-year-old ’cuda whisperer!

BOOK REVIEW

A LIFE TO REMEMBER INDEED! Reviewed by Erwin Bursik

B

RIAN Cohen’s three-part series on fishing for bluefin tuna in False Bay which appeared in SKI-BOAT magazine (Nov/Dec 2020, Jan/Feb 2021 and March/April 2021) not only captured the imagination of most of our readers, but also recapped an era of big game fishing that very few have witnessed, let alone taken part in.

In his recently published memoir, A Life to Remember, Brian (pictured right) adds even more information than was carried int he articles we printed, and shares many more stories regarding his illustrious sportfishing career, the characters he knew, celebrities he spent time with and the adventures he had along the way.

I thought I knew a lot about Brian at least in terms of him catching bluefin tuna in False Bay and owning a tuna processing plant, but after reading his memoir I was shattered at how little I actually knew of the man.

His biography, written by Lee Faulkner in collaboration with Brian, paints a picture of a man whose life path led him in many different directions. We learn of his involvement in property development, football, game ranching, art, music and, above all, politics and his lifelong association with Pik Botha, South Africa’s one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This latter aspect led to Brian’s involvement in many “interesting” overt operations, and those chapters alone make for some very captivating reading.

This melting pot of stories — over and above my specific interest in big game fishing and sportfishing craft — totally captured my interest. I not only eagerly read the entire book, but also went back to re-read specific chapters that had peaked my interest the first time around. Just writing this review has reminded me of other chapters I want to scrutinise further.

In essence, no matter where one’s primary interest lies, you’ll no doubt find this entire book and the diversity of Brian’s life incredibly interesting.

In Brian’s words, “My book is not aimed at literary perfection, but as an ‘around the campfire’ read.” And indeed he’s hit that target perfectly because I devoured the book the first time around a campfire while on a hunting trip in Namibia.

The book is peppered with photgraphs of a time gone by that will no doubt rekindle memories for many readers.

A Life to Remember costs R380 and can be ordered directly from <lee@capesky.co.za>.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2021 • 63

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64 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021

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Last word from the ladies!

RAPALA LIP

M

OST of us wives, girlfriends, lovers etc., have a number of persistent complaint about our fishermen and our homes: towels get thrown onto the bathroom floor, dirty clothes go into the corner of the bedroom, his cupboard is always in a mess and the door is never closed, mud and grease mysteriously appear on carpets, sharp hooks are left lying around to embed themselves in unsuspecting feet, butter dishes and jam jars never have lids, and bread — cut in the middle of the night — is never put away. I could go on forever, but I’m sure you have a similar list of your own.

But when Popeye suggested I tag along for a day on the ocean with the boys, what an eye-opener it turned out to be.

Firstly, as I was about to step onto the ski-boat I was quickly reminded in a strong tone of voice:“Now don’t forget, babe, no sand allowed on board, so wash your feet — or else!

Hmmm, I thought, what about all the mud and grease on the carpets in our house?

Once on board I was given a lifejacket to put on. It was taken out of a cupboard which wa so neatly packed it was an absolute shocker.

How, I wondered, can he keep his boat cupboard so neat, yet at home the exact opposite is true.

Once we were through the surf I was allowed to remove the life-jacket and was immediately told to fold the straps nicely around the jacket so that it could be packed away neatly into a bow storage locker.

That immediately made me think of

all the clothes Popeye had pulled out of the cupboard that morning to find the shirt and jacket he wanted to wear that day. Of course he didn’t bother to fold or put back the clothes he’d removed...

Fishing got under way as normal on the ski-boat and occasionally I was asked to go into the boat drawers and find a bait needle or pliers or any of a number of items Popeye has stored there. What amazed me was the unbelievable neatness and order of all the equipment stored on the boat.

It’s such a pity that the same rules don’t apply when Popeye comes home late at night and raids the kitchen.

Drawers are left open and untidy, milk is left on the counter, the coffee is placed back in the wrong cupboard — often with the detergents, and so on.

You know the drill.

When Popeye finally caught a fish, it was superbly gaffed and released into the hatch with no fuss.

All the cleaning equipment came out to scrub the deck, and then a towel was used to wipe up.When I offered to help, I was reminded not to leave the scrubbing brush on deck, and that I should return the cloths and towels from whence they came — back in the correct cupboard.

The sod, I thought. He doesn’t even put his bath towel back in in the right place at home after he’s used it, and here I am being ordered to put all his equipment back where it belongs.

I started to feel a bit sickly and was given a SKI-BOAT magazine to read and told to watch the horizon. Obviously you can’t do both at the same time, so I started reading the magazine in the hopes that I would learn something. But

that only made me feel more nauseous, so I dropped the magazine onto the deck and took a few deep breaths of fresh air. In a flash Popeye reminded me in no uncertain terms that the mag had important information in it, and that if I did not want to read it any more I should put it away somewhere safe!

What a pity the newspapers at home are never picked up from the lounge floor after Popeye has scrutinised every page.And what about all his old magazines lying around in the bathroom?

So, dear reader, can I be blamed for wearing a semi-permanent Rapala Lip whenever he makes a mess of my domain, our home? Can I honestly be blamed for wanting to break a rod over his head when he persists in living a life of double standards?

According to the old saying, “A man’s home is his castle.” I beg to differ.

To him a Castle is something he occasionally drinks, and his home is a place where he goes after work or play, to eat and sleep. I want my house to be shipshape too, but apparently that’s not part of the deal!

When I pick him out about his double standards, Popeye responds with indignant denial and irritable impatience. And then his Rapala Lip is even bigger than mine and the sulk lasts for days. So, I do what so many other beleaguered women do: take yet another deep breath and get on with life.

That reminds me of another saying that fits this scenario: “What a wonderful world it would be if men showed as much patience and care in all things as they do in waiting for a fish to bite.”

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? Or has that all really changed?

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 (about 900 words) with us — you know you want to. Email them to <sheena@mags.co.za>.

66 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2021