Ski-Boat September 2022

Seacat 565

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2 x Yamaha 60hp 4-stroke motors, hydraulic steering, galvanised breakneck trailer.

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CONTENTS

September/October 2022 Volume 38 Number 5 COVER: CAPTAIN FINE! Craig Stubbs shows off some of KwaZulu-Natal’s bounty.

See story on page 23.

FEATURES

6

Blindsided Guinjata Species Bonanza 2022 reportback — by Erwin Bursik

16

Grander-Plus Fish of a lifetime in Cape Verde — by Ben Vorster

23

Tussling with ’Tail Tactics for taming yellowtail in KZN — by Craig Stubbs

31

31

Proteas Bloom in Iceland 2022 EFSA European Species Championship — by Francois Beukes

39

Tuna Time with Mom Special days out off Table Bay — by Ryan Nienaber and Stella Taylor

43

Cape 2 Cape Fillet Simple and delicious recipe for fresh fish — by Martin du Plessis

16

52

The Tide Rises,The Tide Falls 2022 SADSAA Junior Nationals — by Lyn Adams

59

Sunshine Days off Struisbaai Fishing memories that make you smile — by Jack Walsh

39

DEPARTMENTS 4

Editorial — by Erwin Bursik

55

Bell Reel Kids

36

SADSAA News

57

Mercury Junior Anglers

47

Subscription page

63

Business Classifieds & Directory

49

Kingfisher Awards

64

Rapala Lip Last Word from the Ladies

The official magazine of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association

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

Publisher: Erwin Bursik Editor: Sheena Carnie Advertising Executive: Mark Wilson Editorial Assistant: Lynette Oakley Contributors: Lynette Adams, Francois Beukes, Erwin Bursik, Martin du Plessis, Ryan Nienaber, Craig Stubbs, Stella Taylor, Ben Vorster and Jack Walsh.

ADVERTISING – National Sales: Mark Wilson, Manager — 073 748 6107 Lyn Oakley, Sales — 082 907 7733 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: R220 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: Novus Print, Cape Town 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.

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.

4 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

EDITORIAL

AN ODE TO THE BUNNY HUGGERS

A

NYONE who takes part in the sport of fishing or hunting, regardless of circumstances, is going to be lambasted by a righteous few who advocate that blood sports should be totally discontinued. Ifs, buts and maybes don’t feature in their thinking.

In the mass media, TV shows, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc., the simple disclaimer of “sensitive viewers beware” precedes the graphic portrayal of animals and fish being harvested for food. The sheer volume of people exposed to these photos Erwin Bursik and films is not diminishing, so presumably Publisher they’re accepted by the huge number of viewers that support them and those who don’t simply switch to another “station”.

In printed media such as SKI-BOAT Magazine which is aimed directly at the offshore sports fishing fraternity, we do often show dead fish when we believe it adds to the story, or highlights the experience or exceptional catch achievements.

That said, much has changed in recent years. As little as 30 years ago a bag limit was a target.The offshore sport angler of today is a great deal more conscious of the need to conserve the resource and observe the saying “Don’t catch your limit, limit your catch”.

Thirty years ago a billfish of any size was a prime catch and a “trophy” in the minds of all deep sea anglers, and was proudly displayed on return to the beach or harbour. Back in 1990 a photograph of ±40 sailfish hanging from a gantry in Malindi, Kenya, was hailed as phenomenal. That photo began the rush of South African offshore anglers to the north Kenya coast once the destination was open to South Africans. Today this fishery still attracts many international billfish anglers, but now they accept that tag and release is the norm, and well over 90% of all billfish caught in the area are tagged and released. This ethic has been adopted by South African billfish anglers too, and almost all billfish caught in our waters over the last ten years have been released.

South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has regulated set bag limits for all fish species caught by recreational anglers. Anglers are thus permitted to catch, keep and display catches which fall within the permitted sizes and numbers and they should not be “crucified” for legally doing so. It is our editorial policy to respect the law and to limit showcasing excessive catches of any fish species which might encourage more of the same.

At the same time, we are a fishing magazine. As such, we are committed to supporting the sport and its participants. One of the major achievements in any form of angling is catching one’s “personal best” fish, and a photograph of this event provides any angler with a lifetime of pleasure.

In this issue we carry a photo of an incredibly large blue marlin that was legally caught and landed and which is, for now, the second heaviest blue marlin ever taken in the Atlantic Ocean — and the angler’s personal best catch of a lifetime.

Each day I am personally exposed to a multitude of anglers’ photographs of their worthwhile achievements and silently admire each and every one, with the proviso that each photograph taken pays full respect to the catch portrayed.

So yes, by all means enjoy fishing and show off your catches, and we’ll celebrate with you, but let’s all stick to the rules and have a care for the future.

Don’t catch your limit, limit your catch.

Till the next tide.

Erwin Bursik

COMPETITION

Guinjata Species Bonanza 2022 Story by Erwin Bursik Main photo by Justin Klusener

C

OVID changed the world we knew in many ways, and just one of the effects for fishermen specifically was losing out on attending some of our favourite annual competitions.The Guinjata Bonanza had to be cancelled two years in a row thanks to the pandemic, and it seemed an incredibly long time for the South African skiboaters who look forward to this event.

Early June 2022 saw the resurgence of the adventure of towing one’s craft the 1 000-odd kilometres to what is arguably one of Moçambique’s most scenic and special fishing destinations.

The return of this experience and the sight of the wide white sand beach, welcoming bay and southern headland stirred deep emotion in the soul of many of us who have attended this event since its inception in 1998.

This year also saw the return of an impressive number of ’cuda (king mackerel) in the waters both north and south of Guinjata Bay. Most teams participating had the opportunity to catch these fast and tenacious “silver fish” to form a base count in the species-driven point scoring rules of this event.

This run also produced the winning fish of the competition.

It was however the “great conservator” who had a major

6 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

say by foisting some unseasonably bad weather conditions on us. The strong winds delayed the start of the competition by two days, and gave us very rough conditions on both the Wednesday and Friday, leaving only the Thursday as a very pleasant day to fish the waters off Guinjata Bay. Having said that, even during the rough weather the fish count was high, but many of us found it difficult to obtain other species to use as a multiplying factor over and above the ’cuda, to build up a respectable points tally.

Getting a good points tally — derived from recording the numbers of species caught and/or released after measurement on the issued chart strips — was imperative. In this competition, final points are calculated by multiplying the accumulative weight of the fish caught by the number of species caught.

To put it bluntly, if you didn’t catch a number of different species, you were not in the running.

As an example, on the first day of fishing 111 fish were weighed or released — 12 different species. Fifty ’cuda were recorded, 16 yellowfin, 13 amberjack (all released), 10 bonito, 11 kingfish species, one dorado, three greater barracuda, four green jobfish, one prodigal son, one wahoo and one GT.

Sr. Jose Jeremias, Jangamo District Administrator (left), joins the crowd congratulating James Kofn who took the prize for overall biggest weighed fish.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 7

8 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

Team Blindside overtook the whole fleet to win the 2022 Guinjata Species Bonanza.

This set the leaderboard as follows: 1st Wolfie 454 points 2nd Queen Pine 331 points 3rd Dr Sangoma 217 points 4th S’MaLekke 198 points 5th Wild Thing 168 points Of interest, two boats recorded five species each that day, which shows how important the multiplication factor is when accumulating total points.

The predetermined total bag limit of ten fish per species per boat for the week’s fishing, effectively stops a prevalent resource such as the ’cuda this year, being over exploited.

Taking ’cuda as an example, on day one the boat tally was, on average, less than two of these prolific fish.

Most teams planned to bag two or three ’cuda first thing and then proceed to target other species in order to bring into effect the multiplication clause. In reality, a 6kg shoal ’cuda could, if a team caught five species, escalate that six points to 30 points.

A further factor in point accumulation was the release of billfish — sailfish earned 40 points and marlin 80 points.That can, and did this year, make a substantial contribution when

Team Queen Pine finished in second place overall.

multiplying by a number of species on a particular day.

Two fish caught early on during the competition eventually played a huge role in the final winners list — one unlucky and one lucky. The first was Mike Rich who released a 21kg amberjack (based on measurements) and the second was James Kofn who weighed his ’cuda of 14.7kg. In the final summation, Mike’s decision to release his amberjack cost him the prize for overall biggest weighed fish which went to James’s ’cuda.

Things changed drammatically from the Wednesday to Friday, and Wolfie didn’t keep her lead for long. In the end, Blindside overtook the whole fleet to win the 2022 Guinjata Species Bonanza.

The three sailfish and one marlin released by Blindside made an enormous difference to their points tally, and they ended with close to double the number of points of the next boat, Queen Pine. Lucky Luke II took third place.

Team Lucky Luke II took third place.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 9

TOP FIVE FISH 1. 14.7kg ’Cuda, James Kofn on Blesbok 2. 14.6kg Dorado, Arlindo on Pablo 3. 14.1kg ’Cuda, Shaun Erasmus on Footloose 4. 14.0kg ’Cuda, Douglas Stokes on Shamwari 5. 13.8kg Wahoo, Coen Vermaak Jnr on Coena 2

TOP FIVE ANGLERS 1. Cameron Sim, Blindside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199.2 points 2. Mike Harrison, Primezulu II . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.8 points 3. Hannes, Simbiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.8 points 4. Rhys Griffiths, Bubezi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.5 points 5. Kelvin Stokes, Shamwari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.1 points

The second biggest weighed fish was this beautiful 14.6kg dorado caught by Arlindo on Pablo.

TOP TEN BOATS 1. Blindside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 426.2 points 2. Queen Pine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814.7 points 3. Lucky Luke II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668.2 points 4. Wolfie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630.8 points 5. Dr Sangoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478.6 points 6. Primezulu II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428.5 points 7. Uli Buli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404.1 points 8. Bubezi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284.0 points 9. Cruizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276.1 points 10. Pablo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.4 points

TOP LADY ANGLERS 1. Chandra van Vuurent, Po 10 Sea . . . . . . . . . . . 80.0 points 2. Judith Louw, Swernoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.0 points 3. Trynie Vorster, Po 10 Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 points

WINNERS OF JET-SKI SECTION 1. Richard Griffiths, Jetski Red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.4 points 2. Mark Reeves, Seabiscuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.2 points 3. Andre Hugget, Huggy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.6 points

Chandra van Vuurent sporting her trophy for top lady angler.

BILLFISH RELEASED Sailfish 6 Marlin 12

COMPARISON OF THE NUMBER OF EACH FISH SPECIES WEIGHED AT THE GUINJATA BONANZA OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS 2022 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 Amberjack 23 23 33 21 17 19 15 18 7 14 Bonito — all 30 18 20 30 23 26 12 16 29 33 ’Cuda 143 70 110 191 117 63 53 168 83 151 Dogtooth tuna 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dorado 11 19 7 41 35 42 13 40 32 16 Greater barracuda 6 24 15 12 4 19 7 10 24 11 Green jobfish 6 8 23 22 10 23 52 65 15 27 Kingfish — all 25 7 55 20 10 79 95 107 22 29 Giant kingfish 1 1 1 3 2 8 19 9 4 6 Prodigal son 3 4 20 11 4 11 7 14 8 10 Queenfish 0 0 5 0 0 3 0 27 8 0 Rainbow runner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wahoo 3 11 0 15 7 12 4 7 33 24 Yellowfin tuna 45 14 29 139 8 54 70 28 149 137

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 11

These are our heros who were able to reel in some amazing billfish that were all released.

So much can be read into the tabled results shown, but they don’t fully reflect the true level of the trials and tribulations the anglers endured. Game plans could be right or wrong, even after taking into account both prevailing weather and sea conditions and the feeding habits of the various gamefish species that inhabit the magnificent stretch of coastline both north and south of Guinjata Bay. In my opinion, the current format of the Guinjata Species Bonanza extracts the very best of angling expertise from all the teams taking part.

It rewards the hard work, knowledge and expertise of the top ten teams as well as enabling the lesser experienced anglers and teams to end up on the stadium during the spectacular prize giving to collect one or more of the amazing number of prizes.

Quentin Clark, the Guinjata Sport Fishing Club Chairman, and his small but dedicated committee who organise and run this event put in a tremendous effort in the months leading up to the event, and it showed.With the effects of Covid now behind us, it must be said that the spectacular prizes were a tribute to these men who had achieved such heights working tirelessly well over 1 000 kilometres from their home bases in Gauteng.

All the sponsors, big or small, not only made this event possible, but their contributions also gave the Guinjata Bay resort a massive economic injection that will hopefully enable it to once again shine as the gem of the Moçambique coast.

The Guinjata Sport Fishing Club’s annual species bonanza is traditionally held during the first week in June, and I look forward to the 2023 event.

12 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

Gratitude in the form of an honorary award to Johan and Fiona Hoffman for going the extra mile, as always.

HISTORIC CATCH

Fish of a lifetime in Cape Verde

By Ben Vorster

Smiles all round from Michiel, Papau, Martin, Ryan, Gerhardt and Ben, thrilled with catching their grander-plus.

16 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

“B

a certain spot — cold beer and good the secret to our success for the comIG fish, big fish! Wind, food, so we were happy. ing week. wind, wind, bring in the We were thrilled about our first On Saturday 14 May 2022 at 07h30 teasers! Pitch, pitch, day’s fishing and I took my first Voltaren we left the port of Mindelo heading to pitch!”shouted our skipthat same night! We were all stiff after the area of Monte Trigo on Santo Antâo per, Capt Ryan Williamson. fighting stand-up with a Black Magic island where we would be fishing for These phrases were the beginning harness — totally different from what the next couple of days.We had to cross of a life experience never to be forgotwe use in South Africa when catching the channel between the two islands ten. marlin. with a 28 knot northerly wind blowing, Let me start from the beginning...

I’m captain of my own boat, which caused heavy seas with huge In February 2021 I saw Ryan enterBullship, in South Africa, but I have swells breaking everywhere. ing his locker with his new boat, never tried pitchbaiting before and that On the two-hour crossing we had Pulsator, at Sodwana Bay, just two lockwas one of the reasons I booked with our first lesson on making up pitch bait, ers from mine. I went to congratulate Ryan — I wanted to learn more. carefully paying special attention to all him on the new boat and get some firstSunday morning at 07h00, we had the detail. I like “stealing with my eyes” hand information on how to pitch for breakfast and caught our small “taxi” and knew I would learn a lot from marlin. Right there and then I decided boat from the beach out to Smoker Captain Ryan, the marlin king. to make a booking for Cape Verde with which was anchored not far from the There are four rods on the boat — Ryan to learn how to pitch and try to shore. It was a beautiful day with no two 50 lb Tiagras spooled with 100 lb tick one of my ultimate “bucket list” wind and crystal blue water.All three of line, and two 80 lb Tiagras spooled with items — catching a 1 000 lb grander! us adjusted the harnesses to size and 130 lb line. All fish up to 500 lb are Ryan was fully booked for the next were ready for the day. fought stand-up style on the 50 lb rods two years, but I got a date for July 2023.

It wasn’t long before we had our and bigger fish are fought on the 80 lb In May 2021, he phoned me and said he first fish of around 200 lb. He was a real rods from the chair. had a cancellation for May 2022. I was fighter, again caught on the pitch, and It wasn’t long before we had our ecstatic and accepted immediately. This he was released after 15 minutes. first introduction to pitch baiting, going was great news and my fishing companWe caught three more fish, ranging 3–3 on the first day, with two 300 lb ions and I started planning our trip. between 300- and 450 lb, all on pitch and a 450 lb fish, all released. What an Getting there was an enormous hurbait. We also lost one fish which ate a awesome day to start with, learning dle, because Covid made it very difficult kona but didn’t manage to hook up. from the best. to book any flights from South Africa to At around 17h00, on our way back We went back to the island at the Cape Verde Islands.There weren’t a to shore, Ryan shouted “Big fish!” and around 18h00, heading for our new lot of options to fly to Portugal either, we saw that the fish had eaten the tube guesthouse situated on the beach of a because Lisbon is the only connecting on the long centre. It was Michiel’s massive volcanic mountain 6 500ft flight to Sâo Vicente Island. Eventually turn; he jumped into the fighting chair high.The small village is located on the we managed to book flights, then the and started fighting the fish.After about foot of the mountain between somenightmare really started. an hour the fish was next to the boat, where and nowhere. The guesthouse Portugal refused to give Shengen estimated around 850 lb. We took some had a rustic look to it, with no winvisas to South African residents and we photos, touched the bill and she was dows, no hot water and everything else couldn’t get an appointment with any released. very basic. However, they had wifi — at other Shengen State to apply for a visa What a day 5–6, with a big for the stopover in Lisbon. fish of 850 lb! I have never seen Luckily the rules changed such a big marlin in real life. She and there was another option gave a real fight and Michiel was available — f lying via Luanda exhausted. We were all in turbo (Angola) into Lisbon with only mode after witnessing such a big four hours stopover, so we could fish jumping and tail walking for stay in transit in Lisbon and didmetres and metres. n’t need a visa.As we didn’t have Unbelievable 8–9 in two any other choice, we booked days! That evening we had a counew tickets; getting to our assigple of beers to celebrate a very nation with Ryan was most happy and successful day. important.

Monday morning — same Our fishing dates were 14 to time, same place with high 20 May 2022, and on 13 May we expectations for what the day excitedly met Ryan at the floatwould deliver.The morning starting Marina Bar. He was busy ed off slow, with just a few boats preparing for our week of fishcalling in some fish. Gerhardt ing onboard Smoker with deckcaught a 200 lb marlin late hands Martin Palmer from the morning, which was a truly USA and Papau Adilson Mendes “wild” fish and almost jumped Alves who is a local from the into the boat. The marlin gave town of Mindelo. him a hard time, refusing to Papau grew up on boats and come close to the boat, but after has been fishing for the last 12 about 25 minutes he was years. He knows exactly what a released. grander looks like. Our fishing The rest of the day was team consisted of three — quiet, with Capt Ryan hunting all myself, my brother Gerhardt, and around, looking for the marlin a good friend Dr Michiel Roos. shoals.

At around 16h00 in a sea Ryan had asked me to take Captain Ryan Williamson surveys the fruits of a with huge swells, we had a dousome of his Pulsator lures with fantastic week’s fishing — numerous release flags ble-up. It was amazing to see me, and I knew they would be and one grander boated.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 17

how the crew operated keeping our fish apart and our minds strong. I have to confess, a couple of swear words passed between us, but eventually both fish were released.After that fish I really hoped that we wouldn’t get more to bite that day. Another 3–3; pitch bait is definitely the way to go!

That evening it was a full moon, and we had a discussion on whether the moon has any effect on the fishing.

Despite all the theories being thrown around, there was no definite conclusion one way or the other.

The next two days were quieter, with one fish every day, although they were called 400- and 450 lb, both on the pitch and stand-up.

On the evening of 18 May, I asked Ryan if he didn’t think we should move to another island. “We caught a lot of young boys in this area, the big mamma must be here!” he responded. He’s the captain, so we all agreed to stay in the area. “Tomorrow we go earlier,” he announced; Ryan said he had a good feeling about the Thursday.

In high spirits, we set out the teasers at 07h10. I went to the cooler box where we had a bigeye tuna of around 6 lb on the ice. I kissed it, because that was the pitch bait for the big mamma we were all waiting for.

At 07h16 a loud shout came from Ryan:“BIG FISH! BIG FISH! Wind, wind, wind!”We all saw a monster coming up behind the Pulsator tube on the centre line. Everyone was in super charged mode, pulling in the teasers and tube.

The one and only big pitch bait was in the water within seconds, while the big fish chased the tube with her mouth

Smoker was in 300 metres of water, so the fish had enough depth to give Ben Vorster a hard time. wide open, trying to engulf the lure.

When the pitch bait skipped on the water for the second time, she saw the bait and rushed to eat the tuna.

The whole world went into slowmotion.

It happened right in front of us, ten metres behind Smoker. With a wideopen mouth, bill in the air, she ate the tuna and the Tiagra started screaming. I jumped into the fighting chair, connected the harness to the reel and that was when my life changed!

The marlin dived like a submarine, taking line at the speed of light.The situation was tense; we all saw the size of the fish and wanted to make sure everything was done right.

Martin Palmer leaders one of the other big marlin caught on Smoker.

“More drag, more drag!” came the shouts from the top as Smoker was already reversing very fast. We were in 300 metres of water, so the fish had enough depth to give us a hard time. I fought with everything in me at 45 lb of drag for around 35 minutes.When deckhand Martin grabbed the leader, it was the first time that we saw the full size and length of the fish. It was a MONSTER! She still had a lot of fight in her and made another dive. By now Captain Ryan was manoeuvring Smoker like I manoeuvre my offroad motorbike.

With the size and length of this female we knew it could definitely be a grander.Top of my bucket list had been to catch a grander, and here I was, busy fighting an enormous fish.

After another 15 minutes of hard fighting, the Tiagra was getting hot; I even battled to wind in low range! At last I saw the double line coming up, then the leader and Martin grabbed it again.This time he managed to pull her right up next to the boat; in that moment I knew I’d won the fight!

It was unreal; I couldn’t believe we’d done it. Everyone was ecstatic about our catch and I couldn’t have been more grateful for the experience given to me.

Then the work started. Six strong, grown men couldn’t load the fish into Smoker.We used ropes to tie her alongside and pulled her back to the island to get more men to assist. It took ten men to load her, and when she was loaded, we all shouted and jumped for joy.

My body went into light shock, with both of my arms and shoulders shivering.

Still in disbelief, we took measurements of this monster fish. Comparing the measurements with the Billfish Formula Table, our size wasn’t even on SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 19

the table with the biggest figure weighing 1 100 lb (500kg)!

I was astonished with the size of this great catch. Rubbing both hands through my hair, I still couldn’t believe what I had caught.

Ryan made some phone calls back to Mindelo to start organising a crane and scale so that we could get the true weight of the marlin.

Around two hours later we arrived at the port where the crane — and a huge crowd of people — was already waiting for us. We offloaded the fish and parked Smoker on the mooring.

By now everyone was phoning and guessing the weight. We couldn’t get to the fish fast enough. With the rope secured around the tail, the crane started lifting the fish. Ryan and I stared at the scale — 800, 900, 1 000, 1 100, 1 200, 1 300 ... eventually it settled on on 1 370 lb!

Holy smoke, this was more than a grander — it was the second biggest Atlantic blue marlin in the world and the biggest blue marlin ever caught at Cape Verde. At that moment I knew I had been greatly blessed with a

Evening celebrations in Cape Verde after catching the fish of a lifetime — a dream come true.

20 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

fish thousands of fishermen dreamed of; I felt humbled and very thankful.

We took photos of this once in a lifetime fish which was almost five metres in length and had a girth of 79.8 inches — just over two metres.

This magnificent fish was really something special, and we decided to give it to a local church which has a feeding scheme, where she would be used to feed many people in need. I felt satisfied that nothing would be wasted.

All I can say is thank you to a great team, under Capt Ryan Williamson, who made this unbelievable experience possible, thank you to my family who believed in me and allowed me to make my dream come true, and most importantly thank you to our Heavenly Father who gave me this incredible experience.

That evening we had a lot to celebrate! My advice to all avid marlin fishermen is to make a plan to fish with Capt Ryan Williamson in Cape Verde.

Perhaps you too will catch the fish of a lifetime and have your dreams come true.

TACTICS

Tactics for taming yellowtail in KZN

By Craig Stubbs

T

HE Cape yellowtail (Seriola Lalandi) is one of three Seriola species found in South African waters, with the other two being colloquially referred to as the greater amberjack and tropical amberjack. However, unlike the greater and tropical ambers which prefer warmer waters, yellowtail prefer colder water and are most abundant in the chilly Atlantic waters of the Cape where they are one of the Cape anglers’ most abundant and prime target species.

There is, however, a northward push of these fish, where mainly large adults in the 10kg-plus range make their way up past the Kei and into KwaZulu-Natal waters. Once here, they stamp their passports, hit the gym hard and give us a proper hiding due to their incredible strength and fighting endurance.

This push of fish appears to coincide with the annual Sardine Run, but I’ve caught them pretty much all year round, with the exclusion of the hottest months of the year in local waters.This tells me that some of the fish that push up with the sards perhaps set up resi-

dence in local waters or stay for a few months at least.

For the purposes of this article, I’ll try to impart some knowledge about the way we target them KZN style.

Firstly, the where.Although the KZN north coast does see a few ’tail from time to time, the KZN south coast is the most prolific producer of these fish. I put this down to the fact that our water temps are very marginal for them, and the further north they push, the more uncomfortable they become.

Yellowtail are a structure orientated species, seldom moving away from big-

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 23

ger pinnacles and hard bottom, but strangely enough, often willing to move vertically. They can be caught close to the surface, and many KZN anglers can attest to picking up a surprise ’tail on trolling lures or a ’cuda bait, running only a few metres subsurface when targeting traditional gamefish species.

However, the majority of my ’tail have been caught on, or close to the bottom, so if you want to tick a KZN yellowtail off your list, getting down deep is where you should focus your efforts. By “deep”, I would consider depths ranging from 30 metres down to around 70 metres, although I have heard of them being caught both shallower and deeper if the correct structure exists.

If you want to go out there and target a ’tail, you have two choices, either vertical jigging or live bait bottomfishing. In my experience, live baiting is the more effective method, but vertical jigging has its days, and can be both fun and effective.

If you are going to be jigging, don’t go out to play with little toys, or you will quickly be licking your wounds.

Much like vertical jigging for greater amberjack, you need quality tackle, 80to 100 lb braid and a 1- to 1.2mm leader which allows strong knots and ups the odds in your favour. You’ll also need to get that drag nice and tight and be prepared to hold on for all you are worth.

Jig weights are dependent on water depth, but the adage of 100g of jig for every 30m of water depth is a good rule of thumb, current dependent.

Don’t go cheap on hooks and rigging either, or again you are probably only going to come home with sad stories.

If you plan on bottomfishing with traditional KZN bottom gear consisting of a slow action bottom stick and a KP reel, pack away the little 8 inch KP, and get a 9- or 10 inch version.

If you are going to get serious about it, KP even makes a special yellowtail reel, which is widened and reinforced to deal with the pressure these fish can exert. This reel is favoured by a few expert ’tail anglers, particularly when targeting big ’tail around big structure or wrecks at the shallower end of the depth spectrum where you have no option but to hit and hold with all your might. Once that ’tail turns and sees something to cut you off on, he’s virtually impossible to stop.

The Cape yellowtail is the only bottom fish I have ever caught that will fight you all the way to the boat, only to turn and run again when he sees the boat. Most bottoms fight you hard near the bottom, but once you have turned Right: Craig Stubbs with another strong yellowtail he managed to tame off KZN, and (inset) the KP reel specially designed for catching yellowtail.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 25

them they are pretty much beat. Not Mr Tail; he makes you work all the way and more.

I’ll share a quick story with you to reinforce just how strong these fish can be.A mate and I were ’cuda fishing on a local reef with live bait when we hooked an incredibly strong yet unfamiliar fighter. After a few deep runs, it cut us off on the reef below.

I was thinking it must have been a big GT, but then a boat pulling lures next to us went away and eventually landed a medium sized ’tail, thanks to the heavy tackle trolling gear they were using. We instantly put two and two together and sounded around until we found a big showing of the school of ’tail.

We had bottomfishing gear on board, and hastily pinned live mackerel and sent them down where they were met with an instant bite.

What followed was a bit of a circus.

We managed to get a fish or two in the hatch, but for around an hour these fish gave us an absolute hiding.

We were fishing shallow in approximately 20 metes of water, and those fish never lost sight of the reef below. Even when they were right under the boat and seemingly ready to be gaffed, they would turn around and, with a Mike Tyson left hook kick of the tail, disappear back down in an unstoppable run before cutting us off on the reef below.

There was swearing, screaming, laughing, battered bodies and a lot of hastily tied leaders and knots, along with a smidgen of rejoicing. Even thought we got taught a lesson, we had a lot of fun competing with these bruisers of the deep.

An important piece of advice I’ll give at this stage, is to learn how to “backwind” properly when using a cen-

26 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

tre pin-style, unbraked reel. Slipping your grip off your KP handle when a fish takes off will most likely result in some seriously damaged fingers and inevitably a lost fish. Fishing for large bottomfish without knowing the principles of backwinding can be downright dangerous and many anglers have broken and bruised hands and fingers as well as damaged boat gunnels which attest to this.

You need to learn what the limit of your tackle is and how, when your tackle is stressed to its absolute maximum, you can control the fight and pressure with some quick reverse winding of the handle. If executed correctly, you can give a fish some head under extreme pressure, but still remain in some form of control through quick manipulation of your reel. This is where a KP reel comes into its own. You are in full control, and once you have mastered one, they are totally unmatched in terms of performance and the pressure you can exert on a fish.

Trace wise, those guys fishing around structure such as wrecks fish extra heavy and try not to give an inch when they hook up, but in general a hook snoot of 1 to 1.2mm leader will suffice.

The king of ’tail baits remains a frisky live mackerel, but I’ve also caught them on live maasbankers as well as smaller shad. It really is worth spending that extra time on the bait reefs to get a few macks if you seriously want your ’tail.

Depending on the current, fishing on anchor or on a slow drift is your choice, but regardless of how you decide to fish, you need to make sure you are hitting your pinnacles and getting your baits in the right areas. With this strategy, you are not only targeting

’tail, but are also giving yourself a good chance of connecting with any one of the large bottomfish species ranging from a cracker to a copper steenbras or anything in between.

Don’t lose faith if a morning is passing without any big bites, as persevering often brings spectacular rewards.

The bite of a Cape yellowtail is much like that of most large bottoms, and is felt as a series of hard jolts on the line. Don’t reel straight into a fish at the first sign of an enquiry. Use your rod tip and reel to keep in gentle and sensitive contact with your bait, and wait until you are properly pulled down before reeling into — and hopefully connecting with — your target.

Nothing beats the feeling of what follows — a proper bend in a bottomfishing rod that can be felt all the way down into the rod grip and beyond.

There’s direct “man vs foe” contact to a denizen of the deep where you can feel ever y shake of the head directly through the braid while your forearms burn and you grunt expletives under the pressure you are facing and where every turn of the reel feels like a small victory. That feeling makes it all worthwhile.

For some anglers it’s the scream of a ratchet as a gamefish tears off that keeps them coming back for more.

Believe me, I love that sound and it’s music to the ears, but for me, it’s the scenario I’ve explained above that keeps me up at night, plotting and planning.

Next time you are contorted and keeled over, bracing against the gunnel with a red face and a shortness of breath, I hope you are not seriously seasick, and are rather connected to a big one, enjoying the Tail Dance as you try to tame the beast.

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28 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

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INTERNATIONAL

2022 EFSA Species Championship

By Francois Beukes

Wayne Gerber, Allen Ford, Francois Beukes and John Luef with great catches on a practice day.

T

HIS year a Protea team was once again invited to represent South Africa in the European Federation of Sea Anglers (EFSA) European Species Championship in Iceland in May, and once again we showed the world the high calibre of SA anglers.

Our four-man team consisted of our captain Allen Ford (Border), John Luef (Border), Wayne Gerber (Eastern Province) and Francois Beukes (Natal).

Once the initial excitement of team

selection was over, planning and preparations began immediately. If we were to be competitive, we needed to carefully plan our strategy. We spent a great deal of time researching, including watching stacks of YouTube videos on target species, tackle requirements and conditions. It was clear that the team would be tested to the limit with the expected species, tackle, traces, and bait presentations.

The booking of flights, visa applications, booking accommodation and

practice fishing days all formed part of the hype of actually fishing in Iceland. It was the first time Wayne and I had fished there and, like our teammates, we were over the moon to fish in what we were told was fishing heaven on earth.

The team landed at Doha airport after an overnight flight from Jo’burg and then flew on to Dublin in Ireland before eventually reaching Reykjavik in Iceland. We spent one night in Reykjavik before moving on to the picSKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 31

Allen with a coalfish, Francois and John each with a cod and Wayne with a redfish. turesque seaside town of Akureyi. All in all we clocked 38 hours of travel.

Our first five days were spent fishing out of Dalvik, not too far from Akureyi. Our host, guide and skipper for the week, was a remarkable man and local fishing legend ‘Skarphedinn ’Asbjo’rnsson, affectionately known as Skarpi.

We quickly transformed Skarpi’s house into what can only be described as a makeshift fishing tackle workshop, with tackle and traces everywhere.

Numerous traces were constructed for the two species of fish that we were expected to encounter in Olafsvik.

The practice days with Skarpi were fished in trying, if beautiful, conditions.

We were surrounded by ice-capped fjords and glaciers, and, at times, had to

deal with sub-zero temperatures and very strong winds. The extreme cold conditions gave us a taste of what was to come, and it was a huge eye opener but also exciting to see the size and type of fish we would be targeting.

Cod and coalfish are extremely abundant in Iceland. Apart from these two species, Skarpi also gave us an opportunity to catch some redfish which are caught in water over 200 metres deep, and wolf-fish which are caught on the shallower reefs.

After our first five practice days in Dalvik, we were reasonably confident that we had gained valuable experience and figured out what spoons (perks as they call them) and paddle tails were needed. We then moved to the tournament venue in Olafsvik for the final

week and had one more practice day before the EFSA Species Championship was fished on 27 and 28 May. For competition days all the anglers from each team were split up and competed on different boats, so we ended up fishing with various anglers from other countries. Each morning a draw was done on the boat, and each angler was then allocated a spot on the boat for the day.

The scoring system for the championship entailed targeting cod and coalfish which had a pre-determined point allocation depending on their length.At the end of the day, points were tallied and the angler with the most points on the boat earned 100%. All the other anglers then earned a percentage proportional to their points compared to

The weather was cold but the fish were plentiful.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 33

Francois Beukes (far right) took joint place for top angler, and finished third overall on fish caught.

Wayne, John, Francois and Allen with their haul of awards from the EFSA European Species Championship. the boat winner’s points.

At the end of the tournament each angler’s percentages were added up and that determined the individual results. Each team’s anglers’ percentages and fish points are then added up, providing the team results.

The Protea team did exceptionally well in this scoring system as it is similar to how fishing is done back home, but the competition was tough and extremely competitive.

After the two days fishing I was joint top individual angler with five other anglers, but in the end had to settle for a third place and bronze medal based on fish points count-back.

In the two-man team division Allen Ford and John Luef finished in third place for a solid bronze medal.

34 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

Just when we thought we were done with the medals, Allen and John were awarded a silver medal for being part of a mixed four-man team and John received another bronze medal in the four-man executive team division.

To cap off the prize giving, Team South Africa achieved a bronze medal after being placed third overall in the four-man National Team event.

This was a formidable achievement and we went home with a total of ten medals and trophies awarded to the Protea team for the championship.

It was time to bring down the curtain on what can only be described as a competition the team will cherish for years to come.

The final swansong was a pact made by the team that if we medalled, we

would all jump into the Icelandic sea for a celebratory swim. I have never been so cold in my life!

This event cemented a special bond we had as a team and the team spirit was second to none. Our team also made good friends with and earned respect from all our fellow competitors.

The South African sportsmanship and spirit was clear for all to see.

It was a truly memorable trip, where all four of us managed to catch our personal bests of cod and coalfish. As we headed off to the airport, watching the beautiful scenery pass by, we reflected on our achievements both personally and as a team. We were proud of all we’d achieved and the way we had gelled from the outset. It’s an experience we’ll never forget.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

T

many people.To pull it off as well as this HREE nationals and an interevent was, is an enormous achievement. provincial took place since my The full story appears elsewhere in last report, all of which were this magazine. well supported and produced The last of our SADSAA sponsored great results. tournaments was the Tuna InterFirst up was the Tuna Nationals hostprovincial hosted again by NDSAA from ed by the Atlantic Boat Club (ABC) in the beautiful Shelly Beach Skiboat Club.

Hout Bay, Cape Town. Fishing from this By all accounts, a great three days of fishvenue has to be one of the best tuna ing was had by all. Congratulations to our experiences worldwide. Not only is ABC medal winners. an incredible club, but it is also the gateAll these events that carry the SADway to some of the best tuna grounds SAA banner are hosted by the different available to anglers in the world today. provincial bodies and we thank each and We thank both Western Province every one of them who so willingly put Deep Sea Angling Association (WPDSAA) forward their tenders year after year, and and ABC for another excellent tournaso proudly fly both their province’s and ment and look forward to many more in Chris Schorn, SADSAA’s flags high.Your contribution to the years to come. Congratulations to SADSAA President our sport is remarkable and well noted. the WP team that angled exceptionally well and took home the gold. It was a privilege and an hon- Of course, the Provincial bodies are again only as strong as our to fish with and against an incredible group of anglers their clubs and club members. Every single individual member who is affiliated to SADSAA through their club strucfrom all over the country.A longer report appears opposite.

Talking tuna, we have been awarded the rights to host tures has such an important role to play. We thank you for the EFSA Big Game Championship in 2024. This is an your continued support, especially through times as tough incredible honour, and we look forward to having some of as these.

The pinnacle of any competitive South African angler’s the world’s best tuna anglers join us to experience just career must be to be named as a member of a Protea team. what amazing fishing we have in our Cape waters.

This is a full international competition, so our own It signifies that not only are you among the best of your anglers will have an opportunity to test themselves against year, but that you also carry the attributes of a great statesthe best out there. An event such as this does not just hap- man and leader. This said, we congratulate the anglers who pen overnight, and the effort required to put this all togeth- have been named to fish in the FIPS-M Gamefish World er is huge. With this in mind, we wish the organising com- Championship to be held in Italy in September.

Congratulations also to all the anglers who have been name mittee everything of the best with their preparations.

Next up was the Gamefish Nationals that was due to be in the SADSAA teams for the upcoming Billfish Nationals.

Special mention must be made of our team that fished hosted at Zinkwazi in KwaZulu-Natal in April. Unfortunately, due to the devastating floods in that province the event had in Cuba at the world renowned Hemingways Club in to be postponed and Natal Deep Sea Angling Association Havana. This was the first team from South Africa to ever fish in Cuban waters, and they did so spectacularly and (NDSAA) was finally able to host it in June.

The weather played along, but unfortunately the ocean brought home the gold! What an achievement!

The other outstanding achievement were the multiple did not easily offer up its bounty and the fishing was hard.

Well done to all who participated, especially our SADSAA medals won by our bottomfishermen in the EFSA European Ladies team that did so well to bring home a bronze against Species Championship hosted in Iceland. Not only did they all the boys.The Natal U21 side took the gold, showing their brave the freezing cold, but they also did so with great skill, seniors a thing or two about scratching out some decent baggin numerous medals.That story also appears elsewhere fish. NDSAA hosted another excellent event, and we thank in this issue.

At the International Light Tackle Tournament them, once again, for their support and efforts.

On to the Junior Gamefish Nationals which was hosted Association’s annual World Championship, we had two SA

by Southern Gauteng Deep Sea Angling Association teams flying the flag high, with the team from Nomads (SGDSAA) from the shores of St Lucia. The highlight of any Game Fishing Club collecting a silver for their efforts.

As we move into the last quarter of the year, we see the year for me has to be the junior events. With both the U16 and U19 age groups competing for their own medals, these last of our tournaments and bonanzas filling the calendar. are not easy events to organise. From the skippers who put Good luck to each of the organizing committees and to all up their hands, to the parents who bring our juniors to the the anglers who will be out there looking for a PB and a events, to the organisers, it requires a great effort from medal.We wish you all tight lines and fair seas.

36 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

TUNA NATIONALS 2022

Mark Rode, Matt Preen, Brendan Davids (C), Mike Baines (skipper) and Hubert Meyer (selector) celebrate WP’s 85.5kg yellowfin which landed them the gold medal.

Chris Pike (C),Marius Coetzee, Ockie Vermeulen (skipper) and Nish Ibrahim with the 73.9kg yellowfin that helped the SADSAA Masters take the silver medal.

Hosted by WPDSAA and Atlantic Boat Club

SAA Masters managed to land one yellowfin, while SADSAA and Northern Barbarians managed a longfin each. In the south,WP found good fish and landed three yellowfin, with T is always a great privilege to host this prestigious Brendan Davids landing the biggest fish of the tournament event and a huge thanks go to Chris Schorn and SAD— a yellowfin of 85.5kg.

SAA for giving WPDSAA and Atlantic Boat Club (ABC) Day two was called off, and on day three fishing was the opportunity to host Tuna Nationals once again.The good. SADSAA reported a hook up early on and had a suc2022 Tuna Nationals was run out of Hout Bay from 22 May cessful day, along with the SADSAA Masters, Natal Barbarians to 27 May 2022. ABC, through chairman Chris Day, were and all the other teams landing fish to set up an exciting finexcellent hosts, thank you. ish to the tournament. Marius Coetzee in the SADSAA Eight teams made up of 24 anglers took part. This was Masters team landed an excellent yellowfin of 73.9kg an own-boat competition which worked out very well to Day four looked like it would be the best weather day, limit costs. WPDSAA remains committed to making this and the last day due to Friday’s adverse forecast. To make competition affordable and helped organise boats for severthe most of the day, the fleet launched an hour earlier, and al teams.A huge thank you to the skippers and boat owners. lines-up was extended by an hour.

The tournament was fished according to IGFA 10kg line Most teams went back to the same area again, and everyclass, incorporating SADSAA rules and SADSAA’s scoring sysone got into the action fairly quickly with reports of longfin tem. April and May are ideal months to fish from Hout Bay and yellowfin at the first call up. WP Barbarians had a great as the fish tend to move further northwest at this time of day with Francois Bezuidenhout landing four yellowfin year.The weeks leading up to Nationals confirmed this, with ranging between 44.6kg and 48.2kg. excellent catch reports of big yellowfin tuna in a wide band Colin Joubert in the SADSAA team landed an impressive of water off Hout Bay. 83.2kg yellowfin. SADSAA Masters also At the anticipation-filled opening had an excellent day, landing five yelevent a moment’s silence was lowfin and several longfin. Nick Nel in observed for the speedy recovery of the Natal Barbarians team landed the Paddy Venske. biggest longfin of the tournament, a Congratulations went to to all 32.4kg fish. the new caps for SADSAA and the Fishing was called off on Friday. provincial teams. We were proud to There were many stories of long bathave Chris Schorn (SADSAA tles and lost fish, but in the end every President), Nick Nel (SADSAA TO), angler in the tournament weighed a fish.

Nish Ibrahim (SADSAA A total of 46 yellowfin were weighed at Development Officer), Andries an average weight 47.7kg, which is testaMaree (SASACC President) and the ment to both the fishery off Hout Bay SADSAA selectors Hubert Meyer and and the skill of the anglers competing.

Chris Rothman in attendance, and The results were as follows: thank them for giving up their time.

Top Teams: 1st Western Province, 2nd On the first day the forecast was SADSAA Masters and 3rd Western for a northwesterly wind freshening Province Barbarians. through the day. Most of the teams Top Skippers: 1st Michael Baines, 2nd elected to go west or northwest, Leander Wiid (C), Andre de Koning and Ockie Vermeulen and 3rd Dave Smith. with the exception of WP who gam- Francois Bezuidenhout with their 69.9kg Top Anglers: 1st Brendan Davids, 2nd bled on going further south. Fishing tuna which gave the WP Barbarians the Marius Coetzee and 3rd Colin Joubert. in the north was slow, but the SAD- bronze medal.

I

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 37

MEMORIES

Tuna Time with Mom Special days out off Table Bay

By Ryan Nienaber Photos by Grootdorsproduksies

M

Y mom, Stella Taylor, has witnessed the absolute obsession that my brother and I have both had for fishing in the ocean since we were young boys.

Her adventurous spirit has lead her to join us on a couple of occasions in and around the peninsula, catching the odd yellowtail or snoek, but we recently had an extra special day on the water..

Mom (now 67) has seen our factory hustle and bustle with boats in and out at the yard, and has heard all the stories of the big tuna that we catch on our doorstep in Cape Town, but until recently she had never witnessed first hand what we do in the deep.

Traditionally, our Cape Town tuna season runs from the end of March until mid-May and sometimes the start of June when the northwesterly winds and cold fronts bring on the Cape Town winter storms.

Late one Thursday afternoon I was looking at the weather

for the weekend and saw that Friday 10 June’s weather was looking absolutely perfect. It was unprecedented for that time of year, and with the waters still looking good, I decided to take a run out off Table Bay in search of some tuna, and invited Mom to go along.

Our boat was still rigged for snoek as we had spent the last of couple weeks up the west coast on the snoek run, so after a late evening getting the boat into “tuna mode” I finally got home and quickly made up five trolling squids and grabbed two bait rods.

We launched at 5am from Oceana in Cape Town, heading out 40nm to the tuna grounds where the trawlers had been working the day before.A couple of hours later day break was upon us, the water temp had jumped from 14°C to 19°C and bird life everywhere it just looked fishy. We where still a couple miles short of where I wanted to start fishing for the day, but it just looked so good I couldn’t resist.

Mother and son Stella Taylor and Ryan Nienaber with the 81kg brute Stella caught.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 39

Catching an 81kg tuna is hard work on standup gear.

Stella’s tuna immortalised in Gyotaku Japanese style printing.

I slowed down while Mom got some tea ready and I put the first trolling rod out, then the second rod. I was busy clipping the third squid onto rod number three when I heard a “bang” and the 80W Tiagra screamed off at a rate of knots.

With all my mono out and down to my Dacron backing, I knew this was a good fish.

The initial run was so hard and fast that it turned my plastic squid inside out.

Mom didn’t know what to do, and with the sheer excitement of the noise of the reel going off, the tea was all over the floor! She tried to hold on to the rod while I cleared the lines and turned the boat for the wind. It was a big first run, so I got the harness ready for Mom and she settled into the rod.

“Mom, just take your time, relax and enjoy. You only need to win a few centimetres every time the swell goes down,” I coached.

The fish was strong and was resisting. We got back onto the mono and then it had a second big run. Eventually Mom passed the rod on to me for a few moments so she could take off her jersey and have a sip of water before taking it back again to continue the fight. Overheating while fighting tuna is a real thing.

The fish came closer in big circles, flashing its gorgeous colour. As we saw this beautiful tuna circle next to the boat, the sickles looked good. I told Mom that the fish must be 75to 80kg and we should keep it whole for a good photo back at the slip.

Eventually the fish was loaded and my day was made; a perfect mother-son memory in the bank that I will always cherish.

On such a high after landing a wonderful fish with my mom I didn’t need to catch any more — mission completed.

However, as luck would have it, after getting the boat reorganised I looked up and a trawler was coming our way.We ran up to the trawler and, as if from the textbook, dropped the bait line down and it was on within seconds.

Now that we had a system on the boat, Mom and I had the fish alongside very quickly and with much greater ease. We ran up to the trawler again, bang on again within a couple seconds, landed the fish and repeated.

Soon we had four wonderful big fish on board and decided to call it an early day.The weather was perfect and the run home was easy.

Twenty nautical miles short of Table Bay hundreds of gannets where diving, and as we got closer baitfish and tuna were jumping everywhere in the glass-like sea conditions. It was simply too good to resist.

We quickly put out two lines and got a pull fairly quickly.

Mom took the rod and got this one in with ease — a gentleman-sized fish at 28kg, it came in nice and easy. With another in the box, we ran home smiling, only stopping briefly in Table Bay for a mother and son photo with Table Mountain as the back drop.

The following day my mate Jero Revett from Wild Wanderer came to help me capture this special fish and memory using his Gyotaku Japanese fish printing technique.This is a process where octopus ink is used to take a rubbing of the fish on a handmade cotton-type paper cloth. The rubbing is used as a foundation on which the artist uses carbon and graphite to create a one-off custom artpiece of the fish.

This tuna will become the centrepiece of our family’s beach home in Struisbaai, and the story of my mom and I fishing for tuna will be told again and again as this artwork hangs above the fireplace.

What a memory!

40 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

The blessings of sons

By Stella Taylor

W

ITH the zing of the fishing line on the reel my adrenaline started to rush as a tuna was hooked.

Rod firmly wedged in the “magic” harness, the fight was on.Working with the swell of the sea, I reeled in the line to bring the fish to the boat.

It was an early start on a Friday, a beautiful mid-winter’s day in Cape Town, and I was out on the water with one of my sons, Ryan, who owns and runs Greenfish, a fishing company that supplies fresh fish to the public and trade.

As a mother of two very busy sons, I take any opportunity to spend time with them, be it for a braai or just a take out dinner, but by favourite is when I am invited to go on a fishing trip with them and I’m up early and ready to go.

We launched at 5am and put the boat on autopilot, heading out to sea to the tuna areas. Once there, all the rods were set up and cast, and we sat back to wait.

As soon as we heard the reels zing we were there to reel them in. All three of us on board got involved as the fish weighed between 20- and 80kg. Gaffs in hand, we pulled them on board once they got close enough.

The fish were all packed in the ice down in the hold to maintain freshness and quality, ready to be served on your dinner plate.

As the day progressed we fought off the birds trying to steal our bait and watched the seals frolicking in the water.

Tuna flew past after smaller fish — the trick is catching them.

What a privilege it was to spend the day out at sea with my son. As we headed back to the harbour, the restaurants were busy. We pulled the boat up the slipway with our prize tuna on display, and I could not have been prouder to be doing this with my son.

Sons hold a special place in a mother’s heart, but I suppose if I had daughters I would be out shopping or having a mani or pedicure with them.

Who would have thought I would be doing this at my age!

What a blessing sons are.

42 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

RECIPE

à la Martin du Plessis

I

’VE travelled, fished and cooked extensively over my fishing career — mainly along the South African coast, but also abroad. It’s amazing to see how fishermen along the east coast of South Africa — from Cape Vidal to the Eastern Cape — all seem to use the same simple fillet fish recipe. However, as you round Struisbaai and head further along the Cape coast, recipes seem to change and we see “hardekool”, a paint brush, butter and apricot jam making it into the mix.

When Andreas Papachristoforou offered his Jeffrey’s Bay spot as a stopover on our recent road trip to Cape Town, I couldn’t resist because I knew there would be some fishing involved.Well, the planets aligned and presented a fishing window on the first day!

After an intense 90 minutes at sea, we were back on land by 6:15 with our quota of kob. Fishing and catching fish are only part of the fun though — preparing the bounty and enjoying what the universe gifts us as a meal, completes the picture.

Most fishermen can cook this simple, lightly battered fillet fish, simplicity being the key word. I learnt this from Hennie du Plessis (my father) and Don Stevens whilst hanging around the kitchen of the Eshowe shacks at Cape Vidal from about the age of ten. I learnt other things too, but that’s another story.

I still prepare filleted fish the same way, and so do many other fishermen — including Andreas. Thanks Dad and Don for passing on the tradition, and thank you Andreas and Free Spirit for keeping it alive.

ABOVE: Andreas Papachristoforou and Martin du Plessis with fresh fish ready for filleting.

BELOW: Simple battered fish with a fishy omelette as an added extra.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 43

INGREDIENTS 1-1.5kg fish fillets (for 4 to 5 people) 1 cup self-raising flour salt & coarse ground black pepper (to taste) Half teaspoon paprika 2 eggs 2 cups cooking oil 100ml full cream milk INSTRUCTIONS 1. Fillet the fish, removing every bone and the blood line.

Place on a plate and cover with cling wrap, then place overnight in the fridge to rest. Remove the fish the next day and leave it to stand until it’s room temperature.

2. Beat the eggs as though you are making scrambled eggs.

Add salt, pepper and paprika to task. I add a drop of milk to make the egg mixture more runny.

3. Put about a cup of flour in a plastic bag.

4. Add the oil to a deep pan (enough oil to cover the fish fillet) and heat.The oil must be hot.

44 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

5. Throw three to four pieces of fish into the plastic bag with flour and shake. Tap off excess flour and dip both sides of the fish in the egg mixture. Place in the hot oil.

Turn once. Repeat till all fillets are done.

DON’T OVER-COOK. It literally needs only 3-5 seconds on each side.The fish will continue to cook while resting. It is important to let the fish rest up to 20 minutes before serving. Place cooked fillets in a shallow serving plate lined with slices of bread that will soak up the excess oil. Paper towel will also do.

6. When you have prepared all the fish fillets (and they are resting), add the remaining egg mixture to the hot oil. It makes the most amazing fishy omelette.

7. Serve the golden-brown fish fillets and fishy omelette with garlic baby potatoes and a fresh salad. Enjoyed most whilst bare foot, with a view of the sea, still wearing your cooking apron and with a cold R&R in hand.

Enjoy!

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FREE DIGITAL E-ZINE ON WWW.ISSUU.COM SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 47

Kingfisher Award Application Form I hereby apply for the Kingfisher Award in the category:

Meritorious Fish

Outstanding Catch

Tick the appropriate box and supply us with the following information.

Please remember to print clearly.

Applicant’s Details: Name: ...................................................

Address: ............................................... ............................................................... ...............................................................

Code: ....................................................

Tel No: ...................................................

E-mail: ...............................................................

Club (if member): .................................. ...............................................................

I, the undersigned, agree to abide by the rules of this award.

Signature: ..............................................

Meritorious Fish Species: ................................................

Weight: ..................................................

Date of Capture: ....................................

Where Caught: ......................................

Skipper's Name: ....................................

Outstanding catch Category applied for (tick appropriate box): 3:1

5:1

7:1

10:1

Species: ................................................

Weight: ..................................................

Line class: .............................................

Date of Capture: ....................................

Where Caught: ......................................

Skipper’s Name: ....................................

Digital emailed photographs should be high-resolution.

42 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

YOUR favourite offshore angling magazine, SKI-BOAT, in conjunction with The Kingfisher and the South African Deep Sea Angling Association, is proud to offer all South African ski-boaters the unique opportunity to win awards for excellence in angling.

All deep sea anglers who achieve laid down standards of excellence will be entitled to apply for the KINGFISHER AWARD. Upon ratification by a panel of adjudicators, the angler will receive a handsome digital certificate, suitably inscribed.

The Kingfisher Award will be made for fish caught in two sections: 1) Meritorious Fish This award is for a fish that’s a memorable achievement for the angler, if not RULES: 1) There is no restriction on the number of awards which can be applied for.

2) Award applicants must submit a photograph of the relevant fish with the application form and a photograph of the angler with the fish.

3) SKI-BOAT reserves the right to use the photograph as it sees fit.

4) Entries must be on the official form which is included in all issues of the magazine.

5) Entires must be received within 45 days of capture.

6) No witnesses of the catch are required.

The award is made in the true spirit of sportsmanship and relies on the integrity of the angler to make a just claim.

7) A selection of award winners’ names will be announced in future issues of SKIBOAT, along with relevant photographs.

8) Award applicants should allow 30-45 days for processing of applications.

9) There is no charge for Kingfisher Awards.

a personal best, and is not confined to the species listed below.

Tackle used is of no consideration here, the fish's weight being the main criterion.

2) Outstanding Catch To satisfy the requirements for this award, anglers can catch any recognised fish species. As a guideline, the weight of that fish must equal or exceed the suggested weights below, or certain laid down fish weight:line class ratios.

Awards will be made in the following ratio categories: 3:1 – Bronze Award 5:1 – Silver Award 7:1 – Silver Award 10:1 – Gold Award.

Applies to IGFA line class 1kg , 2kg, 4kg, 6kg, 10kg, 15kg, 24kg, 37kg and 60kg.

SPECIES: Barracuda Dorado Kingfish (Ignobilis) Garrick (Leervis) King Mackerel (’Cuda) Black Marlin Blue Marlin Striped Marlin Prodigal Son Sailfish (Pacific) Spearfish (Longbill) Spearfish (Shortbill) Tarpon Tuna (Big Eye) Tuna (Longfin) Tuna (Yellowfin) Wahoo Yellowtail

SUGGESTED WEIGHT: 15kg 12kg 20kg 12kg 15kg 100kg 100kg 60kg 15kg 25kg 20kg 20kg 45kg 50kg 25kg 50kg 15kg 15kg

Email applications to: angler@mags.co.za

RELEASED BILLFISH AND GT (Ignobilis) KINGFISH

With the strong trend towards releasing these and other fish, we have decided to amend the Kingfisher Award rules to provide for acknowledgement of all released fish. All we need is a photo of the fish being released or prior to release (e.g. GT held next to the boat) and the approximate weight of the fish which should fall in line with the stipulated weights set out above.

In line with this trend we will not be carrying photographs on the Kingfisher Awards page of any billfish or GTs aside from those that are released.

JUNIORS

By Lyn Adams Photos by Justin Klusener

T

HIRTEEN provincial junior angling teams took to the waters off St Lucia at the end of June to be part of the 2022 Gamefish Nationals — five U16 teams and eight U19 teams from five provinces, plus two SADSAA teams.

Southern Gauteng Deep Sea Angling Association’s executive committee took it upon themselves to host this event as junior development has always been their passion.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem recalls, “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls”. SGDSAA went all out this year, with many sponsors on board and great

50 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

goody bag give aways as well as hoodie jackets.

At the opening ceremony the excitement was palpable, with many new faces and new caps here to test new techniques in new fishing waters.

With the launch being through the St Lucia estuary mouth, that too brought on some jittery nerves.

Day one saw NSRI launch and land upside down, so that immediately put the skippers on their toes for the mornings launch. Some boats felt the power of the sea and got their teams drenched during the early morning launches, but it’s all part of the fun of beach launching. Thankfully all the other boats launched safely and were soon behind the backline and off fishing.

Beach Control Gina and Flagman Nick had everything under control and performed their duties very professionally.

The five U16 juniors teams showed great enthusiasm from the start, and the Natal team showed their dedication and commitment to species angling, taking a good lead from start to finish. Free State, Southern Gauteng and Gauteng watched daily at the gallows for Natal’s catch.

Southern Gauteng’s U16 team, under the guidance of skipper Brad Mcclaren and Quinton Olivier, brought some great catches to the scale. Among these was a potential All Africa and SADSAA Junior wahoo record. Melchior Wilmans’s 20.66kg wahoo was bigger

2022 SADSAA Junior Nationals

than himself!

All five of the U16 teams impressed with their skills, and the skippers commended them for their bravery in the surf and passion for angling. New skipper, Lyle Venske, son of SGDSAA’s Paddy Venske, on Nautimate was the boat to watch, along with Yena LO. At the end of the week Yena LO pipped Nautimate by just four points, with Oh My Sack taking the bronze medal.

The U19 competition saw the best of the best — the SADSAA Blue team — take overall honours. SADSAA White came from the back to prove their angling pedigree by ending in fifth place.The upset of the week came from the two Southern Gauteng teams — Yellow and Green — which took sec-

ond and third place respectively.

Skipper Mark Cockcroft, the wild card on Watermark known as the boat of thundering waters, pulled a fine catch and moved into third place. It was, however, Leon Orsmond’s Sick Leave that was the boat of the week, with local JC van Heerden skippering Walawala coming second.

The Wednesday night fun night called the traditional “Plakkie” evening saw all the juniors getting their revenge on Tournament Director Neil Coetzer, and a great evening was had by all.

Prizegiving was a ver y special evening where all the juniors had the opportunity to thank each skipper personally, and meet the new SADSAA President, Chris Schorn, in person.

With the weather playing ball and all five days being fished, it was a very tired group of anglers and skippers who packed up to go home. SGDSAA would like to thank all our clubs and our sponsors for being part of this great event which was the highlight of 2022.

Thanks also go to our hosting club, St Lucia, Zululand, for their venue and assistance.

Special mention must be made of the team managers who committed a whole week to guiding and mentoring these young anglers. Some of the managers have been with these teams since U16 level and some have made SADSAA teams and are now leaving the junior section for senior waters.We wish those anglers well for the future.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 51

More outstanding catches from the youngsters.

ODE TO JUNIOR NATIONALS 2022

By Neil Coetzer A Junior Nationals to remember been in planning since last September open to all kids as a SADSAA member with tackle and expertise, they did render with five days of great weather and first light our only tether early on the beach they did gather with hope and smiles some teams prayed together Developments done and tackle prepared to the ocean they departed, none of them scared to collect species and weight is all that was cared no resource or tackle expense was spared first light in the cold on the beach the more experienced skippers gave their brief of how to get to the backline without any grief and staying dry their main relief each skipper had a team’s instruction and to the best of their ability they did function on the slower days they hit a junction to change a game plan, may be an option at the weigh in the stories did run wild about the excitement of the day by every child in awe they stood and stared at fish, to put it mild parents hoping that tomorrow it would be their child the “plakkie” evening was such fun the teammates giving each other the gun the organiser thought he had the run until the teams reciprocated, excuse the pun on the closing evening all dressed and smart the excitement for the results in every heart sunburnt faces in suits in skirts a few of the winners with silent smirks we came as strangers and parted as friends young adults strutting the latest fishing trends new experiences in our hearts we make no amends making life long memories we always will defend!

52 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

U19 anglers Ryan Pellew, SADSAA Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199,71 Michael Wiering , SGDSAA Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159,58 Francois Rossouw , Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139,01 Ruben Olivier , SADSAA White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130,19 Rourke Muller , SGDSAA Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103,94 Nicolene Kruger , SGDSAA Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97,74 Eben Botha , Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97,01 Jan Du Plessis , SADSAA Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87,31 Dylan Westoby , SADSAA Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65,03 Hanno Theunissen , SGDSAA Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57,91 Michael Webster , SGDSAA Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54,15 Jordan Kahn, Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48,77 Stiaan Bakkes , Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47,27 Kaylee Mclaren , Zululand White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44,94 Alex Tyldesley , Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42,92 Troy Davies , SGDSAA Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34,24 Rindt Olivier , Zululand White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,95 Connor Wood , Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,88 Xavier Truluck , SADSAA White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,79 Ruan Van Der Berg , SADSAA White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29,77 Ricardo Goncalves , Zululand Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24,09 Stefan Britz, Zululand Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22,56 Gerhard Van Der Linde, Zululand Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,10 Matt Howells, Zululand White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11,09 Zavier Truluck, SADSAA White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,22 U16 Anglers Melchoir Wilmans, SGDSAA Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224,38 Jahnru Janse Van Rensburg , Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192,27 Brayden Kane , Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122,22 Mathew Shepard , Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109,77 Josh Lingerfelder, SGDSAA Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104,83 Michael Gruar , SGDSAA Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95,41 Kayden Mckenzie , Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92,35 Ruben Els, Gauteng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61,57 Dylan Venske , SGDSAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46,55 Dewandre Smith , Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35,31 Juandre Wasserman, Gauteng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34,44 Connor Padoa, SGDSAA Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,69 Ethan Baty , SGDSAA Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30,04 Dretin Smith, Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,16

Neil Coetzer, SGDSAA Acting Chairman, and Chris Schorn, SADSAA President, congratulated the Natal U16 and SADSAA Blue U19 teams on taking first place in their respective categories.

U16 BOAT RESULTS Yena LO, Brad Mcclaren Nautimate, Lyle Venske Oh My Sack, Shane Macleod Wasabi, Bradley Padoa The Bear, Ralph Jones Woep Wap, Johan Lange U19 BOAT RESULTS Sick Leave, Leon Orsmond Walawala, JC van Heerden Watermark, Mark Cockcroft Mitsufishi, Herman Olivier Hannock, Ockie Theunissen Predator, Des Rielander Voice Mail,Adrian Feher Dream Catcha, Craig Pascoe

U16 TEAM RESULTS 1.

Natal 2.

Southern Gauteng Blue 3.

Free State 4.

Southern Gauteng Gold 5.

Gauteng U19 TEAM RESULTS 1.

SADSAA Blue 2.

Southern Gauteng Yellow 3.

Southern Gauteng Green 4.

Free State 5.

SADSAA White 6.

Natal 7.

Zululand White 8.

Zululand Black

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 53

54 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

ON THE SEA AT LAST

by Leanne Sokolich (11)

M

Y dad loves to fish. When I was younger he’d always go early in the mornings and bring back a nice fish that we’d have for dinner. I would always ask him “When can I come with you?” or “When is it my turn?” The answer was always “When you’re older.”

I love swimming and surfing in the ocean and do those things quite often in summer. My brother, Tommy, who is autistic really enjoys swimming in the ocean with me. In May Tommy was invited to go fishing for the SADSAA All Stars event and I was lucky enough to have a nice fishing trip with him and my mom.

On the first day we all had to wake up at 4am for the launch (and I am not a morning person). All of us got on the boat and a tractor pushed us out. As soon as the last boat had launched, everyone started to go out to find a good spot to fish.

Our skipper spotted something floating — a big turtle was bobbing in the water. It stuck its head up and then quickly ducked under the water and swam away.After that one of the other boats called everyone to come to his location because he had found a great spot where all the fish were.

As soon as we arrived we put the live bait on a hook and cast it out. Soon the rod started to bend because a fish was pulling on the bait.The skipper quickly called Tommy to reel it in. When the fish was pulled up we saw that there was not one, but two fish on the line — it was a double catch.

Not long after that Tommy started feeling sick and had to lie down. While Tommy was lying down it was my turn to fish. After the cast I got a bite. I reeled it in and I had caught a rock cod which we had to let go because they are important for the reef.

On the second day when we arrived at the beach we launched first and waited for the other boats to launch.As soon as everyone was out all the boats took off at lightning speed. My brother asked if it was a race and I don’t blame him — it really did look like a race!

This time when all the boats where in one spot, we caught the biggest bottomfish which was a half kob of about 7kg. This

time I was feeling a bit sick but it didn’t last very long.

At the prize giving I got a medal and best gillie plaque.

I am very grateful I got to experience the ocean at a whole new level. I had the best time of my life out on the sea, and I hope that we do it again next year. I went from fishing in the rock pools to fishing out at sea!

MY BOAT TRIP by Tommy Sokolich (10) T was so much fun and I was hoping to see a turtle. I thought we were going out at night, but it was early morning. It was like we were racing and we were losing! I really enjoyed it. My favourite part was when I was fishing. The fish was massive. And I drove Robbie’s boat and I was happy.

Thank you everyone for the lovely day. I wish I would come again. It was really nice meeting you guys.

I

56 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

MEMORIES

Sunshine Days off Struisbaai

Fishing memories that make you smile

By Jack Walsh

C

APE Agulhas, the southernmost point of the African continent, is often noted as being the Point that splits the Indian and Atlantic oceans. However, as currents are wont to do, they meander a bit between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas.

A large variety of fish frequent the waters off the southwestern coastline of our country and the coastal waters east of Cape Agulhas where the temperature seldom drops below 18°C. On the land, there has always been a very small village around and above the Agulhas lighthouse, with the larger holiday village of Struisbaai, with its line of fish factories, cold stores, and a very small harbour, several kilometres to the northeast.

After retiring from being a fishing skipper out of Walvis Bay, and returning to the Cape in 1972, I acquired an 18ft Hartley Vixen ski-boat named Pisces.With Ray Scott and Keith Crookes as crew, 1973 found us fishing in the annual Western Cape ski-boat club competition held there.

Apart from regular catches of kob, Cape salmon and all the main species of reds, Cape Point is well known for its prolific yellowtail in the summer.They regularly congregate on a reef structure of note that’s known as the “Five Mile Bank.”

Today, the venue has also become known as a light tackle gamefishing hotspot out in the deep for marlin, tuna and other species, although the weather does not always play its part!

We arrived there on the Friday evening, prepared the boat that we had towed down from Cape Town, and enjoyed a welcoming braai. The next morning before sunrise we carefully slid the boat off the trailer into the very shallow harbour. It was dead still with not even a land breeze; the water resembled a dam rather than the sea. The eastern horizon’s light clouds were softly etched in pink, whilst a three-quarter moon was still bright and high in the west.

Pleased to have been the first to launch, we set off for the bank, approximately 30 minutes away.

We all knew that for the past few weeks, weather permit-

ting, the yellowtail catches had been very good, with large shoals of sardines keeping them in the area.We also knew that the local commercials had been catching them at night under the moonlight, so we were confident that the early morning hours would find the smaller fish feeding voraciously before the sun came up.

About ten minutes shy of the bank, when we could see several commercials about a mile ahead of us, we were suddenly surrounded by a huge shoal of sardines breaking the surface of the sea. Our rods were ready with spinners, for that was the way you normally found the shoals, and, although it was still quite dark, as our spinners hit the water we were vas.

We drifted in the shoal of sardines for over half an hour, landing medium-sized ’tail as fast as we could get them alongside, until a commercial on anchor lay immediately in our path.

As we could now see shoals of sardine all over the place, we backtracked a few hundred metres into the middle of another shoal and I decided we should try anchoring. At first we were able to cast into the shoal and we continued catching them on the spinners, but when they were out of reach and our hook-up rate declined, Keith decided to replace the spinner with a hook and sinker to try for success in deeper water.

He was immediately successful, although the first fish he hooked was very much larger than the others and took him a lot longer to land on his light tackle. Ray and I soon followed suit and we continued catching larger specimens with regularity.

Suddenly we had a new problem —there were so many small fish under the boat that they were stripping our bait before we could get through to the large yellowtail below, so we changed to very much larger sinkers.

By now the sun was well up and our fish hold was virtually full. There had been no time for each angler to mark their fish, but that mattered not as the main prize was for the total boat landings.

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 59

Around mid-morning, I noticed that the bottom of the outboard cowlings were starting to dip in and out of the water, despite the almost non-existent swell.To make matters worse, the deck drain holes in the stern were now under water.The aft deck was now awash, and a slight breeze out of the southeast made me somewhat nervous in case it strengthened later.

I decided our best bet would be to clear out the cabin as much as possible, and move the fish that were lying on the deck into the cabin.This worked like a charm.

While moving the fish we came across our two tunny rods with 6/0 Penn reels filled with 50 lb nylon line as opposed to the 30 lb nylon on our casting rods. With these, we soon found that, without allowing them to rest on the gunnels which was against the rules, we were able to land the ’tail much quicker.

The competition allowed anglers to use up to 50 lb breaking strain — the days of serious light tackle boat angling were still to come several years later.

There was no official time for “lines up”, but the strictly enforced rule was that you had to be back at the slipway by no later than 3pm. We also had to consider that we were already overloaded relative to Pisces’ size, and there was no way she was going to lift up on the plane.

By 1pm the aft deck was again awash and lying low in the water, so common sense said our day’s fishing was over. We cautiously lifted the anchor and set off for home. Over an hour later we crept into the harbour with Ray standing on the bow, which resulted in it been so low in the water that Competition Control asked over the radio if we were sinking.

The first to launch, we were also the first back, and offloaded just over a ton of fish. However the last boat to land was a very much larger ski-boat virtually twice our size which had been able to fish an extra hour and a half, and they pipped us by just 12 lb (5.5kg). If I remember correctly, the two of us actually exceeded the next best boat’s landings by nearly 300kg!

FIRST MARLIN HOOKED OFF STRUISBAAI

I

N 1974, I sold Pisces and bought a marine-ply Clarke-craft which I named Dunnellon after the last 30 metre steel purse seiner I skippered while fishing for the factory ship Suiderkruis off the then South West African Skeleton Coast.

Dunnellon was just over 20ft in length, but bulk wise almost double the size of Pisces, and I replaced her Volvo outdrive with two Chrysler 60hp outboards.

In 1976 I fished in the National Interclub Competition that was also held at Struisbaai with Ernest and a friend of his, Dow, who was interested in buying my boat, though it was not actually for sale. As it turned out, a year or so later I did eventually sell it to him.

This was a gamefishing competition and bottomfish were not allowed. I think the competition was held in March, and at that time the yellowtail had become very scarce. However, rumour had it that there had been some yellowtail and small yellowfin tuna caught on the twelve mile bank south of Cape Agulhas.

The first day of the comeptition was blown out, and although a few yellowtail came out on day two, our team never caught or saw a fish.With nothing to lose, I decided we would take a chance and go out to the twelve mile bank on

the last day.That morning the weather was perfect, but in the two hours we spent on the bank we saw no signs of fish or even birds. Deciding it was just not our turn to shine, I trolled slowly back.

The boats had again found very little on or around the inner bank and had spread out all over the bay looking, I supposed, for the apparently non-existent small yellowfin tuna.

Later that morning, they did find some and the winning boat actually managed to land nine, but by that time we were somewhat otherwise engaged!

Ernest had been bragging about his new Mitchell reel with a carbon fibre spool, which was a little smaller and much lighter than my Penn 6/0s which Dow and I were using, and he had asked me to try it out.

Fearing that its “plastic” spool might not survive compressed nylon line if we caught a number of largish fish, I had initially declined, but eventually agreed to swop rods with him. It turned out to be one of the worst fishing decisions I ever made!

When we were about 5km out from the Oriental Pioneer wreck, I saw four terns suddenly fly diagonally across our bow; the next minute all three ratchets were screaming. To

SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 61

our minds they must be the rumoured yellowfin tuna of indeterminate size.

The outer two had gone in opposite directions, more or less east and west, whilst my fish headed straight back into the south. I loosened my drag to reduce any resistance to its run, whilst telling the other two to land their fish quickly.

They were soon in the boat and we could see that they weighed between 15- and 20kg. In the meantime, my fishwas at least 200 metres behind the stern, and I commenced recovering the line as fast as possible.

Suddenly my fish made a dash into the west, and in the clear blue water we saw an enormous black shape pursuing it. Presuming it to be a shark, I redoubled my efforts to bring it to the boat. Suddenly this enormous shape, now silver blue in colour, rose out of the water, bringing its clearly visible sword down on the fish’s back.

Without thinking, I wound even faster until Ernest shouted the obvious: “Jack, it’s an effing marlin, let him eat the tunny!” I finally woke up, and the tuna sank down not thirty metres behind the stern.

The marlin, which had disappeared, probably wondering how its slaughtered prey had continued swimming away, suddenly swam back in view, and circled once below the tuna.

Then it suddenly lit up to a silver blue again and took the tuna crossways in its mouth.All we could see as it swam of into the south-east was its tail showing on the starboard side and the feather lure, which had hooked the tuna, dangling on the port side of its jaw. There was no choice but to follow it, whilst I held on to the rod for dear life.

I then told Ernest to call a friend of mine, who was on the Durban Ski-boat Club boat, to ask him what we should do. He told us to stop following and allow the fish to swallow the tuna first, then allow it to get 200 to 300 metres ahead of us, and simply follow until the fish started jumping which would tire it out. Depending on its size this would probably happen

62 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

in ten to fifteen minutes, he said.

Over two hours later we were still following when, to our horror, the line suddenly went slack, but then we were treated to acrobatic leaps and splashes that we could hardly believe possible. Finally, I was able to slowly recover line, and within another hour or so, we had the marlin lying on its side about twenty metres away.

We were suddenly scared as it was so huge, clearly exceeding the length of our boat. It was too big to get in the boat, and too heavy to lift up anyhow. We prepared a lasso type rope that we planned to tie around its tail so we could tow it back to Struisbaai, trying not to think of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea. We obviously had no such thing as a flying gaff on board, but at least we had three ordinary ones — one about two metres long which Ernest would put just behind the head, a slightly smaller one which Dow would put about two metres up from the tail, and very small metre-long gaff which I would try to place near Ernest’s.

We were nervously ready and I lifted up the rod to try to ease the marlin closer. Suddenly there was a loud crack, and I looked down to see a disintegrated, allegedly “unbreakable” reel! I tried to lever the fish closer, but the line parted at the spool, and although I managed to catch the end, it was impossible to hold it by hand as a southerly breeze pushed the boat away from the fish.

We watched in disbelief as the first marlin ever hooked on a rod and reel at Struisbaai sstarted to sink, then slowly righted itself and swam away. Could we have controlled it with the gaffs we had? Who knows. I just remember hoping it would somehow be able to get rid of the line and lure.

We took four hours to run back to the harbour, where we learnt that Radio Good Hope had kept their listeners informed about our fight since 11am that morning. Fame at last, but not quite the ending we’d hoped for.

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SKI-BOAT September/October 2022 • 63

Last word from the ladies!

RAPALA LIP

No one knows the pain ....

IT’S A LIFE SENTENCE! I

RECENTLY bumped into a friend’s daughter in the shops and asked how things were going in her new job. She is, to use the old-fashioned term, the secretary to a fisherman who is high up the corporate ladder. She made out that she was this fisherman’s “slave”, having to research various fishing items on the internet for him and chase up tackle that hasn’t been delivered on time, plus make all the travel arrangements and accommodation bookings for his various fishing trips, not to mention coordinating everything. And when he comes back from said trips she has to look interested in the fishing stories and pay close attention to all the photos he has to show her on his phone.

The young lady in question feels that she is far worse off than this man’s wife or mistress who get to go with on these “fancy holidays”, and said she envied those women because they have the weekdays off. She said she wished she could have some of the perks that are afforded wives/mistresses.

The young truly have no idea!

I felt my blood pressure rising as she went on and on about how hard she has it, but I was in a rush to get to the hairdresser, so I didn’t have time to set this “slave” straight there and then.

Please allow me a quick rant in this forum...

Firstly, we fishermen’s wives/mistresses do not have any weekdays off.

The secretary goes home at 4.30pm, but “Grumpy” comes home to us.

Remember, we too have been working all day for someone else’s grumpy husband/lover.

We wish we could go home after work and just relax in front of the TV rather than having to check kids’ homework, cook supper, feed the family, feed the dogs, get the kids bathed and into bed, sort the laundry etc. And all this before we can even begin thinking of our own comfort and relaxation.

But does the young lady in question think it ends there? Oh no, then we

have to sit in the lounge where her (or someone else’s) grumpy boss has ensconced himself in front of the TV, his fishing tackle all spread out in front of him while he decides what he needs to take on the weekend’s fishing trip.

When asked why he couldn’t do that downstairs in the garage, his reply is:“I thought you would want me to stay up here and keep you company.”

What can a girl say?

And then, when he finally decides to call it a night, off he tootles for a shower. Of course he leaves wifey to make sure there are no fish hooks and the like lying around which could harm the children or animals on the morrow.

However, the secretary was right about one thing. She knew that the only way to get her boss out of a foul mood is to call in his fishing buddies. I too use that tactic with my man, but it’s not always as easy as that...

Once you call in the buddies you have at least triple the amount of mess to clean up triple the number of mouths to feed, and quadruple the amount of noise and cigarette smoke as the alcohol is consumed.

All this just because Mr Grumpy was in a foul mood? Nah, it’s just not worth it, not even because you want to see him smile and feel the atmosphere lift for a while. I also think the old bugger has got wise to this tactic and brings on the bad moods more often because he knows I’ll call in the troops.

The secretary also forgets that she has the whole weekend free.Whenever she’s not at the office she can just block out the fishing talk and mess.

This angler’s better half has to put up with him during all his secretary’s off time, PLUS the full duration of those “fancy holidays”. Sure, we get to go away a lot, but it is always to fishing spots. Be they at the seaside or in the mountains, top of the agenda is always fishing!

Sometimes a wife might get lucky and get taken with on her husband’s hunting trip. Wifey thinks: “Oh wow, a

week in the bush ... no fishing!” Forget it, babe! Where he goes hunting all the guys are also fishermen, so the conversation will now not only be about fishing, but hunting as well!

Gameviewing, you say? Forget it!

The only game species you are likely to see are the ones with horns suitable of being mounted on a board in his den.

And you won’t see them from a fancy gameviewing vehicle either, you’ll just see them at the slagpaal.

If, in a moment of insanity you decide to accompany your man on one of his hunts in the hopes of seeing something other than antelope, you will inevitably live to regret it.

Besides being bored out of your mind, the only animals you will see will be two miles away, mere specks on a distant hill. When hubby decides to stalk his quarry, it’s always a case of, “Wait here, darling, we don’t want to frighten them off, do we?”

So you wait and wait and wait and wait. Finally, just as you think that a compassionate lion has taken pity on you and eaten your hubby — mercifully relieving you of your onerous burden in life — you hear the distant crack of a rifle followed by a whoop of joy.

You surmise he has managed to rid the earth of yet another impala/ kudu/wildebeest/whatever.

Much, much later, back at camp after all the backslapping and copious quantities of alcohol you still can’t escape your man who has now proved his manhood in one field and is all amorous.“Come closer, darl...”

The next day is a different story.

Hubby’s head is sore, his tongue is raspy and his manner abrupt. Grumpy is back.

It matters not whether its a fishing or hunting trip, it’s all much the same, over and over again. So yes please, little miss secretary, feel free to trade places with me for a month or two while I take evening and weekends off. The eight hour day you endure is nothing like my life sentence!

YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY 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>.

64 • SKI-BOAT September/October 2022

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