Catching Stumpy

Farhad.

New member
Hi Guys

Hope we all well and getting ready for some fishing this weekend. This is my first post and I was looking for some advise regarding Hooking and landing Stumpnose. I usually fish at Umhlanga rocks,all along the lighthouse area. Had a great run with a stumpy a week ago,fought him for an awesome 15 min,(very strong fish)but when I finally got a glimpse of it, I was shocked at the size and then realized why it kept going off like a train whenever I thought I had it close to the shore. Seeing as I was alone ( fishing an Odd Monday night ),and being overwhelmed by the sight of the fish, I started to wade into the water to try and grab the line close to the fishes mouth. Needles to say as soon I leaned over to grab the line the fish darted off breaking the line from the slack.

I want to target these powerful fish and Any info regarding Bait, Trace & tides would be appreciated.
 

COBIA777

Sealiner
Golden rule when landing a fish. Never grab ypur trace line when trying to land a fish.

The fish must come to you, you dont go to it.( use your rod to pull the fish and the wave action to assisst.

Set your drag so that it can release the spool when there is too much pressure, resistance from the fish.

Use the flexibility of your rod to assist you. Do NOT strait stick any edible. This action is only generally used for pulling a BIG fish when iys still a long way out and you have line stretch to your advantage.

Sardine head, sard belly,sea lice, ckokka mussels, ghost crab, crackers , prawn and chokka mix, will all work.
 

OvaR8ed

Sealiner
1. Carefully play the fish to the side.
2. Use the waves to get the fish onto firm ground / rock.
3. Always keep tension on the line.

4. Once the fish stop flapping about, put your flat hand onto it, holding it firmly down to the ground.

5. As soon as you believe the fish is secure, you can slack the line for the first time and bring your second hand into the mix to securely handle the fish.
 

Farhad.

New member
Hey thanks for the tips Guys. There were dead on the mark. Sardine Head,tension on the rod and using the wave action. Caught this on Friday night at Umhlanga.
 

Farhad.

New member
Sorry I dont think I managed to post the pic on my last reply. Yes great spirit I agree.
 

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Farhad.

New member
It is pretty safe comparatively.Have never had any issues with the car or myself. Security patrol all the time along the beach.,and like I say,Im there very often and mostly alone.Caught it in between the Pier and Lighthouse.

Thanks,yes I was quiet impressed with myself on the light tackle I had.:)
 

Worsie 1

New member
:shock:GEEEEEEEZZZZZZ thats a huge stump if u compare that to the ones we catch

down in Cape Town...What was the weight on that monster and lenght?

Well done buddy :welcomesea:
 

COBIA777

Sealiner
COOL Fahad Nice Fish.

Glad you took some of my advise on the Sard head. Awsome bait for them, and you dont need a licence for it as well. My personal biggest was a fluke on a Mackerel head, a little bigger than 6kg. I witnessed and weighed a 7.2kg caught at Blue lagoon a long time ago. It was a new Junior record. Not sure if it still stands.

Hope you get lots more.
.
 

Farhad.

New member
Morning Gents

Cobia ,this was obviously a very experienced and calculated guess,the fish was between 4 and 4.5 kgs ( Dads scale 500 gram increments )so you could be right on the mark ! Yes I always say Sardine is a universal Bait ;) I can believe that about blue lagoon,coz my brother used to catch stumpys at Salt rock that were normally a good 7kgs on average.( sardine head as well ) Thanks again for the tips !

Worsie,u stand with an awsome kob /Salmon ? so well done to you.

Thanks Halibut.

Theres some bigger ones out there though...will definitely be fishing this weekend.If anybody is around Durban and up for some rock / surf fishing..give me a shout 072 271 1936.

Enjoy the weekend.
 

Foxhat

Senior Member
Well done, very nice fish. It's satisfying to target a particular good eating species successfully, specially when it is a fussy fish like the stumpy.

Years ago, we used to masala the water to bring them in, you would be shocked how close they actually eat when they go on the feed.
 

Farhad.

New member
Hi Foxhat


Its brilliant when you get what you were looking for.I believe it is a great edible, (I don`t personally eat fish,cant say the same for my family tho
b_r_a_a_ib_r_a_a_i ) however this was not my reason for targeting stumpy. As mentioned in the fist post I had a good run in with one and lost it at my feet,so I knew what I was going to be fishing for.

As for the Masala. I cut off a few Sard Heads to keep as bait then took the bodies and guts and mashed them up in a bucket,I rinsed off the bucket just where I was going to fish.I cast only about 40 m away,coming inn water.

1st Throw - Eel about 2m Long
2nd Throw - Just 1 strong,straight pull and my line bust ..Didnt have a chance to strike..Probably Skate,big Brusher not sure ( 20 pound Maxima line,55 pound leader )
3rd Throw - Eel about 3m Long
4Th throw - The stumpy above.
 

No-Pro

Senior Member
Beautiful fish, well done!

The two fish that can get huge in DBN, and we are catching little samples of it in CPT, are Shad and Stump.
 

Farhad.

New member
Thanks guy

Yes theres some huge Shad around ...Stumpys I havent heard of since the weather started getting colder. U guys have brilliant Kob so it makes up for the other 2 !
 

Farhad.

New member
Thanks guy

Yes theres some huge Shad around ...Stumpys I havent heard of since the weather started getting colder. U guys have brilliant Kob so it makes up for the other 2 !
 
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