[align=center][img]http://i49.tinypic.com/a4c57m.j

A

Andre Laas

Sealiner
[align=center]
a4c57m.jpg

[/align]
I found myself in the very privileged position of being invited to fish the Billfish 15000 on Witch Craft. Initially it looked like I would not be able to make it due to various circumstances, but Bennie kept twisting my arm, and made me an extremely generous offer(Thanks again Bud!). Just more than a month before the comp, things suddenly fell into place, and Bennie wasted no time in entering us into the comp and Dawn, his (much, much) better half kindly arranged the accommodation for us. And so began the agonizing wait for the trip date to arrive! Bennie took care of prepping the boat and tackle to ensure that everything is to his standards, regularly sending us updates and pictures of new additions to the boat, new rigs, lures etc…. Marlin fever was running high, and piscatorial insomnia was at the order of the day (or night for that matter)!

The day finally dawned, and after final transfer of supplies, luggage and tackle, families were greeted and we hit the road in exceptionally high spirits. The excitement of the week’s fishing ahead made the trip pass in a blur, and before long we were booked in and on route to “The Tent” for registration and the opening of the competition.


[align=center]Witch Craft locked and loaded for the BF15K
[/align] [align=center]
2mq78.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]“The Tent”
[/align] [align=center]
2zdtzsi.jpg

[/align]
The atmosphere in “The Tent” was absolutely electric and it was abuzz with a thousand plans, tactics, theories and predictions were discussed all over whilst making good use of the sponsor’s generosity at the watering hole. Here I also finally got to meet a lot of really awesome guys, putting faces and bodies to names and pseudonyms. The formalities were completed by the organising committee and after making sure that hydration levels were optimal we headed to the cabin for final preparations and a wee bit of shut-eye.

Day one of the competition broke sadistically early, but some coffee got the blood flowing again, and we soon found ourselves on the bee-hive of activity that was the Sodwana launch site.
[align=center]
2a5yql4.jpg

[/align] [align=center]
dwudn4.jpg

[/align] [align=center]
1gk7js.jpg

[/align] [align=center]
2enc4mr.jpg

[/align]
The conditions out at sea were far from ideal, and it was bit of a challenge to get a spread set out without sea-legs, but we managed and we were settled in. The day was really slow, and strikes were reported rather sporadically, and successful landings were few and far apart. We did not have a touch for most part of the morning. At one stage we started hearing things…. Almost sounded like a micro-light or something, but we couldn’t see anything near us. The strange sound was rudely interrupted by a loud twang and a commotion on the T-top rod holders…. What The Fluorocarbon was that???? Nico from his vantage point on the deck floor (where he was studying his inner eyelids), was first to realise that we have just been spooled on one of the 80 pounders… like in empty, lure, leader, mono, braid, alles weg!!!! How the…… ….. what the…. ???
Closer inspection revealed that the fish-on-the-brain (let’s call it that on a public forum) crewmember that put out the rod in question (a.k.a. me) must have di-engaged the ratchet whilst putting the rod up!!! STRAAAAAAFDOP!!!!!!! I will never hear the end of this incident, and for the next couple of hours I was seriously unimpressed with myself!!! Well, at least we had a strike, and something was working! The strike was on a Black over Red Demon Tackle Softy Head trolled behind a bird in the ShotGun position.

[align=center]What have we here...???
[/align] [align=center]
2n898hw.jpg

[/align]
To Be Continued…..
[align=center]
[/align]
 
A

Andre Laas

Sealiner
So thus far we have had one difficult day on the water with a missed strike, but the fact that some billies did come out and the more favourable weather prediction did keep our spirits and hopes up, and after boat clean-up it was back to the cabin for a lekker beer and braai. New strategies was discussed and we made it an early night to ensure that we are in top form for Day 2.
 
Tuesday greeted a much “fresher” crew of anglers, and before you know it, we have had coffee, got the boat to the beach and found ourselves behind the backline and ready to start some serious fishing! A carefully selected spread was set out and we proceeded North this time round. The plan of action was to target sailies and stripeys in shallower water for most part of the morning and then taking things from there. A gamefish or two for the braai was also a strong possibility on the spread we had out. Long before the trip we decided that getting into the prizes would be a grand bonus, but the main priority would be to have fun and relax… and one of Bennie’s main priorities was to get me into my first billfish which of course had me vibrating like a green tuna on deck! Well it turned out that it was not our day, maar ons het baie lekker boot gery! Definitely was a better day than we could have ever had in the office! We blanked spectacularly with not even a little by-catch for the braai. Not that that was a train smash as we had a master chef in Nico that made some awesome food throughout the trip. Again we retreated to the cabin to de-salt externally and internally and have some great fun with guys like Greg (Shaggy) and Reinhard (Tunaman) coming over for a chat and a couple of cold-ones. The weather did not look too promosing for the next day, but we decided to make a final decision in the morning.
 
Come Wednesday morning before sparrows fart, we were up and outside to check the weather and have some coffee. The wind was already picking up, and there was a light drizzle, and it did not take much to convince ourselves that a bit of extra sleep would serve us well. After a bit more sleep we assessed conditions again, and made contact with some of the guys on the water…. The general response went something along the lines of “jaaaaa, it’s fishable hey….don’t know hey…” which made our decision easy… we will stay on land to rest and re-group for the rest of the trip’s fishing. Turned out to be a great decision as we had a jol taking things  r e a l l y  s l o w, just chilling and strategizing for the way forward. We drove around a bit and visited some great okes, including the Vans. Late afternoon it was back to the cabin where we re-checked and adjusted all the drags and started working on our plan for Thursday. Soon the table was covered in lure bags and different spread options were layed out, discussed, chopped and changed all whilst ensuring that we ran no risk of de-hydration. One thing we did pick up over the first two days was that the fish was there but were extremely reluctant to commit. This was evident by the number of reported strikes that did not end up in positive hook-ups, as well as the tell-tale bill marks and scuffing on some of the lures and leaders that was used on both days. Part of the strategy going forward was to “sweeten” our spread by adding strip baits to appropriate lures. Big ups to Reinhard we not only showed us how to rig up a beautiful strip bait for trolling, but proceeded to rig up all the lures we wanted to add strips to. Everything was now sorted and in place, and all we had left to do is relax with great company while Nico’s stew was bubbling away cheerfully on the fire. After a hearty meal it was off to bed with visions of fish to come…
 
A

Andre Laas

Sealiner
Day 4 broke with the weather looking promising and with a great air of anticipation. We were well rested after our day of leisure, and were amped to make it happen. Had a quick coffee, hitched the boat and made our way to the beach. While awaiting our turn to launch our crew grew by one member…. Barry-John (BJ) is a photographer with Hennie Papenfuss and co and they were busy with a production for Supersport. BJ was supposed to go out with another boat, but while he was taking care of some “pressing business”, his hosts for the day got their turn to launch, and were on their way before he could finish the necessary paperwork. He tried another boat, but they were full up. Lucky for him he tried us next, and without much deliberation he was welcomed onto Witch Craft to join us for the day. Before you know it, it was our turn to launch

[align=center]Invigorating![/align]
[align=center]
dg59v6.jpg

[/align]
All aboard and Bennie called in from the backline…5 up and heading east...
[align=center]
2j13jic.jpg

[/align]
Our Game plan was to head straight out towards the 1000m mark to look for warmer water or colour lines. We travelled opted to travel out at speed and only set our spread in deeper waters. We soon left the majority of boats behind as the visible land on the horizon grew smaller. It is near impossible to describe the feeling of being “out there” in the deep… you can really breathe out there, and the ait is just special. When we got to the general area from where we were planning to troll, Bennie pulled back on the reigns, and we got busy setting out our spread.

[align=center]Battle stations![/align]
[align=center]
33wwfm0.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Laying down our spread[/align]
[align=center]
34g0d9h.jpg

[/align]

[align=center]
5l3znk.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]
110vlft.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]
35hiyjs.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]MMM how about this Iland Sea Star Flasher…[/align]
[align=center]
904lg8.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]The Squid360 is always a good bet…[/align]
[align=center]
2dhzr52.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Teasers usually bring out the big boys…[/align]
[align=center]
npj4fo.jpg

[/align]
Changes to our spread for the day included swimming two large Demon Tackle Slant 42’s on the two corners, fairly tight to the boat, just behind the teasers which have also been brought in a bit. On the riggers we had medium sized strip baited lures and on Shot gun from the T-Top rocket launcher we ran a small baited lure behind a medium sized bird. Off course we also had a Squid360 out centred in the prop-wash. And so we headed into the blue yonder…
[align=center]
a09nvb.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Watching the spread like a hawk[/align]
[align=center]
of3daw.jpg

[/align]
We carried on to the 1000m mark, hoping to find warmer water, but we had no such luck. We decided to turn around and get back to about 500m water and troll north towards the area that was productive in the first three days. In the meantime BJ was getting general footage, and had a good Q and A session with us… turns out he is fairly new on the scene, and he was yet to film a billfish hook-up and fight. We were now well on our way back towards shallower waters.

Suddenly in about 750m of water the elastic in the long rigger snapped with a bang….. what was that?... another missed strike? Phyn and Bennie was busy re-setting the line in the rigger when there was another tap on the line… Phyn released the line in hand, and Bennie proceeded to tease the fish by reeling until the fish had another go, and the moment the fish stuck again he flipped it into frees-pool…… The Tiagra responded immediately by uttering those immensely satisfactorily low notes… KORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I needed neither motivation nor instruction and was on that rod like a johnnie on a geelbek…
[align=center]
2cdxuog.jpg

[/align]
Get the rod out, tighten up, strap in and HOLD ON!!!
[align=center]
2uggztg.jpg

[/align]
As if out of a slow motion dream it suddenly dawned on me that I am hooked up to the strongest fish I have ever had the privilege to tussle with, and I was in absolute awe at how I could do nothing but hold on and try to stay boated while 10’s and then 100’s of meters of line gets peeled off against a drag tight enough to stop many game fish dead in its wake!!! I was absolutely euphoric, and immersed in the moment, blind and deaf to everything else around me…. apart of course of the sweet music played by radio Tiagra, and the vision of the rapidly reducing spool. She showed herself briefly, just enough to confirm that it was a billfish… “looks like a Stripey”…
In no time I watched the mono to braid connection leave the rod guides
[align=center]
xfuglz.jpg

[/align]
Finally the first run stopped, and for a few seconds we were at a stale mate. The fish changed direction, which allowed me to gain some line, slowly but surely….. pump and wind….pump and wind….Heart Racing….. Adrenalin pumping….. Legs shaking… Slowly but surely we were winning line, inch by inch, crank by crank…

“She is getting close now… call for a tag colour”
[align=center]
11klag9.jpg

[/align]
The fight was now quickly nearing the end, and just a little bit more and Bennie will be able to grab the leader…….

Yeah right…. As she saw the boat she tuned us…. “Ooooh E E …just no chance” as she turned around and engaged that massive propeller at max force….. Nothing could ever have prepared me for the jolt of power that was about to his me as she bolted away, clearly disgruntled with our idea of grabbing her by the bill. I was again in a situation where I had no option but to lean back and hold pole….. Within seconds she exploded out of the water probably 200m out
[align=center]
ja82td.jpg

[/align]
She proceeded to grace us with an awe inspiring display of sheer power and acrobatics that had us bellowing in admiration and joy. “This is not a small fish!!!”…. “She is nice at Fat!!!”….. “Might be a Blue hey”…… Line was peeling of the reel at a rate I have never experienced before, and in mere seconds I was back into the braid with no signs of her taking strain or slowing down…. The “deep burn” was getting a whole new meaning …
[align=center]
a1n1vb.jpg

[/align]
The first two times I was offered to get into the chair I bluntly refused… but now the temptation was growing stronger as my legs grew weaker… “just a few more minutes” I told myself….. My team had my back though and I was in the best hands I could ask for…. Phyn manned the wheel and throttles, Nico was keeping me on the boat by the handle of the harness, and Bennie was giving advice, orders and motivation whilst BJ was filming away from all angles. The fish stopped taking line, but was very reluctant to allow me to take any of it back, and for a few moments we were locked in a stale mate…. “C’MON, SHORT PUMPS” came the instructions…. “If you’re not winding, she is resting”……. “LITTLE TUNA PUMPS!!”….C’mon, BRING HER IN”… Painstakingly I was starting to win centimetres at a time. I was exhausted, shaking all over, but through sheer adrenalin fuelled determination and the motivation of my team I kept at it, and was making progress. A third offer for the chair was sheepishly refused…. “If I made it this far, I can push through” I told myself. Just keep pumping…… Another unknown feeling…. I lean back…. and come forward to retrieve line…..yet the handle refuses to turn…haibo….. is it the handle or my arm??? Ever so slowly I am winning… all the time hoping she won’t break me any further by taking more line….. lucky for me she was also nearing the end of her stamina, and after what felt like an eternity we started to see colour, and more importantly… the leader got into Bennie’s reach…
[align=center]
1042mvd.jpg

[/align]
And Nico got hold of the bill
[align=center]
why8wn.jpg

[/align]
What happened next was a blur of frenzied activity, with instructions flying all over… While Phyn was passing on the release colour tag, I disengaged the drag, and got the rod into a holder while verification pictures got taken with the tag. Next order of business was to get the hook out…. “HOOK REMOVER!!!”… Nico and Bennie removed our hooks, and I got in place to get some pictures with my prize… she was magnificent and I was speechless! As we were turning her for the picture we spotted another hookset in her mouth… chaos erupted again as we re-located the hook remover and Bennie removed the second, rather odd-looking hookset from her jaw. I was still dumbstruck and just admired her beautiful, glistening wet body….

[align=center]
xonoqv.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]
20usria.jpg

[/align]
Now the question came…. “Do you want to keep her, or do you want to release?” Up until about an hour ago the answer was quite simple…. It’s my first marlin, and we had no fish of any sort for the freezer yet, so I’ll keep it….. As a matter of fact it was a point of discussion the previous evening and we all agreed that we will take the fish…… However, something has changed….. something I am unable to put into words, but there was no question in my mind that I wanted to set this beautiful creature free after she had fought so spectacularly hard. She deserved to be free… For a moment I felt guilty of depriving my friends and crew of fresh fish especially after the discussions of the evening before, but one look over at them set my mind at ease at once….. we all wanted to see her go free! Nico and I proceeded to keep her upright with the boat running slowly and we had the awesome privilege of feeling her regaining strength and starting to “kick” again. With a final brush over her glorious body we let go of her and watched her slide effortlessly back into the deep with slow strokes of that magnificent tail…..

[align=center]Reviving….[/align]
[align=center]
6ruh09.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Reviving….[/align]
[align=center]
wgp205.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Gone…. [/align]
[align=center]
3356po2.jpg

[/align]
And all that was left to do was to celebrate!!!

[align=center]
2ef82sk.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]
29w7axl.jpg

[/align]
[align=center]Mission Accomplished[/align]
[align=center]
2ufsfip.jpg

[/align]
 
S

Serra Moz

Sealiner
Geez...don't like the "to be continued part" feed us more, we demand! Seems like a jr. Mr. Ernest Hemmingway in the making, good write up and upcoming Marlin fundi!
 
A

Andre Laas

Sealiner
Guys, thanks for your patience (or not) while I did this report in sections. This was a childhood dream of mine that came true in the most spectacular way anyone can ever imagine or wish for, and I have truly been blessed. It is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life!

I wish to extend an immeasurably big thank-you to my friend Bennie Jordaan in particular… Bud, thanks for not giving up on me joining you guys on this trip, even when I did! Without your generosity, I would not have been able to make the trip, or realise this dream in the way that I did. I appreciate it deeply!

To my crew-mates… Nico and Phyn, guys, I could not have asked for a better team to join me. Your support was awesome, and your happiness for me was priceless. Thanks for allowing me to take the fish, even after I basically duffed the first strike with a silent ratchet. I’ll share the confined space on a skiboat with you guys any day!

Then also to Greg(Shaggy), Reinhard (Tunaman) and the Big Van’s… it was great meeting all of you guys, and I have learned from all off you in one way or another (even if it was stealing with my eyes). You guys made a huge impact on the “gees” that I experienced at the comp! I have met a great many people at the comp, and it would be impossible to name them all, but I hope to meet you again soon!

Will I do this again…… VERSEKER!!!
 
B

benniejordaan

Sealiner
Bud, no need to thank me at all, but you are very welcome. It was only a pleasure having you on board. I told you we going there to get you into your first billfish... You did it!

What a lucky fish. First she survived the long liners, then our hooks and finally the freezer. A true beauty estimated at 330Lb, what a fish to cut your teeth on.

Great report...
 
A

Andre Laas

Sealiner
benniejordaan wrote:
Bud, no need to thank me at all, but you are very welcome. It was only a pleasure having you on board. I told you we going there to get you into your first billfish...

You did it! ...aikona.... WE did it!

What a lucky fish. First she survived the long liners, then our hooks and finally the freezer. A true beauty estimated at 330Lb, what a fish to cut your teeth on.

Great report...
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top