Hiya A selection of some adventure's i've had wi
- Thread starter miles
- Start date
Comedy of errors!!
Week-end again!!! Unfortunately, very strong winds had made the tuna vanish, but since my wife hasn't been out last week-end, i was TOLD that we're going to sea!!!
Tommy was out on Friday and they managed to spear a 30kg YF and catch 5 others, in the same size, on rod and reel. Water was 18-19degrees cecuis and green. Not very good!!! Sooo, i invited a couple of fishing buddies to come catch some tuna, with the hope that the water would've cleaned up a bit to allow me to get wet!!
The day started badly. One of the crew members forgot to close the fuel tanks cap. Spilt at least 20ltrs feul on the deck!!!. Washed it off with a hose pipe at the slip. Then TWO crew member realised that they had brought two LEFT boots each!!!! Whats the odd's of it happening to TWO guys at the same time??? Then i put my wetsuit on, back to front!!!!
Starting a day off like this, does not bode well!!!
Ran to the tuna grounds with 6 of us on my boat. Sea was a bit lumpy, but the weatherman predicted very little wind. Spent the WHOLE morning trolling, but was only rewarded with a couple of small skipjacks/bonito's.
By now, my crew were staring to get mutinous ideas. Wife was telling EVERYBODY how hopeless the skipper is!!! Enough i thought!!! Kitted up and jumped in. We chummed 2x5kg's of bait, but not a fish in sight!!! Looked like one of THOSE days.
I was a bit hungry and took a lunch break. The guys then put some baited hooks into the water and lo and behold.......HOOK-UP!!!!!!!! By now, i was really starting to look bad!!! Funny thing was that the fish was fighting alot different to a tuna, but i rather kept my mouth shut. After 30minutes, we finally have the leader in sight and i get ready with the gaff. ARGHHHHHHH!!!!! Bloody 3m Mako!!!!!
Wife reckons that she wants mako steaks and everybody now also says they'll take some as well!!! Skipper shakes his head and cuts the line..................(imagine the carnage that would ensue if you put a 3m mako on board a semi-rigid!!). Crew becomes even more mutinous............wife mentions that they could throw the skipper overboard........he can swim....and he has flippers on as well...........
Wind starts picking up and its blowing about 15knots and we're 20nm from land. We decide to run home. About 5 miles later, i notice the temp. of the water had increased and that there was lots of LIFE in the area. In go the trolling lures and immediately we're into fish!!!! YF TUNAAAAAA!!! (small one though!!) Four rods in the water and four fish on!!! During the next hour and a half, it was non-stop action. Lost 4 YF's due to tackle failure (thats the term used when the skipper makes crappy knots!!, in my defense, its not east tying a bimini twist on a small boat in a windy and lumpy sea!!)
Total tally, 6 YF's ranging from 15-30kg's and a couple of smaller fish. NO fish was shot!!
Oh yes, did i forget to mention that the skipper also forgot to put the bung plugs in the boat, so the hull filled up with water??
Oh well, all's back to normal and the skipper is man of the day!!!
Can't wait for next week-end!!!
Regards
miles
Week-end again!!! Unfortunately, very strong winds had made the tuna vanish, but since my wife hasn't been out last week-end, i was TOLD that we're going to sea!!!
Tommy was out on Friday and they managed to spear a 30kg YF and catch 5 others, in the same size, on rod and reel. Water was 18-19degrees cecuis and green. Not very good!!! Sooo, i invited a couple of fishing buddies to come catch some tuna, with the hope that the water would've cleaned up a bit to allow me to get wet!!
The day started badly. One of the crew members forgot to close the fuel tanks cap. Spilt at least 20ltrs feul on the deck!!!. Washed it off with a hose pipe at the slip. Then TWO crew member realised that they had brought two LEFT boots each!!!! Whats the odd's of it happening to TWO guys at the same time??? Then i put my wetsuit on, back to front!!!!
Ran to the tuna grounds with 6 of us on my boat. Sea was a bit lumpy, but the weatherman predicted very little wind. Spent the WHOLE morning trolling, but was only rewarded with a couple of small skipjacks/bonito's.
By now, my crew were staring to get mutinous ideas. Wife was telling EVERYBODY how hopeless the skipper is!!! Enough i thought!!! Kitted up and jumped in. We chummed 2x5kg's of bait, but not a fish in sight!!! Looked like one of THOSE days.
I was a bit hungry and took a lunch break. The guys then put some baited hooks into the water and lo and behold.......HOOK-UP!!!!!!!! By now, i was really starting to look bad!!! Funny thing was that the fish was fighting alot different to a tuna, but i rather kept my mouth shut. After 30minutes, we finally have the leader in sight and i get ready with the gaff. ARGHHHHHHH!!!!! Bloody 3m Mako!!!!!
Wife reckons that she wants mako steaks and everybody now also says they'll take some as well!!! Skipper shakes his head and cuts the line..................(imagine the carnage that would ensue if you put a 3m mako on board a semi-rigid!!). Crew becomes even more mutinous............wife mentions that they could throw the skipper overboard........he can swim....and he has flippers on as well...........
Wind starts picking up and its blowing about 15knots and we're 20nm from land. We decide to run home. About 5 miles later, i notice the temp. of the water had increased and that there was lots of LIFE in the area. In go the trolling lures and immediately we're into fish!!!! YF TUNAAAAAA!!! (small one though!!) Four rods in the water and four fish on!!! During the next hour and a half, it was non-stop action. Lost 4 YF's due to tackle failure (thats the term used when the skipper makes crappy knots!!, in my defense, its not east tying a bimini twist on a small boat in a windy and lumpy sea!!)
Total tally, 6 YF's ranging from 15-30kg's and a couple of smaller fish. NO fish was shot!!
Oh yes, did i forget to mention that the skipper also forgot to put the bung plugs in the boat, so the hull filled up with water??
Oh well, all's back to normal and the skipper is man of the day!!!
Can't wait for next week-end!!!
Regards
miles
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Hiya
After two weeks of not getting wet, we SIMPLY HAD to go to sea!!!! The weather report looked good, the fishing reports looked good, so off we went. Very pleasant trip out, with the NorthWester on our back, and warm water very close in. We ran to the 25mile mark form the point. After about 10miles to sea, the wind started picking up, and the ride became bumpier. Started looking like a BAD day at sea.
We quickly located the fish and started chumming. PLENTY of fish!!!!
Those YF's would smash the chum on the surface, the yellow sickle fins slicing through the water exposing their backs!!!! AWESOME watching those 40-50kg fish smashing the chum right next to the boat!!!
Tommy jumps in. After a short while he shouts back that there's loads of small YF's, 40-50kg class fish, and that he's waiting for something bigger!!!! (I know, we're VERY spoilt down here in the Cape, when we start regarding 40kg YF's as small fish, and not wanting to shoot them!!)
Well, thats it. The wife says she's going to get in and shoot one!! She kits up and jumps in. Next thing i hear is screams of joy!!!
FISH ON!!!!!!!!!!! 10 minutes later the fish is just under the boogie board, but unfortunately she couldn't load the second gun for the kill shot. (hell, even i have problems loading THAT particular kill gun, it has a VERY short 20mm rubber on it) So unfortunately no SA womens record, but she DOES have her first YF tuna taken on spear!! We've guestimated the fish at about 50kg's, but will weigh it later this morning for an accurate weight.
We ended up only taking 5 Yf's, all in the 40-50kg class. The water was a bit dirty and i bumped into two small mako's. Funnily enough, those mako's always seem to be grinning at me!!!! Impressive set of dentures!!! Since we didn't see any bigger fish, and the wind had started making it unpleasant, we decided to call it a day. So at 1pm, we left the tuna grounds for home.
I really think that we're getting spoilt pretty badly down here in CApe Town. When we left, those YF's were smashing the chum that we threw away, on the surface!!! But all on the boat agrees, the fish are too small!!! Rather leave them to grow a bit more!!!!
Oh well, next time we'll get that 220lb fish, thats been eluding us for so long!!!!!
Regards
miles
After two weeks of not getting wet, we SIMPLY HAD to go to sea!!!! The weather report looked good, the fishing reports looked good, so off we went. Very pleasant trip out, with the NorthWester on our back, and warm water very close in. We ran to the 25mile mark form the point. After about 10miles to sea, the wind started picking up, and the ride became bumpier. Started looking like a BAD day at sea.
We quickly located the fish and started chumming. PLENTY of fish!!!!
Tommy jumps in. After a short while he shouts back that there's loads of small YF's, 40-50kg class fish, and that he's waiting for something bigger!!!! (I know, we're VERY spoilt down here in the Cape, when we start regarding 40kg YF's as small fish, and not wanting to shoot them!!)
Well, thats it. The wife says she's going to get in and shoot one!! She kits up and jumps in. Next thing i hear is screams of joy!!!
We ended up only taking 5 Yf's, all in the 40-50kg class. The water was a bit dirty and i bumped into two small mako's. Funnily enough, those mako's always seem to be grinning at me!!!! Impressive set of dentures!!! Since we didn't see any bigger fish, and the wind had started making it unpleasant, we decided to call it a day. So at 1pm, we left the tuna grounds for home.
I really think that we're getting spoilt pretty badly down here in CApe Town. When we left, those YF's were smashing the chum that we threw away, on the surface!!! But all on the boat agrees, the fish are too small!!! Rather leave them to grow a bit more!!!!
Oh well, next time we'll get that 220lb fish, thats been eluding us for so long!!!!!
Regards
miles
21 May 2005
Weekend again!!!!! Sadly though, my wife and myself have the flu. So NO diving!!!!
So we do what all normal people would do, go FISHING!!!!! The spearguns are exchanged for my Tiagra 50W (with a 30lb drag!!) and a Black Magic harness. We catch those tuna stand-up style.....fighting chairs are for girls(as my wife so aptly puts it!!) Went with friends 25' fibreglass cat...........oh the joys of not getting wet whole day!!!
Anycase, after being greeted by a stunning sunrise, we find the warm BLUE CLEAN water. An hour of fruitless trolling had me frustated!!! MUST find fish!!! The ususal Rapala's/Storm/Halco's/yamash-itas/etc failing to raise a strike. We KNOW the fish are here, as we can see them leaping out of the water, not swirling on the surface, but LEAPING like a dolphin!!
Ok, so now we stop the boat and start chumming. Three minutes later, we've got 3 fish on!!!!! Problem: these are BIG fish!!! A hour and a half later, the first fish is boated..............THEN the fun began...........we had a 2.5m mako chomp the rear end of a 70kg+ fish, we had LOADS of tuna smashing chum on the surface!!!! Oh, did i yearn for my speargun.........
The finally tally was 9 fish. 3 weighing between 78-80kg's and the rest between 50-70kg's.
Regards
miles
Weekend again!!!!! Sadly though, my wife and myself have the flu. So NO diving!!!!
So we do what all normal people would do, go FISHING!!!!! The spearguns are exchanged for my Tiagra 50W (with a 30lb drag!!) and a Black Magic harness. We catch those tuna stand-up style.....fighting chairs are for girls(as my wife so aptly puts it!!) Went with friends 25' fibreglass cat...........oh the joys of not getting wet whole day!!!
Anycase, after being greeted by a stunning sunrise, we find the warm BLUE CLEAN water. An hour of fruitless trolling had me frustated!!! MUST find fish!!! The ususal Rapala's/Storm/Halco's/yamash-itas/etc failing to raise a strike. We KNOW the fish are here, as we can see them leaping out of the water, not swirling on the surface, but LEAPING like a dolphin!!
Ok, so now we stop the boat and start chumming. Three minutes later, we've got 3 fish on!!!!! Problem: these are BIG fish!!! A hour and a half later, the first fish is boated..............THEN the fun began...........we had a 2.5m mako chomp the rear end of a 70kg+ fish, we had LOADS of tuna smashing chum on the surface!!!! Oh, did i yearn for my speargun.........
The finally tally was 9 fish. 3 weighing between 78-80kg's and the rest between 50-70kg's.
Regards
miles
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Hiya
21 June 2005
Its been a while since i've been out. Bad weather, but more importantly, i don't have a boat anymore!!! My new boat is simply taking for-ever to get completed!!!
So, Monday morning i'm up at 4:00am, and off to the harbour to go on a commercial tuna fishing boat. Just before i leave, i double check Buoyweather.com and see that the prediction has changed to a 25knt NW'erly with a 15' swell.......argh!!!! Anycase, we go to the harbour only to be blown away!!!! (thought the weather report MIGHT be wrong!!)
Tuesday morning, BACK at the harbour. ALL the other boats are tied up. Oh well, lets go to sea anyways. We start off and about a hour later the wind gets us. 20knts of SE'erly and a 12'+swell. No problem, as we're on a 30' fibreglass cat
.
About 35nm from the harbour, out goes the trollong lures. First hour, only two albacore and a couple of skipjacks. Then my 50w tiagra's rachet screams!!!!!!!!!! YELLOWFIN!!!!!!!!! Boat is stopped, chumming commenced. All the trolling rods are removed, and bait rods are put in. Its basically a Tiagra50w with 100m of 130lb line on top, with 80lb line filling the rest of the reel. Fighting stand-up style with 30lb drag is PLENTY of fun. 10min's later my 50kg fish is IDB. By now, both the other anglers are fighting fish and the school is feeding around the boat. As fast as you can get you line into the water, its FISH ON!!!!
Unfortunately we ran out of ice at about 12:00 so we had to leave!!! By now the wind was HOWLING about 25knts with a 15'+ swell. Made for a LOOOONG trip home!!
We ended to day with well over 20 YF's which would equate to maybe just under a ton of fish.
Unfortunately there wasn't time for photos, but just before we left, i did manage to take some vidoe clips of the sea and the YF's eating the chum just under the surface. Unfortunately the clip is too large to post, so if anybody wants to see it, just drop me a email at isonday@mweb.co.za and i'll mail it.
Regards
miles
21 June 2005
Its been a while since i've been out. Bad weather, but more importantly, i don't have a boat anymore!!! My new boat is simply taking for-ever to get completed!!!
So, Monday morning i'm up at 4:00am, and off to the harbour to go on a commercial tuna fishing boat. Just before i leave, i double check Buoyweather.com and see that the prediction has changed to a 25knt NW'erly with a 15' swell.......argh!!!! Anycase, we go to the harbour only to be blown away!!!! (thought the weather report MIGHT be wrong!!)
Tuesday morning, BACK at the harbour. ALL the other boats are tied up. Oh well, lets go to sea anyways. We start off and about a hour later the wind gets us. 20knts of SE'erly and a 12'+swell. No problem, as we're on a 30' fibreglass cat
About 35nm from the harbour, out goes the trollong lures. First hour, only two albacore and a couple of skipjacks. Then my 50w tiagra's rachet screams!!!!!!!!!! YELLOWFIN!!!!!!!!! Boat is stopped, chumming commenced. All the trolling rods are removed, and bait rods are put in. Its basically a Tiagra50w with 100m of 130lb line on top, with 80lb line filling the rest of the reel. Fighting stand-up style with 30lb drag is PLENTY of fun. 10min's later my 50kg fish is IDB. By now, both the other anglers are fighting fish and the school is feeding around the boat. As fast as you can get you line into the water, its FISH ON!!!!
Unfortunately we ran out of ice at about 12:00 so we had to leave!!! By now the wind was HOWLING about 25knts with a 15'+ swell. Made for a LOOOONG trip home!!
We ended to day with well over 20 YF's which would equate to maybe just under a ton of fish.
Unfortunately there wasn't time for photos, but just before we left, i did manage to take some vidoe clips of the sea and the YF's eating the chum just under the surface. Unfortunately the clip is too large to post, so if anybody wants to see it, just drop me a email at isonday@mweb.co.za and i'll mail it.
Regards
miles
Hiya
Just came back from a 6 day diving trip to Mozambique. Unfortunately my new digital camera didn't arrive in time, so no underwater pic's!!!
August is generally a bad time for Mozambique, in terms of pelagics, but my wife INSISTED on going. She hasn't been to Moz. yet and badly wanted to go........so who am i to argue?
Trip started with a 1800km drive, done in 18hours. From there, a further 400km's which took 8 hours, due to the sandy track that requires a 4x4. We stayed in tents about 20m away from the beach, in a camp in the Elephant reserve in Mozambique. Place is called Ponta Milibangalala. Really remote, with the closest shop being over 2 hours drive away.
Day1
Horrible viz!!!!! 18degrees water AND 3m viz!!!!! Did some inshore diving, 5-6m depth, but with very little fish action. The howling wind didn't improve the situation either. My wife managed to lose her one fin and i couldn't find it in the dirty water with a current running.
Day2
Wife started her Open Water 1 scuba course. She had middle ear problems before the trip and batte to equalize. Aborted the dive after too much ear ache. Things were starting to look grim........
Day3
8-15m viz and 21degrees water. Wife's ears are fine now and she does a 45minute dive up to 21m deep. She's ECSTATIC with the amount of fish life she saw!!! The reefs are filled with reef fish, making it an AWESOME place to scuba dive.
Day4
Even cleaner water, 21degrees water and 30m+ viz!!!! The group dived a 30m deep pinnacle, whilst my wife and i speared on the same pinnacle. It's about 20-30m deep, rising out of 60m of water!!! Only saw ONE small 'cuda and the wife saw a small hammerhead that was keen on out flasher. After the 30m dive, the group went to a shallower reef, were every-one dived, after the hour needed to outgas. Once again, stunning corals, loads of fish, a sea turtle and a HUGE potato bass of about 40kg's that followed the scuba divers around.
Day 5
Last diving day. 30m+viz again and 21 degrees water. Finally i start seeing some pelagics. A school of Kingfish(Yellowfin Trevally's) and some Pick-handle barracuda (sea-pike) came to say hello to my flasher. My wife did her two scuba dives and then worked the flasher for me. We had two turtles take an interest in the flasher, as well as a big Potato Bass of about 40-50kg's that swam with us for probably more than 20minutes before losing interest.
Highlights of the trip was lifting my head out of the water to see a flock of pink flamingoes flying overhead. Later a fish eagle was hunting in the same area as me!!! We found 3 scorpions hiding away in the fire-wood and happily released them in a safe place.
One of the best experiences was when i saw 8 Potato Bass (Grouper type fish) of between 10-60kg's on one dive. They would follow me around the reef, much like puppy dogs!!! Diving in that clear water with loads of reef fish and HUGE Potato bass and not shooting anything, yet having one of the best dives of my life, was AWESOME!!!
My wife has already started making plans for the next trip which will be in summer, when gamefish like Dorado (mahi-mahi), wahoo, 'cuda, jobfish, sailfish and marlin are plentiful.
Regards
miles
ps. Potato Bass is a protected specie in South Africa. In some locations they are even worse than sharks, when it comes to stealing your speared fish!! Fortunately for these bold fish, the spearfishing fraternatity requested to make them a protected specie
Just came back from a 6 day diving trip to Mozambique. Unfortunately my new digital camera didn't arrive in time, so no underwater pic's!!!
August is generally a bad time for Mozambique, in terms of pelagics, but my wife INSISTED on going. She hasn't been to Moz. yet and badly wanted to go........so who am i to argue?
Trip started with a 1800km drive, done in 18hours. From there, a further 400km's which took 8 hours, due to the sandy track that requires a 4x4. We stayed in tents about 20m away from the beach, in a camp in the Elephant reserve in Mozambique. Place is called Ponta Milibangalala. Really remote, with the closest shop being over 2 hours drive away.
Day1
Horrible viz!!!!! 18degrees water AND 3m viz!!!!! Did some inshore diving, 5-6m depth, but with very little fish action. The howling wind didn't improve the situation either. My wife managed to lose her one fin and i couldn't find it in the dirty water with a current running.
Day2
Wife started her Open Water 1 scuba course. She had middle ear problems before the trip and batte to equalize. Aborted the dive after too much ear ache. Things were starting to look grim........
Day3
8-15m viz and 21degrees water. Wife's ears are fine now and she does a 45minute dive up to 21m deep. She's ECSTATIC with the amount of fish life she saw!!! The reefs are filled with reef fish, making it an AWESOME place to scuba dive.
Day4
Even cleaner water, 21degrees water and 30m+ viz!!!! The group dived a 30m deep pinnacle, whilst my wife and i speared on the same pinnacle. It's about 20-30m deep, rising out of 60m of water!!! Only saw ONE small 'cuda and the wife saw a small hammerhead that was keen on out flasher. After the 30m dive, the group went to a shallower reef, were every-one dived, after the hour needed to outgas. Once again, stunning corals, loads of fish, a sea turtle and a HUGE potato bass of about 40kg's that followed the scuba divers around.
Day 5
Last diving day. 30m+viz again and 21 degrees water. Finally i start seeing some pelagics. A school of Kingfish(Yellowfin Trevally's) and some Pick-handle barracuda (sea-pike) came to say hello to my flasher. My wife did her two scuba dives and then worked the flasher for me. We had two turtles take an interest in the flasher, as well as a big Potato Bass of about 40-50kg's that swam with us for probably more than 20minutes before losing interest.
Highlights of the trip was lifting my head out of the water to see a flock of pink flamingoes flying overhead. Later a fish eagle was hunting in the same area as me!!! We found 3 scorpions hiding away in the fire-wood and happily released them in a safe place.
One of the best experiences was when i saw 8 Potato Bass (Grouper type fish) of between 10-60kg's on one dive. They would follow me around the reef, much like puppy dogs!!! Diving in that clear water with loads of reef fish and HUGE Potato bass and not shooting anything, yet having one of the best dives of my life, was AWESOME!!!
My wife has already started making plans for the next trip which will be in summer, when gamefish like Dorado (mahi-mahi), wahoo, 'cuda, jobfish, sailfish and marlin are plentiful.
Regards
miles
ps. Potato Bass is a protected specie in South Africa. In some locations they are even worse than sharks, when it comes to stealing your speared fish!! Fortunately for these bold fish, the spearfishing fraternatity requested to make them a protected specie
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Hiya
Tuna fishing is an expensive trip. My boat uses about 300-400ltrs of petrol per trip. Add to that, 30 box's of 5kg's of pilcard and you get a total expense of about R3500.00 per trip. We're usually at least 4 anglers, who each carries a equal share of the cost. (about R800-R1000 per trip) At the end of the trip, we simply calculate the expenses for the day and each one pays his share and then the fish gets divided equally amongst us. After filletting two 50kg's YF, you're left with about 50kg's of fillets. This gets distributed to my family and wife's family. If we get a very big catch, i use to donate fish to a Home for Abused Children in Cravenby and a Old age home in Woodstock.
How-ever, i have subsequently been granted a commercial tuna fishing right and now fish commercially for YF tuna.
Sadly, the recreational law is still 10 YF tuna per person, which many people take advantage of. I know MANY anglers who sell their catch's illegally!! The sadest part is that even the guys with boats costing well over 1.5million rand, still see fit to sell their catch's!!Hopefully, the powers that be, will introduce stricter bag limits, so as to curb this practice......
Regards
miles
Tuna fishing is an expensive trip. My boat uses about 300-400ltrs of petrol per trip. Add to that, 30 box's of 5kg's of pilcard and you get a total expense of about R3500.00 per trip. We're usually at least 4 anglers, who each carries a equal share of the cost. (about R800-R1000 per trip) At the end of the trip, we simply calculate the expenses for the day and each one pays his share and then the fish gets divided equally amongst us. After filletting two 50kg's YF, you're left with about 50kg's of fillets. This gets distributed to my family and wife's family. If we get a very big catch, i use to donate fish to a Home for Abused Children in Cravenby and a Old age home in Woodstock.
How-ever, i have subsequently been granted a commercial tuna fishing right and now fish commercially for YF tuna.
Sadly, the recreational law is still 10 YF tuna per person, which many people take advantage of. I know MANY anglers who sell their catch's illegally!! The sadest part is that even the guys with boats costing well over 1.5million rand, still see fit to sell their catch's!!Hopefully, the powers that be, will introduce stricter bag limits, so as to curb this practice......
Regards
miles
Hey Miles,
I am not sure if remember me, from the spearfishingsa site (khani - Imraan Khan) you were giving me some spearfishing advice and tips a while back, u were not married then, great to hear that you are married now and I see you And Dr Zuraida are still having a ball of a time.
Great to see you on the sealine site, believe me boet this is the place to be.
Keep those stories and pics coming.
rgds
Khani
I am not sure if remember me, from the spearfishingsa site (khani - Imraan Khan) you were giving me some spearfishing advice and tips a while back, u were not married then, great to hear that you are married now and I see you And Dr Zuraida are still having a ball of a time.
Great to see you on the sealine site, believe me boet this is the place to be.
Keep those stories and pics coming.
rgds
Khani
Hiya
Red Eye, i use to be a very ardent rock and surf angler. Most week-ends were spent fishing at Arniston, Struisbaai, Die Dam, Rietfontein, Brandfontein, Aasfontein, Quion Point, Buffelsjag and further afield, Stilbaai, Jongensfontein, Blombos and Witsands area. Since the ban on 4x4's was put into place, i found that many of my spots were no longer accessable and the local fishing wasn't too SAFE either!! Not fun having to fish at night at Mnandi/Beespens/TweedeBaai/Woldgat/etc, always with a big group of guys and always armed......
So, i simply progressed onto concerntrating more on boat fishing. I do still occationally fish rock and surf, but only when my wife insists that she want's to go. And even then, i rather go down to Witsands or Blombos area, where there is still plenty of fish!!
Wayne, i'm now a commercial tuna fisherman. I tend to spend lots of time at sea, either fishing or spearfishing.....................
Khani, yes, i do remember!! Jeez, how time flies!!
Regards
miles
Red Eye, i use to be a very ardent rock and surf angler. Most week-ends were spent fishing at Arniston, Struisbaai, Die Dam, Rietfontein, Brandfontein, Aasfontein, Quion Point, Buffelsjag and further afield, Stilbaai, Jongensfontein, Blombos and Witsands area. Since the ban on 4x4's was put into place, i found that many of my spots were no longer accessable and the local fishing wasn't too SAFE either!! Not fun having to fish at night at Mnandi/Beespens/TweedeBaai/Woldgat/etc, always with a big group of guys and always armed......
So, i simply progressed onto concerntrating more on boat fishing. I do still occationally fish rock and surf, but only when my wife insists that she want's to go. And even then, i rather go down to Witsands or Blombos area, where there is still plenty of fish!!
Wayne, i'm now a commercial tuna fisherman. I tend to spend lots of time at sea, either fishing or spearfishing.....................
Khani, yes, i do remember!! Jeez, how time flies!!
Regards
miles
Hiya
Well, my new boat is FINALLY on the water!!! Drove her late Saturady afternoon from the harbour at the boat builders to my mooring which was 20nm away. Launched very late, about 18:00, with a horrible choppy sea and a GALE force wind (easy 30knts NW'er!!) She ran very well in that rough stuff, with us taking three waves over the nose of the boat. Got to the harbour in one peice. The trip which is usually 45min's long took us over 2 hours in that sea.
Took her out for a test run yesterday, Wednesday 28 September 2005. With conflicting reports on the tuna grounds, i deicided to go have a look for myself. Left the harbour at about 7:00, after fueling up and baiting up. Ran the 11nm to the point with-out any hassles. From there on, it was another 35nm into the sea. Fairly large swell, with a bit of chop, remanants of the prevouis days wind. The boat ran quite nicely in that swell.
Out on the tuna grounds, we battled to find the long line fishing boats. Only trawlers were in the area we were operating in. After quite some time, we managed to find the long line hake fishing vessels.
We started trolling behind the long line boats, looking to find the fish before we get in. Water was a dirty colour, maybe 10m viz at best
A bit about my tackle. I was trolling 8 rods. 7 of them were Tiagra 50W's with 130lb line on whilst i had ONE rod with a Shimano TLD25 with 30lb line on it. Murphys Law, we get a strike on the 30lb tackle rod and reel!!! This light tackle is fine for fish up to 100lb's (50kg's) but anything larger, and you're in for a looooooong fight. I gave the rod to my buddy, who started fighting the fish. He is fairly in-experienced when it comes to tuna fishing and after an hour, he finally begs me to take the rod. With almost no line left and a VERY strong fish, i start fighting. With-in 20minutes i've got the fish close enough for us to see it.........or maybe IT wanted to see us............BIG FISH!!!!! That was the last time i say him for the next hour and a half that followed!!!!
After a total of close onto 3 hours, my buddy FINALLY put the gaff into the fish!!!! Lesson learnt: LEAVE THE LIGHT TACKLE AT HOME!!!!
Sadly, that was the only fish for the day. We saw two other fish, but they were reluctant to take bait.
What a great way to have my new boats MAIDEN voyage.
Regards
miles
ps. oh, i almost forgot, the fish weighed in at 84kg's!!!
Surely a sign of good things to come!!!
Well, my new boat is FINALLY on the water!!! Drove her late Saturady afternoon from the harbour at the boat builders to my mooring which was 20nm away. Launched very late, about 18:00, with a horrible choppy sea and a GALE force wind (easy 30knts NW'er!!) She ran very well in that rough stuff, with us taking three waves over the nose of the boat. Got to the harbour in one peice. The trip which is usually 45min's long took us over 2 hours in that sea.
Took her out for a test run yesterday, Wednesday 28 September 2005. With conflicting reports on the tuna grounds, i deicided to go have a look for myself. Left the harbour at about 7:00, after fueling up and baiting up. Ran the 11nm to the point with-out any hassles. From there on, it was another 35nm into the sea. Fairly large swell, with a bit of chop, remanants of the prevouis days wind. The boat ran quite nicely in that swell.
Out on the tuna grounds, we battled to find the long line fishing boats. Only trawlers were in the area we were operating in. After quite some time, we managed to find the long line hake fishing vessels.
We started trolling behind the long line boats, looking to find the fish before we get in. Water was a dirty colour, maybe 10m viz at best
A bit about my tackle. I was trolling 8 rods. 7 of them were Tiagra 50W's with 130lb line on whilst i had ONE rod with a Shimano TLD25 with 30lb line on it. Murphys Law, we get a strike on the 30lb tackle rod and reel!!! This light tackle is fine for fish up to 100lb's (50kg's) but anything larger, and you're in for a looooooong fight. I gave the rod to my buddy, who started fighting the fish. He is fairly in-experienced when it comes to tuna fishing and after an hour, he finally begs me to take the rod. With almost no line left and a VERY strong fish, i start fighting. With-in 20minutes i've got the fish close enough for us to see it.........or maybe IT wanted to see us............BIG FISH!!!!! That was the last time i say him for the next hour and a half that followed!!!!
After a total of close onto 3 hours, my buddy FINALLY put the gaff into the fish!!!! Lesson learnt: LEAVE THE LIGHT TACKLE AT HOME!!!!
Sadly, that was the only fish for the day. We saw two other fish, but they were reluctant to take bait.
What a great way to have my new boats MAIDEN voyage.
Regards
miles
ps. oh, i almost forgot, the fish weighed in at 84kg's!!!
The Tuna have ARRIVED!!!!!
Spent Saturday afternoon putting graphics on my boat. The wind was waaaay to strong, coupled with a big sea, put paid to any plans on going out to the deep. Besides, there was a week long tuna competition, which ended on Saturday, with the final result being 4 fish landed!!! Thats 4 fish for a weeks fishing, between 30+ boats with our countries best anglers on board. Things were looking really bleak..................
Late Saturday afternoon, i check Bouyweather.com, and saw that almost no wind was predicted for Sunday. The wife insisted that we go this week-end as she's working next week-end. Who am i to argue with the boss???
Sunday morning, 6am, we launch the boat. We barely started the 50nm run to the tuna grounds, when we were greeted by a school of dolphins. After some quick photos, i noticed that our stickers which we put on the night before, had all washed off!!!
Anycase, we ran in a rather lumpy sea. When we got to the tuna grounds, we found a trawler with 3 other boats behind it already. Two hours later, only one boat had a smallish (10kg or so) longfin (albacore) on board. Things were really not looking good. Water was a cold 15degrees!!! By now, we'd drifted about 7nm from our original destination. I quickly ran back, only to be rewarded with the sight of two commercial boat with anglers straining over bent rods!!!
30 seconds after the bait hits the water.................FISH ON!!!!!!!!! With-in the next hour, we had over 10 commercial boats working the same area. Being a commercial fisherman, a while back, i have great respect for these guys. I decided not to get into the water, as it would mean that i'd probably drift into their chum trail. Rather leave the diving for a day when there are less commercial guys out.
Final tally, 9 YF tuna with 2 fish in the 50kg class and the other 7 being in the 70-85kg class.
Tommy was also out there with his rib and one of the guys managed to spear a 87kg fish. The FIRST speared fish for this season!!!! Can't wait to get out in the week, when there are less boats around!!!
Regards
miles
Spent Saturday afternoon putting graphics on my boat. The wind was waaaay to strong, coupled with a big sea, put paid to any plans on going out to the deep. Besides, there was a week long tuna competition, which ended on Saturday, with the final result being 4 fish landed!!! Thats 4 fish for a weeks fishing, between 30+ boats with our countries best anglers on board. Things were looking really bleak..................
Late Saturday afternoon, i check Bouyweather.com, and saw that almost no wind was predicted for Sunday. The wife insisted that we go this week-end as she's working next week-end. Who am i to argue with the boss???
Sunday morning, 6am, we launch the boat. We barely started the 50nm run to the tuna grounds, when we were greeted by a school of dolphins. After some quick photos, i noticed that our stickers which we put on the night before, had all washed off!!!
Anycase, we ran in a rather lumpy sea. When we got to the tuna grounds, we found a trawler with 3 other boats behind it already. Two hours later, only one boat had a smallish (10kg or so) longfin (albacore) on board. Things were really not looking good. Water was a cold 15degrees!!! By now, we'd drifted about 7nm from our original destination. I quickly ran back, only to be rewarded with the sight of two commercial boat with anglers straining over bent rods!!!
30 seconds after the bait hits the water.................FISH ON!!!!!!!!! With-in the next hour, we had over 10 commercial boats working the same area. Being a commercial fisherman, a while back, i have great respect for these guys. I decided not to get into the water, as it would mean that i'd probably drift into their chum trail. Rather leave the diving for a day when there are less commercial guys out.
Final tally, 9 YF tuna with 2 fish in the 50kg class and the other 7 being in the 70-85kg class.
Tommy was also out there with his rib and one of the guys managed to spear a 87kg fish. The FIRST speared fish for this season!!!! Can't wait to get out in the week, when there are less boats around!!!
Regards
miles