Hi chaps
As SdB said, the ocean was still full of debris from the floods from the storm on the 10th Dec. It had a lovely colour to it, when I got there on the 17th, but alot of river debris.
About the 19th I put out a whole shad at nightfall and four hours later the reel starts screeming (what a beautifull sound for a Valie to hear!!)run all the way down the steps and around on to the beach and the reel is still running, by now about 100m of line, maak vas en it is on for a brief time and then slack!! what a disspointment, reeled in and it seems the hooks just didn't set. Shad is munched but no teeth marks, sneaky suspicion it is my old nemesis, the BIG sandy.
Then the NE picks up on the friday an by sunday the sea is dead calm and and I shoot down with a mackeral throw bait. Get over the nearest lip an 15 minutes later I am on (now hoping for a sandy) it feels heavy but not taking to much line, just cruising left and right behind the bank. After about 5 minutes I am gaining line, still feels like a BIG fish but it is coming slowly onto the lip. Dalan Branon lives in Durban and knows the area very well, he knows I am targeting sandies, and as I try to get it on the bank remarks that a good pull is better than nothing (knowing a decent size sandy will not come that easy) the next moment the fish turns and heads for the deep blue ocean! I shut the saltist drag to almost close and that fish takes line if there was no drag! carbontex or not, about 250m out Dalan tells me that the fish is headed straight for a reef about 300m out I have to turn the fish now! so I hang on that 400/7+1 if my life depended on it, the .55 is holding nicely and the 1mm leader gives me some convidence but that fish has no taken 300m of line and there is no way of stopping or turning it, the power behind that was unbelievable for me! Long story short after about 15 min I know the fish is on the reef and I shut the drag comletely, I am able to hold it for a short while and then it turns left and a couple of seconds later I get cut off on the reef!
Another monster sandy giving me a hiding!
The monday morning the NE holds and I get 3 brown skates and a couple of lessers.
The S/SW start blowing and never after that did we have a day or two NE again, and the wash was horrible in any case.
One of the browns:
As SdB said, the ocean was still full of debris from the floods from the storm on the 10th Dec. It had a lovely colour to it, when I got there on the 17th, but alot of river debris.
About the 19th I put out a whole shad at nightfall and four hours later the reel starts screeming (what a beautifull sound for a Valie to hear!!)run all the way down the steps and around on to the beach and the reel is still running, by now about 100m of line, maak vas en it is on for a brief time and then slack!! what a disspointment, reeled in and it seems the hooks just didn't set. Shad is munched but no teeth marks, sneaky suspicion it is my old nemesis, the BIG sandy.
Then the NE picks up on the friday an by sunday the sea is dead calm and and I shoot down with a mackeral throw bait. Get over the nearest lip an 15 minutes later I am on (now hoping for a sandy) it feels heavy but not taking to much line, just cruising left and right behind the bank. After about 5 minutes I am gaining line, still feels like a BIG fish but it is coming slowly onto the lip. Dalan Branon lives in Durban and knows the area very well, he knows I am targeting sandies, and as I try to get it on the bank remarks that a good pull is better than nothing (knowing a decent size sandy will not come that easy) the next moment the fish turns and heads for the deep blue ocean! I shut the saltist drag to almost close and that fish takes line if there was no drag! carbontex or not, about 250m out Dalan tells me that the fish is headed straight for a reef about 300m out I have to turn the fish now! so I hang on that 400/7+1 if my life depended on it, the .55 is holding nicely and the 1mm leader gives me some convidence but that fish has no taken 300m of line and there is no way of stopping or turning it, the power behind that was unbelievable for me! Long story short after about 15 min I know the fish is on the reef and I shut the drag comletely, I am able to hold it for a short while and then it turns left and a couple of seconds later I get cut off on the reef!
Another monster sandy giving me a hiding!
The monday morning the NE holds and I get 3 brown skates and a couple of lessers.
The S/SW start blowing and never after that did we have a day or two NE again, and the wash was horrible in any case.
One of the browns:
.