South Sea Safaris - Agulhas Update

On Monday I did an update and gave some feedback on the Marlin Tournament held in Struisbaai last week and the two days of "marlin mayhem' on the Alphard Banks. Our plans were to get out there this week and for once mother nature smiled upon us and gave us two good weather days when we needed them. The forecast showed Tuesday and Wednesday as being very nice and we lined up a couple of charter clients that have been waiting to get out there.

Ion Williams and his group (regular clients and good friends) joined us on Tuesday morning. We left harbour at 4.30am and arrived at the Alphards (42 miles SE of Struisbaai) at 6.30am. The sea was flat calm and our first plan was to catch some yellowtail on the  pinnacles. The 'tail did not let us down, and although they were small fish (2-3kg) we caught about twenty or so before they started going off the bite. By then a there were about five boats on the banks and a few were already trolling kona's for marlin. It was soon clear that Tuesday was not going to be a repeat performance of the events on Saturday and Sunday when the marlin went absolutely bananas. (See my previous blog/report on that story)

By around 10am we had not seen any action and although one or two other boats had seen a marlin or two and had reported a strike here and there, none had been successfully caught. We decided to try for a few bottomfish. At about 11.30 we had caught our fill of bottoms and went back on the troll. Not long after, one of the clients spotted a striped marlin greyhounding across the sea a few hundred meters from us. We headed in his direction and within minutes had a very lit up stripey stalking our kona's, but before we could get really excited, he turned away and that was the last we saw of him.

Just then "Blade", another boat not far from us, reported a strike and "fish on". It was a big (around 250kg) black marlin and after having the fish on for about 5 minutes, the wind-on leader failed. I could hear in his voice on the radio that Patrick Christodoulou, the angler, was as mad as a snake. And I did not blame him one bit. I am sure the manufacturer of the leader has, and rightfully so, by now had an earful. Marlin fishing is difficult at the best of times and tackle failure is unforgivable. That was the end of the action for the day and although no marlin were caught, is was still a very nice day on the banks. The wind had been pushing gently from the west all day and after the previous day of easterly, I was hoping that the westerly would bring the fish on a bit better on Wednesday.

The next morning we were at it again. Tony de la Fontaine had given his lovely wife, Marjo, a marlin for Valentines day. And we had been given the task of delivering it......No pressure here!! Wednesday arrived with a light SSW wind and by 7am we were back on the banks. The water was a bit bluer, a bit warmer and had a bit more of a kick in it than the previous day. What is more, we were the only boat there. Clearly the lack of activity on Tuesday had discouraged the rest of the mob. I know hindsight is an exact science and it is easy to make statements after the fact, but I really did remark to the rest of the crew that things just felt different, the conditions were right. 

Our plan was, firstly to get a few 'tail  and then go in search of the marlin. The first fish hooked on the spoon was a decent one and after a good go, Marjo had an 8kg yellowtail on the boat. A hour or so later we had caught enough 'tail and whilst we were debating whether to start trolling, a marlin jumped clear of the water about 300 meters from the boat and our minds were made. By 8.15 we we trolling and at 8.45 one of the outriggers bucked as a fish gave the far left kona a clout. A split second later the ratchet screamed and not too many split seconds later Gareth had the rod in his hands and pushed the drag to full strike. Fish on!

I left the wheel to lend a hand and for a second I was very puzzled to see Gareth standing holding a seriously bent rod with line heading to the horizon and yet I could see the dorsal fin of a marlin quite close to the boat. Even before the penny dropped that this was a second fish, the outrigger jumped as the stripey hit the short left kona and a second later the next reel was howling. Whilst holding the first rod, Gareth leaned over and pushed the second one to full strike. Then the pawpaw really hit the fan. I was on my way to grab the second rod when the third rigger clip snapped, then the fourth. To try to describe the situation in detail is impossible. I have heard of marlin "pack attacks", and in the last few days a couple of boats have experienced them. Until this moment I had never. Four fish on in a matter of seconds. The sound of multiple Tiagra reels belting out a cacophony of ratchets is indescribable. You gotta be there! Then the second rod to go tight went silent. A second later the rod that Gareth was holding went slack. The fourth fish had already come unstuck before we even had a chance to touch the rod and I was left with the third and last fish peeling line from the Tiagra 30 at an alarming rate.

A minute or two into the excitement and the reel was about three-quarter down to the spool. Gareth grabbed the wheel to turn and chase the fish whilst I strapped Marjo into the black magic harness and then that line stopped running as well................The sudden silence and the "what the hell just happened" look on everyones faces would have made interesting video footage. In fact the whole episode would have been interesting. We started recovering the lines that had been run out from the boat in all directions, hundreds of meters of it. The last line to lose it's fish was also the last kona we retrieved. As I reeled it closer to the boat the electric blue of a lit up marlin materialized behind the lure. Gareth and I saw it simultaneously and whilst reeling like hell, the hungry stripey engulfed the kona, I let him get his head down and then hit him hard to set the hook. Once again the line peeled from the reel and after a few hundred meters he slowed down. I really feared that this fish would, as the others had done, run a few hundred meters and simply spit the hook, but this time he stayed stuck and we strapped Marjo into her first marlin. We then settled into the fight and half an hour later we had a very lively stripey of about 75kg alongside the boat. Yours truly had to hold him by the bill whilst everyone else tried to sort out a very fancy Nikon camera that had decided  this was the right moment to get temperamental. The result was I nearly got my eyeballs shaken out of my head and we did not really get any good photo's of the fish. The one we did get shows my sunglasses being shaken clean off my face! Aahh, such is life, but we did tag and release him, or her, to live and fight again another day.

AND, Marjo got her Valentines day present. Damn, I love it when a plan comes together.

Half an hour later or so we had another single strike but the fish did not stick around. With the pressure off, we went back to the pinnacle to be greeted by schools of yellowtail milling around on the surface. We got some underwater video footage of the yellowtail and after playing with the camera for a while, Gareth took his gun and on two drifts shot a 7kg geelbek and two yellowtail, one of which was a real bruiser but it pulled off the spear. I saw it fighting just below him and it was a very BIG fish. The language that came out of the snorkel was blue. We caught a few more and could probably have filled the boat if we wanted to. It was incredible to see so many fish on the pinnacles in the middle of the day. Usually they disappear into the depths during the day and I can only ascribe the reason they didn't to the fact that they weren't getting harrassed by multiple boats and divers. It will go down in my books as one of the best days I have had at the sea. I do not know if it will ever happen again, but I will remember it as the first day someone got a marlin for Valentines day and I saw a "marlin pack attack".

As a matter of interest, it is also the first day since I arrived a month ago that I have seen blue water on the "Vlakbank". I stopped there briefly on the way home yesterday and it had gone from green on Tuesday to a deep irridescent blue. I really thought things were coming right with the water and the weather. Today the SE wind is back with a vengeance and it is forecast to blow for a week. It will very likely make the water green and cold again. I am holding thumbs that I am wrong, but I cannot see how it will fail to do so. Next week is the SA National Spearfishing Championship and it will be held right here in Struisbaai. Hopefully the guys will get some dive time and decent water, but at this stage it seems like a long shot. I will be tagging fish at De Hoop with Marine and Coastal Management. Someone's gotta do it!

Will the marlin and warm water be here next Friday? Who knows, I will do an update next week when I return. Till then, tight lines. 

Cheers

Alan 

Cape Agulhas and Two Oceans Marlin Tournament Report

Hi All

The Two Oceans Marlin Tournament has come and gone, and as usual, it did not disappoint. In the week preceding the tournament the SE winds were really puffing away and this resulted in some green and very un-marlin like water in the usual marlin areas. Nonetheless, two days before competition a gentle westerly wind turned the water a better colour and on the Tuesday before the comp a 112kg Striped Marlin was caught by the boat Aqua Tess. The opening function brought all the anglers together and with Wednesday being the first fishing day, expectations were high. Unfortunately the SE wind made a strong comeback and fishing was called off on the first two days. Friday saw the wind turn into the west the although conditions were bumpy, the organisers called the comp on. The water was mostly green and cold, but one the boats got out as far as the 100meter contour, (about 15 to 20 miles out0 the water got better. Not great, but better. The result for the day was one marlin released and a couple of others lost. But the westerly wind promised to produce better water for Saturday and the weather forecast was for calm conditions. Most of the boats headed for the 12 Mile bank, us included and a few went to an area called halfway house. This is and area so called because it is halfway to the Alphard banks. A few found their way further still and actually went as far as the Alphards.
What transpired at the Alphards during Saturday, (and Sunday after the tournament) is the stuff that very few anglers have been privileged to see or experience. From around 9am reports started coming in of fish being hooked, lost, released and, unfortunately, a couple died as well. As fate would have it, I was not there to experience it myself, but at the end of the day, when chatting to some of the anglers, it was clear that there were more marlin in the water that day than one could shake a stick at. Eventually the statistics were 13 marlin and one sailfish released, and three marlin died. A few of the marlin were caught at places other than the Alphards, but by far most of the action was there. There were a number of multiple hook-ups and strikes and one boat had three fish on simultaneously for a few minutes. Yet another was heard to say that he had just experienced the best day of his life. The anglers lucky enough to be there stated unanimously that it was the best marlin fishing they had ever experienced. There were also a couple of heartbreak stories, but when things get as busy as this, it is only to be expected. 

Then came Sunday. A few boats went out there again and it happened AGAIN. One boat, who will remain nameless for fear of reprisals against the author, reported about seventeen marlin strikes before 11am. I am not sure of the exact number, but if I fill in the gaps, it was absolute carnage. Of the seventeen hook-ups, they released one striped marlin! One marlin caught is great, but with a strike to landing ratio of 17 to 1, things must have been rather tense on board. I do know the line parted on three fish and what happened to the others is uncertain. Seventeen marlin strikes in three hours is an unbelievable statistic. Other boats had an equally hectic time of it, but their statistics were not as good, or bad, depending on how one looks at 17:1. We are heading out there tomorrow to see if we can get just one marlin to stick. I will update this page asap if we get one.

On the charter scene, things have been a bit quiet, but I can say with absolute certainty, if ever a client wanted to catch a marlin at Cape Agulhas, now is the time that his or her chances are the absolute best. Last week we did a trip to the 45's and the result is the picture of Gareth holding up a 27kg red steenbras.

We are still looking for the 45kg boy, but this is one step closer. Maybe next time we go will be the trip. We do know that time is running out as the red steenbras is going to become a protected species and shortly we will not be able to target them at all. 

As a matter of interest the picture of Tyler shows two of our friends, both charter operators from Hout Bay fishing with us in Struisbaai at the 45's. See, even the opposition likes fishing with us. Heheh. Thanks guys, we need this kind of marketing exposure. 

Last but not least, the most amazing news of all is that of a spearo that shot a 35kg red steenbras in two meters of water in front of the cave at Arniston. I know it is true because I know the diver and saw the pictures. Anyone who knows anything about fishing or diving will know that achieving this would be the equivalent of finding a wild African elephant roaming around in the middle of Cape Town. On that note, till next time, tight lines.

Cheers

Alan   

Cape Point and Cape Agulhas Fishing Report

Hey Everybody


In my last report of 14 January I mentioned that we would be heading down to Struisbaai for Feb and maybe March. Well, we are at the southernmost tip and things are looking a damn side better than they were in the Cape Point area. News from Cape Point is that the snoek are still eating their way through everything and things are very quiet in the tuna areas. Apparently even the commercial tuna boats are lying in their respective ports. I have been here for a week and even though the persistent SE winds are still pushing through, and the rest of the country is washing away, we have managed to get a couple of sea days.


Shore Angling

The biggest news I have is that of a 38kg Kob caught by our good friend and sometimes client, Brian McFarlane. He was fishing in a Boland shore angling league tournament on Saturday and decided, as did many other anglers, that Die Mond was the place to go. During the course of the afternoon, his fresh maasbanker (horse mackerel) got picked up by a really good fish that turned out to be a monster kob. The fish measured 1.68 meters long, and although they tried for over an hour to resuscitate it, the fish died and was kept. Before you all cry foul, I understand the sensitivities of keeping/killing big fish, but I know Brian and can guarantee that if he says they tried to revive it, then they really did try. I addition to this, I saw the fish later and it was really wasted away. It was extremely thin and covered with old "battle" scars. I have no doubt the fish was very old and certainly past it's prime. I mentioned to Brian that trying to revive a fish that old would have been akin to reviving an eighty year old man (sorry to all the old boys that read this) after running a marathon. It is still sad that it died, but it is better to kill a fish that can probably no longer breed than to kill some young 30kg fish that is still in its prime. No doubt about it, it is a fish of a lifetime and very few anglers have ever had the honour of catching such a specimen. To those of you who don't know, Brian is also a grand veteran! Well done old man!!


Those who head out after the galjoen, get your gear sorted, it is only another month before the season opens. There are some fish about and I tagged three on a short outing the other day. The fish were very poor condition, but that is normal for this time of the year.



Offshore
Last Wednesday was my first sea day and I was on the water at first light. After catching my quota of squid I headed off to the engine block of the Oriental Pioneer. This spot sometimes holds some really big yellowtail and some of you will remember that two years ago, Ion Williams, one of our regular charter clients, caught a yellowtail of 23kg at this spot. I had no sooner arrived than I noticed a school of yellowtail on the surface, swimming directly at me. It was a bit overcast and even with polarized lenses it was difficult to see them clearly. I sent a spinner over them and had hardly started winding when I was "vas" into a good sized 'tail. A few minutes later, the yellowtail was alongside the boat. I already had the gaff in my hand when the "yellowtail' turned out to be a leervis (garrick) of about 10kg. A quick jiggle of the spoon and the leerie was free to swim and fight another day. I looked up, and the fish were still around so I threw the spoon again and caught another one. This time it was an even better size fish of about 12kg. I released this one as well and looked around for some yellowtail but without success. By 10am I was well happy at home.

Sunday was another sea day. Off we went to the 45's on "Tyler" and to the Alphard Banks on "Met Eish". The Alphards trip was spearing trip and we bagged some really classy yellowtail up to 14kg. The water was warm but very green and unless we get some westerly winds in the next few days, I am not very hopeful for the marlin competition that starts next week.

Tyler went for red steenbras and they managed to get five reasonable fish (8 to 13kg).They also lost a really big one (usual story) but could not tell how big as they never saw the fish. They also got a few yellowtail, but none as large as the ones from the Alphards.

Next week is the much publicised Two Oceans Marlin Tournament and hopefully mr Needlenose will put in an appearance. As mentioned in the section above, we hope the blue water is not far off. The satelite pictures show good water lying down towards the 45's. All we need now is a gentle SW wind for a couple of days and I have no doubt the water will move in closer. My next update will have all the answers. For now, we hold thumbs that the weather gods are kind to us. Till next time, tight lines, fair winds and keep safe.

Cheers

Alan

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