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Week 1 Cape Town. Unfortunately I had only one opportunity to cast a line and this came in the form of a day out at the Cape of Good Hope on a family friend’s boat. The weather was perfect and the seas were unusually calm in what was the most scenic place I have ever fished, utterly stunning. Jagged cliffs dropping into deep water at the peninuslar where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold currents of the Atlantic.
The target species was the yellow tail an amberjack species for which a range of lures were trolled. For yellow tail it really is a game of match the hatch as all the fish in the area would only be hitting one type of lure, be it surface, shallow diving or deep diving. Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time to grab the rod trolling a Rapala magnum as the drag started screaming. The fight lasted a relatively short while and I had expected this renowned fighting species to have given a better account of itself. However, it was a spectacular sight to watch the hooked fish being chased to the boat by its companions before giving a few last leaps to try and throw the rapala stuck deep inside its mouth. Boated the fish weighed about ten lb and was a memorable way to open my account for 2010.
Weeks 2 and 3 of the trip were spent in the Eastern Cape where I targeted mainly Kob with the odd chuck for Garrick (leerfish) in the surf, estuaries and lagoons of the rugged coastline. In the Southern hemispheres reverse of seasons April marks the end of the season for these species and it took me to the last week of the trip to learn enough about the habits of the Kob to start catching. The moment came after I decided to carry on fishing into darkness after learning that this fish comes into river mouths to feed at night using their highly sensitive lateral lines. Never having caught a fish at night on the lure before I was greatly excited when I got a huge hit on a slowly retrieved 6 inch McCarthy paddle tail shad. Shortly after the fish came off but I carried on, a few cast later, a short but dogged fight I landed my first Kob, followed shortly after by a smaller specimen. I repeated this trip a few days later and at the same state of the tide (just after high tide) I nailed another and bigger fish! This always seems to be the way on a DIY fishing trip, by the time you have the fishing sussed out its time to go home.
It is always interesting to check out other lures/methods when abroad. My findings for this trip were the aforementioned McCarthy paddle tail shads which have a great action in the water and were very affordable at £4.50 for four. And the South African surface lure the chisel nosed plug. Chisel nosed plugs are basically a dense block of white plastic that comes to a gradual point at the front end with a set of trebles at the back. These lures sink and therefore have to be retrieved at a fairly quick constant speed. The result is a piece of plastic that dances erratically across the surface. But the real advantage of this lure is the casting distance that can be achieved a well timed cast will effortlessly reach the hundred yard mark.
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Yellow tail
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First Kob, 62 cm
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Second Kob, 54 cm
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Third Kob, 74 cm, ten lb on the nose ???
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Foul hooked eagle ray of about 3 lb on a Zonk 120. This was interesting as it was hooked on the underside at the front so perhaps it went for it??
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Locust on the rocks, also saw a gazelle on the nearby beach but it was to far to take a decent picture.
Will add some photos of the chisel nosed plugs and Mccarthy soft baits when I have the chance.
Cheers,
Ben
The target species was the yellow tail an amberjack species for which a range of lures were trolled. For yellow tail it really is a game of match the hatch as all the fish in the area would only be hitting one type of lure, be it surface, shallow diving or deep diving. Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time to grab the rod trolling a Rapala magnum as the drag started screaming. The fight lasted a relatively short while and I had expected this renowned fighting species to have given a better account of itself. However, it was a spectacular sight to watch the hooked fish being chased to the boat by its companions before giving a few last leaps to try and throw the rapala stuck deep inside its mouth. Boated the fish weighed about ten lb and was a memorable way to open my account for 2010.
Weeks 2 and 3 of the trip were spent in the Eastern Cape where I targeted mainly Kob with the odd chuck for Garrick (leerfish) in the surf, estuaries and lagoons of the rugged coastline. In the Southern hemispheres reverse of seasons April marks the end of the season for these species and it took me to the last week of the trip to learn enough about the habits of the Kob to start catching. The moment came after I decided to carry on fishing into darkness after learning that this fish comes into river mouths to feed at night using their highly sensitive lateral lines. Never having caught a fish at night on the lure before I was greatly excited when I got a huge hit on a slowly retrieved 6 inch McCarthy paddle tail shad. Shortly after the fish came off but I carried on, a few cast later, a short but dogged fight I landed my first Kob, followed shortly after by a smaller specimen. I repeated this trip a few days later and at the same state of the tide (just after high tide) I nailed another and bigger fish! This always seems to be the way on a DIY fishing trip, by the time you have the fishing sussed out its time to go home.
It is always interesting to check out other lures/methods when abroad. My findings for this trip were the aforementioned McCarthy paddle tail shads which have a great action in the water and were very affordable at £4.50 for four. And the South African surface lure the chisel nosed plug. Chisel nosed plugs are basically a dense block of white plastic that comes to a gradual point at the front end with a set of trebles at the back. These lures sink and therefore have to be retrieved at a fairly quick constant speed. The result is a piece of plastic that dances erratically across the surface. But the real advantage of this lure is the casting distance that can be achieved a well timed cast will effortlessly reach the hundred yard mark.
Yellow tail
First Kob, 62 cm
Second Kob, 54 cm
Third Kob, 74 cm, ten lb on the nose ???
Foul hooked eagle ray of about 3 lb on a Zonk 120. This was interesting as it was hooked on the underside at the front so perhaps it went for it??
Locust on the rocks, also saw a gazelle on the nearby beach but it was to far to take a decent picture.
Will add some photos of the chisel nosed plugs and Mccarthy soft baits when I have the chance.
Cheers,
Ben
