Alvey Reels

One of me top reels on my fishingski (kayak) is a alvey. It is a very simple reel which is ideal for the salt water conditions. It is like a fly reel but only bigger and more simple. In the center is has a tension knob and you can activate a ratchet sound. I use this reel when I am trolling and bottom fishing. The big thing for me is that I feel connected to the fish and I have control of how much tension I put on the line. It also is simple so no parts that are going to rust and seize up, I can remove the spool and add some grease now and again and it just keeps working and working. I did have a funny thing happen once when I was fighting a fish. The handle unscrewed in my hand so suddenly the fish had freedom :)

More of what I have on my fishingski (kayak) and the tackle I use in posts to come. 

5 places I want to fish ( for now )

1. The wreck off Mtunzini. There is a wreck off Mtunzini about a km offshore, it is just north of the river mouth. I did once fish the wreck from a ski boat and as the waves went past part of the wreck became exposed. For me there is something scarying about fishing near a wreck. My plan is to paddle from the parking lot in the lagoon to the mouth and then from there paddle out to sea. The other option is to get a lift on a boat which I think might be better.
   
2. Hemmingways. Always been a dream of fishing in the clear Kenyan waters and catching sailfish on fly. The wives can also have a good time there.
   
3. Mozambique (again). I think I could spend many moons here fishing the waters. Mozambique has got some most amazing coastline and some very good fishing. Not to mention the captain and coke.
   
4. Sodwana (again). Find a mate and go and paddle to the reefs early in the morning and catch some king fish. Who's in?
   
5. Zimbabwe. I hear the bass fishing is awesome, and there are big tigers in the river below the dam wall.
   

Dolphin by KAYAKFISH - YouTube

via youtube.com

This is one of the really nice parts of being on a kayak, you are so quiet that you do not scare nature and you feel like you are part of it.

Natal Snoek or Queen Mackerel

I love fishing for Snoek, you can see when they are around. I remember a time before I had a fishingski, my mate Paul had a white water kayak, it was called a banana. Well by us it was, called a banana because it was yellow and shaped like a banana. Anyway it had the splash cover and was lots of fun in the surf. Ideal for a beginner to learn how to Eskimo roll. I was staying in Umhlanga at the time and my mate had left his boat with me. I was checking out the sea with the binoculars  as I often do and I could see there was some action on the surface of the water. I decided to paddle out and catch what ever was out there. I got the white water kayak, grabbed my 2 piece rod with a coffee grinder on it and a spoon. Off I went to the beach, not a far walk. I stowed the rod inside the kayak and put the splash cover on and was soon paddling out to sea. When I go out there I could see that something was chasing some sprats, I did think that it might be snoek. So out with the rod and cast away, click over the bail and reel in like a mad man. I find that fish love a fast retrieve so that the spoon is bouncing out the water. I could see the snoek chasing the lure then BAM I was on, but a fish also went for the swivel and I was off. I was gutted, I did not have any tackle with me. So back to the beach, I leave the boat on the beach and run up to the flat to grab another few spoons, also while I was there grabbed a bag to put the fish into. They would be right by my legs and a bite from them would not be good. Back to the beach and paddle back out to sea and again right in the action. This time I get it right and hook and land a Natal Snoek ( Queen Mackerel ). I just love it when you can see the lure and the fish chasing it, it gets the adrenaline going. I have to use a coffee grinder for that kind of stuff, if I don't I generally end up with bunches and snapped line and tears because I just get so carried away I forget how to use a reel. I ended up with 2 snoek that day and a great experience.
When I got my fishingski (kayak) I would often go to blue lagoon in Durban and fish for snoek, I would troll halco's and cast spoons. I would be paddeling along and suddenly you would see one jump ahead. That is when I would get my flick stick out and do some casting, it is amazing but soon afterwards it would find that spoon and chase after it and get caught. Snoek are fun, the other thing I find is if you go early before the boats get to the spots you will find them. This is exactly what happened to me with the snoek in the picture. I went out at Umhlanga before sunrise. Just south of the light house there are some rocks, and as I trolled over them I hooked into this beaut of a Snoek, what a fight. I thought it was a couta but it was just a big snoek. I had seen some action as I got out beyond back-line and tried to spoon but a guy on another kayak managed to catch that one.
I must make a plan to go and do some snoek fishing again soon.

Kids having fun on the Surfa Kayak

Here are some pictures of a Surfa Kayak that we got to test drive. Our children now want one for Christmas, my wife and I think that is an awesome idea. Just need to find a place to hide it. Now I can go bass fishing with my kids. Let the fishing fun begin. I remember as a kid having hour and hours of fun playing on a boat, climbing on and jumping off.

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Stealth has few second hand skis for sale ideal for that December holiday

Hi guys
We have a few second hand skis that are available. All the skis have been checked out.

• Supalite 2006 model -suitable for someone around 5 ft 10 tall. Two tone blue deck and light grey hull R3000-00
• Supalite 2007 medium blue deck with a white hull suitable for someone around 6 ft tall. R3200-00
• Duo- old shape 2009 model. two tone blue deck with a white hull. ski in excellent condition. Adjustable leg lengths R6500-00
• Erics double fishing kayak- Red and yellow deck and a white hull. R3500-00.
• Evolution 495 - demo condition.Light grey deck with a carbon kevalr hull and fish box.An excellent buy. R8000-00. fixed or adjustable foot length
• Evolution 465 grey and red hull and deck. fixed or adjustable foot length. R6500-00
• Erics Kingy- yellow deck and a white hull.Adjustable leg length. very good condition.R5500.00

Please contact Brett or Merlin at Stealth for more information. merlin@stealthkayakfishing.co.za or brett@stealthkayakfishing.co.za

Surfa Kayak, waveski or paddle ski

Surfa is a Plastic rotomoulded kayak now available at fishingencounters.co.za
The Surfa has been designed by the industry leaders, Stealth. The Surfa has incredible wave surfing capabilities and is the ideal craft for youngsters to have heaps of fun on. The cost of the Surfa is R2795.00 but it will be a lifetime of fun. The Surfa kayak weighs only 15kg and is made of  highly durable polyethelene which makes the Surfa indestructible!
Based on the concept of a waveski or paddle ski, Stealth designed the surfa with a little bit extra length and width than a traditional waveski. Measuring in at 2,9m long and 0,6m wide this gives the kayaker a little extra stability so that they can spend more time having fun rather than learning to balance. Ultimately a super fun family kayak that caters for everyone. The Surfa is light enough for the kids to handle and paddle.  The Surfa Kayak is able to cater for a person up to 80kgs so even mom and the older kids can have a blast. Another great feature is the varying positions or foot length options on the kayak meaning that it is suitable for people of all different heights from small kids to average size adults.
The Surfa is a fun and easy to use kayak with no panic of it breaking and breaking the bank :)
Dimensions
Weight 15 kgs
Length 2,9m
Width 0.6m
Price
R2795.00incl Vat

Contact me for further details

Kosi Bay, getting there.

Kosi Bay (affiliate link) is a place dear to my heart. Every year we would go here for our annual holiday in December. I remember the trips to get there from Eshowe felt like it would take the whole day. The Landy and the boat would be packed with everything we needed for about 2 weeks. That would be tents, food, fishing rods and the kitchen sink. The packing and planning started many weeks before and the reels would all get serviced and if need be new line would get but on. The tackle shops would get a visit and the tackle boxes would all get stocked up. My mom was the big fisher woman and things had to be done correctly for that big fish. My mom has caught many a big fish in Kosi bay. 19kg Rock salmon a over 25kg King Fish and many more. The trip would all start with the friends meeting in Eshowe long before the sun would be up. There would be a odd bit of checking if everything was tied down and then off we we go in convoy. Sometimes on the trip something would break down and there would be a plan made. My dad is a bush mechanic of note and he would make a plan. There would be no turning back so it was always moving forward. I think by lunch time or late breakfast we would be somewhere near lake Jozini, here we would stop and have some food. In the early days there was no tar road over Jozini and it would be a long trip over dirt road. When you got to Manguzi Town (KwaNgwanase) that is when the road became a sandy track and you needed to go through a few rivers. I remember this is where the 4X4 would really be tested and many a time they would cut out in the river and the Q20 would be sprayed onto the spark plugs, we would get tested as the heat was rising. Also when you go up the hills along the sandy tracks you would get stuck and would have to roll back down and start again with a bit more of a run up. This was all part of the fun in getting to Kosi Bay. Then you would be in a tunnel from the trees and it was downhill you just knew you where less then a kilometer from the 3rd lake.
Kosi Bay is made of 4 lakes, 3 are able to be used by boats and people. The 4th on and the furthest away from the mouth to the sea is closed off to boats and fishing. We did manage to get a tour there once. The water is black and rather scary to look at, this is just because of the decaying matter in the water. The 3rd lake is the biggest and is fresh water, the water is more like a tea colour. The 1st and 2nd lakes are made up of salt water and they are crystal clean. The 2nd and 3rd lake are joined by a long channel that take about 20mins on dead slow to get through. It twists and turns and snakes its way between the 2 lakes. On the spring tide the clean water pushes from the 2nd lake into the 3rd lake and the channel become crystal clean. You get to see the amazing fish life that lives in this echo system.
Ok back to the trip. Then it would happen you would drive down a one car at a time road and you would see the lake in front of you. There would be some boats parked on the water in the bay, for a moment you would be just drawn to staring at the lake and seeing the beauty of the place, taking in the smell of humidity and heat. Once that was over then it would be the mission of setting up camp. The boat and cars would need to be unpacked and the layout of the camp would need to be thought out. No tents in any hollow areas because if it rained you would be sleeping in a puddle. The communal kitchen tent would need a spot and the sleeping tents would also have to be put up and you don't want to trip over any tent ropes in the middle of the night when you needed to go for a wee. This process would get many a temper flaring and there would be much huffing and puffing. Well in the end it would get done and some beers would get cracked open and the nerves would calm down. The next mission would be to get the boats of the trailers and into the water and the trailers stashed at the back of the camp. My mom would always book the campsite right on the water. When you would sit at camp you would be right next to the water, us as kids would swim all day long and our parents could watch us.
The next mission would be to get all the rods and reels setup. The camp would again look a bit like a tackle shop as all the gear was spread out. Reels would be put onto rods and the traces would be added and then once that was done it would all get stored on the boats. Maybe the boats would be taken for a quick spin to make sure all was in working order. Kosi Bay is a great fishing place, I will be adding some fishing stories and some close calls with hippos in the posts to come.       

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Plastic Kayak Benefits

Here are a few benefits of fishing off a kayak.

• You get some exercise while being outdoors
• Very quiet, you will be amazed at what fish you sneak up on. Often you will get a fright as they take off next to you.
• You can fish and launch almost anywhere.
• No big fuel expenses.
• Cheaper then a full on fishing boat and you can get up and running rather quickly
• No need for a skippers ticket
• A plastic kayak is almost indestructible.
• No parts that will rust and stop working.
• Able to fish where no bank fisherman can fish.
• Able to fish where bass boats can't get to.
• No need to panic if you go over a few rocks, not like your fiberglass boat.

Please add your comments if you can think of anything else.

Fishfinder portable

I manage to swap a fish finder for a job I did many moons ago. This is the site I did http://www.tackle2go.co.za/ glad to see it is still up and running.
I decided to make my fishfinder portable so that if need be I could swop it between boats. The first mission was to get the battery into some water proof container, manage to find a nice size clip lock container. I added some foam on the sides and the top to make sure the battery did not move around. I managed to find a water proof plug system so that I could disconnect the battery from the fishfinder with out having to open the whole box. The next time I am going to silicon the wires through the container and leave the connector loose. The reason for this is that when I attach the connector to the battery pack it sits to high and could easily get broken off.
I mounted the fish-finder screen onto a piece of wood and at the bottom of the wood I stuck some geko feet. This would prevent the screen from slipping around the deck. It works like a champ. I got the geko feet from a material shop and I have found 1001 uses for it, it is the best thing since sliced bread.
The next thing was the transducer, I mounted this in some foam that came from a computer box. I shaped it a bit like a boat, cut out the center to house the transducer. I secured the transducer with some cable ties. Added some rope to the front of the foam and a clip on the front of the rope so that I could attach it to my kayak easily. I cable tied the transducer wire along the rope, so that it would pull the rope and not the wire.
Have a look at all the pictures to get a better idea. This setup works so well for me and I have used it on many boats. 

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bass kayak fishing

A few Sunday's ago I went bass fishing at Rhenosterkop Dam. It was a mission that Brain from Hunterski Kayak put together. There where 5 of us and he took his rubber duck up for a spin and to bass fish off. It was a great opportunity to test drive the hunterski kayak. So Brain loaded up a demo model for me, and off we went. The drive was long and squashed but worth it as I you will see. We got there and I was in the water in no time as I could not wait to get a few casts in. Brain then loaded me up and took me to the hot spot of the dam where he off loaded me and we all started fishing. I was the first person to break the ice with a nice size bass soon after we arrived at the spot.
On the boat I was fully loaded, the only 2 things I forgot was my hat and water. I had my tackle box, 2 rods, GPS and my fish finder rig. The kayak had no trouble with that load and I soon found the right colour lure and was soon into more bass. Never fished this dam before I had to just explore and cast to where I thought I bass would be. A few times I managed to fish between the reeds and the bank, the water was amazingly clean and you could see right to the bottom, well the depth was only about a meter deep. In the end I paddled 7.5km in 5hrs and I felt like I was only getting warmed up. I got this info from my gps and plugged it into google earth. It was only then did a really see how big this dam is and some spots that I would love to fish are hidden away. So a mission needs to be made to go and visit Rhenosterkop again. I will definitely do it in a kayak again. It was so nice to get into spots that other boats could not. Having the freedom to move around was also the best, just next time I must not forget me hat and water.  The hunterski kayak was also very comfortable, and stable. Next time I want to take my rig for my rods so that I can have them upright because when you move through the reeds they tend to get hooked up.
At the end of the day Brain managed to land 18 bass, I forgot count after 10 and non where under the 1kg mark. This was must first real bass fish of the season and it has started well. I look forward to hitting the water soon.
I have attached 2 pictures one of the full dam. In that one you can see where we fished by the dot in the top right. The other picture is the track that I fished I know it is a bit hard to see, but not sure how to change the colour on google earth. Until next time enjoy the fishing and kayaking. I will be sharing my fishfinder rig with pictures soon, so look out for that story.

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My kids and fishing

I have 3 kids, 2 girls and now a boy. My boy is only 20 months old but he is showing signs that he is keen to get fishing. He walks around my father in laws dam with a stick and pretends he is casting and catching fish. The 2 girls being older 10 and 7 have been fishing for a while now and they love it. I think the one main thing to making fishing exciting is fishing in dams where there are lots of fish. We have been lucky in that regard. My father in law made a dam on his property and stocked it with lots of tilapia. You throw you bait in and a few seconds later you are on. So it has been great to show the children how to fish. I feel the on downfall of this kind of fishing is that when you go to other waters they get bored because they are just not catching any fish. They are learning about patience and I must say they are doing very well.
I have attached a short clip of my eldest a few year ago casting and catching a fish. This was in Rosendal in the Free-state. Thanks to Sue Christie for the free accommodation. The dam was crystal clear and full of bass, we had a most relaxing weekend there.

Features of the Hunter Ski Fishing Kayak

26 kg of highly durable polyethylene ready to change the way you fish! Loads of deck storage and hatch storage for the adventurous paddler. Utility trays on either side of the paddler for temporary storage of lures, pliers etc. Exceptional stability.
Length: 3.45m
Width: 0.83cm
Weight: 28kgs
Sit on top kayak

• Wet cockpit area drains quickly and efficiently, thus inevitable splashing does not enter the hull.
• Fisherman can enter and exit cockpit with ease, from just about anywhere, even in the water. The wide stable design also assists with easy access.
• The wet deck, sit on top kayak design, makes it extremely versatile, for example, it can be used as a buoy and catch box while spearfishing.
• It will never sink!

The Deck

• The upper half of the kayak has a non-slip surface molded into the polyethylene. So, even when wet, the paddler has total control over the vessel.
• There are four different length foot rests for different height paddlers molded into the deck of the boat.
• There is a very large storage area on the deck behind the paddlers back. The flat nature of this area means that hatches can be fitted anywhere here. Live bait buckets or cooler boxes, its big enough to fit just about anything.
• Long thin storage trays on either side of the paddler allow safe temporary storage for lures, films, bullets or whatever else. These trays also have a molded in cup holder on each side.
• Three or more hatches of different sizes can be fitted on the deck that allow storage within the hull of the kayak. Although the inside of the hull does get wet in choppier water, leakage is minimal. On calm water, the inside can be used as dry storage. These hatches also provide access to the steering cables on the inside for easy maintenance or modifications.

Stability

• At 86cm wide the Hunter Ski provides phenomenal stability. With some nice weather and good balance you are able to stand up on the kayak.
• Such stability will increase the confidence of any level of paddler and better and more daring exploration will take place.

Steering (optional extra)

• A durable stainless steel rudder is attached to the stern of the Hunter Ski.
• This rudder is directed by a lightweight aluminum foot steering system.
• The aluminum foot steering system can be controlled while paddling.
  

Utility drain holes

• Behind the paddlers seat there is a rectangular storage recess with two drainage holes. A cooler-box, bait-box, diving gear or anything else can be stored here.
• These drainage holes are extremely useful. A set of wheels can be plugged in from underneath. The wheels available from Hunter Ski as an accessory are welded from stainless steel. This is brilliant for when a lot of kit is on the kayak and carrying it will be quite difficult. With the wheels the kayak can just be reversed into deep enough water to take the wheels out. The stainless steel will avoid rusting.
• Once launched, and the wheels removed, a T-top canopy can be plugged into these holes from on top. Hunter Ski has developed this canopy from lightweight aluminum and the sun is blocked out with durable rip-block material. The canopy has a swiveling point and can be moved out of the way for casting etc.

Nylon Seat

• Built for comfort. Paddling without a seat can be very taxing on the lower back and hamstrings.
• The seat is adjustable using the two straps on either side of the paddlers that are clipped onto the boat.
• Strips of polycarbonate are built into the seat to provide support and strength.
• The deluxe seat version has an extra pocket, an extra cup holder, an extra rod holder, and a belt clip to hold tools that normally go onto your belt.

Fish-ability

• Up to 12 rod holders can be installed onto the Hunter Ski , these can be used for trolling, rod storage, to connect one kayak to another, and in many other creative ways.
• Under the paddlers legs is space to tie down a tackle box. This allows for easy access and the fisherman can keep his deck tidy.
• The utility trays on either side of the paddler allow for temporary storage of lures, bait or anything that may be convenient close at hand.
• Rods can be tied down either in front, or behind of the paddler, on the storage decks. This may be necessary when launching and there is a possibility of capsizing.

Hunterski Kayak Dealer

Well it is exciting. I am officially listed on the hunterski site as a kayak dealer. Check it out here http://www.hunterski.co.za/cp/6358/hunter-ski-dealers
You have just one month left  of Hunterski Kayak Special Launch price of R5900 to be collected from Hunterski. Outside of Joburg there will be shipping fees, give me a shout if you need to know more lantz@fishingencounters.co.za or 083 691 9281 or If you are not quite ready to buy yet. Please fill in your details here to receive a discount code, you can use this code until the end of October 2011.
More fishing stories after this ad break :)

Sodwana Kayak fishing (fishingski)

Every now and again I go to Sodwana, I must say I don't go there often enough. Sodwana is a place of warm sea and lots of fish. It is one of the top dive sites of South Africa with awesome accommodation at Coral Divers where they will take good care of you.
My story is about a few years ago when I was there with my Kayak (fishingski) I would wake early in the morning and head out to sea early in the morning, before all the diving boats. It is a bit of a run between the wave breaks but if you time it right you slip out beyond the big waves no problem. I attached my white/red halco and off I go paddling.  Lucky there is reef not to far from back line. I am soon into a fish but unfortunately I am unable to slow it down and it ends up in the reef below and cuts off my line. I did not have another lure like that and did not have another touch.
Back on the beach I meet and chat to a guy from Coral Divers and he tells me he is also in kayak fishing and suggests I join him for a kayak fishing session. He also suggests we catch a lift with a dive boat to 9 mile reef where they will drop us off and we can paddle back from there. So we set a date and go a separate ways.  A day later I hear he had a shallow water black out from spearfishing, lucky his mates saw him and got him to the boat. So we had to postpone our trip for a few days. Well finally the day arrived. We where on the beach before sun rise and the guys loaded up our kayaks onto the rubber duck. They fitted very well on the sides of the dive boat. Soon we where off and racing to nine mile reef. It was nice not to have to paddle that far and lucky the current was pushing from North to South so we could almost just drift back to the launch area. Soon enough we arrived at the reef and there was surface action going down so I was supper excited to get into the water and start fishing. Put on a little lure and started paddled around the surface action and soon enough the reel started screaming and I was in. My mate that I was with was soon also into a fish. It was bonnies, which are ideal as live bait for the big boys, Cuda or Tuna. So I hooked it onto my live bait rig and let it out. My mate did the same. Not to long and I was into something big but I think my break was too tight as I got snapped up. All the time you are drifting along away from the reef, so it was back to the reef to catch some live bait and start the process again. This time it took a bit longer and again I lost it. My mate manage to and land his fish, but it towed him a long way. It was a nice yellow fin tuna. All the time we are moving back down the coast, it was such fun. Hooking and missing and hooking and bringing them in. I did not manage to get a tuna but had lots of fun with the bonnies.
All to soon we where back at the beach, but very happy. My mate got a good crowd round him as he pulled out his tuna. The people at Coral divers where going to eat well, he cut a bit off for me. That was a once in a lifetime trip, but I am always keen to try that again. My story ends on a sad note. The guy I went with and that put it all together was eaten by a shark a few months later. They recon he blacked out again while spearfishing and his friends did not find his body this time. The shark took him and they only found a few remains. I was devastated to hear this sad news. 

Barbel Fishing

I do a lot of bass fishing off my fishing ski. It is a lot of fun and it is amazing what you sneak up on. I have been given the fright of my life when some huge fish suddenly takes off right next to you, with a huge splash. I have also collected a lot of lures that people have cast-ted into trees and have just been unable to collect.
I remember once at Golden Harvest paddling round an island and there where a lot of dead trees in the water. Hiding in the shade of the tress where these most huge carp. I was fishing for bass so had nothing with me to catch the fish with or even some bread to throw to them to see if they would want to eat it. It is a plan of mine to one day go back and see if I can catch one of these big carp. I must say that is something that I also have not caught off my fishing ski yet. Time to go on a mission and see if I can catch, photograph and release some big carp.
I often go to Emmarentia for fishing and sometimes we as a family would go for walks and to feed the ducks. When we would feed the ducks we would see these huge barbel under the ducks eating the bread. It got me totally excited but I know you can't fish from that side so I knew I would have to make a plan with my boat. The day came and I got my bread and tackle ready. I decided to use circle hooks as I was keen to see how they worked and I did not want to be trying to get hooks out deep inside the barbel. So I launched my fishingski and paddled over to the side where the ducks where getting fed. I parked on the side in shallow enough water so that I could use my feet as an anchor. I made a bait ball with the bread and put it on my hook. I just had the flick it out as I was not far from the ducks. I left my reel on free spool and it was not long before the line started peeling out. I flicked over the bail and just held the rod. As there is no striking with circle hooks. I could feel the power of the fish and I lifted my legs so it could pull the boat. It did pull the boat all the way to the other side of the dam where I managed to pull it out and take a photo before letting it go. I then paddled back and did it again. I am keen to try that again this summer and it would be cool to catch it all on video.  All this talk of fishing I am keen to hit the water. 

Bass fishing farm dams

I still love fishing in Farm dams, and the funny thing is you can get some big farm dams with some big fish in. 2 spots that come to mind is a dam in Gingindlovu and one in Richmound. The Gingindlovu dam I used to fish there often when I lived in Mtunzini. I must have caught about a 4kg bass there. It was a monster, it was the king of thing that takes your breath away when it comes out the water. For me it is can a bass get that big.
This weekend I went fishing on a farm dam, thanks to my neighbor for inviting me to pop around and see his parents. It is not a huge dam but it still had lots of bass in. My neighbor on his first cast hooked a bass, he was so excited and I think he is hooked. He wants to now go and visit a fishing shop and get some equipment. The main story I want to share is safety. My neighbor has a boy of 2 years old, the dam had a boat on it so we decided to all hop on the boat and see if we could fish. I insist on wearing a life jacket, my neighbor feels the same way. Well we where on the boat and Matt was hanging over the side because he wanted to touch the water. Well as you can imagine disaster was about to strike, and sure enough it did. Over board went Matt, headfirst. His dad dived in right after him causing the boat to capsize and I was in the drink also. Eish the water was cold and it took my breath away. Lucky I had my tackle box attached to me and I did not let go of my rod. Matt's dad did let go of his rod, fully understanding on that one as he was saving his son. Lucky the boat did not fully capsize and we manage to get Matt back in the boat as we swam it ashore. Poor Matt he was in a shock and very cold. Now we had one rod missing and I was not keen to do any diving. I removed my rubber worm and just had a bare hook and sinker, I started casting hoping that I would pick up something. Well lucky us after about the 20th cast I managed to hook the line and ended up pulling in the rod and reel.
I must say Matt is doing fine and I don't think he is afraid of the water and we will be back in summer so that we can go for a swim.  We all caught lots of fish and to top it off we chowed down on a fantastic curry for supper, that warmed us up on the inside.
So be safe on the water, you never know what might happen.

A quick bass fish at Golden Harvest Park

I had been slaving away at my computer all morning and decided I needed a break, so I popped my rod and tackle into my car, raced off to Golden Harvest Park which is 5 min from my house. I have not ever had any luck there before. I have seen many a big carp there and that is still something I am keen to catch but not the normal way. I want to catch them off my fishingski. Anyway that is another story for another post. I have also seen the odd bass so I know they are in there. I meet and chatted to a chap that was fishing there and he said yesterday he managed to hook a nice bass that was why he was there today. Well I decided to give it a bash. I walked round the dam and casted where I could. I must say I am not a very keen bank fisherman. Anyway I ended up close to the island and made a cast into the tress that had fallen down. Well I was surprised when I felt the jerk of a fish. I struck and was on. Soon it was landed photo taken and put back in the dam. I am glad I have broken my spell of not catching any fish. I am now keen top go back with my boat and see what else we can catch.
I was using a chartreuse moto oil worm, with no weight.
Until next time, tight line and keep on trying you never know what is in the water.

Umhalanga on a awesome day

I often go fishing and diving from umhalanga, my in-laws have a flat
there so that is a big bonus as I have cool accommodation in
umhalanga. My mission at umhalanga is listen to the sea from the flat
early in the morning and if it sounds good rush down and go out to
sea. I normally do a few laps along the back-line. There are some
rocks just out from the lighthouse. If you get there early you can
pick up a a few kinds of fish. I have managed to catch some king fish,
sea pike, shad and snoek. The other place is south of the light house,
just off the car park opposite from from the hardware shop. You get a
lot of fisherman there and the bait in the water attracts the fish.
The one time I collected lots of shad traces there as the guys must
have been having a shad run and lost a lot of traces. There where
corks floating all over in the water.

After that I head out to sea to the barge, it is about 1.2 km out and
in about 24 meters of water. Normally there are lots of other boats
around as this is where lots of ski boat fisherman come and get bait.
I caught a very nice grunter not the way I am used to catching them. I
was fishing for mackerel using a yozri, i managed to catch a few so I
popped on on live to a bottom trace and sent it down. I was using a
circle hook so all new to me. I had a good pull and as with circle
hooks you don't strike i just hung on. What a great fight and soon I
had the grunter in the hatch.

So that is a quick sneak into umhlanga and later I will be posting
more stories on my fishing and diving in this area.

The pictures of of me and my brother in-law at umhlanga on an awesome
day. If I remember we did not catch anything.

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