Author: Jason Heyne

Umhlanga Spearfishing Club (USC) end of year Function and Prize giving 2021

End of year functions are always fun to attend and the USC end of year bashes are no exception to this rule! Well done Club Chairman Kyle Richter and Diving Diva Christal Botes on making this year’s event extra special.

The Bear has decided to rejoin the club and has heard rumours that big things are afoot for 2022!

Ladies division and now Juniors/scholars!

Running a Spearfishing Club is challenging and running a Club that is sport orientated in COVID times must be one hell of a job. Looks like restrictions are being opened up so 2022 should see some great events from USC. Sodwana blue water open and Crayfish compo are open to the public whereas Club champs, Diving Divas (ladies Champs), Dec –January Snoek skins, Grand Slam and Species compo are club members only. Club Membership is currently open for people to join the club and costs R450 including end of year bash (spit braai!) club t-shirt and cap plus the compos above! Whatta deal! Especially if you need diving buddies, advice, tips, reports and boat dives!

Contact Diving Diva Christal Botes on 073 390 9374 WhatsApp for details and I have attached a pdf USC entry form to this post.

Well I only managed to pitch at the Function just before 6pm at Wings Club Virginia Airport Durban North. It normally starts around 1pm for Family to come down and bring kids for jumping castle etc before the serious stuff starts around 6pm ish followed by dinner and a dance to tunes spun by Durban’s original Dj and long standing club member Stuart Green AKA Firestarter.

To say a few lads and ladies had a head start on the drinking before I arrived is an understatement of note! Club member Paul THB had donated a whole keg of draft from That brewing Co. and the lads had given it a good sampling already. R30 gets you a 500ml plastic beer mug and it is drink it till it’s done!

I saw a lot of old faces and quite a few new ones at the function and this bodes well for the club in the new year. It was also great to finally meet Paul and Taylor Toich in person after doing articles for them in the past (Taylor’s 1st Daga Salmon and Border open 2021) but via social media. What a lovely couple…be seeing you two for a dive East London or Kei sooner rather than later! Also awesome to see North Coast divers I have not seen for a while Andrew Hayworth, Christo Muller and Zander.

Prize giving went well with MC Chairman Kyle Richter and Diving Diva Christal Botes assisting. Some of the stories that came out while I was there were totally unbelievable. Newbie James Purcell did very well this year getting most improved diver, placing 3rd in club champs (was running 2nd but Stuart Green’s late entry slab 11kg plus Brusher put him in 2nd bumping James to 3rd) and also getting shared Dick of the year award with Christo Muller was priceless! Hahahaha…

Also Master Alistair Jones getting biggest fish of the year (17kg plus Cape Tail) and most records broken in the year (Cape Tail and Brusher) and placing 2nd in the Grand Slam year compo! Aweh!

Well done Andrew Hayworth on placing 1st in Club Champs and Master Richardt Botes on placing 1st in the Grand Slam compo! 7 fish out of the 10 selected species is a new achievement for Master Richardt ! Aweh! And well done Diving Diva Taylor-Rose Toich from East London on placing 1st in the ladies Diving Diva USC Champs! Aweh! Great to see ladies joining and growing the Club.

Needless to say prize giving done the crowd ploughed into the spit braai for dinner and thinned out dramatically after bellies were full and quite a few peeps had long drives home. BUT!!! The hardcore Club members prevailed and the tunes pumped from DJ Stuart Green and the Dance was on. Next thing around last call at the bar this bottle of Jaegie appears out of nowhere (Kyle you evil individual) Hahahaha… Richard Forman was Zulu dancing and The Botes couple were cutting rug big time with Kay, Candice and Tanja bopping along to the tunes. James was definitely on his second wind with Dylan not far behind. Thanks on the spot camera man Morne for capturing the action. Nope I am not going to share the videos here. Join the club then I will PM you!

I have included pictures from the various divers with fish from the year and pictures of the prize giving and function.

Can’t wait for next year already! SEE you there!

CLUB CHAMPS:

1st Place: Andrew Hayworth

2nd Place: Stuart Green

3rd Place: James Purcell

4th Place: Daniel Cilliers

5th Place: Clive Honiball

6th Place: Rowan Coleman

7th Place: Leon Grobbelaar

8th Place: Dean Lailvaux

9th Place: Morgan Griffiths

10th Place: Roché Haviga

GRAND-SLAM CHAMPS:

1st Place: Richardt Botes

2nd Place: Alistair Jones

3rd Place: Paul Ten Hoorn Boer

4th Place: Christo Muller

5th Place: Morne Claasens

6th Place: Kyle Richter

7th Place: Steven Newby Fraser

8th Place: York Lawrence

9th Place: Alex Rice

10th Place: Quintin White

11th Place: Dylan Koekemoer

12th Place: Richard Foreman

USC DIVING DIVAS CHAMPS:

1st Place: Taylor-Rose Toich

2nd Place: Jana Wegewarth

3rd Place: Christal Botes

MOST RECORDS:

Alistair Jones

MOST IMPROVED DIVER:

James Purcell

As always Dive safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…

Oh ya here is the Application Form 2022.

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Big Amberjack GT and Wahoo Bear Report 31-12-2021

Hi peeps and welcome to the Bear’s weekend dive report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.

Hi all from a rainy Durban KZN! You guessed it the rains came down again just as the inshore was coming right in places! A series of thunderstorms up and down the coast line pretty much put paid to any sort of inshore diving this weekend. But there is hope as some vis was reported middle south coast and there is definitely clean water offshore for boat diving on the south coast! Yoh but some bus fish did come out all off the boat though and some divers got a late Xmas pressie or two from Santa! I have not heard from Master Paul Toich and Darren Halse so presume that East London and PE areas have not improved much since the last Bear Report. There are Bus GT around with some Wahoo out deep and big Ambers on the deeper marks down South coast with Zululand not reporting too much action besides the usual YFT, Couta and Dorado action and one bus GT. Some Couta did come out lower North coast but that was a flash in the pan and getting very lucky with finding a clean patch and on the incoming tide! The Bear would like to wish you all a prosperous, blessed and COVID free 2022! Happy new year!!!

In the fish pic’s this week we have Daniel Cilliers with a bus PB GT 35kg gutted and gilled boat dive far North, Jono Geyer with a size Wahoo 23kg boat dive South, Keaton with a Snoek shore dive North, Kezley Fitzgerald with a lovely brace of Shad shore dive North, Master Don Solomon with a bus Amberjack 38.6kg shot in 45m boat dive South, Master Gavin Nell with a bus GT boat dive South, Master Gavin Nell with a class fish for KZN waters Rosy Jobfish boat dive South, Master Gavin Nell with a Couta boat dive South, Master Richardt Botes 20kg GT Boat dive South, Stephan Wiid Master Brent Borstlap Like Shannon and Kannas Wiid with Couta Yft boat dive Durban, Tanya Naudald on holiday with a decent Queenfish and White barred rubbelips at Pomene Moz and Troy Eloff 4kg Stumpie shore dive Durban.

Saturday we have a light NE wind from early bells switching to a light direct E wind around lunch time. Swell starts at 1.9m 13 seconds from the South and builds to 2.1m 12 seconds from the south late arvo. Sunday we have a moderate SW blow predicted early bells which swings around to a light SE wind late arvo. Swell starts early bells at a mushy 2.8m 8 seconds from the South and drops off below 2m 10 seconds from the South toward late arvo.

So is there a dive Saturday…yes if you have access to a boat and don’t mind taking a chance deeper off the south coast and there may just be a clean patch to find South or North for a quick shore dive. Sunday if the SW comes through as predicted I would say arvo only boaties and shore diving alike.

Online video report available here… https://youtu.be/QR1DX3RhBrI

As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…

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Killer NE and Rain for Dayz Bear Report 25-12-2021

Hi peeps and welcome to the Bear’s weekend dive report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.

Well what can I say the sea had just started to come right last couple days from the heavy rain last week and NE wind onnit for 5 days straight then the heavens opened up again yesterday just when the SW wind was putting the Dr on it! Pretty much the same story I heard today from Master Paul Toich in East London and Darren Halse says they had East wind for 7 plus days straight in Port Elizabeth and the water temp dropped to 13 deg C and the fish are scarce to say the least! So much for a diving Xmas so family time this weekend and a Merry Xmas to one and all from the Bear! One two Snoek did come out and there was a flash in the pan of action out deep (Wahoo, Tail and Ambers) on the South coast but that’s all she wrote. Rivers have popped all up and down the coast from the rain deluge yesterday and today (Friday)…meh!

In the fish pic’s this week we have Connie Halowell with a Snoek shore dive South, Craig King with a Couta and Amber boat dive Durban boat dive, Heath MW scholar group with his 1st gamefish 3kg Greenspot kingfish shore dive Kosi bay, Johan Boshoff with a Tail and Daga salmon combo boat dive South, Kobus Delport with a lovely brace of Snoek shore dive South, Martin Stander with a Snoek shore dive far North, Master Richardt Botes and Andrew with a lovely mixed bag of gamefish Wahoo Amber Dorado and a Rainbow runner (8kg!) boat dive South, Noah MW scholar group with his 1st Spadie boat dive Durban and Tim McDonald MW scholar group with a decent Catface boat dive Durban.

Saturday the beastly NE wind starts up again around mid morning and picks up speed during the day and blows into the night. Swell starts 2.2m at 12 seconds from the South and drops to 1.8m 10 seconds from the South by the afternoon. Sunday early bells the NE wind continues to blow from Saturday night and seriously freshens up by lunchtime. Swell runs at 2m 10 seconds from the south early bells and gains strength as the NE freshens and picks up to 2.5m 7 seconds from the East by late afternoon.

So is there a dive Xmas (Saturday) morning…hmmm boaties maybe before the NE swings in by mid morning. Boxing day (Sunday) is a maybe (being very optimistic) for die hard boaties and Desperate Dans early bells!

Online report available here…

As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…

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Mackies then Rain and Swell Bear Report 17-12-2021

Hi peeps and welcome to the Bear’s weekend dive report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.

Well I missed the Couta action up North because I went south on Sunday…meh! Plenty Couta came out North and even one or two Wahoo! The rest of the week it was Snoek here and there mostly North with one or two coming out upper to middle South coast. Then the SW wind and rain came with some big swell Thursday and today (Friday) and a lot of rivers have popped up on the North and a few on the South coast. I hope this has not put paid to spearfishing in KZN before Xmas as the Mackie action has reached full swing! One or two small Garrick also came out but it’s basically the end of the Garrick run until next winter.

In the fish pic’s this week we have Adrian Padt and Master Juggs Holzman with Snoek boat dive South, Darren Halse with a Red steenbras boat dive PE, David Woods with a decent Couta shore dive North, Johan Boshoff with a Cobia and Catface shore dive South, Jono Geyer with a 4.5kg Catface shore dive South, Loyd with a Chanos and Couta combo shore dive North, Master Alistair Malcolm Louw with a 31kg GT Adventually Bush camp Sodwana, Master Don Solomon with a Belly and Tail combo boat dive South, Master Juggs Holzman with a brace of Snoek shore dive North, Master Juggs Holzman with a Garrick shore dive South, Master Louis Schourie with size 6kg Rock salmon shore dive Durban, Master Richardt Botes with a Snoek shore dive North, Rinalen Naidu with his 1st Wahoo boat dive North, Tanya Nadauld with a lovely Scotsman boat dive South and Zander with a Snoek shore dive North.

Saturday morning is glassed off with a light NE wind starting up around lunchtime and blowing into the night. Swell runs at 2m from the South at 10 seconds. Sunday the light NE from Saturday continues to blow early bells and picks up speed at midmorning. Swell runs at 1.8m from the SE at 9 seconds.

Well on paper (my pc screen) Saturday looks great for a dive if you do not mind the swell and Sunday might also be okay but from reports I am getting up and down the coast finding un-muddied water local and North coast is going to be difficult to say the least…boaties should find some viz out in the deeps perhaps!

Online video available here… https://youtu.be/ZEQoDGSkGh8

As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…

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Heat is on Mackies Bear Report 10-12-2021

Hi peeps and welcome to the Bear’s weekend dive report brought to you by thesardine.co.za and masterwatermen.co.za.

Jeez but I have been chasing my tail this week but managed to find some warmer water today and met up with some Mackies as did some other divers. Garrick are still on the inshore with Brusher around. Snoek in the shallows and Croc Couta out deeper. Dorado and Billfish out deep deep. The weather and conditions improved this week but started with a lot of river water muck around. Sea has cleaned up a tad later in the week with some decent viz and warmer water around today BOTH North and South coast.

In the fish pic’s this week we have Andrew Hayworth 1st GT 18kg shore dive North, Arno and mate with mixed bag boat dive North, Brett with a decent Couta shore dive North, Chad with Snoek shore dive North, Christo Muller with a bomber Snoek shore dive North, Clive Honiball Todivefor Aqua with a decent Ember parrot boat dive South, Clive Honiball Todivefor Aqua with a decent Ember parrot boat dive South, Gordon 1st Cape tail shore dive Durban, Grant Laubscher with a decent Couta shore dive North, Grant Laubscher with a decent Couta shore dive North, Noah MW scholar group with his 1st Brusher 5.4kg gutted shore dive North, Grant Laubscher with a decent Couta shore dive North, Master Juggs Holzman with a brace of Snoek shore dive South, Master Paul Toich with a 9.6kg and 10.5kg Brusher shore dive East London, Master Richardt Botes with a decent Snoek shore dive North, Mike de Vos with a Catface and Snoek combo shore dive North, Nick Pearson with a 15kg Garrick shore dive South, Renier Kruger with a lovely mixed bag Cape and Natal knifejaw and Tassel shore dive South, Richard Crawford with a 3kg Grunter shore dive Durban, Rudie with a decent Snoek shore dive South and Tom Bell with a slab Garrick 22.7kg shore dive North August.

Saturday the NE wind continues to blow early bells and lets up a bit early morning then picks up steam towards lunch time. Swell starts at 1.7m and finishes at 1.9m later in the day at 7 seconds from the E. Sunday A light SW wind blows from early bells till late afternoon. Swell starts at 1.5m from the E and ends at 1.3m from the South at 8 seconds/

So Saturday iffy for a dive if the East pumps through the night but will still be divable for the die-hards. Sunday is go day for boaties and shore divers alike!

Online video available here…https://youtu.be/NXntczMKU64

As always Dive Safe and Straight Spears from the Bear…

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