This time a sailfish at Crocodile Bay in Costa Rica…!
Once again, these guys were doing everything right, except for their combined reaction times being very slow.
Luckily sailfish are a bit more manageable than marlin, they didn’t really have to jump overboard – but getting away from that bill can only have improved their lot…except for the skipper driving off and leaving them bobbing!
The story as it leads up to the video…
We do these boat trips on our 28ft retired commercial cat with roof and chairs – as often as possible, and have a long time working relationship some of the backpacker establishments around the southern KZN. They had called double agent Ryan Poisson up, to fetch a willing bunch of worldly young representatives, all amped for the seafood feast and afternoon cruise on the Umzimkulu River, in Port Shepstone. No-one guessed at a Zambezi Shark taken on Rapala.
And so we found ourselves strumming along with two Strike Pro Rapala imitation lures (we have run out of MYDO Luck Shots but there is a new batch in the oven), on two rods borrowed off the Niteshift, rigged for Snoek (Queen Mackeral) with long wire traces (luckily, as it turns out). Conversation always turns to sharks on the boat eventually, and today was no different with the Swedes showing lots of interest in the stories we always start telling at this stage. After years and years of speculation and random but few sightings, it was long though that the sharks were long gone from their old haunt of the 20th century when locals could shoot at marauding bull sharks (Zambezi) and Hammerheads from off of the old combined railway/road bridge that crossed at modern day Spiller’s Wharf.
Then local guide on the river, Marius Awcamp got his beautiful little baby Zambezi fishing off the wharf at Spiller’s, in March this year. Click here for that story… This was the first confirmed shark catch in the river for many, many years. Others had been hooked and just bit through the trace each time, or snapped the line after a long fight.
But after an hour or so of trolling, food was ready and with no strikes but plenty chirps from the United Nations of Fishing Experts, food got collected from the delicious Bela’s Mozambican Restaurant, right on the water at Spillers Wharf, and we headed up to the deep hole underneath Royston’s Hall. Touching up the mud bank we could cast right into the hole and work it’s edges, in the hope of an angry Rock Salmon, determined Kob or stupid Flagtail or just something. Conversation was fairly centred on our fishing abilities and then shark stories…and we were being offered all sorts of advice and even rewards if a fish got caught, least of all a shark. But it was a fantastic afternoon and the sighting of a huge Oxe-Eye Tarpon, a metre long, tailwalking right in front of us, that kept the lures going. We were motivated, Elvis Wabody (Mozambique) and I combined to throw 100 times until eventually – THUD – something substantial, turning out to be the first Zambezi I have caught on a lure, struck.
A fantastic fight, and the fish soon showed itself to be a healthy little Bull Shark pup, and submitted for a clean and entertaining release…
Sharks RULE!
It was a beautiful afternoon and with our crew of 6 tourists from the Mantis and Moon Backpackers in Umzumbe, were in high spirits as we trolled two little Strike Pro Rapala imitations through the rising and jumping fish on the Umzimkulu River.
At one stage, a huge tarpon, about a metre in length tailwalked across the bow of the boat. After getting a few chases and a missed strike, we stopped off at the big hole up near Roystons Hall, and started to cast the lures around the place. The water was clean but the river still flowing quite strong. After a hundred casts, and much egging on from the travellers, the green and yellow Strike Pro got hit. A strong fish that fought well, doggedly staying out of sight until at the last minute it broke the surface and showed itself to be a beautiful little Zambesi Shark!
Luckily the boat was full of camera wielding touro’s and we got a heap of great pics and a video clip (coming soon), before releasing it with a kiss, very alive and well, back into the Umzimkulu River. Since this is the second similair sized Zambezi caught in the river this year, with many more of the same shape and size being encountered, we can only deduce that a big momma might still be cruising up and down, after having given birth in the estuary. Maybe there are a few!
To fish with us on the Umzimkulu River, email Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com or call +27 79 326 9671
Check it out…a smelly little pick handle barracuda…teeth and all…taken on a Mydo Luck Shot Mini last week. We have caught so many more fish lately in the estuary, trolling and casting artificials, rather than bait fishing.
It has been beautiful and clean since the sewage over flow problem was fixed a while back.
There are a great deal of hatchlings and fingerlings of all species cruising the shallows and gamefish stalking them continually. Estuarine Prawns -( Macrobrachium equidens) can be seen cruising the mud flats and even parading around on the surface. Fish are very active at certain times, mainly at night with huge smashes going on. The gamefish move in shoals hunting up and down the outer channels, ambushing baitfish up against the banks and mangroves.
Its just a matter of timing…
Glenwood, Durban – Port Elizabeth longboard skateboarder Jason Brown made it two wins in two today by winning the open men’s division at the second annual Urban Descent Downhill Longboard Race presented by Quiksilver and Gunslinger. Brown was a clear favourite going into the four-man final, clocking speeds of up to 75 kilometres per hour. The much anticipated open men’s final was tightly contested coming into the final straight before three riders collided at high speeds leaving them all on the tarmac deck and out of contention. “I am happy to be back in Durban and to take the win again, there were some heavy slams today and I am glad everyone is safe after a gruelling day of racing,” said an ecstatic Brown after the event award ceremony.
Over eighty competitors made their way to Alan Paton Road in Glenwood to race along a 1 km length route which featured a number of bends and chicanes before a final straight to the finish line. Hay bales were carefully positioned as a safety precaution for racers, most of whom wore special racing leather outfits and compulsory helmets. Participants were categorised into five divisions; open men (19 and older), ladies, junior boys 1 (12-14), junior boys 2 (15-18) and supergroms (8-11). A number of time trials and qualifying rounds got underway before the top four finishers in each division were grouped into finals. Odin Kerkhoff (Durban) managed a flawless race to win the supergrom division, while Sebastian Rich (Durban) and Michael Davies (Durban) stole the show in the junior boys 1 and junior boys 2 divisions respectfully. Gabi Murray-Roberts made the trip up from the cape and showed her class to easily claim the ladies title.
“We were very pleased with the Urban Descent Downhill Longboard Race presented by Quiksilver and Gunslinger today, the racing was spectacular and there were some radical bails leaving some riders in some serious pain, we hope to see an even bigger field next year,” said event organiser Keith Hockly of Gunslinger Longboards.
Prizes at the event included a cash purse of R5 000 and product prizes valued at over R40 000 from sponsors Quiksilver, Gunslinger, DC Shoes, Drift Cameras, Blue Dolphin Resort, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Nev The Barber, Corner Café and Urban Pizza.
For more information and photos of the event, visit the event mini-site at: www.quiksilver.co.za/
Full Results:
Open Ladies
1. Gabi Murray-Roberts (Western Cape)
2. Cindi Kritzinger (Kwa Zulu Natal)
3. Sadie Burger (Kwa Zulu Natal)
Super Grom (age 8-11)
1. Odin Kerkhoff (Kwa Zulu Natal)
2. Ryan Chikandiwa (Kwa Zulu Natal)
3. Keegan Long (Glenwood, Durban)
Junior Boys 1 (age 12-14)
1. Sebastian Rich (Kwa Zulu Natal)
2. Cameron Wasserman (Kwa Zulu Natal)
3. Matthew Swanepoel (Western Cape)
Junior Boys 2 (age 15-18)
1. Michael Davies (Kwa Zulu Natal)
2. Nathan Soule (Kwa Zulu Natal)
3. Bryce Gardiner (Kwa Zulu Natal)
Open Mens (age 19 and up)
1. Jason Brown (Eastern Cape)
2. Troy O’Sullivan (Kwa Zulu Natal)
3. Lloyd Clarke (Gauteng)
