Author: Sean Lange

Zululand Yacht Club Summer Fishing Competition 2022

by Morgan Smit

All the stars, the planets & the moon stood in a line for this one!!

This year’s Summer Fishing Competition was such a wonderful weekend that it feels like the fishing gods were trying to make up for all the fishing days and competitions we were forced to miss in the last 2 years! The weather was excellent: Hot, sunny Zululand Summer conditions with just enough wind to keep the temperature from getting too ridiculous.

The turnout of members and their guests was fantastic, and there were crowds of smiling faces, on the water and in the Club pubs and restaurant… and the fish. The fish came to the party. Which was nice!!!

Members took full advantage of the fantastic conditions and fished hard, several families & members camped at the Club for the duration of the event, which is always a nice touch, allowing one to spend maximum time on the water.

We know that time on the water brings results, and it did.

The winning fish was caught by Dale Robinson. Dale’s family always make a family outing of Club fishing events and always feature well on the podium. Dale’s excellent 57cm Greenspot Kingfish outshone several other excellent catches as the clear winner of top spot. This fish also took the prize for Best Fish-Bay.

Best Junior was Evan Jacobs, with an impressive 41cm (38cm Fork Length) Bluefin King Fish, this special catch was also the best fish from Club banks.

Best Young Guns went to Gunter Jacobs with a Queenfish of 47 cm (41cm Fork Length).
Both of these young men submitted great catches which included several other excellent fish.

There were many other meritorious catches, with all the common summer species being well represented, Giant Trevally (Ignoblis Kingfish), Greenspot Kingfish, Yellow-spot, Malabar, Ferdau and Bluefin Kingfish, Pick-handle Barracuda, Grunter, and several Rock cod species, all featured prominently among the fish that were entered.

Special mention goes to Jason Olivier who caught a nice King Mackerel in the water right in front of the Club and Clint Anthill who got the best of the GT’s, at 45cm, both of these gentlemen also entered an impressive list of other species.

The formal Bragging Rights that go with winning the “Pro’s Challenge” go to Gunter Jacobs, who ‘weighed’ the best fish among those who entered our special “Competition within the Competition” Gunter’s name will go onto the floating trophy, and until next competition Gunter has the right to proclaim himself unchallenged as “The Best of the Best” of ZLYC Fishermen.

Congratulations Young Man!

Offshore prize was not presented as there were no fish entered by vessels going offshore.

The prestigious ‘Bananana’ award went to Darius Bezuidenhout for his hilarious story about fishermen getting hooked in the seat of their pants and fishing rods breaking, much fun was certainly had by all!
Next competition will be the Zululand Yacht Club Autumn Fishing Competition, dates for this will be announced in due course.

I would like to thank the sponsors who made this event possible: Oceanic Images, Basil Manning, Richards Bay Print & Sign, Mydo Lures, and Fleet Maintenance Office.

I would also like to thank everybody who worked so hard helping to present this event, our Entertainment officer Michelle Banwell, Kirsten, Joe and the Club bar & kitchen staff for keeping the entrants hydrated & fuelled. Thanks also to Martin from Coastal Radio for the cool vibe and great music.

Tight lines until next time. Fish smart, fish safe, fish for the future.

Yours in Loving our Club
Morgan Smit
Rear Commodore Fishing.

History behind the old boat at Spillers House

Some history behind the old boat down at Spillers House: since the mining operation upriver pumping sand discovered the 100-year-old ferry type boat that was buried there since the 1959 floods, a flood of old photographs have all of a sudden started to surface.

Gallery

This gallery is a collection of as many of those old pics that we could we can find so far. If anybody has pics that are not here, it would be greatly appreciated if you popped them to us at umzimkulu@gmail.com. With any information or details.

And many visitors now come to see this magnificently built, and well-preserved relic of the past. Down here at the historical Spiller’s Wharf, in Port Shepstone.

The recovery

With a concerted team effort, the boat was carefully relocated to its new home, at Spillers Wharf, here in Port Shepstone. Where she has been protected and cared for on display. KuluCrete, and Natal Recovery Services supplied the heavy lifting equipment and machinery. And many people pitched in to help. Including the traffic police!

Whilst we were offloading, a lovely older lady told us that she remembered going on that boat, back in the late 50’s. She was a very young girl then, 10 yrs old. But clearly recounted the story of how these boats were all up and down the river. Used as ferries and transport for goods and people non-stop. None of the boats had engines. They were all just pulled along, all tied bow to stern and so on, by a little tug steamer. Imagine driving that lot up and down the rapids!

The steamer would catch the incoming tide, and drag the boats all the way up, through the rapids (navigable at higher tides), to St. Helen’s Rock. Where right now, another of these magnificent Norwegian built, is embedded into the mountainside, at water level. Where it has been since the 59 floods too.

This was the loading area, for mined material, to be hauled back to Durban, to be made into cement. This is also a hundred metres from the confluence of the Umzimkulu and the Umzimkulwana. The current lime works is just about a few kilometres up the Umzimkulwana. There are old rail tracks and sidings still clearly visible. And there are many ruins from the old riverside settlement, that we still need to explore.

This place was trade.

It was the portal to the hinterland. And the supply and trade link with Durban. There were no roads. No railway lines. Just St. Helen’s Rock, connected to Durban, via these barges, that little steamer, and some intrepid ships. Like the Somtseu and The Snipe, that came in through the wild waters of the Umzimkulu Mouth, each spring tide.

St. Helen’s Rock was the source of supplies for settlements like Harding, and Kokstad. And all the growing little towns further into the Transkei. And towards the Drakensberg. Even if you come up there with us now, you can feel it. And you can hear the sounds of people doing their business. Ox carts. Horses. Trade.

The boats were also dressed up and used and ferries. To simply get people over the river to work. From the south bank to the north bank where the very old lime works used to be set up. Just around the corner from St. Helen’s Rock.

So pop on down to Spillers House at Spillers Wharf and check out the old boat. The forged nails, and aluminium cladding, plus huge bolts and fittings, can be clearly seen and examined. Whilst you wait for a meal at one of the many restaurants down here on the south bank of the Umzimkulu River, in good old Port Shepstone.

An island of boats

Hearsay is all we have at this stage, but many people from those times, have told stories about the island of boats. The Norwegian Settlers brought with them their Viking shipbuilding skills. And put them to work, on an island, in the middle of the river. Back when it flowed in a different direction into the ocean. More to the north.

As I said, this is all hearsay. But please, if you have any pics or stories, let us have them at umzimkulu@gmail.com, to enhance the historic tale, and legacy, of the grand old boat, now moored forever, down at Spillers Wharf.

More fun apps…

https://portcaptain.co.za – inhouse restaurant featuring the famous Garlic n Naan

https://fishontheriver.co.za – amazing seafood and views

https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – a lot of fun watery things to do in Port Shepstone

https://thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine

https://umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering accommodation right on the Umzimkulu River

https://spillershouse.co.za – BnB and Backpacker Accommodation

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Summer Gamefishing off Port Shepstone

Summer Gamefishing off Port Shepstone: it’s been the most fun season for gamefishing here on the eastern seaboard of Southern Africa this 2021/22 season so far. The flood pulse out of our last functioning estuaries came blasting down as nature planned it to. The brown water plumes went right out to sea. Where the gamefish were there to meet it.

Dorado

First the dorado always arrive. They come to feast on the shoals of bait that abound this time of the year. The brown water offers the bait refuge from the predators who patrol up and down the line ready to attack any foolish baitfish that swims itself out of the murky brown and into the deep blue of the Mozambique Current.

Dorado eagerly wolf down a live mackerel or shad. But red-eye sardines are their favourite by far.

Billfish

Hot on the heels of the dorado, and eager to feast on them aswell as the bait, are the many species of billfish that we get here at this time of the year.

The spearos first saw a shoal of striped marlin on the Aliwal Shoal about two months back. Then the sailfish arrived. And on one of the days out there, we hooked and duffed two on light tackle (luckily it was the tiny hooks that let go and not the tackle). And saw four more. Including one beast that would have gone over 600, hooked up right next to us. Also got away obviously .

You can watch guest star Phillip catch and release his first sailfish, off Port Shepstone, right here…from about two weeks back. He is still smiling.

Umzimkulu Guest Star Phillip with his sailfish smile on!

Couta

Greg Defillipi was fishing for dorado up near Umfazazana – in the Dorado Derby in the beginning of December, when he got bitten off. Quickly changing to wire, he got two nice fish out. This is very early season for couta and we are all expecting a few fish this year.

Marc Lange on the Niteshift got his one on the 2 January out of the Umzimkulu mouth area. In the most hectic buster SW.

Although, in November, the spearos got two on the shoal – very early season fish. Gavin Nell being the hitman.

Previous seasons records:

The first fish of the 2021 season came out on the 27th November 2020! By Jonno Gous and Justin Campbell on their kayaks.

And here is a video from three years ago – our first couta of the season back then. Caught off Seapark, a few clicks north of the mighty Umzimkulu.

First couta of 2019 season on video…

Wahoo

Wahoo! There have been plenty of these monsters being shot by spearos recently. You can read all about the wahoo, and the other fish that are being seen, at the Master Watermen website.

A couple wahoo pics from the past…

Yellowfin Tuna

Richards Bay got these two monsters. And here off Shelley Beach, a few clicks south- this 34.8 and a 38.5 were weighed.

Right so whenever the weather gives us a gap, and the north-south current comes flying in close, we are out there every time. Our rates are in the activities menu of this app.

Let’s goooooooooo

Our deep-sea rates are in the activity menu on the Umzimkulu Adrenalin website/app.

If you would like to join as a semi-permanent charter, we have some cool deals available for you to get out there more often.

Get in touch with Sean on +27793269671 (WhatsApp) or umzimkulu@gmail.com anytime!

More fun websites/apps…

https://fishontheriver.co.za – famous for quality seafood and beautiful scenery

https://spillerhouse.co.za – holiday accommodation in Port Shepstone

https://portcaptain.co.za – eastern cuisine and all-day breakfasts

https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – hectically fun things-to-do in Port Shepstone

https://thesardine.co.za – all the sardine news you need

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