Category: Catch Base

Meritorious catches and how they were made…
The entries make for a searchable database of catches that can help you become a better angler…

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Huge King Mackerel caught on light tackle

Huge King Mackerel caught on light tackle

Kevin Collins from Queensland in Australia caught this huge king mackeral (scomberomerous commersoni), on 10lb light tackle braid, with a 60lb leader!

He was fishing Mackerel Island in the Whitsundays when he hooked and landed this trophy fish. It was never weighed properly but estimates are sitting at around the 100lb mark, or 45kg’s. We say more like 55!

The size of the head is a big factor here, it’s girth – it’s a really healthy and fat fish, and then the length – no way could Kevin hold this fish up any other way – it looks to be a good 6 inches taller than him – all add up to what could be the biggest king mackeral / couta / spanish mackerel / narrow barred mackerel / tanguieguie / sierra / … a fish with many, many names, ever caught!

huge couta
The mystery fish – This is Kevin Collins the owner of Fish D’Vine and the Rum Bar in Airlie Beach Queensland, Australia

Huge king mackerel speared

The following two great fish were shot – the first is the official world record couta – a 46kg fish speared by Greg Pickering, and then the big daddy of huge king mackerel claims – a 52kg fish shot off Mapelane not three years ago!

pickering_mackerel
World-record ‘Couta spearfishing – 46 kilograms, Dorre Island, Western Oz, July 18, 2004 by Greg Pickering
Huge King Mackerel speared at 52kgs off Mapelane, KZN North Coast
Huge King Mackerel speared at 52kgs off Mapelane, KZN North Coast
Huge King Mackerel mystery
Another mystery…this brace of really big couta were rumoured to be 100 pounders each?! In South Africa…anyone recognise anything?

Catching huge king mackerel

Catching these magnificent and high-speed gamefish is an art. Your tackle needs to be in tip-top shape and your reels spooled with a lot of line. A lot! A 50lb and upwards king mackerel will spool a TLD 25 before you have time to pull the anchor and give chase. Those 100 pounders as featured above, will leave you breathless and your reel smoking.

Your traces need to be 100%.

And this is where MYDO comes in. We make traces for these big fish. Sure, the same traces will also work on dumb small couta too. But these are rigged in a way that can handle the initial force and the overall strain of hooking and fighting a crocodile sized king mackerel.

5X Treble hooks are deployed and on the HD traces, double #7 wire is used to attach the hooks. In a rigid format that makes sure the hooks stay in the right place no matter what.

Choice of leader is left entirely up to you and the prevailing conditions. Sure, #6 wire is great for most sized fish and most water conditions. But when you put out a live bonito of about 2 or 3 kgs, you are asking for trouble with that flimsy wire. At MYDO, we recommend using very heavy fluorocarbon or hard nylon leader when fishing large live baits. Your strike rate when using nylon goes through the roof compared to resonating piano wire that makes a horrifying sound underwater. And the nylon line is so much stronger and durable during a fight. Sure, a couta at full speed will probably chop through 100lb in one slice. But when you move up to 200lb and then 400lb, those teeth become less effective. But if a marlin or gas bottle tuna grabs ahold, those hooks and that double wire ain’t letting go.

Ok, so order an HD couta trace on your next MYDO purchase, put your chosen leader on, add a big old live bonito, and hold on tight.

Big tackle necessary!

MYDO LiveBaitSwimmer #2 HEAVY DUTY

Check out the MYDO range below, or by using the navigation menu at top.

The Sardine News and MYDO have been partnered since 1987!

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

IGFA reports new world record King Mackerel

IGFA reports new world record King Mackerel (Scomberomerous Scevalla)

Well it ain’t the ‘couta  we get, according to science, but it sure looks like an outsized but slightly skinny Scomberomberous Commersoni – the version of King Mackerel we catch in Southern African waters.

Unfortunately, although our species has a strong will to survive and has been increasing in mean average size caught lately, this does not mean they are a healthy stock of fish.

In fact, when a species mean size average is on the up, it generally means the species is on the way down. ie…the last lion or elephant in a region is the wiliest strongest and meanest!

Rodrigues’ king mackerel
Brazilian angler Guilherme Rodrigues was trolling off Brazil’s Itzcolomi Islands on January 9th, when the Rapala he was trolling on a light tackle outfit got crushed by something much larger than he was expecting. One hour and 10 minutes after hooking up, Rodrigues landed an impressive king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) that tipped the scales at 33.96 kg (74 lb 13 oz) – heavy enough to qualify for the potential new men’s 8 kg (16 lb) line class record, which currently stands at 32.31 kg (71 lb 4 oz).

New IGFA pending world record King Mackeral (the American version) on 8kg line…by IGFA

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

World Record Southern Bluefin on 6kg line: by IGFA

World Record Southern Bluefin on 6kg line: by IGFA

World Record Southern Bluefin on 6kg line…(COURTESY IGFA)

“Aussie angler Bernadette Pedlar caught a 31.34 kg (69 lb 1 oz) southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccyoii) on February 1st while trolling a Williamson skirted lure off Port MacDonnell, Australia with her husband, Michael Pedlar. Equipped with only 6 kg (12 lb) tackle, Pedlar was able to subdue the powerful tuna in only 30 minutes – quite a feat with such under-matched tackle. With the existing women’s 6 kg (12 lb) line class record at 21.69 kg (47 lb 13 oz), Pedlar’s fish is plenty big enough to qualify.” courtesy IGFA

 

Southern Bluefin Tuna roam the southern oceans and are caught readily off New Zealand and southern Australia. In fact, their population stretches itself right across the southern Indian Ocean, reaching as far as, yes…our South African coastline. And all the way across to south America.

So why do we not see these fish at all, off our coastline?

That question can only be answered by the fact that we have decimated the southern bluefin tuna population.

They only spawn in one area, off northern Oz, between Darwin and Indonesia…very warm conditions for the larvae to survive and grow in.

However, it’s not all totally bad news. Australia and Japan have joined in the quest to close the life cycle of a southern bluefin tuna (bred from larvae to sexually mature – a 12 year process), and Japan have successfully bred three generations in captivity. Clean Seas Limited in Australia are way out there with their aquaculture activities – they even breed the tuna way inland!

Unfortunately there are huge logistical hurdles to breeding and growing wild tuna in captivity, and nothing is cheap or easy.

More info on Clean Seas is available here…

If you would like to become part of a team that has the nigh impossible objective of catching one off South Africa’s coastline, please let us know on umzimkulu@gmail.com.

There are two legal long liners that operate out of Durban harbour, targeting Southern Bluefin Tuna. They have reportedly caught Southern Bluefin within 50kms of the KZN Natal coastline.

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Kingfish caught on Gummy Squid Jigs

Kingfish caught on Gummy Squid Jigs

Fresh news in from a competition held off Inhaca Island…the new Gummy Squid Jigs are proving to make excellent catches, time and time again.

These fantastic photos were submitted by some of the participants…

“Hello

The fish equaled the all tackle world record Yellowspot king.
Also caught a golden king that was very close to the 10kg line class IGFA
world record but released the fish so didn’t weigh it.
Caught a nice GT of 107 cm.

All on squiddies.
Regards

Pierre”

 

 

Fishing Mozambique:A really good Golden Trevally or Golden Kingfish, taken on a Gummy Squid Jig

Check out this link for more Gummy Squid Jig action.

 

Share
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Zambezi Shark on Rapala in the Umzimkulu

Zambezi Shark on Rapala in the Umzimkulu

A Zambezi Shark freshly caught and released in the Umzimkulu River
A Zambezi Shark freshly caught and released in the Umzimkulu River

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

Share