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…

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Jimmy Bonefish!

Jimmy Bonefish!

Anyone who has fished the point at Tofinho, in Inhambane, Mozaambique, will have been impressed by Jimmy Bonefish’s skills. Fishing with a rod and a handline, he consistently produces  the best catches…sometimes hauling in two fish at once. I have seen Jimmy coming back from fishing at night with 2 queenfish, 2 kingfish and a huge couta!
Subsistence fishing rock n surf must be one of the biggest challenges available as far as career choices go. But Jimmy handles it with aplomb. Targeting big gamefish at night, off a 20ft high point made of razor sharp rock! On his own!

Jimmy Bonefish with another potential world record bonefish, that frequent his local fishing spot at Tofinho
Jimmy Bonefish with another potential world record bonefish, that frequent his local fishing spot at Tofinho often

These huge bonefish weigh around 10kg’s are are readily encountered, and caught, in the surf zone, all around the Tofinho headland.

Other subsistence guys fish off the cliffs right into broken and foaming white water, where they pull out smaller bones by the bunch. Perfect live baits for kingfish and other mean backline predators. These guys only have handlines.

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Noel Allchin’s 32kg Birthday ‘Couta

Noel Allchin, on his birthday, lucked into this magnificent fish.

As we were packing to go home from the story before this one (Protea Reef 16 Feb 2013), we were treated to seeing one of the biggest king mackerel / couta caught on Protea Reef in a while!

Noel Allchin, on his birthday, lucked into this magnificent fish.
Noel Allchin, on his birthday, lucked into this magnificent fish.

With Noel were none other than 3 of the Posthumous clan – Louis, Dawdie and Sean. This fish never stood a chance! The ‘couta weighed 32kg’s and was presumably taken on a livebait (that kind of info very hard to extract from these fellas). Nice fish!

 

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Campbell’s Cracker

Neil Campbell on the South Coast caught this Black Steenbras by mistake whilst fishing for Cape Yellowtail deep off Hibberdene. It won him the bottom fish prize in the competition he was fishing in. Weighing in at 25kg’s – this is a nice Poenskop, Mussellcracker or Black Steenbras – three of the names it goes by. Cymatoceps nasutus is it’s scientific name. An endemic species – we only get them off Southern Africa, and they get to 40kg’s!

Neill Campbells Cracker
Neill Campbells Cracker

A few websites with more information…

http://www.seaworld.org.za/species/entry/black-musselcracker

http://www.wwfsassi.co.za/?m=5&s=5&idkey=880

http://www.aquarium.co.za/species_exhibits/browse_species/black_musselcracker_poenskop/

It is a protected species and cannot be bought or sold, but is highly sought after as a table fish.

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Rock Salmon!

Winter time is here in Inhambane and a few fish are still around…Charl Mikkers took this pic of a local dude in the Tofo market – with his catch of the day – must have gone 7 or 8 kg’s. Caught out the front on one of the close reefs in a howling SW and 3m swell. And yes, on a two man row boat.

The wind and sea have been mightily upset this last week, and aside for a flathead on fly – we had nothing to report fishing the estuary really. So much baitfish in the water still. The netters are pulling in some massive Potter’s Squid aswell – some look about 4kgs!

Deep-sea we have been dragging a live yellowfin around for days now, which will have increased our chances, according to the maths…otherwise an assortment of gamefish are appearing on the fish tables, the row-boat crew launch in bad weather no problem…and their persistence rewards them with cobia, kingies, the odd snoek, some awesome rockcod and rock salmon, speckled snapper…many of the boats are rowing out deeper and targeting bottomfish more intensely since the water has gone cold and dirty again. 23 degrees and 8m visibility if you are lucky.