And the satellite tag goes into a 750 black marlin by Gazza Crabbe
And the satellite tag goes into a 750 black marlin by Gazza Crabbe: Captain Duarte Rato relates to us the story of how Gazza Crabbe got a satellite tag into this decent-sized black marlin. That went 750 lbs or so…a great size to be released carrying that very expensive tag around the place.
Enjoy the show!
The tag drops off and floats to the surface in a few weeks or months’ time. This data is uploaded to a satellite and relayed back down to us here on Earth. To be extrapolated and merged with the data of many other satellite-tagged marlin. This data is then used to educate and inform the policy and decision-makers when it comes to the sustainable harvest of these beautiful animals.
Unbelievably, South Africa is a top harvester of marlin and swordfish. We rake them out with long-lines by giving foreign ships permission to plough and pillage our waters. We really need to be better informed regards this fishing licensing racket that is going on. Why do we need foreign vessels catching fish in our waters? Just take a look on AIS right here. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:35.2/centery:-28.5/zoom:6 If you’ve not checked this out before you will astounded as to how many boats are out there. The fishing ones are the orange markers.
We really need to change our government completely.
Hope Duarte’s expensive satellite tag doesn’t get hustled by a long-liner.!
Back to Bazaruto
Where Africas biggest marlin tagger Duarte Rato, is hard-at-work taming and tagging billfish left, right and centre.
Double-up Garrick for Team Karl and Candace at The Sandspit
Double-up Garrick for Team Karl and Candace at The Sandspit: some trips go better than others.
A LOT better!
Team Karl and Candace
Husband and wife charters are always so much fun. The husband is totally fish-mad. And the wife happily plays along. Gets her all over the globe. Only thing is…she almost always catches the fish!
This time was slightly different…they BOTH got the fish!
After a long morning of catching nothing on over-sized live mullet, we drifted back to the Umzimkulu Marina for coffee and things. And entered phase 2 of the trip. Which on this day was to be the favoured incoming high tide down at the mouth. This is our tactic generally, at the end of a low tide, we head up to the bridges, about 2kms, and set up a drift back downriver. This takes us down through Kingfish Corner, and over the big holes. There are three deep spots, sometimes down to 12m. At the bottom are huge boulders and rocks. And…clean water!
The halocline (fresh vs salt water line), even when the top water is brown, sits like a big wedge under the water. The point of the wedge being right up the river at high tide. When the tide recedes, this dense and beautifully clean and aerated water gets trapped in these deep spots. The tide and the river flow move happily overhead on the surface. But down here in the depths, there be monsters lurking and hunting.
Anyway, none this particular drift.
We gonna have to count on Phase 2. Which today included a braai on the beach at The SandSpit. Karl had a decent 30lb spinning outfit and so I easily convinced him to walk over the spit and throw a few luck shots into the channel behind the shorebreak.
The beach was lined with live baiters. But the Garrick had been chowing sprats in the river earlier during the week. I gave Carel the exact right lure to use. Evidently…because on his fourth cast…
BANG!
“Sean! Sean!”, I hear that distinctly urgent but cheerful call. Without believing me and Chelsea hop off the boat and run up the dune. What a scene that unfolded before us. Karl was VAS! His little fishing rod bending in a circle from the strain as he followed instructions. From BigZ, local garrick legend, who happily came to Karl’s assistance. Freeing me up to do the filming.
Pulling a big garrick out of a big shorebreak on a big day is immensely difficult and dangerous. BigZ lost his hat as waves knocked him right over a few times. But eventually, after 45 minutes of truly heart-stopping moments, BigZ grabbed the monster by the tail.
The tagging kit was all the way up the beach and the fish had put on quite a show. So we decided to hurry it back into the water. Karl’s very first garrick (he had asked me earlier to get him one), and he releases it healthily into the very same wild shorebreak. Garrick are very strong and this guys was in perfect shape as he swam away.
Mombakkies Af
So now I have one helluva happy charter. He is beaming. Levitating. And so am I at this stage…the pressure for me get the “mombakkies af” is completely gone. I can really now enjoy this lovely arvo down on the spit.
And so Chelsea and I meander down the dune back to the boat. To start the braai! Next thing…
“Sean! Sean!”. Again!?
So we turn around and gallop back up the dune. This time it’s Candace! She is VAS!
In a disbelieving daze, the whole process gets repeated. BigZ comes to the fore and gets the fish by the tail. But only after another gruelling 45 minutes. He is exhausted by now – after risking the huge Sandspit shorebreak for two in a row! Luckily BigZ also releases every fish he catches and this time the tagging kit was brought to hand. Tag in…Candace into the shorebreak with her first Garrick. Also released!
Every anglers dream – releasing a healthy Garrick at The Sandspit in Port Shepstone with Umzimkulu AdrenalinCandace Engelbrecht repeats the stunt immediately after with her very own tagged and released Garrick with Umzimkulu Adrenalin.Karl, Sean , Candace and Wouter – Under the BridgeKarl Engelbrecht about to let his very first Garrick go free.Double-header garrick on The Sandspit in Port Shepstone…every fishing guides dream!
I am not sure that it can get better than that! Enjoy the saga in video…
Today
As of today, the recent rains have certainly muddied the waters. If that halocline is still around I’d be somewhat surprised. But at those 10 metre depths at Royston Bend area, there just may be clear water still. Someone will have to swim down there and check for us!
If it stays dry for a little while longer, the brown water will eventually run off and the tides will come back in the river. Hopefully one more time before it really starts to rain.
To get in on the upcoming summer gamefish action, get in touch and lets put together a cool weekend of fishing and relaxing for you. You can stay at the Umzimkulu Marina. Umzimkulu Adrenalin can take you fishing, surfing, or diving. You can learn all about fishing at the official MYDO web page.
Shad season opening on 1 December! Check out some of our Shad fishing kit right here (perfect gift for fish hungry girls).
Ian Logie and the Green Turtle: the turtles here in the Umzimkulu take baits. And lures!
I had a crew of guests down under the bridge at the Umzimkulu Mouth – on the inside. This was some time back. We had moored the boat against the Sandspit and were chucking plastics and all sorts, at the clean incoming tide. The water was crystal palace.
Bang!
One of the guys goes vas. The fish turns and heads upriver with the flow. And tears off. My guys is running along the sand, jumping under and over all the other guys fishing with bait rigs right there where the tide runs into the river. The fish just keeps going and going. Until there is nowhere further to run.
Stalemate!
Fish stops. My guy gets a wind in and wins some braid back. Next thing a HUGE human-like head pops up 50 metres away. A turtle! A really massive one. Eish! So the last thing we need is for the turtle to have 50 metres of braid attached to it if the line pops. So gently my guy starts to fight this behemoth in. He has the rudimentary 30lb braid that I recommend – on his side. A lekka stiff little rod, and a reliable reel. With a smooth drag.
He starts to win! The water is so clear and next thing this huge turtle is coming in towards us. He makes another run – the braid holds at maximum drag now – maybe 4kgs.
Pop!
The hooks comes clear! We cheer with relief, and my guy starts to bring his lure back in.
Bang!
The turtle will have none of it, turns and swoops in at the lure all over again. Vas! But luckily only for a moment. The second time the turtle must have sensed something out-of-sorts with that little fishy! And let her go again…
Ian Logie and the Green Turtle
Yip! Local fishing guide here in Sheppy Ian Logie has also added a gorgeous Green Turtle to his species tally. Obviously not on purpose. Ian loaded the turtle to get the hooks out nicely and gently released the pre-historic beast back into the river.
Ian is a professional guide here in Port Shepstone. And knows how to handle marine life carefully and considerately.
Nice work Ian!
It has been a helluva season here in the Umzimkulu Estuary this year. Unfortunately, it has already rained, heralding the end of the fantastic clean water conditions we have been experiencing lately. It might clear again one more time – we are counting on it. However, this is the time that the halocline (salt vs fresh water line) moves in and out of the river with gusto. Triggering all sorts of biological functions and things as it performs its natural cycle. A very interesting time of year indeed.
If you haven’t seen some of the brilliant catches that have been made here lately, The Sardine News is full of it! Just go down through the stories and choose a species you like!
Then hit the big green WhatsApp button for a direct line through to me and the fish. We can accommodate you at the Umzimkulu Marina. Umzimkulu Adrenalin will keep you busy – we are going into summer gamefish season here out in the ocean. And you can research fishing and MYDO Fishing Lures right here at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo.
Another Zambezi Shark aka Bull Shark catch and release in the Umzimkulu Estuary
Another Zambezi Shark aka Bull Shark catch and release in the Umzimkulu Estuary: As the season draws to a rainy close, the crew on Happy Daze have been putting in the hard yards. Fishing through wind and rain, demonstrates the commitment it takes to get fish like these guys do.
Another Zambezi Shark aka Bull Shark catch and release in the Umzimkulu Estuary. On the happy ship Happy Daze with Greg Milward being the happy angler.
Fishing techniques
The neat little boat Happy Daze can take a few passengers. Right through the season, every afternoon after work, she can be seen trolling the channels. Or casting surface plugs. In all directions. And for miles. They cover so much water with this technique. And the surface strikes are what life is all about. Greenspot kingfish – so rare and hard to catch, are in full-pack attack mode this time of the year here.
Trolling produces kob, perch and kingfish. But it’s that surface strike that keeps us all coming back.
Lures vs Bait
Lures by far. A helluva lot more effort for sure, but if you want to catch decent fish, quit your bait habit. Aside from being stinky and dirty, there needs to be some consideration for sticking a big hook through a live bait just for your own pleasure and fun.
The surface strike is epic and I hope all of you get to experience an angry rock salmon come smashing your popper right in front of your disbelieving eyes. You’d better tackle up if you think you can argue with these fish. Check Matt Wainright’s epic struggle with a BIG one recently right HERE.
And down deep…the river has a few 10m holes…perfect for that Dirty Prawn bucktail especially built for and named after the river – the Umzimkulu Special, will have you bending too. This bucktail has a streak of orange built into its belly. And I think this is what does all the magic.
You can drop a plastic paddletail or jerktail down there too. And if you use a MYDO Silver Bullet as the jighead, you can merrily troll this rig out the back for kob and things.
You can kit out for estuary fishing like this right on The Sardine News website at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo. Or use the menu bar at the top of this page.
The Zambezi aka Bull Shark was caught on the troll this time. He came into that spread all excited, made a few charges, and got hooked in the tail! Obviously, the Happy Daze crew have built up an effective estuary spread design. That even gets a little pup Zambezi all excited.
Every fish caught on Happy Daze is released. Including this baby bull shark. Some seasons are better than others. But an average is way over 50 kingfish per season. With the other species bringing up the score to around a 100. Sometimes double that number in the better and longer seasons.
Umzimkulu Special Bucktail by Dirty PrawnThis is what the bull sharks are here to eat…juvenile all-sorts…Greg Millward with his Greenspot Kingfish in the UmzimkuluOx eye tarpon by Chris LeppanChris fishing with Rory and Gavin on Happy Daze in the Umzimkulu yesterday.And it’s Chris Lepan again with another Umzimkulu Estuary kob.Early morning on the Umzimkulu River. This is bull shark territory.
Seasonal
Yip, this is totally seasonal. And the rain that has been pouring here at the Umzimkulu Marina in Port Shepstone recently, is a sign of things wrapping up for this year 2023. When the river comes down with strong rainfall soon enough – it becomes unfishable.
Except for barbels and eels! However, it’s not all lost. The perch and rock salmon stay behind in the brown. And down by the river mouth, the grunter persevere too. Some species of fish must have some serious night vision to be able to operate, let alone hunt, in that brown water. Luckily, in the very depths of the river, and down by the deep mouth area, there will still be salt water down below the fresh that’s on top.
During the odd year, the brown flushes out with a stop in the rain late October and November. As of today, the sun has just come out. The river is brown. But it wasn’t anything like a flood so we should be ok in about a week or so again.
With these first summer rains, the water has gone brown…and this is now real bull shark water at the Umzimkulu Marina.
Once the rains stop after April or so, the blue water from the ocean comes inside the river again and the tides dominate the flow, we are back in the game.
We are taking bookings for next year so if this is your kind of fishing, I am ready to help you with your ultimate KZN or Transkei Wild Coast estuary fishing holiday experience. Call me or WhatsApp +27793269671 anytime!
You can read and learn all about the MYDO Fishing and Lures right here. We can get you onto the perfect boat and out to sea or upriver with Umzimkulu Adrenalin. And you can stay with us here at The Umzimkulu Marina.
Incredible Surf Launching Perspectives by Insta360 by Matt Wainright on Niteshift at the Umzimkulu
Incredible Surf Launching Perspectives by Insta360 by Matt Wainright on Niteshift at the Umzimkulu: It’s like having 360 cameras mounted on your head! And then after shooting, during editing, you can choose the angle, and even zoom, of your chosen shot!
Not a moment…is ever lost.
Enjoy…!
Fishing Videos
The application of this cutting-edge camera technology is not wasted on fishing videos. They are actually perfect for it. Check back to the previous story of Matt’s visit to the Umzimkulu Estuary here with us a few weeks back. Here Matt got to demonstrate how easy and effective the little pieces of kit are. By catching a kob, a frunter, a perch, and a goliath tussle with the Nkulunkulu himself – the rock salmon. Snippets of that epic battle feature in this video too.
Launching Videos
It is challenging, to say the least, to capture a launch whilst actually on the boat. The Gs are there to bounce you around the place. No amount of steady-shot keeps you steady. Waves are crashing in the boat (like in the launch part of this very video).
The Insta360 is waterproof in these situations. A direct hit does nothing to deter. I believe some guys even go surfing with one of these strapped to their kops!
Minimum Requirements
Are steep. The camera requires a hot post-production team. Well-equipped in memory and storage. A decent phone sporting 16 GB of memory is a good start. Then to edit in the studio, another 16 GB of memory is the minimum. Installed in a performance laptop or computer. Backed up with a solid-state hard drive that can take a terabyte or two.
Performance being the operative word here.
Here in #Port #Shepstone (https://umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za) we are having a lot of fun! Tis the end of the dry season. The water is still crystal palace though. With this weeks rains…we should be ok. Another month or so of the marvelous game fishing we have been having here recently in this very river. Click here to see Matts epic weekend.
Matt Wainwright epic Weekend at the Umzimkulu with his Insta360 Camera
And this last weekend…we saw the very good ship Happy Daze wrack up yet another Zambezi shark pup in the Umzimkulu. This time it came into the spread and got hooked by the tail. Another momentous battle ensued as Greg Milward, the angler, took quite some time and effort, to subdue his quarry.
Released after a good lecture about swimming around in spreads like that.
Happy Daze on the Umzimkulu with a powered up little Zambezi shark taken on a lure right out the front of the Umzimkulu Marina. Full story and video to follow right here on The Sardine News.
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