Category: Short Stories

Short fishing stories for when you have nothing better to do!

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Max Mogeson’s first Rock Salmon

Max Mogeson

Max Mogeson’s first Rock Salmon

A few weekends back we had a huge influx of fishing mad kids down at the Umzimkulu Marina. Including a chap named Max who took the right ride out to rock salmon alley, on the Mad Mullet. He caught his first rock salmon – and so he brought it home and cooked it for his Mom.

With a magnificent turnaround in weather conditions, the fish in the Umzimkulu came alive this sunny 19th August 2017 morning.

Fishing brothers Liam and Jarrod Gallagher were up at crackers loading the Mad Mullet with her powerful new 4 horse Yamaha. Their mate Max Mogeson made up the three anglers and Brian Lange was at the helm.

After getting the boat back to seaworthy after the recent rains nearly flooded The Mad Mullet, the lucky anglers left the Umzimkulu Marina in high spirits. Liam had netted a live mullet so they headed straight for rock salmon alley.

It wasn’t long before Jarrod was jammed up against the gunwhale as a serious rock salmon came to fight. He was actually a bit too serious and ended up winning hands down.

Live bait gone.

And so they switched to lures and trolled along the northern channel towards the river mouth.

Bang the rod went again. So Max was given a go at his first gamefish. It worked him hard and he had tired arms and deep breath by the time it was flapping on the deck.

Being his first rockie, Max was allowed to take it back to base for a braai.

And a big thank you to The Sardine News correspondent and photographer Tracey Saayman for always being on the spot.

Max Mogeson's first Rock Salmon
Max Mogeson’s first Rock Salmon. Max is on the left, Liam and Sienna Gallagher on the right. Max says he will throw them all back from now on – but this rock salmon was delicious on the braai in foil and garlic butter!

Then the next crew of kids got all excited and Calum and older brother Kyle Saayman headed across in their little boat – Unsinkable 2. They had been schooled in the art of fishing awith a sardine head and soon Kyle was fighting his first rock salmon too. Jack Russells Chelsea and Satch were unfortunately on the boat too, and they cannot control themselves with rock salmon, or any fish for that matter. So they jumped on the lively fish. The fish jumped back at them and a dorsal spine went straight through the pontoon. Calum jumped to stick something in the hole, the dogs came back into the ring, Kyle grabbed the injured fish and someone fell onto one of the rods and smashed two of the eyes. Chaos!

There was no ways that rock salmon was going to make it back into the water, and it also became Mom’s lunch!

[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ShusV9ax2wc/WaefklL7RPI/AAAAAAAAK0k/c9f6k7HcqB86cftaHZiU3shV27cMARJ6QCCoYBhgL/s144-o/FullSizeRender-1.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/105055692697822421688/6460307644026744497#6460307641292506354″ caption=”Kyle Saayman and his first rock salmon. Caught in the Umzimkulu Estuary on his boat Unsinkable 2. Using a sardine head as bait…” type=”image” alt=”FullSizeRender-1.jpg” image_size=”768×1024″ ]

 

They also promise the next ones will go back…

And a few pics from recent weekends at the Umzimkulu Marina…http://umzimkulu.co.za

Max MogesonDustan van Biljon having a blast with some estuary spinning in KZN Natal

 

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A brace of couta at Hibberdene by the Posthumous brothers

The Posthumous brothers with their ultimate brace of couta. Ask these brothers about ways to catch couta!

Flashback to 17 June 2007: A brace of couta at Hibberdene by the Posthumous brothers

A brace of couta at Hibberdene by the Posthumous brothers: The sardines had come at last.

Trucks, cars, bikes, planes…were buzzing up and down the lower south coast of KZN Natal like bees. Every man and his dog was on the chase. The scent of sardine hung in the air and it was making people a bit crazy.

The Posthumous brothers with their ultimate brace of couta. Ask these brothers about ways to catch couta!
The Posthumous brothers with their ultimate brace of couta. Ask these brothers about ways to catch couta!

But not the Posthumous brothers Louis and Dawdie.

They were completely focused on their umpteenth sardine run. But they weren’t after sardines. They had their big sticks ready to fly with perfectly maintained and serviced ancient Penn reels. These are two of the best anglers I have ever met. Total dedication. Perfect equipment. From bay to bay the two brothers hunted. Headland to headland. Lookout to lookout.

Eventually the trail led further up the coast to Hibberdene, and the Posthumous brothers were onto it. They parked their car in the old carpark, and scrambled. Guns loaded. Hibberdene is a great spot for an ambush and as the two brothers got to a place in the rocks they could cast from. A bait ball of sardines boiled on the backline.

These guys cast. Huge casts, and perfectly aimed every time. Time after time. They were fishing their own couta spoons. The same ones they use so successfully off the ski-boat. Moulded at home. Hand tied with wire. Double everything. Heavy duty. Huge hooks. For heavy duty fish.

Oh yes, and very shiny! Using secret methods to get the metal glass smooth and ultra-reflective.

The two brothers let fly at the same time. The twin white metal missiles went straight for the early morning sun and the sardines boiling the surface up. The pair of spoons landed on the glassy ocean and bounced, and dropped into the clear backline water.

They both hooked up. Simultaneously!

Two big and angry crocodile couta!

The fish screamed off together threatening to burn each other off.

For 40 minutes they each fought their quiet battles.

Both winning – they pulled their twin fish up the beach!

A brace of couta at Hibberdene by the Posthumous brothers.

(BTW, I sure I hope I got this story all exactly right, it was a long time ago!)

Check out our YouTube Channel right HERE.

The Sardine News

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Another great Umzimkulu fishing story by Kiran Ramjiawan

Another great Umzimkulu fishing story by Kiran Ramjiawan

Friday, 21st October, was the day we took the short journey with plenty of food, beer and a variety of bait. We booked in with our fantastic hosts Brian and Geraldine Lange, and met our friend Elvis, the always smiling river’and qualified barge skipper.

We quickly tackled up and headed down to the river, only to find that we had to wade through the water to get to the dock. The recent rainfall and the closed river mouth had risen the water to what seemed like two meters higher! We rigged up our light rods and threw Mydo Luck Shot Minis in all directions, creating chaos like only we can. We also had some fresh baits out adjacent to the reeds – sadly no takers.

By the afternoon, Ravie, a new recruit to our Umzimkulu Team, had arrived. With the river mouth closed we grabbed Elvis and his boat and headed down, docking near the third bay of the bridge. With a short wade through knee height water we were on the beach. Seaweed everywhere! I must have teared a little, but rigged up with 6/0 hooks anyway, and we sent Chokka/Red Eye Sardine belly combos flying into the ocean. After a while I reeled out the untouched bait, along with plenty seaweed, renewed and attempted to send it back in, but this time I casted an overwind on the Torium. I was furious with myself, but that’s the fishing life.

Before long Ravie was on with a decent fish. He made short work of it and out came a beautiful 5kg Kob. It swallowed the hooks so we kept him for a good meal. With a renewed bait back in the water and a few minutes of waiting, line started peeling off the Diawa Saltist BG50 at the rate of knots. This was war with a shark, but homeland won this time with the main line sheering under the extreme pressure against seaweed. We were lucky to have even hooked a shark without a cable trace anyway.

It was dark and deserted so we decided to get back to ‘headquarters’ but Elvis probably wanted us to get some exercise – the boat was stuck in sand and he instructed us to jump in the water and push it free. It took the wind out of us!

The next morning, we borrowed Sean’s cast net and threw for mullets right on the flooded river banks – we got four Salmon-bait-size ones. We kept them alive by a make-shift live bait well which we tied to the banks, keeping them for the perfect afternoon tide. After breakfast we were aboard the boat, armed with live Cracker Prawns from the Durban Harbour. It was slow and we got nothing except a tiny Kob (maybe the excessive rain water had something to do with it?). Lush released his baby Kob full of life, and Brian took us on a cruise. I could not miss the opportunity to trawl lures, so Lush and I rigged up and we took off.

I had the first strong bump on the Assassin Amia near Spillers. The Kob smashed my Luck Shot Mini but released himself a few seconds later. It was not to be my greatest fishing weekend! We caught a glimpse of gushing water flowing out of the now dredged river mouth, rapidly decreasing the water levels back to normal. On the return trip Lush’s SS spoon got smashed by a shoal sized Kob, and it was almost on the boat when it shook the hook free. What was going on this weekend???

We returned to the Marina, only to find just one of our captured live baits still alive. The water levels decreased so fast that we didn’t get back in time and the live bait well was out of the water! I ask again, what was going on with us this weekend??? At least the next best thing to live bait is a super-fresh dead mullet.

A quick dash to Lucky’s tackle in town for some shopping and back on the boat again, it was just a few of us on a boat trip. Spady, one of the resident fishing dogs, was with us standing at front waiting for mullet to jump into the boat, when all-of-a-sardine, a mullet jumped right in front of his nose and he leaped forward to catch it, falling into the water and under the boat. By the time we realised what had happened and switched the engines off, he was already about 30 meters behind us. He just took a cool swim back to the boat as if nothing major happened. The heart attacks we all had though! Fishing remained slow all afternoon through.

Sunday was our last shot at it. Ravie and I were the only ones awake so the two of us drove to Umtetweni beach for some light tackle rock fishing. We had immense fun with catch-and-release feisty blacktails in the rainy weather. We started to head back for breakfast when one the locals had a good take on the surf. He battled the Garrick left and right, and we saw this pretty nice specimen come out of the water wow! Oh wait, that was actually a bus Shad!!! I have never seen a shad that big in my life.

After breakfast the rest of the boys joined us on a trip to Oslo beach, where the water was brilliant. We were sure of fish here. Don rigged up his light tackle with Cracker Prawns and out came a baby Lesser Shark. Second throw and on with a Toby! Ravie slid a 35cm frozen mullet on cable for a shark and I sent out a fresh chokka for a Kob. We reeled out our baits intact after a while.

As luck would have it, while packing up to go back home we see chases and splashes all over in the river – the game fish had returned. We left them to get strong enough to fight us on our next trip to the beautiful and serene Umzimkulu River Marina.

Umzimkuklu fishing with the dogsUmzimkuku FIshing

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Fly fishing Umdloti with JP Bartholomew

Fly fishing Umdloti with JP Bartholomew

And here we have JP Bartholomew entertaining us again with tales of fly fishing Umdloti, just north of where JP lives…

A final break in the weather and I wanted to get some flyfishing in and especially to see how my right arm was doing after battling with Tennis Elbow which I had been battling with for the last couple of month’s.I hit the Umdloti stretch with my 8/9wt Explorer fitted with a Explorer Orion 9wt Reel with intermediate line using a 22lb fluorocarbon leader.The water was flat with a slight South westerly wind blowing and as always fishing on a pushing in tide.The water was a nice green/blue in colour which was perfect not clean and not dirty the stretch was mine with the odd Holidaymaker Anglers trying there luck. A lot of scattered reef along the shorebreak and open gullies made it that more interesting to fly fish. Don’t you just ever get that feeling that today is just going to be an exciting morning for you not expecting anything big but just hopping for a epic morning’s session and you just wanna get going?  Well this time I had a awesome morning’s fly fishing.

I had set up my fly set up and looked for a fly best suited to try the water’s I was going to be fishing that would attract any rock or sand dwellers in the near vicinity of where I would target the are I would cast towards.I decided to go with a Black Clouser which would stand out and throw more of a dark silhouette and attract some nice Specimen to it.I started peeling off line to begin my assault, I managed to get close to some structure and felt some nice bums on my retrieve but no hook ups so I a slower retrieve and not long a went on tight  getting a few little head shakes I was just not quite sure what it was definitely not a small kingie of sorts, finally got it to surface and I had a little beauty of a Kob I quickly got a pic for my photo gallery and removed the fly and slowly released it back into the water stokked I was on the scoreboard I continued to cast around the same structure as well as bouncing my fly off a small sand bank to my left and slowly allowing it to sink and then slowly bouncing it off the bottom to get a reaction I tried the same retrieve a few times before I went on again.
My rod went tight and this fella was giving me stick which felt so good hoping to see what I had picked up a few more runs I slowly started retrieving the line back and slowly got it to the surface it was a nice size Stone Bream. I quickly got  my buddy to take a pic for the gallery and removed the fly and slowly released it back to fight another day epic seeing how much activity happens when you fish a pushing in tide and the conditions are right and the fish species  are roaming around looking for anything which gets knocked off the rocks or when the waves churned up the sand throwing up all sorts of crustaceans and small sprats allowing anything in tvicinityity to feed freely on them.
After a few more casts I finally moved on  to a different spot as the water was pushing a little more with more white water breaking over the rocks hoping to try target for a kingfish or two hopefully.I had a couple of casts into the white water  before going tight a a nice quick peel on my line zig zaggingfrom left to right very unasual fight after a few minutes I managed to get close to it so I could identify the fish I had hooked into – Eisssh my first a Concertina fish nice size too happy with my catch I just had to get the pic in quickly and release it back as soon as possible which I did.I  carried on for a while hoping for a bigger pick up as the gulley filled up nicely and the waves were still brakeing over the rocks it was still fish able for a few more casts.I slowly started moving out slightly more backwards so I could have a few more casts in front of me towards the bay that had build up in front while I was busy fishing but to no avail.

Fly fishing Umdloti with JP Bartholomew
Fly fishing Umdloti with JP Bartholomew and his Concertina Fish

I moved out and walked more down towards the bigger bays and try for some small Geeeeeet’s hopefully I kept to the Black Clouser why change your fly when you’ve been having such good results with it. I slowly started peeling off line to begin my casting I spotted a nice little gully which came off from a sand bank and dropped off into a nice deepish pool of running white water which is always a exciting spot to target kingfish ambushing sprats or smaller Mullet in the turbulenced water.It wasn’t long before I got smoked by something that just felt like another Concertina fish and yip it was another I safely removed the fly and released it back, carring on and casting into the channel I got a chase and it it my fly but missed the hook up I could only have been a small kingie so I kept at casting in the direction of the chase I got hoping it would give Me another go.No luck after a few more casts nothing was happening so I moved further down where to more of a sandy bay with a scattered reef to see what species I could hook my fly into and attract what ever is lurking along the sandy channels.
Well this would be my final session before my turn around and start to make my way back to my car. Looking to see where would be the best option to start I saw a sandy spot just starting to get water washing over the bank that could only be to My advantage with the water stirring up the sand and exposing small Crustaceans,  Sealice , Sand Shrimp….etc and all I had to do is cast my fly towards the turmoil and white water rolling around.
I gave myself 20min to cast and hopefully catch my last fish before before heading home for some family time….!! Well I started casting onto the bank and dropping my fly down and using a slow retrieve hoping something would see it amongst the sand and white water trying to get away and smash my fly. I just kept at it eventually I felt a bump then another bump and a miss then got a proper pick up and quickly held my line and lifted up my rod to strike I was on Dad finally I got my Species that was playing catch me if you can but with perseverance I hooked the cheeky bugger not knowing what it was it was a feisty fella gave Me a nice little rev retrieving  some line back I could see what looked to me like a little Grunter which landed up being My first Grunter on fly completely stokked at my little Spotted Grunter I took the Pic and released it back and got back to casting hoping for a bigger Boykie if there was one there must be more surely.
I changed my fly to a Brown Brush Fly to try impersonat a Brown Shrimp I casted for may be 15min then totally got Smashed I really thought I had the Daddy  Grunter but landed up being a nice size Stone Bream unfortunately I had to take the Pic of My Boykie Stone lying on the sand quickly removed the fly and released it back safely I got straight back into the channel and kept at it hoping just hoping for that Big Cock Grunter.Boom I was on again and what ever hit me it was peeling line and going for it , it was stripping Me nicely best fight I had all morning.I finally started getting my line back I thought I had a little kingie on but I had hooked a nice size Wave Garrick epic I placed the fella on the sand took the Pic and released it back into the water and watched it swim of into the blue.
Well I called it a morning a gr8 one at that and started heading back to my car and just enjoyed the playback’s in My head on the morning I just had , well maybe I’ll get My kingie the next time round…Homeward bound.

Fly fishing Umdloti with JP Bartholomew

Tight line’s
Happy New Year My Friends have a epic weekend all the BEST FOR 2017…..GOD BLESS….!!!
Cheers JP.
Once again JP, many thanks for sharing your fishing experiences with us. It’s really motivating, educational and appreciated! – Sean
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Caught at sea in a cut off low storm

Caught at sea in a cut off low storm

Our current weather scenario prompted a rewrite of an old favourite yarn. It was first published in 1992.

“It had been a long day, way back in 1992, and we had not caught too much. Stubbornly we anchored off Boboyi, in the 26 metre area, to see if we could find a daga salmon or a geelbek. And we had to wait a bit longer for some water to come into the bay.
On board were the three of us Langes, Dad, Marc and myself. And guest that day, and many other days those days, was Brian Davey – the inventor of the MYDO.
Having been fishing hard all day, I was over it. But I also sensed something else going on around us. The atmosphere was electric. The sky around us was brown. The sea unruly. Looking to the south I could see no problem. Weather from the south is what normally catches us out.
I went up and over to the bow, ready to pull the anchor, when it was time. I was calling it, suggesting more than once we go. Marc is a bottomfishing loon like my Dad, and Brian Davey has also been known to raid the odd reef. Not I. So the three of them upped and downed until finally the tide gave reprieve and my Dad called “lines up”.
Weighing our anchor on the big old Niteshift wasn’t always smooth sailing, but this day we managed to drag it free with only one circle. I was pulling and Marc was packing the rope fast as we could go. I looked up.
And I saw it.
A plume of spray and water was being blasted right out of the Umzimkulu River mouth and a kilometre out to sea in front of us. Windsurfers, umbrellas and deck chairs cartwheeled through the sky. Towels and things were flying past. It was as if a giant fire hose was sticking out into the ocean.
Instantly the skies went black. A raging wind blew from every direction. Lightning struck the water all around us. The thunder and the wind combined in a crescendo above which we could not talk – only scream. Rain drops stung at every part of us.
My Dad put my diving goggles on. We flattened all out graphite composite rods on the deck. And Brian Davey. And everything else. Anything else was thrown into the cabin or it blew away. We could only move along at about 4 or 5 knots, and we could not see anything at all. It was like being caught in a dark forest, we never knew which way was land – even the compass was spinning wildly. We hammered on hoping for northwards, the sea was not big but it was violent. Hard to hold on. We radioed Pan Pan warnings over and over – to warn the other guys who operate south, from out of Shelley Beach.
And then it was gone. In an instant, this monster just upped and left. But headed straight to Shelley Beach where boats were still on Protea and many waiting on the backline to get in. It hit them full force with winds at Force 7. Mowed them down. And then kept going.
Building momentum and now officially a “cut off low”, the storm raged through the Transkei, seriously damaging and/or sinking 6 ships, some on anchor, on it’s way to into Cape Town, where it turned the corner and traveled north, terrorising as far up as Lamberts Bay, until it petred out.”

And yes, the storm lambasting Cape Town now and the rest of the coast since it’s inception on Sunday/Monday, is a type 1A Cut Off Low storm. Rare in that they are somehow tied to the el Nino phenomenon, and appear every 5 to 7 years. On the south coast I have endured three of these absolutely crazy storms.  Fortunately I missed a few. Including this one – I am in Tofinho, Mozambique today. Where the weather is a bit untoward, the wind swinging slowly from north east to southerly onshore. We shall keep you posted as to what the effects have been up this side, of our awesome July 2016 cut off low.

Gallery and video by Jay Steenkamp

Cut off low conditions over Port Shepstone

And another great video by Jay…

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