Early morning Garrick at The Block

Early morning Garrick at The Block

2015

Yesterday: “When the fish aren’t here, the fish aren’t here”, goes Lawrence Wurznip, as the two of us lament at the lack of action, here at The Block, after endeavouring for weeks now, with lures. Frustration sets in.
Rumours have also been abounding regards a certain angler around here who has caught upwards of twenty Garrick this season, on lures, mainly that Ice Cream plug thing. It’s an easy lure to fish and casts a mile…but obviously, I am intent on catching fish on the Mydo’s which we make here in Port Shepstone.

So day after day, we have been meeting at odd times, and throwing our new 9ft long casters with coffee grinders and 20lb braid (the in thing), towards Chakas Rock, to no avail. Ok not completely. Lawrence had a chase on the Ice Cream plug nearer to Chakas, and I had a good fish on at The Sandspit (the beach on the north side of the Umzimkulu River), for a few seconds, on a Mydo SS Spoon (more about those coming up). I think my drag was too loose for the huge single I was fishing with.

I have a theory that when fishing blind like this (ie not sight fishing where you cast to visible fish on the surface), it takes 200 casts for an average fish, and 400 for a trophy. Well I, at this point, am on a good 200, since I got my new spinning outfit.

Today: I woke at 4am, got a coffee on the go, did some emails, and before long wound along the river road and towards the spot- “The Block” (is a large remnant of the old harbour wall, nicely positioned for live-baiting into the backline, at Port Shepstone, south side of the river mouth).

The wind was(is) howling and Chelsea (assistant editor Jack Russell) and I were the only fishers down there. We sat in the car and watched 6ft waves come peeling down the point – the spring high tide putting us at eye level with these spectacular swells. But in between sets, were the usual south swell lulls, and soon I just had to have a go. “It’s always those times you least expect it…”, I recall Lawrence telling me during one of our *fisholosophy discussions.

I can hardly see close up at all, and changing lures can be a ordeal especially in the twilight zone. And I had no leader with me so yesterday’s Mydo Luck Shot Mini #1 with a 6 inch MacCarthy white pearl jerk tail/bait was going to have go straight on. The westerley wind pumping from behind would help me get the One Ounce lure far enough to fish happily. It’s a very comfortable lure to fish as its nice and light, and you can slow troll it with the intermittent twitch, or crank it up to the top where it makes a plug like commotion but with much more realistic action. I would have liked to fish one of our new Mydo Tarpon SS Spoons, weighing in at 2 Oz and casting like a bullet. But on my third cast with the Mydo Luck Shot Mini #1, retrieving a tad faster as I was preparing for the lure’s surf in over the rocks, bang something took me properly! Beautiful surface strike a few metres in front of my disbelieving eyes! Garrick!

My adrenaline reserve exploded. “What to do?!?!” – so being a total newbie at rock ‘n surfing (ok it was a long time ago!), I did all the wrong things starting straight away! On the boat, we really work our fish. But with rock and surf fishing, it’s all totally different. The fish is always in charge. Anyway, the fish screamed off taking line easily –  I pulled back, at about 2kg’s of drag, and still tightened up more. The fish pulled back at me, and we had a huge argument right there and then as weed and sand-filled waves washed over the line wreaking havoc with my plans and leaving the fish with all the advantages. I pumped the drag some more, and eventually had the fish up against the wall, and after a few risky attempts, got the fish to surf a huge foamy right over the bricks and into that treacherous pool of whitewater at the inside base of The Block – another completely wrong thing to do, and now I had 50 metres of negotiating this fish through girders and bricks and concrete – all sharp-edged! And still on my own in the near dark.

But this fish was hooked well, we rig the Mydo Luck Shot Mini # 1 with a 7/0 stainless O’Shaugnessy for big fish, and as I negotiated the length of the wall back to the bridge, I was able to keep it’s head uppish and guide it all the way to the beach, where I ran in and got completely soaked, but pulled the fish out by it’s tail. With no-one to witness (ha ha). And because the river mouth is closed so we can’t launch, this Garrick came home to be enjoyed as all sorts of meals. By the family and guests at the Umzimkulu Marina. It is also my one and only garrick from the side.

When I got back to the car to show Chelsea, she wasn’t even interested, all curled up in my wetsuit on the back seat. It was still too dark for photos, but I snapped one, and then noticed, that the braid had let go at the lure. Amateur. And very lucky! You can cut any braid by dragging it back and forth on the edge of a brick and in no time it’s gone. It must have been the Garrick’s sharp little grabbing teeth that went through it like that.

As I left, one of the real Garrick catchers from around here – Vinod, came down the hill in his custom beach buggy with built-in live bait well, past the lighthouse and I couldn’t resist showing him my fish. And telling him the story. He laughed a lot and then advised me – next time – let the fish run away from the bricks and into the bay. Then holding the rod up high and keeping light tension, get yourself to the beach where you can handle the fish without the risk of the line touching the rocks. Vinod was very surprised that the fish made it to the beach at all this morning – and with no leader?! Thanks Vinod!

Tomorrow: Buzz me on umzimkulu@gmail.com or +27793269671 if you would like to join us for this awesome 2015 Garrick season. The fish are everywhere right now, but haven’t spawned as of yet. When they do, it’s absolute madness, check out National Garrick Day for an idea. After they spawn they will all head back down the coast into The Cape where they hang out for summer, and then again next year in April/May, start trickling back up the coast for The Sardine Run and the cycle continues.
* fishing and the philosophy behind catching fish (refer Wurznip/Lange 2015)