baitswimmer Archives - The Sardine News

Posted on January 10, 2024January 10, 2024 by Sean Lange — Leave a comment

Second Bluefin Tuna taken on a MYDO Baitswimmer

Southern Bluefin Tuna caught on MYDO Bluefin Bomber by Marc White off St. Frances South Africa

Second Bluefin Tuna taken on a MYDO Baitswimmer

Second Bluefin Tuna taken on a MYDO Baitswimmer: yip! It happened again. A slightly smaller fish, at 63kgs…but taken on 40lb braid! By none other than MYDO Mediterranean Agent David Kosta! Fishing ace out!

Bluefin One

Mark White of Port St. Frances got the first one. A bluefin tuna. The southern variety. Swim to New Zealand and back often!

This fish was caught some time ago…but we kept the MYDO part of this amazing double-whammy, a secret, until now. We wanted at least one more before we touted our lures as good for targeting Bluefin Tuna.

Double-whammy! Mark and his mate also caught a decent broadbill at about 100kgs too – on the same MYDO rig – on that same day.

The rig consisted of a big old MYDO Baitswimmer, with a nice long nylon leader, to a big old squid bait. In other words, the MYDO was deployed as a downrigger. Simple leads to organised and this rig does just that.

Bluefin Two

David Kosta strikes again! He fishes the MYDOs the regular way…over to David…this was very recently (yesterday), in the Mediterranean.

“I have a Solo skippers ticket. It means I can go by myself out to sea. That afternoon, I got some fresh bait in the form of couple of 500gr couta caught by one of the gill nets. I left the harbor at 3:30 knowing I have 2 hours before it’s completely dark. Once I rigged the couta on the 4.5 Mydo I was happy to see that it swam very well with 2 vmc 3/0 trebles. I was using 61 pound Malin wire as I was hoping for couta. 15 minutes later the port Rod had a big bite, taking about 100m of line. I tighten the drag to about 6kg and started working. There were a few 50m runs and I thought it was a big couta. After 20 minutes when I couldn’t even see the fish , I decided it was a shark… 5 minutes later I managed to see a silver flash so It went back to the “biggest couta I ever seen…” but secretly I started hoping It is something else that we’re reported jumping in that area 2 days earlier. I few minutes later, I saw it, got it close enough for my 100cm bamboo gaf and pulled it in. 40lb braid, 60lb fluorocarbon leader. 30 minutes.”

David Kosta doing all the work solo...and the gaff goes in to the 63kg bluefin tuna — David Kosta doing all the work solo…and the gaff goes in to the 63kg bluefin tuna

The northern bluefin taken in the Mediterranean yesterday — David Kosta doing all the work solo…and the gaff goes in to the 63kg bluefin tuna

This the 63kg Bluefin Tuna (two left pics). From the northern population – these guys swim across the Atlantic to North America and back every year.

Which is what ICCAT (International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) refused to acknowledge when performing their assigned duty of making up conservation recommendations to lawmakers. In another case of gross corporate greed, the exact people who were being appointed to look out for the tuna populations, were being manipulated (paid) by the corporates. And crooked scientists who were happily being paid to sell the corporate narrative. That these fish were not the same population.

David caught this fish on a regular MYDO Gamefish Trace.

You can learn about the entire range on offer by MYDO by using the main menu above. Or just click HERE.

We have an action-packed MYDO YouTube Channel going at https://youtube.com/@mydotackletalk.

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Sean Lange — Leave a comment

Video: Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast

Deep-sea Port Shepstone: Sean Lange 25kg couta on the Niteshift

Video: Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast

Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast. See the video after the story below…

It was a lekker early launch with little comparable drama as the Niteshift plowed her way over the sandbar, bashed a few waves, and got us out the back. Captain Brian Lange (my Dad) has done this before!

Soon we found ourselves sounding around for bait – there were very many other boats out there this Sunday 24 March 2018. Louis Posthumous, his son Shawn and Noel Allchin already had bait they were so early. And were slow trolling comfortably in position. Boats were up and down this normally quiet piece of water.

But the bait eluded us and for a while, and we wandered around the usual mackerel hangouts but got only little useless orange fishies and a few cigar shaped maasbankers, or karapauw if you are up north. But then our lady crew on board, Ansie van Biljon (she was meant to bring the luck too), had her rod buckled over as a whole shoal of mackerel jumped onto her hooks. A full and tangled line later the mackerel were swimming lekker in their new home. Our live bait hatch. Ansie went down again and straight away got into it on the way down. She pulled and pulled and next thing three tiny little bonito come flying through the air. Bang! This was our ticket.

We pinned the first one onto a Mydo #1 with two solid 5X trebles and a new trace, and as Dad dropped the anchor to hold us where the baitfish were, I let the bait out the back. The current was winding and I set the Mydo at 10 metres deep, and turned to work on the other two bonnies. But as soon as I started, the TLD 25 screamed blue murder and we sprang into action.

Ansie cleared the lines and tidied the boat. Good crew that she is. And my Dad fired up and jammed the boat into reverse to pop the anchor. It all worked for a change (most times when we try this, the anchor holds stubbornly) and next thing we were loose!

But the fish had taken a steam train run first off and the backing was in sight. And next thing, as we get into the backing – a crossed line! I just backed right off as my Dad got us going, let all the line go, to the spool, and then started again properly. I got all the line back on the first chase, but when the fish saw us, he bolted again. All the line off the reel, even though we were motoring after him. But we got the line back again. We had drifted about 3 kms so far, the current was so strong.

The second run tired the couta out and we closed the deal with little fuss, and the gaff went in!

Ansie caught some nice reds and a few barbel, and then the second bait screamed. Not quite as fast, but fast enough to get all excited again, pull the anchor a second time, and give chase. What a fight! It was too strong to be a couta, we realised after 10 minutes. It might be anything the way it darted around and ran so fast.

Then all of sudden there was a blacktip shark. Or spinner shark, as they spin their way into the sky in amazing leaps. We got away with a clean release,

Then a hammerhead took our third bait…and it was time to get back in the mouth before the tide dropped too low.

King mackerel off Southport, Natal Lower South Coast

Southport has some cool little patches of reef scattered about the place. Perfect for couta

With a bonito behaving beautifully on a Mydo #1 Baitswimmer, we knew we had a chance or three

If you want to get in on this type of action, get in touch with The Umzimkulu Marina at the link below.

Read about the Umzimkulu Marina at http://umzimkulu.co.za

Catch us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

More about the Mydo at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/

Posted on February 7, 2018February 8, 2018 by Sean Lange — Leave a comment

100kg marlin on a Mydo off Port Shepstone today

100kg marlin on a Mydo off Port Shepstone today

At 4 am this early morning, whilst I was tossing and turning (dreaming of marlin perhaps) with another bout of the Big M. (Malaria) – I sensed some activity outside.

My brother Marc was back from Angola. And he had his son Brandon and his mate Tristan Roodt.

They were prepping the good boat Niteshift, and soon headed out through the Umzimkulu River mouth, into a rough and ready ocean. All confused from the day before as the south and north wind argued like they have been. From my angle, the wind just blew and blew, but with high tide all day, I knew they could return anytime they liked really.

But they didn’t.

The first Instagram video came through – wasting time with a shark.

But then silence. For ages.

The wind got right up again. 20 Knots or more. Ideal dorado weather. And marlin!

And so it was, the early birds, after spending a good few hours getting into the swing of the day, found the worm.

The dorado came screaming in and a total of five eventually made it into the hatch for a free boat ride. Many got away and lost out.

At one point, Marc took a look at his plugging outfit looking all lonely. So in sympathy, he picked it up and gave it a lob. As it hit the water, without any sign or warning, a tasty little yellowfin tuna smashed it! Luck? I dunno?

Marlin!

Then all of a sudden, there it was. An angry 100kg plus marlin picked on the blue number 2 Mydo Livebaitswimmer, armed with those reliable 5x little black trebles from Mustad.

Not wanting to cause the fish too much distress before he let it go, Marc pushed the drag right up and gave the jumping, dancing fish the gears. In 25 minutes he had the fish beat and behaving in front of the boat?! Marc pulled the tiny trebles out easily enough, and sent it on its way a lot more wily and suspicious of those Mydos and how good they are rigged!

The Mydo LiveBaitSwimmer is just like a Baitswimmer, but it has a strong little single hook to pin the lively live bait with. There are two weights, 1 Oz and 2Oz, so you can keep your livies away from eachother, on the drift, or on the troll.

More about the lure Marc used to catch this marlin today…and details of which shops carry The Mydo range can be found at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/

https://thesardine.co.za/product/mydo-live-baitswimmer-2/

If your local tackle store does not stock our homegrown and proven brand, then by all means, please buy online!

Catch The Mydo on Facebook at http://facebook.com/mydofishinglures/

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Sean Lange — Leave a comment

Mydo Fishing Clinic and Promotion at The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach Tuesday 17 September 2017

We are excited to announce a Mydo Fishing Clinic and Promotion at The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach Tuesday 17 September 2017. The promotion will kick off at 2PM and will run until 6PM or even a bit later.

Headlining the act are the crazy cool all-new Mydo Handy Lure Pouches! These clear PVC pouches are sealed with velcro and have many important applications. Use them to protect yourself and your crew from razor-sharp hooks on lures and traces. Keep your phone and keys in one on the boat or on the beach. Deck and tackle box safe and tidy. Easy to find anything in the transparent pouches.

They can be applied to the lure on the rod too! Making it safe for launching or transporting rods and reels. Rigged and ready to fire.
The real good news is that all the Mydo Lures that you buy nowadays, all come in a FREE pouch. Baitswimmers and couta traces, jig heads and plastics, and the SS Spoon range. Included in the price! And that’s not a promotion. That’s standard equipment on all our models.

The reason we are doing this, is that we found some of our old lure packaging lying on our favourite beach, in amonghst the trash of many others. Gut wrenching realisation, that we were part of the problem. Brainstorm after brainstorm finally led us to investing in this new concept in packaging. Which never gets thrown away! Multi-purpose like nothing done in packaging before.

For an idea of what will be going on at the Mydo Fishing Clinic at The Tackle Box, enjoy the following video revealin the Mydo Luck Shot #1 underwater, and on top of the water. It’s a faster retrieve that produces this exciting swimming action.

The newest Mydo innovation – The Mydo Handy Lure Pouch…

For Mydo fishing tackle in Margate, head in to The Craft Store

The original baitswimmers love their new packaging

MYDO Lure Pouch used to protect almost anything

Mydo Lure Pouch: Can fasten lure on rod for safe travels and fishing

To learn more about The Mydo Fishing Lure range…click on over to https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/

Follow The Mydo on Facebook at, https://web.facebook.com/MydoFishingLures/?ref=br_rs

And The Tackle Box…https://web.facebook.com/tackleboxshellybeach/

Directions to The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach…

See you there!

Posted on August 30, 2017August 31, 2017 by Sean Lange — 1 Comment

Fishing IGFA with Mydo by Captain Len Mathews

Fishing IGFA with Mydo

Jannie Griesel with his Mydo caught couta at Sodwana this last weekend.

Every Mydo lure made is totally IGFA compliant. But the baitswimmer couta trace, when rigged with trebles, is not.

Why do we rig with trebles? Popular demand. The treble hooks available nowadays are incredibly strong and sharp, compared to the old 2X’s that we used to get. And the fish are more scarce, making a hook up meaning so much more than it used to.

Mydo anglers were never even introduced to IGFA, back when it all rolled into South Africa, in the 80’s. The main competitions never used IGFA rules either. It took a long time before IGFA rules were applied to money comps. Trebles were the standard issue for catching couta, and still are, with most anglers.

But the rules have changed slowly and now many competitions on the circuit are IGFA now. This is great, as trebles are not really suited to releasing fish at all. Singles inflict far less damage. Captain Duarte Rato fishes single hooks wherever he can. But he still uses trebles for couta traces!

Captain Len Mathews only fishes IGFA rules. This is how he rigs the Mydo Baitswimmer.

Captain Len Mathews has been part of the Mydo team for a long time now. He catches great fish. And he only fishes IGFA. Two Kendall Rounds, rigged nice and light. This is the reason Len reckons, that he doesn’t lose fish. Len admits to a slightly more complicated hook up, but that when done right, snags his fish as many times as trebles would. But his use of singles means much more solid hookups.

Meaning he can pull much harder.

Which is great for the sailfish and marlin, who scrounge Lens’ well-presented couta baits often. And for pulling fish away from the taxman.

According to Len – there are a bunch of good reasons to stay single!

Thank you Len!

Learn more about the Mydo Baitswimmer range of lures right here…

https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/

Second Bluefin Tuna taken on a MYDO Baitswimmer

Bluefin One

Bluefin Two

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Video: Croc couta caught off Southport – KZN Lower South Coast

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100kg marlin on a Mydo off Port Shepstone today

Marlin!

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Mydo Fishing Clinic and Promotion at The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach Tuesday 17 September 2017

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Fishing IGFA with Mydo

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