A 1000lbs Marlin on New Years Day and a bunch of other stories make up the latest post by Captain Duarte Rato – sportfishing Captain with FishBazaruto.com.
The 1000lbs marlin was not caught at Bazaruto (it was a Blue Marlin taken of Western Australia), but the fish became somewhat controversial, as social networking groups jumped on the attack on the Captain. The very same Captain who was graced with an award for his efforts in tagging and conservation, just last year (2017) One of the biggest and most successful tagging operations, these guys reserved the right to boat a broken fish. And in doing so, incurred the wrath of greenies all over the planet.
The truth is, that without sportfishing charter captains working closely with environmental and conservation entities, there would be no research data available whatsoever. It is this data, supplied by charter captains worldwide, that is used to formulate the management strategies, for these fish stocks.
The ocean is under HUGE pressure right now. We are down to 4% of our original allotment as humans. 4%! To learn more, I would strongly recommend the following book:
Available from Amazon, it outlines the destruction we as humans have wreaked on the planet’s oceans.
In the meantime, tagging as many fish as possible is the only way we can garner the data needed, to formulate better game plans, for the survivial of our remaining 4%.
Marlin release pro Captain Duarte Rato checks in from Bazaruto
Marlin release pro Captain Duarte Rato checks in from Bazaruto with two more Captain’s Blogs from his recent excursions taming marlin out off Bazaruto.
It’s just amazing, that our eastern seaboard, right on our doorstep, has so many marlin. From as far south as the Cape, and right through KZN and into Mozambique, and further north…our continental shelf wavers and wobbles creating eddies and currents and congregations of all sorts of baitfish. That the marlin are after.
And it’s not only the marlin, we are so fortunate to live here. Huge yellowfin tuna swim these same waters. And wahoo. Dorado. Anywhere in the 80m zone along the shelf will tell a story.
It’s just all about timing. The weather can really play along, but often times it doesn’t! It has been really otherwise lately, as you can read in Duarte’s report – since that cut off low caused all the trouble a month ago. It seems that if we don’t get a cut off low, then the weather plays along just fine. But the huge pressure difference this last low brought, caused havoc up north. 40 knot easterlies!!! Luckily it gets better and better through November and into December.
Fishing Mozambique by Bus: Giving myself ample time, I arrive at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg. Only to find that my flight has been cancelled. LAM. Late and Maybe. Mozambique’s airline. Their excuse? No aircraft this time.
And so I gallop across the expanse of the international airport, fuelled by adrenalin, only to find that Safair, the only other carrier, is fully booked! No flights available. For the next week and more. Chokkablok.
My clients arrive this same day, in Inhassoro…a short hop from Vilankulos airport. So now what do I do?
So, I take the remaining flight that is available, to Maputo, and arrive at 10am. Now it’s on. Where do I go next? So I call up The Sardine’s Maputo connection – Marta Luisa Santos – and rally for her assistance. Sharp as always, I am soon directed to the Junta.
1100 Mets later, the equivalent of about R250, and I have a ticket!
I am going to be a day late, but at least I will make my charter, for the good weather the next day.
I just never realised how far it was!
And so the next morning, 4am, I taxi along to Junta. The bustling hub for all public transport heading north.
And there is my bus. In all her glory. She is huge. Single story though. But a huge improvement over the old models. I take the seat I presume to be the right one – without a chair in front of it, so I can lean over and sleep my well-aimed hangover well away.
At 8am! The bus is finally full enough to depart, and off we go.
Man, it’s far to Inhassoro! After we reached Inhambane province, I was well comfortable that I was going to get there in time. Sort of. What I never realised, is just how far Inhassoro is from Inhambane! It’s miles! In fact, it’s much the same distance from Inhassoro to Inhambane (336kms), that it is from Maputo to Maxixe (460kms)! Give or take an hour or two.
I have bussed a lot. And so I melt into my seat and try grin and bear it.
Around me are all sorts. Including tourists. Some also skunked by LAM. A delightful elderly couple and I chatted at every chance. Some were visibly grumpy about the prospect thrust upon them. But then I met two gorgeous French girls. They had rented a 4×4 and on their own did Etosha and Okavango! After Cape Town they had bussed along the coastline. And now were headed to Vilankulos to do some diving and island exploring. They chose the bus. It was safe they said. Cheap. Convenient. AND. The lightest method of travel for the environment! They did have a flight back as they were gonna be in a hurry. But were considering cancelling to avoid the drama all their fellow passengers had just gone through. Including me.
The journey gets underway. And this bus flies. It’s a big and powerful coach recently imported from China. Chinese decals and all the warnings are in Chinese symbols. But in great condition. The toilet was not working, but the bus stopped regularly enough. With passengers off and on taking a good few minutes. And a few official toilet and food stops.
On the bus the interactions are all pleasant. Bus culture. People politely keep to themselves. But are real enough to strike up one of those unforgettable very temporary friendships that becomes indelibly etched in your memory. Every time you pass a place where you chatted, or broached a subject in the scape, those pleasant memories flood back.
With some help, I sleep and sleep and sleep. A few nice stops barely interrupt my slumber.
8pm. I wake up, and I am the last person on the bus. And we are in Inhassoro!
A taxi to my guests at Cashew Bay lodge, and the next day we are out there catching a marlin!
But some trips don’t go as well as others. And so after the first marlin and nearly another one, and some real bad weather, I left my guests with Captain Derek Flaxman, and headed south. On another bus!
This one took forever, but only cost me 500 Meticals, including my huge bag of fishing tackle! That’s R120 or so. To go 600kms!
When I got to Maxixe, a taxi took me across (At this stage I couldn’t be bothered with a slow water taxi and all the carrying that goes with it). Then another taxi to Tofo and in one day, for 600 Meticals or less, I traversed Inhambane province.
So. For 1700 Mets (about R400 right now) plus a few taxi rides, I travelled a solid 2000kms!
That is less than 1 met per kilometre!
Considering my flight cost R3700 one way from Jhb to Vilankulos. This is one seriously cheap way of travelling.
And the most friendly on the environment. By far!
Definitely more reliable than LAM!
Mozambique by bus! And these busses go everywhere! Chimoio and Zimbabwe. Or north to Beira and beyond. In fact, you can go just about anywhere in Africa for a few hundred Rand! From Durban, the international taxis charge about R300 including a surfboard, to Maputo. Maputo a night at the friendly and safe Fatimas. Then 1000 Mets to Tofo or 1100 to Inhassoro. So, R600 for your transport to Bazaruto waters! You can spend all those savings on boat trips! Because that’s expensive!
The busses are not allowed to travel at night, so it’s daytime only. They are big and steady and safe. Almost comfortable. But one thing is for sure…Africa is being opened up even more for the much-needed tourism business, by bus.
Check out our fishing experiences and packages you can enjoy with all the cash you will save by traveling this way…
Fishing with Captain Derek Flaxman, from out of Cashew Bay Lodge in Inhassoro, Barry Viviers got his first ever black marlin Sunday last week!
After a real slow start at the south tip of 25 mile, where we were beaten by a nice couta and a GT that were herding some fusiliers, it was high time for some konas and a good spread out the back. We were only on our third rod when the real close kona started to really go. I did see a flash in the white water behind the magnificent Super Cat 38 we were on, but the fish never jumped until it got a food few hundred metres of line off us. By that time the other lines were cleared and Barry climbed into the chair. A few adjustments and we had Barry going back at the jumpy little black marlin.
At that size they really can perform, and this little guy was never gonna let us down. Luckily his antics seem to tire him quite quick, and soon Barry produced a leader! It took about twenty minutes on the nicely matched 30, and was oh so much fun!
The fish swam away with a new attitude to konas, and we had our spread back in order. Sitting atop the tower, I heard a shout from below as somebody spotted a sickle. Then we all saw it, I had such a cool view, as this fish, a much bigger and more fussy marlin came charging in but turning away at the last moment. This went on for a good few minutes when eventually she over took us in haste. It was a great encounter, but eish that was a big fish, and we already had one so it was back to gamefish a while.
Some angry skipjack gave us some serious revs. The couta were chowing the lures. We hit and missed on many frothing bait balls of scad and small bonnies, we wanted one for bait so bad!
Then I hooked a nice one and as I was passing the rod over, a shark came flying in. The bonnie got off. But the shark went straight for my beautiful halfbeak so nicely rigged on a #4 Mydo. It was a good fight and we got most of the trace back.
Fishing with Derek and his able crew is such a treat. And the huge Supercat 38, named Comforter, is just that. An absolute pleasure to fish from. Stay tuned, but the weather has been terrible. The after-effects of the cut off low that wrecked parts of Durban, is huge pressure differences, and so bad weather. And it’s been bad! Stuck on land!
Cashew Bay Lodge in Inhassoro is really cool and right on the beach
To come marlin fishing with The Sardine team, click here.
You could write a book on releasing marlin, there are so many variables at play. And if one person could write that book, it would be Captain Duarte Rato, of http://fishbazaruto.com, operating off Bazaruto, and all round the world. Duarte gets to fish Baz through the current season, and then the rest of the year, he chases marlin from the Great Barrier Reef, to the Ascension Isles, Madeira and the Azores!
This cool little clip was shot this week as Duarte and his crew skilfully release a small black marlin for Carl Jankowitz, off Bazaruto, Inhambane, Southern Mozambique.
Releasing a marlin off Bazaruto with Captain Duarte Rato
For budding wiremen out there, take note of the successful hook extraction without even touching the fish at all. Apart from some bill grabbing, this fish never even smelt a human hand. Gloved up and using a proper hook extractor, this is the way to release a fish healthy.
Duarte has also been leaning towards using single hooks out there too. The truth is that there are so many more fish off Bazaruto, that you can be sporting and use singles, to facilitate quick and effective release. Double hooks certainly help hook up and sticking rates, but they really can damage the fish. Hooks in eyes. Gills. Not nice at all. Especially the chain gang rig. That thing is lethal. Unsporting to say the least. And then there is the potential danger to the wireman and crew. An extra hook flailing about during the fight and ultimately the release can spell sheer disaster if things go wrong.
For the newbies to the scene, take note that the boat never stops moving forward. The idea is to have the fish alongside, keeping the bill up out if the water. and therefore in control. You are literally planing the fish on top of the water as you get the tag in and the hook out.
Check back for more video and instruction by Captain Duarte Rato.
Click on over to http://fishbazaruto.com for the ever-entertaining and up to date Captain’s Log, video channel and booking enquiry page.
