Bazaruto Marlin Season mid October report by Captain Duarte Rato
Bazaruto has been shining again this year as a premiere giant black marlin fishing destination. With three encounters this past week, and a bunch of fish in the 900lb range, just about anytime you have a line in at Baza in season like this, you have a chance at a grander fish (1000lb’s plus).
An estimated 1200lb marlin was sharked on Pulsator during last weeks Bazaruto Marlin Season bite.
Captain Duarte Rato has been in the thick of the action and has compiled and entertaining report which is published on http://fishbazaruto.com – click the link to read all about it…
Duarte’s photography skills have been honed by years of skippering whilst chasing fish, and taking these amazing shots as it’s all going down.
Enjoy!
http://fishbazaruto.com for more reports from the past 7 seasons of the fishing for marlin off Bazaruto Island.
Umzimkulu Marina: August 2014 family fishing offer
The Niteshift and The Umzimkulu…standing by at the ready, to take you fishing, surfing or cruising…call Sean on 079 326 9671
For the month of August, we are running a Family Fishing special offer. R200 per adult per night get’s you in and a kid under 16 free…plus a host of free activities and discounts for deep sea fishing and salmon fishing. August so far…
“We’re having a great time down here on the Umzimkulu River, as quiet as this August month gets. The river water is crystal palace and the river is teeming with fry – all shapes and sizes. You can also see prawns walking around on the bottom, and grunter have been tailing across the sandbank on the north side. The river valley is finally warming up and conditions for fishing the estuary are at a high. Live bait is everywhere, bring your cast net or yozuris, and some heavy tackle. Those big momma kob have to be curious enough to cruise in and out of the deepened mouth at night time…or even the daytime.
The waves out front, in the mouth have been absolutely flawless, but with no takers so far. It’s peeling down from way out back….where the sand has filled to connect to the inside bank – waves peeling for 100 metres or more! Clean water so you can see the stupid thing coming!
Shad are still dominating most anglers’ attention, filling the huge void left by the complete lack of sardines, who are apparently being harvested by the thousands of tonnes, off Cape St. Francis and adjacent ports. I mean, there are only so many available in a year, so if they get taken before they even get past Coffee Bay – then what’s the point? Obviously the fat cats that be put more value on a tonne of dead sardines, than on a tonne of tourists here to see the sardines alive?!
Luckily Garrick and Daga Salmon are also dead on time. Smaller kob in the 5 to 12 kg range are the rage right now…the bigger ones ought to show up soon enough…but the smallies are keeping people up very late (or early) as the fish readily devour a paddletail or jerkbait in the Witch’s hours.
Geelbek Salmon have gone on the boil off Durban, but our catches down south here have been limited to 8 or 10. Since the quota has come into play, that’s great fun for an hour or two, and we are back home. But we are having to travel far and wide searching for the elusive fish.”
So call us on 079 326 9671 if you would like to experience this great fishing spot in our quietest month. The R200 per night special includes one child under 16 free of charge. There are also discounts on fishing trips and other activities. The Umzimkulu Marina Family Fishing Offer expires 31 August 2014…
Craig Sinclair aka Baconovich, takes us through a simple yet effective shad bait on a single hook trace. A double hook trace also features in this instructional fishing video.
Shad, or elf, or taylor, or bluefish – come thick and fast this time of the year – just before the supposed arrival of the supposed sardines. They provide great entertainment and thousands of anglers hit the bays and points up and down the KZN South Coast, also known as the Hibiscus Coast (luckily not the “sardine coast”).
Bigger gamefish like garrick / leervis, salmon / kob, Queen Mackeral / Natal Snoek, Brusher / White Musselcracker…have also been known to gulp down a shad bait on the drift, presented like Craig’s bait in the video. 3/0 or 4/0 hooks mean you stand a chance again these chance encountered trophy fish.
Len Matthews with his boat Mafuta, and crew were in Chidinguele, in Southern Mozambique, in May recently. The reports and photographs are astounding.
l-r: Riaan Kruger, Len Matthews jnr, Gerhard “the Goose” Gouws, Len Matthews snr.
From Len…
“Hi Sean,
Thanks for your quick reply.I have taken a quick look at your MYDO Luck Shot and I agree, you have a winner!!
You are most welcome to use the pic (I will send more) in your mag. This was from a trip to Chidenguele in Moz from 23 – 30 May ’14. We caught a ton (yes a TON) of fish in 5 days!!!, Most of them on no 2 and 3 MYDO’s.
The pic shows 17 Couta caught in 3hrs, 1 under 10kg and 11 over 15kg, ALL caught on MYDO’s!!! We also got a saily and snoek on MYDO’s, and hooked an estimated 220kg Blue Marlin on the same no 3’s.
One of the 5 days we parked on a shoal of cob and got a bunch n 2 1/2hrs!!!
It’s always an absolute delight to open my inbox and see something, anything from Captain Duarte Rato. Duarte has developed a bad reputation among the marlin of our waters, between Bazaruto, Inhaca, Vamizi, Madeira, Cape Verde – he has been sticking tags into big shiny shoulders for many a year – he must have pin pricked thousands of billfish…!
“Hope all good. I know it is off season and not much normally going on this side but just want to tell you that the fishing as been absolutely ballistic of the Bazaruto Archipelago the last couple of months. I have not been out much but the boys on Vamizi have been hammering it. I had a client from CT come for 3 days late April and they caught and released something ridiculous like 70 odd game fish over that time. There as been good numbers of cuda, queen mackerel and kingfish but it is the Yellowfin tuna that is running the show and they are all over the place. With so much game fish and bait fish (skipjack and frigate bonito) it is no wonder that the Marlin seem to have forgotten to look at the calendar this year and they boys have been catching a good number of Blacks between 100 and 300 pounds (but up to 600) in the last month and a half! Considering they are not really targeting them and that we are in May…it is insane! But hey, I did not hear anyone complain! A few sailies showing as well and as we go into winter they should arrive in good numbers…..
PS: On my way to Cape Verde on Monday for 5 weeks. They are having an insane Marlin season there…I mean mind blowing! The top boat has released something like 170 odd Blue Marlin in the first 30 days of fishing….that is an average of 6 Blues a day!!!
BRING IT ON!!!!!”
Thank you Duarte, I feel like a pinhead in your presence!
