Captain Duarte Rato checked in with us, all the way from the Cape Verde Islands, where he is working a blue marlin season this time of year.
“First day out we started with hooking a double header 20 minutes after we set the spread and the action was hot the all day. We ended up raising a total of 6 Marlin, with 4 strikes, 4 hookup´s and 3 releases.”
More to follow as the season in Cape Verde gets underway…
“Man this place is insane…. yesterday had 5 up, got 4 bites and released 3.
This morning only fished 5 hours ´cause the clients catching a plane and got 3 bites and released 2, all on pitch baits.
Will send you reports and photos of last two days later.”\
World Record Southern Bluefin on 6kg line: by IGFA
World Record Southern Bluefin on 6kg line…(COURTESY IGFA)
“Aussie angler Bernadette Pedlar caught a 31.34 kg (69 lb 1 oz) southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccyoii) on February 1st while trolling a Williamson skirted lure off Port MacDonnell, Australia with her husband, Michael Pedlar. Equipped with only 6 kg (12 lb) tackle, Pedlar was able to subdue the powerful tuna in only 30 minutes – quite a feat with such under-matched tackle. With the existing women’s 6 kg (12 lb) line class record at 21.69 kg (47 lb 13 oz), Pedlar’s fish is plenty big enough to qualify.” courtesy IGFA
Southern Bluefin Tuna roam the southern oceans and are caught readily off New Zealand and southern Australia. In fact, their population stretches itself right across the southern Indian Ocean, reaching as far as, yes…our South African coastline. And all the way across to south America.
So why do we not see these fish at all, off our coastline?
That question can only be answered by the fact that we have decimated the southern bluefin tuna population.
They only spawn in one area, off northern Oz, between Darwin and Indonesia…very warm conditions for the larvae to survive and grow in.
However, it’s not all totally bad news. Australia and Japan have joined in the quest to close the life cycle of a southern bluefin tuna (bred from larvae to sexually mature – a 12 year process), and Japan have successfully bred three generations in captivity. Clean Seas Limited in Australia are way out there with their aquaculture activities – they even breed the tuna way inland!
Unfortunately there are huge logistical hurdles to breeding and growing wild tuna in captivity, and nothing is cheap or easy.
If you would like to become part of a team that has the nigh impossible objective of catching one off South Africa’s coastline, please let us know on umzimkulu@gmail.com.
There are two legal long liners that operate out of Durban harbour, targeting Southern Bluefin Tuna. They have reportedly caught Southern Bluefin within 50kms of the KZN Natal coastline.
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!
Damage to the front and windscreen of the boat Mduduze, caused by an angry 300lb marlin. Courtesy NSRI
The NSRI are in top form as usual and were swift to the aid of ski-boat Mduduze off Umhloti with two casualties sustained during a tussle with an estimated 300lb marlin. The marlin jumped onto, into and over the boat inflicting serious wounds on the anglers. The victims have both been stabilised.
With a spate of great catches, the Umzimkulu River has come alive with crystal clear water bubbling with live bait and predator fish. And it’s been fishing with artificials that’s been producing most of the variety. Bigeye Kingfish, Oxe-eye Tarpon, Rock Salmon and a few that got away…caught and released on imitation rapalas and Mydo Luck Shots dressed with tiny paddletails. Both in white.
And check this out…
Although a bit on the small side…that bite can only be made by a ZambeziMarc Lange demonstrates how it happened…
Marius Awcamp has encountered more sharks fishing down at Spiller’s Wharf, and check the pic of a perch bitten in half, by what can only be a Zambezi, found floating down the river. A shore angler had hooked the perch and whilst fighting it, the shark came in and grabbed it. They both held on – the perch stuck in the middle, until the line broke – the shark must have swallowed down his half and left the other?! Another angler’s big kingfish was taken at the Block by a “big dark shape”, the same “big dark shape” having being seen lurking around the river mouth area a few days before the incident.
Ian Logie has been getting his bag of fish each time, and lost a big garrick as it twisted his line around his anchor rope, just before dark a few nights back. Marius lost a big salmon right at the slipway at Spillers…and on the whole it’s been great. It would be even greater if so many anglers would just take their rubbish away with them and not leave the banks and fishing spots littered with plastic, bottles and all sorts.
Note: Due to technical problems encountered over the last month, a few thesardine.co.za posts have been replaced by this more comprehensive roundup…
On a barge ride full of tourists from Mantis ‘n Moon Backpackers in Umzumbe, we stuck two lures out and in the darkening evening the imitation rapala screamed and in the distance we could just make out a violently jumping very fast and acrobatic fish. Garrick was the first guess, until the unmistakable flurry of a tarpon tail walking came clear. Oxe-eye Tarpon. The real deal (Megolops cyprinoides)! We had caught a small one years before, on a jig fly…and heard of a few being caught down under the bridge on flies…but had no idea they got this big in the Umzimkulu at all. And at about 4kg’s, it would have become the new Oxe-eye Tarpon world champion – the current record stands at 2.99kg’s! Anyway, after a magnificent fight we released it healthily after a few photographs and a good bye kiss. After checking things out a bit further, and finding that although the biggest one weighed officially was 3kg’s, some 18kg specimens have been reported. But this is the crunch line. In Zimbabwe! This raised all sorts of eyebrows, as all of a sudden it dawned upon us, that these tarpon live in the river! They do not go into the sea, they go upriver, and down. They love the brown water, they love fresh water, and they spawn in saltwater! They are very, very hard to catch and to exploit, without nets. They are tough as nails, and aggressively eat anything! They might even survive the holocaust! They can even survive stagnant water by gulping air into their lung-like bladders?! Talk about a superfish. And in Australia it is rated as a higher prize fighter than marlin and barramundi (Australian National Sportfish Association) !!! Right here in the Umzimkulu River. As luck would have it…a camera rolled and the following fun video was produced…
Then it was the Big Eye Kingfish (Caranx sexfasciatus) that made a few guest appearances. They are suckers for small white plastics and plugs and during the fish-off between the Mydo Luckshot against the World’s best lures, couldn’t resist the small white imitation rapalas…once again, the camera rolled and we have another video on the Umzimkulu Marina Youtube playlist…
But the fish of the week for me was my first Rock Salmon (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) on the new MYDO Luck Shot…an articulated dropshot head based on the MYDO Baitswimmer patented designs. Look out for them in a tackle shop near you…
Early morning Rock Salmon on MYDO Luck Shot and Gummy worm
And here it is…the tiniest MYDO Luck Shot as designed for bass but readily catches saltwater gamefish in the ocean and in estuaries.
The MYDO Luck Shot proto type used to catch the Rock Salmon pictured…slow retrieve Catalina style…
Join us on the Umzimkulu River in Port Shepstone this fishing season or festive season – fishing trips, parties, luncheons – all arranged call +27 79 326 9671 or umzimkulu@gmail.com
