Up in Southern Mozambique, and right down the coast into Southern Natal, the seasonal “Dorado” are coming out regularly. Local boats in Tofo are getting 4’s and 5’s interspersed with the usual small couta and the odd sailfish. Yesterday Jose Rungu hooked a big marlin that towed him and his rowboat around the bay for a few hours.
In the photo…Alan Ngobo and Themba hold up their catch, made off the Umzimkulu River mouth area.
Because they are so delicious, cooked any way you prefer, seafood chefs worldwide refer to Dorado as The “Chicken of the Sea”. It also goes by the name “Dolphinfish”…and in the Pacific – “Mahi Mahi”.
My charter this week did not want to fish for Marlin which was a real letdown as the fish finally starting to show in better numbers and some big fish have been caught recently including a 923 lbs Black that was the biggest on the CADSAS competition held at Inhassoro last week.
As I said my guests only wanted to do light tackle spinning, plugging and jigging for the week but on the afternoon of the first day I convince them to pull Marlin lures for a couple hours and we raised three only hooking one that pulled the hooks. They were really shy on the lures so when we got a Yellowfin tuna the next day I begged them to put it out as live bait just for half an hour and within 20 minutes we hooked up to this acrobatic fish which was Scott´s Brown first ever Marlin release.
That was it Marlin fishing for the week but we still had a few other encounters with them. One day we at 25 Mile Reef plugging for GT´s when we get a 300 pound fish come after the rooster popper in 15 meters of water and the yesterday we hooked one about 140 lbs on a bucktail jig while jigging in 28 meters of water out of III trees with light tackle…obviously it was a rather short encounter!!!
Black marlin jumping in the clear Bazaruto waters (c) Duarte RatoVery high speed chase! (c) Duarte RatoScott´s Brown first ever Marlin release (c) Duarte Rato
On the 27 September we had a charter with a great bunch of guys from South Africa and on their first ever Marlin fishing experience they took gold not once but twice!!!
Just before noon we get a frisky Black Marlin estimated at just over 200 pounds take the long rigger lure on the #50 stand-up tackle and Tom was into a good sweat to bring his first ever billfish release.
A short while later we caught two small 5 kilo yellowfin that we quickly bridled as live bait and not even an hour later a hungry Black comes in for the kill on the short bait right at the transom. After a short drop back the 20/0 circle hook finds the corner and Douglas Gain jumps in the chair to also score his first ever billfish release on a fish we estimated at just under 200 pounds.
Unbelievable photography!(c) Duarte RatoSpot the tag!(c) Duarte RatoAnd another one…(c) Duarte Rato
We are organizing a “Marlin week” at Castelo Do Mar (Linga Linga, North of Inhambane) for the week of the 17th of November to the 25th of November 2012. We will have a guest professional who will present a “billfish clinic”. The competition will be determined over 5 fishing days, where the best 3 days will count towards your score for individuals and teams. Only the first 10 teams with paid deposits will be accepted.
• Entry fee R5000-00 per team. Max 4 fisherman per team. • Our two 27ft Nova Cats are available for hire, R3000-00 per day plus fuel, fully equipped with 5 x Penn 30’s and 4 x Penn 80’s each. • Accommodation at Castelo Do Mar R1200-00 pppd, including boat packs. Only 8 rooms available, confirmation on paid deposits. • Self catering accommodation available at Linga Linga Resort next door. Meals available at Castelo restaurant. • Own boats welcome, moorings and fuel will be available at the lodge. • Sponsored prizes for individuals and teams.
