Israel features no less than four seas – The Red, The Dead, The Med…and the Sea of Galilee. But it’s the Med that has the fish!
David Kosta,living and fishing in Israel – has been catching amazing fish in the Mediterranean Sea for ages now?! David lived and spearfished South African waters for many years – and is now back in Israel and is the Rob Allen and Mydo Lures distributor for the country. What is really amazing though, is that he is catching some of the very same species we get back here in Southern Africa. (Jules Verne’s subterranean channel maybe?)
David Kosta and his 43kg Amberjack pulled up from the deep blue Med.
Featuring ‘couta and monster amberjack in this insert, David has perfected the art of big baits fished deep down. He has used Mydo lures for many years and has perfected the art of deep dropping big baits for big fish.
Scomberomerous Commersoni – ‘couta, king mackeral, tanguiguie, spanish, narrow barred…but this one was caught in the Mediterranean!
Below is a picture of the rig these guys use to fish deep. The number 4.5 Mydo – get’s the bait down deep yet it still has an action – especially on the drift in current – in waters up to 40m or more.
A rigged bonito on the Mydo # 4.5. Serious tackle for fishing in Israeli waters
Dean Sinclair with more Daga Salmon taken on MYDO’s
Well it’s great to have Dean Sinclair and his mates testing the MYDO Luck Shot Mini out – I don’t even have to go fishing?!
Once again, here he is with not one, but TWO Daga Salmon, taken at a not so secret fishing spot, night before last.
Night time is the right time – at any of the south coast’s longer beaches – with that bountiful channel running along the shoreline. Casting just over the channel is too easy…the daga salmon / kob like to hang out in the white water that flows off the sandbank at lower tides.
Dean Sinclair has consistently been catching goos sized daga salmon / kob, with the MYDO Luck Shot Mini # 2 Green Mamba colour. Very good Dean!
Dean uses various paddletails and jerkbaits, and the same as Simon Fish in East London, has been getting all his fish on the lime green # 2 MYDO Luck Shot Mini, with a clear / white / silver plastic paddletail or jerk bait. 6″ to 7″ and even bigger paddletails are the go – the fish the team have been catching have all been in the 6 to 10kg range. But it’s chilled again here on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast, and the front that has dominated the weather the last few days, has left us with a sterling ocean with stars lined up all over the place. So we can expect a few bigger fish by the hardcore blokes who weather the freezing cold offshore as it belts down the river valleys, all the way down from the Drakensberg ice and snow!
Watch a video of the MYDO Luck Shot Mini in action on the surface and under water. Note how the action changes at different speeds, and how versatile you can be, with the weedless hook configuration and roll over action upon hitting an underwater obstacle. You can throw the Luck Shots for miles, in any wind conditions that we encounter.
The smaller # 1 sized lure, is just great to have with you all the time…to target estuarine gamefish, bonito swimming by, bass in a dam or shad in the surf. Replacing the jerkbait or paddletail is very simple, and some plastics have been coming out at more reasonable prices.
The MYDO range of dropshot lures are available at Lucky’s, Gremlins and The Tackle Box, on the south coast, or right here online…
Proven to be reliable, versatile and effective lures – the MYDO Luck Shot Mini(surf) and Luck Shot (boat) are almost in a tackle store near you. Dealer inquiries to Sean on +27 79 326 9671 or email umzimkulu@gmail.com
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!
Sailfish released off Tofinho by 9 year old Callum
Young Callum and family joined us for a day out in the waters behind Tofinho Point, southern Mozambique, a few years back – sometimes known as Whale Shark alley. Soon Callum’s uncle Angus was into a nice fish on dropshot, which turned out to be a trophy queenfish – and got it into the hatch and home for dinner, after a gruelling fight on super light tackle.
Then a sailfish grabbed hold of the Mydo sardine bait(#1 Baitswimmer and skirt) and soon was leaping and tail walking around us. It took about 20 minutes and eventually the fish was alongside and good for a nice healthy, yet slightly protracted release.
Inhambane waters are great for family outings like this one. You just got to organise a big boat!
We have the huge Inhambane Bay that is completely flat on the inside and sprawled with islands, sandbanks, channels and bays.
Then out behind the Barra and Tofo points is the famous crystal clear water known for it’s marine wild life population. Whale sharks and manta rays can be encountered on the inside while you are trolling for live bait and in winter time whales come out of the south looking for safety and calm for their new born calves.
