At 4 am this early morning, whilst I was tossing and turning (dreaming of marlin perhaps) with another bout of the Big M. (Malaria) – I sensed some activity outside.
My brother Marc was back from Angola. And he had his son Brandon and his mate Tristan Roodt.
They were prepping the good boat Niteshift, and soon headed out through the Umzimkulu River mouth, into a rough and ready ocean. All confused from the day before as the south and north wind argued like they have been. From my angle, the wind just blew and blew, but with high tide all day, I knew they could return anytime they liked really.
But they didn’t.
The first Instagram video came through – wasting time with a shark.
But then silence. For ages.
The wind got right up again. 20 Knots or more. Ideal dorado weather. And marlin!
And so it was, the early birds, after spending a good few hours getting into the swing of the day, found the worm.
The dorado came screaming in and a total of five eventually made it into the hatch for a free boat ride. Many got away and lost out.
Delicious dorado for dinner! Reward for releasing the marlin!
At one point, Marc took a look at his plugging outfit looking all lonely. So in sympathy, he picked it up and gave it a lob. As it hit the water, without any sign or warning, a tasty little yellowfin tuna smashed it! Luck? I dunno?
Marlin!
Then all of a sudden, there it was. An angry 100kg plus marlin picked on the blue number 2 Mydo Livebaitswimmer, armed with those reliable 5x little black trebles from Mustad.
Not wanting to cause the fish too much distress before he let it go, Marc pushed the drag right up and gave the jumping, dancing fish the gears. In 25 minutes he had the fish beat and behaving in front of the boat?! Marc pulled the tiny trebles out easily enough, and sent it on its way a lot more wily and suspicious of those Mydos and how good they are rigged!
The Mydo LiveBaitSwimmer is just like a Baitswimmer, but it has a strong little single hook to pin the lively live bait with. There are two weights, 1 Oz and 2Oz, so you can keep your livies away from eachother, on the drift, or on the troll.
More about the lure Marc used to catch this marlin today…and details of which shops carry The Mydo range can be found at https://thesardine.co.za/mydo/
Township Hyper is full of Mydos! As of this week, Township Hyper, just outside Durban, in Chatsworth, have loaded their shelves with The Mydo range.
All Mydos now come in a reusable transparent PVC and Velcro Lure Pouch, that never gets thrown away. They neaten your tackle box. You can find things so quick! They keep the boat much safer. The 450 micron PVC keeps the sharpest trebles out of the way. And they can keep just about anything splash proof and handy. They even take a cellphone! Car keys, ID and Passport…they come in many sizes.
But it’s what’s inside the Lure Pouches!
The MYDO Lanispoon in high grade 316 Stainless Steel
The Mydo SS Spoon spread has been refined and targeted to specific species and zones. There are the heavier jigging/casting SS Dogtooth, the SS Tuna, the SS Yellowtail, and the SS Couta. These are really adaptable, and one rod on the boat should always be loaded and ready to fire with one of these spoons in the chamber. The lateral line holes allow air through, for massive and accurate casts. Those tuna can pop up 100m away and you still have a shot. If you crank the spoon on the surface at full speed, it puts on a show that you can see for miles. Leaving a trail of bubbles and cavitation caused the very same strategically placed lateral line holes, these lures are the best teasers ever. Fish chase them right into your spread! The opposite end of the scale – the bait catching weapons by Mydo, start tiny at 55mm (SS Shad 550) and 9g. These feather lights are for your 8lb braid stick, or bass rod, and entice picky little bonito far more effectively. Their light and lively swimming action is much more realistic too. And when fishing over ledges and rocks, you are far less likely to snag. The SS Lanispoon is a potent double blader, that gets to 120mm (SS Lanispoon 1200) and 50g. For your 20lb super spinning outfit with casting braid, this spoon produces results. It’s sibling is the SS Kob, 65mm to 120mm, weights topping out at 65g or so. These spoons are heavier with a thicker blade. Night time is the right time, slooooow. The SS Snoek, the SS Garrick, and the super successful SS Tarpon make up the middle ground.
The Mydo Luck SHot is available at Township Hyper in Chatsworth, Durban
The Mydo Luck Shot heavy duty dropshot jig head is articulated at the join between hook and head. The plastic bait swings freely but stays upright. It’s this configuration that you can exploit fully by adjusting your retrieve. The two sizes weigh in at just under an ounce rigged for the #1, and just under 2 ounces for the #2. During your cast, the head and bait conform to each other and the rig really flies through the air. On hitting the water, start cranking and the Luck Shot throws up water like a plug, making the commotion gamefish love, Then it drags a pocket of air down into the water with it, much like a kona. This bubble reflects light in all directions, it’s wild. And then as the bubble dissipates, it leaves behind it a stream of smokey micro bubbles like a trail, for excited gamefish to follow. You get the most action from a split tail, more elongated plastic. There are so many available, and colour doesn’t really matter – so just go for a nice tough plastic that still has some texture with action. To fish mid-waterater, allow the Luck Shot to sink to required depth, and then start to retrieve with erratic twitches aas you accelerate and delecerate. The swimming action has to be seen to be believed. Which is a great plan – work the lure in the water in front of you, until you achieve the action you are after. If you just crank medium pace, or troll, it has a mind of it’s own and darts side to side and up and down randomly. You don’t even have to tell it what to do! The slow kob retrieve – let the Luck Shot hit the ground, and then jerk it up and off the sand…allow it to hit the bottom. Burying itself in the sand a bit. Jerk it up again. The sand flies up making a cloud in the water. That kob are looking for. Go very slow. Put a paddle tail on for this type of fishing rather. The hook, by nature of the luck shots’ articulated design, is set further back in the plastic – for a better hook up rate. Try it!
Perfect Couta Bait – The MYDO Baitswimmer # 4 rigged with a mackerel
The original Mydo – the and tried and tested Mydo Baitswimmer, is where all the above innovations spurned from. The concept of the head imparting action to the bait, is what the Mydo our patents are based on. As you troll the Mydo Baitswimmer, rigged with your favourite bait, the keel keeps the rig from spinning, and the aeronautical designed profiles and blades on the head, provide the side to side swimming action, via the pin. This is applied to the Luck Shots too. And unbelievably, when Brian Davey, the original inventor and designer of all things Mydo, applied the same aeronautical engineering principles, to his spoons too. The Baitswimmers come in many sizes. The #1 is a mere 40 grams, whilst the heaviest weighs in at a whopping 752g. These were designed for deep-dropping for broadbill, or trolling a big bonito in the spread. The heads in between these two extremes make up the spread of Baitswimmers. You can swim any bait perfectly. Even if you have just started! Fishing with bait provides far more finesse to your repertoire. Dragging artificials will get a fish or two, but fishing with bait, dead or alive, is where it’s at.
And a quick Mydo gallery of what is available at Township Hyper…
From the innovative and ever-expanding Mydo SS Spoon range, to the super fun Mydo Luck Shot, the ever faithful Mydo Baitswimmer – and the all-new Mydo Lure Pouches – you can get them all at the Mias Benoni tackle store.
Use this map to navigate there right now…
Mias and Mydo have had an ongoing business relationship for three decades. Mias was instrumental in getting The Mydo on the Map, way back in the eighties. And The Sardine was there too. As a printed tabloid, The Sardine had the Mydo marketing profile, from all the way back then.
Having moved the whole effort online and onto social, we now have a more direct line to our clients. And we are able to react to our customers’ requirements directly.
The 2017 Mydo Range
JP Bartholomew fishing on the Mydo team in Mauritius catching loads of bluefin kingfish on his Mydo SS Spoon range.
The SS Spoon range was developed with the input of many professional anglers. Including the usual suspects down in Port St. Johns – who literally designed their own spoon – the SS Kob series. These twin bladers – one of 2mm, and one of 1.2mm, rattle and shake through the water. Worked nice and slow, these spoons have taken many, many kob.
The Luck Shot dropshot jigheads are heavy and duty and just so much more fun, the way they dart around and actually swim. Like nothing on the market at all. The Mustad Kendall Round hooks we use, are just so much more reliable. And the articulated design makes for the radical darting, swerving, ducking and diving swimming options. Watch this quick video to learn more…
MYDO Baitswimmer #2 with Billlplate
The MYDO Baitswimmers, the basis of all the Mydo designs and patents, has always been the most reliable option when after your trophy gamefish. Billfish, couta, tuna, kingfish, jobfish, wahoo, dorado…these are the type of fish that gulp down a fresh bait rigged to swim perfectly on a Mydo Baitswimmer. Made in many sizes, from the 1.5 Oz # 1, to the 750g # 7, there is a Mydo Baitswimmer for all gamefishing with bait requirements.
The all-new Mydo Lure Pouches not only save the environment from callously discarded packaging, but it also keeps your boat, ski or tackle box, completely free from tangles and disarray.
Mydo Pouch with hard plastic lure. Treble hook wounds right out of the picture now!
The pouches are transparent, and come in every size.
If your local tackle store doesn’t want to stock The Mydo range (any dealers keen on stocking pure South African bred and made and sold lures, get in touch please on umzimkulu@gmail.com), you can buy online at the following link:
The Chit Chat Fishing Group Grand Prize to be announced at 7PM!
The Chit Chat Fishing Group event held at Ifafa this weekend on Sunday, 1 October 2017, was a huge fun day for all the willing participants. Carloads came from far and wide, to join in this fun social fishing event.
The Grand Prize – a R500 Mydo voucher, will be awarded at 7PM tonight, right here on The Sardine News. It’s for the all round best photograph taken at the event. The following four are in the running…
And one more time with FEELING!
Chit Chat Fishing Group
Other sponsors were MTD Tackle, Henry Built Rods and Repairs, Spur, MYDO and The Sardine News.
Mydo Fishing Clinic and Promotion at The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach Tuesday 17 September 2017
We are excited to announce a Mydo Fishing Clinic and Promotion at The Tackle Box in Shelley Beach Tuesday 17 September 2017. The promotion will kick off at 2PM and will run until 6PM or even a bit later.
Headlining the act are the crazy cool all-new Mydo Handy Lure Pouches! These clear PVC pouches are sealed with velcro and have many important applications. Use them to protect yourself and your crew from razor-sharp hooks on lures and traces. Keep your phone and keys in one on the boat or on the beach. Deck and tackle box safe and tidy. Easy to find anything in the transparent pouches.
They can be applied to the lure on the rod too! Making it safe for launching or transporting rods and reels. Rigged and ready to fire. The real good news is that all the Mydo Lures that you buy nowadays, all come in a FREE pouch. Baitswimmers and couta traces, jig heads and plastics, and the SS Spoon range. Included in the price! And that’s not a promotion. That’s standard equipment on all our models.
The reason we are doing this, is that we found some of our old lure packaging lying on our favourite beach, in amonghst the trash of many others. Gut wrenching realisation, that we were part of the problem. Brainstorm after brainstorm finally led us to investing in this new concept in packaging. Which never gets thrown away! Multi-purpose like nothing done in packaging before.
For an idea of what will be going on at the Mydo Fishing Clinic at The Tackle Box, enjoy the following video revealin the Mydo Luck Shot #1 underwater, and on top of the water. It’s a faster retrieve that produces this exciting swimming action.
The newest Mydo innovation – The Mydo Handy Lure Pouch…
