In keeping with this weekend’s theme, Bela’s Restaurant at Spiller’s Wharf are hosting a Portuguese party with Portuguese food, drinks and attractions, including… boat rides, fishing lessons, music…
Spiller’s Wharf in the sunset light…river cruises start up at 10am and run into the evening…bring your drinks and snacks…and fishing rods…call John on +27 81 266 0345 for more info…
River cruises start at 11am and sail each hour on the hour, R50 a ticket. Kids under 10 go FREE! With an adult of course!
Bela will be cooking up her blend of Portuguese and Mozambican flavours – espetadas, squid heads, fresh fish (maybe even grilled sardines!) peri-peri chicken and other flamed delights…
Call Bela to book a table, stage a party or cook up a storm on +27 78 538 9913
This is a repost, since the first version was victim to some bugs…
Oxe-Eye Tarpon in the Umzimkulu: Reposted – With a boat full of tourists from Mantis ‘n Moon Backpackers in Umzumbe, we stuck two lures out, a Mydo Luck Shot and a imitation Rapala, by StrikePro, 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 attack 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 catch was caught on tape…
The real deal – an Oxe Eye Tarpon, finally on the boat after all these years…and what a fight. The fish cartwheeled and tailwalked and sounded and ran and ran and ran…the first dash must have been 20 metres of jumping and tailwalking madness.
To join us for some serious fishing on the Umzimkulu River, call Sean on +27 79 326 9671 or email umzimkulu@gmail.com…or click here for more information. It’s great entertainment, all kids love fishing, it’s safe, it’s fun…the boat is also available for parties, corporate celebrations and team building type activities. We cater with delicious seafood and other Mozambican delicacies from Bela’s Mozambican Restaurant at Spillers Wharf, or we take a braai along.
IGFA reports new world record King Mackerel (Scomberomerous Scevalla)
Well it ain’t the ‘couta we get, according to science, but it sure looks like an outsized but slightly skinny Scomberomberous Commersoni – the version of King Mackerel we catch in Southern African waters.
Unfortunately, although our species has a strong will to survive and has been increasing in mean average size caught lately, this does not mean they are a healthy stock of fish.
In fact, when a species mean size average is on the up, it generally means the species is on the way down. ie…the last lion or elephant in a region is the wiliest strongest and meanest!
Rodrigues’ king mackerel
Brazilian angler Guilherme Rodrigues was trolling off Brazil’s Itzcolomi Islands on January 9th, when the Rapala he was trolling on a light tackle outfit got crushed by something much larger than he was expecting. One hour and 10 minutes after hooking up, Rodrigues landed an impressive king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) that tipped the scales at 33.96 kg (74 lb 13 oz) – heavy enough to qualify for the potential new men’s 8 kg (16 lb) line class record, which currently stands at 32.31 kg (71 lb 4 oz).
New IGFA pending world record King Mackeral (the American version) on 8kg line…by IGFA
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.
As an ideal add-on to Bela’s Mozambican Restaurant party options – The Umzimkulu, a 28ft retired commercial fishing boat, converted to a pleasure cruiser, will be available for night time cruising, on the Umzimkulu River, in Port Shepstone.
The boat is licensed for 17, is very safe and complies to all necessary rules and legislation. You can chat to Bela down at Spiller’s Wharf to arrange the adventure. Bela will cook up a feast and serve it on the boat, along with drinks and entertainment.
The evening boat outing is perfect for birthdays and celebrations…prices start at R250 per person including food and a cash bar, or BYO.
Bela is available on 078 538 9913 or email Sean on umzimkulu@gmail.com
