Ski-Boat November 2020 by Angler Publications

CONTENTS

November/December 2020 Volume 36 Number 6 COVER: GET OVER THE LOCKDOWN BLUES A strong blue marlin caught off Cape Verde. Photo by Stuart Simpson <capeverde.bluemarlin@gmail.com>

FEATURES

Downriggers Getting to the bottom of it — by Jono Booysen

Boat Test: Benguela 500 A great recreational boat suited for numerous applications — by Erwin Bursik

Introducing Yamaha’s F100G Testing the fuel injected commercal motor — by Erwin Bursik

Catching Miss Lucy Where and how to target red stumpnose — by Francois Beukes

Wicked Tuna Remembering the False Bay bluefin fishery — by Hymie Steyn and Brian Cohen

Boat Test: Explorer Evo A very popular, solid offshore fishing craft — by Erwin Bursik

Ignorance is not Bliss Make sure your reel is in top notch condition — by Paul Nixon

Variety Close to Home False Bay reef fishing rarely disappoints — by Donavan Cole

Fire Roasted Cape Bream Succulent reef fish on the dinner plate — by Chef Ryan Cole

Eye Care Essentials Tips on choosing the right sunglasses for your needs

Living the Dream Review of Pat Garratt’s latest book — by Erwin Bursik

DEPARTMENTS 8 9 44 55 57

Editorial — by Erwin Bursik Mailbox SADSAA News Subscribe and WIN! Kingfisher Awards

61 63 64 65 66

Reel Kids Mercury Junior Anglers Ad Index Business Classifieds & Directory Rapala Lip — Last word from the men this time

The official magazine of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association

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Publisher: Erwin Bursik Editor: Sheena Carnie Advertising Executive: Mark Wilson

EDITORIAL

ARE THE CHINESE REALLY TO BLAME?

Editorial Assistant: Vahini Pillay Boat Tests: Heinrich Kleyn Contributors: Francois Beukes, Jono Booysen, Erwin Bursik, Brian Cohen, Donavan Cole, Ryan Cole, Paul Nixon and Hymie Steyn. ADVERTISING – NATIONAL SALES: Angler Publications Mark Wilson cell: 073 748 6107 ADVERTISING – Gauteng & Mpumalanga: Lyn Adams — 083 588 0217 Publishers: Angler Publications cc PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 e-mail: angler@mags.co.za Subscriptions to SKI-BOAT: R180 per annum (six issues). New subscriptions and renewals: SKI-BOAT Subscriptions Department, PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016. Telephone: (031) 572-2280/89/97/98 Fax: (031) 572-7891 • e-mail: angler@mags.co.za • Through www.anglerpublications.co.za, or E-zine through <www.issuu.com> Reproduction: Hirt & Carter, Durban Printer: Robprint (Pty) Ltd, Durban Full production is done in-house by Angler Publications & Promotions on Apple Macintosh software and hardware for output directly to plate. SKI-BOAT Magazine, ISSN 0258-7297, is published six times a year by Angler Publications & Promotions cc, Reg. No. CK 88/05863/23, and is distributed by On the Dot, as well as directly by the publishers to retail stores throughout South Africa. • Copyright of all material is expressly reserved and nothing may be reproduced in part or whole without the permission of the publishers. • While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this magazine, the publishers do not accept responsibility for omissions or errors or their consequences. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers, the managing editor, editor, editorial staff or the South African Deep Sea Angling Association.

8 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

M I being naive about the perceived concern surrounding the effect the offshore foreign fishing fleet (allegedly largely Chinese) is having on the coastal inshore fihery that we recreational anglers target for our sporting pleasure? Sometimes one has a day on the ocean and doesn’t catch one fish or even have a “pull”. It’s incredibly disappointing, and while questioning one’s fishing ability and moping over a cold one at the Mahogany Reef, quite often you’ll find a few others bemoaning the same fate. Inevitably Erwin Bursik the cause is determined to be the Chinese Publisher trawlers which are raping our ocean. A week or a month later we all enjoy good catches and not one skipper will say anything about the trawlers. Are they on summer holiday? I often see Facebook posts which show charts of the Indian Ocean with graphic markings of foreign trawlers’ transponder marks almost blotting out the ocean’s surface. If it’s true and one draws in the 200 nautical mile territorial limit around South Africa’s vast coastline, how many “bleeps” occur inside our non-fishing zone/ I have to wonder, what tonnage must a trawler catch after entering our territorial waters after dark, deploying its nets or longline, catching a haul and departing again so it’s over the border by daybreak, and still show a profit for this clandestine adventure? Is it one ton of marketable fish or 20 tons? Do the maths, then figure out the possibility of catching that one ton in the space of time the said trawler has to fish after travelling at it’s good speed of about ten knots to creep over the boundary and venture close enough inshore so that their twinkling onboard lights are visible just beyond the backline. Something doesn’t add up. Furthermore, where do huge shoals of yellowfin tuna or skipjack tuna or other pelagic fish occur on our coastal shelf under 50 fathoms that will allow the theoretical ton of fish to be caught in, say, four or six hours of a 12 hour night shift? Most of us old timers have spent a good deal of our fishing lives targeting fish along the narrow continental shelf (ie under 50 fathoms) and have seldom seen and very rarely caught great numbers of the fish among the allegedly vast shoals of migrating gamefish which are supposedly the targets of these fishing trawlers. Then there’s the rape of the demersal species of reef fish by the same “banditos”. Maybe a bobbin trawler would cause damage, but I doubt a line boat or even a longliner can do the supposed damage everyone says they do. I am of the firm belief that the movement of pelagic gamefish along our coast is like the highly visible shoals of sardines on the KwaZulu-Natal coast — abundant some years and almost none in other years. Some years the gamefish we target arrive in good numbers and other years we barely get a chance to catch the odd one. This fishery has cycled over the last 50 years in my experience, and when one adds into the equation the number of ski-boats fishing off our coast which has quadrupled over the same time, is it not fair to say that our chances these days are 75% less than they were 50 years ago? Shoot me down if you like. This is entirely my own uneducated, non-scientific view, but remember that my opinion is based on over 50 years of practical offshore sportfishing experience.

Till the next tide

Erwin Bursik

MAILBOX VHF RADIO LICENCES Dear Editor, With regard to Dale Evans’ article on the VHF radio requirements for small vessels in the September/October 2020 issue of SKI-BOAT, I have some questions.... It can take a while to obtain the Frequency Spectrum Licence from ICASA if you do not follow the correct procedures. The problem with the issuing of the licence is that it gets posted to you via the South African Post Office, and as we all know nothing is on time with them. I paid my licence in March 2020, as you must do before your licence expires; if it expires you need to apply for a licence again. A while ago I asked them to email me my invoices so I could pay in time. I also had some trouble receiving the invoices, but luckily I obtained the correct email address of the persons who assisted me in this regard. What I used to do in order to pay on time is to work the amount out myself, for example, take the previous year’s amount and add 10%; this will keep you in the safe zone as I call it. The issue I am experiencing is with receiving the licence itself; this gets posted and you generally wait a while for it. In my case it’s now midSeptember and I am still waiting for my licence for this year. I have asked for it to be emailed, but you need the original licence with proof of payment for it to valid.They post it and it really does take a while to reach you. I now keep the proof of payment with the old licence to show that I am a valid licence holder. If you’re struggling with this try emailing one of these people: <RMaponya@icasa.org.za> or <MKhumalo@icasa.org.za>. With regard to the Operator Certificate, I did mine in 2015 and currently hold an RRT licence. (Restricted Radio Telephone Operator’s Certificate (Marine) VHF Only). Does this mean I need to change my operator certificate from RRT to SRC? When will we have to change this, and does it mean we have to do the complete course again? Choosing the correct radio is the other issue I believe most of us struggle with as there are so many types on the market. Which are the top three radios that are recommended? GERHARD RICHARDS <gerhardrichards@outlook.com> Reply from Dale Evans, Director Autshumato Maritime Centre (Pty) Ltd Dear Gerhard and readers To alleviate your problem regarding the ICASA Spectrum Licence, there are now two ways of doing it to ensure that you receive your licence, and they are the following: • The application can now be con-

2020 BELL REEL KIDS WINNER A family affair: Bell Equipment Sales Representative Haig Thompson hands over the grand prize of a Shimano rod and Tiagra reel to the overall 2020 Reel Kids competition winner, Julio Ritchie (16). Julio’s younger brother, Lorenzo (10), grandfather, Steve, and father, Wayne, look on. (COVID masks were removed for the purposes of the clarity of the photograph only.) The Ritchie family was completely overwhelmed away by the incredible spoling they had from Bell, including being driven around the offroad track in a 25 ton truck. Our thanks to Bell Equipment for their continued encouragement of our junior anglers in this way. If you’re 16 or under and would like the chance to have your story featured in SKI-BOAT magazine and stand a chance to win a Shimano rod and reel, see our Reel Kids feature on page 61 of this issue. ducted online by logging onto the ICASA online portal which will guide one through the application process. This process generates the licence online and will also issue the licence online. • You are more than welcome to contact Nadene on 0845533817 or email <wwing@netactive.co.za> and she will conduct your application for you online and will also remind you when your licence is to expire. If you have lost your licence she will provide you with another copy of your licence at no extra cost. Nadene will also be able to assist those whose licences were not aaplied for online and she will also attempt to receive the current spectrum licence issued. With regard to the Operators Certificate, the following information is pertinent: • The current Radio Telephone Operators Certificate remains valid for the purpose for which it was issued i.e. the operation of a voice activated marine VHF radio only and is acceptable for use on vessels equipped with marine VHF radios that have not been DSC enabled. • The Short Range Certificate (SRC) is

required by operators that are operating DSC enabled VHF radios. • SAMSA has encouraged the RT certificate holders to do the conversion to the SRC at their earliest convenience so as to be ready once the aural watchkeeping on VHF channel 16 is terminated. • Without the SRC Operators Certificate one will not be able to request a Maritime Mobile Service Identification Number (MMSI) from ICASA which is necessary to unlock the radios Digital Selective Calling (DSC) programs. As a result you will be unable to send or receive Digital Messages when the Sea Area A1 is declared. As for the preferred VHF DSC radio, that really is up to the individual as it comes down to preference as well as costs. It is recommended that one conducts one’s own research on Google regarding which fixed VHF marine radio will be most suitable for your application and pocket. I hope this provides some clarification. Should further information be required I can be contacted on 082 990 4006. DALE EVANS <wwing@netactive.co.za> SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 9

TACTICS

Scotty downrigger and a variety of weights.

By Jono Booysen

NYONE who has spent time on the water behind the steering wheel of a boat, watching the sounder, would have seen that on some days the fish are holding right down close to the reef. These are also normally the days that the current is f lying and even though you have tried using the trusty bottom sinker and elastic band, you just can’t get your lines deep enough to entice a strike. This is when a downrigger is worth its weight in gold. The basic concept behind a downrigger is a large reel loaded with wire connected to a heavy lead weight. This weight has a release clip that the fishing line is attached to. When the ball is lowered to the desired depth, it takes the line and bait with it. Whether you have a manual or electric, both have built in line counters which indicate how deep the weight is. This helps put the bait/lure at the exact depth of the

strike zone. When there is a strike, the line releases from the downrigger and the angler can fight the fish without any weight attached. There are two types of downriggers — manual and electric. The advantage of the electric ’rigger is that when there is a strike, all you need to do is press a button and the weight is retrieved and automatically stops when it reaches the surface. This means that you have an extra person available to clear other lines. This luxury does, however, come with a hefty price tag. had downriggers.This was a bit of a problem when fishing in tournaments if all the fish were down deep in heavy current. One couldn’t simply bring a downrigger with and use it on any boat, as they have specialised bases fixed onto the gunwales which need to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the lead while trolling. To overcome this hurdle, I made a very crude portable downrigger. It consisted of an old scarborough reel loaded

10 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

with heavy leader, and a shortened fibreglass bottom rod.A short section of rope was looped over the handle to prevent the reel from backwinding.This ’rigger could be put into a flat rod holder on any boat and worked just as well as the permanently mounted versions. In fact, I still use it on the odd occasion. BUT WEIGHT, THERE’S MORE ... When it comes to deciding which downrigger weight to use, there are many different options available. What you are trying to achieve with a downrigger is to get the most vertical angle you can get, especially at a relatively fast speed, with the least amount of weight. To achieve this, you need something that is hydrodynamic. By this I mean the weight has as little resistance in the water as possible. It might seem strange, but at 5 knots, a 5kg lead ball will often track higher in the water column than a 4kg weight of a different shape, just because of the resistance

factor. Not only does the downrigger operate more efficiently, but it also makes a big difference to the poor person who has to manually retrieve the weight. The two weights that I prefer are the lead-filled pipes (cut off at an angle) and the disc-shaped lead with a rudder. These two shapes stay deep when trolling at speed or if the current is ripping, and they don’t twist and spin in the water. I find that a 4kg weight is ample for most situations. The other option is the Z-wing. It is a large planing board that works like deep diving lure, and the harder you pull it, the deeper it goes. It works pretty well, but puts more strain on the downrigger arm and base. SOME STRINGS ATTACHED Traditionally, thin stainless cable was used on the downrigger reel. The cable was much thinner and stronger than the nylon of the time, so it made sense for it to be the material of choice.There were a few problems with it though. Firstly, if you didn’t wash the wire thoroughly before storing it, it would eventually rust through.Trust me when I say it is a really nasty surprise when you suddenly have a 4kg lead ball attached to your fishing line and you have to retrieve it from 50m because the wire broke and the elastic band didn’t. The second issue was the noise that the cable made while being pulled through the water. Everyone who has used cabled downriggers will remember the unique “singing” noise it made. This noise was thought to be offputting to fish. The solution to both these problems came with the introduction of braid. Replacing the cable with 150 lb braid gave the longevity and silence required. Even my homemade version was respooled with braid, marked at 5m intervals using a permanent marker. I like to use high vis braid to make it easier for the skipper to see where the line is when turning the boat, as it

sometimes gets ver y close to the motors.

Jono’s portable downrigger with 10m mark on the braid.

MAKING THE CONNECTION As with outriggers that hold your line in position until there is a strike, downriggers also need a release mechanism. This could be an outrigger clip or stock standard snap swivel.As a safety precaution, a rubber band is used to attach the line to the release mechanism. When using a bait that needs to be fed to the fish, then the clip can be set to release at a lighter resistance. When fishing with lures or bait that hook the fish on contact, set the clip as tight as it can go.The rubber band will then break before the line can release. When using a snap swivel as a release mechanism you are limited to the latter method. WHAT’S YOUR PREFERENCE? Again, similar to outriggers, there are several ways to configure the downrigger, all depending on your personal preference. (See diagrams overleaf.) Setup 1: The standard, and most commonly used configuration, is where the braid is connected directly to the weight. As mentioned, I prefer the lead filled pipe or disc shape lead. A release clip/snap swivel is tied onto a short section of heavy nylon which is attached to the rear of the weight.This is a very simple setup and is the most stable when setting the line and trolling. Setup 2: The configuration that I use is a bit unorthodox, but then again, I have never been one to confine myself to fishing “norms”. I attach the braid to a stainless-steel ring. This ring has a short section of 300 lb nylon attached to my release clip.Also, from that ring, going down to the weight, I attach a series of flasher blades. Below the flashers is my weight. With this config my main line is clear from the weight and flashers. When I deploy the downrigger, the weight and

Homemade weight, ball weight and fish weight. SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 11

flashers are in the water and out of the way. I use this when trolling at slow to medium speed as there is obviously more resistance. If the vertical angle comes up too high, I either put a heavier weight on or remove the flashers. When fishing in really deep water where there is not much light, adding a lightstick or two between the f lashers really gets the disco going down there. Contact me if you are interested in getting a set. DEPLOYING THE WEIGHT Right, so now that everything is set up and ready to go, how do you deploy it? I find the best practice is to first put out your surface lines then the downrigger rod, followed by any other weighted line. For the ’rigger rod, let the bait out about 15m or so, then attach a rubber band. Put the rod into a holder with the drag set to about a third of strike, or get someone to hold the rod for you. The downrigger arm should be over the side of the gunwale with the weight hanging from it, with the line counter set to zero. Clip the rubber band into the clip or snap swivel, and slowly lower the weight to the desired depth, being careful not to go too far and risk hooking the bottom. Push the reel’s drag up to the strike position and wind up the slack. The rod tip will now be bent towards the water. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you will quickly get the hang of it. If the angle is vertical, you should be able to see the weight on your echo sounder.This makes it easy to adjust the depth to where the showings are.

Setup 1

Setup 2 These illustrations shows two ways of using your downrigger to get your bait/lure to the desired depth.

Downrigger with snap.

Downrigger release clip.

12 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

STRIKE! When you get a strike on the downrigger, two things could happen ... One is that the rod tip gives a bit of a flick and then keels over and the reel smokes off… fish on. The other thing that could happen is that the rod, which had a proper bend in it while trolling, flicks straight as the clip releases or rubber band pops. This is where the angler needs to crank the reel asap to get the slack out and keep the hooks in the fish. Either way, the line has released and the weight needs to be retrieved to prevent burn offs. When the weight is out of the water, I find it better to put it in the boat instead of letting it hang in mid air where it will swing around and cause possible damage. The effectiveness of a downrigger cannot be disputed; it is a great weapon to have in your fishing arsenal. However, with anything that works really well, there will inevitably be a squabble about who gets to play with it first and send their line down on the ’rigger.

BOAT TEST

Tested by Erwin Bursik

ATAL Caravans and Marine have proved over the 60 years they have been in business that the “beginner in boating” or person just wanting to get on the water is just as important to them as the “big boys” with their large ski-boats.To this end they recently commissioned their major boat manufacturer to get back to basics and build them a five metre craft that was powered by one motor and was capable of going to sea as well as being used on bay, estuary and inland waters with good stability, safety and comfort.Thus the Benguela 500 was conceived and built, and I had the privilege of taking her on her maiden voyage.

14 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS She looked stylish and neat on her trailer, but at first sight when she arrived to be launched into Durban harbour I thought she looked small. However, once I was aboard and heading out towards the harbour entrance I became completely enamoured with the Benguela 500. When we were up on the plane she brought back a flood of memories of how I started with boating on Durban bay and my first ski-boat of virtually identical size on which I started my lifetime involvement in deep sea fishing and boats.Above all, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It is essential to expand on the basic design of this craft which in itself is a major reason why I feel this craft not only performed so well in the inclement conditions, but also provided the constant feeling of lateral stability one would not expect from a craft of this overall length and size.

Bill Harrison, Natal Caravan’s boating fundi, chose the basic cathedral hull concept for its design and the proven above deck level centre console layout that is so popular for this style of craft, especially among divers. The cathedral hull is, very basically, three longitudinal sections with the central “sponson” doing the initial cleaving of the water’s surface and the two outer sponsons holding in the initial cleaved water, thereby providing lateral stability until the craft’s planing area of the aft section of the hull comes into action and determines her rides. These outer sponsons especially come into play when the craft is at slow troll and drifting, a factor which I’ll embellish on when discussing the craft’s on-water performance. CONDITIONS We called the weather correctly for a change, picking a small gap in the constant spring weather that hammers the KwaZulu-Natal coast during late August and September. Following a south-westerly buster of 30 knots and then a beastly easterly, on the morning of the review we initially had little wind, but there was still a residue of the north-easterly chop and the final remnants of a running swell from the westerly buster. Not the greatest sea for a small boat, but it played a huge part in building my appreciation for what the Benguela 500 can do in such conditions. LAUNCHING AND TRAILERING This aspect of boating which is so important with a large craft becomes virtually a non-issue when you’re trailering a boat like the Benguela 500. Due to its size, overall weight and the hull’s handling of the tow vehicle’s slipstream SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 15

16 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

while high speed towing, one might well wonder whether there’s a boat behind you at all. In real terms a medium-powered sedan car will be easily capable of towing this rig which weighs about 750kg. The slipway launch and return was a non-event, and I am sure that a beach launch will be equally as easy. MOTORS AND CONTROLS A single 60hp Yamaha two-stroke motor had been chosen to power the Benguela 500. It proved to have more than sufficient power with three of us aboard, with the added bonus that the reduced cost of a two-stroke as opposed to a fourstroke enables Natal Caravans and Marine to offer the rig at a very affordable price in today’s market. Hearing the putt-putt of an idling two-stroke and smelling the aroma of burnt oil that has long been part and parcel of our offshore boating experience brought back still more memories, especially while trolling endlessly on one motor with the wind on the transom.Very lekker indeed. The cable steering and single throttle control module was mounted on the centre console in such a way that I could make throttle adjustments and trim setting changes while holding the steering wheel with my right hand. It was especially nice while trolling at low speed. One 60hp motor — is that sufficient? Well, going back 50 years most ski-boats of this size were powered by a single 40hp motor. In short, this craft was more than adequately powered. Swinging a 13 pitch prop she’s very fast onto the plane in flat water and more than adequate in simulated surf activities, coming out of a sharp about-turn and digging us out of the hole and back onto the plane. So, yes, 60hp was more than adequate for the Benguela 500 PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING Back in the past when 14’ 6”, 15’ and 16’ craft were by far the majority of ski boats sold for use on the South African coast — think of the WASP, Viper, Acecraft, Invader, Kosi-Cat etc — the Benguela 500 would have turned many heads in admiration. I reminded Bill of that when he commented on the Benguela 500’s size while in the northeasterly chop. A few decades back there were many days when the fleet of boats off Durban — this size and smaller, with small five- to 15hp motors — bashed their way back to Vetches when the south-westerly hit us unannounced . Of course there was no Windguru or Windy app in those days! The Benguela 500, with 300kg of man-power adorning the decks, easily slipped onto the plane after exiting the no-wake zone. With her RPM at 3 700 and doing 17 knots we glided across the bay water with ease. It was only once we exited the harbour entrance and felt the effects of the massive easterly the day before that I had to tap off a bit and adjust her trim whilst still on the plane. Once out at sea in open water which resulted in Bill’s remark about small boats in rough weather, I began to carefully evaluate the craft under my control, coupled with the prevailing conditions. I really enjoyed it! There was no feeling of pushing the limits, and I felt very comfortable with her performance, especially her lateral stability. I thus went on to put her through a comprehensive array of on-water manoeuvres to prove her sea-going credentials. This lateral stability is important to note, and a function that most offshore ski boaters don’t come across in a craft’s performance when it’s powered by one centrally positioned outboard power source. These days we take for granted the use of lateral planing support via motor trim on a dual motor installation.With a single motor the only trim is bow up or down, thus negating any assistance with regard to lateral stability. On the Benguela 500 to a large extent its cathedral hull provided that assistance while planing at sea.This I was able to ascertain by moving my crew to various positions on the boat. While heading north at 17 knots with the wind and sea on the starboard bow we SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 17

made good progress and avoided virtually all the throwback of the bow spray onto any of us aboard. As an aside, when I photographed her from another boat the spray action — or lack thereof — was very noticeable, even when Bill was really pushing her to perform for the camera. Those who remember the surf launches with a single 40hp motor on a 16 foot craft will know it’s crucial to be able to spin a boat around on a tickey in the surf without throwing the “tow rope” crew member who’s calling the shots from his stance up in the bow section. In those day the skipper was seated at the transom, tiller bar in hand, and tight calls, spins and avoiding cavitation were essential.As much fun as it was then, I would hate to do it today. Putting the Benguela 500 through simulated surf conditions, she did well with a limited amount of cavitation when she peaked in the turn before commencing her pulling out of the hole.This was controlled by some nifty throttle work and I was able to get her back into action and over the shoulder of the following wave with time to spare. In the age of the monohull the slimline entry was deemed essential to punch through a foamy or breaking wave during these trials. It was assumed that doing this with a twin-hulled craft — or in this instance a three hulled, three chined craft — would be more difficult, but time has taught us the great benefits of attacking and exiting an oncoming wave at an oblique angle. With me then totally happy with the Benguela 500’s ability, I took her out into the rough water to see how she covered distance in both the head-on sea as well as the following sea, and how she would behave when on slow troll. Without doubt her lateral stability is her key attribute, especially when slow trolling or drifting, as all of us were able to move forward, all aft and to one side or the other without being overcautious about lateral trim. She really was a fun craft to skipper. LAYOUT AND FINISH Geoff Courtis, MD of Natal Caravans and Marine, and Bill 18 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

Harrison have been in the boating business for a long time and know what is required in terms of a boat’s build and finishes to make it the purchaser’s pride and joy. The new Benguela 500 is totally up to spec in this regard. The exterior and moulding of its hull up to gunnel level is solid and well moulded both to physical touch and feel when she is out at sea being thrown around as I did. As with all centre consoles, her deck layout is a combination of compromises to give one the ability to walk around her deck and comfortably command her from behind the helm station. Experience over many years has provided and developed a fairly standard layout that works, and this is true of the Benguela 500 too. I found the helm station very comfortable and the right height and position to skipper this craft. The two crew who were positioned on either side of me found they had sufficient handholds to provide them with a safe ride. Most of us now judge a boat’s layout by what’s available on the much bigger boats and find it incredibly difficult to mentally place all their acquired tackle — essential in their opinion — in the confines of, say, a five metre craft. Realistically, the locker space provided on the Benguela 500 — forward and aft of the centre console — is adequate for its intended use.The accessories may well change though depending on what future owners demand, as both they and Bill establish the specific requirements of those who will be using the craft. CONCLUSION There will no doubt be many slight variations made to the deck of the Benguela 500 because she can be used in so many different applications — fishing out at sea as well as on estuaries and big waterways like Jozini Dam, recreational boating on inland waters, bass fishing and the growing demand for the craft to be used for sightseeing on rivers and dams. Judging by the enjoyment I derived from testing the Benguela 500, I am convinced it will become a very popular craft.

MOTORS

Testing the fuel injected commercial motor Test by Erwin Bursik

NNOVATION is the very key to success and is foremost in the minds of those who undertake this exciting task at Yamaha to ensure that Yamaha outboard motors stay in the forefront of this world wide marine industry. Their latest midrange 100hp model, the F100G, has just arrived in South Africa. Melvin Victor, Yamaha’s marine general manager, asked me to use these motors and establish, during on water trials, how the Yamaha F100G compares with the Yamaha F100s I have had on Mr Ski-Boat for the last three years. The F100G is aimed predominately at the large commercial application market worldwide that demands not only lowdown torque, but also top class reliability and longevity. To achieve this a number of innovations have been introduced to the Yamaha F100 4stroke that has proved so popular over the last decade. Among these is fuel injection and other engine enhancements, an upgraded gearbox to provide for heavy load applications as well as a number of smaller features which include the steering rod tube and gear location rod being changed to stainless steel to avoid long term corrosion. It’s also important to note that this model has been designed to handle fuel that is not up to first world standards and is therefore a better choice for boats being used in African countries than its brother the 100F. The F100G is also tough enough to operate in muddy waters which you’ll often find in and around our continent. In order to perform the test it was off with the F100s which I have been extremely enamoured with, and on with the new F100G motors. Mr SkiBoat was re-engined in less than a day by Durban Yamaha. My great conundrum was

INTRODUCING YAMAHA’S F100G

REV COUNT COMPARED TO SOW F100

REVS

F100G

With wind

Against wind

With wind

Against wind

3 200

13 knots

15 knots

12 knots

13 knots

3 800

20 knots

19 knots

19.5 knots

4 500

24 knots

25 knots

24 knots

5 200

28 knots

27 knots

28 knots

Max [5 600]

[30 knots]

[5 500 revs]

[30 knots]

OUT THE HOLE ONTO THE PLANE [Both swinging my old 17 pitch aluminium props] F100

F100G

Into wind

3 seconds

4 seconds

With wind

4 seconds

3 seconds

COMFORTABLE PLANING SPEED F100

3 800/3 900 into wind 20 knots

F100G

3 900 into wind 20 knots

PERFORMANCE USING ONE MOTOR MOTOR

Port

Dragging other motor

Starboard

Dragging other motor

Old F100

4 500

12 knots

4 400

12 knots

New F100G

4 600

12 knots

4 300

11.5 knots

With second motor trimmed right up Old F100

4 800

17 knots

4 900

21 knots

New F100G

5 000

18 knots

4 800

19 knots

22 â&#x20AC;˘ SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

how to assess a change in performance between two sets of motors in such a limited time before penning a meaningful article. When it comes to their longevity, my view is that time and time alone will be the advisor in this regard after the commercial operators get to use them. In my mind I needed to be convinced that these new motors would provide the same or better low down torque and midrange thrust required for recreational use as the F100s I have been using. Again I must stress the limited time available to make this assessment, and with that in mind I devised a set of criteria that would be tested on the water, on the same craft with the same crew and in the same weather conditions. These tests were undertaken by Ryan Hansen of Durban Yamaha, Martin Somerville who fishes with me on Mr Ski-Boat as an adjudicator and myself skippering the craft. I personally found the on water trials undertaken exactly one week apart exhilarating and enlightening. I have set out in table format alongside the exact statistics of these trials so that readers can form their own opinions of the performance comparison. Both sets of trials were undertaken in Durban Harbour up the Maydon Channel in north-easterly winds gusting to about 4 knots on the first trial and about 7 knots when trying out the new Yamaha F100Gs. In final summation, I was very surprised that in most instances both mod-

els produced very similar performance statistics. This proved what I felt while judging the performance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the new Yamaha F100G will be equally as efficient during a surf launch as it will trolling and cruising out at sea. So the question arises: What are the benefits of the new Yamaha F100G? Frankly, only time on the ocean will tell. I am not qualified to comment on the technical, mechanical and electronic modification that produces longevity and fuel consumption. However, in a nutshell, these new Yamaha F100G motors which were straight out of the box performed beautifully. From the first time I opened them up I did not feel any reduction in the performance which I had actually expected, given the hype that they were commercial motors and were swinging the same prop via an enlarged gearbox. Once these motors have done their initial ten hours and have had their PDI service I am positive the difference in performance I obtained in the above stated results will equal if not surpass that of my old motors. SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 â&#x20AC;˘ 23

TACTICS

Allen Ford with a big male Miss Lucy caught off the Transkei coast using chokka and sardine bait.

Where and how to target red stumpnose By Francois Beukes ATCHING Them Deep was the first article I wrote in the July issue of SKI-BOAT, directing attention to those of us who derive a huge amount of pleasure from targeting sportfish or reef fish as this style of fishing is described in the styles of angling practices taking place at sea under the auspices of the South African Deep Sea Angling Association. Indeed, we get a great deal of pleasure from this style of fishing, but it also requires an inordinate amount of skill and knowledge if one is to achieve the goal of ending a day’s quest catching a few of the different species we hunt.

I firmly believe in not only finding one reef that is fish rich, but also travelling to many different areas along our length of coastline in the quest to find new and exciting reef structure and hopefully catch the species you have set out to find. The more versatility you can cultivate, the more excitement you’ll have; it also gives one a greater sense of achievement when you catch a good specimen of the species you’re after. If this species is not caught in one’s own home hunting ground it’s even more exciting. The red stumpnose, or Miss Lucy, is just one of the reef dwelling species that has tweaked my imagination and

24 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

which drives me to the far reaches of the South African east coast in search of a good specimen to add to my bucket list. The name Miss Lucy rolls off the tongue a little easier than the scientific name of Chr ysoblephus gibbiceps which, roughly translated, means “golden eyed bulbous forehead”. This beautiful looking bottomfish is endemic to South Africa. It is truly an amazing fish to catch and probably one of the most sought after species among sport- and recreational bottomfish anglers from as far as Cape Point to East London and, of late, also on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. The male red stumpnose is easily

Divan Burger (15) is a Western Province junior angler; he caught this Miss Lucy using a chokka and sardine bait mix. identified by the large stump on its forehead which develops as it reaches adulthood; they have been known to live up to fifty years. This species can be caught in depths ranging from 30 metres to 150 metres but are most commonly located in the 50- to 70m depth range. As with any form of hunting, the most important thing is location, location, location. Find the fish’s preferred reef structure and your chances of catching the fish you are after increases exponentially. To find the reef, you need to spend a lot of time bottom scanning and need to know how to “read” and interpret what you are seeing. This aspect of off-

Ten-year-old Ashton Bosse with a nice female Miss Lucy caught off Cintsa Bay, East London, using octopus as bait.

shore angling is, without doubt, the most important when bottomfishing. I often say that when I’m sounding a reef structure I get as much thrill seeing a big red plume showing on my sounder as I do when the fish pulls after going down. When it comes to Miss Lucy, although they are territorial they do come into the shallow reefs along the Eastern Cape coast during the summer months to spawn.The juveniles develop a good set of molars while spending their first few years feeding on crabs, crayfish, sea urchins, red bait and their all time favourite — octopus. Later on when they reach maturity

(around 30cm in length) they tend to move to the deeper, bigger reefs. They seem to enjoy being solitary in nature and are not often found in large numbers in one specific place. They are slow growing in nature and have been measured up to 75cm; if you are lucky you could land one up to 8kg in weight. Once caught Miss Lucy is easily identified by its beautiful red and white stripes. The preferred rig for catching Miss Lucy is a slightly shorter hook snoot of about 25- to 30cm, with a slightly longer sinker trace to prevent the hook being caught in the jagged reef. A 7/0 Gamakatsu circle hook is recommend-

Two slightly different bait presentations that work well when targeting Miss Lucy. SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 25

3-way swivel

trace bead

hook

Fishfinder showing a rocky bottom with good showings — potentially Miss Lucy. Photo courtesy of Raymarine.

Evan Bosse with a Miss Lucy caught off the Kei River area using octopus leg as bait.

26 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

weight

Typical trace used when targeting Miss Lucy aka red stumpnose.

ed, but J hooks will also work. A single luminous yellow bead can be placed on the hook snoot. I also subscribe to the modern trend of targeting reef fish on much lighter tackle than was the case in years gone by when crank and wind on 80 lb tackle was the order of the day. These days, due to SADSAA’s introduction of light tackle (6kg and 10kg class) in its interprovincial and national bottomfish tournaments many of us have found that not only is it a lot more fun fishing this way, but we are actually catching more fish. Although octopus is one of this species’ favourite foods, when it’s not available they will gladly accept a nicely presented squid bait cut and made to look like tentacles. You can also use ghost cotton to bind on a sardine fillet for extra taste if you want. It is not common, but in summer months you can find a reef and catch more than one Miss Lucy on that spot. Generally they are aggressive when feeding and put up a tremendous fight once hooked. This makes Miss Lucy one of my favourite bottomfish to catch along our coast. This species is also a very good eating fish and its flesh is of a fine texture. Just a reminder that due to overfishing in the past this beautiful fish is listed on IUCN’s Red List for Threatened Species as Endangered, so it’s restricted to one per angler per day with a minimum size of 30cm.

HISTORY

Remembering the brief giant bluefin tuna fishery of False Bay

Brian Cohen caught these two giant bluefin tuna on 12 January 1973. The 845 lb fish was an All Africa record. By Hymie Steyn and Brian Cohen

ROM the aerial viewpoint at Cape Point overlooking the rigged cliffs of Rooi Krantz, not more than a few hundred metres out to sea, a number of large silhouettes just below the surface slowly glided in the cold green waters of the entrance into the Cape’s False Bay. This is the spot where the southern might of the Atlantic Ocean is often calmed as it rounds Cape Point. It almost looked as if these fish had arrived from an unknown migration into the bountiful waters of this huge area of protected water during the summer months. These giant bluefin tuna made their first appearance during the late 1950s and became the target of Cape Town’s top big game fishermen who had the wherewithal in the way of

tackle and boats to set about attempting to hook and land these monster fish, the likes of which had never been seen in these Cape waters. From the jetty in front of the Marlin and Tuna Club of South Africa many anglers watched in total awe as some fortunate anglers proudly posed with these huge tuna after a day’s outing targeting these brutes a stone’s throw from the tiny hamlet of Fish Hoek in its calm baitfish rich waters. The young Brian Cohen was there, and so was South Africa’s stalwart offshore angling administrator, Hymie Steyn. These two men have now put together a three-part series of articles for SKI-BOAT to record an important part of South Africa’s angling history. These events could easily be lost if not documented by men who personally witnessed this period when huge bluefin tuna visited South Africa’s waters. SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 31

La Morva heading back into Kalk Bay harbour towing a 702 lb (319kg) bluefin tuna — the first bluefin over 300kg caught in False Bay. The fish’s fin is just visible in the right of the photo. Note that Vic Cohen was steering with a jury-rigged tiller. Some readers may remember a series of articles written by Johan Smal in 2011 which charted the early history of gamefishing from boats in South Africa.That series covered some of this history of the bluefin tuna but we wanted to get more detail from someone who was there at the time. Brian Cohen was in the right place at the right time, with the enthusiasm and resources to go down in South Africa’s history as the man who caught the biggest bluefin in our waters — breaking his own All Africa record several times. Bruno Mercorio caught the most bluefin, closely followed by Brian.We as the deep sea angling fraternity of South Africa are fortunate to have Brian tell his story in such a comprehensive series of articles, guided along by Hymie Steyn. HS: When were bluefin first seen in False Bay and by who? Who first caught them on rod and reel? BC: The fishermen were seeing them in False Bay in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Several of them were caught in the treknets in Fish Hoek at that time.The boats catching chokka in Fish Hoek Bay all reported having their tackle broken up and the chocka jigs smashed by giant tuna which would come through at that time. The first bluefin to actually be caught in close proximity to Fish Hoek Bay was caught on 26 January 1963 just outside of Glencairn Quarry which is a few hundred metres from Fish Hoek Bay. It was actually caught on the troll from David Susman’s boat, The Bluebird, by Springbok angler Mike Stott. He was trolling a whole rigged mackerel which David had shown them how to do based on their trips to Bimini and elsewhere overseas. To the best of my knowledge the tuna was brought to the gaff in under an hour and weighed somewhere in the vicinity of 400 pounds. So from my point of view, that was the first official IGFA catch of a giant bluefin in False Bay. The first recorded actual catch of a bluefin in Fish Hoek Bay at anchor was in fact by my father, Vic, on 27 December 1963, while fishing from his boat, La Morva. I was there as a young schoolboy with some friends of mine.We went into Fish Hoek Bay to catch chokka and mackerel on a Saturday afternoon with the idea of going up to Smithswinkel Bay at sunset where there was a big run of geel32 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

bek (Cape salmon). We threw our anchor as normal at Sunny Cove Station and started catching mackerel and chokka at about 2pm. We caught a good amount of mackerel and chokka and we were preparing to pull up the anchor. The kids were just cleaning the side of the boat and getting rid of the scraps from the chokka fishing when all of a sudden a giant bluefin appeared out of nowhere under the boat and started picking up the scraps that we were throwing overboard. There was great excitement and consternation. Everybody started shouting: “Come on Vic!”“Come on, Dad, give it a go! Let’s see if we can catch this one!” It was a huge tuna, the likes of which we had never seen before. My dad ran downstairs to the cabin and came back with a 12/O Penn Senator Reel with a feather attached to the end of the wire trace.We’d used it off Cape Point for catching longfin and yellowfin tuna. He quickly made a knot at the top of the wire trace below the feather, to stop it from sliding down, then simply hooked on a whole mackerel and threw it over the side. He gave it some slack and let out about 20 metres of Dacron line from the reel. We had no real hope of anything happening, but my dad just thought he’d give it a try.Within a few minutes there was a terrific swirl and the reel began screaming! The giant bluefin had actually come and taken the whole mackerel and my dad had him on the rod. A huge fight ensued and my dad told us to urgently rush up to the bow and pull up the anchor because at that time we weren’t on a buoy or anything. Us two kids and a chap by the name of Norman Foster who’d never fished before, plus one other guy, helped pull the anchor in at great speed with my dad holding on for dear life at the back as the giant bluefin made his initial run. By some miracle we were able to get the anchor up and my dad immediately called for us to help him steer the boat. We didn’t have much idea about that at all, and we went the wrong way — then the steering cable snapped! My dad was still holding on to the bluefin, but out of sheer desperation he told us to take hold of the rod while he rushed inside and managed to use the engines to turn the boat. We needed to follow the giant bluefin and regain some line which was virtually all off the reel by that stage. We managed to retrieve quite a lot of line and for the next

couple of hours my dad would run from the steering back to the reel and fight the bluefin again for 10 or 15 minutes, then rush back and again try to manoeuvre the boat. Using this method and a jury-rigged tiller at the back of the boat, which he was able to put in place within a few minutes, the fight progressed. After about two-and-a-half or three hours, a miracle happened. We were all holding on for dear life and everybody was yelling and shouting at each other when suddenly this enormous tuna bobbed out of the water about 50 metres from the boat, completely stone dead — it had drowned. We manoeuvred the boat within a reasonable distance of it, grabbed hold of the wire trace and pulled the bluefin alongside. We had no gaffs of that size that could really go into the fish, so we put three or four small gaffs into it. When our steering cable broke, my dad had asked us to radio Speranza which was also already in Kalk Bay with some of the Hare brothers on board, and ask them to come and assist us in terms of standing by, which they duly did. They stood by during the whole fight and were thrilled when we were able to bring the fish to the surface, and they came alongside and helped us secure it with ropes. We then managed to limp back into Kalk Bay at about three or four knots towing this giant Bluefin. That became the first official catch of a giant bluefin on bait from a boat anchored in Fish Hoek Bay, but it was not an official IGFA record because a number of people handled the rod and reel. It weighed a magnificent 702 lb. The Hare brothers then went out back into Fish Hoek and, using the Mike Stott method of trolling a mackerel, they were fortunate enough to get a strike there and land another bluefin of about 420 lb the same day. That was an epic day which began the whole bluefin saga in that area. HS: In hindsight what was presumed to be the reason for the bluefin coming into False Bay? BC: There are several reasons for this. First of all, one must stress that they had been coming into False Bay for many, many years, right through the late 1940s and the early ’50s. They had been caught by trek nets in Fish Hoek as well as off Simon’s Town, and they had been spotted on numerous occasions by the spinner fishermen at Rooi Krantz at Cape Point, right through to the early 60s. The reason they eventually came into False Bay, in my opinion, was pretty obvious — they were after the huge shoals of mackerel and pilchards that frequented the bay. Every afternoon one could see these huge shoals and the birds on the surface all over False Bay. It was no problem whatsoever to go out for an afternoon of bait fishing and come back with 400- or 500 lb of chokka and mackerel. Anchovies were also very prolific. These, of course, were the staple food of the bluefin. Eventually Fish Hoek Bay became the prime spot to catch bait, and while we were anchored there numerous giant bluefin could be seen jumping out of the water and chasing squid into the air! At the time we lived in a house in Sunny Cove, which was just overlooking the bay and right near where the giant bluefin was hooked. At sunset we would often sit out on the balcony and watch them make an almighty splash, like a bomb going off several times within an hour or two. HS: Those big fish stopped coming into False Bay in the early 1970s and haven’t been seen there since. Why is it felt the migration into False Bay stopped? What’s your view?

Brian Cohen pictured at Simon’s Town harbour with a 797 lb giant bluefin tuna he caught on 130 lb tackle on 24 December 1968 off Fish Hoek.

BC:The reason that they stopped coming, in my opinion, was that there was at that time a huge fleet of commercial purse seine fishing boats which came into the bay every night illegally. They harvested thousands of tonnes of these pelagic baitfish, and of course that did irreparable damage to the bait stocks so that eventually there was nothing left for these giants to feed on. In April 1966 Major Duggie van Riet, Harbourmaster at SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 33

Bruno Mercorio with a 276kg bluefin tuna caught from his boat Volante off Fish Hoek in the 1964-65 season. Bruno has the record for the most giant bluefin caught in False Bay. Photo from Charles Horne’s Game Fishing Transformed.

Brian Cohen with his 384.1kg All Africa record North Atlantic bluefin tuna caught in January 1973. He caught two big fish that day which were reportedly the last giant bluefin to be caught in False Bay.

Gordons Bay, reported the presence of 62 trawlers one evening in the Seal Island area in False Bay, all scooping up anchovies and sards. I think that was probably one of the main reasons that the shoals of giant tuna stopped coming into Fish Hoek Bay. There were a lot of people who said that maybe what we had done (catching the giants) damaged the stock and it was only one really big shoal that came into False Bay. I do not think that is the reason. The entire catch of bluefin for the whole period of 10 or 12 years was about 180, so I think it is most unlikely. I think they moved off in search of food elsewhere. It’s interesting to note that they obviously migrated all over the world. I personally landed a bluefin with a fish hook in it which we later discovered had been hooked the year before off Prince Edward Island, Canada. I had a letter from Prince Edward Island and they had a tag number on the hook, so we were able to trace it back.

HS: The South African Marlin and Tuna Club was the first official big gamefishing club in the Cape. Can you tell us a bit about its history?

34 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

BC: The SAMTC was established in 1956, and the founding members were Charles Horne, Sonny Taylor, Mike Stott, David Susman, Hank Newman,Wolf Lemkus and Sonny Derman.The club grew from small beginnings to become the most prominent and well-known big game fishing club in the whole of Africa and certainly in South Africa. It ended up having a strong fleet of beautiful gamefishing boats these included Volante (Bruno Mercorio), Speranza (Hare brothers), Pocketta (Hymie Policanski), Amberjack (Tank Anziska), Kingfisher (Brian Cohen), Lady Wendy (John Gardener), Maud Mary (Sonny Gracie), Moonraker (Roy Beamish), Cheetah (Brian Cohen), Shaka (David Susman), Tassie (Anthony Sedgewick), Bluebird, Sea Hawk, Hardie (Geoff Sonnenberg), Plettenberg (Reg Vos and Vic Edwards), Nimbus

Nimbus, owned by Jimmy Rawbone-Viljoen, was one of the well known gamefishing boats of the era and formed part of the South African Marlin and Tuna Club fleet. (Jimmy Rawbone-Viljoen), Estrellita (Clifford Harris Builders, but only skippered by Donald Grey), Baby Grand (Jack Gerber), Marauder (Ovenstone brothers), Marlin (John Robertson), Fisherman (Len Payne) and Lady Ella (Gerry von Bonde) That was basically the backbone of the wonderful fishing fleet for members of the SAMTC. Over the years the chairmen of the club were quite well-known businessmen and big game anglers. I think immediately of the late David Susman, who was not only a Springbok angler, but also a very prominent businessman and the chairman of Woolworths. Geoff Sonnenberg, another chairman of the club was also from Woolworths; he was also a very able and well-liked, big game fisherman and Springbok. Harry Hirschon was responsible for the establishment of the new clubhouse in Simon’s town on Jubilee Square. Commander Nick Pretorius, who was from the South African Navy, was a very active chairman. He was followed by Roland Brice, a very well-known personality who did a fine job.Then there was Jack Warener and, of course, Bob Tresfon, who was there for many years and served in various capacities. And then yours truly — I was chairman of the club for nine years and played a very active role. We had a very able control system whereby we had radiotelephonic control at all times with our entire fleet.This was very carefully looked after and run by the late Bob Murdoch. Club finances were always very strong and very well looked after by the likes of Wally Tyler and David Susman. The club also ran a very strong ferry service between all of the boats which proved to be very useful. The life presidents of the club were Vice Admiral H.H. Biermann from the South African Navy, followed by the South African Foreign Minister of the time and a close friend of mine, the late Pik Botha. We also had a very able secretary at that time, Nick Pretorius, who did a very good job. He was followed by Dudley Caine and then the late Eric Leitchfield. To start with the Marlin and Tuna Club was run from offices in Cape Town and it was only in the 1960s that the clubhouse was built in Simon’s Town above the jetty.That project was pioneered by the late Dr. Harry Hirschon, who became the first official chairman of the club in Simon’s Town. From then on the club went from strength to strength. In the next issue of SKI-BOAT we’ll get more detail from Brian on the type of boats and tackle they used in those days, the tactics that worked and the fight that ensued. SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 35

BOAT TEST Reviewed by Erwin Bursik

WILL be bold enough to state that the Yamaha Explorer range of ski-boats has become a trendsetter, bringing the monohulled style of 19 foot offshore sport angling craft back into the South African market after quite a number of years where catamaran-styled craft have enjoyed a strong dominance. This is an upgraded and restyled Explorer from the original Explorer built by Grantley Read in about 2010, if my memory serves me correctly, as a 5.1m (16’7”) craft, and upgraded to 19 foot in early 2017. (see the May/June 2017 issue of SKIBOAT and the review by Heinrich Klein). The boat has become extremely popular as a medium-sized offshore craft built for the South African market. The Explorer Evo named Fish Face that Ryan Hansen of Durban Yamaha had completed, powered and rigged, is not only the latest in this range of craft to be built, but was also immaculately finished to perfection for her fastidious owners. It was an absolute pleasure to get to review her off Durban in early September 2020. Before getting into the detail of my impressions of the craft, I need to highlight a few aspects that I noticed and these stem from what I call the resurgence of the monohull craft. Until recently I was a steadfast mono man, despite about three decades of experiencing the strong trend towards the catamaran or twin-hulled craft. Eventually I succumbed and in 2011 I acquired a cat in this mid-range class, but I still love the look and feel of a monohull. Looking at her as she arrived at the Natal Deep Sea Rod and Reel Club slipway behind Ryan’s Land Cruiser and seeing her glide into the waters of Durban harbour, I could not be anything but beguiled at her overall presence and beauty.

Out off Durban’s beachfront in a sea that had been hammered by a south-westerly buster, followed by 18 hours of gale force north-easterly gusting to 30 knots, the water was totally churned up, even though the wind during the morning of the review was but a light to moderate north-easterly. Not totally ideal weather and sea conditions for reviewing a craft of this size, but as we offshore anglers all know, there are times, especially during competitions, when we have to take whatever sea conditions are prevailing.This was one of those days and I was pleased to be on the monohulled Explorer Evo 19. Grantley Read is arguably the biggest builder of small- to medium-sized offshore craft in South Africa. Regular readers would have noticed in the September October issue of SKIBOAT that he launched the SeaCat 800 cabin boat named Basjan, which I reviewed.Yes, Grantley is getting very close to the nine metre class that has, for some years now, become the benchmark among the marlin hunters in South Africa. 38 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ 39

40 â&#x20AC;¢ SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

I eventually boarded the Explorer Evo 19 after spending a good hour photographing her while Ryan modelled this beauty for the camera. Watching her as she took on the unsettled sea provided me with a great deal of visual information regarding her performance, and the resultant photographs gave me an up-close view of how she cleaved the water and dispersed the resultant spray from her aft chine region. This also provided me with advanced knowledge for when I eventually took over her helm and physically put her through her paces. Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but I defy anyone viewing the main photograph of this monohull streaking across the ocean surface not to be smitten by her looks. Thereafter it was my turn to board her and take control, satisfying my need to physically experience the craft’s performance on the water. Powered by twin F70hp Yamaha four-stroke motors swinging 15 pitch props, this 19 foot monohull with its centre console configuration put on a very impressive performance. It’s even more impressive when one takes into account the 70hp motors, when one would generally expect a pair of 100hp motors would be more appropriate for a craft of this size.Was she underpowered with the three of us onboard during the review? No. That was my considered opinion, but to double check I asked Mark de la Hey, who uses the craft extensively off the beach with a crew of four or five persons aboard. His response was that even in big surf conditions off Umkomaas where on a recent occasion he spent a long time searching for a break in the backline, he felt no need for more power.“I had all the power I needed,” were his words. In my simulation in the big swell off the Kinmount Bank I did everything I could think of to access the torque and outthe-hole performance and was equally as satisfied. I never for a moment consider these simulated exercises to be the same as actually being in a big surf, and place great credence in Mark’s opinion. I did notice, however, that throughout the review the RPM required to obtain specific SOW speeds was higher than I’m used to. For example, I would have expected an RPM of 3 800 while running at 20 knots, whereas to run at a sustained speed on a course towards Umhlanga Rocks the motors we were revving 4 300 My preferred speed for getting to one’s destination quickly and practically while and at the same time enjoying the ride, is 17- to 20 knots. What’s more, it is also a sweet speed for economic fuel consumption. Talking of which, Mark says in his experience the fuel consumption on this craft with the twin 70s is at least 20% less than on a similar craft with, say, 100hp motors. Back to the test, I set Fish Face on a north-westerly course with the north-easterly moderate chop on her starboard bow in a sea that was still lumpy.A reasonable swell was wrapping around the Bluff from the south-east. Not ideal, as I have stated, but while getting her feel and correct trim settings I got her on to the plane at about 14 knots and then edged her up to 20 knots to experience how her monohull was working the ocean surface. It’s very interesting when one adjusts the bow-up and down trim position while maintaining the same throttle setting. By doing this and adding lateral stability trimming, one can arrive at a situation where one gets to a “sweet spot” and the boat provides all aboard with the maximum comfort. Deep off Glenashley I peeled off to starboard, as if heading straight out to sea. To retain the comfort I wanted I had to reduce speed a bit and reset her trimming and at 17 knots acquired the comfort I required. More important than straight running, I put her through a number of figure-of-eight tracks to see how she reacted to speeds from slow troll up to seven knots. By doing this I could get both the craft’s reaction to the total exposure of all the prevailing sea conditions, and judge her wake for trailing plastic at between 5.5 and seven knots. Being a mono, I found SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 41

she pushed a very tight wake that only seemed to spread out at about eight knots. Under the prevailing conditions I didn’t experience the dreaded wind-driven spray when trolling in a beam sea. She tends to throw chine spray from about midships aftwards, and in strong winds there may be a need for the crew sitting aft to wear wet weather gear. The question always asked when running a monohull in a big following sea is: “Does she yaw?” The swell and wind combination wasn’t sufficient to test this aspect, but I feel that with crew weight distributed aft and the motors trimmed bow up, she would use her substantial planing straiks and the softening of her deep vee at the point just forward of the centre console to minimize yawing. All in all, I enjoyed her overall ride and must give both Grantley and Ryan a lot of praise for producing a craft that rides and performs so well. Over the last four years, practical use and owner requirements have fine-tuned the deck layout of this craft.And I feel that, if possible, it is now ideally set up to suit the vast majority of applications this craft can be used for. For everything from jigging and game fishing to trolling for billfish, the Explorer Evo 19 is a craft in her class that really needs to be seriously looked at. As I mentioned, this boat has been continuously upgraded over the last few years, and I’ve witnessed the changes and appreciated how these improvements have enhanced the craft’s usability. A centre console configuration inevitably requires practical adjustments over and above those required in a forward console craft. It’s all about the correct siting of the console itself along with all the lockers and hatches required on a sportfishing craft. The helmstation itself provides the skipper with both a perfectly designed “pulpit” to work from and allows the crew adequate space to stand next to the skipper when travelling, and the walkaround ability many like to have when fishing. As I intimated, practical use of the craft and has led to finetuned hatch sizes and positioning to not only maximise space, but also allow for effective use while actually fishing.An example of this is having the large fish hatch situated laterally aft of the rear seat and ahead of the transom. This latter feature is contrary to what we have become used to where the hatch is sited longitudally which has become a necessity because of the twin hull sponsons. Having a personal preference for a forward console when it comes to offshore fishing, especially when billfishing, I hope to see a forward console model in the near future. In final summation, I believe the Explorer Evo 19 is a very efficient hull considering her overall size and power requirement as well as the on-sea comfort of its ride. It is also an example of how the builders and purveyors of this craft have bent over backwards to fine-tune its on-water performance as well as fishability. She’s well worth a second look if you’re in the market for an offshore fishing craft. 42 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Phillip Marx, SADSAA President

ITH the move down to Level 1 of the Covid-19 lockdown, fishing will now be able to return to normal, which is a great relief to us all. It has been an exceptional time which

required a great amount of patience, but thankfully South Africa seems to be headed back towards life as we know it. It’s time to enjoy and appreciate all those things we may have taken for granted in the past. A SADSAA delegation recently held a very positive meeting with Minister Barbara Creecy of DEFF and we hope it will be the starting point of a very constructive relationship. With SAMSA staff back in their offices, albeit on half shifts, our Jo’burg Safety Office has been hard at

MEETING WITH DEFF URING September 2020, a SADSAA delegation headed by SADSAA’s Environmental Officer, Mark Beyl; President, Phillip Marx, and Vice President, Chris Schorn, managed to secure an audience, with the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fishing, Mrs Barbara Creecy. SADSAA’s goals were to establish an open line of communication with the Minister to reinitiate regular meetings with her department, and either to revive the recreational fishing forum meetings or establish a new consultative forum where we can air our views and discuss matters of common interest. We also requested that SADSAA be allowed access to the scientific working group in order to provide input when it comes to bag limits, MPAs and the fish stocks in a particular area. Our Environmental Officer also suggested establishing a reporting structure where our members can report transgressions such as foreign fishing vendors illegally depleting our fish stocks. These reports would be sent to a central point, and DEFF would then pass them on to the relevant compliance and law enforcement authorities, with the intention of receiving a speedy response. The minister and her delegation reacted positively to our suggestions and have undertaken to revert with their proposals on how to implement our requests. Overall our view was that the meeting was constructive and we were well received. We look forward to a positive response and will keep the SADSAA members informed of any further developments.

work trying to sort out the licence backlog. Lyn Adams has been reconciling the files of submitted applications compared to licences received, and is visiting SAMSA weekly to try to get the outstanding licences issued. This process also helps us identify some of the problem applications, so that the issues causing a hold up can be resolved and the paperwork processed. It has been a long road, but the new system is working well, and our thanks go to Lyn and Paddy Venske for everything they are doing.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS 9–13 November 2020: Billfish 15 000, Sodwana 5–12 February 2021:Two Oceans Marlin Tournament, Struisbaai 8–12 March 2021: SADSAA Bottomfish Nationals, Struisbaai 15–19 March 2021: Mynmanne, Sodwana Bay 29 March – 2 April 2021: SADSAA Junior Gamefish Nationals, Point Yacht Club 12–16 April 2021: SGDSAA Rosebowl, Sodwana 15–25 April 2021:Tuna Masters, Hout Bay 23–27th April 2021: DSBC Festival, Durban 24 April – 1 May 2021: GBBAC Offshore Classic, Gordon’s Bay 26 April – 1 May 2021: Port St Francis Ski Boat Challenge, Port St Francis 29 April – 2 May 2021: Gonubie Marine Club Inter Club 9–14 May 2021:All Inland Inter-Provincial, Sodwana Bay 13–16 May 2021:All Coastal Inter-Provincial, Gonubie 20–22 May 2021: EFSA European Species Championship, Iceland

SADSAA CONTACTS: Email: <info@sadsaa.co.za> • Website: <www.sadsaa.co.za> 44 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

NEW SADSAA COUNCIL

RECORDS

HE new SADSAA Council for 2020-2021 was announced at the October 2020 SADSAA AGM, and is as follows: President: Phillip Marx Vice President: Chris Schorn Secretary:Vikki Bezuidenhout Treasurer: Edwin Freeman Local & international tournaments officer: Nick Nel Environmental Officer: Mark Beyl Records Officer: Dave Oostingh Public Relations Officer: Martin du Plessis National Safety Officer: Carl Krause Deputy Safety Officer: Jannie de Jonge Deputy Safety Officer: Riaz Hussain Development officer:Neil Coetzer Finance committee: Paddy Venske, Chris Schorn Action committee: Nick Nel, Paddy Venske, Janus Wasserman Current selectors: Neil Coetzer, Martin Gierz, Hubert Meyer, Chris Rothmann, Paddy Venske Elected selectors: Barr y Turk, Dave Murgatroyd, Pieter Jordaan Alternate selector 1:Jaco Hendrikz Alternate selector 2:Riaan Odendaal

READERS’ QUERIES SADSAA’s President, Phillip Marx, has undertaken to answer a limited number of readers’ queries regarding SADSAA in each issue. If you have a question you would like answered, email him on <president@sadsaa.co.za>.

ITH so little fishing going on during the hard lockdown phases, we still have a few records to report on that were applied for prior to lockdown ... Peter Harvey (pictured above), fishing with 15kg line off Sodwana, caught an All African record 93.8kg yellowfin tuna on 5 March 2020. Dewald Coetzee of South Gauteng caught a 8.4kg rainbow runner on 10kg line off Ballito on 1 January 2020, earning himself an All Africa record. Also on 1 January 2020, Bruce Barclay (Border) caught an 8.2kg Miss Lucy fishing deep off East London. This is a new South African and All Africa record.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 45

TACKLE The same reel shown opposite, now fully restored and ready for action.

IGNORANCE is not

BLISS!

Make sure your reel is in top notch condition 46 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

By Paul Nixon

VERY experienced fisherman knows that preparation is a key element of any successful endeavour. With that in mind, tackle maintenance prior to the upcoming billfish and summer season should be well underway by now. Under the current circumstances, with a lot of us spending more time at home than usual, that time should be taken advantage of with both hands. Reel Ser vice Durban started as exactly that. Five years ago I was fishing significantly more often than usual and therefore needed to maintain my reels more frequently. My mates cottoned onto this and soon I was working on and servicing their reels as well. My normal work took a dive and evenings consisted of piles of reels being worked on, with some very late nights required to keep ahead of the demand and backlogs. Reel Service Durban has now been my fulltime occupation for just on three years, and the fishing community near and far have been fantastic with their support. Moving full-time into reel servicing whilst being based in Durban has opened up doors both locally and nationally for me to meet great fisherfolk. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than when I receive their feedback about landing excellent fish with reels I have serviced. Ski-boaters are highly competitive, always looking for a gap in the weather to jump on the water in the endless search for that “personal best” or “fish of a lifetime”. As a result, I have found that the words,“I’m not in too much of a rush for my reel” actually mean that work needs to begin immediately and that my client’s reel needs to leave the workshop in tiptop shape just in time for the next good weather day. Reels as a whole are like outboard engines — a lot of folk like the look of them on the outside, and like to use and drive them hard, but unfortunately not everyone has an understanding of how they work on the inside.They will often just give them a quick spray of Q20 and expect the equipment to give years of service thanks to that TLC. Anyone who has caught a marlin or watched one of those great fish being fought will know that the reels generally spend a lot of time in harsh saltwater conditions during peak fishing season for prolonged periods, are subject to extreme load and are then stored for months at a time. You would be doing yourself an injustice by not servicing and maintaining these very expensive and hard-working pieces of equipment. There are a few things that you can do post fishing that will help ensure your reels stay in great condition for

This reel didn’t look too bad on the outside, but once taken apart the neglect was obvious.

many years to come. Once off the water, prepare a bucket of warm water mixed with a light solution of Saltaway or other similar product and use a sponge to lightly clean off accumulated salt and any fish slime from the day’s fishing. This does wonders as it will also give you the chance to closely inspect each reel for any noticeable issues and clear them of the one thing that really has no respect for expensive equipment — SALT. Once you have wiped off your reels and they have had time to air dry, a light spray over with a siliconebased aerosol such as Tackle Guard on external working parts and screw ports will prevent any more salt build-up from encrusting hard-to-see areas. Please do not spray reels with a pressure cleaner or hosepipe. Sponging off a reel as I suggested also obviates the need for pushing the drag to sunset before washing. Big game reels should be serviced as soon as you know you will have them stored away for any significant time so that you know that when you do unpack them and load them on the boat they are ready for action.A service will ensure all internal parts are correct-

A little bit of TLC and a few parts replaced (above) makes all the difference.

ly lubricated, with bearings replaced and oiled, and drag washers correctly lubricated with high quality products. In my experience things that often do go wrong (and which are preventable) and end up costing the angler far more than necessary, are holding screws seizing into reel bodies, encased and seized bearings, worn parts being forced because lubrication is either inferior or old and caked, as well as general incorrect post-fishing maintenance. As the title of this article reminds us, ignorance is not bliss in this case. The photos above show that a reel can look great on the outside and even feel fully functional, so the unsuspecting angler thinks he’s ready to rock and roll. However, inside this Penn 30 had old grease, three seized bearings as well as a fair deal of salt build-up, all of which could result in tears after a solid hook-up with a big blue which will expose weak links in any man’s cavalry. Marlin season is coming up soon, so give your 30s, 50s, 80s and 130s a good once over or feel free to contact me to arrange courier or drop-off times before it’s too late. I can be reached on <fear_no_fly@yahoo.com> or 083 940 6273.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 47

TACTICS By Donavan Cole

ALSE Bay offers some really good reef fishing that many overlook as most boat anglers are usually chasing after the larger inshore and offshore pelagic species. The best part about targeting the smaller reef species is that you usually don’t have to travel very far from the launch site so these spots are accessible for most craft, and you will rarely return empty handed when reef fishing inshore.

TARGET SPECIES False Bay reefs offer a wide range of species and it is not uncommon to catch more than ten different species of fish and small sharks in a day. The variety of species will, however, reduce as you go deeper, with more variety being found in water shallower than 30m. This is also the case as you move westwards out of the bay, because the water gets colder up the west coast. When you’re fishing west of the SW reefs outside the bay you will mostly only catch hottentot. The cold Atlantic Ocean is believed to meet the warm Indian Ocean at Cape Agulhas (southernmost tip of Africa) you will, however, find far more evidence of these two currents actually meeting at Cape Point if you look at the fish species caught in False Bay.We have many species that are commonly caught in False Bay and up the east coast into KZN, and most of these species will very rarely be caught west of Cape Point. The most common species caught in False Bay is hottentot, also known as Cape- or black bream. You will find them close inshore between the kelp and out as deep as 100m outside the bay. You will generally find that the deeper you go the bigger the fish get, but large specimens can be caught in the shallows if your bait isn’t devoured too quickly by the small fish. Hottentot can also be like chameleons that change colour slightly according to their habitats.The fish you catch close to or in the kelp will most often be a dark brown colour, and as you move into deeper water they get lighter in colour. When catching them down off the sandy areas between Strandfontein and Macassar you’ll find they are a silver colour. I personally prefer to eat hottentot caught away from the kelp beds, as I think they taste better; those caught around the kelp beds apparently have a stronger taste due to the iodine in the kelp that they often feed on. Red roman are probably the most heavily targeted reef fish inside the bay. These beautiful, slow-growing red fish are the most aggressive feeders on reefs around the bay and you will quite often

find that when you drop a bait they will are one of the first fish to grab your bait, rushing in and chasing away other smaller fish. I try to release most of the roman I catch around the bay and have tagged and released more than 300 in the last couple of years. A few of the tagged fish have been recaptured a year or two after being released while fishing on the very same reefs where they were originally tagged and released. This proves that these fish do not move around much, staying on a specific reef for great lengths of time. These fish are very aggressive feeders, so you will quite often hook them in their throats or deeper. If this happens it’s usually best to cut the line as close to the hook as possible and leave it to rust out rather than trying to pull or rip it out as the fish will most probably die after release in that case. Be very careful when handling a red roman as they have razor sharp gill

48 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

plates; I have received a few nasty cuts while handling them. When considering whether to release or keep a nice big roman, please remember that a specimen of 45cm and upwards is 20 or more years of age. Red steenbras were once very common in the bay and some massive fish were landed in the early 1900s. They were, however, fished to near extinction and for many years you would rarely see any caught in the bay. Over the last few years there has, however, been a massive increase in juveniles caught all over the bay. Most are around 30- to 40cm in length, with the odd larger one coming out. I would like to appeal to all anglers to please handle these fish with care when landing them and try to return them to the water as quickly as possible. With

Blue hottentot (bloukop) vs common hottentot.

any luck we could see the larger specimens also returning to the bay like in the good old days. You will quite often find that fish caught on the inshore reefs will carry some parasitic lice on the side of their heads and inside their mouths. While this puts many people off, it does not affect the quality or taste of the flesh. If I’m going to release fish that have these lice I will usually remove the lice before releasing the fish. When targeting reef fish in deeper water (30m-plus) you will usually find that the fish will embolize (suffer barotrauma) while being pulled up from the depths. This is due to the big pressure change from the bottom to the surface. When releasing these fish you will usually find that they battle to get down due to their expanded swim bladders and float away to be eaten by birds or seals. A way to minimise this is to pull the fish up as slowly as possible. You can also make up a simple

weighted release tool using a biggish upside down hook with a clipped off point and a squashed barb. The line is attached to the bend of the hook and you hook the fish lightly in the lower jaw. You then send the fish down, keeping slight tension on the line, and when you recover the hook it will usually pull easily from the fish’s mouth, releasing the fish to swim off. I usually use a device called a SeaQualizer which clips on the fish’s lip; the clip is then set to open at a desired depth using a built in hydrostatic release. Please keep an eye out for tagged fish, and if you catch one please note the length, tag number and location where it was caught, and email that info to ORI <oritag@ori.org.za>. If you release the fish again please do so with the tag in place. Most anglers won’t carry a pen or pencil to write down the tag details, so the easiest thing to do then is to take a quick photo of the tag number.

Chef Ryan Cole with a red steenbras which was tagged and released.

Mikhail Daniels with a large red roman.

Donovan with a very uncommon catch in False Bay, yellowbelly rockcod which was tagged and released. TACKLE When reef fishing, the bottom will generally be very rocky Simple and foul which results in you hooking up to the release tool for releasseabed frequently; with ing reef fish lighter gear you tend to in deeper snap off very easily. I usuwater. ally opt to fish with stronger braid which allows me to have a direct feel of any bites and great fun when pulling the fish in as I can feel every head shake and pull because there is little or no stretch in the braid. I generally use a standard “PaterReef fishing trace. The yellow line is purely for illustration purposes.

noster rig” when bottomfishing, with three-way swivels to separate the hook and sinker traces. (See photo alongside.) I will usually fish a double rig with two hooks above each other. The hook traces are around 30cm long, with the sinker trace slightly longer so that when I’m fishing flat on the bottom my hook stays off a bit to minimise snagging and lost tackle. My hook and sinker traces will be of a lighter breaking strain than the main line so that when the hook or sinker trace snags up on the seabed I can just break off the trace instead of losing everything. When I’m fishing close to the kelp beds in shallow water I will make up a drift trace with a small swivel to allow it to sink slowly. I prefer to use “J” type hooks when reef fishing as I like to feel the bite and strike the fish as opposed to using circle hooks where you let the fish hook itself. I use 1/0 to

The author using a Seaqualizer hydrostatic release tool to release a red steenbras caught in deeper water. 50 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

3/0 size hooks as smaller hooks will result in me hooking most of the smaller fish that come to nibble on the bait and missing out when a bigger fish comes along. I do, however, use circle hooks when targeting red roman as I release most of them. The circle hooks usually hook in the corner of the mouth and can then be removed quickly for the fish to be released with minimal damage, unlike the J hooks which often hook in their throats. Sinker size depends on tackle, depth of water and current. When fishing inshore in shallower water (under 20m) you will rarely need to fish heavier than 1- to 2oz.When fishing deeper, especially outside the bay, you might encounter some strong currents and need to fish much heavier. This is when braid will outperform mono filament as the thinner braid will create far less resistance in the current, meaning you can use lighter sinkers. I generally fish with a spinning reel setup loaded with 20 lb to 30 lb braid.

A lovely hottentot caught on a light spinning reel setup.

Donovan with a juvenile red stumpnose aka Miss Lucy which was released.

When fishing close inshore a lighter rod can be used, but when you’re fishing deeper waters that require a bigger sinker a heavier rod is used. BAITS When reef fishing around False Bay almost any baits can be used, but I prefer to use the tougher baits like octopus and squid/chokka as there are loads of small nibblers that will tear most soft baits apart in seconds.Another favourite bait is white mussel which is really soft when fresh. I will usually defrost my white mussels a day or two before going fishing and then salt them heavily with coarse salt and leave in a strainer overnight; this will remove most of the moisture and the mussel meat will toughen up nicely. When using softer baits like sardine or red bait, I’ll put a thin strip of chokka on the hook first and then have the softer bait on the outside which will usually attract the fish. As it breaks up

Ryan Cole with a nice hottentot.

Tracy Venter with a nice big panga (Pterogymnus ianiarius).

you will be left with the firmer chokka that will be chewed on until a bigger fish comes along. When it comes to using fish as bait I like to use pike instead of sardine as the tough skin on the pike keeps it on the hook a bit longer.The pike is also pretty oily which usually gets a lot of action. The pike can be filleted then cut into pieces or chopped into blocks. In the summer months mackerel is often caught in the bay, and if they’re frozen properly these make excellent bait as the skin and meat is quite firm and I don’t know of any fish that will swim past a strip of mackerel. I don’t usually chum while reef fishing as the chum will drift away in the current, and by the time it reaches the seabed it will be a way off from the boat where the baits are.You can, however, drop a weighted bait bag down to the bottom to attract the fish into the area where the lines are. A few anglers have shifted from

The author’s favourite baits for bottomfishing.

using conventional baited hooks to artificial lures for reef fish with great success and most reef species can easily be enticed to grab a lure. Micro jigs have been proven to work for many of the reef fish encountered in and around False Bay. I’ve had great success using micro jigs on the bottom of a baited trace as a weight instead of a conventional sinker. On many occasions the fish have gone for the jig instead of taking the baited hooks just above. I think that the jig action from the moving boat will also attract fish quicker than a bait that’s just hanging there, but I often end up losing more tackle due to the hooks on the jig snagging the bottom which can become very costly. WHERE AND WHEN TO FIND THEM Reef and rocky bottom are found throughout False Bay and fish are found from the edge of the kelp line right out to a few miles off the coast. The most productive areas are, however, towards Cape Point where the largest variety of species and rockier grounds are found. When fishing close inshore it’s always worthwhile noting what the coastline contours looks like; that will give you a good indication of what the bottom is like. Deeper, rockier ground under the surface is usually found off steep cliffs, while softer, flatter grounds lead off beach stretches. The beach stretch between Muizenberg and Macassar is a perfect example of an area where the sandy bottom and shallow waters extend quite far out. Quite often the water a

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 • 51

Fish marking on some hard ground. Note how thick the bottom is indicating a hard bottom.

A nice pinnacle with a showing of red roman on the edge.

mile off the coast will be as shallow as 6m compared to the steep coast line around Cape Point where the seabed is mostly rocky and the water drops off past 30m very close in. Venture a bit further out for some very nice reef fishing around Whittle Rock/Bell buoy which is around four miles east of Miller’s Point out into the middle of False Bay, otherwise tr y Rocky Banks which is around five miles off Cape Point. Both these areas can quite easily be found on a nautical chart or on a plotter, and once you’re in the vicinity you will not have any problem finding fishing areas using a echo sounder. Don’t discount the sandy stretch between Muizenberg and Macassar, though, because there are plenty of spots to catch reef fish around there. Those reefs are usually small and not always easy to find, but you may be very well rewarded if you ride around a bit watching your echo sounder. One way to find some productive areas is to get a paper nautical chart for the bay and plot GPS positions of pinnacles or steep changes in depth contours. You should also be able to see these pinnacles and contour lines on your plotter fishing chart. You can also draw your own contour lines on some of the newer echo sounder/plotter electronic units using pre-installed software. I use Quickdraw™ Contours on my Garmin echo sounder/plotter. By drawing your own contours you can get a nice idea of the seabed structure and if you cross reference this with what fish you see on the echo sounder you can get a good idea of the best areas to fish. Reef fish around the bay usually bite in most water temps and wind conditions although there is usually far less action and fewer bites when the water drops below 13°C. There are, however, times when there is a rapid drop in water temp from day to day and the fish will go off the bite completely while they acclimatise. At other times the water is warm and we see plenty of fish on the echo sounder but get no bites.This might be

because there is a thermocline (large temperature difference between the surface and bottom). A way to check this is to feel your sinker when you pull your line in; you’ll be able to tell if the water is abnormally cold as the bottom temp will transfer into the lead. I usually mark fishing spots on my plotter when I see nice structure, pinnacles, drop offs or fish markings on the seabed. Most of the spots around Cape Point and further out I have found and marked while trolling around for yellowtail. If I see any interesting structure or pinnacles I will usually mark them and come back and fish them at a later stage.You can usually tell when you are passing over rocky/reef areas as the thickness of the seabed reading on your echo sounder screen will increase as the bottom gets “harder”; when moving onto softer sand or shell the seabed image will be thinner. Once you find “the spot” head up into the wind and throw anchor, then come back slowly until you are on top of the spot you intend to fish. When fishing around the point or outside the bay always keep an eye on the swell as an anchor that is thrown too short could result in your bow being pulled under when a big set of waves come through as they peak over a reef or pinnacle. Once the anchor is hooked and lines are dropped you should get bites pretty soon if you have positioned the boat correctly. If you don’t get any bites then let out more anchor rope while watching your echo sounder to see if you come onto the fish. If you’re still not getting bites then it’s best to pick up the anchor and try again. When we’re reef fishing we won’t usually lie and wait for the fish to arrive as most of the reef fish will hang around a specific spot, and if you are not on top of it then you are wasting your time. If you manage to get onto the spot and start catching fish then you will usually find that the fish go off the bite or slow down after a while. When that happens I pick up my anchor and look for another spot. I usually use a grapnel anchor with a

52 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

shorter length of chain when reef fishing as you generally don’t have a problem getting your anchor to hold, and if your chain is too long you run the risk of the chain hooking up which will often result in a lost anchor. Alternatively on calm, windless days you can drift instead of throwing anchor. This can be quite productive as you can drift across a reef and cover a lot more ground, especially where you have small pinnacles and drop offs that can be hard to anchor on exactly. Unfortunately you lose far more tackle when drifting as your line gets dragged along the seabed; this method is also not practical when you’re fishing in deeper water because even with a very slow drift you will need to keep on paying out line to keep your bait close to the seabed where the fish usually are. I usually drop my bait down to the seabed, and once the sinker hits the bottom I will take up the slack and try to keep my bait as close to the bottom as possible. I generally don’t strike when I feel the first bites but wait for a proper take or the biggest bites; this way you don’t end up hooking the smaller fish before something bigger comes along. Seals can be quite a nuisance when reef fishing in False Bay, especially when you are boat alone. A seal will sometimes hang around the boat taking almost every fish you hook! If this is the case then it is best to pick up and run to another area as the seal will usually hang around the boat until it has eaten its fill. FISHING RESTRICTIONS Please check the most recent marine recreational angling regulations for size and bag limits for the various reef species. Also ensure that you know details of the Marine Protected Areas that are off limits to fishing. MPAs are put in place around important reef areas which populate the outlying areas with fish, ensuring that we will still be able to catch reef fish in the future. The most important MPAs to note in this area are listed below, and they are visible on most plotter maps. • Boulders Restricted zone: in the area between the eastern end of Simonstown harbour and Oatlands extending out around Roman Rock Lighthouse. • Castle Rock Restricted Zone: between beacon VB1 at Miller’s Point just south of the Cape Boat and Ski-boat Clubhouse and beacon VB2 at Partridge Point extending one nautical mile seawards. • Paulsberg Restricted Zone: between Smitwinkel Point and Venus Pool, extending one nautical mile seawards. Remember: Limit your catch; don’t catch your limit.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ 53

RECIPE

Fire roasted Cape bream By Chef Ryan Cole, Salsify Restaurant, Camps Bay

1 stick celery 10g miso 10ml oil

• Rub the miso and oil on to the the corn and roast over a fire for 8 minutes. • Allow to cool then slice into 2cm long pieces. • Cut the base off the lettuce, separate the leaves and wash. • Dress the leaves in your lime dressing. • Add your corn, thinly sliced cucumber, fire roasted fish and enjoy.

ITH summer rapidly approaching, we are cooking outside on the fire a lot more. For this month’s recipe we are roasting Cape bream whole on the braai using a light Thai green curry rub, cooking over a medium heat and serving the fish in a corn salad for a nice light summer meal. If you want something more substantial add the roasted potatoes and full size corn cobs. THAI CURRY PASTE 2 cloves of garlic 30g onion 2 small green chillies Zest and juice of 2 limes 10g coconut oil 10g salt 5g white pepper 1 small thumb of ginger 4 dried lime leaves 80ml oil • Blend all ingredients to a paste in a food processor. PREPARING THE FISH • Scale and gut the fish and then use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the skin of the fish.This aids the cooking process and helps the seasoning penetrate the flesh. • Rub the Thai green curry paste all over the fish. • Cook over a medium heat braai for 15 mins a side for a fish of ±1,2kg. • You can opt to put a layer of foil between the coals and your fish if you are worried the fire is too hot. LIME DRESSING Zest and juice of two limes 250ml Bulgarian yoghurt 15ml honey 1 tsp salt Crack of black pepper 20ml olive oil CORN SALAD 2 punnets baby corn 4 heads gem lettuce half a cucumber 54 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

ROASTED BABY POTATOES 1kg baby potatoes 2 sprigs thyme 50g butter Salt and pepper 10ml oil Tin foil • Wash the potatoes. • Tear off two big pieces of tin foil and place the potatoes on top. Rub in the salt pepper and oil. Place cubes of the butter and sprigs of thyme in between the potatoes. • Close the foil over the top and place on the coals of the braai, flipping the package every 7 minutes until soft.This will take ± 30 minutes. MISO CORN COBS 4 large sweetcorn cobs 40g miso paste 10ml oil • Take the husk off the corn. Rub the corn cobs in the miso paste and oil. • Place on the braai grid and allow to cook over the coals where it’s not so hot. • Turn them every 5 minutes and cook until nicely coloured and soft. Bon appetit! * For those who don’t regularly use it, miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji, and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It’s available from Checkers and Woolworths.

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FEATURE LTHOUGH we often pick a pair of sunglasses based on the style, colour or shape, the primary function of sunglasses is not simply to make us look fabulous, but actually to protect the eyes and the delicate skin around them from harmful UV rays. Even if your eyes don’t feel physically affected by bright sunshine or glare, the sun’s rays can cause a variety of vision issues. Some contact lenses provide UV protection, but they don’t cover your whole eye or the delicate skin around your eyes, so you still need sunglasses. When buying a pair of sunglasses, always opt for lenses that feature 100% UV protection because these will protect your eyes for everyday use. Do darker lenses give better UV protection? The short answer is no.While darker lenses decrease the amount of visible light that passes through the lenses in comparison to lighter shaded lenses, they don’t necessarily provide greater UV protection. Bear in mind that ultraviolet light is an invisible light. UV rays also penetrate clouds, so you can get sun damage to your eyes even on overcast days. Sunglasses manufacturers have many different ways of reducing the amount of light that penetrates through the lenses to reach the eyes. For those of us who spend long hours on the water or beach or other areas where there’s a lot of

glare, make sure you buy sunglasses with polarized lenses because they reduce glare from bright light reflecting off flat surfaces. Sunglasses that have antireflecting (AR) coating applied to the back of the lenses reduce glare by preventing light from reflecting off the back surface of your sunglasses. Mirror coatings are highly reflective coatings applied to the front surface of sunglass lenses to reduce the amount of light entering the eye.This makes them especially beneficial for activities in very bright conditions. Gradient lenses are tinted from the top down, so that the top of the lens is darkest.These lenses are good for driving, because they shield your eyes from overhead sunlight and allow more light through the bot-

58 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

tom half of the lens so you can see your dashboard clearly. Double gradient refers to gradient lenses where the top and bottom portions of the lenses are dark and the middle of the lens has a lighter tint. Double gradient lenses are a great choice if you want sunglasses that aren’t too dark but shield your eyes from bright overhead sunlight and light reflecting off sand, water and other reflective surfaces at your feet. Photochromic lenses adjust their level of darkness based on the amount of UV light they’re exposed to. Sports eyewear in general tends to be safer than regular sunglasses because the lenses and frames are made of special materials that are unlikely to shatter if struck and can give you the bene-

fits of both sunglasses and protective eyewear.That’s not a bad thing to have on a busy boat where hooks are flying through the air. Having said all that, sunglasses are also fashion accessories so they must be fun to wear.They reflect your personal style and personality, and not just when the sun is shining! As long as the lenses in question feature 100% UV protection, the choice of lens colour is purely aesthetic depending on what you like. Fortunately sunglasses manufacturers know this and most of them have a wide variety of styles and colours available. While you’re out shopping for your own sunglasses, please remember to get a pair for your child too. Children are at particular risk because they’re in the sun much more than adults, and their eyes are more sensitive as well. UV damage is cumulative over a person’s lifetime which means you should begin protecting your child’s eyes as soon as possible. According to <www.energy.gov.za> most areas in South Africa are blessed with an average of 2500 hours of sunshine each year which is absolutely wonderful, but certainly takes a toll on our skin and eyes in particular, so with summer now upon us and everyone ready to shake off the last of the lockdown blues, make sure you grab your sunscreen and your sunnies before heading out the door.

SKI-BOAT November/December 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ 59

MY FIRST ’CUDA by Jack Gaul (11)

he fishing bug bit me at a very young age and my dad promised me that when I could swim properly he would take me out on his boat. I was six years old when I first went out to sea. My dad, my brother (Chais) and I are all very keen fishermen, and love spending quality time together out on the ocean. My dad and Chais have taught me everything I know about fishing, from tying knots to making traces and how to fight a fish. The day I caught my first ’cuda is one that I will never forget. I had caught lots of fish, but never a ’cuda, and had always dreamed of catching one as my dad and brother had both caught plenty, including some real crocs. One beautiful summer’s morning in Zinkwazi my brother and I were super excited to go fishing. Chais is 17 years old and got his skippers licence last year.This time just the two of us were going fishing on his boat Shortshank. We arrived at the beach very early, had a cup of coffee and dropped the boat on the beach. When we were ready, my dad and some friends helped push us into the water.We had a perfect launch. We ran about 10km, and then started fishing with our dead baits, because we had not been able to catch any livebait. We fished for about two hours but had no bites. We

then eventually managed to puzzle two maasbankers, so we ran back to Zinkwazi and put out our livebaits. Because the fishing was so quiet, we had finished all of our lunch and were thinking of heading in when my reel started screaming. My heart was racing! I grabbed the rod quickly and started fighting the fish. After a short fight I managed to land my first ’cuda. It weighed 8kg. My brother and I gave each other a high five; he was so happy for me because my dream had come true. After about half an hour it was my brother's turn. His reel was screaming. He grabbed the rod, fought for a short while and also landed a ’cuda about the same size as mine.We were on a roll. We fished for another hour and a half, losing two more fish.The weather was changing, and as we were on a small boat we decided to pack up and head in. On our way in we saw a flock of birds diving and thought that the snoek must be there, so decided to give it one last chance.We put some Rapalas out and threw some spoons, but our luck had run out and we caught nothing else that day. Chais had chosen the perfect swell to go in on and got us safely onto the beach. Dad was waiting on the beach and was super excited when he saw our fish!

SKI-BOAT magazine, in conjunction with Mercury, is proud to offer all junior deep sea anglers the opportunity to win awards for excellence in angling. If you are 16 years old or younger and you submit a photo of yourself and the fish you caught, you will receive a handsome certificate suitably inscribed confirming the catch. And there’s more ... Once a year the names of all junior anglers whos photographs appeared on the Mercury Junior Angler page will be included in a lucky draw and the winner will receive, courtesy of Mercury, a fantastic prize of a 2.5hp outboard motor. All you need to do is send us a photograph of yourself and your catch, together with the following details: • Your name address, telephone number and date of birth • Species and weight of the fish you caught • Line class used • Date and place fish was caught • Boat and skipper’s name All entries should be sent to : Mercury Junior Angler SKI-BOAT magazine PO Box 20545, Durban North 4016 or email your entry to <angler@mags.co.za>. There is no restriction on the number of awards that can be applied for, and SKI-BOAT magazine reserves the right to use the photographs as it sees fit. A selection of five award winners will appear in each issue of SKI-BOAT magazine. Junior anglers, Mercury and SKI-BOAT magazine acknowledge that you hold the future of our sport in your hands. Here’s your chance to show us what you can do!

62 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

AD INDEX

BOOK REVIEW

Living The Dream

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Book by Patrick Garratt Reviewed by Erwin Bursik

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AT Garratt’s third book — the second in this series — is just what he promised it would be ... full of adventure and excitement for any angler. Living the Dream, the second book in a three-part trilogy, is now available, and it’s a must read for deep sea anglers of all ages. From the time Pat asked me to read his first draft and voice my views in respect of both content and perceived accuracy of both the boating and fishing related aspects I was hugely impressed, and now, having read the published version, I am even more so. What I enjoy about Pat’s writing is that despite being one of the most recognised and respected marine biologists in South Africa, he has not forgotten his early experiences as a recreational and commercial offshore angler who learnt his fishing the hard way, going from fishing off the beach to eventually owning his own commercial ski-boat.To digress a tad, any scientist — marine or other discipline — who has not got his hands dirty by starting at the very bottom cannot be “well rounded”. It’s not possible to learn all the facts of any branch of science only from a textbook. In Living the Dream, Pat continues the story he started in Born to Fish, where he weaves his yarn about four youngsters who came from the full spectrum of South Africa’s population, all of different races, gender and social backgrounds. As these kids grow through the teenage years and commence the step into adulthood, so it affects their fishing passions.When they start earning money they’re able to extend their interests into not only owning a boat together, but also having joint and separate experiences fishing offshore with much older and more experienced ski-boat anglers. It is during these experiences that they skipper a ski-boat through the surf, go reef fishing and then get to grips with all the facets of deep sea angling right up to the ultimate in the sport — hunting big marlin off Sodwana Bay. Story aside, only a man/woman who has actually taken a craft to sea through the surf and has the gift of putting words on paper could have written this book. Pat’s description of running the surf, especially at Sodwana Bay, clearly shows he must have done it himself on many occasions to be able to describe in words the facts, feeling and anxiety one feels when running a big surf like that.

Advanced Skippers’Training . . . . . . . 60

Durban Yamaha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Garmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Garmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Lowrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Lowrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Mako Sunglasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 MDM Raymarine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 MDM Raymarine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mr Winch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Natal Caravans & Marine. . . . . . . . . . . 2 Natal Caravans & Marine. . . . . . . . . . 67 A further masterpiece in Pat’s writing is linking one or another of the characters to a specific skipper with whom they go fishing out at sea. From commercial skippers on the KwaZuluNatal coast to seasoned marlin anglers at Sodwana, Pat cleverly passes on their fishing knowledge and advice in a way that left me pondering who the participating individual was. Intriguing in the extreme, and for me a great guessing game as I tried to put a real life name to those so neatly woven into the story. As I alluded to at the beginning, Pat’s angling and boating knowledge has to be immense for him to describe everything in such great detail, for not only is it a good read, but it can also teach all the readers — even the “old dogs” — a trick or two. I am really looking forward to the third book in the trilogy and am already wondering what direction it will take. Ultimately Pat is a marine biologist, and his subtle “preaching” reminds readers of the need to constantly keep one’s eye on the overall resource we are exploiting, and to be conscious to return to the ocean any fish surplus to one’s current need for consumption. Living the Dream is the ideal Christmas present for every ski-boater who already has everything — well everything apart from this book. The book costs R165 and is available from The Kingfisher (Durban), Basil Manning Fishing Tackle (Durban), Simon Chater (Durban — 082 896 4799), Surf Emporium (Muizenberg), Expressions on the Beach (Muizenberg), Big Catch Fishing Tackle (Paarden Eiland), or directly from the author. Email <patgarratt09@gmail.com> for further details.

64 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

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DEADLINE FOR THE JANUARY 2021 ISSUE OF

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RAPALA LIP

Last word from the men, but only this once!

James and the GIANT SEA MONSTER

OMETIME around 1978, on a crisp July early morning, Scout’s Skiboat Tandamanzi was being launched into a calm surf at Mapelane. Lacking any crew, to accompany him out behind the backline and down to the ledges off Railway camp, Scout asked James (his boat gillie for many years), if he would like to come along for the ride. This was an unusual gesture since boat gillies at Mapelane were very seldom invited to crew in those days. James jumped at the opportunity and as soon as the boat was free of the beach and afloat, he clambered aboard. James already knew the drill about where to sit or stand as the boat leapt through the incoming surf and headed out to the calmer waters behind the backline. Scout set up a rod for James and showed him the how, when and wherefore as they set off on a slow troll on the trip south to the preferred fishing spot off Railway camp and the St Lucia Lighthouse. Between the two of them they caught several ’cuda that were given the customary whack on the head to subdue them before being consigned to the fish hatch midships. The ’cuda fishing went off after a while and it became

necessary to move further south, to align with the lighthouse itself. A flock of seabirds indicated where the ’cuda were feeding. Scout took a circuitous route around the seething sea where the birds were diving. His plan was to draw the Rapala lures that were on a long trawl behind the boat, through the centre of the melee of birds and fish without disturbing the school of feeding fish. Once again more ’cuda were soon taken and had to be slung into the waiting centre hatch. James drew a few buckets of seawater to wash-down the deck while Scout was busy attending to some minor repairs to the traces holding the Rapala lures. The motors were shut down and a lull ensued, the boat rising and falling gently, on the following deep swells coming up from the south. Just then a huge shadow rose up from the depths a few metres astern of Tandamanzi. The spotted hulk of the enormous basking shark breached. It lay there, calmly looking at this strange floating creature that had encroached on its territory. The huge eyes of the basking shark looked balefully at Tandamanzi as the creature floated up even higher

out of the water. Just then James happened to look up to see this horrifying (though harmless) thakathi that had risen from the depths of the sea. The gillie-come-crew let out a bloodcurdling yell that startled Scout who then also looked up and noticed the enormous creature that was lying only a few metres astern. This was too much for James who was now shivering with fear while babbling almost incomprehensibly to Scout to start the motors and head for safety ashore. When he did not get the hoped-for response from Scout, James dived into the fish hatch full of slithering, slimy sharp-toothed, snapping ’cuda! Scout calmly looked down at him and tried to calm the terrified man. “James, that is just an inquisitive basking shark. It will not harm us; it does not eat people.” James would have none of it. He flatout refused to emerge from the fish hatch, preferring to stay there and fend off the snaggle-toothed beasties in the hatch with him. Further admonitions from Scout were to absolutely no avail and James still would not come out in case the great thakathi leaped onboard and consumed him. Scout gave up tr ying to placate James.As it was time to head home anyway, he started the motors and set off northwards to Mapelane, a journey that would take almost an hour even on a relatively calm day. Even when they arrived off Mapelane and had to make ready for coming ashore by battening down any loose fishing tackle and securing the rods and gaffs to their assigned places on the gunwales, James was still fearfully peering all around the boat to make sure that the great thakathi had not followed them home. The instant that Tandamanzi slid up the beach, James leapt out his hiding place and set-off at a blistering pace towards the bush and the road out to the camp. His great size fifteen feet pounded on the sand as he hotfooted it the hell away from that terrifying thakathi. Scout meanwhile shook his head and sighed as he realised he had been left alone to secure the boat and unload the fish they’d caught. James and his Rapala Lip had disappeared and would never again be caught onboard a boat out at sea!

YOUR CHANCE TO GET EVEN LADIES — are you an angling widow? Are you a frustrated crew member? Do you outfish the men on the boat and have to deal with their Rapala Lips? Do you bite your lip at the comments coming from chauvinistic male anglers? We’re looking for new writers for our Rapala Lip column. All contributions are gladly accepted and they will appear anonymously to protect the writers from divorce suits, cold shoulders, banishments, cut up credit cards etc. Come on ladies, share your stories with us — you know you want to. Email them to <sheena@mags.co.za>. 66 • SKI-BOAT November/December 2020

Ski-Boat November 2020

Articles inside

VARIETY CLOSE TO HOME

IGNORANCE is not BLISS!

THE EXPLORER EVO

WICKED TUNA

INTRODUCING YAMAHA'S F100G

CATCHING MISS LUCY