Tough Fishing in Cold Water

Tough Fishing in Cold Water

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 27^th November 2018

We had an 8 hour charter booked for tomorrow which we moved forward to today due to the big SW wind forecast for tomorrow, we launched very early to avoid the big NE wind forecast for this afternoon. Inshore waters are still green and cold under 21deg.C so we decided to head out deep where the SST charts showed warmer water and once we got past 500m depth about 40km from shore we found warm blue water around 23.5degC but the current was screaming S-N from the deep to the shallows. We found lots of bird life and even small bait fish jumping but no fish. I was really disappointed as the water looked so good. Eventually we decided to head back shallow and put some light tackle squids on the corners. We got back into shallower cold green water and it was not long before the light tackle gave us some consolation prizes in the form of 1 small Dorado and after that the Bonnies kept us busy with us catching 1 after the other all the way back to port and ended up with quite a lot of them with only the last 2 hours producing us fish. Not ideal fishing but at least some action.

               

www.bluewatercharters.co.za            

    

                                                               

Number 30.

Number 30.

Harbour Fishing Report – Durban – 25^th November 2018

With a rather unusual request for a school project where they had a list of 30 things they had to do for the year we had a young lady who had to do her last item which was to catch a fish and so we suggested a 3 hour harbour charter. 10 minutes after we dropped baits we had a nice Salmon on the line and her list is complete and she wanted to end the trip, we convinced her to try for 1 more and she hooked up into a shad. Both fish were released and less than 1 hour from launch we were back on the dock and trip completed along with a completed list of things to do.

               

www.bluewatercharters.co.za                

                                                               

Big Sea, Xtreme Fishing

Big Sea, Xtreme Fishing.

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 20^th November 2018

We had a short trip this morning. NE was blowing around 20 knots making for a large swell especially after last night’s strong winds. The water is still cold and green and the best we found was 19.3deg.C. We had not even finished putting out our spread when the one Tyrnos with the Rapala Xtreme running went off and we got a Sarda Sarda, shortly after the same Xtreme produced another Sarda Sarda, both were big Sarda Sarda’s. We then had some medium sized Kawa Kawa take the same Xtreme. Deeper out the Xtreme got hit again, a really good sized fish and before we knew it the line was out about 300m into the backing and a 45 minute fight ensued. I was convinced that this was a large Wahoo as the line stayed and the top and the fight was really strong, in the end it turned out to be a super sized Kawa Kawa. On the way back running with the swell we picked up a Dorado on the Xtreme again followed by a few more medium sized Kawa Kawa.

I am surprised that we are getting Dorado in 19deg.C water and the only lure all the fish are hitting are the Rapala Xtreme’s, they are not touching the bullets and kona’s. When that warm blue water finally hits Durban I think we will have some really explosive fishing.

               

www.bluewatercharters.co.za                

                                                               

Tuna on Ice

Tuna on Ice

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 18^th November 2018

The water off Durban is getting colder and making the wind so icy that my ears get extremely sore so it is still beanies on early mornings in November, going out the port the water temperature has been 18deg.C and deeper out a maximum of 20deg.C, the water is also green. We are hoping that warm band of water that has been seen up north will be with us soon and we should see some Marlins coming out by month end. It has been extremely difficult to produce fish in this cold water but fast trolling is getting us Yellowfin Tuna and the Eastern Little Tunas are still out in the deep so at least we are still bending rods and stretching lines.

               

www.bluewatercharters.co.za                

                                                               

Cold Green Xtreme Dorado.

Cold Green Xtreme Dorado.

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 15^th November 2018

We got going at 04h30 and to my dismay as I left port I saw the water temperature was 18deg C and it was green, I was hoping that deeper out maybe we could find warmer blue water but this did not happen and even up to 400m it was green and cold, the best water we found was 21.3deg on the 100-200m so we ran North with this. The sea was not settled and swells all over the show with strong 30 knot winds out in the deep but much calmer on the inside so the 100-200m line was the best choice for the day but I was not optimistic. I decided on a mixed spread of bullets, konas and some of the new Rapala Xtreme’s which I have been testing and like very much and ran faster than usual at 9-10 knots to try cover as much ground as possible.

It turned out to be an interesting day with what we would call impossible conditions for producing fish and first up was a bunch of Eastern Little Tuna on 165m which is very odd as normally we never get these deeper than 50m and usually the 165m is Oceanic Bonito (Skipjack) territory. They were eating on the Rapala Extremes. After this I came back in to about 110m and we hooked up a nice Yellowfin Tuna and this was followed by another one, both on the Rapala Extreme’s. I moved out a bit deeper to about 190m and again the Rapala Extreme produced and we landed a small Dorado. The water was really green and as I went further North I tried the 80-90m and running at about 12knots with the swell and we had a triple hook up on Rapala Xtreme’s and landed 2 very nice Dorado, time was out and so we brought in the lines and ran back to port. The bullets and konas and not been touched and all fish came out on the Rapala Xtreme’s and I think had we not put these out we would have had a blank for the day, they really awesome as even at 12 knots running with the swell and surging up to 15 knots they run true, and because we had a number of lures out we had run them very close off the corners about 7m from the transom and all the fish came right in there so a great tactic for future days with cold green water.

               

www.bluewatercharters.co.za