Bottom Fishing is still good

Bottom Fishing is still good.

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 24 May 2019

Wow, with seas as flat as a small country pond and not even a swell made for a very comfortable day at sea. The fishing was also really great and we got into some good size Slinger and in less than 2 hours we had full quota on the boat, these Slinger are great sport on spinning tackle. The problem was then what to do with the rest of the time, and so we decided to try look for a Tuna but never got one.

It’s not every day that one can get full quota on a trip, especially in such a short time, in this situation a person must be contentious of regulations and conservation and not take more than the limit that is allowed. My suggestion is to use this time to look for something specific or special, try out new techniques and investigate new areas. We stop when we are 2-3 fish from full quota and then do something different.

                                                                                                                                 

www.bluewatercharters.co.za

 

Bucket List achieved in one trip.

Bucket List achieved in one trip.

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 22 May 2019

What stunning conditions, flat seas, light winds and sunny skies which made for an awesome day. The water is still dirty and there is debris around, temperature is under 21 deg.C. I found no signs of Tuna or Bonito and so we stopped and went for bottoms and really got some nice quality fish with some good sized Slinger, Copper Bream, Englishman and Soldier Bream. Once we had full quota of bottom fish for all on board we trolled back looking for a Tuna and I went inshore over certain points that have yielded us good Tuna in the past, sadly there was no sign, not even bait fish and we managed 1 frigate Tuna. Immediately after we went over the last point the shotgun snapped and the reel was screaming and in no time we were into the backing and could not stop this fish, to make a long story short after slowing the boat down more than normal and a hard 20 minute fight we managed to land a small yogurt bucket much to our surprise. It’s not every day that one can land their entire bucket list in 1 trip.

                                                                                                                                 

www.bluewatercharters.co.za

 

Good Reef Fishing, Game Fishing Slow

Good Reef Fishing, Game Fishing Slow

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 20 May 2019

On our last 2 trips the water temps have dropped below 21 deg.C, Sunday had light winds and small swells yet it was not pleasant with a reverse current directly opposite the swell direction making for a very close swell of around 4 seconds, Monday was nice and comfortable with flat seas even though the NE was blowing a bit. We struggled to find any Tuna and even Bonito have been scarce and we only got a few stragglers and strangely enough we got an Oceanic in the shallows on our way back on Sunday and these are normally caught much deeper out. Bottom Fishing was good and on both days we opted to go for bottoms, on both days we got a lot of Slinger and Soldier Bream and also some other quality fish of decent sizes like Englishman, Copper Bream and Rubber Lips.

                                      

www.bluewatercharters.co.za

 

It’s Winter - Bonito back in full force and a good Tuna

It’s Winter - Bonito back in full force and a good Tuna

Offshore Fishing Report – Durban – 14 May 2019

Winter is here and our game fishing season ended abruptly at Easter after the floods. Clean up teams came out in full force about a week after the floods and the bulk of the debris has been cleaned up. Offshore waters are clearing up and things are looking alive and active. The water temperatures have been dropping and today it averaged just over 22 deg.C. Deeper out the water is clear blue and inshore it is green but clear. This morning as we left port we saw the first Whale for the season and there are many juvenile Gannets around. We had a short morning trip with a guest from the US who said he wanted a Yellowfin Tuna and had tried in many places around the world but always lucked out. I found nothing in the deep so headed inshore with light tackle and different tactics, we found some bird activity but they were only smashing sprats and no fish. I then found and area with good showings and 1 bigger fish and started working that spot that I marked and we had a good run with Bonito (Eastern Little Tuna), catching one after another and even plenty multiple hook ups which was great fun as our sole guest got to fight fish after fish after fish and on light tackle Bonito are good sport. During all this action we had a large Zambezi Shark (Bull Shark) about 3.5m long jump clear over our lines just a few meters behind the boat, this was a magnificent display when he broached about 3m in the air and twisted as he cam e back down. I could still see 1 big fish on the showing in the shoal as we followed it around and finally after landing 20 Bonito we hooked into a good size Yellowfin Tuna which gave a great fight on the lighter tackle. I knew the Tuna was there, I saw him and we persisted till we got him. After landing the Tuna we got a few more Bonito and then we headed back to port.

 

                                      

www.bluewatercharters.co.za