1FEC | April 2016

EC BAIT DEMO CATCH COMPETITION TIDES

FISHING

KAYAKCORNER

Brett Armstrong

BASS CLASSICResults

TARGETLINEFreshwater Comp

WILD COASTWarner Brothers

ISSUE: 28

FREE

COPYPLEASE

TAKE ONE

APRIL 2016

WWW.FISHINGEC.COMYou can read the magazine on our website, find it on www.issuu.com or download the ISSUU app and read it on yourphone.

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Wild Coast 04

Bait Demo 24Saddleback bait for Crackers.

Catch Competition 26Send us your photos and youcould win.

Tides 28Check the tide tables tomake sure you fishing theright times.

FEATURES

CONTENT

14

08

Bass Classic

Target Line Prize Giving

Kayak Corner

21

Keep our beaches clean.

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MAGAZINEEDITOR

Nigel Louw

CONTRIBUTORSThe Warner Brothers

Clint LentzBrett Armstrong

Carl HennJustin Du Preez

CONTACT

ADVERTISING:

email: nigel@fishingec.com

Mobile: 073 690 2606

Website: www.fishingec.com

Search: Fishing The Eastern Cape

Nigel LouwEditor

LETTEREDITORS

No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Fishing The Eastern Cape. The magazine

is published monthly and cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in articles. The

views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Fishing The Eastern Cape does not accept responsibility

for advertising content.

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ON THE COVERPaul Warner with a Good size River Snapper caught in a Wild Coast estuary.

Like I mentioned last month it has been a good estuary season and still continues to be. Guys are catching Kingfish and Kob in the upper estuaries even now.

The Warner brothers have had some great Transkei trips recently as you can see from the stunning River Snapper photo on the cover and the variety of species in there part 2 article this month.

Don’t forget to send in your catch photos for our Catch & Win page. You could be the next winner.

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Wild CoastFishingWords/pics: The Warner Brothers

After a very successful trip noted in last month’s Fishing EC edition, we couldn’t resist heading back to

the Wild Coast the following weekend to target the variety of different spe-cies our Transkei estuaries have to offer.We woke up in the dark on Saturday morn-ing eager to get the boat on the water. The darkness faded as the sunrise braced us with a spectacular setting. The river re-sembled a glass surface with a thin layer of morning mist hovering over the water. We broke the silence as the motor putted along pulling some lures. It didn’t take long before we were reaching for the tagging kit as we tagged a handful of juvenile Kob.As the tide pushed, the Eastern Cape wind

picked up and the sun made himself proud, we thought we would try something dif-ferent. We headed up the river with the tide to target species like Snapper, King-fish, Pick Handles and Skipjack. We gener-ally target them using a variety of artificial lures and live swimming prawn. Swim-ming prawn is our outright favourite bait in estuaries as you can catch just about

Part2:

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any species on them. If they fished cor-rectly, the fish just can’t seem to resist.We fish swimming prawn on a float when targeting species like Garrick, Skipjack and Snapper. This keeps the bait off the bottom and away from any rocks, logs or anything that could result in a snap up. If the area we working is deep then we might change up and just drift a prawn on the bottom with no more than the swivel and hook weigh-ing it down. This allows the prawn to swim with ease, keeping it alive for longer and the fish don’t get a chance to “feel” you as they show an interest in the bait.By sundown on Saturday we had managed to land a numerous amount of river snapper, a pick handle barracuda, kingfish and unfor-tunately lost two skipjack shaking the hook loose as they acrobatically jumped from the water. A magical sight. (Worth more than

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that of seeing it lying on the deck of the boat.)On Sunday we decided to do much of the same but hoping for some bigger fish. We spent most of our time target-ing one of our favourite fish in our estu-aries, the River Snapper also known as Nkulunkulu. We have the utmost respect for this fish as landing them is never easy.Being fishing addicts, we are firm believers in the fact that there are no rules to fishing, however when hunting river snapper in an estuary, it is important to know that they like to feed in and around any form of structure, from rocky expanses to the roots of the fa-mous mangrove trees. They are extremely dirty fighters, and will cut you off in a flash. They are well known for the way they ag-gressively “smash” their food and head off in the opposite direction back to their hideout.We managed to land some fairly decent sized snappers as well as the odd king-fish in between. We were lucky enough to land a PB river snapper, the fight was exhilarating but there was nothing more rewarding than releasing it back to its natural habitat. The legal size for a river

snapper is 40cm and the bag limit is 5 per person (Ridiculous….we know!!) but we believe this is a fish we need to nurture in our rivers, as it would be so awesome to see more of them this size come out. All in all, we put in some long hours and were rewarded with some beautiful fish. The Transkei Wild Coast continues to impress us.

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2015

Words: Clint LentzPics: Jill Lentz, Lyndon Hall and Jacques Cooper

Amatola Bass Classic

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The annual Amatola Bass Classic held at Wriggleswade Dam over the week-end of the 12’th & 13’th March at-

tracted some 59 boats with 120 anglers competing to win R50 000 for the biggest fish and many more terrific prizes to which the loyal competitors have become ac-customed. The weather was unkind to the anglers with rain, wind and storms causing havoc with boats on the water and vehicles off the water. A delayed start due to mist and for safety reasons was once again ex-perienced on the first morning and this has become synonymous with Wriggleswade during autumn. Although the area was ex-periencing a green drought, the dam was full and the water the clearest in many years. Unfortunately the organizers were unable to offer a bass boat with a motor for the second time this year although plans are afoot to bring such a great prize back. This may have contributed to fewer entries but did in no way quell the thrill which

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Hatfield’s Shopfitters from KZN and owned and represented by Matthew and Carmen Jannekar, have supported the Amatola Classic for many years and re-ligiously compete in the event. Their sponsorship is always dedicated to the Ladies and Junior prizes and they are to be commended for their continu-ity in this regard, especially since the youngsters are the future of our sport.

The junior anglers who competed and received goody bags: fltr Carmen Jannekar (sponsor), Cyril Schwartz (Border Chairman), Mitchell Bennett, Michael Kleinhans, Sean Craigie, Matthew Lentz, Luke Eberhardt. Front – Nathan Lentz, Cullum Rea and Dian Coxen.

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is what the Amatola Classic is all about.Local angler and a newcomer to the sport, Harry Bezuidenhout held the lead on day one with a fish of 1.905kg. Hot on his heels was Jarryd Pieterse with a fish of 1.855kg and Olaf Weyl with a fish 1.795kg. Many oth-er good fish were caught despite the condi-tions. With fish over 3 kg’s now becoming quite a common occurrence; nobody would have ever imagined that Harry’s fish was safe.Sunday dawned with some sunshine and a blustering wind to liven things up some-what. Anglers explored all the corners of the dam and no-one managed to weigh in a bigger fish than Harrys. Somehow a rumour reached him that a 2.1kg odd fish was weighed near the end of closing and it was a somewhat distraught man and his fellow fishing mates that attended prize giving. Only when the second biggest fish was announced did it dawn on him that he had won. His excitement and nervousness was a sight to behold and Harry credits his success to his fishing partner, Noel Sparks, for putting him on the fish at the right

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time. Harry also scooped another two big fish prizes and his angling skill is progress-ing in leaps and bounds after only joining Wriggleswade Bassmasters during 2015. The organizers would like to thank partici-pants and sponsors alike for their contin-ued support of this event, notwithstanding all the hard working ladies and gents who continue to put in their time and effort to make this event a success year on year.See you all again next year.

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Hi fellow kayak fishos!!! As predicted March gave us a few great days on the water with some better conditions for

sure. April is looking good and one can tell by the amount of Bird life around that there is plenty of bait fish activity around at the moment, which as we know bring larg-er predator fish like Garrick, Yellow Tail, Bonnies and Yellow Fin Tuna, so lets hold thumbs.

KAYAK CORNERWords/pics: Brett Armstrong

Product Review – Fluid Bamba I was fortunate recently to spend a few hours on the Fluid Bamba in both the Ocean and the River. What can I say, but truly a versatile kayak. This kayak has been designed with the idea of allowing the user, so many options in terms of storage, accessibility and all round fun. The Hull de-sign seems to some how allow the Bamba to be both fast and stable. Quite often the

FISHING

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two don’t go together. Speed is usually sac-rificed when building a kayak with great stability. The interesting thing is that the Bamba is very at home in both the ocean punching through, and surfing the waves as well as on the tranquil river. At a lit-tle over 4.3m, for me, the Fluid Bamba is a very versatile kayak, with loads of stor-age, plenty of options to personalize your kayak layout and all round great value for money. For more information and pricingcheckout http://www.wildcoastkayaks.co.za.

Kayak Fishing ChecklistKayak fishing will put your organizational skills to the test. Having all your necessary gear ready when you are on the water will make the whole experience much more en-joyable. Safety should be your main concern - bringing safety items on each trip should not be optional, but more a necessity.Of course, everyone is different, so peo-ple have different needs and bring dif-ferent items to fish on their kayak. The list below is just what we have found to be a bare minimum, so make a note of these items and even keep them stowed

FLUID BAMBA

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on your kayak, so as not to forget them:

- Phone, in a dry bag- Paddle and paddle leash- Rods and rod leashes- Waterproof Tackle box- Life Vest PFD- Fishing Knife and pliers- Drogue Anchor- Water- Food to nibble on- Mirror or signaling device- Sunscreen- Pencil Flares in a dry bag- Tow/teather rope- Hat and warm/waterproof Jacket

Mdumbi Kayak Fishing Trip – 27 April – 1 MayAs previously mention and advertised, the Kayak Fishing EC Club is really excited about the planned trip to Mdumbi in the Transkei late April. Besides the fact that it has to be one of the most amazing places I have been to, it has an amazing river and even better ocean. The guys attending will stay at Md-umbi Backpackers and plans are already on the way to make this the best trip ever. Both experienced and novice kayak fisherman are encouraged to book your spot as place is running out really quickly. To book your spot and find out more information, please email Mark at admin@kayakfishingec.co.za.

Kayak Safety Tip of the monthMaintenance: Over time certain components on your kayak can become cracked, loose, and worn out. Make sure to check your Ny-lon pad-eyes for cracks, bungee cord for be-ing stretched out, screws, nuts, & bolts for being loose, and even cracks in your hull. There is nothing worse than getting out on the water and you have equipment failure, besides the obvious safety related con-cerns, it is extremely frustrating. Learn how to strip and clean your reel – Most are fairly simple and you need to have it cleaned and greased at least monthly (depending on usage & certainly ASAP after a flipping

or dropping in the water). Try to also have your reels elevated off the bottom of your kayak while stored in your hatch and al-ways wash them off in fresh water after use.

Kayak Club for East LondonEast London kayak fishing enthusiasts have a club under which we operate, namely, Kay-ak Fishing EC. We have a very informative and interesting website (with more updates to follow) at www.kayakfishingec.co.za and a Facebook page with the same name, Kayak Fishing EC, and would like to encourage you to go and checkout our site and to also Like us on Facebook and then share/spread the news. The club is focused on both ocean and river kayak fishing, so there is something for everyone here. We have a host of infor-mation and galleries available on the web-site, so check it out and join us on the water.

This month’s tip on rigging your kayak:Despite the fact that most kayaks have a good amount of storage, additional storage is always welcome. For me the best way to do this, depending on the type of kayak and space available and more importantly, the amount of space needed, is by adding a cool-er box or container. The additional storage can also be modified and adapted depend-ing on your needs. It is also really important that the container be adequately secured on the kayak. If you flip the kayak while paddling in or out of the waves, the last

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thing you want is to loose all your stowed items because you container is not properly secured to your kayak. Normally bungee cord, although strong, is too stretchy, so if this is the only formed of tying down of your container you will probably loose it, a quality webbing, either 20-35mm wide will be more than adequate if properly attached with a strong buckle system. I use two webbing sections on either side and two bungees on the front and back. I am yet to loose anything…..touch wood. I use my ad-ditional storage container to keep a bunch of stuff like my anchors, rope, water, bait box etc. It comes in handy for sure. The way my cooler box and containers on my two kayaks are setup allows them to be used as live bait tanks as well as fish catch storage devices. I believe being organized and hav-ing enough storage which is out of the way, but yet handy and easily and accessible. For more information on kayak fishing and related aspects, please do not hesi-tate to contact me at info@kayakfish-ingec.co.za. Also checkout our website at www.kayakfishingec.co.za. To join our Whats app kayak fishing EL group, please email us and we will add you. It’s a great way to meet new guys and plan fishing trips and chat about our amazing sport.

Remember: Safety first and always respect our environment.

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TARGET LINEFreshwater club prize givingWords/pics: Carl Henn

On Saturday 26-03-2016, Target Line Freshwater Angling Club had its 2nd annual prize giving. This season past was much closer in results and finishes compared to the 2014-2015 season. Many anglers were very anxious to find out where they

ended and of course, who won what.

Here are the top finishes for 2015-2016 season: Seniors: Masters:1 Martin Piek 178pts 1 Chris Engelbrecht 174pts 2 Adriane Domoney 165pts 2 Anthon Henn 168pts3 Carl Henn 146pts 3 Chris Koch 148pts4 JJ Koch 140pts 4 Andy Warren 148pts5 Jacques Husselmann 118pts 5 Jack Sutton 116pts

Ladies: Juniors: 1 Petra Piek 130pts 1 Liane Husselmann 98pts2 Lezanda Engelbrecht 93pts 2 Jordan Barnard 55pts3 Jacky Domoney 93pts 6 Nikita Nair 45pts

The Victor Ladorum was a different race all together with all the devisions battling it out with one another.Here are the top anglers for 2015-2016 season:1 Martin Piek 2954.74pts 6 JJ Koch 1228.26pts2 Chris Engelbrecht 2197.33pts 7 Anthon Henn 1119.47pts3 Petra Piek 1645.21pts 8 Chris Koch 1118.59pts4 Adriane Domoney 1592.19pts 9 Andy Warren 1024.02pts5 Lezanda Engelbrecht 1418.10pts 10 Jacques Husselmann 701.83pts

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There were some new club records achieved for the season, but I am sure there will be more in the new season…….

Here are the new records for 2015-2016 season:Moggel 0.868kg Jacques Husselmann Bridal Drift Dam 05/03/2016Tilapia 0.883kg Jacques van der Schyf Bridal Drift Dam 05/03/2016Carp 6.465kg Anthon Henn Nahoon Dam 06/12/2015Barbel 13.500kg Chris Koch Bridal Drift Dam 01/11/2015Eel 1.171kg Reaan Geyer Wriggleswade Dam09/01/2016

Many of these records are definitely gona be broken again, but who and by how much will be the question.

For any enquiries on how to join our club or anything at all, feel free to call me on 073 857 2209, e-mail sales@targetline.co.za or join on face book at Target Line FAC, or send me a Whats app message.

New on the shelves in Target Line, Vincent branch, East London…………. Gariep Super Dips, with ball dips and bullets, Magic Baits’ Liquid Gems to supplement the Floating Gem range, as well as other favorites, such as Conoflex ground feed. That is available in 2kg and 4kg bags. Super Cast SVB ground feed is also on the shelf in the next week. We also stock the complete Conoflex’ Louwtjie Signiture Series and Competition Series in dips and ball dips. Come and check them out.

See you all reel soon on the banks…

PS: Komani Gun Cellars (Powered by Target Line) in Queenstown, now also stock all your carping needs.

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Words/pics: Justin Du Preez

THE

BAIT BOXTIPS

SADDLEBACK BAITFOR CRACKER

Pecker proof saddleback (Armadillo) bait on a j-hook.

You need bait, cotton and a sharp knife. Quality strong j-hook on decent snood knot and two saddlebacks.

Remove by cutting the innards from around the outer edge and cut off the hard muscle.

1 2

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3

SPARGS MALLBEACON BAY043 711 7700

Sponsored by

Then cotton the two “lips” around the edge of the bait further protecting the soft inners.

Cotton on two “feet” with soft inners to the inside making sure the hook is nice and proud.

Thats it and make sure you use a short hook and sinker snood with

strong enough tackle to handle these dirty fighters between the

bricks.

4

5

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Send us your best catch picture and you could win an awesome prize. (Photo must be of yourself holding the fish and preferably still alive. Photos of gutted fish do not qualify)Email your entry to nigel@fishingec.com with the followingdetails: - Anglers full name - Species - Location caught- Bait used - Size/Weight

Angler: Sean Dean MurdochSpecies: BassLocation: Nahoon RiverBait: Strike Pro LureSize: 2 too small

Angler: Kieren Kelly HempelSpecies: LeerieLocation: TranskeiBait: 3” McArthy DropshotSize: 40cm

Angler: James KingmanSpecies: BassLocation: StutterheimBait: 5” Zoom Fat AlbertSize: Not Measured

CATCH & WIN

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March Winner

Angler: Thelma JonkerSpecies: ZebraLocation: Paradise BeachBait: Cracker PrawnSize: 45cm

Bradley wins himself an asortment of Triton lures. Sponsored by Bilimoria Fishing Tackle + an Alcock’s book.

Keep sending in your catches and stand a chance of winning a prize plus a copy of the new Alcock’s trolling and spinning book.

Angler: Bradley BeamishSpecies: Black SteenbrasLocation: Deep SeaBait: Catfish LegSize: 5.2kg

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TIDE CHARTApril 2016Information supplied by the Hydrographer SA Navy

The Hydrographer is not responsible for anytranscription errors.

TO ADVERTISEWITH

CONTACT:NIGEL@FISHINGEC.COM

073 690 2606

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