fishing ec magazine february 2016

1FEC | February 2016

EC BAIT DEMO CATCH COMPETITION TIDES

FISHINGKAYAK

CORNERBrett Armstrong

WRIGGLESWADECarp Comp

BORDERBOYGets Gold

KINGFISHAreena River Resort

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FEC | February 20162


Areena Resort GT 04

Bait Demo 24Rapala knot and lure clips.

Catch Competition 26Send us your photos and youcould win.

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

Target LineFreshwater Angling Club results after 9 competitions.

22

FEATURES

CONTENT

12

11

Bradd’s First Leerie

Kayak Corner

Border Boy Gets Gold

16


MAGAZINEEDITOR

Nigel Louw

CONTRIBUTORSNigel & Michele Louw

Des SchmidtColin Botcher

Brett ArmstrongCarl Henn

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Website: www.fishingec.com

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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 COVERMichele Louw with a GT Kingfish.

Well it is February already and the year is flying, already see Easter eggs are on the shelves. February is also Valentines month so it is time to spoil your loved one.

Have a look at our article on Areena River Resort. It is a great place to go relax and spoil him or her for a weekend getaway.

Don’t stop spinning the upper estuaries yet as they are still alive with fish and rivers are also holding some good swimming prawn.

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


I recently took my wife Michele away for a weekend. It was just to get a break from the hustle and bustle. My choice of

destination was Areena River Resort and chose to book the Wooden Chalets that are just a bit higher up river from the camp sites. I asked her if I must take a fish-ing rod with, but wasn’t really to worried about fishing as this trip was supposed

to just be to de-stress and chill out a bit. She said yes take rods so I packed in two seven foot rods and a box of lures. On arrival we checked in and then decided to hire one of the double kayaks and have a slow paddle up river and drift while casting some lures. I wasn’t really focused on fishing and was more just enjoying the scenery and adjusting the kayak with the


Weekend Break At AreenaResortGT KingfishWords/pics: Nigel & Michele Louw


paddle while drifting. Then all of a sudden Michele’s rod is bending and she screams “What do I do, I’m going to drop the rod” my reply with excitement was “Geez that’s a good fish on there, Just hold tight and let the drag do all the work. She had cast the lure along the bank from the kayak and the fish absolutely smashed it and the drag was screaming. After quite a few minutes the fish started to get tired and we caught a glimpse of it. It was a Giant Trevally also known as the GT Kingfish. This was a great catch with it being about 40cm in length. This species is extremely strong for there size and she did very well to land it. This was also her first fish ever caught on a hard plastic lure. I was so proud. We took some photos quickly and then managed to safely release the fish. These Kingfish species are caught at the top of our estuaries during the summer months and are great fun on light tackle. After that species and that size

Michele with a GT Kingfish caught up river at the

Areena Resort.

I was now itching to catch one too. We car-ried on drifting a bit higher up and as we reached the big rocks and cliff I had a good hit on my lure. The fish was on and felt quite strong. My first thought was another King-fish species, but it turned out being some-thing different. It was a baby River Snapper which was probably only about 30cm, but it fought like a 60cm Kob. They are another species that are extremely strong for their size. The Snapper will ambush any live bait or lure that is pulled past him. After a few more casts and roughly 2 hours on the wa-ter we headed back and returned to our Chalet. We did a little bit of preparation in the kitchen and then had everything ready for an evening braai. The wind had dropped and it was perfect conditions. After lighting the fire we sat on the Balcony and watched the water while sipping a glass of wine. We heard some splashes and chases so Michele said I must go fish if I want, so I stood next


Nigel with a River Snapper caught right at the top

section of the river.

Fishing right from the braai in front of our chalet.


to the braai and cast a surface lure for a while. I had a lot of chases and hits, but only landed one little Leerie later on. It was al-most the same size as the lure. That evening was really good with no wind, sitting on the bench in front of the fire and relaxing. I would highly recommend the Areena River Resort Chalets to anyone wanting an out-ing just to relax or to go fishing. The Cha-let is very comfortable with everything you need. Lounge, kitchen, bathroom, one dou-ble bed room and one room with two single beds. The best part is it is so close to the water with fish activity and birdlife.


We took our kayak out and paddled to a decent looking spot on the riv-er and set up our rods and put the

live mullet out. It was great fun to watch the big swirl and splash as the Leerie smashed the live bait…. His eyes almost popped out his head and he was wild with excite-ment! The Leerie took off and reel scream-ing, he glanced nervously towards me as if to say THIS IS A MASSIVE FISH HELP. We’ve caught plenty in the rivers and he’s got his fair share but the speed at this Leerie was peeling line off his reel was a first for him.We were fishing circle hooks and he slowly tightened up and was solidly hooked. That’s when the fun started and idle banter as he was puffing and taking strain, was lovely to watch. It was going nowhere and no chances of getting snagged so it was great

to watch it give him a decent fight. He even-tually landed it and the look of excitement and achievement on his face was priceless. He was super chuffed!! A couple of quick photos and a successful release. That fish definitely made his trip and he so proudly told anyone who would listen about his Leerie! Really great to see the youngsters learn and theexcitement and enthusiasm isvery rewarding.

Angler: Bradd BottcherSpecies: LeerieLocation: Morgan BayBait: Live baitSize: 42 cm

Bradd’s First LeerieWords/pics: Colin Bottcher


Light tackle boat(LTB) angling is a facet of angling that special-ises in the art of angling with 4 kg

line and is broken up into three divi-sions, estuary, off shore and freshwater.Out of the blue I received a phone call from Oom Gert Hattingh the president of SALTBAA ( South African Light Tackle Boat Angling Association) inviting both Kyle Schmidt (age 17 –U21 category) and my-self Des Schmidt (skipper) to participate in the upcoming zone six international to be hosted at the Gariep dam against Namibia and Zimbabwe. This tournament alternates yearly between the different countries of which South Africa was to host it in 2015. The Gariep Dam is on the border of the East-ern Cape and the Free State, it is approxi-

mately 100 km long. After a six hour drive we were confronted with a dam that was bordering on 50% of its capacity posing fur-ther obstacles as now there were many new islands and some partially submerged is-lands (crocodiles) that lay in wait to destroy our gearboxes. After a careful cruise around the dam we found our routes where it was safe to drive without unexpected surprises.The competition is hosted over five days of which the first two are practice days and the latter are competition days. The first day is generally set aside, searching for the cor-rect spot to place ones ground feed, what this means to those that are not familiar with Light Tackle Boat Angling, it is a se-lected spot where the skipper will feed in the hopes of attracting the targeted spe-

Border Boy Gets GoldGariep Dam International


cies. The Zone Six is a species competi-tion where we had to produce 15 carp, 10 barble, 10 yellow fish and 10 muddies of which proved to be challenging as the yel-low fish were spawning and the barble were in the shallows eating the yellow fish eggs.Day one the nerves are always on edge until the anglers break the ice and land their fist fish. Kyle’s angling partner for the Protea A side was Ruan Jacobs from Gauteng. Both Ruan and Kyle filled their quota of carp and barble quickly and they started catching bigger specimens of both species whilst returning the smaller fish. On returning to the scales Kyle took the day with the heavi-est bag and his boat partner came second with myself been top skipper for day one.Day two was a bit more difficult as the barble


did not want to play their part resulting in minimal and small specimens been landed. Carp once again were plentiful and saved the day. Ruan won the day with Kyle coming a close second with 6 kgs difference between the two anglers, putting our Boat Simply Wild once again in first place for day two.The scene for day three was set, as we knew we had already won the Festival and Zone six by taking the previous two days, the biggest challenge was now for 1st and 2nd places as both anglers are accomplished anglers and good friends. It was a “tough day at the office” with both anglers fishing their hearts out, the barble disappeared leaving them carp to fight over. They both landed nice specimens of carp up to 6kgs, Kyle managed to net nine yellow fish and Ruan three, which gave Kyle the additional point required to take the day. There was 9kgs difference between their weights for day three. Over all it was a bitter sweet day as in my eyes both these under 21 pro-tea anglers were worthy of the 1st place.

Once again Simply Wild took first place. The tournament was made up of two com-petitions, firstly the zone 6 international and secondly the festival competition. We managed to scoop ten medals in total namely – Kyle (netting 256.84kg’s) winning both the international and the festival with Ruan his boat partner (netting 232.12 kg’s) coming a close second for both. As a team (Protea U21 A) we won Gold for both tour-naments, Simply Wild took top weight with me been the top skipper for both tourna-ments. Ruan managed to take Gold medals for the biggest barble, carp and yellow fish. Border was proud to field a total of seven anglers in both the international and festi-val tournaments. Marcel Kingsley-Wilkens ( Protea B ) finished 6th with 128.18 kg’s over-all in the combine ranking list for both tour-naments with Marcel’s nephew Caden Louw (SALTBAA under 16) finishing 8th overall with 107.16kg’s. Graham Kingsley-Wilkens skippered for the SALTBAA under 16’s and ended up 10th in the skipper ranking. Chris Eberhardt represented the Protea mens side


and ended up 11th with 154.84 kg’s in the combined ranking list for both tournaments.To round it up, it was a tournament where we kindled some great friendships and created memories that we will cherish for years to come. I would like to thank all friends and family and especially Kyle’s sponsor Rapala VMC SA that assisted us, regardless how big or small your in-put together your support and friend-ship help us bring back the medals. KyleSchmidt -VMC KID AND PROUD TO BE ONE.


With the Festive season truly be-hind us now, hopefully you got to spend a lot of time on your

kayak making memories and some new friends, and catching the odd fish. Crazy how quickly time flies! I am super excites as there is lots of fun to come during 2016, especially if you are into Kayak Fishing. It was great to see so many new guys on the water and hear of how many new and used kayaks were purchased in the last few months. Well done guys and girls and we look forward to seeing you on the water.

Product Review – Project Hobie Pro Angler 12I am busy working on a new project involv-ing the top of the line plastic fishing kay-ak from Hobie. This kayak will blow your mind. Watch this space in next month’s issue. You have to see it to believe it!

Reserves and Sanctuaries:

I really need to emphasize once again re-garding fishing in the areas near Gonubie and Nahoon Reef areas off your kayak,

KAYAK CORNERFISHING

Words/pics: Brett Armstrong

please find out and understand the exact areas you can and cannot fish in, name-ly the sanctuaries, which are protected by environmental laws and Regulations. Please guys, if you are not sure of where to fish, find out before going out, this is important for all of us and especially for you. You don’t need to be facing a huge fine or legal action, as ignorance is no ex-cuse for breaking the law in this regard. Checkout our website for more details.

Kayak Club for East London:

As a matter of notice, I need to again inform all kayak fishing persons that in East Lon-don kayak fishing enthusiasts have a club under which we operate, namely, Kayak 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.The idea behind establishing the club, was to try and somehow formalize our sport and be seen as a serious entity who operates within the rules and regulations and guide-lines of our area. We wish to promote safety and a better understanding of our environ-ment and natural resources. We believe this will go a long way in promoting our amazing region and the sport as a whole. We have a host of open days, competi-tions and breakfast paddles planned as well as away trips in the Transkei, Durban and the Western Cape. Everyone is wel-come. It has been great lately with a con-stant number of kayak fisherman going out in large groups and having fun together on the ocean. There is always safety in num-bers and lots of helping hands. Please join in – we really look forward to seeing you.


Kayak Fishing – Safety requirements for the ocean:

It is imperative that I take this opportunity to once again mention the importance of safety and what you are required to carry in terms of the national regulations in your kayak when fishing in the ocean. These are the minimum requirements, which are essen-tial safety items as required by law under instruction from SAMSA South African Marine Safety Association www.samsa.co.za as well as some guideline from SA Kayak Fishing:- Have a fishing license from the Post Office for the specific category for skippering and fishing from a kayak. Kayak must be over 3 meters in length to go to sea (beyond the backline)

- Kayak must have minimum 30% buoyancy,- You must wear an approved PFD (personal flotation device)- Carry a 10 meter rope as a rescue tow rope,- Pencil flares (check the date of expiry),- Bailing device (bucket or collapsible bucket) You can use your tackle box or a sponge,- You must have 750ml drinking water,- You must not exceed 1.85km from land (1nautical mile),- You can launch anywhere except if the launch site is restricted by Port Authority, Pri vate owner, Parks Board, or Municipality for which you may be asked to pay a fee,- A strong paddle leash, - Carry a cell phone in a waterproof pouch in case of an emergency,- Join your local Kayak fishing club,- Always check the weather forecast before going out at sea,- Make sure you can turn over and climb on your Kayak if it capsizes,- Never paddle alone always paddle with at least one person,- If your Kayak capsizes stay with it and phone for help,- Tell someone where you are going and estimated time due back,- Check your Kayak before leaving for cracks and leaks,- Make sure the bungs are in and rods and related items secured,- Know your own personal paddling capabilities and do not exceed them,- Don’t forget your fishing license and vessel license,- Obey any Parks board or municipality launch site rules, - A plastic whistle is also handy to have to attract attention,- A mirror to use for attracting attention (using suns reflection),- Display your name, license number and cell number on your kayak.

This month’s tip on Fish Finders: If you fish in the rivers only, it is generally not necessary to get a state of the art fish finder, unless you are very serious about your fishing. If you frequently fish in local rivers, it’s a bit of an over kill, however, if you like exploring a lot of new rivers and estuaries, well then for sure, great idea to find holes and structure. However, ocean fishing, a fish finder is a great idea for sure, irrespective of where you fish, this is always a handy tool to have and opti-mizes you time and experience. Remember, the bottom of the ocean is forever changing, so understanding what is going on on the bottom is a fantastic way to fish. The fish finder also assist you in finding baitfish as well, this is certainly a huge advantage. It also helps you better understand water temperature and the bottom surface/structure should you want to


anchor. For me a fish finder is really fun and helps you better understand your environ-ment in which I am paddling and fishing in.The next question would therefore be whether you purchase a basic fish finder unit only, or a GPS combo unit/separate GPS unit. Well, for me, I use a 9 amp/12 Volt bat-tery and it lasts ages on my GPS/Fish Finder combo unit, so battery life for me not an is-sue at all. My battery lasts at least 18 hours. But if you are going to use a really small battery, like a 2amp, this will not even last 4 hours on a combo unit. So this will be a problem depending on how long you fish. A separate hand held GPS unit is also good if you don’t want a combo unit, but you need to ensure it is mounted/secured carefully to prevent loosing it through surf or just dropping it overboard. But it is important to realize, catching fish is about respect-

ing your environment and fish, so catch and release is very important, don’t take undersized fish and never take more than you need, exercise good will and respon-sibly at all time. Tomorrow is another day.

For more information on kayak fishing and related aspects, please do not hesi-tate to contact me at [email protected]. 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.


On Saturday 09-01-2016, Target Line Freshwater Angling Club had its 10th club competition for the sea-

son at Wriggleswade Dam, on the farmer’s side. This the first comp for the new year 2016 with a hope of plenty fish to come.The morning started off very cloudy with the occasional drop or two. Not much of a wind to speak of, but just enough to make the po-liceman at the end of the lines, put thought in your mind……..was that a bite or not?07:00, the siren howled, and lines went flying. There was a sense amongst an-glers that today was not a 400m sprint, but more a marathon. Many anglers took their time to prepare their baits to perfec-tion in the hope that this will be the win-ning recipe; while others had strategies planned and hoped all would work out.At the end of the day it was unclear which worked better; bait or patience. Personally I think that patience had the upper hand.Few anglers managed to overcome the odds, but there were some nice catches. Reaan

Geyer (Master) landed 4 carp (13.92kg) and an eal (1.17kg) with a biggest carp for the day of 5.087kg. The rest of the anglers only managed to land carp as the results below would show. All-in-all it was a fantastic day with the weather finally coming around and leaving us with sun-tanned bodies.

Here are the results of the competition:

Seniors:1 1 Martin Piek 5 fish 16.535kg2 Adriane Domoney 2 fish 4.148kg3 Carl Henn 1 fish 3.131kg

Masters:1 Reaan Geyer 5 fish 15.091kg2 Anthon Henn 2 fish 6.414kg3 Richard Ackerman 1 fish 4.485kg

Ladies:1 Jacky Domoney 6 fish 13.953kg2 Petra Piek 1 fish 2.185kg

TARGET LINEFreshwater club results comp 10Words/pics: Carl Henn


It has come to that part of the year where no more standings would be an-nounced………..we do need some sur-prises to be left over for the end year function in March. Martin Piek has offered to host a fresh water angling clinic for all who would like to learn some tricks on how improve on your catches. This clinic will cover casting, netting, traces, bait presenta-tion, and all the rest. If anyone is inter-ested, the proposed date is 27/02/2016. Please book your spot in advance. For any enquiries on how to join our club or anything at all, feel free to call me on 073 857 2209, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or join on face book at TargetLine FAC, or send me a Whatsap mes-sage. See you all reel soon on the banksPS: Komani Gun Cellars ( Powered by Target Line ) in Queenstown, nowalso stock all your freshwater needs.


Words/pics: Nigel Louw

THE

BAIT BOXTIPS

RAPALA KNOT& LURE CLIP

With all the lure action up rivers at the moment, here is a knot or clip that can help improve the action of your lure.

ASSORTED LURE CLIPS AVAILABLE FROM SPARGS


SPARGS MALLBEACON BAY043 711 7700

Sponsored by

TYING THE RAPALA KNOT


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 [email protected] with the followingdetails: - Anglers full name - Species - Location caught- Bait used - Size/Weight

Angler: Paul van JaarsveldSpecies: Red RomanLocation: NahoonBait: SquidSize: 1.15kg

Angler: Craig TessendorfSpecies: River BreamLocation: TkeiBait: Flutterstick lureSize: Not measured

Angler: Bradley BirkholtzSpecies: Spotted Gully SharkLocation: ?Bait: ?Size: 1.2m

CATCH & WIN


January Winner

Angler: Bradd BotcherSpecies: LeerieLocation: Morgan BayBait: Live BaitSize: 42cm

Angler: Chad IkinSpecies: KobLocation: Gonubie RiverBait: Live MulletSize: 7kg

Chad 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.


TIDE CHARTFebruary 2016Information supplied by the Hydrographer SA Navy

The Hydrographer is not responsible for anytranscription errors.

TO ADVERTISEWITH

CONTACT:[email protected]

073 690 2606

fishing ec magazine february 2016

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