Fishing for Tuna

Over the weekend I was blessed to be a guest on Pumbaa II and in the company of two of the best fisherman around. Algy from SouthCoastFishing and his brother Boet. Algy and Boet were commercial fishermen for 20 years and have been fishing since long before I was born.  If you could only have heard some of the stories that I was told, about fighting 150kg Marlin on light tackle and sharks bigger than the boat.

I got the call and was told to be ready for action at 5am, we were launching from Shelly Beach and would be fishing for Tuna on Protea Banks.  Protea Banks is a world famous reef about 8km offshore from Shelly Beach in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.  It is home to a spectacular variety of fish and is now unfortunately overpopulated by our favourite friends “The Tax-Man” or sharks. Hundreds of sharks have become resident on the reed, attracted by chumming and easy pickings off the lines of the fisherman – drastic steps have now been taken to try and control the shark population; such as no chumming, no bottom fishing and no bait allowed at all.

We used poppers to target tuna and what an exciting way to fish this is. For those that don’t know, a popper is a plastic lure that you cast and then retrieve in jerking motions. The popper is designed in such a way that it makes a splash and a popping sound when you jerk it. Believe me, the tuna go crazy for them and we were enthralled and humbled by seeing 4ft tuna smashing the surface aggressively hunting the popper. All this sometimes 6 ft from the side of the boat.

A selection of poppers

Then of course the chase is on and you have to land your fish as fast as you can, because the sharks are mean and merciless and there are hundreds of them. On the first day we caught 8 tuna and lost 8 tuna to sharks. They must have been big boys, as they swallowed the fish whole, popper and all; a very expensive way to fish. I hooked 3 big fish on vertical jig as well, only to be robbed of my catch and left looking sheepishly at Skipper Boet for loosing yet another lure. The name of the game, I guess.  One of the highlights was fighting a huge Tiger Shark, only to loose him due to my leader parting from the abrasion against his sandpaper skin.

The second day, we caught 6 and lost 3, I think.  I was blessed to catch the first and BIGGEST fish of the day – 5 minutes into fishing. What an absolutely incredibly experience, fighting a ferocious fish like a Tuna, on light tackle. The second “bonus” is that you know that it is a race against time because Mr Sharka is coming for your fish and if he gets it, you not only loose your catch, but also your popper; which is R120 a “Pop”

So after an amazing 2 days fishing, we had a Tuna Braai and Sushi and Tuna Salad and and and… I still have 2 vacuum packs of Tuna steaks in my freezer. I swapped my third pack with my favourite mechanic, for 2 hours labour on my car to replace a leaking Welsh Plug…. so all worked out just dandy.

Many, many thanks to Boet and Algy for the privilege being in their company and under their care in the deep blue.

Also thanks to Rob from Gremlins for his time and expertise in helping me to choose some potent poppers.

Now all I have to do is save for a boat…..