Fishing Encounters

Winter is closing in fast not sure if there are many fishing days left.

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Bass_Fishing_on_the_weekend.zip (222 KB)

Out on the water, we want to stand up and fish, and also sit down and paddle. And, sometimes, we want to do the opposite. This looks like one very cool boat. If I have the bucks I would have a rather large boat collection.

Have a look at this great looking stand up kayak.

It is catch and release as I don't see a hatch. I would love to try this sport for some bass fishing.

The spot called hole, is a place where the deep water comes very close to land via a steep drop off. The trick to fishing these spots is to NOT put your bait in the deep water but to keep it in the shallow next to the drop off. It is also wind dependant if the spot is good for fishing, also if the water is clean it is best to fish at night.

Good Luck

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Kosi Bay.gpx (7 KB)

I was busy looking at pinterest when this caught my eye https://pinterest.com/pin/151081762469325464/ I like it a lot!

I love fishing off a kayak but one thing I miss is standing, being on your bum for hours is not ideal. The places you can use this here is South Africa is wide. Not to mention the challenges of croc and shark infested fishing waters. Think of this in Richards Bay, just watch out for the ships, not to mention the lots and lots of rivers we have. When you go to a farm dam for a quick fish, the paddle board will be lots of fun.

One of me top reels on my fishingski (kayak) is a alvey. It is a very simple reel which is ideal for the salt water conditions. It is like a fly reel but only bigger and more simple. In the center is has a tension knob and you can activate a ratchet sound. I use this reel when I am trolling and bottom fishing. The big thing for me is that I feel connected to the fish and I have control of how much tension I put on the line. It also is simple so no parts that are going to rust and seize up, I can remove the spool and add some grease now and again and it just keeps working and working. I did have a funny thing happen once when I was fighting a fish. The handle unscrewed in my hand so suddenly the fish had freedom :)

More of what I have on my fishingski (kayak) and the tackle I use in posts to come. 

1. The wreck off Mtunzini. There is a wreck off Mtunzini about a km offshore, it is just north of the river mouth. I did once fish the wreck from a ski boat and as the waves went past part of the wreck became exposed. For me there is something scarying about fishing near a wreck. My plan is to paddle from the parking lot in the lagoon to the mouth and then from there paddle out to sea. The other option is to get a lift on a boat which I think might be better.
   
2. Hemmingways. Always been a dream of fishing in the clear Kenyan waters and catching sailfish on fly. The wives can also have a good time there.
   
3. Mozambique (again). I think I could spend many moons here fishing the waters. Mozambique has got some most amazing coastline and some very good fishing. Not to mention the captain and coke.
   
4. Sodwana (again). Find a mate and go and paddle to the reefs early in the morning and catch some king fish. Who's in?
   
5. Zimbabwe. I hear the bass fishing is awesome, and there are big tigers in the river below the dam wall.
   

Born in the rolling hills of Zululand, Eshowe to be exact. I grew up fighting runaway cane fires and hunting bush pigs for food on a farm in the Entumeni area. The question of high school came and being good with my hands I headed for the sleepy hollow of Pietermaritzburg and the technical high school called Linpark. Fitting and Turning was my main subject, I loved it so much that the teacher gave me the keys to the workshop so that I could work on stuff on the weekends ( I stayed in the boarding house). I made a Scarborough reel and was so proud of it as I had turned each screw, the only thing I did not make was the ball bearing. I took it fishing to Amatikulu and unfortunately if fell of the rod on the way home and it was gone forever. I was gutted. After school I did a bit of studying, land surveying to be exact. This is where I got introduced to diving for crayfish and tried some spearfishing. I am deaf in one ear and the pressure when I dive deep makes it painful in that ear so I did not get into spearfishing. My grandparents have a place on the St Luica Lake called Makakatana and in the July holidays a few mates and myself would go fishing there for salmon. We would arrive with a car full off booze and my grandfather would supply the boat and bait and we would catch fish at night and sleep all day. That was such fun. I gave up my studies of land surveying and did odd jobs here and there, I even started studying engineering are the tech in Richards Bay. Soon after that an opportunity came up to buy a 24hour take away called Road Island. My dad was in partnership with the petrol station. It was based just outside of the town Mtunzini, I ran that place for just over 5 years. I learn't so much in that time also and spent many hours fishing the area and going deep-sea, I even got my skippers ticket. I remember the Tradewinds Hotel on a Wednesday night was the place for a party, there was a guy that would sing and we would all get drunk and have such a party. While I was at Road Island, I started studding computers, first it was the hardware side of it. Then I met a girl! After a courtship we got married I sold the business and moved to the big city of Durban where I studied graphic and web design. This is the area where I found my love for computers. The internet was wonderful and instant, well almost as it was still dial up. We stayed there for 5 years and had 2 children, Eva and Lily 2 girls. We have since moved to the even bigger city of Gauteng and now have 3 children. We have adopted our last one because it was a dream of my wife's and I went along with it, his name is Cuba. I don't regret it for a second as this little boy is bringing huge love into my life every day.  I have grown and evolved worked for a few companies and now find myself working for myself doing online marketing, social media, project management, setting up of customized CMS (Content Management Systems), Blogs, general client liaison and a lot of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). My company is called AFROmedia and  I feel this is an exciting place to be, give me a shout if you need a website. I am busy trying to setup some partnership websites so that I can make some extra money to pay for my fishing missions and support my wife and kids.

While I was in Durban I helped Don Stander setup www.fishingski.co.za it is now very different to what it is was then. In Joburg I helped Shaun with fishing corner when he first started and it was just for fun. I love fishing and I don't think I will ever stop and I am keen to leave behind a memory of the fishing that I did. I remember how the stories of fishing my Grandfather would tell me would make me feel super excited to get out there and see watch I could catch and the amazing places I could go and see. So cheers to the love of fishing and a Captain Morgan.

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Cane_fires_and_bush_pigs.zip (619 KB)