Bassas Da India – Jewel of the Deep -1

Part 1 of 2 “So, do you want to go to Bas. . .” “Yes!” This was the quickest I have ever uttered the word “yes”. I’m referring to a phone conversation with a friend of mine, Adrian Westraadt, a few years ago. All the arrangements were made and then the long wait began ... To quote a passage from Andy Coetzee and Craig Thomassen’s book Fishing Yourself Single (a must for any angler): “Bassas – doesn’t the name alone conjure up wild scenes of gigantic fish, wrecks, mountainous seas and danger every second? I first heard of Bassas da India many years ago from some old spearfishermen. These older-generation spear fishermen all got that nostalgic thousand-yard stare in their eyes at the mere mention of Bassas. What was this place that men spoke of with such reverence?” Our preparation started months ago and never had elements of chaos or panic; it had the slow and steady pace of an army preparing for war. The plan of attack was to bombard the atoll with poppers and stickbaits for GTs, do some heavy jigging and dropshotting as well as troll for yellowfin where we would stop and start popping as soon as the shoal was located. About three weeks before our departure, Adrian returned from his first trip to Bassas and the feedback contained descriptions of broken rods and spooled reels, monster “garoupas” (Portuguese for “grouper”) wanting to inhale your 10+ kg GT, 100+ kg yellowfin tuna and unknown trucks of the deep that could not be stopped. This was serious, but we were armed to the teeth and ready for battle. The day finally arrived and after a few handshakes, beaming smiles, mutual looks of “I cannot wait!” and a cold 2M, we head-ed towards the gap between Benguerra and Bazaruto islands and the big blue beyond. The group consisted of Adrian and myself, Mike Visser from Botswana, Paul Taurus and his 10-year-old son, Ronin, from Vilanculos, Johan Meyer and Graham Vincent from the Cape, and Brent and his trusted deckhand, Wayne, making up the crew. Allow me a short pause at this juncture. Many friendships have ended, blood has been spilt and disaster close to mutiny has struck trips like these where six men spend a week in a very confined space. Getting along is of paramount importance to enjoy a trip like this and we were fortunate in this regard. A great bunch of guys and a “lighty” adopted by all as their own made this a spectacular trip on the social scale. A most apt description indeed by Andy of a mythical place steeped in legend and history as the final resting place of many lost sailors’ souls as well as broken rods, reels and egos – claimed by behemoths that still roam its waters. Bassas is situated about 450 km from Vilanculos in the south-ern part of the Mozambique Channel and rises from a depth of 3 000 m. The rim of the atoll averages around 100 m in width and encloses a shallow lagoon not deeper than 15 m. The atoll is about 10 km in diameter, 25 km in circumference and is roughly circular. Graham’s wahoo that took a jig 25 m down. It was first recorded by Portuguese explorers early in the 16th century as the “Baixo da Judia” (Banks of Judia). The Judia was the Portuguese ship that discovered the feature by running aground on it in 1506. The name became “Bassas da India” due to transcription errors by cartographers. The most famous ship that ran aground there was the Santiago, a Portuguese East In-diaman en route to Goa in 1585. It is said the officers, crew and wealthy passengers took to the lifeboats, promising to return with help for the 400 others on board. It was an idle promise as all 400 drowned when the ship broke up beneath them. Its anchor is still visible on the reef today. Adrian’s 10 kg GT. Salvage divers have recovered a substantial amount of its treasure but one cannot help but think of the possibility of some of it still being undiscovered – a thought that just adds to its mystic charm. A real “Treasure Island”. Nobody knows exactly how many ships’ fate was sealed on the coral of Bas-sas but it is rumoured to be in the hundreds. What made it so dangerous was that it was hidden at high tide, even though it was well charted. Author with an early-morning Bohar snapper. We booked with Brent Craig, owner of Island Adventure Charters and owner/skipper of Pelagic 2, a 48 ft motorised catamaran. Brent has a solid reputation in the yachting in-dustry and has been sailing his whole life. As a skipper he has world-class skills and his knowledge of Bassas is un-surpassed as he has known the atoll since childhood. His first visit to Bassas was as a boy with his dad while using a sextant for navigation. Very valid points considering you are heading into open ocean to a place that is renowned for being dangerous. GT caught on a Williamson Nemo stickbait. We sailed for two days on relatively calm seas. This may sound long but with the marlin lures smoking off the stern and the anticipation of a strike from a “broomstick”, tackle preparation, sleeping, reading, great food and conversation, this was the perfect build-up – a slow and deliberate march to the “Battle of Bassas”. An upgrade. On the second morning we woke to the sweet sound of a ratchet and Paul landed a 30 kg yellowfin that sacrificed itself for the culinary benefit of some hungry fishermen. Soon the air was filled with the smell of seared tuna steaks for breakfast. Brent suggested that we drop a few jigs at Hall Banks, about 70 km SW of Bassas. It rises up from 2 500 m to 72 m. Dogtooth and amberjack sprung to mind. Everyone had the right gear for a trip like this with top-end equipment from Shimano and Jigging Master used the most. One of the most memorable fish of the trip – Adrian’s Napoleon wrasse that took a Starwalker stickbait. My weapon of choice was a Shimano Blue Rose Extra Heavy in overhead with a Shimano Torsa 40 with the 80 lb cam upgrade loaded with 100 lb Power Pro Depth hunter jigging braid – a beast of an outfit. I dropped a pink 400 g Williamson AJ Jig, a 13/0 hook with Kevlar platted four times. I got hit about 5 m off the bottom and felt this was a proper fish! I had the fish on for about 20 seconds when the Kevlar was bitten through. Paul’s first GT. Judging by the bent shape and bite marks on the jig, the general consensus was that it must have been a big dogtooth (see https://youtu.be/Gy941mR0klo). After this the sharks moved in and we all had hook-ups that got, as we fondly called it, “upgraded”. The sharks were everywhere, and I remember thinking that a mistimed step could be interesting . . . My best catch was the upper jaw of an amberjack followed by a huge oceanic white tip. This signalled the end of our session as we didn’t want to kill more fish and it was another six hours to Bassas. Ronin’s GT – as proud as can be! That afternoon we arrived at the legendary Bassas da India and I understood why this place was both revered and feared through the ages. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. The lagoon was the most brilliant turquoise rimmed by coral dropping off into the inky depths. This was it. After all the years of dreaming about it, we were finally there. The battle commenced with poppers and stickbaits flying towards the ledge of the atoll while Brent kept the boat in gear. Adrian with a stunning bluefin kingie. We had about two hours’ fishing before finding anchorage for the night and we popped hard. Johan hooked the first GT of the trip, a fish of 10 kg. Then chaos erupted. Due to the bowl effect of the atoll, water surges out of the lagoon over the rim with the tide dropping and this is where the predators wait. The number of fish caught in those two hours was amazing – GTs, Bohar snapper, whitespotted rock cod and bluefin kingies with their electric-blue colours, to name but a few. Ronin’s blackjack. We sought anchorage and then the fun really started! With the gas braai going and some leftover yellowfin for bait, we were ready to experience night fishing Bassas-style. The moment that the boat became stationary a multitude of fish started to appear, including GTs, Bohar snappers, sharks and blackjacks. The trick was to chum in small pieces, hide your hook in one, flip over the bail arm and bang! Ronin enjoyed this style of fishing and while tied to the boat to prevent him from falling over-board, he landed a big blackjack and his first GT in quick succession while we were all cheering him on. Dropshot was also highly effective and we landed swallowtail and Malabar rock cod as well as various kingfish. The action continued well into the night and it was a weary but content group settling in with the rhythmic lull of the yacht and the promise of another day in paradise. Johan with a blackjack caught at sunset. Due to the steep depth gradient we were anchored close to the atoll and had a watch roster to keep an eye on the anchor and the position of the yacht in relation to the atoll. I was on the graveyard shift from 12 am to 3 am and with the current ripping and big sharks 2 m away, I realised again that danger was close at all times. This was not enough to keep me from fishing, however, and after some light tackle fun, dawn broke with a lone popper arching towards the ledge followed by a Bohar snapper making its camera debut. The day started with promise indeed. To be continued . . . PART 2 The armoury.

Bassas Da India – Jewel of the Deep -1

by Bertus van Rensburg - Photos: Bertus van Rensburg and Johan Meyer

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