Circle hooks conserve in estuaries

The circle hook is one of the most awesome inventions of the century, and these Fusion hooks are so sharp, but the key is not to strike! Twenty-five years as a commercial fisherman has moulded Pete Scheiflinger into a tough, hardened angler and a day on the water with him will test your endurance and passion for the sport to the fullest - his determination and everlasting creativity to land a prize fish is truly inspiring; however, he is committed to conserve. "It is time to give back", the soft-spoken man says with appreciation in his eyes, and compassion in his voice. The Garden Route is a very special place with many estuaries, lagoons and freshwater lakes along its coastline. These are all sensitive ecosystems and dependent on many variables to maintain their ecological balance. Silting, upstream dams and manmade structures can cause these estuaries to close up and not have any fresh saltwater flowing in and out of the lagoons. Not only does this cause the water to become brackish, but it also traps the population of sea life and prohibits the entry of new blood. Most of the saltwater species, and particularly game fish such as kob and garrick, only breed in the sea, so if an estuary is cut off from fresh seawater supplies, the resident fish become extremely susceptible to eradication in which fishing pressure by anglers plays a significant role. Single-handedly the Fusion 17 is launched like second nature. Now a boat builder and part-time charter guide, Pete is absolutely fanatical about caring for these fish and making sure young anglers are educated and fluent in understanding the deeper incentive of catch and release. "There is no problem with taking a few smaller fish for the pot," he says, "but it is imperative that we leave the larger prize fish behind for the sport. We never know what the next couple of years hold for the estuaries, so we need to be sensible". He takes a hard line on vandalism, as he calls it, and he gets upset with senseless slaughter of prize estuary fish. Barometric pressure changes affect the behaviour of fish significantly and one must amend your strategy and presentation. I was privileged to spend a day with him on one of the Garden Route’s estuaries. On arriving Pete skilfully launched his Fusion 17 singlehandedly while as I just stood there watching, feeling a bit silly just to stand and watch. I did offer to help but he is so versed in this second-nature action he just smiles as he declines: "No problem, just jump in at the jetty!" The boat is spacious and as I jump on it looks like nothing is loaded. A couple of rods on either side of the console is the only indication that we are going fishing. It is clean and neat, and gauging from the precision of the rod/reel selection and the rigs tied onto the paired sets, one for each species application, it is clear that the Pure Fishing Pro-Staffer is a real ambassador for his sponsor. Pumping pink prawn is a mundane task, but there is no need to take more than needed. It is easy to come back for more - these seemingly fragile crustaceans are quite tough and live for long if hooked correctly with the circles, ensuring that the hookset is perfect in the corner of the mouth every time. A tad concerned that we have left something behind, I start asking a few questions relating to my own checklist in a roundabout way. Translated directly it was something like this: Live bait - live-well left rear, landing net - under the casting deck, prawn pump - right front hatch, cast net - under the deck, terminal tackle - front hatch of console, raincoat and life jackets - left front hatch, rod holders - right rear hatch and so I can continue. Wow, such a lot of space on the boat, and I am yet again satisfied with our decision to go with Fusion Powerboats as our boating premier partner. (Our Fusion 19 is on the production schedule for mid-winter). We head off on a chilly morning with the sun's rays barely visible from behind the surrounding mountains, loaded with expectation of catching a few estuary monsters. Pete switches "his baby" on and explains how he rediscovered the value of a good sonar system and the information stored in it when his was stolen off his boat a few months ago. "You can replace the instrument but not the info, so I am now making regular back-ups" he adds with some nostalgia. He neatly follows the contours around the sandbanks to the first spot where we use small live mullet and soft plastic paddle tails on dropshot to target kob. The elf is quite busy and rip both the plastics and livies apart without us converting any bites into success. After donating half a dozen or so, we get a decent run, but I mess it up. "The circle hook is one of the most awesome inventions of the century, and these Fusion hooks are so sharp, but the key is not to strike," he explains. The mullet is hooked through the upper lip with a 3/0 Fusion circle hook and is as healthy as can be for a long time in the water. The circle hook ensures that the fish is hooked it one place only - the corner of the mouth. No damage to the throat and gills and with the smaller barb, it leaves only a small hole and the fish can be returned unharmed. So, the hook-up principle is simple - the fish swallows the bait and swims away. By slowly adding pressure to the spool with your finger or by tightening the drag, the bait is pulled out of the fish's mouth as it swims away, but the line goes out through the corner of the mouth, followed by the circle hook that can only turn inward to have the very sharp hook point that is bent inward penetrate securely through the wall of the cheek, in the corner. Good quality versatile rod holders are important when fishing for gamefish. Of course, it is all about balance - the size of the hook has to be in balance with the size of the bait and the size of the fish targeted. Pete explains how the commercial fishermen have also reverted to circle hooks lately, not due to the conservation aspect, but efficiency. He states that the strike rate is higher, the risk of a line being bitten off is lower and you never have to do surgery to get the hook out or re-tie a swallowed hook. It all makes sense, I thought to myself, now I just need to get rid of the urge to strike if the reel runs! The day was tough with the dirty water that came down with the rains while the falling barometer added to the complexity. But with a skilled angler and guide on board I was not worried. We missed the morning kob bite due to the presence of elf and my inability to convert a good run, hence it was time to look for some garrick (leervis). We fished live mullet and spent a decent amount of time on throwing topwater lures. We hit a small shoal of "leeries" and two of the reels started screaming simultaneously. Pete did not get a hookset but by some miracle I managed to drive the 3/0 circle hook through the corner of a nice leeries’ mouth. Theses leeries were smaller and a few more takes without committing to the larger baits resulted in no more conversions and we were off to pump some pink prawn. The shallow sand banks hold good populations of pink prawn and in a few minutes, we managed to have enough to go and get a few grunters. The beauty of fishing these estuaries is that you do not have to take what you are not going to use, as you can come back to get more if you run out. "It is so easy!" Pete remarks as he checks the quality of the merchandise in the small cooler box in which he keeps these large white pinchers with some prawn bodies attached. "Beware" he adds, "they know how to use these!" Spotted grunter are normally found in shoals in the estuaries and a source of many an hour of pleasureable fishing. This is a true story I learnt later in the day as one of these prize baits got hold of my finger and drew first blood. They are surprisingly tough and if hooked through the shell of the last two tail segments with the small circle hook, they stay alive for long, or until they get devoured by a spotted grunter, frequently referred to as the “poor man’s GT”. These strong estuary fighters are pound-for-pound one of the feistiest around. They blow holes into the mud with their long spout-like mouths and pick up the shellfish left homeless by the tsunami. If they come across two helpless dancing pink prawns offered as a kebab, they simply vacuum it in and swim away. A lightly set drag allows the line to be peeled freely and with a well-trained finger, the correct amount of pressure secures the Fusion securely into the corner of the mouth - and the fight is on. With light tackle this is a lot of fun and when you find a shoal, a lot of joy is accumulated in a short feeding frenzy. After a few nice grunters, we went after the leeries again, without success, and then as the sun set we attempt to get some kob again. These were clearly not on the menu for the day as all the bites we had for the day were so "noncommittal" if I can call it such. It was clear that in these conditions the fish were not feeding aggressively, and it was as if they picked up the bait only out of habit and not hunger. Gentle tugs, just holding on or just bumping the mullet were the order of the day. The last hour of daylight saw the barometer making a slight upturn and the first excitement after the day long fast was superbly demonstrated by the small leeries attacking the X Rap with utmost conviction. It was as if they did not know the size of their own mouths and stomachs. Put the lure within a meter of the reeds, twitch two or three times and the walk-the-dog action gets abruptly interrupted by an over-eager smash from below! In a few minutes a dozen of these landed on board and I could just imagine what it would feel if the lure was attacked with this type vigor by the great grandparents of these kamakazis. To target the larger garrick successfully, Pete scales up on the bait and the hook size. I had a near death experience where my heart stopped for what felt like two minutes as I saw a massive bow wave developing behind my lure. The water picked up as if a submarine approached. Pete's words echoed in my ears: "Do not slow down, keep the speed constant!" We had the discussion earlier as we were talking through all the scenarios where leeries smash a livie or a lure, especially on topwater. I was waiting for the water to explode as the large mouth I saw in my mind would engulf the rattling imitation of an injured fish. But… it was not the time and place and after following it for about five meters, the submarine elegantly disappeared into the depths again. I stood there for a few minutes as the adrenaline dissipated into my entire body leaving me shaking all over. The prize fish was not meant to be today, but nevertheless a day to learn a lot, appreciate the beauty of these waters and the wonder and careful balance of the creation. It was dark when we trailered the boat with content and a promise: We'll be back!