Red Sky At Dawn

In October twenty odd members of the North Coast Kayak Fishing Club (NCKFC) headed to Cape Vidal for its annual social fishing outing. On the Friday afternoon, driving through the Isimangaliso Nature Reserve on the way to our camping site we were greeted by an abundance of wildlife - waterbuck, blue wildebeest, kudu, elephant, buffalo and even a very old hyena that was on its last legs and would probably not have seen the light of the next day. Our targets in the sea were dorado, sailfish and yellowfin tuna and anything else that may take the hook. Shane Grove and Jason Pretorius considering what the best line is to take through the breakers to reach the open ocean. October is the start of the dorado and sailfish season and we all hoped that the fish would arrive in great numbers to entertain us, although the Windfinder App predicted an uncomfortable north-easterly wind for Saturday morning. On Friday afternoon a strong north-easterly was already blowing and that could only result in a strong Mozambique current which flows north to south all along the KwaZulu Natal coastline and is closest to shore at Cape Vidal. When the wind is blowing in the same direction as the current, it is nearly impossible to paddle against it. It is constant hard work just to stay in one place and not be swept away. Drifting downwind for only a few minutes means a couple of hours paddling back against the wind and current to beach back at Vidal. Author Manie Combrinck launching under a red sky on a flat sea. Jared Cooke - yellow kayak and Antonie Prinsloo - on the right, preparing to launch. Mike Harrison crashing through the nasty surf on a windy Saturday morning on his way to the fishing grounds. Mike Harrison does it sideways. Murray Van Wyk is making it look easy. Malan Bruwer is putting the one of a kind demonstration model of the new Pinnacle Boost kayak through its paces. It was therefore no surprise that only a handful of kayakers - the fit, the brave, the foolish, mad dogs and Englishmen - decided to launch on the Saturday morning. We watched them from the safety of the beach as they battled it out against the wind and current, staying close to the shore to avoid the worst of the strong current and brisk north-easterly wind. Before long the first three of them returned to the safety of the beach, but their efforts were not in vain as they all had caught fish, not the dorado and sailfish we had hoped for, but fish none the less. Murray van Wyk got two yellowfin tuna and Mike Harrison and Justin Getkate got one each. Windfinder predicted the next day’s weather to be perfect for fishing and there was frenetic activity as all club members, fired up by the success of the three anglers on Saturday morning, prepared to launch on Sunday morning. The evening saw great festivities but by eight most were three sails in the wind and we hit the sack early and dreamed of screaming reals and jumping dorado. Next morning we were greeted by a sky as red as a tuna’s blood. The sea was calm and the wind had calmed. All made it safely through the surf zone to the fishing areas and set out to find live bait. We did not have to search for long as live bait was plentiful - maasbanker, sugar mackerel, razorbellies and redeye sardine scrambled to take our Yo Zuri lures. Before long I was pulling two maasbankers behind me waiting for the action to begin. I waited, and I waited, but nothing happened. I went deeper, shallower, north and south, but my reels remained silent. Then there was a buzz of excitement and a sailfish was seen jumping behind Guy Bishop’s kayak. The fish took him in tow and it wasn’t long before he disappeared from view in the direction of the light house. Guy later told how the sailfish took a live maasbanker on the surface that was bridle-rigged with a 5/0 circle hook meant for dorado or tuna. The fish towed him for 3km from a depth of 25m to 55m. The circle hook held the fish perfectly in the corner of its mouth and when a tired Guy eventually managed to get the tired fish next to the kayak, he was able to remove the hook without difficulty and could release the fish unharmed. He had a long and lonely but satisfying two-hour paddle back against the current and stiff north-easterly wind. Justin Getkate on his way back to the beach on a windswept ocean with a yellowfin tuna in his hatch. It was time to head back to the beach and I met Wayne Biljoen behind the backline on our way in. My hatch was still empty and I asked him if he fared any better. He said he got three fish. I found it hard to believe that anybody could catch three fish on such a quiet day. Back on the beach Wayne pulled two dorado and a yellowfin tuna out of his hatch. Between 20 kayaks, only 5 fish were caught and Wayne caught three of them! A successful trio leaving the beach with their catches. Mike Harrison, Justin Getkate and Murray Van Wyk battled the wind and current but were rewarded for their efforts. Mike Harrison’s hard work paid off. Live bait brought Murray Van Wyk success. Justin Getkate with a yellowfin tuna caught on live bait. On a day that there were few fish around, Wayne Biljoen managed to land these two dorado and a yellowfin tuna. Redford caught a rare yellowfin tuna. The day broke with a red dawn that we will remember for a long time to come and ended with few fish being caught but friendships made and adventures shared. This sailfish took a live Maasbanker that Guy Bishop bridle-rigged to a circle hook. The hook held the fish in the corner of its mouth, so Guy was able to remove it without injury to himself or the fish and to release the fish unharmed. (Photo: Selfie by Guy Bishop). On our way to our camping site, we saw waterbuck, kudu, elephant, hyena, buffalo and many more.