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OFFSHORE ANGLING => Offshore Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Capt. Hook on November 05, 2017, 04:06:46 PM
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Offshore Fishing Report Nawty Girl Maiden Charter Durban 05-11-2017
Today Nawty Girl did her first charter and it ended with pleasant results.
The weather forecast showed light SW winds, but we got light NE winds getting stronger as the day progressed instead. Fishing was not easy with cold green water and overcast conditions, early this morning we got some rain. Overall the conditions were comfortable.
The fish finder was showing nothing, not even bottom fish and as it was only a 5hr trip so we could not go too far. I tried North and nothing; we went deeper over some pinnacles, ledges and wrecks and nothing, we tried around some ships and nothing. I eventually headed South of Durban and the Rapala X Rap 40s delivered us some great Yellowfin Tuna, even with a double hook surprise at the end up which made for a great days fishing. The new Tyrnos reels were also christened along with Nawty Girl.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
#gamefishing #tuna #game #deepsea #fishing #charter #Durban
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(clap) :beer:
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Offshore Fishing Report - Durban - 21-11-2017
Got a call to do a short charter late this afternoon and so we went out. On the way out the port right at the South Pier we spotted a large GT of about 30Kg dashing through the swells breaking over the sand bank.
It was sad to see the amount of litter floating around in the sea, packets, bags, bottles, containers of all kinds by the 1000s, right out as deep as 200m. I am sure this has all washed out from the rivers after all the rains we have been having.
The water was warm but very green, and it was a very ugly swell today, very steep and choppy even. The wind started out as a SE but then turned to an East wind and got stronger and the swell got even more ugly. Lots of lures got caught up in all the plastics floating around making fishing very difficult. I the end we were rewarded with one small Yellowfin Tuna. We got back as a strong SW of about 35 knots hit Durban so perfect timing.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Offshore Fishing Report Nawty Girl Durban 26-11-2017
Stunning weather today with flat seas, which was great after all the lousy weather we have been having, we were supposed to do the trip tomorrow but the forecast looked terrible so we moved it to today.
Inshore the water is still green, but deeper out we found crystal clear blue warm water and there is still a lot of litter floating around which is annoying as it keeps snagging the lures, none the less there was less litter than our last trip.
Our trip today was a short 5 hour trip with a family from Gauteng and we launched from Wilson Wharf at 05h00 and made our way out to sea to be back by 10h00. It was not long after we set our lines at about 06h00 when one of the reels started screaming with a serious bend in the rod and a big fight followed, I thought it was a large Yellowfin Tuna by the way the line went deep and about 1 hour later we found that we had tail hooked a Hammer Head Shark with one of the Rapalas, no wonder we had such a big fight on our hands and the angler was very excited with his catch, we had teased him about taking so long but he did well with a tail hooked catch.
This was not to be the end of the surprises and when I got my hands onto the Shark I found that the leader had wrapped around the lower tail fin with a single wrap so even a brief moment of slack line would have resulted in the fish coming off. With the Shark safely released and back in the water we continued out to deeper waters and managed to land a small Yellowfin Tuna, by then time had run out and we headed back to port.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
#game-fishing #tuna #game #deep-sea #fishing #charter #Durban
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Nawty Girl has taken mooring 45 at Wilsons Wharf and after 6.5 years of Fat Girl being on mooring 42 she has now moved to mooring 44. This is great as both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl are now next to each other. Moving Fat Girl stirred up many memories of starting up and then taking the plunge to go for a big boat back then, and I remembered all the challenges and the successes which has made Fat Girl one of the most popular charter boats based in Durban.
SEASON IS HERE - BOOK NOW WE FILLING UP FAST
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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A Stormy Dorado into the backing
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 11-12-2017
We had a family from Vryburg booked a 5 hour charter Nawty Girl for this morning, and even though no rain was forecast there was a light rain at 05h00 this morning and so as Fat Girl was not out I decided to take them out on Fat Girl at no extra cost so they could benefit from the shelter of the cabin.
So it was raining, and as we headed out of port there was a thunder storm with lightning over Durban North and Umhlanga and I could see clear skies in the South so I decided we will fish South today. Inshore the water was colder at 23deg.C and so I tried a bit deeper on the 150m but it was not much better at 23.4deg.C and so I decided to go shallower and target known pinnacles and wrecks. The water was not that clean and but over a wreck in about 80m of water I saw some good fish showing on the sounder, but they were not coming up even after several passes, so we moved away, I saw no evidence of game fish anywhere else so decided to persist on the 80m wreck and after the 2nd pass the reel started screaming and line was peeling off. When I saw the showings I had thought they were Yellowfin Tuna, but when the line was running I could see the fish was staying on the surface and so I knew it was not Tuna and guessed it was a large Wahoo as the fish had peeled off the 300m top shot very quickly and we were into the backing, once we had gained some line and the fish was 200m out to my surprise there was a Dorado doing acrobatics and jumping all over. In the end we landed a decent size Dorado but it was a lot smaller than the strong fight it gave.
With 2 hours left Dad had his fish and it was time to get the little guy have his turn so out came some light spinning tackle and bait and we fished a pinnacle catching various smaller species, some Trigger Fish, Slinger and a nice Englishman. Father and son were now both happy with their catch and we headed back to port and docked just after 10h00. By that time I was wet and cold as we had to pass through some rain to get back.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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It is always nice to see joy when taking a family out, and the youngster get some fish.
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:win: that little guy was having a ball :bow: :toppie:
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Miles of ocean and one Hot Spot
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 12-12-2017
We had a father, son and son in law from Hilton out with us on Fat Girl on an 8hr charter that ended up being 9hrs. We launched at 04h30 this morning and the same as yesterday we headed out in the rain, fortunately it cleared up before we even got out the port and for a while we even had some sun.
It was not a pleasant sea today with a strong S-N current, a NE swell and a SW wind making the water very lumpy. In the morning there was a very light SW wind but by 09h00 it started picking up and as the day went on it got stronger and was blowing about 25 knots by the time we got back to port at 13h30 making for a very bumpy ride home.
Inshore the water was cold and well under 23deg.C and so we headed out to deeper waters and eventually on the 200m Ballito side we found a warm patch of clear water with 24.5deg.C which was about 5km long in a sort of oval shape about 3km wide. So a rather strange patch of water that had a lot of activity and we got fish, at 08h00 we started up with a triple up of some smaller Yellowfin Tuna and so everyone had now caught a fish. Then we had 3 lines go away again and on one of them was a fish much larger than the others, unfortunately there was not enough glue on the hooks and all 3 fish came off. I carried on working the patch and it was not long and we had a line snap off the riggers and the reel was screaming and the young lad landed a nice little Bull Dorado. I continued working the patch and again one of the reels started screaming with seemed a good sized fish and again the fish came off, very annoying. I did another pass through the patch and a small Marlin came into the spread, snapped 2 lines off the riggers and hooked up on the 3rd one, but it was not to be. I was very frustrated as to have 3 on/offs in 1 trip is more than I can bear.
Eventually it was time to make the 40km journey back to port in a strong SW wind and against a strong S-N current which made the journey much longer taking an hour longer than usual, on the way home we managed to land another 2 Yellowfin Tuna bringing our tally for the day to 5 Yellowfin Tuna and 1 Dorado and everyone was very satisfied
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna off the bottom
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 17-12-2017
We had a bunch of guys that wanted to go bottom fishing today and launched at 05h00 for a 6hour trip. Sea conditions were ideal for bottom fishing today with a 1-2knot S-N current and a very light SE wind, so light that one could hear a ships engines from 2 miles away. The sea was flat and glassy with temperatures between 23.5degC and 24.5 deg.C.
We trolled out to the reefs but nothing toughed the lures but we caught a lot of Bottom fish today of all kinds, even a Yellowfin Tuna took a bait of the bottom.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Little Guy loves Fishing
Fishing Report Durban 18-12-2017
I always love taking children fishing, especially when they have a passion for it at a young age. This little guy was not comfortable with the swells in deeper water so we brought him into the backline to catch mackerel and he had so much fun on Nawty Girl and caught a whole bunch of mackerel and a few other species.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Early Morning Tuna Bite.
Fishing Report Durban 24-12-2017
Today was one of those great mornings, flat seas and warm water at almost 25deg.C and very clean with a slight current. We had a 5 hour Mini Deep Sea so it was not a trip out to the deep and we stayed inshore. We launched at 06h00 and trolled out to the closer reefs and by 07h30 we had all the lines go twice with Yellowfin Tuna and 1 Skipjack Tuna, so with a whole bunch of Tuna in the hatch we started bottom fishing catching a bunch of Slinger and some Englishman.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Lonely Dorado.
Fishing Report Durban 26-12-2017
After yesterdays wind the water was all green again but it was warm with temperatures from 24.3deg.C to 24.8deg.C. We had a moderate SW wind a SE swell and a very strong S-N current making for difficult fishing conditions today. Fat Girl landed 1 nice Queen Dorado and Nawty Girl got some bottom fish.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Best of the West.
Fishing Report Durban 28.12.2017
With an early launch we made our way out deep and headed south, we found warm, clear purple water just under 26deg.C. Birds diving and hovering, flying fish, bait schools and lots of small tuna jumping everywhere; we were excited and were expecting something big. Before 06h00 we had a nice size Dorado landed and in the hatch. The forecast had shown that in the afternoon a strong SW wind of about 21 knots was coming, but it hit us out in the deep at about 07h00 at close to 30 knots and the sea got big so we decided to turn and run back with it to shallow waters which would be smaller and so we headed towards Umdloti but sadly the waters here were green and void of life by 11h00 we were close in and spent the rest of our trip fishing for mackerel on light tackle.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Last day out in 2017.
Fishing Report Durban 31.12.2017
Both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl made their way out of port early on the 31st to do their last trips for 2017 after a very busy week. It was a stunning day with great conditions, warm clear water, light winds and flat seas.
Nawty Girl got 3 Yellowfin Tuna and 4 Oceanic Bonitos (Skipjacks) along with some bottom fish and Fat Girl landed a nice Dorado and some nice bottom fish along with a monster Trigger fish in the most beautiful colours which was released. A great day for both boats.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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:tkx: Mike for holding the fort , great photos. :toppie:
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Last day out in 2017.
Fishing Report Durban 31.12.2017
Both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl made their way out of port early on the 31st to do their last trips for 2017 after a very busy week. It was a stunning day with great conditions, warm clear water, light winds and flat seas.
Nawty Girl got 3 Yellowfin Tuna and 4 Oceanic Bonitos (Skipjacks) along with some bottom fish and Fat Girl landed a nice Dorado and some nice bottom fish along with a monster Trigger fish in the most beautiful colours which was released. A great day for both boats.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
I think that is actually a filefish (diferent family altogether from trigerfish). From the pic it looks like the scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus).
Nice catch (clap)
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Last day out in 2017.
Fishing Report Durban 31.12.2017
Both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl made their way out of port early on the 31st to do their last trips for 2017 after a very busy week. It was a stunning day with great conditions, warm clear water, light winds and flat seas.
Nawty Girl got 3 Yellowfin Tuna and 4 Oceanic Bonitos (Skipjacks) along with some bottom fish and Fat Girl landed a nice Dorado and some nice bottom fish along with a monster Trigger fish in the most beautiful colours which was released. A great day for both boats.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
I think that is actually a filefish (diferent family altogether from trigerfish). From the pic it looks like the scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus).
Nice catch (clap)
Thanks for that.
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First Dorado for 2018.
Fishing Report Durban 02.01.2018
With a stiff SW wind and unsettled seas from the SW Buster the day before we made our way out for a short morning trip, we eventually found some nice clean warm water and managed to land a small Dorado. Inshore the water was dirty and a strong reverse current.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Wahoo Account opened for 2018.
Fishing Report Durban 06.01.2018
The conditions have been improving and there is a lot of clean warm water around, especially out in the deep. Inshore has been very quiet and we have had to travel a fair distance to get fish. Early in the trip we hooked up with a nice Dorado and then later on we had a double Wahoo strike landing one and dropping a bigger one at the boat.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Dads Dorado.
Fishing Report Durban 07.01.2018
With a short morning trip that had to be split between game fishing and bottoms we shot out early in the morning and by 06h30 we had a nice Queen Dorado in the hatch, after that we made our way back to shore doing bottoms at various reefs with some slinger, copper bream, stumpnose and a rather large blacktail.
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Looks like you have been pretty busy, Mike. Good to see after the rough patch you went through (clap)
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Looks like you have been pretty busy, Mike. Good to see after the rough patch you went through (clap)
Thanks Marcos. And the new set of Tiagras have all caught fish and are broken in.
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Wahoo Again...
Fishing Report Durban 08.01.2018
We had a 5hr trip and left early to try get some fishing in before the west came through, water was warm and over 27deg C. and it was stunning purple water out in the deep, probably too warm to get any fish, inshore the water was also a stunning purple but a little cooler and we managed a really king size Bonnie which reminds me that we have not caught any Bonnies for quite some time let alone a big one, a little while later the Rapala X Rap 40 running on one of the lighter rods went of and the Tyrnos 30 was singing landing us a good Wahoo. We also had a strike on the shot gun from something big, perhaps a Black Marlin or a large Wahoo, not sure never saw what it was. We got back to the dock well before the west came through.
If Wahoo are around then Black Marlin are around so the clock is ticking and it will be game on soon, the next 4 months from now until April is the best time for Marlin in Durban.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nice going Mike! Some good fish!
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Nice to see some fish coming out (clap)
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Black Marlin Afternoon.
Marlin Report Durban 10.01.2018
We had a 5hr trip and left at noon (12h00), 38 minutes into the trip we had a massive bonnie on deck. The water was purple, crystal clear and 27deg.C, we had a light SE wind blowing and a 2.5m swell. Conditions were perfect. 1 hour into the trip as I had just reached the area I had thought would be the spot; the inside port rigger elastic popped and the Tiagra began to sing that wonderful Marlin tune. ZZZZZZZ...ZZZZZZZZZ. The fish took about 600m of line before we managed to turn it and we were well into the backing. After a 1hr 40 minute fight we had a Black Marlin at the boat. Sadly it went under the swim platform, between the motors and then around both motors and I was not able to get it free fast enough and had to cut the motors and it drowned. I could not revive the fish and so could not release, so we cut the leader and pulled the fish out onto deck. A nice size Black Marlin estimated at 150Kg (330lbs). On the way back we hooked up a nice little Bull Dorado and dropped another along with a small Tuna. Just before lines up we also had a Sailfish in the spread but it did not chew on any of our offerings. I knew when the Wahoo and Bonnies started coming around we would be getting a Black very soon.
A very happy angler with his first Marlin, and our Marlin account opened for 2018.
Well done Henk, you fought your Marlin like a pro.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Very Nice Mike
Your fortunes have turned and you putting in some decent trips for your clients, well done. Great fish coming out, pity about the Marlin.
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Nice :rck"
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Nice one Mike.
You sure know your waters.Hopefully another one soon.
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Well done Mike (clap)
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Congratulations Mike! (clap)
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A Big Honeycomb Skate in the Harbour.
Fishing Report Durban 12.01.2018
We had two 5 hour harbour trips and had some great fun, catching a bunch of small Hammer Head Sharks which are such great fun to catch on light spinning tackle, a variety of other fish species, a large Gurnard and a good size Rockod. The highlight of the day was a very large Honeycomb Skate which took 1hr20 min to land on light tackle. We did not boat the Skate, we kept it in the water and released it. All other fish caught were also released.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Game Fish Grand Slam.
Fishing Report Durban 26.01.2018
The past week has had some very difficult fishing conditions with the water very cold and temperatures under 21 deg.C, along with green water and so we have not been lucky with Game fish which is so frustrating, we have been getting bottoms with a lot of Slinger being caught, I am surprised at the amount of Black Tail around. We managed a nice Tropical Yellow tail on light spinning tackle off the bottom on one trip, and also some nice copper bream on another.
Today was a vast improvement and the strong SW winds have brought us some warmer and cleaner water and it looks like things will start getting better. We had a short 5hour charter today with nice results, 2 x Dorado (A bull and a Queen), 3 x Yellowfin Tuna and 2 Oceanic Bonito (Skip Jack Tuna), so 3 game fish species in one trip making it a game fish grand slam and some very happy customers.
I hope the water conditions continue to improve.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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What are those two fish in the last pic Capt.? Thanks for your updates BTW, always enjoy reading them..
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What are those two fish in the last pic Capt.? Thanks for your updates BTW, always enjoy reading them..
Copper Bream
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About the Turtle and the Yellowfin
Fishing Report Durban 29.01.2018
This weekend was very frustrating with the weather reports getting it totally wrong, On Saturday light NE winds were forecast and we launched early for a 5 hour trip, as we started heading out the wind picked up and by the time we got out to the 100m we had almost 20 knots of wind from the NE. The water was green and cold and completely different to what we had the day before where we hooked up some really nice fish and we were not able to find any game fish and ended up doing some bottoms which was also difficult in the cold water with ice cold sinkers.
The forecast showed 30 knot SW winds for Sunday and so we cancelled the trip for another day, and then the day turned out to be stunning with no 30 knot winds and very fishable.
Today we had a short 4hr inshore trip and the conditions were really stunning with smooth flat seas and even though the North was still green and cold we found some nice clear warm water down South shortly after we crossed a current line and saw a stunning and very large turtle who gave us a boost as moments after we saw him we hooked up our first Yellowfin and ended up with 4 for the day. They were not large with the smallest measuring 60cm but on light tackle gave us some good sport.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Cheers man..
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and saw a stunning and very large turtle who gave us a boost as moments after we saw him we hooked up our
Looks more like a "her" :hehe:
Male turtles have a long tail which looks absent from your pic... always a nice sight!
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and saw a stunning and very large turtle who gave us a boost as moments after we saw him we hooked up our
Looks more like a "her" :hehe:
Male turtles have a long tail which looks absent from your pic... always a nice sight!
LOL
Thanks Marcos, I must admit I have no idea about that so just called it him. Thanks for the lesson, I learnt something new today.
Usually they dive before one can get close enough for a good pic, today I consider myself lucky to get so close to such a magnificent creature.
As you say it's female so one should exercise caution as with the human species :creep:
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A Big Lady, the one that got away, the Tuna and a Shark.
Fishing Report Durban 2-4.02.2018
We had 3 long trips from Friday through to Sunday with various guests from the UK and Austria, our team consisted of Erik, Kurt and myself.
On Friday we launched very early so we could be back well in time before the big South West wind came through and this worked out well and were back an hour before it hit Durban. On Saturday we launched very late to allow the big swells to die down and the sea just got better and better all day, we did get caught in some rain twice on the day. Sunday was normal hours and nice seas and the water had cleaned up nice after Friday afternoons big West but left us with a reverse current.
On Friday water was green cold and dirty up to the 200m and so we first went deep and found the Agulhas current was screaming well over 8 knots so we came back in closer and fished the colour line that we found on the 200m, we had 2 Marlin strikes and landed 3 Yellowfin Tuna.
Saturday was a cool day and overcast with some patches of rain and we managed 2 Dorado and a Yellowfin Tuna, the 1 Dorado was a large Queen and was the biggest fish the angler had ever caught, she put up a good fight and aerial display for us. Its so awesome to be part of someone getting a new personal best and sharing in their excitement.
Sunday was a very frustrating day with 2 lost fish, we landed a Dorado and then Grand Dad (94 years old) had a go at a really large Oceanic Bonito (Skipjack Tuna) and for a while I could actually see the young boy in his face. It gives me great pleasure to see people filled with such delight. Later on in the day we hooked up into a fairly large Black Marlin which took a lot of line and did some really good jumps bouncing away like a bunny being chased by a fox, when it was about 400m away during the fight, the hook pulled and we lost it. I was really bummed and struggled to compose myself for a short while after that, so I had my sulk and then got on with the day. I really hate losing a good fish especially once you have seen it. We got back into action and then we hooked into a good size Yellowfin Tuna of about 15Kg with a Rapala X-Rap and it was right there at the boat just out of reach of the gaff when a very big and greedy Shark took it right before our eyes. At first I was not sure if I had seen this correctly, but this was confirmed by the angler who said the same thing.
Long trips are really great as one has time to interact and get to know each other, the trips are not rushed as it is with shorter trips, lots of jokes and stories are told and it all makes for a really fun day and an enjoyable time at sea.
Besides the fishing we got to see Dolphins several times on all three days and also some Turtles, we also saw a Dorado chase something as it rushed past the front of the boat and change colour in the process, the speed of the Dorado in action was impressive, there were loads of little flying fish and we saw them regularly along with a good variety of sea birds.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Another Black Marlin for Fat Girl
Marlin Report Durban 10.03.2018
On Saturday morning the clean purple water was back inshore and we saw a Marlin come bouncing into the spread from the side and 1 Tiagra start screaming and it was not long before the line was halfway into the backing with over 600m of line out before we able to turn the fish. We had to fight on a light drag because we had a small Blue/White Williamson Sailfish Catcher rigged with a 6/0 hook on a 1mm leader, so rather delicate for the fish at hand. 2 hours later and by that time the NE had picked up and turned the ocean choppy we released a large Black Marlin. What a great feeling, especially on such a small lure. Well done Sakkie on your Marlin.
Its been a frustrating 3 weeks and the water has not been that great with screaming currents, green water inside and wind from every direction, water temperatures have varied from 22deg.C 28deg.C and out in the deep the flying fish and squid are plentiful. We have not seen a Dorado or Wahoo since early February, but we have been catching a lot of Yellowfin Tuna, including a nice size one and the Skipjack Tuna have been around in large numbers and many multiple hook ups with 1 trip yielding 18. In the last 3 weeks we have been as far as the Tugela drop off and the continental shelf and have had 5 Marlin strikes, but all of them have not committing and hitting the leader far up from the kona. All the fish and the Marlin strikes have been coming in the colder green water with the warm purple water yielding nothing. With the amount of squid, flying fish and skipjack tuna around and added to this the amount of Marlin strikes we have had I am certain that Marlin are around in fair numbers especially the Blacks so we should see some more this season.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Autumn Game Fish Grand Slam
Fishing Report Durban 13.03.2018
With summer behind us we are now in Autumn, my favourite fishing time of the year. What a stunning morning with dead flat seas and a very slight wind we made our way out to the deep to look for a Blue Marlin by the mountain, the deeper water proved to be green and cold so we decided to come back to the ledge. With some good warm purple water on the ledge there was some good action to be had on Fat Girl, lots of squid about, flying fish and birds and so the area was worked well, it started with a double Dorado hook up but both came off and in the end we landed 2 Dorado, 1 Wahoo and 2 Skipjack Tuna. The fish were not committing to the bite and a few more Skipjack Tuna also came off. We were hoping for a Marlin as with all the action around we are expecting another one soon.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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We got this award
The Angler's Choice Award honours charter operators that deliver consistently great service, and Blue Water Charters fulfils all the requirements.
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:happ:
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Triple up Dorado
Fishing Report Durban 17.03.2018
Launching at 06h00 just as the rain started to lift the day started out wet and turned into a stunning day with crystal clear warm water close inshore and it was not long before the action started and a short 5 hour charter produced 3 Dorado and 10 Skipjack Tuna making for an action packed fun filled morning and everyone getting fish. Lots of happy faces on this trip, which was a 40th birthday gift.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nice :rck", just what I was looking for the other day :nuts:
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Great reports.
Congratulations on the award very well done and well deserved.
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Good Bottoms in a Strong Current
Fishing Report Durban 25.03.2018
Launching at 06h00 the west wind was blowing stiff with a small but choppy sea we made our way out to look for some game fish. The reverse current was screaming at 6 knots, water was blue and warm. We had 2 strikes but they did not stick and the fish came off quickly, after about 4hrs we made our way to the shallows 30-40m depth to do some bottoms as there was no ways our sinkers would stay down on deeper reefs in that strong current. As the day went on the wind dropped making for a stunning sea and whilst we were bottom fishing I watched in dismay as the water went from a stunning blue to green. Bottom fishing was good and in 3 hours we caught about 30 fish and some good size Soldier Bream, Slinger and Englishman came out. We then ran some Rapala X Raps on our way back to port getting back just after 14h00. Am glad the weather held as it got very hot and so I knew there was a storm coming which started at 16h30 long after we got back.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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5hrs, 4 Countries, 3 Fish.
Fishing Report Durban 27.03.2018
We had an interesting group of guys today from 4 countries to attend a wedding. Belgium, Australia, UK. We launched at 06h00 for a short 5hr charter, by 07h30 we already had 2 x Yellowfin Tuna of around 5kg and had dropped one. Water was green but warm. I tried for more Tuna but nothing so we went out to the ledge and managed to find a Bull Dorado which gave a very hard fight and had stunning colours, by this time the NE wind had picked up to 20 knots and we had to turn and head back to shore to be on the dock by 11h00, the water got greener and dirtier the whole time, we had a big strike on the shot gun on the 50m but nothing stuck. We heard a loud bang and then saw a huge log pop out behind the boat, it must have been submerged as I did not see it; fortunately we were trolling at about 7knots so no damage.
After the trip we made the newly married guy kiss the Dorado so he can start getting used to those nights when he will have to share the kennel with the dog. LOL.
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Two Dolly Birds and a Hoo.
Fishing Report Durban 29.03.2018
Today I had the pleasure of hosting one of my oldest and longest standing customers and his 7yr old son who has been booking charters with me since my first small charter boat 10 years ago. Over many trips and years we are good friends. It was really great trying to remember all the different trips over the years.
Today we launched at 06h00 for a short 5hr charter using our lighter Shimano Tyrnos rigs and were back at 11h00, early morning as we made our way out the sea was very unsettled with steep swells coming from all directions even though there was hardly a wind, later on when the SW started blowing it flattened out the sea nicely so we had a comfortable ride home. Inshore was still green and the temperature has dropped by 2deg C since my last trip 2 days ago, deeper out after the ledge it was blue and warmer and we had some good action with the 7yr old boy claiming his first Dorado ever on his first deep sea trip ever, daddy was not to be left out and landed a slightly smaller Dorado and a good size Wahoo which was a really good fight on our lighter Tyrnos rigs, we also had another Wahoo on but it came off after a few minutes and we had a very big hit on another lure but nothing stuck. Another great morning out on the ocean.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Kids Fishing - 3 Generations and over 200 fish
Fishing Report Durban 31.03.2018
We had a short Light tackle Backline Charter this morning on Nawty Girl and had Granddad, Son and Grandson on board with the trip being the very first boat and sea fishing trip of his life. He had a whale of a time and caught 44 fish with over 200 being caught for the morning. We got some Mackerel, Mozzies, Piggies and more than quota of Shad but most were undersize, an Undersize Salmon, and a Soldier Bream, but the bulk of the catch by far was over 100 Sand Soldiers which provided great fun on light tackle for the little guy keeping everybody very busy throughout the trip and some nicer fish in between. He kept 2 Mackerel, 1 Shad and the Soldier Bream so he could have a taste of fish from the sea, all the rest were safely released. With a light South West wind the sea was flat; we started out just South of the South breakwater and then later moved past the North Pier to the area in front of uShaka.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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The Taxman cometh and taketh away.
Fishing Report Durban 03.04.2018
We had a short 4hr mini deep sea trip today with a Family from Jhb, was supposed to be yesterday afternoon by the NE was howling so we changed it to this morning. Typically on a mini deep sea trip we make our way out of port and troll over a few bottom spot and scan the bottom to see for fish and then we stop trolling and do bottom fishing where we found fish. Today had other plans for us, on our way out we first saw 2 pods of Bottle Nose Dolphins and then a little further out I saw schools of bait fish, I had just gone over a known pinnacle when I saw bait fish flying on my right and some big swirls and I swung the boat towards this and it was not long before the shot gun went of at a pace and in no time almost 400m of line was off the reel with a Blue and White Williamson Sailfish Catcher being taken. We were fishing light with the Shimano Tyrnos 30s paired with the light Tiagra rods and this made this all the more fun. 40 minutes later and we had a good size Yellowfin Tuna at the boat, the bird was out the water and I was leaning over to grab the leader with gaffs ready when I saw a big swirl and the water turned red with blood and we ended up with half the Yellowfin. So a big Shark had taken half our Tuna in one bite and we paid our taxes. The sea was calm and flat today but there was a double swell from 2 directions and this made all the children and ladies sick whilst we were fighting the Tuna and so they wanted to go back and we arrived back at the dock 2hrs after we left, I weighed what was left of the Tuna and it was 15Kg. I have been expecting the bigger Yellowfin Tuna to arrive in Durban at anytime. They are here.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Dorado on the bite today
Fishing Report Durban 04.04.2018
We had a trip with a family from New Zealand today on Fat Girl, we started out with the whole family on a cruise out the harbour along the beachfront and then dropped of those that did not want to go fishing and headed out for a late launch and fished for 6hrs (Supposed to be 5hrs) with our Shimano Tyrnos 30 rigs on the light Tiagra rods as per the customer choice of heavy or light tackle. The sea was calm and flat, like glass, it was too nice, it is the conditions we always dream about and when we actually get to fish these days which happen so seldom one has to change ones tactics to get more action on the lures and so we set the whole spread further back and ran at 9-10 knots to get the lures working very aggressively and in the end this paid off. We found nothing in the shallows but with our speed were out deep in no time and went as far as 400m depth; on the way out after we passed the ledge we had a Dorado hook up on the Rapala X Rap and it was the little girls turn and she fought her Dorado like a champion, we also had another hook up on the same X Rap but this came off right at the boat shot out the water and the Rapala hit my head. After this the deep produced no further action and we stated heading back with a course set for one of my favourite deeper pinnacles, before we reached the spot I was heading to we had a double Dorado hook up on a Williamson Sailfish Catcher and a Stripey Tickler and they 2 fish did and aerial acrobatics display jumping all over the show and tangling many lines. The one fish was much bigger than the other and took us well into the backing and after knitting the lines and sorting out the tangles we got them both on board with the bigger one giving an extremely hard fight. I went over my track again and we stayed out a bit longer to try get more fish after we had reset the spread and we managed to get another Dorado hook up on the same Stripey Tickler and with no tangles this time we got it to the boat. Shortly after that we brought our lines in and ran back docking an hour later than we should have.
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Sharks on Light Spinning Tackle.
Fishing Report Durban 04.04.2018
We had 2 Light Tackle Backline/Harbour Family trips on Nawty Girl today, a 3hr and a 4hr. These are fun trips for a family outing just to enjoy each other outdoors and have a blast, not serious fishing. We usually target Shad, Mackerel, Salmon and other small species on these trips with light spinning tackle. Today we had some really great fun with some Sharks on the light tackle making for real sport. All Sharks and fish were released.
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Black Marlin 3-2-1 - Released
Fishing Report Durban 09.04.2018
What a day we had today, we launched this morning to look for a Marlin into a 12knot NE wind which just got stronger as the day went on until it peaked at about 28knots. Water was warm and light green. We headed about 70km out to our selected grounds and then turned and headed back. On the way out we hooked up a Dorado early but it came off on the jump after a short fight, then it was quiet for some time until we turned and just after we turned we had a small Marlin hook up and after 15 minutes it came off on the jump, we reset our spread and we had a Dorado take the line and again it came off on the jump much to all of our frustration, 3 fish off. Again we set the spread and continued in a following sea that was getting bigger as the wind was picking up and the Shimano Tiagra went off zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and this time after the jumps it stayed and after about a 20 minute fight we landed a small Black Marlin, as it was small we took the fish out for a pic and afterwards released it safely back into the water. We reset the spread and it was not long before we had a third small Marlin strike but it did not get the hook leaving us with a 3-2-1 tally. 3 Marlin Strikes, 2 Hook Ups, 1 Landed and Released. Frustrating to lose so many fish in one day but ecstatic we got the Marlin we set out for. Well done Bob on your first Marlin ever and your new personal best big fish.
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Very nice Mike, you putting in the hours and getting results every trip. (clap) :beer:
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Fun Family Fishing Trip
Fishing Report Durban 11.04.2018
We launched later to try avoid the rain and the wind but the forecast was out and so we had a wet and windy day fishing with some showers that passed by 3 times during the trip. Before we even launched my Costa Sunglasses fell off my head into the Marina and I had to dive down to get them as I was not going to accept losing them, and so my day started out wet, then the sun peaked out and the wind died and we thought what a glorious day this will be, we were wrong. We got out and set a spread and then the wind started blowing, fortunately it was a long period swell and so even in a strong wind the sea was comfortable with a big boat like Fat Girl. We trolled for about 2.5-3hrs but there was no sign of any game fish and so we came in to fish shallow in the 40m as the current was screaming. 1st down and 4 rods got bent and we got some Slinger and so the day went on with Slinger, Snapper, Soldier Bream, Trigger Fish and Rockod being caught. These boys out fished their parents by a long way and got a fair amount of fish with some good sizes and had a blast really enjoying the fishing. The highlight of the day was when the 2 youngest simultaneously had a good hook up, each landing nice sized Remoras which made them work hard for their prize, it was a treat to watch them struggle and fight these fish up with all their might. In the end the whole family had a great day out with a lot of fun even though there was a little rain from time to time.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Tuna and Wahoo
Fishing Report Durban 13.04.2018
We launched this morning into a strong NE wind that the forecast said would die out early and the day was supposed to be stunning, but it did not happen and the NE got stronger and only died out late afternoon, water was green and water temperature is coming down. None the less we got some good fish with a decent Wahoo and 1 smaller and 1 larger Yellowfin Tuna.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna on the bite today - Great fun on light tackle
Fishing Report Durban 15.04.2018
We launched this morning at 06h00 for a short 5hr charter and hoped it would not rain, we had to dodge one rain cloud and so had a stunning day today, water was clean and warm. The plan was to try for a short while for some Game fish on the light Shimano Tyrnos tackle and if nothing took a lure then we would go do some bottom fishing. The Tuna had their own plans for us and we had non-stop Tuna action for most of the trip with 14 hook ups and landing 9 Yellowfin Tuna for the day. The one Tuna screamed off and took us into the backing, we thought it was a big fish; then it rushed the boat, perhaps a shark was after it and it was not as big as the fight it gave. Another one we thought came off but to our surprise it was there well hooked on the Rapala X Rap 40 which got many of the Tuna today. The sea was awesome and the fishing was really fun today.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Last trips of 40 something
Fishing Report Durban 25.04.2018
So today marks my last fishing charter in my 40s, time flies by so fast that the roaring 40s becomes the flying 50s before one can say Bobs your Uncle. Our last 2 trips were half-day trips starting early morning and both days had a screaming reverse current making fishing very difficult even with nice flat seas. Mornings are getting chilly now and there is dew on the cars parked outside early every morning of late and so the signs are that we are well into autumn now and that winter is coming. Water is now under 24 deg.C.
On the 1 trip we hooked up a very large Wahoo that I guess was just under 20kg but when close to the boat he did some heavy head shakes and we lost him about 10m from the boat, we also got some skipjack tuna. Today the current was also strong and we managed 4 x Yellowfin Tuna and some bottom fish.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Some good bottom fishing
Fishing Report Durban 28-29.04.2018
This weekend brought some cold water and we found no game fish but did see a Sailfish jump in the same area on both days. Bottom fishing was awesome and the current was mild and we caught a lot of fish both days, the bulk of the catches were Englishman, False Englishman, Slinger and Soldier Bream, but we also got some Stumpnose, Zebra, Rockod, Snapper and a few other species. We also caught several Remoras so there was probably a Shark or two around but we lost no fish to sharks.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nice Mike
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Short Backline Trip
Fishing Report Durban 05.05.2018
We had a short light tackle backline trip this morning but the dredger was busy in that area so I decided to go on the South side a little deeper. We did not find any shad or mackerel and there was a lot of those little sand soldiers around, but in between we managed a good Rockod, some nice Reds an Englishman, a Zebra and a nice Copper Bream which gave great action on the light spinning tackle. Not the usual backline fish as we had to fish elsewhere but a great day out.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Short Mini Deep Trip
Fishing Report Durban 06.05.2018
We had a short 4 hour trip today. Wow what stunning conditions, sunny skies, light wind and flat seas. Strange current direction again today but the water was nice and blue compared to green yesterday. It is chilly in the mornings but today warmed up quickly. Water temperature is dropping as we head into winter now. We trolled just over an hour on our way to the reef to see if we could get a nice Tuna but with no luck and with it being a short trip we got to our bottom grounds and dropped our baits using light spinning tackle. 1st drop and we had a tangle with 3 lines and one of the guys hooked up a nice Englishman and after that we got more nice bottoms with 30 fish in total that were size, all undersize fish being put back. We also had some Shark trouble and lost some fish, sinkers and traces and he made a big swirl behind the boat on the surface revealing his presence when he gobbled up an undersized Yellowbelly Rockod as we released it, whilst everyone was reeling up so we could move away from the Shark I saw some larger fish on the sounder just a few metres under the boat and as the lines came up we had a bunch of Yellowfin Tuna follow the baits right to the boat and then they were gone before we could even get time to drop a jig. Our catch for the day was Englishman, False Englishman, Soldier Bream and Slinger. After the bottom fishing we trolled some Rapalas back to port hoping for a Tuna but had no luck.
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A tough day
Fishing Report Durban 11.05.2018
We got going at 06h00 and made our way out and started off trying to look for a Tuna. Conditions were stunning with flat seas and virtually no wind early and this picked up as the day went along. We went all the way past Umdloti and only managed 2 bonnies and then we started doing some bottom fishing up North and made our way back to Durban reef by reef. The sinkers were ice cold so the water at the bottom must be very cold. Some reefs held no fish whilst other had good showings the fish were not biting like they should and as the day went on the current was just getting faster and faster and faster and when we stopped it was over 5 knots and we had to make our way shallower as the day went on starting at 80m and ending at 40m to allow the sinkers to get to the bottom. In the end we totalled about 20 fish that were size and had to put many undersize fish back, we got a lot of variety of species as each reef has its own populations and got a really nice size copper bream. We had caught some Mackerel and I pinned these as live baits, one deep and one on the surface and they were not even touched.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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The last weeks Fishing.
Fishing Report Durban 27-31.05.2018
After taking some time off it is back to fishing, the last week has seen the water temperature off Durban go cold with today being 21.6deg.C. The last few trips have seen nice days but the mornings are getting cold and chilly so one has to layer up and then as the morning progresses the layers come off. In the past week we have had a reverse current and game fishing has been very quiet with no luck on the Tuna. Bonnies are out in full force and we catch a bunch of them every trip, you just cant miss them along with some Sarda Sarda showing themselves and some nice size Garfish. Light jigging and spinning with Shimano Socorro 5000 reels paired with Trevala Rods has proved to be great sport for these species. Bottom fishing has been OK with a few nice fish coming out and some good sizes too the variety at the moment is incedible. Starting back at work with a fun day out with the crew and friends and some charters on Fat Girl and Nawty Girl.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Winter Fishing.
Fishing Report Durban June 2018
June was not the busiest month for us but we got out a good few times. The Yellowfin Tuna have been absent other that a really good strike the other day we have seen no Tuna action, the Bonnies have been around in big numbers and have provided great fun on light tackle. Bottom fishing in general has been really good with some really decent size fish coming out, Shark activity has been very high and we have been taxed of a number of good fish over the month. Weather for most days has been calm and stable but there have been a few days with some heavy winds. With Sardine reported all along the South Coast I think all the Tuna have been down that side. If the sardine run carries on the way it has been so far it looks to make us a very promising Game Fish season this next summer.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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July Holidays.
Fishing Report Durban - July 2018
The July holidays saw both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl busy, all kinds of trips and lots of children. I love taking the younger ones fishing and to see the smiles and excitement always makes my day. On the many backline trips we did well with some good Shad and Mackerel being caught and on one trip we got into a school of Sand Steenbras of which all were released. Another trip saw a Guitar Fish being caught in the deep which we also released. Bottom fishing has been good with some nice fish coming out. Bonnies have been present in large numbers with many being caught on all trips and they provide great sport on light tackle. The Yellowfin Tuna have still been missing to my frustration and my guess they are around with the sardines. One on long trip we went down South and found a pocket of sardines with Sharks, Sailfish and Marlin smashing them, we managed to hook up a very large Black Marlin which is exciting for mid winter in July, but sadly the hook snapped and we dropped it which always leaves me frustrated. Early mornings have been very cold, but most days warmed up nicely and for most trips the conditions have been calm, there have as always been those frustrating trips when the fish are scarce or the weather forecast got it wrong but overall July has been productive thus far.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna are starting to make an appearance.
Fishing Report Durban 21 July 2018
Last 2 days have had some really nice mornings out, even though they started out very cold they ended up warm, the Bonito have been thick and there were times where we were not able to get all our lines out with the amount of hook ups we have had and many multiple hook ups with loads of Bonito providing great fun on our light tackle rigs, we have also hooked up a good few Frigate Tuna the last 2 days. Yesterday I saw some showings of larger fish which I thought were Yellowfin Tuna and so today we went out rigged accordingly with a plan and within 30 minutes we had a hook up with a lovely Yellowfin Tuna, after that the Bonito were hitting us again, even on the larger lures and hard as I tried we could not raise another Yellowfin. I think we will start seeing Yellowfin more regularly as we head into next month towards spring and am hoping for a fee biggies to stretch our lines.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Mike in what area are you picking up all the bonnies if you wouldnt mind saying. Looking to get out to try and stock up on a bit of bait.
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Mike in what area are you picking up all the bonnies if you wouldnt mind saying. Looking to get out to try and stock up on a bit of bait.
They are all over in the shallows up to 40m, they want small lures with light leaders pulled fast
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Ok awesome, thanks very much!
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My sons launched their Jetskis at Umkomaas yesterday. Said bait fish all over. Shad were a problem. Brought home 3 nice YFT and dropped a large Couta.
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Tuna Again.
Fishing Report Durban 10 August 2018
Been a quiet and frustrating month and when one books a charter the weather turns bad and it cant be done and so today was our first trip for August, although the break was nice after a very busy July one needs to work to live. Trying to decipher the forecast for today was not easy as the various weather sites were all saying something different and so we decided to make the choice at launch time which was 06h00. I arrived at the boat at 05h00 and it was raining quite heavy and had been raining all night but by 05h30 the rain had stopped and at 06h00 we launched and made our way out to look for a good Tuna. It started with non-stop Bonnie action and we could not keep all the lines in the water, the wind was constantly shifting from SW to NW and the S-N current was quite strong and got stronger as we got deeper out so I decided to head back shallower. Every few minutes it was another Bonnie and some of them decent sizes too giving great sport on the lighter tackle. In amongst the Bonnies we also got some small Frigate Tuna. At 07h30 the heavens opened and we got drenched for 1.5hrs. After that the rain cleared and we ended up with stunning sunny conditions which at least dried us out. Whilst it was raining it was also freezing cold, wow even though I was dressed warmly I was feeling it and shivering at the helm with water seeping in everywhere. For a while the Bonnies went quiet with only 1 here and 1 there and then we got a bunch more as we started heading back to port and the was hatch looking rather full. Then all the action stopped and we were being entertained by 2 Albatross trying to snatch our Shotgun lure and we were all calling to the Tuna, when all a sudden. BANG the shot gun rigger snapped and ZZZZZZZZZZ as the shot gun rod bent over properly and the reel started to sing and it was not long before we saw the backing on this lighter tackle. After a really great fight we managed to land a really nice Yellowfin Tuna. By the time we had this on deck we had already passed our time and so we did not put anymore lines out and headed home. By the time we were back in port it was nice and hot and we all enjoyed this whilst removing all the wet attire. And so another great day out at sea.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna for Fat Girl and Nawty Girl.
Fishing Report Durban 19 August 2018
The last few trips on both our boats have seen a large amount of Bonnies, Frigate Tuna and Sarda Sarda coming out along with some nice bottoms and some Yellowfin Tuna. Water temps most days have been just under and over 20deg.C and the Bonnies have been thick. Yesterday I dont think there was a moment when someone was not fighting a Bonnie or all the lines out on the light tackle these are great fun, the Bonnies have all been in the 1.5-2kg range, the Sarda Sarda have been quite a bit bigger than the Bonnies, so great sport and they do give a good fight. Mornings have been very cold and there has been a strong reverse current.
Today both boats went out and even though the NE was blowing relatively hard the sea was not big but was rather choppy, this however did not deter the fish and the new Rapala X Rap Xtreme 160s produced the goods and both boats got good Yellowfin Tuna hook ups and a lot of Bonnies of which many of the Bonnies have been released to be caught another day.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna Quadruple Hook up.
Fishing Report Durban 21 August 2018
Today the weather forecast was wrong yet again, but for a change it was in our favour. Forecast showed a strong SW wind and some rain, but we launched this morning with a very light SW which only picked up as we were heading back to port, there was no rain but sunny skies and we had a stunning 5 hour morning trip. Water temperature is cold averaging at just over 20deg.C with a reverse current. Fishing was good today but the fish would only bite if the boat was going in a specific condition so one would see the showing on the finder, mark it and then make a turn and come back over the mark in the right direction. Bonnies were plentiful with over 20 being caught for the morning and we also released some, the Yellowfin Tuna were also around and going over one showing we had 5 reels screaming and we landed 4 at once making for great excitement, especially the one that took the ultra light rig which gave a really good fight. The fish were not behaving normally today and most were biting the lures very close behind the boat and not the ones further back, they were also jumping out the water at the lures making a great show and one could watch them jump and hit the surface lures and then watch the road bend and the reel zing. We also had a double hook up on the Rapala X Rap Xtremes but one came off and we landed the other. Then as we were heading back to port a few Kilometres out, we had another Yellowfin Tuna hooked up from one of the bullets running far back. Great fun all in a 5 hour morning trip.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Don't want to sound like a stickinthemud but those look undersize larnie (bat :hnthnt:
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Don't want to sound like a stickinthemud but those look undersize larnie (bat :hnthnt:
That's the problem when you just look with your eyes and a picture does not show true perspective.
All those fish were between 4.2 and 4.5Kg and all measured 63cm and more.
For your information in case you do not know, minimum size for YFT is 3.2kg which equals a 56cm fish, whilst we cannot weigh whilst out on a choppy sea, but we do measure and anything under 57cm goes back.
Besides all this, if you look at the pics you will see that these pics are taken out at sea and so you do not know if they were released or not.
We also cannot control what size fish will actually hit our lures.
And lastly, do you really think that I would risk my whole business by bring back undersize fish?
This is the problem with social media, fish to big, fish too small, fish not that weight, too many fish, too little fish. No matter what one posts there will always be someone with something to say even though he was not there and has no actual knowledge except for an uninformed opinion.
And these comments are totally out of line because they all have no substance.
So yes, you do sound like a stick in the mud :crzy
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Correct, well said..........
Don't want to sound like a stickinthemud but those look undersize larnie (bat :hnthnt:
That's the problem when you just look with your eyes and a picture does not show true perspective.
All those fish were between 4.2 and 4.5Kg and all measured 63cm and more.
For your information in case you do not know, minimum size for YFT is 3.2kg which equals a 56cm fish, whilst we cannot weigh whilst out on a choppy sea, but we do measure and anything under 57cm goes back.
Besides all this, if you look at the pics you will see that these pics are taken out at sea and so you do not know if they were released or not.
We also cannot control what size fish will actually hit our lures.
And lastly, do you really think that I would risk my whole business by bring back undersize fish?
This is the problem with social media, fish to big, fish too small, fish not that weight, too many fish, too little fish. No matter what one posts there will always be someone with something to say even though he was not there and has no actual knowledge except for an uninformed opinion.
And these comments are totally out of line because they all have no substance.
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I also want to add something here.
We were the first charter operator in Durban to practice catch and release with our aim at responsible and sustainable angling, we been in operation 10 years now and have always run this way.
On our boat it is compulsory to release all King Fish, Queen Fish, Garrick, Sharks and Billfish and any fish caught by spinning or fly. This is not an option for our clients it is a condition for booking with us.
We do not allow over quota or undersize fish and have turned down many requests for people who want to book in this way.
And even more importantly we do not sell any fish and trust me I get calls almost everyday, especially from the shore shark fishing fraternity looking for bait.
We also do not even target Geelbek or Daga Salmon because the pressure they face and the amount that get eaten by sharks when you hook them up.
We also focus much more on game fish than bottom fish to keep our impact on the reefs at a minimum, but yes we do have to do it some parts of the year when game fish are not a possibility.
We also release a lot of fish, an example would be bonnies, in the last month we have hooked up a few hundred, more than 75% were released.
Our business is taking people fishing and many of these people on fish once a year, some even less so they do want to take something home to eat as it is part of the experience to eat what you have caught.
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Don't want to sound like a stickinthemud but those look undersize larnie (bat :hnthnt:
That's the problem when you just look with your eyes and a picture does not show true perspective.
All those fish were between 4.2 and 4.5Kg and all measured 63cm and more.
For your information in case you do not know, minimum size for YFT is 3.2kg which equals a 56cm fish, whilst we cannot weigh whilst out on a choppy sea, but we do measure and anything under 57cm goes back.
Besides all this, if you look at the pics you will see that these pics are taken out at sea and so you do not know if they were released or not.
We also cannot control what size fish will actually hit our lures.
And lastly, do you really think that I would risk my whole business by bring back undersize fish?
This is the problem with social media, fish to big, fish too small, fish not that weight, too many fish, too little fish. No matter what one posts there will always be someone with something to say even though he was not there and has no actual knowledge except for an uninformed opinion.
And these comments are totally out of line because they all have no substance.
So yes, you do sound like a stick in the mud :crzy
Dont get so grumpy, thats why I said look undersize ........I suppose that is the problem with social media......if you post something then expect to get an answer(positive or negative) and the answer is usually an opinion(imagine a forum with no opinion/subjectivity/debate)
IMO (with some knowledge and not totally uninformed :hnthnt:) some of those fish look undersized, especially rooibaards :-) anyways you are 100% right I wasnt there :clwn :yft:
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Good Tuna in a big swell.
Fishing Report Durban 3 August 2018
We launched late this morning at 08h00 for a short 4 hour charter after the strong SW wind slowed down, the swells were still on the big side but got better as the morning went on. It was a few minutes after we set our lines that we had the first Bonnie on deck and this was to be one of many to come for the morning. Once a bit further out we hooked into a nice fish but 30m from the boat it came off the hook. About 2 hours after we launched we had a good hook up and boated a lovely Yellowfin Tuna and had some more fun with double, triple and quadruple hook ups with Bonito.
The Bonnies have been thick this year and on our trip on Saturday afternoon we had some wild and crazy Bonnie action which broke all our previous records landing 34 Bonito in 30 minutes which was awesome fun on light tackle and the chaos and mayhem of so many fish happening at once just got everyones adrenalin pumping, thinking about it gets me excited, we were getting more than 1 fish per minute in that 30 minutes of wild action. The Bonnies are averaging the 2kg mark now.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nice and well done!!
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10 Years of charters. From humble beginnings on the 1st of September 2008, a small boat and 6 fishing rods we have overcome many obstacles to be here today. With well over 1000 charters operated, more than 6000 happy guests aboard our boats and countless fish caught. Today we run 2 boats and are one of the leading charter operators running out of Durban. I would like to thank all those who have supported us over the years, our service providers, those who lent a helping hand in times of need and my team. Most importantly I would like to give thanks to God.
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10 Years of charters. From humble beginnings on the 1st of September 2008, a small boat and 6 fishing rods we have overcome many obstacles to be here today. With well over 1000 charters operated, more than 6000 happy guests aboard our boats and countless fish caught. Today we run 2 boats and are one of the leading charter operators running out of Durban. I would like to thank all those who have supported us over the years, our service providers, those who lent a helping hand in times of need and my team. Most importantly I would like to give thanks to God.
Congratulations Mike well done!!
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Tuna, Tuna, Tuna, Fat Girl wins again.
Fishing Report Durban 14 September 2018
We launched at 2.30pm in the afternoon for a short fun trip and were back on the dock by 6.00pm.
It was one of those last minute trips and I must say I was not that optimistic about getting any fish in such a short time, none the less we gave it our best shot and I started to work areas that I thought would hold some Bonnies or Tuna. It was not long before we had our first bonnie on the line, then another and then another, the Bonnies are getting bigger now with a really nice one which was followed by a decent Yellowfin Tuna. After the excitement and 2 nice fish in the hatch and a bunch of others being caught I went to target my next spot and BINGO we all 9 lines go off at once with all 9 guests each fighting a fish at the same time and after some chaos and mayhem we managed to put another 9 Bonnies on the deck. Lines were reset and it was off to the next spot, I went over the spot and saw a great showing, turned around to the guys on deck and was about to shout when 4 reels started screaming at the same time and so after some more chaos and mayhem we landed 3 Yellowfin Tuna and dropped one right at the boat. So take 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back for travel time we landed 4 Yellowfin and over 20 Bonnies in 2.5hrs, not bad for an afternoon we were not optimistic about. With the 100s of Bonnies we have been getting and already some good Tuna I think we going to have a bumper game fish season this year, already one Marlin has been spotted in Durban and it is just a matter of time before the 1st Dorado comes out, especially since the water is warming up nicely, I reckon the first Dorado will come out this month. Hope I am right and we get a lot of fish, I am certain of some great Tuna fishing for the next while.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nice :rck"
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(clap) (clap)...They seem to be here today ..gone tomorrow..
Thats fishing I suppose..
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Bonito are getting bigger.
Fishing Report Durban 22 September 2018
It was stunning conditions early this morning with light winds and flat seas when we launched for a short Inshore/Mini Deep trip on Nawty Girl. The forecast was showing a great day. It was not long before the first line went and we ended up the day with 4 nice Bonnies and 1 really nice Skipjack. Water was around 22deg.C. A strong west wind blew for about an hour during our trip and made for a very choppy sea and then all calmed down and the rain set in making us soaking wet by the time we got back to port. Weather forecasts have been so inaccurate of late we cant even know the night before what the conditions will be the next morning.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Marlin Food is here.
Fishing Report Durban 23 September 2018
Stunning conditions today but the water was cold, inshore was green water. We made our way out to some reefs and did some bottom fishing getting some Englishmen and Slinger, then we trolled 1.5hrs back making a detour out deeper along the way, swells were rather large but far spaced so comfortable and out deeper the water was warmer than inshore but still cold. We had an on/off with a small Dorado on the Rapala Xtreme and as we went along we picked up 3 Oceanic Bonitos. These Oceanic Bonito are Marlin food, and along with some flying fish that we saw, I am sure we will start getting Marlin early this season.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Big Bull Dorado to open the season.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 1st October 2018
After yesterdays NE winds it was a bit choppy today but settled down as the day went on. We had a short morning trip and on our lighter tackle managed to land a really large Dorado Bull to open our Dorado account for the new season. Wow, what a fish to open the season account and congratulations to the young man who fought so hard to land it.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Well done, Nice fish!!
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Very nice Dorrie, well done.
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(clap) (clap) Good one :happ:
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Great Dorrie well done
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Big Bull Dorado to open the season.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 1st October 2018
After yesterdays NE winds it was a bit choppy today but settled down as the day went on. We had a short morning trip and on our lighter tackle managed to land a really large Dorado Bull to open our Dorado account for the new season. Wow, what a fish to open the season account and congratulations to the young man who fought so hard to land it.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
Howsit bud,
Just out of interest, can you provide a list of the species that you do allow your clients to keep?
Thanks,
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Big Bull Dorado to open the season.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 1st October 2018
After yesterdays NE winds it was a bit choppy today but settled down as the day went on. We had a short morning trip and on our lighter tackle managed to land a really large Dorado Bull to open our Dorado account for the new season. Wow, what a fish to open the season account and congratulations to the young man who fought so hard to land it.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
Howsit bud,
Just out of interest, can you provide a list of the species that you do allow your clients to keep?
Thanks,
It would be easier to give a list of what we don't keep/kill.
Note, that if a fish has died or dying we will keep it
- Sharks
- Billfish
- Garrick
- King Fish
- Queen Fish
There are other things as well, we do not target Geelbek and Daga, bottoms is something we do not do often and only when Gamefish are not around.
Any Fish caught on fly is compulsory release.
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(clap) :dor: :thmsup"
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Reefz and Marcos may I politely request that you clean up this thread as it is supposed to be a log of Mike's fishing reports for his operation and I feel like this recent spat detracts from the purpose of the thread.
Kes, sorry mate I don't know you but I feel like you have overstepped the line buddy. Keep it civil.
My 2c.
Done.
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Tuna Grand Slam on Nawty Girl
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 27th October 2018
Our morning trip started out with great conditions and we had just set our spread when the Tyrnos started screaming and the rod had a good bend on it, after a good fight what we thought was a Yellowfin Tuna turned out to be a Beast of an Eastern Little Tuna. After that we managed 2 Oceanic Bonito and on the way back we hooked into 2 Yellowfin Tuna giving us a Grand Slam of 3 species of Tuna on 1 trip.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Family fun Harbour trip
Harbour Fishing Report Durban 27th October 2018
We had a local family book an afternoon 3hr Family Fun harbour fishing trip with a delighted young man who had his first ever fishing trip on a boat. During the 3hrs we managed to hook up 7 shad (All released as it is closed season). Dad managed to have a fantastic tussle with a smaller Hammerhead Shark on light spinning tackle and Mom got herself a nice Bar Tail Flathead. We were hoping to get a grunter for the young man but he caught his first fish ever from a boat, he was so excited.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Cold Green Xtreme Dorado.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 15th November 2018
We got going at 04h30 and to my dismay as I left port I saw the water temperature was 18deg C and it was green, I was hoping that deeper out maybe we could find warmer blue water but this did not happen and even up to 400m it was green and cold, the best water we found was 21.3deg on the 100-200m so we ran North with this. The sea was not settled and swells all over the show with strong 30 knot winds out in the deep but much calmer on the inside so the 100-200m line was the best choice for the day but I was not optimistic. I decided on a mixed spread of bullets, konas and some of the new Rapala Xtremes which I have been testing and like very much and ran faster than usual at 9-10 knots to try cover as much ground as possible.
It turned out to be an interesting day with what we would call impossible conditions for producing fish and first up was a bunch of Eastern Little Tuna on 165m which is very odd as normally we never get these deeper than 50m and usually the 165m is Oceanic Bonito (Skipjack) territory. They were eating on the Rapala Extremes. After this I came back in to about 110m and we hooked up a nice Yellowfin Tuna and this was followed by another one, both on the Rapala Extremes. I moved out a bit deeper to about 190m and again the Rapala Extreme produced and we landed a small Dorado. The water was really green and as I went further North I tried the 80-90m and running at about 12knots with the swell and we had a triple hook up on Rapala Xtremes and landed 2 very nice Dorado, time was out and so we brought in the lines and ran back to port. The bullets and konas and not been touched and all fish came out on the Rapala Xtremes and I think had we not put these out we would have had a blank for the day, they really awesome as even at 12 knots running with the swell and surging up to 15 knots they run true, and because we had a number of lures out we had run them very close off the corners about 7m from the transom and all the fish came right in there so a great tactic for future days with cold green water.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tuna on Ice
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 18th November 2018
The water off Durban is getting colder and making the wind so icy that my ears get extremely sore so it is still beanies on early mornings in November, going out the port the water temperature has been 18deg.C and deeper out a maximum of 20deg.C, the water is also green. We are hoping that warm band of water that has been seen up north will be with us soon and we should see some Marlins coming out by month end. It has been extremely difficult to produce fish in this cold water but fast trolling is getting us Yellowfin Tuna and the Eastern Little Tunas are still out in the deep so at least we are still bending rods and stretching lines.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Big Sea, Xtreme Fishing.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 20th November 2018
We had a short trip this morning. NE was blowing around 20 knots making for a large swell especially after last nights strong winds. The water is still cold and green and the best we found was 19.3deg.C. We had not even finished putting out our spread when the one Tyrnos with the Rapala Xtreme running went off and we got a Sarda Sarda, shortly after the same Xtreme produced another Sarda Sarda, both were big Sarda Sardas. We then had some medium sized Kawa Kawa take the same Xtreme. Deeper out the Xtreme got hit again, a really good sized fish and before we knew it the line was out about 300m into the backing and a 45 minute fight ensued. I was convinced that this was a large Wahoo as the line stayed and the top and the fight was really strong, in the end it turned out to be a super sized Kawa Kawa. On the way back running with the swell we picked up a Dorado on the Xtreme again followed by a few more medium sized Kawa Kawa.
I am surprised that we are getting Dorado in 19deg.C water and the only lure all the fish are hitting are the Rapala Xtremes, they are not touching the bullets and konas. When that warm blue water finally hits Durban I think we will have some really explosive fishing.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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I know that common names differ from region to region, but please point me to the main differences between Kawa Kawa and Bonito.
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I know that common names differ from region to region, but please point me to the main differences between Kawa Kawa and Bonito.
http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=86.0 (http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php?topic=86.0)
The way I seen it... You get yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, longfin tuna, bigeye tuna.... everything else is a bonito! :hyst:
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:Like: Thx bud
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Number 30.
Harbour Fishing Report Durban 25th November 2018
With a rather unusual request for a school project where they had a list of 30 things they had to do for the year we had a young lady who had to do her last item which was to catch a fish and so we suggested a 3 hour harbour charter. 10 minutes after we dropped baits we had a nice Salmon on the line and her list is complete and she wanted to end the trip, we convinced her to try for 1 more and she hooked up into a shad. Both fish were released and less than 1 hour from launch we were back on the dock and trip completed along with a completed list of things to do.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Tough Fishing in Cold Water
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 27th November 2018
We had an 8 hour charter booked for tomorrow which we moved forward to today due to the big SW wind forecast for tomorrow, we launched very early to avoid the big NE wind forecast for this afternoon. Inshore waters are still green and cold under 21deg.C so we decided to head out deep where the SST charts showed warmer water and once we got past 500m depth about 40km from shore we found warm blue water around 23.5degC but the current was screaming S-N from the deep to the shallows. We found lots of bird life and even small bait fish jumping but no fish. I was really disappointed as the water looked so good. Eventually we decided to head back shallow and put some light tackle squids on the corners. We got back into shallower cold green water and it was not long before the light tackle gave us some consolation prizes in the form of 1 small Dorado and after that the Bonnies kept us busy with us catching 1 after the other all the way back to port and ended up with quite a lot of them with only the last 2 hours producing us fish. Not ideal fishing but at least some action.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Little Guy get his Dorado
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 2nd December 2018
Dad wanted his boy to get a good fish, water is still freezing cold and under 21 degC. 1st up was a nice Bonito, followed by a small Dorado which he fought hard on light tackle. Of all the things we were not expecting in that cold green water was a Marlin hook up with a Black of about 110kg but the little guy even with help could not hold it and it threw the hooks to the crews dismay.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Bottoms and hungry Dorado.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 7th December 2018
Fat Girl headed out for a short morning of bottom fishing and I must say I am really impressed with our new Shimano spinning gear that we use for this type of fishing. Many species caught, good size Copper Bream, Englishman, Soldiers, Sarda Sarda, nice Rockcod and even some Dorado came up chasing the baits a few times but evaded getting landed and we ended up with a fair amount of fish for the morning.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Nawty Dorado Queen.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 7th December 2018
With a short early morning trip on Nawty Girl we headed out in search of a Dorado that was requested in some difficult conditions, the sea was very unsettled and the water is still cold and green but a bit deeper out it does have a better colour but it took some time to get to this better water. Heading out to the location we were heading into a stiff NE wind which them switched to a strong SW wind which came through 4 hours earlier than expected and so the way back was again heading into the wind. The bumpy trip and getting splashed from time to time was rewarded with a really good sized Queen Dorado.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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One Wave, then Another.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 12th December 2018
Finally the warmer water has arrived and we found 23.5deg.C water. We launched into what the forecast said will be a 15 knot NE, but in reality it was around 30 knots and as the morning went on the sea picked up and we ended up punching wave after wave. The water was good and we found nice blue water with lots of life and plenty flying fish, turtles and we even saw Dorado swimming by.
1st up was a Dorado that hit the shot gun, which was followed by good size Bull Dorado. Then we had a Sailfish come into the spread as I was tuning the boat and the tag lines were slack as he hit our bullet and we did not get a hook up, things where quiet for a while and then we got two decent sized Yellowfin Tuna and were back at the dock before lunch. Hello Summer.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Grand Slam on a Fantastic Day
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 18th December 2018
Just as the warm water arrived, it vanished again and we had to head far out to find some good water. We found water so clean that we could see our Rapalas running in the water, and the best temperature we got was 22.4 deg.C. Even though not an ideal temperature this water was holding a lot of fish but all the way there and all the way back was dead. In this water we managed to land 3 Dorado and drop 3, they were hitting so soft that in order to get a solid hook up I had to bang the throttles. We also managed to land 4 good sized Yellowfin Tuna and drop one. Along the way early morning we managed 6 Bonnies as appetisers for the day ahead. A Marlin came in and knocked our starboard inside rigger off and then it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Ice Water, Bottoms up and a Tuna
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 19th December 2018
The water was ice cold between 19 deg.C and 20 deg.C and even though conditions were reasonable, the SE swell was very steep making for an awkward roll and pitch when taking them from the side. We got out to some reefs and did some bottom fishing catching a variety of bottom species including some nice size Slinger and after a few hours of this we took a slow troll back and hooked up 1 Yellowfin Tuna, dropped another one and then got 2 decent size Sarda Sarda.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Backline Fun on Nawty Girl
Backline Fishing Report Durban 19th December 2018
A fun backline trip with a good sized Rockcod. Also some Sarda Sarda a lot of Shad and a few Mackerel being caught. Most shad were above size and all undersize were put back
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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2 Bulls and 3 Queens for Nawty Girl
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 21st December 2018
With short morning trips Nawty Girl and Fat Girl made their way out, sending the 2nd line out Nawty Girl had her first Dorado hook up long before reaching no.1, this turned out to be a nice Bull. For the next 2 hours it was impossible to get the entire spread set as before all the lines were out there was another Dorado on and in the end there was 5 Dorado on board, 2 Bulls and 2 Queens.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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1 Bull and 4 Queens for Fat Girl
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 21st December 2018
Fat Girl and Nawty Girl made their way out of port together for short morning trips after exiting port we parted ways. We headed out for the deep and at the 90m we had our first Dorado on board, a nice Bull. We headed out deeper and North but the water got green and so we came back on the inside and found shoals of bait fish all over and managed to get 4 nice Queen Dorado bring the tally to 5 for the day and a draw with Nawty Girl who also got 5 fishing a completely different area. The water was clean on the inside and averaging around 22.4deg.C. I have mentioned the colder water temperatures a lot in my reports of late because it is out of season for such cold water which should be averaging 24 deg.C this time of year and so very unusual.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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2 Cape White Eyes, 2 Marlin and lots of Dorado for end 2018.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 18th Last week of 2018
Wow, what a busy week for Fat Girl and Nawty Girl heading up to the end of 2018 not even a chance to post a report. I would like to wish everyone all the best for 2019 and thank all that supported us during 2018.
The weather has made it difficult but with some shifting around we managed to get all our trips in on both boats and accommodate everyone.
So many trips I dont know even where to start, we had some nice warm blue water move in and then it disappeared leaving us with some colder green water and a screaming current, even so we managed to get good fish on both boats. On one trip 2 very tired little Cape White Eyes (A type of sparrow sized bird) flew onto Fat Girl out in the deep, one went straight into the cabin and one just took a perch on one of our guests. Shame they were so tired. Once they were safe in the cabin the trip continued and once back on the dock we let them go, they were so happy and relieved.
Offshore: Best catches were 2 Black Marlin one day after another, the first one took a Kona and after a 45 minute fight we had it on the leader and it was released, estimated at 150kg, the second one took a Rapala Xtreme in the Sailfish colour and once at the boat the 0.80mm leader was not strong enough and it parted once we tried to tough it, this fish was also estimated at 150kg, sorry for poor pics but too much action. I must say that these Rapala Xtremes are brilliant and have accounted for many fish caught this season and they swim so well. The Dorado fishing has been really good and we have been getting Dorado virtually every trip and some Yellowfin Tuna, also nice Slinger when the East wind was strong and good Soldiers in the colder water.
Backline/Harbour: Backline has been ok with plenty Shad around, the harbour fishing has been tough, we did however get some shad and a few other species and strangely enough some deep sea fish uncommon in the bay like Soldiers and Banana Fish. We also got a really good Gurnard.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Well done on the marlin :rck" :rck"
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Some good fish there, well done!!
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Dorado (Mahi) Fishing in Progress 2019 is in Action.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban Start 2019
2019 started with a bang, the Dorado (Mahi) are still here in full force, its been a great season so far. Now is the time we are expecting the Marlin to arrive and hope to add more to our catch reports.
Have a Wonderful 2019.
Bent Rods, Tight Lines, Screaming Reels and Bloody Decks to you all.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Dorado, Tuna, Monster Marlin, a Dropped Gaff and a Perch.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 8 January 2019
A difficult report to write, it usually takes me about a week to get over a dropped Marlin.
The currents have been a mess with a complete circular system, out in the deep past 500m we have had a raging 4 not current from N-S, and inshore it has been screaming from S-N, temperatures have varied from 22 deg.C up to 24.5 deg.C and we have found clear green water, dirty green water, clear blue water and that purple water that makes dreams come true. So very tricky conditions.
Of all the things to hook up on a Kona, Nawty Girl hooked up a Black Perch.
On Fat Girl we were out looking for a Marlin, day 1 was awesome flat seas but no fish and we skunked, day 2 started choppy and then calmed down. 2 hrs into our trip we hooked up into a beast of a Black Marlin well over 600lbs, we saw it probably a female and the girth was incredibly wide, a really big fish. 50 minutes into the fight and 700m out she came leaping towards us and even on the plane we could not keep her tight and after 20 minutes like this she threw the hook. After that we hook up 2 Yellowfin Tuna which ended up as nice kebabs that evening and 2 Dorado, a Bull and a Queen. Kurt dropped the gaff on the Queen so we had to flick her over and he knew a knuckle rap was waiting for him at the docks. It was lines up after the Queen and when clearing lines a statistic with odds unfathomable happened, one of the clips from the leaders hooked the dropped gaff and we got it back.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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:the sHPLAT what a fluke , go buy a Lotto ticket and hope the luck is still around , :toppie:
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What is a black perch? Looks like you guys been having much better fishing than us anyways..dorries, dorries and more dorries!
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What is a black perch? Looks like you guys been having much better fishing than us anyways..dorries, dorries and more dorries!
I have since discovered that the Black Perch is a triple tail and have been scolded that as I charter I do not know that, my sincere appologies
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No apologies needed Mike. Some people still catch mahi mahi (sounds like a disease to me!) instead of "dorado" :hyst:
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No apologies needed Mike. Some people still catch mahi mahi (sounds like a disease to me!) instead of "dorado" :hyst:
Oh, you mean Dolphin Fish? w;k
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Yeap... wait for the millenial crowd that believes "dolphinfish" are actually cute marine mammals !!!! Same crowd that thinks Spielberg killed a T-Rex with a rifle :hyst: :hyst:
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Yeap... wait for the millenial crowd that believes "dolphinfish" are actually cute marine mammals !!!! Same crowd that thinks Spielberg killed a T-Rex with a rifle :hyst: :hyst:
Killing T-Rex was disgusting. I was so fond of him :hehe:
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No apologies needed Mike. Some people still catch mahi mahi (sounds like a disease to me!) instead of "dorado" :hyst:
Oh, you mean Dolphin Fish? w;k
What happens if you get Dorado, Mahi and Dolphin fish all on the same trip
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Yeap... wait for the millenial crowd that believes "dolphinfish" are actually cute marine mammals !!!! Same crowd that thinks Spielberg killed a T-Rex with a rifle :hyst: :hyst:
Killing T-Rex was disgusting. I was so fond of him :hehe:
Not nearly as disgusting as killing fish that play with balls and rescue poodles that fall off boats. :rotfl
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No apologies needed Mike. Some people still catch mahi mahi (sounds like a disease to me!) instead of "dorado" :hyst:
Oh, you mean Dolphin Fish? w;k
What happens if you get Dorado, Mahi and Dolphin fish all on the same trip
In Robson green's book, that would be a Grand Slam :crzy
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No apologies needed Mike. Some people still catch mahi mahi (sounds like a disease to me!) instead of "dorado" :hyst:
Oh, you mean Dolphin Fish? w;k
What happens if you get Dorado, Mahi and Dolphin fish all on the same trip
In Robson green's book, that would be a Grand Slam :crzy
That's what I thought :geet
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:rotfl :hyst: :hyst:
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Introducing McFire.
McFire is a 46ft Lee Cat powered by 4 x Suzuki 300hp Motors. She is a large catamaran and is all about Space and has lots of it with 1200Hp she has a top speed of 35 knots. She is the biggest boat in the Blue Water Charters fleet, and also Durbans biggest charter fishing boat.
Whether you just want a fun trip or want to head out to the deep for something big you will do in spacious comfort aboard McFire.
She is the ideal boat to entertain your clients on corporate trips, or for team building. A great boat for the family, friends or for anyone that wants to fish with loads of space.
She is not all just comfort and space, she is also a well equipped fishing vessel.
McFire is now available for your fishing trip, cruise or function.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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:cgrts: Nice bud. Hope she does well for you.
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What a way too start a year!!!! Well done and fair seas!!!
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:cgrts: she is beautiful , be safe , :toppie:
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Families with Kids having a blast Dorado Fishing.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 13 January 2019
As a skipper there is nothing that satisfies me more than when we take kids out fishing with Mom and Dad and we get them hooked up into a nice Dorado for the first time in their lives. Many times it is their first experience at sea, and for me to see their shear excitement, and amazement when they hold on to that rod, sometimes with Mom and Dads help and the exhilaration when that brightly coloured beautiful Dorado comes on board totally makes my day. On both Fat Girl and Nawty Girl these Kids had a blast.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Introducing McFire.
McFire is a 46ft Lee Cat powered by 4 x Suzuki 300hp Motors. She is a large catamaran and is all about Space and has lots of it with 1200Hp she has a top speed of 35 knots. She is the biggest boat in the Blue Water Charters fleet, and also Durbans biggest charter fishing boat.
Whether you just want a fun trip or want to head out to the deep for something big you will do in spacious comfort aboard McFire.
She is the ideal boat to entertain your clients on corporate trips, or for team building. A great boat for the family, friends or for anyone that wants to fish with loads of space.
She is not all just comfort and space, she is also a well equipped fishing vessel.
McFire is now available for your fishing trip, cruise or function.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
Congrats Mike.
Is she going to stay in Richards Bay, or you bringing her back down to Durbs?
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Introducing McFire.
McFire is a 46ft Lee Cat powered by 4 x Suzuki 300hp Motors. She is a large catamaran and is all about Space and has lots of it with 1200Hp she has a top speed of 35 knots. She is the biggest boat in the Blue Water Charters fleet, and also Durbans biggest charter fishing boat.
Whether you just want a fun trip or want to head out to the deep for something big you will do in spacious comfort aboard McFire.
She is the ideal boat to entertain your clients on corporate trips, or for team building. A great boat for the family, friends or for anyone that wants to fish with loads of space.
She is not all just comfort and space, she is also a well equipped fishing vessel.
McFire is now available for your fishing trip, cruise or function.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
Congrats Mike.
Is she going to stay in Richards Bay, or you bringing her back down to Durbs?
She been in Durban almost 2 months already :)
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Introducing McFire.
McFire is a 46ft Lee Cat powered by 4 x Suzuki 300hp Motors. She is a large catamaran and is all about Space and has lots of it with 1200Hp she has a top speed of 35 knots. She is the biggest boat in the Blue Water Charters fleet, and also Durbans biggest charter fishing boat.
Whether you just want a fun trip or want to head out to the deep for something big you will do in spacious comfort aboard McFire.
She is the ideal boat to entertain your clients on corporate trips, or for team building. A great boat for the family, friends or for anyone that wants to fish with loads of space.
She is not all just comfort and space, she is also a well equipped fishing vessel.
McFire is now available for your fishing trip, cruise or function.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
Congrats Mike.
Is she going to stay in Richards Bay, or you bringing her back down to Durbs?
She been in Durban almost 2 months already :)
oh lekker.
Goodluck ...
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Congrats Mike all the best with the new ride
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:cgrts:
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Awesome Mike!
So happy for you!
All the best!
Come on now more pictures!
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Dorado (Mahi) Fishing still great and some Tuna coming in.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban
So far we have had a superb Dorado season, it started early with a big fish; pretty much we getting Dorado every trip. Yellowfin Tuna were scarce for a while but they are now starting to show up. Marlin have also been around. The current seems to have settled and we have some nice warm water so we expect Wahoo to show up anytime, they are late. The next 3-4 months are looking to provide us with some great fishing with Fat Girl, Nawty Girl and McFire ready for action.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Fishing in the Rain.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 26-01-2019
We met our clients this morning in heavy rain and gave them the option to go the next day but they wanted to fish, other than the rain the conditions were very nice and so the short 5hr trip got going at 06h00. We trolled out to the reefs to do some bottoms and hooked a Dorado on the way. Bottoms produced some nice reds. On the way back we hooked into a large Wahoo which really gave a great Arial display before biting through the leader. I am pleased that we are starting to see Wahoo as they have been absent from our waters so far.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Game fishing season in full swing.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 01-02-2019
Sunrise is getting a little later each morning and most days are hot and humid which is typical for February. We have had rainfall most nights and the result of this can be seen by the dirty water flowing out the port creating a strong colour line. Inshore waters have had cold green water and one needs to get out to the deeper water to find warm clean water and so some travelling is required to get some fish leaving one with a shorter time to produce. On a short morning trip as we got to the clean water we had a Dorado (Mahi) hit a Rapala Xtreme and after a jump the fish came off. We then landed a decent size Yellowfin Tuna, had an on/off with a Wahoo and then landed a smaller Dorado which gave a fight of a fish twice its size. I think we will start seeing Wahoo catches reported soon and usually when the Wahoo are around we find good numbers of Black Marlin too. Time to stretch those muscles, and prepare for a Marlin fight.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Afternoon Quickie.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 03-02-2019
Sunday was one of those days that the forecast showed bad weather but in reality conditions were quite good. Then as we had packed up in the afternoon we had some people want to go fishing on short notice and so we obliged them and reset the boat and took them out for a late afternoon fishing session, there was not even enough time for a half day trip so it was short and sweet and we managed 1 Dorado (Mahi) which delighted this family.
Often unplanned trips on short notice work out well which reminds me of a trip last year under similar circumstances and we hooked into a Marlin within an hour from launch and back on the dock 3hrs from when we launched. So if conditions are good and you feel like going, just get on with it and go, you just might be surprised.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Great Day offshore on McFire.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 06-02-2019
What an awesome day today, we had a team building trip for the Blue Water Charters team along with a few friends to give McFire her maiden fishing voyage off Durban. For me it was just such a pleasure not to sit at the wheel and have a day off from skipper duty whilst Adam spent most of the day at the helm and he really is a competent skipper (thanks Adam). The boat is really spacious and even with 6 of us up on the bridge we were not cramped and with 14 metres of boat one could disappear to other parts of the boat for some solitude. Conditions today were fantastic with flat seas, warm blue water and no wind. We saw 2 Sharks during the trip, a Marlin swim by and 2 Loggerhead Turtles swimming together. Early morning we had a Dorado double up and it was Kurt and I fighting these fish, usually we are helping others catch fish so it was just so fabulous to be able to do this and be in a different role for a change. Next up was a smaller Yellowfin Tuna and this was on Eriks turn and after a while we had a really big hit from a good size Yellowfin Tuna and Deon was on the rod to bring this beauty on board and claim the best catch for the day (Well done Deon). Things got a bit quiet for a while and we had a braai with some nice boerewors rolls (Thanks Imran). With full bellies and relaxing suddenly a reel went of and Heyne had the rod in hand putting a stunning Bull Dorado on the deck after some aerial antics (Well done Heyne). We then had another Dorado on and it was also a Bull and this one really jumped around spending more time in the air than in the water, sadly he came loose and we lost him. So the day ended with 3 Dorado, 2 Yellowfin on the tally and a bunch of great guys to enjoy the day with. Thanks guys for such a great day, was an absolute pleasure, it was really relaxing and refreshing. I think we should do this more often.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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:cgrts:
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Dorado Fishing on McFire.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 09-02-2019
With a short 5hr morning trip, McFire headed out at 05h00 this morning into some nice conditions, fortunately the sea had settled nicely after yesterdays pumping NE wind and a light SW made for an ideal day offshore. There was not time to be wasted as a mix of Game and Bottom fishing was requested for today and so lines were set straight from port and before all the lines were out the first Dorado was on and after a good fight it was on deck sealing the mood for a good trip. There was also other Dorado that got caught and a Bonnie, a wide variety of bottom fish where caught, all undersize ones were put back. A very successful morning with a happy crew. Back on the dock just after 10h00.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Grand Slam for Fat Girl - Dorado, Tuna, Wahoo
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 10-02-2019
What a fantastic day out at sea with some superb fishing, and we only launched well after 8am with a father and son who landed in Durban this morning from the UK. The conditions were good with relatively flat seas and only a slight chop. It was very special day for this Grand Dad of 92 to land 2 Dorado (Mahi) for himself, well done this is an awesome accomplishment and we are honoured to have shared this with you. Kevin well done on your Grand Slam, it is not easy to get a Dorado, Tuna and Wahoo in one outing and to be able to land them all yourself. A wonderful day with a Wahoo, a Yellowfin Tuna and 5 Dorado (Mahi) which made really made the Captains Birthday special.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Another Grand Slam for Fat Girl Day 2
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 11-02-2019
Conditions were perfect with the sea as flat as a little mountain pond. The father and son were with us again for day 2 of their fishing adventure. Grand dad (92) got to fight some more fish and landed himself and awesome Yellowfin Tuna and some Dorado. All in all the fish was good even though we had to look hard to find some fish we managed to get another Grand Slam, and so a Grand Slam 2 days in a row with the same awesome guys. This time the tally was 4 Dorado, 3 Yellowfin Tuna and 2 Oceanic Bonito.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Super Grand Slam for Fat Girl.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 22-02-2019
So in 2 days for fishing it was like fishing 2 completely different oceans, Thursday saw a stiff SW wind and although the sea was not so bad the current was screaming S-N making all kinds of fishing really difficult we managed 1 x Yellowfin Tuna. The Friday came with a light SW wind and the current had slowed down, warm blue water had also come in and there was a very distinct colour line. The first line went early and resulted in a Wahoo bite off before we got it to the boat, this was just the beginning and we had a lot of activity and even with some fish not committing and coming off we ended up with a really fun day and 4 species of Game fish making it a Super Grand Slam. The final account was 1 x Dorado, 3 x Yellowfin Tuna, 2 x Oceanic Bonito and a good size Rainbow Runner. I was a bit frustrated at the Wahoo bite off as this has happened a few times now, but good to see them around. Getting that Rainbow Runner was awesome as it is not a common catch off Durban.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Short trip and tight lines on McFire
Offshore Fishing Report Durban
The morning was stunning and perfect for a short 4 hour trip on McFire. Once warm blue water was found it was not very long before the first reel sang and there was a nice Dorado on board. It soon after there was a Yellowfin Tuna on board. Once back in the greener water things went quiet and it was time to head for port. Sometimes a short trip is all one needs to just get out there breath in some fresh air in and get some quick fishing in, then head back de-stressed and refreshed.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Tuna for Fat Girl.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 02 March 2019
Flat seas, light winds, overcast skies. Inshore fishing was dead and the water was not looking a good colour and the temperature was 23.5deg.C. So we decided to head out to the deep where the SST charts showed warmer water and from 400m depth we found beautiful clear purple water at 26.3deg.C and we fished this area right up to the 500m depth. Loads of life all around in the area; a wide variety or birds were seen, big schools of dolphins, massive manta rays, turtles and we saw some very big sharks. Oceanic Bonito were around in abundance and we hooked up and lost many of them when all the lines went screaming but we also managed to land a bunch. We also got 4 Yellowfin Tuna with 2 really nice sized ones that really sealed the trip as a good one giving the anglers a good rev and arm stretch.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Very Nice Mike, carry on bringing good results. (clap)
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Kids Birthday Fishing Trip on McFire.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 02 March 2019
A kids birthday fishing trip went perfect with flat seas and calm weather, everyone had a chance at some Oceanic Bonito which were around in abundance during a short morning trip and the boys had a blast, on the trip back to port there was a braai (barbecue) on board with some Wors, Steak and Chops to finish off the days celebrations.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Oceanic Bonitos in Abundance for Fat Girl.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 03 March 2019
With a short morning trip ahead of us and some light rain we set out early and it turned out to be one of those action packed days. Before we even finished setting our spread we had a Bonito hit a lure and so the whole trip continued and we never got to set a full spread with hit after hit and fish after fish and almost every time it was multiple hook ups with 3 or 4 fish being fought, we hooked up and landed so many Oceanic Bonito I lost count, we lost a few and started releasing them without even bring them over the gunnels eventually. On days like this there is always that one Bonito that is going to play games with you and when you get stripped into the backing and have a long 30 minute fight you are so disappointed when you discover its not that big Tuna you thought but a foul hooked Bonnie. It makes for a good fight and a really good laugh afterwards. What a great non-stop action trip. If the Oceanic Bonito are around in such great numbers, we can be sure that the Black Marlin will follow and I expect to hear of a few Marlin catches soon.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Dorado on Spinning Tackle for Nawty Girl.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 05 March 2019
To miss the strong winds this morning and harness the rest of the day with a great forecast we only launched after 08h00 for a short trip, this proved to be a wise choice as the sea was flat and conditions stunning. Water has got cold with some readings as low as 19 deg.C and other places 24 deg.C. No blue water was found and the day was left hunting for fish in green water. Trolling out to the reefs for some bottom fishing was very quiet and as we started bring in the lines there was some action by a Dorado that would not commit to the lure and so a bottom trace on a spinning rod ready with squid was thrown into the spread without a sinker, this yielded us 1 nice Dorado for the day and the first Dorado we have seen in over a week as they have been absent, shortly after this whilst still clearing lines the same thing happened but this Dorado managed to get himself loose. The rest of the day was spent bottom fishing with a wide variety of bottom fish being caught.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Tuna and Dorado on a short afternoon trip
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 08 March 2019
We got going at 13h00 this afternoon for a short 4 hour trip, SW wind was blowing at around 20 knots, deeper out the swells were large water blue and warm but it was not comfortable so we moved in shallow and fished the basin area, inshore was a bit colder and green and so some old tactics not used in a long time were employed and some old spots were visited. Early in the trip we hooked up a really nice Yellowfin Tuna which gave a good fight and a little bit later we got a nice little Dorado on the deck. I was quite pleased that some old tricks and spots helped us out on a difficult day with very little time to produce.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Harbour Fun Fishing and Party Trip
Harbour Fishing Report Durban 16 March 2019
A 3 hour afternoon Birthday Party come fishing trip in the Durban harbour was great fun on McFire for these folks who have never fished before. McFire has great space for everyone onboard and everyone had their hand involved fishing during the trip and some even got to experience their first catch ever which proved to be great excitement. All fish were released.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Family Fun Backline Fishing trip on Nawty Girl
Backline Fishing Report Durban 21 March 2019
A 3 hour backline fishing trip on Nawty Girl in overcast conditions gave this family a great experience. A wide variety of fish were caught like a Guitar Fish, Pick Handle Barracuda, Sand Gurnard, Black Tail, Rockod, Toby, Mackerel amongst others much to these boys delight.
It gives us so much pleasure to share fishing and the ocean we love so much with others, especially the little ones.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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About the Marlin, the Hammerhead and 7 Tuna
Marlin Fishing Report Durban 10 April 2019
Today the Blue Water Charters team and some friends went out for a team building fishing trip, the plan was to go deep a get a Marlin or for 2nd prize a good tuna. Everything looked right for today and so we decided to go and at 04h50 we left Wilsons Wharf on Fat Girl and made our way out the harbour and set course for the continental shelf as the SST charts showed warm waters out there as closer in it has been very quiet of late. As we went out we found warm blue water on the inside, but once we crossed the Agulhas the water got colder and greener. In this area we came across a pod of Minke Whales, perhaps 9-10 of them and we came across the remains of what looked like Humboldt Squid, it was here that we discovered that the SST charts were incorrect for the day, none the less we plodded on out to the deep when I noticed a clear line near the drop off in the deep waters and so changed course and headed out towards this line which turned out to be about 1 km wide with a difference of 2 degrees in SST on either side and so I started working this as we found birds, flying fish ( 1 which landed on the bow of the boat, very cute and we put it back in the water), pods of dolphins, some small jumping Bonito and other life in this water. By this time we were this far out we had already spent several hours on the water with no fish and everyone was hungry so we started our braai and got the sausages cooking (Thanks Adam), as we all started to eat I made a comment that when we all have our food in our hands and are in the middle of eating we will get a hook up. As things go it happened exactly like that with a triple hook up with some decent size Yellowfin Tuna and everyones hands were full and so with stuffed mouths we managed to land 2 of the 3 with one coming off. We set the spread again and continued working the line and it was not long and we had a full strike with 7 rods going, 1 Tuna came off and one line got rubbed in the entanglement and parted and we landed 5 of them. So after 8 years I realised that today was the first time I had fought a fish from my own fighting chair and it was a decent 30kg Yellowfin Tuna. Of the 7 Tuna landed the smallest was 22kg and the largest was 30kg making the hatch full. 3 of these buss Tuna were taken on the new Rapala Xtremes that we have been testing and running. The deck was cleaned and spread reset and I carried on working the line. The story gets an interesting twist at this stage because we noticed a Greater Hammerhead shark ahead of the boat and as we got closer he moved out to the side as we passed him and then he came right into our spread and then the port corner rod gave a short burst ZZZ, we did not want to hook up a Hammerhead Shark and so Erik started reeling in that line, but he was too late and the line went tight, the rod bent and line slowly peeled off the reel, nobody wanted to fight the Hammerhead Shark and Kurt decided he would accept the challenge, he got into the chair and Erik handed him the rod and Kurt stated winding and as he gave the rod the first pump, things changed somewhat and suddenly the reel was screaming and as it went into the backing we saw a Marlin tail walking behind the boat and realised that the Hammerhead fooled us all and we actually had a Marlin on and after a very hard fight we had a Black Marlin estimated at 150kg (330lb) by the boat, the fish was still strong and wiring was quite a challenge and it wasnt much longer and we had released a Black Marlin. We still had a 4 hour trip to get back to port and had no further action as we headed back in. It was a wonderful day with some fantastic people and some awesome fishing, many thanks to all. Well done and congratulations to Kurt for successfully landing and releasing his first Marlin.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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:rck" (clap)
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Lovely story. Thanks bud.
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Well Done (clap)
it's good to know that there are some big tuna around.
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Another Marlin and a Grand Slam for Fat Girl
Marlin Fishing Report Durban 12 April 2019
We launched into nice conditions today for a short 5 hour trip, it was action packed early with some Sarda Sarda on light tackle, we were supposed to go do bottoms but so much fish were being caught that it never happened. As we about to pull lines up to head back to port out guests asked to extend their trip by 3 more hours and so I made a turn and started heading out again, immediately on the turn we had a double hook up with 2 big Bonito, and the Sarda Sarda action continued and then we has an almost full strike and fought all the fish to the boat, there was 1 line remaining in the water, we had 14 Sarda and 6 Bonnies in the hatch. After we got the fish on deck I put the speed back up again and before we could put any lines out the remaining line popped of the rigger and we had a proper fish on and were into the backing, soon after we saw a Black Marlin jumping. This was a long hard fight as we hooked up on light tackle with a Tyrnos 30, we got the fish to the boat and then he turned as was into the backing again, the Marlin made 2 more strong runs each one shorter than the one before and eventually we got the fish to the boat and successfully released a Black Marlin of about 180kg (400lbs). Well done to Darren on catching and releasing his first Marlin, and a special note of respect for fighting the fish so well on the light tackle. 2 Trips and 2 Marlin for Blue Water Charters.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Bottom Fishing after the Floods
Offshore Fishing Report Durban End April 2019
Easter weekend was a washout with heavy rains ending with floods on Monday night. On Tuesday the harbour was filthy and full of debris and litter that has washed down from rivers and storm water drains, the sea was also a mess, as the week went on the debris in the harbour remained but was taken away by currents offshore leaving green water with the first few meters filled with freshwater. I have never before seen so much empty plastic bottles floating around out at sea as I did after these floods in my life before, it is so disgusting to se mankinds litter all over the ocean, the harbour has been a cesspool of filth and it stinks. Clean up operations have been fruitless; more rubbish has drifted down after so much effort was put in. Very difficult conditions to fish in and we have found no game fish at all. With on the first few meters of water not good the reefs seem to be unaffected and we have had some really superb bottom fishing with loads of Slinger being caught along with a few other species, all average sized fish and many multiple hook ups with a fish on every hook dropped down. In no time quotas were filled. On one trip we had full quota of bottom fish for all on board within the first hour and then tried in vain for the rest of the trip looking for Tuna. Yesterday we ventured out to deep waters after bottoms first and found out deep that the water is clean, blue and warm but sadly void of life. During the next week I think the offshore waters will improve quickly but the harbour will take a while to clean up. To all those who have volunteered and spent their own time to assist with clean ups all around a BIG THANK YOU and my respect, a big thumbs down to the municipality for leaving things to get this bad and not making much effort to clean up leaving it to volunteers.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Its Winter - Bonito back in full force and a good Tuna
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 14 May 2019
Winter is here and our game fishing season ended abruptly at Easter after the floods. Clean up teams came out in full force about a week after the floods and the bulk of the debris has been cleaned up. Offshore waters are clearing up and things are looking alive and active. The water temperatures have been dropping and today it averaged just over 22 deg.C. Deeper out the water is clear blue and inshore it is green but clear. This morning as we left port we saw the first Whale for the season and there are many juvenile Gannets around. We had a short morning trip with a guest from the US who said he wanted a Yellowfin Tuna and had tried in many places around the world but always lucked out. I found nothing in the deep so headed inshore with light tackle and different tactics, we found some bird activity but they were only smashing sprats and no fish. I then found and area with good showings and 1 bigger fish and started working that spot that I marked and we had a good run with Bonito (Eastern Little Tuna), catching one after another and even plenty multiple hook ups which was great fun as our sole guest got to fight fish after fish after fish and on light tackle Bonito are good sport. During all this action we had a large Zambezi Shark (Bull Shark) about 3.5m long jump clear over our lines just a few meters behind the boat, this was a magnificent display when he broached about 3m in the air and twisted as he cam e back down. I could still see 1 big fish on the showing in the shoal as we followed it around and finally after landing 20 Bonito we hooked into a good size Yellowfin Tuna which gave a great fight on the lighter tackle. I knew the Tuna was there, I saw him and we persisted till we got him. After landing the Tuna we got a few more Bonito and then we headed back to port.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Reef Fishing, Game Fishing Slow
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 20 May 2019
On our last 2 trips the water temps have dropped below 21 deg.C, Sunday had light winds and small swells yet it was not pleasant with a reverse current directly opposite the swell direction making for a very close swell of around 4 seconds, Monday was nice and comfortable with flat seas even though the NE was blowing a bit. We struggled to find any Tuna and even Bonito have been scarce and we only got a few stragglers and strangely enough we got an Oceanic in the shallows on our way back on Sunday and these are normally caught much deeper out. Bottom Fishing was good and on both days we opted to go for bottoms, on both days we got a lot of Slinger and Soldier Bream and also some other quality fish of decent sizes like Englishman, Copper Bream and Rubber Lips.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Bucket List achieved in one trip.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 22 May 2019
What stunning conditions, flat seas, light winds and sunny skies which made for an awesome day. The water is still dirty and there is debris around, temperature is under 21 deg.C. I found no signs of Tuna or Bonito and so we stopped and went for bottoms and really got some nice quality fish with some good sized Slinger, Copper Bream, Englishman and Soldier Bream. Once we had full quota of bottom fish for all on board we trolled back looking for a Tuna and I went inshore over certain points that have yielded us good Tuna in the past, sadly there was no sign, not even bait fish and we managed 1 frigate Tuna. Immediately after we went over the last point the shotgun snapped and the reel was screaming and in no time we were into the backing and could not stop this fish, to make a long story short after slowing the boat down more than normal and a hard 20 minute fight we managed to land a small yogurt bucket much to our surprise. Its not every day that one can land their entire bucket list in 1 trip.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Its so funny, we have to go out to the 21 degree water, lots of miles out to find tuna..and they've been there in good numbers..and skippies of course, so most likely they have gone fishing down far south from you and you have to wait for the next wave to come down from mozam. w;k
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Bottom Fishing is still good.
Offshore Fishing Report Durban 24 May 2019
Wow, with seas as flat as a small country pond and not even a swell made for a very comfortable day at sea. The fishing was also really great and we got into some good size Slinger and in less than 2 hours we had full quota on the boat, these Slinger are great sport on spinning tackle. The problem was then what to do with the rest of the time, and so we decided to try look for a Tuna but never got one.
Its not every day that one can get full quota on a trip, especially in such a short time, in this situation a person must be contentious of regulations and conservation and not take more than the limit that is allowed. My suggestion is to use this time to look for something specific or special, try out new techniques and investigate new areas. We stop when we are 2-3 fish from full quota and then do something different.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Game Fishing - Past Season Report - 2018/2019.
Offshore Fishing Report Summer 2018/2019
With winter in full swing now, I thought it was time to reflect on the past summer season.
The season started early with our biggest Dorado of 20kg opening the account on the 1st of October, even more special was that this fish was landed by a young boy. From the beginning of the season at the end of 2018 the fish were there even though the water was cold and mostly green right through to mid December, we also encountered an unusual occurrence where all the early season fish came out of the cold green water and the warmer blue water that we found was void of life.
Dorado fishing was spectacular for the season and one of the best seasons we have had in the past few years with many Dorado caught and some days with double digits from all our boats, Wahoo on the other hand made a poor showing this season with very few caught. Tuna fishing was average however we got a lot of bigger ones than normal with an average weight of 17kg and fish up to 30kg which is really good for Durban. No Blue or Striped Marlin were caught but we did manage 6 Black Marlin 3 of them really stand out, 1 was over 600lbs, 1 was hooked up on one of the new Rapala Xtremes and a 400lb on light tackle. All our Marlin were successfully released with no casualties. The sailfish this season was a real frustration, even though we got several strikes we never landed one. The Dorado came early but the also left early with very little caught after March, usually we get them through to April, waters also started cooling down earlier which bodes well for a good sardine run in 2019 and as always the game season is better in years that the sardines come. We had great fun this past season along with many of our guests.
For the next few months all our big tackle is in for maintenance and we are preparing for the new season whilst winter fishing takes place, from 1st October our big game trips will commence for the 2019/2020 season. I cant wait.
To my team, well done guys and to our guests thank you for your support.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good Slinger Fishing
Offshore Fishing Report 15 June 2019
The water is getting cold averaging just over 21 deg.C. What a cracker of a day with stunning conditions. We got some nice Slinger today and before we knew it we had our Slinger quota, we then tried for other species and manage a good array with some Englishman, Soldier Bream, False Englisman, Tomato Rockod and a few others, catching these bottoms on our Shimano Saragosa/Trevala rigs is such a pleasure and awesome fun. After we had almost full quota we still had some time left on our charter so we tried trolling for a Tuna or a Bonnie, we got no Tuna but managed 1 x Bonnie of about 3Kg. A great mornings fishing trip.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Family Fishing Fun
Offshore Fishing Report 17 June 2019
Today we took 2 families out today on Fat Girl and Nawty Girl. Water temps are sitting around 21 deg.C. Bottom fishing was good with lots of nice Slinger and Soldiers coming out, also some Rockod and Sea Barbel. The kiddies had so much fun today, every drop was a fish and once we had enough fish we tried trolling for Tuna or Bonito with Nawty Girl getting 3 Bonnies and Fat Girl 1. I love taking families with kiddies out and sharing the ocean with them. A great day today, with awesome conditions.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Good fishing today
Offshore Fishing Report 23 June 2019
We had an upcountry couple with us on a short charter today, conditions were really nice with a moderate SW wind and seas were nice and flat. The water has got cold now and sits under 20 deg.C and we had a relatively strong reverse current which made bottom fishing a little difficult. On the way out we hook up into a nice Bonnie and shortly after we hooked up and Albatross, once we sorted him out and got him back flying we stopped and did bottoms. I have to say that the squawk of the Albatross sort of sound like the ratchet of a Tyrnos 30. Bottom fishing was really good even in the stronger current and we got some really nice Slinger, Englishman and Copper Bream, every drop was a good fish. We took a troll back along an inshore route and had a double up with 2 big Bonnies which gave a good account for themselves.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Fathers and Sons Fishing.
Offshore Fishing Report 25 June 2019
We had 2 families on the boat for a short morning charter. Water is very cold and under 20deg.C and we had a screaming reverse current. The cold water is a good sign for those awaiting the arrival of the sardines as usually when it drops under 20deg.C it means they are on their way.
We struggled to get our baits down in the screaming current and we only got one drop on the mark and had to continuously reposition after every drop to stay on point. We managed to get about 20 nice bottom fish that we could keep including a few Slinger but mostly Soldiers were feeding, we got a few nice sized ones and many undersize fish which we put back and to make sure they survived we brought them up slowly so they would go back down and not float. We also managed 1 Bonnie on the troll. A frustrating day indeed, especially after so many great trips in the past 6 weeks.
Fishing trips for Fathers and Sons are great for bonding and connecting.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Family Fishing Trip.
Offshore Fishing Report 30 June 2019
We had 3 families on Fat Girl for a short morning charter. Conditions were stunning with light winds, flat seas and a slow current. No Bonnies or Tuna around yet, guess they are hanging around the sardines at the moment. Bottom fishing was great with a lot of fish caught by some very enthusiastic young men. A wide variety of species too, Slinger, Soldiers, Englishmen, Bronze Bream, Stumpy, Black Tail, Sea Barbel and even some Mackerel. We also got a large Toby that puffed up the size of a soccer ball and a very large Lion Fish which was an extremely interesting catch. Loads of fun with fathers and sons having a blast. The sons definitely out fished the dads on this trip.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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A Good King Fish.
Offshore Fishing Report 6 August 2019
Winter Fishing has been carrying on and we have done a fair amount of kiddies trips too. Over the weekend I saw the first Yellow Billed Kite and so we are expecting the Tuna to appear soon and before long we will be back into Game Fish season. Water was very cold averaging at 19.3 deg.C and we had some good catches of Bonito and Sarda Sarda, bottom fishing was tough with a very strong S-N current. This was a trip to remember as about 2 hours into our trip we hooked up into a very nice size King Fish on tight tackle which gave a TLD 15 a good run for its money and the line a really good stretch. This is not a fish we often catch here and so a really memorable catch.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Congrats that is a good size blacktip, did you get it on a lure? If so which colour / type? I have caught a few at Aliwal on Rapala X Raps.
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Congrats that is a good size blacktip, did you get it on a lure? If so which colour / type? I have caught a few at Aliwal on Rapala X Raps.
Took a snoek trace with a white squid
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Lovely, would have been a good rev on that light gear
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A Very Good Tuna off Durban for Fat Girl.
Offshore Fishing Report 1 October 2019
Officially the start of Game Fishing Season and off we went with a strong SW wind and a screaming S-N current with water still cold averaging 20.5 deg.C. Within the 1st 30 minutes we had 3 reels screaming with some very large Bonnies and we landed 2 of them, a few more Bonnies after that and before we could blink we were out deep off Salt Rock with that strong current and made the turn to head back, on the way back we found some smaller Yellowfin Tuna and then for the grand finale we landed a stunning 30Kg Yellowfin Tuna which gave a good account for itself.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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A Sailfish to commence the Season.
Offshore Fishing Report 2 October 2019
The 2nd day into the Game Fishing season and we were still buzzing from the big Tuna the day before and things were quiet, we had picked up some Shad on the bullets (Yes out of season and they were put back) and also a few smaller Bonnies. There was a light rain and inshore was quiet so I sped up and headed out deeper, it was a short morning trip so time was against us. Once deep I tapped the throttles back a little and started working some previously productive areas and BANG the port corner went and I thought it was a small Striped Marlin as it took off, 30 minutes later we had a good sized Sailfish at the boat which we released and then made our way back into port. A really good start to the season and I hope it is a sign of good things to come. I have been expecting the Dorado to show up anytime along with some Black Marlin.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Well done:rck" :rck"
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Dorado Account Opened.
Offshore Fishing Report 16 October 2019
Better late than never, we finally opened our Dorado (Mahi) account for the season today, water is still cold and under 20deg.C. We had some Bonnie action on our way out and then we had 2 missed strikes, 1 on a Rapala and another on a Bullet and then finally we had a small female Dorado stick to the hook, I can see they not hitting hard as yet and the strikes are soft and gentle, but they are around and I will have a taste of some Dorado for dinner tonight, its been a while.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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Lekker Mike, what depth were you pulling?
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Lekker Mike, what depth were you pulling?
400m
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Dorado Season in full swing.
Offshore Fishing Report 23 November 2019
We had a short morning charter on Saturday, we launched at 05h00 and found warn water in pleasant conditions, as soon as we crossed the colour line we had our first Dorado (Mahi) on board and this was before 06h00. The Dorado were very hungry and active, when hooked up they gave us acrobatic aerial displays with some of them jumping off the hook in the process, some were smashing at our lures but missing completely increasing the excitement, we even had a triple hook up. This all made for a very entertaining morning with loads of action and fun.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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It's been a while since I posted here, I was not able to upload pics and then crazy season started and no time to mess around. Will see if I can try upload pics now
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Dorado, Wahoo, Tuna and tough weather
Offshore Fishing Report Late January 2020
Since we got our Marlin the last 2 weeks of fishing has been very difficult and we have been busy with a lot of trips on all boats, water temperatures went almost up to 30 deg.C and I have never see water this warm straight out the harbour, in the harbour exceeded 32 deg.C. Strong NE winds and SW busters made for some rough seas on occasion and many days had both, one morning we were about to launch at 04h30 when a 38knot SW wind came through and we finally only launched at 11h00. After all the warm water things cooled down to big varieties of water temps from 22deg.C right up to 27deg.C in close proximity sadly the water has gone green, I hope this last SW has cleared this up. So with calms seas on occasion or during the day and some rocking and rolling, rain and many other challenges with guests from Czech Republic, Australia, UK, USA, Germany and good old SA we managed to get some fish but not as many as we wanted. Wahoo have now made their appearance, Dorado are still a regular catch and they are getting bigger now, we chuck the small ones back so they can grow, Tuna have been scarce but the ones we do get are quality sizes, Bonito have been few and far between and we have seen Marlin jumping and had them in the spread but no strikes, Dolphins have been regular visitors out in the deep. We saw something really incredible that I have never witnessed off Durban on our way back in a strong west from far North, we came across a shoal of over 200 GTs from 30-50Kg, they were not scared of the boat but no matter what we offered them they would not bite, observing their behaviour it looked like they were spawning. We had some kiddies trips in the harbour and the fish were biting in the warm water so actually much easier than fishing offshore. With Marlin and Wahoo around I think we will see some nice catches coming up in the next 3 months.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za (http://www.bluewatercharters.co.za)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osTrP9184og (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osTrP9184og)
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Some nice fish there Mike!Fabulous Wahoo in the first pic! Awesome catch.
(clap)
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4 Black Marlin in 2 Days off Durban
Marlin Report 11-12 February 2020
Wow, finally after some really difficult fishing trips some Cobalt Blue water averaging 28.5deg.C has moved in and we had 2 fantastic days of fishing with 4 guests from the UK and each of them got to fight a Black Marlin in South Africa. We had 6 Marlin come into the spread over the 2 days, 5 hook ups; we dropped 1 and successfully released 4. We also got some Yellowfin Tuna and Oceanic Bonito.
The 3 larger Marlin came out in deeper waters but Marlin number 2 was a small guy that took us by surprise just before lines up and we hooked him up less than 3km from port and released him close to the harbour mouth.
Well done Shawn, Jaymes, Dicky and Rod.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Epic!!
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Game Fishing season still going strong
Offshore Fishing Report Feb/Mar 2020
Since our great Marlin catches in February I have not found time to make a report. In the past 4 weeks Dorado are still around in good numbers, Wahoo in small numbers and finally the Yellowfin Tuna are starting to make a late appearance. Oceanic Bonito have been caught in big numbers along with a lot of Kawakawa which always give a great fight. We have been having some good fishing on most trips, as always some days are bad and others are exceptional and no 2 days are the same. Water temps have remained above 25 deg.C. I anticipate some more Marlin will make an appearance in the next 4-6 weeks before the season makes its annual change and I hope we start to see some Wahoo in bigger numbers along with more Yellowfin Tuna.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Well done :rck"
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Some lovely catches there bud. (clap)
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We are officially back in operation after more than 4 months of being locked down.
Call us to book your trip
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Tuna and Bonnies
Offshore Fishing Report 6September 2020
So we all getting used to post Covid 19 regulations and we are running trips again after lockdown, today has been typical day for this season with a Tuna, some Bonnies and Bottom Fish. Summer is around the corner and it wont be long before we are hitting Dorado again. Its like there is a big blank and we went directly from the end of summer season and into the beginning of summer season again totally missing winter. It is sure great to be running trips again after a long absence.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Glad you back on the water, trust you have a great season (clap)
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Glad you back on the water, trust you have a great season (clap)
:tkx:
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Summer Fishing Season on its way
Fishing Report Durban 8th November 2020
Finally summer seems to be on its way with the water warming up, but still no Dorado which we are anticipating on any trip now, they seem to be late this year. Some nice Yellowfin Tuna have been around and a prolonged period of Tropical Yellowtails which usually make a short appearance just before the Dorado arrive but have been hanging around longer than usual and a first for us was to get a Tropical Yellowtail in the harbour. As always the Bonito have been around in abundance making great sport for all on board and exceptional fun for the little ones. Bottom fishing has been normal with a good few John Dorys coming out.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Appreciate your constant updates. I have seen your boat come through past the fairweather boy a few times. We vaalies at least feel like we are not missing much, but I hope to see more regular updates from you as we move into December. My wife will be down on the 1st and I will be down for weekends around that time until I come down for Christmas/NewYear.
Getting excited as boat is getting serviced, new oil filled axle, and ready for COF. Finally got my trailer license yesterday and also picked up forms for fishing licenses. Even managed to get my ICASA license although they could not be bothered to give me an MSSI number, but you can't have everything.
Looks forward to seeing you out there in a few weeks.
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Appreciate your constant updates. I have seen your boat come through past the fairweather boy a few times. We vaalies at least feel like we are not missing much, but I hope to see more regular updates from you as we move into December. My wife will be down on the 1st and I will be down for weekends around that time until I come down for Christmas/NewYear.
Getting excited as boat is getting serviced, new oil filled axle, and ready for COF. Finally got my trailer license yesterday and also picked up forms for fishing licenses. Even managed to get my ICASA license although they could not be bothered to give me an MSSI number, but you can't have everything.
Looks forward to seeing you out there in a few weeks.
Thanks, you must enjoy when you get here. If lockdown taught us anything, it is to value the things and freedoms we have
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Dorado on the Bite
Fishing Report Durban 14th November 2020
Dorado are on the menu and we have been getting them on our latest trips, they are really fun to catch, often giving acrobatic aerial display and great for family trips to giving the younger ones memories for a lifetime. The hot weather and warm water are here in time for the holidays.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Dorado season going strong
Fishing Report Durban 17th December
Dorado are out and about with some nice action to be had, the Blue Water Charters team has been doing well and putting good numbers in the hatch making for some exciting days, soon we will start having Marlin strikes it is just a matter of time now. I wish all a great festive season.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Big Wahoo, Small Marlin, Tuna and a ton of Dorado off Durban
Fishing Report Durban 30th December
Fishing has been great this season with good fish being caught on all trips, the Dorado have been thick with many being caught, there are also some nice Yellowfin Tuna about and finally the Wahoo have arrived, when the Wahoo arrive the Black Marlin are also around. Yesterday Fat Girl crew managed to land an awesome 1st Wahoo for the season weighing in at 17.5kg, and whilst they get much bigger in other parts of the world for Durban this is a good catch as they usually average 8-12Kg. With today not wanting to be outdone by yesterday the Fat Girl crew managed to hook up and release a small Black Marlin just past the south pier whilst clearing lines to enter port. This Marlin was a first for angler Giulio and so a huge congratulations to him. For Skipper Eriks son Ruben who has been working as a deckhand for us during his school holidays it is his first interaction with a Marlin and he saw it chasing the kona whilst clearing lines and teased it to perfection to get the hook up and so a huge congratulations to him, how awesome for him and his dad to share a memory like this together. This Black Marlin is also the 4th Black that has been caught on Fat Girl in 2020 in the shallows between no.1 reef and the harbour entrance as we had 3 before the lock down in the shallows and just shows that one does not need to travel far in Durban to catch Marlin. I take this opportunity to wish all for 2021 and stay safe.
www.bluewatercharters.co.za
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Thanks Mike... Keeps the spirits up and gives me something to believe in until I can get back to the salt again. (clap)