Author Topic: Western Cape 2015/2016 Season (Read 51461 times)

Lenny · « **Reply #120 on:** February 03, 2016, 08:52:50 AM »

Couple of mixed size tail around skipskop.

Not a lot , yesterday was very poor .

There's some beeeeeeg tail between the smaller ones , really
Good sizes. But not plenty ...

Seventenths · « **Reply #121 on:** February 08, 2016, 10:47:39 AM »

7 Day weather forecast and SST...still some time for the TOMT... hope the wind has blown itself out by then - I am also a bit worried about that cooler water in the East!

travelmember · « **Reply #122 on:** February 08, 2016, 12:44:24 PM »

7/10, fingers crossed that it may get better!
The only good thing now is that the narrow band of warmer water may concentrate the fish - as long as the easterly stays away.
5 more sleeps!

Seventenths · « **Reply #123 on:** February 08, 2016, 01:30:10 PM »

Quote from: travelmember on February 08, 2016, 12:44:24 PM

7/10, fingers crossed that it may get better!
The only good thing now is that the narrow band of warmer water may concentrate the fish - as long as the easterly stays away.
5 more sleeps!

Haha ... I am counting the minutes... 4 more sleeps and I am on the plane and will be able to see the ocean again and play with all the new weapons I have accumulated thanks to online shopping and dodgy mates like Greg, Anton and Sarel... Going to need a bigger boat for all the new stuff we have... hope the catches are proportionate with the expenditure... but I doubt it!!

Seventenths · « **Reply #124 on:** February 11, 2016, 01:52:35 PM »

Man, I wish the water and weather would settle.. check the crazy cool water in the east!! I am not sure the west is going to fix it on Sunday and Monday (hope so!!). Looks like Tuesday will be the first day on the water for us at the TOMT... 1 Sleep, 3 flights (16 Hours) and I am home!! cant wait to get out of here!!

travelmember · « **Reply #125 on:** February 11, 2016, 02:11:31 PM »

Changes every forecast, one minute it looks bleak all week, now we maybe have 3 fishable days. Alphards look cold and green though.

Seventenths · « **Reply #126 on:** February 11, 2016, 02:35:43 PM »

YFT 40miles into the west of Hout Bay... problem is them might be 100miles from the by tomorrow!! jip Agree 100% Tim.. chops and changes faster than and ANC Policy and just as vague!

SAfish · « **Reply #127 on:** February 11, 2016, 09:42:42 PM »

Tight lines Team Dragon, have a safe comp and klap those

BETTYS · « **Reply #128 on:** February 16, 2016, 06:45:53 AM »

Any update on the comp? How is team Dragon doing?

Seventenths · « **Reply #129 on:** February 16, 2016, 12:23:17 PM »

Well the weather has kept us alongside!! Vernon and Anton shot down to Die Mond in the boat yesterday and bagged some nice YFTs and a few skippies but the sea was angry and the were home by lunchtime. I had some work to do so missed out. The TOMT is on hold again today due to adverse conditions. Yesterday the guys of cape point had Big YFTs at 8 miles and 3 marlin. The boats also filled up with yellowtail behind bellows... Today the east is blowing properly and tomorrow will br more of the same!!!

Seventenths · « **Reply #130 on:** February 17, 2016, 10:05:30 PM »

Marlin fishing called off for tomorrow but looks like Friday will be on so I am off to chase YFTs off cape point tomorrow...

SAfish · « **Reply #131 on:** February 18, 2016, 05:22:21 AM »

Quote from: Seventenths on February 17, 2016, 10:05:30 PM

Marlin fishing called off for tomorrow but looks like Friday will be on so I am off to chase YFTs off cape point tomorrow...

It looks like the weather is not playing along for you guys at the compi. Tight lines, I hope the YFT are hungry.

SAfish · « **Reply #132 on:** February 20, 2016, 06:22:53 PM »

Tony, how did the TOMT go, did you guys manage to get any fishing done?

Lenny · « **Reply #133 on:** February 20, 2016, 06:43:37 PM »

From my side . Well only Friday was a go day at the tomt.

Haven't heard form Tony .
But I think he has to have so family time while he's still down .

SAfish · « **Reply #134 on:** February 20, 2016, 07:00:02 PM »

Thanks Lenny. I heard from other guys that they blanked on marlin yesterday but there were lots of YFT. Tomorrow is a fishing day, so lets hold thumbs for Team Dragon.

Lenny · « **Reply #135 on:** February 21, 2016, 11:29:46 AM »

A very poor marketed yellowtail comp was on yesterday and today , don't know anything , but most guys are back already this morn . Will shoot down now and see what she cooking .

Times tough .

Seventenths · « **Reply #136 on:** February 27, 2016, 08:48:02 AM »

Hi Gents,

Back at work and will post a short report on the Marlin compi asap... Things a bit crazy right now!

Seventenths · « **Reply #137 on:** February 27, 2016, 03:35:56 PM »

TOMT 2016 - well in summary it was not a great year!

The entire week was a blow out until Friday so I took Vernon (a Jet Ski fisherman mate) to Cape Town on the Thursday for a run to the point... it was a bit of an upgrade from his jetski to a 42' Rodman. We shot to the point and caught some Yellowtail - no great shakes but we each got a few and mine swam off to grow some more. Whilst at the point we heard the guys were getting some big YFT's just south of the Canyon so we upped lines and shot out there. En route we saw a marlin on the surface and tried to tempt him with some plastic, no go... he was not interested. We got there as a trawler was pulling it's net on board and in short order the fish went of. If we had not stopped to mess about with the needle nose we prob would have got some nice YFT's so be it. We headed home and the next days forecast was that Friday would be a day for the TOMT.

I headed back with a 2half hour drive back to struis and was fishished!

DAY 1 TOMT 2016 - Friday 19 February

The sea was still a mess but the wind was down, we bumped out to the 12mile banks and put out lines, several boats went to the 45 and turned strait back as the water was green and ran back to the halfway house. We started on the shallow point and worked out to the 100m contour about 11miles behind the 12. We could not keep anything in the water without the YFT's eating it, We upgraded to bigger Konas but they ate them too. We had a 3kg YFT ate a 9" Lure!! it was driving us crazy.

I also had to stop the crew throwing surface lure at every boil they saw - it was seriously eating into out Marlin fishing time. We put out some live baits but no luck there reverted back to plastic so we could cover more ground and prepped some pitch baits.

At about 11h00 we had a marlin came out of nowhere and ate a lure, he was on for only 15s and then gone... did not see him again and back to trying to avoid the YFT's.

Pics of hard fishing on the Rodman....

Seventenths · « **Reply #138 on:** February 27, 2016, 03:50:02 PM »

Saturday 20th February 2016 - also a blow out, the East came through and kept us all off the water. It was supposed to be the LAST day of the compi however organisers decided to extend the compi till the Sunday to get in another day and as NO marlin had been caught!

More pics of Thursdays trip to the point and the Canyon.. hard to believe that Cape point looked so good when 180kms away in Struis the wind was pumping!

We were clearly over gunned!!

Seventenths · « **Reply #139 on:** February 27, 2016, 04:03:44 PM »

Sunday 21st February 2016 - TOMT

Well there as due a west in the afternoon and the organisers called it a day from 06h00 to 14h00. We up early and on the water and at the 12 mile banks before the lines in and ready to go! Again we were plagued by the YFT's.. every where!! were switched to live bait and had a mako eat us up ( but luckily did not hook up!) just got heads back. were rigged pitch baits and went back to plastic. My eldest son Liam got a nice Wahoo ( a first for Dragon in the Cape) and more YFT's than you could shake a stick at. Just after lunch we had a nice Stripey in the spread and he put on his lights for us. He looked and every lure and ignored the pitch baits and came back several times but was not eating! an awesome sight but no hookup.

On the radio we heard that Marco Polo had a fish on, I think the WHOLE fleet was holding thumbs for them and in short order they had a Black at the boat and tagged.. well done mike and the boys!!

We again tried the live bait with so many YFT's around it was worth a go.... 5 mins and we were into something - disappointment as we realised it was NOT a billie and eventually and large blue dog came to the boat. He had lassoed himself without even getting the hook into himself!!

At lines up we were one of the last to leave the 12mile and the west had come up properly we headed home with mixed feelings and our missed chance and the awesome amount of YFT's that plagued us. We caught them on poppers, stick baits, spoons, spinners and plugs - not to mention the array of trolled lures they ate. In all I estimate we caught about 100 YFT's from 2kgs up to 25kgs - 6 or seven were boated and some were used as livies but the rest went back to grow some more...

Some pics of Wahoo and YFT's