Cape Vidal on spoon and fly - April 2018

[Nick A-S]

A couple of weeks ago I went on an annual trip to Cape Vidal with a group of mates. It is primarily a family holiday but we always manage to get some fishing in too in amongst spending time with kids and wives. The weather was great most of the time and the sea was very clear and mostly very flat. Mates who took surf skis were able to get in and out most days, at any stage of the day, without any worry of a big set of waves coming through.

I spent the first few days mostly with my flyrod and caught plenty of wave garick, a few striped threadfin and some smaller kingies. I target these fish in the area north of the campsite, in and around the sandbanks and the holes that develop either side of them. A fairly slow retrieve and a small Clouser, Charlie or Salty Bugger type fly does the trick. I find that chartreuse / green based flies and lures always work in Zululand and Southern Moz, and hence tend to use those colours predominantly. It’s not to say that other colours wouldn’t also get success but my general mantra of “any colour as long as it’s green” tends to work for me!

Towards the end of the trip I took my spinning rod out a few times and also had some good success. Given the relatively flat seas, I was able to cast into the deeper water, off the ledges to the right of the bay. Using a light spinning setup and a chartreuse and clear “fish stick” lure that Greg from Swindler Lures had made for me, I got blacktip and brassy kingies each of the three mornings I went out. I tried a few other lures but the chartreuse fish stick lure got all of the six kingies I landed over the three days, and also lured another couple that managed to escape. What was interesting was that all the kingies were hooked in the 5:45 – 6:15am window just before the sun properly rose. No bites came after then. I did however manage to also get a nice needle scale queenfish when I had a quick spin the one evening.

Vidal never disappoints, and I look forward to each and every trip I get to go there!

[brucec]

Great report,well done with your catches!

[philter]

Nice caches there Nick, ,  if you don't mind, what weight fly setup were you using.

[Nick A-S]

Nice caches there Nick, ,  if you don't mind, what weight fly setup were you using.

Hi - I normally use an 8 weight setup, which is maybe a bit heavy for wavies, but it does help with casting into the wind, and if there are kingies around within casting distance that rod is then heavy enough to cast heavier flies and handle a strong kingy. That said on a recent Moz trip I caught a couple of bigger wave garrick that took me well into the backing so was happier to have the heavier setup there!

[philter]

Cool, thanks for the reply.   

[FishStyx]

Lovely report and great info... Thanks very much Nick 

[keats10]

Nice Report Nick, if I may ask, How do you know where to fish. like what makes a for a good spot to fly fish and at what tide?

[colin]

  enjoyed the read ,

[Nick A-S]

Nice Report Nick, if I may ask, How do you know where to fish. like what makes a for a good spot to fly fish and at what tide?

Hi Keats - I wish there was an easy answer, and I am sure there are plenty of people on this forum who know a lot more than me. There are a few basic guidelines though that I have learned through trial and error and through advise from other more experienced anglers. What is key is having a clear idea of the species of fish you are generally trying to target and how you plan to catch them.

For example, species like wave garrick tend to favour sandy areas, often where there is a bank of sorts and often feed on the actual bank or in any deeper water holes that form near the banks. They tend to feed on the bottom and target slower moving prey (prawns, crabs and similar). I hence normally use a sinking line, smaller fly and a slower retrieve. Wave Garrick don't typically tend to be too fussy about the time of day and feed freely throughout. From my experience, kingfish tend to feed much more actively in lower light conditions and on a pushing or higher tide, often in more working water, and hence often in the deeper channels that form behind ledges. They tend to target baitfish so hence a quicker retrieve, bigger fly and an intermediate line fished closer to the surface is normally the plan I try and follow. That said, even on this trip I caught kingies while trying to catch wavies, and wavies when targeting kingies, so there are no hard and fast rules. But having a general idea of what species you are trying to catch, and having a gameplan of how you intend to catch them will definitely improve your catch rate One of the joys of fishing in the sea is that you can always get a surprise!

[REEFMAN]

Great report and superb Kingfish! That Blacktip Kingfish is in stunning condition!
 

[Dewald Posthumus]

Well done!


I must say, your strike rate is really admirable, Vidal seems like a viable alternative to Southern Moz/ Kosi Bay.

[REEFMAN]

Well done!


I must say, your strike rate is really admirable, Vidal seems like a viable alternative to Southern Moz/ Kosi Bay.

When the conditions are right!
Have had a few really tough trips to Vidal, but some good one's too. Like many good spots, when Vidal is on, it's on! But can also be very tough conditions when the wind blows...

[dodger]

well done on the fishes and a great report

[emjay]

Awesome stuff!

Must say that fish stick lure looks very similar to one of the old Maria lures. I believe Maria stopped making them or something? Is it based on the old Maria lure I'm thinking of?

Edit: A quick search made me find out its based on the old Onda. Cool!

[Nick A-S]

Well done!


I must say, your strike rate is really admirable, Vidal seems like a viable alternative to Southern Moz/ Kosi Bay.

Vidal is a great spot for a holiday in that the fishing is usually pretty good, and it's also a great beach for families to chill, swim and snorkel. The reserve is pretty well managed by the authorities, and over the years we have normally been able to catch some fish. As per another comment though, like anywhere, there are times when the fishing can get tough and the wind can get nasty. However, if you are prepared to be flexible in terms of how you fish and the fish that you target, there are lots of options available on that stretch of coast...

[Plugger]

I'm pretty certain this was a toy to keep the monkeys away or the guy in the Hyundai was drunk.

[WalkersKiller]

Flipping awesome!!!!