Been a while since our last launch so I was eager to explore the northern grounds for couta and the Poco area for YFT (no reports for couta and a slaughtering of YFT has been happening)...
Last Wednesday (Oct, 10) we had municipal elections and the weather was looking very promising...
Arrangements were finalized with my brother and we were set to leave just after sunrise. Arrived at the club at 04h20 and saw Matabich XL already launching... peterblace was crewing on Mataicho that day and they were set to leave the dock just after sunrise at 05h20....
We left the dock at 05h40 and had flat seas (as forecasted) all the way to the shallows around the buoys at 3M. Our plan was to go straight to Poco, to fish for some YFT and then try to catch my first couta of the season... we haven't seen one since March!!!!
The seas we got there were appalling.... big swells and unsettled for about 8 nm! We battled to go over 16 knots so decided to put our hi-speed trolling outfits out.... if we going this slow might as well start fishing...
Took us about 2h40 min to get to Poco... Matabicho XL was already there and by the looks of things they already had their holds full of YFT!!! We went around and around and no bites.... suddenly our shotgun line went
as we went past them and I shouted on the radio that they had crossed our line and should stop immediately... obviously, it took a while 'till things got settled and my line was cut!!!!!! My beatifuly rigged pink/white seastar with a strip bait on a red daisy chain and bird jumped to the other boat. Word is... they took the lure and fished it throughout the day!! Bastids!
After a while of no action we persevered at Poco and a nice strike on my trusted Rapala Silver.... surprise, surprise... my first ever. A couta at Poco! It was hauled in in not time and only when I put the gaff on the fish we realized how big it was! Straight to the hatch! We called it 12 kg and kept going... time was approximately 09h00...
Nothing happened till the end of the day!!! Went to the tip of the northern grounds... Could almost see Bilene and no bites.... used all tricks in the book!!!! Even tried for bottoms and only caught ONE emperor!!!!! WTF?!!?!
We tried and eventually at 14h45 decided to call it a day... the wind was staring to pick and sea to get ugly. Baixo Cutfield was starting to head up and those ugly swells were growing.
Two points to note:
1. The water was dirty and is still very cold.... temps were 21.6-22.7o C;
2. Plenty of life out there... never seen so many whales (babies and adults everywhere including very close inshore!), jellyfish by the 1000's, dolphins, turtles, etc...
In the end we did 97.7 nm and used 124 L of petrol... long day indeed!
Happy about the 13.4 kg
that we weighted at the club, but man... it's becoming REALLY frustrating fishing off of Maputo!
