KILWA FISHING REPORT - NOVEMBER 2008
WITH JT SAFARIS
After prepping and studying the theory of Popping and Jigging for months, the big day finally arrived...
an invite from Graeme to join him, his brother Adrian and Craig in Kilwa, Tanzania and Ras Mbisi on Mafia Island for a spot of fishing, was finally becoming a reality.
We met up with the guys at the airport... (L-R) Craig, Graeme, Reefz and Adrian.
Please note that I am 6ft 1" and weigh in at 90kg... relatively speaking I am not a small bloke, but I look like a midget next to the giants going on this trip!!. Some big strong boys here! It was quite funny walking with this lot though.... wherever we walked, the people parted as if it was the Red Sea!
After arriving in Dar es Salaam, we went on the most nerve racking taxi journey I've ever been on...
In Dar, there are no traffic rules... or so it seems, everyone turns when and where they want to, and they seem to believe that the harder you blow your hooter, the quicker the guy in front will go! Overtaking on the LHS, 2 wheels on the pavement, hey no problem for these cowboys!
Dar for me was very disappointing... Hot as hell, (as in 40 deg), very humid, smelly, dirty place with minimum infrastructure...and way too much poverty.
A Pizza and a beer each at a tiny restaurant on the corner cost us R165 each on the first night we were there...
and I thought Sandton was expensive! Crazy stuff... and you can't drink the tap water... it's toxic -
2 of us got serious jippo-guts from what I can only trace back to ice cubes...??
Next morning at sparrows, after fending off the heat and the Mozzies of the previous night, we arrived at a small airfield to our own little plane that had been chartered to take us to Kilwa... our Caravan awaits...
Was looking forward to this!
Aerial view of the sprawling slums of Dar... that go on for miles and miles.... as far as the eye can see.
Once we hit the sea, the view improved dramatically... the Azure blue ocean and the countless little Atolls were breathtaking...
55 minutes later, we approached the runway at Kilwa...
A superb soft landing and we were at Kilwa Airport!
There to meet us was out faithful Skipper Captain James Taylor of JT Safari's.
James and his lovely wife Kerry would be our hosts for the next 4 days.
Within a couple of hours, we were tackled up, launched and fishing...
Mvumbuzi... our beautiful little vessel that would serve us so well for the next 9 days...
Little did I know how hard this boat was gonna work. And even less did I know how hard I was gonna work! I came to Kilwa expecting a fishing holiday, but this was far from a holiday. These guys... phew! They fish HARD! And I thought I fished hard.... but these guys fish harder than I've ever seen anyone fish...10-12 hours a day on that boat - in 40deg + temperatures, scorching heat and very little shade. At times the Sea temperature reached 30 deg! That feels like bath water it's so warm! The scenery was breathtaking, just wish I had had more time to enjoy it... but the guys I was with had come to fish and that's what they did - the fishing was pretty spectacular as you will soon see...
I was introduced to Boat fishing for the first time - Popping and Jigging off a boat was a brand new experience for me...
on a smallish vessel, things can be a bit crowded when 4 rods are flying into the fish, not to mention getting the 'Sea Legs' that you need in order to function properly... Learning new skills, new techniques, with new equipment.... awesome stuff!
Within the first hour, Adrian was on to the first GT... a nice 20-25kg specimen!
GT = Giant Trevally or Caranx ignobilis. Known in South Africa as the Giant Kingfish.
Jigging using a light setup with a Stella 6000 and 65lb Whiplash braid scored me my first ever fish on Jig... a nice Green Jobfish.
In amongst a few small GT's and a good couple of Rosy Jobfish, Graeme followed with a nice
Coral Rockcod...
The trip had started... the standards had been set.... and the first day finished with a sunset run back to base....
The GT count was on 5 after day 1. The species count on 6.
Those first 5 GT's would be the first of over 50 GT's, the vast majority of which were in the 20-30kg class.
The species count would end on 32 species...
The 2nd day at sea started off disastrously for me...
Trying to gain some sea legs in a rocking boat, I made a complete toss of myself when trying to make a cast... to cut a long story short, I ended up throwing my rod and reel overboard, (
!! yes) and then in the panic, scrambled over the side to try and grab it - the other guys all say I fell in, but I didn't really
... nevertheless my embarrassment as a
Boat Rookie was total, absolute and complete.
Suffice to say that I never lived that little incident down the entire trip -
I instantly became the local gillie, knot and trace maker, being treated with the lack of respect that I deserved!!
Thankfully, James our skipper located the rod through some deft snorkeling and an intense free dive down to 17m
produced the Daiwa Monster Mesh Submarine....!
A little later, entertainment now over, the guys had stopped laughing at me and started concentrating...
soon GL was onto something big! Made that Gipang rod bend and that Stella 20000 scream...!
A short while later and after some serious blowing, he had a magnificent BUS of a fish next to the boat,
which Skip James boated with great skill...
Reckon this is the pic of the trip....
A proud Graeme with a 40-45kg GT! What a beautie! This is what we came all the way to Kilwa for...
This was the best catch of the trip.
When traveling from spot to spot, we kept an eye out for birds feeding on the open ocean - a sure sign there was a bait ball around with some predators lurking. Earlier in the day, we had come across a Baitball smash and some Bonnies were quickly landed on light tackle. Then, a bit later, we saw another commotion on the water and when we neared, the sea was boiling with a swarm of big sharks churning the water round and round, chasing in between a big school of bait fish and Yellow fin tuna in the 8-15kg class. It was an incredible sight, and fish fever struck, all of us forgetting to take a pic or video of the most amazing experience! Arrggghh!
Throw for throw our Poppers got smashed by Yellow Fins - I think we got three each in the space of 10minutes! As you brought your YFT towards the boat, a BIG shadow could soon be seen greedily following close behind... the tax man!! Luckily, we managed to avoid any clean bites from them... but we saw some Bus sharks cruising around...
Adrian decided to bring out his light tackle 'dropshot' stuff and immediately hooked into a nice YFT of about 10-12kg - this fishy gave him an intense fight, and after about 20minutes, he snapped the tip of his rod.... 1x Berkley Air in it's glory!
AD 's angling skills were tested to the limit, and eventually the Master Angler that he is, he landed this beautie... yummie... Sashimi!
This was a fine catch, some good skills...
Craig landed this beaut Marbled CoralGrouper - (Plectropomus punctatus) on dropshot - Chartreuse squids...
Another fine catch on light tackle by a fine angler.
Stop off for a swim in Azure blue waters.... spectacularly beautiful reefs...
AD with another Coral trout.
GL with a nice l'il River Snapper...
Then... just when everyone had written me off as a lost cause... the Internet Angler/Japanese photographer/Gillie was.... on!...
and having that morning previously experienced how a big swell can rock a boat, I took precautions this time in not going overboard.
With my lighter tackle setup and fearful of the Whiplash Braid not being up to it,
this fish stretched me big time... Retrieved this one with great care....
A short while later, thoroughly exhausted and in pain, the Internet angler was ecstatic to land his first GT on a boat... and what a GT it was!!!
A nice 35-40Kg specimen! A catch of a lifetime! ....
Captain Blank as Graeme affectionately nicknamed James Taylor....the best GT Skipper on the Planet!
Tuna Sashimi
Kilwa harbour at 5 am every morning...
Some serious Rockcod/Groupers were taken, both on Jig and a surprising amount on Poppers!
Here's a Tomato Rockcod - Cephalopholis sonnerati
A fairly rare species... a Dusky Yellowtail on Jig.
Craig with a massive Blotchy Rockcod - Epinehelus fuscoguttatus.
The Daiwa Monster Mesh stood up to all that was thrown at it....!
Another nice Blotchy Rockcod.
Another rare catch... A Longfin Amberjack on Jig!
The scene as we left Kilwa for the last time... on a long trip to Mafia Island and Ras Mbisi.
The guys continued to hammer the GT's, and some fine Bluefin Kingies were landed too.
Then Craig's turn came for the Big one... after a short blowing session, he boated a beaut GT in the 40kg range...
GL continued his run on Saaiza GT's.... check out the flat seas...
Then one of the guys spotted a Dorrie in the water, GL was quick to sieze Craig's Dropshot rod and cast a lure straight into it's path... within seconds... On Daddy!!... a few trips walkaround the boat and a beautiful Bull Dorado was boated.
Later, some more Kingies....
And then we arrived at a stunning place called Ras Mbisi on the Island of Mafia.
Coconut palms, flat azure seas, fine white beaches, good food, good beer and lovely people... Paradise!
The view from my chalet...
And from the Dining room...
Sunset in Mafia.... beautiful.
Ad with a stunning Leopard Grouper.
This guy knows his stuff.... having spent 6 years on Kilwa and Mafia, he now runs his own Safari Company -
for a fishing trip of a lifetime, contact James Taylor.
AD continued to show his mastery... these Leach boys can fish! Damn, they're strong! AD caught many of this class GT... 25-30kg...
A baby GT.... pretty little fella.
Craig managed to pick up a nice little Couta off the back of the boat with a strip bait.
DOUBLE -UP! Nothing quite like posing for a pic and the guy's rod next to you goes BAM!
Another saaiza Rockcod caught on the Stella 6000.
Other remarkable catches were a big Prodigal son (Cobia) on Jig, a small Dogtooth Tuna, Longfin Amberjack and a Dusky Yellowtail.
Plenty plenty Rosy Jobfish, a Barracuda, Pickhandle Barracuda, Leopard spot Grouper, Skipjack Tuna, Triggerfish, Matahari, Red Snappers...
Yet another great catch by the Master Angler himself...
And then sadly, it was time to go... After 9 days of the most hectic fishing I've ever experienced, can't say I was sorry! Our bodies were bruised, battered, sore and exhausted. It was becoming an effort to get up in the mornings, with aching joints, muscles and stiffness. Living on Voltaren and Myprodol... Thank goodness I went to gym for 3 weeks prior to the trip! You need to be fit for these GT's, the fitter and stronger you are, the better your fishing experience will be.
The take of a big GT is something that I will never forget. To actually see the fish swirling up behind your lure is a thrilling experience. Sometimes it has 3 goes at your lure before swallowing it, and sometimes it just comes out of nowhere, just metres from the boat - it's mouth open so wide that you actually hear it's jaws clamp shut with a WOOOF and a rush of air... smashing the lure... the power.... awesome!
It comes up... you see the fin... then it smashes with an explosion of water... once, twice, "keep reeling, don't stop! He's there! He's huge!" the shouts come... third time, the rod bends down uncontrollably and the spool spins backward at a rate of knots.... an adrenalin rush of note! What an experience!
GL - thankyou my boedie, what a blessing!
To my fishing comrades... AD and Craig, thanks for making the trip as special as it was... and for being so patient with me.
To Skip James and Kerry - Thanks... you guys were stars! ... a dedicated team of making fishing dreams come true!
Technical aspects -
I learnt a lot on this trip. But having done +++ research and much preparation beforehand, I believe that made a big difference in turning an average trip into a great fishing success.
To the best of my knowledge, these were the setups of the respective anglers...
Graeme, Craig and AD -
Popping rods - Gipang, Stella 20000 reels, loaded with 150lb Tufline. 4m 150lb Sufix Zippy Twisted leaders.
If my memory serves, Craig was using 100lb Daiwa Saltiga Braid.
Jigging setup - GL used Carpenter Rods with - 150lb Tufline XP, with 130lb Dacron Wind-on leaders, to 150lb Double X Fluoro.
Craig was using a Shimano Beastmaster J-Boat Medium Heavy rod, which handled impressively.
AD was using a Shimano Jigwrex.
Tony - Daiwa Monster Mesh Popping and Jigging rods - both never missed a beat. Hard to beat at the price...
>
Jigging setup - Stella 6000 - 65lb Whiplash Pro - to 80 lb Dacron Wind-on - to a 4m 120lb Double X fluoro leader.
Popping setup - Stella 10000 - 100lb Whiplash Pro - to 4m 130lb Sufix Zippy Twisted leader.
Random thoughts and conclusions on tackle...
PR KNOT
On a small boat, in choppy seas with a big swell, it is totally impractical to tie PR Knots with any degree of precision and confidence. The PR knot is extremely technique sensitive, a very unforgiving knot - it has to be done right, perfectly tight, or it will fail. This was our experience. On a bigger boat, with more stable circumstances and a nice workspace or table to rest upon, a PR Knot, we are told, is the choice of the Internationals.... but for our circumstances, it was dismal.
TWISTED LEADERS
Having lost a big fish with a drag set too tight and a PR Knot that failed, we reverted to the piles of Wind-on and Twisted Leaders that I had pre-made in SA and brought with. The 2 guys who caught the most fish, Graeme and AD, used the same Twisted leader for 7 days, only changing it on day 7 to a new one. On one occasion a Big GT attempted to reef Graeme around coral, but the twisty stood the test, and he boated the fish. On inspection, the Twisty was frayed drastically, but it still held - the conclusion we all came to was that there was NO WAY that a single strand leader would have withstood that sort of abuse. So for popping, it's twisted leaders from now on - it's thanks to Luke Wyrsta of GTPopping.com that I learnt to do these...
A 60 second Bimini in the braid with a modified Cats Paw knot gives a fool proof 100% connection. Tried and tested now on 50 GT's without a single failure.
The other major advantage of the Twisted leader is the amazing shock absorption properties of it. It's much more forgiving on the take from a Big GT, than for instance the 1m leader that hangs outside the tip eye, that so many 'lazy anglers' use. The stretch and give of a leader wrapped around itself is really amazing to see.
I upgraded the eyes of my Popping rod to size 16 and 18 Fuji eyes before I left - it made casting the twisty a piece of cake. The Gipang rods come standard with size 18 eyes, so GL and AD casted them without even so much as a noise...
WIND-ON LEADERS
The same knot... the Bimini onto a modified CatsPaw was incredible. We all used the Dacron Wind-ons for jigging and never once did the wind-on or the knot connection fail. That includes some serious Brick Hookups, where you hold the reel spool tight with your hand and get the boat to either pull the Hook and Jig free or break the terminal tackle. Every time the boat pulled... using phenomenal force, the Wind-ons held firm. The Leader end and the braid was the most common place to snap...
JIGGING AND POPPING FOR HOURS ON END
The way these guys fish is, as I said before, something to behold... bordering on lunacy... !
10-12 hours a day on the boat - you gotta come up with a serious plan to fish smart, to conserve energy. In 40+deg heat without shade, you've got to drink water and rehydrate continuously. Fishing the Jig the way the New Zealand guys do on the Ranfurly DVD, and the ESA team do it, is impossible; unless of course you're an Iron man athlete. Frenetic Jigging pace - one can only do for a few minutes at a time before you are drenched in sweat and seriously fatigued within an hour. So we developed with the help of an experienced Skipper, Jigging methods that are more sedate, conserve energy and still impart the all important 'action' to Jigs. Heavier Jigs wore the guys out within 2 hours, unable to go on. So it was lighter/smaller Jigs that were being used more often, allowing you to be in the water and working for much longer periods of time.
The same can be said for Popping strategy. It's no use using the big heavy Carpenter and Hammerhead lures unless you're an Iron man athlete. Sure, going out for a 2 hour session, they would be no problem, but for 10-12 hours.... Seriously, you need to be superfit to cast those poppers 1000 times a day. Working it to obtain the correct action is flippin hard work; something that wears you out very quickly. So experienced Skipper tells us to switch to Halco and Strike pro lures, (el cheapo's) which are so light in comparison, yet make a great deal of noise and splash, if worked correctly. Also, we developed a much more energy efficient, economical jerk/reel to the popping motion, allowing us to go on much longer than would otherwise be possible. The Halco lures were extremely successful on the GT's:
- Clean water was always necessary for a GT. No takes ever in murky or cloudy water.
- In midmorning sun, the brighter orange/yellow and red/white lures were the business.
In the early morning and late afternoon, ie: darker times, the lures preferred were the blue/dark blue; green/black
My 2 most successful Poppers used. Both economical/ergonomical to use, easy action without fatigue. Notice the Owner Jigging hooks attached.
One serious problem with the Halco lures are the poor standard of the VMC Hooks and Split Rings that they come standard with. Some of the lazier anglers amongst us had there hooks bent open on 3 separate occasions, and Split Rings pop on several others...
Take the time to replace your hooks with decent quality Split rings, Power swivels and Trebles. It's worth it!
GT TEETH MARKS...
MY 2 most successful Jigs were the lightweight el cheapo's...Bite me Red/white and Surecatch Chartreuse glow...
at less than R65 each, what a bargain!
BRAID
There was a great deal of chat/conjecture about the braid I planned to use - the Berkley Whiplash Pro -whether it would be up to the challenge of a big GT. Whiplash Pro - there is very little info available on the Net about it, and I have come to the conclusion that it was made and marketted exclusively for the SA Shark fishing fraternity - which uses it almost exclusively as a backing on their Rock & Surf reels. Whiplash is the thinnest braid available by a long way... It's half the diameter of YGK Jigman and less than half the diameter of Tufline. This means that one can spool a lot more line onto a spool than would normally be possible. 50lb Whiplash is 0.17mm, 100lb Whiplash is 0.24mm.
Having discussed the problem on several international forums before we left, no one could give me any positives on it, so I was to be a true guinea pig in using it.
The results
I used Whiplash 65lb on my Stella 6000 Jigging setup - never dropped a fish, nor had a knot failure.
- I used Whiplash 100lb on the Stella 10000 Popping setup, and had one failure the very first day with a poor PR Knot on a tight drag being the culprit. After we switched to Twisty's - not one single failure. Landed a +/- 40kg GT and several 30kg ones on the same line.... to me, thats tried and tested.
KNOTS
The knots used on this Braid were - 40 turn Bimini twist, finished the South African way - (see knot video
http://www.ultimateangling.co.za/index.php/topic,66.0.html ) - tied to the Twisted Leader with the modified Cats Paw (leader wrapped 5 times around 1 leg only of the Bimini).
It also worked perfectly well tying the Yucatan knot straight to the leader, when keeping the knot outside the tip eye.
Hope this little report helps someone out there to improve their fishing experience...
Thanks once again to all who involved themselves with this trip! Blessed me BIG TIME! A trip of a lifetime!
Reefman out....
