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Fig. 1 : Typical trace for targeting garrick[/c][/t] A few tips on fishing for garrick are as follows-
• If you fish for shad for live bait, use a barbless hook and ensure that you have a suitable live bait container available, as well as an aerator pump if you intend to keep a few baits alive
• Live bait such as mullet, karranteen or shad is always best, but fish will take a well presented whole dead shad or sardine, especially during the run. There is a trick to presenting the dead bait in an attractive fashion – refer Figure 2.
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Fig. 2 : Typical way to present a dead bait like mullet, shad or karanteen for garrick[/c][/t] • Do not touch the shad when landing it. Lift it straight from the water without injuring it, and shake it off the hook into the live bait container. Do not use or store injured or bleeding baits, as they will taint the water and die.
• Wet your hands when inserting the hooks into the fish. The proper placement of the hooks is into the caudal peduncle and beneath the throat latch – refer Figure 3.
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Fig. 3 : Proper placement of hooks into a live shad[/c][/t] • Clip the fish to the main line and allow it to slide into the water as soon as possible. If it doesn’t want to swim freely, pull it in and replace with a fresh one.
• Do not use a non return clip when fishing for garrick, as the fish cannot swim backwards and forwards along the line, is limited by the clip to a small area, becomes stressed and dies quickly. With a garrick clip, the fish can swim up and down the line unhindered, and when chased by a garrick, will bolt to the surface where it is taken by the pursuing fish in a very natural manner.
• These fish feed in or just behind the surf zone, so a bait presented in calm, deep water has less chance of being taken. Observe the other garrick fishermen, and especially where they are presenting their baits. These chaps catch a lot of fish and know exactly where to present the bait to be successful.
• The garrick takes live bait in a very characteristic fashion. Usually the live bait becomes agitated and is seized firmly, and the garrick then swims a few meters and manoeuvres the bait into its mouth. After a period of time it will then move off and may be struck. Where a dead whole bait is taken, the bite is quite solid and determined, and the fish can be struck almost immediately.
Tackle for garrick
A good all round rig for garrick is a thirteen to fourteen foot rod (Poseidons, Assassins, Loomis and Shimano Exage are good ones) with a medium to strong action, capable of casting a six or seven ounce sinker. Coupled with this rod, a mid size multiplier reel (Daiwa 50 SLH, Penn 535, Shimano Torium 30 or Trinidad 30 and the Saltiga 30) holding four to six hundred meters of 0.45-0.50 mm (28 to 39 lb breaking strain) nylon monofilament is perfectly adequate for most of the game fish you are likely to encounter, yet sufficiently strong to allow you a fighting chance at the larger skates, rays and sharks that also come along from time to time. Always use a clear monofilament shock leader (0.80mm to 0.90 mm) of nine to ten meters in length to assist in casting, resisting abrasion in rough ground and landing the fish.
With slight adjustments to traces and bait presentation, this rod will land all of the edible species reviewed here and most of the sharks and rays, making it an ideal all round outfit to use during the sardine run.
Fishing for kob (kabeljou)
For success with kob, you need no special tackle, but rather an understanding of how the fish operates and when it is most likely to feed. Kob spend most of the day hiding in gullies and deep holes and gullies, safe from predators and waiting for an opportunity to hunt their prey of choice. They prefer to ambush prey as they are not as speedy as garrick and kingfish, and therefore prefer to hunt at dawn and late afternoon to dusk, when visibility is poor and they have the advantage.
They will sometimes be taken in exceedingly shallow water just behind the shore break, where they feed on their prey. This explains why many are taken each year by shad fishermen who do not cast very far, and have their baits taken by these fish when fishing only ten to fifteen yards out.
Deep channels and gutters on steeply shelving beaches are good spots in which to try, especially if there is an access channel to deep water nearby. River mouths are always good, especially if the water is discoloured, as this allows the kob to hunt its prey as it enters or exits the river mouth or estuary. Always look for ginger beer water, as you will very seldom make good catches of kob in clear blue water.
The kob takes a variety of baits. Live shad, mullet, karranteen and mackerel is excellent if you can get them, and whole dead baits of the aforementioned species also work well, as do fillets and mixed grills. When using fillets, make the bait large and compact, and guard against throwing it too deep. Squid and chokka are also excellent, as is a whole, unskinned octopus leg. Obviously, a whole, fresh sardine takes some beating during the sardine run and is a good bait for the rest of the year too. This sardine bait is best hooked in the way illustrated in figure 4.
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Fig. 4 : Proper placement of hooks into a whole sardine for kob[/c][/t] The hooks used for kob should be on the larger side, such as 7/0 to 9/0 Kendal 4828’s, and a basic fixed trace can be used (refer trace section on this site). The bite of the kob is usually a series of hard pulls, and even when using live bait the fish may be struck almost immediately. Sometimes they will feed very timidly, especially when the water is calm. Then you may have to wait for the bite to develop, or provoke a firmer bite by moving the bait slightly. Best catches of these sought after fish are made at night.
Fishing for grunter
These delicious table fish and fine fighters are quite abundant during and after the sardine run, and reach some considerable size, at least nine kilograms in weight. Ranging between three and five kilograms, and usually a very shy and stealthy feeder, during the sardine run they lose some of their caution and feed aggressively, taking fillets (illustration 5) and whole sardine quite readily. In fact, a whole sardine usually attracts the larger specimens. A well presented fillet of fresh sardine will seldom be rejected, but other baits that can work in this period is sea lice, prawn, chokka and mixed grills involving the above baits.
A standard fixed trace can be used, but as there is a good likelihood of hooking both larger grunter and other fish types, the trace should not be too light and must consist of at least 0.70 mm clear nylon. The hook used should be from a 5/0 to a 6/0, nothing larger if grunter is being specifically targeted.
They feed well during the day, and especially just after the sardines have passed, or just before a shoal arrives, and are commonly caught on sandy beaches around river mouths during the entire day and evening hours.
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Fig. 5 : Proper presentation of a sardine bait for grunter[/c][/t] Fishing for kingfish, yellow fin tunny and king mackerel
These fish occur regularly during the sardine run, but are found mostly when small shoals come within casting distance and are caught using the jig and drop method. They are also landed off most of the deep water points along the KZN coast on both live and dead baits, and are acknowledged to be the finest and most desirable catch of the sardine season, together with yellow fin tunny. Highly predatory, they feed aggressively and will take the same baits as garrick and kob, but obviously these baits must be presented on wire traces or nylon coated traces to avoid being bitten off on the take. With the larger kingfish such as Ignobilis, even a wire trace may not mean success as these fish take very hard and run for the rocks when hooked, often succeeding in fouling the line and breaking away. Where these fish are encountered with sardine shoals over sand, they are more manageable and sizeable specimens are often landed.
In trying to hook these fish, a wire trace of some description is absolutely essential. Either number 7 wire or carbon coated trace wire may be used, with a personal preference for the latter. In this case non return clip traces are acceptable, as the dead bait is still attractive to these predators.
A useful addition to the trace is either a rubber squid or a cuda duster like those used by ski boat anglers ahead of the bait, to attract attention and send out flashes in clear water.
King mackerel hit baits at an incredible speed and to strike too hard will simply pop the line. They make at least one blistering run, and should be allowed to do so as they expend the majority of their energy during this run. They will make a few shorter runs but if the angler maintains control over these and does not panic, the battle is basically over and few are lost at this stage of the fight. They do have soft mouths, however, so don’t pull too hard and take your time landing these fish.
The kingfish on the other hand takes viciously and hard and screams off in a determined fashion, usually heading for a reef or submerged obstruction. If they are not fought hard and kept away from the snags, they usually succeed in fouling the line, this is usually the end of the fight. Tackle should be in peak condition and knots and traces well made. Where the fish is hooked off the beach, it can be allowed to roam freely and expend its energy in deep water before being led to a gaff.
The yellow fin tunny and the oceanic bonito or kawa kawa, more commonly known as simply bonito is a rare but increasingly valued and prized catch during the sardine run. They are caught in the shoals of sardines, usually using the jig and drop method, and also off deepwater points when feeding on other baits.
They are landed using the same tackle as king mackerel and kingfish, and pull very hard right up to the point of being gaffed. When proper tackle is used, they seldom escape. They do not really make good eating and should, where possible, be released to fight another day.
Traces and tactics
When you are fortunate enough to find a shoal of sardines within casting range of the beach or rocks, and when such shoal is accompanied by predators, your best bet is to use a jig-and-drop trace. This trace (illustrated below) is simply a beefed up Christmas tree trace, consisting of two heavy duty three way swivels, with 4x strong treble hooks attached to 30 cm 100 pound nylon coated wire. Attached to a suitable sinker, this trace is cast into the shoals, jigged vigorously until a sardine is impaled, and then allowed to settle to the bottom, where the predators gather to snap up any stragglers or injured fish.
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Fig. 6 : Jig-And-Drop Trace[/c][/t] This trace is essentially a compromise, as it allows the user to hook edible fish as well as sharks. In fact, this is one time where the competition between predators is so fierce that the edible fish, normally very hesitant to eat bait on wire traces, are forced to ignore such wire, in order to compete.
Many different species of fish can be caught this way, including kingfish, garrick, kob, geelbek, queenfish, grunter, snoek, king mackerel, tunny, bonito, prodigal son and skates and sharks.
In other conditions where the shoals are evident but not reachable by casting, a regular trace either with or without steel or nylon coated wire should be used.
When conditions are right, topwater plugs and white metal and chrome spoons and spinners can also be used to good effect. Garrick and king mackerel, as well as spotted mackerel, kingfish and bonito and tunny are the most common catches. The bullet spoons made by local anglers and supplied in local tackle shops make for very easy and long casts, and when suitably manipulated lead to the downfall of many beautiful game fish.
This article on the Annual Sardine Run continues in Part 4 of this series...
PART 4
Fishing for the BIG stuff - Sharks and Skates
Again, here you may hook and land some while fishing for other species, but most successful anglers actively target these large fish to the exclusion of all else around them. For anglers such as these, it is rare to catch an edible fish as the tactics and traces they use effectively preclude anything other than sharks and rays. Indeed, only rarely will an edible fish attempt to swallow the baits presented for sharks.
When the sardines run, they are harassed by thousands of sharks, and there are plenty of opportunities for the experienced angler to rack up some memorable catches. Grey and dusky sharks, hammerheads, Zambezi and copper sharks (also known in Natal as bronze whalers) make up the majority of the predators. Other species that make an appearance are the hound sharks, ragged tooth sharks and the tiger and great white sharks. The latter two are more likely to be seen off boats, but tiger sharks make sporadic appearances to swallow the shore anglers’ baits. These fish are large and, during the sardine run, very aggressive. When feeding, they rush in and consume baits at a rate of knots, due to the competition from other sharks.
There is usually no need to wonder whether you have had a bite –one moment there is nothing there, and the next moment your rod is pulled flat, the reel is screaming and you’re in danger of having all your nylon disappear from the reel. It is fair to say that, when the men in the grey suits are in town, it is likely to be one of the most exciting, exhilarating experiences a shore angler can have.
To add to the challenge, you need to understand one thing-it is entirely possible to do everything right, use the correct tackle and techniques ……..and you may still get your backside kicked.
These fish are big, and they’re mean, and they sell themselves dearly. You will find days when the average shark is in the region of 100 to 150 kilograms, and even a fit angler with premium tackle may find such a fish taking four to six hours to land – and that’s if everything goes your way.
And to top it all off, you may get four to six chances at similarly sized fish in a single day!!
If you persevere, you will eventually land that one monster you’ve always been looking for, and looking at the picture above the mantelpiece during the summer will remind you of the titanic battle that you fought, and the satisfaction of landing this leviathan on sporting tackle will make you look forward to going to your tackle room to get a head start on making traces for the next year’s sardine run. Who knows, you may even forget the way you felt the morning after, with cramped limbs, aching muscles and limbs trembling with fatigue six hours after the fight is over.
Sound like your cup of tea? Let’s have a look at what you need to tackle these denizens of the deep.
Tackle for Sharks and Skates
This is one area where second best is simply not good enough. For the angler who believes in using only one rod for everything from shad to sharks, you can still participate, don’t get me wrong……you just have to get used to having your butt kicked ten or twelve times a day. Trust me on this one…..it’s a feeling that gets old very quickly.
If you mean to land your fish, you’re going to need good, strong, reliable, well maintained tackle and traces. This will give you the best possible chance of succeeding in your quest for one of the giants of the sardine run.
When it comes to rods, medium to heavy rods ranging from thirteen to fourteen feet are preferable, and these should be able to cast an eight ounce sinker without too much fuss. If this sounds like an awfully heavy outfit to throw a bait with, keep in mind that in most circumstances where you try for the large sharks, you either use the jig and drop method (more about this later) or you cast the sinker out and slide a large bait down to it using a non return clip. You do not cast the bait in the usual traditional fashion.
Anglers are spoiled for choice when it comes to rods these days. Many manufacturers create both one piece and three piece rods that fit the bill perfectly. Speaking of three-, four and five piece rods, anglers need not worry that the rods would break, snap or not be up to the task when trying for large fish. Today’s multi piece rods are technological marvels built out of space age materials. Light and supremely portable, they come with an array of tips that allow you to fish for anything from small edibles to large sharks. For purposes of this discussion, we will take into account and use only the heaviest tips available, so that the casting and more importantly the pulling power of the outfit is maximised.
Tip: For those with a slightly larger budget, investigate the possibility of having a spare butt section manufactured. By cutting off a foot from the butt, the pulling power of the rod is increased, and the reduced length exerts less pressure on the angler due to the shorter lever/fulcrum effect. Casting ability does not suffer significantly. Keep in mind that this is a specialty butt section and is useful whenever the target is large sharks or skate, or rock fishing for large fish in the Transkei/ Eastern Cape, where a slightly shorter, beefy rod is an advantage.
Some of these rods include the Assassin from Basil Manning in Durban, the Blade (magnificent rod!) from the same shop, in normal and in high modulus graphite (HMG) which turns it into a lethal casting and fish fighting weapon, the Poseidon range from the Kingfisher in Durban, Loomis and Franklin make a serviceable, affordable rod named the Shockwave, and Shimano has just entered the market with their Exage range of rods.
All of the above are extremely effective, with my personal preference running to the Assassin and the Blade. For the angler who regularly tangles with large, powerful fish, these are the weapons of choice.
Reels
The reels used are mostly top quality, highly geared multiplier reels from the well known manufacturers.
Good examples of the aforementioned are the Shimano Speedmaster IV, the very smooth casting and affordable Torium 30, the excellent Trinidad 30, 40 and 50, and the superb, although very expensive, Daiwa Saltiga 30 and 50. These reels are sturdy and have a good rate of retrieve with excellent monofilament capacity.
Tip: In order to maximise line capacity and minimise the risk of getting spooled, anglers targeting large fish are loading their reels with braided nylon of 50 pound breaking strain, and as braid diameter is a fraction of its breaking strain, much more than normal round monofilament can be loaded on a reel. The usual capacity for a standard surf casting reel in the Trinidad 30 size is 500 meters of 50 pound braid, topped with 250 to 275 metres of nylon for casting….a total load of almost eight hundred meters. When doing this on a Trinidad 50, and if the wallet allows, the capacity is 1000 meters of braid and four hundred meters of .55 mm nylon as a top shot –almost a kilometre and a half of line- and sometimes even that isn’t enough!!
A minimum of six hundred metres of monofilament line must be accommodated on these reels –and even then you may need to have a few spare bulk spools stored in your bag. You will, sooner or later (probably sooner!) be stripped, and if you have no extra nylon, your fishing day may just end after your first cast-not a happy turn of events.
Nylon
Do not skimp on the quality of the nylon, as it is not worth losing a large fish due to cost cutting measures. The line must stand up to several hefty jolts, rubbing along sandpaper shark skin and over and through rocks. Sufix Synergy, Kingfisher Giant Abrasion and Double X High Abrasion High Visibility are good names, as are Stren and Siglon. The diameter of nylon used should not be less than .50 as an absolute minimum, and preferably .55 mm, coupled with an .80 or .90 mm clear leader of high abrasion resistant nylon, attached to the reel line with a very well tied knot.
Remember…….if you have a four thousand rand reel, with a five thousand rand rod, and fifty cent line, you have a fifty cent outfit!!!
Rigs and Traces
When targeting sharks, there are generally three types of traces used, and each depends on a specific set of circumstances.
1. Jig and drop trace
When you are fortunate enough to find a shoal of sardines within casting range of the beach or rocks, and when such shoal is accompanied by predators, your best bet is to use a jig-and-drop trace. This trace (Figure 1) is simply a beefed up Christmas tree trace, consisting of two heavy duty three way swivels, with 4x strong treble hooks attached to 30 cm 100 pound nylon coated wire. Attached to a suitable sinker, this trace is cast into the shoals, jigged vigorously until a sardine is impaled, and then allowed to settle to the bottom, where the predators gather to snap up any stragglers or injured fish.
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Fig. 1 : Jig-And-Drop Trace[/c][/t] This trace is essentially a compromise, as it allows the user to hook edible fish as well as sharks. In fact, this is one time where the competition between predators is so fierce that the edible fish, normally very hesitant to eat bait on wire traces, are forced to ignore such wire, in order to compete. Many different species of fish can be caught this way, including kingfish, garrick, kob, geelbek, queenfish, grunter, snoek, king mackerel, tunny, bonito, prodigal son and skates and sharks.
Unfortunately, unless you are very fortunate or connect with one of the smaller grey or dusky sharks that run to 40 or 50 kilograms in weight, your shark pulls on this trace will more than likely end in broken tackle, due to the short length of wire that is used, and also the large overall size of the sharks. When such a jig and drop bait is swallowed, the entire hook trace is consumed, leaving the nylon leader and main line lying next to the shark’s mouth and body. When struck, their instinctive reaction is to bolt away, and when that tail strikes the fragile leader, that’s all she wrote, folks. When using this trace in a shark situation, you will lose more than you win.
2. Full metal jacket
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Fig. 2 : Full Metal Jacket Trace[/c][/t] When using this trace, the object of the exercise is that you cast a large bait, and the larger length of steel wire and appropriate hook will give you a better chance of success. This is a good choice when prospecting, without any idea of what species of shark is in the immediate vicinity. While better than the jig and drop, it is still limited to your casting skill, and not as good as the non return clip trace, which is featured next.
3. Non return clip slide trace
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Fig. 3 : Non return clip slide trace[/c][/t] For the best chance of success, this must be your trace of choice. It is excellent for most sharks and skates, and allows you to present baits of large sizes much deeper than you could ever hope to cast them in the normal way. Indeed, it is fair to say, when using this trace, that where the sinker goes, the bait (no matter how large) will ultimately follow. Properly utilised, this trace cannot be beaten when targeting large skates and particularly sharks.
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Bryan Rapson with a Bronzie of 144,3 kg. Bryan used a non return clip trace with a whole small Bonito
using an Assassin Blade rod with a Trinidad 50 reel. He used 800m whiplash backing with
0.55 Double X high visibility line of about 400m.
The fish ran 1000m on its first run and took 4hours and 40mins to land.[/c][/t] For added efficiency, most knowledgeable anglers also incorporate into their leader, leading to the sinker clip, a 1.5 meter length of 120 or 150 pound wire coated steel. Together with the length of the slide trace, this translates to three plus meters of strong, abrasion resistant trace that will withstand the impact from tails and the rubbing on bodies that spell doom for lesser nylon leaders. And, it is usually the difference between success and failure when targeting large sharks. As such, it is highly recommended.
PART 5
Bait Presentation
Particular attention must be paid to the bait being presented, and more particularly the size of the bait. While you may be successful using single sardines, mullet, shad and mackerel, the majority of fish will not be attracted to a single, dead bait cast into a shoal comprising several hundred thousand other bait fish. These fish are looking for Big Macs, not cocktail sausages. To consistently attract the larger sharks, you need larger than normal baits. For this reason, savvy anglers stock up on good baits during summer, when large mackerel, shad and oceanic bonito are abundant and easily collectable.
The procurement, care and preservation of these sought after baits, as well as the money spent on obtaining same, will be rewarded when the tackle demolition team move into the beaches in winter. All of these baits work well and will often receive the majority of the shark’s attention. If you do not have access to such baits, there are a few tricks to make your baits more attractive to these none too choosy predators.
1. The fleshy,smelly bait
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The Fleshy, Smelly Bait[/c][/t] Again, the object is to use the oilfactory senses of the shark to lure him to your bait, in preference to the other anglers’ offerings. Mount a single sardine or mackerel on the hook, and secure firmly with ghost cotton. Then split several sardines or mackerel open from head to tail, exposing the succulent insides and entrails, and apply on top of the mounted sardine, with the flesh outwards. When done correctly, you should be faced with a spindle shaped, messy, bloody bait that will send out an irresistible scent trail for hundreds of meters. Add as much blood, bait oil or other additives as you like, and slide it to its doom.
2. The rugby ball
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The Rugby Ball Bait[/c][/t] Using between four and six sardines, lay them together with all heads facing in the same direction, and tie together using ghost cotton. Then insert hooks into the bundle and slide the bait down the line. For extra smell and attraction, a few fillets of sardine may be placed in the interior of the ball, but the outside sardines must not be cut. The result is a tight, rugby ball shaped bait that is streamlined and shiny, with good resistance to smaller fish and peckers, and just the right size for a shark snack.
3. The “shoal” bait
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The Shoal Bait[/c][/t] Using the non-return clip trace, as many as six sardines can be mounted on the trace to represent a small “shoal” of sardines that have split off from the main body of the shoal. This triggers further investigation by predators. The methodology is simple. Three sardines are mounted onto each of the two hooks on the slide trace, so that a total of six baits are presented. The first hook is placed deep under the first sardine’s gill plates and out through the head, where after the second sardine is lip hooked in the bend of the hook, and the third is again deeply hooked in the gills and head portion. The same is done with the second hook, and the “shoal” is slid into deeper water along the main line.
Skates, rays and sandsharks
Given the amount of food in the water, it is not surprising that , besides the edible species of fish and the sharks, there is also a healthy number of big flatfish that trail and feed upon the sardine shoals. In between the edibles and the sharks, one stands a good chance of connecting with some outsize sand sharks, diamond skates and the odd out of season honeycomb ray. All of these fish will be in excess of 30 to 50 kilos, and in the case of honeycomb rays and sand sharks, may range up to 100 kilograms in weight. These fish are tough adversaries, and require for the most part extreme effort and exertion on the part of the angler before the photos can be taken.
It should be mentioned too that these fish are invariably stuffed to the gills with sardines, and are fighting fit, so their capture is considered a highlight. Any sand shark landed during the sardine run also seems to fight ten to twenty percent harder than their summer relatives, and the fish you land does not always weigh as much as the fish you hooked.
Even the much maligned diamond skates are a slightly tougher proposition this time of the year, and the large ray that you land in the winter amongst the sardines in deeper water can often be an entirely different proposition to the sluggish summer fish that you land easily in Zululand.
These fish will gobble most of the small and larger baits being presented during the sardine run, and require no further space in terms of bait preparation, other than to state that a whole fish or large fish head or cutlet is never a bad idea. Please release these fish unharmed after capture, thereby following the unwritten rule for flat fish of any kind.
Under no circumstances should they be left to die on the beach.
Tip: If you want some good sport, always try and determine where the sardines were netted or where they beached each day. There are always thousands of dead and crushed sardines remaining on the seafloor after netting, and the butterfly ray (or diamond skate as they are more popularly known) just loves to move in and vacuum up the leftovers. When a big shoal has beached, there is often large numbers of rays present to mop up the discards, and fishing can be extremely hectic. For a day or so, especially of new sardine shoals pass through the area continuously. A dedicated angler can catch five or six fish per day without too much trouble at most places where there has been beachings or netting.
Unless you are fishing for records, please do not harm these fish unduly, and try not to injure them when weighing them. In fact, the best scenario would be for you to use barbless hooks and to release the fish without weighing it, as they suffer damage to their intestinal areas when weighed. |
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