Seychelles

Mahe Island

Travel:

Approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes flight from Johannesburg (not the most comfortable flight). The airport is unique and beautiful like everything else on the island, but from safety perspective, hmmm...can be quite challenging place for landing, in my humble opinion.

 












Accommodation:

The hotels are generally well maintained, and managed (hello... for these prices, they better be). The food was exquisite and after we made friends with the chef, who cooked for us all the fish we managed to catch, we were one of the most popular guests of the hotel and  made some interesting friends.

    The garden in front of our room.

The swimming pool - very popular place amongst the European and predominantly French tourists. Why? - I don't know.

View of the restaurant and the bar.

View of restaurant No 2 Coco... something.











The fishing:
Coming from South Africa we were well prepared for rock and surf fishing carrying good and different tackle with us.

On the first day we checked the beach in front of the hotel, we also brought with us flippers, underwater masks and snorkels, I will say the most useful items we took with us. One can hire equipment, but ... I prefer to have my own snorkel, for exclusive use. Swimming with the angel fish, found massive King Fish and the resident Giant Barracuda, inhabiting a hole just in front of the rocks on the photographs. We did not bring with us underwater camera and could not take any photos of the amazing coral reef inhabitants. I promised myself that I will not catch the resident Giant Barracuda, majestic fish and obviously a mother of plenty smaller size barracuda we observed in the area.

I could not even think of harming the big majestic fish. So, the rock and surf fishing part (as we know it in South Africa) turned out to be sorry affair.  I managed to catch plenty of Eels, but nothing else. I found that this guys have some kick in them (electricity) the hard way. One of them knocked out of me the living daylights and send me on my backside on the sand, while trying to unhook the "ESCOM" creature. I purchased mackerel from the fish market for bait and had to tag it along with me through the town in a plastic bag.

National Cultural Centre and me with a plastic bag full of mackerel bait.











Not big on fly fishing and bone fish, I will say that the conventional rock and surf fishing in the Seychelles is very different from what one is used to in South Africa.

The boat fishing though is something else. We manged to catch plenty of fish in no time (no sail fish), I kept some which we took to our friend chef in the hotel for cooking and the rest was given to the crew to sell.

Bonito...  
   

and another one...












The flying fish were plentiful and every time we noticed them gliding past the boat we came close to the rods, sure sign that Dorado is chasing them, and every time we had a reel screaming:

The captain of the boat (right on the photo) was blissfully unaware of the ever present danger of Somali pirates, lurking at all time just off the coast of Seychelles. She was informed about their presence only after we managed to catch plenty of fish. But on a serious note, the Somali pirates are becoming real problem for the Seychelles Government.  On the same day we were fishing they kidnapped entire Seychelouis  fishing boat with the crew. 

Captain courageous with some of the catch.












"Some people" had enough fish to eat for the entire week, every day, lunch and dinner - bonito sushini and  dorado prepared in the most amazing Seychelles traditional way:

 

And of course, we spend plenty of time with a bottle or two of nice french champagne ..... on the beach.

Beautiful islands, beautiful friendly and proud people, one hopes that they will manage to preserve the current way of life for as long as possible... but speaking with the locals one can see that political instability due to corruption, drug abuse amongst young people are starting to appear like a dark clouds on the horizon of this truly idyllic islands. 

Combination of chokka and sardine for kob bait

For the preparation of the bait one will need the following items:

1. Good filleting knife;
2. Cotton (I prefer Latex cotton);

3. Tenderising hammer; 

4. Cutting board;

Trace; hooks and swivels:

When fishing for kob and using sardine and chokka combination my preferred trace is a pulley rig 6 - 8 OZ grapnel sinker, 6/0 to 8/0 long shank "J" hook or circle hook of the same size (most of the time I will use a smaller size trailing hook). I always "snail" my hooks, even when I use foam.

The sardine:

Remove the head and tail of the sardine as illustrated on the photograph.

 Cut out the stomach section of the sardine as illustrated on the photograph.

Place the sardine stomach on the hook as illustrated on the photograph and secure with cotton.











Chokka:

Use only good quality chokka, if you notice any pinkish coloring on the chokka do not buy it, as it is definitely not going to be as effective as you would like it to be.

Cut, at least 3 tentacles, at the end of the chokka. Lightly tenderize the portion of chokka above the tentacles and insert the hook as illustrated on the photograph. Tenderize the softer/inner part of the chokka, and make sure that the softer/tenderized part of the chokka is placed to face to the outside and the harder part is facing the hook shank. Secure with cotton. You will notice that I have placed free moving glow bead on the line on top of the bait - it assists for night fishing.    

Chokka bait for white steenbras

For the preparation of the bait one will need the following items:

1. Good filleting knife;
2. Cotton (I prefer Latex cotton);

3. Tenderising hammer; 

4. Cutting board;

Trace; hooks and swivel:

When fishing for white steenbras my preferred trace is a sliding sinker, 2/0 to 3/0 long shank "J" hook, with a smaller size trailing hook. I always "snail" my hooks.

Chokka:

Use only good quality chokka, if you notice any pinkish coloring on the chokka do not buy it, as it is definitely not going to be as effective as you would like it to be.

Cut a piece of chokka as illustrated on the photograph below:

Tenderise the upper section, always tenderise the softer side of the chokka, not the side from which you have removed the skin. Hook a 3/0 hook through the piece of chokka just above the end of the cut and secure with cotton, as illustrated on the photograph below:

Make sure that the softer/tenderised side of the chokka is on the outside of the hook and the hard side is wrapped around the shank of the hook. In order to fold the chokka properly around the shank of the hook, one may cut half way through the flesh of the chokka and prepare a groove for the shank of the hook.

Insert the small trailing hook, pointing in the same direction as the main hook, as illustrated on the photograph above.

Although this bait is intended for targeting white steenbras, a kob will not think twice of taking it and the question is: what diameter line one shall use for the construction of the free running sinker trace?

• If you go "light", you risk being bitten off, if a kob takes the bait. You risk not being able to land the kob.
• If you go heavy, the fastidious feeding white steenbras may not bite.

 Combination of chokka with white mussel bait for white steenbras:

Use the prepared chokka bait as described above and attach as illustrated on the photograph white mussel with cotton. Excellent bait for kob too.

Sand crab bait for white steenbras:

Get yourself a sand crab. They can be caught in different ways. My favorite method is to use onion mesh bag, which is filled with sardines' offcuts and placed in knee deep water in the ocean. Attache the bag with a piece of fishing line to your rod holder. After 30 minutes to an hour, retrieve the  bag and you will find some of the sand crabs holding to the mesh, as they can not resist the juicy sent of the sardine offcuts.

Some anglers prefer to secure with cotton the legs of the crab to the line above the hook, in order to prevent the line from tangling. I prefer to hook the crab in the way illustrated on the photograph.

Some anglers use supper glue to glue their hooks to the shell of the crab and in this way allow the crab to stay alive in the water.


If the fish is not baiting, one can cut off the top shell cover of the crab and expose some of the meat. In some cases this helps.

How to throw a cast net

The best fishing results without a doubt are achieved when using live bait. Many anglers use small hooks and spend considerable time to catch bait fish when practicing Land Based Surf Angling. One can save precious time when collecting live bait if he/she uses casting net.

Chum the spot, where you intend to cast for bait fish.

One will achieve much better results in catching bait fish as mullet or strepies if you chum the spot where you intend to cast for bait fish (in the surf or lagoons).

One of the methods of chumming used by many anglers (and my favorite) is to use offcuts of  old bait as sardines, sardine heads chopped to fine pieces in a bucket or container. Generously add some anchovy oil over the pulp in the bucket and mix. Add some sand and mix it with the pulp until you can be able to construct small balls which does not disintegrate so easy  when you throw them in the sea (do not expect to be able to beat the world record for shot put whit the balls), all you need to achieve is good throw of 6 - 7 meters in the surf. After chumming you spot you can wait for about 15-20 minutes and then aim and cast your casting net at the spot that you chum.

How to throw a casting net?

Many people are not familiar with casting nets and are generally afraid to use them due to the complex looking procedure.  
There are number of different ways to throw a casting net  but in my opinion the simplest and easiest way to throw a casting net is as described on the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOUkj2h2LjI


How to keep your live bait alive, while fishing from sandy beach?

The easiest way is to dig a hole in the sand use some black plastic bags to line the hole. Poor some sea water and you can keep you live bait alive for some considerable time if you regularly change the water and provide some shade (if the weather is too sunny) to the fish.

It is almost summer!!! One more month and the great annual lemming migration from Gauteng to the sea will begin.


Common Summer!!!

Casting net.

 The best fishing results without a doubt are achieved when using live bait. Many anglers use small hooks and spend considerable time to catch bait fish when practicing Land Based Surf Angling. One can save precious time when collecting live bait if he/she uses casting net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOUkj2h2LjI

Chum the spot, where you intend to cast for bait fish.

One will achieve much better results in catching bait fish as mullet or strepies if you chum the spot where you intend to cast for bait fish (in the surf or lagoons).

One of the methods of chumming used by many anglers (and my favorite) is to use offcuts of  old bait as sardines, sardine heads chopped to fine pieces in a bucket or container. Generously poor some anchovy oil over the pulp in the bucket and mix. Add some sand and mix it with the pulp until you can be able to construct small balls which does not disintegrate so easy  when you throw them in the sea (do not expect to be able to beat the world record for shot put whit the balls), all you need to achieve is good throw of 6 - 7 meters in the surf. After chumming you spot you can wait for about 15-20 minutes and then aim and cast your casting net at the spot that you chum.

How to throw a casting net?

Many people are not familiar with casting nets and are generally afraid to use them due to the complex looking procedure.  
There are number of different ways to throw a casting net  but in my opinion the simplest and easiest way to throw a casting net is as described on the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOUkj2h2LjI


How to keep your live bait alive, while fishing from sandy beach?

The easiest way is to dig a hole in the sand use some black plastic bags to line the hole. Poor some sea water and you can keep you live bait alive for some considerable time if you regularly change the water and provide some shade (if the weather is too sunny) to the fish.

It is almost Summer!!! One more month and the great annual lemming migration from Gauteng to the sea will begin.

Come on Summer!!!

For Anthony: Multifilament Line of Braid

Multifilament Line of Braid:

This type of line is made up of a type of micro-polyethylene Dyneema and Spectra Fiber, an extremely thin fiber for its super strength. These fiber strands measured in weight are 10 times stronger than steel fibers. Multifilament (Braid) may be used on both types fishing reels, multiplier or fixed spool reels. Due to its thin diameter it is ideal for use as a backing line on multiplier reels. Many anglers prefer to fill their multiplier reels with Multifilament line (Braid) and only use about 160m of Co-Polymer Monofilament as a “top shot”, for the following reasons:

·        The braid allows for much bigger capacity of line to be fitted on the multiplier reel, due to its thin diameter and without compromising in strength;

·        The braid remains compact on the multiplier spool at all time and does not require such a frequent change as it does not absorb water and it is UV ray resistant;

·        The disadvantage of casting with braid, if not careful, is that it can severely cut you finger - this is counteracted by adding the “top shot” of Co –Polymer Monofilament line, which is not so expensive and can be replaced (only approximately 160m) often, in this way the use of the extremely expensive Braid (some times quadruple the cost of monofilament) can be relatively justified;

Tipical sample of a Spectra Fiber super line is PowerPro and due to its popularity we will focus on Using PowerPro:

 

Unlike monofilament, PowerPro will not stretch on the reel and cling to the barrel. This can result in line sliding around the barrel, which can seem like a problem with your drag mechanism. Rest assured, your equipment is fine. To avoid slippage, attach PowerPro to your spool using one of these methods:

1. If your reel has a hole or knob on the barrel, use it.
2. Leave at least 5 to 10 yards of monofilament on the reel (enough to cover the bottom of the spool) before attaching PowerPro with a Uni to Uni splice.
3. Put a piece of compressible tape on the barrel before attaching PowerPro.

Uni Knot - For tying terminal tackle-stronger knot

1. Pass the line through the eye of your tackle at least twice, leaving 12" for your knot.

2. Loop the tag end around the standing line, then pass the tag end through your loop 8 to 10 more times.

3. Pull the tag end to tighten the knot, making sure the 8-10 wraps snug down neatly.

4. Pull the standing line to jam the knot against your tackle eye, then trim the tag end.

Uni to Uni Splice Knot - For tying PowerPro to mono of similar diameter

1. Lay PowerPro and monofilament parallel, with 12" to 18" tag ends facing opposite directions.

2. Loop the tag end of the mono around both lines, then pass the tag end through your loop 5 to 6 more times. Pull the tag end through your loop 5 to 6 more times. Pull the tag end to tighten the knot, making sure the wraps snug down neatly.

3. Repeat step #2 using the PowerPro tag end, but use 8 to 10 wraps.

4. Pull on the standing lines to jam the two knots together tightly.

5. Trim the PowerPro tag end about 1/8" past the knot. Trim the mono tag end as close to the knot as possible.

 

Reverse Knot - For tying PowerPro to mono of larger diameter - easy knot

1. Double your PowerPro, leaving a 1/2" loop at the end. Wrap the PowerPro around the mono 10 to 12 times, leaving your loop open and opposite the mono tag end.

2. Pass the mono tag end through the PowerPro loop.

3. Pull on both lines to tighten the knot, jamming the wraps together.

4. Tie a Lock.

Palomar Knot - For tying terminal tackle - easy knot

1. Make a 10" loop in the line, then pass it through the eye of your tackle

2. If the eye is big enough, pass the loop through a second time.

3. Tie a simple overhand knot, but don't pull it tight.

4. Pass your tackle through the loop.

5. Pull on your standing line to tighten the knot, then trim the tag end

Albright Knot - For tying PowerPro to mono of larger diameter - stronger knot

1. Make a loop in the mono, and hold it with your left hand. Double 30" of PowerPro to create a 15" two-strand section. Pass this through the mono loop.

2. Wrap the PowerPro loosely around the fingertip of the hand you're using to hold the mono, then wrap the PowerPro around itself and the mono 20 to 25 times. Work toward the end of the loop, keeping your wraps tight and snug.

3. Run the PowerPro back through the mono loop so it exits on the same side it entered.

4. Wet the PowerPro, and tug on the standing line and tag end to jam your wraps tightly together, moving them toward the end of the loop.

5. Pull both standing lines to tighten the knot, then use soft-jawed pliers or a gloved hand to pull the knot tighter. Pull both standing lines at once to make sure the knot is secure.

Tie a Lock.

Lock Knot - To finish the Albright or Reverse Albright

1. Loop the PowerPro tag end around the standing PowerPro, then pass the tag end through this loop three times.

2. Pull the tag end to tighten the wraps, then trim your tag ends.

No-Name Knot - For tying PowerPro to Fluorocarbon/Mono shock leader

1. Make figure 8 loop on leader

2. Insert PowerPro into figure 9 loop

3. Wrap PowerPro 12 times and 12 times back to the other direction

4. Insert PowerPro back into figure 8 loop

5. Cinch leader tightly

6. Pull main PowerPro slowly then pull PowerPro tag-end slowly and pull both main and tag-end of PowerPro tightly

7. Make a half hitch twice on tag-end

8. Cut the tag-end of PowerPro and leader

And my favorite and the most trusted knot is............

Bimini twists knots on both the mono and braid and attached together by cat paw knot.

My favorite braid is Fire Line Micro fused DYNEEMA, remember the word dyneema.

For the fire line you don't really need to use "fancy" knots, your best 2 or 3 knots that you know how to tie to perfection will do the job. With this type of line I don't even use any mono top shot, attach your hook and sinker strait to the fire line and cast.

Where to fish? Keurboomstrand.

There has been, and there are raging debates amongst anglers on the subject of productive/popular fishing spots:

• Do these spots consistently produce catches of the same fish species, during certain seasons and/or climate conditions, or not?

The answer to this question, as everything else related to rock and surf angling, is not simple and straight forward, in my opinion.
As it is generally accepted amongst experienced anglers, one of the secrets for success in rock and surf angling is the ability of the angler to “read” the ocean and identify different underwater formations such as: sandbanks, “holes”, channels, sand plates etc., in order for him or her to be able to select the most appropriate area in which, he or she can cast the carefully prepared bait, when targeting specific species of fish.
It is also established that certain fish species visit consistently specific areas year after year, during specific months. Not only the seasoned anglers, but any person understands that the ocean moves enormous quantities of sand in the tidal zone consistently, therefore: holes, channels and sandbanks at specific fishing spot may quickly disappear or move, which will require from the angler fishing the spot to be able to “read” the ocean and select the most likely areas for his/her cast.
This article is not going to deal with the subject of “reading” the ocean, but rather attempt to point out to any newcomer, or beginner anglers, which are the most popular fishing spot in the area, based on accounts received from local anglers (in some cases my modest personal experience) and the fish species caught at  these spots.
Keurboomstrand is a small community situated east of Plettenberg Bay (approximately 12-13km).

Vehicles are not allowed on the beaches, but there are number of places fairly close to fishing spots where one can park. I would like to commend the local communities in the area, in their effort to position armed response vehicles at some of the parking’s in close proximity to the fishing spots during the holiday season . This will go a long way to ensure the security of the parked vehicles and anglers and will allow the anglers to enjoy fishing during some of the most productive hours of the night. Excellent initiative!!!
Tackle and good quality bait can be purchased from Plettenberg Sport Shop the guys running the place will provide you willingly with information where some catches were made.
Robberg Seafood offers some good quality bait, too.  The best bait at the best price in the area can be obtained from “The Bait Master”.
And of course, the best bait by far, that you do not buy, is the one that you collect in the Keurbooms river – sand prawns, mud prawns and blood worms.
East of Keurboomstrand series of large rock formations can be observed on the coastline:

• Arch Rock – is a well known landmark which attracts many tourists. One can expect good catches of galjoen during winter.

• Bloubankies – well known for good catches of white mussel cracker. Also one can expect to land some kob at this spot.

• Picnic Rocks – has produced some good catches of kob and white mussel cracker.

• One can expect to catch white steenbras, black tails from the sandy beech in front of the resort.

The main beach of the resort have lost considerable amount of sand during the last few years and does not have the same look as before, but the combination of isolated rocks and sandy bottom remains attractive spot for the anglers.

The long sandy beach extending from Picnic Rocks to the Keurbooms river is known to produce good catches of kob, white steenbras, white mussel cracker, shad and garrick.

• The spot in line with the bridge before the first parking area (sea photo below) is known to produce very good catches of kob.

In general, for the entire area, the following summary for likely catches may be drawn:

• During Winter and Spring : One will most likely catch galjoen, shad, white steenbras, black tail.
• During Summer and Autumn: One will most likely catch kob, white steenbras, musselcracker, grunter, shad.

Note: With the invent of the Global Warming, many anglers in the area are starting to believe that somehow the catches associated with November/December months have moved to March/April, and many inconsistencies with the above summary were observed.