I met up with Pierre at the Cape Boat and Ski Boat Club at Miller’s Point near Simonstown, where we launched one of their charter boats, Cast-Away – a 24-ft Fishing boat fitted with 2 x 90 HP Yamaha 2-Stroke motors, and equipped with every possible fishing amenity you can think of: rods, reels, tackle, lures, bait boards, fishfinder/GPS and more. Cape Fishing Charters supply it all! You only need to bring yourself, a cap, sunscreen, maybe a towel and comfortable clothes. Also, a warm jacket could come in handy for the unpredictable Cape weather. Otherwise, everything else is supplied, which includes the equipment, tackle bait, even refreshments and a healthy, mouth-watering lunch. Pierre is a hardened fisherman and experienced skipper. He’s also a qualified commercial skipper who knows the False Bay area like the back of his hand, and has had extensive experience charter fishing in Western Africa along with commercial charter fishing in Hout Bay. We met at sunrise, loaded and launched the boat, got ourselves prepared and off we went on our fishing adventure.
Our first destination was inshore near Fish Hoek to hook some fresh chokka (small squint) that we used for bait later on. After catching some nice chokka, we headed out to the tuna grounds near the “Canyon” – approximately 25 n.m from Cape Point. While the weather proved sublime in-shore (clear skies and no wind), a massive mist bank was present on the water, meaning poor visibility and chilly water temperatures, making fishing very difficult. Sitting back with baited hooks and lines in the water, our primal male senses was telling us that this is what man was put on earth to do! A small swell lapping against the boat was the only disturbance in a very quiet and serene ocean. And with the mist hovering around us, everything seemed kind of eerie, but nonetheless, most enjoyable and relaxing.
The charter was also very informative, with Pierre pointing out the historical sight one can see from the boat, such as the two crosses at Cape Point established by Bartholomew Dias who discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Cape Fishing also specialises in cruises to Seal Island and is licensed to offer whale watching, and others like bird watching, sunset cocktail cruises and even spearfishing trips. After hanging around at the Canyon without much luck, we reeled in the rods, pulled up anchor and headed toward the Southwest reef also known as the “Bellows” to look for yellow tail and snoek. With Cape Fishing, you can expect to catch bottom fish like Galjoen, Hottentot, Red Roman, Cob, Cape Salmon and Squid while game fish like Yellow Tail, Katonkel, Skipjack, Snoek as well as Yellow Fin and Long Fin Tuna along with plenty of sharks available deep sea.
However, while plenty of fish are caught on Cape Fishing’s excursions, the big blue ocean isn’t a circus act and fishing isn’t guaranteed. However, Cape Fishing is always willing to negotiate and refund your trip, if you’re disappointed. While sitting, enjoying the view, our rods started tugging violently, and we knew the fish was starting to bite. However, to our surprise, it was merely Smooth Hound Sharks biting one after the other. And while all this was happening, a massive 5 m Great White Shark was circling our boat, staying just below the surface, a truly exhilarating and magnificent sight to see! After spending the entire day on the water, we headed back to shore with nothing more than a few Smooth Hound sharks and a 15 kg Yellow Fin Tuna caught, which we all eventually tagged and released (Cape Fishing supports tag and release.)
Even though we didn’t catch that much, I still had a fantastic day out at sea with the friendly and fun crew of Cape Fishing Charters. Beats sitting in the office by any stretch of the imagination! For more information, contact Pierre at Cape Fishing Charters on 082 638 8283 or visit their website www.capefishing.co.za
