Spearo Braai This Wednesday

Howzit guys

First a quick update, Went to Vidal on sunday, the water was clean, however the South wind was pumping and there were some big swells out there. We thought we would troll to our destination, after having setup the rods, It was 5 min and we were into something big, Ray took the rod. Next thing, a marlin jumps out the water about 100kg. Ray fought it for just over an hour, we had it close to the boat, and the line snapped. It wasn't any fun out there in the big swells and small boat so we called it a day. We had Neils Bachelors the night before, so the big swells were looking anything but inviting.

We will be having a braai at Allen Heydorns house.

Venue : 10 Barracuda Bar, Meerensee
Date : Wednesday, 15th December 6:30-7:00 pm
Bring & braai.

So if you a keen spearo, or a beginner or don't even spearfish but want to. Come around.

Cheers
Warren
0793008742

2011 South African Inter-Provincial & Individual Spearfishing Champs

First an update on latest conditions....a friend of mine went out off Richards Bay yesterday, the water continues to stay dirty. The fishing wasn't great either, they trolled all their petrol out and no luck. There were some guys who managed to sneak a few Dorado, but not as many as a few days ago. Weather wise, Friday & Saturday are looking good and Sunday is looking like a pearler. So I will hopefully get out onto the water then.

Boland Spearfishing, Huguenote Spearfising Club and Bonito Freediving Club are hosting the 2011 South African Inter-Provincial and Individual Spearfishing Championships in Struisbaai.

It will be happening from the 20-26th February 2011.

For any further information and documents see the SAUFF website.

http://www.sauff.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3:newsflash-2&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=74

Question is, what are we going to do about this? Would be great to get a development team going...
2011 South African Inter Provincial and Individual Spearfishing Championships - 1st Circular

Dirty Water

I went down to Mapelane on Sunday, the weather was great.
The Vis was kak (about the only word I can come up with that sums it up correctly).
Dylan Banwell and myself did manage to very luckily, come accross a small saily in the terrible water.
It spooked just before I shot, and dissappeared into the dirty water.
There was however lots of activity on the water, Tuna jumping and dorados were full up.
The fisherman did well.

Other reports I got, Allen Heydorn went out on friday, they also only had dirty water and trolled home, they got 6 dorado while fishing.
Koos went out to Petingo on sunday, they managed to find some cleanish water, with the SW that was blowing and got a few kingies and one couta.

I will be posting some info regarding the upcoming 50th Nationals tonight.

Cheers
Warren

Latest Conditions

A friend of mine just came back from fishing off richards bay. They went looking for dorado at the ships, some other places out deep 50m region.
The Visibility is very clean at Groenkop and out deep apparently. There was a lot of activity in the groenkop area and this is where they caught a dorado on line.
They had lots of activity on the fish finder and bait balls etc.
Unfortunately if you didnt go out today, you missed the window, this weekend is looking very windy.

Other reports I got. Kevin, Jonie and Koos went out last thursday, They got some really nice fish in a small lucky patch of clean water they found. They got a 18kg Couta and a couple of snoek.

Cheers
Warren

Aliwal and Kasteel

Sorry for the lack of updates.

Any spare chance Ive had lately has been used to go diving. I am finishing up a contract at the end of the month and cannot wait to get more spare time to dive!


Last weekend I went to the One Fish DVD Premier, which was held at the Catalina Theater. I really enjoyed the movie, there is some great footage from around the world, with some really insane fish getting shot. Definitely a worthwhile dvd to have in your collection


The next day I dived at Aliwal, conditions were perfect, unfortunately the game fish weren't there. We did get some nice bottoms, I shot another Tiger Rockcod and Neil got 2 decent size Bank Steenbras. Before a frisky Zambezi came in and started bugging us. It was tough diving as we were diving really deep, I also realised I have to get in the pool and do some exercise, diving on the weekends isn't enough to keep the body in shape.


Yesterday Colin and myself tried diving off Kasteel area, The water was crystal clear I imagine the vis must have been way over 20m. Unfortunately there was no fish. After that we tried a bit closer inshore, It was clean on the top, but filthy on the bottom.


I want to open the blog up to other users, so whenever you have been out for a dive, you can mention where you dived and what fish you got, so if you want to add a quick note or pic of your latest catch, just let me know and Ill add you as an author, its very easy to use.


Otherwise its time we have a get together/braai sometime soon, before we all go on leave. Anyone willing to let us have a braai at their house? If so, just let me know what date and time? I still have a whole bunch of prizes from the last comp left over, so we should perhaps organise another competition.
What do you guys think about 4th Dec for the Comp?


Everyone who entered before will still be valid for the comp. Off the top of my head there is still, a R1000 cash prize, R500 Voucher at Freedivers, Gun Bag, Dive Bag, Fish Bag worth of prizes still available.


Cheers for now
Warren

Some sort of update

Been really busy of late workwise and the weather hasnt been great so the spearfishing has taken a back seat, unfortunately.
Kyle, Neil, Colin, JP and myself went for a shore-dive last week to zinkwazi, hoping to get a few bugs before the season closes. There was a alot of ground swell, causing the water to be really dirty on the bottom. So we didnt have much success there.
Otherwise I hear locally there has been a lot of queenfish, and the odd salmon around.
Im hoping to go to Cape Vidal tomorrow. Ill let you know how it goes from there.

Cheers
Warren

Comp and Prize-Giving

The weather was not the greatest, but that didn't stop anyone on Saturday morning. Most of the guys went to Vidal. Everybody was keen on sat morning, as most of the boats were ready and waiting for the sun to come up.
As it started getting light, our hearts started sinking as we saw how horrible the swell was. This was going to be a very tricky launch.
The conditions were terrible, and those who didn't make it out, you didn't miss much. There was dirty water on top and a thermocline, with ice-cold water on the bottom, the great vis at the bottom didn't help either. Its a rather depressing story, although others still managed to get some fish. Kevin got a nice Queenie of 10kg. Colin got three much debated Sangora/Amberjack/Tropical Yellowtail. Still to be confirmed. Ben Bucher also got a small Couta.
That was all unfortunately all the fish that came out.
Prize giving was held and Kevin decided to take the watch, Colin took the wet-suit, and Ben took the Rail-gun.

There was a lot of left over Prizes, these prizes will be kept for the next comp, hopefully the weather will play along, so watch this space, the next competition will be soon :)

I must say a big thanks to Allen Heydorn for letting us use his house again, it was great to have all the guys around again. Once again to all the sponsors, Cliff, with the really great shirts! Andre for the watch, Johan for the wetsuit, Billy from Macs Fish & Chips for the Cash Prize. Dirks Butchery in DBN for the other cash prize.
Blondie for being such a machine, getting some big dollars.

Kevin with his Queenfish and Ben with his Couta

Shane helping out with Colins 3 fish

Comp now Open Water

Hi Guys

The comp is going to be a Open water comp i.e you can launch anywhere in Zululand.

The weigh in will be at Allen Heydorns house.

Venue : 10 Barracuda Bar, meerensee
Time   : Saturday 17:00-18:00 pm weigh in time.

Note: this will still be a game-fish comp. As some people are still going to Vidal.

So dont rock up with your salmon which has its tail cut into a Vee shape :)

cheers
warren

Shoals of Snoek!

I called up Koos Jordaan on Wednesday night, hoping there would be a spot on the boat. Thurday was looking good weather wise and Lucky for me there was a spot available.
We jumped on the boat nice and early and left the harbour heading north to Mapelane Lighthouse. Koos, Jonie, Kevin and myself jumped in out deep and did one or two drifts without much success, so we went closer to shore, not the best vis but just enough. Next thing I saw a dark shape glide past my flasher, as I dived down a good few snoek raced past me, i took a shot and nailed one. Stoked! threw it on the boat quickly and loaded my gun, by now Kevin had also nailed one. I was sure Koos and Jonie, slightly ahead also got at-least one. They did.
My heart was racing, the snoek were thick, I waited only seconds to see more snoek, dived down, shot another one, other snoek were screaming past as I pulled in my snoek in. A drift or two later the sharks decided to get in on the action as-well, and things started to get difficult with fish getting lost and spears bent.
At this point the snoek started getting very skittish, and the snoek were thinning out.
We then went  back deep and Jonie managed to get a nice salmon over 20kg, and Koos got a smaller one a bit later.
The wind started picking up and we decided to head back, luckily we did as the weather started to turn really nasty.

All in all a good day out at sea. With everyone getting a few snoek.

Kevin with a nice Snoek

Myself with supper

Braai Last Friday/ Future Comp

We had a Braai on Friday night at Allen Heydorn's house. A lot of interesting stories came out from people from a long time ago....I wont divulge too much :)  Zululand has a really rich history of all sorts of different colourful characters when it comes to spearfishing, and many current characters as-well. I think a good time was had by all, there was the inevitable banter amongst the guys, which made for a good laugh.

Thanks to Allen Heydorn for opening up his house to us.

What was interesting though, is that there use to be some sort of record of fish amongst the guys. I think we should try and get hold of these old records, and try and keep them up to date. Anyone know who might have these?

Also it doesn't look like everyone was too keen on the idea of starting up the club through the ZUC. So it will be a once a month get together at someones house, for a braai. 

It was decided by most that the 09th Oct, would be the next best date for all, regarding the competition. So get your boats and crew ready.

Same rules, prizes and everything else as before.

See you there

Cheers
Warren

Post-poned Competition

The Weather does not seem to be changing. If you have not checked the weather, its is really looking terrible

Big swells, and a strong NE that will be blowing into the cape vidal bay making the launch very difficult.

I am going to Post-pone the competition until another suitable date.

If you would like your R100 entry fee back, please go collect it at Rods & Odds.

Sorry about this, I know some of the shift workers have booked leave. Not much I can do about the weather though.

Please let all your dive buddies know.

Also Cape Vidal has cancelled all bookings, due to them not having water.

The good news is the shirts will be ready for next time  :)

What do you guys think about the

9th Oct or the 16th Oct.

Otherwise, Allan Heydorn has offered to have a Bring & Braai

Where : 10 Barracuda Bar, Meerensee

When  : Friday night 6:30 - 7:00 pm

Bring and Braai 

See you there

Cheers
Warren

Ultimate Spearfishing Mag

Just thought I would let you guys know about this Magazine.

This is a great magazine and the best part is, its Free! It comes straight to your post box.
Usually with free things there is a catch of some sort, there isn't, Ive got 3 issues so far!
I sound like a spam machine of some sort, but seriously the mag is top quality.

If you email them soon, they might even have a few copies left of Volume 3! See the pic below
or visit http://www.ultimatespearfishing.com for details on how to get this mag.

Spearfishing World Cup 2010

The spearfishing world cup is going to start in less than a day, I know the guys have been doing some scouting, this is some information I got from Craig Heslop, one of the Springboks in the Team.

Hey all

We have finally managed to sort out a wireless connection in the hotel so comms should be more regular. The boys have been scouting hard, generally launching by 9am (civilised start with a healthy breakfast) and at sea till about 7pm – it gets dark at about 8pm. Diving is pretty tough as know in the med – deep and no fish. Water has been unusually cold with thermocline btw 15m and 20m and temp dropping from 19 degrees on surface to 14 degrees, this has resulted in even less fish than usual. We found a nice ledge dropping from 30m to 38m on sand with good cave structure and there were no fish even at that depth. However all teams are reporting the same problem and a southerly is blowing today which is expected to warm the water up and hopefully bring the fish. The team is fit and diving well, Ryan and Brent have been here a week longer than the rest of us and they have acclimatised faster as a result, this has definitely benefited the team as we arrived and were able to launch first thing with boats and permits all sorted. Andrew has been a huge asset to the team, an extra set of eyes has helped enormously in scouting and he has proved a master as spotting Congers.

Most teams have arrived by now and poor weather saw all of the teams take a rest day today and wander the town. The lifestyle is very chilled and typically Mediterranean with outdoor restaurants and tables on the street and lots of long lazy lunches. We will be having dinner with the Croatians team tonight and it will be good to see all of them again, they have been very friendly and helpful on the back of our friendships made earlier in the year. It has been good to rest up and we are all pumped to get out to sea again tomorrow for another spell of scouting. The Spanish are pretty confident as per usual, Joesepa has been scouting on his underwater scooter and they have a team of 9 divers! The Croatians are feeling a fair bit of pressure but they must be favourites in their own back yard. We are in the same hotel as Great Britain with Kevin Daly, Garry Roach and Colin Chester all representing the UK, seems to be a pattern in British sport? Colin arrived yesterday having towed his new C-Ski 444 from London and good to see Steve’s boat spreading around the world!

We had some fun and games on Monday; we dived until 5pm and decided to take a scenic trip back. Area 2 is around the Island of Unje which is about 9km long and 4km wide, it is a huge area and we have only managed to scout the Western side so far so the plan was to run around the Eastern side to get a feel for the coast line. We changed petrol tanks and then the motor died… we were about 1hr from home and the wind was blowing a good 20knots and not another boat in sight. Of course the boat had no tools or safety kit so all we could do was anchor and wait for help. Fortunately the owner was still out at sea (scouting with the Chilean team and not far away). He arrived in a big Bayliner and towed us to the lee of an Island – with the right tools we found that there was some water at in the tank which was blocking the carb. We all had visions of sleeping on the island and enduring a chilly night on empty stomachs but fortunately a hot shower and warm meal was not far away.

Mali Losinj is a pretty BIG Island by Croatian standards but is still a very small village. World Champs is a big deal and spearfishing is very popular over here, there are posters all over town advertising the event and Daniel Gospic who lives on Mali Losinj is the local hero and favourite to win. The town is buzzing with the upcoming comp and the locals are very friendly and accommodating.

That’s about all the news for now, will try to send some pics with the next update

cheers

Lighthouse, Mapelane

I went to Lighthouse on Sunday, there was a break in the windy weather. It turned out to be a good day, weather wise or better than the forecast suggested.
The water was clean, everything seemed to be going according to plan, the game-fish however didn't show up. We got a few bottoms, Colin got a decent size Tassel, and missed a salmon.

Other than us, we saw Allen Heydorn, Johan Jacobs and Alan Ferraris out on the water aswell, they got a few decent bottoms.

I must say a few thanks to a few guys who have organised us a few more sponsors. Blondie has organised us a R2000 sponsorship from Siyakha Logistics. Also Billy has organised us another sponsorship from one of his suppliers. Still to be confirmed.
Thank you very much guys! You guys have been very generous.

I have applied for a bank account, and we can keep some funds for the next competition.

Cheers
Warren

Dylan's Garrick

A good mate of mine, Dylan Banwell, shot a nice size Garrick, down in Margate.
He said he saw a few around in the distance, this one however wasn't so shy.
I know he is really chuffed.

Otherwise Sunday is looking really good weather wise, see you on the water....

12.6 kg Garrick

ZULULAND SPEARFISHING COMP!

Hey

Sorry for the delay in posts, to tell you the truth not much diving has been done with this weather.
I know Koos and crew got a 20kg wahoo and a few Cuda this week at Vidal, otherwise its been quiet.

Check out the link below, for a Zululand Club Competition.

Will be on the 18th September.
You can hand in all Entry Forms in at Rods & Odds, before the 10th September.

There will be cool Prizes up for grabs.

Zululand Game Fish Competition

Spearo Braai

Just a quick one.

Spearo Braai, tomorrow night, Wednesday 18th Aug, 6:00pm. at ZUC/Kayak Club.
Discussing the upcoming club competition among other things.

Cheers
Warren

Garrick

I had a head full of snot and sore sinuses. So no diving got done by myself this weekend.

I couldn't miss out on the great weather we had on Saturday, so I went fishing with Ray on his Jet-ski. We were going to target Garrick, so we got some live-bait, and then headed for the back-line.

The water was surprisingly clean! Between lighthouse and 5 mile.

I heard it was crystal clear on Saturday in the Groenkop area.

Anyway back to my fishing story....It wasn't long before trolling the live bait (Maasbanker), that the line started to tug slowly at first and then run. The Garrick gave Ray a good fight and he eventually landed it.

Sodwana

I went to Sodwana for the weekend, with Colin, Blondie and Neil, for a Freedivers compo.

We had a great weekend, the diving was excellent. I saw such a variety of fish! Queen-fish, a variety of King-fish species, Green Job-fish, Prodigal Son, Couta, Snoek, Barracuda.

Neil Myburg shot a 24kg Yellowfin Tuna! Which is very rare for spear-fishermen in our waters, we were all diving when I heard this scream, (which was a little girly I might add   ;)
I swam over to Neil thinking he was getting attacked by a shark. Next thing I saw this massive flash under water, at first I thought it was a big Couta, but after a closer look I could see it was a Yellowfin.
Neil was ecstatic.
I was a little disappointed to hear that a few spearos didn't believe him. For the record I was there, no chum was used. Perhaps a little lucky, but so what, he shot it and put it on the boat. No easy feat, I saw how that thing trashed around. To shoot a fish like this in our warm waters is always gonna special achievement.

Here are a few pics, unfortunately I dont have pics of Colin and Blondies fish, sorry guys.

We shot a few of those 'yellow striped' king fish, in the 3rd picture, if any ones knows exactly what species that is please let me know.

Also I think we should post-pone our meeting till next wednesday....(Zululand Spearfishing Club)

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Allen Heydorn came second in the competition and Neil Myburg came 5th.
So well-done to them.

24kg Yellowfin Tuna

Couta + Snoek 

Pics of recent fish

Just a few pics of fish shot recently, by some of our local divers.

Koos with a nice Wahoo

Kevin with a grunter and stumpy

Andre and myself with 2 snoek

Some more Snoek

Went out on Sunday.

Looks like the excellent Visibility has come and gone.
We went up to Dawson's, the further north we went the worse the visibility got, so we came back south.
We only had the morning to spearfish as a terrible South wind came through earlier than what it was suppose to.

Colin out gunned me 4 Snoek to my 1 Snoek. Colin laughed and said "its all experience", I said it was the borderline size shad he had on his flasher that was bringing them in.
Either way the ballie shot more fish than me.

We also went out on Cliffs new African Skiff, which was a pleasure. It got a proper test with the South wind, making things quite difficult, but the boat proved its worth and got us home safe.
It was a surprisingly dry ride, driest mono-hull boat I've been on.

Cheers
Warren

Good Vis off Richards Bay

Went for a dive yesterday, with Koos, Kevin, and Andre.

The visibility was fantastic, top-bottom vis off Richards Bay. To top it all off we got some nice fish.
Andre shot the first Snoek and I followed with another Snoek. We saw small schools of them.
Kevin shot another Snoek but it was taxed.

Kevin landed up shooting a really nice grunter and a decent stumpy as-well. Koos also shot a salmon.

All in all a spectacular dive, even Koos mentioned he had never seen the Visibility this good off Richards Bay.

Ill get some pics, as soon as I get them from the guys.
See you on the water.

Warren

Fundraising: World Spearfishing Champs Croatia 2010

Up coming World Spearfishing Championship will be hosted by Croatia, on the island of Mali Losinj, from the 14th - 19th Sep 2010.
The Athletes Craig Heslop, Ryan Burgmester, Brent Borslap, Angelo Spada and Andrew Henwood, will fund everything themselves.
SAUFF however have embarked on a fundraising initiative, to assist the divers with travelling costs.

They will be having a Raffle with 3 great prizes.

1st Prize: 6 day Package to Tanzania to spearfish Latham Island
To the Value of R25000. Anyone who knows anything about Latham Island will know big Dog-Tooth Tuna among many other pelagics.


2nd Prize: Weekend for 8 at Riverlea
A self-catering guest house in the KZN underberg. There are 4 cottages all en-suite, and access to trout dams of the upper Umzimkulu. Also great hiking and bird watching.

3rd Prize: R1000 voucher to any Cape Town Fish Market in South Africa


Tickets for the raffle cost R100, and you can get them at Rods & Odds.

The expenses for the Championships are huge, boat hiring, flights, accomodation etc.
They are gonna need every help we can give them.
Support our springbok divers! and hopefully you can cruise to Latham Island
check out the gallery on this site. http://www.spearfishingtanzania.com/ Insane!!

Joining ZUC/Kayak Club

I went to the ZUC/Kayak Club meeting last night.

I explained our situation, and they said they would be happy to have us.

I think we need to look at a few pros and cons, as the club will not benefit everyone.

Pros: It is probably the cheapest place we could use as a venue/get together. (R385/year)
         It would be a great way to get new blood into our sport. This has been lacking for some time
         The venue will provide easy access for people to come along & speak to someone
          about the sport
         The club has a lot of spearfishing history, dating back to the 60's
         Using someone else's premises is a lot less hassle. We will have a lot less to manage
         It has a bar.
        
Cons: For a few guys, who already belong to other ski-boat clubs, it will be another fee to pay.
          We will not be able to gut/clean fish on their premises.
          The bar has no good looking ladies behind it.

I will send this out on the mailing list we have, when I am back at work.
Please feel free to comment on this or email me and I will add to the pros/cons list.

I am personally keen on joining the ZUC/Kayak Club, and I ask the more experienced guys with boats, that belong to other clubs to please look past this, and see the benefit it will make to the sport itself.

Cheers
Warren

Free-Divers BlueWater GameFish Challenge

FDbluewaterComp USM03http://www.sauff.co.za/images/stories/freedivers-bluewater-gamefish-challenge-2010.pdf   - check out this link for the entry form

Vidal Shore Dive

I went to Vidal yesterday for a shore-dive with Kevin Boyder.
I walked up the beach about 4 kms (northwards), to a noticeable part of the dune that sticks out on its own aka Snoek Reef. I was hoping to get exactly that....a few Snoek.
Vidal seemed to be really off, as it can be from time to time. As far as game fish are concerned, I saw a very lonely bonnie and coming back through the surf, right in the white water churn I saw a decent size pompano, which shot off at the site of me.
The reef is surprisingly long, we drifted back south about 2 kms, with patchy reef most of the way.

What was positive, is that Kevin saw a big Kob. They should be else where. After speaking to an angler at St.Lucia, he said a few Garrick have been coming out aswell. The water is definitely cooler and was also clean right down to Mapelane. Even Richards bay looked like it would be clean, if you head a few kms North or south of  the mouth.

Anyway, dont forget about the Braai Tonight at the ZUC/Kayak Club.

Cheers Warren

Colin's Sailfish Video

Sorry I only got this Video to you guys now. Ive learnt all sorts of computer 'mumbo jumbo', along the way trying to get this video on here.

Enjoy

I will also have some of Johan Jacobs videos on here soon, now that I know how ;)

Cheers Warren

Spearo Braai

Hi All

We are having a bring and braai, 

When  : 7th July (Wednesday) 5:00pm onwards

Where : ZUC/Kayak Club

Please let all other spearos (or people interested in spearfishing) know about this.

See you there

Warren

ZUC - Club

Hi All, I had a meeting with Reg Scully at the ZUC (Zululand undersea \ Kayak club) on Friday afternoon. It was a most enlightening discussion and without going into too much detail, Spearfishing in Zululand has a rich history! The origins of the club date back to 1960 but earlier details are a little sketchy. In 1975 the club had a chairman by the name of Christiaan Eckhoff and was exclusively a Spearfishing club. This continued with various other members and chair-people until in 1982 when the mondi clinic agreed to house the club in an unused building (the present site). Reg Scully joined the club in 1985\6 and incorporated the scuba section. In 1994 the Kayak enthusiasts, looking for a club venue, approached the committee and today they dominate the membership. It seems as if the spearing section lost impetus around that time as the SAUU passed a motion to allow individuals to join without club affiliation. That said, the constitution \ registration of the club is still officially ZUC! Reg commented that the club would be delighted to welcome a Spearfishing section and a representative on the committee. As explained by Warren Smart before, there is real value in getting a club going as in recent years there is very little “new blood” being generated and limited forums for youngsters to become involved in the sport. It will also be a great social opportunity and maybe we can even arrange some compos, workshops and the like? Membership fees are R385.00 \ year. I guess the next step would be for us to arrange a meeting (again the ZUG have offered the venue for this) to gauge the interest and map the way forward. Perhaps a mid week bring and braai??? Also, I will be writing an article for the ZO on Zululand Spearfishing so It would be great for an information gathering section Will advise date and time soon (can I get some input here over when it will suit most?). Kind regards Cliff Eva

Fish Report

I was at the ski-boat club yesterday, I saw 2 big couta come out. One of 24kg and another of 21kg. There was also a few yellowfin tuna that came out.

A friend of mine is out at Groenkop as I write this, he said the Vis is better than on Sunday, "its more turquoise than green". He did however say its very windy and choppy. He also hasn't got any fish yet.

I will be going down the S.Coast this weekend, for the HUC Game-Fish Comp. We will probably be diving Aliwaol Shoal. Weather looks like its gonna play its part as-well. Should be good fun.

Cheers
Warren

Groenkop

Well its no secret that the snoek are around. So we left Richards Bay Harbour early on Sunday morning, hoping to get some.

The Visibility was not on our side unfortunately. It was dirty everywhere, even out deep which was going to be our plan B.
I did manage to shoot a few bottoms, but any chance of game-fish in such vis was going to be very tough. Colin shot one snoek, it came off though.
There were bait balls everywhere, and sprats were abundant. If the water cleans up, it will make for good diving.

A friend of mine (Ray) came with on a jet-ski, he managed to steal 3 snoek on line, right under our noses in a very short time. So the rods came out, Colin also got a decent size snoek. After a bit of a mad rush, it quietened down and went dead. So we went to a very secret spot, I cannot mention, otherwise I'll walk the plank.
Colin caught 4 really nice Geelbek, and Derek Anderson got one as well.

We had a beautiful day out on the sea, looks like its gonna be even better the whole week!

Cheers
Warren

SAUFF AGM

SAUFF (South African Underwater Fishing Federation) will be having their Annual General Meeting at 12:00 on Sunday 04 July 2010 at the University of KZN Underwater Club.

SAUFF AGM  -  Link for AGM notice.

I will be attending.

I also encourage all spear-fisherman to join SAUFF. Have a look at this link http://www.sauff.co.za/.

The home page discusses what SAUFF does for spearfishing.

They have fought many lawsuits that not many people know about, to protect our sport.

It costs R100 annually. This money is only used to protect our sport. i.e it is not used for sending guys over-seas for nationals etc.

see below...taken from the SAUFF website.

Why should I become a member of SAUFF?

All underwater fishers, as well as clubs who have underwater fishing facets should be members of SAUFF. Those who already belong to a club will not benefit directly if they have not joined SAUFF in their personal capacity.

Benefits of being a member include but are not limited to:

• Your annual contribution helps SAUFF attend to matters regarding restrictive legislation.
• Your annual contribution goes towards furthering the opportunities of underwater fishing especially at entry level.
• Receiving a monthly news letter keeping you informed of the latest developments pertaining to underwater fishing.
• Being an active part of the underwater fishing community in South Africa.
• Being eligible to dive competitively for your province or country.
• Being eligible to claim a South African spearfishing record.

Lighthouse

Colin Gray, Dylan Banwell and myself went out to Lighthouse Yesterday. It was windy in the morning, and Colin mentioned, "this is saily weather". We got to Lighthouse did a couple of drifts, the current was screaming(N => S). The water was clean in most areas, close in-shore however it was dirty.
There was loads of baitfish activity. We didn't come across any couta or snoek unfortunately.

Later in the morning Colin came across a a nice sailfish, which he got a perfect kill shot. Colin managed to get it all on film with his underwater camera. So Ill be sure to get that footage to you, as soon as I get it.
We weighed it at 32kg.
Really a spectacular fish, So well-done to Colin!

Here are a few pics.

Other than the sailfish we all shot a few fish, so it was a good day all-round. I did however shoot a rock-cod of which species im not sure it was. Check the pic, if you know what rock-cod it is please let me know.



We lost a marker buoy out there, so if anyone finds a marker buoy, please return it to Colin.

Fins For Sale

Colin Gray bought a new pair of fins, Cressi-Sub Gara Professional. Unfortunately they are too small for him. So he is selling them. For a reduced price of R1500. He has only used them once. They are R1850 new.
Size 9-10
Contact Colin @ 082 440  8681 if you are interested.


See the link of a description on these fins.
http://www.cressi.com/2009/SchedeVedi.asp?ProdottiID=435

Thanks

HI Warren and all, I just wanted to post a thanks to Warren for all the good work he is doing in getting a Zululand club going! Also, I will be putting up some posts of my own soon and look forward to hearing from the rest of you - what youve beeen shooting and where youve been diving!! Happy hunting dudes!!

HUGE couta!

Check these Couta, Koos Jordaan and crew got.
Those must be 30kg plus!! Well-done guys!

Princes Grant

Not exactly Zululand, but Colin Gray & myself went for an afternoon shore-dive to Princes Grant. Freddie & Blondie joined us for the ride.

The Idea was to get a few bugs and hopefully run into shoals of Garrick and snoek. There was a lot of plankton in the water and a few birds.

We swam out about a kilometer, to find ourselves in about 17m of water. The reef is surprisingly large.

Unfortunately we didn't run into shoals of Garrick and snoek. I did notice the water was a lot cooler than normal, so it wont be long before we see some Garrick. 

We did however get some supper, and Colin got a few nice bugs.

Not exactly a huge day out out, but fun never the less.

Here are a few pics of the fish we got. Cape Knife-jaw, Natal Finger-Fin, Cat-face Rockcod and crayfish.

Club Logo and HUC Comp

Check out the logo I organised. A big thank you to Gareth from FreeStyle Imaging for creating this for me.
Please let me know, what you guys think.

Other than that, check below for a link on the Hibiscus Underwater Club Competition.








Hibiscus Underwater Club Competition

Patingo

I went for a sundowner/easy troll yesterday afternoon with a friend on his Jetski, when I saw a red boat (Cat) with divers on, that came in from the South. I am sure they went to Patingo. The water was also cleaner than usual in the Bay.

When I got back to the ski-boat club, one of the fisherman that came in just after us, had a big Greater Barracuda, which had been given to them, by the spear-fisherman(on the red-boat) for helping them find a Gun, which they had lost earlier.

A bit later, another boat came in, they caught two 20+ kg couta, at Patingo.

So the fish are there.

Anyone going to Patingo....that needs crew?

It should stay clean with this SW that is blowing.

Cheers
Warren


EDIT : I should have some footage of Patingo up on the forum soon....thanks to Johan Jacobs.

Winter Wahoo Comp 2010

This was my 3rd Winter Wahoo Comp and as always its a blast. Its one of those easy competitions, as food is provided, so all you do is grab some clothes and your gear and drive up to Vidal. Its also very social as everyone sits together and eats and drinks. Thanks for Cliff and Shane for providing some good music around the bonfire.

Unfortunately the weather didn't exactly play its part, there was a strong SW blowing. Which made the sea a little unpleasant, so we decided to go south.

The weather didn't put anyone off, as all boats launched except one or two with a babalass. 

Many decent fish came out, I'm proud to say mostly from the Zululand Guys!

There was 32 fish in total from 80 divers

Terry Dean won the comp with a 37.8kg Sailfish. This is the second time he has won the comp, last time was 2007. Terry won a Pinnacle fishing ski worth R7000.

Billy Macarthy also got a saily in the 30 odd kg region.

2 other sailies came out.

Koos Jordaan and Johan Holtshausen cleaned up, and shot many nice queenfish, kingfish and couta. 

Someone even joked "leave some prizes for the Durban boys"....I think it was Billy.

I saw quite a few snoek on the colourline, all in shore-divable places. I only managed to get one, while Neil Myburg shot 3 snoek.

All in all, a great weekend. With everyone who shot a fish getting a prize.

Some pics of the fish that were shot.

Cape Vidal

I called up Colin on Friday afternoon, wanting to go dive Saturday morning. The idea was to go to St.Lucia and then go south to Lighthouse. However as we got to St.Lucia we decided to go to Vidal instead. What followed was one of the best dives I have had all year, unfortunately the really big one got away - but what a sight.
There were three of us on the boat, Colin Gray, Dylan Banwell and myself. We dived all over, and I managed to get a Couta of about 4 - 5 kilos, and between us we also got a few small green spot kingfish.

We then jumped in for our last dive, and the next thing Dylan sees a Marlin. I being the top man at the time was so keen to get my chance. Colin chased a marlin, and fired but it kept its distance, so he missed.
Then it was my turn to dive, there was pandemonium on the boat, as we knew there were marlin around. We rigged more bouys on for the next drift, Colin and myself jumped in and two marlin showed up, I chased, but they were just too fast.

Even though we didn't get a Marlin, it was still a fantastic site to see. I cant wait for the Winter Wahoo competition next weekend in Vidal.

cheers
Warren

Wetsuit found on Pelican

A friend of mine found a wetsuit on pelican island.

If its yours, contact Dylan

072 095  0093

I also forgot to mention about the club yesterday, I managed to get hold of Bronwyn from the Zululand Undersea/Kayak Club. She said I must get hold of Reg Scully, who is current away. So I cannot get hold of him.
Bronwyn did however mention I must go to the AGM, which will be held on the 31st of May, which I will attend.

Bats Cave / Club

Itching for a dive I called up Colin and asked if he wanted to dive. A bit later Colin Gray, Freddie, Cliff Eva, his son Shane and myself went to Bats Cave on Sunday, hoping for a good shore dive.
Unfortunately the swell was 2m plus, although beyond the churn of the waves the water looked clean enough to dive. So Colin and myself headed out, a rather difficult swim I might add. Colin surprised me as I got out to backline, this 'Ballie' was right behind me.
Unfortunately the Vis was bad even after a good swim out to sea. We drifted along with no luck at all, the only thing that decided to scratch my itch was a smallish Hammerhead. Which decided to graze on my mackerel I had on my flasher.

For those of you who don't know how to get to Bats Cave, Its a far walk. Go to Mission Rocks (Cape Vidal) then walk about 2.5 kms up the beach. You will see the dark caves, in which you will hear the bats squeak. Normally the current is strong heading N->S so its advisable to walk to Southern Ledges, which is a further 2-3 kms roughly(North). So all in all its a far walk.
Colin joked as we walked back to Mission Rocks, saying "lucky we didn't catch any fish". It would of been a seriously long walk with a few decent fish.
All in all it was a interesting day out, thanks to Colin for giving me the run down on Bats Cave.

Ive got one or two photos of the cave which I'll post later.
Just as a matter of interest, there is only 1 record I have found for Bats Cave, which is a 9kg Springer shot by W Galli, in 1991.

cheers
Warren

Nationals 2010 results

This is the results for the Nationals 2010 which was held in Durban recently.
At least we can beat the Bulls at Spearfishing.
You will see Croatia also featured in the Nationals.
If the page does not fit just click on each picture and it will open up on a separate tab.