Patience and a ‘bait slide’ required to hook brutes
AS SPRING approaches, we expect the windy periods that typically follow. It is often a better option to fish at night when the wind has subsided than toiling it out in the sun and gale.
Night time angling puts a different perspective on species too, especially when angling for non-edibles.
This past period has seen a Zambezi shark of about 200kg caught and released in the Brighton Beach surf by angler Riegardt Pienaar.
Zambezi sharks, also known as bull sharks, are notorious for their attacks on humans in the shallow waters of bathing areas.
They are also known for venturing up estuaries and well into the freshwater regions.
There is a research case in which a female Zambezi was caught and tagged with an acoustic tag some distance up the Breede River, and her movements in and out of the river monitored.
This followed reports of anglers complaining of losing part of their catches as these sharks have taken advantage of a fish on the line as easy prey – or should I say live bait not so intended!
Angling for sharks requires the use of large aromatised baits that have to be “slid” out. The technique requires that you first cast out the sinker on its own to achieve maximum distance.
The “bait slide” is then attached to the line via an ingenious non-return slide clip apparatus and the wave action is used to carry the heavy bait out to the line end.
Then the waiting game begins.
When the bait is taken, you are guaranteed some adrenalinefilled action and a duel to follow with a large predator on the end.
This type of extreme angling won’t appeal to many, especially the pot angler, but has caught on rather well in the bay.
As they say, “the bigger the bait the bigger the fish”.
The tackle shops carry an array of these rigs in various sizes.
They also work well with live bait on boats, where the line can be cast to the exact spot you want to target, and allowing the bait to swim there.
Less stress is placed on the fish in this way and it allows the fish to recover too from the less oxygenated water of a live bait well or bucket.
Larger live bait can also now be used.
The inclement weather this past period has reduced opportunity and few catches have been reported.
Today, the westerly prevails rather strong in the morning, moderating towards dusk.
Tomorrow is a rather calm day with very light winds changing in direction throughout the day.
Low tide is at 12.07pm and the barometer remains high throughout the weekend, with the water temperature in the bay below 16°C. Sunday presents with a medium westerly from the early morning hours. The moon phase is waxing as we approach neap tide or first quarter on August 29.
The next period looks rather productive.