Yellowtail Smash - Inshore Fishing Adventure

06/09/2022

As you may well know, we are in the middle of winter here in South Africa, and temperatures are going down. Something is different this year though, well certainly for us here in the Western Cape. Everything seems to be a bit out of tune and late this year by more than a couple of weeks. This has obviously had a ripple effect on fishing as one can expect.

If you recall, around last year this time I wrote an article about us having some serious inshore fun on the Slender Tunas. Not that the having fun part has changed at all, its just different this time around.

The slender Tunas has not shown up yet. There has been a handful here and there, but very scattered and not in vast numbers at all. From our side, nothing, it is as if we missed them completely of, they are much further off. Maybe they are still coming, who knows, the ocean can be an unpredictable place.

What took us totally by surprise was the amount of Yellow Tail around and the fun we have been having on them.

In fact, it has been a fantastic season for us thus far, and we are extremely grateful to have put some friends and clients onto some stunning fish over the past few weeks. As we finished up with our annual Snoek run, we started noticing the Yellow Tail pull into our area. We saw them last year too, but not in these numbers and they would not bite as their feeding patterns were completely different.

With plenty of Anchovy around, The Snoek moved on with a storm and the Anchovy stayed. This also meant the Yellow Tail settled nicely and were feeding on the right stuff.

After the storms, we went out in search from what we saw a few days earlier and were we in for a surprise. There was so much life out at sea, the pelagic Birds, Dolphins, Seals, Whales and all the signs needed to confirm things are looking good.

As with any form of fishing, you must have patience and as we tried to figure out what was going on and pick up on a pattern. Around lunch time the light switch went on and it was mayhem. Because they were feeding on Anchovy, the fish could simply not resist our spinners and cast for cast we got stuck into some memorable fish.

In fact, it was an absolute frenzy, and it was a competition between the Yellow Tail a Skip Jack Tunas. It was truly survival of the fittest out there, no rules, just a matter of who can get the spinner first. The pure aggression and speed these fish took our spinners were amazing to watch. Some will take you right by the boat and take off at high-speed making that reel scream in a way many fishermen dream off. It was amazing to witness a frenzy like this and be part of it.

This went on for a few days, just to be interrupted by another storm. After the storm settled, we headed out again. This time around the Skip Jack Tunas have moved on and the Yellow Tail had all the bait to themselves, not that we minded obviously.

On a particular day, we had one of our sponsors, the team from Jacitas Bait & Tackle join us after we told them about our previous experiences. The morning started slow with some signs of the fish being around. We ran out a bit further to look around and left team Jacitas where we last saw the fish. We were not far away, and we got the call, “Julle moet kom. Die vis is op”. When we arrived, we saw something amazing, team Jacitas were surrounded by a massive shoal of Yellow Tail and having a blast all by themselves. We obviously joined in on the action and the next hour was chaos, with everyone going on wherever you looked. The most fun we have had on Yellow Tail in a long time, and we have frequent moments like this. Afterwards we shared some moments and had a memorable day, many of us will not forget for a long time.

The following session was just as memorable. We had set 2 days out for some inshore action, and I invited a fellow Winch Fishing Braid Ambassador to join in on the action. Gareth is a well-seasoned fisherman and just like us, lives for the sport. Gareth is also a competitive Rock and Surf angler since juniors and for our national team, so putting him on his first Yellow Tail was our mission.

The morning started slow and the as normal, the Yellow Tail only give you a small window period to catch them. Well, the opportunity presented itself and the fish briefly showed themselves. Being a natural fisherman, we gave Gareth a quick “how to” and he obviously got the hang of it quickly. After a few casts, it was not long before he hooked into his first Yellow Tail. We were all stoked and mission complete, but the fun was far from over. We got a few more fish and as the day went on, it got progressively worse, we called it a day, with not bad numbers onboard at all.

Knowing that fishing is a different ball game, we knew that the following day could either get worse or better, but if you do not go, you will not know, so we stuck it out and went on our mission the next day. I’m glad we did because we were not expecting what was about to take place. Just like the first day, the fish came up, but this time they were in a frenzy, and they were playing along nicely. We had a fantastic day out with a hook up throw for throw. It was a mixture of Yellow Tail and Skip Jack Tunas and just like we had a few sessions earlier, the competition was tight between the two species with either one grabbing the spinner as it hit the water. I am sure this is a trip Gareth will not forget for a while and he can confidently tick a few personal bests ticked off.

Since then, we have had the pleasure of giving many people access to this type of world class inshore action. The most recent trip we hosted Gabriel from Switzerland. Gabriel not being exposed saltwater fishing yet and this was a first for him. Whilst driving up to our fishing location, we shared many things and exchanged some stories. I could see Gabriel was super excited and I assured him that he is going with the best, and we will do everything in our abilities to get him onto his first inshore fish in South Africa.

We headed out and the swell was up, so we had to be extra vigilant on the shallow parts. We were expecting the fish to come up much later, but from the moment we arrived, the fish started showing themselves. We obviously did not mind at all, and we guided Gabriel on lure placement among a few finer details. A few adjustments and the next cast, Gabriel was on with his first Yellow Tail in South Africa. Based on Gabriel’s reaction he was not expecting the power these fish have and it made the entire fight very memorable for all of us. After landing his first Yellow Tail, the excitement was high, but the fish were biting, so photos had to wait. A few more fish, and we finally had a break to take a few pictures for that memory box.

Feedback of this session was great and have exceeded Gabriel’s expectations in every way and is very grateful for an epic inshore session. We are glad to have been part of it and part of what we do.

There are many more stories of our recent trips I would love to share, but these special moments shared here is stood out for us personally. What remains a fact is, we love sharing these moments with different people and absolutely love what we do. We are truly blessed and grateful to be able to do what we do and look forward to sharing many more special moments with friends and clients in future.

If you want to go on an inshore adventure that ticks all the boxes, make sure you book a session with us. In the meantime, we will continue to do what we do well, put clients onto some amazing fish!

Until next time, tight lines and happy adventures!!