Hout Bay Tuna Fishing Trip

04/09/2022

It all started a few months back when I visited a friend of mine whom specialises in catching tuna along Hout Bay in Cape Town. What was meant to be a coffee chat, ended up in an invitation to the deep to join them. Boy oh boy was I exited.

A few weeks went by and I received that call, “Can you join us tomorrow for a trip to the deep, we got reports that the yellow fin tunas are abundant, so we are heading out for 2days. I immediately said, let me ask the wife and get back to you, it wasn’t long, and I returned the call, “I’m in, see you in the morning.” Thank you to my amazing wife for always supportive of me and my fishing expeditions.

Plans where that we were going to launch at 03:00am the next morning to reach the tuna grounds by 07:00am. Being autumn, I decided it will be much wiser to go through, sleep on board and be up and ready for the 03:00 launch. Truth be told, I simply could not contain the excitement.

I set my alarm, jumped up when it went off and made my way to the boat, Osprey. The moment I saw the vessel I knew we are going to the deep in style and we will be able to handle some serious conditions. A stunning boat and perfect for some large game fish action.

I went upstairs and joined the captain as we left the harbour in the pitch dark. Navigating in the dark is something to get used to and being a skipper myself, I used the opportunity to engage with the much more experienced skipper behind the wheel and learnt a few more things.

We reached our desired bearing about 35 Nautical Miles off and set out the trawling lines first light.

We got word from one of the commercial boats of where not too far from the fish and made our way over there as quickly as possible. We started a chum line, stripped reels and by 09:00am we had our first fish on.

I strapped in my Black Magic and managed to successfully land a 50kg Yellow Fin Tuna thanks to sticking to the basics. I wont lie, I had to sit down for a bit and just gain myself.

If you were wondering what these basics are:

Body and rod must stay 90 degrees to the gunnel. This enables you to take control of the fight and encourage the “death spiral” either clockwise or anti-clockwise. The moment you start dancing around the boat, that is when the fish takes control, and you will get pulled around all over.
When the fish gives you, line take it back.
When the fish takes line, give it to him. Swell is a major factor to consider. When the boat goes up, the fish will take line and when the boat goes down, you gain some line again.
Use your knees and rod to do the work. Yes, these fish are heavy, but your Black Magic is made to provide the best support and your rod can handle a lot more than what you can think.

Shortly after, we hooked into a big fish. I could immediately feel this was a much bigger fish and the fight was on. After about 45min of hard fighting, we managed to land this bus. Once onboard, we guessed the weight to be around 80kg, but little did we know this would be the fish of the trip at that time.

I recall sitting there, just admiring this magnificent fish. I literally inspected each inch of it in so much detail, exhausted and super stoked at the same time. A truly humbling experience. I downed a few gulps of water, ate what was left of my breakfast and got stuck back into stripping lines.

With the way it was carrying on, we were hoping to hook into the 100kg plus fish soon but only managed to land another 80kg fish and many fish in between the 50kg and 60kg mark.

We pushed hard until sunset and ended the day with 6 fish on the boat and a few lost unfortunately. We set up the braai to enjoy some well-deserved dinner and sat around sharing fishing stories and memories made over the years. It was a diverse group, and it was evident that experience was abundant, so we heard some interesting stories shared that evening. Afterall, with the number of collective hours spent on sea you can be assured that some hair-raising experiences will resurface.

The one that stood out for me was about a whale sinking a vessel within 2 minutes and what a danger these beautiful creatures can really pose. Something to look out for when you out there admiring their beauty.

With a day like we had, we set of to bed early. We had some swell, so this logically made the night a bit longer. “Watch” shifts were shared and at daybreak, the entire crew was on deck ready to take on the day.

I recall Joe saying, “right, today you on your own, you know what to do”. I gladly accepted the challenge and began doing what the more experienced guys taught me. It was a slow start to the day, and we tried different baits and depths. The wind had picked a bit, so the fish’s behaviour has obviously changed. We also had to contend with a stronger current and birds giving us a hard time with our baits and chum line.

With years of experience behind us, we made a few changes and I decided to go deeper with a heavier bait, a combination of smaller and solid pieces for chum and consistency. Was not long and my reel screamed. A few turns and it came off, and so did a few fish after that. We were stunned at first that we lost a few good fish after one another in such short time, but school fees certainly paid. We applied a few changes and boom, just what the doctor ordered. Tight lines all round. As the day progressed a few boats joined in on the action and bent rods were the order of the day everywhere you looked.

We managed to land another 6, with many lost on that day, and decided to head to shore hopefully in time for some sunset pictures.

We reached shore around 18:00 and quickly took out the two bigger fish to weight them. Both ended up being over the 80kg mark, with mine beating the other fish with 5 kilograms weighing in at 85kg. Close, but bragging rights are bragging rights. My new personal best and one I will remember for a long time!

It was truly an unforgettable experience and so grateful that we were able to go on this epic adventure. Something I recommend any serious fisherman does at least once in their lifetime.

I cannot wait for the next adventures that lie ahead and if you want to join in on the fun, get in touch with us.

If these pictures don’t do justice, feel free to go check out the footage Youtube, hit like and subscribe.

Until the next adventure!