Index Archive January 2008 to June 2008

(30-Jun-08) half way through 2008

Time really flies when you having fun, we just past the half way mark of 2008. John has posted his June 2008 report today ..

(26-Jun-08) Wahoo Winter Gamefish Open June 2008

The Wahoo Winter Gamefish Open was recently held at Cape Vidal and as always was a great success with a great time had by all. Well done to all. below are the results.

(20-Jun-08) Spearfishing Course

The UKZN Underwater Club is offering a Spearfishing course with Rob Allen and Jemery Williams as the lecturers. More info here.

New Photos

Two new photos up in the Photo gallery

(09-Jun-08) Gallery

We have uploaded some new photos in the Photo Gallery. Thanks for the submssions.

Trip to Pomene

Willem Pretorius is looking for a spearo to join them for trip to Mozambique Pomene from 27 June (leaving 16h00 from Pretoria), return 6 July very late. Approx 5 diving days. Contact Willem 0824410105 for details.

(04-Jun-08) Aliwal Shoal

The first two weeks the south north current played king of the dung heap, but was eventually toppled by a more consistent north south current from the 18th onwards. Basie has sent through a report on Aliwal this last month.

Gyula Plaganyi sent us a report back on that recently help 2008 South African National Championship at Sodwana Bay on the 19th - 23rd May.

(31-May-08) Border Open 2008

We have uploaded the Border Open 2008 Entry form, well worth supporting.

Johns monthly reprt is up. Not much action anywhere on the Transkei coast but it is still early days as the sardine shoals normally arrive on the lower south coast of Natal in the first or second week of June.

(29-May-08) Nationals 2008

We have all tyhe Nationals 2008 results up. Sory for the delay. there are 4 excel spread sheets that i have added to a zip archive you can download here. We also have a report back on the competition from John.

We have uploaded info on the 1st Annual Costa Rica Blue Water Hunting Open 2009.

(09-May-08) Aliwal Shoal

Basie Ackermann has sent through a report on the happenings at Aliwal shoal this past month. New photo in the photo gallery.

(07-May-08) The Black Marlin and Reel Gun

The Black Marlin and Reel Gun Story by Ian Hannaford was posted today .. makes interesting reading.

Also posted today Johns Monthly report a few days later tha normal.

(12-Apr-08) Hibiscus Gamefish Open

The Hibiscus Underwater Club have finalized the dates for the 2008 Gamefish Open. It will be held on the 14 June 2008. You can download a PDF with more info and an entry form here.

We have uploaed the lastest copy of the South African Spearfishing records as a spread sheet here. This is up to March 2008

(03-Apr-08) Oceanographic processes

We posted an interesting study of Shelf sediments off the Thukela River mouth: complex interaction between fluvial and oceanographic processes article and study is credited to www.enviromap.co.za

Aliwal shoal

Basie Ackermann our local at Aliwal shoal has sent through his report March. Plenty of good Cuda and Wahoo around with some good conditions

(01-Apr-08) Dogtooth Hunting

We have another interesting article by Eric Allard, this is about dogtooth hunting in Tanzanian waters.

Monthly report

Johns monthly report has be uploaded here

(28-Mar-08) Tanzanian Black Marlin

Eric Allard sent us the story of his 200kg Black marlin shot in Tanzanian waters

(22-Mar-08) Ascension Marlin Hunt

Titus sent through his story on a trip to Ascention Island looking to hunt Marlin.

Photo Gallery

New photos in the Gallery.

(17-Mar-08) New Addition to Merit Board

Congratulations to Mark Keyser for qualifying for the Spearfishingsa Gamefish Merit Board with three great fish. My apologies fpor taking so long to get this up, I have been out of action with back injuries.

Photo Gallery

New photo of Denham Howe with a huge Kingfish shot in mozambique up in the gallery too.

(16-Mar-08) SAUFF 5th News Letter

This is the 5th Newsletter from the SAUFF. This newsletter has as its major focus on environmental matters that affect our sport. In addition the Dangerous Weapons Act which has just been updated, now includes spearguns which will have implications for both the manufacturers/retailers and the end users.

26th World Underwater Fishing Championships

We are fortunate to have one of the best SA teams ever. The SAUFF are seeking sponsors to help us send our potential World Beating Team to Venezuela to compete in the 26th World Underwater Fishing Championships. More info here ...

(12-Mar-08) News of Aliwal Shoal

February was all in all a good month at Aliwal shoal with some very clean water. Basie sent through a report back for the nmonth posted here ...

On the 5th of April the Hibiscus Underwater Club is hosting their Gamefish open competition, its well worth supporting as always. Info and entry forms can be downloaded here ...

(10-Mar-08) SAUFF 4th News Letter

Brent Addison the of President SAUFF has sent his 4th news letter. It has been posted here with news on all the latest spearfishing issues.

Remember the upcoming Yellowfin Tuna International on the 6th of May, more info here ...

(04-Mar-08) February Monthly report

Johns monthly report has just been posted. Brian Clark, has passed away. Brian  captained the first Springbok spearfishing team to  the world champs in Cuba in the early 60s. He died on Friday, 8 February 2008. Our condolences go to his family and friends ...

(22-Feb-08) Aliwal report

We received Basies January Report today, late because of the power cuts ...

(02-Feb-08) New photos

We have been sent 5 new photos for the Photo Gallery of some really good fish.

Johns Monthly report for Janaury 2008 has been posted here.

Kevin Daly and Ross Gilfillan sent a shot account each of a dive for Bass at Bognor. Read it here.

(23-Jan-08) Freedom 7 – Shark Shield

If you are finding sharks to be an increasing worry when you are diving it might be time to invest in the latest version of the shark shield. The Freedom 7 unit is the newest device on the market being very compact and having a battery life of 7 hours.

The small size and weight of the unit makes it exceptionally easy to dive with and the piece of mind it gives is more than worth the price you pay for the unit. The Freedom 7 unit costs R4600.00 excluding postage and comes with a full years warranty.

For more info see the technical data. If you are interested in acquiring a unit please e-mail john@spearfishingsa.co.za.

(14-Jan-08) Springbok Trials – January 2008

The third day was dived on 19 fathoms and the area included deep cracker. Conditions were far from ideal for diving 80 foot+ water like this with visibility of 6 to 8m on the top dropping to 4m with a thermocline 20 foot off the bottom. There was a slight north south current angling in towards the shore. Despite the difficult and testing conditions excellent bags were once again weighed-in by all the contestants. Fish of the trials was Jaco Blignauts 25kg ignoblis kingfish with other class fish being James Lawson-Smith’s 12kg yellow edge rockcod and Allan Fraser’s 16kg Longfin yellowtail. Some big sharks seen in the marginal visibility but no close calls reported. The final results for the Springbok trials are :

1. Jaco Blignaut
2. Gyula Plaganyi
3. Allan Fraser
4. Angelo Spada
5. Mark Jackson
6. Ryan Bermester
7. James Lawson-Smith
8. Graham Carlisle

The top three will be the Springbok team to represent South Africa at the World Spearfishing Championships later this year with Angelo and Mark as traveling reserves. The more people we can have over at Worlds the better our scouting will be and with most of the top teams having an army of people helping them, this will definitely improve our chances. Well done to all the spearfishermen taking part in the trials as the results were very close right across the board.

Interesting Press Release from October

Studies in several other countries have found that recreational angling has a larger overall economic impact for a country than commercial fishing...

(11-Jan-08) Springbok Trials – January 2008

The second day dived was the 11 January on Deep Scottburgh off the Black Rock railway bridge just inside deep cracker. Conditions on the day were very good with 25m visibility and a light north south current. A lot more fish weighed-in than on the first day with all the contestants weighing good bags in the excellent conditions. Most divers seeing tiger sharks and Zambezi sharks but not a problem in the clean water. Results for day two are:

1. Jaco Blignaut
2. Gyula Plaganyi
3. James Lawson-Smith
4. Angelo Spada
5. Allan Fraser
6. Mark Jackson
7. Ryan Bermester
8. Graham Carlisle

The third day will be dived on the deeper area including 19 fathoms.

(11-Jan-08) Springbok Trials – January 2008

The first day dived was the 9 January on Deep Scottburgh. A strong westerly wind had blown the day before and conditions on the day were difficult. A big swell was running making for a difficult launch. The visibility on the top was 8 to 10m but this dropped to 3 to 5m on the bottom with no current. Mark Jackson and James Lawson-Smith both saw a great white shark which did not help their confidence levels in the trying conditions. Results for day one are:

1. Jaco Blignaut
2. Allan Fraser
3. Ryan Bermester
4. Angelo Spada
5. Gyula Plaganyi
6. Graham Carlisle
7. Mark Jackson
8. James Lawson-Smith

The second day will be the 11 January and the deeper area over 19 fathoms will probably be chosen.

2nd SAUFF NEWS – December 2007

This is the monthly news letter you receive if you are registered with SAUFF. it is vitally important that as many spearfishermen register as possible.

Spearfishing Madagascar

Jason Smith sent us an article of his trip spearfishing in Madagascar.

(07-Jan-08) Aliwal Shoal

Basies report back as promised ...

An interesting bit of history on the SA champs held in 1973 on the Natal Coast, Its a table of the results for the competition.

(04-Jan-08) Garmin Furuno Lowrance Fish-Finders

Any spearfisherman who owns a boat will know how important it is to have a good reliable fish finder. A GPS will only put you in the rough location of a pinnacle or ledge with the fish finder actually locating the high spot where you will throw your marker buoy. In poor visibility this is critical and can save you a lot of time and effort trying to locate the fish.

Colour the Way to Go

In 1987 I bought a colour furuno that cost R4000.00 back then and was an amazing piece of equipment. For finding reef it was a killer and would pick-up limestone reef that had a lot of caves high-lighting the caves in red. Since then I have used both garmin and lowrance black and white fish finders but always hankered after a colour sounder again.

No Comparison

Recently I bought a lowrance X67c in the mid price range having paid R3500.00. It would be unfair to do any comparisons as the furuno was top of the range and this lowrance would probably be in the mid to low range. The adage you always get what you pay for is certainly true when it comes to fish finders and skimping on this type of equipment will certainly cost you time and effort.

Maximise Your Effort

If you are into competitive spearfishing, having a top of the range fish finder will definitely give you an edge over those boats using lesser machines.

Something to Note 

The one major difference that I did come across between the three suppliers is that the power cables fall within the warranty for both the garmin and the furuno fish finders but  lowrance do not offer any type of warranty on their power cables. This is definitely something to factor into the equation when purchasing a fish finder as power cables are very prone to corrosion and at R600 a set it can become costly if they are not under warranty. Safe diving, john.

Here are the web sites for the three fish-finder agents:
www.lowrance.co.za for lowrance. Phone 031-3686649
www.pertec.co.za for furuno. Phone Gaby on 0834101070
www.garmin.co.za for garmin. Phone Chris on 0824404919

(02-Jan-08) The end of another great year!

The year has seemed to have wizzed by for us and we are into a new year already, 2008 Wow!

John and I would like to wish all our spearfishingsa readers a happy and healthy 2008. Johns last report for 2007 has been posted here and I am sure an Aliwal report will be up soon too.

Carl Werner sent us a photo for the gallery of him with a 14 and 15kg longfin yellowtail taken off Protea Banks on the South Coast.

(09-Dec-07) Proposed Ban on Diving

The government is proposing a total ban on diving in certain areas as a way of combating the poaching of abalone stocks. The out of control poaching has been going on for many years with the government seemingly unable to police our natural resources in any meaningful way. Bureaucracy and bungling officials probably the main culprits for the lack of any decisive or coercive efforts to stem the tide of illegal poachers.

The classic was the armed defense force soldiers policing the National Spearfishing Championships weigh-in in Port Elizabeth while in the background a heavily laden abalone poacher slowly made his way up the beach and into the dunes.

The unfortunate upshot of any irrational proposals like this one is that other legal sea users might eventually say enough is enough and choose to go that route themselves.

Constitutionally there can be no validity in penalizing one group for another group’s unlawful action. Marine and Coastal Management together with the Department of Environmental Affairs need to come up with a solution to this problem that does not impinge on the rights of other sea users.

(03-Dec-07) December 2007

We have reached the last month of 2007 already. Basie sent up a catch up on the happenings at Aliwal Shoal as usual. The Monthly report by John for November is up as well.

Midlands Spearfishing Open Trial – 1December 07

The trial was dived on Deep Scottburgh with the borders of the area being Black Rock railway bridge to Deep Cracker in the North and Umdoni Point in the south. This area was chosen to keep divers away from the sanctuary area. Conditions were a moderate southerly current with 4 to 5m visibility on the top with the last 4m opening up to 8m visibility. A 15knot southerly blew for most of the day and this cleared up the top visibility but brought in some cold water on the bottom. The launch was tricky at Rocky Bay and one of the boats that launched at Umkomaas went over. Nobody hurt but plenty gear lost and boat damaged. Divers that dived on 19 Fathoms had top to bottom visibility in 30m but still a cold layer on the bottom. Some good catches weighed-in as can be seen from the results with your choice of fish now playing a critical role. The new points scoring system favours less threatened species and most gamefish score highly and this is what divers need to target in their catches if they want to do well.

New photo in the gallery from Jason Falken.

(27-Nov-07) Blue Water Tuna Comp…

Next year on the 7th May a new comp, the Blue Water Yellow Fin Tuna Open will be held. More info and an entry form has been posted here.

(22-Nov-07) Know, know, know your boat…

Ian Tennent sent us a light hearted article of their boat troubles at Cape Vidal.

(15-Nov-07) Winter Gamefish

The Wahoo Winter Gamefish was held at Cape Vidal again this year and was once again a great success, Andrew Henwood reports here.

(14-Nov-07) Border Open

The Border Open Challenge was help in October this year after being cancelled due to bad weather last year. John has posted a short run down of the event.

(12-Nov-07) Open Trial hosted by Southern Natal - November 12, 2007

The trial was held on Deep Scottburgh with boundaries being Umkomaas River in the north and Pennington in the south. The sea was bumpy from the strong south-westerly wind that had blown the previous day and the launch was not that easy. The visibility out deep was good with 8 to 10m on the bottom with a strong north-south current. Some of the divers had problems with very aggressive black tip sharks. One diver getting a big fright from a shark trying to bite his fins whilst he was subduing a fish. Full results were posted here.

History of SAUFF – Appeal for Help

Brent Addison is at present trying to compile the “History of Underwater Fishing in South Africa”. He would like to include at least the following topics.

1. How it all got started and the early pioneers, people and clubs.
2. Names of Controllling Body e.g. SAUU, SAFA, SAUFF and when changed
3. Names of Administrators e.g. SF Officer, Records Officer, Selectors and years in position
4. SA Teams, Years, Venues, Positions both Team and Individual
5. National Championships – Year, Venue, Results
6. Trophies
7. S.A. Records Year by Year

“Beneath Southern Seas” by Tim Condon, provides some of the early history from the first Nationals in 1961 to 1971 and thereafter he has nothing till 2004 at Stilbaai.

Anyone who has any information or knows who might have this information which might help build up a better picture, call or e-mail Brent. Any info or photographs would be greatly appreciated.

Brent Addison
082-322750

(02-Nov-07) News from October

John has posted the October report with the low down for the month. Seems more and more people are noticing the change in shark behaviour near Aliwal.

Basies Aliwal Report

Basies report to keep us up to date with Aliwal is up.

(24-Oct-07) SA Underwater Fishing Fereration

We received this letter explaining why registration is need by SAUFF. "In order to continue to exist, SAUFF needs to have some way in which to raise funds to support itself and its members. In the past the old SAFA raised funds by taking a portion of the sale of fish from National Championships ..."

(19-Oct-07) Trials

A little late but here the Trials results for saturday 13 october are. Area dived was deep scottburgh. Very strong north-south current and milky water ontop but 6 to 8m on the bottom. Plenty of sharks about and lots of fish about in the strong current. Spread Sheet with all results is posted here

(04-Oct-07) Aliwal Shoal

Pollution from Sappi Saiccor, Strong easterlies and westerlies have been the order for the month at Aliwal, Basie has sent through the low down for September.

(30-Sep-07) September

Every month John writes a short monthly report of the happenings of the past month. This has become really popular with our close to 30 000 readers a month. Here Septembers Report is.

(24-Sep-07) SAMLMA Meeting

The South African Marine Linefish Management Association held a meeting. These are the Minutes of the SAMLMA Annual General Meeting held on 5 July 2006 at the Sea Point Research Aquarium in Cape Town. These are in the interests of anyone using the sea.

(21-Sep-07) PE Raggies

Port Elizabeth Raggies still have what it takes to Keep Divers on their Toes by Gletwyn Rubidge

(10-Sep-07) Team Selection for World Champs in Venezuela

"CONGRATULATIONS to the following athletes. They have been invited by the National selectors to compete in a National Squad Competition. This Trial will be the main selection criteria for the S A team- Margarita Island early June 2008." More here ...

(03-Sep-07) August Report

Most of the action this past month was with bottom fish as the cuda run is now over on the Natal coast. Natal snoek are being taken on the north coast and Tinley area is a good bet, read more of Johns August report.

Aliwal

We have a report for Aliwal Shoal for August 2007 from Basie Ackerman up.

(24-Aug-07) Photos in the Gallery

We have finally managed to get some of the last photos sent through to us uploaded to the Gallery, thanks to all for their contributions.

(14-Aug-07) Spearo Profile

Basie Ackermann sent through of profile of himself. He is a well known spearo in SA and regular contributor to Spearfishingsa. Its worth a read and always interesting to see what attracts people to this fantastic sport.

(11-Aug-07) The Spanish approach

A report back by S. A. diver Gyula Plaganyi who recently represented South Africa at the Euro-Africa Zone Qualifier spearfishing championships held in Cadiz, Spain.

(05-Aug-07) Border Open Spearfishing Challenge

The Border Open Spearfishing Challenge 2007 is to be held on the 20th October 2007 at Hole in the Wall Transkei. Entry fee is R250. Entry forms are available here as a pdf download.

Aliwal Report back by Basie

We have put up Basies monthly report on what has been going on at Aliwal Shoal.

SAUFF affairs

From the Exec Committee – A letter from the Chairman has been posted here to keep us up to speed with SAUFF affairs, this is the second letter this year, the first was posted here.

(31-July-07) July Report

The July Monthly Report written by John has been posted.

(04-July-07) Aliwal

Basie sent though a report back on the happenings on Aliwal for June.