Ski-Boat — May-June 2017

BIG TUNA FROM A FISHING SKI
I always get excited when the winds
start backing off at the end of October,
because that’s when I start getting my
tuna outfits out and make sure they are
serviced.
We generally fish the north coast off
Durban from Salmon Bay/Ballito up to
Blythedale in the north.
It is imperative to launch as close to
first light as possible and catch a few
mackerel or mozzies before paddling
slightly deeper in search of the scream-
ers.
This past season the tuna seemed to
be coming in a lot shallower than in
previous seasons and we had a good
number of large fish hooked in the 12-
18m depths. My trusty Hook-4 fishfind-
er unit from Lowrance not only helps
me find the bait, but also gives me an
idea of where to start looking for the
tuna. When you locate the bait balls on
your fishfinder you can be sure that the
tuna won’t be far away. You will see
that tell tale tuna showing as the shoals
cruise from one bait ball to another.
This year there were more red eye
sardines, mackerel and mozzies than the
balls of sprats we saw in the area last

season. When the sprats arrive you will

often see big smash ups as the tuna, kin-

gies, bonnies and sharks all get in on

the action.

I started the season using my nor-

mal ’cuda rods, but after having a few

90 minute battles with large, unwilling

tuna I decided to go back to the draw-

ing board. Ideally you want a reel that

is going to allow you to free spool with

the ratchet on when drifting with a

livey. We all know the benefits of hav-

ing braided line on a spinning reel and

how much easier it is to land a fish with

a higher drag capacity, less stretch in

the line and a shorter fight time.

I looked at numerous ways of trying

to use my BG 4500 spinning reel on my

ski, but eventually loaded my Saltist

BG50H multiplier reel with 16kg

Maxima Ultragreen line with the Daiwa

1.7m Sealine Xtreme rod and found this

was the perfect rig for targeting these

large tuna on the ski. The heavier

monofilament still had a bit of stretch,

but you can pull a great deal harder

than with the 12kg line and the back-

bone and power tip of the Sealine rod

kept the fish coming in the right direc-

tion. The less time you spend fighting

these slabs the less time the Tax Man

has to find you. A shorter fight also

gives you more time to target a couple

more fish.

It’s always a good idea to have a

popper on a casting outfit ready should

the dolphins swim past or you happen

to come across a bait ball getting

smashed. I always have the trusty Halco

Roosta popper 135 ready at hand.

I’ve hooked a good number of 25-

30kg tuna after paddling in from the

’cuda grounds at Zinkwazi to see the

dolphins feeding on the backline inside

the shark nets. Hooking a big tuna in

the shallows is a totally different fight

and they seem to swim haphazardly

across the water instead of eventually

settling down into the pinwheel action.

TUNA ON THE BOAT

These days many ski-boat anglers sim-

ply pack a few popping sticks, surface

lures, load up with bait and start run-

ning in search of a pod of dolphins.

This tactic can prove very costly consid-

ering the high price of fuel but, even

worse, if you fail to find the dophins or

shoals of tuna, it can leave you feeling

like you haven’t even wet a line all day.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2017 • 27

Modern fishing skis can hold a lot of

fish, just make sure your tuna is dead

before you put it in the hatch.