Ski-Boat — May-June 2017

My brother Brett and I have dis-
cussed this topic at length and have
decided that when we go fishing we
want to feel like we’ve spent our time
constructively instead of just taking a
few livebaits on a joyride and then
enrolling them in an involuntary reloca-
tion process!
We try to fish areas that the pods of
dolphins might frequent. The bait
marks in the Durban basin are always a
good bet as the dolphins like these bait-
rich areas. Most mornings they seem to
race in from the deep; it makes you
wonder whether they feed on squid
and fish attracted by the lights on ships
at night before returning inshore to
feed at the various bait marks.
Beaches that have shark nets also
seem to attract pods of dolphins and
you will often see the pods working the
area just inside or outside of the nets
because the shark nets provide shelter
for any baitfish trying to hide from
predators.

BE SAFE AND CONSIDERATE
We’ve witnessed absolute chaos when
boats, jetskis and kayaks all start pursu-
ing a pod of dolphins. It simply isn’t
fun and it can be quite dangerous when
skippers leave their steering wheels
and the chaos of trying to pitch a bait

or popper ensues. Be considerate; take

time to see if any other anglers have

lines in the water before rushing in to

make your cast.

A happy pod of dolphins usually

results in happy accompanying tuna,

but boats and jetskis that cause the pod

to dive or deviate from their course will

result in few or no bites. Our best days

have been when we locate a pod of dol-

phins and run well wide of them before

setting lines and letting the tuna inter-

cept our livebaits. This way the pod

will not feel boxed in and will generally

continue their same pattern.

We normally have just one motor in

gear idling to keep the baits from back-

tracking; this also gives you an idea of

where your bait is sitting. Idling means

there is no prop wash or wake and the

pod normally swims right up behind

you; your bait is sitting perfectly in the

strike zone. This method also allows

you to cast a popper or surface lure

while having your baits in the water.

Another method that works quite

well is to approach the pod from the

side but not get in front of it. Dolphins

use highly advanced sonar to locate

baitfish and they seem to pick up boat

wash and turbulence from far away.

Slowly driving up near enough to cast

but not close enough to cause them to

dive is what you’re after; this way you

will be able to pitch livebaits or pop-

pers without causing the pod to divert.

RIGGING LIVEBAIT

When pitching a maasbanker or mack-

erel we generally insert the hook

between the dorsal fin of the bait and

its tail. This allows the bait to be more

aerodynamic when casting and your

cast range increases tremendously.

It is vital to cast your bait as accu-

rately as possible and rather take a few

seconds to aim where you intend cast-

ing before jumping the gun. Not only

will you get more strikes this way, but

you will also save a lot of bait because

reeling the baits in backwards after

every cast eventually kills them. The

better condition your bait is in, the bet-

ter the chance of getting the bite!

Once we have cast the bait into the

strike zone we leave the bail arm over

until the bait is picked up. This can be

anything from a few seconds if the bite

is hot to a minute or so. Make sure you

do not have any tension on the line

when the tuna strikes as they often

drop the bait if they feel any resistance.

When the line starts peeling off the

spool as the tuna picks up the bait, we

let it eat for a few seconds before flick-

ing the bail arm over.

SKI-BOAT May/June 2017 • 29

Above: Two ways of rigging your bait.

For the front-rigged mackerel we used a

2/0 Mustad 36330NP treble hook; on the

other bait we used the back-to-back

Hoodlum 3/0 hook set up.

Left: We often use Mustad Hoodlum 2/0

hooks rigged back to back. The curved

point of these Hoodlums gets better pur-

chase in your livebait as well as in the

tuna once you set the hooks.