A RECORD-BREAKING DAY
A
T 8am on Saturday 18 March we were on our way to
go fishing off Struisbaai aboard my dad’s boat,Carry
Cat. We headed out with high hopes of finding
some new spots and species.
Our day started off very well and we managed to catch
and release several good sized red stumpnose. Then the
radio came alive and we heard of a couple of boats starting
to catch a few kob. After a quick discussion among the
crew we decide to move to the area where kob were
being caught.
We had no luck, so my dad decided to head toward the
Oesterbanke. On arrival we immediately got into some
action and had soon landed and released a few small kob.
Dad decided to head closer to the shore, and after finding
some good structure we anchored. Things were pretty
quiet for a while and then all of a sudden my rod almost
got jolted out of my hands. I immediately realised that I
had hooked into a large, strong fish. Dad informed me that
it would probably be a bronze whaler shark, so I prepared
myself for the battle.
I moved towards the front of the boat and started to
fight what I thought was a shark. Half an hour later I was
tired and wishing the “shark” would bite me off. Uncle
Morne came to sit in the front of the boat too to give me
some moral support. Finally I gained some line and Dad
decided to join me with a gaff — just in case. Thank good-
ness for the gaff!
“Kob!” my dad shouted. “No, shark!” And then finally
confirmation, “Kob!” I had moved back towards the cabin
to give them some space, but with my dad confirming that
this epic fight was indeed with a kob, I moved closer to
have a peek. I could not believe my eyes! I could see by
the expression on my dad’s face that “shark mode” had
turned into,“best you do not stuff this up” mode. He was
poised with the gaff and eventually I felt the tension in the
line release and knew my catch was secured.
When I saw the size of the fish I completely lost it. I
was so happy, so grateful, so sad, just utterly humbled by
this amazing fish!
Throughout my life I have been fortunate to fish with
amazing anglers and their advice started rolling through
my head: “First see your catch before you claim it to be a
shark”,“enjoy the fight”,“remember, someone’s fighting for
their life”...
To my crew, Morne, Arrie and Frikkie, thank you for an
unforgettable day. To my mentor, Uncle Daniel Hughes, I
stayed calm, enjoyed the fight and fought it to the end.
Thank you, Uncle Moelas, for introducing me to
Struisbaai’s waters. Thank you to all the boats and anglers
that congratulated me on the VHF once we confirmed our
catch. To my hero, Dad, thank you for teaching me to fish
and thank you for your patience, I love you!
Back on land, we confirmed the weight at 19.94kg; it is
believed that we broke the WP and AA record for kob
caught by a junior on 6kg line. Special thanks to Uncle
Earl Fenwick for assisting with the scales and necessary
documents for me to claim my record. Tight lines and see
you all on the water.by Marja Penninkhof (13)