Mike and his deckhand Kurt were extremely professional. It was the first time out to sea for most of our group and we all had a great time and look forward to coming back again. We left the bay at 6am to fish the backline but with the dredger busy in that area Mike knew it would be better to head further out to deeper water where we could secure some better fish. We picked up a lot of sand soldier which eventually became a nuisance so Mike moved us along to a better spot where we were rid of the peckers. I personally managed a good size rockcod, a personal best fish and a great fight on the light spinning gear we were using. Other good eating fish of size were a copper bream, englishman and slinger. We also got a few undersize fish off the reef which were released and lots of trigger fish, banana fish, lizard fish and other by catch which was some fun to reel in but unfortunately didn’t alllow us to keep our bait in the water for longer to give the bigger fish a chance to eat. Unfortunately despite the great conditions the bigger fish were just not interested in taking a chomp. All in all a great time and an excellent trip with excellent guidance by the crew, I highly recommend a trip with Mike and look forward to heading out with him again.

My family from NZ and UK were in SA for a 2 week trip, bit of beach, sun and Kruger to show them this beautiful country. One of the bucket list items was a bit of game fishing, as although they are keen fishermen, they have not done this before, so something a bit different.
After a bit of research on line, found Blue Water Charters. Good reviews on a number of sites so gave Mike (the skipper) a call to set it up as we needed a harbour cruise first, drop off my Mum back to shore, then head out to sea for the fishing. No problem with tailor made package to suit the charter needs.
We joined the boat in the morning, and met Mike and Kurt, his deckhand. It was a very calm day, little swell and zero chop. The harbour cruise was relaxed, with both Mike and Kurt imparting a lot of local knowledge about Durban, fishing and we got to see some dolphins cruising along side. After an hour we stopped back at the jetty and dropped of Mum, after which we continued out to sea. Straight out the harbour Mike and Kurt set the lines, 9 of them in a pattern ..and off we go. I think the trawl speed was up a bit due to the flat seas, to try and get an aggressive pattern going? After a few hours we got a hook up, where Mike coached my niece in trying to land it. However it shook the hook just before we could bring it on board. Still an experience for an 8 year old sitting in a game chair though! Despite the best efforts of Mike we didn’t get any action until the last hour as we were heading home, double hook up! The crew cleared the remaining lines, and after some serious hard work, they both landed Dorado’s, one of them just under 12kg. By this time we should have been back in port and I expected Mike to keep the lines in and head home. But he put the lines back out and turned back towards the hook up area, and then it was my turn to land one. Now it was time to head back in. Kurt kindly filleted the fish for us and bagged it up after we were tied up again. Really enjoyable trip with a skipper who has a passion for it and understands it’s all about the experience, who went the extra mile, and Kurt, who is super chilled and really enjoys making it a great day for you. And for those who fish, we had zero gear failures, no busted tackle or knots failing, and the rods and reels are in really good condition. Great day out, one of the highlights of the holiday, and I will def be booking with Mike again in the future.

This outing was booked by my dear wife as a surprise 40th Birthday gift. She told me that before she decided on the Blue Water Charters she had called other charters in the Durban area, but what stood out to her was Mike’s kind manner and professionalism. I was to find out that this was an outstanding decision. After I was presented with my gift I began communicating with Mike on WhatsApp and I found him to be extremely accommodating and friendly as he answered my numerous questions patiently and honestly. My group, although with many years shore angling experience, had almost no deep-sea encounter and even though we were excited we had many reservations. However, Mike, with his experience and good humour, put our fears to rest. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to meet Mike as the night before he told me that Erik would be skippering us the next day.

The Big Day arrived and Skipper, Erik and Deck Hand, Kurt were ready to greet us at 5:30 am even though we were set to move out at 6:00. We immediately hit it off with the duo and found them to be both knowledgeable and friendly. After about and hour and a half into our trip the first reel was running and I was tasked with landing the first fish of the day. As this was my first experience I was expertly guided by Kurt and the Skipper.  That Skipjack Tuna was a joy to all of us. While I was ‘on’ two other mates were on too and in an instant, we had 3 tunas on board. Not long after another three reels were running simultaneously. Another three mates grabbed the rods and two more Skipjacks was landed. To be honest, if the trip ended at that stage we would all have been happy…but the best was yet to come.

The whole morning Kurt told us that the water looked good for Dorado and every now and then he spoke to the sea beckoning the Dorado. As we did not have any experience about the fish we wondered what all the fuss was about? We were soon to find out!!! About 3 hours into the trip our relaxed banter was interrupted by a shout from Kurt; “DORADO ON!” A look into the Ocean presented us with the amazing sight of this beautiful ray-finned fish leaping out of the water. Before we could decide who was going to grab the rod another reel was running and then astonishingly a third reel peeled off. THREE Dorado were ‘on’ at the same time!!! With our lack of experience this proved a near impossible task. However, after numerous inter-changing of the guys manning the rods, and the excellent coaching of Erik and Kurt, fifteen minutes later we had all three fish on board. We now understood what all the fuss about the Dorado was! As if the day couldn’t get any more perfect we caught our breath to a large pod of Dolphins accompanying us for a short period. Later we caught more Skipjack and I would estimate, lost about 5. Still amazingly as we headed back to port this boat of amateur first-time fisherman carried 9 Skipjack Tuna and 3 Dorado onboard.

This was truly an experience of a lifetime for me and my mates. More than the fishing, the professionalism, efficiency and good humour of Erik and Kurt made this trip the ultimate experience. Sailing into the harbour hoisting our Dorado and Tuna flags filled me with immense pride. It is a day I was never forget. The guys at Blue Water Charters are remarkable and I think, more than all their other great qualities, it was their ability to be genuine that stood out the most. Every member of my group and I would gladly recommend them to anyone looking to head off for a deep-sea fishing expedition. Perhaps the best compliment I could pay to Mike and his to team would be to say: “Even if we did not catch a single fish on the trip, this would still have been one of the most memorable days in my life” Thank you Blue Water Charters.

Moses Govender.

I had the opportunity to go deep sea fishing with Blue Water Charters this past week. It was my first time fishing in South Africa and I went on a 10Hr day trip for an attempt at Marlin and other Deep Sea gamefish. The “Fat Girl” boat is well maintained, and the on board equipment for the boat is nice, the tackle is also good. I wasn’t able to get to know Mike very well, as he was sick the day of the trip and couldn’t attend with us, but he still made the time in the morning to stop by and see us off which was nice. He is good with communication and helpful in that regard. The crew remaining, Erik and Kurt, were very helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. During the trip we managed to land several of the relatively smaller gamefish (Wahoo,Dorado, and Skipjack), compared to billfish, and ended up losing a few fish. We weren’t able to see a Marlin but I still had a lot fun on the trip. Hopefully I will be able to come back again and get another attempt in. I would recommend the charter to anyone whether they be a novice or an experienced angler.

I have been fortunate enough to be fishing with Mike on numerous occasions over the last 10 years. These trips have ranged from fishing the backline of Durban to 10HR deep sea game fishing trips. Mike and crew comes highly recommended. Equipment is always extremely good.