Fresh False Bay Fishing Reports

A wonderful morning on Thursday, was had by our client Johann targeting reef species catching White Stumpnose and Cape Bream around the Historic Robben Island. He has already booked his next trip this weekend with our Captain Kevin and deckhand Frans.

Making memories and history with friends. Bluefin of a lifetime caught on Saturday 14 Nov 2020 weighing 147.15kg at Houtbay, Cape Town. A day to be remembered by all.

Left Kalk Bay harbour at about 08:30 after safety briefing and proceeded down to Seal Eiland, the trip taking about an hour.The weather was fine with a chilly NW breeze, which was totally unpredicted.This brought in mist and the trip was done in misty conditions until reaching the eiland where it started clearing and the sun popped out.Sea conditions were good and the wind dropped away which made for a very pleasant day out at the eiland, making three anchors in the quest to find the fish.The last anchor proved the best and most successful.Water still quite cold from the SE wind. This makes the fish a bit shy, however plenty good sized brean and panga were landed.Some undersized roman were released. Once the bag limits were reached we pulled up the anchor and went to see the fur seals close up. Drifted down on the current while watching the seals at play. The eiland is home to hundreds of Cape fur seals and cormorants. videos and pics were taken and we left to proceed back to harbour at 14.00 Everyone caught fish and enjoyed the adventure. Skipper was Carl, with Arthur as Mate and Shaun as deck crew. Every one arrived back safely in harbour after an awesome day out on the ocean.

Left Kalk bay harbour at approx.0830 and proceeded to sea towards the East. SW swell of 1m and very light ENE wind.Couldn't have asked for better conditions as the day before the SE wind was at 30 knots. Moved down towards the shore in the 8 fathom and drift fished the outside reefs. At this stage we were between the tanks and the pavilion about 2 miles offshore of the beach. It's a method employed to best get the elusive red roman which is highly prized. It's a waiting game as you drift on and drift off fish as you are slowly moving on the current.Best to keep your gear about 1 fathom off the bottom to prevent getting snagged on the bottom. A few good sizes of bream or known locally as hottie were landed. This is the bread and butter fish of all line fisherman, and if nothing else is biting, then they usually will,They will eventually become a nuisance when you target other species as they are simply everywhere. We finally moved off towards Seal Eiland and made our first anchor as the wind had strengthened slightly and drifting wasn't going to work. The lines went down and the bream came up, as well as a silver type fish known locally as panga.Some very good sizes as well.sometimes two at a time. Some very good sizes were landed by every one onboard. Once everyone had reached their legal bag limit we took a tour of the Eiland to view the Cape Fur Seals and sea birds on the eiland. The wind had by this time turned S and made for a very pleasant return trip back to Kalk bay Harbour.Its basically riding a gentle stern sea and it is much more pleasant than riding into the sea. We got back to harbour and the heat immediately hit us as the temp was 37*C. much cooler on the water. A lot of fun was had by all and we were all back safe and sound by 14:30 in the harbour, with our fish. Did a close inshore drag, strikers on bungee in Fishhoek bay, but no Amberjack today. Trip successfully completed.

Left Kalk bay harbour at 09.00 and proceeded to seal Eiland.Sea conditions were fine Light wind and good sea.The trip to the Eiland takes about 1 hr.After anchoring in moderate calm water the lines went down and the fish started coming up. water depth we anchored in was 8 fathom.Water temp: 14*C. We had two vessel ahead of us, one on the port bow to the south at about 75 m and the other on the stbd bow towards the west at 150 m.These are cage diving charter vessels and they usually anchor close in to the Eiland. We remain out of their area as not to disrupt their activities and just out of mutual respect. I wont say that it was fireworks but the bream were coming up consistently, some good sizes as well. Air pressure plays a big role in the fishes biting and taking the bait, so when it dropped a few points, the fish went off the bite and became sluggish, this is also a good indication that the wind is coming. By this stage we had already landed enough fish and we retrieved our anchor to leave. The other two charter vessels had left and the Eiland was all ours. I took my guests around the Eiland to get a firsthand closeup view of the many hundreds of Cape fur seals and sea birds on it.A video of this is posted. Very pleasant return trip to the harbour at Kalk bay, at a speed of 7 knots, arriving at about 14.15 Turned out to be a successful day,with fish landed by everyone. The deck hands are mostly commercial fisherman which I mix in with the guests if the space allows.They are there to assist with anchoring and to help guests with any fishing related questions or about the marine life.They also fish in the old traditional way with hand lines which is the norm on commercial vessels and has remained unchanged since the old days of Kalk Bay.

The Trip was scheduled for the Sunday, but due to windy conditions on the Sunday we chose Saturday, which was the better day.We proceeded to sea from Kalk Bay harbour, Cape town, Western Cape,South Africa.There was a slight SSE breeze at the time but the conditions were fine.We headed out in the direction of Seal Eiland which is about 6 nautical miles from the harbour and the eastern shore.This area is known to have plenty bottom fish or reef fish.It is also a well known area to find the much sort after Red Roman. We anchored in the lee of the eiland out the wind in moderate calm water.The black bream are pretty hardy fish and usually take the bait readily.On the day some good sizes were landed by everyone. As a rule I dont allow small and undersize fish, these are carefully returned to the sea.There is enough good size fish that can be hooked and landed. Returning smaller and undersize fish back to the sea also ensures a good stock for the future.This is also the bread and butter fish of Cape Town commercial line fisherman in days gone by. Time Bandit is a traditional West coast fishing vessel and as such we promote traditional hand line fishing as they did in the old days, to preserve a way of life from a by gone era.We do however supply good rods and reels for anglers who so desire. Added to that, Kalk Bay is the oldest working harbour in Cape Town, with it reaching its peak during the crayfishing months. The forecast was for South wind later on in the day and I was monitoring the conditions very carefully.The South wind forecast is ok if not too strong but can become unpleasant on the return trip as you have it on your port side beam. We decided to leave early and good thing we did as the wind came earlier than predicted. The return trip did get a bit wet, but we managed and get safely back to harbour with our crew and catch. I was impressed as the guys fished very well and got on fabulously.Real tough sailors. Some of the fish landed were bream, locally known as hottie, some shy sharks or dog fish, Cape white stump and and fish known locally as a bloukop steentjie, which is a ferocious biter and very colourful.Predominately blue.