The expectations were huge as some big snoek of over 5 kilos were caught the previous day in the Buffels Bay area. The anglers were therefore expecting to catch the same quantity/class fish the very next day, but as you all know in the beloved sport of fishing there are no guarantees and we were once again tossed a curve ball as fishing was very slow in the Buffels Bay area. Malcolm Grant alias “Budgie” showed us how to do it by landing a lifetime snoek of 6.8 kg on 4kg line just falling short of the South African record of 6.95 kg (P. Welgemoed) – Well done Budgie on this great achievement!!

As fishing was slow and there was no action it wasn‟t long before most boats dispersed looking for better fishing prospects. Some Salted/hardened skippers and their willing and sometimes big eyed unwilling crew decided to venture outside the protection of the bay to brave the North Westerly and the choppy seas. This turned out to be a good call as most boats were rewarded with some good catches of snoek and most anglers getting their full quota.

Mark and team from Gordon‟s Bay Boat Angling club were fishing the Rocky Bank area catching snoek when they saw the birds working on some bait fish. Trolling with the birds, they battled to keep up as the bait kept changing direction. Mark decided to put out his favourite glow in the dark vertical jig and troll it with the other lures. He had a take immediately but did not have a solid hook up. The birds once again changed direction and the boat made a sharp turn which caused the jig to sink down, Mark started retrieving his jig as they wanted to chase down the birds once again and “bang” he was on with a decent size fish that almost spooled his spinning reel in its first run attempting to rid itself of the hook. After some nervous moments Mark landed a nice yellowtail of 5.5kg. Adding nine snoek to his tally, made him top angler of the second leg of the Inshore West League

Suidpunt Angling club once again went out of their way to make us feel at home serving us an exceptional meal consisting of Marlin Steaks, chips and three salads.

Wow! What a weekend, as always these away weekends are lots of fun, with new and old friendships being made and old ones rekindled. Interesting personalities coming to the fore, which are usually tucked away, with fun and laughter always being the order of the day. Under no circumstances can you afford to miss any of these away legs, and so the saying goes: “What happens in Struis stays in Struis” – Why don‟t you come along and experience it yourself!

To top all of this the fishing was great with some good catches of Cob made by various boats including a Cob of 18.7 kg by Mark Truter from Gordon‟s Bay. This Fish was caught on a “Patrenoster strop” with both hook and sinker trace being one meter long.

Other catches of the day included Red Stump, Red Roman and some yellow fin tuna and yellowtail that were caught behind the five mile bank.

Fishing greeting‟s to all Jacques Coetzer