South Sea Safaris Fishing Charters - Game Fishing

Welcome to the web site of South Sea Fishing Safaris. As one of the longest operating deep sea and tuna fishing charter businesses in Cape Town and the Western Cape our success rate speaks for itself. Started in 1998, our reputation has been built on solid service and performance. Most of our clients come back for more and some use us to the exclusion of all other charter operators. We have added a local fishing report at the bottom of this page to give our overseas and upcountry visitors and idea of what is happening on the local scene. We'll tell it like it is, no frills, when it's good we'll tell you, and when it's bad, we'll tell you that too. Please have a look and e-mail your comments to us.

South Sea Fishing Safaris caters for local as well as visiting international anglers and freedivers. Join us on one of our customized craft, from the custom built 11 meter sportfishing cruiser to our new 9 meter sportfisher and an 8.6 meter ski-boat suitable for smaller groups. Operating from Gordons Bay and Struisbaai, all boats are fully seaworthy and safety certified. We have self-catering or fully catered accommodation at both venues. The choice is yours.

NOTE - Pictures are thumbnails for quick downloads. Please click on thumbnails to see full size picture and text.

We have taken delivery of our new 9 meter catamaran, "Tyler", named after our trusty jack russel boat dog, is bigger and better than the old 8 meter cat, Le Boat. Tyler is a 9meter butt-cat powered by twin 200 hp Suzuki four strokes. She is extremely fast and very comfortable. During her maiden fishing tournament she took top honours with an 86kg yellowfin tuna caught by Gareth Beaumont. We have now run about 60 trips and she performs superbly. The "new" Lynx is not so new anymore and is now fast approaching four years old. Last season we installed two new Suzuki 250hp motors and she should be good to go for a few more years. We have kept one of the older motors as a back-up in case of problems and should anything unforeseen occur we could reasonably expect to get either boat back on the water within a day. Below is a list of notable achievements over the last few years:

LYNX - 1st Prize, Gordons Bay Offshore Classic 2003 - 1st Marlin landed at Gordons Bay Feb 2004 (97kg Striped Marlin) - 1st Prize, Hout Bay Tuna Derby 2004 - Top Boat, Gordons Bay Offshore Classic 2005 - Top Boat, Gordons Bay Offshore Classic 2006.

TYLER - 1st Prize Gordons Bay Offshore Classic 2007 - 2nd Place, Two Oceans Marlin Tournament Struisbaai 2009.

If rock & surf or fly-fishing is your forte, allow us to take you to some of the best fishing spots around the coast and some of the most productive inland waters. We provide good quality tackle, and apart from specialist fly-fishing equipment, everything will be supplied. Fishing is to IGFA standards and records can be claimed.

On the underwater side of things, we offer blue-water hunting off Cape Point and reef diving trips up the Cape Coast. These trips can be arranged for any period of time. Have a look at our rates page for and idea of what is on offer. The South African record yellowfin tuna was broken many times by spearfishermen in the last couple of seasons and I have no doubt it will be broken again soon. Our biggest fish speared so far was a brute of 95kg with a number of fish in the 90's having been taken. Fish of between 80 and 90 have almost become a formality. If you could ever say spearing a yellowfin is a "formality". Incidentally, we managed to catch our 100+kg fish during the last season, 101.2kg to be exact. We once again had a number of fish in the 90 to 95kg class, but only one of over a 100. Our ladies spearfishing record yellowfin of 66kg also still stands. This is only 2kg short of the current ladies world record.

We will arrange all bookings, collect you at Cape Town International Airport, arrange transfers and/or car hire and ensure you are accompanied to our guest house/holiday apartment or any other accommodation you may choose.

Join us for a day, a week, or a month, we offer a truly memorable local fishing adventure.

In my last report (2 Dec 09) I mentioned that summer was muscling its way in and 2010 was barreling down on us. Well. a whole bunch of fishing days, a few parties and a trip to Bassas da India later, and here it is. Summer, good fishing and 2010, the year of WC in Africa is upon us. In the last report I was grumbling, as usual, about lousy weather and constant wind. Well let me tell you, someone DID listen. Since then we have done 23 trips and had some really good fishing. Some bad fishing also, but we have had more sea days this season than we have had in the last two years. In addition to this, the tuna put in a late appearance and the yellowtail have been very consistent at Cape Point. All this has added up to a pretty good season............so far! First, the tuna.

OFFSHORE
I do not wish to repeat what has already been dealt with in the last report, but for the sake of continuity, you may remember that October was a good month and the yellowfin were fairly plentiful. Then came a wicked cold front and everything went haywire. The tuna went north and our weather and fishing went to the dogs for the whole of November. For the first time since 2001, apart from 1 fish on 9 November, we never caught another yellowfin in November. Everyone thought, me included, that our season had ended before it really began. I then went to Pemba to collect a boat and deliver to Durban (More of that later) and when I returned on 23 December there were very few reports of fish in the tuna grounds. Apart from the odd tuna here and there, it was pretty dead. One of the few highlights was a shortbill spearfish of 25kg landed by one of our clients. The shortbill spearfish is extremely rare off our coast and to catch one of these is a once in a lifetime occurrence. Someone told me it was only 2kg short of the SA record, but I stand to be corrected on this one.

Then Christmas came and Santa brought us some yellowfins! Things suddenly picked up and we had some very good catches, getting 12 fish on our best day. Since then we have had about 30 fish. Not great by any means, but particularly good for this time of the year. In addition to this, there have been a few longfin about to keep us busy and a smattering of dorado and yellowtail out in the tuna grounds. The most outstanding thing about the yellowfin has been the average size of the fish. At one point, out of nine fish caught, five were over 90KG. I have personally never seen fish in this class on such a regular basis. It is a known fact, worldwide, that when the average size of the fish being taken from a certain stock increases dramatically, that stock is about to collapse. I hope this is not the case with our fish. A recent Time magazine article on yellowfin tuna indicated that the worldwide catch of yellowfin tuna has increased from 600 000 tons in 2000 to 6 million tons last year. a startling statistic, and one that we hope does not signal the end of our magnificent yellowfin.

Last week things started quietening down and we are now getting ready for our annual Struisbaai stint. The Suidpunt Marlin Competition is happening from 10 to 14 Feb and we need to think about getting Tyler down there when the weather give us a break. We also have a number of clients who are keen to get down to the Alphard Banks, the 45's and the 72's to go and look for the big red steenbras, yellowtail and all sorts of other big and ugly things that live down there in the depths. We do not have a charter booked for the marlin comp, so, if you are keen, get hold of me and we can arrange something. More of that later.

INSHORE AND FALSE BAY
Cape Point has continued to deliver the goods and the yellowtail have been active virtually on a daily basis. There have been a few quiet days, mainly immediately after a couple of days of SE wind. The SE wind makes the water cold at the point and this puts the 'tail off the bite. As soon as the SE drops, the water begins to warm up and in the last month or two it has taken no more than a day or so to warm up. As it warms up, so do the yellowtail and we have had a few days where they have really been wild. It has also been a bit of a "scrum" amongst the boats, but generally, everyone has got their fair share, and apart from a few flaired tempers everything has been OK. The average size has been the typical Cape Point 2 - 3 kg fish, but there have also been some real brutes. I heard of a 19kg (42lb in old terms) fish being taken off the ledges at Rooikrantz and personally saw a fish of about 13kg being caught, so the big ones are there. Some days the fish have absolutely ignored anything we tried to feed them, but I guess that is how we know and love (to hate) these fickle fish. To date they have showed no sign of moving off and we look forward to another few months of good fishing.

False Bay has been pretty good and Cob have been plentiful around the usual spots such as Strandfontein, Swartklip and Macassar. Geelbek fishing is a bit scratchy, as it has been in False bay for the last few years, but just last week they popped up in good numbers off Blinklip and Macassar. I was away at the time, but I heard that the local commercial mob did very well. Yet another bit of good news reached me yesterday. I heard that a few yellowtail we speared off Kogel Bay. This is the first time in a number of years that the 'tail have been there, and this news, combined with the geelbek at Blinklip may indicate that we will find them on this side of the bay again this year. I really hope so! When the yellowtail arrive on this side of the bay it is like manna from heaven and an added bonus is the fact that they seem to eat anything and everything that one can throw at them. The fish on this side of the bay are also generally bigger (around 6kg average) than the cape point fish. Why this is so is anybody's guess, but it is a fact.

STRUISBAAI - CAPE AGULHAS
Struisbaai has been very dead. The previous report started with the same words. Until last week that is. Suddenly the Aghulas Banks are waking up. There have been good catches of yellowtail on the 12 mile bank in the last week. Friends of mine speared some really nice ones on the 5 mile bank and on Saturday, Meirion Williams caught a black marlin of 150kg. The water is a warm 21 to 22deg C and hopefully things will continue to hot up there.

As mentioned earlier, our expected charter for the Marlin Competition did not materialize and we are looking for a booking for the tournament. Tyler has already been entered and if we do not get a charter booking, well, we'll just have to fish in the competition ourselves. What a terrible thought!! Tournament dates are 10 to 14 Feb. If you are keen to catch a striped or black marlin, this competition is your best chance. Last year we came second. This year we want to win it! Come and help us do so. There are already around 25 boats entered and with all the feedback during the competition, one's chances of getting a fish or two are superb.

The yellowtail derby is also coming and we have a couple of prospective bookings, but no-one has put their money down. Last year we were 2nd (again), and 3rd and 4th AND we won the ladies category. The yellowtail derby is scheduled for 27 Feb. It is a great fishing day and a good party. (Take it from me) If you want to have a fun day, come and stay over with us and join us for a good time. Some of our more memorable catches in Struis last year was a striped marlin of 120kg, a yellowtail of 23kg, a red steenbras of 18kg, some really big dorado and a whole bunch of other stuff. We did not track down any big cob last year. This year we need to remedy that! Those of you who were there last year, feel free to come back. Those of you who did not join us, Jan, Feb and March are the months when we will be there. Drop me a line and I will give you details. Hopefully we will catch one of those big black marlin that we lost last year.

As many of you know, I have been rumbling about charter fishing in Mozambique and trips to Bassas da India and so on. In December I was asked to collect Shumwari III, a 50 ft powercat, in Pemba and to deliver it to Durban. This is the boat that will be running charters to Bassas da India next year and it was the perfect opportunity for me to come down via Bassas and to have a look there for myself. Everything happened quite quickly and on 12 dec I flew to Pemba. On 15 Dec I left and on 23 Dec we were in Durban. En route we stopped off at Bassas for three days and had what can only be described as three days in heaven on earth. Bassas is every bit a magnificent as one is told. The fish life is astounding, no, beyond astounding. The reef is mind blowing. It is almost eerie to be at a place that is 300 miles from land, and yet the water in the atoll is as calm as a lagoon. it is crystal clear and everything is bigger and wilder that any other place I have ever seen. The wrecks of 300 years ago are still there and bits of porcelain, cannons and other stuff litter the wreck sites. The diving just cannot get better and if their is a drawback it is that once you have dived there, nothing will ever compare again. The kingfish were not as plentiful as I have heard they can be, but we were there in Dec and apparently the winter months are better. Nonetheless, we got kings up to 30kg and a myriad of other things. As a bonus, on the way there we caught wahoo, dorado, yellowfin tuna and two beautiful black marlin of 140 and 180 kg each. Bassas da India, put it on your bucket list, if you have not already done so!

Last, but not least, we are sending out regular reports and fishing updates to our friends and customers, both in South Africa and internationally. If you would like me to add you to our mailing list, feel free to drop me an e-mail. Please come back and check our regular updates.