My first ever trip deep sea fishing in South Africa starts with an early morning wake up call at 5.00am. I am staying at lovely guest house accommodation in Port Alfred situated on the coast of the Eastern Cape. With a sense of excitement I kick start my day with a strong coffee and prepare food to take with me for what I hope will be a successful days fishing. The night before I took some Sturgeon (seasickness tablets) just to be on the safe side as I am not sure what the Indian Ocean has in store for me. We make our way down to the boat and prepare everything. We have taken 2 boxes of fresh sardines for bait.
Port Alfred has a lovely marina with a river that flows into the Ocean. We have timed our exit from the Kowie River mouth to coincide with low tide to ensure we have the smoothest exit to the Ocean. Nevertheless we put on our life jackets and ride the waves at the river mouth out to the vast Indian Ocean. We are riding in a Butt Cat which is superb for the Ocean with the ability to ride over the oncoming waves. Our skipper is Des, an experienced fisherman who knows the waters off this area of the Eastern Cape, and asks us to hold on as he picks up speed crashing over the waves in front of us. This is great and a really exciting start to the day completely taking my mind off any potential seasickness.
We head out for about 30 minutes before we drop our first anchor. Once we are settled we start to bait up our rods and drop our first lines. There are three of us on the boat so Des gives us expert advice on how to bait up and some tips on what to do when you get your first nibble on the line. I can't believe how far down my line goes before my weight hits the bottom! As soon as my line reaches the bottom of the Indian Ocean I can feel the fish biting. This is amazing I didn't expect to feel the bites so firmly. I know try and put into practice Des' tips on making a strike. After a few fruitless attempts I make a proper strike and I reel in quickly.
Of course it's a long way up and my arms are doing all the work but soon I can see the fish on the end of my line. The feeling is amazing! Des shows me how to bring the fish on board and then how to remove the hook from the fish. The fish is too small to keep but the taste of the catch has left me wanting more. Having returned the fish to the Ocean I bait up again. We spend about an hour in the first spot before moving on to a new spot. The Ocean is relatively calm and the weather is superb - always remember your suntan cream as the breeze out here can be very deceiving.
We stop for lunch halfway through the day to enjoy homemade sandwiches and cool drinks. Bobbing around on the Ocean we suddenly hear the noise of a familiar spurt of water made by a whale. Des points out the southern right whale about 600 meters away - incredible to think these mammals are cruising around near where you are fishing. We finish lunch and move on to a new spot. We enjoy in total about 8 hours fishing and catch enough good size fish for dinner later that evening. During the afternoon we spot lots of white water about a mile away from us - Des heads his boat towards the area and we are suddenly surrounded by 1,000's of dolphins as far as the eye can see. This is an incredible sight and I take lots of photos to capture the moment.
As we return back to Port Alfred I look back on an amazing first experience of deep sea fishing in South Africa. South Africa has miles of coastline with a great choice of accommodation to be found from Guest Houses, Bed & Breakfasts, Lodges and Self Catering venues. From Cape Town all the way up the Garden Route to beyond Durban there are numerous beach holiday places to stay where you can take a fishing boat charter.
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