Grumpy’s fishing report

The east wind is gone and out of no where the big steenbras came on the bite with some monsters being landed.

Some were released and some were kept for meals. Personally I think the more difficult fish to catch should be put back to spawn (term used if fish are breeding) but if not, enjoy your meal.

The areas that worked well over the past week was Maketu’s Turn and Canopy. The baits that were used and which worked the best was octopus and crabs as well as crayfish. I received reports that stated that those who used crayfish, caught a lot of eagle rays as well as spotted gulley sharks.

Namibian angler Werner van Riet took two of his friends to Canopy and they landed seven big fish. Werner’s biggest fish was a steenbras of 17kg. He also reeled one in which pulled the scale down to a highly appreciative 13kg while his friends also landed some spectacular fish in the 6-11kg range.

The conditions were relatively calm. I might add that targeting these fish isn’t easy.

Jaco Visser and Devin Klein, also went in search of these “dik lippe” as they are called in Afrikaans. Once you see one of say 6kg plus you will see where they get that name from. They also caught a couple in the Canopy area and both their fish were well over 10kgs each.

The kob have been quieter but some bigger fish were landed and as you could’ve guessed, also in the Canopy area.

The weather has cooled right down so we are back to normal cold weather. Be sure to always pack a wind breaker as the chilly south wester is fairly cold.

The Galjoen derby is on this year with great prizes for the winners. The biggest galjoen get you a whopping N$20 000 and the 2nd heaviest N$10 000 with lots of additional prizes. Entry for the angling competition on 2 July will cost you N$140 per person. All proceeds will go to the special education school Stepping Stone. If you are not an avid angler maybe you can join the “potjie kos” competiton or the “braai broodjie” competition. Tickets are available at Bushwhackers in Swakopmund. Our staff at Bushwhackers had to draw straws and I will be doing the potjie kos as well as braai broodjies. Frank was the lucky bugger to be entering the galjoen fishing competition.

Galjoen are super delicious and can be caught with white mussel. Here is a tip: a frozen mussel is convenient and fairly cheap to purchase but a fresh white mussel is just hardier so it stays on the hook better. Obviously if its fresh it works slightly better too. White mussels can be bought at all major tackle shops. Also should you wish to dig up your own fresh ones then areas like Paaltjies in Walvis Bay is a good area as well as Long Beach closer to Swakopmund and then the area from Bennie se Rooi Lorrie towards the Zeila wreck also has loads. Depending on season they migrate slowly deeper or shallower but usually one can dig them out from the beach sand on low tide and they are about 20cm beneath the sand.

Galjoen can also be caught using red bait which can be picked up in areas such as “Tolla se Gat” and Mile 68. They look like little deformed blackish balls and one cuts out the meaty flesh. They got a thick spongey feel to them. I must add that it has a very powerful pungent smell and is not for the faint hearted.

Black mussel is another alternative bait source for catching galjoen and is fairly common and easy to harvest. The black mussels attach themselves to rocky shallow areas that are usually covered once the ocean reaches high tide. The average hook size for galjoen is a number 1 hook. For more in depth questions please visit Grumpy at Bushwhackers.

Tight lines!