365 days of fishing

Oh what a gorgeous day, woke up early with Joshua bugging me to get up, I love my little alarm clock. Clear blue skies and a zephyr of a north greeted me as I opened the door on a crisp perfect Cape Town Winters morning. God, I love this place.

Josh and I have a bit of a Saturday tradition of going looking for the trekkers along Strandfontein. They are normally there around 10 am but today either we missed them or they weren't going out yet. We help them pull in their nets and whilst Josh runs around the net catching escapees, I collect Crabs and mussels and any Redbait that they might have pulled in. Of course we always love to see what fish they have pulled in. Fuel for our fishing imaginations, wishing that it was our lines that the fish were on.

Missed them so drove on to Strandfontein pavilion just down the road to see who was fishing and if anything was coming in , around 12 rods in the water but everyone looking relaxed and no sign of bites or any excitement. There was one fisherman pumping prawns in the pool and made a memo to self that when I miss low tide I can always go to the pool. On the opposite where the water outlet is there was even the raised mounds of bloodworm, so looks promising.

Talking about bloodworm and bait, low tide was at 1:30 pm so came back for supplies, aka lunch and then headed off to the beach. Lots of surfers at Muizenberg and a reasonable low tide. Now that I have fixed my prawn pump it is quite stiff, and soon in my winter jersey and waders I was sweating. Took them off and helped Josh put his shorty wet-suit, how incredible that the middle of winter, we are jolling on the beach in the sun with short sleeves, hot from the effort of collecting bait.

Tried later in the afternoon along Strandfontein, near the Block house, I think it is called. An unused metal gated public toilet that as a surfer I know as Cemetry. Baited up on the pushing tide with Prawn and Bloodworm, then set up my other rod and as I was going into the water to Cast, Willy and josh were shouting pointing excitedly at my rod, I rushed out of the water to that most delicious of all fishing sounds , the zzzzzzrrrrrzzzz of your reel as a fish swims off with the bait. Too exited I struck and must of pulled the bait and hook right out of the fishes mouth as most of the worm was still on the hook when I dejectedly reeled it in. Damn, but it is really hard to be calm when it is your first good reel run for a long time.

Was dressed in my wetsuit for a good long wade, tide was getting higher and one or two went right over my head. Good thing I wasn't wearing my glasses.

Unfortunately the reel run was the only evidence of any fish for the afternoon and as after 2 hours Josh was getting a bit bored and Willy getting cold, left for the evening just as the peach took over from the impossible blue.