Last day of Work

Today is my last day at work for almost a month !!!!

Its like break up day at school, you are amped and excited, but the drudgery of the last few hours is almost unbearable.

Any way you probably want to know what the sea is doing?? Well its gone green!!! Yep green, I took my lighty for a dive thinking it was going to be brilliant and it was murky muck. A mate dived Xmas and said it was 2 meters on the bottom in 10m of water.

Strange that the south winds have brought bad water, normally its the easts that turn it to poo.

Any way on the brighter side, this time next week I will be in Mozambique a couple cuta richer. :-)

Coatesman

New Spearguns & a New Season

I have recently acquired some new spear guns from Rob Allen for our up coming Mozambique spearfishing trip. Nothing to out of the ordinary, but i have been keen to get them in a pool and just check that they are 100%. I think it is more for my confidence than anything else. I also dont want to get to Mozambique and jump into the water with a gun that I have never shot with before ...... to nerve racking.

Any way the sea made a small turn for the better yesterday and 'all of a sardine' I was juggling my last few appointments for the day .... actually it was quiet at work :-) but juggling sounds busy!!
And hooked up with a mate of mine for a quicky at a spot I like at a certain time of the day. I was about to take my trusty old Rob Allen 1.3m ...absolutely cant miss with it! When I thought ...'premo' opportunity to test one of the new spear guns.
I grabbed the new 1.3m caranx, everything 100% stock off the shelf. I normally shorten the rubbers slightly and use a slightly longer spear, but there was no time so took it as is and went diving.

The long and short is that I got 2 good size cuta hitting the spine on both fish!! On the bigger one the shot was a little further away and the spear only just pierced the other side. So I will be shortening the rubbers a little. But I have to say that the gun is 100s and I will probably not change the spear either.

Now were amped, so we get up super early and hit Tiffs before that Durban crowds hit the place. I decided to try the Rob Allen 1.3m Tuna this time. And again 2 good size cuta, not as big as yesterday but between 8 & 9 kg .... nothing wrong. And again I spined the one and the other was a perfect shot. I am tempted to shorten the rubbers ... but i know it is very easy to over power these guns, so i might just leave it for now.

Any way loads of fun and with the west due tomorrow maybe some more good water.

Cheers

Coatesaman

Earth Touch & Ponta Malongane in Southern Mozambique.

Ponta Malongane in Southern Mozambique is one heck of a place to dive during the early summer, a mate of mine is up there at the moment filming some footage for Earth Touch.

Check out the clips of some of the shark action. if you register and log in you will also get the commentary with the clip.

Masters of the Sneak

Crowd of Zambezi sharks - Check out the sailfish that swims in!!

The cool thing about Earth Touch is that it is fairly current. I think these two clips are only a week old. The guys at Ponta Malongane in Mozambique upload the footage via a satellite link. It is full on high tech stuff.

Graeme and Barry specialize in marine animals and both are spearo's so there clips are alway interesting.

Only 9 days then we are in Mozambique!!

Coatesman

Ban on all diving in Cape Point Nature Reserve!!

Hey guys there is a mail going around with details on the ban on all diving in Cape Point Nature Reserve. Please if you ever use the sea in any way help these guy out and sign. I know we need to conserve what we have, but banning something because it cant / wont be policed properly ... well that just sux!!

Go to:

http://www.petitiononline.com/NoDiveCT/petition-sign.html

Coatesman

Lazy Bones

The sea was diveable this morning ... but for some reason I just was not too amped. I looked out side and the west was still blowing a bit ... not that that has stopped me before, nor the light drizzle. I think it is the fact that I know that the warm waters of Mozam are only 2WEEKS away!!! And diving marginal water for snoek just does not seem all that inviting right now.

That said the Shoal was on form yesterday, Andy got a 20 plus wahoo and just missed a saily, they got some cuta aswell. I also seems like the Dorado are starting to come through in some numbers off the FADs .... maybe we will get out there soon.

Any way thats all for now,

P.S dont forget SALTY DIVERS CLUB NITE 2NITE!!!!

Coatesman

Fishing Corner Comp Results

Hey guys here are the results of the Fishing Corners Comp.

Check out the Pics : Fishing Corner Comp Pics

Cheers

Coatesman

Fishing Corner Comp Results

Well the comp started off slow with bad weather and poor water conditions the first fish for the comp was a small Snoek from Keith Hockly. I must say it was good to see some Garrick coming out on the Ski's which is not usually the case on ski's so well done to all those breaking out of tradition and going the extra mile! Anyways weather did not play its part for most of the comp period and catches came in slow with little eastern tunas making up a large portion of the catches (when you know things are bad!) - as the comp progressed we saw some great catches making their way to my PC firstly a 25.7kg Wahoo shot by Morne Muller! Also a 26kg Tuna Shot by Mike Harrison - Scott Hunter (Shunter) managed an impressive 10.4Kg Queenfish have a look in the gallery for all the picks. The results of the comp were as follows.

Fishing paddle Ski / Ski Boat

1. Xander Engelbecht with 161.24 Points

2. Scott Hunter with 128 Points

3. Keith Hockly (Mr Faulty) 69.18 Points

4. Luke Dulton 28 Points

5. Barnard, Malan 9.5 Points

6. Kyle Sommers 3.5 Points (beating his Dad!!)

Spearfishing

1. Chris Coats with 295.8 Points

2. Morne Muller with 138 Points

3. Mark Sav with 46.8 Points

4. Mike Harrison with 26 Points

5. Shaun Reid with 21 Points

6. Wayne Dunken with 17 Points

That was the first 6 in each prize group. I just wanted to give the sponsors a huge thanks for the prizes. Here is what they all gave

Mick (Codfather) - Week End at the Umkomaas Guest House

Steve (brooksie) - Long week End or Midweek Accommodation at ‘Peace of Paradise' + R600 of his company (Profile Creations) goods Just to let you all know they are having a massive Clearance sale from 3^rd - 7^th December - They have great Christmas gifts so make an effort to pop in! 7 Elmfield Place Springfield Park

Keith Hockly - Huge help!!!! For organizing the Venue for Prize giving @ Durban Paddle Ski Club - R 250 Bassel Manning Voucher and R500 Shelving Voucher!!! Thanks Bud huge help!!!!

Gladiator Lures - Thanks to Logan & Jamie for a R 1500 Prize - Their stuff is just getting better every time I see it!

Bassel Manning - Thanks Brad for the support and the R 1000 worth of lures and stuff! Always good to go and spend time in the new shop! If any of you have not been to visit yet make sure you do!!

Stealth - Bret thanks for the goods you gave! Always amazed buy your support - I know you must get hounded for sponsorship so thanks!!

Garman - Thanks for all the T-Shirts you gave us! I hope that this is the start of a great relationship!

Sabat Batteries - Thanks for the Caps Sure it will save a couple guys some serious Burns!

Thanks all for a great comp and sending in those picks! Keep watching this space as there is an even greater comp to follow!

Shaun

Weekends Spearfishing Update

Hey guys,

It was a fairly uneventful weekend ...dive wise. The water was mif and the light south did little for the vis up north. The Shoal was reported to be clean and I am sure some fish did come out.
That said there was a nasty little swell from the north and some mates of mine flipped their boat launching through the surf.
Not a nice thing!!! Fortunately no one was hurt ....I suppose in that situation thats the main thing.
I am reminded of the old saying on our coast ...."Its not if, its when" No one is above getting in the POO, I have seen the most experienced skippers get in the dwang.

On the up side the Fishing Corner Comp finished this weekend and they had the prize giving on Saturday. Morne and I did very well, dominating the spearing side of the comp. We won some cool prizes, always a good thing!! Weldone to Shaun and co for a great comp, I am sure they will have an update on their site shortly.

Here is my other vid of the shark footage from Aliwal Shoal a few weeks ago ..... read the old post: A Day Filming Sharks






Any way thats all for now, hopefully this south cleans things up and rain stays away.
P.S - 18 days til Mozam ......cant wait :-)

Coatesman

Sunshine at last!!

Sunrise at Surfers beach this morning.

Well the sun is out at last, and the rain is over 4 now. Only thing is the east is pumping and the rivers have vomited up their bellies. So there will be very little spearfishing or even surfing going down over the next few days.

Just a little heads up ... The Fishing Corner will be having their prize giving this Saturday at the Paddleski club in Durban at 12. So if you keen to see whats going down pop in. For more info go check their site: http://www.fishingcorner.co.za/

Catcha

Coatesman

No Hope Spearo's

I hit the beach early to look for some surf, but the tide was high and the swell still a little bumpy. The vis was not as bad as I thought, and my first impressions where that there was some hope for the water.

I decided to hit the road and get some km under the belt for the week, especially since I probably wont get a chance to dive again for a couple days. That and the thought that in 22 days I will be in Mozam and need to be fit got my ass in gear.

The weather looked like it was clearing and I looked at the only slightly off colour water in hope that todays light east might bring a little clean water in as it pushes the river water back. But that did not last long, the rain came bucketing down after my run ..... at least it was after my run! Man it came down, I just hope it was just a local drench and not up in the catchment areas, otherwise we are fish curry for a week or two.

Only the Barbel are happy!!

Coatesman.

Spearfishing Update

Hey Guys,

Well the west is pumping and hopefully we will get some clean water this time. The last few wests have cleaned the sea but have not brought the warm clean blue stuff we had hoped for. I did get this spearfishing report from Craig Burmeister in PMB .. check it out .....they found some clean water!! ........

Just a quick report... John Little, Andrew Henwood, Hardus Bouwer and myself went out on John's boat Sunday as part of Midlands trials (which got cancelled, due to the other teams boat steering problems...) as we stopped to wait for the other guys behind backline at the Rocky Bay launch site we were greeted with warm blue water, sticking our heads over the sides with only our masks on we could see the ripples on the bottom in 15m ! We couldn't believe how the conditions had changed from the Friday and Saturday !!! We knew we were in for a great day's diving, calm seas, very light SW/S wind, crystal blue, water warm and not much current, wow when's last time we had that???

Anyway we headed out to Aliwal for some bluewater action, as we hit our line to drift outside the crown area we discovered that the current wasn't pushing slightly N to S, but sort of E / SE to N, bit of a bummer... not the magical N to S current, oh yes and the water temp. according to Drew's fancy watch read 24.5 - 25.5 d/Celsius!

As we hit the water, we were all laughing and screaming with amazement through our snorkels, wow man 30m+ viz, 25 dc, just like that - basically overnight!
We dived the NE Pinnacles in 110 Ft(Outside the Crown Area ofcourse) not much fish action, just a couple of Blacktips and Zambezi's checking out the flashers, Drew was hanging down at 25m when he looked over his shoulder he was greeted by a bus of a Tiger checking him out, he says that it was an awesome sight to see (?)(at 25m ???)

We moved onto 19 Fathom's, John missed 1 of 4 big Wahoo in a shoal, Drew says it was like watching a DVD, seeing John chase, then pulling the trigger only to have the spear on his 1.3m gun with break-away to fall short(His line was wrapped around his fin...) John later chased a big bull Dorado but couldn't get shot in.

Not much gamefish around due to the wrong current I suppose. We headed for Deep Scottburgh, conditions still great, John got a nice Kaakap, Drew got a nice Iggie and Drew saw a pod of dolphins with a shoal of 25-30Kg Yellow Fin Tuna just cruising behind them and of course he had just shot a fish and was franticly trying to reload his gun to try and get in a shot, but we all know how that ends...
We ended up with some nice fish on the boat, the sea just got glassier and glassier until the NE started blowing.., but what we all mainly spoke about was that warm, bluewater, top to bottom viz, truly amazing day out there, it's great to be alive!


Craig Burmeister

Pmb Underwater Club


So while we wait for the clean stuff, check out my Youtube clip of Morne and his Wahoo from a a couple weeks back. Also go check the Salty-Diver.com site there some new stories going up.

Cheers

Coatesman

Weekends Spearfishing Up Date

It was a busy weekend.... and now I am back at work (its actually a whole lot less hectic)

Saturday had potential to be a good dive so my dive buddy Morne and I got up long before the sparows, and jumped in a one of our regular spots just as it was getting light. The water was rather miff so diving was not all that inspiring. Another mate came swimming past just as we were going to get out, and told us he had got some fish the previous arvo. So we stuck it out for a little longer before admitting defeat and heading back to shore.


It was a decent dive of about 2 and half hours so we had at least got our exercise for the morning, so we weren't too bleak about the dive. That was until we got back to the cars only to find Morne's window smashed. Xmas bay is notorious for these break ins.... not that it softens the blow. We must have disturbed them because they did not get to his cell phone between the seats. But they got away with his wallet with his drivers and all his cards ...plus some cash! Replacing the drivers license is the real hack, standing in the licensing office has to be the worst thing ever. So that was Morne's diving and surfing over for the weekend!!

Any way my day was very busy, had some work and then a wedding in the arvo. Some guys said that they got some surf, but I did not get close to the sea being so busy. With the wedding I got to bed rather late and when the alarm clock went off early. I was rather glad to hear the wind still blowing and the rain coming down, so rolled over back to sleep.

My family and I hit church and went and had a look at the sea around 11:30 hoping to take my lighty surfing, but the south east was starting to push and the surf was dismal. Rather exhausted we chose curry and dvd's over the cold wind surf.
Halfway through the dvd Steve Ellis calls me to ask if I was home and could he drop my new fins off. Stoked Xmas early!! He was in a rush to go and pick up his new born from the hospital and so he had not finished fitting the blades into the pockets.
Like a kid with a new toy I finished the job while trying to watch the dvd .... I don't multitask well, but got them done in record time. Now my amp to dive was right up, only thing was Morne had gone for a swim earlier and said the water was miff. I also wanted to get back to church for the evening service.

Too amped I grabbed my kit dashed out the door to go and find a point to dive off on the high tide, maybe the vis was ok for that? But driving along the vis did not look to bad, so I bolted down to a spot I know that a certain ledge at a certain time of the day seems to work. (sorry cant tell) Any way I had just over an hour, to dive! The fins were great ...(read more... Xfin) and headed out to the ledge. The water was as expected pretty miff, not that different to the previous morning. So I took a dive to see how deep it was and how far out I was. It was about 8m and I was a little to close in so I swam out some more. I dived again and hit the bottom, the vis was 3-4m at best and it was only 8.5m deep...... I had not swam out far enough. So you imagine my surprise when a Cuta swims up to me.

Christmas again!!! I nailed the cuta and no sooner had I strung the fish sorted my line out chilled a little I hit the bottom again. Only to see some fish overhead ..... damn the fish are ON! Slowly coming up under them I recognize them as snoek (I have a nasty habit of either spooking them or hesitating and missing my opportunity) This time ti worked I came straight up trying not to swim at the fish an allowing them to pass by until I was at their level. I then closed the gap and just as the fish started to move off it got nailed. Fish 2!

I sorted all my line and fish out again and with my heart still over excited I dived down. This time another cuta swims in ... a 'nice fish' its in mid water so I will had to swim up a bit, only to swim slap bang into another cuta which spooks and sends the other one with it.

I foolishly think that maybe the fish are deeper after a couple of dives don't yield another fish. But the deep was quiet, and I headed back to the ledge. I was running out of time and on one of the last dives a shoal of small snoek swam over head and I managed to get another fish.

So I landed up with a cuta of 9.2kg & 2 snoek 6.1kg & 2.7kg

Its so typical, the day you least expect anything to happen it goes wild!

Later

Coatesman

Spearfishing .... Whats up?

Well I tried to dive to day, and the viz was pretty bleak to saw the least. I did get some exercise tho, there was something to smile about. I bumped into a mate of mine from town, and before the dive walks up to the car and hands me some dive gloves he makes. Stoked!!

We then fumble around in the 3 -4m vis, I tried to dive deeper but it was not so cool when you cant see squat. Any how we bump into each other at the cars after, and he makes a comment about how great his milk crate is and how it fits nicely into his butchers blik (large white crate). And asks me to keep an eye out for the milk crates as they are hard to come by. I reply something to the effect of "I don't have a blik they are hard to come by, I just dump everything in the back of the bukkie"

The long and short of it is he empties out his blik and hands it to me. Freak .... stoked, I almost took a foto to show what I had caught. Sad thing is it is the best catch I have had at home in a while. Any way I would like to say a Huge thanks to Sav for his kindness, its not every day you meet guys that are so generous.

So I hope Sav is blessed with many large cuta this season ..... a couple snoek will also be cool.

Stoked

Coatesman

Cuta, Snoek bring on the Summer

Well the conditions at home are not great, but the news of some cuta and snoek coming out has brightened things up a little. A mate got a 16kg cuta off the Bluff earlier in the week and another mate reported that the ski boaters had boated some cuta and snoek of Durban yesterday as well.

I was also talking to a guy who has just come back from Sordwana, he got some Dorado,an Iggie and a small Wahoo. Some cuta were also boated and another guy got a 35kg Sailfish.
All we need now is some clean seas and we will be in the thick of things .... I hope.

Coatesman

Its a good life!

Surfers Lane Ballito this morning with the new deck.

I was reminded this morning that I have loads to be thankful for. I and I suppose every one else out there as well can often get so caught up in the stress of of life, we forget to see the blessings around us.

Well this morning was full of blessings from above, Braidy my 10 year old son came surfing with me. It was an epic morning, with the waves just big enough for me to have a couple and not to big that it would crush him. We had a couple waves long before anyone else even hit the beach, it was super special.

I was checking the time when it dawned on me that exactly one month to that very moment I would be in the water at Mozambique. And now I don't know if i am excited or bummed. Bummed that I have 3 and some weeks left of work to get through. Lets just hope they fly!!!

I just checked the weather for this week and it looks promising, it seems the strong wind season is coming to an end .... hopefully .....and just another thing to be thankful for.

very thankful,

Coatesman

Monster Garrick

Well it was;nt such a quiet weekend after all.
Craig Burmeister nailed this 19.1kg Garrick off Tinely.

Here is the storey ....

Was diving with Greg Bisset, Danie Van Huyssteen and Gregg Audie all the Midlands SU / Pmb Underwater Club guys! We dived the 16m+ most of the
morning and after Gregg Audie shot a snoek out there, I swam inshore to have a
look-see, water wasn't too bad out deep, maybe +/- 5-6m ? We got quite a few
nice bottoms. 19.100Kg Garrick after an epic 45 min walk back to the
bakkie... Tinley Manor, south of river mouth, 18.11.07,
+/- 08:00 Viz
2 - 5m Backline
+/- 5 - 6 m Deep
No snoek...

The last time I saw a monster garrick like this was acouple years ago diving Warren when he got a 19.5kg Garrick - click to check it out.

Coatesman

Weekend Spearfishing Update

Hey Chaps

The weekend went down fairly uneventfully, some guys out of desperation found some clean green patches up and down the coast. I did not here of too much coming out other than the odd snoek and reef fish.

The good news is that there is only 4 weeks left till 'builders shut down' and that means I will be on leave!!! .... damn I hope these 4 weeks goes fast!

There have also been a few guys up in Southern Mozambique spearfishing and there have been reports of some good fish coming out. I have heard of some 20 plus Cuta and Wahoo been boated.
So if you are keen for some action thats were it is all happening.

Anyway let me go and work my 4weeks away ......

Cheers

Coatesman

Cuta Smile

Today was a special day for a mate of mine, he got his first Cuta! For some guys the first one comes easy, I remember taking a friend up to Sordwana on a trip once and he got a cuta on the second day of diving.

Willy's story is some what different, the damn cuta have just been elusive and lady luck has not been on his side for many moons ... that was until today.

I mean Will must have seriously got tired of all his mates getting fish, most guys would have just laughed off the whole thing and taken up bowels at the country club.

I think he might have actually come close tho ..... This last weekend at Cape Vidal Will watched Morne and I get some good fish. Ok Morne's was great!!!! Anyway Will had an opportunity on a bus Cuta and because of a faulty spear totally missed an easy make able shot.

I tried to sort the spear out and got it to at least go near the target. But that was not good enough when a Wahoo swam up to Will. The shot hit the fish, but not good enough and Will lost the fish. This was just another fish in the long list of fish that had gotten away.

So you could probably understand the frustration, anyway Will is a fairly persistent chap and heads out with another mate Hogga for a quickly before work. (maybe I am his bad luck??)
Morne and I dive at another spot and when I hit the beach there is Will waiting for us. I can see he is in an upbeat kinda mood, Not unlike a 'Jack in the Box' waiting to be released.

I cant remember how the news was broken, all I can remember is a big fat grin and the story of the one that did not get away. It was very cool as we all rejoiced in a mates good fortune.

I dont even think there was an ounce of jealousy (I am sure that deep inside we all want to be the guy who walks out with the fish.) Not today tho, just too stoked!

We have a little thing between the mates that a Cuta only counts if it is over 10kg. So there was much jesting, that fish was going to be under, and not a real Cuta. So when the scale was finally pulled out and the fish tipped the 10kg mark at 10.38kg there was lots of laughing and smiles all round.

And so it has been an interesting season for me, I have not been the one coming out with the scale tipper, or the record breaker. But I have been fortunate enough to share in others victories and mile stones. Its a privilege we have to share in others dreams and desires, and kind of makes it almost nicer to see your mate get the fish than you.

I did say almost ...... still tossing with this one. We will see the next time a fish swims past, will I point my mate onto the fish or will I quickly claim it.

We will have to see!

Coatesman

Cape Vidal Wahoo & Cuta at Home

11.4kg Giant Kingfish

Cape Vidal had some fish this week end. You probably saw Morne's Record Wahoo. I managed a couple fish a 11.4kg iggie and a 8.5kg Wahoo. Nothing like The 25kg bus that Morne shot!!

8.5kg & 25.2kg Cape Vidal Wahoo

Back home I heard that the cuta came on at Umldoti yesterday. That is fantastic news ...... you have to love the early shoal cuta that pull in over November. Hopefully we will get some clean water and also get some fish. This morning it was still a murky 3m.

Catcha

Coatesman

Epic Morning!

Gee after that buster of a wind yesterday (peaked at 35 knots/ 65 km per hour) not bad for our coast!! the sea was looking awesome. Not sure about the vis and there were not too many waves around with the high tide. But there was some grommie surfing Salties mid break ..... it should have been me :-)

I heard that over the weekend some good fish came out. Apparently Corrie got 4 Wahoo off the shoal, and some good Cuta were caught and shot between Umhloti and Ballito side. Some guys up at St Lucia dived a fad and got 9 Wahoo!! they were all small, around the 10kg mark ..... but I would not complain.

The wind this week looks like it will predominantly be southerlies, so if the rain holds off we could have some diving. ....... hopefully!!

A mate sent me this vid of a monster wave at Teahpoo check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF7JvG_U7ss

Coatesman

Wahoo Weekend

A dream came true for Morne this weekend when a size Wahoo came and swam right under the boat. This fish was intent on committing "Hurry Curry" swimming within meters of Morne.

We had got to Leven point off Cape Vidal just before 5am, all got in the water when Willy who was still sorting out his gun started to call and point.

The off shore was pumping so we had gone into 13-14m of water, and were going to drift out to the deeper line.
So there this monster was just milling around in the shallows.

I had the camera, and Morne was 'locked & loaded'. He dived down slowly, slightly hesitantly not wanting to spook the fish and miss a opportunity of a life time.

I was sitting right on his shoulder getting the whole thing on tape, when the Wahoo just swam straight into Morne's line of fire. Getting plugged right behind the gearbox, disappearing in a line of bubbles, gun and buoy line in tow. The fish was boated and there were loads of smiles all round.

That was at 5am ..... the sea was epic, and we were now pumped so we dived hard for 9hours and eventually I picked up a small wahoo of 8.5kg on the last drift of the day. Man were we poked!

The fish weighed in at 25.2kg ... which is a new Salt Rock Spearfishing Record.

Nice one Morne

Coatesman

Spearfishing Fitness & a Free Immersion Freedive

We got into the water for the first time in over 3weeks here at home.... bloody sad!!
Any how the water was a fantastic 2-4m but the cloudy conditions made it more like 2m.

We went out to a ref at 10m and just did some training dives, trying to wash away the cob webs.
As far as Spearfishing goes, there was very little going on, the water was 19deg and even the reef fish were thin.

I have been training so my bottom times were ok, I did feel a little slow swimming out. I did feel it this morning, I went for my usual run and it felt like I had absolutely no power in my legs. This is a worrying factor! Even though I am running fit .... that has very little bearing on my diving stamina, what happens when we get a couple days in a row? Fatigue thats what , that damn lazy weight that hits you.

A bunch of us are going to be in Mozambique for a 3 week spearfishing trip, at this rate day 3 I will be sleeping in!!

Lets hope the dive improves here and we get some consistent diving in before mid December.

On the other hand check this vid out, a German freediver Andreas Güldner on a -72m Free Immersion Freedive. The underwater-filmer was on -40m, so you can imagine how deep the dive is. Makes our deep 20 -30m dive look silly.

Coatesman

Spearfishing in 6 weeks

6 weeks chaps! thats it 6 weeks!!! Then we are on holiday!!!!! And more importantly off to Mozambique for some spearfishing heaven.

It seems so long away ... and I am battling to keep my head down at work. I suppose the fact that the sea is still on the dubious side does not help. It did look like it was going to clean up. But the rain she is coming down again .... and so then will the rivers.

Many people believe that the more rain we have the better the cuta season is .... how try that is I dont know .... but it dont help if you cant get into the water!!

I did manage a surf yesterday ... allot of fun! It has been a while since I had some fun ones. So I cant complain too much.

Any way back to the grind stone .... will let you know if anything hots up...

Coatesman

P.S 6 weeks!!

Instant Chocolate

Well the farmers are happy ........

At least some one is coz the dam rain has turned the sea into chocolate brown poo .... in an instant. Blowing ... or should I saw raining away any chances of a dive this weekend.

Seriously this is getting me down ..... so down that if my boss knew how ineffective I am becoming ... he would send me on a paid dive trip in an instant!! Do you think he will buy into this??

Gee I dont know how the guys inland handle life .... freak!!!

Coatesman

Summer Spearfishing

Well I suppose you could say we are in summer now, I just wish the spearfishing would reflect that. Strangely enough there was some vis today after the east, not a lot but enough for a good point dive.

To night is the Salty Divers Club Meet in Ballito so if you are in the area pop in and come saw hi. We will have a braai going so bring something to braai and join in.

Other than that the weekend does not look to great ..... we will have to see.

Cheers

Chris

Crayfish Season Is Closed!!

Bummer,

Or maybe not if you are a spiny critter! Bugg season closes today and that will be that until next year. I was at Zinkwazi this morning and I witnessed a chap trying to get his last buggs in zero vis in the white water.

I like buggs ... but not that much!

October has been a write off, I was looking at my log and I only did 2 local dives the whole month. And I am generally on it if there is any vis worth diving in. Lets hope that November is a bit better, I remember a couple years back the shoal cuta came in for a week or two and we had some brilliant diving.

Who knows maybe this November?

Coatesman

Filming Tiger Sharks

Here is a frame grab of me filming a beautiful Tiger Shark

You have to love this life we live, all except the in between bits .... like working!
This morning on my run I was feeling a little pup, and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of being out there filming or spearfishing.

There is just something about swimming with sharks, chasing down tricky fish or even just being on the sea. Something you cant really explain to people ........

Dreaming on ...

Coatesman

A Day Filming Sharks

Flip its Monday, I am desperately trying to get the wheels in my head turning ....... but it feels like the hand brake is still up!
Despite the wild weather the week end was an interesting one. I landed up on a film shoot filming sharks, and other cut away sequences for a documentary with a mate Graeme Duane.
The sea was a disaster but when you need the shot .. you have to go. So in less than epic ...... way less!! conditions we headed out to Aliwal Shoal getting launch sequences and us pounding our way out to sea on film. We go a couple shots down while looking for Raggies, but alas no Raggies!

With no toothy critters we headed off to Ell Skins and found the some guys baiting sharks for some tourists, asked if we could jump in and have a look.
Shark soup!! It was amazing, ever seen a cloud of Chub attacking a burly trail? Well take that scenario and instead of Chub you've got Black tips, some over sized Dusky's and for good measure a Tiger Shark.

The aim was to film Graeme filming the sharks while freediving, I cant say that I was not distracted for awhile just filming sharks, sharks everywhere. Under you, over you .... into you ...flip it was mayhem! Eventually Graeme and I got busy and nailed some shots.
Its a freaky thing when your eyes are glued to the viewfinder on the housing. Your world is only out in front of you, and you have to forget about whats going on behind you. Its the nudge or that 'thing' brushing between your legs, that reminds you that you are actually in the middle of this thing and not looking from the outside in.

The highlight for me was nailing a shot of Graeme filming a Tiger Shark. We had gone down to film Graeme doing his thing, when a beaut Tiger Shark came in, swam around Graeme and then right up to me. The Tiger had a brief look at me and then turned and swam between the two of us. I know the German crew were aiming to get that shot with a Raggie Shark, but I was stoked.

Personally I think Tiger Sharks are way cooler that Raggies!! Any way time is ticking and .....its MONDAY!!

Later

Coatesman

Pitted off my face!!

Finally!!

Flip I thought the day would never come, this has to be my first 'real' surf before work I have had in months.

It was just a couple of us out at Surfers Point, a 3-4 ft swell nice and solid though and a draining tide. The wind was from the north but still off shore, blowing down the barrels. Only got a couple but my goodness me!!!! I feel alive again.

I had this one beast ,..... I didnt come out ...but it barreled me right across the bay ...fan-flip'n-tastic!!

The east is all over it now :-( but we had it!!

The weekend does not look like anything amazing will happen ...but hey we will see.

Coatesman

Earth Touch - 24/7 Documentry

With the dive been so bleak I land up running, training, and being down right bored!! We were supposed to hit Zululand this weekend for some spring time action. But the only action that will go down is kite boarding!!

Anyway a mate of mine is involved in a most unique project called Earth-Touch.Com It is a documentary channel that is ....almost live! By this I mean that its not archived stuff from 3 years back, you can go and watch something from all over the world that happened today or yesterday.

The project is still in beta phase but you can go and check it out. Earth Touch
or go and check out one from a couple days ago Earth Touch Sharks


Coatesman

Brown Blanket Spearfishing??

A huge hail and rain storm hit yesterday and sent our rivers puking brown muck into the sea. This mornings south west was trying to push the clean water in, but the rivers were winning the battle.

We had hoped to hit Sordwana or Vidal for some spearfishing this weekend, but it looks like the Beasterly Easterly will keep us home!!

Anyway I came across this on YouTube ...... would not mind this guys breath hold!!



Coatesman

No Spearfishing - Good Time To Work

Well when looking at the forecasts the writing is on the wall as far as getting into the sea this week. The vis is bad up and down the coast and the wind is going to pump. There is hope tho ... late tonight a west is pulling in and will pump until late Thursday nite. So with a little luck we will get in on Friday morning for some spearfishing if it is clean, otherwise a quick surf before work .......damn that sounds good.

Coatesman

Garrick Barrels and lost Equipment

Well the week end was an eventful one, Shane and Darren ... and I am sure many others hit the south coast and hammered the Garrick. Some nice ones came out around the 10 kg mark.

There was a bit of swell around and while trying to subdue a Garrick Darren got totally milked! Loosing his fin,bootie, dive knife ...off his leg and his mask!! His mask was found by his mate ...lucky, but the rest is in that place with single socks and lost dive stuff. Neptune has a serious collection going!

On the North Coast the surf was real good and the water not bad, but we decided to catch some waves. It has not been good here for ages so to get some barrel time was good.

Anyway back to Darren .... if any one has a spare or lonely Genisis fin lying around give me a shout and we can help the guy out a little.

see ya

Coatesman

Whats up this weekend

Well the vis here is not great :-( and I am not sure how much spearfishing is going to get done this weekend. Maybe some bugg hunting in the shallows???

The wind is going to be light southerlies today and the swell dropping so the conditions could improve a little.

I suppose all eyes are on the Bokka any way so party on .......

Coatesman.

New Spearfishing Ranking System

Hey guys,

If you are in the loop you would have got this email from Mark. Its the new Spearfishing Ranking System it runs over a 3 year period and accumulates the scores. An interesting way of doing things, I suppose it will show who is the most committed spearfiserman.

Go check it out:

Good afternoon fellow divers.

We have reviewed the ranking table and the current ranking method used and designed a new system that we feel is more accurate than the last as it combines a divers current form with his historical form and ranks him accordingly. Please view the below site to see how the new ranking is calculated as well as how the competitions are weighted.

The new ranking system was designed in consultantion with various divers, national selectors, national divers and SAUFF committee members.

The main criteria is to have a system that is as accurate as possible and we feel that this new system definitely reflects a more accurate measure of the divers taking part in the competitive areana.

Please view the new ranking table at www.underwaterfishing.co.za or www.saspearoranking.co.za.

Kind Regards

Mark

Finally went Diving!!

Yesterday arvo turned out to be a pearler so we jumped in for a late dive. The vis was about 4m ... god enough to get some buggs and dust the cobwebs out the lungs.

I managed to get a 8kg Kingfish and my buggs ... Was hoping to get in this morning but the east blew from early this morning so we canned it and slept in.

Coatesman

Giant Wahoo Dreams

With the summer holidays coming up, warm water and tropical dive locations ..... my mind is clouded with visions of Wahoo. I just hoping to spearfish just one Wahoo! I have got one of 24.5kg before so I am super keen to break the 30kg barrier, no harm in dreaming :-)



Giant Wahoo!! Either this guy is very small or this Wahoo is just a Pig!!!

You can see that it was probably caught on rod and reel. There is no holes and the streak lines down the belly are typical markings from the leader line.

But hang what a Pig!!!

World Record 83,46kg Wahoo caught off Pez Espada out of Cabo San Lucas

And here is a woman who broke 3 World records with this 180 pounder .... I want one just half that and I would flip!!

World Spearfishing Record for Wahoo - Bruce Gaudino 56.75 kg

And here is the Current World Spearfishing Record for Wahoo, caught off La Paz bay off the north end of Cerralvo Island. Damn!!

Gee I better get back to work and stop dreaming!!!

Coatesman

Blue Water Freedivers of Western Australia

The "Blue Water Freedivers of Western Australia" have finally got a site up and running, go check it out ..... some great pics and stories.

Blue Water Freedivers of Western Australia

Coatesman

Dreaming of Spearfishing Wahoo

With the sea being so muck, all I seem to be doing is dreaming .... .Dreaming of Spearfishing Wahoo!!

Check this out .... this should get the Wahoo juices flowing!!



Coatesman

Weather .. what the freak!

We were supposed to surf this morning but the east had already messed up the clean west swell. Not to mention the rain ..... and mud!!
All this, no diving and grey skies can make a man depressed!!

Things do seem a little loopy I read this this morning:

The National Sea and Rescue Institute (NSRI) has issued a navigational warning to all ships passing near St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, following a report of an iceberg on Monday.

Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the NSRI told BuaNews Tuesday, that the maritime warning alerted all ships and vessels to be on the lookout for the iceberg to avoid accidents.

"We received a report from a fishing vessel, called the Ntini, late on Monday which spotted an iceberg 35 Nautical Miles from the Eastern Cape coast. According to the report the iceberg is 25 meters in length and 20 meters in height," said Mr Lambinon.

What next???

Coatesman

Rain Rain Go Away!

Damn it just has not stopped raining! The sea is a nice poo brown and the chances of a dive are very slim. I did manage to sneak a surf in late yesterday at Salties .... average at best, but it was good to get in.

The wind pumped last night and brought some wind chop waves. I could have jumped in, but it is my lighties birthday and we had some quality family time together this morning. I gave him a new speargun which I have built up. Its a little longer than his old gun and hopefully it will help him get to the fish in the clean Mozambique waters this December.

Any way it looks like the rain is over for now, but the south west is still going to blow .... maybe some surf tomorrow??

Coatesman

Spearfishing Addict

Hi every one ......

My name is Chris and its been more than 2 weeks since I last shot a fish.
Its going ok .... I still get the shakes tho, when I think about all those cuta waiting for me out there.

....... Bla Bla Bla Bla

Freak I am going out my mind ... it is still raining and next thing a this mud will be in the sea and our hopes of diving will be down the toilet.

Well I know the crayfish are having a jol!!

Coatesman

LAST GASP - Spearfishing and Crayfishing Competition

Time and PlaceDate: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Time: 5:30am - 3:00pm
Location: Anywhere along Durban coast, weight in at UKZN Underwater Club
Hosts: UKZN Underwater Club


We will be hosting spearfishing/crayfishing competition on 27 October. This is the last weekend for catching crays so we thought we'd get in there for one last gasp before the season closes...

All are encouraged to participate, providing you have the necessary licences etc. We have tried to format the competition to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced individuals. The entry fee is R100 and includes a free t-shirt. Prizes include Rob Allen spearguns,
discount on a Lizzard wetsuit and a Divetek Frameless mask. You need to pre-register for the competition by 11 October either with Scott McNeill (at the Underwater Club on Thursday nights) or at Lizzard Wetsuits (Stamford Hill Road).

If you have any queries contact Scotty on 0794939078
or
204510460 @ukzn.ac.za.

Caroline
Contact InfoPhone: 083.303.5995
Email: reidc1@ukzn.ac.za

Something to Dream About

If you are like me .... you are getting edgy not being in the water!

Damn I am getting grumpy!!

So just to get the juices flowing check this out:



If you cant see the vid click here: Check this

Coatesman

Spearfishing & Freediving

I woke to a lovely south wester blowing through my window, and with the sea been so muck lately there is a glimmer of hop with this west.
I checked the sea early, and it is still very brown ...not sure if one day of west will clean it up?
I figured that maybe there will be some swell and with the tide leap tomorrow morning making low tide at 6am, there would be some surf. But all the swell indicators say its going to be flat.

If it does clean up there might be hope for the week end warriors as Friday does not have too much wind and maybe ...just maybe there will be a dive on.

Coatesman

Spearfishing & Freediving

Hey guys,

Not too much to tell you, the sea is a 'lovely' brown green color. Something like a cross between Shitty and Kakki .......I suppose that makes it Sharky?? Flip I am so funny sometimes.

While there is no spearfishing going down ...there is still the Salty Divers / North Coast Freediving Unions meet tomorrow at my place. It starts 5:30 and there will be a braai after.

Drop me a mail or call me 083 631 0841 if you are keen to come and check things out.

Great stuff

Coatesman

Rules Format for Natal Spearfishing Trials

GENERAL RULES:

1. Natal Spearfishing Trials will be held from October 2007 to March 2008 to prepare and select the best team to represent the province at National Champs. National Champs are scheduled for May 2008 at Sodwana Bay.
2. Refer to attached plan of scheduled Trial dates and reserve weekends.
3. Each provincial Union can select a maximum of four teams of four divers to represent their province at Nationals. In Natal Union we have three divers per team and sacrifice the fourth team member for a top man to handle the boat during the competition.
4. Thus the top twelve divers are determined from a series of three competitions called “Trials” held to very strict rules and regulations similar to those of Nationals.
5. The selection of these divers is orchestrated by a selection committee made up of the Natal Underwater Union (NUU) Spearfishing Officer, the Midlands Underwater Union Spearfishing Officer and one other experienced spearfisherman (to be selected by the NUU Officer)
6. In the event of dispute and or conflict the decision will be referred to the committee for adjudication and advice, however in the event of deadlock, the Natal Underwater Union Officer has final say.
7. Every diver participating in Natal Trials must be a paid-up member of a Club recognized by the Natal Underwater Union.
8. The Entrance Fee for trials is R400.00. To enter contact Graham Carlisle on 082 462 1256, alternatively the entry form is available from Dive Factory, Freedivers, Wahoo and DUC Diving Clubs. This must be filled in and paid to Graham ON or BEFORE the first trial.
9. The R400 will go towards the four teams’ costs during Nationals and is also a token of your commitment to competing in Trials and at Nationals.

RULES OF THE COMPETITION:

1. Divers are required to phone Graham between 5pm and 8pm on the Friday before a trial to confirm the dive area, meeting place and time.
2. If due to bad weather a trial has to be canceled on the Saturday it then takes place on the Sunday. Decisions on whether or not to dive will be made by 8pm on the day preceding the competition. If the weather is not suitable then the trial will be carried forward to the allocated reserve weekends (Refer planned dates and reserve weekends).
3. Remember that a lot of people are getting up early and may be traveling from afar to attend a trial so divers can be forgiven for being ten minutes late but will lose one point for every five minutes thereafter. (This will be strictly monitored.)
4. There will be a meeting to discuss the day’s proceedings, and a meeting place at sea will be decided. Once all the boats meet at sea the trial can begin. (No spearing is allowed before this time.)
5. All diving will be from boats because Nationals take place off boats and World Champs are dived off boats.
6. Each boat is allowed to have a top man to handle the boat during a Trial and no less than 2 divers may dive on a boat. Prior to a Trial commencing divers must arrange the boat they are diving on. It is not the responsibility of the organizers to do this.
7. Note that no chum or burlying is allowed.
8. All divers must dive within 40m of their OWN float. Floats must be used at all times when a diver is in the water, must be a readily visible color, be a minimum of 1.5 liters, and be clearly visible in the water during choppy or rough seas.
9. A trial lasts for six hours. Any diver seen in the water after the six hours will be disqualified. For safety reasons at the sixth hour the safety boat must be notified by radio or cellular phone that all is ok, and the boat is heading for the launch site.
10. All participants must comply with current regulations of Sea Fisheries and Marine Resources legislation
11. Points are allocated to each divers catch as follows.
    

• 
  

• Sea Fisheries rules apply
• Only one fish per species is allowed. All fish may be weighed in un-gutted
• A maximum of 10 fish may be shot (CH refer to Nationals Rule Book)
• Divers may keep their fish after the weigh-in is complete.
• Each fish must weigh a minimum of 1 kg to qualify.
• Seven species that are excluded from competition are Surgeons, Angel fish, Unicorn fish, Batfish, Sea Barbel, Barbel Eel and File fish
• Each fish can earn a maximum of five points (5kgs) for the weight (i.e. a point per kg) PLUS extra point that will be awarded for each species (See Bruce Mann List).
  

• Example: One Spotted Rock cod weighing 2kgs, Wahoo of 15kgs and a Tomato Rockcod weighing 4.8kg
• 2 points for the Spotty for the weight but none for the species
• 4.8 points for the Tomato PLUS 1 species point for the Rock Cod.
• 5 points for the Wahoo PLUS 5 species points for the gamefish.

• 
  

12. After beaching all divers are required to load their fish into bliks and proceed to the weigh-in.
13. It is forbidden to exchange catches.
14. To facilitate comparison between different competition days, each diver’s points are calculated as a percentage of the top diver. The top diver scores 100%.
15. After four trials each diver’s top three percentages are averaged and thus ranked.


AWARDING OF COLOURS AND TROPHIES

1. If a diver makes the top twelve in Natal Trials they are divided into the A, B, C and Development Team. All twelve divers are awarded NUU Colors (Dolphins).
2. For a diver to get Natal Colors (Wildebeest) they must have dived in the A, B or C team at least three times and at least once in the A team or if never in the A team then they must have come in the top ten at Nationals once.
3. The Natal Underwater Union Awards three trophies each year to competitive divers based on Trials results.
• Anthony Benjamin Trophy for the biggest bottom fish. - 2002 Ryan Burmester 24kg Black Musselcracker.
• Biggest Gamefish Trophy. – Not awarded
• Top of the Log Trophy for overall highest percentage. – 2002 Gary Hazel.

Every 2 years the world Spearfishing Championships take place and the highest ranking Springbok is awarded the beautiful Shaun Atlas Trophy, a Len Jones Bronze of a Red Steenbras, a fish fittingly endemic to South Africa and one we are most proud of. Previous winners are:
• 1996 Len de Beer
• 1998 Len de Beer
• 2000 John Girzda
• 2002 Jaco Blignaut

Trials are the first step to Nationals and National are the first step to Springbok Trials so start practicing.

COMPETITION AREAS AND BOUNDARIES

Trials Dates '07 - '08


Additional info Area
Month Date - Host - First area - Second area

October 13 - Natal Union As per previous trials Joint trial - Umdloti Bluff

November10 - Southern Natal - Open competition - Joint trial TBA TBA

December1 - MidlandsProposed - Gamefish onlyJoint trial - Deep Scott Warner/Toti

February2 - Natal Union - Stand alone trial - Warner/TotiBluff

March1 - Northern natal - Proposed (alt. Natal Union) Joint trial Bluff - Deep Scott


AREAS OF COMPETITION

The four trials will take place within the following zones as and when conditions allow:

 Umdloti (Selection reef at Umdloti to Westbrook)
 Warner Beach (Isipingo River – Warner Beach Launch)
 Deep Scottbourgh (Umkomaas to Park Rynie)
 Bluff (South Pier to Cutting)

Reserve Areas:
 Shelley Beach
 Hibberdene (Mtwalume to Mzumbe)


For info Please call
Graham Carlisle
tel:(031) 903-5438
mobile:082 462 1256

Spearfishing News

Morning All!

Well the east is pumping and looks like it is here for the next day or so, so there will be no diving here on the North Coast. This week end it was diveable and a mate got a 16kg Garrick off Tiffanies. I have not heard of too much else happening tho.

Down in the Cape the guys have started to get tuna again, last Thursday some guys landed a wack of good fish on line. The season should pick up, and run through to January.

The Kwazulu Natal Midlands Spearfishing Association have set a date for their trials. The first one is on the 1st December and will be a Gamefish only trial off deep Scotties. The North Coast Freediving Union might be climbing in on the action aswell.

If you hear of anything interesting just give me a shout and I will post it.

Cheers

Coatesman

Filming Manta Rays

A large Manta Ray rolling over to take a look.

The fish might have been quiet, but there were loads of Manta Rays around to be filmed. There were some really large ones and we managed to get close to the Manta Rays on a couple dives. The one in the picture would roll over every time we came close, probably to get a better look at us.

A small Manta coming onto the flashers

The smaller Mantas were shoaling and there must have been 15 to 20 under us at one stage, but they were swimming quiet deep down and it was difficult to get a good shot of them. It was very interesting to see how the small Mantas were attracted to the flashers, bringing the odd on up out of the deep blue.

A shoal of about 20 small Manta Rays off the drop off at 5 Mile Sordwana.

Manta Rays are really amazing creatures to film. And with a bit of luck on our next trip we will get some more footage, enough to put a nice little segment in a dvd.


Back here at home the sea is muck and the Beast from the East is clapping it .... So not too much diving going on here.


Coatesman

Great Weekend Spearfishing Sordwana

Evan, Morne and myself went up to Sordwana for the weekend. We stayed at my mates place there..... It was spearo 5 star!!

1. Aircon
2. Beds
3. Running water
4. Deep freezers
5. Electricity

So three cheers for my mate...... will have to point out a fat cuta on the flasher one day in return of the favor!

The water and sea conditions were great on Saterday and Sunday, it was just a little quiet. I suppose this is the luck of the draw this time of year tho. Morne did have a go at a rather large Wahoo and I saw a small one but it was not hanging around.

On the Saterday we managed a couple fish, Evan sneaked a cuta coming up the burley trail off 5 mile. While Morne and I got a fish each off Mushroom Rock at 7mile.

Morne's 8+kg snoek, a very tasty 7kg Kakaap and a burly busted Cuta.

On Sunday the sea was epic, good vis and very little wind for most of the day. Unfortunately it was just quiet. We filmed some Manta rays and got Morne shooting his Fulvie which is a new Salty's club record.

A frame grab from Morne's Fulve Kingfish footage

On the Monday the sea was a rough and we were spent from the long dive the day before so we did not dive to long. We saw a marlin from the boat and jumped in but we did not see it once we were in the water.

So although we did not get loads of fish, we dived flat out and had a great week end.

Later

Coatesman

North Coast Freediving Union

Well it looks like its all thumbs up for the North Coast Freediving Union.
We have some admin things to sort out with the South African Underwater Fishing Federation (SAUFF) but this should be a matter of course.

It is not clear exactly when every thing will be official, there are still fees to be paid and the final ok from SAUFF.

This is super exciting as we will be sending guys to Nationals and this could open the door to other underwater sports like Underwater Hockey!

I will keep everyone posted on everything that is going down.

Coatesman

Cracker in the Deep

Craig Harper with a White Muscle Cracker

Craig Harper sent me a pic of a good sized Brusher (White Muscle Cracker). By the looks of the pic he speared this one out in the deep, with John Little. Brusher often shoal out deep and you can also find them in caves, shooting free swimming fish obviously being a little more difficult as these fish are very shy. ....... well at least the ones I have seen in the deep.

Good News the Salty-Diver site is back up and running. A big thanks to Clint from Wire Khaya for sorting the site out. We will also be doing some upgrades to the site soon so keep an eye out on the site.

Then just to remind you that tonite is the meeting to set up the North Coast Spearfishing Union in Ballito. If you have any questions or thoughts please give me a shout. (my email is above this post!)

The sea is still very miff and green .... I keep reminding my self the more the North blows the sooner the warm Mozambique water will come down. Had a mate call yesterday who has been away for a couple weeks ...maybe months, he was seriously bleak with the conditions. So when it does get good get in, as the sea can be miff for weeks at this time of the year.

Anyway see ya

Coatesman

Spearfisng News

Well While the sea is muck ..... although yesterday morning was diveable (We missed it!!) There is not much to talk about. . . Sorry :-(

But there is still plenty going on....

• The Fishing Corner's Comp is picking up momentum with clinics and new sponsors climbing on board. (go check - Fishing Corner )
• Thursday Nite is the first get together of the ..to be formed North Coast Spearfishing Union in Ballito. If you want to know more just drop me a mail.
• Word is that this week Rob Allen's new muzzle and reel will be ready for final testing. Cant wait to get my hands on them and try them out.
  Rob is also working on a new buoyline, it is a hollow plastic rubber tube with dynema core. The cord stretches to 2x and will replace the old bungie and rope system. So far it looks good and I am hoping to try it out on the weekend up at Sordwana.

Also just to let you know that the Salty Diver web site is down, some Ass $%^%$#$% hacked the site and it is going to take some time to get it back up.

Catcha

Coatesman

Kelly Slater Boosts into Record Books...Again

Just when you thought the man had won every surfing accolade and record there is, Kelly Slater scalped another one over the weekend with his win at the Boost Mobile Pro. Slater’s latest victory marks his 34th career World Tour win, shattering the 33-win mark he previously shared with former three-time ASP World Champion Tom Curren. Curren held the record for 16 years before Kelly tied it at Bells in ’06, and it’s taken the Champ 18 months to break it.

Kelly now sits second in the ASP title race with France coming up its going to exciting to see what goes down. The other guys like Taj and Al are surfing like animals, with very few points seperating the top 5 spots. Its going to get exciting!!

As for the surf at home .... what surf? The Water is still green with little hope of a dive any time soon.

Catcha later

Coatesman

Fishing Corner Species Comp

Ok Its Comp time again in the usual Fishing corner style “No Entry Fee & Big Prizes”

If you want to enter all you have to do is click on the link below and become a member of Fishing Corner which is also free.

http://fishingcorner.co.za/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers

When & Where:

This comp will run from 22 September – 27 October 2007 with prize giving at Durban Paddle Ski Club on the 28^th October 2007 everyone is to bring there own food braai’s will be supplied with charcoal. On the 22^nd September we will open the comp at the Durban Paddle Ski Club 6:30 am followed by a training clinic as per the details on the site. For all those beginner spearos there will be a training session followed by a dive. The Boarders are open from Mozambique – Namibia (This is due to the nature of the site which is non exclusive)

Entry:

Anyone can enter as long as you are a member on the fishing corner site. Register by going online and clicking on the register link. Please Email shaunr@mcinsure.co.za and let me know whether you will be fishing or spearing the comp ASAP! Before the comp starts!!

Rules:

Species Multiplication Comp

How it Works:

Weight all your fish is multiplied by the amount of species caught. The minimum size of a fish that can be weighed is 2kg’s and only your top ten fish will count so be selective! Only fish caught over the weekend count. Again please be honest!

E.g. 6.2kg Snoek and + 5.3kg Garrick + a 7.2kg Snoek + 15.7Kg King Fish

Total Weight = 34.4kg’s

No. Of Species = 3

Total Points = 34.4 x 3 = 103.2 Points

The point of the comp is to try getting as many species as possible claiming Maximum points. All fish caught/shot must comply with SA Legislation depending on what region you come from. Due to the nature of the site fish must be caught within the boarders of SA. After every weekend pictures of your fish must be emailed to me at shaunr@mcinsure.co.za with the weight and fork length (Nose to fork of tail) supplied. This is solely based on honesty cheaters will be caught. Marlin and sailfish properly tagged with a witness will give you a flat 20 points to add to your total which will obviously not count for the spearos.

Prizes

Prizes will be split for fishing and spearing Biggest fish claiming a weekend/week away at Umtwalume Peace of Paradise self catering Cottage sponsored by Steve Click on the link to view the cottage and the details http://www.safarinow.com/go/peaceofparadise/

The winner of the Fishing side of the comp will Get Prizes valued at +- R3500 sponsored by Gladiator Lures – Bassel Manning – Stealth – Heb Coolers - Profile Creations (If you still want to add to the prizes let me know)

The winner of the Spearing Side of the comp will receive Spearfishing products from Pelaj at this stage and we are awaiting further sponsors watch this space.

Thanks for the help guys and if you know anyone else who would be interested in sponsoring some prizes and getting some coverage on our site please let me know.

30 year old Fish!!

A 30 year old fish??? No not a fish fish, but a fish as in surfboard fish. I finally decided to break my strike on surfing (I was in protest to the crap banks, so have not surfed much this year), and went for a wave with some mates.

I was not at my place so I borrowed a board and suit from my mate and headed to "Luck Packet Reef" for some high tide shift peaks. After a couple very bouncy 5ft drops my mate snaped his board, so I went in and gave him his one I was borrowing. Truth is I was hammered from not surfing for all these months.

But while parking off on the beach another mate who I have not seen for ages choons "Ride this ... You will never break this thing!" (obviously does not know me that well) as he hands me a 5'4" flat red Twin fin shaped by Safari Surfboards long before the Boer war.

I was poked, arms like noodles and shoulders aching something terrible ..... but I could not resist. I grabbed the board and jumped into the shore break ...damn this thing could do with a few more inches to help my noodles paddle. Any way I eventually got the a peak and nabbed a peak. Might have gotten unfit ... but can still hook the bomb! Anyway this thing just took off, next thing I was laying down the most porno Shaun Thomson styled cutbacks, freak it was fun.

Its weird it has taken a 30 year old twiny to get my juices flowing again ..... hell yea!

On the Spearfishing site here is an interesting site to go and visit : FreeDive.co.za
Its Gletwyn Rubidge's site from PE side ..... some interesting pics and info go check it out.

On the weather front things look bleak for this weekend, strong Beasterly Easterly's and then back to South West on Sunday, I just dont think we are going to come right :-(

Any way cheers for now.

Coatesman

Spearfishing Update

well not much on the Spearfishing front to update!! The water here just does not want to get clean. I went for a run along the beach front and there was probably just enough vis for a point dive grove, but thats about it.

I was looking at the water all depressed and was battling through my run with only the faint promise of getting fit for Mozambique as my motivation to keep going. When I stopped to ask an old man I see every day on the walking road how far he walks. Because every day I see this guy just walking. He pipes up,

"Oh 20km or so, I walk my dog for an hour in the morning, and then go for another 2 hours later. Today I am walking to Westbrook along the beach, its nice I will be the only one out there"

Gee and I am battling through a 5km slow run!!! Maybe walking is the way forward?? I know of a few divers who prefer walking for fitness than running. Its just the time thing I suppose?

Walk, run, gym or what ever its kind of that season. The sea has some issues its sorting out and I guess that forces us to aswell.

Damn I would rather be diving!!

Coatesman

Intresting Spearfishing Discussion

Well there is not much good diving vis around, the BEAST for the EAST humped yesterday! Good news is that the south is already here and it looks like we might get lucky in the next couple of days.

There is an interesting discussion on the Salty Divers forum on the "Last Rockcod" you might find it interesting go check it out.

Lets hope the water comes right .... I need to dive.

Coatesman