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BLUEFIN BONANZA

Bluefin tuna numbers up in the Cape

[Originally published in the September 2023 issue of Ski-Boat magazine]
By Ryan Nienaber

Andrew and Ryan Nienaber celebrate the haul of two bluefin tuna over 100kg.

A FEW days after our tuna grandslam in May 2023 (see the article in July 2023 issue of SKI-BOAT), spirits were still running high as we headed out into the deep blue again. With no boats having been out for the previous few days due to bad weather, we were happy to have a fishable day. We headed to an area similar to where we slammed it a few days prior and set out our lines.
And then … nothing. By 2pm we thought we were going home empty-handed, when suddenly a rod went. Before long we had three younger 30-40kg yellowfin on the boat.
The next minute my brother, Andrew, shouted that there was a fish swimming in the chum that didn’t look like a yellowfin, but which was definitely a big tuna species. A quick glance and the one unusual tuna turned into three big bluefin swimming in the chum line.
Johan stripped a line and went tight, then Andrew also went tight. They were now fighting two big bluefin simultaneously. We thought about trying to hook up the third, but decided against it because we did not have a full complement of crew as many had headed up the west coast for the snoek run.
We decided it would be safer to land the two bluefin we had on and keep the chum line going; we could always try for the third afterwards. The fish made very long, strong runs, very much like a yellowfin fight, but with longer deep runs before they settled into their circle and lay on their side to come up.
Tuna fishing is all about teamwork, it’s not about who is on the rod. Many days of prep go into a day’s fishing, and each crew member has a role to play. In my opinion, the most important crew member of the day is actually the one who’s chumming. Without a proper chum line you will catch nothing. It’s probably the most unrewarding task that deserves the most credit, as someone sits and separates hundreds of frozen sardines, then cuts them into tiny blocks, separating the heads and tails and keeping a steady line going into the water.
As the fight went on with two big fish, the tuna tango soon started, with the lines getting crossed. Over, under, over, under, rod tips together to keep the lines free. This continued for some time until Andrew finally presented his catch to the boat. We could clearly see it was a bluefin, and it had the weight to match as we tried to lift her over the side.
Once we had her onboard I commented that this fish must be close to kissing the 100kg mark. Shortly thereafter Johan landed his, another big beauty.
As darkness approached, the yellowfin started coming up and we started hooking up with more younger class yellowfin in the 40-50kg size range.
At one stage I was on the rod and after a short initial run I saw the colour of my fish. Within a few minutes of hooking up it came alongside, but it did not move at all. When I called for the gaff to load it, I saw the tail had been bitten clean off and the fish had already bled out. A massive mako shark appeared in the chum line and took his tax out of the next four yellowfin we landed.
An hour after dark we finally started the 32NM journey back to Hout Bay into a bumpy north-westerly wind on a pitch dark night. A trip like that is never great, but sometimes you have to stick it out to get the results.
Despite the rough ride home our spirits were high because we knew we had two big fish in the box. The next day they tipped the scales to triple digits at 101.5kg and 103kg. Our staff at the factory shared in the excitement, all taking turns to take a photo with the impressive catch.
Cape Town has one of the most special tuna fisheries in the world, and it’s right here on our doorstep for all to enjoy. I believe we will continue to see great tuna catches for the following years as these fish seem to becoming more abundant.

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