Just after 06h00 we got out of Durban harbour and proceeded to collect some live bait, the water surface temperature was averaging 24.5 deg. C, there was a stiff NE wind blowing and the swell was 1.8m, as the morning progressed the swell got bigger with the odd 3.0m creeping in from time to time and they were getting spaced closer and closer together. After 12 the sea started to flatten and the wind was dropping and it became quite pleasant. It was a very hot day.
We wanted to go out past 200m depth to look for some Big Dorado and Yellow Fin Tuna but the swells were too big and bumpy for a long ride plus 2 of the guys were getting sick and so we just trolled lures straight into the swell. When we got to around 70m depth we saw this HUGE shadow next to the boat and then all our lines went over it when it breached and revealed it true identity.
I was a GREAT WHITE SHARK and I could tell by the gill slits and underbelly. It was massive, way longer than my boat, I estimate around 6m long which puts it over 1500kg, its pectoral fins were longer than my arms and its head was almost as wide as my boat. And here it was breaching 20m behind my boat, what a huge and magnificent creature and for sure the master of the sea.
This is my first encounter with such a massive Great White Shark and you see them on TV on the nature channels, but I can tell you they do not do it justice when compared to the real thing when you realise how big it really is. This shark was bigger than my boat in length, width and weight.
Surprisingly none of the 6 lines I was trolling which included 3 Rapala X-Raps hooked into the shark when they went over it.
Once we got past Umhlanga at around 90m depth we turned the boat and came back with the swell at around 3knts and trolled 2 live baits we managed to hook up one Dorado at 58m depth and 2 small Barracuda for the day. When we came over the southern ledge of shallow number one we saw a Hammer Head shark of around 15-20kg swimming by, I really thought he would hit our live baits, but he did not. We then packed up and headed back to shore with our 2 sick puppies.
We found a stowaway whilst out at 90m. It seems a little lizard from my carport at home must have climbed onto my boat and so he got a free trip out to sea for a days fishing, and just sat on my steering consul the whole trip watching what was going on. When I got home to wash the boat I found him again and put him back into the bushes.
So there you have it, an Ocean Going, Deep Sea Fishing, and Great White Shark watching Lizard.
