This is the last post for this year’s TOMT and what a great competition it has been.

Yesterday, I posted about the Prizegiving and somehow left out a few photographs and thank yous. I have subsequently updated that post so please take another look.

Organising a tournament takes months of preparation and all the organisers do a tremendous job. Thanks to Marinda, Dahlene and all the Suidpunt Deepsea Angling Club staff for their input.

The guys who man the radios are also indispensable in a competition of this nature. I know firsthand how much effort goes into preparing the aerials and radios and the guys involved are truly dedicated. Andrew Perrins is involved in the organisation, the running of the tournament, and the radio control. He is ably helped by Trevor Brinch (Spotter One) and my hubby, Earl Fenwick. Thanks to them for a job brilliantly done.

And now for the final anglers’ story. Dankie Piet Wessels.

I have done a rough translation below for my overseas readers.

Bayswater se Storie deur Piet Wessels

Donderdag 17 Februarie 2022

Die derde dag van visvang het ons geweet dit sal die laaste dag wees wat ons iets kan vang in die kompetisie. Ons het reeds twee visse veloor, een op dag 1 na amper ‘n uur en half 20 meter van boot af wat ons hom aangehad het en nog een op dag 2.

Ons het besluit om dieselfde Konas te sleep aangesien dit al drie visse geraise het vir ons die week sover. Ons het maar dieselfde area gewerk wat ons Dinsdag gewerk het, volgens my was dit die beste kleur water en temperatuur was goed. Die see was rof en dit het maar moelik gegaan om die Konas reg te laat swem.
Ons het nog getrol toe sien Kokkie ‘n vis wat swem agter ons right long. Dit was dieselfde lure waarop ons twee ander visse gehak het vroeer die week. Die vis het ‘n hele ruk agter die lure geswem maar wou nie byt nie.

Kokkie sê, “Toe kom ons maak ‘n lang draai en bly op die area.”

Ons was so halfpad gedraai toe klap die ourigger en die vis was aan. Hy het soos ‘n mal ding agter die boot gespring. Oupa Dawie was in die stoel. Ons het die vis mooi rustig baklei met die rowwe see. Vyf-en- twintig minute later was hy langs die boot en Kokkie het hom geleader. Dis was ‘n swart marlyn van ongeveer 100-120kg. Ons het die vis se hoeke uitgehaal, hom mooi laat swem langs die boot en toe laat gaan. Dit was n voorreg om weer ‘n vis te vang in die kompetisie.

English translation

On the third fishing day of the tournament, we knew that it would be our last chance to get a marlin. We had already lost two, one on the first day after fighting it for an hour and a half then losing it within 20 metres of the boat, and on the second fishing day, we also lost one.

We decided to use the same Konas seeing that they had worked well for us thus far. We worked in the same area as on Tuesday and I believed the water was the best colour and temperature for marlin. The sea was rough and it was difficult to get the Kona to swim.

We trolled and then Kokkie saw a fish swimming behind right long. We were using the same lure that we had the previous two fish on earlier in the week. The fish followed the lure for quite a while but would not bite.

Kokkie said, “Let’s make a wide turn and stay in the area.”

We had turned halfway when the outrigger was hit and the fish was on. The fish went wild and jumped behind the boat. Oupa Dawie was in the chair. We calmly fought the fish in the rough sea. Twenty-five minutes later he was beside the boat and Kokkie leadered him. It was a Black Marlin of about 100 to 120 kilograms. We took out the hook, and let him swim away next to the boat. It was a privilege to once again catch such a fish in the competition.

Thursday 17 February 2022 was the last fishing day of the tournament. It was the anglers’ last chance to land that coveted catch – a marlin of any species or size would do!

Lines in was called at 08h00 and we on the shore listened excitedly as the reports of hook-ups came in. There were a few. Some were makos and bronzies and some were marlin hooked and lost. Only one, the last one of the day and the last one of the competition came in and it was Bayswater that finally won the day!

Lines-up was called at 16h00 and off I went to get some more pictures of the magnificent boats that took part in this years’ tournament.

Friday, 18 February 2022 – Prize Giving

Thanks to the generous sponsors there were great prizes and every boat was awarded something.

Each year TOMT has a flag which is auctioned to raise funds for the next tournament. This year last year’s flag, as well as the 2022 flag, were auctioned.

After this, the prizes were presented. I have posted photographs below and hope I have the team names right.

There are just too many sponsors to individually name here but they are listed on the banner at the top of each of the blog posts. Please support them. They have donated generously and without their support, a tournament like this would not be the same.

After the proceedings, Gareth Beaumont presented a special prize to Derek Kaplan who was quite blown away with surprise.

Once again we enjoyed an awesome meal to celebrate the end of TOMT.

What a great tournament this was. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again next year. Tight lines till then, anglers.

PS – Watch this space for Bayswater’s Story – to be published soon.

Bad Company’s Story by Mike Broderick

Tuesday 15 February 2022

We were trolling near the 100m contour when the middle starboard rigger clip exploded with a bang that woke up the entire crew including the skipper.

Stuart Cambell was the designated angler and this would be his first Marlin He had tried for years, all over the place, but always missed the magic time slot.

It sounded straight down for the first 20 minutes. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt crept in. Suddenly the sea behind the boat exploded and a beautiful black jumped completely clear of the water.

After another 20 minutes, the fish was safely released.

Stuart said, “This is the only other, first time I did it, that I will remember forever.” (If you know what I mean😉)

The last fishing day of the competition began with lines-in at 08h00. Lines-up would be called depending on weather conditions and ended up being at 16h00 making it a worthwhile day out at sea. It was an exciting day with quite a number of strikes but only on release by Bayswater and we shall report more about that in a later post. Today’s post is going to be all about the Pirate Party. Watch this space for two more Anglers’ Stories and for the final Prize Giving Report.

Thursday 17 February 2022 – The Pirate Pary

We arrived this evening to a creatively decorated clubhouse. I believe all credit is due to the Bar Ladies for this.

Dinner this evening was braaied chicken and vegetables. Well done to Marinda and her team for their excellent catering.

The Bar Ladies also dressed up and made sure all the pirates got their rum and whiskey!

There were some awesome pirates from the various ‘ships’ visiting Struisbaai this week!

Of course, there were the straf dops to be dealt out and today Amazing Grace 2 incorrectly used a call sign at sea, Gwaza didn’t call in at the harbour, Bayswater flew their marlin flag too high and Catitude did something that I missed.

Mojo’s Story by Gareth Beaumont

Tuesday 15 February 2022

Marlin Mojo

After three days of not raising a fish, the mood on Mojo was a bit glum. The skipper even threatened to sell the boat and find a new hobby.

We had changed lures countless times and with the sea being a bit short I was not happy with the way one of the lures was swimming. I decided to revert back to one of my old faithful Konas (even though it hadn’t raised a fish in 2 years). About 20 minutes later, I was checking the spread and as I looked at my old faithful there was a fin and a flash and a screaming reel, then the pandemonium ensued!

Rods cleared, teasers out, rigger up, some shouting and swearing and Hannes got in the chair. We were finally on a fish. The fish never jumped, and we were unsure whether it was a marlin or a mako so radioed in the hookup as such.

A few minutes into the fight we were blessed with the sight of a beautiful marlin jumping out the water a few hundred metres away. Now knowing it was a marlin everyone settled down and focused on the task at hand, as calmly as one can in that situation. I cannot stress how critical good communication between the skipper and angler is while fighting a marlin. Fortunately, Hannes was very vocal and kept all of us well informed of every move the fish made! After about 20 minutes, I had the leader in hand, and as I put pressure on the fish it lit up as only a stripey can, absolutely beautiful! We got her alongside and got the hook out quickly.

After a few photos, it was time to release the fish and it swam away strongly back into the big blue. High fives all around on a job well done. It was back to work, now even more hungry for another bite. We had another strike about 2 hours later but it didn’t stick. However, we were still happy and grateful for the one we had released.

Hannes got his first marlin in sixteen years of fishing in the TOMT. Jacques got his first marlin on Mojo and his first stripey ever and most importantly, team Mojo got their mojo back.

Wednesday 16 February 2022

Bad sea conditions prevented the anglers from competing out at sea today. The wind was too strong, the sea too rough and there was a little bit of rain too. This is most unusual for February in the Western Cape and many anglers who had travelled far to take part in the tournament were sorely disappointed. But safety at sea has to be a priority and after careful consideration and checking all the weather apps the weather committee reluctantly called off going to sea.

In the evening, however, there was a great deal of merriment.

The anglers enjoyed some bonding and a delicious dinner of steak kebabs, chips, and salad.

Fines were dealt out to Darius otherwise knows as Gorbachev for being hurt by a marlin on Multi while trying to grab the bill, to Chris of John Graeme for calling a Marlin when it was a shark, Vistrok crew for putting in their meal order late, Derek from Orca for booking in late and for losing the boat’s stickers, Jolly Roger for bad language and Mojo crew for being escorted home by the police.

After dinner and the dealing out of punishments, Andrew started the Wine Auction. It was a gruelling contest to see who would make the highest bid. The auctioneer took no prisoners and the slightest wave of hand or scratch of ear won the bidder a bottle of wine at an extremely high price. But no worries – it was all for a good cause. Thank you to the generous bidders.

Being a mere woman and not knowing the boats intimately I wondered why Vistrok and Le Boss 2 escaped my attention and my camera. The Earl put me right on that and explained that due to their size they were moored in and near the harbour. So this afternoon on my walk I made sure to take their portraits.

Lega Sea’s Story By Crew Member Daniel

Tuesday 15 February 2022

Spykertjie the Marlin

Angler: Ruben Burger (Aged 18 years)

On our first day of fishing the Two Oceans Marlin Tournament we did not get a fish to stick. When we set out on the second fishing day we were all positive and super excited as we had a good feeling about it this time. Throughout the day we worked hard and listened to the reports on the radio of other boats hooking up and losing. Eventually, a fish was landed. Over the radio, they said it was on a Lumo Green Kona. We brought in the portside long and changed Konas. We put the Lumo Green Kona on and sent it back out. We watched the Kona to see if it was smoking properly.

JP even turned and said, “Check that thing, it’s smoking like a champ!” As we looked away to walk to the cabin, Julian said, “JP there’s a marlin mark at 20m.”

JP looked on the sounder and said, ‘No that’s not him. You are looking for a big red sausage.”

As JP said that, all we heard was a snap and a screaming reel. The fish screamed off at a rate of knots!

And JP yelled, “That’s him! That’s him! That’s him!”

We cleared the deck as fast as possible and just like that – fish on. Ruben had just hooked into his first-ever Marlin. After chasing this fish for 10yrs he finally had it on the line. After 40 minutes of intense and technical fighting with complex boat manoeuvres and a calm collected angler, the fish came up next to the boat and was leadered and the bill was grabbed. Ruben had done it! He had just landed the fish of his dreams! After a quick high five on the fin from Ruben, and the hooks removed, the Marlin swam off beautifully, completely lit up, showing off its magnificence before disappearing back into the depths. Hands were shaken, congratulations were given, and a tear of joy was shed by Ruben. He had done it! And we were back in the competition! All in all, it turned out to be a perfect day with a memory that will last a lifetime!

Multi’s Story by Roger Barret

Sunday 13 February 2022

It was the first day of TOMT 2022. Team Multi went out to sea targeting the very elusive Marlin species and dream sport fish for many an angler.

Having a very quiet morning session changed to a very exciting late afternoon. At about 14:45 team Multi hooked up on the Japan lure and things got interesting on the boat. The fish never showed itself and didn’t behave in any way like a Marlin usually does.

The skipper, Vleis Visagie, decided to back up the boat to the fish because we thought it was a Mako shark. When the fish showed itself at the boat and Darius Steyn touched the leader we all saw it was a Black Marlin. Then all demeanor changed. The Marlin lighted up at the boat and for the first time fought back.

The fish wasn’t tired at all. Luckily for us Darius got hold of the leader again and he just held on. Darius got some battle scars for grabbing and holding on to the bill. Everything happened so fast but in the end, the fish was landed, measured, hook removed and the Marlyn was safely, and still full of energy, released. It wasn’t Andre Pawson’s fist Marlin, but it was his first Black Marlin.

Thanks to the crew of Multi who worked together extremely well to catch this awesome fish and the unforgettable memories that were made that day. Thank goodness we landed and safely released the fish. And thank God for the privilege.

After yesterday’s rough seas there was still, early this morning, quite a swell and a surge in the harbour making launching small boats a tad dangerous. For this reason, launching only began after 09h00, and lines in was called at 10h30, and lines up was called at 18h00.

Even so, launching was not easy and it took a while to launch the boat and then collect some of the crew from the jetty. Thanks to the expertise of the skippers there were no major mishaps and although one angler fell on the jetty nobody landed up in the drink! I managed to get a few photos of some of the boats.

Once out in calmer seas the action started. Hook-ups were called, some were false alarms and disappointed anglers called in to say it was a bronze or mako marlin and once there was a seal. There were several sightings of stripeys and blackies, lots of frustrating on/offs but also a few very exciting successful live releases.

Bad Company was the first to hook up at 11h22 at position 05/04. A crew member wearing a pink armband successfully released a 100kg Black Marlin, at 11h40.

Mojo was next hooking up at 13h28 in position 08/58. The angler wore a yellow band and successfully released an 80kg striped marlin at 13h45

Lega Sea at 14:06 called at hook up at position 10/56. The angler used an orange band and successfully released a 220kg black marlin at 14h40

As I am land-based I can’t get photographs of the boats in the deep but Gareth Decker on Fortuna sent me some.

When the boats returned The Earl took a few photos too.

As lines up was later than usual dinner was only served at half-past seven onwards this evening. We were treated to a delicious soup, fried fish and mussels served with savoury rice.

There was a lovely vibe at the club as Burre Burger was providing wonderful music.