A few of us, including Justin van der Walt from Fish Tales, father and son Harry and Andre Botha from Fish Finder in Sodwana, Eben and I, decided on a trip to the magical and windy town of Struisbaai on the spur of the moment. We literally planned the whole thing in a matter of two days and off we went! For those unfamiliar with Struisbaai, it is a coastal settlement in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, situated four kilometres from Cape Agulhas, which is the southernmost point of the African continent. The town is an old fishing village which has for many years boasted a beautiful natural but dangerous harbour.
Leaving Cape Town in the late afternoon, we arrived in the sleepy little hamlet at around 22H00 and headed straight for the harbour to inspect the slip which we would launch from a mere five hours later. We had been told that the launch site is not a friendly one, but after familiarising ourselves with the slip and discussing the tides, we felt confident there would be no hassles come launch time.
We arrived at our rented house a short while later, and within moments the fire was lit, drinks were poured and everyone started setting up their gear and spooling line onto reels. Naturally, it didn’t take long for the recounting of old fishing tales to start, as well as tactics for the next day. After eating, a couple of the guys caught a few winks while the rest of us decided to stick it out next to the fire until launch time.
