Rumbly Bay couldn’t keep the (Cape) Doctor away
The 44th October Comp kicked off in October with the opening function and boat draw. Teams from all over South Africa made the trek to the Cape Boat and Skiboat Club at Miller’s Point to take part in the prestigious competition – held in the deep off Cape Point for the 44th time. Three provincial teams, seven club teams and one dive team competed and showed their mettle against the Cape of Storms and the notorious large shoals of yellowfin tuna.
On the first day, Wednesday the 24th, the Cape of Storms won the day and the strong South-Easter kept the boats moored and ensured that the anglers had a day of rest to build up their reserves for the battle that awaited them. The second day produced kinder weather with the wind dropping off enough for the anglers to proceed to the deep waters and the good conditions got even better once the boats reached the canyon.
On the way to the deep the boats passed large shoals of yellowtail at Cape Point and the boats that weren’t involved in the competition had plenty of fun, filling up their quotas quickly on the eager yellowtail. The fish were in their usual hunting grounds – and they were evidently hungry after the gales of the preceding days.
The yellowfin were feeding near the surface and they were keen to get stuck into the well rested anglers. There were plenty of hard luck stories of anglers fighting fish for several hours only to lose them near the boat. But there were also plenty stories of great success – in total 15 yellowfin were landed (varying in weight between 16 and 92 kg’s) and eight longfin (between 10 and 18 kg’s).
The largest yellowfin of the day matched the All Africa Record at a whopping 92.5 kg on 10 kg line! The ‘Spearo team’ divers also excelled and landed five yellowfin, weighing between 68 and 86 kg’s. The prospects for the third day looked fishable and the anglers retreated early after a good dinner at the club to lick their wounds, build up their reserves and get ready to resume the battle against the monsters of the deep…