South Africa part 9 - Struisbaai chapter 1 - ragged tooth

On the evening of Friday, March 22nd Josh and I drove our rental car from Gordon's Bay down to Stuisbaai, a few hours along the coast to the south. When we arrived we met Xander de Beer, owner of Zoo Look Fishing, who would be our guide for the next few days. Xander's specialty is big sharks from the surf, which Josh and I hoped to catch in order to balance out all the tiny fish we had been catching. We arrived in Struisbaai with enough daylight for Xander to take us out for a short session. We met up with his friend Stefan and fished the surf in a rocky cove. Josh caught a spotted gully shark, but I came up empty handed. Once it got dark we packed up and drove back to the house Xander had rented for the three of us.

The next morning we started early at one of Xander's low tide spots. We walked out over a field of rocks and cast out into deeper water. We played the waiting game, but the sharks didn't show up.

Since our baits weren't getting any interest, Xander kept us moving to new spots. Our next stop was a cove surrounded by jagged rocks and tidepools. Xander told us this spot was great for sharks.

We picked our way over the rocks and set our gear down where there was some protection from the crashing surf. The water was churning from the wind and surf, and the waves would occasionally wash into the tidepools carved into the rock.

The bite was slow, but we were able to pick up a few species. Josh caught a new species of klipfish in the tidepools. I tried as well but came up with the same super klipfish from Gordon's Bay. We each got a few nibbles on our shark baits, and Josh pulled in a small shyshark, and I caught a saltwater catfish.

 

Super Klipfish (Clinus superciliosus)


Black Seacatfish (Galeichthys ater) - new hook & line species #633


We took a break from fishing to stop by Africa's southernmost point. This point also divides the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks for joining me on this little side adventure Josh!

Xander needed to stop back at the house to get some baits for our evening session, so he dropped us off at the marina so we could species fish. This was really the only time we fished next to other people in Struisbaai, and we had a few encounters with flying sinkers and hooks from younger anglers. Fortunately no eyes were poked out.

Photo courtesy of Josh Leisen.

There were small fish around the rocks, but catching them proved to be tricky. By the time Xander came back, Josh had caught a species of fingerfish, and I had caught a salema and a Janbruin, or John Brown. I think we left a few new species on the table at this spot, but that was ok as we were eager to get back to shark fishing.

Salema (Sarpa salpa)


Janbruin (Gymnocrotaphus curvidens) - new hook & line species #634


Xander drove us out of town to a sandy beach where we could soak baits in the surf for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The road going to the parking area was so choked with sand that only a 4x4 vehicle could make it. We had the beach mostly to ourselves.



We soaked big baits on Xander's rods, and while we waited for the sharks to show up I fished a smaller rig with my travel gear. Josh and I were both really excited to catch lesser guitarfish, and we didn't get tired of them even after we pulled in several each. Later in the afternoon we doubled up on dusky kob, which was the same species I caught in Durban Harbor.

Lesser Guitarfish (Acroteriobatus annulatus) - new hook & line species #635


Dusky Kob (Argyrosomus coronus)


After dark our thoughts turned to sharks. It was their hour, and we really hoped they'd show up hungry and find our baits. We were teased by smoothhounds, which weren't the sharks we were hoping for, but at least it was a new species. There had to be something bigger out there though.

Smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus) - new hook & line species #636


Finally it happened - one of the big rods bent over, and line started peeling off the reel. We let the fish run for 20 or 30 seconds, and then I lowered the rod tip as I tightened up the drag. When I lifted the rod back up, the circle hook dug in, and the fight began!

I've caught a few decent sized sharks in San Diego, but nothing has tired me out as much as this fish. Its runs weren't very fast, but whatever it was had a lot of weight, and when it wanted to go in a particular direction, there wasn't much I could do to stop it. We didn't keep track of how long the fight took, but I would estimate that 30 minutes went by where the fish was in charge, and then over the next 10 minutes I put line back on the reel and eventually got it into the surf. Xander followed the line out in the dark and grabbed its tail, a huge ragged tooth or sand tiger shark!

Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus) - new hook & line species #637


We measured its precaudal length at 190 cm or 6 feet 3 inches. Xander looked up an estimate of its weight with a length vs. weight chart, and it came out to 286 lbs. It was almost 3 times heavier than the biggest fish I'd ever caught! We kept her on wet sand where the occasional wave would wash over her gills, and once we were finished taking measurements and a few photos, I turned the big girl around and pulled her back into waist deep water and watched her swim away.

Josh didn't have to wait long for his rod to go off, and we repeated the whole process again. The only difference though was that his ragged tooth shark was even bigger! Its weight estimate was 327 lbs, by far the biggest fish Josh has ever caught. It was such an epic end to the night, and it was an experience we will never forget. Both of our sharks had tags near their dorsal fins, and Xander was able to send in the info and find out more about the two sharks. Both had been caught in the Struisbaai area by recreational anglers multiple times over the years, which goes to show how important ethical handling and catch and release fishing are for large sharks. I'm sure both of them will add on 50 more lbs and eventually be caught again.