Lets talk about...

Yellowtail fishing off Cape Point!

During our Inshore Fishing Trips to Cape Point we mainly target game fish, this includes the Yellowtail fish. Simonstown is a mere 30 minute boat ride from the famous fishing grounds of Cape Point - Our most popular method for catching Yellowtail is what we call "trolling" where we drag our lures behind the boat, while searching for shoals of bait fish on the surface. Sometimes they Yellowtail prefer it when we stop and cast spinners at them - This all depends on the day as each day stems different results from different methods! 

Yellowtail fish:

The Cape Yellowtail (Giant Yellowtail) or Latin name "Seriola Lalandi" migrate towards the east coast of Southern Africa, following the annual Sardine Run. These fish are found in large shoals, in depths of up to 100 meters and feed off smaller fish like Sardines, Squid and Anchovy. Just like the Cape Snoek, Yellowtail is an important commercial line-fish species down here in the Western Cape. Females can reach up to 1.2 meters where males can reach up to 900 centimeters, but as it stands now there is no real legal size limit. 

Finding the fish:

Yellowtail prefer the warmer areas of the cold Atlantic waters of the Cape - An ideal temperature would be between 16 to 19 degrees Celsius, although we have caught Yellowtail in waters as cold as 13/14 degrees Celsius! As Yellowtail is a highly migratory fish, they usually follow the warmer waters, which are usually a result of particular winds blowing. In our case the Southwesterly winds bring the warmer waters to our coast line and with that usually the fish follow! 

We like to depart from Simonstown, False Bay as early as possible - Usually we ask our guests to be at the public jetty by first light, because In our experience, game fish generally like to feed best at first light (morning) or last light (evening)! The first thing we do when we arrive at our desired fishing spot is we start looking for certain birds, in this case "Common Terns" otherwise known to the local fisherman as "Sterretjies", which usually feed on the bait fish that are getting chased to the surface of the water by the schools of Yellowtail! Most of the fishing action takes place near these birds, so its vital that we keep an eye out for any bird activity during the course of our trips!

Be sure to drop us an email, share or leave a comment and we will gladly get back to you! :)

Yellowtail Fishing - Cape Point

Lets talk about...

Snoek fishing charters off Cape Point!

Cape Boat Charters offers action packed Inshore fishing charters off Cape Point - One of the fish species which we target is the "Cape Snoek"!

False Bay, Cape Point is home to a variety of game-fish including the "Cape Snoek" or its latin name "Thyrsites Atun". Also referred to as snake mackerel, these long, thin, silver fish can reach lengths of up to 2 meters and weigh in close to 5-6 kg's. Up until 6 or 7 years ago, Cape Snoek was known to the local fisherman of Cape Town as a winter fish, because they would only catch Snoek in all the month without an "r" in it - This being May, June, July and August!

Snoek feed mainly on sardine, mantis shrimps and anchovy, which gives this fish a unique flavor which the locals praise! The traditional South African way to prepare Snoek is on what we call a "braai" otherwise known and a barbeque around the rest of the world - An apricot jam dressing is known to go down well with Snoek!

Snoek is found in waters from Port Elizabeth to the north of Angola, but mostly between Cape Agulhas (the most southern tip of Africa) and the Cunene River. They are an important traditional catch for the line fishers of South Africa, but are also caught in the masses by the trawl fisheries using trawl nets, as they do with hake. It is favored by the local communities as it forms a big part of their diet.

Feel free to comment, share or email us with regards to any questions or inquiries!

We would love to hear from you! :)

Inshore Fishing Charter - Cape Snoek fishing

Game Fishing Off Cape Point!

Yellowtail Fishing!

We headed off for a Half-Day Fishing Charter towards Cape Point from Simonstown at 6:00 am this morning in search of Yellowtail, Katonkel and possibly Cape Snoek! There were a couple of commercial boats on anchor sitting off Buffels Bay trying for some Snoek, but we didn't see anything coming up so decided to push on towards the point. When we arrived our guests took some photos of Cape Point and the South Western Tip of Africa, Cape of Good Hope as we were setting our lines for a days fishing. 

We had 15 degree water temperature and plenty of birds working in our area. We started off catching 1 or 2 Katonkel, but shortly after the birds seemed to disperse so we upped our lines and made our way to a well known reef called "Rocky Bank" about 3 or 4 miles south/south west of Cape Point. When we arrived there, there weren't a lot of birds working like earlier but the boats were all huddled up close to each other so we knew that something must have happened. We stuck it out and slowly the fish started to bite! 

First the one rod would go off (rapala) and then another rod (feather) and before we knew it we were having triple hook-ups! Each of our guests took turns pulling fish until we had a nice amount for then to take home. We had almost no wind the entire morning and zero swell. It was a pleasant Inshore Fishing Trip for all involved! :) 

Monster Yellowtail for the birthday boy!

Charl, the birthday boy and a couple of his friends joined us today on a Half-Day Inshore Fishing Charter off Cape Point, South Africa! We departed from Simonstown around 6:30 am and we were off to an early start. Mostly all Game fish are known to bite better during first light (early morning) or last light (late afternoon), well that's what we have experienced with over 20 years of sea-experience in the False Bay area and surrounds!

We arrived at Cape Point around 7:00 am, but to our surprise the water had gone cold over night due to the strong wind that had been blowing - We had 13 degree water, which is generally too cold for Yellowtail and other game fish which we target. There was also no sign of bird life (usually Common Terns and Cape Gannets) which are a massive aid when it comes to hunting these game fish, but we were determined to give our guests, especially the birthday boy the best experience possible, so we went in search of warmer water!

Using his knowledge and experience, our skipper, Alan decided to head South East of Cape Point to a well known fishing area called "Rocky Bank" - Four miles from Cape Point we started seeing signs of bird life and the water temperature was 2 degrees warmer. We hooked our fish, a Katonkel around 7:00 am and Charl was the first one to grab the screaming rod! Not long after, his friend was onto a fish of his own, this time a Yellowtail!

Before we knew it, the boys had each landed themselves 4 or 5 fish and could not smiling from ear to ear! The biggest Yellowtail was close to 7kgs and both boys were super proud of their new personal bests! Our boats policy allows our guests to keep their catch, which they did - Well done to them on their catch and enjoy tonight's supper! :)

On the left the birthday boy, Charl and his friend both smiling from ear to ear holding their Yellowtail Fish!

FULL HANDS AND FULL ON SMILES!

Our guests today, Mark and Sharon, joined us on a Half-Day Inshore Charter to Cape Point - We departed from Simonstown at first light and made our way past Boulders Beach, home to thousands of African Penguins, formerly known as "Jackass Penguins". As we arrived at Cape Point we put our lines in the water and before the line was even properly set we had our first strike with a Yellowtail on a Rapala. After Mark landed the first fish, it was on! We continued to pull fish one after another (Katonkel and Yellowtail) until it was time to head back. On our return home we came across a group of Humpack Whales doing there thing in the distance. We managed to get a few pictures to end off the great day! Well done to Mark and Sharon on their catch! :)

EXPLOSIVE DAY OF FISHING!

Today was one of "those" days where everything seemed to turn out perfectly - With warm water, 16.5 degrees to be exact, there were thousands of Common Terns and Cape Gannets feeding off massive Anchovy Bait Balls as we arrived at Cape Point. To our surprise, there was only one other fishing boat out, but hey, we weren't complaining - Just meant more fish for us! We started troweling our lures as we reached the "washing machine" (a well known area at Cape Point for mixed currents colliding) and it wasn't long after that we had our first strike! We started off landing one's and two's of Katonkel for the first hour and then the Yellowtail decided to play! Our guests from Germany (all six of them) took turns in pulling fish, almost non-stop until we had our allowed limit, sometimes all three rods would go off causing for some real action! Before we knew it, we had a boat full of fish and the sun was setting, so we decided to head back to Simonstown.

On our way back we were greeted by three or four different groups of Southern Right and Humpack Whales - We made sure to keep our legal distance and the guests were able to get some good pictures of these incredible animals doing their thing! Once we got back, we helped our guests fillet one or two of their catch and off they went smiling from ear to ear! As we like to support the locals, we decided to give the remaining fish (20 or more) to the local haven, "Happy Valley Home", a place for the homeless and hungry people in Simonstown and it's surroundings. It was a perfect way to end off such a outstanding day at sea! 

Seal VS Fish?

As you can see in the picture below, our local guest Terry (right), holding whats left of his Yellowtail fish after a long and tiring battle between himself and a Cape Fur Seal - Fortunately, Terry won the tussle and managed to land his fish along with a few more, including a couple of Katonkel. Despite the seals making it more of a challenge, both our guests were happy with their catch and how the day turned out - On our way back to Simonstown, we thought we would get a picture of our guests holding their fish with the culprits (which made our day that much more challenging) in the background ha ha! Well done guys, great catch! :)

(The Cape Fur Seal is the only seal species that breed here in South Africa, however we do occasionally see Elephant Seals and Sub-antarctic Fur Seals popping up along our coast lines. Male "Bull" seals can grow up to 2.5 meters in length and can weigh up to 350kgs max, where the female "Cow" seals are much smaller, growing up to 1.5 meters in length and weighing up to 80kg max.)

SPRING HAD US OFF TO A GREAT START!

Our guests from France joined us today for a Half-day Inshore Fishing Charter to Cape Point - On our route to Cape Point, we had two Humpback Whales pop-up next to us and to our surprise they didn't seem one bit phased by us, in fact they proceeded to follow us in the opposite direction, which was quite something to witness! After a quick stop off for some pictures at one of the smaller Cape Fur Seal colony's near Millers Point, we started seeing a lot of bird-life in the distance which meant business! When we arrived at Cape Point, there were Common Terns going crazy on big shoals of Yellowtail and Katonkel with 14.5 degree water - It wasn't long until we hooked our first fish on a Rapala (backlines), but as the morning went on it seemed that the fish were more interested in us spinning, resulting in a few more pulls! After having pulled a couple of Yellowtail and Katonkel, the guests were happy to be heading back. To end off a superb day at sea we were greeted by another two whales on our route home, this time two Southern Right Whales, which also seemed to be mating/calving!

(Our whale season starts from July and ends at the end of September and one can expect to see plenty Southern Right Whales, Humpack Whales and Bryde's Whales - One of the main reasons why they come into False Bay is to calve as the bay is more protected.)

A BETTER SIZE YELLOWTAIL!

Fish were very scarce yesterday, good signs of life but didn't want to bite, however on this Inshore Fishing Trip we did manage to land this nice size Yellowtail off Cape Point! 😁🐟🐠