I’ve been fishing of a kayak for about two years now. We normally target game fish species but during the winter months it is Daga season. Daga Salmon (Argyrosomus japonicus) is a migratory species that prefer the colder water of the Cape coast but frequent the East Coast of South Africa during the colder winter months. 

A friend (Mr. Angazi) and I decided to go to the barge off Umglanga (near Durban on the East Coast of South Africa) even though the swell was predicted at 2.4m (8ft). The barge is a wreck that is quite popular amongst the kayak and ski boat anglers in the area. Surrounding water is at a depth of about 25m (27 yd) and the wreck forms a pinnacle that is 18m (20 yd) at it’s shallowest. This makes excellent shelter for baitfish and big Daga salmon. Other species that frequent this area is Tuna, Bonito, Sailfish, Cuta (Spanish Mackerel), and Kingfish to mention but a few.

I got my first Daga Salmon on Saturday 12/07/08. As I am not a 'pro' fisherman, I relied on tips from Mr. Angazi and Rob Waites to land and load this monster: "Load it backside first otherwise you'll never get it out of the hatch". When I brought this grandpa to the surface, I though it would never fit into the hatch of my Stealth BFS 2010.

I was lucky enough to get passed the back line. After punching a few foamies I chased Mr. Angazi towards the back line. He made it. I swam. Lucky I held onto the ski and got the gap at my third attempt. Persistence pays.

Angazi got a nice snoek (Spotted Mackerel) and we headed for the barge.

The crowds where probably put off by the size of the swell. There was a total of five kayaks on the barge. Just after 8am, a ski boat arrived. This guy was not the sharpest hook in the packet and proceeded to drive his ski boat right through the middle of the group of kayaks. My trap stick's line got caught in his motor and he stripped about 150m of my line. I was pretty pissed off. After I had a nice conversation with the skipper and retrieved some of my line, the ski boat left.

I was very lucky to get six big mackerel (bait fish), I put one on my trap stick and one on my daga rig. I drifted across the barge a couple of times and checked my bait after each attempt. The mackerel was strong. I could feel it get excited every now and then…

At my fourth or fifth drift, I felt the live bait go absolutely crazy! I gave line and felt the bait being taken properly. I free spooled for a few seconds and tightened up. I was sitting with both legs in the water on one side of my STEALTH BFS 2010(to slow down the drift). The fish was hooked and it pulled hard, fighting to gain back the three meters to the bottom. I put my legs back on the kayak as I realized that this was not a small fish.

The fish was furious. I could feel the head shakes and I prayed that my knots would not part. The fight lasted 15min and the fish towed me around in circles like I was a cork on a string. It tired itself out and at every opportunity, I retrieved more and more line whilst keeping maximum possible pressure.

My knots held up and the result was sweet. My first Daga: 32kg (70.5 lb) of fish.

The fish just fit into the hatch. I don't know of any other kayak that can swallow a fish this big!

This was a catch of a lifetime and I’m sure it is going to take me a while to beat this special fishing trip.

For information on Kayak fishing in South Africa, contact me via our fishing web site: www.fishingcorner.co.za. My profile name is Tmullet.

Regards,
Ettienne Thiebaut

Durban - South Africa