The beach sessions

Conrad Botes and I headed out for a beach session this last Thursday evening.  It was challenging to say the least.  Not so much the fishing as the logistics.  We first got stuck nicely in the sand.  After sacrificing a pair of Havianas and the two of us doing our best Border Collie impressions in the sand we finally managed to dig ourselves out.

The water looked great on the way out and I quickly spotted a Duckbill with a lot of mullet hanging around.  We pushed on until about midnight at which point we started working the water at the De Mond river mouth.

I kept feeling takes on the fly and then ON.  It felt like a bucket and hardly moved.  Eventually the hook pulled.  A ray of sorts I must have fouled.  A few minutes later and a smaller fly and I had a Sand Shark on.  Also fouled.  What was obviously happening was that they would feel the vibration of the line on the sand and then sit on it.  When the fly would reach it would snag them.

To avoid this I headed for deeper water and 3 casts in I was on.  In a big way.  A massive hit followed by a blistering run.  My rod tip dipping and shaking.  Well into my backing I started screaming for help.  Like a little girl. Some time later I had the fish in and… waaah waaah wahh.  Another sand shark.  There were times I was honestly convinced I had the Steenie of a lifetime on.  When I saw how the fish was fouled it made sense.  He was hooked right at the back of the tail, the tail hitting the leader produced the “Head Shakes” I thought i was feeling, and it used the strong tidal flow like a sail.  A few casts later I fouled an electric ray which produced another nice surprise.  Albeit a rather shocking one.

The hike back took us hours, and, sopping wet we fell asleep in the car.  A few hours later the sun rose and two frozen grumpy anglers headed out, completely finished.  Neptune seems to be testing me lately.