THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

As a result of this, and particularly in the mornings, the first few hundred yards of shore stretching back
inland can be shrouded in a cool damp mist, which as it turns out is the primary source of coastal
moisture upon which many creatures and any sparse vegetation locally depend.
The sea water too is obviously quite cold, but it teems with life, including many predators, the largest
of which are sharks, and in particular the bronze whaler or copper shark.
Initially during our visit, Johan did much of the casting, allowing us all time to have a play until we got
the feel and balance of the heavy duty outfits provided. Knowing now what was to come, you can easily
see the reasoning behind the heavy choices made. Particularly having the reel seat low down the butt to
allow the use of a butt pad.
In contrast, the baits were quite small made up from gulley shark liver and blood rich gills bound
together to form a sausage using elasticated thread. I've since tried this in UK waters using dogfish liver
and gills for tope, and amazingly, didn't even get a touch. But I digress.
So the baits went in, and the rubby
dubby carcasses were staked out
along the waters edge. We all knew
what we were fishing for which is
why we had made the trip. What we
most certainly did not know was what
to expect shortly after those first baits
entered the water.
After casting, we had the choice either
of standing the rod up vertically in a
sand spike, or holding it upright with
the butt on the sand.
With the pounding waves on the line
rhythmically pulling at the rod tip, at
Gully Shark liver and gills for bait
first we wondered how we might
recognise a bite. What a wasted piece of concern that turned out to be. When a bronze whaler shark
picked up the bait, the rod tip would slowly pull down further and further leaving you struggling to keep
hold of the outfit.
We were told to strike at these fish several times, which we did. Whether that was always necessary in
debatable, because when they picked up a bait they were most definitely having it, and away they went
leaving the poor sole at the other end struggling to play catch up.
One good thing about bronze whaler sharks is that for whatever reason, they appear to prefer to run
parallel to the beach. Had they decided to go seaward, which they so easily could have done, we might
not have landed as many as we did. But running either to the left or to the right meant that you could
follow them, passing rods over and under other people’s lines who were also hooked up themselves.
The singing of taut line in the breeze was seemingly constant. At one point I counted seven out of the
ten of us hooked up at same time being dragged towards the horizon in different directions. But Johan
would not allow people to be dragged too far as there are occasionally desert lions and hyenas in the
area, which with a sea in front of you which is full of sharks, doesn't leave too many options for
somewhere safe to run to. What a venue.
An alternative strategy was to excavate a shallow depression in the sand and sit in it with your feet dug
in hanging on for dear life, rather like fishing from a boat. Unfortunately, this often resulted in a
stalemate situation with no likely winner unless something more decisive was done.
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