Karel and I have over the years become friends and now there is even talk of doing the Duzi together, this is his story of how the North finds out just why we live in the South...Enjoy!!

This is how I started fishing off a fishing ski.

I am Karel Wilmot or better known as “DUTCHMAN”.
I moved down from Jo’burg about 5 years ago with a company transfer.
Everyday after work I would go to the beach, in search of a live shad (the ‘STYWE LYNE said it was real easy to catch a Garrick or Kingfish off the rocks, you just had to get a live Shad!). I soon realised that “MIELIEPAP” did not work as weeks went by…no live shad! 

I went to Kingfisher to get the right groceries to catch a Shad. As I walked in, a   “SOUTIE” came to me, clearly knowing that he’s going to make good money out of this “VALIE”.  I asked him where and how to catch a Shad, his reply “Why don’t you try to fish of a fishing ski, first you have to go to a fishing clinic and then you have to join a club that would help you.” Markham Pollard said. I enrolled for the clinic that weekend presented by Markham and I went to a club meeting that Wednesday at Winklespruit.

It was a big shock to realise that there were only two other Afrikaans speaking guys in this club. After a couple of beers and lots of advice I thought this was not so difficult and I joined the club. The very next day I ordered my first boat, by the name of “BLIKSEM” … and did I use this word quite a lot trying to get past backline!

For the first 5 months I gathered all the information from club members that were not irritated with all my questions, as I could not catch a fish. At one point I think Markham, Datsun, Darryl and Peter were all desperate to get me off their backs and all tried to help me catch my first fish. I used the same traces and bait as them, paddled next to them, but for five months all I did was watching TV.

This one morning out at Scotties I was watching TV again as everybody had at least two fish in the hatch. I came to the conclusion that this sport was not for me! As I raced back to the shark nets (to catch Datsun to help me call the backline), my reel started screaming like no other noise I heard before. I was shouting at this fish to let go as I was trying to get to backline but this fish was ON! With nobody in sight to help me land this fish I started to reel her in. 

The first time I saw this lady I realised that she was way bigger than the 3 kg Carp I use to catch. I started to panic, still nobody in sight and the biggest fish I saw in my live, it was way too big for me to land! At times I was praying for the hooks to pull out, but this fish was going nowhere. As she came up to the boat for the sixth time, lying on her side I decided that this is it, now’s the time to gaff her! What a beauty, a 12,7kg Couta!

After that, I was hooked on this sport, will still be hooked even when I am as old as Peter Bally Bolleart and Peter Turbo Callahan!

Stywe lyne,

Dutchman.