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.)
60 000 SQUABBLING CAPE FUR SEALS!
Our guests from Spain joined us today on a Scenic Eco Trip to Seal Island, False Bay! The island is home to well over 60 000 Cape Fur Seals and a variety of bird life, including 4 different species of Cormorant. With the Cape Fur Seals being the Great White Sharks main source of food, there is always a chance of witnessing a once in a life time encounter between the two species! With the Island being situated approximately 16kms (8 Nautical Miles) from Simonstown, we frequently encounter other magnificent sea animals like Dolphins and Whales, like we did today! :)
THE OCEAN WAS ALIVE YESTERDAY!
False Bay was alive yesterday with MASSIVE pods of Common Dolphins and plenty Southern Right Whales. Despite having rain with us for parts of the morning, we were lucky enough to run a half-day Scenic Eco-Charter to Cape Point! Our morning started with a brief stop off at Patridge Point in False Bay to view a small seal colony of approximately 100 Cape Fur Seals - We then made our way to Cape Of Good Hope (most South Western tip of Africa). Cape Point from a sea perspective is breath-taking and a must for all keen photographers. These guests made sure they captured the moment before heading back home.
On our return home we spotted five Southern Right Whales in the distance - Our guests fortunately had good cameras and were able to get some great pictures of these amazing animals! It was a great day for all involved! :)
