Interesting Articles written by Barry Wareham

It is always difficult trying to cap your enthusiasm when you are really excited about a new product that is not yet available in the market.  I have been fishing with a prototype of the above rod for some time now and besides a few close friends and one or two inquisitive fellow anglers, I have pretty much kept it to myself waiting for the rods to arrive.  At last they are here.

This is the very first 14’6 surf casting three-piece rod that has been designed very specifically for braid and fixed spool reels.  What has amazed me is the versatility of the rod.  Being deliberately slow from an action point of view and yet incredibly strong from a pulling power point of view.  Being Toray Graphite, the rod is extremely robust and can tolerate huge pulling pressure.   This means that this rod can be used for almost anything from Bronze Bream to Raggies and such likes.  It throws 5oz to 7oz perfectly, with 6oz being the optimum.  What a lot of people don’t understand is that this type of rod with its slow action can only really be used with one tip.  Anything softer or heavier is going to interfere with the curve.  The opposite is obviously true with the fast-action, multiplier type rods where the average rod can certainly accommodate a 2^nd tip.  Three tips is an absolute waste.  I am yet to find a person who uses more than two tips and even those are fairly scarce on a multiplier rod.  This rod was designed very specifically with one tip.

Coffee grinders and braid is like chalk and cheese when comparing them to multipliers and monofilament.  The rods have to be totally different.   With multipliers and nylon the rods tend to be a lot more specific in terms of their application and they need to be fast-action.  These new slower-action rods are far more versatile and cover a much bigger range of applications.  This really is a “catch anything” kind of rod.  I have thrown from Bay Squid to Yellowtail heads with it and find that I favour this rod more than any other that I have.  It is not often in my life that I have wanted to go fishing just to be able to use a piece of equipment.  I have coupled this rod to the Shimano Bulls Eye which should be hitting our shores very soon.   The most amazing thing is the balance and the ease of use.  It is an incredibly comfortable rod to fish with.   The many hours that I have spent throwing lures with braid on spinning rods have taught me a lot about the action that one should look for in a rod.  in my opinion, this rod is pretty much as close as you are going to get to being perfect with the technology that is available today for surf casting with bait using a fixed spool reel.   

My last few visits to Umhloti have been amazing.  Until now surviving on the odd pull from Salads, little Kingies, Garfish, etc and then earlier this week watching my son being pulled to his knees by a Kingie grabbing his spoon at his feet kept the enthusiasm going.  Every morning of late has just been so beautiful.  The birds have also been a little curious.  The resident Goliath or Giant Kingfisher making his regular appearance on Pinnacle rock, along with his lesser companions, the Pied Kingfishers and then what looks like some young Albatrosses gliding in on the heavier swells earlier this week and lots of juvenile Malgas or Cape Gannets.  This morning really blew me away when six Oyster Catchers went flying past on their way up north.  Not a huge birder, but that seems very early or else there is something nasty coming from down South weather wise. 

After a few on-offs a few mornings ago, this morning they all stuck.  The first Snoek was very early and had to make careful work of my footing in fighting the fish.  Having had a little bit of a drought for a while my determination led me right to the very edge only to be taught some respect by Neptune fortunately coming out just with a few decent fishing wounds – but the fish was out!  That was the good old slow retrieve with the glow bullet before dawn cracks story.  Not much went on for a while until it was time to change tactics and test a new foil Couta Casting spoon.  The very first top-speed retrieve was met with instant success.  I was just starting to think that Couta Casting was a very appropriate name based on what I assumed was on the end when a big shark put an end to that contract. 

May is the month of the big Snoek but it is also Blackfin time and the dangers or being taxed on a decent fish are very real.  Another Couta Casting foil, but this time second choice colour, five or six top-speed retrieves later, another on with a big splash on the surface.   My heart jumped into my mouth as I expected a big fish to take off and to be taxed yet again.  Don’t know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate but the fish came quite easily and then put up a major scrap right next to the rocks - once again having to rock crab all over the show to find the appropriate gully to slide it out.  Two Snoeks (93cm and 81cm) for the morning must surely be the start of a good day – and it’s the start of a weekend!

If you enjoy eating mussels, get out there and get picking (assuming you are all licensed up).  In May the quantity of flesh inside each mussel is amazing.  They are all plumped up, ready for the winter.  Good time for picking.   Can’t wait for the mussel starter tonight, followed by fresh grilled Snoek.  Couldn’t ask for a better meal after an amazing morning.

Tried this recipe last night on mussels and it was amazing:

Fry 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves crushed garlic and thyme with a little olive oil in a pan until soft but before it changes colour.  If you have any spring onion, chop the green parts into short (30mm) size lengths and add this to the pan as well.  If you like a small bite, chop a green chilli quite finely and add this to the mixture.  Add a glass of dry white wine and while this is simmering, add a dash of white pepper and a teaspoon of Aromat.  Allow the mixture to reduce to almost a third.  At this point, throw in your 30 steamed and de-shelled fresh plump mussels and then add 200 ml of fresh cream or you can substitute the cream with a milk and flour mixture to give the sauce some substance.  If you are fond of cheese, throw in about a handful of grated cheddar cheese and once melted and stirred in, throw in some freshly chopped parsley and I like to put a few more sprigs of spring onions into the pan.  Put the lit onto the pan while you wait for your choice of crispy bread, or toasted fingers to be ready.   Make sure you use a spoon otherwise you will eat your fingers off!