Connie and I drove down to Cape Infanta with Sue de Moyencourt this last weekend to her family's old electricity-free cottage situated on the "heel" of San Sebastian point, in the bush just outside the village of Cape Infanta. It was bought by her grandfather in 1945 and is understandably perfectly situated with regard to an unspoilt view and shelter from the wind.
The cottage and it's view of San Sebastian point in the distance (a 20 minute walk).
The gravel road from Swellendam presented us with a (not unexpected) puncture which I was able to fix on the roadside with a newly acquired repair kit and air compressor, with very little delay, so we got there in good time for some evening spinning off the ledges near Sedgewick's. Conditions were perfect with a gentle S-SE breeze and pushing neap tide and I landed a 60cm leerie on an Alcock "double slim" spoon and then retired to the cottage for sundowners! The nearby fly fishermen landed several smaller leeries but I was after something bigger and didn't fiddle with fly rods; in fact, I threw an octopus leg out into the stream with my big rod, hoping for a kob, but only got the attention of blaasoppies. In all probability, closer to midnight would have been a better time for the kob.
The weather was close to perfect and the next morning we all headed to the point. The tide was too high and the swell too big to get onto the tip of the point so I fished into the bay to the south of the point. I made the trip to the point each day and did get to spin early one morning at low tide into the deep, without any luck but encouraged by the sepia and colour tinted photographs in the cottage of Sue's father, Tom Bromley, holding large tunny, yellowtail and leeries caught from this illustrious fishing spot. The nearby bay was productive (for the pot fisherman) and I took three blacktail, a red roman, a rock cod and a shark on pilchard/chokka baits. The casting was easy out to the deep water near the point and I got my sinker back most of the time. No mussel cracker, but then I wasn't able to forage for the right baits with it being a neap tide. An interesting feature is that all the blacktails had light blue pectoral fins which I had not seen before on fish caught at Thyspunt and Wilderness. At Thyspunt the blacktail vary from almost black to silver but none have blue fins.
The path to the point.
The bay to the south of the point.
Each morning we had a swim at the Cape Infanta slipway and using Sue's goggles I was able to photograph the blacktails with their distinctive blue pectoral fins.
Blacktail with blue pectoral fins.
An unusual observation on one of these dives (in truth I simply stuck my head under as there was less than a fathom of water) was that I spotted a cuttlefish rooting next to a rock. In order to camouflage itself and look like the rocks, it had "prickled" up its skin. It then completely changed its appearance as it swam off over the sandy bottom, all the time keeping a beady eye on me!
The cuttlefish rooting next to a rock.
Cuttlefish now swimming away!
Each evening we sat around the fire with our sundowners and on one evening grilled the offerings of the Fishing Finnemore!
What can be better than this?
Cape Town, 10 December 2012.
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