Andre beats Cell C Sharks flanker

I caught a bonito of 4kg and Jean could only manage a smaller bonito.

We both had bumpy Quattro campaigns in more ways than one.

My planned launch at Rocky Bay was scuppered by a power failure and with it went 95% of my gameplan.

My skipper from Team Mascor knows the Rocky Bay area very well and packed both bait and gear with this spot in mind.

The power outage forced us to travel down to Shelly Beach where my skipper had last fished eight years ago.

We ended up opting for Protea Banks and trolling from the north to the south pinnacle and vice versa.

I also fished this stretch with the Fishing Adventures team during Quattro 2014 and again found both tuna and sharks in attendance.

I had two decent fish taken by sharks and was relieved to get the bonito out before jaws could strike again.

One of my hosts managed two small yellowfin tuna and really wound his fish in with the lurking sharks very much in mind.

Jean, meanwhile, went out on his jetski feeling somewhat under the weather. His tender state was not ideal given the choppy conditions and the flanker eventually had to settle for a disappointing return off Umkomaas.

The overall title went to a 16-year-old boy who caught a 27.5kg couta off Hibberdene. This area also produced a yellowfin tuna of 32.9kg. The points system used meant that the tuna was only good enough for second spot behind the couta landed by the teenager.

(The 32.9kg tuna at the weigh-in site at Pumula Beach Hotel. It took a live bonito.)

Several nice Natal snoek were also landed during Quattro King of the Sea this year.

I am hoping to go much better than the 4kg bonnie at Quattro next year.

I did not catch anything last year and so am happy to have improved in 2015.

I am also hoping to see Deysel involved again at Pumula Beach next year. I will leave negotations in the hands of the team at GoFish Magazine...

Strict bag limits for Quattro competitors should ensure that plenty fish remain out in the ocean for catching and possibly releasing in years to come.

My parting word of advice is to avoid falling overboard when fishing Protea Banks off Shelly Beach. There is no shortage of sharks in that stretch of ocean.

(Photo: Andre Bloem)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre