Leeries - so what have we learnt?

[swsmith]

the bottom line is that we started a thread on this site about the leeries we caught here.it has been available for all to see.the spot that has been producing,is easy to see from the main roads,it wouldnt take a rocket scientist to see the guys are fishing it.

the damage has now been done,the question we need to ask is should it have been kept a secret?or by gaining experience on the species and being able to pass that on on to others.

in the same breath,we can catch them and help people with techniques etc but not tell them where we catch our fish.

what we need to do know is prove that the fish move and can be caught all over the marina.maybe then we wouldnt have a congrecation all at one spot.i mean no offense to the guys that were down this morning.it was the bussiest it has been and no-one got a fish.maybe chris's theory was right.at the end of the day we all just want be able to land a big fish.

maybe we should take a que from kyle and stephen and move a round abit.they proved the merits of that this morning.

[Chris Shelton]

My main reasoning behind posting my observations is to ultimately take the pressure off the one spot that seems to be producing so well. I for one will not be fishing there again if I see more than 5 anglers on the bank. Afterall, I am there to catch fish, not fishermen, and I dont feel confident about that spot at all anymore when there are anglers 30 metres apart.

[rols]

had some guys come in for signs this morning and they saw my flies and started telling me about the big fish coming out at sandvlei. they are freshwater fisherman with a salt section also at the club. they have competitions all over and are now going to try the vlei, "because we can have a braai and a klippies while fishing in comfort" nearly shat myself, but said nothing.
i really hope they don't go as this news will spread quickly
cheers

[Chris Shelton]

I chatted to a guy at the vlei on Sunday. He was paddling around and found a 9kg leerie floating dead in the middle of the vlei. He also advised that he had seen several bait fisherman removing and killing large fish.

You have just brought up something very important Darryl and I would like to touch on this as well. Liam and I also touched on the subject this morning of the way guys handle fish in general.

Agreed, there is nothing greater than ultimately getting your mug shot with your dream catch in your hands, but we need to seriously look at the right way of going about this very closely. I too have been guilty of taking one or two shots too many. What we need to realise is that those leeries give it their all, and they are pretty stuffed by the time we eventually land them. I have noticed that even with the briefest photo session, they take a hell of a long time to recuperate. I have been thinking about this quite a bit and I really think we should not be beaching them at all if possible. Rather get in the water and hold them by the tail, keeping them underwater until the photographer is ready and then one or two quick photos of you holding it should be more than enough. These fish are extremely precious and we really and truly need to handle them with the utmost of care if we want to ensure their survival.

[swsmith]

and so it has begun.........

[KevinC]

Chris obviously I would never request you to remove the post- what you do by posting everything you learn is selfless and really quite an example.

But it is food for thought.

Rols, your post confirms what I am getting at. Eish, it's all too late now- but possibly we should use this as something to think about in the future.

Stephen, your last post makes alot of sense.

Darryl- eish mate- that's not a lekke story to have heard.

And I will say what alot of people are probably saying to themselves right now- who am I to post all of this shyte- it's not like I have any ownership rights over the vlei etc, and just because I am enjoying it does not give me any right to exclude others from having this right as well.

I accept that.

But face it chaps, Sandvlei is a fragile fishery- I would guess that most of the fish in the Vlei are resident fish- it's not like the mouth is open 24/7 (although I wish it was). How those fish survive with the pollution there alone only mother nature herself knows. But anyway, hopefully the comments are food for thought.

[swsmith]

i agree with you there chris.im also to blame

[Chris Shelton]

As long as we learn from our good and bad experiences and make adjustments accordingly.

[Peterva]

My first post. Congratulations firstly to all of you who have caught stunning examples of this great fish. As input to the general discussion on the future of the site, I have been speaking to quite a few bait and spinner fisherman over the last couple of weeks as these catches have been recorded, many of these chaps have been fishing this venue for many years and interestingly practise catch and release. However when fishing the sea they would keep something for the pan. The two main reasons being that they acknowledge that the system is closed for most of the year and could be fished out and secondly the fish coming from a system like Sandvlei are almost inedible and in particular the large ones and they also dont call leervis... leervis for nothing. I think that whilst we publish and incite enthusiam about our catches we collectively should also as passionately incite the philosophy through which we practise our pleasure. It is not about the fish but the experience of fishing. I think that the bigger threat to this system comes from environmental inbalances that occur such as to Riet Vlei and the general activities of the folks that live around the vlei that pose an even greater danger to the fish in this area.

One chap in particular who lives in Lakeside and has fished the area for the last 20 years almost daily, indicated to me that the fact that the mouth opened briefly may have contributed to the increased activity. He has noted his own increased catches.

Depending on the outcome of the pending bad weather on Friday, I may see many of you down there on Saturday morning. I always take my young son of ten with me whether it be streams, stills or salt. I let him play at least 60% of the fish I catch. It is part of educating him about enjoying the experience of sharing nature and forces me to continually think of how best to spend my limited time creating life experiences for myself and him. This approach has worked for me as I have caught my more than my fair share and when catching nothing ... still a winner.

Enjoy the experience

[kyle-J]

Guys i agree with the general school of thought here. BUT, if one looks at the pic on the thread (cant remember who posted it) of the google search on Zandvlei one must realise that people have been fishing it for a long time, you will be surprised at the number of fishermen aswell as a large fish is caught a hype is created and more lines are in the water.

I am mates with some guys who (and i have mentioned this in the past) have fished the vlei with live bait for years. They are all active in the salt water fishing community and i must tell you that the leeries in the vlei are no secret.

I believe that the hype recently created will die down after a few blanks by the type of fishermen we are all worried about. Lets be honest how many of the brandy and coke brigade are prepared to be ther at 5am? The only chaps i have seen there at that time all have fly rods, and with a little education and guidance from the all of us on the forum we should ensure most fish are returned safely.

And just as a precautionary measure, i for one (despite not yet having caught one at the now not so secret magical spot) will move around a bit, in order to attract less attantion.