The Mystery Fish Caught On A Chokka Jig At False Bay Cape Town
This article was written by Andrew Hoek and the images of the Cape Dory were provided by him...
Unless
Buffels is full of boats when we launch, jigging for chokka is usually
something that gets left as a “last cast” just before we head to the
slipway. This was definitely an end of the day activity having been out
looking for yellow tail to no avail. It would have been around 16:00,
fairly cool but beautifully clear, when we anchored just off Buffel’s in
our usual chokka jigging grounds. The weight on the end of my line
suggested either a very large chokka or a double. I had no indication
that a fish was on the end as it felt just like the dead-weight one is
accustomed to with chokka. With something that heavy coming from 40
meters and with the need to keep a constant pressure my tired arms
almost dropped the rod when I got the first flash of the fish. As a
regular fresh water angler, my second thought was large mouth bass as
the fish came to the surface with its mouth wide open. Neither my
brother-in-law nor I had any idea what I had hooked into. I immediately
retrieved the jig from deep within a mouth I could fit my whole hand
into and tried to ensure that he stayed alive by “swimming” him
alongside the boat. Unfortunately, it appeared that the trip up from
depth had done permanent damage. We had a few of the regular boats
around so we upped anchor and went in search of answers. The only clue
we got was “John Dory”. Hours of internet searching and chatting later,
I came across a scientific site which confirmed that it was indeed a
Cape Dory. The Cape Dory (Zeus Capensis) has a very distinctive dorsal
fin and the spot is more of a brown smudge than the very distinctive
black spot of the John Dory. Sometimes record catches are not about the
weight, but about the
species. This is definitely one that falls into
that category of my records.
- Angler: Andrew Hoek (Green & Sea Point Anglers Club)
- Location: Buffels Bay, False Bay, Cape Town
- Tackle: Rod: Elbe 6ft jigging rod | Reel: Okuma Trio 30 | Jigs: Pink chokka jig (heavy) and green floating jig.
- Species: Cape Dory (Zeus Capensis) Read more...
- Weight: 3Kg (estimated)
- Length :600mm (estimated)
Below, Andrew Hoek with his proud a catch, the very rare and unusual Cape Dory (Zeus Capensis)...
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