Terence Clark

Hope can provide some clarity on estimated weights as mentioned on some of the threads. The reason estimate weights is that according to Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) in Durban,RSA it damages a sharks internal organs when it is lifted up and weighed. When say estimate it is not a thumb suck figure but based on the length of a shark from tip of nose to pre-cordial tail notch(excludes tail) and a conversion scale supplied by ORI. This scale is available on their website www.ORI.ORG.ZA This conversion scale is accurate enough to be used during all shore angling tournaments,local and international instead of weighing fish in order to reduce stress and injuries to fish. Personally have tested the conversion scale and actual weighing of fish over many years and found it to be pretty accurate with only a disparity of about 5% with big pregnant female sharks. So if you doubt your guides estimates get the tag length info and got to ORI website and select “fish weight caculater” select species,sex and enter tag length(mm).Will provide you with accurate weight. As for the records the old RSA record of 192kg which was caught in Namibia, has become absolute due to change in competition rules regarding line diameter in 1994. Under new system are restricted to max. .60mm diameter mono and 9 metre length of leader,for competition and record purposes. Thus the current Namibian record is 176kg is held by a 15 year old junior angler. Most guides also use heavier tackle,larger reels enabling clients to land bigger fish and shortening the fight duration to ensure a successful tag and release. Happy to answer any requests via e-mail as unfortunately can not check all the forums regulary as out fishing/guiding from dawn to dusk. Cheers Terence

ORI_Forum.doc

Hi Elton Following your request about roker thought you might find this interesting. I have attached a few pictures of the bullrays we get in Namibia. These were caught by accident when some of the local subsistence fishermen netted them. Was estimated to be about 10 tons in the net with a further 30 tons shoaling a few metres from the beach. In an attempt to free the fish quickly they cut their net in two but many of the rays were hooked by their tail barbs on the nets mesh. Took the netters about 4 hours to release all the rays, on a positive note ,only 4 rays did not survive. Was a sight to behold with so many rays shoaling so close to shore and following close behind was loads of big bronzies feeding on the stragglers. Needless to add that the catches of bronzies/copper sharks have also been very good this season. Some guides have reported double figure pick-ups on some days and with the sea conditions so good, can actually sea the bronzies jumping and finning the water. Just south of Walvisbay we are also experiencing the best run of “kob” we have had in years. Some of the UK clients have mentioned that the kob resembles a sea bass with similar feeding habits. Fish are in the 8-16kg range and should be around for the duration of the spawning season.

First had to find out what is "roker" and no we do not have the same species you are referring to but we do occasionally get the odd big Thorntail ray and generally large, 20kg plus.Cannot really target them though as they just appear when have really flat and warm water. Normal ray we catch is the Bull ray and blue ray also up to 20kg range.

Well it is sad that I have been drawn into this but feel that have to defend my reputation and that of a great product built up over a number of years. See website for details www.molaangling.com I spend in excess of 200 days per year fishing this coastline and think that i have a more than an intimate knowledge of this coastline and its fishing. It is a well known fact that the catches of large copper sharks were below average for period Nov 05 –Jan 06 due to abnormal high water temperatures. Subsequent to this things normalised with the sharks being caught in large numbers again as per tagging statistics and reports from fellow guides. The guides in Namibia tend to share information and do not see guiding as a competition but rather co-operate to ensure that clients catch rate go up which benefits all in the long run. The same goes for guiding rates and all charge in the same ballpark figure. It is only when some agents offer package deals that the rate becomes distorted. As a guideline, registered professional, guides charge between N$650-N$800/day/person for the fishing. Inclusive of guide with 4x4, bait ,tackle ,packed lunch, coolbox with softdrinks/beer, permits, daily pick-up and drop off at Hotel. Accommadation can be between N$300-N$400/day/person on bed and breakfast basis and self- catering/sharing even less. You do the maths and see where I am coming from. It will always be cheaper to book direct. Mr Mcguire has only been acting as a booking agent for Mola Mola Angling Namibia following initial trip as a client with Mola Mola Angling Namibia. Our relationship ended when he suddenly left Namibia. It is reported that he left before being asked to do so, by the Namibian Authorities. This timely departure also left a number of people with financial matters outstanding. I am happy to elaborate on any of these issues and answer any question. Regards Terence