Basil Manning

Sardine fever is very real!!! –

Ever since I can remember I start dreaming about sardines as soon as they make a showing. I have often woken up with a very sore shoulder from carrying the cast net in the loaded position the whole night 😂

This year is no different! After having been fishing locally since long before dawn cracked, I was having a little siesta when I suddenly woke up after trying to scramble back up a rock. In my left hand was my Affinity H and brand new Stella 6k SWD and in my right was a bus snoek with the 9/0 on the back of my green skinny GT ice-cream about to fall out 😖
So my awakening was as a result of trying to roll onto my back in order to stand without letting anything disappear in the gully. This is not easy when the bed is in daytime mode and smothered in cushions. I think I nearly drowned 🤣🤣🤣

At the time I put it down to the mental trauma I had recently suffered after losing a very big snoek almost at my feet the evening before.
After having spent the better part of my first day of the 2026 Sardine run fishless, two of my three rods were without terminal sections and in need of re-rigging. I had lost one of my only two green ice creams1. The score was four nil to the fish or should I say the overly abundant seaweed, big sea and maddening crowd😖

The only rod that was ready to go was my specialist snoek rod, a heavy Affinity. With a two stage leader and 12 lb LDS I knew I would have a distinct casting advantage. I saw one of those big brown " lucky beans " on the sand right next to my bag. Being in desperate need of some luck, I popped it into my pocket 😊
Getting away from the gang was critical and the only option was a sloping finger of rock that ran out at about 45 degrees, got seriously hammered with each set and required a hectic wade or swim to get to😖

Once there with the lucky bean in my pocket I felt confident of a fish. I was very quickly rewarded. The fish smashed the plug just beyond the white water and took off in a series of ten to fifteen meter runs, very typical of a bus snoek. Fortunately, it then swung left away from the crowd. After successfully getting it over a bad ledge, I then had to put big pressure to stop it crossing the next ledge and into the gully behind me. After some heart stopping moments, a very enthusiastic young fellow angler jumped in and grabbed it for me.
Now with this bus snoek in one hand and my brand new Stella in the other, l looked to make my way back to the beach. The tide had come in even more and the crossing was hectic! Suddenly it all came flooding back... DEJA VU....

I must have frozen for a while just trying to assess my predicament, when the same guy that had helped me land the fish asked if "Oom" need some help. I very happily accepted and asked if he could take my rod. I then happily jumped in the water and made my way to the beach with a very firm grip on the fish. A great end to the day!
I still have the lucky bean in my bag but it has not worked quite so well and I think most of the luck was used up out there on that rock!!!

- Barry Wareham

Every now and then, a catch stands out for all the right reasons.
This solid sized kob, landed on ultralight tackle in Richards Bay, is one of those moments.
Pieter Lamont hooked into this fish using a bucktail jig, paired with an Assassin Infinity Ultralight and a 1000 Shimano Vanford.
Well done, Pieter
a catch worth remembering 👌🏻
www.basilmanning.co.za

This is what it looks like when your son starts fishing more than you do…

It seems like this morning Dad had to make sure the bread and butter is going to be on the table while Finn made sure that there was going to be fish…😂

Well done Finn! Very nice fish. Sounds like the Basils Walla did the trick…