El Pescador

El Pescador is the deep-sea boat. A Magnum 25: 7.5 metres, twin 140hp Suzukis, based at Simon's Town. She exists to do one thing properly: put six anglers on fish, a long way from the harbour, and get them home.

What she carries

Six anglers plus crew. Six is deliberate. On an eight-hour offshore day, a crowded deck is a bad day, and six is the number where everyone gets a rod, a rail and a share of the action.

She carries a full tackle station, cold storage for the catch, and the electronics to find structure rather than guess at it.

Where she is allowed to go

Category B, registration DTC 16359. Her certificate reads unusually wide: the area from the Orange River to Ponta do Ouro, no more than 40 nautical miles offshore, day and night.

From Simon's Town that range matters. Cape Point is roughly eleven nautical miles away, about thirty minutes, and the tuna grounds sit a further 30 to 50 kilometres beyond it. She is certified to work all of it.

What she is used for

• Deep-sea fishing: eight hours offshore. Tuna when the current is right, and snoek when the wind allows
• Inshore charters: trolling and reef fishing inside the bay, lines off at 12h00
• Bottom and reef fishing: a shorter, more sheltered day on structured ground for kob, kingklip and steenbras
• Snorkel with tuna: when the bait-fish are running, getting in the water with the schools
• Overnight fishing charters: the long one. Marlin and the big pelagics, sleeping aboard

What is actually running when

Yellowfin and longfin tuna are an October to June proposition off Cape Point. Yellowtail bite all year in the bay. Snoek are a wind-dependent winter fish. Reef species hold through the year.

We will tell you what is realistic for your date before you book. A charter sold on a species that is not in the water is a charter that disappoints, and we would rather move you to the right month.

Booking her

Skipper, fuel, safety equipment and water aboard are included. Rods and tackle are aboard and included. Bring sea-sickness tablets and take them an hour before departure, not when you start feeling it.

You need a valid recreational fishing licence. Weather cancellations are refunded in full, or moved. Your call.