Deep-sea fishing charters, Cape Town

Eight hours offshore out of Simon's Town, on a boat certified to work up to forty nautical miles from the coast. This is the serious fishing day: early start, long run, and the real chance of something big.

What it's like

You are at the harbour before light. The run out takes as long as it takes. Cape Point sits about eleven nautical miles from Simon's Town, roughly half an hour, and the tuna grounds lie a further 30 to 50 kilometres beyond that.

Then you fish. Trolling on the way out and between marks, working structure when the sounder finds it. Six anglers, a full tackle station, and a deckhand whose entire job is keeping lines in the water and untangled.

The way home is quiet and usually into a bit of wind. Bring a jumper. What comes over the rail is yours. We ice it and the crew pack it, and it comes off the boat whole; the crew take none of it. Bring a cooler box that fits a tuna.

What's actually running, and when

This is the part most charter sites are vague about, so here it is plainly:

• Yellowfin and longfin tuna: October to June, out on the deep water beyond Cape Point. Yellowfin here run large; fish over 100 kg are caught off this coast
• Yellowtail: all year, closer in
• Snoek: a winter fish, and wind-dependent. Good snoek days are decided by the weather, not the calendar
• Katonkel, bonito and skipjack: through the warmer months

If you book a date when your target species is not in the water, we will tell you before you pay and suggest a better month. A charter sold on a fish that is not there is a charter that disappoints.

What's included

• Skipper and deckhand for eight hours
• Fuel, safety equipment, life jackets
• Water aboard, ice and cold storage for the catch

Rods and tackle are aboard and included. There is nothing to hire and nothing to bring unless you prefer your own.

What you need

• A valid recreational fishing licence. This is a legal requirement on every fishing charter and we cannot take you without it. Buy one online at permits.postoffice.co.za or over the counter at any Post Office. We will remind you the day before, because it is the single most common thing people forget
• Sea-sickness tablets, taken an hour before departure, not when you start to feel it. Eight hours offshore is a long time to be unwell
• Closed-toe shoes, a jumper for the way back, and a water bottle

The boat

El Pescador: a 7.5 m Magnum 25, six anglers, Category B certified to 40 nautical miles, day and night.

If the weather turns

Offshore days are cancelled more often than inshore ones, and that is a feature rather than a fault. We call it 48 hours ahead. If we cancel, you get a full refund or another date. You choose.