Expect Big Fish at The 51st Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational

More big tuna catches, two comps rolled into one and all the info on the 51st annual Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational

Two awesome tuna comps in one: It’s time again for the Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational and the SADSAA Own Choice Tuna Interprovincial – both happening at the same time at Cape Boat and Ski-Boat Club at Miller’s Point near Simon’s Town, 21–26 October 2019.

To give you a taste of what to expect, take a look at what happened at last year’s tournament:

FLASHBACK: RUMBLY BAY IN 2018

In 2018, Day 1 produced a 95kg yellowfin to win the first-day cash prize of R20 000. And Day 2 also produced a 91kg yellowfin tuna to take the daily prize.

“I think my overall winner was around 68 or 70kg in 2017,” says that year’s Rumbly Bay overall R60k bonus prize winner Marius Coetzee. “And in 2018 the guys were pulling out tuna over 90kg. Just goes to show we in SA still have some of the best fishing in the world.”

Here are some images of last year’s comp:

Awesome 2018 Day 1 and 2 weigh-ins album

DAY 1 IN PICTURES

OVER 30 BOATS ENTERED

MASS START AT 7:00 AM on 16 OCTOBER

8 Longfin and 2 yellowfin tuna on day 1

C RONNE OF BOAT ROCKYFELLA CATCHES FIRST YELLOWFIN

It was a decent 72kg. But later in the day, G Morrison of boat Motley Crew brought in a whopping 95kg yellowfin to win the day-one prize of R20k.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO FISH

The competition is hosted by Cape Boat and SkiBoat Club at Miller’s Point in Simon’s Town. And the 2019 comp happens 21–26 October.

More detailed info on the competition and how it all works below.

51ST RUMBLY BAY TUNA INVITATIONAL COMP INFO

One of SA’s oldest and proudest fishing events. 51 Years have bred a whole new type of big game fishing competition at the Annual Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational, hosted by Cape Boat and Ski Boat Club in Miller’s Point, Simon’s Town (Cape Town) 21–26 October 2019.

This big game fishing event is, most notably, actually two competitions happening at the same time.

TWO COMPETITIONS IN ONE

“It started purely as an interprovincial competition in the late 60s,” says Greg Pengelly, PR Officer at comp hosts Cape Boat and Ski Boat Club. “Which means it was part of an angler’s road to getting their national colours.

“Naturally, not all anglers can and want to compete at that level – the real pros on the interprovincial side only fish with light-tackle 10kg lines, which is quite a thing when wrestling a 90kg+ tuna. We noticed a while back that the Rumbly Bay Tuna Interprovincial was getting small (only 5–6 boats) and very specialised, and thought it was a shame since the big game fishing is so good off our coast.

“So, 3–4 years ago, we developed a bonanza fishing element, a club invitational comp where teams from all SADSAA clubs can fish using up to 37kg lines and compete for prizes. And the modern Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational was born.”

BIG PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

Today, the interprovincial guys and the club invitational guys fish at the same time, just with slightly different rules – although all rules are standard SADSAA regulation.

On the bonanza side, anglers are competing for a R20,000 cash prize for the biggest tuna awarded every day. And there’s also a R40,000 cash prize for the largest tuna of the comp overall.

WHAT TO EXPECT

For Cape Town locals, teams can enter their own boats into the competition – it’s around R1900 per angler, and on the bonanza side the skipper can fish too. For entrants from clubs around the country, Cape Boat and Ski Boat Club provides boats and skippers.

While it was traditionally not uncommon for guys to go out and fish tuna in 17-foot boats, today’s boats are more between the 24–30 foot calibre, because this is Cape Town’s windy time of year and it’s a long day out on the water: breakfast is at 5:00 and the teams head out for a mass start at around 6:30, fishing all day up to 15:00. But if you’ve hooked a fish just before 15:00, you get an extra hour to bring it in and still qualify.

The comp is scheduled for five days, but it’s essentially a three-day comp. “With the Cape’s weather being so unpredictable, we arrange the competition to run from the Tuesday [22 October] to the Saturday [26 October], and then we fish the three best days within that week,” says Greg.

YOU’RE GONNA SEE BIG TUNA

The tuna are running in the Cape now. Greg says that a week or two before the competition, the ideal water for tuna is usually still about 30 miles out, and the guys start hooking tuna in the 90kg category. But, normally, by the time the competition starts, with Cape Town’s famous South Easter blowing as it does this time of year, the tuna will be within 20 miles off the coast.

Greg reckons we’ll see a lot of monster longfin, yellowfin and even bigeye tuna when the comp kicks off.

“Our club is in constant contact with the commercial fishing vessels, and they help inform us about the weather conditions out at sea as well as where the fish are,” Greg explains.

“In fact, sharing information is a big thing for us. We have a unique competition rule where: if you’ve hooked a potential winner, you need to log it and radio your position into us, so we can share the info with all other boats and skippers. It just makes the comp more competitive and sportsmanlike.”

IMPORTANT FISHING DATA

Another unique element of the Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational is that all catches contribute to important scientific data collection in South Africa. All the tuna caught are processed by the University of Cape Town’s marine biology department, who analyse the fish and capture their data for marine research.

In fact, the Cape Boat and Ski Boat Club has been helping SA scientists collect valuable fish data for over 24 years. And they also get important feedback from the university on all catches, which helps inform fishing and future competitions.

The 51st Annual Rumbly Bay Tuna Invitational kicks off on 21 October 2019. See you there.

ABOUT RUMBLY BAY TUNA INVITATIONAL

21–26 October 2019
Cape Boat and Ski-Boat Club | Miller’s Point | +27 (0)21 786 1763
Associations: WPDSAA | +27 (0)21 559 3996 and SADSAA

Check out the nice-sized tuna that won Team Viskoors the Covid 19 Tuna Bonanza in Gordon’s Bay.

Have a look at all the big fishing competitions in October, as well as the 12 x 12 Species.

Also take a look at Cape Town’s other big tuna event, the Two Oceans Tuna Derby. And head down to Port Elizabeth for the Noordhoek Fish Derby.

Discover St Lucia Ski Boat Club, and some of the country’s idyllic – the ski-boat clubs of the Southern Cape.

SEE ALL THE UPCOMING FISHING COMPETITIONS

SHOP FOR YOUR NEW FISHING BOAT HERE

You might also want to invest in the most economical and best boat outboard motor available.

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW

To ensure you always get first dibs on the latest deals and be the first to know about new, events and special offers by joining our Facebook community and signing up for our newsletter.

Need to refurbish, refit and revive your boat? Take a peek inside our award-winning Suzuki Marine workshop.

For easy access on the go, add us to your smartphone’s home screen for all the latest Suzuki Marine updates.