BLUE WATER CHARTERS - DURBAN

5 Casey Hughes - a year ago

Great charter! I was hoping for a marlin (trip was scheduled for April last year but covid) but knew it was out of season but they tried like hell for me. After trolling for a couple hours we did some bottom fishing for the rest of my group who hasn't done any real ocean fishing. The guys put us on great fish and I caught a large Captain Fine aka White Edged Rock Cod. Great captain, great mate. They found a place for us that would cook our fish too! I'm looking forward to booking them again on my next trip to Durban.

5 Leigh Hayman - 4 years ago

My family from NZ and UK were in SA for a 2 week trip, bit of beach, sun and Kruger to show them this beautiful country. One of the bucket list items was a bit of game fishing, as although they are keen fishermen, they have not done this before, so something a bit different.
After a bit of research on line, found Blue Water Charters. Good reviews on a number of sites so gave Mike (the skipper) a call to set it up as we needed a harbour cruise first, drop off my Mum back to shore, then head out to sea for the fishing. No problem with tailor made package to suit the charter needs.
We joined the boat in the morning, and met Mike and Kurt, his deckhand. It was a very calm day, little swell and zero chop. The harbour cruise was relaxed, with both Mike and Kurt imparting a lot of local knowledge about Durban, fishing and we got to see some dolphins cruising along side. After an hour we stopped back at the jetty and dropped of Mum, after which we continued out to sea. Straight out the harbour Mike and Kurt set the lines, 9 of them in a pattern ..and off we go. I think the trawl speed was up a bit due to the flat seas, to try and get an aggressive pattern going? After a few hours we got a hook up, where Mike coached my niece in trying to land it. However it shook the hook just before we could bring it on board. Still an experience for an 8 year old sitting in a game chair though! Despite the best efforts of Mike we didn't get any action until the last hour as we were heading home, double hook up! The crew cleared the remaining lines, and after some serious hard work, they both landed Dorado's, one of them just under 12kg. By this time we should have been back in port and I expected Mike to keep the lines in and head home. But he put the lines back out and turned back towards the hook up area, and then it was my turn to land one. Now it was time to head back in. Kurt kindly filleted the fish for us and bagged it up after we were tied up again. Really enjoyable trip with a skipper who has a passion for it and understands it's all about the experience, who went the extra mile, and Kurt, who is super chilled and really enjoys making it a great day for you. And for those who fish, we had zero gear failures, no busted tackle or knots failing, and the rods and reels are in really good condition. Great day out, one of the highlights of the holiday, and I will def be booking with Mike again in the future.

5 Richard Otis - 4 years ago

Had a lovely time fishing with Blue Water Charters. I booked the 10hr Marlin deep sea fishing trip for a March date. Mike was very accommodating setting up the whole event and great with communication. Although Mike couldn't be with us because of the flu, his crew was timely, helpful, knowledgeable, funny, talkative, and all around nice. For the trip itself we landed five fish: 1 Wahoo, 2 Dorado, and 2 Skipjacks. We had and extra three strikes from 1 Dorado and 2 Skipjacks. Even though we didn't get to interact with a Marlin I still had a lot of fun out on the water and got learn a lot of new things about South Africa. I will definitely be back someday at Blue Water Charters to try and catch a Marlin.

5 Patrick Maher - 3 years ago

What a day on the water. A last minute decision lead to one of my best trips ever. The yellow fin tuna has eluded me for years. Finally caught my first one with a captain and crew that were spectacular. Excellent boat. Excellent gear and the guidance to try different tactics to find the fish. The Bonnie’s were a lot of fun and super aggressive. Almost couldn’t bring them in fast enough. Kurt was spot on with the rigs fastest and most efficient mate I’ve ever fished with. Catching that yellowfin was the pinnacle. But Great conversations and overall experience. Captain Mike thanks again for answering my call. I hope work brings me back your way again.

5 Rob de Zoeten - 9 months ago

Professionally run and well organised fishing outfit. The skipper was knowledgeable and ensured that we were in the best spot to catch fish which we did with the highlight being a 19kg Dorado photo below.

5 Moses G - 4 years ago

This outing was booked by my dear wife as a surprise 40th Birthday gift. She told me that before she decided on the Blue Water Charters she had called other charters in the Durban area, but what stood out to her was Mike’s kind manner and professionalism. I was to find out that this was an outstanding decision. After I was presented with my gift I began communicating with Mike on WhatsApp and I found him to be extremely accommodating and friendly as he answered my numerous questions patiently and honestly. My group, although with many years shore angling experience, had almost no deep-sea encounter and even though we were excited we had many reservations. However, Mike, with his experience and good humour, put our fears to rest. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to meet Mike as the night before he told me that Erik would be skippering us the next day.
The Big Day arrived and Skipper, Erik and Deck Hand, Kurt were ready to greet us at 5:30 am even though we were set to move out at 6:00. We immediately hit it off with the duo and found them to be both knowledgeable and friendly. After about and hour and a half into our trip the first reel was running and I was tasked with landing the first fish of the day. As this was my first experience I was expertly guided by Kurt and the Skipper. That Skipjack Tuna was a joy to all of us. While I was ‘on’ two other mates were on too and in an instant, we had 3 tunas on board. Not long after another three reels were running simultaneously. Another three mates grabbed the rods and two more Skipjacks was landed. To be honest, if the trip ended at that stage we would all have been happy…but the best was yet to come.
The whole morning Kurt told us that the water looked good for Dorado and every now and then he spoke to the sea beckoning the Dorado. As we did not have any experience about the fish we wondered what all the fuss was about? We were soon to find out!!! About 3 hours into the trip our relaxed banter was interrupted by a shout from Kurt; “DORADO ON!” A look into the Ocean presented us with the amazing sight of this beautiful ray-finned fish leaping out of the water. Before we could decide who was going to grab the rod another reel was running and then astonishingly a third reel peeled off. THREE Dorado were ‘on’ at the same time!!! With our lack of experience this proved a near impossible task. However, after numerous inter-changing of the guys manning the rods, and the excellent coaching of Erik and Kurt, fifteen minutes later we had all three fish on board. We now understood what all the fuss about the Dorado was! As if the day couldn’t get any more perfect we caught our breath to a large pod of Dolphins accompanying us for a short period. Later we caught more Skipjack and I would estimate, lost about 5. Still amazingly as we headed back to port this boat of amateur first-time fisherman carried 9 Skipjack Tuna and 3 Dorado onboard.
This was truly an experience of a lifetime for me and my mates. More than the fishing, the professionalism, efficiency and good humour of Erik and Kurt made this trip the ultimate experience. Sailing into the harbour hoisting our Dorado and Tuna flags filled me with immense pride. It is a day I was never forget. The guys at Blue Water Charters are remarkable and I think, more than all their other great qualities, it was their ability to be genuine that stood out the most. Every member of my group and I would gladly recommend them to anyone looking to head off for a deep-sea fishing expedition. Perhaps the best compliment I could pay to Mike and his to team would be to say: “Even if we did not catch a single fish on the trip, this would still have been one of the most memorable days in my life” Thank you Blue Water Charters.
Moses Govender.

5 Rakhee Naidoo - a year ago

First time out to sea. Eric made it an enjoyable trip. Thank you for the lovely experience Blue Water Charters. Ended the day by braaing our catch