Paul Cannon, George:
This beauty of a galjoen, our proud national fish, is 57cm. A galjoen boasts sheer power and fighting strength.
It was taken off the beach close to the rocks, up near Twee Paaltjies, Groenvlei [outside Sedgefield]. The angler, Anwin Las, comes from George.
He is one of our keener anglers and his tackle is impeccable. Looking at his setup, one is impressed. This is a serious sport angler.
I got a preview of this galjoen photograph from a tackle shop in George a week or so before. It was an absolute beauty. I have battled to catch this evasive species and am yet to catch a decent galjoen.
On Saturday 28 May, on a walk from Cola Beach to Groenvlei, at 19:30, we came across three chaps fishing. After greetings and my stating I had seen this fantastic photo of a galjoen at the tackle shop, caught just about here, one chap smiled and said, "That's me." I asked him: "Did you mean it's you in that picture. Wow, lucky man. What a beauty. Congratulations."
Anwin Las then told us the story. "It was going to be Brenton-on-Sea or Groenvlei, over the dunes, and Groenvlei delivered, third cast of the day.
"Bang, this fish hit the bait, a ripened red bait with a bit of muti dip. The galjoen gave a few strong runs before coming over into the shallows and still fought on like a maddened dog," said Las.
Galjoen are a winter cold water fish, often taken close to rocks and in white water. They like worm, crab, pilchard or chokka and smelly redbait is a favourite. Las did release this fish. "This was a big mamma. She must go out again so one day my sons can also have this great enjoyment of catching such nice fish too," he said.
What a shining example of how fishermen should behave to preserve our fish stocks. Galjoen open season is from 1 March until 14 October. Las is a food and beverage manager at an international hotel group. He also has good knowledge of and experience in wines. Happy angling.
