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The Hook and Reel Angling Club
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South Africa has been blessed with a large number of spectacular rivers, estuaries and lagoons which offer fishing experiences second to none. However, light tackle boat anglers in Port Elizabeth, the doorway to both the Garden Route and the Sunshine Coast, are particularly fortunate to have the Swartkops River Estuary right on their doorstep just 15 kilometers north of the city centre. Thus, for most local anglers, paradise is only a 15 minute drive away from home, with the club providing safe parking, excellent amenities and superb launching facilities.
In 1958, the boat hire business of messrs Horn and Reed, situated at 12 Baldwin Street in the village of Swartkops, became the Hook and Reel Angling Club, which has been going from strength to strength ever since and has produced the stuff of legends. Former members of the club can be found all around the globe and can all relate many a fishy tale in remembrance of the glorious days spent fishing on the estuary. As many of these tales as we can lay our hands on will be related in the anecdote section. Should any visitors to Port Elizabeth wish to be taken on a fishing trip, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our hospitality is legendary and most of our members will be only too pleased to act as your host.
The catchment of the Swartkops River lies in the Groot Winterhoek mountains west of the city of Uitenhage which is situated 30 km north of Port Elizabeth. The lower river receives water primarily from the Swartkops and Elands Rivers, which flow parallel to each other, in relatively steep narrow valleys, and have their confluence shortly after entering the flood-plain. The estuary is tidal for 16 km upstream, with the upper reaches being narrow and channel-like (±90 m wide), and twisting their way through steep banks of muddy sand. In the lower reaches, the steep banks flatten and the estuary broadens considerably (±350 m wide) into open mudflats. The mouth of the river, which flows into Algoa Bay, is permanently open to the Indian Ocean and the warm Mocambique current, about 40 km offshore.
Schooner Crescent, Swartkops, South Africa
Aerial view of the Swartkops River Estuary - Pointer showing location of Clubhouse
View of the Swarkops River Mouth.
H&R Clubhouse in Schooner Crescent.
H&R Clubhouse as seen from Tiger Bay.
Front view of Clubhouse in Schooner Crescent.
Tiger Bay and channel to the Swartkops River as seen from the clubhouse.
Swartkops River flowing past Tiger Bay.
Southward view towards the City Centre of Port Elizabeth.
Settler's Bridge at the Swartkops River Mouth.
Northwesterly view from Settler's Bridge.
The Village of Amsterdamhoek on the northern bank.
Another view of the Village of Amsterdamhoek.
Jetty at Amsterdamhoek.
View from the mudflats towards Settler's bridge.
View from the mudflats towards Amsterdamhoek.
View from Swartkops Village.
View of the Old Power Station, the cooling system of which used to provide an artificial warm current from the railway bridge down to the mouth. This warm current attracted a number of tropical species like kingfish, queenfish and pompano. It is, however, no longer operational.
The Hook & Reel Angling Club is a light tackle boat angling club affiliated to the Eastern Cape Province Light Tackle Boat Angling Association (ECPLTBAA), which in turn is affiliated to the South African Light Tackle Boat Angling Association (SALTBAA).
Basically this means that members fish from boats with rod and reel and a fishing line with a breaking strain not exceeding 4 kg.
They fish competitively in three different facets of angling, namely fresh water, deep sea and rivers, using the same breaking strain of line in all three facets. It needs to be stressed that the low breaking strain of the line used, does not prevent the catching of rather large fish. The current EP record for a Ragged Tooth Shark is 96.2 kg, and 91 kg for a Backwater Butterfly Ray.
The club currently consists of approximately 170 active members and is one of 10 clubs affiliated to EP. It is also in the fortunate position of owning its own clubhouse on the Swartkops River, which was built by members some 20 years ago. All facilities are provided and maintained by the members by means of annual subscriptions and fund-raising.
The main fund-raising event of the year is the annual "Tiger Bay 1000" competition, which is open to all members of the general public as well as affiliated anglers, angling both from boats or from the side using any breaking strain line. More information about this highlight on the EP Light Tackle Boat calendar, can be found on the calendar page.
Recent email received from Gaston Crepelle in France: "wonderful feeling to see pictures of Swartkop river mouth. I fished there between 1958 and 1961 (I was then wool buyer in P.E.) Back in France now, I called my House "Swartkop."
What a great testimony for our tiny part of paradise. Thanks, Gaston. We look forward to some fishing stories from those times.
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