Port Alfred - The River - Page 9
The Kowie River
As we knew it then.
Let's start at the sea and work inland from there...
River Mouth
When you were good, you could throw a stone across the river from the one pier
to the other, from the West Side. Not everybody could do this. Dave Alcock and I
could, but at that stage we used to play a lot of sport.
A Soling Bed
The river has tidal swells for the first few hundred metres then, just opposite
the Langdon, a sandbank used to form on the east bank. This was legendary for
soling at one time.
The Ferry
Once we saw Uncle Bob Finn anchored in the middle of the river here, fast
flowing very clean water, catching quite a few large grunters.
The Lagoon
This is where the top end of the lagoon used to be, where the water (and fish
eggs) used to filter through the bank into the Lagoon. It is rumoured that once
'young' Fred Jackson - when he and wife Christine ran the Lagoon, caught a
30-odd pound white steenbras (pignose grunter) here. I personally speared a 5
pound mullet there - ask Dave Alcock, he was there. So this was the
ultra-supreme breeding ground for fish to spawn in. No fishing was allowed.
Picture below kind courtesy of 'young lioness' Bev Young of the Kowie Tourism
department. Thanks Bev! The water was no more than two metres deep anywhere and
the gentle white sand sloping water taught ALL the Kowie kids to swim - or sink.
We swum, eventually. The Lagoon was also a "TeaRoom". Then also a disco - where
sessions were held when the Fleischers ran the place.
The old Aquarium at the Little Beach entrance
There were very large mullet here in the river - which gave one quite a
workout on light tackle.
The Bridges
This is where Uncle Bob Finn used to moor his boat and where we often fished,
very successfully from. Across the river you'd often see carbide lamps carried
by fishermen looking for small cuttlefish (squid) - we used to call them inkfish
- to use as bait. Deadly bait for kob.
The Boats
Then, just above the Henry Putt bridge, was the permanent mooring for all the
seagoing boats.
The corner of the wreck
Jimmy Danzy used to live around here somewhere. The river is very shallow on the
east side at low tide. On the other side is the wreck, discussed elsewhere.
Bay of Biscay follows then
Bell's Reach
This is where my Dad used to catch his big cob. (Yes, cob can also be spelt
kob.) It stand for Kabeljaau (also known as Cape Salmon). The one in the picture
on Page 2 was 104 lbs (just short of 50 kgs.). This is a long straight, shallow
again - this time on the east side. Further along on the east side is where
Uncle Koos Marais and family lived. When you get to the top bend, that's the
deepest part of this river. Here the road again meets the river, down from
Southwell Hill.
Mud Flats
On the west side, a bank, rich in prawns, extends at low tide - and across the
river, up a bit, is the old rugby field where we probably caught the most
grunter in our times. Also kob, who are partial to mud-prawn. We used a round
running sinker and a one-oh hook. <muses> grunter is such a tasty
fish....sigh
Centenary Park
Further, on the east side was Centenary Park - a lovely day-spot. One day I saw
a guy playing a skate the whole day. I left when it was dark and there still
seemed no clear winner. Around the next bend was what we called "Trevor
Reed's fields" - and sometime we saw Granville Bradfield there, studying, I
think, the "blow-holes" made by the grunter family when they feed. Now
THAT'S what I call attention to detail.
Rabbit Rocks
The next landmark was the jetty at Rabbit Rocks. Nice place to stop and sit
awhile.
Cob Hole
Legendary fishing at this place. It's a deep hole in the river. (Remember there
were no fish-finders then - you dropped a line to check the depth.) Hey !!! It
worked every time. Gee we caught fish here. Big flatties (stompies). Kob,
grunter, white steenbras (pignose grunter). Just a bit further along the eskom
line crosses the river.
Black Rock
A good fishing spot - near the rocks on the east side.
Mansfield
Would be the next point of recall. There was a ruin, of what I seem to remember
as being "the old mill". And a small tributary.
Wow - we're pretty far up the river by now.
It's quiet - you may see a solitary cow grazing in a field. And my memory fades
a little as we get further up - it's a long way !
You'll need to take care, the reef has
damaged a prop or two in the past...
Faerie Glen
Our stopping point during the swimming prawn season. Once, during a break here,
eating my Mom's famous mince rissoles, Koos Marais' son pulled a crab straight
from the water and onto the coals. No restaurant-enriched crab could ever taste
as good. Neither mayonnaise nor salt and pepper was at hand. I doubt whether it
would have been used if it were. As a kid I once lost, at the final turn of its
head at the boat, a truly magnificent white steenbras which seemed as long as
the boat. Now I KNOW that these fish get to over 30 kilos...but I'll never
know... And that on my old centrepin reel.
The Horseshoe
At last...(we're now opposite Bathurst)....don't go much further...there's
stones in the water - then Ebb and Flow...
Going home in the late
afternoon
Take care...those pink-glace-nosed mullet springers fly into the boat without
warning...and a one kilo mullet can incur quite a bruise !!!
