Captain Divan Coetzee from THE HOOKER

Divans love for the ocean started at a really young age in Richards Bay, South Africa where he grew up either in or on the ocean, fishing, spearfishing and bodyboarding.

Richards Bay is a seasonal fishery with a wide variety of target species from bottom to big game which taught him a lot and formed a great basis for his career as a charter crew/captain.

Divan has been fortunate in recent years to have the opportunity to fish big marlin destinations like South Africa, Mozambique, Ascension Island, Cape Verde, Guatemala and The Great Barrier Reef. Divan has done 5 seasons in CV.

Becoming a Captain is naturally the next step up the ladder after crewing and a challenge that he really enjoys.

“Fisherman are indecisive by nature so the challenge of where to fish and what to do, making decisions that can make or break a trip and ultimately giving your guests an enjoyable experience is what being a Captain is all about for me. I still however love working as a mate on the Reef as well as part of the CV season” 

Your favourite CV fish?

“My favourite fish in CV is probably one that we didn't catch, the old “the one that got away”.

We were fishing the NW Bank early in the season and during a turn the lure came out the clip, we didn’t see much. When we eventually did see it a second later, Danie and I did a double take, looked at each other and thought it might've been a pilot whale surfing down the wave next to the lure but realised those don’t have long pointy noses or have tails like a marlin. She turned away and we watched her fade away. True giant!
I love every single one we did catch though!”

“CV is my personal favourite fishery; I love pitch baiting and these blue marlin are HUNGRY!
From a crew and client point of view, camaraderie like nowhere else. Nothing beats enjoying a cold beer with good people after a days fishing!”