KZN FISHING REPORT - 25 April 2008

ROCK & SURF

During the course of last week anglers had almost ideal weather conditions to fish in and most were not disappointed. Shad came on the bite in the Durban area and also on the South Coast. Anglers targeting Natal Snoek off Durban’s piers are still catching a few of these fish. They are not as plentiful as before but a few good size specimens are coming out. Michael Rodgers managed to land one of 6.5 kg’s using very light drop shot tackle. The Umgeni area is also fishing well with shad being the main target specie but there have been some good size stumpie’s and the odd big grunter around.

Down the South Coast, with the Port Shepstone area in particular the first garrick have been caught. These fish are of average size and not too many were landed but with the first big cold front that came through last week end things should start taking shape as far as these fish are concerned. With shad being plentiful anglers start fishing with live baits for these fish. Small shoal kob and grunter have been feeding well along the Umkomaas north bank stretch and this area could be the spot to concentrate on with garrick being around. Further south, the Port Edward area is also fishing well. Terry Nel from Tacklenet reports that the water temperature has even been cold enough to host in the sards but only hound sharks are common sport at the moment. An exceptional catch was made by Marlin Club angler Buks Lindeque during the recent postal round landing a record blue skate of 40kg. (Still to be confirmed). Rodger Grant landed a healthy 2,8kg bronze bream near the Lighthouse using prawn as bait and the odd shad being caught are small. Anglers targeting sharks here have landed a few nice size hammerhead and the odd ragged tooth sharks.

SKI BOAT'S & FISHING SKI'S
Ski Boats seem to continue their streak of good fortune with game fish. Couta are being caught in good numbers on both North and South Coasts and recent reports suggest that a few good fish of over the 20 kg range have already been landed. The deep water reefs, Aliwal Shoal and the Protea Banks are again producing a steady flow of couta as well as wahoo, tunny and some big kingfish. This week end sees the annual Durban Ski Boat Club hosting their annual game fish competition and with over 390 boats(1,215 anglers) already entered it could be quite a spectator event during the weigh ins.
Fishing skis are also still having a good season as far as couta are concerned. Although not as plentiful as a month or two ago some bigger fish are now starting to come out. Brent Lester landed a fine couta of 23 kg in the Toti area over last week end and stories of big fish being lost are now starting to come out

HEER GAAN ONS ALWEER
Heer Gaan Ons Alweer is back on TV. This very interesting show is hosted by Petri de Wet and covers many different fishing spots, fresh and salt water in Southern Africa. This fishing show is on kyknet, channel 35, every Thursday at 18:00 with reruns during the week. Check your TV guide for details.

ESA
The latest ESA magazine is out and on sale at The Kingfisher for R19.95. This issue it is jammed packed with great features like. The sailfish, extreme species, targeting bronzies in Namibia, ten hot tips for paddle ski fishing, chunking for tuna and cranking rods get put the test in the bass section. Also don’t forget to tune into SS1 on Tuesday at 19.00 for bass and Thursday at 19.30 for the salt water section, great viewing.
In ESA Bass we join Morne de Beer and Xavier again at Mokolo Dam where they catch a number of bass ranging from 900g to 1,6kg on a variety of plastics and Crank Baits. They also share a lot of valuable information about the dam. In the ESA Bass Pro Series section of the show we go to the Far North where we meet up with Alan Kenney and his team at Eberneezer Dam.
In the ESA Saltwater Production we meet up with Raymond, Abel, Dean and Lloyd at the Rio Azul Lodge in Mozambique for some LBSA. With some great team work they land some couta; a beautiful prodical sun and a great hammer head shark. Then we cross over to the LBSA Pro Series that took place at Blythedale Beach on the North Coast of Kwazulu Natal on the 12th of April 2008. The ESA Team takes on some drop shot in Rio Azul and land a number of cock grunter and some malabar rock cod. Mark and his team heads out on the Sea Hunter a Rodman 12-50 of Richard Bay harbour and lands 2 decent yellow fin tuna’s.

FRESH WATER
Bass Anglers, the 11th Inanda Bass Classic takes place at the Inanda Dam on the 26-27 April. Entries are limited to 300 boats and it is strongly recommended to register early. The past 2 years have seen entries turned away because of the popularity of this tournament.

KINGFISHER
A reminder that The Kingfisher will be closed on Monday the 28Th April 2008. We will however be open on Thursday the 1st & Friday the 2nd May from 9:00 to 13:00 and Saturday the 3rd May from 8:00 to 13:00.
With the current rain and sudden cold weather, expectations are that the fishing season for the winter period begins and the word 'game fish' begins to rule again.

THE KINGFISHER CLINICS
The Kingfisher hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard. These clinics are there to help beginners and experienced anglers to see what the sport is all about and how to target certain species of fish. It also shows anglers what equipment to use and also elaborates on safety. Over and above this they also hold Rock and Surf clinics run by Ivan Stopforth. These Clinics are very informative and covers all the basics, including equipment, knots, bait presentation, and tactics. To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031-3683903