ROCK & SURF
The garrick season is still in full swing with these fish being reported from down in the Transkei to even up to the Cape Vidal area. Despite the shad ban that is now in effect there are still anglers that find it hard to release some very big specimens that are now being caught. One can hardly blame anyone for not releasing a fish in the 6 kg mark but rules are rules and as anglers we have to respect them. Some early flatfish are being reported along the South Coast, although not big there are some small diamond and brown skates around and some average size sand sharks. If current weather patterns continue for the duration of October then anglers should be in for a formidable flatfish season. Last season there was very little flatfish action compared to previous years so hopefully this season is going to be a bumper one. This is the time to get your reels serviced and tackle sorted out, you do not need to be smashed up by these fish.

Apologies, last week we reported that the crayfish as well as shad are off the keep list, this is in fact incorrect, the crayfish season closes at the end of October.

ROCK & SURF - North Coast
The North Coast is fishing particularly well with garrick and kob being the main target specie. The Amatikulu and Port Durford area have over the past two weeks produced some good numbers of these fish. The odd sand shark has also been reported from the Tugella north bank area. This area at this time of the year starts fishing very well especially when the North Easter blows for a few days. Apart from the flatfish and kob that come on the bite in these conditions it is now the right time for anglers targeting lobotes to start fishing for these hard fighting fish.

ROCK & SURF - South Coast
The South Coast is also fishing very well with garrick obviously featuring strong. We have just heard of a 36.5kg kingie caught by Kobus with a blacktail fillet as bait in the Mtwalumi area on Monday afternoon. Terry Nel from Tacklenet in Port Edward informs us that, windy days and yes, some rain, have had an effect on water conditions however the sea has been fishable and some nice garrick have been taken both at Splash Rock and also at Lucky Dip there. The fish were all taken on live baits and although they have been trying plugs and poppers, (Dean Pretorius was seen throwing a small Strike Pro popper a mile with his new Daiwa Saltiga Surf 6000 spinning reel) here the garrick are lazy and just like us, why chase something when it's available 'on tap' just up the road. In this case, all the live baits sliding up and down the many lines out at Splash Rock whenever possible. Other than that, bronze bream are on the menu as expected and some nice size fish are being landed here and in the Leisure Bay area. So far summer has not reached us yet and the estuaries are quiet.
Up the coast a bit, some very big stumpies have been reported in the Toti area. Brusher seem to be feeding freely at most known spots but it is the Twini ledge and Doonside that is producing steady numbers of these fish. The Umkomaas stretch is still producing a variety of nice fish. Queen fish and small yellowtail kingfish have been on the bite at this stretch for some time now. Dusky sharks are also being caught in the Toti and Warner Beach areas at night.

ROCK & SURF - Durban

On Wednesday morning, Michael Rodger from The Kingfisher, landed a stumpie of 2.79kg’s from the Durban Beach front pier using a sardine fillet as bait, great fish on light tackle. Also on Wednesday, Shaun Gareeb landed a kob of 20kg’s at Blue Lagoon on a live mullet as bait. This fish took 10min to land with Shaun’s Poseidon HMG rod and Daiwa Saltiga 40 reel. Left:Shaun Gareeb and his 20kg kob caught with his Poseidon HMG rod and Daiwa Saltiga 40 reel.

ROCK & SURF - Transkei
The Transkei is also fishing extremely well with garrick and kob featuring well. The main places are the Port St Johns Lighthouse point and the Poenskop area. Live bait for obvious reasons is very hard to come by in these areas so anglers have to work hard at getting bait at other areas and transporting their bait back.

FISHING COMPETITIONS
Dale Tribe from Matatiele Mountain Lake has sent in some a bit of info about the upcoming compo to be held on the 25th and 26th October. “Firstly I would like to apologies, for not keeping in touch with you over the past year, in connection with fly-fishing at our lake. We have had a lot of uncertainties regarding the future of our lake and the survival of trout in the waters. The reason being that we lost our lease to the local "MUNICIPALITY" To our surprise we managed to strike up a deal with the powers that be, to keep the lake a trout destination. A JOINT VENTURE. In April we stocked the lake with 2000 rainbow trout, so the fish are aplenty. This past winter the fishing has been excellent, with the average rainbow weighing in at between 2 to 3 kg and the occasional bigger one. We have had some 4,5kg+ trout come out. Last year we had 51 entries, with the winning fish weighing in at 2.4 kg. A big draw card is the tagged fish, where you can win some cash. Hope to see you up in the mountains (2000m+ above sea level), for an enjoyable week-end.”
The entry fee is R350.00, this includes, Saturday supper, Sunday breakfast and competition entry fee. There is a cash bar and camping facilities are available. This is a great compo to fish, there are lots of prizes to be won and for the tagged fish there is R10,000.00, R5,000.00, R2,500.00, and R1,500.00 up for grabs. For registration and bookings please contact Lionel Whittle on 039 737 3170 or Dale Tribe on 082 331 7262. The Absa Currie Cup Final between the Sharks and ? will be shown.

SKI BOATS & FISHING SKI'S
Ski boats are experiencing a wonderful season as far as the daga and geelbek salmon are concerned. These fish are being caught from down the South Coast right up the Ballito areas on the North Coast. General bottom fishing is also good with nice catches of big ‘reds’ and rock cod being reported. Game fish are still scarce but it should not be long before the first dorado start appearing off Durban.
When the conditions allow, the paddle ski guys are getting a few garrick in the middle North Coast area, last week Lloyd Pereira managed to land and release a nice fish of about 8kg’s on live bait. We have noticed a few skis on the barge recently but we have had no reports of kob coming out.

ESA
Here’s what you can see on ESA this week.
On ESA Bass we take a look at the Invitational between Namibia and South Africa that took place Von Bache Dam in Namibia.
On the ESA Saltwater we meet up with the LBSA team Ray, Abel and Lloyd, as they conclude their experience of a lifetime in the Transkei where they get dropped with a Helicopter at prime angling spots. They manage to land two ragged tooth sharks and a grey shark. In DSSA we join Abel and ESA guess angler Chris Govender in Sodwana where they target kingfish. Mark and his team heads out to target garrick and manages to land a number of good fish.

KINGFISHER FISHING CLINICS
The Kingfisher hosts free fishing clinics on their premises, 53 Hunter Street, Durban once a month. They will be running a spear fishing clinic on the 22nd November ( this as been changed from the 8th, so please make a note of the new date), this clinic will be run by Shane from Freedivers and will cover all aspects of spear fishing, book early for this clinic as it should be a good one. The Kingfisher also host a Paddle Ski Fishing clinic by Markham Pollard, a Rock and Surf clinic run by Ivan Stopforth and a Drop Shot clinic by Lloyd Pereira. These Clinics are very informative and covers all the basics, including equipment, knots, bait presentation, and tactics. These free 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. These are very popular so book early to avoid disappointment. To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031- 3683903.