ROCK AND SURF
Shore angling has over the past week really stepped up a gear as settled weather and sea conditions brought with it a good variety of fish. Low swell conditions together with off coloured water have given anglers who enjoy some flat fish action something to talk about. Both North and South coasts have recently yielded some good results. Main target species have been the big sand sharks and skates that entrench themselves on the KZN coast during the summer months. There have also been good catches of honeycomb rays, particularly on the South coast where anglers fishing in the Umgababa area have had some very good returns. Kingfish, queen fish and some pompano have also come out in this area. The odd brusher is still being caught along the Twin Ledge and at Isipingo. Shad however seem to be elusive and the only reports of these fish come from the Illovo and Umkomaas River mouths where anglers using bass and fly fishing equipment have had some good fun. The majority if not all of these fish are way undersize. Visitors to Port Edward this week have had very little to take home as fishing has been very quiet and few fish apart from some small kob have come out over the neap tides this past week. Shad came on the bite over the weekend as expected and a number were taken both on spoon and bait.
A good fight was had by one angler with a 31,5kg hammerhead shark he landed at Splash Rock. Durban Bay is now fishing extremely well as far as grunter are concerned. Steady reports of fish in the 3 kg to 5 kg mark are almost a daily occurrence but there are plenty of smaller fish being caught and a lot of them are undersize.

SKI BOAT
It is much the same for the Ski boat fraternity where almost all boats now have changed their focus to Game Fish. Dorado in the Durban area has been quite prolific over the past few weeks. Boats operating in the Aliwal Shoal and Protea bank areas also report excellent catches of both dorado and tunny. Couta are also coming out at most venues but are not quite on par as far as numbers are concerned.

PADDLE SKI
Fishing skis have eventually started the game fish season off. A variety of fish are coming out along both North and South coasts. Couta are now steadily coming out and good reports of these fish come from the Westbrook and Umdloti areas in the north and some nice specimens have been accounted for in the Toti area. Jaco Franken accounted for a 14 kg and a 10 kg couta at Toti last week end. This area has also produced numerous dorado and a few sailfish recently. Further south, the Scottburgh area has also had some good catches of couta, dorado and tunny. Trevor McAlpine accounted for a good ignoblis of 22 kg here during the past week end. Franki Oberholtze also had the fortunate luck of hooking and landing a large tunny of 25 kg

FESTIVE SEASON TRADING HOURS
The trading hours of The Kingfisher over the festive season are as follows: Mon - Fri. 8:00am - 5:00pm Sat. 8:00 - 1:00pm .

KINGFISHER CLINIC
The Kingfisher hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard. These monthly 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 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. To book for one of these free clinics (except for the month of December) phone the Kingfisher on 031- 368 3903.

Any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area e-mail Mike at kingfish@iafrica.com or fax 031- 368 4137. For the latest KZN fishing news presented by O.J., tune into East Coast Radio at 5.40am Monday - Friday.

Competitions
The Durban Ski- Boat Club Festival is being held on the 25th & 26th April 2009. The main prize for the biggest cuda is a Seacat 565 with 2 x Yamaha 70hp motors, trailer, complete with electronics, safety equipment plus fishing rods and reels worth over R352, 000.00, plus other prizes worth over R550, 000.00. Early bird registration before 31st March 2009 – R225.00, thereafter R295.00. This promises to be, as the last few years, a magnificent competition.
Visit www.durbanskiboatclub.co.za for an entry form, or for pre – entries contact Durban Ski – Boat Club Tel: 031 337 9506.

2009 ESA Saltwater season 4
ESA Saltwater: Episode 3
The LBSA team show us how to target reef dwellers in the Seychelles while the DSSA team target wave garrick in Sodwana. The OSSA team show us some notable catches on their epic adventure travelling on a brand new Riviera Sport Fisher from Cape Town to Dar Es Salam.
Broadcasting Dates 3rd week January.

ESA Bass.

Episode 44
ESA heads to Goedetrouw Dam for the first leg of the Bass Pro Series Final 2008. Broadcasting dates 2nd week January 2009.