ROCK AND SURF
FISHING REPORT 03rd April 2009.
Angling along the coast has stabilized quite nicely as settled weather and sea conditions have produced a number of good fish over the past week or so. Shad have been on the bite along the South Coast for the past two weeks, although not in great numbers but anglers that put the time in seem to get their quotas.
The majority of these fish are still on the small side but a few bigger specimens are being caught mainly at Toti and Winkle rocks during the early morning sessions.

For the anglers that target bigger fish, there are still quite a few big sand sharks and skates around to keep them busy. These bigger fish have been caught regularly off some of the deep water points on the South Coast, namely Greenpoint, Scottburgh and the Umdoni points where anglers have recently had some great battles with these fish. A few bigger sharks have also been hooked and lost at these venues. Terry Nel from Tacklenet, reports that change in conditions has helped bring the shad and hound sharks on the bite and a number are being caught at Glenmore Beach, at Leisure Bay and also Port Edward.

Terry unfortunately was washed off the rocks on Saturday evening while fishing at Palm Beach High Rocks. Although Terry is a bit battered and bruised he is doing well, we wish him a speedy recovery.
The North Coast is much the same with anglers targeting sandies and skates. The Zululand beaches have produced some fairly good results as far as butterfly and honeycomb rays are concerned.

A honecombe ray of 102.6 kg was landed here by competitive angler Craig Wesley last week end.
The KZNCAU fished their 3rd Postal round during the course of last week end and a mixed result from both Zululand and Transkei were recorded. Weather conditions played a crucial part in team Captains choosing their fishing times as an unexpected South Westerly came up early Saturday morning. However some excellent results came from both the Zululand and Transkei areas.

Top club for the round was Umvoti on 817.5 Wt points, followed by McWillaw 588.6 wt points, third was NCAA on 301.3 wt points, all these clubs fished Zululand, fourth was high flying club Umkomaas who fished Transkei on 216 wt points.
Some of the bigger fish that were recorded was a black fin shark caught by Rowen Perumal of Umkomaas of 128 kg and Craig Wesley of NCAA a honeycombe of 102.6 kg. In the edible section Craig Wesley featured again with a prodigal son of 23.8 kg followed by team mate Morgan Lynch with a good speckled snapper of 7.9 kg’s.

Fishing Ski's
Fishing Ski’s are having one of the better snoek seasons for many a year but couta are a bit harder to find.

Snoek are now being caught from the North Coast all the way down as far as Port Shepstone in the south. The main concentration seems to be on the South Coast from Warner beach to Green Point.

For the past two weeks ski’s and ski boats have caught their quotas fairly quickly. Some reports of couta are coming from both north and South Coasts but not in any great numbers. North Coast fishing ski Legend Laird Shooter accounted for a massive specimen last Sunday during the Westbrook Competition. He landed an excellent fish of 25 kg and thus also winning the competition.


Durban Ski-Boat Club Festival
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.
We would like to let you all know that, "Hier Gaan Ons Alweer" is starting to air on Thursday evenings on Kyknet, channel 111 at the following times:
Thursday 2nd April 18:00hr
Thursday 9th April 18:30hr on a permanent basis.
There will be six rebroadcast as follows:
 Fri 13:00, Sat 9:00 and 0:00, Mon 13:30, Tue 9:00 and 1:00.
This series will run for three months. 
“Hier Gaan Ons Alweer” is in "Stywe Lyne” as well as "Fish" magazine. Both magazines are doing a series of articles on this fishing series. HGOA are currently on the cover of the April edition of Stywe Lyne which also includes their second article.
Petri and his team fish all over Southern Africa, fishing in salt and fresh water and will be fishing with The Kingfisher products, reels, rods, lines lures etc.

The Marlin Ski Boat Club
is hosting The Port Edward Ski Boat Festival on the 1st & 2nd May 2009. 1st Prize for the heaviest couta is the Explorer 465 MPB with 2 x Yamaha o/b motors and all the extras – ready to go to sea.
Worth over R200, 000.00.
This competition is open to Ski – Boats only. Early bird entry fee (by 28th Feb 2009) is R190.00 per angler. For more info and entry forms go to www.marlinskiboatclub.co.za.

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 at 53, Hunter Street, Durban 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. Remember guys, the crayfish season opened on the 1st March. Please make sure that we stick to the rules and look after this resource.

The clinic on marlin fishing at The Kingfisher on 14th March by Andy Jones has been cancelled due to unforseen circumstances, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
To book for one of these free clinics
phone the Kingfisher on 031- 368 3903.
Any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area send info to kingfish@iafrica.com or fax 031- 368 4137, attention, Mike.
For the latest KZN fishing news presented by O.J., tune into East Coast Radio at 5.40am Monday - Friday.