ROCK AND SURF
FISHING REPORT 14TH MARCH 2009.
Most if not all angling activities came to an abrupt halt last week as monster swells in excess of 4 m hammered the entire KZN coastline for days on end. Die-hard anglers headed inland in search of bass or trout to stimulate their need to fish.

Some opted to stay local and fish in the Durban Bay and were rewarded with some good catches of grunter, which have been feeding exceptionally well for the past month or so.

Prospects for the coming week-end looks much better as the weatherman predicts light variable winds with low swell which should make for a brighter angling.

There are for obvious reasons very little or no reports of any fish that were caught last week but a few sketchy reports of some shad being caught in the Ramsgate and Port Edward areas.
With settled seas fish should come on the bite and anglers venturing down to the Transkei at this time of the year should get some good shark fishing in. There were favorable reports coming from the Hole In The Wall area where anglers had good catches of both hammerhead and dusky sharks.

The odd cape yellowtail has also been in this area.
Locally anglers can expect things to hot up as there are still plenty of flatfish around to give anglers a good fight and the edible anglers can look forward to targeting some pompano, which before the bad weather set in seemed to be feeding well all along the coast.
Zululand Masters make a clean sweep at the South African Championships.

Over the past month, the 2009 South African Shore Angling Masters National Championships were held in Jeffries Bay.
Ten six man teams representing the different provinces in South Africa contested the tournament.
The tournament was fished over three days and the good angling conditions resulted in all previous records with regard to the numbers of fish caught being broken.
Competition between the provinces, as always, was fierce, with the sixty competing anglers striving for the honor of champion province and for the individual honor of possibly representing South Africa against a Namibian team later in the year.
The catch consisted of mainly ragged tooth sharks, diamond rays, cob, blue rays and lesser sand sharks. The total number of fish caught was 997 with a weight 5951.1kgs.

Ski boat and fishing skis
As far as Ski boat and fishing skis are concerned there are no reports of any fish during the course of last week. With weather conditions looking good for this week-end these anglers will certainly be targeting snoek and couta. The Winkle Fishing Ski Club is hosting their annual fishing ski competition this week-end and for a change it looks as though the weather gods are going to play the part. Briefing for the comp is at Friday night at the Winkle Lifesaving club. For further information interested parties can contact Jako Franken on 082 782 9114.

The following were the top prize-winners: -

Zululand Masters
Zululand Masters make a clean sweep at the South African Championships.
Over the past month, the 2009 South African Shore Angling Masters National Championships were held in Jeffries Bay. Ten six man teams representing the different provinces in South Africa contested the tournament. The tournament was fished over three days and the good angling conditions resulted in all previous records with regard to the numbers of fish caught being broken. Competition between the provinces, as always, was fierce, with the sixty competing anglers striving for the honor of champion province and for the individual honor of possibly representing South Africa against a Namibian team later in the year.

The catch consisted of mainly ragged tooth sharks, diamond rays, cob, blue rays and lesser sand sharks. The total number of fish caught was 997 with a weight 5951.1kgs.

Zululand dominated the tournament from the start, winning the first and third days, and coming forth on the second day. France Chretien of Zululand won the trophy for the biggest inedible fish, with a ragged tooth shark of 105.2kgs and ended up as champion angler with a total of 256.8 points. Roy Woodley and Francois Massyn, both of Zululand ended up in second and forth positions respectively. Julian Pybus of Zululand and Paul Currie of Natal shared the trophy for the most edible fish caught, whilst Julian received the award for the most number of fish, with a total of 39 fish. Wally Watt of Natal won the trophy for the biggest edible fish with a cob of 11kgs.

Before the South African Team announcements were made, Roy Woodley made the decision to retire from competitive angling, thus ending an illustrious career of some 23 years of fishing for Zululand. Not only did he make himself unavailable for selection for the South African Team, but did so whilst at the very top of the selection log. He made it clear that he wanted to retire whilst he was still on top. Roy Woodley’s retirement from the sport marks the end of an era in Zululand angling and the start of a legend.

The highlight of the prize giving was the announcement of the South African Team to represent South Africa against Namibia in 2009. The teams were as follows:

The highlight of the prize giving was the announcement of the South African Team to represent South Africa against Namibia in 2009. The teams were as follows:

South African Masters Team.
C. Scheepers                            Border
H. Kleyn                                Southern Cape
W. Watt                                  Kwa Zulu Natal
J. Strydom                            Eastern Province
J. Pybus                                Zululand
R. Cronje                              Southern Cape
M. Pautz (Captain)                   Southern Cape
Nico Lesch (Coach)                     Southern Cape
G. Kingsley Wilkens (Manager)            Border

SASAA Presidents Masters Team.
D.Lucas                                Central Guateng
J. Scholtz                             Central Guateng
R. Sansom                           Border
M. Pautz                                Southern Cape
J. Tiltman                              Zululand
F. Massyn                             Zululand
N. Brown (manager)          Border.


Tiger Tournament
Feed back from Chris Digges on the recent tiger tournament. “I would, on behalf of Antalis and all anglers like to thank you for your sponsorship and support of the 12th TFT held at Jozini dam recently. 

As always, without your involvement, this event would not be possible. This year’s event, held on 20th and 21st February 2009, attracted a record number of entries and again the weather played along. 

Extreme temperatures in the upper 30º’s with water temperatures of 26º - 28º promised some good fishing. However, “dirty water” and hard angling would end up dictating the success of the day’s catch.  This year’s competition saw a minimum qualifying size shift from 300mm to 350mm with positive consensus and there were suggestions that the size should even be pegged at 400mm. 
This will be carefully considered before the 2010 competition.
The following were the top prize-winners: -

BIGGEST FISH:
Craig Galloway of Group Graphics with a fish of 3.3kgs. 
MOST FISH:
Daryl Scott of Fish wick Printers with 13 fish recorded. 
FIRST PLACE TEAM PRIZE:
The African Bird Book Publishing Boat, skippered by Tony Konigkramer and crewed by Trevor, Peter and Hannes.  They caught a combined length of 11.1 meters representing a total of 28 fish with an average of just less than 400mm per fish. 
SECOND PLACE TEAM PRIZE:
Antalis Print Guests skippered by Mark Woods and crewed by Greg and Andre.  Combined length of 10.1 meters representing 24 fish with an average of 420mm per fish. 
THIRD PLACE TEAM PRIZE:
Ansell Industries, skippered by Doug Ansell and crewed by Ernie and Andrew, combined length of 9.6 meters representing 25 fish with an average of 385mm per fish. 
LUCKY DRAW PRIZES
were kindly sponsored by The Kingfisher, Antalis and Southern Pumps.
In summary, this year’s tournament saw 407 fish boated, recorded and released alive with a combined length of 180 meters.  This equates to an average of 440mm per fish.  Unfortunately there were 5 known fatalities.”
Get down to Westbrook Beach on the 28th and 29th March for the largest Kayak Fishing event South Africa has ever seen. With jumping castles for the kids as well as a dropshot fishing competition, lucky draw prizes for the ladies and competitors throughout the day as well a D.J. keeping you entertained while you soak up the sun and not to mention over R 100 000 worth of prizes up for grabs for the main event. Call the editor of Go Fish Magazine and organiser of the event, Kirk Newton on 084 512 5512.

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.

The 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.

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.