ROCK AND SURF
FISHING REPORT 25TH APRIL 2009.
Shad fishing has over the past week picked up quite nicely as some good catches are being reported from the middle South Coast with the Margate area producing some very good catches.
Closer to Durban things are slowly picking up as sporadic catches are being made along the piers in Durban and some more consistent fish along the South Coast with the Toti, Winkle and Umkomaas areas producing some steady fish, pompano have been reported from the Doonside, Kelso and Sezella areas.

A few good fish in the 8 kg mark were taken at Sezella beach last week end.
Other edibles in these areas were kingfish, stumpie and some smaller shoal kob.
Terry Nel from Tackelnet in Port Edward reports that there is not much to report except that the shad have been biting all week even in the dirty water.
A large flatfish was lost at Splash Rock during the week and those trying in the estuaries here have had no results.

For more info in the Port Edward area give Terry a call on 0393 113 013. For the inedible anglers the flatfish are now starting to dwindle a bit as there are few reports of these fish.
However there are still some bigger sand sharks and the odd big diamond skates around. The northern Zululand beaches are fishing very well.
Anglers fishing in the Black Rock and Kosi bay areas have reported some very good fishing for both edible and inedible species.
A few Giant Kingfish have been reported here over the past few weeks as well as some very big honeycombe rays and sandsharks.

Petri de Wet from “Hier gaan ons alweer” landed a magnificent kingie of over 40 kg’s
while filming at Kosi Bay. This fish was caught with bonefish as  bait and Petri was using his Daiwa Grangwave 50SHVK reel filled with .55 Kingfisher Giant Abrasion line and his Poseidon HMG surf rod.
What a fish!

The Umgeni stretch now looks like the only area that is steadily producing fish. Boats operating on the deeper water spots like the Aliwal Shoal and the Protea Banks are also being forced to work a little harder for the fish that are coming out there. Yellow fin tunny are being caught in fair numbers but the majority of the fish are mostly in the 5 kg to 10 kg mark.
The Mapelane Billfish Compo has yielded a few very good fish on day one.
Top of the day was a blue marlin of 192.8kg’s boated by Fanie van Jaarsveldt.
Hubert Meyer boated a dorado of 19.7kg’s and Max Bardenhaust landed a 10.7kg amberjack.



Ski Boat and Fishing ski's
Ski Boat and fishing ski’s seem to be going through a bit of a slump as the couta run has never really materialized and the few fish that were around on the North and South Coasts seem to have all but disappeared with the exception of the odd fish being caught.
Snoek are still being caught but not in the numbers that were around recently.

All fishing tackle Retailers in the greater Durban area and Pinetown are working together to eliminate a serious theft problem that is plaguing the industry. 
The fishing tackle targeted by thieves includes highly priced branded fishing reels, line, hooks etc used mainly by shore anglers and is being sold at popular fishing points, Blue Lagoon being one of them.  All Tackle Retailers are appealing to anglers to come forward with information leading to closure of this tackle theft menace. 
You can contact the following number 031- 573 7788 which is monitored 24hrs.
You may leave an anonymous message or talk to the operator if you wish.
Anglers please be careful not to purchase stolen tackle as this could lead to prosecution.

The Durban Ski-Boat 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.
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.

ESA Bass Pro
“TO THE TOP WITH HOWIE AND ROB”,
The new ESA BASS angling duo with a difference made their first official appearance as ESA Bass Pro Anglers on the ESA BASS SHOW on Super Sport 1.
The rating for the show was fantastic and we have received great feedback from the public already! These knowledgeable and determined anglers no doubt will keep you glued to the screen and chuckling at their witty but somehow comical encounters.
Don’t miss them…. same time, same place next week. (Tuesday’s @ 7:00pm on Super Sport 1)
Be sure to keep your eyes open for the new ESA tackle box in every show, where you get to see what product your favourite ESA talents use to bring some spectacular catches to the screen.
 
"Hier Gaan Ons Alweer"
is airing on Thursday evenings on Kyknet, channel 111 at the following times:
Thursday 16thth April 18:30hr .
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.

Trading times
The Kingfisher’s trading times for the public holidays during April / May are as follows, 27th April closed, 1st May open from 8:00 to 13:00. Our normal trading hours are Monday, Wednesday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00, Tuesday 8:30 to 17:00 and Saturday 8:00 to 13:00.

Fishing 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.
To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031- 368 3903.
We are looking for guys or girls to help us with clinics in the bass and fly fishing fraternity if anyone would like to get involved
please give Mike Pereira a call on 031 368 3903. 

Any info about fishing, fish caught or competitions in your area please send 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.

See photo of Petri de Wet from “Hier Gaan Ons Alweer”
with his 40+ kg kingfish caught last week at Kosi Bay.

Tackle Retailers
All fishing tackle Retailers in the greater Durban area and Pinetown are working together to eliminate a serious theft problem that is plaguing the industry. 
The fishing tackle targeted by thieves includes highly priced branded fishing reels, line, hooks etc used mainly by shore anglers and is being sold at popular fishing points, Blue Lagoon being one of them. 
All Tackle Retailers are appealing to anglers to come forward with information leading to closure of this tackle theft menace. 
You can contact the following number 031- 573 7788 which is monitored 24hrs.  You may leave an anonymous message or talk to the operator if you wish. 
Anglers please be careful not to purchase stolen tackle as this could lead to prosecution.