FISHING REPORT 1ST AUGUST 2009.

Sardines
Sardine fever has once again gripped all citizens along the KZN coastline as some fair size shoals were spotted just behind the backline between Port Shepstone and the Mtwalumi area during the course of last week end. None of these shoals could be netted due to adverse weather and sea conditions but were accompanied by hundreds of common dolphin and sea birds.

During the week however some shoals were in netting range in the Scottburgh area and only small pockets were netted. Hopefully anglers will get a chance of some good angling if the sardines stay along our coast for a few days.

Angling
Angling in general has picked up well as shad have now entrenched themselves and with them the winter game fish. Shad are feeding well all along the coast and the Durban piers. The majority of these fish are now well oversize and anglers seem to be getting their quotas fairly quickly during the morning and afternoon sessions.

Game fish, mostly in the form of garrick are also being caught in fair numbers but mainly on the South Coast. The hot spots now are certainly the Umkomaas, Karradene, Illovo and Toti areas where anglers have caught some good numbers recently. The Umgeni north bank stretch has also performed well over the last week or so with a few medium size fish being taken. Some good size kob have also been reported on both South and North Coasts but these fish have been caught mainly at night. Yellowtail kingfish have also been quite active in between the shoals of garrick an a few good size specimens in the 6 kg range have been accounted for.

The Transkei has been fishing well for the past few weeks and some good catches of garrick and kob have been reported from the Port St Johns and Poenskop areas. Anglers braving the cold at night have in this area had some good returns of big kob being caught on Strike Pro type lures. The river here has produces many fair size grunter and kob from anglers fishing off boats at night.

Ski boats
Ski boats are still having a very good bottom fishing season as some big winter fish have already been caught. These fish, apart from the form of daga and geelbek salmon, include some big black muscle cracker and quite a few big red steenbras have been caught. With the sardines around hopefully anglers will get some game fish action in. At this time of the year with shoals of sardines in the Scottburgh area this venue as well as the Aliwal Shoal could produce a variety of game fish.

Competition
On the 1St August, The Kingfisher starts their “Biggest Shad Competition”. This year it will be run over a two month period, August and September, with three prizes each month. The heaviest shad  for each month will receive a 14’ Kingfisher Poseidon 5pc Graphite Rod, valued at R1, 925.00, the second heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa SL 50SHK Reel, valued at R1,189.00 and third heaviest shad will receive a Daiwa Opus Plus 6000 Reel valued a t R567.00. Please note that all shad (fresh) must be weighed at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street, Durban during trading hours and please remember there is a bag limit of four and the minimum size is 30cm.

ESA
Catch the ESA team doing battle on ESA Saltwater at 7:30pm on Thursday and don’t miss the bass show at 7:00pm every Tuesday on Super sport 1 (unless mentioned otherwise – check your DSTV guide for details) the latest ESA magazine is out and on sale at The Kingfisher for R19.95. This issue it is jammed packed with great features.
The final Preliminary Results for Postal Round 5 are as follows:

Trading Hours
The Kingfisher’s 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.

Rock and Surf clinic
The Kingfisher at 53, Hunter Street, Durban hosts a free Rock and Surf clinic run by Ivan Stopforth on their premises once a month. 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 Fishing Ski Clinic by Markham Pollard 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.