FISHING REPORT 05TH SEPTEMBER 2009

Anglers
With the onset of spring anglers can expect angling to improve as we are entering a period where winter fish are still here and the first of the summer fish start making an appearance. Shad have for the past week or so been rather erratic and anglers are having to fish hard for any reward. Garrick are now being caught on both north and south coasts. Some fish have been reported as far north as the Cape Vidal area but the main concentration seems to be on the Zululand beaches with the Amatikulu and Mtinzini areas featuring prominent.

Some good catches are also coming from the Richards Bay piers along with the odd big Kob. Locally anglers are mainly targeting shad especially along the Durban piers and the Umgeni mouth, here too anglers are battling to find any pattern as it is a case of ‘here today gone tomorrow’ situation. Anglers fishing the Tongaat long beach area have had some good measures of success as there are some shad around for live bait and quite a few Garrrick and Kob have been taken at this venue recently. The same can be said for Barracouta Rocks a little further up the coast.

The south coast has gone a little quiet with only sporadic catches of Garrick and Kob coming in. The Transkei is still producing some great angling as Garrick and Kob are now being caught quite freely in the Port St Johns and Hole In The Wall areas.

Ski boats
Ski boats focus has now changed to mainly bottom fishing and most are experiencing a really good season as far as Kob and Geelbek salmon are concerned. Good catches are coming from the south coast as well as the Durban area. General bottom fishing is just as good with good reports of ‘reds’ and Rock cod. Anglers with some patience are targeting some of the big Copper Steenbras which are now along our coastline

Biggest Shad Competition
The Kingfisher’s “Biggest Shad Competition” for the month of August has been won by Mr. Abir Ebrahim with a shad of 3.77kg’s caught at Bazley on the 26/08/2009. This fish gives Abir the first prize, a 14’ Kingfisher Poseidon 5pc Graphite Rod, valued at R1, 925.00. Second place was a shad of 3.19kg’s caught by Venolin Govender while fishing at Shaka Hill Rocks this gives Venolin a Daiwa SL50SHK worth R 1,189.00. Third place went to Sivalinjn Pillay with a shad of 3.1kg that he caught at Green Point. Sivalinjn won a Daiwa Opus Plus 6000 Reel valued at R567.00, from The Kingfisher.   
There was a mix up with the prizes because Venolin Govender brought his shad in late on the last day of the competition.

The heaviest shad  for the month of September 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 at 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.

KwaZulu – Natal Anglers Union website
A reminder from Dave Nisbet, who is the secretary/ treasurer of the KwaZulu – Natal Anglers Union, is that they are pleased to advise that the Union now has its new website (www.kzncau.co.za) up and running. As a result of this new website the email address has had to change (secretary@kzncau.co.za). Please visit the new website and you will find it more user friendly. All info is loaded in the .PDF format and opens in a .PDF reader in your Internet browser. The document can be either saved on to your computer or printed directly from the browser.
Under the heading “Navigation” (menu) you will find a couple of new pages, namely:-
Notice Board – On this page we will post such items as News Letters, announcements etc. (The 2009 and 2010 selections were posted there today for an example.)
Weather – this will take you the weather page where you can select the town of your choice and it gives a 7 day forecast as well the current weather conditions and the Marine Forecast. A Barometric graph is available which shows the Barometric pressure for the past 36 hours.
Photo Gallery – Members can submit images of exceptional catches for posting here. All we ask is that the photo be of good quality.
The great thing about this website is that they will update it themselves and not have to rely on a Service provider to do the changes.

Dave Nisbet from Kwazulu – Natal Coast Anglers Union informed us that there was an error on the Angler’s Cumulative Rank Points which has now been corrected. Check out The Kingfisher website on www.kingfisher.co.za for the full report.

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.

3rd annual bass classic
"Mnini dam,located within 15 kms of Amanzimtoti is hosting it's 3rd annual bass classic over the weekend of 3rd and 4th October 2009.
Thousands of rands are available for the biggest bass,and the heaviest bags of 5 bass on both days.Lucky draw prizes will also be handed out on the presentation day,4th.
Entry fee is R150 per angler and covers both days.
For more info contact Ron on 0833007528"

The Kingfisher’s 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.
Shane from Freedivers is holding a clinic on diving (spear fishing and cray fishing) at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street Durban on the 25 October 2009. This clinic is free and like all of the clinics, booking is a must.

Free Fishing Ski 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.

See photo of Mr. Abir Ebrahim with a shad of 3.77kg’s caught at Bazley on the 26/08/2009 that won him first prize in “he Kingfisher Biggest Shad Competition”.