FISHING REPORT 17TH OCTOBER 2009

Anglers
On the North Coast there have been reports of garrick coming out off Siola and Tuglela as well at the Tongaat and Umdloti River mouths. On the rock and surf front there have been some decent flat fish coming out, a huge +- 85kg eagle ray was landed on Thomson’s Bay beach on Tuesday by Wille Van Dyk.

ESA was there to help land and safely release the fish. On the South Coast after the terrible storm weather earlier this week there is finally some colour back in the water which is a positive sign for the LBSA anglers. There have been reports of some decent fish coming out all along the South Cost. News from Port Edwards Terry Nel is that it’s good to report something different now and again and on this occasion the rare catch by Dean Pretorious at Splash Rock is the talk of the coast. A bull nose guitarfish of over 50kg’s was landed by Dean and is the biggest of three only ever landed in this country.

Dean was using his Poseidon “Staffie” HMG with a Daiwa Saltiga 40 reel, well done Dean, great fish to land at Splash.  This creature is very different and has thorns on its back and over the eyes and is only correctly identified by the more experienced. (Picture to follow next week) A few hound sharks also came out off Splash in Port Edward, we also received reports of garrick and a 50kg round ribbon tale ray also came out in the same area.

Other than this the weather has been wet although the sea has been fishable most of the time and good catches of bronze bream have been reported with some 'size' fish coming out. Estuaries are now open and are expected to produce as soon as the water now settles. For info about fishing in the Port Edward area, give Terry a call at Tacklenet, 0393 113 013. In The Transkei things have been tough. The weather has been terrible and not much news has been received form this area over the past week.Thanks Brenna from ESA for the report.
For the info about the new DETERMINATION OF ADNMISSION OF   GUILT FINES IN TERMS OF THE MARINE LIVING RESOURCES ACT, see here.

Nikao Fishing Adventures
Mike Laubsher from Nikao Fishing Adventures went deep sea fishing off Durban with a father and his 3 sons. This was a second try as last week they had to cancel due to extremely bad weather, and there was a possibility of rain. Mike launched at 05h00 and returned at 13h00. When they got out of Durban harbour the sea was smooth and there was a mild long spaced swell, the water surface temperature was averaging around 21 deg. C and there was a light SW wind which later changed to a NE wind.

Whilst they were out fishing they saw 3 large pods of dolphins with a total of over 40 dolphins, 4 whales, and a huge shark. Mike decided to troll some small lures on light tackle on the back line and put out six lines and went for his marks on the GPS and as they went over them 3 reels started screaming and they reeled in a triple catch of lovely yellow fin (black tip) kingfish in the 3Kg (6.6lbs) range and they gave them an awesome fight on the light tackle. The spread was then set up again and they went over the same marks and got another yellow fin (black tip) kingfish of around 4Kg (8.8lbs) which gave the designated angler some good sport and so everyone got his turn to get a kingfish.

They then continued along back line and caught about 30 small shad, 1 torpedo scad and several small eastern little tuna. Mike then changed the tackle to medium tackle with some larger lures and they went about 10NM off shore hoping for something bigger and they managed to get another triple hook up with 3 decent sized eastern little tuna and they continues to catch a good quantity of these ranging from around 2Kg (4.4lbs) up to around 5Kg (11lbs) landing a round total of 20 eastern little tuna. Overall it was a good days fishing with some light rain early in the morning, the guests were pleased with their 2 triple hook ups which caused some good excitement for the day. Mike Laubsher from Nikao Fishing Adventures can be reached on 076 2999 445.

KZNFFA Report
Linda Gorlei, who is the Secretary KZNFFA sent in this report.” Well our Junior Team returned from their National event in the beautiful Boland on Saturday, (all rather exhausted but absolutely relishing in their experience on the Cape waters. They did us proud and finished 4th overall out of the 9 teams, missing the bronze medals by just 1 POINT!  What a time they had and I am so pleased to see how their skills have improved over the past year and how they are developing into skilled, knowledgeable and passionate young anglers.

We spent a vital two days in preparation at Dwarsberg on the beautiful Holsloot river where it took no effort from my side to get them motivated into training and working together...all managing to put a few fish in their nets and Matthew van Weiringen even producing a double-up! At times I wish I had a video camera to film some of the remarkable skill I witnessed (and on fewer occasions some of the not so remarkable). Off the water they were a pleasure to have around and there were times when I laughed till tears streamed.

Each have taken the art of fly tying to another level as well and spent every evening huddled around their vices producing some really impressive flies. I am also happy to report that Matthew Cave was one of the five winners of the fly tying competition adjudicated by Dr.Tom Sutcliff at the event. Matt Gorlei also received excellent comments on his flies. Fishing in the event was tough with very few fish coming out of the Stillwater sessions, especially on Lakenvlei. (Only 1 - 3 a session in total) Although really tough, the boys really relished the river sessions and although results don't always give a true reflection on ability as certain beats were "more productive" than others, it was encouraging to have the marshals comment on how well they worked the beats they had drawn. The Seniors depart on Monday for the same waters so may we wish you all too...Tight lines & happy memories.”

The Matatiele Mountain Lake Fly Fishing Competition
The Matatiele Mountain Lake is hosting their fly fishing competition on 31st October and the 1st November 2009.  First prize for a tagged fish is R10, 000.00, 2nd R5, 000.00, 3rd R2, 500.00, 4th R1, 500.00 and 5th R1, 00.00. There are many more prizes to be won. Entry fee is R350.00 and this includes your entry, Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. There is a cash bar and camping facilities with ablution blocks available. For registration and bookings please contact either Shane on 083 299 4996, Lionel on 039 7373170 or Dale on 082 331 7262. This is always a very well run competition and is certainly worth while making the trip up the hill. Some info supplied by Dale that will hopefully wet your appetite. “With all that out of the way, we hope to see you fishing here this
year. The fishing has been the best that I have ever seen, we had a
5.3kg brown trout caught 3 months ago and personally I caught a 4kg
rainbow last week-end, with the average catch of fish ranging between
2.5 to 3kgs. We have also just recently stocked with browns and
rainbows. The lake is clean and cold and an absolute pleasure to fish
in at the moment.”

ESA
This week in the ESA Show we join Ray and Dean at a spot closer to home. Don’t miss them sharing some secret LBSA baits at Trafalgar Beach on the South Coast. In OSSA we join Mark and PJ Botha on their mission to tag and release some GINAT sharks and in DSSA we are back in the Seychelles for the last time, hold on to your chairs as this one will keep you on the edge of your seat! Don’t miss the ESA Saltwater Show at 7:30pm every Thursday on DSTV channel, Super Sport 1. On Tuesday night we are back with Howie and Rob at Inanda. This time Howie shows us a thing or two and lands a beaut you want to know how? Then you’d better not miss the show!  ESA Bass every Tuesday night on Super Sport 1 at 7:00pm.

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.

Diving Clinic (Spear Fishing and cray Fishing)
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 a 174kg raggie landed by Mike Pereira on the 5th October at Mezeppa Bay. Mike was using  the Poseidon HMG heavy rod and Daiwa Saltiga 50 reel.