FISHING REPORT 07TH NOVEMBER 2009

Anglers
With the Shad ban still firmly in place together with some very adverse weather and sea conditions anglers are having a tough time as far as getting some decent fishing time in. However, some of those who are lucky enough to have some free time during the week and can squeeze a few hours fishing in when the weather lets up have found that there are still some good fish around.

Gamefish in the form of Garrick and the odd Kingfish are being caught in the Park Rynie and Sezella areas. There are also favourable reports of Garrick in particular down at the Sandspit at Port Shepstone. Kob are also around and those anglers who can put in a couple of hours at night are being rewarded with a few good fish. Brusher and Bronze bream are now being actively targeted by most anglers. These fish can be caught in almost any weather conditions due to their habitat being in and around rocky ledges and bays. There are good reports of some bigger Brusher being caught in traditional places like the Twini ledge and the rocky bays at Doonside. The north coast produces many fish particularly the La Mercy and Westbrook areas.

Ski Boats
Ski Boats have stared catching some good numbers of Dorado mainly off the deep reefs off Durban but quite a few have recently been caught on the shallower reefs off the North and South coasts. When weather permits , the Cape Vidal area is also fishing well with reports of Dorado, Wahoo, Sailfish, small Tunny and the odd Couta being boated. Fishing on the Aliwal Shoal and the Protea banks have also started picking up with catches of Wahoo and Tunny being reported. The odd Sailfish has been seen but to date no confirmed catches have come to light.

Anglers venturing down to the Transkei are finding conditions a little harsh at times but when a good window of weather presents itself, fishing is as good as it gets. Those looking for edibles are getting some good catches of garrick in and around the Port St Johns area. Kob on the other hand are not as prolific as previous years but those who persevere with Strike Pro type lures at night are being rewarded with the odd big kob. The river itself, at Port St Johns is still steadily producing some fine catches of mainly grunter and again the odd kob. The majority of these fish caught in the river is at night and around spring tides. The Hole In The Wall area has produced some good catches of bigger sharks recently, most of them being hammerhead sharks and the odd big ragged tooth shark. There are also reports of anglers catching some big kob in this area.

Locally, conditions lately have kept most anglers at home as the seasonal wind and rain is spot in for this time of the year. However, some hardened anglers are seen along rocky ledges fishing for brusher. When targeting these fish your tackle should be stepped up a grade or two to that of shad angling. These fish are found amongst rocky ledges and points and for this reason your tackle should ideally be that of a heavy nature. Your nylon should be around the 35lb range, Kingfisher Giant Abrasion is good and a heavy action rod like the Poseidon Heavy is advised, the new Kingfisher Classic 13’ 6”, 3 piece rod is also a very good, less expensive rod. Hooks should range from a 6/0 to 8/0 Mustard Kendall Round and your trace line should be no less than 50lb. Reels are also very important and should be in good condition. Reels, like the Daiwa SL50 and the Daiwa Grandwave 50 are ideal as they have the pulling power to get big specimens out and away from rocks. Baits can vary, as these fish are not fussy eaters. The main bait however is a live crab but sea lice, whole mussels, chokka and even sardine heads work very well. Some big specimens have come out in the South Coast and the North Coast has also yielded some good catches.

News from Port Edwards Terry Nel is that in the past few days, not too many fish have come out except some shad and bronze bream. Reports are that these shad are being kept and not only by one certain group of fishermen who are always being criticized for this deed. Rough seas wind and much rain have kept most fishermen at home and the tackle dealer is suffering the consequences of the current weather disorder.

Nikao Fishing Adventures
Mike from Nikao Fishing Adventures sent in this report for the 01-11-09
“There has always been the fear that one day I will have no fish catches to report, but when I started doing my fishing reports I promised myself that when that day comes I will report it just like I do with all my others, so here goes. We launched from Durban Harbour at 05h00 and decided to head North and stay close in shore, so if the wind picked up to a gale we would be able to come back in with the wind. The North Easterly wind was howling and got worse as the day progressed. The water surface temperature going out the harbour mouth was only 14.7 deg. C which is extremely cold for this time of year and should be around 22 deg. C or more, as the wind and swell was really ticking I decided to troll some feathers as we headed for the Umgeni river mouth. We managed to pick up one small Needle Scaled Queen fish en-route which was so small (a little larger than the Williamson feather that it took) it did not even set the drag off, which I suppose does count as a game fish but I have excluded it.

When we got to the river mouth the water surface temperature was only 16.8 deg. C which is still very cold. We started throwing plugs for Garrick and we got one chase, and when the guys got tired of casting with the heavy plugs, I gave them lighter tackle to cast spoon for Queen Mackerel (Snoek) and we did get one fish on, but he came off, even my reliable waypoint 49 produced nothing. By this time we were in front of Virginia Airport and decided to get some live bait and we headed out to the barge where we got the highest water surface temperature reading of around 19 deg. C. We even struggled to get Mackerel but managed to get 1 Common Mackerel (My favourite live bait) and 4 Sugar Mackerels. We then put three of the Mackerels out and started a slow troll back to port at around the 22m depth contour. We got a good hit on the Common Mackerel and even had the fish on for a while, but then he came loose and when we brought the line back to the boat there was a bite mark on the Mackerel from behind the gill plate to the tail, the hook was missed and the fish was dead, I suspect a King Fish of Garrick.

One of the other lines bounced and when we reeled it in the whole trace was gone and I suspect this was a Shark. We then put out the last 2 Mackerel and by this time we were going past the Umgeni River Mouth again where the water temperature dropped back down to under 16 deg. C and we had no further action after that, and when we reeled in the lines by the Durban Harbour Mouth all but one of our lives baits were dead and I am sure this was water temperature related.

The wind had really picked up by then and we also had one huge wave stand up and lurch the boat at a precarious angle which gave the guys a fright, but the boat is stable and was OK. When going in the Harbour Channel the water surface temperature dropped below 13 deg. C. I really find this strange and can only think it is water coming from the bay which gets a lot of rain water from the canal. I am also sure that these cold water temperatures are affecting the fish, but it is really frustrating to get no fish no matter what you try or how hard you try.”
Don’t forget that the crayfish season closed on the 31st of October and permits will have to be renewed again next year when the season opens again. We will remind you closer to the time.

ESA Saltwater
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 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.

Free Fishing Clinic’s
The Kingfisher hosts free Fishing Clinic’s on their premises once a month, booking is essential. These 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. To find out more about these clinics and to book a seat please phone The Kingfishers sales staff on 031 368 3903.