The Kingfisher trading times for the festive season is as follows:
In December 2022, all branches will be open for trading on Sundays, 8 to 1pm.
Sunday the 25th of December 2022, all branches will be closed.
Monday the 26th of December 2022, 8 to 1pm
Only the Salt Rock and Ballito stores will be open on Sunday the 1st of January 2023, 8 to 1pm.
Monday the 2nd of January 2023, all branches will be open, 8 to 1pm.
Well, the year is all but gone and the Christmas carols are playing at full volume. If you listen carefully though, you can hear the drags singing with the sound of summer fish.
Top tip: Every year there are a few unfortunate incidents involving too much festive spirit/s. Please keep the merry at home and don’t endanger yourself or fellow beachgoers. The sea is an unpredictable place that must be treated with respect. Have a fantastic break and get some fish on your hooks.
Offshore:
The bigger seas and heavy winds have made fishing on the boats a little unpleasant but the bumpy trips have been worth it. Tuna, a few early dorries and some proper couta have all made it on to the deck.
North – The north coast has seen some good snoek and couta for the smaller boats and skis. The deeper reefs and wrecks have seen some very good bottom fishing with big trawl soldiers and a host of other species being caught. Squid and sardines have been the baits of choice for the deeper fishing.
The tuna have been full up with some giants being hooked and breaking tackle. These are very powerful fish so allow them to fire themselves out before you try horse them to the boat.
Central – The central coast has seen some good fishing this in patches. The bottom fishing has been consistently good with a number of species making up the reports.
The game fish on the other hand have been a bit more tricky to get consistently. The tuna have been the only ones that you can confidently target in the deep and the snoek in the shallows. Try trolling some strip baits at first light and changing to lipped lures or live baits as the sun comes up.
South – The south coast catches have been focussed around the deeper marks along with Aliwal Shoal. There have been some big wahoo around that few have managed to land. The tuna have been great fun on the faster lipped lures and these have been working for the other species too (dorado and billfish). This time of year is fantastic on the boat if you get the weather right, so keep your eye on the weather apps and plan accordingly.
Rock and Surf:
The summer season is in full swing and the sharks and rays are testing backing knots daily. Now is the time to break your PB.
North – There have been plenty of sandsharks along the north coast. Most of the usual fishing spots have yielded good numbers of these hard-fighting fish. Mackerel has been the standout bait so try your best to get hold of some. A standard all nylon trace is perfect for these fish. If you want to multi-target different species then you should either add a section of bite wire or use an FMJ.
Central – The Durban coast has seen consistent fishing with both edibles and inedibles being landed on most of the days. The Basin area has been the hotspot with most days seeing a good number of anglers fishing there.
The inedibles being caught have mainly been diamond rays and dusky grey sharks. The greys have required a bite trace and a smaller circle hook while the diamonds have needed a larger hook and bait.
South – The south coast has seen some decent fish for the edible fishermen as well as those looking for a longer fight. The reefs and ledges have been fishing well for the scratching fishermen. Pink and red prawn have been the top baits for the bream and stumpies. The dark has seen some good catches of cave bass and barbel. Mainly chokka for these fish.
The inedibles landed have mainly been taken on fleshy baits with mackerel and bonito being the better baits. The areas around Stiebel have been fishing extremely well with reports of summer smashes happening regularly.
Freshwater:
The freshwater fishing has been good for most facets. The bass fishing has been the highlight of the groups but the trout and carp guys have done well this year.
Bass – All the dams in KZN have been fishing fairly well with decent specimens being landed from most venues. Fishing slower and more methodical has been reported as the most successful way to target the bigger fish. Dropshots have worked very well in the deeper water especially when targeting structure in the deep. Small minnow imitations or straight-tail worms have been the best plastics to use. The fishing is starting to pick up so keep an eye on your favourite venue as the spawn is just around the corner.
Midmar is a great dam to work with your electronics as there are many hidden spots offshore that can hold giants.
Carp – The carp fishing has been a bit slow. There has not been much reported over the last week. The specimen anglers have been traveling to get decent bites while the conventional anglers have done well at dams like Midmar and Albert falls. Sweet flavours are still doing well with banana and honey proving to be the best options.
Trout – The rains have made fishing incredibly difficult with faster currents and a lot of brown water.
News from our Jan, The Kingfisher in PMB – “It is sometimes a better idea to give the fishing a break and rather spend time with the family or prepare your tackle for the coming trips. The Midlands is swimming! And that about sums it up for the last week … now we could just leave it there, but fortunately there has been some fishy action that we can report on…
As mentioned last week, the bass anglers are making a comeback, as we are actually hearing some reports of fish … not seeing mind you, as anglers are still keeping their fish under wraps … but word does get out you know! Word is that some good fish have been caught from both Albert Falls and Midmar Dams …. with the dams coming over the top, the backwaters and margins are well and truly flooded, and the bass are moving into the shallows, chasing bait and frogs in particular. With the rains, tilapia, carp and barbel are all spawning, providing plenty edibles for the bass. Anglers are reporting that anything with a fast retrieve will do the job – and if fishing in the shallows up and into the weeds, preferably something weedless if you don’t want to risk throwing away a couple of lures… Michael from KF-PMB has been having success with the Reaction STRETCH Range of soft plastics – pop into the shop and come and chat to him for his inside scoop.
The Natal Fly Fishers Club anglers have again been scarce on the waters, with very few returns coming in. For the 1st time, I have to report unfortunately that every single one of them has been a blank! The returns indicate dirty water all round, for both the stillwaters and rivers, and of course the rivers are shunting and blown out as a result. One of the returns mentions “nice day for a picnic”, which again pretty much sums up current conditions for most of the NFFC waters…
It’s not all doom and gloom however, and contrary to indications, even with all the rain, the best bet is actually to head to the river – as high up as possible. These beats fall outside of the NFFC managed waters, but once again, word of mouth prevails and there have been some fish coming to hand in the upper sections. While the rivers are breaking banks in the lower sections, the upper parts of the rivers stay in place, and while fast flowing, it is still possible to con a fish or two. With the center of the river having the least friction, the water is the fastest, so to be avoided if possible. Techniques of choice include heavy-weighted nymph rigs, but fish can still be taken on a dry in these conditions by targeting eddies and the slower water on the margins … I prefer using a large hopper pattern, basically giving the fish no choice but to spot and come up for a proper meal in the prevailing conditions. For the best of both, you can add a weighted dropper below the hopper so the fish has a choice of snacks…
If fishing river, please take note of prevailing conditions and especially any impending storms … rivers are bursting banks, and you don’t want to be in the vicinity if and when that happens. Current bursts include the Lions River in the Balgowan Valley in the vicinity of the Lions River Trading Post … and their River Café literally has its feet in the water at present! Another popular fishing spot is the area immediately below Midmar Dam wall – this area has also flooded with the rains over the last week.
No word coming from Sterkfontein Dam currently – it is a popular December destination, so pretty sure that we be seeing some reports shortly.
The Kingfisher-PMB would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all our Customers for the support over the year, and wish y’all Merry Festivities. We are open every day apart from Xmas Day till year end, so if you are fishing, do pop into the Kingfisher-PMB for the BEST in tackle and advice”. Thanks Jan.
Series 21 (can you believe it; this is Petri’s 21 series) of Hier Gaan Ons Alweer on kykNET, premieres are on Saturday evenings at 18:30 on kykNet, channel 144 and there are a number of repeats during the week. The repeats are on Sundays at 16:30, Mondays at 12:30, Tuesdays at 17:00 and Fridays at 22:00. Series 21 ends on the 24th December 2022.
As most of you know, Petri and his guests cover various angling styles (fresh and salt water) in and around Southern Africa.
The KZN Angler News audio fishing report is South Africa’s first fishing podcast series that focuses on the latest fishing reports of the East Coast, it delivers true and accurate content from the provinces most prominent anglers on a weekly basis on various facets of angling. This report is free and available on all major Podcast platforms including Apple Pods, Google Pods, Spotify and Deezer as well as SA’s most popular Facebook Pages.
https://ansapodcast.buzzsprout.com
The Kingfisher has opened their new store on the upper north coast. Situated in the Tiffany’s Shopping Centre in Salt Rock, this store is ideally positioned for our north coast anglers. For all your angling needs, (freshwater or saltwater) pop in and see them or give them a shout on 032 307 0041.
For the best in tackle and advice, pop into any of the seven Kingfisher stores, they are open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays
Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za
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As always, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with all our new video releases and to brush up on your species knowledge, tactics and tips/tricks. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheKingfisherFishing