It is BLACK FRIDAY time again. This year we are going big with all our branches running the sale this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday! We have branches in Durban, (Hunter Street as well as at Tackle Centre), Warner Beach, Kloof, Pietermaritzburg, Ballito and Salt Rock.
All items are less 20%, excluding bait and items already on special (while stocks last).
Pop into your nearest Kingfisher branch to make the most of the awesome deals. The dates and times are Thursday the 24th 8-5pm, Friday the 25th 8-5pm, Saturday the 26th 8-1pm and Sunday the 27th 8-1pm of November 2022 at all of our branches.
Just over a month to go before Christmas… wow 2022 has flown past and we have been blessed with some amazing catches in all facets.
Top tip. With the festive season almost upon us please remember that we all have access to the sea and we all started somewhere. Try to help out any anglers starting out and remember to continue trying if you are new. Let’s all have a fantastic festive season with plenty of fish and smiles.
Offshore:
The offshore fishing is going well along the KZN coast. The further north you go, the hotter the action gets.
North – Vidal, Sodwana and the rest of the upper north coast have been the places to be if you are looking for gamefish action.
There have been good mixes of summer gamefish caught with the list of species longer than a Stealth 575 ski. The dorado have arrived and there are a number of bigger specimens already on the catch reports. Pink and purple have been the most successful colours for lures and dusters.
Central – Durban has also seen some good couta but the tuna has been the main species in terms of weight. The sharks have been a problem so make sure to beef up your tackle so you can pull as hard as possible.
Much like the north, trolling lipped lures has been a great way to put numbers in the boat. The tuna has jumped on most of the faster trolling lures (lipped or skirted). The purples and pinks have been the top performers.
The snoek has been around in small numbers around the uMgeni river mouth in the early mornings. Trolling fillets and smaller lipped lures from the mouth to the lighthouse is a great area to target these fish.
South – The south coast has seen much the same as last week with some decent fish in the deep on the trolling lures while the shallows have seen some big couta and a couple of snoek.
The couta have favoured a bigger bait down rigged on a 4oz sinker. Try get your hands on some bigger mackerel, bonito or the king of the couta baits…the walla walla.
The snoek has favoured fillet baits and spoons down south. The Umkomaas area has seen some decent fish but no big numbers. Try spin on the backline just after you launch to get the day started properly.
Rock and surf:
The rock and surf fishing has been interesting… The fish have been around, but the fishing has been tough. Put the time in and you will reap the rewards.
North – The north coast has seen the bulk of the early summer flatfish and sharks. There have been some decent blackfin and sandies hooked already with the fish leading the scoreboard. Bigger, meaty baits have been the trick to get the bite. Look for colder water areas and try to get into the deepest water possible.
Remember that the shad season is still closed so please do not disturb them.
Central – The central coast has seen a patchy catch report. There have been some spots like Glen Ashley and Blue Lagoon that have seen consistent results over the past week. Then, the rest of the central coast has been very quiet with not much to mention.
Shad, kob and stumpies have been the main catches on the edible side but a few garrick have been landed. Live bait has seen the bigger fish but chokka has been the key for those fishing for the kob.
There have been grey sharks around for those wanting to catch something that will take a bit of drag but unfortunately those are the only inedibles around on the central coast.
South – The scratchers have been doing very well down south with some quality fish being landed. There have been stumpies, bream and pompano on offer with some bomber shad mixed in. Speak to the anglers in the area you are fishing and find out what has been working in the days prior.
The deeper points down south are still holding some of the better inedibles and anglers have managed a few bus eagle rays and some honeycombs. The eagle rays prefer an octopus bait while the honeycombs will love a redeye sardine concoction.
Freshwater:
The freshwater facets have been firing with most of the anglers seeing good catches.
Bass – The bass fishing has been amazing in all of the KZN venues. The faster moving baits have been putting the numbers in the boat. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and walking surface baits allow you to cover a lot more water. These faster techniques have allowed anglers to quickly up their numbers before switching to soft plastics to target the bigger fish.
Midmar has been doing very well for both the boat and bank anglers. The upper reaches of the dam closer to the river mouth have produced the bigger fish. Chartreuse and white spinnerbaits have done some serious damage. Albert Falls and Inanda have both been very consistent with good catches coming from both. The only issue is the ecological disaster of the water hyacinth at Inanda. The giant mats of weed are a real menace to anyone trying to fish there.
Carp – The carp fishing has been steady in the past few weeks. The specimen angling is starting to pick up with more fish being landed this past week. The fronts have helped to drop the water temps and make the carp a bit more aggressive. Particles have done very well this past week with some quality fish coming to the net.
The conventional anglers have done well with smaller fish. Plenty of fish have been caught with very few going over the 5kg mark. The best reported baits have been strong, fruity mielie pips. Almond and banana have been the most productive of the flavours.
Trout – The stillwaters are fishing very well. The size of the fish has not been the same giants as in previous weeks, but the fishing has been good.
Minnow imitation streamers have been the most successful flies mentioned across the different venues. Those fishing the smaller venues have seen better results with smaller patterns. The fronts coming through have slowed fishing down a bit and might need you to scale down to worm patterns and hand-twist retrieves.
News from our Jan, The Kingfisher in PMB – “Last week’s weather trend continues … and intensifying if truth be told! Crazy weather with the blistering heat and thunderstorms … which looks like it’s going to be ticking around for a while yet. Enjoy the sun while you can as the Norwegian weather gods have it that this weekend is going to be a wet one. Get your fishing in now, come of the Kingfisher Black Friday Sale over the weekend (as many times as you like(!), and then take your new tackle out for a throw when the weather clears in the new week … how’s that for a plan?!?
We reported lots of water around last week – situation still much the same – rivers are full to brimming, as are the stillwaters.
With the high water, only a couple reports from river anglers of the Natal Fly Fishers Club – one being from a central beat where the catch was less than expected for this piece of water (as expected with the water level) – another came from a higher beat (where the water will cleaner and somewhat slower) and some good fish up to the 11-13 inch / 28-33cm bracket. As is usual with these returns, no flies were mentioned, but in this case, knowing the reportee, I have a strong suspicion that the dry fly was to blame … good news indicative of decent water up top!
Another river report came from of the Natal Yellowfish aka Scaly beats, but sadly no fish were reported. No word either from any of the other usual yellowfish waters, as I suspect that the flows and colours are too much for any avid angler.
On the stillwater side, also only a few reports from the NFFC anglers – once again, I suspect that “The Mudlands” of The Midlands is maybe keeping the anglers from having to wash their vehicles after ever fishing trip!
They being said, there are always a few intrepid souls that will head out any time, and for those that risk, winnings can be sweet. Best fish pulled the tape to over 50cm, around the 20-inch mark, with a couple other fish that came in the 45-50cm / 15-20inch bracket. Summer conditions notwithstanding, it seems like some bigger specimens are out to play with a report mentioning “We got smashed up a few times!”
Water temperatures are up, all returns reporting 20degC and up, and fish holding deep. One noted that “the fish disappeared” in the afternoon when the water temperature went to 24degC. Yikes, that’s warm for trout, and perhaps worth mentioning again : tippet up to get your fish in quickly so you can release quickly and send back to the cooler depths.
This weekend sees the long-awaited NFFC River Clinic taking place on the Mooi River in the Kamberg Valley. While the weather forecast looks to be somewhat inclement, I can safely say that the organisers have plenty materials to present should the river not play ball.
The NFFC has seen a lot of interest in the Clinics that were on offer this year, and placed filled up quickly, so watch the NFFC Socials for news of upcoming events. I am informed that there is a saltwater (fly angling) clinic on the cards
The bass boys are still keeping their catches on the lowdown, as the competition intimated to be taking place currently runs till end of December … so I expect that we won’t see any reports from those anglers entered in the comp. There was a VERY GOOD fish from Albert Falls Dam this last week – from the bank to boot, so just goes to show that the big ‘uns are anywhere – no scale or tape on hand unfortunately, but from the footage estimated to be on the 70cm / 6kg mark! As usual, there are murmurings of some very good fish coming out of Midmar Dam too, but no pictures, no proof they say.
Tilapia and carp are reportedly on the spawn at present, and barbel are around, so if these species are of interest, time to get in on the action”. Thanks Jan.
Tight lines and screaming reels.
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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