Please remember to leave the areas that you fish in a better condition than when you got there. Take a few moments to pick up some litter and take it to the nearest bin. Tight lines and screaming reels.
The winter chill came back and hit Durban with a proper smack. The cold weather has kept the sardines around and the chilly nights have been fishing well.
Top tip: snood length. The hook snood length can be a hotly contested topic in most fishing shops. The general consensus is that in the calmer water when you need movement of your bait, lengthen the snood. The opposite is true when the sea is a bit rough or if the terrain is foul. These basic tips are true whether you are fishing for edibles or inedibles. Beyond the water conditions you will also need to consider where the fish feed in the water column but that is a tip for another day.
Offshore:
Plenty of fish for all. Whether you prefer the fast-paced predators or the strong pulling bottom fish, there is something for you!
North – The north coast has been the most productive section of coast. There have been plenty of fish coming out on the skis and boats. The couta have been around and the guys with the friskiest live baits have been the successful ones. Make getting some decent live baits your number one priority once launched and then look for the spots to fish. If you are having trouble hooking the live baits add some bits of sardine on to the hooks for some extra attraction. Use a heavier sinker than you think you need to avoid the dreaded tangles.
Central – The Durban coast has seen a lot of action this past week. The sheltered launch areas have made launching in even the biggest sea possible.
The tuna and couta have been the main fish filling the hatches while the dorado have come in a close third. Trolling skirted lures has been deadly for the tuna, billfish, and the bigger dorado. Colours have been a personal choice so choose what you think looks good. The couta have been around the shallower reefs off the Bluff and have been particular to a frisky live mackerel. This being said, bait is scarce so do not waste too much of your fishing time looking for live bait.
The bottom fishing has been a bit quiet with only smaller reds making up the reported catches. Please consider releasing these smaller fish for the future of the reef.
South – The south coast has been throwing some amazing bottom fish down in the lower south. The Transkei has been calling and those that answered were well rewarded with some beastly fishing.
The areas on the upper and middle south have been more focused on geelbek and daga and the boats have done well with these. Bigger baits have produced the bigger fish down south and live baits have remained king! There have been gamefish as well, but the focus has definitely been more on the bottom.
Rock and surf:
The shore-based fishing has been the only hot thing in KZN at the moment. Whether you prefer to throw lures or big baits, there have been amazing fish for all facets!
North – The north coast has seen some good edibles along most of the upper coast. The river mouths have seen good catches of kob on both paddletails and chokka baits. The early mornings have produced some amazing snoek and kingfish catches. Spoons and plugs have been the most productive. Make sure you keep your lures in the zone as long as possible and vary your retrieves to target all the feeding zones.
Central – The Durban coast is still holding good numbers of small to medium inedibles and is a great place to take new anglers or those that struggle to fish in the areas that require a long cast. Smaller baits with lots of smell and a 6/0 circle hook will do most of the work for you. Grey sharks and blue rays are your main species coming out.
South – The edible fishing has been decent on the upper south coast with everything from kob to garrick and shad being taken. Live baits have been working for the predators while chokka and sardine mixes have worked for everything else.
The main action has been around the sardine pockets with plenty of gamefish being caught on bait and lure. Even some proper geelbek have been landed by some dedicated anglers.
Freshwater:
The freshwater has been fishing very well with the trout and bass being the headliners of the freshwater news.
Bass – The bass are still in denial regarding the onset of the cooler months.
They are carrying on like it is peak summer… Most of the KZN dams have seen good results in recent weeks with few anglers returning unhappy after a day’s fishing. Moving baits have done very well with the spinnerbait in chartreuse/white being reported multiple times. The early mornings and late afternoons have seen good bites on the surface with the hollow-body frog reigning as king.
Carp – The carp reports have been a bit sparse. The stronger scents have been producing the bites on both conventional and specimen fronts. The conventional anglers have reported good fishing while using the garlic, TCP, and gumtree. These have been the top three flavours/scents reported from most of the venues. The winter water is generally a lot cleaner than in summer. This means a fluorescein dye will greatly increase the attractiveness of your bait. Green and red are the two most popular. Adding some of the powder into your mielie bomb will put up a smoke cloud leading the fish straight to your bait.
The specimen anglers have seen good results from the fishy flavours and by adding oils into their feeding mix. This has led to some barbel catches but it is part of the territory.
Trout – The midlands have been cold! This has not put the trout off; on the other hand, the fishing has been rather good. Most of the trips up to the many Stillwater’s in trout country have yielded success for even the newcomers to the art of fly fishing. The fishing has been good at most of the venues with the Swartberg area being particularly cold and has seen some giant rainbows. Black leeches and woolly buggers have produced the goods with sinking lines and shorter leaders.
News in from Jan Korrubel, The Kingfisher in PMB – “After tempting fate last week with the mention of a “mild winter”, it seems that winter has finally found its feet, and settled in nicely … and along with that, the fish have found their winter rhythm as well and there is some great stillwater action going on. If you can drag yourself out from under the covers / away from the fireplace and get out there, just rewards will come your way…
After having had a couple inquiries recently of what and where to fish on the rivers, note that the trout streams are still closed for the remainder of winter … they re-open on ‘Spring Day’’ 1 September.
For the time being, it’s stillwater season for trout – and after a bit of lull when winter was still trying to make it’s mind up, and the fish being just as confused, the fishing has settled nicely. The returns from the Natal Fly Fishers Club anglers are showing some good fish being caught in the NFFC waters. Reports indicate super clean water, with very little top water movement … this is to be expected with current water temperatures (no actual figures provided, but definitely well into the single figures). Fish mentioned in the returns have fallen into the 13-15 inch / 33-38 cm and 15-17 inch / 38-43 cm classes. One report mentioned using a “streamer pattern” and another using a Crystal Bugger with a trailing Booby. Plenty fish sighted cruising the shallows in search of shale areas, as is their tendency at this time of year, making for some excellent sight fishing … but at the same time, the fish can by picky refusing anything and everything and seemingly impossible to catch. But try it all – from big to small, nondescript to colourful, fast and slow … some are still eating, and a good one will fall to your enticement sooner or later.
This weekend sees the inaugural “Women in Waders” Ladies Fly Fishing Festival taking place on the NFFC Club waters across The Midlands. The event is centered around The Legendary Nottingham Road Hotel and will have the anglers’ fishing waters from The Dargle across to The Kamberg valleys. Your truly, as part of hosting team, will be providing logistical and guiding support … and looking forward to watching the ladies in action, and reporting firsthand!
The private waters are also fishing well reports Gary Maas from Troutbagger Farm in Nottingham Road, and from further afield, the Underberg waters are also showing off their fish. Fish are in spectacular full winter spawning dress.
As reported previously, the bass have also been showing off this winter. While Albert Falls has apparently been on the quiet side, word is that Midmar (and Inanda and Nagle) have been fishing very well, with some excellent fish coming to hand … rumours are of fish in the 4-5kg bracket. Here is a Top Tip coming from local angler Zeyn Habib, The Boss Man of the “Bass Fishing KwaZulu-Natal” socials (check it out) : when fishing alongside rocky banks, remember that in most cases, the rocks will extend into the water … sometimes only a short distance and sometimes a long way out. These areas are perfect areas for bass to patrol, as the rocks provide cover for bait fish, crustaceans, and other food items. Always stop and throw everything you can at areas like this … cranks, jigs, plastics, spinnerbait, top water. Everything. There may very well be that lunker just waiting for your offering.
While the bass may be on the sleep currently at Albert Falls, and general consensus is that the carp shouldn’t be up, local angler Bradly van Zyl reports otherwise on a special day targeting carp on the surface on fly. Not in the big school summer numbers, there were a few fish feeding on the scum lines. Carp are finicky at the best of times – accuracy is very important in placing the fly just in front of the feeding direction … and especially don’t like the line touching their backs! Fishing light, with a 4wt, and a small beetle pattern, a 3-4kg Mirror carp resulted in a proper boxing match”. Thanks Jan.
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