The KZN coast is HOWLING right now. Wall-to-wall chaos. Absolute carnage. SHAD are stacked thick and hitting like they’ve got rockets strapped to them. The season’s open and these fish are in full attack mode. If your line isn’t tight, something’s gone very wrong.
The Kingfisher trading times for the festive season is as follows:
Monday to Friday 8 to 5pm. Saturdays and Sundays 8 to 1pm. All public holidays 8 to 1pm.
25th December 25 all of the branches will be closed. 26th December 25 all branches will be open from 8 to 1pm except Kingfisher Kingsmead.
NB Thursday the 1st of January 2026, all branches will be closed, except for the Salt Rock and Ballito stores, they will be open 8 to 1pm.
Rock & Surf:
Up north it’s straight madness. Grey sharks cruising like they own the place.
Honeycomb rays sliding through like armored tanks. Every skate imaginable is prowling the shallows looking for smoke. It’s a full-contact scrap and the ocean is not pulling punches. And mackerel? Still the undisputed king of bait. Dead, alive, half-chewed or fresh off the knife — throw it in and it gets ERASED. No debate.
Rocky gullies are firing with bronze bream on absolute demon time. Prawn baits are being punished, the wind has finally backed off, and every cast feels dialed in. Clean hits. Hard pulls. Zero mercy.
Durban anglers who muscled through the rough stuff are already cashing in, and now with conditions turning friendly, THE BITE IS GOING FULL SEND. The harbour is still a straight-up gold mine if you can dodge the Wala Wala madness, and that size 14 light-gauge circle hook? Ridiculous. Hooks fish that barely touched the bait.
Down south, Margate Pier is a battleground. Shad charging. Bream scrapping. Hammerheads circling. Everything is feeding, everything is angry, everything is ON.
With calmer seas on the way, it’s shaping up for clean casts, smoother water, and fish that are completely SWITCHED ON.
Gear up. Get out there. Pull tight. THE KZN COAST IS ABOUT TO ERUPT.
Offshore:
DORADO-O-O-O-O! That’s not a typo. That’s the sound echoing off slipways, ski-boats and radios up and down the KwaZulu-Natal coast right now. Offshore is absolutely unhinged and KZN anglers are strapped in for one of the wildest dorado runs of the season.
From the north to the south, rods are folding, reels are screaming and coolers are earning their keep. This bite is loud, fast and relentless.
The north coast has gone nuclear. Boats and skis are buckling under non-stop action, with tuna pitching up thick and heavy.
Live bait is king. Mackerel rigged on Pelagic Series Live Bait Clips are staying alive, kicking and deadly. When bait gets scarce, anglers are switching gears with Pelagic Bait Swimmers and staying right in the fight.
Couta are smashing hard, especially dead baits dressed with chartreuse or pink flashers. Add green glow beads to your live-bait traces and watch the magic happen. Absolute chaos. In the best way.Durban’s anglers have refused to slow down, rough patches or not. Sheltered launches have kept crews on the water and dorado have been stealing the show, often topping the day’s scoreboard.
Tuna and couta are right on their heels, and skirted trolling lures have been firing across the board, pulling strikes from dorado, tuna and even the odd billfish sliding through.
Durban’s anglers have refused to slow down, rough patches or not. Sheltered launches have kept crews on the water and dorado have been stealing the show, often topping the day’s scoreboard.
Tuna and couta are right on their heels, and skirted trolling lures have been firing across the board, pulling strikes from dorado, tuna and even the odd billfish sliding through.
Snoek are still in the mix, while bottom anglers are banking quality rockcod, slinger and soldiers. Quick reminder: undersized fish go back. Look after the reefs and they’ll keep delivering.
The south coast is matching the tempo. Dorado numbers are strong, tuna and couta are feeding hard and trolling skirts remains the go-to weapon.
Snoek are schooling up, rockcod are coming off the bottom steadily, and the bite shows no sign of cooling. Smaller fish back to the water keeps this madness rolling.
Conditions are lining up, anticipation is climbing and the coast is buzzing. Rods are rigged. Tackle is sharpened. Spirits are high.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to fish this summer…THIS. IS. IT.
Freshwater:
Not at all sure that the weather man knows what he is doing currently – perhaps the “Xmas Spirit” has gotten to him early, and he is just flicking switches as the weather is moving between extremes in the blink of an eye : one minute the temperature drops near single figures and we are swimming in the rain, and the next minute it is cooking and you can’t get enough liquid in fast enough to maintain a sweat. Such is summer in The Midlands … you will no doubt recall the heatwave that was December last year. On the upside, the swings are pretty short-lived, and the weather roundabout will have us at the exact opposite pole shortly … and if the forecast is anything to go by, we are in for more of the wet drippy stuff in the coming week.
While last weekend’s inclement weather kept most anglers off the water(s), there are still some fish about to keep the intrepid venturing anglers busy, so all one needs to do is get out there and get into it…
The rains over the last week have kept the rivers on the up, and the anglers off the water. The upper reaches are flowing clear, but strong … but the lower reaches are solid chocolate, so the best bet is to head on up. Word is that “heavy metal” is the way to conduct business, the dry fly (much) less effective in the fast waters. A word of caution however, to anyone venturing up into ‘Blue Line’ territory : the prospect of a proper ‘Berg thunderstorm, with a possibility of a flash flood, is ever present … so watch the weather!
The good thing about the rain is that it fills up the dams, which across The Midlands, are reaching surfeit. Midmar and Albert Falls are currently at 96% and 98% Full Supply Level (FSL) … a just a couple more of the bigger thunderstorms will almost certainly top them off to overflow … usual from any time now to the end of the month.
There have been a few returns from the Natal Fly Fishers Club Stillwater anglers – but through the reports of muddy and churned roads, just a single mention of fish, in the 20-30cm / 7-10 inch range. Water temperatures are heating up, with a 21deg reported in one of the returns … which is getting warm for trout. With the warmer water, the trout’s larder are active, and word from the water is that there are plenty minnow’s around – a favourite trout food item. So strap on a good minnow pattern (there are plenty to choose from, but a personal favourite is a Zonker-type minnow in olive that closely resembles the indigenous Chubbyhead Barb, Enteromius anoplus). The local frog population will also have been enjoying the rains – and getting their game on – so also plenty tadpoles about … Ye Olde bog-standard black Woolly Bugger will do nicely for them, Thank You.
The increasing concerns around Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in The Midlands were highlighted recently by the Minister of Agriculture, and being addressed locally by the uMngeni Municipality in an attempt to control the spread of the disease. To assist landowners in protecting their stocks, the NFFC has closed a number of its waters at their request, and the NFFC further requests all anglers to please follow any landowner / staff / SAPS / SANDF requests to respect their vehicle/footwear biosecurity and transport/travel protocols as required.
On the bass angling front, Midmar continues to produce good numbers of small fish, while talk around Albert Falls pertains to the “luminous green” water and lack of fish
The 2026 bass tournament calendars are popping up, so if competition fishing tickles your fancy, watch the social media pages for the events in your area.
And from the pinnacle of the competition scene, it was recently announced that local bass fishing maestro, Martin de Kock, was rated as the FIPSed (Fédération Internationale de Peche Sportive en Eau Douche / Fresh Water International Sport Fishing Federation) No.1 bass angler in the world – Congratulations Martin!
If it’s tight lines and a bucking rod that you after – Sterkfontein is a once again the place to be. The dry fly game is ON, with hoppers and beetles in brown and black livery, along with ant and termite patterns in the late afternoon (when they come out to play after a thunderstorm).
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, Sundays and public holidays.
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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to Vinesh Soogreem – vineshs@kingfisher.co.za
