SHAD FEVER HAS DETONATED!
From MARGATE to KOSI BAY, the ocean’s flipped the script – and the chaos is GLORIOUS. Sardine Fever is not creeping in… it’s tearing up the coast at MACH SPEED. The silver tide is HERE – and behind it, a wave of predators has gone absolutely ballistic. Shad? WILD. They’re wreaking havoc all along the South Coast, turning the surf into a war zone. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a salty veteran. THIS is the weekend to go FULL SEND!

ROCK & SURF: ABSOLUTE MAYHEM
From North Coast ledges to South Coast gullies — it’s shoulder-to-shoulder, rod-bending, bait-slinging madness. Every cast? A gamble with glory. Every hookup? A straight-up brawl. Kob are crushing chokka like torpedoes, Garrick are slicing through bait balls like silver knives, and Kingies? They’re dragging gear and egos through the sand. Forget “the calm before the storm”…THIS. IS. THE. STORM.

NORTH COAST WATCH: LOCKED, LOADED & UNHINGED From Salt Rock to Zinkwazi, it’s full metal fishing. The bait lines are lit, the water’s boiling, and the predators are on the hunt. These aren’t sessions — they’re battles. The fish aren’t biting — they’re attacking.

CENTRAL COAST: SLAB CITY UNDER SIEGE From Glen Ashley to uShaka, it’s a bloodbath of scale and steel. Giant kob smashing live bait. Greys hunting in wolf packs. Garrick moving like liquid lightning. The piers? PACKED. The locals? STOKED. The slabs? THICK. MEAN. UNREAL.

SOUTH COAST: SHAD GONE SAVAGE From Margate to Port Edward, it’s pure gear-bending bedlam. Dinner-plate stumpies. Furious bream. And the shad? Straight-up savages — blitzing bait balls and leaving chaos in their wake. And if that’s not enough… the sharks are in on it. Running hot. Running hard.
Pack your gear.  Load your bait. Hit that beach at first light.
 
Offshore:
The ocean’s alive. Every drop holds promise, from gamefish smashing bait-balls to bottom species feeding hard. The bite is red-hot, the energy’s electric, and if you’ve got the grit, the action’s out there waiting.

North Coast Report – Umdloti’s Lit Up
Couta are hitting hard on early morning ski missions. Small-lipped lures are doing serious work, and even the backline is firing. Drop a spoon the moment you launch.

Durban – Solid Fishing Across the Board
Charters are buzzing — and for good reason. Couta are feeding, big geelbek are bending rods, and small kob are keeping light tackle fans grinning. Bottom fishing? Still delivering all day long.

Umgeni – Snoek Mayhem
The early bite is pure chaos. Fillet baits are triggering aggressive snoek strikes from the first cast. Be early. Be ready. Hold tight.

South Coast – Bottom Bite Still Blazing
Gamefish may be quiet (for now), but the reef species are on the chew. Reds, slingers, and soldiers are coming up strong. Don’t overlook the bottom — and stay sharp for a surprise hit up top.
 
Freshwater:
News in from Jan Korrubel, The Kingfisher in PMB –  Fishing is slow, but still some good fish coming out of the trout stillwaters…
 
Some sensibility has returned after the totally mad weather of last week, and conditions have settled once again.  What it usually prime stillwater trout season however, is still pretty much in the starting blocks, and seems to be struggling to get going.  As reported recently, there are a myriad of anglers out there, as the Festival season takes over The Midlands, and while some excellent fish continue to be reported, the numbers are just not quite there.  Low water temperatures (10-12deg.C) and crystal clear water, combined with a full moon, usually don’t make for good bed fellows … so if you are looking for an excuse for a blank catch card, you’re welcome…
 
With the recent long weekend, the Natal Fly Fishers Club anglers were out in droves, and while there was a flood of returns coming in, fish brought to hand were fewer than expected.  Of those that came to hand, there were some good fish in the 15-19 inch / 38-48cm bracket.  The cold, clear winter waters usually dictate going small and/or bright, or a combination, but currently there appears to be no rhyme or reason for what the fish are taking … it’s a case of anything goes.  The bottom line (see what I did there?) is that if you don’t have a fly in the water, you ain’t catching … so take advantage of the fine weather and get out there!
 
This last weekend saw the popular Boston Fly Fishing Festival taking place on the waters around Boston and the upper Dargle.  Fishing was reportedly “very tough”, but just rewards come to those that persevere, and some excellent fish were reported.  There were a number of fish that came in at over the 50cm / 20 inch mark … the biggest being a rainbow trout that pulled the tape to 58cm / 23 inches.
 
Interestingly, 58cm is where the benchmark is sitting for rainbow trout across the events to date, only eclipsed by a 62cm / 24 inch brown trout reported from the Kamberg Trout Festival.  The final event on the winter trout calendar is Leg 3 of the TOPS Corporate Challenge that takes at the end of the month – and as the saying goes : ‘it ain’t over till the fat lady sings’ … so here’s hoping that she hasn’t lost her voice just yet and there is some yodelling to come.
 
And to re-iterate last week’s Foot and Mouth warning : of concern across The Midlands with its large bovine population, is an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. To protect the stock of the landowners, the NFFC has issued notice on the current closure of a number of its waters, with possibly more to follow in the short term, as they monitor the outbreak.  The advisory further requests that anglers follow any landowner, or staff, requests to respect their vehicle / footwear sterilization protocols if required.
 
With all recent reports of bass coming from the coast waters of late, after what feels like an age of not being able to share anything in the way of Midlands bass news, we are happy to report that a picture of a recent caught largemouth bass finally surfaced this week! … local angler, Lashen Murugan, reporting a fine specimen from the Umngeni River.  Otherwise, with the event season almost at a close, it’s ‘no news’ from both Albert Falls and Midmar Dams.
 
With the Umkomaas River flowing strongly for this time of year, and water clear and cold, the winter scaly anglers are targeting the fish sitting in the slower, deeper water. This a patience game, and a slow, dead drift with small natural-coloured nymphs can produce some solid fish.
 
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 public holidays, Saturdays and Sundays. 
 
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. 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.
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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to Vinesh Soogreem – vineshs@kingfisher.co.za