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It’s time to ignite your weekend with the most insane fishing action you’ve ever experienced! But before you dive in, do your part to keep the waters pristine. Pick up any litter and toss it in the nearest bin—let’s leave these spots clean and pristine for the next big catch! Now, tighten up those lines and get ready to hear those reels SCREAMING!
Offshore:
Absolutely OFF THE CHARTS! The only challenge? The gnarly surf that’s been making launching feel like a heart-pounding adventure—but NOTHING can stop us from reeling in those giants! The fish are calling, and we’re answering!
North Coast – A HOTSPOT OF NOTE! The couta are on fire! Vidal’s waters are packed to the brim with these aggressive speedsters, and they’re taking everything in sight. Mackerel might be scarce, but NO PROBLEM! The trusty sardine is your secret weapon—throw it out, and watch the action unfold like never before!
Lower North Coast – A gamefish paradise, with tuna, couta, and snoek making jaws drop! The snoek are hammering baits off Umgeni and Virginia, but watch out—the sharks are lurking! For snoek, go early with those strip baits, and then go deep for the heavy hitters—couta and tuna—those are the big dreams!
Central Coast – Launching has been smooth, but the fishing? PURE FIRE! Bigger swells are making backline snoek fishing trickier, so be super cautious. But if you’re trolling, it’s GAME ON! Skirted lures and high-speed lipped lures are CRUSHING IT for tuna and dorado/billfish. Keep it dark—those colors are locking in the bites! Sailfish and wahoo are making waves—especially around Durban waters. Aliwal Shoal might be quiet, but who needs it when big fish are right under our noses!?
South Coast – It’s a fishing SMORGASBORD—the north’s best is flowing south! Snoek are hammering those rivers and especially those color lines. Get your trolling fillet baits and small lipped lures ready to dominate! And if you’re after that couta, the south coast is your holy grail! The season is just kicking in, but go for the big baits close to the bottom and get ready for non-stop action. For the high-speed fanatics, head deep, troll those plastics, and get ready for the tuna feast of a lifetime!
The adventure is calling—let the fishing frenzy BEGIN! Get out there, live it up, and make this weekend one for the history books!
Rock & Surf:
On FIRE! For the past week, the bite has been HOT along the coast with both edibles and inedibles keeping anglers on their toes! Whether you’re casting for a trophy or just enjoying the thrill of the chase, the excitement is real!
Bucktail Jigs are THE secret weapon you NEED in your tackle box! These versatile lures come in all sizes, from 1/16oz to a whopping 6oz and beyond. A lead head with bucktail tied to the shank – it’s a deadly combo! And when it comes to colours, chartreuse/white, all white, and pink/white are the go-to choices for surf and offshore. The key? Letting that bucktail BOUNCE on the retrieve! Cast, let it sink, and jig it back with a little flair. Play with your pace, and the bite WILL come!
Let’s Keep Our Beaches Clean! Always leave the spots you fish in BETTER condition than when you arrived. Take a moment to pick up litter and toss it in the nearest bin. Let’s all do our part.
North Coast – is absolutely SMASHING it right now! River mouths and deeper points are giving up some serious fish. Bronze bream and grunter are in full swing – grunter love sand prawn and classic sardine baits, while the bream are all about pink prawn. For inedibles, you’re in for some exciting battles with sandies, honeycombs, and diamonds – but the conditions are still playing hard-to-get with these species up north.
Central Coast – has seen a surge of action too! Big shad and stumpies are biting, and those hungry kingfish are lurking around – mostly as bycatch, but hey, we’ll take them! The Basin is alive with a mix of inedibles and plenty of anglers soaking up the vibes!
South Coast – is ON FIRE, especially between Margate and Port Edward. The reefs of Trafalgar are the place to be for BIG bream and tasty edibles, with pink and red prawn being the baits of choice. And don’t forget, the hound sharks are on the prowl too! Soft sardine baits and 6/0 to 8/0 circle hooks will get you hooked up for a serious fight!
Freshwater:
News from Jan, The KingFisher PMB.
The rain keeps coming … and the fish are still in hiding.
6 weeks late, and it just keeps coming – the rain that is. And unfortunately, the fish just keep on hiding … to say that the fishing locally has been SLOW, is somewhat of an understatement. Recent El Niño events have led to the late onset of rains, and the SA Weather Service (SAWS) indicates that depending on the development of a La Niña event, predictions are for a widespread increase in chances for above-normal rainfall for the late summer period Feb-Apr. Late summer rains are crucial for farmers, as they need to be able to produce enough grass / feed for the winter months ahead … so while we can’t really complain about rainfall in a water-scarce country, it would be nice to be able to get out and about in some decent conditions! Just gotta keep watching the weather on your favourite app, and head out when you can…
There have been no returns from the Natal Fly Fishers Club (NFFC) river anglers for the last while. From 1st-hand, the rivers are still high and (very) fast flowing – crossing by oneself needed some careful selection of manageable smaller water … the white / staircase water to be avoided! Fish were interested in the dry fly, but it was simply whizzing by overhead at a rate of knots, and while there are some dashes by fish to make a grab at the fly, most were ineffectual misses. I did however manage to bring to hand a single 8 inch / 20cm fish from a quieter eddy. Switching to a dry-dropper produced two fish in a couple of casts, but they didn’t stick as I suspect that I didn’t get a proper set as a result of slack line caused by the fast water. Water temperature was a perfect 17deg.C. The white-water rafting conditions notwithstanding, it was still a great day to be out on the river, as I managed to catch a break in the weather, while it was raining pretty much all around.
Stillwater conditions are also not that welcoming, and there have been less than a handful of returns from the NFFC anglers … and only 1 that reported a fish. A tank at that, stretching the tape measure into the 25-27 inch / 63-68cm bracket! No reports on water temperature. Judging by the amount of mud seen on the local traffic, The Midlands / Mudlands is no doubt a shloshfest, so care is advised when venturing out on the dirt.
Contrary to summer expectations, the bass are also MIA. When there is not a single fish to be seen on the socials, the fishing is off! Not a peep from other freshwater forums also.
Albert Falls has now topped 90% FSL, and both Midmar and Mearns are over the top.
The current place to be for a bend in your stick, is Sterkfontein Dam targeting yellowfish. While last week gave us some pretty challenging weather, there were some great fish about. Described by Jeremy Rochester of Escape Fly Fishing as having a “bad attitude”, the other name of “fish of a thousand casts” was certainly a requirement. But persistence pays, and there were fish to be had. Current hatches are a black flying ant and small termite – suitably matched with a #14 “Balbyter” pattern. A mid-day thunderstorm produced a hatch of the large winged termite swarmer’s ‘alates’, which provided a food-fest for the fish that afternoon – matched with a small hopper pattern or stimulator.
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.
Series 23 (can you believe it; this is Petri’s 23 series) of Hier Gaan Ons Alweer on kykNET, premieres are on from the 6th of January 2025 on Monday evenings at 17:30 on kykNet, channel 144 and there are a number of repeats during the week. The repeats are on Tuesday’s at 11:00, Wednesday’s at 10:00, Thursday’s at 11:30 & Friday’s at 14:30. Series 23 ends on the 31st of March 2025.
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. 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://www.ecr.co.za/podcasts/ansa/
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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to vineshs@kingfisher.co.za
