With a long weekend ahead and some mainly sunny conditions, it looks like the good fishing will continue.

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. 

Rock and surf:

The summer fishing has been hot!

The sand sharks have been the one of the main targets along with the bigger flatfish like the honeycomb or backbreaking thorn tail. 

North – The north coast has been blowing hot and cold with the varied conditions we are having. The northeast wind has not been cooling the water down as much as usual, so an extra day of proper NE wind has been needed to get the fish feeding. Mackerel and redeye have been the most productive baits for most of the inedibles. Try make a bait with a lot of smell and scent. If the peckers are an issue, then wrap your bait with some chokka to make it last longer. 

The gullies are fishing very well on the north coast with a host of species being landed. Prawns and chokka blob baits are the most successful. 

Central – The central coast has seen some good pompano and stumpies in the last few weeks. There are a number of baits that work for these fish, but it is important to focus on good bait presentation as they can be fussy feeders. Chokka and prawn is a personal favourite bait, but crabs and sea lice work very well as well. Try a 4/0 size hook and a longer hook snood to keep it natural. 

The central coast has also had plenty of inedibles with some large rays and sharks being caught. The deeper points have been productive as they allow the angler to get the bait into the deeper water. Mackerel has been the top producer. 

South – The south coast has mainly been an edible fishing venue this past week. When the bigger seas come through, the south coast offers plenty of locations to duck away and find protection in the back bays and gullies. 

There have been a host of edible fish coming out on both fleshy and prawn baits. Chokka, sardine and prawns are the three baits to have in your box.

There have been bream, kob and some decent stumpies down south so pack your medium tackle and go have a jol with the scratching fish. 

There have not been very many inedibles on the south coast reported. Look at the beaches and points that allow access to the deeper water and launch a bait deep sea. 

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 focussed 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.

Harbour:

 The Durban harbour has been fishing very well over the last couple of weeks. The grunter have been playing ball and some amazing catches have been made. Fishing as light as possible is the answer to better results. Not only will you get more bites, but you will also enjoy the fight a lot more.

The lure anglers have managed some good catches of kingies and flathead. Smaller jerkbaits and paddletails have been the most productive lures.

Freshwater:

Bass and scalies have been the hits of the freshwater scene. The carp and trout have also made it on to a few reports as well.

Bass – With the summer heat comes some hot times on or around the water. Remember to wear your hat and sunscreen…

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. 

Carp – The carp fishing has been consistent of late with a lot of smaller fish making up the catch reports. Banana flavoured mielies have been the most successful bait in all of the KZN venues. Rigging these on small hooks and a Rietvlei trace will see your best chance at success. On the bomb, adding some colour with a spray or dip will bring the carp in from a long range. 

The specimen anglers have not reported much in terms of catch returns. Boilies have kept the smaller fish at bay while targeting the bigger fish. 

Trout – The warmer weather is still beating down in KZN, so the trout fishing has been a bit slow. Remember to reduce the fishing pressure during very hot days to reduce the stress on the fish. Keep them in the water and try to get them to the net as quickly as possible.

The rivers are still fishing very well for both trout (in the high regions) as well as plenty of scalies throughout.

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.

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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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://ansapodcast.buzzsprout.com

Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za