The summer is trying to push winter out the way with the fight causing quite a lot of interesting weather.
Rough seas and winds have made fishing tough on some days, but the rewards have been worth the effort.
Top tip. Sharp hooks. A lost art in the modern fisherman’s arsenal. The art of sharpening your own hooks. With the addition of chemically sharpened hooks and modern materials, it has not been necessary. However, getting that Kendal round to a sharp point with a file or hone is something which gives one great satisfaction. It is always important to have a sharp hook in all facets from carp to marlin. A blunt hook will not set as deep or strongly into the fish’s jaw and can result in lost catches.
Offshore:
Rough seas have made for bumpy rides out and difficult fishing. Those salty sea dogs that have braved the conditions have benefited.
North – The north coast has seen a lot of action on the gamefish front. There have been couta, snoek, dorado and tuna as the main catches.
Live bait remains the most successful of all the reported methods.
Remember to fish a trap stick when you are catching bait as you never know what is lurking around the baitfish. The sharks have taken their “fair” share but some very impressive fish have been landed. There have been a large number of bigger kingfish around this last week.
These hard-fighting gamefish are great fun to catch and release. Unfortunately, they fight similarly to a shark so make sure you are certain you hooked a taxman before you break him off. Bigger mackerel and bonito are your best live baits for these gangsters.
Central – Durban has also seen some good couta but the tuna have been the main species in terms of weight. The sharks have been a problem so make sure to beef up your tackle so you can pull as hard as possible.
Much like the north, trolling lipped lures has been a great way to put numbers in the boat. The tuna have jumped on most of the faster trolling lures (lipped or skirted). The purples and pinks have been the top performers.
The snoek have been around in small numbers around the Umgeni River mouth in the early mornings. Trolling fillets and smaller lipped lures from the mouth to the lighthouse is a great area to target these fish.
South – The south coast has seen much the same as last week with some decent fish in the deep on the trolling lures while the shallows have seen some big couta and a couple of snoek.
The couta have favoured a bigger bait down rigged on a 4oz sinker. Try get your hands on some bigger mackerel, bonito or the king of the couta baits…the walla walla.
The snoek have favoured fillet baits and spoons down south. The Umkomaas area has seen some decent fish but no big numbers. Try spin on the backline just after you launch to get the day started properly.
Rock and surf:
Garrick and brusher, need we say more. Both of these species are under threat so enjoy the fight and consider letting them see tomorrow.
North – The north coast has seen some early season summer fish with a few rays making their way on to the catch reports. There have also been a large amount of kob being caught on various methods. The most productive way of targeting these sluggish predators is a paddletail. Make sure to keep your lure close to the bottom and keep a slow, steady retrieve.
Central – The central coast has seen a good mix of species in the last few weeks. The basin area continues to produce inedibles and is the place to go if you want to target these fish. Mackerel and redeye sardines have been the pick of the baits. The Umgeni River mouth has been producing some lovely garrick and is definitely the place to go if you are wanting to target these fish. Live bait is the best choice, with lure anglers struggling to get a bite between the bait anglers’ lines.
There have been a few brusher around so make sure you are ready for these bruisers with good tackle and proper knots.
South – The south coast has still been a very good spot to go spinning for a late season garrick or a feisty kingfish. Look at using a bucktail with a long jigging stroke to get the best results. Alternatively, you can use stick baits or surface plugs.
The inedibles have mainly been caught by the drone anglers down south due to the back bank being so far out. There have been some good smooth hounds caught in the far south and these are fantastic fish to catch as they fight extremely hard. Chokka and mullet are their favourite baits.
Freshwater:
The freshwater anglers have had a good run this past week with some proper size bass being shown off on social media.
Bass – The bass fishing has been amazing in all of the KZN venues.
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. The only issue is the ecological disaster of the water hyacinth at Inanda. The giant mats of weed are a real menace to anyone trying to fish there.
Carp – The carp fishing has been great for the conventional anglers. Sweet flavoured baits and a spray of almond on your mielie bomb will keep your drag running and keepnet full on most of the bigger dams. The farm dams and ponds have also produced some good fish this past week with the fruity scents as well as bread seeing the best results.
The specimen anglers have been quiet over the past few months. There have been some good fish coming out, but the patterns have been difficult to predict, and the guarantee of success has been missing.
Nonetheless, Nagle Dam has been the “secret” venue for those looking for a quieter place to catch a big fish. Although there is plenty of submerged weed so make sure you have a boat to be able to go fetch the fish if it gets stuck. Boilies have been the most successful of the specimen baits.
Trout – The trout fishing has been consistent over the last few weeks (months even). The bigger Stillwaters have seen the bulk of the bigger fish with the deep lakes/dams keeping water temperatures nice and low. The river season is almost here and those who prefer a more delicate approach will be chomping at the bit to get out there. Remember to focus on presentation and limit drag on your fly.
News in from Jan Korrubel, The Kingfisher in PMB – “While there have still been a couple of chilly mornings to start, day time temperatures are soaring and summer seems to be making a concerted effort to get a foot in the door … this is pretty much in agreement with international forecast that the rest of 2024 is supposed to an El Nino year for “Africa”. Essentially, this means hot and dry … so all we can do is keep appendages crossed that there will some relief on the way.
Of course, the primary reason we are donning gum boots for a rain dance is that the trout river season is but a mere week and some change away to Opening Day on 1 September. Stay tuned and watch this space for a full report as soon as it happens…
As we nearing the end of the August windy period, the hot ‘Berg Winds appear to be ameliorating somewhat, making it a bit more conducive for anglers to spend the day out. While there have been a number of returns from the Natal Fly Fishers Club anglers as a result – the catches have been a bit of a mixed bag. At the lower end of the tape measure, fish reported were in the 9-11 inch / 23-28cm bracket. Fish in the 13-15 inch / 33-28cm made up the middle range. Of course, there were a couple crackers that fell into the 19-21 inch / 48-53cm and 21-23 inch / 53-58cm bracket. Water temperature still at the lower end of the double figures from the cooler nights – between 10-12 deg.C – and certainly warming if the daytime heat continues.
A recent report from the lower Bushman’s River noted some good flow, and small scalies in abundance, with few bigger fish in between. Water temp was measured at 13deg … all bodes well for some great fishing for these “freshwater bonefish” as the summer fish start moving.
In case you missed it – how exactly? – the bass are back onto the bite … the BIG news, and we mean BIG news!, is of a 6.1kg bucket mouth caught and released, in the Nottingham Road area. The question on everybody’s lips of course is : what lure? The culprit was a weighted 4-inch white fluke. Congrats that man!
News from Midmar is that the fishing has also fired up, with reports of good numbers of mid-range fish of 1-2kg coming to hand. Local anglers Keegan David reports using a “Texas Rig YUM Dinger 5” black, blue”. Word from the water is there are also a couple of bigger fish in the 4-5kg range showing themselves.
No direct word from Albert Falls at this time, but no doubt due to the fact the water is closed to all anglers that will be competing in the Albert Falls Bass Classic at the end of the month.
If the upturn in the weather and temperature continues, I would expect word from Sterkfontein very shortly. Jeremy Rochester of Escape Fly Fishing notes that he has a pretty full season planned already.
Tight Lines all … and do stop in at Kingfisher-PMB for the best in tackle and advice! Opening hours are 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, and 8am-1pm on weekends and Public Holidays”. Thanks so much for the report Jan.
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.
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