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.
The winter chill and windy weather has made fishing this past week a bit of a difficult choice. Those that have braved the conditions have reaped the rewards.
Top tip: Rigging Circle Hooks. A circle hook can only work properly if it is allowed to do so. There are two important aspects of rigging them that we need to consider when using them. They need to be snelled on to the trace. This allows the line to exit on the hook point side on the eye which enables the circle to turn better when setting. The other important consideration is to make sure the gape of the hook is not blocked by the bait. This was originally pioneered by the big game fishermen when they bridled their baits for marlin. Much the same applies. Make sure your bait does not obstruct the gape and does not hinder the functioning of the hook.
Offshore:
The bigger seas and heavy winds have made fishing on the boats a little unpleasant, but the bumpy trips have been worth it.
North – The north coast has seen some good snoek and couta for the smaller boats and skis. The deeper reefs and wrecks have seen some very good bottom fishing with big trawl soldiers and a host of other species being caught. Squid and sardines have been the baits of choice for the deeper fishing.
The tuna have been full up with some giants being hooked and breaking tackle. These are very powerful fish so allow them to fire themselves out before you try horse them to the boat.
Central – The central coast has seen a great flush of geelbek and daga in the last two weeks. The charters have been fully booked and the recreational anglers have been launching at every opportunity. 8-9ft rods, 80lb+ braid and a 9-inch KP are the weapons of choice for this type of fishing.
There have been snoek around in the early mornings. Most of the fish have been taken while trolling fillets around South Pier and Blue Lagoon. There have been plenty of wolf herring and shad around so check your fillets regularly.
South – The south coast catches have been focused around the deeper marks along with Aliwal Shoal. There have been some big wahoo around that few have managed to land. The tuna have been great fun on the faster lipped lures and these have been working for the other species too.
This time of year is fantastic on the boat if you get the weather right, so keep your eye on the weather apps and plan accordingly.
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 – Much like the central coast, there have been garrick at all the major spots along the south coast. This is great news! Remember that these fish get hammered every year by guys keeping too many fish, so please release as make as possible.
Garrick are best targeted with a live bait fished close to the shore.
Live bait type is not the most important part, but location is. Use a circle hook through the top lip of the baitfish or bridled through the eyes and you will quickly see more solid hookups. 6/0 Mustad tuna circle is the hook of choice.
Freshwater:
The trout are feeding well, keeping the midlands anglers happy. The bass are fussy but are there to be caught. The carp are waiting for you to send a mielie bomb their way.
Bass – The colder weather has meant slower; more finesse approaches have done better than ripping a spinnerbait through an area. Dropshot fishing with a straight-tail worm has seen the most success from the reports coming in. Colour of the worms has not been of the utmost importance but the more natural browns and greens have seen more productive fishing. Target the deeper areas adjacent to structure or shallow flats. The bass will move between the shallows and depths to find the warmer water.
The smaller jerk baits have also seen results, but they have to be able to be fished slowly and therefore need to be of the suspending type.
Carp – The carp fishing has been good in most of the KZN dams. There have been good numbers of fish reported from most of the local anglers and floaties in banana flavour have been the resounding favourite.
The specimen anglers have not reported much this past week so one can assume either the fishing is very good or very bad.
Trout – The midlands have been cold! This has not put the trout off; on the other hand the fishing has been rather good. Most of the trips up to the many Stillwaters in trout country have yielded success for even the newcomers to the art of fly fishing.
Woolly buggers and the likes have been the most successful flies reported. The darker colours have been the most popular. Try fishing a dark brown or black woolly bugger slowly along the bottom with an erratic hand twist retrieve. For most of the dams in the Midlands, an intermediate line will be more than sufficient to get the fly into the strike zone. The deeper lakes require a type 3 or 4 sinking line.
With all sinking lines, you do not need as much emphasis on tapered leaders and delicate presentations. A level leader is exactly what is needed. The faster the sink rate of the line, the shorter the leader needs to be.
For those looking to go after the scalies, jig nymphs and nymphing lines will see with a chance in most rivers. Location is more important than colour.
News in from Jan Korrubel, The Kingfisher in PMB – “The Midlands mornings remain rather chilly to start, with temperatures well down into the single figures, and daytime temperatures rising up into the teens. The low overnight temperatures are keeping the waters cold, and the fish are still somewhat slowed up as a result … “behaving like retards” said one local well-known Midland’s angler (name withheld to protect the innocent). The air pressure graph also looks like a rollercoaster ride over 48hr intervals, so that’s not helping either. The only way to find out is put line to water and see what comes along for a nibble…
With the slightly better daytime weather, there have been a fair number of Natal Fly Fishers Club anglers getting out and about – and while some have met with success, there are those that have met the somewhat common phenomenon at this time of year : the dreaded El Blanko … and interestingly, this can occur on the same piece of water from one day to the next! In short, you just gotta be out there if you want to catch fish!
At the lower end of the tape measure, fish coming to have been in the 9-11 inch / 23-28cm and 11-13 inch / 28-33cm bracket. But there have been some fish reported through the middle reaches of 13-15 inches / 33-38cm. Slim pickings currently, as the fish are still in full winter “spawn”, and hens much egg-bound, so care when handling these fish is highly recommended. Only a single report that mentioned flies, and with the water temperature still in single figures, small (nymphs) and bright colour (e.g. egg pattern) were the “go to” patterns. On a different tack, a common “excuse” for the lack of fish to the net is that “they are eating snails” for the simple reason, IMHO, because while many have tried, no one has come up with a definitive snail pattern / fly that consistently fools fish. The legacy Coch-Y-Bondhu pattern, which harks back to the 1700’s and is described in almost every major work in the fly-fishing literature, is often touted as a snail pattern in its many variations … but also as a beetle … go figure and try!
The feedback still coming in from the recent Women in Waders Ladies Fly Fishing Festival is phenomenal – the WiW team that put on the event is under great pressure for the event to become a Midlands fly fishing fixture. To note, is that August is Women’s Month, so let’s hear it from the lady anglers that are getting out there … show and tell please!
With the half decent weather, the scaly anglers are getting twitchy and time not of the (trout) water is being spent behind the vice stocking boxes. Durban angler Paul Joubert “ended up” on the Lower Umkomaas but reports that the river was “low and clear” with no visible fish. Of course, he still “spent a few minutes swinging a nymph”, but to no avail.
No news on the bass fishing from either Albert Falls or Midmar – and when the bass anglers are rigging for saltwater, it be taken that things are rather quiet locally.
Also, no word on carp on the surface at Albert Falls, but a boat or two has been spotted out on the wind still days, flogging the water … so it’s a maybe…” Thanks Jan.
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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://www.ecr.co.za/podcasts/ansa/ Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za