Two months in, and 2025 is already proving to be a thrilling year for us fisherfolk! The fish are biting, the conditions are looking good, and the excitement is high! Whether you’re hitting the shore or battling the big blue, there’s plenty happening out there!

Rock & Surf:

Shore angling is absolutely buzzing, with both edible and inedible species making their mark! The big seas have been doing their thing, scouring out sandbanks, which we hope will only improve the fishing in the coming weeks.

Up on the north coast, it’s a true angling smorgasbord! Blythedale and Zinkwazi are the hotspots, with edibles and inedibles in great numbers. For the edibles, chokka and prawn are the go-to baits, with the bigger shad absolutely loving sardines. And let’s not forget about the spadefish—they’re in abundance and can’t resist a white bait! Fishing around the rocks, especially in bays offering some protection from the waves, has been a game-changer.

For the inedibles, mackerel and redeye have been your best bets. Some stunning sandies and big flatfish have been landed too. The sea temps have been a bit warm, but we’re counting on those northeast winds to cool things down and keep the action hot!

On the central coast, it’s mostly edibles, but there’s a few inedibles making an appearance too. The shad are around, though they can be a bit elusive. But stumpies and smaller kob are around in strong numbers! These fish love a neat chokka bait on a longer hook snood for a more natural presentation. For the inedibles, we’re seeing plenty of grey sharks—when targeting these, floatation is a must, along with some glow for added attraction. A mix of chokka and meaty baits will work wonders for them and other species.

And down on the south coast, the action has been off the charts! Some seriously powerful kingfish are getting hooked by anglers throwing bigger spoons and plugs. Both GTs and blacktip kingies are putting up an insane fight, so be ready to give it your all as they’ll push your gear to the limit!

The gullies and ledges are still golden for targeting edibles with chokka and prawn, and bream species are in full swing. But hold on tight, because there are plenty of surprises lurking in the foamy white water, just waiting for that perfect bait! Between the bigger swells, the deeper points have also been fishable, offering big fish and plenty of hard battles.

2025 is shaping up to be a wild ride for anglers everywhere—let’s get out there and make the most of it!

Offshore:

Offshore fishing has been good with a mix of bottom fish and gamefish on the bite. The rain has slowed things down a bit, but the weather is looking promising moving forward. We’ve got a lot to look forward to!

North Coast – has been the go-to spot for gamefish, with snoek and tuna leading the way. The bonnies are around, but the sharks are getting to them first. Speaking of sharks, they’ve been out in full force this week, so if you’re targeting them, now’s the time to bring out the heavy tackle and try to bring them in as fast as possible.

Durban – the gamefish have been a bit quiet, but the bottom fishing has been solid with plenty of slinger, soldiers, and a few rockcod. Squid and sardine have been working well as bait. Charter boats have been hooking into some dorado and the odd billfish, keeping the clients happy and the adrenaline pumping. For those fast gamefish, darker skirted lures have been the key.

South coast – has also seen some good bottom fishing, with the further south you go, the better the fishing gets. The lower south coast has seen some big fish hooked and lost, making for some exciting battles out there!

Freshwater:

News From Jan…
The weather keeps throwing curveballs <sigh>, and the fish are nowhere to be seen…
And still the rain keeps coming … what is there to say, other than if you are in a position to get equipped with water wings, you will still need them for a bit longer after the near 100mm of rain reported over The Midlands over the past week!  This of course that all the rivers will be flowing strongly, and most will be coloured up… not ideal for any of the dainty dry fly work the we aspire to … and if you can get on the river, you will be limited to where you can actually fish anyway.  TIP: if you are hesitant in any way of crossing, just don’t .. the swim might be fun, but losing / breaking gear isn’t.

There was only a single return for the Natal Fly Fishers Club river anglers over the last week – and again, heavy nymphing (with a brick no doubt!) yielded a fish in the 5-7 inch / 13-18cm bracket … “River was full and FAST!” noted the return.  With the recent extreme flows, the bigger fish almost certainly dropped down the system, waiting it out in deeper pools for the flow to calm.

The upside of the rain is that water temperatures of 19deg.C was reported from the lower sections, which is down from the 20+deg.C a week ago… so at least the rain is cooling things down.  The upper section of The Bushman’s was reportedly at 17deg.C. We are just going to have to wait it out
The NFFC stillwater anglers haven’t fared any better… worse in fact if you go by fish in the returns: 3 returns and the dreaded ‘El Blanko’ for all.   

A note to those venturing out in The Midlands – the roads are (apparently) SHOT!  With the roadworks still on the go on the Kamberg Road out of Rosetta, with the rain not helping much.
Still not a peep from the bass anglers! Both Albert Falls and Midmar are on the quiet…

After a blistering season to date, Sterkfontein had a wee lull in the fishing… perhaps from the seasonal change which can be felt… but is back on form again reports Jeremy Rochester from Escape Fly Fishing.

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 6^th 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 31^st 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.
Angler News SA – https://www.ecr.co.za/podcasts/ansa/
 
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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to Vinesh Soogreem – vineshs@kingfisher.co.za