It is BLACK FRIDAY time again. This year we are going big with all our branches running the sale this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
20% OFF everything in our stores excluding bait & items already on sale. Shimano rods & reels less 15%, while stocks last.
Pop into your nearest Kingfisher branch to make the most of the awesome deals. We have branches in Durban, (Hunter Street as well as at Tackle Centre), Warner Beach, Kloof, Pietermaritzburg, Ballito and Salt Rock.
The dates and times are Thursday the 28rd 8-5pm, Friday the 29th 8-5pm, Saturday the 30th 8-1pm and Sunday the 1st 8-1pm of December 2024.
The Durban heat is here, and the summer fish have followed. Most summer accounts have opened with a bang. Have you opened yours yet?
Top tip: Summer is officially here! The heat is making air conditioning a must, and the northeast wind is picking up with more consistency. The North Coast is the place to be right now. Be sure to have all your traces prepped, service your reels, and spool them with the highest-quality braid you can afford. Proper preparation is key to a successful fishing trip—it can make the difference between a great day on the water and a frustrating day at the beach.
Offshore:
It’s pelagic season offshore, with a variety of species being landed as water temperatures hit the ideal 23/24 degrees – a true dream for ski boaters. Dorado, sailfish, couta, and tuna are just a few of the exciting catches on the menu!
The North Coast has been serving up some challenging launches at the shore-break heavy launch sites. Always exercise caution and don’t launch if you have any doubts. The further north you go, the better the fishing has been, with a variety of gamefish on the list. Closer to home, there have been plenty of snoek in the mornings, along with some late-season garrick. These fish have been holding in deeper waters, with some impressive specimens being caught. The KingFisher Anchovy Spoons have been particularly effective, landing many snoek. Further up north, it’s been dorado on the daily!
The central coast has seen a lot of action. The dorries are around all the ships in the deep. These greedy fish will eat most lures/baits… on most days. When they are being finicky then they can be as frustrating as snoek. In large numbers one will eventually commit to a lure so keep persisting
Along the KZN south coast the bottom fishing has been on the up side with some stunning rockcod coming to hand. These rockcods have been very greedy and as always they have jumped on most baits dropped down to them. The tuna have been the only reliable gamefish to target down south with the rest of the bunch being hit or miss.
Rock and surf:
The summer fish are here, and the fishing has been as hot as the heatwave over this past week.
Shore angling on the north coast has been productive, though the fish have been a bit patchy. The key is to fish and move to locate the fish. Bloody and fleshy baits work best, with smaller baits for Brusher and Stumpies off the rocky points, and larger baits for non-edible species. In either case, ground baits are essential in these areas.
Fishing off the points has been especially good, with sand sharks (sandies) being the main larger catch. Grey sharks are also showing up in good numbers on lighter tackle. Additionally, there have been more reports of Shad being caught lately but remember the season doesn’t reopen until December 1st—let’s all do our part to protect our stocks and resources.
The Durban beachfront has been bustling with swimmers and beachgoers, making fishing challenging at times. However, quieter beaches have seen excellent catches, both edible and inedible. The key to targeting bigger fish is getting your bait over the back bank into the best water. Edible species have been favouring the working water around the sandbanks, so aim to place your bait in the white water and keep your trace short to avoid tangles. For the edibles, chokka and prawns are among the top baits.
Grey sharks have been feeding heavily off Durban’s waters over the past week, and with them biting on every bait, there’s no time to waste. Consider using ready-made traces to spend more time fishing and less time tying rigs, ensuring you don’t miss out.
The south coast remains a top spot for spinning, whether you’re targeting a late-season Garrick, spirited kingfish and even some good size kob. For the best results, try using a bucktail with a long jigging stroke. Alternatively, stick baits or surface plugs can also be effective.
Bronze bream are still plentiful and coming in good sizes. Plain pink or red prawn baits have been the go-to choice this week, and there’s no need to complicate things. Just make sure to pin your baits to a No.16 or 18 light-gauge hook for the best chance of success.
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.
Freshwater:
The freshwater fishing has been alive this past week. The Yellows have been prominent specie and Sterkfontein being top spot for these gold bars.
Let’s dive right into the bass action – what an incredible season it’s been! All across KZN, the venues are producing some impressive slabs. Albert Falls and Inanda have been on fire for boat anglers, while Hazelmere continues to impress with consistent catches. One thing is clear: bank anglers have been having great success with wacky-rigged worms. This technique adds extra action to the worms, and this “reaction” drive the bass wild. Boat anglers have found success using a variety of methods, but those fishing with search baits are landing solid fish. Meanwhile, anglers targeting bass on the beds have had excellent results with creature baits. This is the perfect time of year to experiment with all the options now available to anglers!
The carp fishing reports, both specimen and conventional, have been exceptional! The size and condition of the fish coming from our KZN venues are truly impressive. With summer in full swing, the carp are feeding actively. The smaller fish, now relieved from the winter chill, are eagerly hitting anything sweet. For conventional anglers, honey and fruity-flavored floaties have been the most successful baits by far.
The heat has made trout fishing a bit challenging for the fish, as these cold-water species don’t tolerate warm temperatures well. With that in mind, it’s best to focus on other species while the high temperatures last. Tight lines and screaming reels!
The hot weather had turned Sterkfontein back on, with some excellent small and largemouth yellowfish being taken on surface hopper patterns.
News in from Jan Korrubel, The Kingfisher in PMB – From the swimming pool to the cooker!
Summer cranked itself up a couple of notches last week, and we went from swimming to sweating! And then a proper storm to break the heat, that dropped anything between 10 and 50mm depending on your location in The Midlands … and back to swimming. Midmar Dam is on the rise as a result of the input from The Umngeni River, and now sitting at just below 90% FSL, while Alberts Falls remains steady at 80%. Between the heat and the return of the rains, anglers have kept their distance from the waters with only the hardy venturing out into The Mudlands… (you know summer is here when you can’t quite tell the colour of the vehicles on the road!).
The rivers are back up again, and only a couple of intrepid Natal Fly Fisher’s Club (NFFC) anglers made it to the rivers in the past week. The NFFC beats on The Bushman’s gave up a few of its Brown Trout jewels from the lower end of the tape measure around the 9 inch / 23 cm mark. The Mooi River beats however, were up and unplayable, with the anglers submitting to a blank day. But … isn’t there always a but? … as the adage goes : time spent fishing is better than time spent mowing the lawn (which is what yours truly had to contend with). Also known as “The art of not catching anything, but still having fun…:.
With the rivers up, some NFFC anglers made their way to the stillwaters, and were rewarded for their efforts with some solid rainbow trout in the 17-19 inch / 43-48 cm and 19-21 inch / 48-53 cm classes. Another return reported fish in the 21-23 inch / 53-58cm bracket. Water temperature was reported at 18deg, the storm no doubt having a damping effect on the searing temperatures of earlier in the week. Minnow patterns were again reporting to be producing the goods.
This weekend saw the NFFC Chairman and Committee host its annual Riparian Luncheon, giving a hearty Thank You to the landowners for making available their fishing waters to the Club and its Members. The NFFC looks forward to another year of maintaining the privilege.
Further afield, the stillwaters of the Underberg Himeville Trout Fishing Club (UHTFC) are reported to be fishing well.
On the bass front, word from the water is that both Midmar and Albert Falls are still producing some good numbers of fish. The carp are still active in the surface scum lines at Albert Falls, and the “pap gooi’ers’ are getting stuck into the fish at Midmar. There also reports of good tilapia (Red Breast and mossambicus) at Albert Falls and Blue Gill at Midmar.
The St. John’s P.A. annual fishing competition will be held this week at Baynesfield Country Estate – we look forward to sharing the results next week and seeing if a lucky angler gets the tagged bass to eat their offering!
But “The Fishing Hole of The Week” award must go to Sterkfontein. Last week’s hot weather made for some excellent fishing at Sterkies – with both small and largemouth coming to hand. Hopper patterns on the surface – in all manner of shapes and sizes – is what the fish were after.
The hot weather had turned Sterkfontein back on, reports Jeremy Rochester of Escape Fly Fishing, with some excellent small and largemouth yellowfish being taken on surface hopper patterns.
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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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to vineshs@kingfisher.co.za