The KingFisher’s Scratch & Win Event is officially up and running, and anglers across KwaZulu-Natal are already diving into the action. Running throughout October across all seven KingFisher stores and online, this month-long promotion is reeling in excitement with over R500,000 worth of discounts and giveaways up for grabs.

Adding to the buzz, seven Golden Tickets are hidden among the prizes, each giving one lucky angler the ultimate reward — their entire purchase absolutely free.
Getting involved is simple: spend R300, collect a Scratch & Win ticket, and you’re guaranteed a prize. With every ticket winning something, and Golden Tickets waiting to be discovered, October at The KingFisher is shaping up to be a month of unbeatable value and fishing fever.

Rock & Surf:

Rain, Wind & Plenty of Bites
The weather has been keeping us on our toes — sunshine one day, wind and rain the next — but the fishing has stayed solid across the KZN coast. Social media’s full of smiling anglers and impressive catches, showing that a bit of bad weather isn’t slowing anyone down.

Rock and surf fishing has been great all around. The scratching has produced good variety this past week, with a few early inedibles starting to show along the coastline.

North Coast: The bulk of the inedible action has come from the usual hotspots like Tugela and Mtunzini. If you’re heading that way, remember to fish in a group for safety — there have been a few incidents in the past. Bloody baits such as mackerel and bonito have been the go-to, while protected bays and gullies are still producing quality edibles. Early risers have been treated to solid snoek action from deep-water points and beaches, with small Kingfisher Anchovy 35g spoons doing the trick when worked fast.

Central Coast: Mixed results but still plenty to enjoy. Lure anglers have had success, though snoek and garrick have been a bit scarce. Kingfish have shown up as the occasional bycatch. On the bait side, pompano, grunter, and kob have been the main species landed.

South Coast: Much the same pattern as central. Anglers putting in the time with lures have found garrick, snoek, and the odd kingfish. Nothing quite matches the thrill of a surface smash on a plug. The rocky areas have fished well too — prawn has been best for the smaller species, while sardine belly baits have tempted some quality rockcod and predators.
Rain is on the cards for the rest of the week, but conditions like these often bring opportunity. Stay positive, fish smart, and make the most of the gaps between showers. Tight lines to everyone heading out!

Offshore:

Sunshine, Storms & Screaming Reels – The Bite Is On!
The deep has been alive this past week! Gamefish have stolen the spotlight, but a few proper bottom dwellers have joined the party too.

North Coast Madness:
It’s been gamefish galore up north — couta, snoek, and tuna leading the charge! Live bait is still king, and those who’ve put in the effort have been rewarded. Remember to drop a trap stick while catching bait… you never know what beast is lurking below!
The sharks have claimed their “tax,” but some seriously impressive fish have made it to the boat. And let’s talk about the kingfish — there’s been a solid run of bruisers this week! These silver gangsters fight hard and fast, so be sure it’s a shark before you pop that leader! Bigger mackerel and bonito are the top-tier baits for these brawlers.

Durban Delivering the Goods:
Durban’s waters have been alive with action too — some good couta around, but it’s the tuna that are really bringing the heat! The sharks have been a handful, so beef up that tackle and hang on tight.
Trolling has been the trick for consistent results — lipped and skirted lures in pinks and purples are getting smashed!

Early mornings around the uMgeni mouth have produced a few sneaky snoek; trolling fillets or smaller lipped lures from the mouth to the lighthouse is the hot zone right now.

South Coast Mayhem:
Down south, the action continues to impress. The deeper waters have delivered solid fish on the troll, while the shallows are producing some chunky tuna and a few snoek for those putting in the time.
The couta are loving a bigger down-rigged bait — think mackerel, bonito, or the all-time favourite, the walla walla.

Snoek have been smashing fillet baits and spoons, with Umkomaas showing some quality fish (though not in big numbers yet). Pro tip: drop a spoon on the backline just after launch — it’s the perfect way to kickstart your day!

Freshwater:

Mist, Rain & Monster Fish – Midlands Anglers Making It Happen!
News From Jan : The traditional summer wet weather is making itself felt, and if the regional forecast is anything to go by, the prospects of a La Nina weather system forming before the end of this calendar year have risen significantly over the past months … which points to wetter-than-usual weather over South Africa’s summer rainfall region.  While The Midlands received only a light sprinkling over the past week (reports are between 3-12mm … and everything inbetween), the mist and mizzle have almost certainly contributed to keeping anglers indoors, apart of course, from a few hardy souls that are getting out there, and most notably … getting it done!  Yet another data point for that age-old “If you ain’t throwing a line, you ain’t catching…”.
Word from the mountaineering anglers up on high, is that the upper reaches of the rivers and streams are running clear and very fishable … if you can see where you going in the mist that is.  Last report was that the rains have fallen mainly on the eastern slopes, feeding The Mooi and uMngeni Rivers (the lower reaches are now full and dirty), while The Bushman’s has received less input and levels are lower as a result.  TOP TIP here … head for The Bushman’s <nudge><nudge><wink><wink>.

There have been a couple of good returns from the Natal Fly Fishers Club stillwater anglers reporting fish in the 15-17 inch / 38-43cm range.  With some blisteringly hot days inbetween the wet and mizzle, water temperatures are on the up – one report noting “water felt warmer than the air temperature”.  With more amenable water temperatures, prey will be on the move, so larger patterns such as leeches, dragonfly and minnow patterns will be the current “Go To” when picking through the fly box.  Hedging one’s bets is of course, de rigueur, so a trailer of a larger size generic nymph or even a small woolly worm will not be considered amiss.
With the excellent fish at the recent Swartberg Stocktheft Prevention Festival reported here last week, some anglers headed down to see for themselves, reporting some great fish in the upper 50cm / 20 inch range.  Woolly Bugger and Papa Roach Dragonfly pattern accounted for the fish.

KZN remains the epicentre for infection of Foot and Mouth Disease in South Africa, with 180 outbreaks reported to date.  To assist landowners in protecting their stocks, the NFFC has closed a number of its waters at their request, while they monitor the outbreak(s).  The NFFC requests all anglers to please follow any landowner or staff requests to respect their vehicle / footwear sterilization protocols as required.
The bass made an appearance at the 3rd event of the Bass Warehouse Tournament Trail held at Albert Falls this past weekend.  Fishing was reportedly tough however, with the winning bag of five fish coming in at 7kg.  Congrats to team DST Natal, comprising local anglers Zeyn Habib and Arshud Maiter, on the win.
Midmar continues to fish well, with good numbers of smaller fish, and a few reports of big fish around.
There have been some excellent fish reported from private waters … with specific mention of the Horny Toad soft plastic doing the business.

Sighting of carp continue at Albert Falls, and by all reports, Red Breast Tilapia are “full up”, and starting to show colour for the spawn.  There have also been some good barbel reported.
Last weekend’s “uMngeni Day” to celebrate the launch of the KZN Yellowfish Project in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, was well attended.  Guest speakers were Matthew Burnett (UKZN-INR Principal Scientist) and Andrew Fowler (Upland River Conservation), with a fish tagging demonstration by Dr. Scotty Kyle (formerly KZN Wildlife).

On the topic of them “bars of gold” …the Sterkfontein season kicks off very shortly, and we look forward to reporting on this world class sight fishing destination.
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.

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.
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Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to Vinesh Soogreem – vineshs@kingfisher.co.za