The fishing has been dominated by the spinning anglers this past week, but a couple decent fish have been landed in all facets.
Top tip: Rigging circles. 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 Offshore fishing has been a mix of bottom fishing when the gamefish go quiet and chaos when the drags start screaming.
North – The north coast has been fishing very well from Umdloti all the way to Sodwana. The closer inshore reefs have seen some amazing couta caught, mostly on live bait. Down rigging your live bait has been key to getting the bigger bites. Try and fish one bait close to the bottom and another slightly higher in the water column. The general rule is to start fishing closer to the surface and move deeper as the day goes on. The bottom fishing has been a bit slow on the north coast but some smaller reds and daga have been caught.
Central – The Durban section of KZN has produced some good gamefish and bottom fish catches over the past few weeks. The charter boats are keeping their clients happy with plenty of tuna and the odd billfish to get the heart pumping and the drag screaming. Darker coloured skirted lures have been the most successful for these faster gamefish. Remember that the wahoo also loves a skirted lure at speed so use some wire or a chain gang.
The bottom fishing has been patchy but good. The slinger and soldiers have been the bulk of the catches in terms of numbers with a few rockcod rounding off the catches. Squid and sardine have been the most reported baits used successfully.
South – The south coast has seen some good fishing on Aliwal Shoal with tuna, wahoo and a mix of other gamefish making an appearance on the catch reports. Trolling lipped lures in purple colours have done very well as well as higher-speed skirted lures. Tuna have also been around at most of the depths with live bait, poppers and trolled lures working for them.
Rock and surf:
The end of winter is near with a few hot days creeping in. Nevertheless, we are still in the colder months so make sure you are prepped for the weather when you head out.
North – The north coast has seen plenty of grey sharks being caught at most of the spots. Zinkwazi has been particularly productive with some anglers landing double digits in a single outing. These fish can get fussy so make sure you don’t go too heavy on your traces. Also, make sure to add floatation into your bait to get your bait off the bottom. Chokka and a fishy bait mix is deadly.
The north coast has also seen plenty of fish being caught on lure. This is a game of multiple casts so put in the time to see the results.
Central – The central coast has also seen some good fish being caught on lures. There are fish for all levels and interests. The shade has been full up around the piers and are always keen to eat a drifted sardine or spoon. The snoek has been scarce as well as the garrick but they are there, you just need to target them. The kingfish have also been there but mainly as a bycatch.
On the bait side of things, the main catches have been pompano, grunter, shad and kob.
South – The south coast has seen a lot of shad on the south coast with drift baits proving to be the best bet. The reefs, gullies and ledges are also fishing well on the south coast with the bronze bream coming on the bite in the last week.
Freshwater:
The freshwater fishing has been good in spite of the colder weather. Some rains have made for dirtier water, but perseverance has been the best weapon in the bag.
Bass – The bass fishing has been wild in most of the KZN venues. From the smaller private dams to Inanda, the bass have been eager and aggressive so get out there and get some bass.
Weightless soft plastics have been the most successful target method for the smaller dams. With the shallower water and general weedy nature of these dams, the weightless plastics excel. Those looking for the bigger fish will do well to use a hollow body frog.
Inanda and Albert Falls have been the pick of the bigger venues. Both dams have fished well for the shore and boat anglers, but the boat guys have done better. A mix of techniques have been reported but spinnerbaits and cranks have been the two most popular.
Carp – The carp fishing has been consistent for the past few weeks. The smaller fish have kept most of the anglers busy in the dams. Albert falls has been fishing well for the carp guys with the new water levels opening up more fishing area. The flooded grass is a honey hole for the carp to feed in so placing your bait near these areas is always a good idea.
The specimen anglers have been fishing a lot of private waters with good success. Those fishing the public waters have reported success from both Nagle and Inanda. Boilies have been the bait of choice for the bigger fish with a bed of mixed particles proving to be a great attraction.
Trout – The rivers have been producing fish, even with the high flow rate. The necessity of tungsten as a source of weight has been very apparent recently. Upping the size of the bead on your selected fly or adding split shot to your leader will get the fly down. Just be careful when casting as heavy flies love to hit and break tips of fly rods…
The Stillwaters have been relatively quiet as the heat and dirty water has put most people off. Those that have tried have had mixed results.
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.
Please send any info about fishing or fish caught in your area to mike.pereira@kingfisher.co.za
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