Here is this weeks KZN Salt Water Fishing Report from the Kingfisher in Hunter Street, Durban. FISHING REPORT 10TH DECEMBER 2014. We have had a great start to the holidays with some excellent weather, matched with the right amount of the perfect winds; this has meant that the fishing has been nothing short of phenomenal. Rock n Surf: Kosi Bay - Kosi Bay, St Lucia and Sodwana areas have all been subjected to huge numbers of anglers from around the country, and with this increased figure, have come an increase of catches from these areas too. There have been many smaller edibles around the shallows, from the rocks and also in most bays. Pompano have become a more popular quarry over the holiday season, and should continue to be a popular species in the months to come. Most of these fish have been landed on Sea lice and small Ghost Crabs. Fishing for these fish with fine wire hooks has been more productive and probably one of the most effective hooks has been the Mustad Chinu size 2/0-5/0 for its needle point and good strength. The high number of Grunter in the St Lucia area has also been amazing, but thankfully anglers have stuck to their limits and have released the majority of fish being landed. Apart from the variety and abundance of edibles in these areas, there have also been good numbers of Honeycombs Rays, Sand Sharks and Brown Skates coming out. Do not be afraid to throw bigger baits at this time of year as there is always bigger specimen roaming the shallows willing to munch anything bloody enough to get them excited. Along with the bigger baits, bigger tackle is also necessary, so be sure to be correctly kitted out for these larger fish too. Richards Bay – Has produced more Sand Sharks than most anglers could have anticipated over the last week, as well as Diamond Rays and Brown Skates. The most effective bait used this year for the Diamond Rays has got to be fresh Shad. Shad head rigged on a double hook Big Gun size 6/0 trace with a lower gauge steel bite trace has been extremely effective and hard to beat. Many anglers have used spinning outfits as most of these Diamonds feed relatively close in, and bigger baits can be cast with relative ease. Mackerel head will get a bite if anglers have no access to fresh Shad for bait. Zinkwazi – Has not produced the same quality of fish which it has been in the last few weeks, however the fish are still there and in good numbers too. The normal summer fish have been consistent in the Zinkwazi area, with the most common of all being the Sandies. Ballito - Along the Ballito stretch, the main species being landed seems to be Grey Sharks and Sand Sharks, with quite a few Diamonds coming out in the evenings, mainly on the incoming tide. Umhlanga - Anglers who fished the Umhlanga area reported good Honeycomb Rays and Sand Sharks in excess of 60kgs. Blue Lagoon – This area has been fishing well lately, with many anglers heading down early in the mornings to catch a few Shad for the table. There have also been reports of some decent Grunter being landed in the area too, on Sardine fillet baits. For anglers targeting inedibles, the Sand Sharks and Grey Sharks have been around too. Durban - Durban Piers have kept the Shad anglers happy and when the conditions are right, a few Stumpnose and Grunter as well. Ushaka and surroundings saw dozens of anglers bending with a variety of inedibles and the occasional Grunter or Stumpnose. Bluff - The Bluff is quiet at the moment besides the odd Kingie on live bait or spoon. There have been small pockets of bait just off backline which may hold fish too. Toti - Toti and Warner Beach has had a good run of Grey Sharks and a few Skates for the last week and with the wind still playing its part this week, we should expect even more action. Umkomaas - Umkomaas saw some better sized Grunter for anglers who had the patience to sit through smaller fish pecking at their baits. Cracker has been the preferred bait in this area but Sardine baits have got the bigger fish. When targeting these fish specifically be sure to use a softer, more forgiving rod, as well as a longer nylon leader if using braid. The Poseidon Coastline 12’6″ light and medium action rods matched with a Daiwa Grandwave 40 reel will be first class for a variety of these edibles. Scottborough - Bigger Sharks seem to have moved further up the coast and areas such as Scottborough and Umdoni Point have been reporting large Blackfin Sharks and also some large flat fish. Lower South Coast - Towards Trafalgar and surrounding areas anglers have reported very few fish over the last week, probably due to the lack of Shad in these areas. Transkei - Port St John’s has had no shortage of anglers in the rivers and on its beaches. There have been good catches of Kob and Garrick in the rivers, which are still being caught on the popular Strike Pro Thai Stick and Kingfisher Bucktail jigs. In the surf and off the rocks has also been producing some lovely fish, including some excellent catches of Zambezi Sharks on light tackle. There have been hundreds of Lesser Sand Sharks around too, which again has been great fun for the youngsters on holiday. The odd Garrick has been landed on live bait in the Poenskop area as well as some good Kob. As usual for this time of the year, anglers have flocked to Hole In The Wall to rack up some trophy catches of Raggies, Hammer Head Sharks and big Grey Sharks. Ski Boat: Zululand - Fishing along this stretch has for the last week been quite poor owing to some adverse weather conditions. However, there are still reports of some Couta, Dorado and Yellowfin Tunny when conditions allow. Forecast for the weekend looks very favorable with low swell and light winds predicted which is a good mix for the Vidal and Sodwana areas. A little further south, there are still good reports of big Snoek coming out at Mapelane. This could be the venue for the week end as not only Snoek but there are also reports of some Couta and Sailfish activity there during the week. North Coast and Durban – After experiencing a period of clean warm water, persistent NE winds brought in a stream of cold green water which had adverse effects on fishing in this area and caused frustration amongst anglers. Last week end only sporadic reports of the odd Tunny filtered through but as the week progressed conditions started stabilizing and better catches of mainly Tunny were being reported and even a Sailfish was landed off Durban. South Coast – Much the same conditions were experienced along this stretch as was in Durban and the North Coast. During the latter part of the week conditions improved and better reports of fish came from the Aliwal Shoal and Park Rynie areas. Huge shoals of Ignoblis Kingfish were seen by divers along the Shoal but to date no reports of any being landed were reported. Yellowfin Tunny and the odd big Wahoo made up the catches. To date there are no reports of Couta but it should not be too long before this area produces some fish. Forecast for this week end are looking good and this area should produce some fish. Further south, the Port Edward area is still producing some good catches of Cape Yellowtail and general bottom fishing here is also good with good catches of Reds and Rockcod. Jet Ski: Some of our local Jet Ski fishing boys have recently just come back from an epic trip up to Ponto in southern Mozambique where they managed to land and safely released 3 Sailfish and a Black Marlin on the last day of fishing. There where plenty of Wahoo on the trip and everybody managed to land their fair share of Tuna, the multi-colour Rattlers being the colour of choice on the Sailfish and Wahoo. The Durban Ski Boat Club has recently had its first Jet Ski Bonanza. The competition saw competitors from as far as Musina come down to enjoy the hospitality of the Durban Ski Boat Club. With the weather not playing the game on the second day and a few of the diehard fisherman launching this was still a huge success with Jorg Kramer taking top honours and walking away with a brand new VX 1100 from Yamaha. We are looking forward to having this comp on our doorstep next year with even bigger and better prizes. Off Durban we have seen the return of our Dorado and the bigger Tuna. The guys on the Jet Skis have been getting their share of the action with Tuna in excess of 20kg being landed almost every weekend. All the bigger Tuna are being landed on Poseidon Jet Ski rods that have been converted to take a grinder and the guys are using the Daiwa Saltist 6500 loaded with braid. Bait of choice has been Mackerel and Mozzies. The period over Valentine’s Day next year will see guys going back to Ponto for the 6th annual Jet Ski comp held by Go Fish. Don’t forget that Durban Ski Boat Club has a monthly Jet Ski Competition held on the second weekend of each month. It’s R100 to enter and the winner takes all. This is really to get the newcomers into the sport and a chance to meet up with likeminded fisherman and make friend. Info supplied by the well-known Jet Ski angler Fritz De Koker, if anyone is keen to get involved in this type of angling give Fritz a call on 083 234 0509, he’d love to help you out. The Kingfisher at 53 Hunter Street is hosting a Jet Ski Clinic this Saturday the 13th December from 9 – 11am. This clinic will be presented by well-known Jet Ski angler Fritz De Koker and the subject is “Targeting Snoek & Couta” The season is around the corner- Nick Mould from Durban Ski Boat Club got the ball rolling last week with a fine 26kg Couta off the Station. Lucky draw prize for all attending, a Kingfisher Poseidon Jet Ski Rod, 7’ 15 – 18kg valued at R545.00 incl.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 05:37:53 +0000
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