KZN FISHING REPORT - 2 May 2008

FRESH WATER
Ryan Tippitt from Shayamoya game lodge has sent this report from Jozini dam. Water temperature has been cooling down now but still warm at about 25 or 26 degrees. This is about the perfect temperature for Jozini’s fish. The water clarity had been clearing up all the time with little rain to speak of so there isn’t much dirty water flowing in. The second half of March was a lot more productive than the beginning of the month. The weather has settled nicely and there is very little wind. The air temperature has cooled a bit which is great because the fish tend to stay on the bite for longer as mid-day approaches. At Shayamoya they have only really been fishing with bait. Sardines and chicken are working well when fished off the bottom. This got them a 4.5kg and two 3kg’s in the space of four days. This method is constantly the most productive. Many people are also using live bait and others persist with trolling. Shayamoya had lodge guests in mid March who bagged a good 4.5 kg tiger. If you troll it is a good idea to replace the trebles with sharp single hooks. Mustad’s “Big Red” hooks in size 2.0 are Ryan’s favorite for this. Big tigers will jump you off almost every time if you keep the trebles on. However the hook up rate for smaller tigers is better with trebles. Fishing up river near the railway bridge has improved greatly as the water slowly clears. Fishing here in the main channel is best because the fish cruise up and down next to the grass. Beware though as there are massive catfish in that area that will bury you in the grass at the first opportunity, a beast of 22kg was landed a couple days ago. Ryan hasn’t done too much fly fishing of late and the days he did give it a go dished up some difficult weather conditions. They toiled for a few days and managed about a dozen small tigers and Rob Campbell of Eshowe boated a beauty of 3.6kg. They only caught on grey and fire tiger colors and the successful patterns were copper tigers, clousers and deceivers. The left hand bank of the river, as one heads up towards the bridge is clear of most of the grass. This exposed area should produce fish whilst spinning or fly fishing. Shayamoya has a great offer,
stay for 4 nights @ R720 p/p/p/n sharing, which include. Dinner, Bed and Breakfast and a complimentary boat cruise. For Reservation: 034 - 435 1110.

ROCK & SURF

Firstly, a correction on last weeks report where the Blue Skate caught by Buks actually weighed in at 16kg and not 40 as was when incorrectly read on the tape. Well, now that the sea has settled in the Port Edward area, fishing has improved and catches have been recorded. Houndsharks have been plentyful and some up and comming young anglers have been adding weight to their records catching these sporting sharks at night. A cuta of 8 kg was landed by the mayor of Splash Rock Cassie de Klerk at Splash Rock using live karranteen as bait. Also, a number of fair sized bronze bream have been taken from the reef areas there. Matthew Henderson from Empangeni, 6 years old, had a lovely fight with this tiger of 2.6kg on Saturday. In the most ideal conditions of clear and calm water, rigged with light tackle, this fish gave him the time of his life stripping most of the line from his reel. In one morning, he caught another 2.1kg, 4 other fish of over 1kg and 2kg barbel.

HEER GAAN ONS ALWEER
Heer Gaan Ons Alweer is back on TV. This very interesting show is hosted by Petri de Wet and covers many different fishing spots, fresh and salt water in Southern Africa. This fishing show is on kyknet, channel 35, every Thursday at 18:00 with reruns during the week. Check your TV guide for details.
Episode 57, Petri and the boys are fishing in Angola at Rio Longa for kingfish on light tackle, and land a lot fish between 5kg and 15kg’s.

ESA
The latest ESA magazine is out and on sale at The Kingfisher for R19.95. This issue it is jammed packed with great features like. The sailfish, extreme species, targeting bronzies in Namibia, ten hot tips for paddle ski fishing, chunking for tuna and cranking rods get put the test in the bass section. Also don’t forget to tune into SS1 on Tuesday at 19.00 for bass and Thursday at 19.30 for the salt water section, great viewing. In ESA Bass we join Tommy van der Merwe and Xavier for an interesting experience at Magoge Dam where they land a number of good fish using plastics and top water baits. In ESA Saltwater we join Raymond, Abel, Lloyd and Dean at Rio Azul where thy catch kingfish, sea pike and couta on spinning and popping gear. Then to finish off LBSA we take a look at the Pro Series that took place on the South Coast at Umkomaas. In DSSA the ESA team catch malabar rockcod, giant kingfish and a garfish on Drop Shot in Rio Azul. Mark at his team heads out to Umhloti on Tala a beautiful Riviera in OSSA. They land couta, a bonito and a queen fish. Be sure not to miss out on all the action!

THE KINGFISHER CLINICS
The Kingfisher hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard. These clinics are there to help beginners and experienced anglers to see what the sport is all about and how to target certain species of fish. It also shows anglers what equipment to use and also elaborates on safety. Over and above this they also hold Rock and Surf clinics run by Ivan Stopforth. These Clinics are very informative and covers all the basics, including equipment, knots, bait presentation, and tactics. To book for one of these free clinics phone the Kingfisher on 031-3683903