KZN FISHING REPORT - 14 June 2008

ROCK & SURF
Greetings from the South Pole, that’s the message from Port Edwards Terry Nel. Icy Westerly winds arrived there last Sunday morning and in the past these conditions have sounded the drums on the arrival of our illusive visitors from the South. Next week could be an interesting one and it’s definitely time to prepare the tackle box. Meantime, the shad are on the bite again and many are coming out on spoon and baitfish are shoaling all over. A nice bronze bream of 1.23kg was caught recently. Fly fishing in the estuary was productive and kingfish and sand gurnard have been taking fly. It certainly looks as though a sardine run is finally going to materialize this season as these fish have sprung up in the Port Edward area during the course of the week. After holding out in the Coffee Bay area for some time now things eventually got moving and shoals were spotted along the backline from Mtentu all the way up to Port Edward on Tuesday morning. These shoals have been accompanied by sharks, dolphin and various sea birds and hopefully by this week end the KZN will see some action. Shore based angling on the coast has been dismal to say the least, probably due to the fact that the sardines are on the way and anglers should then see a rise in fish activity. Although there has not been many fish around, a few hardcore anglers fishing at night have had some fair results. Veteran angler John Munro accounted for a very nice kob of 20 kg in the Umkomaas area last week and the odd garrick has also been caught in this area during the day. Shad have also been erratic but at places like Toti rocks these fish seem to have entrenched themselves and anglers fishing early in the morning have had some good returns. Pomapano have also been coming out here as well as the Doonside and Isipingo areas. Anglers fishing the Twini ledges have caught the odd pre season brusher as well as some nice size bronze bream. Apart from that anglers are now going to have to get their ‘Jig and Drop’ traces ready as well as cast nets for the imminent sardine run. The Kingfisher have a range of made up traces called Salt Water Sport, one is a Jig & Drop trace and sells for R22.95 for two traces.

SKI BOATS & FISHING SKI'S
Ski Boats and Fishing Ski ’s are still faring well and some good size couta are being accounted for on the south coast areas. For the fishing Ski’s it’s down to the south coast now as areas such as Scottburgh and Park Rynie start working very well now with the sardine run on our doorsteps. A word of caution to ski anglers at this time of the year is that obviously with the sardines come a variety of really big sharks and anglers should take note of this when fishing an area where sardines are present.

FRESH WATER
News from Jozini’s Ryan Tippett is that the water clarity is very good and the temperature is 20 to 23 degrees and dropping. May has come and gone and proved do be a good fishing month. The tigers were biting well the entire month. Reports of good fish came from all over the dam. A great fish of just over 3kg was caught on fly just around from the pump station. It was caught on a baitfish pattern in yellow and orange. There was another beauty of 4.8kg caught of the left hand point as one enters the main part of the dam that fell to a piece of chicken. A handful of good fish over 2kilos have also come out in the far south of the dam too. The river section below the bridge has also provided some nice fish. Good results have been had there with sardine and chicken fished off the bottom. Well the fishing season is coming to an end as winter sets in. There is still a chance for some fish though as winter seems to be a bit late this year. Fishing before the next cold front hits us should be productive. The next decent cold front will kill off the fishing until September. The weather here is still pretty warm during the day, but it’s the cooler night temperatures that are slowing the fish down. Try fishing a bit deeper than usual especially in the morning when it is cooler. Trolling is also a good option now even if it is just to catch a few small ones. Fire tiger is still the best colour on Jozini. The best place to troll is along the edges of the floating hydrilla weeds opposite the campsite. Also try up river along the edges of the grass. Thanks Ryan from Shayamoya Game Lodge for the update.

FISHING COMPETITIONS
The preliminary results of the KZNCAU Postal, round five, saw some great catches. Top team was Glenmore with 534.4 points; Flying was next with 352.1 points and third was Benders with 344.4 points. All of these clubs fished in the Transkei. Top inedible fish was a ragged tooth shark of 202.1kg ’s landed by Mark Bennett from Glenmore; next a 177.6 kg grey shark landed by Corrie Groenewald from Benders and third was Ockert Schonken from Glenmore with a ragged tooth shark of 155.6kg’s. Top edible was a kob of 31.3kg’s landed by Gys du Toit. Koot Scheepers was next with a yellow tail of 14kg’s and third was Amondo Costa with a labotes of 11.3 kg’s.

Belfast Fly Fishing Association hosted their 6th Annual Ladies Fly Fishing Competition with the continued support of their major sponsors. An event of this nature can not be undertaken without the support of all the sponsors who back them, including angling suppliers, artists, accommodation providers, stationers, general dealers, clothing shops, property developers and a variety of other businesses. As in the past invitations to fish were extended to all of the previous years entrants, BFFA lady members, other clubs lady members as well as a general invitation through the fishing magazines, information centres, tackle shops and the press. Early registration took place on Friday evening at the BFFA Club House where the entrants, their partners, sponsors and organisers received light refreshment and the ladies registered and received their goodies bags. This gave everyone an opportunity to meet one another and also afforded them an extra half an hour in bed on Saturday morning. Saturday morning dawned cold but clear. From 06:00hrs everyone involved gathered at the Club House, crowding around the welcoming fires, drinking hot coffee and tea until 06.30 when the competitors drew for positions and set out for a day of fishing. Within in the first session one lady, later to be declared the winner landed 5 trout, incidentally her first and last catches of the day. Thirty-four competitors took part in the competition. Most of the ladies also competed in the team event. The whole competition was held on dam 7 (Golf Course Dam) with each competitor fishing 8 different positions throughout the day. During the two sessions 25 fish were caught by 11 competitors. Brunch was served during the midmorning break when the ladies had the opportunity of watching the casting and fly tying demonstrations followed by competitions in both categories. The casting competition was won by Chantie Minnaar and the fly tying by Rika Joubert. The Prize Giving Dinner was attended by 76 competitors, guests, sponsors and officials. The winner’s trophy for the longest bag was won by Adele James. The total value of Adele’s prize was R7040. The majority of the sponsors and competitors have indicated that they will be back next year with some of the competitors having already booked their accommodation for the weekend of 29 and 30 May 2009. The total amount raised in sponsorship and prizes was +/- R77 000.

Next year will be the 7th BFFA/LANDROVER LADIES FLYFISHING COMPETITION. Ladies help us make it something really special, please diarise now for 29 & 30 May 2009 for the event of the year.

The Nseleni River Fishing Competition is being hosted by KZN Wildlife Honorary Officers on 14 and 15 June at Hippo Hollow, Richard's Bay. Briefing to be held at Hippo Hollow on the 13th at 19h00. R100, 000.00 prize for a tagged fish and R10 000 guaranteed prize for the heaviest fish. Tickets are R150 per angler and limited campsites are available. Contact Denis on 083 652 1611 or Ian on 082 312 9790.

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.

ESA
Also don’t forget to tune into SS1 on Tuesday at 19.00 for ESA bass and Thursday at 19.30 for the ESA salt water section, great viewing.
On Tuesday we join Xavier and Caryne Ledsham of Club Marine Insurance at the Vaal River. Xavier demonstrates the fundamentals of bass fishing and shows us how to set up rod and reel, casting, releasing a fish successfully, the difference between a male and female fish and many more interesting facts, throughout all of this Xavier manages to catch a 1.1kg bass, Caryne manages to hook and loose a few fish and shows us her boat driving skills.
In LBSA next week Ray and Able take us on an adventure to Mazeppa Bay in the Transkei. Able catches a 40kg duckbill ray and Ray catches a 45kg grey shark.
We then cross over to DSSA in East London, where the team catch dagaraad, black musselcracker, moustache rock cod and many more.
In the OSSA Mark and Garth take us on a Tom Cat deep sea fishing expedition from Tinley Manor, they start off bait fishing and then catch a few couta and a yellow fin tuna.

THE KINGFISHER CLINICS
Lloyd Pereira (as see on ESA) will be hosting a drop shot clinic on Sat 14th June at The Kingfisher, 53 Hunter Street, Durban. 9:00 to 12:00. 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. This should be a very popular clinic so book early to avoid disappointment. The Kingfisher also hosts a free Fishing Ski Clinic on their premises once a month by Markham Pollard and a Rock and Surf clinic 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.